Recently returned from an MBA trip to Denmark, I have gained new business insight into the Scandinavian work culture. Our first week there comprised of visits to many different Danish businesses and cultural sites starting off with the Danish Design Museum followed by Maersk, Fritz Hansen Furniture, Carlsberg, Fredericia Furniture, Arla and Gartneriet PKM.

At the Design Museum, we saw the progression of the Bauhaus movement and the influence of different Danish designers. It became apparent just how important the concept of design is to the Danish culture and business, whereas in North America, design and practicality are seen as mutually exclusive concepts given the costs usually associated with design. In fact, what struck me as being quite odd was the fact that public institutions in Denmark actually used to purchase high-end luxury furniture for their establishments, and spend a significant amount of money on incorporating design into their establishments.

There was an interesting talk at the museum by a Business History professor from the Copenhagen School of Business who tried to explain the evolution of the Danish business and economy using prominent figures from history that played an important role and defined each era. The common features of each of those individuals include a drive to innovate and look outside the realm of just Denmark, connections with the right people that had authority and money including the royal family and a tendency to become ‘stuck in their own ways’ as they grew older, paving the way for the next game-changer. This struck me as slightly different from North America, because rather than having individuals wield that much influence, there seemed to be more businesses or groups of individuals that were able to affect change within the economy.

Each of the companies we visited is large in its own right, and most are in fact still owned by the families that started them. In contrast, most large companies in North America are publicly traded. There is an evident sense of pride in keeping one’s own business and a great degree of respect for entrepreneurship in Denmark. This encourages start-ups and provides relatively easy access to funding that probably allows large companies to stay privately owned; we must remember that connections with the right people also go a long way in Denmark which could further affect access to external funds. Interacting with employees at all these organizations revealed a deep sense of connection between them and the founders or families of the founders of all these firms, and this attitude was entrenched in the culture of these companies. This form of business ownership seems to work well in Denmark. However, while business ethics are strong in Denmark, publicly traded companies are subject to more rigorous scrutiny making their operations more transparent and they also get easier access to external funding.

Finally, design, again, struck me as an important component of Danish work culture. Office buildings were much more impressive than typical North American companies, and incorporated elements of Danish design; functionality and simplicity with great aesthetic appeal. Danish work culture also seemed a bit more casual than the general North American style (excluding Vancouver, which is quite casual) gauging from the style of company presentations and interactions between employees.

Overall, it was a wonderfully enlightening experience and taught me a lot about the difference between North American and Scandinavian business culture.