Business communication in Germany

Résumé du document

With the globalization, companies are more and more called upon to communicate with each other, including abroad. Increasingly people are forced (either by choice or because of their profession) to go to work abroad, often in a country where they do not know codes, culture, language and lifestyle. However, expatriate themselves offers advantages but also many constraints.

Indeed, each country draws its modes of communication of its origin, its history and its culture. When you arrive in a foreign company with a different culture, it is necessary to learn and understand its values, codes and culture in order to adapt as quickly as possible to this new environment.

Each of you comes from a different country with a different culture and different communication modes. However, you have several things in common. You are all working in a company in which you share values but want to familiarize yourself with the communication modes and codes of German companies. This is what we will try to teach you in this report.

Extraits

[...] Meanwhile, Prussia was developing into a state of considerable strength. King Wilhelm the first was proclaimed as German emperor and established the North German Confederation as well as the Second German Reich. This brought a powerful army, an efficient bureaucracy, and a loyal bourgeoisie, in sum a powerful centralized state. In 1890 Wilhelm, the second intensified colonialism and a powerful navy. However, his chaotic foreign policy leads to the defeat in World War One. The Weimar Republic was seen by the Germans as a result of the defeat and brought a crippling currency debacle, a tremendous burden of reparations, and acute economic distress.11 A Greater Germany, abrogation of the Treaty of Versailles, restoration of Germany's lost colonies, and the destruction of the Jews, whom he scapegoated as the reason for Germany's downfall and depressed economy this were the promises from Hitler when he came to Germany. [...]

[...] As an unwritten rule can be seen that you should always extend your hand to older people first and in business context the person higher up has the ‘handshake initiative'. Another important point is greeting a person to leave a positive impression. It is also a sign of showing respect and it creates a comfortable atmosphere. It is also common to greet on telephone calls. Germans answer telephone calls always by saying their name. In business context, you start with the name of the company, your name and a greeting. [...]

[...] Nevertheless, the following manners have to be respected. First of all, nobody drinks at a dinner meeting before the host has drunk. The host will raise his glass and then toast to the health of the group. Thereafter, people may drink as they see fit. When someone is toasting as a guest, hold the glass only at the stem, clink your glass with everyone near you at the table and say ‘Prost' which means ‘Cheers', then take a drink. Note here that the consumption of alcohol in Germany may be more common than in other countries, and when others drink, you may feel pressured to drink as well. [...]

[...] As a consequence of this, the four-nation Allied Control Council became the government of Germany. At the Berlin Conference Germany's complete disarmament and demilitarization, destruction of its war potential, rigid control of industry, and decentralization of the political and economic structure became the guiding principles of the Allied Control Council. To control Germany, the country was divided into four national occupation zones. In 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany was announced with its capital 9 Schayan (2012: online) Trading Economics (2012: online) 11 Information Please (2012: online) 10 page 6 Business Communication in Germany at Bonn. [...]

[...] Mostly there is conformity of what the sender wanted to say and what the receiver understood. However, one important factor of the message is the ‘HOW' - the tone of voice, which transports the message. Communication scientists have the opinion that the pure information has the smallest impact on to the receiver. The unconscious perception is dominant and the tone of voice is an important factor of nonverbal communication Posture ‘Posture and movement can also convey a great deal on information. [...]