Disneyland in the United States and France - Case Study Example

s 16 June Euro Disneyland Question Using Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions as a point of reference, what are some of the main cultural differences between the United States and France? Answer: Euro Disneyland – The extension of the monumental Disneyland America in France apparently seemed a prospect to strike gold but it was grappled with numerous cultural differences between France and USA. In context with Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions, the following are the cultural differences: Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI): An indicator which measures the threat people come across towards uncertainty. This cultural dimension shows that the score of UAI for America is much lower than France. Euro Disneyland was formulated on the goal of providing a similar experience as that of American Disney Parks. However, the cultural allowances made were unsatisfactory to align with the French culture. This ambiguity led to as low as 29% of French visits to Euro Disneyland in the first year. Individualism: An indicator of extent to which individuals possess self esteem and care for their family members. The imposition of American family values of dress code and appearance such as short hair, no beards, moustaches and extensive jewellery was a slur for the French who are extremely individualistic in nature. Power Distance Index (PDI): This is a measure which reveals the scope of how subordinate staff responds to disproportionate allocation of power. French people scoring high on PDI were agitated at the fact that the frontier authority was unfairly allotted to American managers who lacked the essentials to handle the Euro Disneyland. Masculinity: Masculinity is an indicator that highlights tendency towards factors such as profit, success and worldly belongings. France is low on masculinity and values care and quality of life more. Nature of extension of Disneyland in France shows the proclivity towards more revenues. If Euro Disneyland was tailored for values such as collaboration, friendliness and ecological preservation then the results yielded would have been better (Hofstede, Pedersen and Hofstede, 34-40). Question 2: In what way has Trompenaar`s research helped explain cultural differences between the United States and France? Answer: The following set of Trompenaar`s cultural dimensions depict the cultural value differences between US and France: Internal vs. External: Internal culture represents people with the belief that whatever happens is a consequence of their actions. Contrary to these values that American believes in are the external culture values which represent French people which states that rather than being subject of destinies a person should alter to peripheral circumstances. Neutral vs. Emotional: Carriers of neutral culture values are people that have emotions and sentiments in control of them and kept to themselves. Contrarily there are people belonging to emotional culture who are natural and frank expressers of feelings. Though it is hard to draw a line between American and French when it comes to neutrality and emotionalism; the case suggest that French are more emotional than American. Specific vs. Diffuse: A culture which draws a line between professional and private life is a specific culture such as USA. However they have strong leaning towards public gatherings. As opposed to it, the French culture highlights a blend of private and work lives that are interconnected but are strongly preserved. Time Orientation: When it comes to USA, the activities follow chronological pattern and are done one at a time. The activities are prioritized and followed in accordance with plan. In comparison with this is the synchronous culture of France where people multitask at one moment and the activities are subject to change. Universalism vs. Particularism: Universalistic cultures are rules and regulations oriented. For them rules come first than relationships. As against them are particularistic society that consider relationships of primary importance. This is exemplified in the case that US multinationals apply same rules everywhere but France is contrary to this approach (Gooderham and Nordhaug, 140-144). Question 3: In managing its Euro Disneyland operations, what are three mistakes that the company made? Explain. Answer: There were numerous small and large scale mistakes made with the management of Euro Disneyland. The following three can be accounted as major mistakes: 1. The Walt Disney Co.’s tendency of executing same managerial and operating perspectives in all countries was the root cause of mismanagement of Euro Disneyland. As a consequence of this there arose numerous cultural differences and cultural imperialism in France. There were numerous erroneous cultural cues that arose including dress code restrictions, American assumption that French would queue up for Disneyland, wine being banned in Disneyland, lingual differences and the like. This led to upheaval amongst French community, specially the communists and intellectuals. 2. The staff management and customer service was not aligned as per the French Culture. For example, it was found from the America Disney experience that Friday was the rush day where as Mondays were light so the staff was accordingly allocated. This was poor staff management and led to more work load. The wine banning policy and the restaurants based on American infrastructural and food theme contributed significantly to poor customer service. 3. Costs were another major area of problem for Euro Disneyland. Labour cost was wrongly estimated to be 13% of revenues at launch. Later it increased to 40% in 1993. There was expansion in the park so costs of constructions for contractors and subcontractors also increased. The debt rose significantly and led to debt restructuring. Question 4: Based on its experience, what are three lessons the company should have learned about how to deal with diversity? Describe each. Answer: The expansion of Disneyland in France serves as a perfect case for MNCs that are targeting to expand their operations in other countries. Following are some company specific actions regarding diversity: Walt Disney should not implement its traditional American policies of management and operations in other countries in which they are expanding. The policies should be customized in accordance with the set of cultural values and norms of that country. The policies formulated should be such that leads to a win-win situation for both parent company and the country in which they extend. The Human Resource Management is another area which can be improved. Rather than assigning front-line managerial positions solely to Americans, it should be a mix of both the American and the other culture. This would yield more productive results as the local managers would have a better understanding of the culture. Staff allocation should also be properly managed for efficient work load management. There was lack of risk management and realistic planning which lead to humungous debts and costs. There was no prior European experience regarding Disneyland and so the plan should have been cushioned with back up budget and set backs should have been foreseen. Diversification always requires immaculate risk management and planning. Work Cited Gooderham, Paul N. and Nordhaug, Odd. International Management – Cross-Boundary Challenges. Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2003. Hofstede, Gert Jan, Pedersen, Paul B. and Hofstede, Geert. Exploring Culture – Exercises, Stories and Synthetic Cultures. Yarmouth, USA: Intercultural Press, 2002. Read More