norway slide

8/10/2019 Norway SLIDE

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--- International Management & Marketing 2nd year ---Florela Cercel Silviana Cosma Theodora Gherdan

NORWAY

-- CULTURE AND BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

Authors: florela cercel

Silviana cosma

Theodora gherdan


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Country Identification

The name Norge ("the Northern Way") originally pertained to a region of the country beforepolitical consolidation under Harald the Fair-Haired around 900 C.E. In later use, the country's nameindicates its location on the northern periphery of Europe. Some of the northerly sections of thecountry are home to at least two main groups (coastal and mountain) of an indigenous populationof Sami (previously called Lapps) with a separate language and distinct cultural traditions. Somegroups of Sami practice reindeer nomadism and range across northern Sweden and Finland. A

smaller Gypsy population also was part of the otherwise homogeneous population. Forhumanitarian reasons, in the late twentieth century, the country welcomed asylum seekers andimmigrants from other countries. Norwegians have an acute sense of identity fostered by anineteenth century national romantic movement and by the country's emergence in 1905 as anindependent constitutional monarchy. The small scale of Norwegian society, with a population oflittle more than four million, also promotes cultural sharing.


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Facts and Statistics

Location: Northern Europe, bordering Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 196 kmCapital: OsloPopulation: 5,000,000 (March 2012 est.)Ethnic Make-up: Norwegian, Sami 20,000Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 86% (state church), other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, other1%, none and unknown 10%

Business Etiquette & Protocol in NorwayIf you were to think about the most important cultural attributes that you will see operating inbusiness in Norway, they would be:

Informal style Individual interests Transactional relationships Direct communication

Building Relationships & CommunicationEtiquette in Norway Norwegians are transactional and do not need long-standing personal relationships in order to

conduct business. Nonetheless, they prefer to do business with those they trust, so it is important that you

provide information about yourself and the company you represent prior to meeting your businesscolleagues. Relationships develop slowly and depend upon the other person being professional and

meeting all agreed upon deadlines. Giving a well-researched presentation indicates that you are serious about conducting business. The basic business style is relatively informal. Norwegians respect confident, self-assured businesspeople. They are excellent time managers who do not require face-to-face contact in order to conduct

business. If you are like-minded, the relationship will develop over time. Appearing overly friendly at the start of a relationship may be viewed as weakness. Maintaining

eye contact while speaking is interpreted as sincerity. Norwegians are direct communicators.

They have no difficulty telling their colleagues that they disagree with something that has beensaid. Their communication is straightforward and relies on facts.


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They are conservative and deliberate speakers who do not appreciate being rushed. They are scrupulous about honesty in communication, often to the point of pointing out the

negatives in their own proposals in greater detail than the positives. Norwegians are not emotive speakers and their body language is subtle.

Business Meeting Etiquette Appointments are necessary and should be made as far in advance as possible. Appointments may be made in writing or by telephone. If writing, address the letter to the head of the division, even if you do not know the person.

Punctuality is imperative since it indicates trustworthiness. If you are delayed even 5 minutes, it is polite to telephone and explain the situation. Arriving

late without prior notice can damage a potential relationship. It is often difficult to schedule meetings during July and August, which are popular vacation

times; during the two weeks before and after Christmas; and during the week before and afterEaster. Meetings are rather informal. Send an agenda before the meeting so that your Norwegian colleagues can be prepared. There is not much small talk. Norwegians prefer to get to the business discussion quickly. Presentations should be precise and concrete, and backed up with charts, figures and analysis. Avoid hype or exaggerated claims in your presentation. Leave time for Q&A at the end of a presentation. Norwegians do not interrupt and will save

their questions until you have finished speaking.

Negotiating Decisions are consensus driven. Expect decisions to take time as your colleagues must weigh all the alternatives.

Present a firm, realistic, and competitive initial price and expect a minimum of bargaining. Price is often the most important deciding factor. Norwegians do not generally give discounts, even to good customers or for large orders. Norwegians are detail oriented. Maintain eye contact while speaking. Negotiations are frank. Avoid high-pressure sales tactics. It is imperative to adhere to deadlines and commitments. If you do not, you will not be

considered trustworthy, which will destroy the business relationship.

