Cultural Gap Analysis Paper

For any company, globalization brings with it many new and complex decisions. Plunging into unknown waters, a company must make decisions regarding research, segmentation, targeting, positioning, pricing, distribution, and advertising, to name a few. This paper will analyze the globalization process, describing the many motivations that influence a company to internationalize. First, the problem of deciding whether to internationalize will be analyzed and questioned. The paper will then detail some key challenges that a company could face when expanding operations into an international market. After analyzing challenges, there will be an analysis of some of the opportunities that tempt companies to expand abroad. Finally, the paper will conclude

All of these aspects come together to form a strong local culture in foreign markets, and it is imperative that companies understand the importance of adapting to them. These gaps determine if there will be a strong acceptability of the goods in the new market. For example, this cultural gap proved to be a very large challenge for Disneyland when trying to expand into Paris. Upon entering Paris, Disneyland made the mistake of using its traditional methods to "force-feed" US products to the local culture (Matusitz 2010). The local people were not impressed by the imposition of this new park, especially since Disney had taken no steps to get a firm understanding of the local culture into which they were entering. In Disney's case, the company realized the mistake it was making before it was too late. Amidst bankruptcy, the company realized that it needed to change its strategy to a more local approach. This idea of "glocalization" involves the interaction of the global and local and stresses the idea that global strategies need to be adapted to best suit each local market. Embracing this strategy, Disney continued to replicate its corporate philosophy and symbols worldwide but catered more to the local taste in Paris. It took the time to get a better understanding of the French culture, and it started by cutting prices. Europe was in a recession, and the prices needed to reflect that. Disney then went on to change the menu and eating habits of the park as well as the labour policies (Matusitz 2010). Shows and sets were redesigned and reimagined to embrace French style. When expanding into this foreign market, Disney definitely encountered the challenge of a cultural gap. Fortunately for the company, it was able to overcome this challenge before it caused too many