Research of Carrefour Corporation's Business Culture Damages

Carrefour is a French-based multinational retailer that began operations in 1958. Following to the data shows, it is the largest supermarket chain in Europe and the fourth largest supermarket chain in the world. Carrefour operates globally in more than 30 countries in Europe, America, Asia and Africa, such as Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium and Brazil, China, Egypt, Georgia, Japan，Iran, Indonesia, India, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Macedonia, Pakistan, Portugal, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. In order to adapt to different cultures in different countries, Carrefour has been following different business slogans for many years since its establishment. Therefore, the operating slogan of each country is different from that of France. Carrefour entered Malaysia in 1994 but sold its 26 large supermarkets to the AEON Group in November 2012 due to various business factors. The two supermarkets in Kota Damansara and Jalan Ipoh were first renamed Carrefour to AEON BIG. After, other hypermarkets also began to change their name to AEON BIG.

According to my research on Carrefour, I found that there have been many incidents affecting the corporation's business culture in various places. While today's technology can be used to make significant progress in reducing time and distance for global business connections but social and cultural differences remain a significant barrier to effective communication. Culture not only affects people's food, clothing, housing and travel, it’s also their beliefs, values and ways of communication. The process of communication generally takes place in a specific cultural context and has a unique normative belief. In this study I found that Carrefour executives did not perform well in terms of personnel development cause of communication. Carrefour's corporate culture and management style, as well as the hierarchical structure of its employees and its near-parental attitude, are typical French traits. Although, this culture helps the corporation attract and retain a loyal and dedicated workforce. However, as competitive pressures increase, corporation realize the need to find ways to make the most of the ideas, talent and energy of all employees. Although Carrefour also very good at adapting to the culture of other countries but Carrefour must add different new elements to its business approach to cope with market changes as new market demands change. Here are some of the negative events that occur at Carrefour. These events will seriously affect Carrefour’s corporate culture and image.

Falsify Advertisement

Global retailer Carrefour was fined $2. 69 million for false advertising in the French District Court. The reason is that for years, French consumer groups have accused Carrefour and other retailers of using inaccurate low-cost advertising and low-cost goods and colluding with suppliers. At the same time, Carrefour's competitors accused it of illegally selling at a price below cost. But the Associated Press quoted the company’s statement as "the management today noticed the court’s decision in Evry and was surprised by the severity of the penalty. Carrefour reserves the right to appeal. "

Compromising on Safety Issue

In the Carrefour Mangga Dua Square in Jakarta, Indonesia, a 5-meter-high metal shelf fell on top of a 3-year-old boy who killed him almost immediately due to internal bleeding. Afterwards, the victim’s family claimed that Carrefour refused to meet with them to resolve the case. However, the Carrefour company officer denied the allegation.

Unfair Trade Policy

On May 1, 2007, more than 30 employees work in Carrefour Ra Tu Plaza in Jakarta, Indonesia were sent to Pertamina Hospital because being affected by carbon dioxide (CO2). The cause was that Carrefour set up the supermarket in the supermarket's basement of the shopping center, causing most employees to suffer from hypoxia. That for Carrefour has also received criticism for engaging in sweatshop practices.

Unethical Practices

On 7 May 2009, the French government asked a tribunal to fine Carrefour some €220, 000 for more than 2, 500 violations. That is because Carrefour’s meat products lacked proper tracking information (more than 25% of inventory at some locations), and some products had incorrect labels such as meat products that "shrank" in weight by 15% after receiving labels. Besides that, the chain sold products that had long since passed their expiration dates including one case, the packs of baby formula that had expired six months earlier. In addition, in Carrefour also find out some 1, 625 frozen and refrigerated products were found that had been stored in warehouses at ambient temperature. Carrefour as a global multinational corporation need avoid the above similar case occur again, so it is important to understand local laws, financial practices, and most importantly, translators/localization experts who understand local culture and business practices. It is not just about language, but about the culture, how the business works, and how the business is done. In any society, the way of business is done often closely related to cultural rules. Therefore, multinational corporations must consider differences in business practices across countries. The value of experts is that they can consider these cultural differences and adjust behavior to meet customer expectations.

When doing business internationally, corporation should pay attention to a number of other issues like in many cultures, religion plays an important role because it affects holidays, dress code, basic rituals that affect human interaction in certain cultures; Medium, age and grade affect our perception of people; weather and environmental conditions; design, colour, layout and typographic preferences. These are just a few examples of the reasons for the differences in international business practices. Recognize that cultural diversity is important and that business information is not lost in translation.

In short, if a multinational corporation wants to continue to expand its business overseas, it must avoid making incredible value conversions and making good use of local expertise to better approach international customers. In addition, understanding local culture not only develops our potential customers but also anticipates specific cultural behaviors, which can greatly enhance our new business relationships and thereby achieve or undermine the company's efforts in global deployment.