Mickey Mouse: To Talk or Not? When Walt Disney created the Disney empire in the 1950s, he forbid its star characters such as Mickey Mouse and Pluto to talk. Mr. Disney thought it would be too difficult to control the service encounters between customers and the Disney characters, and it would ruin the “magic” of Disney. Therefore, Disney characters were trained to gesture and use only their body language to interact and entertain guests. Today, during a meeting of (fictional) senior “imagineering” managers, Mr. Luke Tomas, V. P. of Costume Design, said, “Mr. Walt Disney would not like Mickey Mouse talking if he were alive.” “But Luke, if Mickey speaks it gives us new ways to interact with our guests,” responded Cindy Bridgetown, V.P. of Imagineering, and Luke’s boss. “Cindy, we can’t control the conversation if Mickey talks to guests. Kids and parents are going to get their feelings hurt one way or another. And it’s too demanding on our employees.” Using the “What Do Operations Managers Do?” what key activities most directly relate to the case situation?

Understanding Management (MindTap Course List)
10th Edition
ISBN:9781305502215
Author:Richard L. Daft, Dorothy Marcic
Publisher:Richard L. Daft, Dorothy Marcic
Chapter13: Managing Communication
Section: Chapter Questions
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Mickey Mouse: To Talk or Not?

When Walt Disney created the Disney empire in the 1950s, he forbid its star characters such as Mickey Mouse and Pluto to talk. Mr. Disney thought it would be too difficult to control the service encounters between customers and the Disney characters, and it would ruin the “magic” of Disney. Therefore, Disney characters were trained to gesture and use only their body language to interact and entertain guests.

Today, during a meeting of (fictional) senior “imagineering” managers, Mr. Luke Tomas, V. P. of Costume Design, said, “Mr. Walt Disney would not like Mickey Mouse talking if he were alive.” “But Luke, if Mickey speaks it gives us new ways to interact with our guests,” responded Cindy Bridgetown, V.P. of Imagineering, and Luke’s boss. “Cindy, we can’t control the conversation if Mickey talks to guests. Kids and parents are going to get their feelings hurt one way or another. And it’s too demanding on our employees.”

  1. Using the “What Do Operations Managers Do?” what key activities most directly relate to the case situation?
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