Disney in France Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Disney in France - Essay Example The paper also includes an evaluation of Disney and provides recommendations for the company. Challenges and Problems This section will deal with the issues and problems that the company currently faces. Here the company’s assumptions, the external factors impacting Disney and the issues that need immediate care have been discussed. a) Disney’s Assumptions: Disney made a number of assumptions in France, i) The number of visitors on Monday will be light and Fridays will be heavy ii) French don’t eat breakfast iii) If they do take breakfast, it is croissants and coffee iv) Incorrect Lunch timings v) European Customers will stay for four to five days vi) French Style service restaurants. Most assumptions made by the company were incorrect. The company clearly did not take into account actual facts and figures and there was no supporting evidence for the assumptions by the company (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington). These clearly have had a major impact on the compan y and its performance. A decision like starting in France was a right one and this was clearly backed with clear figures and facts. However the assumptions made by the company otherwise like, having a 350 seat restaurant at a hotel, when the demand was as high as 2,500 breakfasts was an incorrect decision. These clearly have had a major impact on the overall company performance, human resources and clearly on the finances of the company (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington). b) France and Disney Three main events that have occurred in France have had a major impact on Disney’s success: i) The long talks and long negotiation by the French Government, which led to loss of patience of the Disney team ii) Parisian intellectuals who protested that the Disney culture was assaulting the French Culture and iii) The framers protest demanding that French agricultural subsidies be cut. Each of these events has had a major impact on Disney and has led to issue and breaks in the success of t he company. c) Need for Resolution: The company clearly needs to resolve the following: i) Breakfast issues for customers ii) Better staffing over the high demand days at the park iii) Better understanding of the culture of the country rather than depending on assumptions Alternative Solutions: For the success of any company in a new location, irrespective of the size, or nature of the business, it is crucial to have a detailed market research. Here the company did do the market research in terms of the location, however in terms of culture and the customer needs, there was little research and more assumptions. Hence to have a more favorable experience in France, a more detailed market research would prove to be more successful. Disney had invested a lot of money into the project, hence investing a little more on the market research and the needs of the people in the country would have been the best steps that the company could have taken while launching Euro Disney. Evaluation and Recommendations: Yes France is an excellent choice for the company to open its branch. Considering the place, i.e. Paris, and the incentives that the government was providing the company, this was definitely an excellent choice. Also, the location is best suited to meet the needs of millions as the location is easily accessible. Hence this is an excellent location for Euro Disney. In retrospect of the case, the following recommendations can be provided: i) Invest in market research (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington), ii) The culture of every location is essential to follow for the business to be successful iii) A theme park is in most cases a one day excursion place, and most people across the world prefer to stay for a maximum of one day