The history of Pixar (Pixar Animation Studios, 2009a) goes back to 1984 when John Lasseter, today’s chief creative officer of both Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, started working for the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm which two years later was bought by Steve Jobs and renamed “Pixar”. In 1991, after a number of short films and commercials with some of them winning various awards, Pixar and Disney pooled forces aiming to make the first full-length com-puter-animated movie. Released in 1995, Toy Story was a great success and marks the beginning of Pixar’s unbroken triumph to date. Having once prolonged their agreement to work together in 1997, and having released Toy Story 2, A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and The Incredi-bles, all major successes, Pixar eventually was acquired by Disney in 2006. How-ever, instead of absorbing Pixar, people in charge at Disney explicitly agreed to let Pixar continue as it did before and even secured the preservation of the ‘Pixar Culture’ in their contract (Telegraph Media Group Limited, 2009). In fact, Disney used the merger to revive its own spirits, for example by promoting John Lasse-ter to his above-mentioned position.
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Cultural Issue
- 3. Theoretical Framework and Limitations
- 4. Analysis
- 5. Conclusion
Objectives and Key Themes
This assignment aims to analyze the "Pixar Culture" and identify the factors contributing to its success. It examines Pixar's human resource management practices and the role of human resource development in fostering a thriving work environment. The analysis is grounded in Schein's three levels of organizational culture.
- Pixar's organizational culture and its key characteristics.
- The role of human resource management in shaping Pixar's culture.
- The impact of leadership and founder influence on the company's culture.
- Comparison of Pixar's culture with other organizations (implicitly, Disney).
- Application of Schein's model of organizational culture to analyze Pixar.
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: This chapter provides a brief history of Pixar Animation Studios, from its origins in Lucasfilm's computer graphics division to its acquisition by Disney. It highlights Pixar's remarkable success with its string of critically acclaimed and commercially successful animated films, emphasizing the preservation of its unique "Pixar Culture" even after the Disney merger. The chapter sets the stage for the analysis of this distinctive culture as the main focus of the assignment.
2. Cultural Issue: This chapter establishes the central question of the assignment: What makes Pixar's culture so outstanding and successful? It introduces the concept of the "Pixar Culture" as the core subject of investigation. The merger with Disney serves as a backdrop, showcasing Pixar's cultural strength and its ability to maintain its identity even within a larger corporate structure. The chapter explicitly focuses on examining Pixar's human resource management and human resource development as key elements shaping its culture.
3. Theoretical Framework and Limitations: This chapter outlines the theoretical framework used for the analysis—Schein's three levels of organizational culture (artefacts, values, and basic assumptions). It explains the rationale for choosing this model, emphasizing its suitability for analyzing organizational culture from observable artifacts to underlying values. The chapter also acknowledges potential limitations, such as the bias inherent in relying primarily on sources reflecting the perspectives of Pixar's leaders and prominent members. It discusses the challenges of interpreting artifacts and the limitations of available data in fully capturing the complexity of working at Pixar. Despite these limitations, the chapter justifies the use of Schein's model as a suitable framework for the analysis.
4. Analysis: This chapter presents an analysis of Pixar's culture based on Schein's model. It directly presents the values discovered, each supported by identified artifacts from the literature. This concise structure combines smaller observations into a broader understanding of the organizational culture at Pixar, creating a comprehensive picture of their internal workings. (Note: The provided text excerpt ends abruptly before the full chapter 4 content is available for summarization.)
Keywords
Pixar Culture, organizational culture, human resource management, human resource development, Schein's model, leadership, animation, corporate culture, Disney, success factors, artefacts, values, basic assumptions.
Pixar Culture: A Comprehensive Language Preview - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of this document?
This document provides a comprehensive preview of a language assignment analyzing Pixar's organizational culture. It includes the table of contents, objectives and key themes, chapter summaries, and keywords. The analysis uses Schein's three levels of organizational culture as a framework.
What are the main topics covered in the assignment?
The assignment focuses on analyzing Pixar's organizational culture, examining its key characteristics, the role of human resource management in shaping it, the impact of leadership, and comparing it (implicitly) to other organizations like Disney. It specifically applies Schein's model of organizational culture to understand Pixar's success.
What is Schein's model of organizational culture, and how is it used in this analysis?
Schein's model analyzes organizational culture on three levels: artifacts (visible elements), values (stated beliefs), and basic assumptions (unconscious beliefs). This model is used to systematically analyze Pixar's culture by examining observable elements and inferring underlying values and assumptions.
What are the key chapters and their summaries?
The assignment includes the following chapters:
- Chapter 1 (Introduction): Briefly outlines Pixar's history and success, setting the stage for analyzing its unique culture.
- Chapter 2 (Cultural Issue): Defines the central research question: What makes Pixar's culture so successful? It highlights the role of human resource management and development in shaping the culture.
- Chapter 3 (Theoretical Framework and Limitations): Explains the rationale for using Schein's model and acknowledges potential limitations of the research, such as data bias.
- Chapter 4 (Analysis): Analyzes Pixar's culture using Schein's model, linking observed artifacts to underlying values. (Note: The provided text excerpt ends before a full summary of Chapter 4 is available.)
- Chapter 5 (Conclusion): Not detailed in the preview.
What are the key themes and objectives of the assignment?
The key themes revolve around understanding Pixar's successful organizational culture, the role of human resource management and development, the influence of leadership, and the application of Schein's model. The objective is to analyze the factors contributing to Pixar's success and its unique culture, especially considering its merger with Disney.
What are the keywords associated with this assignment?
Keywords include: Pixar Culture, organizational culture, human resource management, human resource development, Schein's model, leadership, animation, corporate culture, Disney, success factors, artifacts, values, and basic assumptions.
What are the limitations acknowledged in the assignment?
The assignment acknowledges limitations in relying primarily on sources reflecting the perspectives of Pixar's leaders and prominent members, potentially creating bias. It also notes challenges in fully capturing the complexity of working at Pixar due to data limitations.
- Quote paper
- BA (Hons) in International Business Management Matthias Nuoffer (Author), 2010, The Way They Do Things Around There: An Analysis of the ‘Pixar Culture’, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/161633
