Business Studies Examples of Culture and Leadership

Business Studies

Examples of Culture and Leadership Impacting on Business Outcomes

Culture and leadership cannot fail to have an impact on business and the way outcomes in business are achieved, which may support success or lead to difficulties. The case of Honda and the U.S. And Disney in France are two good examples.

Following the Second World War the Japanese economy has been devastated. The Japanese received aid from the Allies in order to rebuild their commercial base. A number of companies sought to enter the U.S. market, one of these was Honda. Honda leadership had adopted a very formalized approach to strategizing, developing a tactic for the firm to enter the U.S. market selling large motorcycles, competing with companies such as Harley-Davidson. However, the large motorcycles which were successful in Japan, were not well suited to the U.S. taste or roads (Thompson, 2008). The sales representatives which be sent over from Japan to sell the bike to dealers were struggling to make any sales. However, as part of the Japanese culture, where there is honor in being humble, and a long-term orientation, rather than riding the large motorcycles, the sales representatives were using small economical motorcycles on which to travel. The long-term orientation and a high degree of collectivism which placed pressure on the sales representatives to make sales for the benefit of the company and the Japanese society, facilitated a more flexible approach, and the ability to take advantage of an opportunity when it arose (Hofstede, 2012; Thompson, 2008). While the larger motorcycles were not popular, the small economic motorcycles gained some attention, the Honda representatives started to receive enquiries regarding sales of the smaller motorcycles. Honda eventually became successful in the U.S. selling the smaller motorcycles; initially through the Sears catalogue (Thompson, 2008). The humbler approach towards the U.S. market, ability to adapt even though they had been formalized strategy approach, and willingness of the leadership to switch strategies led to Hondas success.

However, not all cases where culture and leadership impacts on business outcomes are successful. A good example of culture and leadership impacting negatively on the outcome in business can be seen in the way Disneyland Paris was opened. The theme park, which was originally known as Euro Disney, saw the Walt Disney Corporation apply their own corporate culture and leadership styles to a development which was taking place in a different country where there were different values and practices. The challenges were seen in the way that the firm sought to control the development and the employees, seeking to force them into compliance with the U.S. Disney culture.