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Please see attachments. M7A2SO is the assignment. Everything else is what led up to this final assignment.

LASA 2—Capstone Strategic Audit

In this assignment students integrate all the pieces of work they have drafted and formally turn it into the capstone strategic audit.

In previous assignments, you performed multiple, specified analyses of your company (EuroDisney). Those individual analyses provide the needed research to successfully complete the following LASA:

Directions:
Using the tools and framework learned in class and throughout the program, prepare a 15-page strategy audit of your company with a companion presentation. The strategy audit is a comprehensive analysis of the company’s business strategy and operating performance, and culminates in a series of recommendations for improving your company’s performance based on the findings and conclusions of your analysis.

A strategy audit involves assessing the actual direction of a business and comparing that course to the direction required to succeed in a changing environment. A company’s actual direction is the sum of what it does and does not do, how well the organization is internally aligned to support the strategy, and how viable the strategy is when compared to the external market, competitors, and financial realities. These two categories, the internal assessment and the external or environmental assessment, make up the major elements of a strategy audit.

In your strategy audit:

· Provide a high-level analysis of the company’s business strategy and operating performance. Be sure to complete the following:

· Analysis of the company value proposition, market position, and competitive advantage

· External environmental scan/five forces analysis

· Internal environmental scan/organizational assessment

· SWOT Analysis

· Balanced scorecard/strategy scorecard

· Recommend specific tactics for improving your company’s strategic alignment and operating performance.

· Recommendations

can include but are not limited to tactics in marketing, branding, alliances, mergers/acquisitions, integration, product development, diversification or divestiture and globalization (if you recommend your company go global, you must include a supply chain analysis and an analysis of your firm’s global capabilities).

· Explain how the recommendations will help the company achieve its strategy and vision.

You are to write this report as though you are a consultant to your company, and are addressing the executive officers of this company. You will collect and analyze a large amount of data in producing your report, but your final product will be condensed and focus on presenting your analysis findings and conclusions.

Your report should consist of the following sections in the given order.

· Executive Summary (1 page): A concise and insightful summary of the significant findings of your analysis and the recommendations you have for your executive team.

· Strategic Issues and Recommendations (5 pages): Identify 5–7 most important strategic issues facing your business unit. Strategic issues arise from a mismatch between internal capabilities and external trends such that important opportunities are not being pursued or significant external threats are not being addressed under the current strategy.

The strategic issues list should integrate your SWOT analysis, your Five Forces analysis, and the organizational assessment and external environmental scan completed earlier during the course. These detailed analyses are the foundation for your final set of findings and recommendations presented to the executive team.

In developing your recommendations for addressing each strategic issue, consider misalignments that might be apparent in different operating areas:

· Product Portfolio: Are there changes to the target market segment, value proposition, or positioning of the product or service line needed?

· Structure: Are the organizational roles and responsibilities, decision-making authority, skill requirements, and work assignments properly configured and aligned to support the strategy?

· Organizational Culture or Behavior: Does the organizational culture inspire behaviors that support the strategy? Are the mission, vision, and values clearly articulated and aligned with the strategy? What new behaviors are needed?

· Value Chain Activities: Does the organization value chain fully align with the strategy? Are their activities that should be added, eliminated, or modified significantly?

· Performance Measures: Do the organization’s performance measures focus on the key drivers of strategic success? Is there a strategy scorecard that ties the main elements of the strategy to specific operating capabilities, including goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) that give an indication of incremental or predictive progress toward reaching strategic goals?

Your recommendations should fall into these general categories, but be specific in terms of scope and expected impact.

These sections are completed earlier in the course, and should appear as appendices:

· SWOT Analysis (2 pages—completed in Module 6): SWOT matrix illustrating strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

· Balanced Scorecard / Strategy Scorecard (4 pages—completed in Module 6): Develop a Balanced Scorecard for your business unit that reflects the key drivers for your business strategy.

· Organizational Assessment (3 pages—completed in Module 5)

· External Environmental Scan and Five Forces Analysis (3 pages—completed in Module 3)

· Market Position Analysis (3 pages—completed in Module 2)

Write your report in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

Finalize the companion PowerPoint presentation that summarizes the audit and recommendations in a compelling manner that persuades senior management to explore and possibly implement your recommendations. The elements of the presentation should include the following:

· Title

· Agenda

· Summary of audit

· Recommendations

· Key measurements

· Risks and benefits

· Call to action

· Next steps

Develop a 10-slide presentation in PowerPoint format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

Use information from your previous assignments to support your conclusions and recommendations and conduct additional research when needed. Make sure you properly reference and cite so that the location of information is clear.