New concepts should be shown to be high quality, practical, and already market tested. Do not interrupt others while they are speaking.


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Basic Economy

The country is highly dependent on international trade for manufactured consumer goodsbut has a trade surplus. Most employment is in highly specialized services and manufacturing, withonly a small workforce in the traditional occupations of forestry, farming, and fishing. In a laborforce of more than two million workers, approximately 72 percent are in services, 23 percent workin industry, and 5 percent engage in agriculture, forestry, and fishing. The currency is the Krone(Crown).

The Norwegian economy is a prosperous mixed economy, with a vibrant private sector, alarge state sector, and an extensive social safety net. The government controls key areas, such asthe vital petroleum sector, through extensive regulation and large-scale state-majority-ownedenterprises. The country is richly endowed with natural resources - petroleum, hydropower, fish,forests, and minerals - and is highly dependent on the petroleum sector, which accounts for thelargest portion of export revenue and about 20% of government revenue. Norway is the world'sthird-largest natural gas exporter; and seventh largest oil exporter, making one of its largestoffshore oil finds in 2011. Norway opted to stay out of the EU during a referendum in November1994; nonetheless, as a member of the European Economic Area, it contributes sizably to the EU

budget. In anticipation of eventual declines in oil and gas production, Norway saves state revenuefrom the petroleum sector in the world's second largest sovereign wealth fund, valued at over $700billion in January 2013 and uses the fund''s return to help finance public expenses. After solid GDPgrowth in 2004-07, the economy slowed in 2008, and contracted in 2009, before returning topositive growth in 2010-12, however, the government budget is set to remain in surplus.

Norwegian NGOs partnerships with Romania

Due to the narrowing down of the funding areas by other donors and also due to thebottlenecks generated by the EU structural funds, many NGOs in Romania have experienceddifficult moments which affected their activity and at times it even jeopardized their existence asorganization. The Fund was therefore received with great interest, more than 450 participantsattending the launch.

Strengthening relations between Romanian and Norwegian NGOs is one of the overarchingobjectives of the Fund. This funding offers us the possibility to continue our work and the goodcooperation with our Norwegian partner, the head of Prader Willi Association in Romania stated.The NGO benefited of funding under the previous round of the Norway Grants whereby the largestand best equipped center for rare diseases in South Eastern Europe was established, with

Norwegian support.

More than 25 Norwegian NGOs were present in Bucharest aiming at establishing contact orat continuing previous cooperation with Romanian NGOs. The Norwegian Red Cross was present at


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the launch together with their Romanian counterpart to learn more about funding opportunitiesand to seek ways to continue their cooperation. So far they have had several successful projects,the latest one being a blood donation campaign which was to start the day following the launch andwhich will continue in Bucharest all throughout May. The Norwegian Helsinki Committee also tookpart in the event as the contact point for the NGO Fund towards the Norwegian civil society. Specialfunding for partner search and development of projects has been set aside to facilitatepartnerships.

Support fundamental democratic values

The NGO-fund in Romania is set up to support development of a dynamic, active and well-structured civil society capable of effectively addressing citizens needs and democratic concerns. Awide range of areas will be covered by the Fund, such as provision of welfare and basic services forsocially excluded groups, sustainable development, participatory democracy and human rights aswell as NGO capacity building. Minimum 10 percent of the entire allocation will target theimprovement of the situation of the Roma population. Issues such as hate speech, extremism hate crime, racism and xenophobia, homophobia shall be addressed as horizontal concerns.

A consortium led by the Civil Society Development Foundation (CSDF) has been appointed as thefund operator for the NGO-fund in Romania. The funding will be allocated based on calls forproposals. In the near future five regional info sessions will take place in bigger cities.

Land Tenure and Property

The allocation of farmland is regulated carefully to encourage the continuity of ownershipwithin the family line. Farms are not divided among heirs, thus avoiding the fragmentation of farmsinto small, economically nonviable units. The lineal descendants of a farmer have the first right topurchase a farm. Conflicts over farm boundaries and the surreptitious movement of boundarystones are part of the folklore of most agricultural districts. Hikers have the right to walk onunplanted farmland.

