According to the Walt Disney Company (2008a), the mission of the firm is to be one of the world's leading producers and providers of entertainment and information and to use its brand portfolio to differentiate its content and services while developing the most creative and innovative entertainment experiences and products in the world. The vision of Walt Disney Company (2008b) encompasses developing a multi-brand and product strategy offering high quality products, depicting optimism for the future, great storytelling, and an emphasis on family entertainment.
Values at Walt Disney Company (2008b) include innovation, quality, a focus on community and families, storytelling, an optimistic and aspiring outlook on life, and an orientation toward decency, honor, and respect. The culture of the company, according to its Internet site, emphasizes the integration of a diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with a workplace that meets the needs of a multicultural group of employees known as "cast members" (Walt Disney Company, 2008c).
Within this organization, four specific business segments are located. Studio entertainment is the foundation on which the company was built and at its heart are world renowned animated features and live action motion pictures. Disney's parks and resorts, including its cruise line and vacation clubs, bring the Disney experience directly to audiences while Disney consumer products provide for an at home experience. Media networks comprise an array of broadcast, cable, radio, publishing, and Internet businesses (Walt Disney Company, 2008c).
At Disney, leadership is understood as a top-down and bottom-up set of activities (Hall, 2005). Each member of the organization, from its leaders to its individual cast members and even its characters are meant to directly communicate each of the values listed above. According to Hall (2005), Disney leads by example and req...