An Environmental Analysis of Walt Disney Company

An Environmental Analysis of Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company is a global entertainment company with operations in different business segments including Studio Entertainment, Media Networks, Consumer Products, Interactive and Parks and Resorts (The Walt Disney Company, 2014). The companywas founded by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio on October 16, 1923. As the company grew, its direction also changed, and it started developing movies as well, and later on it branched into family and fun based resorts and parks. Today, some of the firm’s cable networks include ESPN, ABC Family and Disney Channels, while some of its parks and resorts include Disneyland Resort in California, and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida (Walt Disney Corporation, 2016).

This paper presents an external and internal market analysis of the Walt Disney Company, and identifies opportunities and threats to Walt Disney’s business operations; as well as strengths and weakness that can be leveraged to help the organization maintain competitive advantage in the market.

External Environment

Walt Disney operates in different business segments including parks and resorts,Studio Entertainment, Media Networks, and Consumer Products. Some of these business segments are not only saturated, they also face stiff competition from major competitors. For instance, Walt Disney faces competition from Comcast, which is the largest pay-TV provider in the United States, and which also owns NBC Universal, NBC TV network and Universal Studios and Universal theme parks (Hoover’s Inc., 2016). So, Walt Disney faces stiff competition in all its business segments, but most notably in its studio entertainment and theme parks and resorts. Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. and Time Warner Inc. also offer Walt Disney stiff competition in its studio entertainment business segment.

Apart from stiff competition, Walt Disney faces the threat of changing consumer patterns driven by technology, and shifting consumer preferences for products offered. This occurs because technology has meant that consumers have a wider choice in choosing delivery of content, and at the same time consumers are changing their consumption patterns due to changing demographics and new product offerings by competitors (The Walt Disney Company, 2014). In addition, consumers today prefer localized products and services that have been developed with the customer in mind. Thus, if Walt Disney fails to develop localized products for its different market segments, such as local cartoon characters, consumers may end up buying products and services from competitors.

Finally, Walt Disney faces the threat of regulations, which can affect the nature of broadcasts and films and in turn business profitability. Common regulations faced by Walt Disney include U.S FCC, federal, state and foreign privacy and data protection laws, and environmental protections regulations (The Walt Disney Company, 2014).

However, Walt Disney has a major opportunity in that the cost of entry to its industry is high, and therefore the threat of new entrants is low. In addition, due to the size and scope of its operations, Walt Disney can use its size to leverage suppliers and trading partners for the best deals. In addition, Walt Disney has the opportunity to spread into other countries. Walt Disney is represented in the US, and Europe, as well as parts of Asia through its theme parks and resorts in those locations. However, the company has an opportunity to spread to Latin America, additional locations in the Asian continent, such as India, and Africa. These are locations that have the potential of increasing the firm’s revenue and profits, due to the perceived novelty of Walt Disney’s products.

Internal Environment

The Walt Disney Company operates ethically, with most of its characters, including Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Ariel and so on exhibiting traits such as courage, wit, loyalty, honesty and truth (The Walt Disney Company). This is a major strength because Walt Disney is perceived as a model company that operates ethically, and at the same time, through its diverse products, it is again perceived as a company that celebrates the differences in society. It is actually from this that the organization derives its corporate values of diversity.

Walt Disneyis one of the best brand names in the world, because the name is associated with beloved cartoon characters, as well as the favorite movies of most people. In addition, the Walt Disney brand name is based on the perception of Walt Disney as a family based company, and the company can use this brand im…………………………………….

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