I need help on a paper

[kumquatq3]

Basically, I need to do a paper for a international business class and I have to interview someone who currently is or who has experience working in a business environment in that country. Specifically, "anyone familiar with the work patterns, leadership styles, decision making, and how employees are managed in that country"

 

basically I'm hitting you up for generic customs, business customs, and the business environment. The latter being the most important. In terms of environment, things like job design, leadership (task or people oriented), decision making (top down, bottom up, etc)

 

I can't use a North American country and I am supposed to avoid England & Australia, etc. I'm hoping some of you Northern Europe peeps might helps me out, but I'll take what I can get.

 

Also, I'd need you to be on the boards to answer questions ever couple of hours or so.

 

Any takers?

[metadigital]

I am disqualified.

[Oerwinde]

Well, even though Canada is disqualified, I noticed when I was in the US last that it seemed like pretty much every job posting I read required a college degree, while in Canada, they don't give a crap if you have a degree, as long as you can do the job.

[kumquatq3]

It's late over there, but when you Denmark people wake up, I'm finding good info on Denmark, so throw me a bone.

 

 

EDIT: I'll still take what I can get, I need a "interview"

 

I'm not looking for a grand expertise either, might sound harder than it is

Edited December 10, 2006 by kumquatq3

[Rosbjerg]

what exactly do you mean by buisness experiance.. I work at a Telemarketing company at this moment.. will it do?

 

(and I've only been there for about 2 weeks, so I don't really have any real knowledge about how it's structered..)

Edited December 10, 2006 by Rosbjerg

[kumquatq3]

what exactly do you mean by buisness experiance.. I work at a Telemarketing company at this moment.. will it do?

 

(and I've only been there for about 2 weeks, so I don't really have any real knowledge about how it's structered..)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I mean, working in a corporation.

 

It might do. I'm looking for generalities, so not necessarily anything specific in terms of info. First job or have you worked elsewhere in a business setting?

[Krookie]

I haven't worked a day in my life.

[kumquatq3]

Overview wise, kinda what I'm looking for:

 

Customs, traditions, manners that might be unique to Denmark or the region in a business setting (or just a formal setting). Aka, Japanese traditionally bow instead of hand shake. Obviously thats extreme, but another example is that in some Arabian countries it's rude to have the bottom of your shoe pointed at someone. How are gifts viewed in the business world there? Can't except them, are they common, etc.

 

How are employees managed, is their HR in most corporations? Is health care provide via employer or government?

 

How are college degrees viewed, masters degrees? Are they considered fairly necessary?

 

Does your company seem to give it's employees power to make decisions?

 

Stuff like that. Really, anything you can think of. I can spin it one way or another.

Edited December 10, 2006 by kumquatq3

[Rosbjerg]

K- gonna write a quick answer for you then.. hang tight..

 

How are gifts viewed in the business world there? Can't except them, are they common, etc.

 

It's uncommon for bosses to hand gifts to any employeer.. although it's a must during Christmas.. and on special occasions (like birthdays etc.)

and it would be considered strange to bring anything to a meeting .. it's common however to give a gift to however you are dealing personally with (buisness partners from different companies etc - although it's not something done officially)

 

How are employees managed, is their HR in most corporations? Is health care provide via employer or government?

 

Don't know what HR is??

Healthcare is provided by the goverment - but Dental is not.. though I've only heard of a few cases where Dental was included! if you are on a buisness trip or on any trip related to work - their insurance kicks in, this is mandate.. established by our Labour unions I believe - and while fewer and fewer people are remaining members in LUs they are still pulling alot of the strings in the benefits that employees have..

 

How are college degrees viewed, masters degrees? Are they considered fairly necessary?

 

It's most common that you have a College degree .. it's called Gymnasium here and it's the 11-13th grade in our education system.. it has alot of different specialized branches like Math/language/trade/buisness etc .. you figure out what goes where! but it's quite normal for both a Math and a Buisness or Trade student to get the same opportunities in companies.. in reality though anyone can apply..

 

(thought I'd add - by College I understand the institute of education right under University - required to enter such higher educations..)

 

Does your company seem to give it's employees power to make decisions?

It's fairly common that input is required! and in fact encouraged and expected.. Denmark is very teamplayer oriented .. We have a certain ruleset though - when it comes to hirachy it's called the Jante Law .. this is regarded as archaic and stupid - but alot of Danes don't like to critize their employers (oficially) for this reason.. it's another things with abstract things like goverments though! ^_^

 

Stuff like that. Really, anything you can think of. I can spin it one way or another.

I can't really think of anything else at this moment.. but shoot if you have some question ! hope it was helpful..

