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Finland
Inter-Cultural-Management Damian Martinez-Dreyer, Sren Wellhfer
Enjoy thesilence!
05 28 2010
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ICM Finland
Geography
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Geography
Size of Montana (337,030 km2)
Lakes and forests (more than ), some
mountains, 8% arable land Long cold winters, short mild summers
5,359,538 population,
80% south, 60% urbanized Geography = Nordic people
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ICM Finland
History
5000 BC: Finno-Ugric tribes
12th century: Swedish rule since, no nation
1809: Duchy of Russian Empire, unifiedsemiautonomous entity
National movement, Finish/Swedish languageofficial
1899: Russification, Integration
1919: Independence after short war
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History
1939-44: Germany's co-belligerent against Soviet Union,Winter/Continuation war
1948: Treaty Soviet Union
1989: SU recognizes Finland's full sovereignty 1995: EU integration
Hero nation: cultural identity, persistent toughness
Religion: Lutheran (80%), Orthodox(10%)
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General attitude
High ideals, loyal, reliable, punctual
Honest, direct, tolerant, very low-context
Reserved, polite, quite, thoughtful, unemotionalin public
Unbureaucratic, informal
Equality, personal freedom, women's rights Individualism, social responsibility
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General attitude
Traditional, yet modern and technological Nature-loving Proud of nation and heritage, modest, Pessimistic, inferiority complex Brink of Scandinavia and Europe
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Lutheranism and work attitude?
Many baptized (80% = 4.3 Mio.)
Very secularized society (Church/State)
It's proper to be Christian
Work ethic = morals and values of diligent work Nordic people, historic struggles, National pride
sisu= die trying against the odds
ability to sustain an action against the odds with courage History, heritage, and national values shape work ethic,
not religion
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Empathizing with Finns
Modest
Low profile, never boast
Achievements in modest tone
Silence is positive, contemplative, relaxing
Clear goals and objectives
Individual freedom, self-respect Subtle body language
Humorous on occasions, rather dry
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Business practices
Highly-competitive business culture
Punctuality
Dress properly
No small-talk
Good English
Respect opinions Follow host in actions
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ICM Finland
Business practices
Formal atmosphere softens in meetings
Women have true equal standing
No good team players
4/5 weeks of vacation during summer, avoidtravel
Sauna
Conversation topics: history, politics, sports,technology, travel
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Management by motivation
Frank, open, direct (share your plans)
Modest, unemotional, objective
Talk slowly and listen
Precise, efficient
Relaxed about protocol and hierarchy
Honest, faithful, solid
Do never: Gossip, lie, insult culture & heritage
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Quality
Hight-tech society, highly industrialized,high standard of living
Quietly efficient perfectionists
Emphasize quality, but not picky
Important for individual and society
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Product XYTrollcorp.
Helsinki
Example of a Finnish presentation:
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Product XY - Overview
Achievements:
Profitability 70% since inception (5 years ago)
80% of customer satisfaction
Quality of service deemed good in surveys
Objectives:
Return on investment must be increased Product placement stabilization
Reduce marginal costs for serviceability
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Product XY - Development
Three autonomous working groups
A: Quality reinforcement
B: Customer satisfaction
C: Process rationalization
A
B
C
Improvementreconciliations
Goal:Profitability margin
up by > 10%
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Finish communication explained
Silence is positive
Think quiet (silence again)
Only subtle bodylanguage
Be modest
Structured conversation, one voice at a time!
Speaking less is more.
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The GLOBE Study
438 Managers / seven companies
To study:
Social / Organisational cultural norms
Leadership norms
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GLOBE: Social Results
Uncertainity Avoidance0
3.5
7
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GLOBE: The perfect Leader
Visionary
Integrity
Inspirational
Colaborative
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Kiitoksia paljon!
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