Intercultural Communication in Finland

       From my understanding, vacationing in Finland would be a fairly easy place to travel. It is a very clean place with lots of public transportation that anyone could use. According to Finland.fi, “Finland is an easy country to visit. Finnish customs and manners are clearly European, with only a few national variations, and attitudes are liberal.” They are very nice people and open to tourism at almost all times. I feel like it would be a great time, seeing people with a different perspective on life in more of a positive way, as well as also having many great pieces of nature that people can see. However, if you were to live here for longer than a couple of weeks there could be some issues for people to adapt. For example, Finns are very blunt and appreciate less communication and rather straight to the point. Americans could see this as potentially disrespectful and the people do not want to talk to them. Another problem that Americans may have is the balance ...

The education system in Finland is very similar to the United States. All levels of education are free provided by the government. They start with the regular elementary school starting at five with the option of preschool if the family wants. Private school is very rare in their culture because it is provided for free. They finish elementary school and go to secondary and finish out the normal route that occurs in America, graduating at about 18. However, once they finish secondary school, they have the opportunity to go to a University for free. Every single person qualifies for further education, which would be a blessing in American Culture. If a Finn attends college, then they are completely focused on that career, for example they can’t also be an athlete. Oftentimes, Finns are able to study abroad for a semester completely for free. After they complete all of the schooling they will then attempt to get a full time job.  A typical school day in Finland often occurs throughout...

       The health care belief systems in Finland revolve around it being a basic human right. For example, in the United States the Freedom of Speech is a human right that every single citizen gets to receive regardless where you stand in life. According to healthcare.fi, “The Finnish healthcare system is based on public healthcare services to which everyone permanently residing in the country is entitled. In addition, every person has the right to receive emergency treatment during their stay in Finland.” This leads to the perception of the Finns to value the government and health care system with their high sense of equality. They also hold a strong sense of trust within their health care system because everyone should have access to care. With that being said, they understand the value that they hold that most countries do not. Since they are aware, they do not abuse this opportunity they have, only going in when they have serious issues. There are other perspect...

       The business protocol and practices for Finnish culture would have to base strongly on punctuality. It is recommended to always be on time when practicing business in Finland because it is seen as incredibly disrespectful. According to Suranaree University of Technology, “Finns take punctuality for business meetings very seriously and expect that you will do likewise; call if you will be more than five minutes late.” In a business setting respect should always be at a maximum since you are trying to negotiate and work together. When actually communicating in a business setting, oftentimes Finns like to skip all of the small talk and get directly to the point. In many cultures this could make you seen as an angry person, but for the Finnish it is just associated with business. When introducing yourself in these scenarios, you state your name alongside the company that you are working for. Once that is stated, they skip all small talk and get straight to busines...

  Understanding individuals from other cultures nonverbal language and the cues they give off is important because they vary across different cultures. When interacting with these people misunderstanding could potentially happen and people may feel awkward in the situation or disrespected. Some cultures may not prioritize nonverbal communication, while others may do. Being able to understand what the standard is for that culture will help prevent miscommunication. Another huge reason for understanding nonverbal language is developing a relationship with the person and gaining their trust. When you act like someone from that country they are a lot more approachable and likely to communicate better with the person. For example, culturecrossing.net stated, “Eye contact is very important; it is a sign of honesty and integrity.” These are valued high by Finns so if you turn your eyes away it may seem disrespectful.  Some potential obstacles to accurately understanding nonverbal ...

According to nordegio.org, “The Language law of Finland stipulates that Mainland Finland has two national languages, Finnish and Swedish.” The majority of people are raised with Finnish as their main language as nearly 90 percent of Finnish citizens speak Finnish. The second most popular language alongside that is Swedish, which has about five percent of the population. This five percent has grown to a very small number of what it once was. When Finland was a part of Sweden, the numbers were nearly completely flipped.  When using English as a lingua franca it could be very beneficial for finding a stable ground that everyone knows. The Finnish language is not too different from our English language but Finland is a lot more comfortable with this language than most European countries. Finland is more exposed to American work and the things we create, so they have seen it all and pickled up English well. This really helps when communicating with someone from this country because t...