Group 1 ODD Teaming at Disney Animation

Define the Problem Statement with the help of one single sentence.

The organization followed a hierarchical structure in which the business units operated as separate
units which led to the problems like cultural issues also curbed innovative ideas, unable to match up
to the latest and newly evolved technologies, moreover the personal goals of the employees was not
aligned with the company goals that made it further difficult to work

Would the new initiative be able to resolve the major problems faced by the Disney Animation’s
Systems Group? What are your alternate recommendations?

The new recommendation for adopting matrix structure as the new structure followed by the would
resolve the major problems faced by Disney Animation’s Systems as the

 The small teams were more effective

 The new teams could be formed quickly to respond to changing requirements leading to coping
with technological changes
 Employees and teams were more empowered to make their own changes
 Employees felt much more engaged in product development and could have secondary roles in
hobby projects, which increased motivation
 Managers coached people and led by example by being part of the team. This helped to promote
shared vision across all employees and helped develop personalities

The alternatives that can be taken are

Assigning a job to a person who is dedicated to work under different verticals and further root the
ideas evolved to the planning team as this could reduce the time taken for requirement
To enhance performance, setting targets and incentivizing after achieving them

What are the key take-away lessons from this case?

Many-a-times evolving within a structure may lead to cultural and organisational issues. Further
communications across divisions and domains are of key importance for an organisation to grow.
Centralising authority is necessary for organisations so that employees and organisation align in
goals.