Running Head: MARKET POSITION ANALYSIS 1

MARKET POSITION ANALYSIS 6

· Describe the target customer for the product/service in terms of relevant characteristics that impact the marketing strategy, including location (how it is reached) and buying habits.

The company Disneyland Paris provides entertainment, relaxation joints and dining places for its customers. Its target customers are from all over the world and of all age groups but due to the high price of the tickets as per their standards, the firm has used the niche strategy of segmentation whereby only individuals of a certain class can have access to certain services; those of high social status. Those of middle level incomes can also access some of these services as the pricing strategy used allows for this; revenue centered pricing strategy. This strategy has also been used whereby the charges for customers of French origin are much lower compared to those of other customers such as British customers. The use of several languages in booking the tickets to access the services of the firm is also a way of attracting a wide range of clientele from different regions of the world (Clavé, 2006).

Additionally, the location of the firm is one that portrays the perception of a high society range of clientele; Paris is known to be a prestigious city especially for it fashion and high celebrity composition and this makes it expensive, therefore, the targeted customers for Disneyland Paris are mostly high people in all societies of the world although the average person can also access some services and products. In terms of the buying habits, the firm can be said to be targeting customers of French origin more as the prices charged to them seem to be considerably lower. This can also be a strategy to attract more customers of French origin to use their services through the high discounts as the firm is in their country; France (Aaker & McLoughlin, 2010).

· Identify each customer segment’s specific wants and needs. Explain why they buy your company’s product or service, or a competing product or service.

There are several customer segments in Disneyland Paris and these vary according to the levels of income, age group and social status. There are those who visit the theme parks and expect to get a lot of amusement and entertainment through visiting popular thematic parks such as the Santa Claus Land; this is for all age groups and the all level of income earners (Doole & Lowe, 2005).Those who visit retail centers expect to get the commodities that they are looking for and at fair prices; this is mostly for the high society as they are quite expensive; those who visit dining places expect high quality and delicious dishes and cuisines; those who visit hotels expect quality services and finally, those who visit the entertainment center expect a lot of interesting and entertaining features or films. The main reason why these customers buy the products or services of Disneyland Paris is to get original entertainment at the most popular city and to have a taste of entertainment at the source. That is why these customers pay such high prices to get these services and products (Aaker & McLoughlin, 2010).

· Justify how well your product/service satisfies customer wants and needs. Identify any wants and needs that are not met by your product/service.

By visiting the theme parks at Disneyland Paris, the customers get first hand entertainment whereby children can play and older people can interact and get entertained by visiting the places that are iconic for famous movies such as the sleeping Beauty castle. Through the hotels and fine dining places, customers’ dining needs are satisfied and fulfilled through the fine cuisines. Finally, customers also get to have a taste of glamour and elegance that is associated with Paris through visiting the retail store at Disneyland Paris (Doole & Lowe, 2005).

· Analyze your product’s position in relation to the competition. Identify 3–5 main competitors. Explain how your product differs in terms features, function, quality, price, availability, brand image, etc. Explain why this differentiation is important to your customers.

Disneyland Paris has a high market position compared to its competitors. This is mainly because of its brand name and its diversification strategy. Its main competitors are; Time Warner Inc., AOL Inc., CBS Corporation and also DreamWorks. Compared to the other competitor firms, Disneyland Paris offers first class services that have special features such as the popular Cinderella castle which is behind the popular short stories and films of Cinderella. In terms of the brand image, Disneyland is definitely known for its strong brand image. Additionally, the firm offers high quality services through its high quality hotel services, and friendly booking services that seek to serve a wide range of clientele in many different languages. This differentiation is important in helping the customers to learn about the various products and services offered by the firm and in providing information about the convenience of Disneyland Paris for all customers who seek high quality services and entertainment (Munos, 2003).

· Describe the source of competitive advantage for your product. Evaluate sustainability of this source of advantage.

The main source of competitive advantage for Disneyland is its strong brand name. The sustainability of this firm’s brand name lies in continuously providing quality and worthy services and products to customers. Consistency is a very hard thing to maintain in a business but when it comes to protecting the firm’s main source of competitive advantage, it is very crucial to do everything to keep the firm at the top of its competitors (Duron, 2009).

