This Week's CultureQuiz: THE NETHERLANDS!
Working with Netherlanders (otherwise known as the Dutch)? First, can you answer all five CultureQuiz questions about Dutch culture correctly?
A fabulous Vermeer exhibit will be closing at the world-famous Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam this week…timed just right to coincide with the winding down of the Netherlands’ world-famous spring tulip explosion. But with warmer summer days around the corner, there will still be plenty of opportunities to be “GEZELLIG”, which you always want to be, working or playing, in the Netherlands. Being the world’s experts on managing water and the challenges of climate change, and consistently ranking as one of the top ten happiest cultures in the world, you’d think the Dutch would loudly announce their winning achievements daily. But that would be such an un-Dutch thing to do, which is why making a big deal of your way of doing things is not what you want to do when working with your Dutch colleagues. So how should you behave in Holland? (For starters, don’t refer to the country as Holland: it is “The Netherlands”, though, to be fair, most Dutch people - but clearly not all - happen to also live in Holland, the largest of twelve provinces that make up the country of The Netherlands). Want to know more? It’s especially important if you’re working in or doing business with this important, yet self-effacing culture today. Test yourself today with this week’s CultureQuiz on The Netherlands: go ahead and see how much YOU know, and choose the correct multiple choice answer for each of the following five Dutch CultureQuiz questions! (The correct answers follow the quiz, so if you haven’t already subscribed, you can do so right here)
THE NETHERLANDS CultureQuiz questions:
You’ve been welcomed into the Amsterdam office of your Dutch colleague, Ms Anika Hoekstra, the leader of the Dutch team. As you greet her, she leans in and initiates a warm greeting with an “air kiss”. How many times are you expected to exchange “air kisses”?
a. Just once, on one cheek.
b. Twice, on alternating cheeks.
c. Three times, on alternating cheeks.
d. Never, you should pull back and insist only on the handshake.
You ask Anika how she feels about the proposal you presented, and she responds that though she appreciates the efforts you’ve made, she is seriously disappointed that it does not address the team’s major concerns which she had outlined to you several weeks prior in an email. You are surprised by the directness of her remarks, and distressed that she seemed unconcerned about how you and your team might feel in response to her behavior.
a. This represents typical Dutch “directness”, no personal “hurt” intended.
b. This is not typical Dutch business behavior, and represents Anika’s individual personality more than general Dutch business behavior.
c. The cultural issue here is not Anika’s directness, but rather the fact that you did not provide her and her team with an outline of your presentation prior to your meeting.
d. The cultural issue here is not Anika’s directness, but rather the fact that you did not provide her and her team with an outline of your presentation after your meeting.
You were eager at your meeting in Amsterdam to explain the benefits of working with your company by sharing personal “success stories” from your company’s clients. However, it became clear very quickly that the Dutch were not impressed with these relationship “anecdotes”, and, in fact, expressed openly to you at one point that they did not find them helpful. The best cultural explanation for this reaction might be…
a. The Dutch place a high regard on substantiating facts, not subjective emotional reactions.
b. Hearing about successful business relationships with your other clients seemed boastful and made the Dutch suspicious of why you were having to “sell” so hard.
c. The Dutch appreciated hearing from your clients, but expected that to be an interesting prelude to a more important Q&A designed to discover specific mutual benefits to working together.
d. All of the above.
You were surprised at the meeting that Anika kept referring any questions or issues you raised for her to decide on to the team in the room. You found this strange, as Anika is the manager of the team, and expected final decisions to come from her.
In The Netherlands, women, independent of their title and unlike their male colleagues, typically defer decisions to team colleagues.
In The Netherlands, everyone on the team is encouraged to share their thoughts, in the spirit of finding a fair and equitable solution that works for all.
In a meeting in The Netherlands, both men and women, independent of their titles, typically discuss all details of an issue together, but expect the final decision to be made only by the manager after the meeting has ended.
In The Netherlands, both men and women typically defer decisions to the oldest member of the team, regardless of their title or gender.
“GEZELLIG” …
a. is a toast made uniquely with a specific dark beer, drunk mainly in Amsterdam.
b. describes a preferred atmosphere of good spirit, easy-going collegiality and engagement, both socially and at work.
c. the uniquely Dutch form of “guaranteed income”, designed to reduce income inequality.
d. refers to the protocol for properly eating a herring from a street stand.
Easy? Hard? Neither? So, how many CultureQuiz Questions did you get right? Here are the correct answers below…and the reasons why!
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