The above provided case discusses that how two cultures vary from one another and how

for a person
residing in a particular culture it is difficult for him to adopt or adjust in a new culture. The author explains
this intercultural difference using two theories:

(1) Edward T Halls theory

(2) Geert Hofstede's dimensions of culture

“There is a difference how people from different cultures perceive, interpret, and understand the
world around them and when a person moves from another culture to a new one, there might be
problems, obstacles and new habits to lean before adaptation to the new culture”

This forms the basis of the above given case

In this case author narrates his personal experience of moving from Finland to France. He had to
make this shift due to student exchange program. Main reasons why the author experienced
difficulties were found from the normal daily life. During the exchange time in France author
realized how different cultures could vary a lot, but at the same time, many objects of life are the
same, only in different form.

The very first difference that he found in the two cultures was:

(a) Working and Studying culture- In Finland the education system was of high level, the emphasis
was more on team work, supporting one another and the biggest difference was that in Finland
students never competed based on grades. Also friends, family and home were considered very
imp in Finn culture whereas talking about French culture students were more competive and
concerned regarding grades, spirit of team work was missing, and it was considered that working
in team would reduce their individual time to study
(b) Values of Life- For the French person family is not only husband and wife and children,
but also cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents might all live almost in the same
building or house. French keep dinner with a family or friends as a very important part of
daily life. I feel that French style of life is more colourful and passionate whereas in
Finland, the families are small, and the family means normally only a small amount of
people, in Finland big dinner with many persons are only normal in special days such as
Easter, Christmas or birthdays. Finnish style of life was more sort of style which respects
privacy, space and harmony.
(c) Equality- In French culture equality was a major issue, women and men were not at the
same level in the hierarchy and the opportunities were not same for all people with more
money were more privileged while in the Finn culture everyone was on the same level and
every one enjoyed equal opportunities, money was not the deciding factor

Geert Hofstede's dimensions of culture:

Finland had a culture that was more on a feminist side. The feminine roles which Hofstede
mentioned such as home and children, people, and tenderness are all a part of the Finnish
culture. Finnish people are equal and caretaking. Home is appreciated very much. Men and
women both take care of the children and other household works. In Finland security and good
living are one of the most important values. Also, good working conditions are respected, not
only the salary but the environment and atmosphere at work while French culture was more on
on a masculine side, French people were more aggressive, and proud, forming part of the
macho- culture. French culture allows the men to be the heroic rescuers while the women
remain fragile and “petite”.

French bring themselves out as individuals and like to think that they are in charge of their
lives themselves, not their past, family or organisation. They believe that everyone should do
their own thing and express their opinion honestly and straight while For the Finnish culture,
individualism is also important but in slightly different ways. There is strong importance for
the opinion of an individual. Still, there are some points which also remind about collectivism

Finland is classified as uncertainty tolerant country because of its positive tones for everything
new and the curiosity for everything that is different. It doesn’t cause any problems in the
Finnish culture if there is an ambiguous situation while the French are suspicious about
everything that is new. As France belongs to the uncertainty avoidant cultures, it is still very
important to notice that it is on the extreme end of the scale, but more in the middle having the
tendency towards avoiding the unfamiliar.

the French fall more into the side of power distant than tolerant. The organization has its
leaders, and the members of it will follow them. The division of power is also quite centralized
as well as centralized fairly while The core values in Finland are equality between people and
responsibility. That refers to the point that Finland is Low Power Distant country.

When thinking about Long and Short term avoidance France is more short- than long-term
oriented. Using the time for going out, having long discussions over coffee, family Sundays
etc. is very common in France while Finland is classified as a Long Term Oriented country.
Hard working is valued in the Finnish culture and work is a big part of life. Even if the results
would be disappointing, you should never give up. Everything that is good for the future like
savings, endurance, moderation and investing are all considered positive

Three cultural indicators by Edward T. Hall

Edward T. Hall is an American cross-cultural researcher and anthropologist, who examined

the different cultures of the world and created the concepts of high context culture,
polychromic time and meaning of space.

The French approach to space varies. In general, the so-called personal space is not that big,
and people are used to having other people around them. France still represents the cultures
where the family is considered to consist of more than just the core family of parents and
children. They include the grandparents as well. France is a polychronic according to Hall.
There are plenty of things at the same level of importance, and therefore these things are done
at the same time. The French do not set meetings to reach decisions but to exchange
information and discuss a variety of factors influencing the case. Polychronic people are also
said to have a tendency to change their minds quite easily and float from one situation to
another which relates to French people very well. Edward T Hall categorises France as a high
context culture, and to the very strong end of it. Decisions are driven by emotions and feelings
more than by rationality. Again it is fair to note the fact that the French are known for their
passion, intensive, aggressive conversations and very open approach to expressing feelings in
public. While talking about the Finland culture The Finnish culture regarding Edvard T Halls
research is again the opposite in space, time and space than the French. In Finland, like in the
whole Scandinavia, personal space is valued and kept as a very important part of privacy. Space
between family members is also large, and privacy is respected. The core families are normally
small, everyone has their own space, and too much touching is usually considered as
unnecessary. It is normal to keep a short distance to the person who you are talking to. Typical
low context cultures are North Americans and Scandinavians. In Finnish culture, it is common
to do one thing at a time, and concentrate your actions on only that. Everything that is done is
well considered. The attention to the time is structured, and everything has to be done on time