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| A picture of the Eiffel Tower ~ what else did you think I was going to choose, eh? |
TIPS ON DOING BUSINESS IN FRANCE
- During negotiations, the French may want to express every possible objection. It is not necessary to respond to each and every single statement—French conversational habits encourage all opinions to be voiced, even if they are not critical to the outcome.
- Before you ask for directions, assistance, or just plain information, apologize for not speaking French! You are in France, and the French will appreciate your acknowledgement that you cannot speak French well—if at all.
- Learn proper dining etiquette (including the identification of all the utensils) before you attend a formal French dinner. Understand the seven courses in a Parisian restaurant, in what order they arrive (soup, fish, sorbet, meat or fowl, salad, dessert, coffee) and study a bit about the wines of France. And never cut the point off the brie! (The best part of the brie is at the centre, because there is less rind and more cheese. It is rude to leave just the edge of the wheel of brie, which is typically heavier on the rind, for the next diner.)
- Cultural Quote: “How can you be expected to govern a country that has 246 kinds of cheese?”—Charles de Gaulle.
PUNCTUALITY, APPOINTMENTS, AND LOCAL TIME
- Always make appointments for both business and social occasions. Be punctual, although the French are more relaxed about time in the South.
- Most French get four or five weeks of summer vacation and take it in July and August. Indeed, except for the tourist industry, France virtually shuts down in August. Try to conduct business during other months.
- A law in 2004 created a full working day without salary, which reduced the number of public holidays in France by one day. Called a “solidarity journey,” this day can be applied to any official holiday the company’s employees select. If they cannot decide on which day should be the working day/holiday, it automatically forfeits to Pentecost Monday.
- Always present your business card. When receiving the cards of others, treat them very carefully.
- It is best to have your business card printed in French upon arrival. One side can be in English, with the translation in French on the other side. On the French side, include any academic credentials and your school if it is a prestigious one.
- The best times to schedule meetings are around 11:00 a.m. or 3:30 p.m.
- France is one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (G.M.T. +1). This makes it six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time (E.S.T. +6).
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| French Cafe, 1936 ~ Peter Purves Smith (1912-1949) |
Language Note:
Most English-speaking French have studied British-style English, which can lead to communication breakdowns with speakers of American-style English. For example, in the United States, a presentation that “bombs” has failed, but in Britain, it has succeeded.
Words in French and English may have the same roots, but different meanings or connotations. If you don’t speak French, don’t be offended too easily. For example, a French person might “demand” something, because demander simply means “to ask.” If you speak some French, don’t assume that an English word will have the same connotation in French. For example, if you ask for the bathroom and use the translation salle de bains, it will not be understood that you are asking for la toilette.
NEGOTIATING
- Eye contact among the French is frequent and intense—so much so that some Asians and North Americans may be intimidated.
- Because of the strong “old-boy network” and lack of merit-based promotions, employees stick to their job descriptions. Know who does what. If you are in charge of a service-oriented company, make it a policy to promote your French nationals based on good service, because your French management may not do so. Be sure to effectively communicate your company’s standards for service.
- The French are known for their formal and reserved nature. A casual attitude during business transactions will alienate them.
- During negotiations, the French may make you seem to be the demandeur (petitioner), thus putting you in the weaker position.
- Hierarchies are strict. Junior executives will pass a problem on to a superior. Try to cultivate high-level personal contacts.
- Women should not mistake French gallantry for condescension.
- Don’t start a conversation by asking personal questions.
- Don’t mistake a high-pitched voice and excited gestures for anger; they usually just mean great interest in the subject.
BUSINESS ENTERTAINING
- Business can be conducted during any meal, but lunch is best.
- Though the French are familiar with “le power breakfast,” they are not enthusiastic about it.
- Business lunches usually last one to one and a half hours. Dinner is late (8:00 or 9:00 p.m.).
- At a business lunch or dinner, show enthusiasm about the food before beginning a business discussion.
- The business drink should not be held in a café; they are too noisy. Try a quieter venue.
- Whoever initiates the meal or drink is expected to pay.
- Reservations are necessary at most restaurants, except in brasseries and in hotels. In choosing a restaurant, stick to French rather than ethnic ones.
- The French have a great appreciation for good conversationalists.
- When eating, keep both hands on the table at all times. Food comes gradually, so don’t fill up too soon. When finished, place your fork and knife parallel across your plate.
- Cheese is served toward the end of the meal.
- Don’t drink hard liquor before meals or smoke between courses. The French believe this deadens the taste buds.
- Respect privacy. The French close doors behind them; you should do the same. Knock and wait before entering.
The complete entry for France in Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands - The Bestselling Guide to Doing Business in More Than 60 Countries (2006) by Terri Morrison and Wayne A. Conaway.
Use the COMMENT feature below to discuss this article if you want.
