The Global Theme Park Industry - Essay Example

?Vision and Mission: The story of the famous Disney Theme Parks is one that very few do not know; the idea, its development, and the immense and elaborate way in which it has come true is a tale that blossoming entrepreneurs worldwide are familiar with. The Walt Disney Company, founded in the 1920s, has at least 12 parks and world resorts around the world, with another couple side divisions such as the sports complex. The parks spread out across three continents, from Hong Kong to Paris to Florida, and have welcomed more than 119 million guests annually. Naturally, the great success of the park company has attracted many analysts and businesspersons to study the vision of the company, in hopes to emulate its success (The Global Theme Park Industry, pg. 277). The Walt Disney Company's mission has evolved through the years as the company has gained more success. Walter Disney founded the company in 1923; it was after he visited amusement parks with his daughters where he would be bored while they played. The original mission was to provide entertainment of the kind that children and adults both could enjoy, making the whole experience family oriented. However, as the years have progressed, the Disney mission has evolved as well. The official mission statement of Disney is the following: “The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to be the largest and most trusted producer and provider of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we will become the most responsive and adaptable to serve the needs of the consumers’ in our target markets. We will maintain our integrity and adhere to the core values upon which our company was founded as we create the most innovative and profitable entertainment experiences, most reliable and relevant informational services, and related products in the world” (Walt Disney Mission Statement: Creativity + Innovation = Profits, 2013). One of the key reasons due to which it is as successful as it is due to its strong vision, which is to be one of, if not, the mot major producer and provider of entertainment and information in the world. In fact, the company is now seen to be the most innovative and creative in providing entertainment to children and adults alike, with rides, characters, detailed storytelling, hotels, spas and a sports complex. Important Stakeholders: Stakeholders and risk bearers exist in every business, be it a small home-based one or an expansive multinational. Therefore, naturally, the multibillion-dollar worth, Disney Theme Parks has their share of stakeholders. These include the employees, consumers, communities that live near the resorts, suppliers, factories, retailers, contract workers, nongovernmental organizations and charities, media, governmental organizations and, of course, the shareholders (The Business Communication Casebook: A Notre Dame Collection, pg. 251). Since it is a company of a large scale, it has numerous stakeholders to consider and engage with when making plans or addressing issues (The Business Communication Casebook: A Notre Dame Collection, pg. 251). It is, in fact, a mark of strength of a company of this large a size to engage with its stakeholders in order to better address their needs and the needs of the communities they work in, to result in more cohesion and better returns. Opportunities and Threats: Although Disney has become a huge corporation in terms of the services it provides, there are still several opportunities and aspects that it can perhaps tap into. Disney, due to its major clientele, can be a good source of promoting world peace and other noble causes. Because it is a theme park stemming from childhood stories and cartoons, it could be a rich source of providing education to the needy since it can reach out to many people. Another philanthropic opportunity it could pursue would be to give employment to citizens that cannot find work elsewhere, as a way of giving them a second chance to make a difference to society. Since Disney is a massive lucrative business, it is naturally home to many threats. One of the major threats is protection of the company's credibility and image. Another threat for a company with that many ideas is to protect its intellectual property. In addition, of course, there exist threats such as petty crimes that could potentially ruin the brand's name. And last but not least is the threat of competitors such as Universal Studios who as is also theme parked based with movie notoriety as well as caricature creations. Porter’s Five Forces: Porter's five forces include competitive rivalry within an industry, threat of new entrants, and threat of substitute products, bargaining power of customers and bargaining power of suppliers. Because of the numerous sub-companies involved, the degree of rivalry is an important factor as far as Disney's market value is concerned. Rivalries exist, for example, between Pixar and DreamWorks, as they do between the different theme parks themselves. Moreover, because of the growing success of Disney, other entrepreneurs could see the sense in investing in a similar business and this could result in a new entrant that could potential steal away some business. In addition, consumers switching to DreamWorks could hurt Disney, as buyers can sway towards substitutes (Module 4: Intercultural Communication for Business, pg. 147). In addition, ‘Universal Studios’ is one of the major competitors of Walt Disney Theme Parks since it targets the same range of customers in the entertainment and tourism industry followed by ‘Universal’s Island of Adventure’ that also give good competition to the company. Another force to consider is the bargaining power of customers and suppliers. Because it is a hugely established brand, it holds credibility in many markets and generates plenty of revenue from buyers. Since the demand for Disney products is high, and they cannot go without, Disney could often be forced by suppliers to pay more, as to keep the business going without interruption, demand can be considered inelastic. In addition, switching between suppliers is costly, time consuming, and a risk (Understanding Strategic Management, pg. 122). The Porter's five-force analysis adequately determines Disney's competitive intensity and appeal in the market and it is used by the company to make business decisions regarding advertising among others (Marketing: A Brief Introduction, pg. 93). Strategic Groups: Furthermore, analysis has indicated that company faces threat in the form of huge operating expenses due to expanded area of the park. In addition, the company has portrayed itself as a market leader with supremacy in the innovation; in this regard, customers always expect something innovative at the theme park and as they do come across something similar, they end up spending time at local competitors. The company has been successful in creating a very popular brand image not only locally but internationally as well, and therefore, it can easily expand its business by introducing itself in other developed and developing countries, which seems a very good opportunity. Moreover, millions of tourists visit USA every year, which increases chances of tourists visiting Disney Theme Parks, and therefore, the company can benefit from this opportunity by collaborating with different hotels and resorts in terms of offering discounts and packages to increase its customer base. Finally, with its various different existences in “USA, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, Shanghai, etc” (Parks and Resorts, 2013), the company has various strengths, and at the same time, it has few weaknesses that one can overcome by benefiting from opportunities mentioned above and staying prepared for the threats from competitors and other aspects. Works Cited Clave, Salvador A. The Global Theme Park Industry. Chicago: CABI. 2007. Print. Farfan, Barbara. “Walt Disney Mission Statement: Creativity + Innovation = Profits.” About.com. Web. 19 Nov, 2013. . Henry, Anthony. Understanding Strategic Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2008. O'Rourke, James S. The Business Communication Casebook: A Notre Dame Collection. New York: Cengage Learning. 2007. Print. Stokes, David & Lomax, Wendy. Marketing: A Brief Introduction. New York: Cengage Learning EMEA. 2008. Print. The Walt Disney Company. “Parks and Resorts.” Official Website of the Walt Disney Company. Web. Nov 19, 2013. . Tuleja, Elizabeth A. Module 4: Intercultural Communication for Business. New York: Cengage Learning. 2008. Print. Read More