Edited December 10, 2006 by Rosbjerg

[kumquatq3]

I have a friend who's studying at the Copenhagen Buisness School .. while he doesn't work at one, he knows more about the inner workings of coporations in Denmark than most employees do.. I might get him to help you out if you don't find anyone else here..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I'd appreciate any help, unfortunately I'm in a bit of a bind in terms of time, as apparently I completely F'ed up my due date on this one (due in almost 24 hours exactly. 10-15 pages). Could be worse, but the "interview" portion is my sticking point.

[CSI: Nihilus]

I'm disqualified, too, as I'm from China, but I had no work expierence.

[kumquatq3]

I'm disqualified, too, as I'm from China, but I had no work expierence.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

No problem, thanks anyway

[kumquatq3]

...

 

Seriously, that was perfect! Stuff like Jante's law, "team player" and the insurance/unions especially. I'm firing off some more, but it's late here so I'm going to get 5-6 hours of sleep before I dive into this paper, so no real rush answering anything.

 

Hopefully Lucius can chime in too!

 

it's called Gymnasium here and it's the 11-13th grade in our education system

 

I take it people advance past that then? Do they do so frequently (Do you know what I mean by a masters or MBA?)? AKA how is it viewed.

 

Don't know what HR is??

 

Human Resources

 

In North America it's considered the part of the company that generally does stuff like: Hiring, firing, wages, employee evaluations, health care packages, etc. Worker related stuff. Is there a counter part in Denmark?

 

- When business is done internationally in Denmark, what language is used? AKA alot of countries will use French or English for business, even when neither company uses that language as their native language

 

- In terms of technology, any Denmark based businesses you would highlight as examples of being technologically advanced.

 

- Can you expand upon the role of the unions and why they are losing power?

 

- How stable are peoples jobs. Do people hold positions for 30+ years, do they shift around, a mix of the two? Might be hard to answer, but what is "upward mobility" like, aka promotions?

 

- Any insight as to why Denmark doesn't use the Euro?

 

EDIT:

 

- Any current issues/problems/news in terms of business I should know about?

 

- Actually, can you outline how school traditionally goes? Aka, what the grades mean, how may grades?

Edited December 10, 2006 by kumquatq3

[Rosbjerg]

(this was written with more focus on getting you answers than grammer - so there's bound to be a bunch of spelling errors)

 

I take it people advance past that then? Do they do so frequently (Do you know what I mean by a masters or MBA?)? AKA how is it viewed.

 

Gymnasium is usually seen as a pit-stop to further education .. it's becoming very common to take a university degree - mostly because every education in Denmark is free AND you get paid around 500-1000$ (after you turn 18) a month.. which means taking an education is equvilant to taking a lowpaid job - and when you are finished - well then you get alot of money!

The Goverment just passed a program which accelerates the education progress granting a percentage + to your grade average if you continue immediatly af Gymnasium.. (can't remember the percentage - but it's low .. but alot of people are taking the offer anyway)

 

our grades are as follows

00 (lowest)

03

5

6 (means you barely passed)

7

8 (standard)

9

10

11

13 (exceptional)

 

more and more girls are taking over though the middle educations - which is interesting, since it's only seen in scandi countries I believe .. although it's still boys in the majority in higher educations.. (you find the figures.. don't wanna do all the work for you )

 

I don't study myself these days.. so I'm not really into the different degrees or how many takes them .. sorry .. (gonna look into it if I can though)

 

I would like to add that it is very common for young people to take a year (sometimes 1

Edited December 10, 2006 by Rosbjerg

[Calax]

man... everywhere else in the world seems to make School feel like it should be fun rather than living with your parents watching your back the entire time and going to school where your shoved from class to class by a very cliquish squad of students and the teachers don't like how they are forced to work and we don't even have enough money to buy computer paper (not kidding... I had a class that went through its entire YEARS worth of computer paper in about 3 weeks).

 

I mean having somthing like your "high Schools" would be a big boost to kids because it'd meatn that they'd have a year or two where the could try to kick back rather than worry about the next math test.

 

Of course having a backpack that weighs 15 lbs didn't help me in hs.

[Gorth]

Hopefully Lucius can chime in too!

Sure, just ignore old Gorth because he lives a few Km south of the border these days

 

Human Resources

 

In North America it's considered the part of the company that generally does stuff like: Hiring, firing, wages, employee evaluations, health care packages, etc. Worker related stuff. Is there a counter part in Denmark?

It is not common among small and medium sized businesses. Large corporate sized companies may have them, although I never worked for one of those in Denmark

 

- When business is done internationally in Denmark, what language is used? AKA alot of countries will use French or English for business, even when neither company uses that language as their native language

I've used english with english speaking customers, german with german speaking customers and a bit of french to tell the french speaking customers that they need to communicate in english.

 

- In terms of technology, any Denmark based businesses you would highlight as examples of being technologically advanced.

