Euro Disneyland case study

DATE: 10th February, 2014

EURO DISNEYLAND CASE ANALYSIS CROSS CULTURE MANAGEMENT

ARPIT KHANDELWAL (28) | ATHUL GEORGE (31) | BIBHU PRASAD BISWAL (40) | CHRYSOLITE SHARON (44) | EDISON P. K. (51) Batch 18 (A)

XIME, BANGALORE

EURO DISNEYLAND CASE ANALYSIS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Euro Disney had a very hard initial experience in France. Due its lack on accurate information about the French and European preference and culture, further on their inability on forecasting external problems and inability on controlling both controllable and uncontrollable forces, Disney acquired a huge debt. Instead of analyzing and learning from its potential customers Disney chose to make assumptions, turned out that most of those assumptions were wrong. Disney made wrong assumptions in many areas as well. In the cultural area for example it assumed that customers would be ok not having wine to drink, turned out customers were astonished but the decision of breakfast was another cultural mistake, but in the opposite way. Disney assumed that French customers would want to eat French breakfast while they wanted American one. Operational errors were also committed for Disney, for example Disney assumed that Monday would be a light day and Friday a heavy day, so they arrange the staff accordingly, turned out to be the opposite and Disney had a big problem with that. Another assumption such as optimistic assumption about attendance was also made. If Disney had conducted a primary research and learned from their potential customers, French and Europeans, they would have forecasted those mistakes and prevented them from happening. Also if Disney had controlled better the controllable forces, price and promotion for example, they would have a better initial experience. Disney could have followed some simple steps that would gave them a better chance to succeed initially and/or recovering faster. Disney could had done market analysis and market research, develop alternative plans, chose one plan, and created an effective operational plan. France was the best choice for Euro Disney, because it presented the best geographic location and also had many incentives from the French Government, cheap land, easy bank loans, and more than $1billion in incentives. If Disney had to choose another location to open and operate its Euro theme park, this location could be England, for its similarities with United States, such as language, culture, weather, and acceptance. It is notable that culture has a great influence to French customers, Disney’s case is a great example of that. As many French saw Disney’s approach as offensive and an insult to French culture, they created protests and the attendance of the park was very low. To conclude, Disney had a very poor initial performance due its lack of knowledge about the French and European preferences and culture. If Disney had followed the steps proposed above they could have had a better initial experience. Therefore, Disney is a great cross-cultural lesson for students and business man around the world. This report recommends that companies and individuals take more attention to cross-cultural aspects, before rushing into business. They should be able to adapt to the new environment instead of wait to the environment adapt to them. Assumptions should be taken, but always in lower numbers in order to preserve the business future. One detail may be the difference between success and failure, paying attention to them is vital.

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INTRODUCTION Euro Disney, nowadays Disneyland Paris, is a holiday and recreation resort located in Mane-laValle, a new town close to Paris (Euro Disney, 2009). When the International offer of shares for the Euro Disneyland was issued in October 1989 the strategies for this new enterprise of the Walt Disney group were very optimistic. The financial plans for the first year of operation estimated total revenues of FF 5,482 million and a net profit after tax of FF 204 million. For the subsequent years the development was projected to be even more impressive. Just within a short time after Euro Disney was unwrapped in April 1992, it was noticeable that reality would not encounter the plans. In November 1992, the financial reports for the year ended in 30 September 1992 were published which included the first 172 opening days of Disneyland Paris. There the management had to announce a loss of FF 188 million. The second year was even worse. Although Euro Disney nearly met plans for guest attendance, they confronted a loss of FF 5,337 million whereas total turnover was FF 5,725 million. Plans for the second year of operation (1 April 1993 to 31 March 1994) predicted a turnover of FF 6,801 million and a profit of FF 359 million. (Recklies, n.d.) Euro Disney started to have problems early, on 1980’s problems with negotiation and construction, on the 1990’s with French figures started to voice against the park, with phrases like “Cultural Chernobyl” (Euro Disney, 2009) .Euro Disney also had problems in the beginning of its operations, since the first day, problems related to cultural issues and operational issues occurred massively, affecting directly Euro Disney’s performance and attendance.

