The Cultural Challenges Of Doing Business Overseas
The Cultural Challenges of Doing Business Overseas
Erica Hartfield
University Of Phoenix
2/11/2008
Steve Kafka, an existing franchisor for a Chicago Style Pizza restaurant has a lot of work ahead of him if wants to expand his business into the Czech Republic. Although Steve’s family is originally from the Czech Republic and he has visited the country several times, he is not exempt from the challenges of opening a pizza restaurant overseas. Steve has many advantages compared to someone who is familiar with the country, for example, he can fluently speak the Czech language fluently and he has family members who live there that can actually advise him. Steve also has experience in his corner because he not only currently runs a successful pizza restaurant in the U.S. but he also was able to overcome the many challenges that he encountered before becoming a franchisor. On the other hand, this is the first time that Steve will be expanding overseas and unfortunately there are several different risks associated with doing business in a different culture.
Differences and Incompatibilities between the U.S and Czech Republic
Although Steve is familiar with the Czech culture he must realize there are still differences in handling business in the U.S. versus the Czech Republic. He must also keep in mind that globalization does not mean that overseas is just like home. Although franchising into a foreign country is a successful way to enter new markets, these projects must take the environment they will be expanding into consideration and then capitalize on it. For example, people who live in Czech respond well to friendly service and they prefer a café style environment. Whereas in the U.S, excellent customer service is appreciated however a café style environment is not necessarily required in order for a business to thrive. Another factor for Steve to consider is that he must have respect for the local...
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