Title: General info about Euro Disneyland
1General info about Euro Disneyland
- Robert Fitzpatrick Philippe Bourguignon
-
-
29 - French - 71 -
Other Europeans -
Solution - 1.
squeaky clean image - 2.
lift the alcohol ban
2General info about Euro Disneyland
- Total visitors 10 million
- Expected 11 million
- Problem it was unclear
- how the company planned
- to finance its FFr 810
- billion cost
- Solution the company was
- talking to banks about
- restructuring its debts
- Instant hits are things that go away quickly,
and things that grow slowly and are part of the
culture are what we look for,
3In the Beginning
-
-
Disneys story is the classic -
American rags-to-riches story - In 1955,
Disney had the -
brainstorm of sending his movie -
characters out into the real world - to mix
with their fans. - Problem E. Cardon Walker (CEO) Ronald W.
Miller - Solution Michael Eisner was appointed CEO and
Frank - Wells became president
84.375
48.75
4Disneyland in Anaheim, California
- The first Disneyland opened in Anaheim,
California on July 17, 1955. - Disneyland strives to generate the perfect
fantasy -
- Disneyland is the worlds
- biggest stage, and the
- audience is right here on
- the stage,
5Disney World in Orlando, Florida
- Two major hotels
- Disneys Grand Floridian Beach Resort 1987
- Disneys Caribbean Beach Resort 1989
-
In October 1982, Disney made a -
new addition to the theme parkthe -
Experimental Prototype Community -
of Tomorrow or EPCOT. -
-
This new park consists of two large -
complexes Future World, to show -
the technological advances of the next
25 years, and World Showcase, a collection of
foreign villages.
6Tokyo Disneyland
- It was Tokyos nastiest winter day in four
years. Arctic winds and eight inches of snow
lashed the city. Roads were clogged and trains
slowed down. But the bad weather didnt keep
13,200 hardy souls from Tokyo Disneyland. Located
on a fringe of reclaimed shoreline in Urayasu
City on the outskirts of Tokyo, the park opened
to the public on April 15, 1983.
7Tokyo Disneyland
- Oriental Land Co. bought the 204-acre from the
Walt Disney Co. -
The biggest differences between Japan and -
America have come in slogans and ad copy! -
The problem how to dispose of some 250 -
tons of trash that would be generated -
weekly by Tokyo Disneyland visitors? -
Solution trash compactors - The
Japanese proposal pigs to eat the -
trash and be slaughtered and sold at a -
profit.
8Building Euro Disneyland
- On March 24, 1987, Michael Eisner and Jacques
Chirac, the French prime minister, signed a
contract for the building of a Disney theme park
at Marne-la-Vallee. - Marne-la-Vallee is
- advantageously close to one
- of the worlds tourism capitals,
- while also being situated
- within a days drive or train
- ride of some 30 million people
- in France, Belgium, England,
- and Germany.
Euro Disneyland was expected to bring 600
million in foreign investment into France each
year. The 1.5 to 2 billion first phase
investment would involve an amusement complex
including hotels and restaurants, golf courses,
and an aquatic park. The second phase, scheduled
to start after the gates opened in 1992, called
for the construction of a community around the
park, including a sports complex, Technology
Park, conference center, theater, shopping mall,
university campus, villas, and condominiums.
9Protests of Cultural Imperialism
- Disney faced French communists and
intellectuals who protested the building of Euro
Disneyland. -
-
-
- In early 1985, one of the three state-owned
television networks signed a contract to
broadcast two hours of dubbed Disney programming
every Saturday evening.
10Financial structure and layout of Euro Disneyland
- Eisner was so keen on Euro Disneyland that
Disney kept a 49 percent stake in the project,
while the remaining 51 percent of stock was
distributed through the London, Paris, and
Brussels stock exchanges. -
Designers presented a plan for a Main -
Street USA based on scenes of -
America in the 1920s, because -
research indicated that Europeans -
loved the Prohibition era. -
People walk around Disney World in -
Florida with humidity and temperatures -
in the 90s and they walk into an air -
conditioned ride and say, This is the -
greatest, said Eisner.
11Food Service and Accommodations at Euro
Disneyland
- Disney expected to serve 15,000 to 17,000
meals per hour, excluding snacks. Menus and
service systems were developed so that they
varied both in style and price.
12Disneys Strict Appearance Code
- Pronunciation problems - France
- pronunciation Howdy sounds like
- Audi
-
- Wearing policy-Rules
-
- Video presentations-what kind
- of employees
13Opening Day at Euro Disneyland and the problems
- Role of Disney heroes-Mickey is madness.
- Different cultures have different definitions
of personal space. -
- 90,000 cars trying to get in.
14Questions 1
- Using Hofstedes four cultural dimensions as a
point of reference, what are some of the main
cultural differences between the United States
and France? - We determine that there have strong
uncertainty avoidance, high individualism,
centralized power structures and lower
masculinity at French culture.
