Rework-G130925+V1-Disney

BPP Coursework Cover Sheet Please use the table below as your cover sheet for the 1 st page of the submission. The sheet should be before the cover/title page of your submission. Programme MSc Management Module name Schedule Term Student Reference Number (SRN) Report/Assignment Title EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE BPP-Disney Date of Submission (Please attach the confirmation of any extension received) Declaration of Original Work : I hereby declare that I have read and understood BPP’s regulations on plagiarism and that this is my original work, researched, undertaken, completed and submitted in accordance with the requirements of BPP School of Business and Technology. The word count, excluding contents table, bibliography and appendices, is words. Student Reference Number: Date: By submitting this coursework you agree to all rules and regulations of BPP regarding assessments and awards for programmes. Please note, submission is your declaration you are fit to sit. BPP University reserves the right to use all submitted work for educational purposes and may request that work be published for a wider audience. BPP School of Business and Technology

Executive summary This report illustrates the corporate governance and executive leadership in Disney. The key focus area in this paper is organizational culture, regulatory landscape, role and duties board members play, risk management areas. The culture of the organization is considered as the driver of key success area, with a commitment to innovation, creativity and inclusivity. The board of directors of Disney are stated to play an effective role to ensure effective corporate governance, strategic decision making and transparency. Compliance with industry particular regulations and responsibilities in business overview are considered to be critical in navigation of the regulatory landscape. With efficient risk management, strong leadership competencies are implemented to drive Disney’s success. This report also emphasizes the integral correlation between corporate governance with organizational culture and leadership with management where the requirement of cohesive approach is being highlighted. This report also underscores the importance of corporate governance and executive leadership to shape Disney’s organizational culture that manages risk and is used to achieve long term success. 2

Main factors that led to this dramatic change in fortunes ...................................................................... 16 Compare Disney’s performance with competitors ................................................................................. 17 Task 4 - Ethical Leadership ........................................................................................................................ 17 Critically evaluate past Ethical Decision Making at Disney ................................................................. 17 Significant ethical issues that Disney and recommendation to handle them ......................................... 17 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 18 References ...................................................................................................................................................... 19 4

Part A– Board Review Report for New and Existing Board Members Introduction This report aims to discuss and analyze about the chosen company’s culture and the role the engaged board of members play for their major impact on organizational development. This report highlights the importance of the area of board of members duty and impact with the utilization of annual report, corporate governance framework along with regulatory landscape and management of risk the company might face in its journey of progress. 1) Organizational Culture and the Role of the Board Leadership style and organizational culture at Disney According to (The Walt Disney Company., 2018), Walt Disney is also known for its innovation, and creativity with the entertainment empire has established a unique leadership style along with organizational culture which has contributed to its success over the years. Walt Disney is the founder of Disney known as a visionary and entrepreneurial leader who emphasized imagination, storytelling along with attention to detail which became a fundamental element of the company’s culture. The leadership style followed by Disney focused on inspiring others, fostering creativity as well as relentlessly pursuing excellence. As per Forbes (2020). Walt believes in chasing dreams, believing in himself, and also believes that when someone chases dream and believes in himself can only get success or lose the battle of success when he loses confidence. This is believed by the whole team members in Disney. According to the report Culture at Disney (2023), Disney is known for strong and positive American organizational culture that prioritizes Cultivate value, encourage innovation, creativity, inclusivity and teamwork. Storytelling and consumer centric experience and better workplace culture shows it positive believes to create magical and unique impact. According to (Walt Disney Company Annual Report. 2020), Disney is renowned for its existing organizational culture which is referred to as Disney Way. This culture can be categorized by numerous key elements.  Innovation and creativity: As per ( Culture at Disney (2023 ), Disney encourage an organizational culture where everybody engaged in the workforce can implement their own pace of creativity and bring innovation across its diversified business segment.  Consumer-centric approach : Disney is found to place its great emphasis on delivering exceptional consumer experience (The Walt Disney Company. 2022). The company’s organizational culture emphasizes a strong consumer focus that aims to exceed guest expectations and prepare some magical results.  Teamwork: Collaboration and teamwork: This is a vital segment included in Disney’s organizational culture. As per the report of Douglas, (2019 ), Disney values teamwork for which the

