Business is driven usually in an indirect and. non-confrontational way. Diplomatic skills are an important fact of day-to-day business life. The Dutch and Americans are usually straight to the point whilst the Frenchman likes to re-evaluate his position many times over and takes the time to give the opponents any form of reply. The perception of time varies most certainly per industry however the French are masters in reviewing documents, articles and other relevant pieces before coming to a defined position, proposal or reaction. A business plan at unit of a major German Media & Entertainment company is maximum 15 pages, a business plan for the significantly smaller Liquor Produces and very French company, part of large Luxury Company, has a minimum of 125 pages. With loads of details, data and charts!
The French are driven by form and discipline rather than solution, content and practicality. In business the minutes of a meeting and how it is formulated could be more important than the content or next steps itself. Debating about a situation, relevant or not, is a favorite way to spend time. There is often not a resolution after such as debate! The administrative factor in French business life is something a foreigner has to get used to, or not! Recently we moved from one village to another, in order to change our telephone and asdl lines we needed to place a dozen phone calls to each partner in this respect namely France Telecom and Wanadoo. These companies are indeed sister companies. One needs patience to manage such a transition! Nevertheless France became the fourth biggest recipient of foreign investment in the world, which means that many foreign companies developed their operations in France. France is world leader in tyres, cosmetics and yogurts.
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