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.
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
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."
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