An examination into the culture at Disney, how it compares to Deal & Kennedy's strong culture system, the response from the company to the remarks made by Bernie Sanders, and why it's the most coveted business to work for in 2016.

1. The Happiest Employees on Earth?
How Disney’s Culture is Comparable to Deal &
Kennedy’s Standards for Strong Cultures
Pamela Mohar
CTAC 354
image:www.pinterest.com, 2016

2. Former Executive Shares the Secrets to
How Disney Runs its Empire
• Lee Cockerell – Executive VP for 16 years
• Oversaw 20 resort hotels, 4 theme parks, 2 water
parks
• Disney treats detail “like a religion”
• Great leaders come first when building a great
company
• Set the best environment and culture to motivate
people to achieve more than they ever thought they
could

3. Creating the Happiest Place on Earth
• Disney World alone
sees 18.6 million
visitors per year
[Meek, 2015]
• You don’t have to be
happy to work at
Disney, you just have
to act happy for 8
hours each day
[Cockerell, 2015]
image: www.statista.com, 2015

4. The People
are the Brand
Disney employees
go through
extensive training
before being allowed
in front of the
customers.
“They don’t practice
on customers,”
according to
Cockerell, “because,
in the end, the
people are the
brand.”
image: www.momendeavors.com, 2016

5. Deal & Kennedy’s standards for
Strong Cultures
• Values – the beliefs and
visions that members
within an
organization hold
• Heroes – the people
that exemplify an
organization’s
values
• Rites & Rituals –
ceremonies through
which an organization
celebrates its culture
• Cultural Network –
communication system
through which cultural
values are instituted
and reinforced
image: www.youtube.com, 2016

6. Disney’s Culture - Values
• Committed to a tradition
of innovation and
technology
• Quality
• Strive to set a high
standard of excellence
and maintain high-
quality standards
across all product
categories
image: www.dadsguidetowdw.com, 2016

7. Disney’s Culture - Values
• Community
• Create positive and
inclusive ideas about
families and provide
entertainment
experiences for all
generations to share
• Storytelling
• Timeless and engaging
stories delight and
inspire
image: www.kennythepirate.com, 2016

8. Disney’s Culture - Values
• Optimism
• Entertainment is
about hope,
aspiration, and
positive outcomes
• Decency
• Honor and respect the trust that people
place with the organization
• Fun is about laughing at our experiences and
ourselves
image: www.themeparktourist.com, 2016

9. Disney’s Culture – Rites &
Rituals
• Reward programs, including
recognition for:
• Quality of Work
• Length of Service
• Community Volunteerism
• Employee of the Month
• The Disney Institute trains
all employees how to be
“cast members”
image: www.babble.com, 2016

10. Disney’s Culture –
Communication Network
• Cockerell had a communication network in place where
he personally received all anonymous phone calls and
messages from employees
• They were not rerouted through a third party
company
• Cockerell was able to immediately follow up on
employee concerns
• This behavior shows a company willing to accept
fault for its’ actions and a willingness to embrace
feedback
• Disney values transparency with employees

11. Disney’s
Culture -
Heroes
Walt Disney (1901-
1966) founded the
animation
company in 1923
image: https://goo.gl/images/gfBFCS, 2016

12. Disney’s
Culture -
Heroes
From the children’s
perspective, the
Disney characters
that they love and
behold are the real
heroes, often
displaying diversity,
courage, love,
empathy, and
respect.
Image: www.etsy.com, 2016

13. Character
Magic
Catering to the
children’s sense of
wonder regarding
their heroes is a
key factor to
performing at a
Disney theme
park.
image: www.thegatewaypundit.com, 2016

14. The Real Story
Current and former
Disney employees
have taken to the
Whisper app to
reveal their
experience with
working at Disney
theme parks
around the world
image: www.disneyeveryday.com, 2016

