Ethical Perspectives

Walt Disney Company is one of the biggest companies in America and is well known through out the world. Disney has opened parks worldwide since 1983. When American companies are moving to other countries they sometimes ignore the cultures of the country they are going to. Disney had that problem when opening its first park outside of the United States in Tokyo, Japan.

When Disney opened up Tokyo Disneyland back in 1983 they went in to Tokyo and brought the American Culture with them thinking that the Japanese will just accept the culture and go along with it. It didn't go exactly the way Disney planned. Again in 1992 Disney opened up yet another park, this time in Paris, France. Disney had a rough time with the opening of Euro Disney. They had some cultural issues with the opening in now two brand new parks overseas. They had more issues with the Euro Disney then they did with the Tokyo Disneyland, leading to financial issues. Disney had high priced hotel rooms in their theme hotels in Paris. Not doing the study and the research to see look and the French economy hurt them. If they also would of researched the vacation styles of the French culture is to go for long vacations they might of started the prices cheaper. High hotel prices and long vacations would really add up and would not of worked.

Learning from the past of over twenty years Disney learned to look and research more into the culture of the area they plan on investing in. In 2005 Disney opened up their most recent park in Hong Kong, China. They decided to work closely with masters of Chinese art of feng shui. Bringing in experts to help make this as close to the Chinese culture was a great step forward for Disney. Even though they brought in the Chinese culture more to this park then others, they still kept the old Missouri Main Street. That being said the Main Street entrance is a staple for Disney parks being that is a copy of Walt Disney's hometown. One thing that Disney did not change was the rides; they kept a lot of the American park rides. There is nothing wrong with the keeping of the rides but some of the rides and attractions are only in English.

Another dilemma that appeared is that a lot of older customers and park goers do not recognize a lot of the older characters that are in the parks. Everyone knows Mickey Mouse, but other less known characters is leaving some of the park goers at a loss. This is something Disney can change over time. With Disney now established in the Chinese market they can market older characters and lesser-known characters by releasing older films or shows over in China. Introducing a staple in the American culture to the Chinese can do no harm Disney as long as they do not force the culture. Put the culture out there and let the Chinese bring it into their homes. Disney could also fix the problem with the English only attractions by doing what they do here in America. They can go out get Chinese celebrities