Strategic Human Resource Management and Global Expansion Lessons from the Euro Disney Challenges in France

The strategic role of human resource (HR) management should be seen as an integral element of a companys overall success in accomplishing its mission and business strategy. The paper will demonstrate how the decisions of a companys HR department are essential for a companys long-term success. In other words, strategic planning will not be presented solely as a companys objective, but a human resource imperative as demonstrated through the Euro Disney case. In the case of Euro Disney, strategic HR management was simply missing, which caused the companys initial strategy not to be successful in Europe. While analyzing the case and what the situation could have been with the exercise of HRs strategic role, emphasis is placed on the importance of cultural awareness. For the purpose of further clarifying the importance of cultural awareness, a comparison is drawn between the United States and France as some of the most important lessons both for Disney and other multinational enterprises are outlined.