15. Employees Must
Always Stay in
Character
One employee, via
the Whisper app,
talks about how
prevalent this is:
She mistakenly
walked in on “Belle”
and “Gaston” en
flagrante delecto.
Their response?
“Don’t tell the
Beast.” image: www.fanpop.com, 2016

16. Disney Moves up 4 Spots on This
Year’s Fortune 500 List
• Jumped from #57 in 2015 to #53 in 2016
• Survived claims from former Presidential hopeful,
Bernie Sanders, that the company does not treat
their employees well [Zillman, 2016]
• Paid low wages, many workers are forced to live in
motels, despite Disney’s $3 billion profit last quarter
• Laid off 250 technology workers in 2015 – after training
their over-seas replacements
• Called out CEO Bob Iger’s $46.5 million pay plan, touting
Disney as a perfect example of a “rigged economy”
[Zillman, 2016]

17. Disney’s Response
• Iger called out inaccuracies in Sanders’ claims, without
actually providing any contrary evidence or denying the
charges
• Claims Disneyland “generates more than $5.7 billion annually
for the local economy” [Iger, 2016]
• Disneyland has created 11,000 new jobs in the past decade
• Company wide, 18,000 new jobs have been created in the
past five years [Zillman, 2016]
Image: www.worldofwalt.com, 2016

18. Disney Claims Top Spot in Fortune’s
“Most Coveted Employer” Survey
• Rated second place in
the most trustworthy
company out of Fortune
500’s top 100
companies
• Fourth place in
“companies that care
the most about you”
image: www.minitime.com, 2016

19. Disney’s High Rankings Show How
Public Opinion is Impacted by Culture
• Third place for
companies that have a
positive global impact
• First place for the
company that
respondents think will
be around in 100 years
image: www.youtube.com, 2016

20. Creating Your Own Happiness
• Starting hourly rates
are around $10
[Glassdoor, 2016]
• Offer Employee
Assistance Program
and 401k
• 20% merchandise
discount
• Many Disney
employees claim
that they thrive on
the happiness they
bring to other
people
• The employees at
Disney work long
hours in hot
weather, wear
heavy costumes,
and act happy for
eight hours a
day…and have few
complaints
• Employees have
conformed to the
Disney mentality
through a strong
use of company
culture
image: www.gietoko.com, 2016

21. Why We See Disney As the Most
Coveted Company
• Disney has perfected the
ability to manifest an
illusion based on its’ belief
and values
• The pay and benefits aren’t
on par with Disney’s profits
• As long as employees are
willing to conform, Disney
will continue to underpay
workers
• A significant change in
employee rights would
seriously impact Disney’s
company culture
image: www.drinkingdisney.wordpress.com, 2016

22. References
Culture and Diversity. Disney Careers. www.disneycareers.com. Accessed 4
October 2016.
McGuire, Caroline. Hitting the bottle to cope with the kids and how ‘have a
magical day’ is code for ‘go f*** yourself’: Staff reveal what it’s REALLY like to
work at Disney. Daily Mail, 19 May 2016.
www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3598522/hitting-bottle-cope-
kids-magical-day-code-f-staff-reveal-s-REALLY-like-work-Disney.html. Accessed
5 October 2016.
Meek, Andy. Former Executive Shares The Secrets To How Disney Runs Its
Empire. Fast Company, 26 January 2015. www.fastcompany.com/3041284/hit-
the-ground-running/former-executive-shares-the-secrets-to-how-Disney-runs-
its-empire. Accessed 5 October 2016.
Van Winkle, Dan. Disney CEO Bob Iger Responds to Bernie Sanders’ Criticism
Like a Petulant Child. The Mary Sue, 26 May 2016. www.themarysue.com/bob-
iger-Bernie-sanders/. Accessed 5 October 2016.
Zillman, Claire. Disney is Named the Company Americans Want to Work For
Most. Fortune, 6 June 2016.
www.google.com/amp/amp.timeinc.net/fortune/2016/06/06/fortune-500-
Disney-most-desired-employer/%3fsource=dam?client=safari. Accessed 5
October 2016.