The walt disney company the entertainment king case analysis

Review attached Coursepack: Walt Disney Co: The Entertainment King Case. The application of course material and an understanding of the current business environment is essential for an MBA student. In this assignment, you will have an opportunity to utilize the skills from this unit to solve a case study.

INSTRUCTIONS
Carefully review the assigned case.
In a 3-5 page paper, address the following questions:
Why has Disney been successful for so long?
What did Michael Eisner do to rejuvenate Disney? Specifically, how did he increase net income in his first four years?
Has Disney diversified too far in recent years?For the exclusive use of S. Stone, 2020. 9 -7 0 1 -0 3 5 REV: JANUARY 5, 2009 MICHAEL G. RUKSTAD DAVID COLLIS TYRRELL LEVINE The Walt Disney Company: The Entertainment King I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing—that it was all started by a mouse. — Walt Disney The Walt Disney Company’s rebirth under Michael Eisner was widely considered to be one of the great turnaround stories of the late twentieth century. When Eisner arrived in 1984, Disney was languishing and had narrowly avoided takeover and dismemberment. By the end of 2000, however, revenues had climbed from $1.65 billion to $25 billion, while net earnings had risen from $0.1 billion to $1.2 billion (see Exhibit 1). During those 15 years, Disney generated a 27% annual total return to shareholders. 1 Analysts gave Eisner much of the credit for Disney’s resurrection. Described as “more hands on than Mother Teresa,” Eisner had a reputation for toughness. 2 “If you aren’t tough,” he said, “you just don’t get quality. If you’re soft and fuzzy, like our characters, you become the skinny kid on the beach, and people in this business don't mind kicking sand in your face.” 3 Disney’s later performance, however, had been well below Eisner’s 20% growth target. Return on equity which had averaged 20% through the first 10 years of the Eisner era began dropping after the ABC merger in 1996 and fell below 10% in 1999. Analysts attributed the decline to heavy investment in new enterprises (such as cruise ships and a new Anaheim theme park) and the third-place performance of the ABC television network. While profits in 2000 had rebounded from a 28% decline in 1999, this increase was largely due to the turnaround at ABC, which itself stemmed from the success of a single show: Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. Analysts were starting to ask: Had the Disney magic begun to fade? HBS Professor Michael G. Rukstad; Professor David Collis (Yale School of Management,); and Research Associate Tyrrell Levine prepared this case. This case was developed from published sources. Funding for the development of this case was provided by Harvard Business School and not by the company. HBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion. Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. Copyright © 2001, 2005, 2009 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to www.hbsp.harvard.edu. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the permission of Harvard Business School. This document is authorized for use only by Shane Stone in BUSN 595 DOL taught by GUY DELOACH, Lee University from Feb 2020 to Aug 2020. For the exclusive use of S. Stone, 2020. 701-035 The Walt Disney Company: The Entertainment King The Walt Disney Years, 1923–1966 At 16, the Missouri farm boy, Walter Elias Disney, falsified the age on his passport so he could serve in the Red Cross during World War I. He returned at war’s end, age 17, determined to be an artist. When his Kansas City-based cartoon business failed after only one year, 4 Walt moved to Hollywood in 1923 where he founded Disney Brothers Studio 5 with his older brother Roy (see Exhibit 2). Walt was the creative force, while Roy handled the money. Quickly concluding that he would never be a great animator, Walt focused on overseeing the story work.