Long-Distance Calling

You'd expect the headquarters of Telenor, Norway's biggest telecom company, to reflect at least some of its Scandinavian side. Sure enough, meeting rooms are furnished with wooden floors, sleek tables and angular armchairs; there's even a breathtaking view of the Oslo Fjord. But look closer. The small silver plates and golden sculpted boats in one such room are from Bangladesh; the green-and-gold tea set, with its five matching cups, from Thailand. And the black-and-gold rug hanging on a wall is among the finest you would find anywhere in Pakistan.

The design mix is a good metaphor for Telenor's...