Deutschland Culture Project Global Business

Appointment Alert 1. Punctuality is KEY 2. If for any reason you are late, be sure to notify the people expecting you. 3. The preferred times for business appointments are between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. or between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. 4. Avoid scheduling on Friday. 5. Changing the appointment times is not appreciated, if you have to change times, give a plausible reason.

Business Dress 1. Khakis and simple jacket is unacceptable. 2. Conservative, muted colors 3. “Dress up” more often when going out. 4. Avoid excessive jewelry 5. Wear nice dress shoes often.

Conversation 1. Small talk is not as accepted. 2.Personal conversations are only held inside the home. 3. Never mention the war 4. Conversation is expected to be direct. 5. most discussions are formal

Gift Giving 1. Providing a bottle of German wine is largely considered cheap. Imported wine from Italy and France is a more appropriate gesture. 2. Chocolates can be an appropriate gift. 3. preferably small gifts. 4. Elegant scarf is a nice gesture to the woman of the house 5. Gift giving (especially large gifts) is expected to be public.

Let’s Make a Deal 1. Bring plenty of business cards 2. Be cautious of new ideas and concepts 3. Flexibility and spontaneity is not accepted. 4. Germans have no problem saying “no” or “I cant” 5. Closing a deal should not be done over lunch.

Prosperous Entertaining 1. Business decisions are not made during meal time. 2. Breakfast meetings are not common. 3. Whoever offers to pay for the meal pays 4. Germans will take your insistence to pay literally. 5. Non smoking areas in restaurants are uncommon.

Public Behavior 1. Be quick at checkout lines. 2. Be care full automatically addressing someone in English. 3. Eye contact during introduction is important. 4. Personal space is much smaller than here in the states. 5. Pushing, shoving, and other displays of impatience is common.

Family Unit  The family unit is very important and holds a greater value than jobs. Most German families would be considered nuclear in structure.

Education  11 to 12 years of schooling, with the states playing the major role of education requirements and laws, instead of the government.

Gender Role  Male and females both are generally treated equally, with men being paid more than women on average. Whether or not a woman works is dependent on her social class and the region.

Mobility  People are very mobile and can move from different social economic backgrounds.

Class System  The ‘class system’ in Germany is similar to any other western country, social status is based mainly on wealth.

Language  While everyone speaks German, you will find that most everyone knows a little English as well. German is the preferred language but English is accepted.

Communication Style  People are upfront and sincere, and don’t tend to share personal feelings.

Nonverbal communication  German’s value eye contacts in face to face conversations.  Germans generally do not touch when speaking. When speaking with those outside of the family or close circle of friends, touching can be seen as an invasion of privacy.

Food  Meats and cheese are very common in Germany, and German beer is also very common. While you can always find domestic food, international tastes are also sated in more populated areas like Munich and Berlin.

Interesting facts  Every year Germany hosts a big festival called Oktoberfest.  Most Germans prefer to not talk about the war or anything related to it, especially the holocaust.