Executive Summary American businesses make assumptions about the transferability of their business, management, marketing, economic and structural models of organizing which frequently fail to take into consideration cultural differences. An example of the consequences of such an approach to intercultural business practice can be found in the Disney Corporation 's recent Chinese venture, now called Disneyland, Hong Kong. Lack of cultural sensitivity and the negative infiltration strategy used by the Disney Corporation resulted in a great loss of time, money and reputation for which the corporation has only recently begun to compensate. After examining many struggles in Japan and France, especially in France, this paper examines how …show more content…
2.1.1 Cuteness a factor of success The overall appeal of Disney works the same as in other cultures but there appears to be an exaggerated and residual emotional attachment to the characters that makes it not uncommon for middle aged executives to have a Mickey Mouse pendant dangling from their cell phone or a fluffy Winnie the Pooh attached to their laptop case. Mike Fiorelli, an expert on Japanese consumer trends thinks that the Disney 'cute ' factor is very important to its success in Japan. Further than this, cute characters are also endowed with a relatively higher amount of trust by Japanese consumers. Japan is a culture affixated on cute characters (Hello Kitty and many anime characters).
2.2 Struggles in Paris Disneyland Resort Paris, Disney 's second resort complex outside the United States, opened in 1992 as Euro Disney Resort. Located in Marne-la-Vallée, in the suburbs of Paris, France, it features two theme parks, a shopping complex and six Disney resort hotels. It is maintained and managed by Euro Disney S.C.A., a company partially owned by the Walt Disney Company whose stock is traded on Euronext. Euro Disney, based near Paris, has been a financial sinkhole. Earlier this year, Euro Disney finalized a $2 billion restructuring plan, which included new capital and loan concessions, to
Lessons the company should have learned Through past experiences Disneyland and its management teams have most certainly learnt the importance of culture and national differences in working styles, consumer preferences, laws and public expectations and that before initiating any international project the studying of the host countries culture is the outmost priority. Having a person in its top management, which already knows the language, the culture and the way of life in the welcoming country can be helpful. Nevertheless, this is not sufficient. To work in a cross-culture environment, the company has to be open to new suggestions and be prepared to learn from new foreign employees and consumers alike. Moreover, to satisfy the local customers, cultural differences should be included in major final decisions. For instance, the price politic should be adjusted to the local expectations. The same goes
Showa: The Japan of Hirohito, edited by Carol Gluck and Stephen R. Graubard, seeks to find the answers to many questions that are commonly asked about Japan and its history. As stated in the title, this book focuses on the Hirohito era in Japanese history from 1926 to 1989. In the Introduction, Gluck states that there were two main issues for Japan in the twentieth century, “how Japan came to aggressive war and then to macroeconomic might” (xi). The unstable relationship between Japan and the United States is also an underlying theme of the book. The three chapters to be examined in this paper are, “The Useful War,” “The People Who Invented the Mechanical Nightingale,” and “Japan Meets the United States for the Second Time.”
Disney is hoping to appeal to India 's family-oriented middle-class consumers; core themes include "believe in yourself, express yourself, and celebrate your family." Because the number of cable television subscribers is increasingly rapidly, Disney launched the Disney Channel and Toon Disney. In addition, the company acquired Hugama, a children 's channel. Disney is also making Indian versions of its hit movie High
Other than that, each park is designed and structured towards the country’s culture. As operations exist outside the United States, Disney had to consider and accept the cultural differences between their home market of the United States and different international markets. A key theory that assisted Disney in global expansion to Shanghai, China is the understanding of Hofstede’s cultural factors which focuses on six cultural dimensions; power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term/short-term orientation, and indulgence/restraint (Steers, 2016). “Hofstede compares culture to the “software of the mind” that differentiates one group or society from another.” (Steers, 2016). Figure 1 illustrates the cultural differences between China and the United States through Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions.
