Lets' Talk Business

When doing business outside of your own culture, it is easy to mess things up by being unfamiliar with the protocol of the visiting culture. By reading this post, I hope to inform all readers of just exactly what one would need to know about doing business in Denmark. As noted in previous blogs, Denmark is very similar to the United States on many aspects. Business is another in which we share common practices. However, do not be mistaken by the word similar, for there are differences! With that being said, Lets’ talk business.

First and foremost, setting a meeting up is very important. It is not okay for someone to drop by or to make a "cold call" as mentioned in the class text book. It is also important to be courteous of the Danish vacation season. The Danes rarely do business during summer month or around holidays because they like to spend time with their families. Therefore, meeting should not be scheduled during these times. Once the meeting time is set, an agenda should be sent before the meeting to let the counterparts know of how the meeting will go. Danes, like American, Like to get down to business, so staying on track is important as well as being on time. If you will be late, you must contact someone and let them know in advance.

When preparing for your visit to Denmark for a business adventure, there are a few things to know about the attire to be worn and brought. For men, you will wear a dark suit that has been pressed accompanied by a starched white shirt and tie. Your shoes will need to be well maintained. Women need to dress conservatively. A skirt suit or pant suit is acceptable along with a white shirt. Pumps are acceptable for women; however other accessories should be kept to a minimum. While visiting Denmark, the business executives whom you are meeting with might schedule a black tie event at any moment, so it is important for both men and women to bring formal attire with them. For men this means a tux and women, a formal evening gown. Also in your suitcase should be attire for rain such as a rain jacket and umbrella and cool weather.

Upon arriving to the meeting, it is expected that you address Danes by their last names until given permission to do otherwise. This is also done with a handshake. If for any reason you are sitting while being introduced, you should stand before extending a handshake. When women are present, you shake hands with them first. For a heads up, there will be plenty of women in the workforce in Denmark. Denmark is ranked number one in having the largest percentage of women working outside the house. You may be asking yourself, what is the handshake like? It is just like the American handshake, firm and short. After the handshake, the exchange of business cards is likely. Unlike doing business with many Asian or Middle East countries, it is not necessary to have English and Danish printed sides of the business card. Most Danes are about to speak and read English. What is important that your business card states if your company has been in business for ten years or longer. The Danish culture respects stability.

Most people would now expect some small talk to get to know one another at this point. If small talk is engaged, there are some topics that you should avoid. Danes do not like discussing personal information such as family, religion or money. That being said it is important to avoid any comment that could be taken personal, such as commenting on an individual’s attire. Safe topics to talk about are current events, culture, and your home town. If you want to stay on the safer side of things, you can let the Danes bring up a topic for discussion. One this to remember while in discussion is that Danes have a rather dry sense of humor so it would be best to avoid trying to make a joke with them. Danes, however do not engage in much small talk. They prefer to get right to business as do Americans. This brings us to the negotiating table. At this point it is important to understand that Danes are much like Americans. Getting to the point and having facts and figures to back your statements are important. "Truth is grounded in a faith in the ideology of social welfare, with objective facts used to make points" (Denmark, 2008). People in the Danish culture are very open about their opinions and speak freely. Like Americans, you can expect this from all levels of employees. Equality is stresses in their society. Due to the fact that Danes are concerned with conserving the environment, no business plan that could be detrimental to the environment should be discussed with them. Decisions are often not made until it has been discussed with everyone, then a final decision is made by a group of top leaders.

Lastly, I would like to discuss gift giving. In Denmark, gifts are required for business relationships. However it is nice to give a gift to the host if invited to their home. Flowers are accepted at this time but should be sent in advance to your arrival. Most commonly, a bouquet of wild flowers but roses are accepted, just not white roses. In Denmark, red is a positive color, making it a good color to wrap gifts in. Since gifts are not required for business relationships, it is not customary to have a gift at the first meeting. However, if the business between the two countries is going well, a small gift is acceptable after the contracts have been signed. Danes enjoy receiving fine wines and whiskey, anything from your home town (illustrated books), as well as the common pen, paper weight or keychain with your company logo on it. If a gift is presented to you, it is acceptable to open the gift in front of them rather than having to wait until a later time.

While this information is not as detailed as one will find upon further research, I believe that this information is what an American company or individual would need to know while doing business in Denmark. Like America, Denmark is a straight forward culture ready to take care of business. Once business id taken care of you can assure that the project with be put into motion. I hope this helps anyone who will be conducting business abroad in Denmark.

