Cultural Factors of Euro Disneyland In Terms Of American and French Practices and Behaviours - Essay Example

Eurodisneyland Case Study Introduction Disneyland Paris which was originally known as Euro Disneyland is an entertainment resort located in Paris, France. It is under the management of Euro Disney which is part of the bigger corporation that is The Walt Disney Company. This resort is under the management of CEO Philippe Gas (Horan, 2011). It houses two theme parks, various hotels, a shopping mall and an entertainment complex. This resort is the second Disney entertainment resort to open outside the US. It was however opened with much controversy before and during its construction in the 1980s and early 1990s because of French labour unions expressing their opposition for the opening of the resort (Lainsbury, 2000). More issues were first seen by the resort as its expected profits during its initial operations were not as high as originally projected. In the years since, the theme park has become one of the major tourist attractions for Europe and France. There are various elements of the theme park which are now subject to discussion in this paper. These elements refer to cultural factors, mostly in terms of American and French practices and behaviours. This essay shall answer four questions. The first shall use Hofstede four cultural dimensions as a point of reference and discuss the key cultural differences between the United States and France. It will also discuss how Trompenaars’ research helped explain the cultural differences between the US and France. This essay will also discuss the three mistakes made in the management of Euro Disneyland. Finally, it will present three lessons which the company should have learned on how to deal with diversity. These questions are being discussed in an attempt to re-assess the cultural elements involved in the management of Euro Disneyland, in the hope of making eventual suggestions on the management of the current resort or other companies seeking to secure their businesses abroad. Body 1. 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? Americans and French perceive each other differently. The Americans perceive the French to be arrogant, flamboyant, and emotional (Palmer, et.al., 2012). They are also perceived to be hierarchical in their power structures in organizations. On the other hand, the French perceive Americans to be aggressive and unprincipled, immorally liberal, as well as highly stressed workaholics (Palmer, et.al., 2012). Power distance refers to the understanding within organizations of the extent to which power is distributed within the institution (Palmer, et.al., 2012). Within the American and French cultures, power is hardly distributed evenly. It is founded on management positions within the organizational culture and based on the power distance relationship. For uncertainty avoidance, this refers to the extent individuals would likely feel affected by vague scenarios and their efforts in establishing beliefs in order to avoid these ambiguities (Buhalis and Costa, 2012). Uncertainty avoidance within the American and French culture is based on situational elements. Threatening scenarios are apparent for both American and French cultures and employees are often asked to ignore these situations as much as possible (Buhalis and Costa, 2012). It is crucial therefore to acknowledge employees and the role they play in avoiding uncertainties. In further specifying applying Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to the Euro Disneyland case, it is apparent to note that the French have a significant degree of uncertainty avoidance. It is crucial to note that uncertainty avoidance would mean that individuals would believe themselves unsafe as they are wary of the future (Feng, 2009). It is observed that Americans have a lesser degree of uncertainty avoidance as compared to the French. As a result, Americans tend to be risk takers and are more courageous in facing such risks. The French on the other hand, fear such risks because they do not like to face uncertainties in their future (Stove and Mutjaba, 2009). It is also observed that only about 29% of the visitors to the resort were French, with the majority being foreigners (Stove and Mutjaba, 2009). As discussed by Feng (2009) specific standards must be indicated in terms of managing individuals who have a high level of avoidance. Moreover, Feng (2009) discusses that individuals who have a higher tolerance for uncertainty welcome less the less restrictive institutional settings; they are less traditional in other words, and are more likely to take risks in their activities and behaviour. In terms of individualism, this refers to the proclivities of individuals towards securing themselves and their family first (Keegan and Green, 1997). Among Americans, this is very much apparent in their individualistic practices, as American employees would consider themselves and their families first (Keegan and Green, 1997). Within the collective French culture, the welfare of the group is more paramount. This concept finds its roots in communism which is applied in various French organizations (Keegan and Green, 1997). Masculinity is often seen in cultures where the primary values include money, profit, success, and material things. In the US culture, masculinity is strong and such culture further supports the manifestation of individualism and materialism (Kusluvan, 2003). Within the French culture, the less materialistic culture is dominant, owing to a more feminine culture, one which focuses less on profit and more on family values (Kusluvan, 2003). One of the primary causes of disasters and misunderstandings are cross-cultural differences between and among people in general. This is due to the notion that culture is the driving force for one’s thoughts and actions and it often shapes people’s behaviour and policies (Hofstede, 1989). Moreover, in order to secure sustainable success, organizations need to understand the differences in the culture of the people where the organizations may decide to establish businesses (Feng, 2009). In countries like Japan and France, administrative and managerial positions which are considered high-ranking posts are for special and extraordinary individuals (Alder, 2008). Any orders coming from these individuals must therefore be given much credence and obeyed without question (Alder, 2008). Under these