French Culture
Hofstede Dimension 2 - Power Distance
-I believe that this Hofstede Dimension is important
when it comes to French workplace culture because
Power Distance talks about how lower members in
organizations accept that they have lesser power than
higher members
-The idea of hierarchy is important to French culture;
French people are raised to be attached to people of power
and to listen to them, and this continues on into the workplace
-Decisions are made by people on higher levels, and people
on the lower levels are expected to listen to the desires
of these powerful people
-Thus, power is centralized in French companies and workers
only act on the instruction of higher-ups; initiative from lower
workers would be seen as overstepping their boundaries
-It has been found that French companies have more hierarchical levels in their companies, and this showcases the
importance of power distance in France
-The Hofstede score France received was a 68, which is
relatively high and showcases the importance of hierarchy
in all aspects of French society
Hierarchy is an important principle seen
in French culture, and plays a large part
in the workplace.
Hofstede Dimension 1 - Uncertainty Avoidance
-I feel that this Hofstede Dimension is important
when it comes to French workplace culture because
Uncertainty Avoidance talks about how threatened
a culture feels about the idea of unknown situations
and how often they try to prevent these situations
-French work culture heavily revolves around this idea
of wanting to avoid unknown situations, and they do
this through lots of organization, structure and planning
-This is seen in the workplace, where there are lots of
rules, regulations and structure to business activities
-Appointments are necessary in order to have meetings,
there are rules like dress codes in place and French people
like to have all the information possible before making their
decisions (which is why they take their time making decisions,
in order to consider all aspects of the decision)
-This idea is implemented in their society and is clearly
seen in their workplaces
-The Hofstede score France received was an 86, which is
very high and reflects it's importance to French society
Scheduling and structure help in order to keep
everything in order and stop unknown situations
from occurring by having a plan.
Business Etiquette - Don'ts
-Being over-friendly can be detrimental to a meeting
with a French person; staying relatively friendly but getting
straight to the point does much better as when it comes to business in France, people are able to divide their work and
personal lives
Staying concise with what you talk about
during a meeting is crucial, and being over-friendly
may seem "fake" to the other party.
-Do not attempt to rush a meeting, as business is
conducted slowly in France: patience is a virtue
and allowing them to take their time will show that
their decision making process is respected
Rushing a meeting does not show respect to
the other party, and will often lead to negative
results if used.
-If negotiating with the other group, do not use pressure
tactics to attempt to convince them; this is more than often
counter-productive, as French people like more of a logical, calm presentation that shows an intellectual grasp on the situation
Pressure tactics are despised by French people:
they are more methodical in their thinking process
and like logic.
Business Etiquette - Do's
-While greeting someone else, you should always
refer to them as Madame or Monsieur (unless stated
otherwise by the other person to call them by their
first name)
-When shaking hands, make sure to do so lightly and
briskly while maintaining eye contact: eye contact is
important while speaking
-Introduce yourself using your first and last name
A proper greeting with a handshake, eye contact
and introduction is needed to show respect to
the other party.
-You should always wear formal business attire;
on top of this, you should look well-groomed and
have good quality clothing, as appearance is judged
quite heavily in France
Formal business attire is a necessity in French
business culture, as you will be judged based
on appearance.
-Appointments are needed in order to meet someone;
they should be made 2 weeks in advance at the very least
to maintain a level of respect with the other party
Organization and scheduling are important
in French culture, so adhering to this is
necessary.
