Doing Business With Germans
German Culture
Germany is one of the leading economic countries in Europe and is known for its richness, strength, efficiency, order, productivity and advancements in science and technology.
Germany is a capitalistic country with a large middle class, workers are protected by German law and education is very important. Germans are rather conservative and are not as entrepreneurial as Americans.
The German culture influences the way Germans do business:
- Communication style is reserved and very formal. Germans always address each other by the last name and formal titles, office doors tend to be closed and they prefer to stick to business topics during conversations.
- When Germans explain something they often find it necessary to give a lengthy background explanation.
- Germans don't beat around the bush and tend to come across as blunt.
- Hierarchies are very important in Germany and information is often not freely shared with everybody.
- Decisions are made by consensus in Germany, which can slow the decision making process down significantly. Decisions usually involve top managment who are seen as the experts.
- Germans are great when it comes to long-term planning, but often fall short when sudden problems require on the spot decisions.
- Germans are perfectionist and hate making mistakes. They are very cautions and risk adverse.
- Punctuality is very important and appointments are kept meticulously.
- During negotiations, Germans are hard bargainers. They are very financially conservative
Source: Personal experience and Business German, Passport Books by Peggy Kenna