HRM-308: International HRM (HRM Major6)

Case: How does the nature of IHRM impact the organizational

objectives of Disney operations worldwide?

Submitted by:
Selden-03180340

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 DECLARATION FORM
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Date of Submission: 29th March, 2021

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appropriately acknowledged. We understand that if found otherwise, our academic work will be
cancelled, and no mark will be awarded besides the legal consequences.

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Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 4
How does the nature of IHRM impact the organizational objectives of Disney
operations worldwide?..............................................................................................................5-7
Conclusion................................................................................................................................... 8
References.................................................................................................................................. 9

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Introduction.

Boxall, P. (1992) defined International

Human Resource Management (IHRM) as
‘concerned with the human resource
problems of multinational firms in foreign
subsidiaries (such as expatriate
management) or more broadly, with the
unfolding HRM issues that are associated
with the various stages of the
internationalization process. (Boxhall, P.
1992). IHRM covers traditional HR roles
including recruiting, selection,
performance management, training and
development, and remuneration, but these
are evaluated or handled on a global scale
The Walt Disney Company is an American diversified multinational mass media and
entertainment company based in Burbank, California. A small animation studio founded
by brothers Walt and Roy Disney on October 16, 1923. It also owns eleven amusement
parks, two water parks, and several television networks, including the American
Broadcasting Company, making it one of Hollywood's largest studios. Disney sees
creating a diverse workforce as both a business necessity and a catalyst for improved
results. To put it another way, they value diversity in order to best represent their
customers by representing the cultures they serve. You can design and create, and
build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a
reality (Walt Disney).

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How does the nature of IHRM impact the organizational objectives of Disney
operations worldwide?
Walt Disney, a company of
such a vast diverse workforce
in the global market of
entertainment and
infotainment had one very big
flaw in the working of its HRM.
The nature of HRM at Disney
was in particular following an
ethnocentrism style of
management orientation. The
HRM at Disney believed or
stood by the assumption that
whatever management or strategic HR style they had in the home country (U.S.A)
would also ultimately work for the host country where they planned to or already
extended their network. This nature, ethnocentrism management orientation is not
always mutually exclusive of the other style of management orientation like the
polycentric management, regiocentric management and geocentric management. The
Disney’s exclusive use of ethnocentric management and ignorance of the other
management orientation style impacts adversely on the day to day working of the
company and finally in the accomplishment of its objectives. Since the other
management orientation are not mutually exclusive of each other, IHRM at Disney could
use a mix of this management style, in other words the Disney’s IHRM could use
different management orientation on different product or service lines and different
departments in the same organization. An ethnocentric management orientation would
not do well in the case of the Disney’s global objectives as it would result in the head on
collision of the host countries labor laws, custom and tradition to name a few. Culture is
not something you can manipulate easily. Attempts to grab it and twist it into a new
shape never work because you can’t grab it (Prof.John P. Kotter). The company being
global only ultimately means that it has a very diverse background of different ethnic

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workforce working under one roof and as such the ethnocentric management style at
Disney would not be able to cater to all the different needs and wants that arises
because of this combination of the workforce. For example, the Disney’s HRM team
failed to understand the importance of the drinking habits in France and tried to force
the no alcohol policy that they followed in California, Florida and Tokyo, which only
resulted in the surprise and rejection of the policy because the French people were
used to drinking wine during lunch and as such it was an insult to its tradition and
custom. Disney later had to remove the policy and serve alcohol in the French area of
their operation. As such this case of the Walt Disney is an example of how critical an
HRM is and failure or mistakes can be made when the alignment between the HRM and
the organizational strategy is a mismatch. Even though the USA and French cultures,
tradition and customs fall under the western category in the eyes of the world, its noted
that they are very different from each other and not fully understanding this could results
or resulted in undesired outcomes to the HRM team. But in the case of the Disney’s
branch in Tokyo the HRM strategy could be credited as a success story even though
they had a huge difference in the cultural background because Japan at that time
looked up to the USA as an exemplary society and Japan wanted to be a part of that
western culture. In other words, this success could be the importance the Japanese
culture placed on the status, affiliation and its admiration of the western society.
Therefore, after understanding the nature of HRM at the Walt Disney company the HRM
strategy should also take the initiative to incorporate other management orientation to
align itself with the global objectives of the organization and find a match that best suits
their global endeavor.

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Conclusion.
IHRM represents the way in which multinational companies manage their
geographically dispersed workforce trying to gain competitive advantage in the local and
global level through the human resources (Scullion, 2005, p. 5). This case of the Walt
Disney in regards to its establishment of a branch in France was an example of the
mismatch between the organizational objectives and its HRM strategy. It was the lack of
the HRM strategy and its ethnocentric management orientation which gave way to a
number of failures and mistakes in the Euro Disney branch of the company. This case
shows how one same strategy can work for one host country and spell disaster for
another and therefore in todays world of business the HRM strategy should be adaptive
and aligned with the needs of a business and its environment where it operates. If
Disney wants to make its presence felt like never before globally, it should recognize the

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importance of its HRM not only in the home country but also the host country and find a
match between its HR strategy and overall objectives of the organization.

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References

Mujtaba, B. G. (2007b). Workpalce Diversity Management: Challenges, Competencies

and Strategies. ISBN: 1-59526-548-1. Llumina Press; Phone: 866-229-9244 or: 954-
726-0902). http://www.llumina.com/store/workforcediversitymanagement.htm

Price, A. (2000). Human Resource Practices at Disney, HRM Guide. Retrieved on July
7th, 2006 from the following URL: http://www.hrmguide.net/hrm/Disney.htm

Hofstede, Gerte. (2006). Retrieved March 30, 2006, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofstede

OPM - U.S. Office of Personnel Management (1999). Strategic HR Management:

Aligning with the Mission. Retrieved on July 7th, 2006 from the following URL:
http://www.opm.gov/studies/alignnet.pdf

UKEssays. (November 2018). Strategic Human Resource Management At Walt Disney Business
Essay. Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/strategic-human-resource-
management-at-walt-disney-business-essay.php?vref=1

Scullion, H. (2005). International HRM: an introduction. In: Scullion, H. & Lineham, M. (Eds.),
International Human Resource Management. A critical text (pp. 3-10). London/NY: Palgrave
Macmillan.

(2018, 08). Disney: The Wonderful World of Human Resources. Essays24.com. Retrieved 08,
2018, from https://www.essays24.com/essay/Disney-The-Wonderful-World-of-Human-
Resources/85831.html

Isabella, L.A. and Yemen, G. (2017), "The Wonderful World of Human Resources at Disney",
Darden Business Publishing Cases. https://doi.org/10.1108/case.darden.2016.000321

UKEssays. (November 2018). Walt Disney Company Analysis | Five Forces and SWOT.
Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/swot-analysis-for-walt-disney-
marketing-essay.php?vref=1

UKEssays. (November 2018). The History Of The Disney Theme Park Media Essay. Retrieved
from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/media/the-history-of-the-disney-theme-park-media-
essay.php?vref=1
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