Works Cited

Denmark. (2007, October 18). Retrieved April 14, 2012, from Executive Planet: http://www.executiveplanet.com/index.php?title=Denmark

Business Etiquette in Denmark. (2008). Retrieved 2012, from Danishnet.com: http://www.danishnet.com/info.php/business/meeting-etiquette-38.html

Denmark's Business Etiquette and Protocol. (2008). Retrieved April 2012, from International Business: http://internationalbusiness.wikia.com/wiki/Denmark's_Business_Etiquette_and_Protocol

Denmark and Nonverbal Communication

Denmark much like the United States is considered to be and individualistic and low-context culture. Therefore, much of how they use nonverbal communication is like those of Americans. With this information I recruited the help of my friend from Denmark, Jannie. Jannie and I are more like sister, in fact she calls me her American sister and I call her my Danish sister. In recruiting her help she answered some questions I had, which will be discussed in this post. Even though Denmark and America are very similar, some of thier ways of using nonverbal communication is different. So lets' begin!

The first aspect of nonverbal communication I want to start with gestures. Jannie told me that for the most part our gestures are the same and have the same meaning. In doing a little more research I found that there are a few differences. In America we have all done or seen someone call another person crazy by circling our index (pointer) finger near the temple of our head. In Denmark this gesture is used to insult another driver while on the road. Another gesture is the O.K. sign we make when connecting our thumb and forefinger to make a circle. Here in America it is a good sign but like in other countries it is considered an insult in Denmark.

Next, make the "victory" sign with your hand. Was the palm of your hand facing outward or inward? If it was outward, than I think you will be okay in Denmark! When making that sign in Denmark, it is interpreted as a rude or obscene gesture if your palm is facing inward. Jannie told me that in Denmark pointing at someone directly is considered rude but to point in a direction is acceptable, much like the United States. In order to beckon someone, such as a waiter, you do so by using your index finger.

Another question I asked Jannie was about body movement, do the use their hands when they speak or use large arm movements to get a point across. Her response was that it depends on how extroverted you are. She said that usually people my wave at someone and smile but large gestures are not used. This found out is because in Denmark people do not do anything to draw attention to them. It is more important to blend in with the crowd then to stand out. As far as how you present yourself in public, one should not slouch because it is considered juvenile and shows lack of respect and laziness. Let me ask you a question, how do you enter the row of your choice at the movies? Do you turn your back to the people already sitting in that row or do you face them? I know I turn my back to them. Turning your back to someone with walking through the movie theater row is considered an insult; you should face them and have your back side facing the stage/screen.

In Denmark space and privacy are very important. In my conversation with Jannie she told me that when in the company of close friends and family is the only time when people are comfortable with people being in their personal space. In my research I found that even on the buses or when standing in large groups, people tend to act like no one is around them. They do not like their space to be invaded, especially from strangers. If you are having a conversation with a Dane, you would need to stand at least two arm's length away from them. In regards to their houses, they often are separated by large amounts of land or tall trees, bushes, or fences so that people can no see into their private property. In fact, even for me to go over to Denmark, it would be considered a privilege for Jannies mother to offer me into her home since she does not know me. Danes keep their homes very private.

The last thing I want to talk about is time. Like Americans, Danes have great respect for time. It is important to make appointments when meeting with them and even more important to be on time.

While at a quick glance we may seem much like the same country separated by an ocean, we are different! However, I do not think it would be hard for an American to adjust if they new these simple things to know!

Denmark: Public Behaviour. (2007, October 18). Retrieved March 30, 2012, from ExecutivePlanet: http://www.executiveplanet.com/index.php?title=Denmark:_Public_Behaviour

Denmark. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2012, from Kwintessential: http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/denmark-country-profile.html

Dinesen, J. M. (2012, March 28). Danish Nonverbal Communication. (C. Rohde, Interviewer)

Hog, E., & Johannessen, H. (n.d.). Culture of Denmark. Retrieved March 11, 2012, from Countries and Their Culture: http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/Denmark.html

Cultural Values

While on the outside, the United States and Denmark may look much like same, they are many differences. However, first I would like to discuss how the two rate according to Hofstede. In our text book there Hofstedes five major cultural dimensions are discussed. I would like to look more closely to only four of them. Individualism/collectivism, Uncertainty Avoidance, Power Distance, and Masculinity/Femininity. I want to compare the two cultures of the United States and Denmark with these four dimensions. As well, I want to take a look at Halls high/low context.

