What Markets Are the Disney Resorts and Parks Aiming for - Case Study Example

Operations Management Cases Name Institution Date Table of Contents CASE 1 2 What markets are the Disney resorts and parks aiming for? 2 Was Disney’s choice of the Paris site a mistake? 3 What aspects of the park’s design did Disney change when it constructed Euro Disney? 4 What did Disney not change when it constructed Euro Disney? 5 What were Disney’s main mistakes from the conception of the Paris resort through to 2006? 5 CASE 2 6 Why is Operations management important to CDS? 6 Draw a 4 V’s profile for the company’s products and services 7 What would you recommend to the company if they asked you to advise them on improving their products? 8 CASE 1 What markets are the Disney resorts and parks aiming for? Disney resorts and parks are targeting to attract families and children from various locations. This is done so as to keep the families and children entertained through their wide variety of entertainment offerings. In addition, the company targets people who want to have the feeling of staying young. In so doing, Disney targets a wide variety of market since it does not specify its products for a certain group of people but provides products that will be suitable for all groups of people. In addition, Disney provides cruise ships hotels and other forms of entertainment. This attracts a wider variety of customers. It targets people who are out on holiday, people who want to have fun and generally, people who are out to get entertainment. The services are targeted to all people and they are not specified to a certain group of people. Was Disney’s choice of the Paris site a mistake? Disney decided to get into the European market and this move was faced by a lot of criticism since the people in Europe felt Disney was invading their culture and they were even reported to be practicing culture snobbery. This is because of the all American approach that Disney was deploying in their services and products. However, this was not a mistake. In fact, it might only have been the wrong time for Disney to build a resort in Paris. This is because the French are not very open minded. It is for this character that they began to isolate themselves from what was being offered by the American Disney. People in Paris preferred to retain their culture and they would have liked it if Disney had provided the services based on the French culture. Little wonder then that the company faced a lot of problems in the Paris Resort. There were far less problems with the resorts that were started in other cities and other countries. This therefore means that the main problem was the adaptability of the people in Paris. Therefore, it was not a mistake for Disney to venture into Europe. Rather, they would have established a resort in other countries in Europe as they wait for some transformation in Paris. From a positive perspective, it was appropriate for the resort to be started in Paris since they had opened up the diversity in Paris. While this was met by resistance from the people, it was appropriate since it exposed the people to the diversity of global culture. It therefore, opens a way for other businesses since they will also venture into the country without fear of the people’s reception. What aspects of the park’s design did Disney change when it constructed Euro Disney? From a research conducted on the market in Europe, it was found out that the market would respond to a ‘wild west’ American image. The Euro Disney was therefore designed so as to suit this market preference. All the rides and the designs of the hotel were designed to emphasize this theme. Further, there were criticisms that the park’s design would be too Americanized and as a result, it would bring in the Americanized culture. Therefore, Disney designed the park so as to counter these claims by giving the park a flavour that emphasized the European culture. Additionally, Disney planned extra entertainments to people as they waited on the queues. This was meant to keep them entertained as the waited. From the case, it is also reported that Disney Europeanized the Disney star’s heritage. For instance, Discoveryland featured stories from Jule vs Verne and Cinderella was found in a French inn as Peter Pan made an appearance of Edwardian. To better enhance the European culture in restaurants, Disney introduced more variety of into these restaurants and bars since Europeans preferred sitting down while having snacks. Disney also built the first Disney roller coaster that has a 360 degree loop included in it. Disney did all I could to introduce the European culture into the design of the par so as to attract more Europeans and to make the Europeans feel their culture in the American hotels and parks by Disney. What did Disney not change when it constructed Euro Disney? When it constructed Euro Disney, Disney did not change the alcohol-free culture that was characteristic of all Disney parks. The new Disney Park was also made not to serve alcohol. This would not go well with the French since the French like to take a glass of wine or beer while taking their food. This might have caused the low attendance during the opening of the park. Additionally, there was some bit of the American culture in the services offered since the casts were purported to have only learnt French for interaction with customers but the services offered were not up to the expectations of the customers. This was a small part of the challenge that they faced since the rest of the design was