Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

DOING BUSINESS IN THE NETHERLANDS

The purpose of this research is to provide background information on the values, social mores, and other attitudes and behaviors of the Netherlanders that affect the conduct of business in their country. Officially, the country is Konikrijk der Nederlanden, or Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlanders are accustomed, however, to calling their country Holland and to referring to themselves as Dutch. Thus, it is quite acceptable for the foreigner conducting business in the country to refer to Holland and the Dutch.

The findings of this research are presented in three major areas of discussion. These areas of interest are social mores, the Dutch sense of community, and attitudes and orientations that affect the conduct of business.

The Netherlands is a country of 14.6 million inhabitants and somewhat less that 16,500 square miles. The resulting high population density has led the Dutch to value and practice privacy in everyday living to an extent found in few other parts of the world. One manifestation of this desire for privacy is a tendency on the part of the Dutch to stay at home or very close to home when they are not at work. Another manifestation of this phenomenon is to assure that one's home is an "agreeable, comfortable, private place." To attain this goal, the Dutch tend spend money on the home in lieu of travel, entertainment, and the like to assure that they have "paintings, music, books, friends, and silence."

Somewhat curiously, the craving for privacy does not impel the Dutch to shield themselves from public view. In fact, the passerby is "encouraged to look through à uncurtained windows" in Dutch homes. When the passerby views a Dutch family in such circumstances, he or she will frequently find an inward-oriented people. An individual may be "seated in a self-created pool of privacy, sometimes not reading the paper or book before him, not smoking the pipe in his hand or the gin on the table...

Page 1 of 9 Next >

More on DOING BUSINESS IN THE NETHERLANDS...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
DOING BUSINESS IN THE NETHERLANDS. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 11:12, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1688713.html