According to the article, i can tell that the french are upholding the value of formality and manner. The way they act and behave shows that they appreciate time and politeness more than anything. Even though the Indonesian might see this whole business tips to be very strict, complicated and tiring, but still this whole article has shows us that appreciating others can be done in many different ways. In Indonesia, it is true that people tend to be very polite, respectful and friendly towards anyone. But still i feel like Indonesian don’t have any ‘filter’ to deliver this kind of behaviour, which led to complications such as misunderstanding, false impression, etc. On the other hand, the french are very strict about this case and therefore they attached many strict rule into this kind of behaviour, with hope that people will culturize the implementation and to create a more respectful relationship among the french citizens.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s quite interesting, that we could have different habits and cultures for business in different parts of the world. If I were to compare the differences of how Indonesian and French do business, there would be a lot.
ReplyDeleteI really like how the French are very open about voicing opinions, because I think Indonesian are not usually very outspoken. We tend to keep our opinions to ourselves, sometimes simply because we’re scared of how others would think of us and our opinions. However, if the French give opinions even though it’s not critical to the outcome of the business, I think it would be inefficient for the meetings. Other than that, I find the proper dining etiquette in a formal French dinner very interesting. They have a lot of utensils with different functions for each one. It is really unique, but I think it would be too much of a bother for me, if I have to use more than two utensils. Eating would require too much effort.
I found it really interesting that on dealing with businesses with the French one must be an attentive person. If you look at the tips on doing business with the French, there are a lot of things that we must pay a careful attention to before negotiating with the French. Like what the article said, one must learn the proper dinner etiquette before attending a formal French dinner. One must be careful about choosing the utensils since each of the utensils served different purposes for each type of dishes. In dealing business with the French, we must also be careful about picking the venue, since for business drink the French wanted a less noisy place; never pick a café. What I found very interesting is that one must show interest in the food before beginning a business discussion, because here they usually use this topic as just a side conversation in the business discussion.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this I don’t exactly know that France has their own characteristics in terms of doing business. From this article as well, I realized that through doing business, or in this case through knowing how to do business in other countries can lead to us actually knowing part of their culture and habits. one of the points that I didn’t know before reading this is that French are punctual both in business and social occasions. This fact really shocks me because all my life I thought that French are more laid back in their own way. And the other thing that I didn’t expect was how French are known for their formal and reserved nature during. Again this is probably just me not knowing anything about France, but still, this fact really facinates me as well. There are a lot more facts that I did'nt know before reading this but the conclusion is that before reading this I didn’t really know much about how french do their business in general.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in junior high school, I had an exchange program to the northeastern part of France. I stayed in a beautiful city called Strasbourg for approximately one month. I didn’t conduct business there, but surely the way a society conducts business is based on their culture and how they interact on a daily basis. According to me, one of the stereotypes that are no longer true these days is how some people may think that the French do not want to speak English due to their pride towards their own language. I once asked my French friend about this, and they told me that according to the European Union curriculum they are obliged to learn English since their primary school, which allows them to communicate in English very well. Perhaps in the past, they are very nationalist regarding their language, but now, they consider that the ability to speak English fluently is essential especially due to the free movement of labor across the European Union.
ReplyDeleteHello Mr. Adrian and fellow student.
ReplyDeleteThis article is really a great tips for foreigners who want to do business in Indonesia. Most of the points are true including how to dealt with our people and the dos and don’ts. However there are several points that depends on the person that you’re dealing or doing business with. It can be a good handbook or a cheat sheet for foreigner to face us, Indonesian. In some point of view, it can be referred as a stigma, which is something that we should avoid. Dynamically people will change and automatically their culture will change. Maybe something that we do here is considered inappropriate to the western and vice versa. We, Indonesian can be a better nation by developing our self including our mindsets and behavior by doing something better than most people expect. Every tips that written on the above are also depends on where and which province and also what race you’re facing with. Some province in Indonesia is tougher to be persuaded and some are a little bit harsh to a foreigner. Be nice to the natives is always the key. Have a great day! Thank you.
It is very interesting how the habits of people doing business in France is very different in contrast to people doing business in Indonesia. I remember writing the comment on a blog post here about tips on doing business in Indonesia. I really hated the fact that in Indonesia, supervisors are often told what they want to hear. The truth is conveyed in private, “up the grapevine”—often by a friend of the superior. Indonesians honour their boss by shielding him from bad news in public. The French people, however, is very different from that. Even though hierarchies are strict, junior executives will pas a problem on to a superior and try to cultivate high level personal contacts. The tendency of Indonesians to keep things to themselves are also not found in French; they want to express every possible objection because French conversational habits encourage all opinions to be voiced, even if they aren’t critical to the outcome. I hope that more Indonesians can change the traits I mentioned so that its better for Indonesia’s business environment.
ReplyDeleteWhy do business in France? Well I believe that with the fact that France is the world’s 5th largest economy, and the 2nd largest in Europe and there are over 20,000 foreign businesses already established in France, it’s a great choice if you don’t want to take on too much risk too soon. Also from some research I saw that the World Bank ranks France as 27 out of 189 for ease of doing business. Which is something to proud for. Some tips that are possible to help us in doing business in France are first etiquette. Respecting business hierarchy is very important in France. It is best to address some using ‘Monsieur’ or ‘Madame’ if you are not sure. Second tip will be avoiding first names. In business meetings, please do not call people by their first name. Lastly, don’t expect a fast decision making. French usually take business decisions real serious and not made in the first meeting.
ReplyDelete