THE BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES

THE FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT PROJECT

LOREAL IN ROMANIA

Prof. Johana Rinciog

Cristea Loredana Nicoleta
Dinu Mdlina Florentina
Roman Andreea
Group 132

BUCHAREST
2015
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THE BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES

THE FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. THE CULTURE OF THE BUSINESS..........................................................3
II. CULTURAL DIFFERENCES....................................................................4
III. BARRIERS AND METHODS TO SURPASS THE BARRIERS........................5
REFRENCES............................................................................................7

THE BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES

THE FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

I.

THE CULTURE OF THE BUSINESS

L Oreal devoted its time for offering to all women and men worldwide the best
cosmetics by meeting the infinite diversity of beauty needs and desires.
The group has been researching for new territories since its creation and continues
to invent products and inspire beauty all over the world.
In order to carry out its mission L Oreal is fighting every moment the cultural
barriers of the countries where they operate.
The company accepts differences, promote them and makes diversity an essential
value in order to respect individuals and gain their loyalty.
The culture in the group is based on six values and four ethical principles. The
values of the company are passion, innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, openmindedness, guest for excellence and responsibility.
The passion for cosmetics is an essential sense that has to have the power to bring
to men and women self-confidence and well-being. Understanding peoples needs
and apprehending their traditions will lead to an active listening of them and for
that you need to have a great passion in order to create beauty where others see
nothing good.
LOreal wants always to push back the limits of knowledge and discover new ways
to create products at a high level of performance. Innovations is needed because
being one step ahead means to always be creative and see things different.
To be a great entrepreneur means to believe in your product, or project but also to
have the opportunity to try new things and also to risk sometimes. Because LOreal
encourages this behavior they try to offer to their employees a safe environment
where they can try unsafe ideas. It is in their culture to risk without hesitation, to
take decisions without asking for permition.
Because the company is having operations in many countries with different
cultures, they need to stay always open-mindedness. They have to listen to their
consumers and understand them. This value is not looking only for outside the
company. By having open-mindedness employees the company created an
energetic, inspirational and supportive environment that permits you to have access
to different persons and develop valuable long relationships with them.
An excellent guest for excellence is required when you want to provide the best
product for your customers, and L Oreal is really aware of that. They always look for
perfection and express a constant pursuit of being the best. In order to do that the
group is looking for visionary people and encourage being an overview and
multitasking person.

THE BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES

THE FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Whether the group is innovating or showing its entrepreneurial spirit, it has always
done so with a sense for responsibility. For having success LOreals culture is based
on a great power of its people to change their priorities and believe is their
imagination so that also the big chiefs to be impressed and encourage them to start
transform it into reality. Responsibility means also to preserve the beauty of the
planet and to contribute to the well-being of the community.
Their principles shape their culture, underpin their reputation, and must be known
and recognized by all LOral employees.
Integrity means building and maintaining trust and good relationships. Integrity
means respecting the laws of the countries in which the company operates, fighting
against corruption, maintaining high standards in accounting and reporting, and
protecting and making the most effective use of company assets.

Respect is also important because what the company does has an impact on many
peoples lives. They must reconsider that they are all different and avoid
stereotypes. Respect also refers to the fact that they are trying to respond to
customer different needs and also are delivering innovative, highly efficient
products manufactured to the most demanding standards of quality and safety.

It is needed a lot of Courage because ethical questions are rarely easy but must be
addressed. In practice, LOreal demonstrates courage by facing up to difficult
questions and by building a culture of openness and generosity.

L Oreals culture is also based on Transparency because they must always be

truthful, sincere and be able to justify actions and decisions of the company.

The culture of the brand is constructed to find the best products for all men and
women At the heart of the company, their Research and Innovation reinvents itself
to create cosmetics products adapted to the immense diversity of the world. In each
region of the globe, LOreal has set up Research platforms, true centers of expertise,
designed with tailor-made beauty in mind. These research poles invent new
products that can become worldwide successes. This is a real turning point in the
way they think about Innovation.

THE BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES

THE FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

II.

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

Romanian, as well as French, both trace their origins in the Vulgar Latin in terms
of grammar structure. Should we take the common denominator of Italian, as
probably the most similar language to Latin, it has been argued that its lexical
similarity to French could be of 89%.
The cultural ties between our two countries date back several hundreds of years.
The dissemination of the French language in Romania dates back to the 18th
century, when the Romanian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia were still
under Ottoman rule and the sons of important Romanian families would go to Paris
for their studies. Over the centuries, France has played host to numerous
intellectuals, researchers and artists of Romanian origin: Cioran, Brancusi, Eliade,
Ionesco, Anna de Noailles, Enesco, etc.
The political relations between France and Romania are also long-standing,
originating in the role played by Napoleon III in the foundation of the young
Romanian State on the European scene in the 19th century, and then in Frances
assistance in building this new State (although in competition with Germany). World
War I gave rise to a lasting brotherhood of arms. Under the communist regime, ties
were maintained (General de Gaulles visit to Romania in May 1968). Frances
considerable and constant support of Romanias dual candidacy to join the
European Union and NATO is in line with this tradition of the special relations that
unite our two countries. In addition, Romania is a valuable ally to France in
multilateral arenas.
Obviously there are two different patterns regarding what is required to make a
managerial career in Romania and in France. These practices have their roots in the
different national cultures, but most probably were reinforced by two companies
own histories. Plus some differences between the engineering communitys sense of
pride and status compared to the metalworkers, and the two professional groups
perception of each other.
A concept of a team should be observed in both cultures. The French one can be
described as a collection of specialists chosen for their competences in a given field
under the command of an unequivocal leader.
Romania has a collectivistic culture where people are used to work in groups and
team-spirit has been developed for many years. Romanian people are more open
with foreigners than with each other. But they will work hard to close a deal once
everybody is on the same track.
In France professional relationships between colleagues are founded more on rivalry
than collaboration. This begins in the highly competitive school environment, which
is based on getting over a series of ever higher hurdles.
Learning to collaborate to solve problems is not a educational tool.

