What to read after Working with Danes: Tips for Americans?

This little, easy-to-read book will help Americans understand their Danish colleagues better. It is a companion volume to the author’s previous book, “Working with Americans: Tips for Danes.”

If you’re an American who is about to do business in Denmark or with Danes, the Danish colleagues you will meet probably know a lot more about your country than you do about theirs.

In fact, Americans often hear descriptions of Denmark that are not entirely correct. It is neither a socialist hellhole or a socialist paradise; instead, it’s a capitalist social welfare state, where voters have agreed to be taxed very highly in return for universal health care and tuition-free universities.

Having the social welfare state as a backup influences the way Danes act in the workplace. Subordinates aren’t as dependent on their bosses as they are in some other cultures, so lower-level employees won’t perform a task just because the boss says so.

Instead, they expect to be allowed to influence the assignment based on their own expertise, and carry it out independently without a lot of micromanagement. They may also jump over several levels of hierarchy to tell the top boss how they think the organization could operate more efficiently.

One of the major differences between Danish business culture and US business culture is that Danes don’t need the kind of positive reinforcement that is common in the US. From their point of view, someone doing a job correctly requires no applause; comments are only necessary when something goes wrong. This can make Danes seem grumpy and negative to their American colleagues.

This book will give you important insights into Danish business culture and Danish business etiquette and help you improve your interaction with your colleagues and counterparts in Denmark.