the fretful euro disneyland
International Business & Economics Research Journal – January 2009 Volume 8, Number 1
69
Strategic Human Resource Management And Global Expansion Lessons From
The Euro Disney Challenges In France
Guergana Karadjova-Stoev, Nova Southeastern University, USA
Bahaudin G. Mujtaba, Nova Southeastern University, USA
ABSTRACT
The strategic role of human resource (HR) management should be seen as an integral element of a company’s overall success in accomplishing its mission and business strategy. The paper will demonstrate how the decisions of a company’s HR department are essential for a company’s long-term success. In other words, strategic planning will not be presented solely as a company’s objective, but a human resource imperative as demonstrated through the Euro Disney case. In the case of Euro Disney, strategic HR management was simply missing, which caused the company’s initial strategy not to be successful in Europe. While analyzing the case and what the situation could have been with the exercise of HR’s strategic role, emphasis is placed on the importance of cultural awareness. For the purpose of further clarifying the importance of cultural awareness, a comparison is drawn between the United States and France as some of the most important lessons both for Disney and other multinational enterprises are outlined.
STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT enjamin Franklin once said: “Well done is better than well said.” By that, he was implying that words alone cannot achieve much. Rather, they should be supported by well thought actions. In the language of business this means that strategic planning allows companies to put down on paper where they are, where they want to go, and how they plan to get there. But the best planning in the world does nothing for a company if it does not act on those plans in an appropriate manner (OPM, 1999). In this aspect, strategic human resources management has been defined as „the linking of human resources with strategic
69
Strategic Human Resource Management And Global Expansion Lessons From
The Euro Disney Challenges In France
Guergana Karadjova-Stoev, Nova Southeastern University, USA
Bahaudin G. Mujtaba, Nova Southeastern University, USA
ABSTRACT
The strategic role of human resource (HR) management should be seen as an integral element of a company’s overall success in accomplishing its mission and business strategy. The paper will demonstrate how the decisions of a company’s HR department are essential for a company’s long-term success. In other words, strategic planning will not be presented solely as a company’s objective, but a human resource imperative as demonstrated through the Euro Disney case. In the case of Euro Disney, strategic HR management was simply missing, which caused the company’s initial strategy not to be successful in Europe. While analyzing the case and what the situation could have been with the exercise of HR’s strategic role, emphasis is placed on the importance of cultural awareness. For the purpose of further clarifying the importance of cultural awareness, a comparison is drawn between the United States and France as some of the most important lessons both for Disney and other multinational enterprises are outlined.
STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT enjamin Franklin once said: “Well done is better than well said.” By that, he was implying that words alone cannot achieve much. Rather, they should be supported by well thought actions. In the language of business this means that strategic planning allows companies to put down on paper where they are, where they want to go, and how they plan to get there. But the best planning in the world does nothing for a company if it does not act on those plans in an appropriate manner (OPM, 1999). In this aspect, strategic human resources management has been defined as „the linking of human resources with strategic