conditions, individuals may either be classified to be high or low power distance based on who they are in society and in the institution. This setup is different for countries like Norway, the United States, and Ireland as they believe that power must not reside on the bosses or managers alone (Feng, 2009). In effect, the power orientation for the US and France is very much different, with the French being particular on authority distance and the Americans being more relaxed about power distribution (Stove and Mutjaba, 2009). There are various citizens from different countries like Italy and Australia who support the individualistic culture (Alder, 2008). These individuals often prefer to consider their own individualistic goals and do not care much for collective goals. This situation is different in countries which support the collective culture and the value of caring for each other. These countries include Japan and Indonesia and some other Asian nations (Alder, 2008). Main differences in the individualist and collective cultures include the fact that individuals in collective cultures seek bigger and more extensive goals; while individualist cultures work to achieve independent and often self-serving goals and objectives. Hofstede (1989) discusses that both cultures have their individual merit and pitfalls and he recommends that the more prudent action would be to seek a balance between the individualist and the collectivist cultures. Alder (2008) discusses that Americans have acquired more individualist behaviour while the French have throughout the years been largely collectivist. The American culture and style being applied by the initial managers of the Euro Disneyland resort was therefore bound to fail as these managers were going against the cultural fabric of the French, one which was so far away from individualist applications (Alder, 2008). 2. In what way has Trompenaars’ research helped explain cultural differences between the United States and France? Trompenaars is a successful and highly regarded scholar on cross-cultural management. His observations have led to the conclusion that there are five relationship elements which people are faced with; and that differences in culture are often mirrored back to organizations (Feng, 2009). He discussed four different kinds of cultures – Family, the Eiffel Tower, the Guided Missile, and the Incubator (Mendonsa, 1999). The Eiffel Tower culture manifests a practical perspective in specifying the responsibilities of organizations. Such culture applies the pyramid structure which would imply that company policies are established by the managers and the other tasks are implemented by the lower-ranked employees within the organization (Trompenaars and Woolliams, 2004). For each department, the setup may be different. The specific functions for each department in any organization would constitute the primary difference in family type cultures and Eiffel Tower cultures. There are some disparities seen for the guided missile, the Eiffel Tower cultures as well as the family type cultures. It has been noted that for guided missile cultures, the setup is more domestic and employees are often evaluated based on their individual qualifications and performance (Chin, 2004). Under this culture, employees are often called to highlight end results (Francesco and Gold, 2005). Such culture calls for all organization functions to be aligned with the vision and the vision of the organization. Moreover, the outcomes are also based on teamwork and collective outputs. The above setup is very much different from the Eiffel Tower culture wherein the employees are specifically allowed to make decisions depending on specific times and circumstances, negating the need to comply and require written instructions (Mendonsa, 1999). Further into Trompenaars’ discussion, universalism is evaluated alongside particularism (Mendonsa, 1999). For universalistic states, the emphasis is indicated more on formal standards for relationships. In other words, the beliefs and practices can be indicated most everywhere without having to modify these. For the US, its culture is very much universalistic, often discounting the specific cultures of different countries (Trompenaars, Turner, and Woolliams, 2010). On the other hand, particularistic states highlight the importance of relationships. The perception is that ideas and practices must be based on specific situations, as they arise. Another discussion relating to Trompenaars is on the neutral versus the emotional culture (Trompenaars, et.al., 2010). Neutral cultures emphasize on holding back and controlling one’s emotions with individuals restraining themselves from showing their feelings to other people and on maintaining their composure at all times. For emotional cultures, expressions and feelings are usually shared without restraints and with much freedom and openness (Trompenaars, et.al., 2010). The US and France share common qualities of being emotional cultures as they hardly hold back or restrain themselves from expressing and sharing their feelings. The specific and diffuse cultures are also discussed by Trompenaars and this discussion supports the fact that specific cultures are those where individuals have a wide and very public space where other individuals can collectively gather (Francesco and Gold, 2005). For the US, there is a significant separation between their work life and their private life. For the diffuse culture, the public and the private spaces are more or less equal in size (Francesco and Gold, 2005). While America has a more specific culture, France enjoys a more diffuse setup where their work and home lives are more closely related with each other Cultural issues may be seen because of how people carry out their work in terms of time considerations (Trompenaars and Voerman, 2009). For sequential cultural setups including the US, individuals usually move from one activity to the next with appointments being strictly adhered to and plans followed to the letter. France has a more synchronous culture where people are more inclined towards carrying out several activities at the same time (Trompenaars and Voerman, 2009). Appointments are usually carried out at approximate time periods with possible changes made on designated times and plans. 