A new report shows where in Germany it’s easiest to strike that perfect balance between career and personal life. Sorry Berlin and Frankfurt – you didn’t make it into the top ten.
Germany to smooth entry for foreign skilled workers
The German government is drafting new plans to smooth the entry process for foreign skilled workers. It’s a move that companies say is long overdue: The country’s aging workforce is a growing liability, while positions in IT and software development are notoriously hard to fill. More companies are now looking abroad for help.
YouTube comments:
“I am a Spanish Software engineer living in Germany, I love this country. The language barrier was difficult, but my german wife helped me a lot.”
“German companies should start paying more, to begin with. I have hard time believing they can attract top talent with present level of salaries. Even their doctors are leaving en masse to other countries.”
“To compare German passports with Titanic tickets might be too harsh of a comparison. But if German thinks its innovation can be fueled by mercenaries, that kind of human resource policy is doomed to fail. Companies give options and shares to encourage employees to give their best and be loyal. There’s a reason electric cars are re-imagined in the USA, by immigrants, not in Germany where all the automobile giants reside. But well, some people try to steer the Titanic, some probably are proud just sinking with the tickets in their hands. If there’s a book that fits German’s approach, it’s “Only the Paranoid Survive”, the thing is 🙂 Germany often is paranoid about the wrong thing.”
“There is a very specific and a systematic reason as to why in the 50 years of the software/Internet/IT industry, there has NOT been a single non-American company which has gone on to become a globally profitable, consumer product, and a publicly traded company. Germany still lives in the 19th century when it comes to their traditional companies. You have to accept the fact that English is a global language. No one speaks German in Asia, for example, which is the two thirds of the world population.”
“They are more skilled workers in Germany than they need, the problem is the companies require you to speak fluent German language which is impossible in one year. They need us but they don’t want us!”
Generalist vs. Specialist: Which Is Better?
YouTube comments:
“As a former gifted kid, this explains so much about how I was taught.”
“My trajectory as a designer was to be very general for along time. This helped shape my overall skillset but when it came to actually delivering projects and building a business, I needed some aspect of specialisation. Perhaps specialising is the thing that sits at the front of a broad skillset?”
“Specialist are often strange people and limited thinkers. I became a chess champion at 7 for the first time, I turned away from it because of it’s limitations on thought. After a few years of defending my title I just couldn’t see the point anymore.”
“I think the ideal is to be a generalist, where you are go in depth for 2-3 domains… for example, I am an engineer and have background in operations management, but also try to learn a bit of everything (finance, IT, sales, etc)”
Information Management – Holschuld
Wikipedia – Information management uses the legal terms Holschuld (obligation to collect) and Bringschuld (obligation to deliver) for the information behavior of persons or personnel who have to collect information, messages or knowledge from the owner of the information in a timely and complete manner and in a suitable form or to forward it to another person.
According to the sender-receiver model, work instructions, service instructions or a manager must clarify in advance which information is required to be retrieved (pull) and for which information is required to be delivered (push) and who is responsible for the transmission of information. There is an obligation to deliver if the sender is the initiator of the information forwarding. In the case of an obligation to collect, the recipient is the initiator and must make an effort to obtain information from a source.
As a rule, information and messages are the responsibility of the person who received this information. He must decide to which addressees it is to be passed on. In hierarchical organizations, the reporting obligation (obligation to provide) is imposed on the respective lower level, which has to report to the higher level. Management must then inform the board accordingly. Since the supervisory board should obtain all relevant information in a better and more detailed manner, it has to actively demand the executive board’s obligation to provide it and to meet its obligation to collect it to a greater extent.
German watchdog says Amazon cloud vulnerable to US snooping
US legislation means Washington could seek access to sensitive police data that Germany plans to store with Amazon Web Services.
April, 2019. BERLIN — Amazon’s cloud hosting services are not suitable for storing German police data due to a risk of U.S. snooping, Germany’s top data protection officer told POLITICO.
Ulrich Kelber, Germany’s federal commissioner for data protection and freedom of information, said that U.S. authorities could invoke the CLOUD Act to demand access to data held by Amazon Web Services — creating a risk for German government bodies that store data with them.
The CLOUD Act, passed last year by Donald Trump’s administration, allows American authorities to compel U.S.-based tech companies to provide requested data, regardless of whether that data is stored in the U.S. or abroad.
What is Bringschuld?
According to German law (§ 269 BGB) the obligation to deliver is one of the three types of obligation that determine the place of performance. In this case, the debtor must render the service at the creditor’s place of residence. This is where performance success also occurs.
Ms. X would like to redecorate her apartment and buys a couch from a furniture store. Due to the nature of the purchase contract, the company owes Mrs. X the delivery of the piece of furniture. The debt is only settled in Ms. X’s apartment, until then the furniture company is liable for the loss of or damage to the goods.
Police Have Too Much Access to People’s Data, German Court Rules
The Constitutional Court said that the current laws did not do enough to protect personal privacy in the digital realm.
July 2020. BERLIN — The German police and intelligence agencies have excessive access to citizens’ mobile and internet communications, the country’s Constitutional Court said on Friday, ordering the existing laws to be tightened.
It was the latest decision by the court to support personal privacy over public security concerns in the digital sphere, which, taken together, have made the country a world leader in protecting personal privacy.
Critics charge that the string of court decisions could hinder the ability of security services to prevent crimes and terrorist attacks.
Holschuld. Bringschuld. German law.
Holschuld: get obligation. Bringschuld: deliver obligation.
What is the difference between a debt to collect, a debt to bring and a debt to send?
In the case of a debt to be collected, the place of performance is with the debtor – the owed item must be picked up there by the creditor.
In the case of an obligation to deliver, the place of performance or fulfillment is with the creditor. The debtor must therefore pay at the domicile of the creditor. If there is a debt to be sent, the debtor must also send it.
The distinction is particularly important when it comes to the question of transport or shipment costs and the question of the transfer of the risk of the loss of the goods (e.g. if a package is lost in the post).
Five Strategies To Improve Communication With Team Members
Even though almost 75% of employers rate collaboration and teamwork as “very important,” according to data from Queens University of Charlotte, 39% of employees think that people in their organization don’t collaborate enough.
Improved communication between team members in the workplace often brings fantastic results, including:
• Smoother team building
• Greater agility
• Enhanced focus
• Efficient performance
• Reduced workload
In light of those benefits, it’s easy to agree that workplace collaboration is critical. But achieving these results can be difficult. Here are five tips to streamline communications in the digital age: