Riley Donelson LIS 580 2/27/12 Part One: Examining a Culture Sub-cultures: Part of the same organization, serving

the same people, and sharing the same goals; the cast service specialists who operate learning centers throughout Walt Disney World work closely with the employees who operate Disney University. Disney University supplies the learning centers with materials, technology and support so that they in turn can support Disney employees through a variety of career development resources. While they work together and share some cultural similarities, cast service specialists and Disney University employees have unique experiences and operate under different basic assumptions, which has led to the development of individual cultures, as well as some tension between the two sub-cultures. Artifacts and Creation: The most iconic artifact and creation of the Disney company is something the subcultures share. He is Mickey Mouse, who is displayed on almost all conceivable surfaces. His image adorns the logo of every department and any company created software. One of Walt Disneys most famous quotes (which is displayed in several learning centers and at Disney University) states, I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse. No one at Disney will forget, because the presence of Mickey Mouse is everywhere. Seeing Mickey Mouse is a reminder that every individual can make an impact, and that the smallest of things can be incredibly important. Mickey Mouse is the most iconic and meaningful artifact for most employees. Many people even say (with humor, sarcasm, affection and anger) that they work for the mouse. Artifacts regarding status are also similar between the two sub-cultures. Blue nametags indicate recipients of the Walt Disney Legacy Award, which all Disney employees are eligible for. Seniority is celebrated through nametag pins that indicate length of time spent working for the company. However, the groups differ dramatically when it comes to many aspects of their physical environment. Cast service specialists work in the backstage areas of parks and resorts, often next to employee cafeterias and costuming departments. They are placed right in the middle of a great deal of activity, and they interact with all park and resorts employees. Disney characters, music, and merchandise can be found everywhere. The Disney University location is less Disneyfocused. They have their Walt Disney quotes and their Mickeys, but they are set apart from the parks. Their location is an isolated set of offices that is attended only by Disney University employees, and is much less Disney-centric in appearance. These differences are not challenging to identify, but their meaning and the effect they have on their sub-cultures require deeper study (Schein 434).

Values: The philosophy and values of Walt Disney are given much attention in every part of the company. Walt Disneys dream was to create a family-friendly place people of all ages could enjoy and feel safe in, and he wanted to have a staff known for their courtesy. Ever since the success of Disneyland, which opened in 1955, Walt Disneys values and convictions of reality(Schein 435) have been introduced to all employees, and every single Disneyland and Walt Disney World employee goes through a daylong training program called Traditions. In the class, Disneys history and values are discussed at length, and people are taught how to apply them. Honesty, courtesy and responsibility are given special attention, and these values are taught in the context of customer service. Cast service specialists, who have all had experience working in the parks in customer service roles, learn to think of these values in relation to assisting guests. They continue to be guided by these values after they leave the parks and work backstage at the cast service center. As a result, these employees place their focus on their customers, often sacrificing time, efficiency, and resources if someone can receive assistance. The cast members they assist are treated as customers who are always right. Disney University is given the same training, but they then move to an isolated location where they communicate with outsiders much less frequently. They are aware of Disneys values, and they apply them by purchasing materials for the learning centers that are in harmony with these values and by treating employees courteously. These values are printed on posters in many locations and are taught so frequently that they do not quite become basic assumptions. There is too much conscious effort made to uphold them. However, specific aspects of these values have evolved into unspoken rules. Basic Assumptions: Responsibility is a value that is mentioned during Traditions training. Over time, aspects of this value have been transformed into an assumption. Everyone working in the park may have been assigned to a specific role, but they are expected to personally take care of any situation that may arise with park guests. Seeing any suspicious activity makes you security, finding trash makes you custodial, seeing a kid drop their ice cream cone means you work in food and beverage, etc. Employees are empowered to give away free things (water, treats, Fastpass tickets, merchandise replacements) to guests if they deem it appropriate. No one needs to tell employee to pick up trash, even though they do not work in custodial. It is simply taken for granted that it is everyones responsibility to keep things running smoothly. Cast service specialists, who are people with experience working in the park, seem to continue to act this way. They solve problems by multi-tasking, and are flexible and lenient when dealing with customer service issues. They assume that courtesy trumps everything, and that a valuable employee is one who never passes the buck. It seems to be second nature to cast service specialists to make sure that their learning center visitors leave happy, and they perceive rules to be guidelines that can be stretched when necessary. This is how the park operates, and they continue to engage in this behavior after they move backstage. This attitude can have
