Question

Discussion Topic: Use “Euro-Disney Stumbles” (p. 130) from the textbook. (Adams & Galanes)

The third dimension is that of context. In a low-context culture, such as that of the United States and New Zealand, the verbal part of the message carries the meaning—what you say is exactly what you mean. If you say that you like my proposal, I can trust the fact that you really do like it. In a high-context culture, such as most Asian and Native American cultures, features of a situation or context are more important than the words themselves. So if you tell me you like my proposal, I’d have to take into account the setting, the people, the purpose of our conversation, and other factors to know for sure whether you really liked it or you were just being polite to avoid hurting my feelings. High-context cultures tend to be collectivist, with group harmony an important value. Ambiguity and indirectness may help preserve this harmony by allowing disagreement to happen gently, in a way that doesn’t upset the balance of the group.

Group members from low-context cultures sometimes try to force others to be direct and clear. They may perceive members who are not straightforward as manipulative or insincere. On the other hand, members from high-context cultures perceive members who are verbally blunt as rude and aggressive. As the earlier example demonstrates, the advantage of being clear, like Sam, is that your meaning is unmistakable. However, the advantage of being tentative, like Nguyen, is that you allow discussion to occur without polarizing members’ opinions or making them lose face.

Appreciation of cultural differences in a group is very important. The United States is a pluralistic culture to which many different cultures have contributed and continue to contribute. This means that little can be assumed or taken for granted, including assuming that a person’s cultural identity predicts everything said and done in a group. Small group researchers like John Oetzel remind us, that individuals within a culture vary.²⁷ As Oetzel points out, we are individuals acting within cultures; thus, we must not oversimplify the situation by using only culture to predict individual behavior.

Oetzel argues that whether we define ourselves as independent or interdependent has a significant bearing on our social behavior. Those group members who have an independent image of themselves see themselves as unique, with their thoughts and feelings as their own. They are goal-driven, seek clarity, and attend less to nuances of context. Those who hold interdependent images of themselves define themselves in connection to others. They value helping others meet their goals. They value fitting in, work to uphold the self-image of the other, and also try to avoid negative assessments of themselves. These two types of self-image are found in everyone, regardless of their cultural identity. What is important to note is that Oetzel has found that both cultural inputs and personal self-images influence the contributions of members.

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Euro-Disney Stumbles

According to Carl Hiaasen in Team Rodent: How Disney Devours the World,* Disney’s venture in France, Euro-Disney, got off to a slow start when it opened in 1992. Disney executives decided to import the Disney concept intact when they created their European theme park. The Disney parks in the United States have a clean-cut image—at least, as Americans define clean-cut. Those who work in the park, mostly young people, abide by strict rules of dress and demeanor. For example, they must not wear bright nail polish, heavy makeup, or facial hair. In addition, the parks do not serve wine or other alcoholic beverages, which contributes to the clean-cut image in the United States.

However, these rules seemed offensive and ridiculous to Europeans, particularly the French. Not serve wine in France? Unthinkable! These factors contributed to Euro-Disney’s dismal early performance. However, Disney rethought its rules and relaxed several, in particular the makeup, facial hair, and wine rules. Euro-Disney is beginning to catch on in Europe, the way it has in the United States.

1.Are there any other “rules” or communication patterns observed by North Americans that Europeans might consider silly?

2.Are there any “rules” or communication patterns observed by Europeans that North Americans might consider silly?

3. What does the above story suggest to you about cultural practices, particularly applying in one culture practices that are normal in another?

4. Disney executives are intelligent and experienced. What factors do you think might have contributed to this not-well-thought-out decision by Disney?

PLEASE PLEASE USE IN TEXT CITATION OR LIST REFERENCES.

Please use your own words

Answer 1

1. Are there any other “rules” or communication patterns observed by North Americans that Europeans might consider silly?

The “ rules” Europeans consider silly as observed by the North Americans are as follows:

·         Have lots of ice ion all sodas

·         Asking many questions before serving a drink or a meal

·         Setting the temperature at freezing points in all public places in summer

·         Having a wide range of sodas, milk, and many products available in the supermarket with many variants.

·         Having 24/7 supermarkets strewn across the country. The Europeans normally shut business by 6 pm

·         Working all days of the year except weekends and never taking a vacation.

·         Restricting drinking on the streets and during lunch breaks

Reference: “16 things European find strange about America”

2. Are there any “rules” or communication patterns observed by Europeans that North Americans might consider silly?

The “rules” European follow which are found silly by North Americans are as follows:

·         Formal dressing, communication, and style of working

·         The opening of umbrella indoors is considered unlucky

·         Eating a meal hastily or taking a visitor for fast food is rude

·         Europeans can be direct and frank.

·         You can be asked to leave a restaurant if you been in there working too long.

·         The tips are included in the service tax.

·         You don’t say hello to everyone and can't smile all the time.

Reference: ”15 cultural clashes this European had in America.”

3. What does the above story suggest to you about cultural practices, particularly applying in one culture practices that are normal in another?

The above story highlights the need to study the local cultures, customs, and traditions before launching your product or service in the country. The following details should be analyzed before entering any country:

·         The social norms, for example, it is common to see men greet with a kiss in the middle east countries.

·         The social behavior

·         Local customs

·         Local tastes, for example, having a vegetarian menu in India was critical for McDonald's to survive.

·         Language preference, for example, knowing mandarin in China will help set up your business.

·         Holidays of the region, for example, traveling to middle east during holy month is very difficult to live and conduct business

·         Meaning of different colors for example green is a sacred color in the Islamic countries

·         Implications of different animals for example cow is sacred in India

·         Use of certain fonts and alphabets

4. Disney executives are intelligent and experienced. What factors do you think might have contributed to this not-well-thought-out decision by Disney?

The key factors which contributed to the initial dismal performance of Disney in France were as follows:

1. Local Language: The visitors from across Europe speak different languages and have a different culture. The company failed to understand the complexity of the different cultures, ethnicity, and language across Europe.
2. Cultural Issues: The management had not studied the local business practices, like food timing and local employment structures formal and informal. Understanding the local culture in any part of Europe was the essence and essential part which was overlooked by Disney.
3. Pricing Strategy: The skimming price strategy went against them as most initial customers were budget customers and did not consume like their American counterpart. It should have been a penetration pricing get the customer interested involved and then increase the pricing.
4. Consumption pattern: The location has nothing to do with its success but the consumption behavior and pattern of the consumer was not studied like issues of breakfast services, heavy rush on weekdays, wine serving during lunchtime etc.

I would conclude by saying it was more a lack of market research and understanding of European customer and tourist behavior which was ignored by the Disney promoters.