· Assess the long-term sustainability of the source of differentiation and competitive advantage.

In terms of the long term sustainability of Disneyland’s source of differentiation and competitive advantage, a lot can be said. The firm needs to come up with strategies to continually protect its brand image, to protect the various products and services offered by the firm and to continually improve them in terms of quality and fair prices to suit all customer segments. Therefore, how long these differentiation strategy stays on top and the how long the firm will have competitive advantage over other firms will depend on how it will continually be strategic to retain the current customers and to attract more (Doole & Lowe, 2005).

· Apply the five “P’s” of marketing to your product analysis. 

In terms of the product, the firm offers a wide range of products and services ranging from theme parks, hotel services, dining services and hotel services. These products and services target all customer segments including the different age groups and people of different income levels. The price charged by Disneyland covers all customer segments as there are products and services for the high income earners and also for the average customers (Duron, 2009). The price set is also appropriate to cover the operating costs of the firm and to ensure that it can still continue operating with some level of profits. As for the place, the firm is centrally situated in Paris at a convenient place that is easily accessible. The firm uses the promotion factor of the marketing mix to create awareness of their products to the customers through massive advertising over the internet and billboards. As for people, this P explains how the knowledge and skills of the firm’s employees can help it to achieve the set goals and help it obtain a big market share (Duermyer, 2012).

Conclusion

Disneyland Paris can be said to a firm that has improved overtime due to application of relevant strategies to protect its market share. The differentiation strategy is the most utilized strategy in this firm and therefore if other firms place their focus on crafting practicable strategies, their firms can prosper as well. A firm’s strategy and continuous improvement is therefore very crucial to the success of any firm.

After interviewing the three managers on their views concerning Disneyland’s value proposition, market position, and competitive advantage, two of them agreed that the firm is a market leader especially in the entertainment industry, but not in terms of the other products such as the hotel business as there are other market leaders in that field. The other manager was of the view that Time Warner Inc. was the market leader. In terms of the value proposition, two managers were of the view that the firm appeals to most of its clients because of its commitment to providing quality entertainment and its diversification strategy of offering a wide range of products and service. The other manager was of the view that the firm’s value proposition lies only in its strong and popular brand name. In terms of the competitive advantage, the three managers agreed that Disneyland Paris gets its competitive advantage through its strong brand name which has helped it to make a lot of sales and to attract and retain many customers and thus staying ahead of its competitors.

References

Munos, T. (2003). Decline of the Masterbrand. President and CEO Magazine. New York: Marriot.

Duron, M. (2009). The 5P’s of marketing.

Duermyer, R. (2012). Marketing Mix. New York: The New York Times Company.
Doole, I., & Lowe, R. (2005). Strategic marketing decisions in global markets. London: Thomson Learning.
Clavé, S. A. (2006). The global theme park industry. Wallingford, Oxfordshire: CABI.
Aaker, D. A., & McLoughlin, D. (2010). Strategic market management: Global perspectives. Chichester: Wiley.

Market Position Analysis: Product Position versus Competitor Product Position

0

1

2

1

1

2

2

2

1

2

1

1

1

2

1

1

1

2

1

1

0

Needs of the Consumer

Rating of Your Product (Use a scale of 0 – 2 *)

Rating of Competing Product 1 (Use a scale of 0–2*)

Rating of Competing Product 2 (Use a scale of 0–2*)

Rating of the Competing Product 3 (Use a scale of 0–2*)

Quality

2

1

0

Price

Availability

Features

Functions

Brand Image

Total Score

11

8

6

4

Narrative/Comments

The firm offers high quality products and services that appeal to the highest number of customers and thus its success.

This is the closest competitor such as Times Warner Inc. However, Disneyland still has a competitive edge over this firm.

This is a competitor that is till struggling with quality issues of its products and services in order to stay in the entertainment industry

This competitor is either new in the market or experiences poor performance due to lack of good brand name and quality products and services.

* On the scale of 0–2: 0 indicates “need not met,” 1 “indicates need partially met”, and 2 indicates “need fully met.”