The first of Hofstedes dimensions I want to look at in regards to these two cultures is individualism/collectivism. Hofstedes conclusions are based on a study of 50 countries and then they were ranked based on his findings. With the United States and Denmark both being ranked in the top 9 most individualistic countries, we will focus on this similarity. One may be finding themselves thinking "What does it mean for a culture to be individualistic?" Individualistic cultures emphasize personal rights and responsibilities, privacy, voicing ones opinion, freedom, innovation, and self-expression these individuals put their interest over the group’s interest. We all know that when we were growing up our parents always told us to "be yourself, don't be like everyone else" "think for yourself". We were pushed in school and sports to be competitive. This is emphasizing the individual. Hofstede points out that there are four important components of individualism. One being that the individual is the single most important unit. Second being independence is stressed over interdependence. Third being that individual achievement is rewarded. The last being that uniqueness is a paramount value.

The second dimension that we will look at is another similarity between the two countries, Uncertainty Avoidance. Uncertainty avoidance is how well people deal with the unknown. They can have a high uncertainty or low uncertainty avoidance. Denmark and the United States both fall under the low-uncertainty division. With this it means that both are comfortable with accepting the new or the uncertainty inherent in life. They are not uncomfortable with uncertainty and are very tolerant of the unusual. They are open to new people and ideas. Much like with the individualistic aspect of the culture, they do not depend much on experts but rather on themselves. They are less constrained by social protocol and dislike the hierarchy structure. The United States may not have as low of uncertainty avoidance (being number43) and the 51 ranked Denmark, but the two fall close enough together that it is just about the same in both countries.

Next, we will discuss the power distance dimension. Power distance measures the way in which different cultures approach and accept inequalities between individuals in society. Once again there are two groups in which a country can fall. High-power distance or low-power distance. High power would mean that there is a large cap in the gain. People are not considered equal and everyone has their rightful place. Low-power distance means that believe that equality in society should be minimized. This is where the two countries grow a little further apart. Denmark falls once again in the 51st place. Meaning that they are among the lowest power distance. While the United States is still considered to be low-power distanced we fall 38th. These two countries are considered to have minimal power distinctions, they are considered to see hierarchy as an inequality and people in power positions try to not seem as powerful as they are. In both countries, people are to be treated equally. There is to be a strong middle class and violence is rare. In Denmark people to don’t showcase their ranks or achievements, but rather try to live and act as they are the same as others. In the United States however, people may interact with subordinates, they don’t not care to showcase their success. You will see the rich living in neighborhoods with large houses on the country clubs golf course or on their own private property with a house 10 times the size of many of their subordinates. That is why I stated that the two countries are a little further apart in this category.

The last of Hofstedes dimension we will discuss is the masculinity/femininity. With this dimension, the two countries are very much different. First let us talk about the United States. Here in the United States it is emphasized that one must 'fight' for one’s self. I say fight because to me it seems to be a word that represents the masculine characteristic, aggressive. The United States is considered to be a masculine dominate culture. We expect men to be assertive, ambitious, and competitive. They are to strive for material success and to respect whatever is big, strong, and fast. The gender roles are very well defined. As the text states, "Assertiveness and the acquisition of money and things (materialism) and emphasized and often take precedence over interpersonal relationships". While at the other end of the scale falls Denmark. Denmark is considered to be feminine, which puts emphasis on good relationships and co-operation, charity, and modesty. In Denmark nurturing behaviors are stressed for both men and women. This causes the gender roles to overlap. Family and safety are very important values. They consider failure to be an accident not a disaster as it would be in the United States.

Edward Hall examined cultures similarities and differences on perception and communication, than he put them in to one of two groups. The first group is high context and the second is low context. High context communication is one which most of the information is already in the person, very little is in the coded, explicitly transmitted part of the message. While with low context communication the mass of the information is vested in the explicit code. Both Denmark and the United States fall under the low context communication category. This means that people in these cultures want to gain background information each time they talk to you. This communication style is direct and explicit. Communicators in this context talk more, speak rapidly, and often raise their voices. It is considered important to speak up and say what is on your mind. Large vocabulary is admired because people can express themselves clearly and cleverly.

