This Week's CULTURE QUIZ: Connect the (European) Culture Concept with the Country!
'Good Soldier Swieck' in Czech Republic...Systeme 'D' in France...Bella Figura in Italy...the list goes on. But what do they mean?
Thanks everyone for playing along with our CultureQuizzes, and for letting me know how helpful (or in some cases, maybe just interesting!) they are. We started this series by looking at Asian cultural concepts, and last week’s CultureQuiz explored Latin American cultural concepts. This week’s CultureQuiz asks you to connect the European cultural concept with the European country it comes from, and, as usual, we have five different culture concepts from five different countries to challenge you. I’ve chosen these concepts, as I do for all the Culture Quizzes, precisely because they result in behaviors that you are likely to see when doing business in these countries. When you understand why these concepts are so fundamental to the culture, you can prepare your own strategies and tactics for successfully managing them…at the negotiating table, at that global meeting, or when you’re planning a project with your colleagues abroad.
Below are this week’s five CultureQuiz questions, each featuring an important cultural concept from a particular European country, with four possible definitions (a., b., c. or d.) of the concept. But only one definition is the correct one! Test yourself today and choose the correct multiple choice answer for each of the following five European CultureQuiz questions! (The correct answers for paid subscribers follow the quiz,, so if you haven’t already subscribed to deanfosterglobal.substack.com, you can do so right here).
EUROPEAN Culture Concept questions:
SYSTEME ‘D’ in FRANCE…
a. describes the complicated course of academic study that all students must go through in France in order to earn their “bac” (baccalaureate) degree.
b. refers to the classically proper order of dishes in an evening meal.
c. represents the unofficial contacts in an organization who one needs to know in order to get things done, as opposed to going through the prescribed - and often unsuccessful - bureaucratic process.
d. is a subset of French Cartesian logic that argues for a result because it is logically perfect, even though it is also impossible to practically implement.
LAGOM in SWEDEN…
a. is a term that describes a “goldilocks” value of “not too much, not too little, just right” that sets the standards for proper human interactions and business and social norms.
b. refers to the extremely hierarchical structure of Swedish decision-making in the workplace.
c. describes the process of setting a strict time limit (usually one-half hour) for a team to discuss any particular issue.
d. refers to the problem of excessive social drinking, especially during the winter months.
“‘THE GOOD SOLDIER SVEJK” in CZECH REPUBLIC…
a. refers to the social expectation that one should always unquestioningly follow the orders of their superiors (to be a “good soldier”).
b. refers to the rewarding of subordinates who challenge authority, regardless of outcome.
c. is a children’s television cartoon show that adults have come to embrace, as well.
d. refers to a type of clever, naive personality that does everything they are told, but in a way where they sabotage the goals of the “enemy”, consciously or not, and cannot therefore be held responsible for it.
“LA BELLA FIGURA” in ITALY…
is a reference to an early Italian renaissance ideal of physical beauty, related to Greek classical, still held in high regard.
refers to the uniquely Italian version of “good face”, where how one behaves in the eyes of others determines respect.
is a term of derision that describes someone who is “too” well-dressed.
describes a positive (and rare) relationship between in-laws and their married children.
“CRAIC” in IRELAND …
a. is a term used to describe the friendly and warm joking and good time atmosphere that one should strive to achieve in social settings; it often involves innocently poking fun at someone, in order to garner their equally innocent riposte back.
b. is a term to describe a cloudy and misty day, as a way of expressing boredom (due to the same kind of weather day after day).
c. a special gift, traditionally given at Christmastime, of thanks for something done during the past year; today, it more often refers to a “bonus” given to employees by their manager at the end of the year.
d. refers to a unique Irish biscuit, usually eaten with tea only in the morning, and which therefore also describes someone who doesn’t have any table manners (and eats their biscuit anytime day or night).
Easy? Hard? So, how many CultureQuiz Culture Concept questions did you get right? Here are the correct answers below…and the reasons why!
Here are your correct CultureQuiz ANSWERS:
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