Analyzing Walt Disney Conflict Essay

Walt Disney Conflict

Sources of Conflict and Politics that have Plagued Walt Disney in the Past

Walt Disney has had quite a number of highs and lows over the past two decades. One of the biggest problems that they faced during that period was excessive authority by the company's executives. This made several members of the upper management to feel disenfranchised by the executive. This problem started by the appointment of Michael Eisner as the company's CEO. Upon his appointment to the position, Michael Eisner brought with him a new style of management; he required that every important decision that was to be made by the corporation had to pass through him. This centralized decision making process and slowed down the company's decision making process. This, in turn, slowed down some aspects of its operations and also the speed with which it developed new strategies. Thus, within a few years of Michael's leadership, the company started experiencing lower performance, and other lower returns on its investments during the period between 2000 and 2006. Slow decision making not only slowed its operations, but also its rate of adopting new strategies and techniques to keep up with the highly competitive entertainment industry. The centralized decision-making process meant that the company's operations had become too bureaucratic.

How Iger Used Conflict Resolution and Political Strategies to Address the Problem

When Iger took over as CEO of Disney, he immediately realized that he had to do something to save the situation. So as to resolve the conflict, he decided to apply organizational power. Organizational power is described as the ability/power to surmount the resistance by other parties so as to settle a dispute and attain the desired goals. Iger decided to change Disney's organizational structure. He wanted to get rid of the approach of the "dictatorial approach" that had been used by his predecessor. This, he was able to achieve by dismantling the company's "central strategic planning office." Thus, he was able to reclaim the power of allocating resources, which was previously held by the office and using this power he was able to redirect the company's resources to generating innovative products. He also used his positional power as Disney's CEO to redeploy the company's staff so as to make the most use of each talent. Unlike his predecessor, he appointed individuals strictly on merit and not on any personal considerations (Stapleton, 2014). Iger knew that he had to use his positional power or else the company's fortunes would continue to dwindle. He knew that his predecessor was overbearing and that that had been part of the problem. So, he decided to change the company's structures, sit back and let the spotlight fall on his lieutenants. He runs Disney through agreement and not fiat. And rather than dismissing or demoting Eisner's allies, he has decided to largely retain the management team (Grover, 2007).

Sources and Effects of Power on Organizational Structure

There are different sources of organizational power. Some powers come from personal qualities while others are derived from a firm's structure. All these sources of power have different impacts on the subjects that they control. The six main types of organizational power are:

Legitimate Power

This is also referred to as positional power and it comes from one's position or station in an organization's structure. Legitimate power often emanates from official authority given unto the holder of a certain office by its shareholders or by the organization's constitution.

Referent Power

Referent power is derived from an individual's ability to be friendly, build partnerships, lead others and…