ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the Four Seasons Hotel George V case that illustrates how a service firm with a strong, successful organizational culture expanded internationally into a country with a distinct, intense national culture. When Four Seasons entered France, some elements of organizational culture were held constant, while others were treated flexibly. The most important element of management practice contributing to Four Seasons' success in France was management discipline. This took a few forms, both of which can be viewed as contributing to the enactment of organizational values. Managers in widely diverse service industries can benefit from Four Seasons' approach to global management when entering countries with distinct, intense national cultures. To do so, they must understand their own organizational culture: their underlying assumptions, values, employee perceptions of management practices, and cultural artifacts. Managers must then ask what elements of their culture, are essential to competitive advantage in existing environments, and how the new environment will change that linkage.
