International operations Narrative Essay Example

of its projected visitors. Additionally, there was a significant staff resignation and negative public and governmental perception during its launch, leading to further difficulties. To overcome these challenges, a massive effort was made to learn about cross-cultural business practices.

The text will analyze the case, including the problems, the approach taken by the executive, and some recommendations.

Problem Description

Euro Disney faced challenges in multiple areas of their venture. These issues encompassed finances, themes, workforce, logistics, and media relations. However, all these problems can be traced back to a single crucial factor – a lack of awareness regarding cultural barriers. When Disney inaugurated the park, they relied on their prior experience in other nations, especially Japan.

The Disney management witnessed the great success of the theme park in Japan and became convinced of the potential of theme parks in international locations. Although Japan, being a conservative eastern country, embraced the theme park concept, the management decided to open a park in Europe, believing it to be culturally closer to the United States. However, they overlooked the important step of researching cultural differences and their potential impact on the company's strategy.

This case study explores the challenges that can arise when assuming two seemingly similar cultures have comparable ways of thinking and behaving without adequately assessing public opinion. The analysis focuses on the organization's human resources, which proved to be a significant obstacle upon entering the country. Disney, an American company, acknowledged the similarity in ethnicity between their home country and the new market. However, they failed to acknowledge the disparities between the people of both countries, particularly regarding their mindset and socio-economic conditions. There are vast differences in social and

economic expectations among individuals. Cross-cultural human resource management greatly impacts multinational companies' operations as these companies strive to ensure employee satisfaction and happiness (Harvard Business School, 1993).

Efforts to ensure efficient results need to be channeled in the right direction. Although Euro Disney management made many efforts, the solutions came after the problems had already occurred. Therefore, the main problem lies in the improper analysis of the problem, specifically the effect of improper analysis of culture on starting ventures in new countries (Grant, n.d.).

It was discovered that within the initial nine-week period of operation, approximately 1000 employees, more than half of whom left voluntarily, resigned from the company. The company was unprepared for this situation as they had not thoroughly familiarized themselves with French labor laws. These laws allow for easy termination of employees for up to two years (Harvard Business School, 1993).