Posted: March 12th, 2023

two discussion replies

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Rachale

Dennis Hightower and Disney Europe

Hightower’s Qualifications

Hightower has a respectable career history which makes him a potentially good candidate for this role.  His 8 years as Army Officer suggests he may posses’ skill sets needed to be successful such as leadership, servantship, discipline, and commitment. He has also spent much time in various countries holding different management roles, including corporate planning. Therefore, working in Europe and developing strategy for Disney would not be completely foreign to him. In fact, his background may help him gain respect from current managers which is important for future success. However, it will be very important for him to communicate why these upcoming changes will be so important. With new management in place, associates will have questions and if there concerns and questions are not answered, their may be a “heightened probability of resistance and lack of support from those who feel that they have not been adequately informed” (Liberty University Custom: Heinz, 2021, p. 257).

Disney Europe Before Hightower
 

Prior to Hightower, Disney was operating through 8 subsidies in 26 different markets. Each market worked very independently with their own budgets and expected profits (Liberty University Custom: Heinz, 2021). Marketing was also done through various independent licenses. These Licensees were not solely Disney related, implying that Disney marketing was not 100% of their focus.  According to Hightower, “These European managers have been running themselves for years. They have been very successful; it is a very profitable business for Disney. It could have been more profitable, but things were fine the way they were (Liberty University Custom: Heinz, 2021, p.500). In other words, everyone was content. Therefore, Hightower must show the team that these changes are necessary and appropriate because resistance will come about when there is belief that the proposed changes are inappropriate (Liberty University Custom: Heinz, 202).

Assessing Disney Europe’s Current Condition and implementing change
 

I would begin by conducting a financial analysis of each unit to understand current revenues, profits, and operational efficiencies. I’d also want to understand the current prioritization and tracking processes.  Once I’ve assessed these conditions, I would begin to align work and resources across all markets. A study on collaborative culture found that, “Shaping a collaborative culture takes place through learning the organization’s outlines, attitudes and behaviors to foster competitive performances” (Kucharska & Bedford, 2020). Therefore, Hightower will also need to assess the responsiveness of the organization and their ability to adapt to change. I suggest collaboration because it broadens perceptions and fosters learning (Kucharska & Bedford, 2020). Decision making will also be done through collaboration because “collaborative culture positively influences learning routines” (Kucharska & Bedford, 2020).

Potential Issues

Resistance by some people is almost inevitable when change occurs, and this resistance can occur for several reasons. For some people, change is innately uncomfortable. For others, change can bring about a lot of uncertainty and ambiguity. The uncertainty can increase stress and even become enhanced if external factors outside of work are already stressful. If people begin to feel like the culture is shifting, they may become resistant and if any social or psychological contracts are breached, they may become resistant. Lastly, if people don’t fully understand the change initiative or deem it necessary, then they may become resistant (Liberty University Custom: Heinz, 2021). The best way for Hightower to mitigate these issues is to “develop an overwhelmingly compelling case for fundamental culture change” (Liberty University Custom: Heinz, 2021, p.256). I’d also suggest focusing on fewer change priorities which will allow the teams to apply more focus and energy on the most important priorities and minimize the risk of change overload (Liberty University Custom: Heinz, 2021).

Inspiring Critical Thinking
 

The best way to motivate organizational members to act beyond expectations and think critically is for Hightower to carry himself as a transformational leader and not an autocratic one. Researchers found that one way to inspire critical thinking is for “leaders to transfer ownership of challenges by interacting with others as a process leader or coach. They model process skills and encourage others to use these same skills, thus becoming consultants or facilitators in the problem-solving process, rather than “giving orders” or solving the problems themselves” (Maker, 2022).

Biblical Integration
 

The story of Abraham in the Bible is one example of what transformational leadership looks like. When God wanted to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham advocated with God on behalf of others. Genesis 18:22 shows the beginning of Abraham pleading to God on behalf of the people. “The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?  What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?” (New King James Version,
 1982/2023). As the story continues and Abraham cannot find the fifty, he pleads to God to find forty, then thirty, then twenty and finally ten. Abraham truly tried to save the righteous, but he couldn’t find enough righteous to save.

References

Kucharska, W., & Bedford, D. A. (2020). Love your mistakes!—they help you adapt to change. how do knowledge, collaboration and learning cultures foster organizational intelligence? Journal of Organizational
 

Change Management, 33(7), 1329-1354. 

https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-02-2020-0052
Links to an external site.

Liberty University Custom: Heinz, A. (2021). Leading Organizational Change. McGraw-

Hill/Create.

