Cirque du Soleil
In 1984, Guy Laliberté left his home in Canada to make his way across Europe as a circus performer. There he and other artists entertained in the street. The troupe was called Cirque du Soleil—circus of the sun. It started with a simple dream: a group of young artists getting together to entertain audiences, see the world, and have fun doing it.1 Laliberté and company quickly found that their entertainment form without words— stilt-walking, juggling, music, and fire breathing—transcended all barriers of language and culture. Though he understood that an entertainer could bring the exotic to every corner of the world, Laliberté did not envision the scope to which his Cirque du Soleil would succeed. Today, Cirque performs five permanent shows—four in Las Vegas and one in Walt Disney World—and five traveling shows. Combined, they gross about $500 million annually.2 In 20-plus years of live performances, 44 million people have seen a Cirque show.3 Despite a long-term decline in the circus industry, Cirque has increased revenue 22-fold over the last 10 years.4 Growth plans include additional tours in Asia and permanent shows in New York, Tokyo, and London.5 Cirque du Soleil is a family of more than 3,000 individuals—700 of whom are the shows’ artists— from 40 different countries.6 Each of Cirque’s employees is encouraged to contribute to the group.This input has resulted in rich, deep performances and expansion into alternative media outlets such as music, books, television, film, Web sites, and merchandising. The company’s diversity assures that every show reflects many different cultural influences.Different markets will have an exotic experience at a Cirque show, regardless of which show is playing where. Cirque does target specific markets with products designed to engage a particular audience. Yet Cirque has little need to adapt its product to new markets; the product is already a blend of global influences. The result is a presentation of acrobatic arts and traditional, live circus with an almost indescribable freshness and beauty. Cirque du Soleil’s commitment to excellence and innovation transcends cultural differences and the limits of many modern media. Its intense popularity has made Cirque both the global standard of live entertainment and the place for talented individuals from around the world to perfect their talents. The extent of the diversity, however, does pose a host of unique challenges. Every employee must be well versed in various forms and styles. To foster cultural enrichment, Cirque purchases and shares a large collection of art with employees and gives them tickets to different events and shows. The performers work in the most grueling and intimate situations, with their lives depending on one another. The astounding spectacles they achieve on stage result from hours of planning, practice, and painstaking attention to detail among artists from diverse cultures who speak 25 different languages. Sensitivity, compromise, and hunger for new experiences are prerequisites for success at Cirque. The organization has learned the art of sensitivity and compromise in its recruiting. Cirque du Soleil has had a presence in the Olympics for a decade. It works closely with coaches and teams to help athletes consider a career with Cirque after their competitive years are over, rather than luring talent away from countries that have made huge investments in athletes. This practice has given Cirque a huge advantage in the athletic community, a source of great talent from all over the globe. Guy Laliberté has not forgotten his humble beginnings as a Canadian street performer. Now that Cirque du Soleil has achieved an international presence and incredible success—the group expects to be doing $1 billion in annual gross revenue by 2007—it has chosen to help at-risk youth, especially street kids. Cirque allocates 1% of its revenues to outreach programs targeting youth in difficulty, regardless of location in the world.7 Laliberté understands that to be successful in a world market, one must be a committed and sensitive neighbor. Cirque’s Montreal headquarters is the center of an urban revitalization project that the company sponsors. Community participation and outreach bring international goodwill and help Cirque du Soleil prevent many of the difficulties global brands often face when spanning cultures.
Questions for Discussion
1. Why is Cirque du Soleil successful throughout the world? Why does the product transcend culture differences between countries?
--Cirque Du loseil is successful because of it sensitivity , compromise and hunger for new experiences it is perquisite for their success.
2. How do the cultural influences discussed in Figure 4–1 influence organizational behavior at Cirque du Soleil?
-- Cultural influences discussed in figure 4-1 by explaining how cirque Du loseil become famous in the world and how they quickly found their entertainment form with out words the entertainer could bring the exotic to every corner of the world.
3. Why is it important for Cirque du Soleil to be a good corporate citizen? How does ethnocentrism relate to fulfilling this role?
-- Ethnocentrism relate to fulfilling this role in understanding that to be successful in a world market one must be committed and sensitive neighbor .
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