finnish dos and donts

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Shake hands with everyone pres-ent-men, women and children-ata business or social meeting.Shake hands again when leaving.

    Keep your hands visible wheneating. Keep your wrists resting

    on the edge of the table.

    Maintain eye contact when speak-ing to someone.

    At a dinner party, bread, shrimpand cray sh are the only foods

    eaten by hand. Even fruit is eaten with utensils.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    At a dinner party, accept secondhelpings.

    At a dinner party, men shouldkeep their jacket on at meals un-

    less the host removes his.

    At a dinner party, when passingsalt and pepper shakers, put themon the table within the personsreach. Do not give them directly.

    At a dinner party, nisheverything on your plate. Finns

    do not appreciate waste.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finns take punctuality for busi-ness meetings very seriously andexpect that you will do likewise;call if you will be more than veminutes late.

    Finns do not make small talk;they get right to business.

    The Managing Director is thedecision maker.

    Two- to three-minute pauses ofsilence are common. Dont inter-

    rupt this silence.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    The sauna is a venerated Finnishtradition. Business discussionsmay be held in a sauna, or a busi-ness lunch may be preceded orfollowed by a sauna.

    Conversation may continue ap- proximately one to two hours af-

    ter dinner. Never leave until cof-fee/dessert/cognac is nished.

    Finns insist on punctuality forboth business and social occa-sions.

    Checks in restaurants are neversplit. If you make the invitation,

    you pay.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    The of ce dress code is conserva -tive and fairly informal.

    Gifts are normally not exchanged inbusiness meetings, but small giftsmay be appropriate at the success-ful conclusion of negotiations.Books, cognac, local/national gifts,recordings, art, glass, liquor are ap-

    preciated gifts.

    When invited to someones home,always bring a small gift for the host-ess. Give: owers (odd numbers arebest; white and yellow owers are forfunerals only; tulips are a favourite),

    wine, chocolates. Do not give: potted plants.

    A foreign businesswoman may in- vite a Finnish man to dinner and

    pay without any dif culties.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Good topics of conversation -

    cross country skiing, ice hockey,Formula 1, sailing, shing, theFinnish educational system, the

    weather, travelling, everythingrelated to nature and sauna.

    If a meeting is scheduled for onehour, it usually ends after one

    hour.

    Its ok to drink ridiculous quantities

    of alcohol in Finland, so be pre- pared to have an open-mindedattitude towards it.

    In Finnish meetings, people statefacts, even unpleasant ones, rath-

    er bluntly without any softeningor beating around the bush.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Punctuality. A visitor should apologize even forbeing late for a few minutes. Being late for longerusually requires a short explanation. 15 minutes isusually considered the threshold between beingacceptably late and very late. Some will leavearranged meeting points after 15 minutes. Send atext message even if you are only a few minuteslate. Being late for a business meeting, even by 1-2minutes, is considered bad form.

    Practically every Finnish househas a sauna of its own.

    Business negotiations in Finlandare often held in of ces, busi -

    ness meetings or negotiations inrestaurants are very rare.

    Everymans right the freedom toroam means that you can pick wild

    berries, mushrooms and owers, aslong as they are not protected spe-cies and sh with a rod and line an -

    ywhere that is not private property.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    When Finns get together for a chat,coffee is invariably part of the scene.But note that the coffee in Finlandis usually not as strong as in Centraland Southern Europe.

    Gifts are opened when received.

    Dont compare Finns to Swedes asthere is a rm rivalry between thesenations. Finns are very proud oftheir distinct cultural identity.

    Business cards are exchanged without formal ritual.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Make an effort and say, Excuseme, if you want to pass some-one. But dont expect a reaction.

    Learn a few words in Finnish,even though its hard. Its an

    ego-booster for a Finn to hear aforeigner speak his language.

    Refrain from discussing architect Alvar Aalto or composer Jean Sibelius; in-

    stead,talk about contemporary talent,like singer Karita Mattila or conductorEsa-Pekka Salonen. Know a few ath-letes names, and youve made friendsfor life.

    Keep some physical distance fromFinns. Respect their shyness and

    desire for privacy.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    At a dinner party, do not begineating until the hostess invites

    you to start.

    Do poke fun at yourself and yourcountry, but never make fun of

    others. Finns appreciate dry witand enjoy self-deprecating hu-mour. They tend to enjoy ironyand have a rather subtle sense ofhumour.

    At a dinner party, when you havenished eating, place your knife

    and fork across your plate withthe prongs facing down and thehandles facing to the right.

    Doing business in Finland takestime and patience.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Business can be discussed at anytime during lunch, but is not dis-cussed during dinner, only aftercoffee.

    The seemingly serious Finns havea dry but sharp and sarcastic sense

    of humour.

    Women are treated as equals inbusiness and at home.

    Your host might say Kiitos(thank you) after having eaten a

    dinner together with you to thank you for the great company.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    July and August are the best

    summer months and practicallyeveryone is on vacation in July.Nothing much gets done then.