Objective The main objective of this report is to understand how Euro Disney had this initial failure. How it could had a better initial experience, and to provide recommendations to students and business men don’t committee the same errors.

Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory is a framework for cross-cultural communication, developed by Geert Hofstede. It describes the effects of a society's culture on the values of its members, and how these values relate to behavior, using a structure derived from factor analysis. The theory has been widely used in several fields as a paradigm for research, particularly in cross-cultural psychology, international management, and cross-cultural communication. (Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory, n.d.)

Dimensions of national cultures     

Power distance index Individualism vs. collectivism Uncertainty avoidance index Masculinity vs. femininity Long-term orientation vs. short term orientation

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Cultural differences between United States and France France

21

37

31

42

61

63

66

75

76

100

United States

POWER DISTANCE

INDIVIDUALISM MASCULINITY UNCERTAINITY LONG TERM AVOIDANCE ORIENTATION

Source: (COUNTRY COMPARISON, n.d.)

Power distance This dimension deals with the fact that all individuals in societies are not equal, and it expresses the attitude of the culture toward these power inequalities amongst us. Power distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. It has to do with the fact that a society’s inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders. (R.Kimberley & Stephen, n.d.)

US    

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The fairly low score on Power Distance in combination with the most individualistic culture in the world reflects itself in the following: The American premise of “liberty and justice for all.” This is evidenced by an explicit emphasis on equal rights in all aspects of American society and government. Within American organizations, hierarchy is established for convenience, superiors are accessible and managers rely on individual employees and teams for their expertise. Both managers and employees expect to be consulted and information is shared frequently. At the same time, communication is informal, direct and participative to a degree. The society is loosely-knit in which the expectation is that people look after themselves and their immediate families only and should not rely (too much) on authorities for support.

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EURO DISNEYLAND CASE ANALYSIS 

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There is also a high degree of geographical mobility in the United States. Americans are the best joiners in the world; however it is often difficult, especially among men, to develop deep friendships. Americans are accustomed to doing business or interacting with people they don’t know well. Consequently, Americans are not shy about approaching their prospective counterparts in order to obtain or seek information. In the business world, employees are expected to be self-reliant and display initiative. Also, within the exchange-based world of work we see that hiring, promotion and decisions are based on merit or evidence of what one has done or can do.

France With a score of 61, France scores fairly high on Power Distance. Children are raised to be emotionally dependent, to a degree, on their parents. This dependency will be transferred to teachers and later on to superiors. It is, therefore, a society in which a fair degree of inequality is accepted. Power is not only centralized in companies and government, but also geographically. Just look at the road grid in France; most highways lead to Paris. Many comparative studies have shown that French companies have normally one or two hierarchical levels more than comparable companies in Germany and the UK. Superiors have privileges and are often inaccessible. CEO’s of big companies are called Mr. PDG, which is a more prestigious abbreviation than CEO, meaning President Director General. These PDGs have frequently attended the most prestigious universities called “grandes écoles”, big schools.

Individualism The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. It has to do with whether people´s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “We”. In Individualist societies people are only supposed to look after themselves and their direct family. In Collectivist society’s people belong to “in groups” that take care of them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.

France France, with a score of 76, is shown to be an individualist society. Parents make their children emotionally independent with regard to groups in which they belong. This means that one is only supposed to take care of oneself and one’s family. The French combination of a high score on Power Distance and a high score on Individualism is rather unique. We only find the same combination in Belgium and, to some degree, in Spain and northern Italy. This combination is not only unique, but it also creates a contradiction, so to speak. Only so to speak, because scores in the model don’t influence anything. They just give a structured reflection of reality. This combination manifests itself in France in the following ways: 

Subordinates normally pay formal respect and show deference to their boss, but behind his/her back they may do the opposite of what they promised to do, as they may think that they know better, yet are not able to express so. Another reflection of high Power

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 

 