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Solutions to Organizational Challenges: A Capstone Experience in Integration and Strategy

©2012 Argosy University Online Programs

Page 2 of 2

Course Name (not number)

©2012 Argosy University Online Programs

Running Head: EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN 1

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN 6

The business environment is very dynamic and firms need to constantly keep pace with the changes that occur to stay competitive. The following is an analysis of Euro Disney using the five forces model of Porter. The firm faces the challenge of new entrants. Due to the firm’s ability to find a specific niche for its products, entering the industry is relatively tough. Additionally, the firm has utilized the diversification strategy through offering a wider variety of services and commodities to its customers, for example, theme parks, dining places and also the hotel business (Sehlinger, Testa, Peters & Cassar, 2010). This enables it to cut down on the operational costs by producing in large quantities (economies of scale) and thus making it special compared to other competitor firms as it can as well sell its products relatively cheaper to outdo them. This is made possible by its mass production capability. The firm is also popular in providing home entertainment and is therefore dominant in the market and all these make it hard for other firms to enter the market. Finally, the fact that the capital requirements for entry in to the entertainment industry are too high makes it hard for other firms to penetrate in the market (Roy, 2009).

In terms of the buyers’ power to bargain, the entertainment industry can be said to favorable. This means that this power is high in this industry. This is because the firm needs a lot of customers in order to operate and make profits. Therefore, its customers definitely have some rights and privileges. For example, the customers may choose not to buy movies that are priced too highly by the firm and since the firm needs the customers, it will act by lowering the price. This bargaining power is also increased when some clients do not understand the intangible benefits that they receive from purchasing these products and services (Sehlinger, Testa, Peters & Cassar, 2010).

The suppliers’ bargaining power in the entertainment industry can be said to be temperate. This is the case due to the nature of the industry which is characterized by lot of differentiation, distinctiveness, and high costs of switching from one business function to another. The suppliers for this industry have a few customer companies and Disney is one of them. However, the firm can be said to be the most important client for most suppliers and due to its big size, it has some advantages. Therefore, there is an important relationship between the firm and its suppliers especially due to the fact that the firm is very crucial to the success of the suppliers due to its bulk buying capacity (Moss, 2010).

Euro Disney can be said to be some how free or immune to the threat of substitutes entering the market. Therefore, this threat can be rated as being quite low as the firm has set price ceilings for most of its commodities. Additionally, the firm continually upgrades its services and commodities to ensure that it stays on top and rules out the possibility of being defeated in the industry by any competitor.

In terms of rivalry in the industry, the firm stands out. This is due to its competitive nature as it has many customers, offers a variety of products and services, embraces technological advancements to stay ahead of competition, has loyal customers, and also advertises its products and services to gain more customers. Additionally, in terms of the earnings, the firm is on top and its main rivals are Merlin Entertainment Group and 6 Flags among others (Ahlstrom & Bruton, 2009).

The entertainment industry is also affected by legal and legislative factors. For example, the government of France has helped the firm a lot. It provided a lot of financial help to the firm and gave it tax relief and this has helped the firm a lot. This together with the huge costs of entry into the market has helped the firm to stay ahead of its competitors and to bar others from entering in the industry.

Political factors and trends have also affected the entertainment industry. These include wars such as the Persian Gulf War, which triggered a decrease in the number of people travelling to Paris and therefore Euro Disney lost a lot of revenue (Ahlstrom & Bruton, 2009).

Economic factors and trends also affect the entertainment industry. For example, in times of depression in some countries, it is often hard for customers to purchase products and services for entertainment as this may often be considered as luxury products. This affects the firm in terms of reduced revenue (Adbulaziz, 2011). However, due to the diversification strategy of the firm by setting up many centers (branches) around the world, the firm continues to run as its other branches such as those in Japan continue making a lot of revenue thus covering for the operating costs of the affected branches. Another economic factor is competition. The firm faces competition from other firms. This is the case especially as new cartoons are created often by other competitor firms/rivals. Disney therefore needs to innovate more in order to prevent being faced out by other rivals. It also faces competition in its theme parks. Finally, the firm’s innovativeness and size also place it at a competitive edge (Sehlinger, Testa, Peters & Cassar, 2010).

The firm also faces challenges with its top management. This is because the firm is constantly changing its top leaders, which is a costly affair. This is because every time this happens, recruitment has to be done to get other managers. To increase efficiency, the firm must strategize on how it can maintain the current leaders to avoid these costs (Adbulaziz, 2011).

