Beyond Chocolate

Margaret Oertig-Davidson

Description

Immerse yourself in the cultural attitudes of Switzerland's fascinating, multifaceted society. This study exposes different attitudes and potential misunderstandings about friendship, neighbourliness, being professional, giving and getting compliments and criticism, parenting, schooling, being polite, entertaining, decision making, etiquette, leadership, making plans and much much more.

Sujets

• Sociologie, société et politique
• Suiza
• Switzerland

Informations

• Publié par: Bergli Books
• Date de parution: 20 novembre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9783905252231
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Beyond Chocolate
understanding Swiss culture
Margaret Oertig-Davidson
Go beyond Swiss chocolate, beyond the initial fun and adventure of a new country and a new career to immerse yourself in the cultural attitudes of Switzerland’s fascinating, multifaceted society.
These thought-provoking insights are based on extensive interviews with Swiss and international people who know well the ups and downs of life in Switzerland. These observations enable newcomers to better understand the perspectives of their Swiss neighbours, friends and international business colleagues.
Margaret Oertig-Davidson conducts seminars at international Swiss companies and universities as an expert on relations between Swiss and English-speaking cultures.
This engaging study exposes different attitudes and potential misunderstandings about friendship, neighbourliness, being professional, giving and getting compliments and criticism, parenting, schooling, being polite, entertaining, negotiating, decision making, business etiquette, team work, leadership, making plans, and much much more.
This updated and revised edition includes additional chapters about Swiss attitudes to risk and safety, natural dangers, exposing children to risks and dealing with emotional issues.
Beyond Chocolate

understanding Swiss culture



© 2002 and 2011 by Margaret Oertig-Davidson
Cover © by Thomas Schaub
Illustrations © by Paul Bilton except for
page 110 photo © Ricola AG, Laufen
page 127 poster art © 2001 by Louis Mermet, Basel
page 130 drawing © 2001 by Yannis Friedli, Aesch
page 178 illustration © 2002 Yves Nussbaum, Zurich

This revised edition published 2011 by Bergli Books Tel.: [phone] Ch-4001 Basel Fax: [phone] Switzerland e-mail: [e-mail] www.bergli.ch

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing from Bergli Books, CH-4001 Basel, Switzerland.

Copyright 2011 Bergli Books, CH 4001 Basel, Switzerland
[e-mail]
www.bergli.ch

ISBN 978-3-905252-23-1
Beyond Chocolate
understanding Swiss culture

Contents
Welcome to the party
Section one: What’s it all about
1. The peaches and the coconuts
Switzerland is not Sweden
The name game
The peach and the coconut
Swiss friends
Do you shake hands or kiss?
The long-term approach to friendship
Heimatort
Students
Short-term friendship
Peach-coconut hybrids
2. How people talk
Involvement and independence
Politeness strategies of involvement
Politeness strategies of independence
3. It’s not personal
Being professional
It’s not about feelings
Compliments
Criticism is not personal
School practices
Being polite or matter-of-fact
Telling it straight to customers
4. Correct behaviour
Keep your ‘tie’ on
5. Dancing on the phone
Other telephone tips
Clearly labelled
6. Language of the heart
A task approach to language classes
Dialect and identity
German for foreign children
Section two: Settling in locally
7. Good fences make good neighbours
Varieties of experience
Little rituals
What is neighbourliness?
The importance of boundaries
A preference for self-reliance
A ritual breaking down of barriers
Boundaries within the home
8. Join the club
9. Think local
Close-knit communities
Educational considerations

