Entrepreneurship

Kimberlee D. Descatamiento Ms. Ancanan

Grade 12 – ABM 1 Homework #1

A. Walt Disney Background

From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to

its preeminent name in the entertainment industry today,
Disney proudly continues its legacy of creating world-class
stories and experiences for every member of the family.
In 1993 Walt Disney signs a contract with M.J. Winkler to
produce a series of Alice Comedies. The Walt Disney Company is a diversified US entertainment
conglomerate and multinational mass media company commonly known as just Disney. The
company's headquarters are in Burbank, California at the Walt Disney Studios. Walt Disney is the
second largest media group in the world (after Comcast) in regard to revenue. The year marks
the start of the Walt Disney Company, first known as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. The
mission of The Walt Disney Company is to be one of the world’s leading producers and providers
of entertainment and information. Using the portfolio of brands to differentiate their content,
services and consumer products, they seek to develop the most creative, innovative and
profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world. On October 16th, 1923,
Disney was founded as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studios by two brothers Walt Disney and Roy
O. Disney. In early 1923, Walt Disney an animator from Kansas City, Missouri created a short film
dubbed "Alice in Wonderland", featuring a small girl whose role was played by Virginia Davis, a
child actress who was socializing with animated characters in the film. Following the bankruptcy
of Walt Disney's previous firm known as Laugh-O-Gram Studios in 1923, he decided to move to
Hollywood and join Roy O. Disney, his brother. Margaret J. Winkler a film distributor and owner
of the M.J. Winkler Productions offered to distribute a whole series of the Alice Comedies
provided that Disney would come as a production partner. In that same year Walt and Roy
established the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio where they produced more animated movies
after Alice. The Disney studio which was under construction on Hyperion Street was completed
in January 1926, and its name was changed to The Walt Disney Studios.
B. Background of the founder

Walt Disney, the founder of Walt Disney Company.

Walt Disney is a famous American artist, director,
producer and creator of a series of full-length
animated films that won him worldwide fame. He is
a Doctor of Fine Arts, a winner of 7 Emmy Awards,
22 Academy Awards (Oscars), and Cecil B. DeMille
Award. Additionally, he was awarded the highest
civilian award of the U.S. government – The
Presidential Medal of Freedom. Walt Disney is the
co-founder of an entertainment conglomerate, The
Walt Disney Company, and creator of the world’s
first large amusement park, Disneyland. He and his
team members created a number of famous
fictional characters such as Donald Duck, Mickey
Mouse, and Goofy.

Disney began his career in animation with the Kansas City Film Ad Company in Missouri in 1920.
In 1922 Disney and his friend Ub Iwerks, a gifted animator, founded the Laugh-O-gram Films
studio in City and began producing a series of cartoons based on fables and fairy tales. Joining
Disney and Iwerks in the enterprise were such noted animators as Hugh Harman, Rudolf Isang,
and Isadore (“Friz”) Freleng. In 1923 Disney produced the short subject Alice in Cartoon land,
a film combining both live action and animation that was intended to be the pilot film in a
series. Within weeks of its completion, Disney filed for bankruptcy and left Kansas City to
establish himself in Hollywood as a cinematographer. Alice in Cartoon land turned out to be a
surprise hit, and orders from distributors for more Alice films compelled Disney to reopen shop
in Hollywood with the help of his brother Roy—a lifelong business partner. The Kansas City
team soon joined the Disney’s in California, and the company produced mostly Alice films for
the next four years. In 1927 Disney began his first series of fully animated films, featuring the
character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. When his distributor appropriated the rights to the
character, Disney altered Oswald’s appearance and created a new character that he named
Mortimer Mouse; at the urging of his wife, Disney rechristened him Mickey Mouse. Two silent
Mickey Mouse cartoons—Plane Crazy (1928) and Gallopin’ Gaucho (1928)—were produced
before Disney employed the novelty of sound for the third Mickey production, Steamboat
Willie (1928), which was the first Mickey cartoon released. The film was an immediate
sensation and led to the studio’s dominance in the animated market for many years.
C. Swot Analysis of Walt Disney Company