Economic factors and trends

1. Competition- Threat

2. Economic forces such as depression- Threat

3. Innovation- Opportunity

4. Competitive size- Opportunity

5. Management issues- Threat

Political factors and trends

1. Persian Gulf War- Threat

Legal and legislative factors and trends

1. Support by the French Government- Opportunity

References

Adbulaziz, S. (2011). Walt Disney- Company Insight & Competitive Analysis. New York: Slide share Inc.

Ahlstrom, D., & Bruton, G. D. (2009). International management: Strategy and culture in the emerging world. Australia: South-Western.

Moss, S. (2010). The entertainment industry: An introduction. Wallingford, UK: CABI.

Roy, D. (2009). Strategic foresight and Porter’s five forces: Towards a synthesis. München: GRIN.

Sehlinger, B., Testa, L., Peters, E., & Cassar, A. (2010). The unofficial guide to Disneyland Paris. London: Wiley & Sons.

Running Head: EuroDisney Internal Environmental Scan/Organizational Assessment
1

EuroDisney Internal Environmental Scan/Organizational Assessment

2

Table of Contents

Mission

3

Vision

3

Values:

3

Strategy Clarification

3

Cultural Assessment

4

Value Chain Analysis

5

Summary of Findings

5

References

7

Mission

The mission of the company states that the company will be one of the leading producers and providers of information and entertainment in the world. The company will excel in diversification, international family media and Entertainment Company.

Vision

The company’s vision is to be the pre-eminent leader in the family entertainment field worldwide.

Values:

The company values include innovation in which the company follows a strong innovation tradition. On quality, the company will strive to follow the highest standard of excellence while maintaining high quality standards in the product categories. On optimism, the company believes that entertainment is about hope, positive resolutions and aspirations. The company values on decency regard respect and the honor the consumers place on the company (Farfan, 2012).

The mission and vision of the company are in consensus and are aligned alongside the company business strategies. The company behaviors espoused by the values revolve around the belief that fun is about people laughing at their experiences and themselves. The company creates inclusive and positive ideas regarding families by providing entertainment experiences for generations to share.

Strategy Clarification

The company senior staff fully understands the business strategy of the company. They individually and collectively contribute towards the realization of the strategy. Individual managers contribute innovative ideas on how the company business strategy will be achieved. They share information during meetings and ensure that they collaborate to solve customer problems across structural boundaries. The company has an advance technological system for sharing information. The company has a portal where staff shares information to timely respond to customer concerns. The managers of the company inspire each other through communication and conflict management.

However, the managers do not universally agree that the business strategy has created a leading market position in the market. There is agreement among the managers that the company has a competitive advantage over competitors since it has created a niche in family entertainment in many existing and new markets in diverse locations in the world.

Cultural Assessment

The company believes in clan, adaptability and achievement cultures. Under the clan culture, the leadership of the company believes in cooperation between managers and staff. The cooperation is valued as a means of achieving the business goals. From this, the value of agreement arises where the management believes that agreement among the managers and among the employees will propel the company to the desired market position. The company believes in fair treatment of all its employees irrespective of their rank or position in the company.

Under the adaptability culture, the company believes in values such as creativity, experimentation, risk-taking, autonomy and responsiveness. The employees are encouraged to be creative and innovative in order to live to the company’s mission, vision and values. The research and development department are encouraged to experiment with diverse products in order to develop unique products that will create competitive advantage for the company. In this, the R & D team is supported by the management when they take risks to develop new products that are potentially disruptive to the entertainment market. The department is granted autonomy by the company in developing new products albeit with consultation with the relevant departmental managers. The employees of the company are encouraged to engage in consultations regarding the improvement of the company image. They are encouraged to be responsive to issues that may arise in the company as well as to the company customer concerns. They are encouraged to forward any concerns by the customers to the relevant managers so that the managers can timely respond to the customers.

Value Chain Analysis

In order to create value along the distribution chain, the company has created an environment for entertaining customers. The company often organizes road-shows in the effort of reaching its customers (Amsom, 2011). During these road-shows, the company reduces the price of the products and delivers the products to its customers. This creates value for the customers who do not have to spend time visiting the company outlets to purchase the products.

Summary of Findings

The company has the strength in that it has a wide area of operation. The diversification of products enables the company to have a wide customer base. When one product stagnates in the market, another category of product is in its prime. This ensures that the company remains profitable irrespective of some products being considered obsolete in the rapidly changing entertainment market. The company has a strong brand loyalty. Most families buy the entertainment products from the company. The loyalty by customers enhances the attracting of potential customers through the word of mouth. The company is financially endowed hence is able to compete with other entertainment companies such as Wal-Mart. Since the company business is diversified, it makes profits from different markets.

