Cultural Profile of Germany Section 1People Relationships.

Universalismcultures in which most people will presume that rules and values are more important than their own needs or those of their friends and family. In universalistic cultures, the rules apply equally to everyone. If there are any exceptions, then the rules will become useless. For example, in a country that has a predominantly universalistic culture, if a police officer catches her father speeding, he will have to pay a fine, even though the officer is his daughter. Particularism is when human relationships are considered to be more important than rules. Also, if a person is in a difficult situation the law can be overlooked. The emphasis is on the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law. There are rules and laws in particularistic cultures, but their purpose is to demonstrate how people should treat each other. In a Universal society such as Germany, rules and contracts are developed which can apply in any situation. There is a belief that what is good or true can be discovered, defined, and applied to every situation. Because of their Universalist approach, in a business situation Germans will want to rely on a contract to communicate the terms of an agreement and to define the relationship between the parties. Individualismdominant feature of the Western societies that encourages individual freedom at the cost of traditional family ties and social cohesion, and stresses individual initiative. It relies on the belief that individual freedom forms the basis of entrepreneurial (capitalistic) culture which is the best guarantee of an ever expanding economy. Concept that all values, rights, and duties originate in individuals and, therefore, the interests of the individuals are (or ought to be) ethically paramount as opposed to those of an abstract entity such as society. See also conservatism and liberalism.

Collectivismpersonal or social orientation that emphasizes the good of the group, community, or society over and above individual gain. Germany, as individualistic culture, emphasizes success/achievements in job or private wealth and aiming up to reach more and/or a better job position. The fight about jobs and trying to climb up in the hierarchy ladder is something very common there. It just counts to get there less caring who will be left behind. In business Germans try to improve their connections and to gain more value out of them, not for establishing a good relationship but just to be involved in a calculative way. Employees are expected to defend their interests and to promote themselves whenever possible. Neutralcultures which do not reveal what they are thinking or feeling. May (accidentally) reveal tension in face and posture. Emotions are often dammed up will occasionally explode. Cool and self-possessed conduct is admired. Physical contact, gesturing or strong facial expressions are often taboo. Statements are often read out in a monotone. Emotionalcultures which reveal thoughts and feelings verbally and non-verbally. Transparency and expressiveness release tensions. Emotions flow easily, effusively, vehemently and without inhibition. Heated, vital, animated expressions are admired. Touching, gesturing and strong facial expressions are common. Statements declaimed fluently and dramatically. In emotional cultures like in Germany, people express their emotions more naturally. Reactions are shown immediately verbally and/or non-verbally by using mimic and gesture in form of body signals. They dont avoid physical contact, which is well known especially when meeting each other very enthusiastic and with raised voices. Diffusepeople are indirect, circuitous, seemingly "aimless" forms of relating. Evasive, tactful, ambiguous, even opaque. Highly situational morality depending upon the person and context encountered.

Specificpeople are direct, to the point, purposeful in relating. Precise, blunt, definitive and transparent. Principles and consistent, moral stands independent of the person being addressed. Diffuse cultures (Germany, France) are concerned with keeping peoples face. That is why in diffuse cultures so much more time is taken to get to the point. It is about to avoid private confrontations so the interlocutor or groups wont feel offended and wont take disagreements personally. Germans have a high degree of privacy and share just a low percentage with public. Achievementpersonality trait characterized by an enduring and consistent concern with setting and meeting high standards of achievement. This need is influenced by internal drive for action (intrinsic motivation), and the pressure exerted by the expectations of others (extrinsic motivation). Measured by thematic appreciation tests, need for achievement motivates an individual to succeed in competition, and to excel in activities important to him or her. Ascriptionmeasures others behavior on the groups into which they were born or attributed by birth right, gender, caste or age but also to your interpersonal relationships and ranking in a society. Status describes the positioning of individuals/groups in their society. There are big differences how societies respect or focus on someones status. In the USA, Germany and Finland people are measured by how successful they are in their jobs and what an individual has done. Most of these culture members interact with people relating to their functions someones profession/role is, like to a marketer or controller and less to the individual as a whole person. Low Contexta low-context culture is one in which information and meaning are explicitly stated in the message or communication. Individuals in a low-context culture expect explanations when statements or situations are unclear, as they often are. Information and

