DEUTSCHLAND

GERMANY
Capital Official Language Population States Area Ethnic groups : Berlin : German Language : 8,17,26,000 : 16 : 3,57,021 sq. km : 81% Germans,7% other Europeans,4% Turks,2% Asian,6% others

 Languages
Ethnic Make-up

:German
Turkish, Kurdish, Polish, Russian

: 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

DONT discuss personal matters during business negotiations, as this is considered to deviate from the task at hand. DONT try to surprise them. Germans do not like surprises. Sudden changes in business transactions, even if they may improve the outcome, are unwelcome. DONT 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 selfesteem 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 futureoriented 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 .