The Walt Disney Company's Transnational Strategy

Because of this awareness and sensitivity to the needs and desires of different cultures the Walt Disney Company operates under a transnational strategy. According to International Management: Strategic Opportunities and Cultural Challenges, "companies that pursue a transnational strategy sometimes want to tilt the balance toward the global side with respect to product standardization" (McFarlin and Sweeney 267). For the Walt Disney Company, company headquarters is located in Burbank, California; this is the main headquarters for all departments including animation, theme parks, and consumer products. As stated previously, the company does not operate the foreign theme parks directly, but they still retain much of the control in strategic decisions, cast member guidelines, and other areas which help the parks adhere to the "Disney" way. Firms pursuing this strategy must juggle the competing demands for local responsiveness and global integration (McFarlin and Sweeney 267). The text goes on to say that "these companies must quickly transfer their core competencies throughout their worldwide organization and be prepared to take advantage of new or improved core competencies wherever they are developed" (McFarlin and Sweeney 267). The transnational strategy works very well for The Walt Disney Company. The company is known for its family entertainment in every aspect of media. This means Disney must preserve its value and mission throughout all divisions and business dealings. The Company must make sure any companies interested in joining strategic alliances must fit in with Disney's philosophies. In order to make the best decisions, The Walt Disney Company has a special division entitled the Corporate Strategy, Business Development, and Technology Group. Kevin Mayer has been the vice-president of this division since June 2005. Mayer leads the smaller, tightly-focused group as it targets emerging businesses new to Disney's existing portfolio, manages