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Distance contrary to formal obedience is the total rejection of those in power as there is no way to change by evolution but only by strikes, revolts and revolution. Employers and trade unions don’t really talk together as they look at each other as almost belonging to a separate species. The need to make a strong distinction between work and private life is even stronger in France than in the US, despite the fact that the US scores higher on Individualism. This is a reflection of the fact that employees more quickly feel put under pressure than in the US because of their emotional dependence on what the boss says and does. In cultures which score high on Power Distance and Collectivism, the “normal” combination, such dependence is welcomed. At least, if the power holders act as benevolent fathers. The French prefer to be dependent on the central government, an impersonal power center which cannot so easily invade their private life. What is human, but more pronounced in France, is the need for strong leadership in times of crisis. In spite of that, when the crisis is resolved the president should make space for much weaker leadership. Many French have the need to become a “patron”, whether as mayor of a small village or as the chairman of the bridge club. Customer service is poor in the eyes of all those Anglo-Saxons who believe that the customer is king. Not so in France. The French are self-motivated to be the best in their trade. They, therefore, expect respect for what they do, after which they are very much willing to serve you well.

Masculinity A high score (masculine) on this dimension indicates that the society will be driven by competition, achievement and success, with success being defined by the “winner” or “bestin-the-field”. This value system starts in childhood and continues throughout one’s life – both in work and leisure pursuits. A low score (feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant values in society are caring for others and quality of life. A feminine society is one where quality of life is the sign of success and standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The fundamental issue here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best (masculine) or liking what you do (feminine).

US The score of the US on Masculinity is high at 68, and this can be seen in the typical American behavioral patterns. This can be explained by the combination of a high Masculinity drive together with the most individualistic drive in the world. In other words, Americans, so to speak, all show their masculine drive individually. This American combination reflects itself in the following:  

Many American assessment systems are based on precise target setting, by which American employees can show how well a job they did. There exists a “can-do” mentality which creates a lot of dynamism in the society, as it is believed that there is always the possibility to do things in a better way 5




Typically, Americans “live to work” so that they can obtain monetary rewards and as a consequence attain higher status based on how good one can be. Many white collar workers will move to a fancier neighborhood after each and every substantial promotion. It is believed that a certain degree of conflict will bring out the best of people, as it is the goal to be “the winner”. As a consequence, we see a lot of polarization and court cases. This mentality nowadays undermines the American premise of “liberty and justice for all.” Rising inequality is endangering democracy, because a widening gap among the classes may slowly push Power Distance up and Individualism down.

France With a score of 42, France has a somewhat feminine culture. At face value this may be indicated by its famous welfare system (securité sociale), the 35-hour working week, five weeks of holidays per year and its focus on the quality of life. French culture in terms of the model has, however, another unique characteristic. The upper class scores feminine while the working class scores masculine. This characteristic has not been found in any other country. This difference may be reflected by the following:  

Top managers earn on average less than one would expect given the high score on Power Distance. Married couples of high society could go public with a lover without negative consequences, at least certainly in the past. The scandal in the US about Clinton and Lewinsky has never been understood in France. In addition, “crime passionel”, i.e. crimes of passion, have always been sentenced very leniently in comparison to other murder trials.

Uncertainty avoidance The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with the way that a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? This ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures have learnt to deal with this anxiety in different ways. The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these is reflected in the UAI score.

US The US scores well below average, with a low score of 37, on the Uncertainty Avoidance dimension. . As a consequence, the perceived context in which Americans find themselves will impact their behavior more than if the culture would have either scored higher or lower. Thus, this cultural pattern reflects itself as follows: 

There is a fair degree of acceptance for new ideas, innovative products and a willingness to try something new or different, whether it pertains to technology, business practices or food. Americans tend to be more tolerant of ideas or opinions from anyone and allow the freedom of expression. At the same time, Americans do not require a lot of rules and are less emotionally expressive than higher-scoring cultures.

