Organizational Culture Report: Disney, Schein's Theory, and Impact

This report provides an in-depth analysis of The Walt Disney Company's organizational culture, focusing on Schein's theory and its application within the transnational media corporation. It explores the three primary elements of organizational culture: artifacts, values, and underlying assumptions, ...Read More

ORGANIZATIONAL
CULTURE
THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY
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Schein’s theory on culture
 There the three primary elements/understanding, as fronted by Edgar
Schein, through which the aspects of organizational culture are categorized
 Artifacts
 Value
 Underlying assumptions
 The three attributes are applicable in transnational media corporations like
Disney
 The attributes help company stakeholders (both internal & external) to
understand its culture and identity
 The attributes also help to clarify how cultural influences shape the
company’s corporate policies.

Employees feeling when they
enter Disney
 One feels as if s(he) is never actually a Disney employee
 One feels that Disney university is an actual thing
 One feels part of the company through the book dedicated to how
one is supposed to look at Disney
 the feeling of specialty as one has to learn the Disney’s special
language
 the Disney point and Disney scoop makes one feel special/unique

Why to Follow mission statement in the
organization and underlying assumptions
 Walt Disney core mission is “to be one of the world’s leading producers
and providers of entertainment and information” (Farfan 2014)
 The mission statement lives in Disney's elitist customer service, theme
parks, movies and products.
 The top-notch quality associated with the cast members forms the
greatest asset of the company.
 There are six principles which are supposed to be held by the Cast
members
 Community
 decency
 Innovation
 Optimism
 Quality
 Storytelling

Roles of cast members in
Disneyland
 Attractions
 Costuming
 Custodial
 Guest relations
 Housekeeping
 Merchandising

Internal and external culture
and its effects on employees
and audience Four interconnected processes define culture.
 Care
 Communication
 employees selection
 Training
 The employees are positively affected designation of theme
 Organizational innovation and creativity influence corporate culture,
and any consequent interference has an impact on employees.
 To boost the morale of employees and influence positive
performance, the organization through the human resource
department runs a recognition and reward and program

Impacts of change in
organizational culture on
employees Whereas artifacts are affected by evolutionary processes, the Basic
assumptions have low chances of changing
 It is considered an expensive task to change the drastically different culture
and that which is ingrained in the organization
 When the organization changes its culture, the employees remain on the
receiving end to battle external adaptation and internal integration
 When the organization changes its culture, it affects employees’ morale
 A change in organizational culture has an effect of either rejecting or
attracting the right talents
 A change in the corporate culture has an impact on employees’ performance
 Healthy organizational cultural changes can facilitate organizational change

Theory of Deslandes
 Focussed on examining cultures of media organizations
 The perceptions of external actors according to Deslandes determine
the fluctuating reality of cultural identity
 In the definition of mass media culture, the critical component is the
audience
 Understanding the symbiotic relationship existing between external
and internal assumptions
 Disney’s alteration of the policy to fit local needs fractures the
established histories, ideals, and values which are significant in
understanding Schein’s cultural assumptions.

References
 Bülow, AM 2011, Global corporate communication and the notion of legitimacy.
Journal of Intercultural Communication, (25),4-29
 Deslandes, G 2011, Corporate culture versus organizational identity: Implications
for media management. Journal of Media Business Studies, 8(4), 23-36.
 Farfan, B 2014, “Walt Disney Mission Statement”. RETAIL INDUSTRY ABOUT.
Available at
http://retailindustry.about.com/od/retailbestpractices/ig/company-mission-statem
ent/Walt-Disney-Mission-Statement.htm
 Lipp, D 2013, Disney U: How Disney university develops the worlds most
engaged, loyal, and customer centric employees. New York, NY: McGraw Hill
 Lisanti, T 2012, Disney's new character. License! Global, 15(3), 48-50,52, 54.
 Schein, EH 1990, Organizational culture. American Psychologist, 45(2), 109-119.
 Wise, TD 2014, Creativity and culture at Pixar and Disney: A comparison. Journal
of the International Academy for Case Studies, 20(1), 149-168.