STRATEGY EVALUATION, MONITORING AND CONTROL

In December 2015, Alan Horn, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, celebrates the world
premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens - only the latest in a string of big bets that he has
overseen. Disney pursues a 'tentpole strategy' that revolves around at least eight big-budget
movies each year -- most from its acquired labels Pixar, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm. In fact,
Disney produces nearly twice as many tentpole movies as any other major Hollywood film
studio, but fewer movies overall than all but one of its rivals. Box-office failures can be extremely
costly, since Disney (unlike its rivals) chooses not to enlist the help of financing partners. Is
Disney Studios pursuing the right number of tentpoles as well as the right mix of new versus
existing properties, under the right financing structure? And will the tentpole strategy pay off-in
the short and long run?

The financial analysis of a

company is extremely
beneficial to the wealth
accumulation
and cash flow planning of a
company. According to one
professional, “investors use
financial
analysis as the basis for their
investment opinion on a
company” (Finpipe, 2014).
According to
Disney’s 2015 Company
Annual Report, the company
saw a large stock price growth
throughout
the 2015 fiscal year. The 1st
quarter saw a high stock price
of $95.31, and then $108.94,
$115.28,
and $122.08 for the next three
quarters, respectively. In 2015,
Disney saw a revenue of $52.4
billion, with net income of $8.8
billion, up from $48.8 billion in
revenue and $8 billion in net
income in 2014. The company
also reported $88 billion in total
assets, up from $84 billion in
2014. Disney has reported $19
billion in long-term obligations.
Lastly, it has reported $44.5
billion in shareholders’ equity
(Annual financial report, 2015).
Moving forward, Disney should
continue their 2016 fiscal year
in modeling the 2015 progress it
has made. Its stock price
continued to rise and assets
were accumulated. If Disney
can continue this progression, it
will be
set up for a great 2016 fiscal
year end.
Customer Perspective
The importance of customers to
a company’s performance is
emphasized in a recent study
that states that the more values a
company provides for its
customers, the more successful
it is in
business (Grace & Lo lacono,
2015). Recognizing this critical
factor, Disney focuses on three
The financial analysis of a
company is extremely
beneficial to the wealth
accumulation
and cash flow planning of a
company. According to one
professional, “investors use
financial
analysis as the basis for their
investment opinion on a
company” (Finpipe, 2014).
According to
Disney’s 2015 Company
Annual Report, the company
saw a large stock price growth
throughout
the 2015 fiscal year. The 1st
quarter saw a high stock price
of $95.31, and then $108.94,
$115.28,
and $122.08 for the next three
quarters, respectively. In 2015,
Disney saw a revenue of $52.4
billion, with net income of $8.8
billion, up from $48.8 billion in
revenue and $8 billion in net
income in 2014. The company
also reported $88 billion in total
assets, up from $84 billion in
2014. Disney has reported $19
billion in long-term obligations.
Lastly, it has reported $44.5
billion in shareholders’ equity
(Annual financial report, 2015).
Moving forward, Disney should
continue their 2016 fiscal year
in modeling the 2015 progress it
has made. Its stock price
continued to rise and assets
were accumulated. If Disney
can continue this progression, it
will be
set up for a great 2016 fiscal
year end.
Customer Perspective
The importance of customers to
a company’s performance is
emphasized in a recent study
that states that the more values a
company provides for its
customers, the more successful
it is in
business (Grace & Lo lacono,
2015). Recognizing this critical
factor, Disney focuses on three
The financial analysis of a
company is extremely
beneficial to the wealth
accumulation
and cash flow planning of a
company. According to one
professional, “investors use
financial
analysis as the basis for their
investment opinion on a
company” (Finpipe, 2014).
According to
Disney’s 2015 Company
Annual Report, the company
saw a large stock price growth
throughout
the 2015 fiscal year. The 1st
quarter saw a high stock price
of $95.31, and then $108.94,
$115.28,
and $122.08 for the next three
quarters, respectively. In 2015,
Disney saw a revenue of $52.4
billion, with net income of $8.8
billion, up from $48.8 billion in
revenue and $8 billion in net
income in 2014. The company
also reported $88 billion in total
assets, up from $84 billion in
2014. Disney has reported $19
billion in long-term obligations.
Lastly, it has reported $44.5
billion in shareholders’ equity
(Annual financial report, 2015).
Moving forward, Disney should
continue their 2016 fiscal year
in modeling the 2015 progress it
has made. Its stock price
continued to rise and assets
were accumulated. If Disney
can continue this progression, it
will be
set up for a great 2016 fiscal
year end.
Customer Perspective
The importance of customers to
a company’s performance is
emphasized in a recent study
that states that the more values a
company provides for its
customers, the more successful
it is in
business (Grace & Lo lacono,
2015). Recognizing this critical
factor, Disney focuses on thre
According to by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton , 85 percent of executive teams
spent less than one hour per month discussing strategy, with 50 percent reporting that
they spent virtually no time on strategy discussions.