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At the same time, 9/11 has created a lot of fear in the American society culminating in the efforts of government to monitor everybody through the NSA and other security organizations

France At 75, French culture scores high on Uncertainty Avoidance. This is clearly evident in the following:   

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The French don’t like surprises. Structure and planning are required. Before meetings and negotiations they like to receive all necessary information. As a consequence, the French are good in developing complex technologies and systems in a stable environment, such as in the case of nuclear power plants, rapid trains and the aviation industry. There is also a need for emotional safety valves as a high score on Uncertainty Avoidance and the combination of high Power Distance and high Individualism strengthen each other, so to speak. Te French, for example, are very talkative and “engueuler”, giving someone the sharp edge of one’s tongue happens often. There is a strong need for laws, rules and regulations to structure life. This, however, doesn’t mean that most Frenchmen will try to follow all these rules, the same as in other Latin countries. Given the high score on Power Distance, which means that power holders have privileges, power holders don’t necessarily feel obliged to follow all those rules which are meant to control the people in the street. At the same time, commoners try to relate to power holders so that they can also claim the exception to the rule.

Pragmatism (long term orientation) This dimension describes how people in the past, as well as today, relate to the fact that so much of what happens around us cannot be explained. In societies with a normative orientation, most people have a strong desire to explain as much as possible. In societies with a pragmatic orientation, most people don’t have a need to explain everything, as they believe that it is impossible to fully understand the complexity of life. The challenge is not to know the truth but to live a virtuous life.

US The United States scores normative on the fifth dimension with a low score of 21. This is reflected by the following: 

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Americans are prone to analyze new information to check whether it is true. Thus, the culture doesn’t make most Americans pragmatic, but this should not be confused with the fact that Americans are very practical, being reflected by the “can-do” mentality mentioned above. The polarization mentioned above is, so to speak, strengthened by the fact that many Americans have very strong ideas about what is “good” and “evil”. This may concern issues such as abortion, use of drugs, euthanasia, weapons or the size and rights of the government versus the States and versus citizens.

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The US is the one of the only “Caucasian” countries in the world where, since the beginning of the 20th century, visiting church has increased. This increase is also evident in some post-Soviet republics such as Russia. American businesses measure their performance on a short-term basis, with profit and loss statements being issued on a quarterly basis. This also drives individuals to strive for quick results within the work place. (COUNTRY COMPARISON, n.d.)

France France scores high (66) in this dimension, making it pragmatic. In societies with a pragmatic orientation, people believe that truth depends very much on situation, context and time. They show an ability to adapt traditions easily to changed conditions, a strong propensity to save and invest, thriftiness, and perseverance in achieving results.

In what way has Trompenaars' research helped explain cultural differences between the United States and France? Trompenaars’ research assisted to explain cultural conflicts among both the USA and France. According to Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions, the cultural conflicts between France and the USA were because of these four cultures: A. Family Culture – A culture that is characterized by a strong emphasis on hierarchy and orientation to the person. B. Eiffel Tower Culture – A culture that is characterized by strong emphasis on hierarchy and orientation to the task. C. Guided Missile Culture – A culture that is characterized by a strong emphasis on equality in the workplace and orientation to the task. D. Incubator Culture – A culture that is characterized by a strong emphasis on equality and orientation to the person. Talking in terms of specific theory given by Trompenaars, these points will fall under following headings: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Universalism versus Particularism (What is more important, rules or relationships?); Individualism versus Communitarianism (Do we function in a group or as individuals?); Specific versus Diffuse (How separate we keep our private and working lives); Achievement versus Ascription (Do we have to prove ourselves to receive status or is it given to us?). (Trompenaars' Model of National Culture Differences, n.d.)

Universalism versus Particularism- It talks about three major differences: 1. Universalistic cultures are focusing on the rules, but Particularism cultures are focusing on relationships. 2. Universalistic is only one truth or reality, while Particularism is a number of perspectives on reality. 3. Universalistic people “treat all cases in the same way”, whereas in Particularism people “treat cases on their special merits and create private understandings”. 8

EURO DISNEYLAND CASE ANALYSIS Based on above rules, it was believed that the rules, regulations and policies are universal and can be applied anywhere without modification. On the other hand French perceives distinct rules and regulations as part of their culture. Motivated by the success of its three theme parks, Disney did not realize that French were a part of a distinct culture and its methods may not work there. There are also three critical points to accommodate the ethical conflicts between French and American negotiators. i.