Strengths:

 Popular and strong brand

 Growing portfolio of popular products
 Strong cooperative growth among business segments
Disney has a popular and strong brand, which is among the most easily recognizable in the
world. Through this strength, the company presents itself as a decent and family-oriented
business suitable for all customers. This internal factor helps manage customers’ expectations,
which tend to be positive relative to the reputation of the Disney brand. This SWOT analysis
also considers the company’s growing portfolio of popular products as one of the strengths of
the business. For example, the variety of the company’s movies and corresponding
merchandise and amusement park services gradually increase throughout time. This internal
strategic factor contributes to revenue growth, while supporting the company’s popularity. In
addition, The Walt Disney Company’s organizational structure facilitates mutually beneficial
cooperation among business segments. This strength enables synergistic cooperation to ensure
competitive advantage.

Weaknesses:

 Limited innovation
 Limited diversification
 Limited expansion of amusement parks
The company does innovate through continuous product improvement. However, rapid
innovation involving advanced technologies is limited in the company’s operations. For
example, Disneyland theme parks tend to have a reactive rather than an aggressive approach in
adopting new technologies. The Walt Disney Company’s generic strategy for competitive
advantage and intensive strategies for growth focus on quality and uniqueness of product
features, with limited emphasis on rapid technological innovation. This internal factor is a
weakness because technological innovation is a differentiator and competitive advantage in the
international market. Limited diversification is another weakness considered in this SWOT
analysis of Disney. This internal strategic factor is based on the company’s aim of synergy
through its business segments. Synergy requires businesses that are closely related, and not
diversified businesses in unrelated industries
Opportunities:

 Technological innovation
 Growth in various industries
 Growth of developing markets
Technological innovation affects all industry environments. This trend is an opportunity in this
SWOT analysis. The Walt Disney Company has an opportunity to adopt new technologies to
improve its global business. For example, digital technology implementations can improve
business efficiencies and output quality in amusement parks and resorts. Also, the external
factor of growth in various industries is an opportunity to grow the corporation’s business
through diversification and related managerial approaches. In relation, the growth of
developing markets is an external strategic factor that creates the opportunity to expand the
company’s operations, such as through market penetration in the mass media industry.

Threats:

 Competition
 Technological disruption
 Digital content piracy

Competition remains the most significant threat relevant in this SWOT analysis of the Walt
Disney Company. Aggressive competition is especially observable in the international mass
media and entertainment industries. For example, aggressive firms compete by offering movies
like the ones from Disney’s Marvel Studios. Also, the external factor of technological disruption
has potential to reduce the company’s profits. For instance, technological changes in online
product delivery in the entertainment and mass media markets continue to shift some profits
to businesses that offer online media channels and networks. Moreover, digital content piracy
reduces the company’s potential revenues, especially in markets with weak legal protections
against this threat.
Summary:

The internal factors enumerated in this SWOT analysis underscore Disney’s strengths to
continue growing its business and maintain one of the leading positions in the global market.
For example, the company’s strong and popular brand is a major competitive advantage.
However, weaknesses impose limits on potential growth. The corporation’s limited
diversification is an internal strategic factor that prevents new business ventures in high-growth
industries. This SWOT analysis also identifies external factors that present barriers to the
company’s growth. Managers need to address the external strategic factor of growth in
developing markets, such as through market penetration, to improve The Walt Disney
Company’s financial performance. Moreover, adjustments in strategies can address issues
linked to competition and digital content piracy in the entertainment and mass media markets.

Sources:

 https://www.thewaltdisneycompany.com/about
 https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-history-and-evolution-of-the-walt-disney-
company.html
 https://astrumpeople.com/walt-disney-biography/
 https://www.biography.com/people/walt-disney-9275533
 https://www.britannica.com/topic/Disney-Company
 http://panmore.com/walt-disney-company-swot-analysis-recommendations