meaning are not internalized by the individual but are derived from context, e.g., from the situation or an event. High Contexta high-context culture is a culture in which the individual has internalized meaning and information, so that little is explicitly stated in written or spoken messages. In conversation, the listener knows what is meant; because the speaker and listener share the same knowledge and assumptions, the listener can piece together the speaker's meaning. In comparison to high-context cultures low-context culture like Germany orientates on many people of their daily life because they dont differentiate as much as high-context cultures between in- and out-groups. So their direction of communication is orientated on personal characters and referred to situations (direction difference). They mostly communicate within their out-groups in a broad and diffuse way (quantity difference). Within communication they exchange information just to the necessary extent so that work can be done and they dont discuss or exchange information constantly in their work environment and colleagues (quality difference). Deductivea type of logic in which one goes from a general statement to a specific instance. Inductivea type of logic that involves going from a series of specific cases to a general statement. The conclusion in an inductive argument is never guaranteed. Inductive approach was used by the historical school of Germany. It is generally accepted to use inductive methods in modern Germany. Large Power Distance societies are characterized by: centralized authority autocratic leadership paternalistic management style

 many hierarchical levels large number of supervisory staff acceptance that power has its privileges an expectation of inequality and power differences. Small Power Distance societies are characterized by: decentralized authority and decision making responsibility consultative or participative management style flat organizational structures small proportion of supervisory staff lack of acceptance and questioning of authority rights consciousness tendency toward egalitarianism. Germans are considered to have a medium power distance. The relation between boss and subordinate is strictly ruled and dependent on the decisions of the boss. In companies with larger/medium power distance which have a very centralized organization, subordinates expect to be told what to do from their superiors because they consider each other as unequal. Inequalities are normally expected and privileges are seen as desirable by superiors. Masculinitystands for a society which social gender roles are dearly distinct: men are supposed to be more modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life. Femininitystands for a society where gender roles overlap: both men and women are supposed to be modest, tender and concerned with the quality of life. German men show a more chauvinism attitude towards women. A very high degree of German males have a traditional picture of the role of women in society, therefore Germany considers having more masculinity attributes. Women should care for house and children but

rather not working in a company. For females it is much harder to rise in positions in business life than for their male counterparts. They have to achieve better and higher qualifications and work harder to get into leading positions. When dealing with German female managers they are tough and can be also hard in negotiations but they are also sensible depending on the situation specific matters. Weak Uncertainty Avoidancecultures with a low degree of uncertainty avoidance are open for new things and changes. They dont have feelings of uncertainty about future. Strong Uncertainty Avoidancein cultures with high uncertainty avoidance emotions are displayed in the way that everything different is dangerous. They resist in changes and worry about future. Germans who have a less but still strong level of uncertainty avoidance and a medium level of power distance have the need for clearly specified competence to avoid uncertainty. In case that problems would occur it is preferable to establish specific procedures and to distribute responsibilities to task forces. Those ones should orientate on the given instructions and rules. Doing Culture Characteristics:

Status is earned (e.g. the work you do in your job). It is not merely a function of who you are (e.g. birth, age, and seniority).

Status is not automatic and can be forfeited if one stops achieving (e.g. you quit your job).

Great emphasis is placed on deadlines, schedules etc. Tasks take precedence over personal relationships in most cases (e.g. your family may not like it but they understand if you have to miss a family birthday party because you have work to do).

People are supposed to have a personal opinion, which they are expected to verbalize.