Balanced Scorecards help "Disney Tentpole" to translate, communicate, and measure its
strategies. Some of the questions answered by Balance Scorecard Analysis of The Walt
Disney Studios are -

- What is important for Disney Tentpole shareholders? How the decisions that Disney
Tentpole is making can impact the financial reports and balance sheet?
- Which internal processes can add value? What are the core competencies of Disney
Tentpole and how it can add value going future? Do the firm require to make either
small tweaks or big changes in the internal processes to build of maintain sustainable
competitive advantage.

- Are we innovative and ready for the future? In today’s market place a company’s ability
to sustain competitive advantage is highly dependent upon Disney Tentpole's ability to
innovate and stay ahead of the curve vis a vis to its competitors.

- How do customers perceive Disney Tentpole? What is required to improve the brand
equity or market performance in terms of – marketing, sales, distribution, and pricing
strategy.

Company Scorecard

Main objectives: increasing the number of new and loyal customers, reducing customer waiting
times and improving customer satisfaction. First, Disney can attract new customers and
maintain loyal ones by providing new valuable entertainment, offering attractive marketing and
promotion campaigns and providing easy access to its products and services. Second, Disney
can reduce customer waiting times by hiring more employees, developing employee skill and
knowledge, and applying new technologies in the customer service process. Finally, customer
satisfaction can be measured and improved by conducting customer surveys, tracking customer
trends and improving the overall quality of its products.

Learning and Growth

Disney answers the questions of learning and growth by focusing on specific threat mitigation
areas, including strategic acquisitions and competition from others studios and media. Strategic
acquisitions are an effective learning area that allow Disney to branch into entertainment
categories that are currently popular (Annual financial report, 2015). This is evidenced by the
purchases of Pixar (animations such as the princess story Frozen), Marvel (decades-old comic
book adaptations such as Captain America) and Lucasfilm (Starwars franchise) These
acquisitions are in keeping with Disney's value for timeless stories. The company should
continue in this learning area, domestically and internationally. Issues such as company
structure (overall and strategic business units) are another important learning area, as their
alignment with Disney's various strategies can contribute to Disney's continued success in the
entertainment industry Regarding completion, Disney can overcome this potential growth
hindrance by the continued funding of strategic franchises like Starwars Another growth option
is strategic alliances with new media distributors like Netflix, such as with the exclusive
streaming deal between the two (La Monica, 2016) Yet another is investment into other areas of
differentiation, such as video games and augmented and virtual reality
Internal process is the measure of efficiency and effectiveness with which a company produces
its product or service (Hicks, 2010). In this case, Disney is a world-recognizable brand, with
major franchises, requiring effective internal processes. First, Disney retains skilled employees in
order to retain and recontract skilled employees who provide high-quality service. Second,
Disney boosts its management process, using performance appraisal techniques with the goal
of increasing development and tracking employee performance logically (Ingelsson, Eriksson &
Lilja, 2012). Third, Disney's administration system controls the accountable administration
system that has weekly updates. Finally, fast employee regeneration updates available job
positions quickly. This means that Disney can have an adequate number of new employees each
year. All of these objectives are connected; if Disney achieves all of them, its system can find
new skilled workers, develop them and assign them to the right positions to create high-quality
entertainment and service.
Customer Perspective

The importance of customers to a company's performance is emphasized in a recent study that

states that the more values a company provides for its customers, the more successful it is in
business (Grace & Lo lacono, 2015). Recognizing this critical factor, Disney focuses on
three

Financial
The financial analysis of a company is extremely beneficial to the wealth accumulation and cash flow
planning of a company. According to one professional, "investors use financial analysis as the basis for
their investment opinion on a company" (Finpipe, 2014). According to Disney's 2015 Company Annual
Report, the company saw a large stock price growth throughout the 2015 fiscal year. The 1st quarter saw
a high stock price of $95.31, and then $108.94, $115.28, and $122.08 for the next three quarters,
respectively. In 2015, Disney saw a revenue of $52.4 billion, with net income of $8.8 billion, up from
$48.8 billion in revenue and $8 billion in net income in 2014. The company also reported $88 billion in
total assets, up from $84 billion in 2014. Disney has reported $19 billion in long-term obligations. Lastly,
it has reported $44.5 billion in shareholders' equity (Annual financial report, 2015). Moving forward,
Disney should continue their 2016 fiscal year in modeling the 2015 progress it has made. Its stock price
continued to rise and assets were accumulated. If Disney can continue this progression, it will be set up
for a great 2016 fiscal year end.