Commercial ActivitiesFirms produce, package, distribute, and sell food products, beverages, textiles, clothing,

footwear, wood products, furniture, and chemicals for domestic consumption. Printing, publishing,and media production are important enterprises for a highly literate nation that is a world leader inthe consumption of newspapers, magazines, and books per capita.

Major IndustriesAs a consequence of the discovery and exploitation of North Sea oil in the 1970s, Norway

has become the world's second largest exporter of oil and natural gas. Much of this production is

managed by Statoil, a government enterprise. Since 1993 the country has exported hydroelectricity,which it produces in excess of domestic needs. Although shipbuilding has declined, Norway has oneof the leading merchant fleets, with approximately 762 ships. Other exports include transportation
http://www.ngonorway.org/http://www.ngonorway.org/


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equipment, electrometallurgical products, electrochemical products (processed with hydroelectricpower), paper and pulp from the extensive forests, and fish, increasingly produced in fish farms incoastal waters. For the home market, the country produces equipment, furniture, and textiles.About half the manufacturing firms are located along the Oslo fjord. Livestock are the mostimportant products of the subsidized agricultural sector.

Trade

Norway exports goods to its main trading partners: the European Union, Sweden, Germany, the

United Kingdom, Netherlands, France, and the United States. Exports include petroleum and naturalgas, hydroelectric power, metals, chemicals, paper pulp, and fish. The United States is a significantimporter of smoked salmon. Manufactured goods, machinery, and chemicals are imported from thetrading partners.

Division of LaborGovernment, labor, and management are integrated into a centralized industrial planning system.Since the 1970s, the principle of codetermination has meant that labor and managementincreasingly share the determination of daily operations and longer-term planning. Workers

typically have a great deal of autonomy. As a consequence of this trend in industrial democracy,emphasis is placed on training and the upgrading of workers' skills. In contrast to countries wherelabor is cheap and training is limited, decision making frequently is delegated to lower-levelworkers. The division of labor is based more on skills than on status and seniority.

Social Stratification

Classes and Castes. The ethos of egalitarianism is reflected in the highly progressive marginal taxrate on personal incomes. While income differences are relatively flat, there is a small proportion ofextremely rich owners and managers of merchant fleets. Although the affluent are likely to own ski

huts in the mountains, their huts may not be better furnished than those of less affluent workers.Conspicuous consumption is not admired. Leisure time is an important resource for industrialworkers, who in 2002 will have five weeks of vacation annually. Counting national holidays, thisbrings the number of working hours in the year down to 1,703 for industrial workers. Immigrantpopulations have tended to move into some of the less desirable and less well-paid occupationssuch as cleaners and fast food workers.

Symbols of Social Stratification

Affluent individuals signal their wealth by driving a luxury car, wearing expensive clothing, andtaking expensive vacations. They may have a posh Oslo accent. However, these differences inpossessions and advantages do not symbolize differences in moral worth. The author Aksel


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Sandemose, in En Flyktning krysser sitt spor (1953), described the law of the fictional village ofJante, which warns that "you should not believe that you are better than we are." The Law of Janteexpresses a widespread cultural belief in egalitarianism.

If we explore the Norwegian culture through the lens of the 5-D Model, we can get a good overviewof the deep drivers of Norwegian culture relative to other world cultures.Power distance

This dimension deals with the fact that all individuals in societies are not equal it expressesthe attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst us.

Power distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutionsand organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.Norway scores low on this dimension (31) which means that the following characterizes theNorwegians style: Being independent, hierarchy for convenience only, equal rights, superiorsaccessible, coaching leader, management facilitates and empowers. Power is decentralized andmanagers count on the experience of their team members. Employees expect to be consulted.Control is disliked and attitude towards managers are informal and on first name basis.Communication is direct, participative and consensus orientated.Individualism

The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a societymaintains among its members. It has to do with whether peoples self -image is defined in terms ofI or We. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only.In Collectivist societies people belong to in groups that take care of them in exchange for loyalty. Norway with a score of 69 is considered an individualistic society. This means that the Self is

important and individual, personal opinions are valued and expressed. Communication is explicit. Atthe same time the right to privacy is important and respected. There are clear lines between workand private life. Job mobility is higher and one thinks in terms of individual careers. The employer-

employee relationship is based on a contract and leaders focus on management of individuals.Feedback is direct and nepotism is not encouraged.Masculinity / Femininity

A high score (masculine) on this dimension indicates that the society will be driven bycompetition, achievement and success, with success being defined by the winner / best in field avalue system that starts in school and continues throughout organizational behavior.

