Read the Case Study and answer the following short essay questions.The case focuses on John Lasseter who currently is the
creative head of Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios both of which are owned by The Walt Disney Company. The case chronicles Lasseter%u2019s
interests in animation from a young age the relationship he developed with the Disney organization his developing interest in computer-animation and
consequent demise at Disney Studios his subsequent award-winning success with computer animation at Pixar Studios and his recent ascension to creative head
of Disney%u2019s Animation Studio as part of the Pixar-Disney merger.
The case provides a marvelous illustration of the many types of interpersonal power %uF0BE reward coercive legitimate referent and expert that exist within
an organization. The case also shows how power can be used to promote the well-being of the organization and its members or to benefit specific people%u2019s
interests at the expense of others%u2019 interests. Herein the two faces of power positive and negative come into play. Another linkage between the chapter
material and the case occurs in the form of concerns about the ethical versus unethical use of power. Finally the case can be used to explore the concepts of
organizational politics and political behavior in organizations. Organizational politics often has a negative connotation and some of the case facts lend
themselves to reinforcing this negative connotation.
Power and Politics in the Fall and Rise of John Lasseter
John Lasseter grew up in a family heavily involved in artistic expression. Lasseter was drawn to cartoons as a youngster. As a freshman in high school he read
a book entitled The Art of Animation. The book about the making of the Disney animated film Sleeping Beauty proved to be a revelation for Lasseter. He
discovered that people could earn a living by developing cartoons. He started writing letters to The Walt Disney Company Studios regarding his interest in
creating cartoons. Studio representatives who corresponded with Lasseter many times told him to get a great art education after which they would teach him
animation.
When Disney started a Character Animation Program at the California Institute of Arts film school Lasseter enrolled in the program after encouragement from
the studio. Classes were taught by extremely talented Disney animators who also shared stories about working with Walt Disney himself. During summer breaks
jobs at Disneyland further fueled Lasseter%u2019s passion for working as an animator for Disney Studios. Full of excitement Lasseter joined the Disney
animation staff in 1979 after graduation. However he soon met with disappointment.
According to Lasseter %u201C[t]he animation studio wasn%u2019t being run by these great Disney artists like our teachers at Cal Arts but by lesser artists
and businesspeople who rose through attrition as the grand old men retired.%u201D Lasseter was told %u201C[y]ou put in your time for 20 years and do what
you%u2019re told and then you can be in charge.%u201D Lasseter continues %u201CI didn%u2019t realize it then but I was beginning to be perceived as a loose
cannon. All I was trying to do was make things great but I was beginning to make some enemies.%u201D
In the early 1980s Lasseter became enthralled with the potential of using computer graphics technology for animation but found little interest among Disney
Studio executives for the concept. Nonetheless a young Disney executive Tom Willhite eventually allowed Lasseter and a colleague to develop a thirty-second
test film that combined %u201Chand-drawn two-dimensional Disney-style character animation with three-dimensional computer-generated backgrounds.%u201D
Lasseter found a story that would fit the test and could be developed into a full movie. When Lasseter presented the test clip and feature-length movie idea to
the Disney Studio head the only question the studio head asked was about the cost of production. Lasseter told him the cost of production with computer
animation would be about the same as a regular animated feature. The studio head informed Lasseter %u201CI%u2019m only interested in computer animation if it
saves money or time.%u201D
Lasseter subsequently discovered that his idea was doomed before he ever presented it. Says Lasseter %u201C[w]e found out later that others poked holes in my
idea before I had even pitched it. In our enthusiasm we had gone around some of my direct superiors and I didn%u2019t realize how much of an enemy I had made
of one of them. I mean the studio head had made up his mind before we walked in. We could have shown him anything and he would have said the same thing.%u201D
Shortly after the studio head left the room Lasseter received a call from the superior who didn%u2019t like him informing Lasseter that his employment at
Disney was being terminated immediately.
Despite being fired Lasseter did not speak negatively of the Disney organization nor did he let others know anything other than the project on which he was
working had ended. His personal admiration and respect for Walt Disney and animation were too great to allow him to do so.
Lasseter was recruited to Lucasfilm by Ed Catmull to work on a project that %u201Cturned out to be the very first character-animation cartoon done with a
computer.%u201D Not too long afterwards Steve Jobs bought the animation business from George Lucas for $10 million and Pixar Animation Studios was born.
