Germany – Page 21 – understand-culture

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The Berlin-Brandenburg Airport is a topic surrounded by discord. There is no end in sight for this odyssey. The costs just continue to rise into incalculable sums. This caused the association of taxpayers to heavily criticize the politicians responsible for it in 2012.

The airport was a manifest of poor planning, mismanagement, incomplete construction plans, and expenses beyond the budget. The association of taxpayers blacklisted the overseeing committee of high-ranking representatives from Berlin and Brandenburg and the federal government, accusing them of political failure and blind trust in the underqualified management” of the airport.

On their Own

To be given a task in Germany is a form of advanced praise. It signals that one has the ability to complete it properly. It is a sign of competence. Every new task is also an opportunity to demonstrate that ability, perhaps even to surprise the boss and other colleagues with exceptional work results.

For Germans define themselves very much through their work. Recognition for solid work is for many just as important as compensation. A job well done in the German context, however, is work done independently, on one’s own. Help now and then from the team lead or advice from colleagues are seen as bothersome, unnecessary, possibly even hostile, as a form of doubt that the personal can do solid work, on their own.

Lästig, bothersome. Germans find follow up annoying, both for the team member who has to report on the status of their work, as well as for the team lead who has to ask if the work is being done properly. Both parties believe that they have better things to do. Namely, their work.

Figures of speech: Viele Köche verderben den Brei. Too many cooks ruin the porridge. Dazwischen Funken. Literally, to radio in intermittently. Figuratively, to stick your nose in someone else’s business.

“Communicate immediately!“

Germans expect to be informed immediately about any changes which impact the agreements they have entered into. From their perspective all agreements, large and small, involve interconnected activities among colleagues, including at times business partners and customers. A change in one area has immediate effect on the others, thus helping or hindering those colleagues in their work.

Although the majority of German work is based on time, they do not like to work on anything which will not be used. They expect to be informed as soon as possible about any changes to an agreement which affect their work. There is also the potential that they will suspect people of being political with important information. The sooner changes to an agreement are communicated to all parties, the better.

Figures of speech: Etwas ist zwecklos. Something is purpose-less. Ohne Sinn und Zweck. Without meaning and purpose. Für den Papierkorb arbeiten. Working for the trashcan.

Germans also strive to understand their work in the broader context, what impact their results have on those of other colleagues. They often say Alles hängt mit allem zusammen or everything is connected to everything else. If a colleague is on vacation, their tasks are divided up among a few other team members. Potential problems are discussed and prepared for beforehand. Responding to inquiries with the colleague is on vacation is a sign of incompetence and unprofessionalism.

“Academics don’t like journalists“

It’s certainly a cliché in Germany to say that academics don’t like journalists. German universities are no longer just ivory towers of knowledge, for degree programs in Wissenschaftsjournalismus – literally academic-journalism – are helping the broader public to understand complex academic and scientific material.

More and more academics, including those from the natural sciences, are teaming up with journalists not only to communicate their findings, but also to gain public relations value for their themselves and their work.

Nonetheless, there are many academics who cringe at thought of being interviewed by journalists. They find it painful to hear from journalists that their work needs to be communicated publikumsgerecht – understandable for the public, for the “man on the street.”

For the academic, for the scientist, this can only mean dumbing down. They fear that the complexity will be so oversimplified that the public will not understand the overall message, its interconnections and mutual interdependencies.

Which is why German academics will always preface their statements with: “If put in a simplified way, the ….” or “In reality it is far more complex than this, but ….”

Sich bewähren

sich bewähren means to prove one‘s worth or value, to be reliable, to have worked. From Middle High German meaning to turn out to be true, right, correct.

In Germany there is no higher testament to quality than something which has proven itself over time. Das hat sich bewährt, that has proven itself, is very persuasive to German ears. Over generations, decades, even centuries. Solid, known, established, predictable, tested.

In German literature and movies, the harking back to family, tradition, home region is a constant theme. The ideal, idyllic world is to be protected against the corrupting forces of modernity.

German companies, time and again, advertise their solidity, quality, reliability by stating their longevity and tradition: Established 1885. Above the entrance doors of German Fachwerkäuser – half-timbered houses traditional in the Middle Ages, also called gingerbread houses – one can read Erbaut 1375.

The German Mahner

“Their approach demonstrates that their entire Middle East policy has been a total failure. It is now necessary to do serious analysis about the havoc the Americans have wreaked especially in Iraq when they started the war based on false claims (of weapons of mass destruction).”

Statements made in response to the dramatic military gains made by ISIS-forces in the Middle East by Peter Scholl-Latour – the recently deceased elder statesman of German foreign correspondents and author of many books, especially about that region.

A closer look at the quote reveals characteristics typical of the German Mahner – from mahnen: to give friendly earnest advice or encouragement to; but also to warn, rebuke, chide, reprimand, reproach.

Before the Mahner can raise his index finger and issue a rebuke, he must have deep subject-matter knowledge and expertise. This includes having done serious and thorough analysis of the matter at hand.

The German public held Scholl-Latour in very high esteem. Time and again he was able to convince his readers and listeners of his point of view based on his almost awe-inspiring presence, on his many years of professional experience in several regions of the world, and on his broad and deep understanding of cultures and politics.

For nothing persuades the German public more than an expert who combines theoretical knowledge of a complex subject with many years of personal experience dealing with that subject.

“Problembewusstsein nicht vorhanden”

In the summer of 2014 several members of the Foreign Relations Committee of the German Bundestag visited Washington, DC. Their talks were overshadowed by media reports that the U.S. had been spying on the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND, Germany’s intelligence service) and the Verteidigungsministerum (German Ministry of Defense).

The Germans tried to help their American colleagues to understand the Empörung (indignation, anger, outrage) felt by the German people. They did not get very far, the ARD (one of Germany’s major tv networks) stated in their special report titled Problembewusstsein nicht vorhanden – Problem-consciousness non-existent.

The German parliamentarians left Washington with little hope that their colleagues in the Congress would be able to get the American intelligence agencies under control, if Members of Congress themselves were not aware (conscious) of the problems damaging German-American relations.

Problembewusstsein

Germans focus on problems. The more difficult, complex and serious the problem, the better. Problembewusstsein means literally problem consciousness. In order to persuade Germans of a course of action, they first need to be persuaded that the presenter has fully understood the problem, in its depth and breadth. First identify, understand, analyze, then solve the problem.

A major criticism in Germany is to have not – or not adequately – understood the problem. The Germans often say: Das müssen Sie differenzierter sehen meaning “You need to see the situation in a more differentiated way.”

differenziert also means sophisticated. This is their way of saying that one thinks too simplistically. The implication is that they are more intelligent, their problem consciousness more developed. To be intelligent in the German context means to be problem-aware and -oriented.

Überproblematisieren

There is no English equivalent to the German verb problematisieren. To problem-icize would be the literal translation. To problematisieren means to seek out, define and analyze a situation, to expound on it, to elaborate on in detail.

Germans will almost always err on the side of being overly problembewusst – problem-aware – of going into greater depth and breadth of analysis of the problem and its possible consequences. Germans tend to überproblematisieren. Über means literally over, in the sense of more, further, too far, in excess.

„Problems“. Quotes

Comparing two German with two American quotes about “problems” provides insight into the differences between the two Problemverständnissen – literally problem-understandings.

“To recognize the problem is more important than to recognize the solution, for the accurate and precise description of the problem leads to its solution.” Albert Einstein

“The conception of the problem is more important than the conception of the solution. More lies in the question than in the answer.” Walter Rathenau

“Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them.” Henry Ford

“I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.” Mark Twain