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Cultural Challenges of Doing Business Overseas:
Steve Kafka, franchisor for Chicago Style Pizza
Steve Kafka, a proprietor of Chicago Style Pizza, a U.S.-based franchise, is attempting to capitalize upon his Czech heritage, and knowledge of Czech culture and language to expand into Prague and take advantage of a largely untapped pizza market in the region. However, it is critical that Steve does not forget that, despite his familiarity with Czech culture, he was born in the United States and must orient himself to the unique cultural worldview of the Czech nation
Major differences and incompatibilities between cultures and risk mitigation
Perhaps the most significant difference between the U.S. And Czech business culture is a historical one, namely the legacy of communist rule in the Czech Republic. "All commentators on Czech business culture focus on the difficulty of developing deep levels of trust within any business relationship" (Doing business in Czech Republic, 2010, World Business Culture). Corruption was rife during the Soviet era. Older employees may also be more used to a less focused and intensive approach to the workday, contrary to what is characteristic of private enterprise (Doing business in Czech Republic, 2010, World Business Culture).
One way to mitigate such risks is to focus on placing younger individuals, with some exposure to the U.S. educational system and U.S. businesses in managerial positions. These individuals would be open to Steve's view of business, yet still possess knowledge of local bureaucracy. Selecting Czech nationals to partner with who have entrepreneurial backgrounds also bodes well for success in Steve's business.
Despite these potential personnel selection difficulties, the Czech Republic also has many assets. Of the former Warsaw Pact nations, "the Czech Republic has one of the most developed and industrialized economies," dating back to the 19th century, boasts a highly-educated populace and well-maintained and developed infrastructure (Czech Republic, 2010, U.S. Department of State). "The country's strategic location in Europe, low-cost structure,...
This investment is rapidly modernizing its industrial base and increasing productivity" (Czech Republic, 2010, U.S. Department of State).
Comparative advantages
A great comparative advantage in the Czech Republic is the relatively underdeveloped pizza market, in comparison to the U.S. In many areas of the U.S., there are high-quality independent pizzerias on every corner. Or, in areas of the nation without large Italian populations, chain pizzerias like Pizza Hut, Domino's and Pizzeria Uno dominate the marketplace. Steve could be a first-mover in the Czech market, and define the evolving Czech palate to crave his particular brand and style of pizza.
Hofstede's four primary dimensions
According to Geert Hofstede's four cultural dimensions, the contemporary Czech Republic rates fairly moderately on all major scales, comparable to the U.S., with a slightly higher level of uncertainty avoidance. On the Czech Republic's Power Distance Index (PDI) "the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally," the Czech Republic rated slightly lower than the U.S., meaning that overall there is a greater expectation of equality between managers and subordinates (Czech Republic, 2010, Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions). This may be due to the Czech Republic's moderately collectivist orientation on Hofstede's Individualism (IDV) scale, which measures the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups" (Czech Republic, 2010, Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions). While the Czech Republic is not as collectivist in orientation as China or Japan, compared with the U.S., it has a much higher degree of collectivism in its mentality than the United States. The U.S. is widely regarded as one of the most individualistic societies in the world.
These two factors, despite the proprietor Steve Pizza's familiarity with the language of the Czech Republic, could result in a managerial culture clash. Workers might be resistant…
References
Czech Republic. (2010). Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions. Retrieved December 10, 2010 at http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_czech_republic.shtml
Czech Republic. (2010). U.S. Department of State. Retrieved December 10, 2010 at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3237.htm
Doing business in Czech Republic. (2010). World Business Culture. Retrieved December 10,
2010 at http://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Czech-Business-Style.html
Jarrett. Chris. (2006). Food, glorious food. Radio.cz. Retrieved December 10, 2010 at http://www.radio.cz/en/section/panorama/food-glorious-food-czech-eating-habits-after-1989
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