People from France take part in demonstration as “a particularistic outlook”, even if they have a good relationship with their bosses; but that relationship makes their bosses who are from America getting into trouble. In order to conquer that drawback, the “hierarchical relationship” is necessary to keep between them. The French bosses cope with their employees via bend the rules based on “egalitarian social relations”. However, Americans are bounded via universal obligations under Americans’ cultures. Americans prefer to make “legalistic, universal judgments” while the French make a decision through “holistic approach” and “the context of the situation”. The French people love to “bend the rules” to work while people from the USA reckon it will make them into trouble.

ii.

iii.

Individualism versus Communitarianism: there are three different points between Individualism and Communitarianism in business decisions: 1. The individualistic cultures (the former) “may well rest with the negotiator”, while the communitarian cultures (the latter), the negotiator is the final decision-maker of the group. 2. The former lets the boss accept “personal responsibility”, whereas the latter can make the form of joint responsibility. 3. The former people reckon that they do success by themselves; the latter people trust that the results of success belong to the groups. Based on above rules, there are also three critical points to analysis the differences between France and the USA: i. ii. iii.

People are living in “a communitarian society” in France while Americans are staying in the individual society. The French prefer to work together and take part in social relations mutually, whereas people from the USA adore the individualism. It is normal phenomenon for Americans to make ranks between bosses and employees; however, the French people refuse it. In brief, the two prime dimensions could explain hardly the ethics in different cultures.

Specific versus Diffuse: This dimension mentions three differences between the USA and France:

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EURO DISNEYLAND CASE ANALYSIS 1. The USA’s culture is belonging to Explicit national cultures, which make a decision with “a low context manner”; while France is focusing on Implicit national cultures, which take a command with “a high context manner”. 2. The USA pays attention to a negotiation clearly, logically and persuasively, whereas France stresses on a discussion inaccurately and indirectly. 3. Managers from America are good at emphasizing “specific points and induction”, while the French bosses reckon to make a decision via instinct. Therefore, the USA’s managers do deal with negotiators based on facts and figures, conversely, the French managers deem to cope with their counterparts “more diffusively or holistically” that seems the inter-relationships is the key function to all decisions. Specific culture is where people guard their private space strongly and accept anyone into their public spaces. In a diffuse culture both public space and private space are guarded. The French couldn’t let anyone close within their arm’s length when standing in the queue for the rides at Euro Disney. Achievement versus Ascription: This dimension mentions two differences between the USA and France: “achievement versus ascription” and “doing versus being”. Americans focus on “achievement” and “doing” in the culture of their country, such as dividing their individualities from their jobs. In contrast, the French people prefer to stress “ascription and being”. Moreover, they are not only attending on “the highest esteem”, but also distinguishing features or ascribing to the single. So, there is no doubt that the USA stress the bloodline of the family and which school you graduated but the French emphasis the factors of their history. This dimension measures the method through which social status is accorded to a person. U.S. is certainly an achievement culture where a person is regarded based on his achievement. Example: Walt Disney.

In managing its Euro Disneyland operations, what are three mistakes that the company made? Explain. Operational Errors Disney committed many different operational errors that affected directly their performance. For example, as in America Monday was a light day for guests and Friday was a heavy one, Disney assumed that in France would be the same, so they allocated staff accordingly, but the truth was that the inverse happened, and Disney had a big problem. Problems with employee acceptance of conditions of employment, for example the French cast members felt extremely irritated and had a really hard time to accept the inflexible scheduling time proposed by Euro Disney (Burgoyne, 1995). Another example is that Euro Disney designed a small space for bus parking, which made bus drivers unhappy and also provided only 50 restroom facilities, when on peak days there would be over 2000 drivers (Burgoyne, 1995). If Disney had taken different operational decisions, such as analyzing instead of make assumptions (Monday and Friday example), and to allocate managers that were familiar with French labor force, those decisions would outcome a better operational performance, because the staff 10