15Uncertainty Avoidance
- Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) is a
cultural dimension that scores the degree to
which people feel threatened by ambiguity. The
uncertainty avoidance is much lower in America
than in French. -
- In 1992, Euro Disneyland was designed to copy
the American Disney theme parks back in
California and Florida with very few concessions
to French culture. - French people found this highly ambiguous,
and only 29 of visitors to Euro Disneyland in
its first year were from France. If the French
want a U.S.-style Disneyland experience, they
will go to Disney parks in America.
16Individualism
- Individualism is the cultural dimension that
measures to what extent people to look after
themselves and their immediate family members
only. -
- In both countries individualism is higher.
American executives at Disney imposed a strict
dress code at Euro Disneyland that required
extremely short hair and banned beards and
moustaches. Disneys dress code was based on Walt
Disneys highly individualized, squeaky clean
American family values. By imposing the Walt
Disney appearance code, the Americans insulted
French family traditions. Many of the highly
individualistic French refused to work at Euro
Disneyland
17Power Distance
- Hofstedes Power Distance Index (PDI)
measures the extent to which less powerful
members of organizations and institutions accept
unequal distribution of power. The US has lower
power distance. - But France has higher power distance. The
French were confused when Disney appointed mostly
American-born managers into the front-line
supervisory positions at Euro Disneyland - many
of whom were not fluent in the French language.
18Masculinity
- A high masculine society places greater value
on success, money and material possessions.
Americans have higher masculinity. A country with
a lower masculinity score places more emphasis on
caring for others and quality of life. France has
a relative low masculinity. -
- Clearly, French culture was not a priority
for Disney during the first year of Euro Disney. -
- Like the other cultural dimensions in this
analysis, Disney executives should have adapted
to Frances need for low masculinity values like
cooperation, friendly atmosphere, group decision
making, more employee freedoms and environmental
conservation.
19Questions 2
- In what way has Trompenaarss research helped
explain cultural differences between the United
States and France? - Internal vs. External
- In an internalistic culture like the United
States, people believe that what happens to them
is their own doing. - Externalistic culture dont believe they are
in full control of their destinies, often
externalistic people adapt to external
circumstances. Almost, French culture is also
externalistic.
20- Neutral vs. Emotional
- In neutral cultures, emotions are held in
check. People dont show their feelings. We cant
say that American or French culture is neutral. - In an emotional culture, feelings are
expressed naturally and openly. America and
France arent so high-emotion countries. - Specific vs. Diffuse
- Specific cultures like the United States show
a strong separation between work and private
life. Invitations to public spaces are common. - A diffuse culture features similarly sized
public and private spaces. France can be an
example of diffuse cultures where work and
private life are closely linked but intensely
protected.
21- Time Orientation
- In sequential cultures like the United
States, people tend to do one activity at a time.
Appointments are strictly kept, with a strong
preference for following plans. - In synchronous cultures like France, people
usually do more than one activity at a time.
Appointments are approximate, subject to change
at any moment. - Universalism vs. Particularism
- Universalistic countries focus more on formal
rules than relationships. America is highly
universalistic, which explains why U.S.
multinationals repeatedly ignore relationships in
a foreign culture. - Particularistic countries place more emphasis
on relationships than rules. Ideas and practices
cannot be applied the same everywhere.
22Questions 3
- In managing its Euro Disneyland operations,
what are three mistakes that the company made?
Explain. - 1. The reasons for the poor results of the
Euro Disneyland are mainly based in a wrong
self-assessment, leading to wrong decisions in
the management. The Walt Disney Co. does
virtually the same management and operating
mistakes that Euro Disneyland Paris does, when it
was opened in 1992. - 2. Disneylands objectives were very
demanding. But after the first year there was a
loss.
23- 3. There were numerous errors made regarding
the overall operation of Euro Disneyland. For
example, from its American experience the Walt
Disney Company thought Monday would be the light
day for guests and Friday a heavy one and
allocated staff accordingly. Furthermore, to add
to the operation problem is the difference in
employee acceptance of conditions of employment. - 4 (extra). Before the opening of Euro
Disneyland executives had estimated labour cost
would be 13 of their revenues. This was another
area where the executives were wrong in their
assumptions. In 1992 the true figure was 24 and
in 1993 it increased to a whopping 40. These
labour cost percentages increased Euro
Disneyland's debt.
24Questions 4
- Based on its experience, what are three
lessons the company should have learned about how
to deal with diversity? Describe each. - Studying the Walt Disney Company's venture
into France will allow other companies to learn
from the Walt Disney Company's experiences.
Recognizing, understanding and avoiding their
mistakes will allow a company entering a new
country increased opportunity to succeed.
Reviewing the Euro Disneyland venture from the
site research investigation to the present day
operation will be beneficial to a company
considering expansion abroad.
25- Choosing of location
- Risk Management
- Marketing Changes
26- Thanks for your attention!!!
- Authors
- Ramil Badalov
- Ehtiram Musayev
- Elvin Qasimov
- Elxan Mamedov
- Jamil Rzayev