Culture

Steve Kafka would like to take a chance. A chance of opening a business in a country where he was not born, however he has some cultural history associated with the country of choice. It will take a lot of determination, patience, creativity, and a lot of fortitude. Mr. Kafka would like to open his pizza business in the Czech Republic. Steve’s origin is of Czech, however, does not speak the language and is prepared with the challenges he has to face if he does open his Chicago style pizza in the Czech Republic. There are going to be number of factors Steve has to consider. Will he succeed? The following paper we will take a look at some economic and cultural questions that need to be asked in order to determine his success.

Cultures in the United States and in the Czech Republic differ in certain ways that may have an impact on the success of the Chicago style pizza Steve wants to establish. While the United States is a melting pot of different tastes and styles of food, the United States is quite popular for the fast food restaurants and implementing traditional styles of Mexican, Italian, and Chinese in to every day meal regiments. The food culture in the Czech Republic values a healthier diet where preparing food is common at home such as soups and meat plates. However, pizza and hot dogs are considered snack foods which can be purchased on the streets from vendors but eating outside of home is not done often.

The United States obtains the world’s largest and most advanced financial system. While American society as a whole is successful, there is a bridge between the countries rich and the poor. Those, however in the middle class still continuously struggle to make ends meet. The United States monetary strength is depends on heavy manufacturing and engineering sectors and trade with countries abroad. The service industry employs more people than manufacturing, but the United States remains a world leader in industry and high technology. It exports capital goods, cars, consumer goods, food, and machinery. The Czech Republic is a free-market economy. Economic progression has slowed in recent years resulting in low labor costs, the export of manufactured goods, and strong fiscal policies. Although only 5 percent of the labor force is employed in agriculture, it is important to the domestic economy, and the country is nearly self-sufficient in food. (Czech 2007)

Steve can alleviate these risks by understanding the culture 100% and recognizing trends of the people. He can also try and market his business to a certain demographic such as teenagers and young adults. He can also have those friends and family that live in the country give him ideas and insight on the location of his business that way foot traffic can remain heavy. He has the advantage of bringing something new to the country. Deep dish, Chicago style pizza is not common