Disney Company Gap Analysis

Disney Company Gap Analysis

Gap analysis is an important method to monitor and improve organizational services and performance in ongoing projects. In the Human Resource Management (HRM) context, gap analysis serves an essential role in comparing individual efforts and a company’s expectations. The findings usually indicate and describe the critical areas where HR managers should improve and offer a well-developed strategic plan to improve organizational effectiveness. Suing (NAME) as the case study, this study elaborates on the definition, significance, and importance of gap analysis in HRM.

Define a gap analysis and discuss how it is utilized related to Human Resources.

Gap analysis refers to a process, or a tool firms use to compare their current performance with their present and anticipated performance. According to Kim and Ji (2018), the analysis identifies gaps and differences between a company’s current situation and what is expected to be in place. The objective is to determine why the gap occurs and to develop an appropriate action plan for curbing or eliminating the inefficiencies. Concurrently, gap analysis determines whether an organization is meeting its expectations and utilizing its resources most effectively (Tenhiälä et al., 2014). HRM often utilizes the gap analysis concept to re-examine their goals and figure out whether they are on the right track to accomplish them. The approach contributes to devising HR’s implementation plan entailing the identification of key needs of the present situation, determining areas of improvement to attain the ideal future, and modifying organizational objectives. In this regard, HR can better address the organization’s strategic responsiveness and communicate its performance effectively.

Define the current and desired state of the organization you identified.

Disney is a diversified global entertainment company with operations in several segments, including parks, media networks, studio entertainment, products, and experiences. In 2020, the firm announced a strategic reorganization of its media and entertainment sector (The Walt Disney Company Annual Report, 2020). The objective is to develop content that will be applied across its commercialization activities. Disney’s key human capital management is to attract and retain top talent in the industry. As a result, its HR initiatives are tailored toward developing talents in critical future roles and leadership positions (The Walt Disney Company Annual Report, 2020). These programs are also designed to support and reward the staff through competitive pay, as well as to foster the company’s culture based on efforts aimed at making the workplace more inclusive and engaging. These efforts are all geared towards achieving increased company performance.

Identify the existing resources, organizational capabilities, and performance deficiencies within the chosen organization.

Disney has re-defined its resources and capabilities to capture the market value and achieve a superior brand. Particular to this regard is the company’s formulation of its resources to adapt to the rapidly changing business environment and behavior in media consumption and buying preferences. The firm restructured its business and now operates in four major divisions, including studio entertainment, media networks, entertainment media, and experiences and media networks (Roy, 2020). In terms of resources, the firm boasts of Disney Media Networks, entailing television and cable; Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, comprising of cruise line and theme parks assets; and Walt Disney Studios, dealing with music and film recording labels. The company has further maintained its leading market position through the development of resources and capabilities.

However, several business practices constitute Disney’s current organizational performance. One of these is the employment practices at the firm which are plagued with labor challenges. As Dreier et al. (2018) put it, allegations regarding the firm’s employment practices range from discrimination to low wages for its employees. Additionally, it is famous for its anti-union stance as it has been accused of paying its overseas employees slave wages, despite its entertainment products selling at a high profit margin in the U.S (Dreier et al., 2018). A prime example of these problems is its failure to implement paid leave for its workforce. The company’s employment practices have also not been spared of accusations of religious discrimination. The aforementioned problems are barriers to the achievement of the company’s goals.

Identify the alternatives that are available to close/eliminate the gap between the desired state and the current state.

In the face of all the forbearing problems, Disney has embraced the concept of diversity. This strategic practice has resulted in massive business disruption within the organization, especially in how it interacts with and within its business ecosystem of employees, suppliers, and other key stakeholders. The driving force behind this state of affairs is a convergence of multiple factors, namely the democratization of innovation; the global proliferation of resources; and the availability of global talents in the modern generation. A classical example is the company’s recent incorporation of the LGBTQ group into its target workforce to balance its alleged violation of employees’ rights. This action plan has yielded fruits in terms of producing a unique brand and superior content monetization.

Assess 2–3 performance management strategies available to the organization in working toward its desired state.

Disney has several management strategies for controlling and directing its business to achieve a set of pre-set goals. Top on the list of these strategies is goal setting. The firm’s management focuses on setting positive, optimistic, and achievable goals. These goals are short-term, mid-term, and long-term for flexibility and to enable it to move closer to these objectives. By keeping these goals distinct and separate, the company has managed to be creative and successful in meeting its performance goals. Another common management objective is leadership. As one of the leading international entertainment media, Disney’s leadership operationalizes and sustains vision and value in ways that resonate with the intended audience. The approach has led to the expansion of the company’s sphere of influence and a competitive edge. In addition to these, Disney employs HR strategies to drive its business growth by enforcing a corporate culture that harnesses imagination, as well as attracting, maintaining, and retaining human capital. The recruitment and empowerment plan has skyrocketed the firm to its present unique brand reputation and competitive edge.

Formulate a solution, i.e., select 1 strategy and provide a brief rationale, including 4–6 action steps for implementing the strategy; and identify a post-implementation metric that can be used to track the performance of the strategy once implemented.

One strategy Disney could adopt is to outsource some of its HR functions. As one of the most critical assets in the company, outsourcing part of the firm’s HR roles would ensure the attainment of pre-determined goals. This strategy could ensure a diverse number and quality of staff are available (Hamid et al., 2017). This role extends towards creating a supportive and conducive work environment where the firm utilizes employees’ full potential for their benefit and that of the company. Implementing this strategy involves mapping out the present HR practices, identifying areas of the HR practices that need improvement, establishing the cost of the HR department, and evaluating the available service options before implementing the better options. After the implementation process, the management would have to monitor the plan’s success by looking at the performance level, turnover-cost-per hire, and benefits participation rates

References

Dreier, P., Flaming, D., Herrera, L., Matsuoka, M., Carlen, J., & Burns, P. (2018). Working for the mouse: A survey of Disneyland Resort employees. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3202452

Hamid, M., Maheen, S., Cheem, A., & Yaseen, R. (2017). Impact of human resource management on organizational performance. Journal of Accounting & Marketing, 06(01), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.4172/2168-9601.1000213

Kim, S., & Ji, Y. (2018). Gap Analysis. The International Encyclopedia Of Strategic Communication, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119010722.iesc0079

Roy, S. (2020). 'The Business of Happiness'​: How Disney re-defined their 'resources and Capabilities'​ model to lead in the digital era.. Linkedin.com. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/business-happiness-how-disney-re-defined-resources-capabilities-roy.

Tenhiälä, A., Giluk, T., Kepes, S., Simón, C., Oh, I., & Kim, S. (2014). The research-practice gap in human resource management: A cross-cultural study. Human Resource Management, 55(2), 179-200. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21656

The Walt Disney Company Annual Report. (2020). Fiscal year 2020 Annual financial report: Form 10-k (pp. 1-70). Washington, DC: United States Securities And Exchange Commission. Retrieved from https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/app/uploads/2021/01/2020-Annual-Report.pdf

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Gap Analysis

Consider an organization that has a well-developed strategic plan in place, but isn’t tracking performance to ensure that established goals are being met and aligned with the organization’s direction. Consider an organization where employees work diligently for a long period of time, only to wake up one day and wonder, where are we? This may be the time for a gap analysis.

To begin this Assignment, use the Walden Library, media, or other scholarly sources to identify and select a contemporary article that describes an organization with a performance issue. You may also use an organization with which you are personally familiar.