2) Corporate Governance The Corporate Governance Framework for Disney Disney has been found to implement a robust corporate governance framework making sure that accountability, transparency, and effective oversight of the operations are taken into major focus. The overview of the company’s corporate governance practices is supported by the following information including Board structure: The engaged board of directors in Disney consists of experienced personnel having experience and expertise in management and other corporate holdings belonging to different backgrounds (Parent, 2015). The board members also comprise both the executives and independent directors that maintain a balance of perspectives which ensures independent oversight. The engaged board of committees includes the compensation committee, Audit committee, and nominating committee where each of the committees has defined the duties and responsibilities according to the applicable regulations. Governance policies: According to (The Walt Disney Company., 2022), Disney has developed comprehensive corporate governance policies which outline the standards and expectations for the engaged executives, directors, and employees. These corporate policies also cover the areas like ethics, disclosure, conflict of interest as well as compliance with legal and regulatory demands. Rights of shareholders: As per the report (The Walt Disney Company., 2018), Disney always considers the significance to protect the rights of its shareholders by ensuring that all the engaged shareholders have the accessibility to get their necessities and also have the equal right to participate in any corporate decision- making process. Risk management: Disney is found to have a corporate risk management framework for assessing and managing the risk factors across the operations (Endrikat, et al., 2020). The engaged board members in Disney can oversee the effectiveness of risk management activities as well as can receive regular updates on the risk profile of the organization. Sustainability and corporate responsibility: Disney has been found to demonstrate allegiance towards corporate and relevant sustainability responsibility. Disney has a set of environmental goals that establish responsible sourcing practices that prioritize diversity and inclusion within the workplace. Remuneration committee’s Role at Disney The remuneration committee at Disney plays an important role to consider including ensuring the alignment with the company's performance along with overseeing the executive compensation. The remuneration committee of the company is responsible to set and review the executive compensation packages luke stock options, salary, bonuses, and other benefits ( Ntim et al., 2019 ). This ensures that the structure of company compensation incentivizes the executives to drive for a long time in creating value,

contributing at its best, and also align their interests with the company’s needs. As per Bansal and Singh, (2022), a key factor for evaluating the remuneration committee’s role in the company is the disclosure and transparency that exist in executive compensation practices. Here in this respect, the company needs to provide a clear and comprehensive source of information on the rationale behind the compensation decisions and performance metrics. This allows the shareholders to ensure assessing the fairness as well as alignment of the executive remuneration with the organizational performance. The remuneration committee of the company needs to consider shareholder input and engagement within the decision- making procedure. This actively seeks the shareholder's perspectives on the executive compensation matters that take account into the investment concern, particularly at say-on-pay votes. According to Osiichuk, (2022 ), the remuneration committee also engaged in making sure that the compensation packages do not add unjustified or extraordinary elements. This also ensures that the executive pay needs to be proportionate and reasonable to the organizational performance as well as industry standards. 3) Regulatory Landscape and Management of Risk Board’s responsibility for risk management.  The Board of Disney bears the responsibility to manage the risk within the company. According to (Walt Disney Company. 2018) The board plays a significant role to oversee the risk which is considered to be crucial for protecting the company’s reputation, assets, and long-term success.  The board of Disney is found to be actively engaged in monitoring and assessing the risks to set risk management strategies that ensure effective risk mitigation practices are in place.  As per (Walt Disney Company. 2018), The board establishes a risk management framework that measures the key risks faced by the company. This adds to assessing risks that are related to diversified business segments like media networks, theme parks, and movie production.  The board of the company promotes strong risk-aware culture throughout the organization which encourages open communication about the risk as well as their potential influence. Board also ensures to be well aware of the industrial trends, regulatory transformations, and emerging risk factors that impact on company’s operations. At a time when the board holds the role and responsibility to manage the risk, it's significant to consider that the risk management approach can also be eliminated. Regulatory landscape for Disney and the impact regulators Disney’s success. Regulatory landscape: Disney is known as a global entertainment and media conglomerate that operates in diversified sectors like movies, television, theme parks, and streaming services. The regulatory landscape within the company 8