3. In managing its Euro Disneyland operations, what are three mistakes that the company made? Explain. Disney made various mistakes in its Euro Disneyland operations. Even as there were indeed extensive plans which were laid out for the theme park, Disney did not take into account the most significant cultural, environment, as well as labour and financing differences which were crucial to the effective management of the theme park. First and foremost, various locations in Europe were assessed before the final location was chosen for the theme park and in the process of selecting the final spot, the corporation focused on Europe’s appeal for tourism (Hartley, 2011). It was believed that millions of people would be able to access Euro Disney with the French government allocating millions for infrastructures which could be used to improve accessibility to the park. The Channel Tunnel 1993 opening made the travel time from London to Euro Disney about 3 hours (Yue, 2010). However, its location was east Paris, not west Paris despite initial recommendations from the French. The French also pointed out that if the opening would be placed on the west, no long-term population would form in the east (Yue, 2010). White (2009) also evaluated the weather issues in Europe, with France having a much colder climate as compared to California and Florida. Such weather issues would also prompt the need to cover waiting areas and sidewalks in order to prevent tourists from being exposed to winds and rain (White, 2009). Only six months in a year is the weather in France pleasant and as a result, visitors were not encouraged to visit the park when the weather conditions were harsh. As a result, the management sought to remedy low tourist numbers during off seasons by giving discounts to visitors (Lane, et.al., 2012). Major efforts by the management to increase attendants were also made through heavy advertising and promotional tours. More than environmental considerations however, the cultural element for Euro Disneyland were not considered by the American-based corporation before the theme park was eventually opened (Gumble and Turner, 1994). Even as the Europeans’ acceptance of the park has not been at issue for Euro Disneyland and its management, a major cultural clash was still seen. Most Europeans perceive cultural imperialism in the management of the theme park. The Europeans and specifically the French have never warmed up to the brash and often insensitive style of the American organization (Yue, 2010). The controversial management style of the Disney executives increased the issues encountered as they also alienated the people with whom they had to work with. These executives ignored suggestions and work issues by simply instructing these employees to do as they were told (Yue, 2010). There were significant errors in the operations of the theme park which also impacted on French culture. This was apparent in how they adopted a no alcohol policy in their theme park (Yue, 2010). This policy may have worked well in California and even Tokyo, but for France where drinking wine with lunch is the norm, this policy was met with astonishment (Yue, 2010). This policy would later be adjusted as the company later understood the cultural relevance of wine in the park. Aside from the no alcohol policy, Disney also did not have a good understanding of the European culture involving breakfast. The initial understanding was based on the premise that Europeans did not normally eat a substantial breakfast and so restaurants were then arranged to accommodate only small numbers (Nutt, 2009). This understanding was incorrect as soon as huge throngs of people showed up for breakfast, demanding big meals. The American corporation was also ill-advised about Europeans apparently not partaking in sit-down breakfasts. This led to the corporation reducing the number of restaurants in the theme park (Nutt, 2009). As soon as the park opened however and it was clear that guests were seeking sit-down breakfast meals, the company realized that it again made a mistake in laying out the park plans. Although Americans are very much comfortable in walking and wandering parks while eating their breakfasts and lunches, Europeans were the opposite (Yue, 2010). They preferred to sit down. The decreased number of restaurants in the park could not accommodate these numbers, and this caused long lines of hungry tourists wanting to be fed. The fact that these tourists were told that there was no alcohol served in the restaurants made things even worse. As a result, the Disney experience for the Europeans has not been favourable (Nutt, 2009). Moreover, it also proved difficult for the theme park managers to assist as staff during the meal time rush hours. Another example of a cultural error in the Euro Disneyland case is the failure of Disney to understand how Europeans perceived vacation time (Hegar, 2011). The American corporation believed that since the French and Germans usually took long weeks of vacation, they would find major advantage in the presence of the park. As it turns out, Europeans preferred only a few long holidays instead of having numerous short vacations (Hegar, 2011). The attendance to the Euro Disneyland park was seasonal as parents usually choose to wait for their kids’ summer vacations to visit the park. As a result of these unconsidered elements, only a limited number of tourists were seen during off-season months (Hegar, 2011). This was very much different from the American setting where parents would often take their children out of school in order to take short breaks or holidays. Europeans are not enthusiastic about their children being absent from school just to have vacations, but Americans usually do not see any problems with taking their children out of school for short breaks (Hegar, 2011). The American company also believed that it would eventually be able to see an Americanization of the European culture. This was however hardly the case for the park (Luthans and Doh, 2008). Attendance to the park during their opening was strong with the park also including computer stations for the hotels. The management believed that the tourists would be staying in the park for at least three or four days (Hill, 2000). However, this was not the case for Euro Disneyland as majority of the guests arrived in the morning, visited the park for the day, checked into the hotel at night, checked out in the morning and then returned to the park for the rest of the day (Yue, 2010). This was a surprise for the Disney executives who were used