A low score (feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant values in society arecaring for others and quality of life. A feminine society is one where quality of life is the sign ofsuccess and standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The fundamental issue here is whatmotivates people, wanting to be the best (masculine) or liking what you do (feminine).

Norway scores 8 and is thus the second most feminine society (after the Swedes). Thismeans that the softer aspects of culture are valued and encouraged such as leveling with others,


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consensus, independent cooperation and sympathy for the underdog. Taking care of theenvironment is important. Trying to be better than others is neither socially nor materiallyrewarded. Societal solidarity in life is important; work to live and DO your best. Incentives such asfree time and flexibility are favo red. Interaction through dialog and growing insight is valued andself development along these terms encouraged. Focus is on well-being, status is not shown. Aneffective manager is a supportive one, and decision making is achieved through involvement.Uncertainty avoidance

The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with the way that a society deals with thefact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen?

This ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures have learnt to deal with this anxiety indifferent ways. The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous orunknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these is reflected inthe UAI score.

Norway scores 50 and thus becomes a fairly pragmatic culture in terms of uncertaintyavoidance. This means that both generalists and experts are needed. There is focus on planning,and they can be altered at short notice and improvisations made. Emotions are not shown much inNorway, people are fairly relaxed and not adverse to taking risks.Long term orientation

The long term orientation dimension is closely related to the teachings of Confucius and canbe interpreted as dealing with societys search for virtue, the extent to which a society shows apragmatic future-oriented perspective rather than a conventional historical short-term point ofview.Norway scores 44 making it more of a short term orientation culture. This is evident in that leisuretime is important, absolute truths needed and there is concern for stability. Quick results areexpected and there is a focus on the bottom line and people spend for today.

Conclusions

Norway probably boasts one of the most gender-equal economies in the world and is oftenmentioned as a model and inspiration for other countries. Norway was the first country in theworld to appoint a 'Gender Equality Ombudsman' back in the 1980's and a great deal of legislationhas been passed to ensure equal representation and pay for women in both state-run and privatebusiness making it one of the most respectable countries in Europe.

Norways culture maintains its roots from the old era, featuring at the same time the characteristicsof a modern Western European country. People have a close relation with their naturalenvironment that has fostered many outdoor social activities.Traditions and festival happenings throughout the year, along with the peoples peaceful manner,good mood and humor, are all part of the Norwegian cultural heritage that continues to flourish.


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Norwegian society today is based on values such as democracy and freedom of expression andfeatures a strong feeling of fairness and egalitarianism.

At the personal level: Informality of manners and conversation, punctuality and getting strongly tothe point are typically Norwegian, along with modesty, keeping calm and not showing strongemotions.Boasting is disliked, kissing cheeks as a greeting is not common, but consumption of coffee is, invery large amounts.At first, it may seem a little bit difficult to get to know Norwegians on a deeper level, but once thefirst stage of calm courtesy and politeness are overcome, the visitor will find that support andcommunication come naturally.Honesty, tolerance and care for the other are also specific relationships that are highly valued inNorwegian society.


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Bibliography:

http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking http://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Women-in-Business-in-Norway.html Royal Norwegian Embassy in Bucharest Royal Norwegian Embassy in Bucharest Official site: http://www.norvegia.ro/
http://www.heritage.org/index/rankinghttp://www.heritage.org/index/rankinghttp://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Women-in-Business-in-Norway.htmlhttp://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Women-in-Business-in-Norway.htmlhttp://www.norvegia.ro/http://www.norvegia.ro/http://www.norvegia.ro/http://www.norvegia.ro/http://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Women-in-Business-in-Norway.htmlhttp://www.heritage.org/index/ranking

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