Otto von Bismarck, the Iron Chancellor, negotiated the Treaty of Frankfurt, ending the Franco-Prussian War and consolidating German unification. Bismarck’s approach was strategic, calculating, and focused on long-term power dynamics, emphasizing structure, clear objectives, and strict adherence to agreements.
Impersonal vs. Personal
The Germans separate the personal from the professional. Appealing to emotions during negotiations is considered to be both unprofessional and manipulative.
Comfort Level
The Germans have a low comfort level when negotiating over price. They consider it to be inappropriate, unnecessary, even distasteful.
Firm vs. Flexible
Germans believe that a plan can only fulfill its purpose if it is adhered to. “Why make a plan if you have no intention of executing it?” They do not let changing parameters throw them off balance easily.
Balance vs. Imbalance
Germans have low tolerance for imbalanced negotiated outcomes. One side should not take advantage of the other. That weakens the business relationship. Examples
Firm vs. Flexible
Once an agreement has been made Germans do not anticipate having to revisit it. It’s not an agreement if it will be renegotiated. Agreed is agreed.
Price
Germans believe that there is such a thing as an objective price. And that there is a objective way to determine that price.
Leaked German military documents
The Guardian. 2017. A leaked defence document has revealed the country’s worries about the breakup of the global order – a scenario with serious consequences for post-Brexit Britain.
The German defence ministry set out its worst-case scenario for the year 2040 in a secret document that was leaked to Der Spiegel last week: “EU enlargement has been largely abandoned, and more states have left the community … the increasingly disorderly, sometimes chaotic and conflict-prone, world has dramatically changed the security environment.”
The 120-page-long paper, entitled Strategic Perspective 2040, is a federal government policy document – and the scenarios it imagines are grimly realistic: an east-west conflict in which some EU states join the Russian side or a “multipolar” Europe, where some states adopt the Russian economic and political model in defiance of the Lisbon treaty.
Contingency Planning with proxies
In Germany, proxies are used for contingency planning, especially general proxies (Generalvollmachten) and precautionary proxies (Vorsorgevollmachten).
The general proxy entitles the authorised representative to take decisions for the principal in a large number of cases. The precautionary proxy focuses on decisions which have to be taken if the principal is no longer able to take care of his financial or personal matters, e.g. due to an illness.
German Works Council — An Essential Guide For Employers
Germany has some of the strictest labor laws in the world, with a key focus on protecting the rights of employees. To ensure a balanced relationship between the employer and employees, two systems exist alongside legislation to bridge the gap that can exist in corporate systems. The work undertaken by a German Works Council within companies is the system that focuses on company-level matters for decisions that impact employees.
Key Takeaways
1. A German Works Council (‘works council’, or, ‘Betriebsrat’) is a group of elected employees that represent the interests of a company’s workforce. A works council collaborates with management on key decisions within the company.
2. Although it is formally mandatory for companies with five or more permanent employees to set up a works council, this does not mean that all companies do. Companies can operate without a works council until it is formally requested by employees to hold an election to set one up.
3. The Works Constitution Act grants elected members of a works council a range of rights to effectively conduct their purposed tasks: This includes a right to information, a right to consultation, a right to decline, and a right to co-determination.
4. There are various pros and cons to having a works council within any given company. The pros include that works councils protects employee rights, provide a unified voice for negotiation with employees, are free for employees, and increase productivity. The cons include the costs of operation and maintenance, arguably lesser employee freedoms, and longer decision-making timeframes.