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Organization/Industry Overview

Disney a Look within
Learning Team C
Robert Kyle Hall, Alfonso Heredia, Shirley Lawrence, Angie Nicol, Jess Scott
University of Phoenix
March 16, 2009

 
Disney’s History
The Walt Disney Company has been on an economic roller coaster for the past 80 years. Disney's founder Walter Elias Disney arrived in California in 1923 with a pocketful of dreams and little to no money in his pocket. When the Walt Disney Company originally began it was just a small animation studio in Los Angeles being run by two brothers who had traveled from Kansas City to make their fortunes in the world. Since that time, Disney has become a mainstay in the business world, not just in animation techniques, but in television, tourism, innovation, and movies. Constantly changing to meet the demands of tourists and audiences has kept Disney alive and thriving, and its mastery of the four functions of management have helped it overcome any factor, internal or external, that it has come up against. Disney has set itself as an example to other companies: control what can be controlled and be prepared for everything else. By doing this, Disney has shown that not only can it survive against fierce competition, but it can dominate them as well.
Over the years the Walt Disney Company has encountered several economical milestones. The first being the creation of the cartoon figure of Mickey Mouse in 1928. Mickey Mouse was created for short films and became an instant icon over night. After creating cartoons Walt was able to branch the company out and began to merchandize the licensed logo of Mickey Mouse on “dolls, dishes, toothbrushes, radios, figurines -- almost everything imaginable bore Mickey's likeness” (page 2). With the creation of Mickey under the companies belt there was a need to continue to branch out into other areas. The company began to write comic strips, books, and produce more short films.
After creating Mickey Mouse and his friends Walt Disney decided to branch out yet...