Disney’s diverse entertainment businesses—including movie and television studios and channels, theme parks, vacation resorts, cruise ships, movie merchandise, Broadway shows, and online interactive sites, and video games—bring in profits from Florida to France and beyond. The company departmentalizes jobs according to product (in this case, by entertainment unit) and function (such as theme park “cast member”). In addition, Disney hires people who enjoy working with customers, standardizes procedures for consistent service quality, and decentralizes authority so customer-contact managers and employees have the power to make on-the-spot decisions. Finally, Disney recognizes that to deliver great customer service, it must set the stage by delivering a great employee experience throughout the organization.

1. Do you agree with Disney’s policy of trying new hires in different jobs during their first 90 days to find the best fit within the organization? Explain your answer.
2. Given what you know about Disney, would you expect it to have a wide or a narrow span of control? Why?