Identify an episode of strategic change for an organisation of your own choice. How appropriate was the approach to strategic change given the issues faced by the organisation? Critically evaluate the effectiveness of the strategic leadership during the change process. Identify the impact of the change episode upon the key resources and core competencies of your organisation.

This paper will analyse a recent period of strategic change at The Walt Disney Company which began in 2005 with the appointment of current CEO Robert Iger. The company began to experience halted growth during the late 1990s. The former CEO Michael Eisner had been successful himself in the late 1980s in changing the company during what is known as the Disney Renaissance. Eisner successfully concentrated the company’s energy back into producing animated films and helped the company to create now-classic names such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin and others. However starting in 1999 share prices began to fall as changes in Disney’s competitive environment, consumer preferences and technology combined to alter its strategic context – which posed problems for the company in aligning its strategic objectives with its organisational structure and culture. Eisner was well known for his micromanagement and top down approach to management (Gunther, 1999), which served the company well during the 1990s when he could focus on single brands. The production of animated feature films which are successful at the box office can generate revenue for all Disney’s business divisions from theme parks to theatre to consumer products (Gunther & Hajim, 2006). However Eisner’s management approach seemed to be ineffective for the digital age in which companies have to perform at the top level at high speed in all of its divisions simultaneously.
Under Iger the company has