Many of you may have heard of or even visited Euro Disney, the European version of our own Disneyland. Euro Disney first opened in April of 1992 with hopes of being one of the best attractions in Paris. Contrary to the numbers projected and the goals set, this theme park did not reach the European population for several reasons. There were complaints of Disney turning the children of Paris into consumers and major issues with the park being alcohol-free. Apparently Disney thought that an American Disneyworld would be as successful as it was and has been since 1983 in Japan.
In regards to the topics discussed in our previous classes, international human resource management plays a significant role in all companies. It is noted that only one month after its opening date, 25% of the employees had resigned. Some issues that may have caused these resignations deal mainly with the cultural insensitivity displayed by the Disney Company. For example, in America employees are required to be well-groomed, displaying no tattoos or piercings and wear a genuine smile at all times. Also in America, it is known that the Employees of the Month earn a parking space reserved specifically for them close to the entrance of the park. When Disney brought these same policies and procedures to Europe, it was to say the least, flawed because of the Europeans belief in personal expression and their practice of saving smiles for those they knew, loved and cared for. And as any culturally intelligent person would know, almost every person in Paris commutes by public transportation, meaning a special parking spot in the lot would serve no purpose.
As you can imagine, the employees had very low morale toward their job. Disney was not expecting this due to the great success of Disney in Tokyo.
What incentives would have been more appealing to the employees?
Should there be a centralized station for Human Resources in companies or should it be spread throughout each nation? What would be the benefits of both?
10 comments:
As for the incentives questions, these would have to be based on the location and the culture. The fact that Disney in Tokyo adapted well to the established policies and incentives is sort of a fluke. As we can see with other countries, things are going to vary. As a company, they will need to adjust based on what is best for that area, not for the company.
I think that HR should be a little of both. There should be a main HR department at the main office while each of the foreign locations should have their own that report to the main one.
There should be a central HR department with smaller more localized branches to cater to each markets employees want and needs, while still being able to keep with the main objectives of the company.
I think its kinda hard to run a business based on Laughs and Smiles when the employees would refuse to smile to anyone they didnt already know. Just saying.
As far as incentives, I think Disney could easily tailor their packages to the Euro market. For instance instead of a parking spot they could offer to reimburse the Employees public transportation (a free bus pass or something of the sort).
A decentralized management strategy is always good for a international company. Trying to run a business based in Japan with a headquarters in the USA is a recipe for failure.
First off it is kind of saddening to read that part of the reason the park was not successful was in part because if was alcohol free. Its a children's park not October-Fest! Other than that, I do think there was not enough attention put forth by the project managers/HR to realize that the one size fits all perspective was not going to work. Perhaps, they had some level of success with the Japanese venture, but errors like these in France are best fixed before they made.
Monetary incentives and shortened hours/more vacation time would be more appealing. The do not put value on convenience as most of their infrastructure is unorganized and inconvenient. They do however, value time. They work to live so they would value as much time off from work as they could get.
I believe that if you would have included more benefits and more vaction time, this could have been much more appealing to the employees. In Europe, it is obvious that many people value their time off and value their vacation time, so with more time off, the job could have been alot more appealing. I think you should have a centralized station for HR because if you begin to spread thme out throughout the different nations, their is a chance they could get away from your core business values, how you do business, and possibly hire people that do not fit the job description.
It should be spread out within each separate nation. A globalized strategy does not work well with theme parks such as Disneyland, because all of their revenue is based on the values of customers and employees alike. Disney should adapt each Disney theme park to meet the morals and values of each separate nation to please not only the employees, though the customers as well.
I found this post to be very interesting. I never thought about how different our American Disneyworld would have such a different impact on those from different cultures. I think that the Disney company should try to be a little more sensitive to the cultural differences while still trying to keep their image that is associated with the Disney brand. With adapting to different cultures, I think it would be better for both their business and the people in that specific area.
I agree that incentives should be specific to culture and country. The HR department needs to allow room for flexibility and accommodation in regards to different cultures' work value systems. That preparation would benefit the company as a whole because they would not be seen as trying to force American consumerism down the throat of a different people.
I think the HR department should be decentralized, especially if the centralized HR isn't going to be conducive to the cultural differences. As any business, it's important to consider the cultural differences and put this into play in every aspect of a business. HR (possibly more than any other department) needs to be incredibly culturally aware when coming up with incentives and employee guidelines. There are going to be ways to combine the culture of the company with the culture of the country.
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