Walt Disney`s Management of Diversity and its Challenges Essay

Walt Disney`s Management of Diversity and its Challenges - Essay Example Associated with several international film companies, the company diversified to open the Disneyland Theme Park in California in 1955. The second Theme Park, with resorts, opened in Florida in 1971. Disney’s other key theme parks include the EPCOT Centre opened in 1982 and Animal Kingdom in 1998 in Florida; as well as Tokyo Disneyland in 1983; and Disney Paris in 1992 (Clarke and Chen, 2012). Thus, â€Å"today, Walt Disney’s Parks and Resorts operates or licenses 11 theme parks on three continents† (Clarke and Chen, 2012, p.322) including North America, Asia and Europe, and a twelfth is proposed for Shanghai in China. Merchandising in park attractions was introduced in 1987, and the company offered time-share ownerships in the park resorts from 1991. Walt Disney World further diversified its business into Education in 1996, and fitness, Sports Training and Events in 1997, besides filming, recording, network, broadcasting, cruising, and other projects. The Walt Di sney Company’s entry into the international market in Europe and Asia required its use of types of diversity management in operating their products in new cultural environments. Its French subsidiary, the Euro Disney SCA (societe en commandite par actions) formed a limited partnership with the host country. Walt Disney Company’s multinational business operations necessitates the company’s management of a diversity of people from different cultural backgrounds in its workforce (Clarke and Chen, 2012). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate Walt Disney’s management of diversity and related challenges in the organisation. Walt Disney Company’s Diversity Management According to Clarke and Chen (2012), diversity takes into account the differences between individuals. Diversity management requires an adaptation of executive skills and styles for successful outcomes in managing a diverse workforce. Effective diversity management â⠂¬Å"reduces resistance to working with members of another ethnic, racial, or cultural group† (Clarke and Chen, 2012, p.340); it also lowers the risk of miscommunication, and promotes unity among the members of the global multinational giant. Thus, the Walt Disney company is required to be knowledgeable about the behaviour, beliefs and habits of the different cultures of the host countries. At the same time, the culture of the parent company also plays a vital part in diversity management. Although some researchers such as Gerhart and Fang (2005) have opposed the emphasis on national culture and the overlooking of organisational differences in diversity management, multinational companies’ country of origin is acknowledged as an important element, in most research undertaken in this domain, as reiterated by Harzing and Sorge (2003). The broad basis for the conceptual framework for diversification examines key factors such as cultural differences, institutional difference s, organisational differences and their mutual dynamics (Schuler et al, 2002). One of the critical challenges facing multinational companies is balancing the need for global integration and local adaptation. The national origin of MNCs is found to have a crucial impact on this