Cross-Cultural Management: Euro Disney Case Study Analysis

This case study examines the cross-cultural management challenges faced by Euro Disney, focusing on the cultural differences between France and the United States. The analysis utilizes Hofstede's cultural dimensions to highlight these differences, including power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity, and uncertainty avoidance. The study also explores Trompenaar's research on corporate culture, comparing the task-oriented American approach with the more flexible French model. The assignment identifies significant mistakes made by Euro Disney, such as prioritizing financial aspects over cultural understanding, staffing and training issues, and imposing American rules on European employees. The study concludes with lessons learned, emphasizing the importance of extensive market research, developing alternative solutions, and creating a structured operational plan to navigate cultural differences effectively and achieve business success. The paper highlights the need for businesses to adapt their strategies to local cultural contexts to avoid operational pitfalls and enhance performance.

Running head: CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
Cross Cultural Management
Name of the Student:
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Main Cultural Differences between France and US (Hofstede Cultural Dimensions)....................2
Trompenaar’s Research on Cultural Differences............................................................................4
Recognizable Mistakes in the Case.................................................................................................5
Lessons should have learned for dealing with the diversity............................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Cross cultural management method is conceptualized as a method of managing teams by
considering the diverse work culture, preferences of the consumers, and the practices of the
internationalized businesses. Karadjova-Stoev and Mujtaba (2016) implied that many of the
organizations adopt innovative business practices or modify the current practices in order to take
the active participation in the competitive business scenario. Therefore, it is essential for the
companies to manage the cultural attributes of the diverse people. The case study highlights the
scenario of establishment of the Euro Disneyland that had faced some of the cultural differences
in different countries. The use of the Hofstede Cultural dimension would provide the differences
identified between the cultural aspects of France and United States. The case study also reflects
some of the considerable mistakes made by the company. Furthermore, the study would present
the associated learning obtained from the case scenario.
Main Cultural Differences between France and US (Hofstede Cultural Dimensions)
The case study explores the differences in cultural aspects between France and US that
have the clear impact on the operational functionalities (Boga and Efeoğlu 2015). Hofstede’s
cultural dimension model is the applied framework that suggests the cultural significance of
different countries. There are five major dimensions associated with this framework, which are
as follows:
 Power Distance
 Individualism vs. Collectivism
 Masculinity vs. Femininity

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 Uncertainty Avoidance
 Long-term orientation vs. Short-Term Orientation
The cultural differences between France and US are shown below by considering these
specific dimensions.
 Power Distance
Power distance is conceptualized as the extent to which the less powerful members within the
organizations expect that the power is equally distributed. France has scored considerably higher
grade in this dimension that depicts that the power is distributed to the superior (Hofstede
Insights 2017). The centralized power is visible in companies, government, and geographical
distribution as well. On the contrary, United States scored lower in this dimension that has made
the country famous fir the most individualistic culture in the world. Americans believe in liberty
and justice for everyone.
 Individualism vs. Collectivism
This dimension ensures the degree of independence maintained by the society among the
members. In this dimension both the countries scored the higher grades (Menon 2014). Society is
much concerned about their individual needs and one should take care of oneself and own
family. The individualism traits are equally shown in these two countries.
 Masculinity vs. Femininity
Generating high score in masculinity depicts that the society is majorly driven by the
achievement, competition, and success whereas femininity indicates the dominant values and the
care for others (Pouliagkos 2017). In United States, people are more likely maintaining the

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masculinity traits that create impacts on the individual mentalities. On the other hand, France
highlights more of the feminine culture, which has influenced the welfare system in a
commendable manner. Therefore, the differences between these two countries in this specific
dimension are clearly visible.
 Uncertainty Avoidance
The dimension of the uncertainty avoidance portrays the method utilize by the society to deal
with the consequences in future. US have scored average in this dimension as the Americans are
sometimes preparing themselves to face the future consequences (Hofstede Insights 2017). They
are more likely concerning about their behaviour that may create impact on the cultural aspects.
On the other hand, French culture is visible scoring higher in this dimension. People belong to
French culture believe in making a structured plan and do not like surprises.
 Long-Term Orientation vs. Short-Term Orientation
This dimension highlights the judgments of the people in present by recalling the past
experiences. It has been observed that the Americans are prone to exploring innovative ideas and
try out new experiences even though they are not considered as so much practical. French people
reflect the opposite traits by being much pragmatic. They have the belief that the truth depends
on the context, situation, and time. They are thus more likely adopting the traditional activities to
deal with the situations.
Trompenaar’s Research on Cultural Differences
As per the Trompenaar’s research, the corporate culture is classified into four different
kinds, such as Eiffel Tower, the family, the incubator, and the guided missile. These dimensions

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are used for distinguishing different corporate cultures that are depending on the people-centric
scenario and equally-hierarchy based work structure. It has been observed that the corporate
culture of America is based on the task-oriented situations. The employees need to maintain the
fixed schedule with the high efficiency level. The employers seek loyalty from the employees
since they are more concerned about the outcome (Tesler-Mabé 2017). On the other hand, the
corporate culture of France does not follow the systematic terms of the actual corporate culture.
It is notable that the French companies do not provide the employees the complete rule book that
is needed to be followed while performing the organisational functionalities (Shi 2016). The
accurate scenario would have contributed towards earning more profitable amount in a
competitive landscape. However, the lack of systematic and sequential operational plan created
this mess that impacted negatively on the business profits. However, the employees always have
the clarified concept of the functions that are needed to be undertaken. It thus highlights the
efficient and flexible work structure that is essential for developing the employee loyalty. This
innovative procedure is quite significant for the longer run (Grayson et al. 2017). In fact, the
French companies can attract more humans by paying more attention. The process creates more
relaxed and harmonious work ambience, which is quite motivating for the employees.
Recognizable Mistakes in the Case
The major focus of Euro Disney was the financial aspects and population more than the
target market and the underlying culture differences. The idea obtained from the case scenario
reflects that Euro Disney theme park was established in Central Europe where the population is
comparatively higher (Firoz, Rami and Yau 2015). It is noticed that every country maintains the
individualism, different cultural background, and it is essential to consider this cultural aspect at
the very first place. Most effective errors were found in managing the operational activities. For