 Disney is recommended to focus on differentiation along with content creation . As per ( Kidman, 2021 ), Disney has already found to take necessary actions in improving their direction with more innovative ideas and continents where the investment has been made in original content for Disney + as well as acquiring valuable franchises like Star Wars and Marvel.  Disney is recommended to retain its subscribers along with that also can attract new subscribers . The company in this case can also explore its collaboration and strategic partnership for the purpose of expansion of its content library that is used to get reach of wider audience. The recommendation in response to the risk of the pandemic: In this risk factor, Disney is recommended to prioritize resilience and diversification.  Disney needs t o continue with the diversification of the revenue streams beyond the movie release and theme parks like increasing the number of contents to be released in streaming platforms like Disney+ and increasing the volume of merchandise sales through online shopping applications and websites ( Walt Disney Company. 2018 ). Through the adaptation of its business model as well as investment in technology the company is also able to expand its digital capabilities and engagement with customers throughout the world.  Disney is also recommended in this context to hold robust contingency plans and strategies for preventing the impact of any future disruptions. These prevention strategies include the implementation of flexible ticketing options, expanding health and safety standards, and close reviewing of possible global expansion. The recommendation in response to the risk of regulatory and legal challenges:  Disney needs to make sure to develop a detailed understanding of the laws and regulations in the jurisdictions where it operates and also allocate the resources to hold compliance. This adds regular monetization as well as an updated version of lawsuits, policies, and procedures.  Disney is also recommended to manage a strong legal team to collaborate closely with the internal along with external legal advisors for navigating the potential risks in an effective way.  The board engaged is recommended to take active roleplay to discuss and make decisions in relation to the streaming, diversification, and legal compliances.  The board also needs to make sure that there is a robust reporting system in place that allows them to stay informed about the necessary actions and emerging risk factors. Part B-Leadership Report 10

Introduction This report aims to provide a comprehensive review of Disney’s leadership considering its strengths, and weaknesses observed within the organization. Through examination of the leadership of the company through the lens of four major areas like leadership and management, financial leadership, leadership for performance, and ethical leadership, this report is prepared with the purpose to discuss valuable insights. According to Scott, (2023 ), Disney’s leadership is followed through the context of creativity, storytelling, and innovation. The leadership within the company drives success through the delivery of magical experiences to people worldwide and maintains a dominant position in the entertainment industry. Task 1 -Leadership and Management Leadership and Management style According to CMOE (2023 ), Disney is known for its strong and open leadership and management style which has been found to contribute to its success as an international entertainment company. As per the view of Walt Disney who claimed that he does not believe in achieving success alone and that he believes in working collaboratively by inspiring and motivating talented team members. Suitable for this leadership perspective, the Transformational leadership model is suitable. Transformational leadership can be characterized by motivating and inspiring followers to achieve their full potential and surpass their own desires. This leadership model engages the encouragement towards innovation, a sense of purpose among the employees, and creativity. As per ( Scott, 2023 ), Bob Iger the former CEO exemplified transformational leadership. By the expansion of the company’s reach as well as creative capabilities, Iger was able to foster a culture of teamwork, creativity, innovation, and imagination. These engagements of every personnel encourage them to understand Disney’s leadership and management culture which is something outside the box and helps them to get a push from rigidity. The situational leadership model is another applicable model that illustrates Disney’s leadership style. As per this model, effective leaders have the ability to adjust their leadership style depending on the commitment and competence of their followers. In Disney, effective leaders have demonstrated flexibility in the adaptation of their management approach for distinctive scenarios and team dynamics. Management models includes, After the leadership model approaches in Disney there are some management models which help to cater clear goal, long term plans through alignment with management and achievement. As per Trigeorgis, and Reuer, (2017), Strategic management model is one of those management models that the company can implement to analyze market trends to drive required progress and profitability. According to Zasa, et al. , (2020), Agile management model is considered to be another management model through which the company managerial team can manage new innovative projects and ensure their development process to be more flexible and irerative.

services and also allowed the company to participate in the existing competition in the entertainment sector by evolving with the digital landscape. Task 2 – Leadership for Performance Balanced Scorecard for Disney Four perspectives of the balanced scorecard are customer objectives, financial objectives, Internal business process objectives, and learning and growth objectives. Disney is looking for different ways to get growth in profitability and sales where the growth plan also includes acceleration of market expansion in its leading market like the launch of new franchises along with extending its streaming platform impact. Perspective Strategic Goals Key performance indicators  Customer objectives  Disney needs to add at least 5 million more digitally registered consumers to its streaming platforms.  Disney aims to improvise its consumer's accessibility by 15%  Disney aims to improve the connection between the consumers and its brand by at least 10%  Quality content and product  Initiative to meet consumers’ satisfaction  Financial objectives  Disney needs to minimize the operating cost and expenses at least by 5%  Disney needs to  Reduction of unnecessary costs  Maximization of profit

increase its product and services at least by 1% in global space.  Disney needs to increase its shareholders returns by at least 50%  Internal Business process objectives  Disney targets to decrease the number of errors in production by at least 75%  Internal business process objective includes to increase smart use of technology for increasing the efficiency and store consumer's data and information by atleast 90%  Disney aims to increase staff retainment for employees who works for 2 or more years  Optimize resources.  Optimize training and retention program.  Learning and growth objectives  Disney targets to increase the closure of under-performing products and services by at least 50%  Disney aims to  Initiative for technological advancements  Minimize under- performance 14