Being Culture Characteristics: Status is built into who a person is. Its automatic and therefore difficult to lose. Titles are important and should always be used, in order to show appropriate respect for someones status. Harmony should be maintained and therefore direct confrontation or disagreement is to be avoided. Saving face is highly valued. Relationships often take precedence over tasks. Much time is spent on greeting and farewell rituals or getting to know someone before agreeing to do business with them. Germans are doers. They believe that they can achieve just about anything if just "do" enough (which generally means setting goals, making a plan and enacting every step of it with perseverance and dedication). "Doing" is very high up there on the scale of values. People are evaluated by what they do and they are valued for their results. Human Naturethe psychological and social qualities that characterize humankind, especially in contrast with other living things. The character of human conduct (can be good or evil), generally regarded as produced by living in primary groups. Germans, in its majority, are considered to poses good human nature and conduct. People in Germany tend to value others characteristics and are understanding. Thought processes and social experiences are usually based on a positive approach to things. Individual in Controlthe ones belief that personal actions determine the outcome in a certain situation regardless of the role of fate or destiny. Fate in Controlthe will or principle or determining cause by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as they do : destiny.

Germans tend to dedicate themselves to achieve desirable outcome and believe that only individual is responsible for what is coming. In other words: the fate can be overwritten by actions preceding the outcome. Section 2Environment relationships. An important point in intercultural business is the aspect how nature is seen by your business partners. There are three views about nature. One is, nature should be controlled, used and taken advantage of it. The second implies to go along with the nature and live in harmony as well as to your whole environment. The third one is suggesting that societies are controlled by the environment and people have little or no control at all. Compared to business there are cultures which try to guide and control their lives by themselves on a high scale like the USA and to a lower extent France. The origin for that might be related back to their history and the discovery of a new continent. The great enforcement was to fight against the nature and create a new nation. Germans were close to destroy their nature through the industrialization process in the 19th century. The new generation in Germany uses nature as their resources and started to have deep nature awareness. Germans try to live with nature and their people in harmony (this was not visible just a half of the century ago). This theory is transformed to how culture acts in business life the relation from company and market. A companys philosophy or strategy how to discover a market and win a greater market share is comparable to the relation culture to nature, which affects many German companies. Section 3Time Relationships. Monochroniccultures which like to do just one thing at a time. People value a certain orderliness and sense of there being an appropriate time and place for everything. They do not value interruptions.

Polychroniccultures which like to do multiple things at the same time. A manager's office in a polychronic culture typically has an open door, a ringing phone and a meeting all going on at the same time. Germans tend to be monochronic. German businessman cannot understand why the person he is meeting is so interruptible by phone calls and people stopping by. Is it meant to insult him? When do they get down to business? These questions are often asked by Germans when meeting with American partners and associates. Short-term Orientationemphasis on quick results, status not a major issue in relationships, personal steadfastness and stability important, protection of ones face is important, leisure time important, bottom line important, belief in absolutes about good and evil. Long-term Orientationemphasis on persistence, relationships ordered by status, personal adaptability important, face considerations common but seen as a weakness, relationships and market position important, good or evil depends on circumstances. Germans are long-term oriented people. The overall outcome is very important and will be pursued to achieve. While short-term decisions may take place in the process, Germans tend not to take them seriously. A lot of attention is paid to all attributes of a long-term oriented culture. Section 4Space Relationships. There are different points when characterizing space. One point is that people trace out their own territories which they will protect and defend if necessary. This point which is influenced by someones cultural origin is well developed in Germany. Americans have distinctive places which they call mine and dont want them to be disturbed. Germans may have an even stronger feeling about their territories. First of all personal space is depending on the relationship people have, their emotions and cultural background. Every culture and more

