Motivation in Pixar Animation Studios - Essay Example

? Background/information about Pixar Task: Background/information about Pixar Pixar was a sub section of Lucas films at firstbefore Steve jobs bought it. He established it as a studio on its own. The company dealt in hardware with specialization in visual processing computers with an aim of involving the government and other medical industries. The company faced hard times due to poor sales, which almost made it collapse. Innovation was not an option in this state prompting the animation department to produce some commercials targeted to various clients. The result was a multimillion-dollar deal in collaboration with Disney, which saw the production of "toy story" as a ground for animations by Pixar studio. It was to provide professional film making services majorly on animation and cartoons. This was after realizing that skills in information technology as related to animation were the major requirement. The first step was to gather resources and execute the plans. Consequently, the basic resources were in place and it was time to face the reality of it (Downs 2002). Management of the organization was a significant hitch as there was a need to hire professionals for various positions. The management team had to apply professional skills in ensuring efficient operation of the organization. As the organization grew bigger, there was a need for more staffing with the help of the HRM. This was carried out as per the needs at each point so as to balance out all activities carried out. An evaluation of the employee performance had to be done periodically so as to monitor the functionality of every position. As a result, changes on the positions and number of employees required in every duty had to take place accordingly. The HRM was charged with the responsibility of ensuring efficient staffing. Through this way, the organization has made tremendous steps towards attaining an excellent status. All these have been attributed to by the motivational factors, courtesy of the HRM and other stakeholders in influential positions within Pixar The objectives and activities of the company Pixar Pixar animation studios have an identity as an award winning animation studio embracing abilities in technical and creative productions. An assurance of these is by the creation of new features in animations in the new generation merchandise. Currently the organization has developed into a pioneer producer of technology applied in computer graphics and animations among other software developments (Wallace 2004). The studio aims at combining skills in proprietary technology with talents regarded to be of a world class in developing computer animated outputs with the support of memory. The industry made a brave turn into the film business from its initial venture and made more emphasis on the resources. Sustaining the innovation and creative behavior within the business called for brave actions to enable more output as compared to before. Proper coordination of the finances and the employees was one of the factors that led to the success of the organization. This depicts how important employee motivation is crucial to the survival of a business. Case motivation HRM practices Strategic management in the company was the yardstick to its success. This involved the use of strategic management skills applied by the management in handling all its operations. The major reason for establishing a strategic plan in management is to attain competitive advantage. These strategic management theories change from time to time regarding the customer needs. The fact that Pixar had roots from technology and art, played a role in the setting of the strategic management. Edwin Catmull took advantage of his passion for animation and made a team of individuals with similar interests such as George Lucas to work out on computer animations. This did not work out for them despite Luca's unwilling nature to venture in other areas other than animations as effected by computers. Steve jobs then surfaced to buy Edwin's unit before Pixar could be given a contract by Disney basing on the toy story, which did well. Pixar has succeeded in the cartoon industry due to the contribution made by unique and modern aspects looked into when making animations by the use of computers. Pixar use a combination of creativity and technique in the creation of original characters in their animations. Creating a difference between the ordinary animated movies and called for innovation, computer skills and recruitment of a creative staff hence the success of the organization (Nelson & Campbell 2007). These HRM practices were responsible for the performance by effectively managing people in the organization. The mission of the organization was supported by the HRM through sharing experience and providing leeway to reference. The innovative nature of the employees has played a significant role in ensuring the success of Pixar; Catmull did this by ensuring that all the departments carry out their roles effectively. Employee training is another means that Pixar has put upon to maintain high quality operation. All the new recruits must undergo training in the Pixar University for two weeks before proceeding to work. As such, relevant skills are passed to the employees, which come along with other advantages such as moral support to the staff, positivity and efficient communication skills. The general success of the company also results from the planning as done by the management so that not only the unique nature of the business is emphasized but also the name as perceived by interested parties. This made the management to focus on the well-being of the company. The technological aspect of the industry is not the only part looked into; the company tries to be diverse in its attention to come up with an appropriate idea to raise