Our project aimed to characterize Norway from its economy, politics, geography, social and cultural factors, business conduct, and an effective strategy for intercultural negotiations. Having analyzed geographical, government, and economic factors, we can conclude that the sea has historically been of great economic importance for the Norwegian country. It allowed the inhabitants of the land to engage in fishing and whaling, to develop shipping. Large rivers provide enormous hydropower resources; in this respect, Norway is the leader among all Western European States, and internal communications are provided primarily by shipping. It can be concluded that the geographical position of Norway is mainly favorable for its economic development.
Regarding social factors, Norway has adopted the Scandinavian social policy model, which is also applied in Finland, Denmark, and Sweden. The leading resource for the redistribution of funds is the budget, and in such countries, there is a relatively high level of social security. The state assumes full responsibility for the level of social life and minimum social benefits. The volume of redistributed GDP through the budget is about 50-70% (Quintas and Ianoni 47). While Canada adheres to the Anglo-Saxon model, the main idea is that the individual has every right to a specific social minimum regardless of his activities.
In Norwegian culture, literature should be highlighted as a rare fusion of literary works. It was created under the influence of ancient Norwegian legends, Danish fairy tales, and famous theologians’ philosophical texts. Therefore, the culture of Norway is characterized by artistic crafts reflected in blacksmithing and jewelry, the manufacture of clothing, and house construction. All this is a natural, cultural heritage of the country, which is now carefully protected and displayed in museum expositions.
Business in Norway attracts Canadians because it is actively supported by the state and support funds. Norwegians are calm people; they are also terse and practical. Business is conducted by residents of the northern country without fuss and unnecessary risks as well. The main feature of their business culture is transparency and honesty. The government and support funds actively help small businesses in Norway.
It is easy for Canadians to do business in Norway, partly because many Norwegians speak English and partly because the practice of doing business in this country is familiar to them. Norwegians are reliable business partners and always fulfill their obligations, but they also expect the same. Their style of business negotiations can be described as direct, frank, and consistent. They are somewhat cautious about negotiating with someone they don’t know well enough. However, if the partner is trusted, the Norwegians can take a particular risk.
Each team member liked that it was possible to practice and direct their knowledge and capabilities to achieve the team’s goals. There were no negative points that all the team members did not like (at first, there was a slight misunderstanding between its members, but it was quickly eliminated). To be an influential team member, everyone applied joint decision-making, patience, and understanding to other participants’ opinions. While working on the Country Semester project, we have acquired new skills in collecting and presenting comprehensive information from various sources.
Based on our INB220 team experience, we would give future INB220 students working as a team on a semester-long country project the following advice: «It is necessary to plan the work. The entire path from the initial problem to the implementation of the project goal should be divided into separate stages, each of which has intermediate tasks».
Work Cited
Quintas, Felipe Maruf and Marcus Ianoni. “The Rehn-Meidner Plan and the Swedish development model in the Golden Years.” Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, vol. 41, no. 1, 2021, pp. 21-116.