2007-12-20
At DnB NORD, the term ‘globalisation’ is probably better substituted for ‘regionalisation’. But don’t be deceived – the consequence of regionalisation is inevitably global. That is, the need to very quickly develop a global outlook. Allow me to explain.
DnB NORD is a bank that operates in an idiosyncratic area of Europe that many refer to as the Baltic Rim. DnB NORD’s countries of operation include Denmark, Finland, Poland, and the Baltics (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia). I say that this is an idiosyncratic region because it’s an area with a number of defining characteristics. In the Baltic countries over the past several years, economic expansion has occurred at a torrid pace, comparable to that of China. That’s quite a statement given all the ink that has been spilt over China in the global press, and something that distinguishes the area from the rest of Europe. And yes, the Baltic countries weren’t even democratic, independent countries less than 20 years ago, so they have plenty of challenges of their own as they ‘catch-up’ with the rest of Europe. Indeed, they are quickly catching up. Meanwhile, their neighbours – the Scandinavian countries – are widely considered to be some of the most economically and socially advanced in the world. And indeed, they are.
As a staff member of DnB NORD, the consequences of this operational set-up that covers these six countries do impact my work life.
Multicultural melting pot
One of these consequences is that DnB NORD’s headquarters in Copenhagen, where I work, is a multicultural melting pot. Among the 70 employees, some 15 nationalities are represented at last count – I happen to be Canadian. The result is a unique working culture, one that could clearly be said to be an international one (with English as the working language) that nonetheless has strong ‘Danish characteristics’ (as over half the staff in the office are Danish). These Danish characteristics include a relatively flat organisational hierarchy, a structured and efficient approach to tackling tasks, a modern and employee-friendly working environment and, not least of all, an outstanding lunch served everyday in the cafeteria. But it is the multicultural aspects require a certain degree of open-mindedness from everybody in the office, since there really is no ‘cultural norm’ to fall back on when questions arise. At times, the influence of various cultures is readily apparent with certain stereotypes seemingly reinforced, such as a belief those of one nationality or another tend to be loud, boisterous and straight talking, while others are seen as typically being more quiet, reserved and indirect in their approach.
It’s not only the working environment that is affected. The implications of being a regional bank covering a number of countries means that the search for technical solutions to the various issues DnB NORD faces is global.
For example, DnB NORD is now deep into the process of replacing and unifying its core banking system in all 6 of the banks countries of operation. After a global search, the winning solution came from an Indian company (owned by an American one). Here at DnB NORD’s headquarters in Copenhagen, there are a number of consultants sent by this company from India to work closely with the IT department on this lengthy project (spanning many months). For most of them, this is their first experience working in Scandinavia or the Baltics, since this is the contract this Indian company won in either of these two regions. So it’s a new experience all around, one that can be chalked up to nothing other than globalisation. So these days, while my business travels are typically limited to DnB NORD’s 6 countries of operation, members of our IT team occasionally find themselves flying to India for meetings.
So there’s no question that the challenges of globalisation come from all corners, and even for a regional company, such as DnB NORD is, the need to think globally is inevitable.