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INTERNATIONALE UDFORDRINGER: DANES MANAGING PEOPLE IN BRAZIL
DANES MANAGING
PEOPLE IN BRAZIL
Brazil, the ‘B’ in BRICs, has attracted Danish companies from many different sectors. As
is the case with the other three BRIC countries, differences in management practices
present significant challenges to Danish leaders.
Obvious difference
In Brazil some of these challenges are
subtle, some obvious. For Danes an
obvious difference will be in Brazilian
emotional expressiveness. Whereas
most Danes are reserved about openly
showing emotion in business situations,
Brazilians tend to show strong emotion
at office meetings as well as at the negotiating table. The raised voices and
exuberant discussions may startle some
Danes new to the country.
For expressive Brazilians, interrupt
another speaker in mid-sentence is regarded as a sign of enthusiasm and
interest in the discussion. Danish managers need to accept this conversational
overlap, which is accepted behavior in
South America and in southern Europe.
Richard Gesteland recalls this communication style from his eight years as an expatriate manager in Italy. If Richard had
four Italian, Spanish or Greek visitors in
his office for a meeting, there would usually be four people talking at the same
time. Brazilians also tend to stand much
closer and touch more frequently than
Danes are accustomed to. Northern
Europeans are used to more interpersonal space.
Another obvious difference is Brazilians’ relaxed attitude towards time and
scheduling. Outside Rio and Sao Paulo
meetings do not always start on time,
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and delays in delivering projects and
shipments are common. The solution
is to establish milestones, ride herd on
deliveries, and recalibrate your expectations.
Importance of Relationships
A subtle but critical difference in management behavior is the importance of
personal relationships in Brazil. When
interacting with customers, suppliers
or your local team Brazilians expect
you to start each meeting with rapportbuilding small talk about family, children
and sports. They assume Danes will
invest enough time to build the strong
relationships required for open and
straightforward business discussions.
In a sense, your Brazilian counterpart
Four
considers business negotiations another
kind of social interaction. So you may be
expected to spend as much time at the
dinner table as at the negotiating table.
Status and Hierarchies
While Danish society can be described
as egalitarian and horizontal, Brazilians
live in a hierarchical, vertical society.
Marcos Vieira finds that workplace hierarchy is stronger than in Denmark and
varies both regionally and by type of
company. The north is more hierarchical
in boss-employee interaction than southern Brazil, and more rigid in old-line
companies than in Brazilian firms influenced by Scandinavian egalitarian values.
For example, Marcos once worked in a
traditional Brazilian shipyard which main-
ss
ways to succe
FOR DANES negotiating with Brazilians:
1
2
3
4
Brazilians expect more face-to-face meetings than Danes are accustomed to.
Wait for your local host to start talking business.
Changing your negotiating team may undermine trust.
Brazilians assume that disagreements and disputes will be settled by discussion
rather depending on lawyers and courts.
ARTIKEL: DANES MANAGING PEOPLE IN BRAZIL
Richard R. Gesteland
Hint
Yes, you are expected to
‘act like a boss’ in Brazil.
But that doesn’t meant
being rude
tained four separate lunch facilities: a basic
one for blue-collar workers, a better one for
workshop leaders, a still-better one for office personnel and the best one – with waiters and a delicious buffet – for universityeducated employees and directors.
The degree of workplace hierarchy also depends on social class. In an office where
all employees are well educated boss-staff
interaction is much more relaxed than in
environments where workers’ social level is
lower. However, whether in a traditional firm
or one influenced by the Scandinavian model of management a boss must be a boss
in Brazil regardless of how many beers he
or she drinks with employees after work.
While most Danes assume that lack of hierarchy is good, that is not necessarily the
case. The egalitarian approach can lead
to very lengthy discussions and delays.
Marcos Vieira
Co-authors
Richard R. Gesteland
Richard has lectured and conducted
training for companies in Denmark since 1993. His Cross-Cultural Business
Behavior is the Copenhagen Business
School Press’s best-selling book; his
four co-authored books are also published in Denmark. Richard’s 30-year
career as an international manager included eight expatriate assignments in
six different countries, including Brazil,
where he established an export office
for his company in Sao Paulo. He has
been involved with Brazilian business
and management behavior since 1977.
Marcos Vieira
Educated as an engineer in both Brazil and Denmark, Marcos has worked
as a project manager in many different
countries. During the last 10 years he
has worked in different kinds of line
management functions. Today Marco is
Regional Manager for Alfa Laval engineering offices in Brazil, Russia and USA
while also providing Project Management training for Alfa Laval employees
around the world.
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INTERNATIONALE UDFORDRINGER: DANES MANAGING PEOPLE IN BRAZIL
Example: in the 1980’s when York acquired Sabroe, Danes spend a lot of
time discussing whether or not the Bear
– Sabroe’s symbol for generations –
should be removed from their buildings.
During this time Marcos visited Sabroe
in Brazil and was shocked to see that
all the Bears had been replaced by
York’s logo. When he asked how that
could happen, a local manager replied,
“Well…one week after Sabroe was taken over an American manager from
York came here and told us to replace
the Bear. So we did.”
All cultures change of course, and Marcos points out that your counterparts in
traditional Brazilian companies may tend
to avoid saying ‘no’ to customers or their
boss. However, for well-educated staff
in firms engaged in international business today, it is quite normal to say ‘no’
when necessary. They will also take the
time to explain the reasons behind their
negative reply. Other hierarchical business cultures such as China and India
are undergoing a similar change, but the
change is happening faster in Brazil.
Hint
Based on his rich experience, Marcos offers this advice for Danish leaders: “Yes,
you are expected to ‘act like a boss’ in
Brazil. But that doesn’t meant being
rude. In order to attract talent and keep
good staff you must gather the information needed to make the right decision
and communicate in a polite but firm
manner. That way no one will challenge
your decision and you are likely to be
considered as a good leader. ■
When interacting with customers,
suppliers or your local team Brazilians
expect you to start each meeting
with rapport-building small talk
about family, children
and sports
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