    In business, Finns dress conservatively,usually dark business suits in the winterand light suits in the summer for bothmen and women. Dress codes depend verymuch on the industry and workplace tradi-tions though they have relaxed substantial-ly over the years. Men typically wear suitsor jacket and shirt, often leaving the tie out.

    Finlands regular working week is

    37.5 hours long. Workers in Fin-land cannot be required to workovertime without their consent.Finns earn four to ve weeks of

    paid vacation each year.

    Finns are very minimalistic in giv-ing compliments. After some time,a foreigner gets a feeling that com-

    pliments are almost non-existent.On getting compliments, Finns justthank and dont dwell on it.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finns never interrupt whensomeone is speaking and tend todistrust those who talk too much.

    The working style is individualis-tic, and people are used to work-ing alone and hard. Team work-ing is becoming more common,though, and interest in social andcommunication skills is growing.

    Finns usually use rst names,unless there are big differences inage or rank or it is a very formalsetting.

    Finns believe in continuous learn-ing and work very hard to upgradetheir skills continuously. UsuallyFinns are rather pragmatic and not

    very conservative when it comes tonew ideas as long as the ideas makesense.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts The typical pace of business in Fin-land is rather brisk with things hap-

    pening in clearly visible phases. Finnsat work are thorough and sincere.

    Their saying that makes it clear is,Everything that is worth doing, is

    worth doing well.

    Finns are typically analytical think-

    ers and tend to focus more on tech-nical facts rather than emotionalappeal.

    An agreement is considered nal

    when a paper contract is signed. The country has an independentjudiciary to take care of contractdisputes.

    Sisu is a concept used to describe a certainfeature that is considered by Finns to be typi-cally Finnish. Sisu is what makes a Finn grithis teeth against all odds; continue ghtingagainst an overwhelming enemy; clear the

    forest with his bare hands; go on to win arace even after falling over. Sisu is what ittakes- guts, determination.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    When a Finn says something,he/she really means it and rarelychanges his/her mind about de-cisions already made earlier.

    Finns believe there is a proper way to act in any circumstance

    and always expect courteous be-haviour.

    Finland is an egalitarian soci-ety, which is re ected in theirlanguage, which employs gen-der-neutral words.

    Talk in moderate tones and donot do anything to call attention

    to yourself.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Serial conversation is the rule -i.e. listen to the speaker, wait forthem to nish and then reply.Interrupting is rude.

    Finns do not require face-to- facecontact and, in fact, are quite

    comfortable using e-mail.

    Finns are transactional and donot need long-standing personalrelationships in order to conductbusiness.

    Finns are excellent time manag-ers who prefer to organize their

    workday in order to accomplishas much as possible.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    What someone says is acceptedat face value and this is a culture

    where a mans word is his bondand will be treated as seriously as a

    written contract, so verbal commit-ments are considered agreements.

    Professional differences are not viewed as personal attacks.

    Finns are direct communicators.Expect your colleagues to tell you

    what they think rather than what you want to hear.

    It is extremely dif cult to meet with people without a formal ap- pointment. Appointments shouldbe made in advance by telephoneor e- mail.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    There is no taboo on humour inthe business environment.

    Finns seldom ask questions. The

    presenter is expected to make his/her case with suf cient detail thattheir Finnish colleagues do notneed to ask questions.

    Treat someones business card with respect as it symbolizes the

    way you will treat them.

    Dont complain or criticise. It is

    never in your interest to be criti-cal or opinionated as any kind ofnegativity will offend your Finn-ish colleagues.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    You should arrive at meetings ontime or slightly early.

    Dont show strong emotions.

    Finns view this as unprofessionaland being too emotional mightharm your relationship with yourFinnish business colleagues.

    Dont be offended if your Finnish

    partners seem rather blunt and to the point. This is typical in Finnish com-munication as Finns prefer to tell thetruth directly and take pride in theirmatter of fact attitudes.

    Finland uses 230 volts with 50 Hzelectrical power.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Dont make the mistake of ask-ing if Finland once was a Com-munist country, like Estonia,Poland, or Hungary. End of con-

    versation, right then and there.

    Dont visit without calling rst. The door may not open without a prior notice, especially on week-ends.

    Keep your shoes on if you are invitedto someones home. First thing afterentering a house or an apartment:shoes off. Also, dont even thinkabout leaving before kahvi and pulla(coffee and bun) have been served.

    Dont make empty promises.If you say to a Finn, Lets dolunch, he or she truly believes

    you have set up a lunch meetingand expects to hear from you.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Dont be surprised if you see

    Finns order and pay things withtheir cell phones. They are notjust for talking anymore.

    Dont hug, kiss or touch a Finn.

    Dont be confused if you see people

    walking with poles even if there isno snow on the ground. Its calledNordic Walking, and its a very pop-ular activity among all ages.

    Dont talk to anyone with yourhands in your pocket.

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    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Finland: dos and donts

    Dont show emotions in public.

    Dont brag. Finns are modest anddownplay their own accomplish-ments and hardly make a fuss aboutanything. In Finland humility andgrace will get you far, as they viewmodesty as the biggest virtue.

    Dont ask personal questions,such as those related to some-ones religion, job or political par-ty.

    Rye bread is the most popularbread in Finland.