Cross-cultural Communication and French Culture

Individual date Euro Disneyland 1. Using Hofstedes four pagan dimensions as a saddle of reference, what are some of the main ethnical differences between the United States and France? PDI world power blank IDV Individualism MAS Masculinity UAI Uncertainty Avoidance PDI Power Distance IDV Individualism MAS Masculinity UAI Uncertainty Avoidance The main cultural differences when development the Hofstede dimensions are in the dimensions Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance. It is clear that french culture accepts and welcomes a relatively big power gap.This means that it is hirarchical artless where power and the f dispirited of information is fit(p) more than more by hierarchy then in the States, where this gap is less accepted by people with less power. The other big difference is Frances elevatedt aim of uncertainty avaoidance. The French would alike to control the future as much as possible, they are non risk takers. The Americans on the other fall stunned sha ke off low uncertainty avoidance that makes them risk takers, this coppeled with extremely highschool indiviualism and very low power distance makes them very entrepreneurial.They act on their own and are less likely to accept the status quo when person has more power then them. French culture likewise has low masculinity which means its a femini culture. This means that soft skills and the family are very important in France. This can be seen by Frances extensive social welfare systhem. 2. In what way has Trompenaars research helped pardon cultural differences between the United States and France? Trompenaars research is found on 46000 managers from over 40 countries who answered questionnaires based on their set to the highest degrees in some different cultures.Trompenaar and his retainer Charles Hampden-Turner (The Seven Dimensions of Culture 2012) created a model where national culture is determined by 7 dimensions. First an important dimension is the individualism co llectives dimension. Americans are very individualistic. In the French culture work, decision-making and power is attributed to the collective. This can also be also seen in the Achievement vs. attribution dimension. In America individual achievement is valued highly. Frances culture is more Ascription based, that means that the title and status you were born into determines your social level more then individual contribution.This is called reproduction sociale. The research is valuable because the methology is fact based and quantitative. The 7 dimensions look at factors that are not deemed relevant by Hofstede and give a more in depth picture of cultural differences. 3. In managing its Euro Disneyland operations, what are three mistakes that the company made? The biggest mistake branch and foremost was that Disney did not understand the needs and behaviour of the customer. The customer was earnestly misunderstood and that let to many a(prenominal) operational and cultural mis takes.Only 40% of the customers were French, many were vacationing Americans and Japanese. The French people expected to be able to subvert wine and Disney initially did not offer it. Large luxury hotels were reinforced for people who were expected to spend a week in the parks, stock-still Europeans see theme parks as daytrips. Mistakes were made when misjudging breakfast and tiffin routines and dishes, witch lead to long lines and bad service. The second mistake was not being able to convince the French that Disneyland is not an American scandalize on French culture.The French society was hostile from early on. ordinary intellectuals called the park an assault on French culture and farmers blocked the witch of the theme park on spread outing day. The third mistake was the high pricing of tickets and hotel nights. Europeans have more vacation days then Americans, with corresponding income levels that means that the French have less expendable income per vacation day then the Americans. Disneyland reacted to the mistakes by changing the name to Disneyland capital of France this created a stronger nonplus with the city and France.Then wine was sold and the dining experience was adapted to view customer needs. Also day ticket and hotel nights were cut by a third. The result of the changes was an increase in visitors from 8. 8 million in 1994 to 11. 7 in 1996. Based on its experience, what are three lessons the company should have learned about how to deal with diversity? The biggest lesson that they should have learned is that cultural differences matter. It is not possible to take the exact same concept that is working(a) in America and apply it in another cultural linguistic context and then expect the same outcomes.This is especially relevant when it comes to behaviour. The second lesson is seek to have a better understanding of who the customer is and what he wants in advance the launch. Extensive customer research has to be done. In the Euro Di sney case many of the customers where not French and many of the French customers did not want or expect to eat the best French food in Disneyworld. They sawing machine Disneyworld as American and therefor expected an American customer experience that included, self-service and American food.However they also expected wine, so research is postulate to understand the subtleties, what French culture can be left out when offering an American experience and what cannot. The entry into a market has to be careful and transparent in order to get more topical anesthetic support. The discussions with the government and the local population should not only be about the tax benefit Disney can get, but heavily reduceed on the positive effects Disney can bring to a host nation. These advantages, such(prenominal) as jobs and increased tourism have to vehemently communicated to the public.The third lesson is to focus on opening new theme parks in emerge economies. Not only are there less attr actions to compete with, Disneyland Paris is competing with the city of Paris for tourists, but also are they more open to western influences and products. Disney symbolises America. So sell America where there is demand for her, like China. Bibliography graph (http//geert-hofstede. com/dimensions. html) 1 . http//geert-hofstede. com/france. html