Starting back in the early 1920, Disney made it their mission to seek leaders who are competent in making daily decisions. Leaders have to have “the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals (Ch. 12 pg. 376). The leaders of Walt Disney are the board of directors and the management team. The board of directors consist of ten members with Robert A. Iger being the chairman and chief executive officer. Management consists of fifth teen members with Andy Bird as the corporate chairman and Bob Chapek as the president of the business unit. Each member has their style of leadership that work for the committee. Some styles of leadership that can be found within the committee are charismatic leaders, transactional leaders, and authentic leaders.
Charismatic leaders are those who have “a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which he or she is set apart from ordinary people and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities” (Ch. 12 pg.387). CEOs of a company are normally the ones who are classified as a charismatic leader. There are two sides of a charismatic leader, a good side and the dark side. The dark side of the leader may “use their powers to remake companies in their image and allow their interest and personal goals to override the goals of the organization (Ch. 12 pg. 390). This leader communicates with its members on a day-to-day basis and is more effective than the charismatic leader. The transformational leader tends to be more creative and encourages their followers to be creative as well. An authentic leader knows “who they are, know what they believe in and value, and act on those values and beliefs openly and candidly (Ch. 12 pg. 394).
The Walt Disney tries to incorporate all styles of leadership within their leadership committees which may affect the group’s communication. It is easier to communicate with a transformational leader due to their ability agree with many decisions that are made. They may question some ideas, but they usual are the ones who hop on board. Communicating with a charismatic leader can be difficult at times. They usually have their minds made up and wants everyone to agree with them, and then move on to the next topic. “Researcher Robert House stated that the purely charismatic leader may want followers to adopt the charismatic’s world view and go no further, and the transformational leader will attempt to instill in followers the ability to question not only established views but eventually those established by the leader” (Ch. 12 pg. 393). Compares to a charismatic and transformational leader, an authentic leader are willing to communicate openly, but like a charismatic leader, they tend to stick to their ideas.
The company communicates through their chain of command that is the structure of the organization. In order to maintain the structure around the company, a source of power must be set. There are five sources of power which are divided into two groups, formal and personal power. The organization of Walt Disney mainly focuses on the formal powers which are coercive, reward, and legitimate powers. A coercive power is a “power base that is dependent on fear of the negative results from failing to comply” (Ch. 13 pg. 422). The reward power is the complete opposite of coercive powers. Legitimate powers are the powers “a person receives as a result of his or her position in the formal hierarchy of an organization” (Ch. 13 pg. 424). "The reason the Disney organization has formal power instead of personal power is due to the committee focusing on the position of the organization besides the “influence derived from an individual’s characteristics” (Ch. 13 pg. 423).
Motivation plays a huge role inside of an organization. It is the foundation of communication that exist between all employees. “Motivation is defined as the process that account for an individual’s