Maker, C. J. (2021;2022;). From leading to guiding, facilitating, and inspiring: A needed shift for the

21st century. Education Sciences, 12(1), 18. 

https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12010018
Links to an external site.

New King James Version. (2022). Bible Gateway. 

www.biblegateway.com
Links to an external site.

. (Original work

Published in 1982)

Stephani

How prepared and qualified do you think Hightower was to take on this challenge? Give specifics.

I believe Dennis Hightower was prepared and did have the background and qualifications to take on the challenge of uniting the Disney heads in Europe. His military experience included assignments in Asia and in Eastern Europe, exposing him to the nuances and politics of working with global cultures, and later worked with international clients in his role at Russell Reynolds finding candidates for senior leadership roles (Harvard Business School [HBS], 1989). He led an expansion into Europe as the vice president of corporate planning at Mattel, gaining experience with the requirements and issues leading consumer facing projects in Europe. He received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard, earning academic credentials to support his Army career experience.

How was Disney Europe organized before Hightower?

Before Hightower, Disney Europe was organized into as eight business subsidiaries working in 26 markets (HBS, 1989). The country managers had spent substantial time in their positions, and many knew the Disney family personally. Creating these silos within the European market helped when creating a new market, in a new country, by developing shared cultures and behaviors (de Waal et al., 2019). Unfortunately, at a certain point, silos can become limiting and reduce performance. Opportunities could be missed when siloed areas lose sight of the customer and instead focus on their own agendas, allowing politics to create disfunction.

What steps would you take to assess the current condition of the various European units?

First, meet with each of the senior leaders and build a rapport. Find out what sort of changes have been made in the past and how successful were those initiatives (Liberty University Custom: Heinz, 2021, p. 265). Next, assess readiness for change – do the leaders believe the proposed changes are necessary, appropriate, and possible? Do they understand what is in it for them? Discuss the vision and strategy for each country and ensure alignment to a central headquarters approach.

What approach would you use to bring about the changes to the European operation?

Understand the level of support for the reorganization of the European business, using the commitment-compliance continuum (Liberty University Custom: Heinz, 2021). Be sure to take advantage of those areas that are committed to the change, as well as areas still resistant. Find out the reasons behind resistance and determine if there is an attractor that should be considered that could improve the initiative but also flip people from highly resistant to committed, especially middle managers.

What issues do you anticipate in the process and how would you mitigate them?

One issue may be that although the senior leaders agreed that the new head for the European office should not be European, there is likely to be some people that resent the idea of an outsider taking on the role of the headquarter leader for Europe. This attitude will reduce trust and increase resistance to change (Liberty University Custom: Heinz, 2021). Hightower must figure out what is in it for them, and what may be perceived as against their interests and utilize multiple channels and layers of communication to reduce fear, misunderstanding and a lack of information. Encourage dialogue, explain the why, and listen to the voice of the employee, which could reveal ways to tweak and improve the new strategic direction.

How would you inspire critical thinking among the unit managers?

To inspire the rest of the managers to begin thinking creatively and critically about new opportunities, a good place to start is to create a unifying vision and purpose that emphasizes

innovation and experimentation (Liberty University Custom: Heinz, 2021). Next, put a training program in place to develop the skills needed in employee and managers of the organization. The culture and climate of the organization must foster and promote critical thinking or risk low levels of employee engagement and missing strategic goals (Karimi-Ghartemani et al., 2020).

Biblical Integration

It is easy to get stuck in a routine or behavior and miss opportunities. It’s important to try to become more aware of these ruts and recognize change is needed. Once we are ready for change, we can ask God to help us “put on the new self”, discarding old routines and ruts (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2023, Ephesians 4:22-24).

References

de Waal, A., Weaver, M., Day, T., & van der Heijden, B. (2019). Silo-busting: Overcoming the greatest threat to organizational performance. Sustainability, 11(23), 6860. 

https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236860
Links to an external site.

English Standard Version Bible. (2023). Crossway.
 

https://www.esv.org
Links to an external site.

 (Original work published 2001)

Harvard Business School. (1989). Dennis Hightower and the Walt Disney company in Europe. In A. Heinz (Ed.), Leading organizational change (pp. 498–500). McGraw-Hill Create. 

https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781307709100
Links to an external site.

Karimi-Ghartemani, S., Khani, N., & Esfahani, A. N. (2020). Developing a framework for organizational stupidity. Journal of High Technology Management Research, 31(2), 100392. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hitech.2020.100392
Links to an external site.

Liberty University Custom: Heinz, A. (2021). Leading organizational change. McGraw-Hill/Create. 
https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781307709100
Links to an external site.