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instance, Disney did not realize that Friday is the hectic day for the Americans more than
Monday. It was assumed that the days will be the same due to which they started allocating the
staffs accordingly. Eventually, the idea led the company towards loss.
Another mistake was found in staffing and training the recruited associates. It was
noticed that the company required hiring almost 12,000 cast members, which was a greater
challenge. Most of the problem was faced by Disney since the cast members were more like a
theatre troupe (Vitell et al. 2016). It was quite difficult to train the cast members after hiring
them. The human resource training was important for these members that included the
knowledge regarding the job requirements. It was even quite tough to put the “Disney Smile”,
wearing the proper dress code that was a well-scrubbed and rigid. The defined style was quite
difficult to adopt for all the members associated with the Disney land. European employees thus
faced the challenging scenario to adopt the defined American look. In fact, they could not adhere
to the American look since they felt it was against their individualism. The accurate scenario
would have contributed towards earning more profitable amount in a competitive landscape
(Hudson et al. 2016). However, the lack of systematic and sequential operational plan created
this mess that impacted negatively on the business profits. Another mistake Disney committed
when he tried imposing the different rules to the European employees. It was necessary to judge
whether he decision would hamper their performance and satisfaction level or not.
The errors made in the operational activities affected the attendance and performance
parameter of the employees in a recognizable way. For instance, the employees did not serve
alcohol that made the French customers astonished for a moment. They even made errors in
serving the breakfast. Their assumptions determined that the customers would not ask for the
breakfast that made the customers more furious. It was necessary for Disney to conduct the

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extensive market research about the cultural behaviour of the customers. It was even important to
note down the preferences of the customers before structuring the operational activities.
Lessons should have learned for dealing with the diversity
Before structuring any project work, it is always necessary to make the systematic plan
that helps in conducting the business appropriately. However, the case scenario reflects that Euro
Disney somewhat failed to categorize the sequential steps that were needed to be taken into
considerations (Gentina et al. 2014). In fact, it was recognized that Disney forced to establish the
Theme Park for earning easy money. It somewhat failed to look into the broader aspect. The
following lessons were needed to be learned by the company more precisely.
 Extensive Market Research
While planning of establishing the business entity in a place surrounded by the people with
the cultural differences, it is always necessary to develop the extensive market research. In fact,
gathering the sufficient information about the new country is the initial step that is needed to be
considered before entering a new market (Rufín et al. 2016). It is noticed that every country
maintains the individualism, different cultural background, and it is essential to consider this
cultural aspect at the very first place. However, in this case scenario, it is quite clarified that
Disney failed to conduct the extensive market research on the cultural preferences of the
potential customers. If Disney would have conducted the proper market analysis, the company
would have been able to deal with the diverse cultural traits accordingly.
 Development of the Alternative Solutions

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Every business need to identify the potential risks that the business might face while
conducting the entire operational activities in a country (Karin Andreassi et al. 2014).
Accordingly, the formulation of the alternative plans is also necessary to deal with the crisis
scenario. Unfortunately, in case of Euro Disney, there was no alternative plan. The success
achieved in Japan made the company over confident with their abilities of attracting more
customers. The company did not realize the necessary adjustments that were needed to make in
order to serve the American and French customers in a satisfactory way (Warrick 2017). The
realistic approach in gathering revenues was required while France was struggling with the
recession. Especially, while dealing with the cultural differences between America and France,
the considerable amendments were necessary. The Theme Park could make the monopoly
business due to the uniqueness. However, the company concentrated on the providing the
different types of entertainments that could help in participating in the competitive scenario.
 Structured Operational Plan
The extensive research on the population of America and France was also required. The
company needed to be attentive towards the preferences, age, income rate, expectation level,
and cultural values at the initial phase of preparing the business plan. The accurate scenario
would have contributed towards earning more profitable amount in a competitive landscape.
However, the lack of systematic and sequential operational plan created this mess that impacted
negatively on the business profits (Ariëns 2017). Therefore, Disney should look after the use of
the appropriate ‘marketing tool’, which channelize the business in a significant way. In addition
to this, it would even help the company to know the customers and their cultural values to
promote the long term sustainability.

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Conclusion
The case scenario reflects on the challenges faced in the operational activities of Euro
Disney in order to deal with the cultural differences between France and United States. In this
study, the cultural differences between these two countries were highlighted by using the
Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. The different corporate culture creates the impact on the
business functionalities. The success achieved in Japan made the company over confident with
their abilities of attracting more customers. The errors in the operational activities created the
negative impact on the organisational profitability. Moreover, it created the uncertainties that led
towards dissatisfaction. The lack of extensive market research and the improper alternative plan
developed the challenging scenario for the company. It is thus necessary for the company to
collect the insightful knowledge about the cultural expectancy and the market preferences before
establishing the business entity in a new country.

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