Bang & Olufsen makes some nice speakers

 

A few of them are mentioned here:

http://www.ambwashington.um.dk/en/menu/The...nomicRelations/

 

What is otherwise happening trade/technology wise:

 

http://www.buyusa.gov/denmark/en/ccg4.html

 

Oh, and if you ever wondered where software like Kazaa and Skype came from... :aiee:"

 

- Can you expand upon the role of the unions and why they are losing power?

They did their job too well and made themselves redundant. The working class is fairly well off these days.

 

- How stable are peoples jobs. Do people hold positions for 30+ years, do they shift around, a mix of the two? Might be hard to answer, but what is "upward mobility" like, aka promotions?

They used to, but as Rosbjerg said, you are most likely regarded as the runt of the litter if you stay too long in a job. That means nobody else wants you.

 

- Any insight as to why Denmark doesn't use the Euro?

Because we are "Eurosceptics"? Danes don't trust politicians any further than they can throw them. If the politicians all agree the Euro is a good thing, people vote 'No'. I might be wrong, but most of the people I know regard EU and Bruessels with disdain and don't want to hand them any more power than forced to.

 

- Any current issues/problems/news in terms of business I should know about?

There is a distinct shortage of skilled workers which seems to be the largest problem for an even larger economic growth. Both the public and the private sector are having black figures on their P&L's these days. The trade profit is staggering.

 

- Actually, can you outline how school traditionally goes? Aka, what the grades mean, how may grades?

Depends...

 

If you go the university way, it goes like basic school -> high school - > university

 

Grades are the number system that Rosbjerg outlined.

 

Other more specialised educations exists. Like trade school, various crafts (sometimes a master/apprentice relationship thing) and so on.

 

As for your original questions, Rosbjerg got close enough to most, that I wont disagree with him (about customs, traditions etc.).

[Rosbjerg]

Yeah it would be a bit extensive to get into full detail about customs and culture.. I mean each of us could write 50+ pages and still have left something out.. I was just trying to outline what I thought was most useful..

 

but thanks for not shooting me down though Gorth.. ^_^

[Lucius]

Both of my fine countrymen has covered it all I think, better than I would've been able to anyway. ^_^

 

Oh and yeah, while it might not be business related on a higher level, I heard in the news the other day that more and more Swedes are coming over to occupy the jobs 'we' don't want, in the capital areas at least.

Also I can't remember how low it is, but we're talking about 4% unemployment rate as it is afaik.

 

PS. My personal opinion is that; Jante Law sux!... You can quote me on that in your paper! :joy:

Edited December 10, 2006 by Lucius

[kumquatq3]

Good morning, wow, thanks for all the info, time to read through it all! Thanks

[kumquatq3]

All I can see that I might need right now is just a bit more traditions/culture (especially if they can tie into business). I don't need depth, just a name and brief idea behind it, and I can research it myself. Thanks again!

[metadigital]

Kaizen was originally a Japanese discipline, but it has been adopted by manufacturing management all over the world. "Continual Improvement", it refers to improving the production process, rather than the product (as in the US).

 

To illustrate: the US car manufacturers made larger and larger fins on their 1950s cars (improving the product: linked to the current market trend, etc), whereas the Japanese car manufacturers improved the factories, so that it was easier to make the cars in the factories: so their cars started to have round edges (which were obviously more conducive to the manufacture process).

[kumquatq3]

Kaizen was originally a Japanese discipline, but it has been adopted by manufacturing management all over the world. "Continual Improvement", it refers to improving the production process, rather than the product (as in the US).

 

To illustrate: the US car manufacturers made larger and larger fins on their 1950s cars (improving the product: linked to the current market trend, etc), whereas the Japanese car manufacturers improved the factories, so that it was easier to make the cars in the factories: so their cars started to have round edges (which were obviously more conducive to the manufacture process).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Trust me, I've had an arse full of Taylor and Deming. Although, things like Six Sigma have over taken philosophies like Kaizen in the US.

[metadigital]

Yeah, I'm probably a decade behind, as I haven't touched MM since my thesis in '94, though I have done some Six Sigma during my work experience.

 

Just thought it might qualify as "foreign custom" adopted into US.

[jaguars4ever]

Oh and yeah, while it might not be business related on a higher level, I heard in the news the other day that more and more Swedes are coming over to occupy the jobs 'we' don't want, in the capital areas at least.

Sounds like 'your' Swedes are the equivalent of 'our' Mexicans. [/political incorrectness]

[kumquatq3]

Yeah, I'm probably a decade behind, as I haven't touched MM since my thesis in '94, though I have done some Six Sigma during my work experience.

 

Just thought it might qualify as "foreign custom" adopted into US.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

They don't have to be adopted by the US for the paper. The paper is about Denmark, but obviously I would use my own experiences and country as a comparison at times. Though it would be interesting to know if Six Sigma or Kaizen are used in Denmark, have to look around for that.

Edited December 10, 2006 by kumquatq3