EURO DISNEYLAND CASE ANALYSIS would be allocated accordingly with the right days and the employees wound be unhappy because of the Disney’s position. Staffing and Training In just 12 months Disney had to recruit, hire, train, and house 12,000 cast members (Burgoyne, 1995). It would be a challenge for any company, especially for Disney because its cast members would be more like members of a theatre troupe (Burgoyne, 1995). A big problem was to train the cast members after hire them, all employees were giving a human resource training and a training specifically job requirements, a big challenge for Disney was to implement the “have a nice day” mentality and teaching 12,000 European employees to smile the “Disney smile” all day (Burgoyne, 1995). But the major staffing problem that Euro Disney found was the “Disney Look” (Burgoyne, 1995), Disney’s dress code, which was a rigid code, a well-scrubbed, all-American look, that defined size of earrings, size of finger nails, prohibit of facial hair and dyed hair. The European employees simply did not adhere to the American look, because they thought it was against their “individualism” (Burgoyne, 1995). This dress code imposed by Disney went to court, because it was against the French labor law (Burgoyne, 1995) and Disney had to change its dress code. Disney instead of try and imposed their own rules, it should take the decision to analyze and see if it was legal at first, and if it wouldn’t affect the employees satisfaction and performance. If Disney had taken those decisions, all those problems with staff would be prevented and the outcome would be much better for Disney. Cultural Operational Errors were a major problem for Euro Disney, it affected Disney’s performance and attendance. For example not serving alcohol, it caused astonishment for French customers, because it is normal in French having a glass of wine in their lunch (Burgoyne, 1995). Another error was the breakfast in Euro Disney’s hotels, based on assumptions Disney downsized the restaurants, because they assume that Europeans didn’t eat breakfast, when the truth was that they ate, so they were trying to serve 2500 breakfasts in a 350 seat restaurant in some hotels (Burgoyne, 1995), deeper customers were expecting American breakfast while they were serving French breakfast. Another example is that Disney didn’t know that Europeans eat at a set time every day (Burgoyne, 1995), so the lines were extremely big and customers very much dissatisfied. If Disney instead of decide to make assumption to base their operations had research and tried to understand the Europeans preferences (instead of trying to make them change their habits), Disney would fix those problems even before the theme park was launched, it would increase customer satisfaction.

Based on its experience, what are three lessons the company should have learned about how to deal with diversity? Describe each. There are some steps that any company should contemplate before entering a new market in order to flourish. Unfortunately for Euro Disney, those footsteps were not followed, instead Disney tried to “force” the entry of its product (the theme park), and anticipated it to be easy money. Instead of discovering a gold mine, Disney found out several problems and created huge debts, just because it didn’t investigate the market before rushing into French territory. 11

EURO DISNEYLAND CASE ANALYSIS The lesson is there for Disney and any other company that wants to succeed. The lesson that Disneyland management must have learned are as categorized into the following broader aspects.

Market Analysis and Market Research Market Analysis and Market Research are the first and most vital steps that a company must take before entering a new market. Each country, each city in the world has its own individualism, its own culture, and it is vital to companies to appreciate the culture and the people they will deal with. Disney should have known exactly their target market, its age, gender, where they live, what is their family structure, what is their income, what they do for living and so on. In fact, Disney probably knew all this information above, what Disney didn’t know was their preferences, their likes, and their dislikes, which culminate by being one of the major errors Disney committed. Disney lacked of accurate information about French culture and French customer’s preferences, instead of doing a Market Research and learn from its potential customers Disney made vague assumptions on what they heard. If Disney would have done a proper Market Analysis and Market Research they would have been able to anticipate many cultural divergences they had.

