The Cultural Challenges of Doing Business Overseas

The Cultural Challenges of Doing Business Overseas

Debra Alvarado-Rocha

MMPBL/501

May 22, 2011

Edward Hartmann

The Cultural Challenges of Doing Business Overseas

Steve Kafka, currently operates the Chicago Style Pizza in the United States and has decided to take the franchise to the Czech Republic. Steve Kafka knows that expending his franchise to Czech Republic is a risking business but this is nothing know to Steve. I will examine the differences and incompatibilities of the cultures, establish the comparative advantages, and suggest ways to minimize the risks of expanding the franchise to Czech Republic.

Differences and Incompatibilities Involving United Stated and Czech Cultures

“A major challenge of doing business internationally is to adapt effectively to different cultures. Such adaptation requires an understanding of culture diversity, perceptions, stereotypes, and values” (Hodgett & Luthans, 2005, p. 92). The differences and incompatibilities that Steve will need to consider are the values, beliefs, and behaviors.

For Steve to be successful in Czech Republic, Steve must understand and analyze the different cultures between Czechs and the United States. One of the areas that Steve needs to research is the differences in eating and diet cultures from the United States and Czech Republic. In the United States Pizza is eaten as an entire meal, and eaten with our hands. In the United States Pizza can be delivered, served at the restaurant or can be carried out. In the Czech Republic dinning out is a rare occasion and pizza is considered as a snack that can be purchased from a vendor on the sidewalk. This is an important difference that Steve needs to consider and needs to find a way to attract the Czech culture to the fast food industry. Another difference between the United States and Czech Republic is that Americans will consume beer with his or her pizza and in the Czech culture beer is consumed throughout the day. This is...