Lasseter became the chief creative genius behind Pixar%u2019s subsequent animated feature film successes like Toy Story Toy Story 2 A Bug%u2019s Life and
The Incredibles among others.
In 2006 Disney CEO Robert Iger and Pixar CEO Steve Jobs consummated a deal for Pixar to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Disney. Iger points out that in
making the Pixar acquisition Disney wanted to protect Pixar%u2019s culture while giving it %u201Ca much broader canvas to paint on.%u201D Instead of Disney
absorbing Pixar into its culture Iger gave Pixar executives %u201CEd Catmull and John Lasseter control of Disney%u2019s animation operations with the mission
to get the old studio%u2019s computer-generated efforts up to par.%u201D
Iger wanted to reinvigorate animation at Disney and as the top creative executive at Pixar John Lasseter was viewed a key figure in achieving this objective.
Lasseter %u201Cis regarded by Hollywood executives as the modern Walt [Disney] himself [with capabilities] %uF0BC that have made Pixar a sure thing in the high
stakes animated world.%u201D Former Disney Studios head Peter Schneider says Lasseter %u201Cis a kid who has never grown up and continues to show the wonder
and joy that you need in this business.%u201D Current Disney Studio chief Dick Cook says that Lasseter is like the famous professional basketball player
Michael Jordan. %u201CHe makes all the players around him better.%u201D
According to Iger %u201C[t]here%u2019s no question that animation is a great wavemaker for the company. We believe we have a very vibrant creative engine
there mostly driven by Pixar and we hope that Disney Animation will once again experience glory days too. We believe we%u2019re on the right track.%u201D
Cook notes that Disney was the king of animation for a decade from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Cook continues %u201C[b]ut I think the biggest challenge in
any mature organization is how do you continue to evolve and press the edges of the envelope and I think it%u2019s fair to say we stopped doing that.%u201D He
also observes that getting Catmull and Lasseter %u201Cwas like a giant shot of adrenaline to the system.%u201D
Lasseter now oversees development of movies at both Pixar%u2019s and Disney%u2019s animation studios. Says Lasseter %u201CI can%u2019t tell you how thrilled I
am to have all these new roles. I do what I do in life because of Walt Disney%u2014his films and his theme park and his characters and his joy in entertaining.
The emotional feeling that his creations gave me is something that I want to turn around and give to others.%u201D
Without a doubt Lasseter is realizing his dream and very successfully to boot. Bolt a recent production of Disney Animation Studios received a Golden globe
nomination in late 2008 for best animated feature film. And Wall-E a Pixar Studios production was nominated for the same award as well. Jennie Yabroof a
reporter for Newsweek writes that %u201CLasseter himself has played perhaps the biggest role in the elevation of the lowly cartoon%u201D to the animated
feature film.
Lasseter%u2019s influence at Disney extends well beyond the animation studios. The reconstitution of the Disney theme parks%u2019 submarine ride is a great
example. Refurbished as a take-off on the animated film Finding Nemo %u201Cthe ride resurfaced with whiz-bang video and audio effects that allow the animated
sea creatures from Finding Nemo to seemingly swim and talk in the water.%u201D %u201CDisneyland%u2019s Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage is emblematic of
Disney%u2019s efforts to keep its parks relevant in a digital age.%u201D Two other projects based on the hit movies Cars and Bolt would not have been
possible without Lasseter and his Pixar colleagues%u2019 hands-on input says Bob Iger.
What a professional journey. Being fired by Disney Animation Studios for trying to be too creative then ultimately becoming the chief creative animation
genius for both Disney and Pixar!
This case was written by Michael K. McCuddy The Louis S. and Mary L. Morgal Chair of Christian Business Ethics and Professor of Management College of
Business Administration Valparaiso University.
Answer the following Essay questions and explain your answers with concepts from the reading.
1. What forms of interpersonal power are evident in the case? Provide evidence to support your answer.
2. In what ways do the two faces of power appear in this case?
3. Does the firing of John Lasseter from Disney Studios and the events leading up to his firing demonstrate the ethical use of power? Explain your answer.
4. Did the firing of John Lasseter indicate the existence of political behavior in the Disney organization?
5. Describe a situation from your experience where political behavior in an organization contributed to benefit or detriment to you or someone else.