Cultural differences in doing business
A comparison between The Netherlands and The United Kingdom

Introduction. Facts and figures. 2 Business structure 3 Meetings 5 Team work 7 Communication styles 8 Dress code 10

Introduction. Facts and figures.

The purpose of this research is to find the differences in business culture and behavior of The Netherlands and The United Kingdom. The similarities are much more numerous than differences, but there are interesting particularities. Both these countries have a very high rate of employment in services (74% in The Netherlands and 78% in the UK) which presents a closeness in terms of having an economy highly influenced by personal relations but the dissimilarities appear when you look at the main destinations for citizens from each country: Germany presents itself as the main destination for the Dutch (accountable for 30% of visits), while the UK prefers the United States above all (15% - a high percentage considering location but natural when looking at the historical ties between the two countries.
In terms of economy, The Netherlands are heavily outweighed by the UK at a ratio of 3 to 1 when considering the GDP (792 billion $ compared to 2,175 billion $), but the Dutch are superior in terms of GDP per head (47,920$ for the Dutch and only 35,170$ for the British).
Life and expectancy is very high in both countries (78 years men, 82-83 women), while density is higher in The Netherlands (400 per sq km compared to 255 per sq km). Literacy is also very high for both, a whopping 99%.

Business structure

In The Netherlands, the key institution is called the “Works Council” which consists of elected members, recommendation, rights of discussion and the most important aspect, the access to information.
The works council meetings are always done in private, only to be discussed immediately with the upper management.
Big Dutch companies have supervisory boards, on top of a management board and a managing director. The board is comprised of members who are not on the payroll of the company itself and are in charge of overseeing the company’s direction, appointing the management board and finalizing annual accounts.
The Dutch are also said to be the only people which don’t view the manager as a boss per-se, and has been apparently very lucrative for them as the idea of creating and imposing policies from afar with as little consultation as possible is something that has provided remarkable results for them. The manager will seldom if ever take an authoritarian approach to leading his team and he would rather be seen as an influential colleague. For people coming from hierarchical cultures, it may seem as if the boss is not shown respect, which is not the case.

Communication must be as transparent as possible, as any reticence to pass on information to colleagues and upper management is seen as a grave offence. Bosses look for input from every member and must show respect for every idea.

In The United Kingdom, you have the board of directors, which is the actual backbone of the company, having all essential decisions being made through its accordance. All the PLCs (public limited company) are steered by a minimum of two directors who only answer to the shareholders. The board is lead by the CEO.
Unlike the Dutch, most of the British big companies have “non-executive” directors, which have the role of acting as an outside impartial expert. It is a known fact that this certain type of directors are sometimes looked down upon and even hated by the executive directors.
The structure of the typical British business can be somewhat confusing at times, as the many companies are moving towards a less bureaucratic approach. This translates into a lack of clear shape, having boundaries and responsibilities that are sometimes indiscernible, even for employees.
British managers prefer generalizing to specializing. Purely academical education is often disregarded or treated with less respect than in other countries, while pragmatism and relevant experiences are highly valued.

People managing skills are probably one of the important attributes a British manager can possess. His ability as a “fixer” and a leader that is able to hold together a team, are highly appreciated and desired. In this respect, they are similar with their Dutch counterparts as they will try to maintain a very close and somewhat soft relationship with their underlings, but they will not back away when tough decisions need to be made. That being said, they do have a weak point in comparison with the Dutch, as they will find it very difficult to give explicit instructions to their subordinates and will often transmit information in a very indirect way, which would be seen as confusing by a non-British person.

Meetings

In The Netherlands, meetings are usually quite long and sometimes frustrating for a non-Dutch. These meetings are regarded as forums where every single person is expected to contribute in a way that is a complete and as objective as possible. The reason for this is their desire to come to a unanimous decision to implement. This is oftenly very time-consuming, hence the frustration; the only positive aspect being that company time is saved at the expense of personal time in order to devise and implement decisions very fast.
Dutch people feel great resentment towards those that try to come to meetings while priorly having tried to reach a position with other members in order to have a stronger foothold in the decision making process.

Each person speaking within the meeting is generally subject to respect in terms of turn to speak and people are rarely, if ever, interrupted while they have the floor.
Try to use rational arguments - Dutch business people use facts and rationality to back up arguments. They do not often make emotional arguments.
Do not expect small talk - Dutch negotiators like to get to business soon after a meeting begins.
The Dutch take punctuality very seriously. Being late, even for a couple of minutes can be perceived as disrespectful and a sign of untrustworthiness. If you are late by any chance, announce it as soon as possible.

