The memories of years long since passed came to me as the sun rose over the mountains and came across my empty house. I sat on the small wooden dock at the edge of the lake which happens to be in the middle of a grove of trees in a small valley with two giant mountains looming on both sides and a third off in the distance. An old rusty fishing pole lying next to me gently rising and falling as the waves flowed under the dock, as I stick another small slimy worm on the end of my best and most trusted hook, a hook that has seen almost as many fish as I have, a hook that my father used to use, a hook that never let go.
The sun hit the water casting a warm caressing glow in colors of the rainbow and bringing the fish closer to the surface. Now I’m ready to catch some fish. I cast my line, memories of the days my father and I woke up before the sun to race all the other fishermen, and the birds, out so that we could get to our spot. Even when all our tricks and luck failed we always fished at the same spot. Our spot had both of the two grand tactical advantages that we as fishermen usually look for; the cover of the hanging trees, with shade to keep us cool, and it was close enough to the shore so that we could still get the good fish.
On the shore nearby we could hear the small blue birds chirp and the white fuzzy rabbits chasing each other. The many wildflowers that surrounded the lake, of which I know no names, made it even more colorful, Like a brilliant pinwheel spinning gently in the cool morning breeze the colors normally distracted me since I was young and the only thing that would bring my attention back was when my father decided it was time for a joke. Jokes were how my father and I passed the time on slow days.
Speaking of which, a cruel irony about this lake is that my father lived, fished, and died on this lake. Unlike the day of bright color now, back then we were here on a day of dark and cold, a day where winter surrounded us, like a comforter of ice, and the lake was just a white blanket, a missing spot void of trees, the only identifying marking was the little wooden dock off to the left. This time it was different, we came out this time to go ice fishing.
We cut a hole in the ice about 3 feet in diameter and started to fish. We were fishing here for a while and not catching anything, but then he came. He was bigger than anything we had ever seen, longer than a motorcycle, and his head was the size of a serving plate. His bright green top-side was completely visible through our small hole in the ice. Immediately my father stripped down to nothing but his black briefs, the hair on his arms began to stand on end, and he immediately he began to shiver, cold had taken root.
That didn’t bother him though he wanted that fish more than anything else and lowered himself into the hole, he barely managed to squeezed through the three foot hole to chase the fish. Letting it get away was not an option for my father, he would get him, or die trying. Time seemed to go on forever as I stood on the surface of the ice holding my father’s clothes and worrying as I paced back and forth never taking my eyes from the hole. He had been down there for what seemed like forever. Then abruptly no more bubbles rose from the water and tears began to pool in my eyes.
With blurry vision I scrambled, stumbled, and crawled my way to the car. I grabbed the phone and called 911, but by the time they got here he had already floated to the opening of the hole and there in his cold blue hands was the green fish he had so desperately tried to get. The one thing my father wanted so much he risked his life for and now it’s all I have to remember him by. I didn’t have the heart to kill it so I let it go, back into the depths of the lake to be caught again another day. Suddenly my memories were interrupted by the jerking of my pole.
Reality began to come back in play the darkness of my memories were washed away by the brightness of the wild flowers and the chill up my back disappeared with the warm breeze. The fish rolled on the surface of the water, a flash of green and I knew it was him. I knew in my heart that today, tomorrow and forever the thought of my dad will stay in this spot. Memories are something that holds families together. With every thought and every action something changes, someone changes. So live life to the fullest and travel through the rainbow colored world.
WALT DISNEY COMPANY 2 Running Head: WALT DISNEY COMPANY 1 Walt Disney
WALT DISNEY COMPANY 2
Running Head: WALT DISNEY COMPANY 1
Walt Disney Company
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Table of contents
Cover page (important assignment details) Page 1
Contents Page 2
Case introduction Page 3
Company corporate strategy Page 3-4
Assessment of the long-term attractiveness the company’s business portfolio Page 4-5
Competitive strengths of the Company’s business units Page 5
Nine-cell Industry Attractiveness of Walt Disney Page 5-6
Evaluation of the company’s financial and operating performance Page 6
Reference Page 7
Walt Disney Company’s corporate strategy
Walt Disney is a company that operates in the digital animation, movie production and multimedia services industries. It began its operations began in the year 1919. Since then time has seen the company grow in leaps from a small venture to a multibillion empire. The name has been firmly engraved in people’s heart from a tender age due to their animations meant to attract a young a viewer base. Today, the company boasts of several departments including and not limited to television networks, movie production, digital animation, amusement park and arts museum among others.
