Sweden: Prosperous Entertaining
From ExecutivePlanet.com
Prosperous Entertaining
Business entertaining is a combination of business and social activities, often viewed as relationship bonding or building. It is in one sense a one-to-one client appreciation event and can range from “doing lunch” to sharing interests such as taking an afternoon off to enjoy the first ball game of the season in prime seating. Business entertaining can consist of but not limited to:
business lunches business dinners sporting events (baseball game, basketball game, hockey game, car racing etc.) social events (golf games, deep-sea fishing, tickets to a gala fundraiser or top show, etc).
Business Meals at restaurants
Breakfast
Breakfast meetings are uncommon, except, perhaps, among traveling businesspeople in hotels. Breakfast [‘frukost’ in Swedish] is served around 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and often includes dried cereals, yoghurt, rolls, cold cuts, cheeses, butter, jam, fruit and perhaps some pickled vegetables or fish. Fish, especially herring, is a key staple. Coffee or tea is the typical drink.
Lunch
Lunch is usually served from 11: 00 to 14:00. Most of the people have lunch at about 11.45 – 12.30 plus-minus 30 minutes. Lunch in a restaurant includes a main course, salad, bread and coffee at a very reasonable price. Another option for lunch consists of an open-faced sandwich containing a rich assortment of ingredients such as meats, cheeses, and vegetables. The traditional Thursday meal is pea soup and pancakes served with jam.
Beer or wine seldom accompanies lunches, either business or social, in cafes, restaurants, or office cafeterias. If you choose to drink alcohol, it is available. Mineral water with or without carbonation, and soft drinks or juice are also available.
The business lunch or dinner is now a more widespread practice, but, it is not necessarily the time to make business decisions. Follow the lead of your Swedish associates; if they bring up business, then it is okay to discuss it, but wait to take your lead from their conversation. Formal restaurants are recommended for business meals. Make reservations in advance. Invite spouses to business dinners, but not to lunches.
In informal restaurants, you may be required to share a table; if so, you are not expected to make conversation. Instead, act as if you are seated at a private table.
Wait-staff may be summoned by making eye contact, since waving or calling their names is very impolite. Tips are generally included in the total price; nevertheless, waiters usually expect an additional 10%.
Dinner
Dinner [‘middag’] is usually served from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in Swedish homes, with 7.00 - 8:00 p.m. the usual time for weekend dinner parties. The evening meal may be similar to lunch, with fish, meats, vegetables, and dessert. Drinks served with dinner are usually beers or wine. Coffee is served after the meal (never during and seldom together with the desert] and is often consumed in the living room.
When treating foreign guests, Swedes can offer a variety of locally appreciated food, like salmon or trout, and reindeer-, elk- or deer-meet, fresh or smoked. Berries unique to Scandinavia, such as cloudberries and lingonberries, are often served as a part of a dessert.
Usually, the person who does the inviting pays the bill, although the guest is expected to make the effort to pay. Making payment arrangements ahead of time, before any exchange occurs at the table, is a classy way to host that reduces further complications. It is not uncommon for businesswomen to pick up the check in Sweden, especially if they are on an expense account.
Coffee breaks
Swedes also pause for a coffee break [‘fika’] - once around 10:00 a.m. and again at 14:00. Swedes love coffee, they are Europe’s second large coffee consuming nation (after Finland). They drink filtered coffee that they prepare either in a percolator-type coffee machine, or press in a cylinder filled with hot water. Swedish coffee should be strong but not bitter. Many drink coffee with a drop or two of milk, seldom cream.
For Swedes who do not socialize too much otherwise, a coffee break is an opportunity to discuss non-work-related topics over a cup of coffee. On the other hand, this informal culture welcomes short coffee breaks for making smaller work-related decisions, too. This saves time and effort.
Business entertainment: Seasonal food and occasions
Christmas time
During the month of December, you are likely to be invited to taste ‘Smorgasbord’ [‘smörgåsbord’], a traditional ‘Swedish table’. My first recommendation to you when invited to such an occasion is, - eat your previous meal no later than 6 -7 hours before the ‘Smorgasbord’ dinner starts.
You are expected to make several visits to the smorgasbord table, each time to sample a different kind of dish. With each visit, it is important not to fill up your plate. If you do, you will not be able to sample all the foods, and the proper etiquette at the smorgasbord is to do so.
