About Germany

Culture vs. Stereotype

A talk for

with Mo Moubarak
 Stats
Germany is a key player in international
economic relations:

• Germany is a second largest exporter of goods

and the fourth biggest economy worldwide

• The per capita income in Germany is 51,760

PPP dollars

• Women earn on average 23.1% less than men

• The urge to simplify the world around us leads

to statements like: “Americans are superficial”,
“the British are arrogant”, “Germans are
pedantic and boring”

• Recommended reading:
http://www.asprea.org/imagenes/GIZ-
_How_to_do_business_with_Germans_Kavalchu
k-angles-1359942678515.pdf
 Meet & Greet
When meeting a German: Etiquette:

• Germans shake hands in greeting — firm and brief, conveying • Dress like an MP
confidence and reliability
• Business, not personal
• Germans answer the phone with their surname instead of "Hello!"
• Knock first
• Business cards
• Keep your distance
• Gifts are usually opened when received
• Say what you mean
• Never put your hands in your pockets while speaking
• Plan ahead

• Guten Appetit
 Adapt your message

Make sure your tone matches your audience: Got the joke?

• Adjusting is necessary, can’t think and speak the same
way as back home (common mistake)
• Addressing people formally in Germany is a norm
• Pay attention to age and profession, young hipster is
going to respond differently than an older school
teacher
• Dutch humor is ”in-your-face”,
• British humor is more sarcastic,
• Americans have more wisecracks,
• German humor is based on wordplay or context,
easily misunderstood

— What is the name of this German who always hides my glasses?

— Alzheimer, grandpa!
 Be aware of regional differences

Historical differences make for different behaviors:

• It hasn't even been 30 years that the eastern part of Germany was a
communist country

• This is an important reason why Germans care so much

about privacy and data collecting

• Southerners value traditions and take a lot of pride in their

prospering industry with companies such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW,
Siemens and Bosch

• Northern Germany has the reputation of being very down-to-earth,

direct-communicators

“I take pride in the words Ich bin ein Berliner.”

— US President John F. Kennedy, June 26th 1963, West Berlin
 Act like a German

Depending on your industry, it could be better to act German

• There are multiple examples of Dutch companies who have

emphasized their Dutch-ness towards their German audience — and
haven’t been very successful with it

• Germans value their western neighbors for their creativity and

openness, but have a tendency to stick to home-grown products for
other qualities

• If you’re a manufacturer trying to sell machinery, it might be a better

idea to have a Germans to carry out business

German Language: First you need only respect it, later you can learn to like it.
 Emphasize relevant aspects

Traditional means more than just old:

• Being a family owned company that was founded 100 years ago
might not be something you would emphasize, as people might
associate this with slow movement with less innovation

• In Germany, however, having a rich tradition is proof of

trustworthiness and industry knowledge that is invaluable

• Watch German television commercials to get an idea of which

product features or company values are being emphasized across
industries.

These "Made-in-Germany" products are not only synonymous with advanced

technical standards, superior workmanship and benchmarking – quality, but
are also symbols of the German nation.’

— Zhou Jianxiong, Beijing Review, 28.09.2007

 Avoid Uncertainty

Germans hate uncertainty.

• German contracts cover just about every tiny detail that could
ever possibly cause a discussion later on

• Quality and reliability are valued so highly

• Germans are always on time (and expect you to be so as well)

• Also, reason why they prefer their own language

• Sales cycles in Germany can be lengthier than in other markets

”Punctuality is the politeness of kings."

 SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses

Increasing consumer consumption High tax rates

Efficient and educated work force Slow negotiations
Largest European economy Demanding employees

Opportunities
Threats
Location
Mature market
Tax incentives
Competition
Introduction into European market
Culture as an Iceberg
 Exercise: Five Definitions of Culture

Below are five alternative definitions of cultures. Which definition(s) of

culture do you prefer? You can choose as many as they wish.

1. Objective visible artefacts such as rituals, superstitions, heroes, myths,

symbols and taboos

2. Basic truths about identity and relationships, time and space, ways of
thinking and learning, ways of working and organizing, and ways of
communicating

3. Ideals shared by group members to which strong emotions are attached

4. The 'right' and 'wrong' ways of doing things. The rules people live by in
practice

5. Subjective behavioral orientations to do things in one way, rather than

another. They are most noticeable in relationship styles, thinking and
learning styles, organization and work styles and communication styles
 ABOUT US

GENERALIZED APPROACH REINFORCEMENT LEARNING

feeding neural networks reams making neural networks learn

and reams of data and telling more naturally by a system of
them what to do reinforcements, learning from
experience
Geoffrey Hinton Richard Sutton

HR data sets
more accurate results = bigger reward
 THE PROMISE

If you want to work, we will find you a job in which you can progress.

Machine learning allows us to fulfil this promise

Building the neural network allows us to provide

a sports agent approach to the whole market place

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Q+A