Qualifications of Hightower
Hightower brought a wealth of experience in the position of Vice President of Consumer
Products for Europe and the Middle East. He would draw discipline from his eight years of
experience as an intelligence officer in the Army because he had
specialized knowledge of Eastern Europe. After receiving his MBA from Harvard, he worked at
GE as their national manager in Mexico before being hired by Mattel as the vice president of
corporate planning (Heinz, 2020). This diverse experience in
culture and industry positioned Hightower as a qualified candidate for leadership.
Disney Europe Prior to Hightower
The Disney organization had eight subsidiaries in Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Germany,
Italy, France, United Kingdom, and additional licenses in the Middle East (Heinz, 2020).
Country managers were hired and reported on budget and profit to
Barton Boyd who lived in California. Hightower believed that the subsidiaries had enormous
potential, but it had not been explored and the teams lacked spirit and creativity (Hightower,
1993). Hightower wondered if the European managers would accept
his leadership. While he had experience in Europe the Disney, he had never worked for Disney.
And there would be a natural tension that can arise among subsidiary organizations and cultural
tensions when management from headquarters begins to
take an active role which mandates management to communicate with stakeholders to decrease
tension (Ngoasong et al., 2021).
Steps to
Address the Current Conditions of the European Units
According to Kotter’s eight Step Process creating a feeling of urgency, developing a
coalition, sharing a vision, communication, empowerment, winning, and innovative approaches
are needed in every process (Alhaderi, 2021). Disney had defined
themselves as licensors of products, not creators and Hightower defined a new vision
(Hightower, 1993). Not only does the vision need to be discussed in meetings but it needs to be
enacted in daily work life.
Approaches on Change in European Operations
Creating a guiding coalition would be key to building relations with long tenured executives
within Disney Europe. Hightower had experience in many cultures and languages and that could
support his efforts. There may have been resistance at first given
the executives had been functioning separately for so long. Different leader styles may manage
resistance differently, Walt Disney was an autocratic leader, and he may have gone in with rules
and policy change. A navigator expects resistance because he
recognizes change may be uncomfortable for some. His focus is on not eradicating resistance but
managing it.
Biblical Integration
Resistance to change in business can be costly but resistance to the plans and purposes of
God in your life is worse. One of my favorite characters in the Bible is Jonah. I relate to him,
sometimes stubborn and reluctant to listen until I finally move
forward. Jonah 1, he flees from Lord (New International Bible, 1978/2011). We see Johan’s
reluctance to God’s plan to forgive the people as he pouts in chapter 4 (1978/2011). After finding
success in the people wanting to repent Jonah pouts and
resists God’s plan to forgive them. Fortunately, both the people and Jonah repented but it does
may one think of the wasted energy in resistance.
References
Alhaderi, S. M. (2021). KOTTER'S EIGHT STEP CHANGE MODEL FOR EMPLOYEES'
INTENTIONAL, COGNITIVE AND EMOTIONAL READINESS FOR CHANGE AND
DEVELOPING REGIONAL ECONOMY IN SAUDI BANKING SECTOR'S, ROLE OF
HOMOLOGOUS COMMUNICATION, LEARNING DEMAND AND JOB
INVOLVEMENT. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, 24, 1-12.
Hightower, D. F. (1993). Creativity is your business too. Planning Review, 21(5), 54-
56. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb054442
Heinz, A. (2021). Leading Organizational Change: McGraw-Hill Create.
New International Bible. (2011). The NIV Bible. https://www.thenivbible.com/ (Original work
published 1978)
Ngoasong, M. Z., Wang, J., Amdam, R. P., & Bjarnar, O. (2021). The Role of MNE Subsidiaries
in the Practice of Global Business Models in Transforming Economies. Management and
Organization Review, 17(2), 254-
281. https://doi.org/10.1017/mor.2020.55
Hi Natalie,
I agree that Hightower’s experience, including military and global positions made him uniquely
qualified for his new position, since leadership is emphasized in the military [ CITATION
Kir17 \l 1033 ]. Thanks for adding the information about Boyd feeling that there wasn’t enough
creativity in the European offices. Since all the European heads of offices were hired by one
person, and all had worked together for so many years, their similarities probably did cause a
decrease in creativity (Van Bavel et al., 2020). I also agreed that with the Eurpoean Executives
being in their positions for so long and having so much autonomy, that it could cause a huge
resistance to change [ CITATION Hei22 \l 1033 ]. The bible states that “As obedient children,
not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance” (King James Bible
Online, 2022, 1 Peter 1:14). This can serve as a reminder that we shouldn’t get too stuck in a rut,
just because things have always been done a certain way doesn’t mean that is the best way. Your
point about not eradicating resistance, instead utilizing the resistance to assist with the change
was spot on. Resistance to change doesn’t have to be seen as negative, it can be a good starting
point in obtaining buy-in form stakeholders [ CITATION Hei22 \l 1033 ]. I was involved at a
week-long change management workshop through my employer a few years back and the first
lesson the instructor taught us was that change isn’t always negative. It was the first time I heard
that message and it was powerful, it made me realize that most do view change as negative.
References
Heinz, A. (2021). Leading Organizational Change. McGraw-Hill Create. Retrieved from
https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9781307709100/pageid/6
King James Bible Online. (2022). Retrieved June 2022, from
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/2-Corinthians-Chapter-4/
Kirchner, M., & Akdere, M. (2017). Military leadership development strategies: Implications for
training in non-military organizations. Industrial and Commercial Training, 49(7), 357-
364. doi:10.1108/ICT-06-2017-0047
Van Bavel, J., Reinero, D., Harris, E., Robertson, C., & Parnamets, P. (2020). Breaking
groupthink: Why scientific identity and norms mitigate ideological epistemology.
Psychological Inquiry, 31(1), 66-72.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2020.1722599
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