precisely every individual has its own demand of personal space. This can be described as a bubble which defines the personal boundary is needed to feel comfortable in interacting with people. The bubble in Germany is rather big and it is an attack to a persons space/personal territory when kissing or touching someone without agreement. The distance between people should be kept and will be dissolved by shaking hands only. It is perceived as impolite and very rude when not keeping the distance between you and your interlocutor. Not paying attention to that can cause an immediate loss of your business relation because of attacking and not respecting someones demand of space. The distance between the speaker and the audience is usually moderate and fits in the description of a medium (same as in the U.S.). The speaker needs to be visible and heard well. Section 5Visible Manifestations. Germany has a huge number of cultural icons like musicians, authors and literates, composers, inventors, painters and architects, accumulated from the past centuries until contemporary times. Other heroes include people who were engaged for social causes like Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebrecht, and those engaged in the resistance movement during the 2nd World War, such as Sophie and Hans Scholl (the White Rose) and Anne Frank to name a few. Germany has no military heroes, which of course has to do with Germanys role in the two World Wars, especially the second. Contemporary heroes would be found in the world of sports, the pop scene or among movie stars. National heroes range from pop stars to poets to Baroque composers. Beethoven still ranks highly despite being dead for centuries; and poet and philosopher Goethe is a source of pride for many Germans. Formula One driver Michael Shumacher and tennis player Steffi Graf also seem to be favorites of the German public. The same can be said for many of football (soccer) players. Section 6Invisible Manifestations.

The value placed on education in Germany is very high. Your education level is very often describes your social status and plays a major role in your advancement throughout the carrier. Money is very valued in Germany, but personal relationships can easily overcome the need for someone to make more (e.g. competition for a raise between coworkers). Extended family plays a medium role in the life of a German. Because of small sized families and close proximity of population, people tend to get together often and participate in each others activities and celebrations. The food of Germany is changing, but highly valued. As more immigrants arrive with their ingredients and recipes in tow, the options have been increased. If you like bread, beer and meat, youll be in heaven in Germany. Theyre also peerless when it comes to cakes. History placed highly in the German education system. A lot of heritage is present in the history of Germany going many centuries back. However, because the role Germany took in the 20th Century and both world wars, a lot of historians tend not to speak about it publicly, only in the classrooms. Religion plays a major part in Germany, with many Catholic and Protestant churches around German cities. On the other hand, religion has very little and sometimes no effect on business environment in Germany. The separation of personal religious beliefs is clearly defined from business practices. Saving face is very important to Germans whether it comes to personal relationships or business. Germans will overcome any obstacle to make sure their reputation is spotless and no one can point out a failure. This determination creates a clean way of doing business in Germany. Section 7Things I have learned from this Cultural Profile. I have personally enjoyed working on this project and found many interesting things about Germany and its culture. It is very important to understand different cultures and values they have. This knowledge can ease the relationships between people in different environments from personal to business. Based on the cultural distance worksheet, Germany has ten cultural

differences comparing to the U.S. The majority of values and practices are similar to the ones we have in America (e.g. individual, low-context, masculinity, monochronic, value placed on education, etc.), but at the same time we have different views on emotional vs. neutral approach, environment relationships, time orientation, and value of extended family, for example. The role of culture in our lives is very profound, whether it is German or American, and may affect us in many ways from doing a business transaction to a random conversation with someone you never met before. Some people may pay less attention to importance of understanding different cultures, others spend their carriers trying to implement the knowledge of cross-cultural relationships and improve constantly changing business world. You may take either one of the approaches in your business path, but the bottom line is clearly definedif you want to be successful in todays globalized business structure, you must have the knowledge of different cultures, you must be open-minded, and must be willing to learn new things. References http://www.clearlycultural.com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/masculinity/ www.grovewell.com/impatarticle.html www.bena.com/ewinters/culiss.html http://www.intercultures.ca/cil-cai/ci-ic-eng.asp?iso=de International Management, Seventh Edition, by Helen Deresky Cross-Cultural Management: A Knowledge Management Perspective, by Nigel Holden Understanding Global Cultures: Metaphorical Journeys through 28 Nations, Clusters of Nations and Continents, by Martin J. Gannon Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business, by Fons Trompenaars http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/links/business.htm http://www.mapsofworld.com/germany/germany-country-and-germany-states/germany-culture/