DEUTSCHLAND

GERMANY

• Capital : Berlin

• Official Language : German Language

• Population : 8,17,26,000

• States : 16

• Area : 3,57,021 sq. km

• Ethnic groups : 81% Germans,7% other Europeans,4% Turks,2% Asian,6% others

• Languages :German Turkish, Kurdish, Polish, Russian

• Ethnic Make-up : German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1%

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

• German Currency is EURO

• 1 EUR = 70.74 INR

• It is the second largest exporter and third largest importer of goods.

• Service sector contributes approximately 71% of the total GDP, industry 28%, and agriculture 1%.

• Germany has the world's fourth largest economy by nominal GDP

COMMUNICATION

• Germans are very private

• Titles are very important

• shake hands at both the beginning and end of a meeting

• Business decisions are not made over the phone

Gift Giving Etiquette• If 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.

• Do not give red roses as they symbolize romantic intentions.

• Do not give lilies as they are used at

funerals.

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

Dining Etiquette

• Arrive on time as punctuality

indicates proper planning.

• Never arrive early.

• Never arrive more than 15 minutes later than invited without telephoning to explain you have been detained.

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

Business Meeting Etiquette

• Appointments are mandatory and should be

made 1 to 2 weeks in advance.

• Meetings adhere to strict agendas, including

starting and ending times.

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

• There is a strict protocol to follow when entering a room:. The eldest or highest ranking person enters the room first. . Men enter before women, if their age and status are roughly equivalent.

DO take plenty of business cards

with you and ensure they include

full details of your background,

qualifications, and titles.

DO maintain direct eye-contact

when addressing German

colleagues, especially during initial

introductions.

DO use the formal version of you

(“Sie”), unless someone specifically

invites you to use the informal

It is usually best to let your

German counterpart take

the initiative of proposing the

informal form of address

DON’T discuss personal matters

during business negotiations, as this is

considered to deviate from the task at

hand.

DON’T try to surprise them.

Germans do not like surprises. Sudden changes in business transactions, even if they may improve the outcome, are unwelcome.

DON’T use exaggerated or indirect

communication styles during business

meetings with you German

counterparts. It creates an impression

of insincerity.

Hofstede Model of Germany

POWER DISTANCE

• Power distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that .

• Highly decentralized and supported by a strong middle class

• Germany is not surprisingly among the lower power distant countries (score 35).

Individualism

• The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members .

• The German society is a truly individualistic one (67).

• Communication is among the most direct in the world following the ideal to be “honest, even if it hurts” – and by this giving the counterpart a fair chance to learn from mistakes.

Masculinity / Femininity

• The fundamental issue here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best (masculine) or liking what you do (feminine).

• With a score of 66 Germany is considered a masculine society.

• Performance is highly valued.

• People rather “live in order to work” and draw a lot of self-esteem from their tasks.

Uncertainty avoidance

• The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations .

• Germany is among the uncertainty avoidant countries (65).

• Details are equally important to create certainty that a certain topic or project is well-thought-out.

• Germans prefer to compensate for their higher uncertainty by strongly relying on expertise.

Long term orientation• The extent to which a society shows a pragmatic future-

oriented perspective rather than a conventional historical short-term point of view.

• Societies with a short-term orientation generally exhibit great respect for traditions, a relatively small propensity to save, impatience for achieving quick results, and a strong concern with establishing the Truth i.e. normative .

• The Germans score 31, making it a short term orientation culture .