The company has opportunities to develop business in the international market. Contemporary, the company products are used by customers virtually in every part of the world. The emerging markets present the company with the opportunity to further expand its business territory. The company can also expand its brand to include products and services associated with entertainment products such music. The availability of the internet presents the company with the opportunity to create e-market for the products through collaboration with other companies that provide e-market services such as Google.

References

Amsom, N. (2011). Value Chain Analysis Disneyland. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/Noonamsom/value-chain-analysis-disneyland

Farfan, B. (2012). Walt Disney Company Mission Statement. Retrieved from http://retailindustry.about.com/od/retailbestpractices/ig/Company-Mission-Statements/Walt-Disney-Mission-Statement.htm

Running Head: SWOT ANALYSIS AND STRATEGIC SCORECARD 1

SWOT ANALYSIS AND STRATEGIC SCORECARD 2

Part 1—SWOT Analysis (2 pages)

EuroDisney as a firm experiences threats and opportunities and also strengths and weaknesses. This means that the firm must therefore put its good strategies in place in order to take advantage of any opportunities that may come up or to maximize the strengths that it has in order to increase its earnings. It is also important to strategize on how to minimize the firm’s weaknesses and minimize the effect of the threats to avoid lowering the earnings of the firm (Moss, 2010).

Strengths

1. Good company image

2. Great financial stability

3. It is popularly known for its entertainment

4. Good brand name

5. Good and strong reputation

6. Innovation

Opportunities

1. The location of the company in France was an opportunity due to the tourism that takes place there

2. The ease of accessibility of the location of EuroDisney is also an opportunity

3. The culture of the Europeans who include vacations as part of their lifestyle is also an opportunity for EuroDisney

4. Support from the government of France in terms of its finances

Weaknesses

1. The theme parks in EuroDisney have a low capacity which cannot accommodate the high number of visitors (Moss, 2010).

2. Lack of adequate experience for running the theme park business in Europe

3. Another weakness faced by the firm is applying effective business strategies and implementing them internationally

4. Poor management and high employee turnover rates

Threats

1. Competition from other firms such as DreamWorks

2. Economic forces such as depression

3. Presence of better theme parks compared to the ones in EuroDisney

4. Cultural imperialism is also a factor that acts against the firm’s objectives

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

· EuroDisney can use its size, popularity and good company image to obtain a greater share in the market by coming up with improved business strategies
· Through its central and strategic location, EuroDisney can increase the number of entertainment activities in order to attract a wider number of visitors and therefore gaining more earnings
· Due to its financial stability and support from the government of France, the firm is in a better position to expand its business activities and implement better strategies to improve its performance.
· The location of EuroDisney and its wide popularity can be very effective in trying new lines of business for the firm as a diversification strategy (Adbulaziz, 2011).

· With support from the French government, the firm was greatly boosted financially. Therefore, it should use such funds to strategize on how to reduce the high turnover rates of the employees in the management position, perhaps through a greater pay (Adbulaziz, 2011).
· The firm should also strategize on how to expand its theme parks and their management by taking advantage of opportunities such as the French government support.

Threats

· Due to the strong brand name of the firm, the firm should be able to deal with issues such as competition from other firms.
· Since the firm enjoys strengths such as financial stability, it should ensure that it has the best workforce in the market so that they can help the firm through coming up with effective strategies that can boost the performance of the firm. EuroDisney is capable of doing this as it has the financial capability to fund strategies that require funding for them to be effective.
· Since the firm is popularly known, it can use this to outdo its competitors by distributing its products worldwide. This strategy can be very effective in helping the firm to deal with the threat of new entrants by ensuring that its services and products are of high quality and are also readily available in many countries (Adbulaziz, 2011).
· Through strategies such as innovation, the firm can outdo its competitors. Foe example, the firm can come up with very creative films that are very unique to its competitors and that will attract more viewers. This way, the firm will gain more customers and improve its reputation by anticipating and satisfying the customers’ wants and needs.

· EuroDisney faces the threat of competition from other firms such as DreamWorks. However, the firm can reduce the impact of this threat by addressing issues such as the poor management. This is because when the issue of poor management is addressed, the firm will improve in terms of strategy formulation and implementation and will therefore be able to outdo its competitors. When weaknesses such as low capacity to accommodate more visitors in theme parks are addressed, the firm will also minimize the threat of competition.