Develop Alternatives The second step that Disney should have undertaken, was formulating and developing alternative plans. Disney was so blind by their success in Japan that they didn’t stop to consider their previous experiences and how they need to adjust them in order to better attend its French and European customers. Due at the high uncertainty involved (which Disney wasn’t able to see) it resulted in different scenarios. Disney should have developed different business plans with different aspects, different scenarios, and those business plan should also have been able to forecast for the development of revenues, costs and cash flow, and other economic figures, under these varied conditions. It should also have included or excluded some of the activities they were planning to do in the theme park or the property development. In fact Disney did develop different business plan, unlucky for them they were poor, only changing one factor for each scenario, which didn’t worked abroad as it should and would (Recklies, n.d.). If they have created at least a combination of those factors they could have had better back-up plans to recover their business. For example “there is no information available if Disney prepared a scenario with a high influence of cultural differences” (Recklies, n.d.), which they probably didn’t have, because they were blind by their previous success. Decision for one Plan After developing several business scenarios and analyzing them Disney should be able to select one, or make a combination with the best aspects of all of them. Disney should have considered all uncontrollable forces that was around them; for example French (as well as other European culture), over-valued Franc due to recession. If a business plan was made considering all of those factors, Disney would probably had more realistic numbers (attendance, revenues) and should be able to deal with the cultural differences between American and Europe, especially in France. Instead Disney chose a business plan that underestimated the influence of cultural differences, and saw Disney’s theme park as a monopoly due its quality and uniqueness (Recklies, n.d.). They just ignored and didn’t give enough attention to the competitors offering different type of entertainment. All those 12

EURO DISNEYLAND CASE ANALYSIS assumptions made Disney’s expectation way too high, with overpriced admission fees, food and beverages, merchandise and with an attendance too high.

Operational Plan After gathering information about French and European customers, their preferences, their culture, their age, their income, their expectations, and to develop a business plan on how to run the business and which scenario they think was the most accurate one, Disney should have developed an effective operational plan. The Operational Plan should have focused on, who will run the park? Who will be responsible for the staff? Who will make the decisions? As Disney was entering in France and most of the employees would be French or Europeans, the ideal was to put key French managers, to deal with the staff, and probably a French chairman, as well as human resources managers. Those managers would have more experience and know-how, how to deal with the staff, with investors and executives, and with the media, that could be a Disney’s marketing tool instead of an “attack base”. Decision Making is something that most of the times should be taken quickly and efficient, so those decisions should be taken in France, not on US as Disney did. If Disney had these aspects they would probably have foreseen most of the cultural and operational, problems that occurred and could have easily avoided it.

Conclusion Euro Disney had a very poor initial performance due its lack of knowledge about French and Europeans preferences and culture, also its optimistic assumptions based on past experiences led Disney to believe they had a gold mine in their hands and could just put it there, so the customers would buy it. They were wrong and they paid a high price for it, huge debts were acquired in the first years of Euro Disney, which even changed its name to Paris Disney in an attempt to recovery. If Disney had follow simple steps, that most of the companies follow, if would have had a more favorable initial experience in France. Instead of making assumptions about the market (competitors, attendance, and French and European preferences, operational) and doing a primary research, Disney could have avoided most of the problems it found in Paris. Disney’s case may be a good cross-culture lesson for any student and any business men that intends to work in a foreign environment, it is easier to guard than to remedy.

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References Burgoyne, L. (1995). Walt Disney Company's. Retrieved February 8, 2014, from Hidden Mickeys: http://www.hiddenmickeys.org/Paris/English/LynEuroDisney.html COUNTRY COMPARISON. (n.d.). Retrieved February 8, 2014, from The Hofstede Centre: http://geerthofstede.com/france.html Euro Disney. (2009). Retrieved February 5, 2014, from Ivy Thesis: http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/10/euro-disney-case-study.html Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory. (n.d.). Retrieved February 8, 2014, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofstede's_cultural_dimensions_theory R.Kimberley, & Stephen, T. (n.d.). United States of America Business Etiquette, Culture, & Manners. Retrieved February 8, 2014, from InternationalBusinessCenter: http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/us.htm Recklies, D. (n.d.). Euro Disney Case Study I. Retrieved February 10, 2014, from The Manager: http://www.themanager.org/ME/Disney_1.htm Trompenaars' Model of National Culture Differences. (n.d.). Retrieved February 7, 2014, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trompenaars'_model_of_national_culture_differences

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Euro Disneyland case study

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