Role Play 3

INB 350

Country Profile:
Germany

Colors and Symbols that Represent Germany?

Meaning of the “Flag”
The three colored bands represent the national colors of Germany. These national colors date
back to the republican democracy proposed in the mid-1800s to symbolize unity and freedom.
At the time of the Weimar Republic, these colors represented the centrist, democratic and
republican parties.
Symbols

 Coat of arms of Germany

 German Michel

 Flag of Germany , German Eagle , German euro coins , Germania (personification)

 Iron Cross

 National colors of Germany

 Imperial eagle

Language
The mother tongue of Germany is the language German. The language German is generally spoken
everywhere in Germany with a few exceptional of Sorbian and Frisian languages spoken in the
east part of Germany and in Nordfriesland. The complexity of the language is the superiority of it.
The spoken and written form of it is as elegant as it comes.
Sports
 Fuss ball – Soccer or Football. Football is without the slightest doubt THE most famous
sport in Germany.
 Golf still is a sport in Germany that only people with a lot of money seem to practice.

 Ice Hockey.

 Basketball.

 Formula 1.

 Handball

 Tennis

 Skiing

Hobbies
 Fishing  Bungee-jumping

 Aerobics  Gymnastics

Festivals and Holidays

The major festival held in Germany is known as the Oktoberfest, which is widely celebrated in
Munich, and Munich is known for this, Bavaria, Germany. The fest is attended by millions of
people around the world and everyone gathers in this joyous event which holds a very delicate
and important part for the Bavarian Culture. It is a 18 day festival starting from the mid or late of
September and basically ends on the first Sunday of the month October. In this festival large
quantity of Beer is consumed by the people gathered in the celebration of Oktoberfest.

Clothing
The traditional clothes of Germany for men is a leather trouser known as “Lederhosen” and for
women is an apron dress known as “Dirndl”. The clothes people wear in the recent times in
Germany is something which is globally known and basic as everywhere. But to say the least many
of the world’s best known clothing brands are originated from Germany.
Food
The national dish of Germany is Sauerbraten. It is a pot roast dish which can be prepared using a
variety of meats. Most often the Sauerbraten is made using beef but the other more popular
versions include venison, lamb, mutton, pork and in some traditions horse meat as well. There are
many regional variants of sauerbraten. Many of the variations are in the ingredients used but
essentially the dish remains the same. Some other popular German dishes are:

 Maultaschen  Schnitzel

 Sausages  Rouladen

Five Cultural Facts: GERMANY

Germany, as I have mentioned before is enriched with history and all around Germany is a sight
right out of our elementary schools history books. If someone would want to visit Germany for the
first time, people should be enlightened with a few facts about the country.

 Germany has nearly 2,100 Castles. The most beautiful castle of them all is the
Neuschwanstein Castle.
 The next fact is about the Book Geeks because Germany is one of the world’s leading book
nations and they publish 94,000 titles each year.

 Next fact relates to the linguistic fanatics because the German language contains 35
dialects.
 Moreover, for football-crazed fans, it is a fact that the Germany has more fan clubs than
anywhere else in the world.
 Last fact is a bit on the humorous side, the Chancellor’s office in Germany is locally known
as “Washing Machine”.

The Cultural Dimensions of Geert Hofstede

POWER DISTANCE

This dimension deals with the fact that all individuals in societies are not equal – it expresses the
attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst us. Power Distance is defined as the
extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organisations within a country
expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.

Highly decentralised and supported by a strong middle class, Germany is not surprisingly among
the lower power distant countries (score 35). Co-determination rights are comparatively
extensive and have to be taken into account by the management. A direct and participative
communication and meeting style is common, control is disliked and leadership is challenged to
show expertise and best accepted when it’s based on it.

INDIVIDUALISM

The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a society
maintains among its members. It has to do with whether people´s self-image is defined in terms
of “I” or “We”. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their
direct family only. In Collectivist societies people belong to ‘in groups’ that take care of them in
exchange for loyalty.

The German society is a truly Individualist one (67). Small families with a focus on the
parent- children relationship rather than aunts and uncles are most common. There is a
strong belief in the ideal of self-actualization. Loyalty is based on personal preferences
for people as well as a sense of duty and responsibility. This is defined by the contract
between the employer and the employee. 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

A high score (Masculine) on this dimension indicates that the society will be driven by
competition, achievement and success, with success being defined by the winner / best in field
– a value system that starts in school and continues throughout organisational life.A low score
(Feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant values in society are caring for others and
quality of life. A Feminine society is one where quality of life is the sign of success and standing
out from the crowd is not admirable. 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 and
early required as the school system separates children into different types of schools at the age of
ten. People rather “live in order to work” and draw a lot of self-esteem from their tasks.
Managers are expected to be decisive and assertive. Status is often shown, especially by cars,
watches and technical devices.

UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE

The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with the way that a society deals with the fact
that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? This
ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures have learnt to deal with this anxiety in
different ways. The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or
unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these is reflected
in the score on Uncertainty Avoidance.

Germany is among the uncertainty avoidant countries (65); the score is on the high end, so there
is a slight preference for Uncertainty Avoidance. In line with the philosophical heritage of Kant,
Hegel and Fichte there is a strong preference for deductive rather than inductive approaches, be
it in thinking, presenting or planning: the systematic overview has to be given in order to proceed.
This is also reflected by the law system. Details are equally important to create certainty that a
certain topic or project is well-thought-out. In combination with their low Power Distance, where
the certainty for own decisions is not covered by the larger responsibility of the boss, Germans
prefer to compensate for their higher uncertainty by strongly relying on expertise.

LONG TERM ORIENTATION

This dimension describes how every society has to maintain some links with its own past while
dealing with the challenges of the present and future, and societies prioritise these two existential
goals differently. Normative societies. which score low on this dimension, for example, prefer to
maintain time-honoured traditions and norms while viewing societal change with suspicion.
Those with a culture which scores high, on the other hand, take a more pragmatic approach: they
encourage thrift and efforts in modern education as a way to prepare for the future.

Germany’s high score of 83 indicates that it is a pragmatic country. In societies with a pragmatic
orientation, people believe that truth depends very much on situation, context and time. They
show an ability to adapt traditions easily to changed conditions, a strong propensity to save and
invest, thriftiness, and perseverance in achieving results.
INDULGENCE

One challenge that confronts humanity, now and in the past, is the degree to which small
children are socialized. Without socialization we do not become “human”. This dimension is
defined as the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses, based on the way
they were raised. Relatively weak control is called “Indulgence” and relatively strong control is
called “Restraint”. Cultures can, therefore, be described as Indulgent or Restrained.

The low score of 40 on this dimension indicates that the German culture is Restrained in nature.
Societies with a low score in this dimension have a tendency to cynicism and pessimism. Also,
in contrast to Indulgent societies, Restrained societies do not put much emphasis on leisure time
and control the gratification of their desires. People with this orientation have the perception that
their actions are Restrained by social norms and feel that indulging themselves is somewhat
wrong.

The cultural dimension of Edward T. Hall

LOW CONTEXT CULTURE

Germany is predominantly a low context culture. Their communication patterns are explicit and
direct. Whenever they are negotiating or trying to convince someone about something they use
facts, statistics and other specific details. For them the goals are more important than the means,
and they focus more on tasks than relationships. Due to their straight forward nature they are less
prone to misunderstanding during communication.

MONOCHRONIC TIME CULTURE

Germany follows a monochronic or linear time culture. They undertake one task at a time, and
only focuses on that task until it is successfully completed. Germany is known for its strict time
culture, they schedule their work and maintain it. Infact, they value time so much that lateness is
not acceptable, punctuality is compulsory and people are expected to meet deadlines at work. There
is a perception among them that time is money, and they maintain it with due diligence.
The cultural dimension of Richard Gesteland
Formal, hierarchical culture
Formal business cultures tend to be organized in steep hierarchical structures, reflecting major
differences in status and power. This dimension relates to Hofstede’s power distance dimension.
German cultures tend to use titles and formal ways to address people. German people want their
business partners or dealers to be more formal, dress appropriately, use proper words and polite
forms when addressing someone, use correct protocol and when in doubt choose words in a
formal way.
Ridged Time – (Monochronic culture)
In monochronic cultures, punctuality is critical, schedules are set in concrete, agendas are fixed,
and business meetings are rarely interrupted. Being late is considered rude and disrespectful in
Germany. Germany follows monochronic culture. They are more punctual about time
maintenance and does not want any interruption between business meetings.
Reserved culture
In reserved cultures emotions are subdued and controlled, showing emotions can be seen as
inappropriate and unprofessional. German people’s common characteristics behaviors are turn
taking, indirect eye contact, restricted use of gestures and low touch frequency.
Deal-focused culture
Deal-focused cultures put less emphasis on relationships and more on getting the job done.
German people tend to be much more direct and business is often discussed at the first meeting.
Their business is regulated by laws and regulations and preference is given to companies with
the best price, product or service. They think relationship can be build in time but the business
deals come first.