Your first plate should be for fish, specifically herring; take some with a boiled potato and a little sour cream. Once finished, change plates, and sample some of the other fish - usually salmon of all varieties, and caviars.
Then, take a clean plate for the cold meats, hams and pâté. Put some slices on your plate, along with some salad made from pickles and warm red cabbage. Next, move on to a fourth clean plate for the hot meat course, e.g. meatballs, sausages and spareribs.
Finally, there is usually a fifth plate for dessert – desert cheeses, fruit, candy, chocolate and cakes. One traditional Christmas desert is ‘ris à la Malta’ – a cold rice-porridge mixed with whipped cream and pieces of tangerine or orange and sweetened by sugar and vanilla.
The beverages served with smorgasbord are beer (often specially brewed regional Christmas beer), vodka or snaps (strong herb-flavored spirit, or aquavit). Some people drink wine.
Midsummer time [‘midsommar’]
In modern Sweden, Midsummer's Eve and Midsummer's Day [‘Midsommarafton’ and ‘Midsommardagen’] are celebrated from the eve of the Friday between June 19th and 25th. It is arguably the most important holiday of the year, and one of the most uniquely Swedish in the way it is celebrated, even if it has been influenced by other countries since long ago. The main celebrations take place on the Friday, and the traditional events include raising and dancing around a huge maypole [‘majstång’ or ‘midsommarstång’] to traditional music. One typical dance is the frog dance. Before the maypole is raised, greens and flowers are collected and used to cover the entire pole.
The year's first potatoes, pickled herring, sour cream, and possibly the first strawberries of the season are on the menu. Drinking songs are also important at this feast, and many drink heavily.
Business entertaining at home
Swedes are not very spontaneous in inviting people to their homes. Moreover, you may be surprised at how long it may take to be invited to a dinner at a Swedish home. However, they are hospitable and may invite you to their homes occasionally during the week, but most often on weekends. Invitations will be sent out weeks in advance as the event has to be planned. Be sure to arrive promptly and go with a gift in hand. Fine chocolates, a bottle of wine, or flowers for the hostess all make good gifts.
Meals at a Swedish associate's home can be either relaxed or rather formal; follow the lead from the information your host gives you when you are invited. When in doubt, ask how you should dress. At an informal gathering in a Swedish home, you will be expected to remove your shoes, following a Swedish family tradition. Bring indoor shoes for the party but avoid high heels as Swedes often have good wooden floors in their houses. Do not wander from room to room; much of the house is still out of bounds to the guests. However, Swedes like to keep their houses tidy and most often invite you for a little house-tour upon arrival.
It is not uncommon with a welcome drink or an aperitif before the meal.
The most common toast is ' skål', pronounced 'skohl.' Do not consume your drink until the host or hostess has said ' skål '; only then, should you take your glass and raise it. Maintain direct eye contact from the moment the glass is raised to the moment it is placed back down on the table. If many people are being toasted, make eye contact with each individual as you make the toast.
Men and women are seated next to one another, and couples are often broken up and seated next to people they may not have previously known. The purpose of this arrangement is to promote conversation.
It is polite to try everything served. A butter knife is usually provided. Do not use a dinner knife for butter.When you have finished eating, place your utensils on your plate in a 10 o'clock-4 o'clock position, with your fork tines up.
Always ask permission before smoking. Actually, it is not appropriate to smoke indoors in Sweden. There are many Swedes who do not smoke at all. It is recommended that you either find an appropriate moment to go out for a smoke without drawing too much attention to yourself, or politely ask for a permission to leave the table for a moment or two.
At the end of the dinner party, the male guest of honour is usually obligated to thank the host or hostess, acting on behalf of all the guests. The guest of honour usually precedes the thank-you announcement by tapping his knife gently against his water glass, and then saying 'Tack for maten' [‘thank you for the food’].
Call or write the next day to thank your host and hostess. Should this be impossible be sure to thank the host / hostess for the good time and hospitality nest time you meet him/her, by saying “Tack för senast!” [literally ‘thank you for the previous time’].
If invited to dinner at a home, you may offer to help with the chores, but you will probably not have to. Do not leave the table until invited to do so. Spouses are often included in business dinners [frequently if both business associates are married].
When it is time to depart [usually by 11:00 p.m. or so], make it a point to get up and shake hands with everyone: the group wave is not appreciated.
Never drop by a colleague's home uninvited or unannounced; always phone ahead and ask if it is convenient to drop in.
