NORWAY

J A R E D N A QU I N
CAPITAL CITY OF NORWAY:
OSLO
The Flag Of
Norway
Official Language: The official language is
Norwegian which is a north Germanic
language closely related to Swedish and
Danish.
Official Religion: The official religion of
Norway is Evangelical Lutheran at 76.1%
of the population
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
The most popular tourist attraction in all of
norway is the Flibanen, which is a funicular
in Bergen Norwaywith over 1.3 million
visitors per year and travels up the beautiful
mountain of Flyen.
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS CONT.
The Viking ship
museum (Norwegian:
Vikingskipshuset p
Bygdy) is located at
Bygdoy in Oslo,
Norway which
displays horse carts,
ships, tent
components, and
other wooden goods.
NATIONAL DISH OF NORWAY
The national dish of Norway is
Frikl which is simply boiled
lamb and cabbage, but is
currently up for replacement as
of 2014
AMERICAN STEREOTYPES OF NORWEGIANS
The first stereotype is that all
Norwegians are modest and
unsophisticated fish eaters. And
that they re all alcoholics that drink
mead.
NORWEGIAN SUPERSTITIONS.
One superstition is that crows (Kraka) are
a sign of bad luck, and would lead to a
bad harvest of fish.
Another superstition is that whistling
towards the sun will cause it to rain.
HAND GESTURES IN NORWAY
In Norway, Norwegians keep hand gestures
to a minimum because it can be seen as
disrespectful but one common
expression is when they wave their index
finger in the are as a sign of warning or
anger.
BUSINESS ETIQUETTE AND BODY LANGUAGE
In Norway, one does not need to know someone for a long
time in order to conduct business with them, contracts
are held and people are trusted. Business is relatively
informal and relies upon following contracts. Norwegians
respect very confident and poised business people, and
women are treated equally in the business world
receiving equal pay and management positions.
RELATIONSHIP BUILDING
Within Norway, relationships do not have
to be formed in order conduct business
and as long as everyone holds up their
end of the bargain, then a relationship
can build. Like minded individuals
usually end up building relationships
and being overly friendly at the start of a
relationship can be seen as a form of
weakness.
COMMUNICATION STYLES IN DECISION MAKING
When communicating with each other
in the business world, no emotion
or gestures are used. Americans
would see this as being Stiff or
under confident, however in Norway
this is seen as eing more dedicated
and focused on ones work and is
heavily respected.
POWER STRUCTURES IN DECISION MAKING
When decisions are being made, they are
consensus driven and often take a long
amount of time due to the fact that they
are consensus driven.
SIMILARITIES BETWEEN US AND NORWAY WITH
BODY LANGUAGE
Difference:
In Norway no hand
gestures are used
when presenting.
Americans use tons of
hand gestures when
presenting

Similarities:
Both countries respect
confident speakers,
as well as standing
poised when
presenting







COMPARISON OF COMMUNICATIONS STYLES
Differences: It is seen as
being weak if one is
overly friendly when
conducting business
while Americans try to be
friendly in an effort to
make each other more
comfortable





Similarities: Direct eye
contact is maintained, a
Firm handshake shows
power and respect, and
introducing business
partners is seen as
respectful
A COMPARISON OF POWER STRUCTURES
Differences: It is very egalitarian in
Norway and all decisions rely
heavily on consensus and
everyone's opinion while in
America, the lead of the group is
always the ultimate decider. Women
have more power and are seen as
equivalent to men, while in America
women are under paid and do not
get higher positions anywhere near
as often as men do
Similarities: there are
different sections and sub
sections of the
companies, meaning
there are higher ups that
make the decisions for
the whole of the company.
The companies mostly
look at the bigger
pictures.
INTERNET PENETRATION
In Norway, 87.5% of the population uses
the internet.
The omst popular social media sites in
Norway are Facebook and Twitter
INDIVIDUALISM
Definition: Reinforces people's reliance on self and
encourages a greater concern for ones own interests.

This applies Directly to Norway because they believe in
choosing ones path and following it however one would
like too.
COLLECTIVISM
Definition: Reinforces a greater reliance on the group, and a
greater concern for the welfare of all concerned.
While Norway believes in individualism and reaching ones
goals, it is also a heavily egalitaristic society and believes
on concentric decisions in the business atmosphere and
weighin in on everyones opinions.
STRONG UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
Definition: risk and uncertainty are avoided if at all possible.
This applies to Norway in that on the business world, they
do not like making incorrect decisions that will not
benefit the company as a whole and will then ask others
for their opinions before making a decision.
WEAK UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
Definition: Societies do not feel threatened by disagreance
and tend to avoid absolute truths.
In the norwegian culture, doing something with someone
does not require you to know anyone, due to the fact that
they are a very trust worthy culture.
COMPARISON OF INDIVIDUALISM
Similarities: both believe in setting out to accomplish ones
goals.
Both have supports in place to help someone reach ones
goals
Differences: The US believes more in individualism then
Norway and nearly all decisions in life in the US are
ultimate up to the owner of the dream.
COLLECTIVISM COMPARISON
Similarities: Both counties are democratic and do therefore
believe in doing things as a group with multiple opinions.
Differences: Norway believes much more heavily in
collectivism and all business deals are done as a group,
when in the united states they are all ultimately up the the
majority share holders or CEOs
STRONG UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
COMPARISON
Similarities: There is a fear of failure in both countries,
causing them to be more cautious
Differences: The Population of the U.S. sees the uncertainty
associated with many things and simply view it as a
challenge to over come.

WEAK UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE COMPARISON
Similarities: Both countries see absolute truths as not taking
risks or attempting to grow.
Differences: Within the U.S., extensive background checks
are done before a commitment is made with anyone,
while in Norway, contracts can be made with anyone even
without knowing them.
CURRENT EVENTS
One major current event is an attempt to change
the national dish of Norway.
The prime minister also just Pledged $70 million
dollars to a fund to cure Ebola.
RESOURCES
Norway - Norwegian Culture and Etiquette. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8,
2014.
The Global Road Warrior. Norway: Country Snapshot. Retrieved October
18, 2014, from
http://www.globalroadwarrior.com.ccbcmd.idm.oclc.org/contentinfo.asp
?cid=112&nid=65&next_nid=66
The Norway Post. Norway pledges NOK 70 million to new Ebola fund.
Retrieved October 8, 2014, from
http://www.norwaypost.no/index.php/news/latest-news/30224