greatly appreciated and people even chose to spend their time in the Disney Park whenever they wanted to have the American experience. By trying to use American standards at Disney, they were retaining part of the American culture and in fact, the consequence was below standard services being offered. What were Disney’s main mistakes from the conception of the Paris resort through to 2006? One major mistake that was made by Disney was the bad publicity that existed when the resort was opened in 1994. From the text, Disney is stated to always have had bad luck or they timed poorly. The example of when they opened their park in Europe and faced a lot of criticism about incorporating cultural snobbery showed the mistake they made in bad timing of setting up the restaurant in Paris. In addition, Disney had all employees who received similar training. This meant that there was no diversity in the services that they offered. The management of Disney together with the workers did not consider the working style of Europeans and all they wanted was to achieve the high American standard set by Disney. In reality, the standard was very low when compared to the standards in America. Another mistake that was made by Disney was that of not offering alcoholic drinks to people in the Disney Park. This was a mistake because the European like taking a glass of wine while having their meal. Therefore, Disney did not consider this aspect because they could not fully satisfy the needs of the European customers. by ignoring to include alcoholic drinks, it meant that customers would prefer going to places that offered those drinks and not where they cold not get the drinks. CASE 2 Why is Operations management important to CDS? Operations management is done by CDS as a process by which resources which flow in a definite system are combined and converted in a controlled manner so as to add value to the product and to the company based on the policies that have been communicated by the management. To CDS, operations management is important because it enables it to improve on its productivity. From the case, it has been stated that after the deployment of operations management, the company realized improved performance in productivity. This was because the operations that were done by the company had been streamlined in operations management by successfully transforming the operations used in aerospace production into home ware production. For instance, the company was able to increase its capacity by bringing in a new machine. This enabled the company to handle more complex products. The products were also produced to higher levels of precision since they were produced at close tolerances. This implies that operations management not only enabled the company to increase its productivity but also reduce the errors in production. Operations management also enabled CDS to improve on the quality of is products. The products that are produced by the company have an improved quality and as a result, the company is able to see off competition from its rivals. In the case, it is stated that the company’s new rivals cannot match up to the quality that it offers to is customers. Therefore, the company has been able to achieve customers’ satisfaction through operations management. Draw a 4 V’s profile for the company’s products and services Volume: the amount of production that is produced by CDS is high because they have incorporated a new machine that has higher capacity than the old machine. For instance, it is stated that the new machine has the ability to produce 18 items per minute and this is 6 times faster than the old machine. This indicates that the amount of products realized is also high. The company decides to subcontract its focus line to some moulding companies, an indication that they are producing more from their premium line. Variety: the fashion market is highly competitive and it is the innovation of products that determines its sustainability. CDS has the capacity to develop products that are trending in fashion and it also has the ability to adapt to change since the fashion industry also changes rapidly. This is the key to its survival. Variation: the variety that is produced by the company is also high because the company is forced to produce innovative designs continuously so as to maintain the high levels of demand. The new machines are stated to have the capacity to handle the different types of products. Visibility: the visibility of products varies between high and low. There are times when visibility is high and the customers have to be there to give their prescriptions and access the extent of the product. At times, the visibility is low and customers only have to wait for delivery. What would you recommend to the company if they asked you to advise them on improving their products? One recommendation for the company would be for them to incorporate two processes. One process would be used for focused manufacturing and it would be characterized by high volume of products and low variety. The other process would for both concepts and design house partnership and this would have high variety and low volume. This would enable the company to produce products of different variety without really straining and without having to subcontract since they have challenges with sub-contracting. Another recommendation would be to get a balance between a customer-focused approach and the ability of the company’s operations. It will enable the company to satisfy its customers while operating optimally. Read More