Since 2012, the company has adopted a three point corporate strategy aimed at increasing its stake on the entertainment and leisure industry while upholding high morals as well as maintaining the good legacy it has enjoyed for close to a century. They wanted to expand into other countries where there was ready market and to build new presence there. They bought Marvel and Pixar as part of this strategy. Secondly, they aimed at investing in the advancement of technology so as to revamp the entertainment scene giving it a new face. This was a move to beat competition by being the pioneer of new technologies in the different segments of entertainment that they ventured in. finally, the wanted to develop family content that is of excellent quality. This move was aimed at trying to entice all age group audiences and add their fan base. All these changes were part of a corporate strategy that also involved venturing into other industries among them Hospitality, consumer product retail, publishing and distribution among others (Shapiro & Varian, 2013).
Disney strategic plan is to improve their core business in animation with new characters and skills, broadening their target group through stations like ESPN, where they will continue to diversifying. This proves to be the most successful strategy and a factor in both current and new markets.
Assessing long-term attractiveness of company’s business portfolio
The company has had high long-term attractiveness business portfolio due to its diverse operations. Its attractiveness in theme park and resorts, media networks, consumer products, studio entertainment and interactive media. Each one of the industries belonging to Walt Disney creates a bit of revenue with media network toping in the list of the industries bringing the most income. With a lot of channels which they own like the Lifetime, History, Disney channel and all of the ESPN channels, with Media being not the only one which is common.
Disney has been recognized for its breath taking resorts and parks which have been put in place and will never go away. The impact it creates in other countries leaves all the consumers with the desire. Disney’s stationery will never go away and it will continue making high rates of revenue on constant basis.
Interactive media is the Disney’s biggest threat on its industries. This is their online video animations and gaming which are making at least money in that part of the industry. Suffering losses each year between the year 2009 – 2011 and this has moved up to a little bit do to the Marvel production.
The ranking would start with the Media Network, Parks and Resorts, Consumer products, Studio entertainment and end with Interactive media, and every one of them shows continuation in long-run business industry.
Competitive strengths of Walt Disney Company’s different business units
Disney’s different business units are its competitive strengths compared to other competing companies. These strengths involve; Brand reputation, strong product portfolio, diversification in the business and its experience in achievements. The company has continued advanced over its competitors by targeting on their weaknesses and using them to build their strengths. Having their technological advancements and utilizing their corporate strategy over the industry has created separation as many of their motion picture characters has allowed their consumer product sales to increase. Disney’s interactive media has enabled creation of fans due to the video games, plots and themes. The company holds most popularity and this has created differentiation and made the company to be one of the strongest competitors in the industry (Kane, Palmer, Phillips, Kiron & Buckley, 2015).
Nine-cell Industry Attractiveness of Walt Disney
A nine-cell industry attractiveness business strength matrix will show Disney business units which should be prioritized. This is the three by three grid explaining the attractiveness and strengths that positions every business unit by its diversified company. With each bubble scaled to revenue percentage which the business generates in relative to the total corporate activeness scores.
The best overall good performance prospects involve concentration of corporate resources on units of the business which have the greatest competitive industry attractiveness and strengths. This is where they must invest their focus and keep investing their time on. On the other hand, the Interactive Media should receive the minimum priority amount.
Evaluate the financial and operating performance of the Walt Disney Company
Driven by the phenomenal success of Star Wars, Walt Disney delivered the highest quarterly revenue in its history, making the 10th consecutive double-digit quarter in EPS growth. The company’s good results continue to validate its strategic focus and the brand investments and franchises to drive the entire company through the long-term growth. Disney’s Media Networks revenue for the quarter increased to $6.3 billion which is by 8%, Parks and Resorts recording an increase of 9% to $4.3 billion, Studio Entertainment increased with 46% to $2.7 billion and the Consumer Products and Interactive Media revenues for the quarter increased with 8% to $1.9 billion (Lawrence, 2016).
Reference
Kane, G. C., Palmer, D., Phillips, A. N., Kiron, D., & Buckley, N. (2015). Strategy, not technology, drives digital transformation. MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte University Press, 14.
Lawrence, R. (2016). Globalisation of the Walt Disney Company: how their skills in finance, marketing, and promotion are influential when expanding the Disney empire (Doctoral dissertation, University of Portsmouth).
Shapiro, C., & Varian, H. R. (2013). Information rules: a strategic guide to the network economy. Harvard Business Press.