Nowadays, exploring the differences in overall cultural value structures among different cultures has gradually grew business’s attention across the world. No matter small companies or global conglomerates, how to get involve and maintain their competitive advantages and long-term sustainable success in global business trade has been a heated topic to discuss. To fully understand the ethic differences and cultural influences, the following four aspects will help us to uncover the similarities and differences between the American and Chinese cultures.
Disneyland, Walt Disney’s metropolis of nostalgia, fantasy, and futurism, opens on July 17, 1955. The $17 million theme park was built on 160 acres of former orange groves in Anaheim, California, and soon brought in staggering profits. Today, Disneyland hosts more than 14 million visitors a year, who spend close to $3 billion.
Nakae Chomin’s Discourse was published in 1887, a period that demarcated a crucial turning point in Japan’s politics and economy. The book itself suggested the great debate that the people of Japan were having in deciding the future of the nation, and draws on Chomin’s studies on Western politics in France and his journalistic and political involvements in Japan.
Wal-Marts venture into South Korea is yet another example of a company attempting to duplicate its strategies and business model unsuccessfully. Wal-Mart didn’t consider how the vast differences in culture could affect their survival and ultimately let their complacency, conservatism and conceit get in the way. Their continued losses forced them to withdraw their investment after failing to adapt to the environment, the culture and customer needs. Wal-Mart should have adjusted their leadership style to be able to transcend context as well as engage in cultural sensitivity by localising their business to suit consumer preferences. More knowledge of the environment and competition could have
First, cultural difference can pose great problems in communication and collaboration in a joint venture. In this case, an attempt to attract a strategic investor had failed primarily because of lack of cultural sensitivity by the U.S.
This proposal provides blueprint to any business that tries to take over other business in International market by providing importance of cultural adaption especially Guanxi or connections in Chinese Market by providing an example of how Hotel international failed in building Roaring Dragon Hotel reputation back by ignoring the importance of cultural adaption (Guanxi Connections in this case). In addition, business should implement new methodologies considering existing methodologies unlike redundancy of employees with Guanxi connections losing its base on which the company is built.
5. Tokyo’s overwhelming success encouraged Disney to conquer the European market. They felt that they were able to evoke international appeal of the Disney concept and it would not be a hard task to wet their feet in Europe.
In doing business so many times an organization must think globally. This might be done to increase sales and/or profits or to lower labor costs. In either case problems can occur due to ethical and cultural barriers in global expansion. In this paper I will attempt to show some of what a global organization and a cultural issue that affects their interactions outside the United States by identifying and comparing some of these cultural differences.
Whenever a company is entering a new market it has to take into consideration the cultural differences between countries. Based on the case study analysis, the difference between the two countries in terms of eating out habits and eating preferences seem not to be understood by the Denver headquarter. Denver headquarter believes that it can enforce the same business model applied in the U.S to its stores in China, regardless of local preference. In addition, Foster seems to lack knowledge about the Chinese culture because she was not familiar with the market in China, as she had no experience working internationally. There was a lack of cross-cultural communication between Chen and Foster; even though, Chen had experienced both cultures while studying abroad in the U.S.
The Project Overview. In 1981, The Walt Disney Company involved different countries in its decision on where to locate Euro Disney. France and Spain were the most seriously considered for the Euro Disney project. The advantage of this project was that it would provide more than 30,000 jobs for the host country. Spain was considered for its pleasant weather and France was thought to be a perfect location because of its central position. In 1987, The Walt Disney Company signed an agreement with the French government to locate the complex in the farming community of Marme-la-Vallee, near the French capital. However, there were concerns about the weather in France, but given the experience with
The most challenging decision that a company may face in internationalization is the degree of standardization or adaptation in its operations. The question of standardization or adaptation affects all avenues of a business’ operations, such as R&D, finance, production, organizational structure, procurement, and the marketing mix. Whether a company chooses to standardize or adapt its operations depends on its attitudes toward different cultures. These attitudes are defined by three orientations toward foreign culture: ethnocentric, polycentric, and geocentric.