Disney’s theme park in Paris, initially called Euro Disney, was a financial disaster. The mistake that Disney made was to use its traditional method to force-feed its U.S. products to local cultures. Recognizing its mistakes, the park was changed to one in which local preferences were incorporated and renamed Disneyland Paris. Is this the appropriate strategy for all situations? Many organizational strategies have been based on a vision of a world that’s steadily, even rapidly, becoming more integrated, where the key challenge is keeping up with that integration. However, given this Disney example, for some situations, it may make some sense to adopt a vision in which national differences remain pronounced. What’s more, managing those differences is becoming a primary challenge for organizations.

What are some of the challenges that today’s organizations have to think about in developing a successful international strategy? As part of your response, consider threeof the following topics.

1. The importance of a company’s decision to globalize
2. The main strategic orientations of global firms
3. The complexity of the global environment and the control problems that are faced by global firms
4. The strategy implementation problems associated with internal new venturing, joint ventures and mergers.
5. The market requirements and product characteristics in global competition.
6. The competitive strategies for firms in foreign markets.