Maxie L Hardy/Dennis Hightower
Case Analysis 07
Dennis Hightower: Walt Disney Transnational Manager
University of La Verne
Graduate School of Business
BUS 585 Strategies in Change Management CRN 2426
Professor John C. Sivie
October 18, 2011
Dennis Hightower: Walt Disney’s Transnational Manager Hightower brings broad career experience for this assignment for change. He has a professional background as a strategic manager. This position for Hightower came as a surprise. Hightower will face the challenge of being accepted as the leader to a very diverse market entrenched with managers. He cannot afford to fail in this initial stage. It will surely take away any opportunity of having any creditability. Hightower must be consistent in his actions. Hightower must examine the organization Culture. Culture refers to the norms of behavior and shared valued amongst a group of people. Briefly norms of behavior are common or pervasive ways of acting find in a group. Shared Values are important concerns and goals shared by most of the people in the group that tend to shape the groups behavior. (Kotter, p. 148) We are looking at a 26 market business that is very diverse. These markets are entrenched with country managers. Hightower has three months for his action. I think the initial direction he must follow is to develop a strategy that introduces a new way of thinking more appropriate for emerging a diverse market and he must immediately take charge, this will be very critical. Hightower will really have to consider his sequencing and his pacing (how fast we go about getting things done). In this case, it will not be as much as what Hightower does, but how he does it. Hightower will have to engage in strategic and tactical thinking. He cannot afford to let resistance build momentum. Hightower has to pull together a guiding coalition with a common vision. A vision is an attempt to articulate what a desired future for a company would look like. A vision has two
Dennis Hightower: Walt Disney Transnational Manager
University of La Verne
Graduate School of Business
BUS 585 Strategies in Change Management CRN 2426
Professor John C. Sivie
October 18, 2011
Dennis Hightower: Walt Disney’s Transnational Manager Hightower brings broad career experience for this assignment for change. He has a professional background as a strategic manager. This position for Hightower came as a surprise. Hightower will face the challenge of being accepted as the leader to a very diverse market entrenched with managers. He cannot afford to fail in this initial stage. It will surely take away any opportunity of having any creditability. Hightower must be consistent in his actions. Hightower must examine the organization Culture. Culture refers to the norms of behavior and shared valued amongst a group of people. Briefly norms of behavior are common or pervasive ways of acting find in a group. Shared Values are important concerns and goals shared by most of the people in the group that tend to shape the groups behavior. (Kotter, p. 148) We are looking at a 26 market business that is very diverse. These markets are entrenched with country managers. Hightower has three months for his action. I think the initial direction he must follow is to develop a strategy that introduces a new way of thinking more appropriate for emerging a diverse market and he must immediately take charge, this will be very critical. Hightower will really have to consider his sequencing and his pacing (how fast we go about getting things done). In this case, it will not be as much as what Hightower does, but how he does it. Hightower will have to engage in strategic and tactical thinking. He cannot afford to let resistance build momentum. Hightower has to pull together a guiding coalition with a common vision. A vision is an attempt to articulate what a desired future for a company would look like. A vision has two
References: Jick, T. D., & Peiperl, M. A. (2011). Managing Change: Cases and Concepts (3 ed.). McGraw-Hill. Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. HBS Press.