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Being a Manager at Universal

Palmer Braunstein

Georgia Southwestern State University

Stovall

December 12, 2021

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Table of Contents

Page 3………………………………………………………………. Introduction and Job Outlook

Page 4……………………………………………………….. Education and Employee Happiness

Page 5………………………………………………………………………… Graphs and Salary

Page 6………………………………………………………………………………. Salary Graphs

Page 7……………………………………………………… Findings/Conclusion and References

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Introduction and Job Outlook

This report will outline the job outlook, responsibilities, average salary, benefits,

employee happiness, and future careers of being the Attraction Operations manager at Universal

Studios in Orlando Florida. As well as, go into findings of how being a manager at Universal

Stacks up compared to other major theme parks.

The Attractions Manager is an upper to middle-grade manager who is responsible for

closing down and opening the attractions on a daily basis. They work with a tight-knit team of

attraction supervisors and assistant managers to overcome any problem and make sure that the

attractions run smoothly. They are responsible for ride downtimes, and any special requests and

are mainly the ones that deal with guest issues and concerns. The attractions manager is also

responsible for the performance reviews and making sure that the team is running to the best of

their abilities. They are the primary shift leader and schedule creator and are instructed to give

their team members feedback and help them grow as well. They are encouraged to work with

other departments like Human Resources to help improve their team’s chemistry and skills in the

workplace and need to have strong fundamental leadership and communication skills. They are

also encouraged to come up with and suggest ways that the park can be more efficient and

effective as well as be a key part in the planning and organizing of team members since they

work in close relations with them. The final responsibility that the Attraction Operation Manager

has is a basic understanding of company policy on safety and environmental effects and they are

in charge of training or delegating all new team members.

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Education and Experience Required

To hold the Attractions Operations Manager Position applicants will need a high school

degree or a GED as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or Communications.

But most of the job is based on the experience that you have as a manager within the park rather

than your educational requirements. As seen in the previous section the job is mainly based on

the ability to deal with problems and solve them which is something that applicants can only get

from actual experience on the job. In order to get this job, the applicant must work their way up

through the company either starting by being a team member and running an attraction or at

another entry-level position. Which in turn makes the job more desirable because it is based on

the applicant’s experience and the work put in to get the job.

Employee Happiness

The overall employee happiness is better at Universal than you see at other theme

parks. Compared to Disney, Universal’s CEO has almost 30 percent more employee approval.

Eighty-six percent of employees would recommend a career at Universal to their friends

compared to Disney's seventy-six percent. Universal has a sixty-seven percent positive business

outlook while Disney’s sixty-two percent. Finally, the overall rating of Universal at 4.1 is just

slightly higher than Disney’s 4.0. These ratings are based on career opportunities, benefits, work-

life balance, management, and culture and values. Please see the chart below to show a visual of

the comparison between the companies.

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Salary

The average salary of an Attraction Operations Manager is anywhere from fifty

thousand to eighty to ninety thousand. Although you can earn up to eighty or nighty

thousand most reports say that the pay is lower than expected and needs to be improved.

For the hours that you work in an amusement park, most think that their work deserves

more than fifteen dollars an hour. But, overall most employees say that the work

experience is beneficial as seen in previous sections. As well, sixty-three percent of

workers say that they are satisfied compared to Disney’s fifty-one percent of workers. As
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shown in the charts below.

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Findings and Conclusion

Overall based on employee reviews and how things are run it seems that having a career

at Universal is a 7 out of 10. The hours may be longer than some would like to work but the

interaction with people there to have an amazing time seems to make up for it. The position of

Attraction Operations Manager is a pretty straightforward job for an applicant with a Bachelor’s

degree in the field. The ability to lead and make sure that a team is run properly and the ability to

communicate effectively and efficiently to the team are the two main responsibilities of the job.

As well as, having good customer service and making sure that the needs of the park goers are

met. Compared to Disney employees seem to be happier and better off as they work their way up

the chain of command and overall Universal seems to be a more solid company in 2021. A good

clear career path for any young business major in college right now.

References

“Compare Working at The Walt Disney Company vs Universal Orlando Resort.” Compare

Working at The Walt Disney Company vs Universal Orlando Resort | Indeed.com,

https://www.indeed.com/companies/compare/The-Walt-Disney-Company-vs-Universal-

Orlando-Resort-b5554e80db14ca4c-3aedd84fe59b2c8f.

Compare Working at Walt Disney Company vs ... - Glassdoor.

https://www.glassdoor.com/Compare/Walt-Disney-Company-vs-NBCUniversal-EI_IE717-

E32038.htm.

Https://Www.indeed.com/Cmp/Universal-Orlando-Resort/Salaries/Operations-Associate.
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