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Introduc­tion to German culture and German business culture

1.088 Words / ~3½ pages sternsternsternsternstern_0.25 Author Lia H. in Apr. 2012
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Cultural Studies

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Lahti University of Applied Sciences

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2011, Mustonen

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German Culture

Introduction

Culture "is a system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of a society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation through learning."

(Bates and Plog, 1990)


Culture is what determines how we act and behave and what values and social morals we have. Thus it is very important to understand the culture of a person in order to understand why the person is behaving the way her is and to be able to act carefully around her.

We often know the High culture, which includes the fine arts, theater, music and literature. We also often know the Folk culture, which is comprised of the religion, the cooking, humor or popular music. But what is often only revealed when being in contact with the culture for a longer time is their Deep culture which includes for example its decision-making patterns, its conversational patterns, its gender roles or its superior-subordinate behavior.

In the present paper I, as a girl from Southern Germany, will elaborate on the German Folk culture but mostly focus on the German Deep culture since that normally lies hidden for strangers that have never been to Germany or only for a short vacation.


Since Germany is such a big country, there are even regional differences between the people within Germany. People from Munich are totally different from people in Hamburg or Berlin. As people from Munich or Bavaria are more easy going and traditional, people from Berlin are very metropolitan and always focused on time.

This essay will however not focus on those regional differences and only focus on Germany as a whole.


Graphic 1 - The three of the most important cities in Germany

German Culture

From my Spanish roommate, I heard that she thinks Germans are very strict, like rules and obey them and are very punctual. I believe that with those impressions my roommate gained here and with other encounters with Germans she is on the right track.

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German culture is indeed a very strict one, the German culture is dominated by a very formal communication style, only close friends and family are addressed informally and with their first names. If one works in a German company the chances are great that one addresses even his close colleagues formally since the informal communication style is not very much appreciated in business.

Also the greeting style of Germans is really formal; if you are introduced to a new person you always shake hands and also when you meet not close friends, like colleagues, you shake hands as well. One should also never forget to mention the title of a person, since German people are very proud of their achievements when it comes to that.

German culture is dominated by their seeking for a totally planned life. We never leave anything to the unexpected; everything has to be planned to the detail. This planning can end up into rules that exactly show what is expected from other people or oneself at specific time points.

Without a proper plan I would feel insecure. I think that is exactly why Germans like planning so much, it gives stability and security.


According to Geerd Hofstede’s Analysis German people are very individualistic (IDV) meaning that in German society everyone has to look after oneself and one’s close family. Germans are also very masculine (MAS) which implies Germans value masculine values such as assertiveness more than feminine values.

Furthermore German people try to avoid uncertainty (UAI). Lastly German people are striving for equality and chances for everyone with no matter to their background (PDI) as well as Germans like to change and adapt rapidly. (LTO) [1]

German Business Culture

What is very important to notice, is that Germans do not need to have a personal relationship in order to do business. Germans are very much down to business and there is no space for anything else. The whole business processes are very formal, even more formal than the normal life.

Many think Germans do not have humor, but humor is something that does not belong to business. The more serious the situation, the more serious are the German people. If you want to do business in Germany you are expected to be on time since the meetings have special times when they start and end and the for sure the whole meeting is completely planned through.

There will for sure be lots of written communication when doing business with Germans since they need written texts as proofs and support for their decisions. Furthermore the superior-subordinate relationship in Germany is very clear, the subordinate treats his superior with dignity and the superior is always addresses formally, for foreigners it might look like there is some kind of distance between them.

Germans are also relying on the expertise of the people, meaning the education of a person is very important. This means that for example in a meeting only people that are experts in the field discussed are expected to say their opinion. Normally German people are always prepared when going to a meeting; they have figures and charts and normally already know their opinion.

However they do appreciate serious discussions with experts in order to find the right answer to a given problem.


As a conclusion, in business Germans take every situation very serious and there need to be plans, preparations and formal communication in order to show the respect and the understanding of the importance of the situation.

Furthermore those plans and the formal communication also give safety and stability to the Germans. Some foreigners might interpret this as arrogance but it definitively is not that, it is more to show how important the situation is. Humor and fun do not belong to business.


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