DOING BUSINESS IN THE NETHERLANDS

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, boo

. . .
believe in God, compared to almost 90 percent in the United States. A belief in life after death is held by 50 percent of the Dutch, while only 20 percent believe in the Devil. In the context of religious orientation or lack thereof, the principal groupings are Catholic, Protestant, and Liberal-Humanist. Roman Catholic church membership approximates 5.2 million, or 35.6 percent of the Dutch population. Protestant church membership approximates 4.8 million, or 32.9 percent of Holland's population. The remaining 4.6 million Netherlanders profess to no religious affiliation, and comprise the Liberal-Humanist group of the Dutch population. The 31.5 percent of the Dutch population without religious affiliation is in stark contrast to the situation in the United States. Religious orientation often affects the way the Dutch conduct business. As an example, there is a Roman Catholic Goat Breeders Association. The foreigner, therefore, while observing the code of not discussing religion as a topic, must, nevertheless, be prepared to do business with groups who perceive their identities, at least partially, in religious contexts. In Holland, a larger proportion of the population approves of racially mixed marriages than approve
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2226
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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