Profile #2: Language & Culture, Workforce, IPR

Language and Culture

German is the official language with over 95% of its citizens who speak German as their first language. Primarily influenced by its geographic location, immigrants often speak Turkish, Arabic, Greek and Italian. However, English is often learned as their first foreign language in school.

German culture is very formal and dictated by a set of rigid guidelines. Germans will often separate their personal life from their business. They do not need a personal relationship to form a business relationship. In choosing who they deal with they focus more on credentials rather than personal acquaintance and connections. Business transactions require a lot of written communication as promises and agreements will be discussed in great detail. Final decisions will be outlined in detail, often with rigid protocols and bureacratic standards.

Meetings are formal and must be planned out in advance. They adhere to strict agendas and punctuality is highly valued. When one communicates, they look each other in the eye and will use formal language. When entering a room, the eldest or high ranking individual will enter first with lower individuals filing in by rank.

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/germany-country-profile.html

Global Workforce

Germany values and excels in educating its citizens. Germany has a 99% literacy rate. Both men and women are able to read by at least 15. However they only spend 4.6 % of GDP on schooling. This ranks them 86 in the listing of countries for GDP school expenditures, behind the UK at 5.6, France at 5.7, and the US at 5.3. However, education money's spent on each student is 16.57% of GDP for primary students and 22.34% of GDP for secondary students.Germany also has a school life expectancy of 16 years, which matches with most of Europes other countries. In Europe, unless you get very high grades in school at 16, you don't go on to study at the University.

In education and training for jobs in Information Technology, German meets the rigorous standards found in most developed countries, such as the United States. For example, if one were to search for Information/Technology jobs in Germany for today here is a sample of the job and qualifications required.

Associate Business Analyst in Frankfurt, Germany

Requirements: College degree with an emphasis in business and technology, knowledge of database applications such as Microsoft Access, Sybase, Oracle or SQL server, familiar with object oriented programming such as Java, and problem-solving and communication skills.

Java Developer in Germany-Hessen

Requirements: University degree, excellent knowledge in OO design, Java, and J2EE, experience with relational databases, strong SQL skills

Source: http://jobs.efinancialcareers.com/Information_Technology/Germany.htm

While only a fraction of the representation of the variety of jobs available in the Information/Technology sector, it represents a high standard required from their workforce. A unique characteristic found within their workforce is the need for bilingual individuals. Communication is valued as necessary in dealing with other businesses and clients.

Intellectual Property Rights

In dealing with intellectual property rights, Germany adheres to very strict laws, which protect their own and others' intellectual property. In August, 2008 enhancements to their existing laws were passed which allow the property holder the following rights: recalling stolen goods from the channels of commerce -at the infringers expense; goods to be destroyed at the request of the propertyholder; rights to the publication of the judicial decisions; right of disclosure from infringer the method of interception and the methods and entities distributed to.

Source:http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=65084

Germany is very aware of potential security threats with technology. In recent years, they have proactively supported research that attempts to thwart any risk. In 2005, Germany traded over 10 billion euros for safety-related products and services. Out of the 10 billion, 3.5 billion went to IT safety products. In 2009, the German Ministry of Research provided 100 million Euros for products that would protect Germany's technology and resources. The areas specified for this research included areas such as "developing new safety solutions for communication networks, industrial plants, buildings, systems of supply and logistics."

Source: http://www.research-in-germany.de/coremedia/generator/dachportal/en/04__Research_20Areas/Security_20Technologies/Security_20Technologies.html

Introdution to and IT Infrustructure of Germany!

Germany is located on the Western side of the Eurasian continent. It used to be called Prussia, but durring the 1880's and 1890's, the many different kingdoms were beginning to be united, which facilitated the rapid industrialization of the country. In the early 1900's, Germany formed an alliance with neighboring Austria/Hungry empire. With the assassination of King Ferdinand, the alliance caused a chain reaction which led to the involvement of Germany in World War I. The defeat of Germany led to large payments of reparation for the war's costs to the victors. These payments and other damages from the war led to a massive depression in the 1930's. These adverse conditions led to the rise of the Nazi political power with its infamous leader Adolf Hitler. Ignoring treaties and limitations placed by other European countries, Hitler conducted a successful campaign resulting in Germany's re-emergence as a global power. The aggressive moves however, led to World War II. Once again, Germany's defeat caused conflict within the country. Divided by the two major Allies of United States and Russia, Germany became the focal point of the Cold War. After being divided for over 40 years, Germany was once again re-united in the early 1990's. Since then Germany has risen again with a formidable economy, and a leader within the European Union.

As far as the GIIC is concerned, Infrastructure is one of the most important contributing factors to a good technology oriented society. Unfortunately, according to an article in Times magazine, they are severely lagging behind. This is due to a high speed internet monopoly called deutsche telekom. About the monopoly, the Times states: "Deutsche Telekom, which has a de facto monopoly on high- speed Internet connections, costs about €28 per month, or 65 percent more than in the Netherlands". However, the fifth supporting element to a well tech oriented society on GIIC's list is entrepreneurship, which is demonstrated in CIO's article "Germany Boasts Fully Automated Supermarket." In a Metro AG's Extra supermarket located outside Rheinburg, Germany a automated market has been created. This market features shopping carts which are equipped with wireless laptops w/bar code scanners. The shopper simply takes a cart and starts shopping, swiping each item in front of the barcode scanner. The scanner keeps a running tab of the shoppers charges, and is also equipped to take credit cards, which makes checkout very easy. The laptop also has the ability to tell a shopper where an item is, what sales are taking place that day, and other useful information. A system of webcams and scales make shopping for produce very easy. This has resulted in a 30 percent increase in new customers which has increased overall sales.


sources:
NYTimes, "Dutch found to be the most computer literate in the world." http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/technology/21iht-pew.html
CIOMagazine "Germany Boasts Fully Automated Supermarket." http://www.cio.com/article/32038/Germany_Boast_Fully_Automated_Supermarket