Works Cited

Cultural Values in Danish Advertising. (2002). Retrieved March 2012, from Limbi Straine: http://www.limbistraine.com/ro/cercetare/Gabriela-Sauciuc/3.Denmark-Hofstede-s-cultural-dimensions.html

Culture of Denmark. (2012). Retrieved March 2012, from Countries and Their Cultures: http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/Denmark.html

Samovar, L. A., Porter, R. E., & McDaniel, E. R. (2010). Communication Between Cultures, Seventh Edition. Canada: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Danish Worldviews vs. Mine

The official religion of the Danish culture is stated in the Danish Constitution as Evangelical Lutheran (Denmark, 2011). This religion was founded by Martin Luther in 1517. He noticed that there church was not practicing as the Bible said it should, such as corruption and abuse within the Catholic Church. “Luther taught that salvation comes from the grace of God and faith in Christ alone” (Denmark, 2011).

The Lutherans have Martian Luther and the Methodist have John Wesley. Wesley put great emphasis on “practical divinity” it is a belief in putting faith and love into action (United Methodist Communications, 2011).  Methodists believe that God’s spirit is manifested in every human being (Jilani, 2010).

 Martin Luther in 1529 by Lucas Cranach

The Lutheran Church is similar to the Catholic Church even though it was formed because of differences. They still perform confession and weekly mass.  They also believe that one cannot become holy on Earth, that only holiness can be attained once you reach Heaven. These beliefs are different that the ones that I grew up learning and still believe today. Methodists believe that one can gain holiness through the good deeds and acts of love shown to others. It is important in my religion to treat others as one would want to be treated. Methodist also does not have confession.


The Lutherans and Methodist do share the ritual of Baptism. We also share the belief in Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Religion Facts. (2004, May 3). Retrieved February 19, 2012, from Lutheranism: http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/denominations/lutheranism.htm

Denmark. (2011). Retrieved February 19, 2012, from Religion in Denmark: www.denmark.net.denmark-guide/religion-denmark.html

United Methodist Communications. (2011). Retrieved February 19, 2012, from Our Wesleyan Theological Heritage: http://www.umc.org/site/c.lwL4KnN1LtH/b.2310047/k.4669/Our_Wesleyan_Theological_Heritage.htm

Jilani. (2010, August 7). DifferenceBetween.net. Retrieved February 19, 2012, from Difference Between Lutheran and Methodist: http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-lutheran-and-methodist/

Samovar, L. A., Porter, R. E., & McDaniel, E. R. (2010). Communication Between Cultures, Seventh Edition. Canada: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Danish Families

Denmark:

As I was reading chapter two of the text I started focusing on the family life of the Danish people. Through my research, I found that there is not much difference in the Danish families and the American families. I knew that the Danish and Americans were similar because of Jannie, our exchange student. However, I find that some of the ways of living and child rearing are different. Let us explore!


 Typical Family ( mother, father and two kids)


Like families in America, "most families in Denmark consist of a father, mother and children" (Life in Denmark, 2008). In America, we find that children are starting to live with their parents until they are done with college and often times move back in with their parents after college. In Denmark, it is quite different. At the age of 18 you are considered an adult, like in the US, but more kids move out at that time in Denmark. Many young people live on their own for a number of years until they get married or move in with friends or their partner and have children. Some adults live alone with their children. Many adults and elderly people live alone. At the age of 16 in Denmark, kids are allowed to purchase cigarettes and alcohol. Before these kids are allowed to buy alcohol in restaurants and discotheques, they must be 18 years of age. Also as the age of 18, they become able to borrow money and take the driving test.


This is Jannie and her mother Liz.


In chapter two of the text it discussed the two types of families as individualistic or collective. Denmark falls more on the individualistic side. Since the families are small, they teach children at young ages to be independent. Most children are put in day care at the age of one. Meanwhile, mothers are offered leave time but more often you will see the fathers are more activley involved in child-rearing.However, Denamrk has the highest amount of mother-father earings or dual-earning. This means that both the mother and father both work full time. Even though families are small, they do not rely on teaching of past generations as much as other cultures. Children are taught to be responsible for their own actions.

Life in Denmark. (2008, Oct 13). Retrieved from Children and Young People: http://www.lifein.dk/notes/Children_and_young_people

Adema, W. (2005). Volume 1 Australia, Denmark, and the Netherlands. in Babies and Bosses, Reconciling Work and Family Life. Paris: OECD Publishing.

Kwintessential. (n.d.). Retrieved from Denmark: http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/denmark-country-profile.html