Germany has a population of over 81 million people and Berlin is its capital city. The official language is German and the main religions practiced are Christianity. Germany has a skilled workforce and has the fourth largest economy in the world. In business culture, Germans value punctuality, direct communication, and planning. Meetings follow strict agendas and business decisions are made in person rather than over the phone. Gift giving etiquette emphasizes bringing chocolates, flowers, or wine as gifts for hosts.

1. DEUTSCHLAND

3. GERMANY
• Capital : Berlin
• Official Language : German Language
• Population : 8,17,26,000
• States : 16
• Area : 3,57,021 sq. km
• Ethnic groups : 81% Germans,7% other
Europeans,4% Turks,2%
Asian,6% others

4. • Languages :German
Turkish, Kurdish, Polish, Russian
• Ethnic Make-up : German 91.5%, Turkish
2.4%, other 6.1%
• Religions : Protestant 34%, Roman
Catholic 34%, Muslim
3.7%, other 28.3%
• German Currency is EURO
• 1 EUR = 70.74 INR

5. • It is the second largest exporter and third
largest importer of goods.
• Service sector contributes approximately 71%
of the total GDP, industry 28%, and agriculture
1%.
• Germany has the world's fourth largest
economy by nominal GDP

6. COMMUNICATION
• Germans are very private
• Titles are very important
• shake hands at both the beginning and end of a
meeting
• Business decisions are not made over the phone

7. Gift Giving Etiquette
• If you are invited to a German's house, bring a gift such
as chocolates or flowers.
• Yellow roses or tea roses are always well received.
• Do not give red roses as they symbolize romantic
intentions.
• Do not give lilies as they are used at
funerals.
• If you bring wine, it should be imported, French or
Italian.

8. Dining Etiquette
• Arrive on time as punctuality
indicates proper planning.
• Never arrive early.
• Never arrive more than 15 minutes later than
invited without telephoning to explain you have
been detained.
• Send a handwritten thank you note the following
day to thank your hostess for her hospitality.

9. Business Meeting Etiquette
• Appointments are mandatory and should be
made 1 to 2 weeks in advance.
• Meetings adhere to strict agendas, including
starting and ending times.
• Although English may be spoken, it is a good idea to hire an
interpreter so as to avoid any misunderstandings.
• There is a strict protocol to follow when entering a room:
. The eldest or highest ranking person enters the room first.
. Men enter before women, if their age and status are roughly
equivalent.

10. DO take plenty of business cards DON’T discuss personal matters
with you and ensure they include during business negotiations, as this is
full details of your background, considered to deviate from the task at
qualifications, and titles. hand.
DO maintain direct eye-contact DON’T try to surprise them.
when addressing German Germans do not like surprises.
colleagues, especially during initial Sudden changes in business
introductions. transactions, even if they may
improve the outcome, are
DO use the formal version of you unwelcome.
(“Sie”), unless someone specifically
invites you to use the informal DON’T use exaggerated or indirect
It is usually best to let your communication styles during business
German counterpart take meetings with you German
the initiative of proposing the counterparts. It creates an impression
informal form of address of insincerity.

11. Hofstede Model of Germany

12. POWER DISTANCE
• Power distance is defined as the extent to which the less
powerful members of institutions and organizations within
a country expect and accept that .
• Highly decentralized and supported by a strong middle
class
• Germany is not surprisingly among the lower power
distant countries (score 35).

13. Individualism
• The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the
degree of interdependence a society maintains among its
members .
• The German society is a truly individualistic one (67).
• Communication is among the most direct in the world
following the ideal to be “honest, even if it hurts” – and by
this giving the counterpart a fair chance to learn from
mistakes.

14. Masculinity / Femininity
• The fundamental issue here is what motivates people,
wanting to be the best (masculine) or liking what you do
(feminine).
• With a score of 66 Germany is considered a masculine society.
• Performance is highly valued.
• People rather “live in order to work” and draw a lot of self-
esteem from their tasks.

15. Uncertainty avoidance
• The extent to which the members of a culture feel
threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations .
• Germany is among the uncertainty avoidant countries
(65).
• Details are equally important to create certainty that a
certain topic or project is well-thought-out.
• Germans prefer to compensate for their higher
uncertainty by strongly relying on expertise.

16. Long term orientation
• The extent to which a society shows a pragmatic future-
oriented perspective rather than a conventional historical
short-term point of view.
• Societies with a short-term orientation generally exhibit great
respect for traditions, a relatively small propensity to save,
impatience for achieving quick results, and a strong concern
with establishing the Truth i.e. normative .
• The Germans score 31, making it a short term orientation
culture .