german culture and business

8/2/2019 German Culture and Business

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Location: Central EuropeCapital: BerlinPopulation: 82,424,609 (July 2004 est.)Ethnic Make-up: German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made

up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish,Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish)

Religions: Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%,unaffiliated or other 28.3%

Government: federal republicCurrency: EuroLanguage: official language is German over 95%.

Minority languages include Serbian ;

several other languages such as French, Danish andEnglish.


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the French revolution The first German Parliament

The Bismarckian systems

Nazi Germany (1933-1945)


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The name Germanyis used in three senses: first, it refers to theregion in Central Europe commonly regarded as constitutingGermany, even when there was no central German state, aswas the case for most of Germany's history; second, it refersto the unified German state established in 1871 and existinguntil 1945; and third, since October 3, 1990, it refers to the

united Germany, formed by the accession on this date of theGerman Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) to theFederal Republic of Germany (FRG, or West Germany). Thename Federal Republic of Germanyrefers to West Germanyfrom its founding on May 23, 1949, until German unificationon October 3, 1990. After this date, it refers to unitedGermany. For the sake of brevity and variety, the FederalRepublic of Germany is often called simply the FederalRepublic.


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The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a barrier constructedby the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) startingAugust 13, 1961

It completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germanyand from East Berlin.

The Berlin Wall was officially referred to as the "Anti-Fascist Protection Wall" (German: Antifaschistischer Schutzwall).

The West Berlin city government sometimes referred to it as the"Wall of Shame" a term coined by mayor Willy Brandt.

The wall restricted the freedom of movement of Germans.

Between 1961 and 1989, around 5,000 people attempted toescape over the wall, with estimates of the resulting death toll

varying between 100 and 200. The East German government announced on November 9, 1989

that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin.

The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification,which was formally concluded on October 3, 1990.


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Adolf Hitler(1889 1945)- Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945and after 1934, also head of state as Fhrer und Reichskanzlerrulingthe country as an absolute dictator.

Albert Einstein (1879 1955)- the father of modern physics .Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics (1921)

Anne Frank(1929 1945)- Acknowledged for the quality of her

writing, The Diary of a Young Girl(1947)Rudolf Diesel (1858 1913)- inventor of the Diesel engine

Other notable figures include:

Hermann Hesse (poet, novelist and painter), Richard Wagner

(musician and composer),Gerhard Richter (painter), Ludwig von Beethoven,Johannes

Brahms and

Johann Sebastian Bach. Oscar Schindler (who saved Jews duringWWII) and

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (philosopher).


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Economy of Germany


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Germany is the largest national economyin Europe,

The fourth-largest by nominal GDP in the world,and fifth by GDP (PPP) in 2008.

Germany is the world's second largestexporter with $1.170 trillion exported in 2009.

Among the Fortune Global 500 companies, 37are headquartered in Germany.


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Rank: 5thFiscal year: calendar yearTrade organizations: EU, WTO and OECDStatistics:GDP: $3.673 trillion (2008)GDP growth -5.0%(2009)GDP per capita Nominal: $44,729 (2008)GDP by sector agriculture: 0.9%; industry : 27.1%;services : 72%

(2009 est.)Inflation (CPI)1.2% (March 2010)GNI per capita $42,710 (2008)Population below poverty line 11% (2001)Labour force: 43.51 million (2009 est.)Labour force by occupation services (67,5%), industry (29,7%),

agriculture (2,4%) (2005)Unemployment 8.5% (March 2010)Main industries iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals,machinery, vehicles, machine tools,electronics, food and beverages, shipbuilding, textiles


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Exports $1.121 trillion (2009 est.)Export goods machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and

manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles.Imports $931.3 billion (2009 est.)Import goods machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles,metalsFDI stock $1.021 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

Gross external debt $5.208 trillion (30 June 2009)Public financesPublic debt77.2% of GDP (2009 est.)Revenues$1.398 trillion (2009 est.)Expenses$1.54 trillion (2009 est.)Foreign reserves$138 billion (31 December 2008 est.)


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Automobile Industry Chemical Industry

Mechanical Engineering Industry

Medical Technology Textile Industry

Mining Industry


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German people prefer to maintain somephysical distance among themselves (when

they communicate with each other). They maintain direct eye contact while

speaking.


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Germany is an individualistic country.

It believes in I consciousness compared to We

consciousness. In case of marketing in the Germany, I concept is used

rather than We concept.

Besides, the managers are strongly product oriented,confident that a good product will sell itself.


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Eating customs include:

Keeping your hands above the table, not complaining aboutfood, and setting your knife and fork parallel when finishedeating or crossing them when pausing.

There are no refills for drinks, so any additional drinks arecharged to you (this includes water, which you also have topay for).

Some other important customs/manners include:

Being on time, using a person's surname unless the person is a

good friend, not speaking poorly of German football (soccer),and taking off shoes when entering a home.

Like other Europeans, one of their favorite pastimes is football(or soccer).