As opposed to meetings in the The Netherlands, in The United Kingdom meetings are, while not very lengthy, quite often and inconclusive. That is because the result of a meeting in the UK usually ends with the decision that a new meeting should be held. A common complaint coming from British business is that their meetings are too long.
Similarly to The Netherlands, in the UK, little to no preparation is done ahead of meetings in order to create a more productive decision making environment, as open to debate as possible. Preparing too much or lobbying before meetings is also very much frowned upon by the British as is for the Dutch. Both of them appreciate an open forum of discussion that leads to unanimously agreed upon outcome.
Agendas have little to no importance, as debate is more important and something will not be taken off the table just due to the fact that it was not on the agenda.

British people look at themselves as being very punctual, but they are actually not as it quite common for them to arrive ten minutes late, compared to their Dutch counterparts, which regard punctuality as sacred.

Team work

In The Netherlands, relationships within the working environment are quite informal, everybody addressing each other by their first name. As mentioned before, hierarchy is virtually inexistent and everybody enjoys similar status, hence anyone trying to act arrogant or special will end up being hated by everyone he works with. Upon achieving success, it is enjoyed as a team and never assumed by a member of the group.
It is of great importance that you are regarded as being professional and dedicated and as someone who will deliver on promises and commitments, no matter that size.

In The United Kingdom, decisions are preferred to be made as a whole, and managers will have to work hard to acquire the much needed respect of his team. Friendship and harmony are the social goals of a British team when working with each other. Being supportive and helpful at all times is very appreciated. However, unlike the Dutch, when problems arise or something has gone wrong, it is very common for the team to look for a “scape goat” within its members.

Usually, each individual within the team has a specialization, but having a general view of the situation/project is not mandatory, but regarded as being a plus.
Communication styles

In The Netherlands, as emphasized in the previous fields of comparison, truthfulness and objectivity are very important. Being able to speak your mind and be direct is deemed worthy of respect. It sometimes can be misinterpreted as aggressive behavior or even rudeness, but the Dutch appreciate this type of personality and behavior for the benefits it provides in trying to reach an understanding.
Ironically, due to the way in which decision-making works for the Dutch, it might be hard at times to receive a closed answer. This is usually a clear sign that no decision has been made.
Face-to-face communication is characterized by the fact that it might be difficult as it depends upon the circumstances of a particular situation. Generally, the best practice is to be introduced by a third party. When introducing yourself it is essential to shake hands as firmly as possible.
When communicating, it is very important not to seem “pompous”. No matter what your qualifications and your expertize, never think of yourself as special or above others and especially don’t show it.
It will rarely, if ever, be necessary to use interpreters when negotiating with Dutch business people. In fact, doing so may even be regarded as a lack of trust.

Humor is often found in business situations, but it not mandatory and it can sometimes be misconstrued as a lack of dedication. Also, even though, generally, the Dutch have a great command of the English language, you must keep in mind – as in all cultures – that some jokes or based on the culture itself and might not be understood by outsiders.

In The United Kingdom, we find the opposite of their Dutch counterparts. The British place great value in diplomacy and the ability to “beat around the bush” instead of being direct. They are very non-confrontational in business situations and they associate the open type of mindset as possible offensive for the others. They are often seen as being evasive, even though they’re trying to highlight a negative aspect in as positive a way as possible.
They are also known to use a masked form of language in their business conversations in order to reduce the negative impact as much as possible. Something that receives a reply such as “Hmmm, that’s an interesting point…” can be totally uninteresting and unimportant to the interlocutor, depending on the tone used.
Contrary to the Dutch business environment, humor is found everywhere, even more so when the situation is difficult and/or tense. It does not imply, however, that the British are uninterested or not taking it seriously, it is just the way they help calm down situations. They consider humor to be incredibly important as a tool for communication, no matter the context in which it is used.
Similarly to the Dutch, they frown upon self-promotion with passion. Someone who is being positive about themselves and their prowess will be, in almost all cases, disregarded and shunned.

Dress code

In The Netherlands, dressing is less informal than the UK. It is loosely determined by the business sector in which you find yourself.
Conservative domains, like banking, are still characterized by the classic tie and suit, while areas of the industry which are newer can be characterized by a casual dressing code. That does not mean that anything goes and smart approaches should still be the standard.

In The United Kingdom, as opposed to The Netherlands, dark grey and dark blue suits are abundant, though not as in the past. The dress code in business environments for the UK is still much stricter that that of their Dutch counterparts. When wearing suits, white blue or pink shorts along with sober ties are the standard. Certain upper class business circles will consist of men wearing cufflinks.
Women that occupy managerial positions usually mirror male wear, using dark suits and blouses along with more obvious or plethoric paraphernalia.
Recently, though, a different attitude to dressing has been undertaken by many companies. They have taken up a so-called “dress down” policy, which allows workers to use a “smart casual” wear when they do not have to deal with customers. However, this type of wear is not very different from the old conservative way.