Estonia Electronic-age

The Republic of Estonia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by the Gulf of Finland, the Baltic Sea, Latvia and Russia. The official language, Estonian, is closely related to Finnish and distantly to Hungarian.

A developed country with an advanced, high-income economy, Estonia joined the European Union in 2004. It ranks highly in the Human Development Index, and performs favourably in measurements of economic freedom, civil liberties, education, and press freedom (third in the world in 2012).

Estonia’s forests, which cover nearly 50% of the country, are expanding, perhaps due to the declining birth rate. With a population of 1.3 million, it is one of the least densely populated countries in Europe.

Estonia has a 99.8% adult literacy rate and is often described as one of the most wired countries in Europe – most people use e-banking, pay parking with a mobile phone and pay taxes, or even vote, online.

Women are an integral part of the business culture in Estonia therefore the visiting businesswoman will be treated with respect. The business culture is formal. In post- communist countries, there is a tradition of teamwork inherited from the communal aspects of the previous era where groups and work units commonly met together to discuss ideas and create plans. However, those plans seldom resulted in implementation or results, leading to apathy and cynicism among the workers.

Today the after-effects are still evident among much of the older generation resulting in a lack of drive and energy. However, there is vibrancy among the younger generation, who seem to be eager to tackle many of the challenges and take the opportunities presented. They will participate in teams and share ideas, but intercultural sensitivity will be needed and it should be understood that they will need to be coached in the process.

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Sources: Wikipedia, Kwintessential