Germany is fond of hierarchic structures with the boss on top followed by middle managers, department managers and employees. This organisation is different from the flat Swedish structure. Germans also have difficulties understanding Swede’s shyness and fear of conflicts.
Germans often remark that Scandinavians don’t dare to speak up. The prejudice about the German attitude “we are the biggest country in Europe and if we buy a company, we make the decisions” is unfortunately true in many cases.
The Dutch researcher in cultural issues, Gert Hofstede1 argues that national cultures can be distinguished by four dimensions; small vs. large power distance, collectivism vs. individualism, masculinity vs. femininity as well as the degree of uncertainty avoidance.
Great distance in power, i.e. “corporate hierarchy reflects existential inequality between high and low ranks”, “executives trust formal rules”, “the ideal boss is a favourable aristocrat or a good father”, “executive privileges and status symbols are expected and popular”, “non-executives expect to become dependent”. The boss as a status symbol is much more common and generally accepted in Germany than in Scandinavia. There is also bigger trust in formal rules in Germany and non-executives do not expect to be part of important decisions.
According to Hofstede, both Germany and Sweden are individualist countries. An employee is expected to create mutual advantages through his employment and moral terms like in a family relation are not desirable. Employment terms and promotions are expected to be based only on skills and rules. Management is run by individuals rather than groups and job assignments are more important than relations.
Hofstede states that Sweden has a more feminine business culture, while Germany has a more masculine one. He argues that in Sweden you work for a living while in Germany you live for work. Masculinity is also demonstrated in more work related stress.
There is a big difference between Sweden and Germany in the uncertainty dimension. Sweden has a less bureaucratic workplace based on relations. Germany has a stronger incentive to work hard and be more focused on company job assignments. In Sweden there is great belief in trust and common sense as opposed to a German belief in the specialist and the expert.
Mixing the best of Sweden’s and Germany’s cultures would create a successful business culture. It is hard to understand studies about German business culture before you are aware of the differences.
Mari Hosar
1 Hofstede G. , Culture´s consequenses, 1980, London