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Very punctualGift Giving EtiquetteIf you are invited to a German's house, bring a gift such as

chocolates or flowers.

Yellow roses or tea roses are always well received.

If you bring wine, it should be imported, French or Italian.

Giving German wines is viewed as meaning you do notthink the host will serve a good quality wine.

Gifts are usually opened when received.Dining EtiquetteIf you are invited to a German's house:

Arrive on time as punctuality indicates proper planning.

Never arrive early. Never arrive more than 15 minutes laterthan invited without telephoning to explain you have beendetained.

Send a handwritten thank you note the following day tothank your hostess for her hospitality.


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PDI (Power Distance Index) - the PDI score relates to thedegree of equality or inequality between people in acountry's society.

IDV (Individualism) - the individualism score focuses onthe degree to which a culture values and reinforces theimportance of the individual as opposed to the group.

MAS (Masculinity) - masculinity focuses on the degree towhich a culture reinforces the traditional role of malesvs. females.

VAI (Uncertainty Avoidance) - looks at the level oftolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity within aculture.


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Germany is often known as das Land der Dichter undDenker(the land of poets and thinkers)

German literature is full of famous authors and poets.

Nine Germans have won the Nobel Prize in literature:

Theodor Mommsen,

Paul von Heyse,

Gerhart Hauptmann,

Thomas Mann,

Nelly Sachs,

Hermann Hesse,

Heinrich Bll,

Gnter Grass, and

Herta Mller .


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Offices: Mondays to Fridays: 09:00 - 18:00 (with a 1 hour lunch break)Banks: Mondays to Fridays: 08:30 - 13:00

14:30 - 16:00

(on Thursday until 18:00)

Stores: Mondays to Fridays: 09:00 - 18:30Saturdays (shopping centers) 09:00 - 16:00


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The preferred times for business appointments arebetween 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. or between 3:00p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Avoid scheduling appointments on Fridayafternoons, as some offices close by 2:00 p.m. or3:00 p.m. on Fridays.


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Business dress is understated, formal and conservative.

Men should wear dark colored, conservative business suits.

Women should wear either business suits or conservative dresses. Do not wear ostentatious jewellery or accessories.


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According to their planning, organizing,staffing, leading & controlling


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01. Decision taking.02. Level of

involvement.

03. Quickness of

decision.04. Quickness of

decisionimplementation.

01. Top management.02. Mostly top

management isinvolved.Employees arerarely involved.

03. Fast enough.

04. Not as quick asthe decision wasmade.


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Who is doing what task?

Clearness of authority andresponsibility

Organizational structure?

Identification of employees?

the top level managers takedecision, the mid levelmanagers supervise and thebottom level does theoperation.

Clear and very specificauthority and responsibilitytoward the different level ofmanagers

Its formal and practice of red-

tapism.

They are identified with thecompany name.


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Who does the recruitment?

Who are recruited?

Training and development

Remuneration and promotions

Job security

The organization itself orthrough the recruitmentagencies.

Mostly the refreshers. Butsometimes the top executivesfor specific requirement.

Training is held for current jobrequirement and developmentis undertaken as long terminvestment by the company.

It is given upon the work

experience mostly. Job security is high in

germany.


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How the leader works?

Management style?

Nature ofcommunication?

He takes decisions andact as a controlling entity

Mostly directive butsomewhere it is

autocratic.

It is top to bottom


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Who is controlling? Focus of controlling?

Management by

organization-

Use of quility circles?

Use of SPC{statisticalprocess control}?

The top managers To the individual

performance to achieve thegoal.

MBO is followed by mostgerman firms.

Germen management useQC.

The automobile firms in

germany use SPC.


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Meetings are generally formal.

Appointments are mandatory and should be made 1 to 2 weeks inadvance.

If you write to schedule an appointment, the letter should be writtenin German.

Punctuality is taken extremely seriously.

A quick, firm handshake is the traditional greeting.

Titles are very important and denote respect.

In general, wait for your host or hostess to introduce you to agroup.

Maintain direct eye contact while speaking.

Although English may be spoken, it is a good idea to hire aninterpreter so as to avoid any misunderstandings.

At the end of a meeting, some Germans signal their approval byrapping their knuckles on the tabletop.

While entering a room:. The eldest or highest ranking person enters the room first.. Men enter before women, if their age and status are roughlyequivalent.


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Germany is heavily regulated and extremely bureaucratic.

Germans prefer to get down to business and only engage in thebriefest of small talk. They will be interested in yourcredentials.

Make sure your printed material is available in both English andGerman.

Contracts are strictly followed.

Germans are detail- oriented and want to understand everyinnuendo before coming to an agreement.

Business is hierarchical. Decision-making is held at the top ofthe company.

Final decisions are translated into rigorous, comprehensiveaction steps that you can expect will be carried out to the

letter.Avoid confrontational behavior or high- pressure tactics. It can

be counterproductive.

Once a decision is made, it will not be changed.


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Paul

The Octopus

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