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conflict with Disney University when cast service specialists take on responsibilities that are not theirs, or when they bend rules to assist people. Disney University employees do not usually have experience working in the park. Often Disney University will be their only Disney employment experience. They have specific positions and responsibilities, and need to enforce rules to make their department efficient. They do value courtesy, but they assume that employees need to stay in their specific role to be effective, and that guest service issues should be resolved by upholding rules, which are not negotiable. Tension frequently exists between these two sub-cultures. Schein states, if a basic assumption is strongly held in a group, members would find behavior based on any other premise inconceivable. They may share values, but they make different assumptions about how they should be applied, and they do not posses the experience to understand why the other sub-culture operates the way they do. Part Two: Case Analysis About a year ago, Ruthie Lyons, the coordinator of modified workers (employees who have been injured on the job and are given temporary modified position) saw some flaws in her department and decided to team up with the Animal Kingdom cast service center. She wanted to have the cast service specialists act as a liaison between her department and the modified workers. They would print and post schedules and provide communication between the modified office and the workers. Tim Ryan, manager of the cast service center, believed that his employees would be willing to take on these extra tasks. Before the change was implemented, he broached the subject with his employees and was satisfied that they accepted the change because he never heard anyone express resistance or a negative attitude. However, the employees were in fact frustrated and upset about the change. They felt that their opinions and insights had been ignored, and that their manager had not given them a real opportunity to express their thoughts. Upon examining the way this change was managed, the motivations behind their resistance become apparent. According to Kotters model, the cast service center manager experienced issues with the change because he implemented the change quickly, and without a great deal of advance analysis. The biggest issue may have been that he didnt expect or perceive resistance. After talking to the employees, it seems that one of the biggest causes of resistance was due to misunderstanding. The employees did not know what was being demanded of them, and they feared that the extra tasks would take away from the rest of their duties, which they felt more passionate about. They made a different assessment of the situation than their manager did. He thought that taking on these extra duties was a natural extension of their work, which is to assist employees, but they felt that were being asked to merely babysit the modified workers, and that these extra tasks would diminish their ability to perform their job properly. There are many ways this resistance could have been dealt with to make the change easier for everyone. One of Kotters suggestions for addressing resistance is to provide education on about change, and to be communicative about it. While the cast service center manager may have felt that he was addressing possible resistance through communication, his employees only felt coerced. When he felt that he was providing them with information about the change and
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giving them an opportunity to discuss it, his employees felt that they were being told about a change that was happening whether they liked it or not, and they did not feel comfortable expressing their opinions or making suggestions. What their manager could have done was to ask them specific questions about how they thought the change should be implemented. If they felt that their opinion was valued and being taken into consideration, they might have been more open to the change. According to Kotters strategic continuum model, the manager should have moved more slowly. The situation was not dire, and immediate action was not required. Kotter states that managers should move slowly if the initiators anticipate that they will need information and commitment from others to help design and implement the change(137). Instead, the change happened immediately, with little input or involvement from others. The whole situation would still have had issues and resistance, but these could have been lessened if the people involved had not made the mistake of implementing the change instantly and not involving people enough. Either the manager thought he had all the information necessary, or he didnt think it was important to spend more time investigating. The change might have been unwelcome no matter efforts the manager attempted, but it might have been possible to make the transition without damaging the trust of the staff. Works Cited John P. Kotter and Leonard A. Schlesinger, 2008, Choosing Strategies for Change, Harvard Business Review, JulyAugust 2008. Schein Edgar H., 1996, Defining Organizational Culture. in: Shafritz Jay M. and Ott Steven J., Classics of Organization Theory, 4th edition, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.