its outlook. Disney made efforts in the stabilization of the organization father by marketing and distributing the products of Pixar to the customers, which helped the organization in gaining financial heights. Disney's name had the ability of attracting more customers leading to the success of the organization in the world of film technology (Nuoffer 2010). Competitive Advantage Efficient operational management has been the key behind attaining competitive advantage. The way in which the internal and external environments of the organization were maintained with a combination of the management design and operation delivered it all. The utilization of available resources and addition of the deficit areas as programmed by the HRM was in line with professionalism. Coordination of management and the employee in a positively geared manner gave it an upper hand to become a success. The proper value chain establishment and the branding attributed to competitiveness of Pixar supported by the intellectual property rights. The value chain also looked into the creation of products that satisfy consumers’ wants hence maintaining the customers and getting more despite the existence of other companies in the same field. Gaining patents for the innovated products as ensured by the human resource and the management team protected the company from unfair practices by other companies. This way the organization was capable of developing and gaining more capitals hence market expansion. Maintenance of quality with an increase in output The computer innovations are closely monitored to maintain and introduce a change that goes well with both the company and the consumers. The company had to recruit more employees when it started dealing with movies at a time to maintain the quality. A new division had to be made but the creativity still maintained. The increase in staff capacity also increased chances of creativity hence getting the best products, which competes favorably in the market. The naming factor has a role in the consumer mentality (Mitchell 2003). Pixar and Disney both worked as brand names for the company as pronounced by the owners. Pixar's name will still be in the consumers mind despite the introduction of Disney. As such, the impact on the naming could not affect the sales negatively. Management Practices The organization has been employing HRM practices in the management to maintain a high level of performance. Describing the aim of the organization and putting efforts towards achieving the goal's is one of the HRM practice evident. The proper drawing and planning on HRM aspects also saw it become successful. Planning on the labor by designing well-defined duties was in accordance to the human resource practices that proved to be effective. Putting up performance management systems to ensure that every sector carries on duties effectively is worth appreciating (Obrei 2009). Training of the staff to enable quality service production was also evident to be positive to the organization. The HRM department in the organization involved soft HRM practices since talents were natured and maintained for the benefit of the organization. The management made sure that innovation was encouraged, which the staff kept working. Through this manner, Pixar made its way to the top of the list among companies developing animation movies. The factor of applying computer technology in the process remains with the company. The application of computers to an efficient level in the field of innovation and creativity in itself was an advantage. Being the pioneers in computerized animation has given the organization life to characterizing every cartoon movies. Other companies may try to copy the company in all its steps but its level of competence gives much attention to fine details, which may not be achievable by many competitors. Involving the practical details of all aspects of management may be the factor to look art in support of their competitive nature. Having long-term experience in computer animation movie development, it will always be the leading animation movie company for a long time. From the above discussion, human resource practices played a remarkable role in ensuring the success of Pixar Animation Studios. The company ensured that the staff population was maintained as per the requirement. Training of new recruits also enhanced the competence of the company. Motivational factors as relevantly applied in the organization also so it through a transition to success. Encouraging innovation and proper relation between the management and employees also made significant contributions to its growth. Despite difficulties experienced at some point, the organization diverted into animation movie development without losing hope. The result became a success after involving more efficient management procedures. RECOMMENDATIONS In order to improve its situation in the future the company needs to do several things right from the start. This is because the company will always be seen as improving only when they are performing well in the market alongside the other competitors. Job buying Pixar and establishing it as a fully functioning entity was a big boost for the company to start operations in earnest. The company must diversify all its operations. This means the company should operate not towards a single specialization; it can deal visual processing computers and at the same time dealing in software vending and hard ware as well. The company should also make a big expenditure on the increase of the sales. This means that they are forced to engage in thorough advertising to increase its customer base hence increased sales, they should further their innovation combined with the mentioned above diversification. This will ensure that their clients will never miss a products hence continuity (Wallace 2004). The field of