Germany

Compiled by Eric Diehl

To accommodate the Germans, the Organization will need to begin well before the event itself. All the meetings need to be planned early enough to inform the guest of the agenda. Germans expect meetings to run to a strict protocol, adhere to a strict dress code, and communicate in a formal manner.

Greetings

The meetings must be formal and well planned. Germans are accustomed to well laid out agendas that are strictly followed. All meetings should start and end on time. The first meeting should be an opportunity for all guests to learn about each other's educational backgrounds and trustworthiness. When entering this meeting, each person should be formally introduced and greeted by everyone with a firm handshake. Also, make sure to shake hands after meetings are over. When doing introductions, make sure to use their title and surname. Only after they give permission should their first name be used. Germans enter the room beginning with the eldest or highest rank, men before women when of the same rank.

Boardroom Etiquette

Agendas for the entire conference should be well planned and distributed a week or two before the event. This allows time to review the material and prepare their day around meeting times. Germans are well-planned people. They view staying late at work a sign of not having a well-planned schedule.
During meetings, Germans like to get right to business and do not typically engage in small talk. Even during social gatherings, Germans do not look to mingle with strangers. This means extra attention should be given to introducing guests and beginning conversations between the Germans and other guests. When Germans engage in small talk it is usually a question and answer session to determine trustworthiness and ethnicity.
Germans always wear formal dress to business meetings and take their business very seriously. Germans tend to believe that casual dress is reserved for teenagers and the gym. Men and women typically wear dark muted colors to business and social gatherings.

Dining

Germans like to eat and drink after a long day of business. When dining, Germans adhere to strict table manners. An elbow on the table is a major faux pas; only wrists should ever contact the tabletop. Although the knife is typically held in the right hand, it is not generally used for cutting. Germans use their fork to cut meat; this signals to the cook that the meat is tender. The knife is generally used to aid placing food onto the fork, such as folding lettuce in a salad; the knife is never used to cut the lettuce. Germans tend to eat larger hearty meals during the day and less at night. In addition, most Germans do not like spicy foods, so when planning the menu stay away from spicy foods such Mexican and Thai. When dining out, Germans are accustomed to long drawn out meals. This allows more time to enjoy the meal, drinks, and the surrounding company.

Communication

Just like Americans, Germans rely on their cell phones and PDA's very heavily. For quick responses, phone and email would be an appropriate means of communication. Germans are direct and to the point and prefer to have business proposals in writing. When conducting business they are very concise and to the point. Deals are always put down on paper before finalizing them. Germans like to have a paper trail to return to in case of any discrepancies. Germans are planners and like to know what their day is going to entail. Because of this, be sure to send written agendas and timelines a week or two before they arrive in the United States. Even though English is spoken in several areas in Germany, the aid of an interpreter may be needed to convert documents into German.

Education

With the number of tornados in Germany quite a bit lower than here in the U.S., Germany averages 10/yr (Dotzek) where U.S. records about 1000/yr (NCDC), it can be assumed that their research on them is far less than ours. Germans are very interested in the educational backgrounds of those they are doing business with. The organization should present itself as authorities on the matter but not seem to be superior.
Germany's higher education is predominantly public and consequently widely used; it estimated that there are approximately 1 million new college students each year ("Education"). A degree from a German university is also very valuable; 6 German Universities ranked in the top 100 in the world ("On Shaky"). It is safe to assume that the Germans the Organization will be interacting with will be well educated.

Religion

Germany is predominantly Christian nation. 34% of its population is Catholic, and an additional 34% is Protestant (Factbook: Germany). Their religious views are very similar to those of most of the Organization, and should not be a point of conflict.

Entertainment

Germans typically use their free time to spend time with their family or friends (Schroll-Machl). They also pursue hobbies and other interests (Schroll-Machl). Germans will enjoy having free time after the business day; this leaves them free to provide their own entertainment (Petersen and Petersen). The German associates that will be attending will likely be open to most forms of entertainment.

Accommodations

For Germans, it is very important that they be in a well kept up hotel. They like to be in an atmosphere that is well kept and taken care of ("Germany"). It does not seem imperative that they be in a 5 star hotel, but they should be in at least midrange hotel. It is also very important to avoid discussing business in their hotel room because Germans feel that is reserved for the boardroom ("Germany"). If anything, to Germans it is more important that they have been notified in advance what hotel they will be staying at and know that they have been planned for.

Summary

Germans are not terribly different from the associates of the Organization in many cultural aspects. They may act impersonal in comparison to the people of our Organization; however, there should be few issues in hosting the Germans at our conference.