The leaders also need to provide the required training, opportunities, and mentorship required for empowerment and engagement. Task 3 – Financial Leadership Key sources of financial and non-financial information Key sources of financial information’s According to the report CNBC (2021), in the year 2019, November Disney launched its streaming platform Disney+ which is a provider of subscription-based DTC video streaming services that works with Disney, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, and National Geographic branded content in the United States and four other countries, with plans to expand to Western European countries in 2020 . After that, on June 2020, the Hotstar service in India was upgraded to Disney+ Hotstar , and the existing subscribers of the Disney Deluxe service in Japan were switched over to Disney+. There are some key resources of this concern that the Board of Disney needs to take into consideration. Financial projections are considered to be another key source that includes a forecast of cost structure, potential revenue streams, and return on investment. This resource can help the board to measure the financial viability it can access in the launch of the Disney+ streaming service and also help in calculating the potential influence on Disney’s entire financial performance. Non-financial informations  The first is market research as per consumer trends . Market research data and information provides insights to the company into the increasing demand for streaming services depending on market competition and consumer preferences. This can help the board to get an idea about the target audience, potential market range, and competitive landscape.  Technological infrastructure is another key source that also needs to be taken into account. The existing technological abilities of Disney have been assessed to measure the feasibility of launching Disney+ and also used to maintain the consistent service. This helps the board to get an evaluation of the scalability of the content delivery and infrastructure. Main factors that led to this dramatic change in fortunes The key factor that led to the loss noticed is the covid-19 pandemic which adversely impacted the company with the entire world ( Kokai , et al., 2022) . During the phase of covid, the entertainment business has gradually been affected due to the closure of amusement theme parks and movie theaters after when Government announced a lockdown for an uncertain period of time to avoid contamination and the spread of the pandemic. As the theaters and amusement parks were closed for one or more years it causes severe losses for the company. Cruise ship sailing was also closed and restricted for one year. The closure of 16

Disney’s entertainment studio is another reason which also impacts in loss the company faces. Numerous significant disruptions have been faced by the company as per the covid generated issues. Compare Disney’s performance with competitors. During covid-19 pandemic which is considered to lead a dramatic change in fortune, Disney’ competitors at this change can be compared. As per ( Fei et al., 2021), Universal studios face similar challenges during this change where both its theme park and theaters were temporarily closed. Though this brand reopened its attractions and also resumed its operations after the pandemic ended. Warner Bros has obtained the ability to adapt to changing landscape caused by the dramatic changes. As per (Murphy. 2021), The company adopted hybrid release strategy that allows them to reach a reach of higher number of audiences. Netflix became the tough competitor of Disney during the pandemic where an increasing number of Netflix demand has been noticed during the dramatic change. Task 4 - Ethical Leadership Critically evaluate past Ethical Decision Making at Disney Mihelic et al., (2017) define ethical leadership as a framework for inspiring, advancing, and bringing ethical morals into an organization. It encourages loyalty and trust between employees and the company. Walt Disney makes sure that all moral standards are upheld and that employees work in an environment that is secure and healthy. Additionally, it promotes a variety of activities, such as CSR and environmental responsibilities. The use of supplier sweatshops Sweatshops are workplaces where employees are compelled to work in unhealthy and unhygienic conditions for a meager wage, and Disney has been accused of using these workplaces as suppliers (The Guardian. 2022). The treatment of Disney workers It has been noted and taken into account that one of its employees in China committed suicide after being insulted repeatedly by his or her superiors (The Guardian (2022). As per the report published by The Guardian (2022), Disney is closely monitoring this situation. More than 6000 employees reportedly need to work overtime to keep up with the demand for the newest toys. Environmental issues In some cases, harsh chemicals have been used, harming the environment as an outcome. Disney, however, has gone a step further and implemented consumer workplace policies, created a productive workspace for

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