10. Entertaining
Different time scales
The party
Stand-up events
Practical tips
Dinner
Arriving for dinner
Important rituals
Gifts
The Apero
Coffee / tea events
11. Rules and social control
Social control – for newcomers
Social control of children
Freshly baked parents
Times are changing
Swiss advertising
Negotiating real rules
Checking things out with others
Dealing with ‘ankle nippers’
German reactions to rules
Historical reasons for social control
Religious perspective
Rights and responsibilities
Section three: Children and culture
12. Fostering self-reliance
Young children fighting
13. Self reliance and school
A citizen of the big wide world
Home from home
14. Taking up space
Seating arrangements
Parenting in a context
Space issues in kindergarten
Section four: The world of work
15. English in international companies
16. Plain speaking as an ideal
Silence is golden
Different ideals
Armchair idealism and container pragmatism
Giving instructions
Clarifying authority
Trusting words
17. Consensus and internal politics
German and Swiss contrasts
Not a debating culture
Unspoken decisions
Informal networking
The significance of coffee breaks
Decisions made in advance
Consensus and power
18. Understatement
Self-promotion
Not competitive
I’m not so important
Status symbols: my mineral water is lukewarm
Looking after yourself
19. Business etiquette
Etiquette for daily business
Arriving at a business or social event
Food and Drink
Eye contact
20. Small talk
Tennis or golf?
Work and current affairs
21. The ‘Du’ virus
Du in small companies
22. Ropes and networks
The Englishman’s home
Connecting ropes
23. Switzerland works
Working times
The right time for a meeting
The well-oiled machine
The pyramid of people
Village markets
24. Leadership
Self-directed employees
Leaders in politics
Champions in compromising
Charisma not wanted
25. Sticking to the plan
Unreliable foreigners?
Company politics
The future as a fact
Building trust
26. Project team work
Involvement and independence
The German preference
The American preference
Defining milestones
Just brainstorming
Threats to independence
Future prospects in Switzerland
Section five: Attitudes to risk and safety
27. Attitudes to danger
Natural dangers
Playing with fire
Harmony with nature
28. Exposing children to risks
Saws, drills and knives at schools
Danger at play: playgrounds
29. Teaching children to assess risks
Fewer power struggles
Toddler training
Alpine risk assessment
Dealing with freedom competently
30. Emotional expression
Avoiding alarming the public
Fear of paedophiles
Scouting drama
Medical matters that cause alarm
Hysterical parents and the professionals
31. Fear management for children
A blast from the past
Initiation rites
Parents and leaders
After the party
Appendix: Historical reasons for politeness
Notes
Index
About the author
Welcome to the party
When you move to a new country you notice pretty quickly that things are different, but it can take a long time to figure out why. My idea in writing this book was to ‘host a dinner party’ for people who have made their home in Switzerland and want to meet people and hear stories which would help them understand the local culture and people. What combination of people would I invite to dinner to pass on their impressions and insights on different subjects? This is the answer I came up with: Swiss and foreign guests, that is, intercultural couples (foreigners with Swiss partners), employees of large international companies as well as small local ones, human resource managers, communication specialists, parents, educators and psychologists.
To narrow down the range of topics to be discussed, foreigners have mostly been chosen from a variety of westernised English-speaking countries related by history: 1 The USA, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Most guests live in the German-speaking part of the country, but there are several comments and stories from the French and Italian speaking parts too. You will also spot a few German guests with an interesting perspective.
Some guests appear under their own name and others are slightly disguised at their own request, so that they can comment more freely. Many do not make an official appearance at all, but their views greatly influenced the direction of the discussion. My thanks go to them all for their willingness to share their experiences, insights and wisdom. A very special guest is Ariane Curdy, 2 a Swiss-French intercultural specialist based in Geneva, who grew up in Basel and worked for an international humanitarian organisation in Geneva for 14 years. Her insights are interspersed throughout the book.
This book invites you to join in a fairly serious discussion with people who like to talk about getting on with others, who think about why people behave the way they do, and who want to get past thinking about culture in terms of who is right and who is wrong. Cultures are systematic and there is a reason for everything you encounter. Hearing the accounts of others may give you a starting point to help you understand your own experiences of Switzerland and put them into perspective. The most important topics are repeated in different chapters, discussed from different angles, so that you can dip in to the subjects which you find most relevant, and leave the rest without missing out on the key issues.
As at any other party, you don’t just believe everything you hear. People have to generalise in order to be able to express their opinions. You will form your own opinions about what you have heard, and adjust those opinions as you experience the variations in culture for yourself. No one, Swiss or foreign, who has read the draft of this book agrees with it all. Hopefully some readers will be prompted to continue the discussion and write their own books.
You may catch a hint of pain, which can later turn to amusement, as people describe bumping into ‘coconut shells’ or ‘peach kernels’. Having your value system challenged by the assumptions and values of others is at the heart of intercultural experiences all over the world, and adjustment can involve discomfort in the beginning. It is my hope that the experiences and insights shared will help you make the a