Taran Swan Essay

Within the pages of Disney U, a captivating story unfolds describing the development program designed for Disney employees. Many times reading a perfunctory book that is designed to improve one’s skills in leadership is, well, not a delight to read. However, Disney U is able to grab the reader’s attention and guide them through a thought provoking journey of ground breaking leadership tactics, inventive training methods, and creating an engaging environment for an employee.

Colleen Barrett is one of the most influential women in the world of business and her efforts have paved the way for future female executives. According to Dierendonck and Patterson (2010), “For five years in a row, SWA is the only airline to win the Triple Crown, ranked first in most on-time flights, least lost baggage, and fewest Customer complaints”(p 135). Colleen Barrett is a rare example of a leader that rose from the ranks of an organization to the highest position of the company while never receiving a formal education in business management (Southwest Airlines ' Colleen Barrett on 'Servant Leadership, 2008). Her greatest achievement while at SWA was completely changing the leadership style and atmosphere of the organization. According to Dierendonck and Patterson (2010), her remodeling of the organization has kept SWA the leader in their industry by “setting and achieving incredible records of performance”(p 135). Leaders at SWA still practice her servant leadership style of managing employees even after she left the organization (Dierendonck & Patterson, 2010). Before a leader can achieve greatness they have to overcome challenges in their career fields.

In the film, Matewan, director John Sayles paints a 1920’s picture of a small, West Virginia coal-mining town. Over the course of the film, this seemingly American Township reveals itself as the site of feudal hardship for its citizens. The Stone Mountain Coal Company was the sole employer in Matewan. The company’s laborers struggled for autonomy and for freedom from the company’s grasp. The ideal method for this achieving such autonomy was organization of a union. This idea of union struck a cord with the company, and the conflict between employer and employee soon escalated into a battle. The laborers began to realize, in certain terms, that the Stone Mountain Coal Company is not simply a corporation but a

Ignorance promotes fear. The Stone Mountain Coal Company exploits the ignorance of its employees to maintain power in Matewan. Keeping Matewan’s residents fearful of their future, fearful of change and fearful for their lives, the Stone Mountain Coal Company retains absolute control over the town of Matewan. Controlling all four social and cultural processes at work in Matewan, the company is able to extract the fear, work, and “loyalty” they desire out of their workers. They are maintaining a feudal environment over their employees, binding them through debt peonage to serve only the Stone Mountain Coal Company, denying them the freedom to search for other employers. The Stone Mountain Coal Company would in fact appear

In 1979, Nickelodeon, “a cable channel for kids 2-11 years old, was launched in the United States”. Nickelodeon provided a wide-range of programming which including “live-action, comedy, drama, animation, music and sports and game shows”. By 1995, Nickelodeon was the highest rated basic cable network and international expansion was very realistic and just getting started. To successfully transition internationally Nickelodeon allowed the channel to have its own “on-air identity and slogan” for each endeavor. Nickelodeon used an “International Swat Team” to launch the network into other countries and once established turned it over for local personnel

Taran Swan served as launch director and general manager of Nickelodeon Latin America. She had written the business plan, compiled a team and brought it through its first 18 months in the air. She unexpectedly had to return to New York and was faced with the decision of whether to appoint an interim leader in her place, and if so, who among her team members should she select?

1. Describe the culture at Nickelodeon Latin America. Be specific How did Swan go about building that culture?

The Ivanovics, although not formally educated in managerial leadership, realized that with their multi-cultural team members an indirect management style would grow the production output and would raise the morale and motivation of the workers. When McRae’s team tried to change this dynamic, especially as soon as they entered the corporation, their method backfired and was resisted by all of the employees and confidence in the leadership continued to decrease in the firm.

The main character in the film Black Swan, twenty-eight year old female Nina Sayers, displays signs of numerous disorders through her abnormal behavior. Nina’s life is consumed by her occupation: professional ballerina/dancer. Nina resides with her mother and rarely socializes with others. She has difficulty concentrating, is restless, irritable, suffers from muscle tension, and sleep disturbances from nightmares. Nina also feels very uncomfortable in social and intimate situations. She appears to be unable to successfully interact with those around her. The interaction that Nina has with her fellow dancers appears to be strained and superficial. Nina exhibits behavior that indicates she views all other dancers as competition instead of

Overall, through ‘Transformational Leadership’, Walt openly communicated his vision into the infrastructure of Disney and instilled values and a sense of purpose among his employees. With a wanted trust and respect for followers, he was able to encourage and challenge traditional methods to harness better, innovative ways to solutions (Flower 1991). Ruling by consensus, his consideration for the individual needs of his followers made him an ideal teacher and coach for his enterprise (Davis 2008).

The Disney Corporation is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive media. (Disney Corporate, 2009). This company did not become one of the leading corporations in the world without hard work, an extreme dedication to the mission and core values of the organization, and the successful application of the four functions of management: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Many internal and external factors may have a direct impact on the four functions of management like: globalization, ethics, and innovation.

The native accepted him as one of their own, and he was no longer a stranger.

According to Bolman and Deal (1991), the structural frame is the best predictor of managerial effectiveness. Under the structural frame, the Walt Disney Company achieves significant goals in both key long-term programs as well as new initiatives. The structural frame is hierarchical in the company, as there is a Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The leader of the company values analysis and data, keeps his eye on the bottom line, sets clear directions, holds people accountable for results, and tries to solve organizational problems with new policies and rules or through restructuring (Bolman & Deal, 1991). From this structure, it is evident that power flows from the topmost individual through the structure to the lowest individual in the

Honoring and rebelling cultural traditions is a common theme in many Asian stories. "Rashomon" by Ryunosuke Akutagawa is one of these stories. In "Rashomon", two characters, a man and an old woman, both rebel against their cultural traditions and expectations. The story takes place at the Rashoømon, the largest gate in Kyoto. The author purposely uses Kyoto to create a distinct and important mood for the story. The declining Rashoømon became a place for unnamed corpses and a hide–out for thieves. At the Rashoømon, a man, recently fired from his job, goes to find a place to stay while he thinks about becoming a thief. He then discovers an old woman pulling out the hair of dead corpses. The man questions the old woman and completes his first job at his new occupation. He robs the old woman and runs off, never to be seen again. The man and the old woman both decide to live rebelliously, showing the author’s views on living a rebellious life. The author incorporates Kyoto in "Rashomon" to prove his perspective on living rebelliously.

The Ramayana by R.K. Narayan's is an epic story that provides insights into many aspects of Indian culture and still today influences the politics, religion and art of modern India. He based his novel on a poem from one of India's great Sanskrit epics also called "Ramayana." He revived this ancient story and condensed it and set in modern times. This is story of adventure and friendship as well as a story of psychological insight, spiritual meaning and of wisdom. R.K. Narayan does an excellent job of portraying all these aspects throughout his novel. The meanings of The Ramayana are found through the actions and personalities of its principal characters. It is part of the sacred literature for the Hindus because