to seeing guests in their California and Florida parks staying in their hotels for at least four days. With various guests checking-in and others checking-out, more computer stations had to be setup in order to reduce waiting time for the guests. In the first plan for the theme park, the executives believed that Europeans would also be like their American cousins in relation to their transport around the park (Hill, 2000). In the US, various trains, boats, and trams moved guests from hotels to the parks. Americans preferred to take these rides around the park; but Europeans preferred to walk, often leaving the transport systems alone (Yue, 2010). Reduced usage of these transport systems did not significantly impact on the revenues of the park, however, the capital involved as well in the maintenance costs for the transport systems amounted to a considerable sum. Another mistake for the American company was on how they managed the French labour force. Working in a foreign country can imply a major change for most American companies; and Euro Disneyland went through various issues in their European laws (Yue, 2010). Employees did not favour the company dress code and requested French inspectors to settle the issue. Issues between French construction subcontractors and the company on payments also emerged. The company was eventually able to secure an arbitration agreement with the subcontractors, however disputes still had to be settled by the courts (Masters, 1997). The French authorities also felt that the American bosses demoralized the staff and this led to a decreased number of French tourists. The American company also did not quite understand the difference between the US and European labour standards. This implied that there was a flexible work arrangement for Americans depending on the day of the week and time of the year (Yue, 2010). French labour laws however do not have provisions for such flexible work times and what available provisions were there could not be applied to the theme park personnel. Labour costs were higher than the costs in the US. Before the launching of the theme park, their managers estimated labour costs to cut through about 13% of their profits (Yue, 2010). Such estimate did not match the actual costs as the cost of labour claimed about 24-40% of their revenues. Such labour costs increased the company’s debt (Yue, 2010). Overall, the company failed to make the necessary adjustments to secure desired conditions for the theme park in Europe. The company also adjusted the theme park in order to capitalize on French-flavoured attractions, including attractions founded on Jules Verne. However, the park still secured its American attractions, including that of Michael Jackson and one of his movies (Huey, 1995). The park also used French and English as its main languages for the park, giving also translations for the Dutch, Italians, and the Spanish. However, the company wrongly believed that Europeans also desired American ways and things (Yue, 2010). In fact, such an attitude made the French all the more resistant to the American efforts to Americanize them and the rest of Europe. 4. Based on its experience, what are three lessons the company should have learned about how to deal with diversity? Describe each. In assessing the issues which Euro Disney experienced as a theme park, it is apparent to note the importance of studying and evaluating the differences in culture and values of various countries (Anthony, 1992). Marketers have to carry out expansive planning activities in order to avoid issues and misunderstandings. It can be gleaned from this case that considering the values and opinions of individuals who live within the area affected by a business or activity would eventually be a valuable tool in avoiding issues relating to location, environment, and management (Huey, 1995). Cultural issues have to be reassessed well, and assumptions must be avoided at all times because these may actually be wrong or outdated assumptions. Assuming that Europeans take vacations same way as Americans do proved to be a wrong assumption for the company, and eventually such assumption cost the company millions in profits. Disregarding local customs in the area, especially those relating to food and wine drinking was also a failure on the part of the Disney executives (Yue, 2010). This indicated how the Americans did not study their target population well. As such, they were also wrong to assume that Europeans also wanted American customs and things. This assumption further alienated the European population who did not much favour American feelings of cultural superiority. It is therefore important in this case to be sensitive and considerate of European and especially French feelings and needs (Masters, 1997). Laws also have to be supported and Disney did not even attempt to understand differences in American and European labour laws. As a result, significant costs in labour were suffered by the company. Finally, it is important to note that Europeans actually feel that travelling to the US and experiencing the Disney magic there would have be a better option for them, mostly due to the warmer weather and the more pleasant attractions in the US (Masters, 1997). In the end, these Europeans would have actually appreciated the real American and Disney experience, instead of the smaller version which was established in France. Conclusion The lessons and experience gained from this case study can also apply for most corporations in most parts of the world. For one, Disney failed in appreciating even the simplest qualities of the Europeans – their eating habits as well as their transport preferences. The lesson seen here is for any company including meals in its services, it is important to consider the population involved, their eating habits as well as their preferred food and drinks. In general, it is apparent to note that in evaluating an international activity, decisions by the company must not be made in haste and without extensive research on the location, environment, labour force, as well as other specific cultural qualities of the target population. An assessment of their economy, politics, interests, work habits, laws, and geography would also be essential elements in the population assessment. In effect, it is also crucial for differences to be proven true, and not be assumed as true. 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