animation is vast but a huge bulk is represented by the fun derived from the animations by the children. The company needs to employ qualified professionals who have a thorough knowledge with the entertainment industry. This is likely to bust the level of innovation and invention hence facilitate the thriving of the animation industry as the innovators will be in the position of producing the exact product needed by the consumers in the market place. The professional skilled work force as has been mentioned also ensures that the operations of Pixar will be at the pick. Furthermore, the company is advised to be strategic in their way of running things. Pixar must at one time or the other expects that there will be a distinction in the manner in which things are conducted. The company will also improve themselves by setting achievable goals and trying as much and as hard as possible to achieve them. The company in its dealings must expose by setting, demonstrating and maintaining high personal standards for both the employees and the clients. A successful organization is an organization which is able to integrate all its employees and facilitating a bit of communication to pass most of the information. Companies in the movie industry are highly lucrative as they depend on demand to ensure that the sales of this company are adequate. The companies in the movie industry can copy the Pixar behavior of differentiation through separation of the products. The supply chain of the company should look like that for Pixar, which ensures that products reach the consumer in a consistent manner; this facilitates the financial strength of the company in question. The company can further consider engaging with a firm whose name is able to attract the client base hence the success of the organization in the field that they decide to embark on. The other company in the other industry is also able to learn that the key to a competitive advantage is through efficient operational management. This is achieved mainly through efficient and effective integration of both the internal and external environments accompanying them with an appropriate design. Another issue that is in line with the professionalism in place is the fact that utilization of the available resources is the main motivation towards achievement of the much-needed success. This minimizes careless expenditures as the organization tries to coordinate the management and the employees to achieve the desired results. The other company has lots to learn, they will learn the importance of establishing a proper value chain, which is supported with the intellectual property rights. The value chain would perpetuate growth by ensuring that they are able to create products desired by the customers, as this is the strength of any business entity. In addition, quality of the products has to be increased or maintained while increasing output depending on the level of demand created (Wallace 2004). \CONCLUSION In conclusion, there is a variety of industries, which the lessons learnt above could still apply. One of such is the manufacturing industry, though it may seem awkward to relate the film industry like Pixar to a manufacturing industry like the Oxervies Corporation. The major areas where the latter industry is likely to borrow is when it comes to invention and innovation, this would ensure that the cement manufacturer is in the position of providing a variety of cement and cement products to its consumers. In addition, the company will be in the position of producing other products from the materials that remain out of the main process of manufacturing. The effective human resource practices are also mandatory. This is because; it is the human resources, which form the background behind the performances of any corporation. The firm therefore ought to devise active recruitment procedures, which allows them to own efficient and productive labor to perpetuate the production objectives of the firm. Pixar is a copyright model for the success of many companies. Reflective statement Our group consists of 4 members to perform the core roles of finding out about Motivation in Pixar Animation Studios, which is a company in the film industry. The group divided themselves into the units of work that is 2 of us went to find information about the firm and the topic, then brought the information as crude data. The second group composed of one (1) individual had the responsibility of organizing the information collected to make sense concerning the topic, the individual acted as our editors. The remaining individual was responsible for seeing into it that the document is produced in the required form and that it is safe from access by any other party. The leadership group is headed by one of us who is the chairperson, the finance secretary who is responsible for the finances of the group while third person is the organizing secretary who takes into account that the group is intact through good leadership and organized activities. On our own behalf and assessment, I can comfortably say that the team was through, efficient in the task endowed to them, and the findings forthwith are quite appropriate (Wallace 2004). References Obrei, D 2009, Penguin Cnbc-Tv18 Business, Penguin Book, United Kingdom. Mitchell, J W 2003, Beyond Productivity: Information, Technology, Innovation, and Creativity, National Academies Press, Washington. Nuoffer, M 2010, the Way They Do Things around There: An Analysis of the ‘Pixar Culture’, GRIN Verlag, Germany. Wallace, R 2004, the National Job Bank, F+W Media, Inc, New York. Downs, A 2002, Secrets of an Executive Coach: Proven Methods for Helping Leaders Excel under Pressure Mgmt Assn, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, New York. Nelson, D L & Campbell, Q J 2007, Understanding Organizational Behavior, Cengage Learning EMEA, Stamford. Read More