THE BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES

THE FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

In business, competitiveness is fostered by strong vertical hierarchies. Far from

refreshing, people find it disconcerting when others do not compete. They will not
wait for a group consensus before taking an initiative. To those from more
participative cultures (like in Romania) this can appear deliberately provocative.
The French culture, especially in business, is based on personal contacts. Personal
relationships are regarded as important for their own sake. Something similar to the
Romanian culture.

III. BARRIERS AND METHODS TO SURPASS THE

BARRIERS
At the core of every global business there is the tension between global integration
and local responsiveness. When product development and marketing depend upon
complex knowledge this tension is especially high. This kind of knowledge - usually
tacit and collective, revealed only in action and interaction - is often the essence of
a companys competitive advantage. The problem is that tacit knowledge serves
best within national boundaries, where workers share a language and cultural and
institutional norms and can use it to create strong interpersonal networks. Without
close, face-to-face interaction between knowledge creators and users, an
understanding of how bits of information fit together may be lost and the knowledge
may become unusable. Further, when tacit knowledge must cross borders, it is often
reduced to information that moves easily (words and numbers, for example) but
may then fall prey to local misinterpretations that are difficult to detect from afar.
The remarkable global success of LOral was built largely by a management team
strongly rooted in its home culture. Traditionally employees became part of
management over many years, weaving a dense network of relationships through
which knowledge about products, cultures, and how to work together was
internalized. Gilles Antoine is the Country General Manager for LOral Romania and
he has led the Romanian subsidiary for the last four years.
As its global-local tensions have mounted, LOral has managed them by deploying
professionals with multicultural backgrounds in new-product development, the
companys most critical source of competitive advantage. Gilles Antoine began his
career 21 years ago at L'Oral in France in Sales. His international career within the
group began over fourteen years ago. His professional path includes countries like
Mexico (where he served as Sales Director for the Consumer Products Division),
Brazil (Commercial Director for Latin America Area, Consumer Products Division)
and Venezuela. As a General Manager of Consumer Products Division in Venezuela,
Gilles Antoine managed to double the turnover in three years, in a complex
economic context. He returned to France in 2009 and occupied the position of
Deputy General Manager for Latin America Area, with responsibility for commercial
activities and development of a number of countries such as Peru, Colombia and
Central American countries.
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THE BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES

THE FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

As we previously stated, one of the strongest barriers to overcome in a crosscultural business is communication. Even if the management team at LOral
speaks Romanian, English and also French, there is still the problem of getting lost
in translation. Even when theres a common syntax or language, cross-cultural
semantic differences can cause confusion. What the person initiating a
communication means is not necessarily what the person receiving the
communication hears. The problem thus shifts to who interprets what, and how
accuratelya critical issue in the design of new products.
Another barrier that may occur is failing to recognize new-product opportunities
because of the cultural differences. But LOral Paris finds that multiculturalS are
better placed than others to draw analogies among cultural groups. According to a
director who worked with multiculturals for five years, Their background is a kind of
master class in holding more than one idea at the same time. They think as if they
were French, American, or Chinese, and all of these together at once. This very
flexible perspective can lead to unexpected opportunities for product innovation.
Although people rooted in one culture can also uncover such opportunities,
multiculturals are more likely to do so. So having Gilles Antoine as Country Manager
represents a benefit considering his multicultural experience that he has developed
through his career.
That strategy, according to top management, is the main reason for LOrals
impressive success in emerging markets. As the company has transformed itself
from a very French beauty products business to a global leader, multicultural
executives have come to play a critical role in product development not just in Paris
but also in all the subsidiaries around the world.

REFRENCES
-

https://hbr.org/2013/06/loreal-masters-multiculturalism
http://www.loreal.com/group/diversity
http://fse.tibiscus.ro/anale/Lucrari2011/027.pdf
http://www.loreal.com/group/diversity
http://www.loreal.com/
http://www.loreal.ro/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Romania
http://www.romania-insider.com/cultural-preconceptions-french-andromanians-at-the-merger-table/19211/
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THE BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES

THE FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES