Tomalin B., Nicks M. The World’s Business Cultures and How to Unlock Them
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TOP TEN COUNTRIES DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE
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The French are very conscious of the status of being French, and invest in
big, imaginative projects aimed at increasing their international prestige. You
see the architectural expressions of these ambitions every time you walk around
Paris. The French also feel frustrated that their beloved language is rapidly
losing ground to English in global business and diplomatic circles, so if you
can talk at least some français, it will help to earn the respect of your new
colleagues.
There are close links in France between industry and government, and the
top echelons of both are educated at the Grandes Écoles, graduate schools
entered by competitive examination. To be an énarque, a graduate of the École
Nationale d’Administration, is to be marked as a future political or business
leader. The structure of the state is mirrored by its major businesses, which
are often centralized, ordered, legalistic and elitist.
New president Nicolas Sarkozy is now trying to deal with the crisis of self-
confidence that has affected France in recent years. Its tax burden remains
one of the highest in Europe, and unemployment hovers around 10%. Most
French people accept that the country must adapt in the face of globalization,
yet no one seems to want to surrender the privileges bequeathed by their
social system. While comfortably-off Britons scour La France Profonde in
search of second homes, many younger French people openly express their
admiration for Anglo-Saxon business models, and some 200,000-300,000 are
said to be working in London. It’s important to see France in context, however:
it retains rich agricultural, manufacturing and service sectors, and boasts
one of the world’s lowest poverty rates of only 6% (more than 20% of children
live in poverty in the USA and 15% in the UK, according to Unicef).
Values and attitudes
Building relationships is important in French business, and it’s a process that
French people do not like to rush. Lunches and dinners are important
opportunities to develop these bonds. Although shorter lunch breaks are
becoming more common, much of France stops work between 12 noon and
2pm, and in August many firms close down for the annual summer break.
The French are quite formal in public and preserve the distinction between
the familiar tu and the formal vous, two different ways of saying ‘you’. Use
vous with people you know until they invite you to use tu. Saying Bonjour
monsieur or Bonjour madame is important in greetings: it preserves a degree
of formality until you get to know people.
The French often criticize the British for inconsistency – not following through
on decisions and changing their minds after something has apparently been
decided. In turn, the British accuse the French of ‘selfishness’ – acting in their
own national and commercial interest at the expense of others. To succeed
in doing business in France it is vital to escape these stereotypes, and accept
that there is a French way of doing things to which the British need to conform.
Cultural style
The French tend to be more relationship-oriented than the British, although
this varies according to the business or profession you’re operating in. It’s
therefore not surprising to find that entertainment plays a larger part in French
business than in the UK. In the office the French are more formal than the
British, and it’s easy for UK visitors to underestimate this. In Paris time is
considered to be more important than in the south, but the French consider
themselves to be generally less time-sensitive than the British. They also tend
to find the British much less prepared to show their emotions in the business
environment than they are.
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France/UK cultural styles – a comparison
Communication
1 COMMUNICATION STYLE
2 WORKING STYLE
3 DISCUSSION STYLE
4 BUSINESS ATTITUDE
5 LEADERSHIP STYLE
6 BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP
7 DECISION-MAKING STYLE
8 BASIS FOR DECISION-MAKING
9 ATTITUDE TO TIME
10 WORK/LIFE BALANCE
Live to work Work to live
Scheduled Flexible
Facts Instincts
Individualistic Collective
Relationship Task
Flat Vertical
Progressive Traditional
Fast-moving Slow and measured
Formal Informal
Direct Indirect
France
UK
What people misunderstand about the French
Many foreigners misinterpret the French. This table may help to avoid some
potential collisions.
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Foreigners say… The French say…
The French are obstinate We believe we are right
They’re too emotional We are Latin, but we also believe in
rationality
They’re too direct This reflects the precision of the French
language
They talk too much We build up logical arguments
They never get to the point We like to consider all aspects of a question
before making a decision
They can’t keep to the agenda We believe everything is related
They’re fussy We have a clear idea of what we want, and
we argue for it
They have extravagant ideas We have vision but we also understand detail
They’re poor team workers We are individualistic in our own lives but
our government exercises strong central
control – we manage the two
They prefer ideas to facts Statistics can prove anything: ideas are what
move people
They’re opinionated We know what’s best for France
Communication
The French love of logic and elegance means that you should be explicit and
clear in what you are saying. Listen also for the logic behind the communication
when a French person is speaking. Focus on the content of what you want
to express, but remember that body language is also important in France.
Demonstrate eagerness and enthusiasm for what you believe in, and use
gestures for emphasis if you feel comfortable doing so. However, this is not
an art that comes easily to most people from Anglo-Saxon cultures, so it’s
probably better to keep to your natural style rather than look like an overactive
TV presenter.
The French are often categorical when they speak, and feel happy to express
their disagreements directly and openly. Don’t be put off by the Gallic ‘Bouf!’,
a dismissive snort or sniff that indicates dissent. Rely on factual evidence to
prove your case, but demonstrate that you understand other points of view,
even if you disagree with them. The French enjoy using wit in business
discussions, but avoid criticizing France.
Assume a relatively short attention span of about 20 minutes when you are
addressing a French audience, so keep your presentation moving briskly. Stress
the style, imaginative features and elegance of your idea or product, and expect
active audience involvement and questions.
Organization
The 35-hour working week introduced in the Socialist era in an attempt to
create more jobs has effectively been relaxed in France for private companies.
They can now offer employees up to 13 hours overtime, allowing them to
put in up to 48 hours a week - the maximum allowed by the European Union.
Business leaders had complained that the 35-hour week, introduced in 1998,
had failed to create jobs and was uncompetitive. However, the limit has not
been scrapped - it continues in force in France’s large public sector and will
remain the standard working week in the private sector.
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Meetings and negotiations
The purpose of business meetings in France is coordination, briefing and
allocation of tasks rather than to arrive at decisions. Given the French desire
to debate intellectual propositions as well as practical points, you should outline
the general principles of your idea before you get into the details. Rationality
and logic are important to them: simply having a ‘warm feeling’ for
something will not do, so go in armed with plenty of knowledge about your
product, your market and its trends, and what the opposition is up to.
An agenda might be circulated, but no one will expect to keep to it. French
meetings can be long and wordy, and the debate can become an intellectual
exercise. The French believe that clarity of thought is achieved through intensive
discussion, so it is important not to rush the proceedings. Expect to be
questioned if there is imprecision in your proposition.
Meetings are usually formal occasions. Dress well, and expect a hierarchical
seating arrangement. Surnames and formal introductions are used, and jackets
are usually kept on. The style of the meeting will probably be polite and formal:
use respect at all times. The French like to find out your position without
revealing theirs until late in the discussion. Their approach is likely to be
perceptive and opportunistic, but cautious.
Team-working
The criterion for selecting team members is specialization in a field required
by the work or project. A strong leader will be the point of reference for all
decisions, and relationships between team members are often based on
competition rather than collaboration. This is something that comes from
France’s rigourous education system. Individual team members may act within
their competence (or sometimes extend it) without waiting for group
consensus. The authority of the team leader is essential in ensuring group
harmony and completion of goals.
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Leadership and decision-making
It’s important to be correct in style and manner and to be seen as sérieux
(professional) in France. The PDG – président directeur général – decides the
strategy, and managers draw up and execute the plan. The French say, une
entreprise n’est pas une démocratie – a business is not a democracy.
French companies take time to reach decisions, and prefer to examine a
problem or proposition from every angle. It is considered rude to end a meeting
if the business to be conducted has not been concluded, which can affect
overall punctuality. There is a stress on comprehensive, well-structured and
well-written reports and studies.
Socializing and gift-giving
Business entertaining in France is usually formal in style and takes place in
restaurants. Check the dress code with your hosts: smart casual is increasingly
acceptable. Smoking is a declining habit even among the French, although
you’ll often see people lighting up at the table, and certainly in the bar, without
any embarrassment. Britons often see a visit to France as a reason to indulge
in a little too much vin, but resist this. Drunkenness or over-familiar talk after
too many glasses is not seen as cool by the French. Likewise, leave at home
those tired references to the supposedly ancient rivalry between England and
France: they’ve all been dragged out so many times before.
French people keep their private and public lives very separate, and tend not
to invite visitors to their homes until real bonds have been established. Smoking
is common in people’s homes, but it’s courteous to ask before you light up.
Chewing gum at meetings and social events is considered rude.
Great gifts: flowers, in odd numbers and not yellow; also avoid chrysanthemums
(associated with funerals) and carnations (may be seen as a sign of bad will).
Chocolates or liqueur.
Avoid giving: wine – it may suggest they don’t know their vintages.
Conversation topics
Ice-breakers Ice-makers
France’s fascinating regions Compare French v UK unemployment rates
Food and wine Ancient Franco-British rivalries: a well-
outworn topic
Six Nations rugby, World Cup football Why you’ve abandoned French wine for New
World varieties
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Doing business in Italy
Doing business in Italy
Overview
With some 90% of its native inhabitants speaking Italian, Italy remains a
remarkably homogenous population. However, that is threatened by two issues,
one long existing and one more recent. The enduring one is the division
between the north and south. This is often expressed as the tension between
the richer, more industrialized region and the mezzogiorno, the more rural
and poorer south. A feature of postwar life in Italy was the migration of southern
Italians to industrial cities such as Milan, although more recently the south
has benefited from considerable national funds and – after Italy became a
founder member of the European Economic Community in 1957 – of European
investment for infrastructure and development. Even today there are
differences in lifestyle and perceived wealth between the two regions. A more
recent fear is that of immigration, particularly from Albania and Libya, once
an Italian protectorate.
Five Ways to Succeed Five Ways to Fail
Build good personal relationships and keep
in contact
Criticize or belittle Italy and its economy
Show appreciation of Italy and especially of
your partner’s region
Remain solely on a business footing
Remember that the top man or woman
makes the decisions
Decline invitations to eat or drink with
your hosts
Dress carefully and in coordinated fashion
for meetings: in Italy clothes do make the
man (or woman)
Wear jeans and trainers to the office on
a Friday
Name Italian products that you own or have
enjoyed
Make jokes involving the Pope
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