Part 2—Balanced Scorecard/KPIs (4 pages)
A balanced scorecard presents organizational performance on four primary groups of measures:

1. Financial

In terms of the financial perspective of the balanced score card, the main focus is on how the company should present itself before the shareholders in order to ensure that it succeeds on that perspective (Kaplan & Norton, 1996).

The measures that provide guidance on how the firm performs in terms of the financial perspective of the balanced score card in EuroDisney include;

a) Determining the profits and losses of the firm. When the profits or losses of the firm are calculated through the income statement, it is easier for the firm to know whether the shareholders are getting value for their investment or if the firm is competitive when this is compared to the performance of the competitor firms. For example, the performance of EuroDisney can be compared to that of DreamWorks.

b) Determining the assets and liabilities of the firm through the balance sheet. The assets and liabilities of the firm can only be measured through the balance sheet. The balance sheet indicates the financial performance of the firm to the shareholders as it outlines the assets that the firm possesses and also the liabilities (which includes debts) that the firm has. This therefore presents the shareholders with a clear report on how their investment is productive or non-productive as it indicates the performance of the firm. A firm with a lot of debts can be said to be performing poorly.

2. Customer (external stakeholder)

Customers are very important to the existence of any firm. This is because without them, the firms would have no need to run business. This therefore implies that businesses and firm exist to satisfy the needs and wants of the customers and so they must act according to what they are instructed by the customers.

Recently, most firms are placing their focus on the customers as they have realized that their very existence is because of customers. Firms must also be able to classify their customers based on their income and needs. This helps in identifying and satisfying their needs with much ease (Kaplan & Norton, 1996).

The measures that give measurable and reliable indication of the performance of EuroDisney in terms the customer perspective include;

A) Feedback from the customers. Feedback whether positive or negative, shows the performance of the firm in terms of the satisfaction levels. If the firm satisfies its customers, then they provide positive feedback. If they are not satisfied, they give negative feedback. Feedbacks help in informing the management of the firm’s performance. Positive feedback from customers indicates that the firm is more competitive compared to the others.

B) Customer retention or new customers- The firm can determine its performance in terms of how it satisfies its customers through the analysis of retention rates and new customers. When the firm retains the existing customers, then it shows that its services and products are good. This indicates to the shareholders that the firm is doing well and that they are gaining value for their investments. In terms of the competitive advantage, the firm is usually at the top of its competitors when it retains its customers or when it gains new ones.

3. Learning and Growth

This perspective involves the training and development of employees in relation to the overall development and growth of the firm. Due to the dynamism in the corporate world, it is very important that firms keep their employees constantly learning. Firms whose employees keep learning are very forward-looking and focused and always benefit. These firms show customer value as when the employees are trained, they tend to learn how to deal with customers better and therefore customer value increases (Kaplan & Norton, 1996).

The measures that are put in place to give a measurable and reliable indication performance of this perspective of the balanced score card include;

a) Presence of training programs for the employees. Firms that have such programs encourage the growth of the employees and the firms. They also give the firms a competitive edge over their competitors.

b) Presence of counseling and mentoring sessions. Firms with mentoring and counseling sessions or programs also encourage the growth of the employees and therefore leading to the firm’s growth. This is because when the employees are satisfied and stress-free, they work better and therefore the performance of the firm increases (Kaplan & Norton, 1996).

4. Internal Process

This perspective of the balanced score card deals with the business processes of the firm and about their conformity to the overall mission and goals of the firm. The measures that can be used to measure this include;

a) The inclusion or exclusion of the employees and the management in the firm’s mission, goals and overall strategy. When the firm’s employees and top managers are included in its overall strategy, it implies that the firm has trust in the workforce and believes that they can help the firm to achieve the goals.

b) Presence of the vision statement of the firm. The vision statement indicates the future focus of the firm. Firms without this do not show any value for their investors, and do not also have any strategies for the future. It is therefore very important that firms have a vision statement that shows its future focus and direction. This can also be categorized as a strategy to help employees grow and also to boost performance (Kaplan & Norton, 1996).

References

Adbulaziz, S. (2011). Walt Disney- Company Insight & Competitive Analysis. New York: Slide share Inc.

Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (1996). The balanced scorecard: Translating strategy into action. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press.

Moss, S. (2010). The entertainment industry: An introduction. Wallingford, UK: CABI.