Germany – Page 31 – understand-culture

Tail wags dog

Germans. Augenhöhe. More consult than serve. Ok, fine. American customers can work with the German approach. Maybe even work better, if the approach is understood by both sides and is applied carefully.

But even if so, it can look and feel to the American customer as if the tail is wagging the dog. The customer is the dog. The German supplier-vendor-consultant is the tail. Germans don’t want to be the tail. Who does? But the American customer is clearly the dog. And that dog doesn’t want to be wagged by its tail, German or any other culture.

Masters of their work

Germans – both management and employees – strive to work independently, on their own, with as little supervision as possible. Most importantly, Germans expect of themselves and each other a high degree of mitdenken, of thinking with.

Mitdenken not only reduces the need for management oversight – it also means that management need not get too involved in the details of the work on the tactical level, the how. But can German management fully rely on their employees to do their work in the best interest of the company? Germans answer this questions indirectly with a yes.

Whenever cases are uncovered where Germans employers use technology to monitor their employees’ behaviour and/or performance, there is immediate and loud protest not only from those employees, but from the German public in general.

For Germans, to self-manage, to work independently, means a high level of trust between employer and employee, between team lead and team. For Germans, the permission to work in an independent fashion is a sign of recognition, of ability and trustworthiness.

For German employees, it is a clear sign of recognition when they are given a task to complete on their own. They are proud to take on the task, proud of their ability, regardless of whether management voices praise or offers any kind of monetary benefit.

Through the ability to work independently, to need little management supervision, German employees see themselves less as Diener, those who serve, and more as Berater, as collaborating almost as partners with their manager.

Protections

“Today, caveat emptor does not apply to as many situations as it once did. Due to the changing marketplace, government regulations were created to protect consumers’ interests. With the release of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)—a set of business laws that regulate financial transactions that occur across states—for example, warranty provisions are much more common. Additionally, some industries now require seller disclosures.”

Abweichen

Duden, the German dictionary, defines abweichen as: to change direction; to be different, to differentiate.

Synonyms are: differ, deviate, vary, veer, depart, stray, drift, digress, swerve, aberrate. But also to be at variance, to go rogue.

To serve a good cause

Einer guten Sache dienen. To serve a good cause.

The Germans believe that when you serve another person – dienen – you have to accept the value system of that person. He who serves, has to do things, has to act in a way, which he might otherwise fully reject. Even more, the person serving is obligated to do his very best.

Germans do not consider this a relief, not as a transfer of moral responsibility from the one serving to the one being served. On the contrary, it represents a burden for them, knowing from the very start that they will invariably come into conflict with their conscience.

On the other hand, when Germans are willing to serve a good purpose, a cause they believe in, they are freely submitting to a belief, taking a moral stand, agreeing with a set of arguments. They can formulate those arguments in a way which fits their values. If one can no longer support the cause, there is no obligation to continue contributing time and effort.

Psychologically this means that serving a good cause, whether through action, financial assistance or communicating a message, means serving one’s own value system. One is obligating oneself freely. Independence and self-determination are protected.

Standardization

The German Commission on Electronics and Information Technology is an independent, non-profit, national organization which standardizes practices in its industry.

The commission creates norms, sets standards for safety and represents Germany in several European and international norming bodies. Its work results are an integral part of German norms in the area of electronics.

The Association of German Engineers also sets standards, with over 2,000 by 2012. Voluntary experts manage the work and maintain close communications with German industry.

With themselves – In themselves

Why do Germans have such difficulty with dienen, serving?

Perhaps it has to do with the fact that Germans in many ways live mit sich – with themselves, and in sich – in themselves, in the sense of how they live, where they live. Their surroundings are very much a part of their personality, their self-understanding.

Unexpected visitors, regulations or limitations on their private lives are quickly interpreted as almost personal attacks. A boss calling unexpectedly, friends dropping by for a visit, colleagues giving unsolicited advice concerning their private lives make Germans feel uncomfortable.

To serve well, though, means to push to the side one’s own values, beliefs, ways of living. The better one can do that, the better one can serve. And that is the difficult part for Germans.

Germans prefer far more beraten, to advise, or to complete a task. Beraten involves addressing a topic, subject, or problem. It is impersonal, independent of one‘s values, lifestyle, or belief system.

More than just business

A mandate is a serious matter in Germany. The client needs to think through and research carefully, which service providers are not only capable, but more importantly trustworthy.

Even though German law strictly defines the relationship between for example an attorney or tax advisor and the client, the German client seeks a kind of special relationship over the long term, similar to one between a physician and a patient. For the German client its a matter of discretion.

And even when the advisor has significant decision making latitude, there is nonetheless constant dialogue and collaboration between the two parties. This is more than a typical business relationship. It is both business and personal. It is about representing the interests of the client in complex matters.

Both parties need to respect each other at a deeper level. They must be convinced that they can work together. Any kind of misunderstanding can lead to a difference of opinions, which potentially can allow mistrust to seep into the working relationship.

A political mandate is different. Although the office holder focuses on serving the interests of the voters, there is no personal relationship between them. The voters have to demand transparency in order to fully trust their elected office holder.

And because office holders have to represent the interests of many kinds of voters, there is a certain natural level of mistrust over and against her or him. If voters are dissatisfied, or have lost trust in the office holder, the political system enables them to end the relationship.

Taking on a mandate is a complex and delicate matter in Germany. In business as well as in politics.

Supplier as Partner

Customer-supplier relationships make up the web of today‘s modern economy. Globalization is demanding more and more specilization. No company can succeed without trusting relationships with suppliers.

Nonetheless, it is the suppliers who first feel the pain when the economy weakens. German companies, however, do their best to maintain their viability, their strength. They want their suppliers to succeed along with them. Suppliers are viewed as partners in innovation.

Germany‘s largest global companies stress, therefore, time and again the importance of maintaining partnerships with their suppliers, how they together strive to establish ever higher standards of quality.

One of the largest German manufacturers of medical technology stated recently that a supplier‘s size in terms of revenue is far less important than its technical ability and willingness to work together over a long period of time. They see themselves as partners in product development.

Another German supplier operating worldwide has developed into a major customer in its own right, setting up a complex international network of suppliers, integrating its research and development area with a few selected suppliers. Its motto is: Des einen Lücke, ist des anderen Expertise, loosely translated as: The gap in the one company, is the expertise of the other.

Driving in Germany

“From the German Autobahn to the US Interstate System, der Führerschein or driver’s license – over the past few years we have done a LOT of driving in both Germany and the United States.

Although the US Highway System was modeled after the German Autobahn, you might find some surprising differences. Come ride along with us as we roam the roads of both countries!”

Very helpful, and funny, comments. From Germans. Explaining their logic:

“Germany: The problem that you cannot see the traffic light clearly when you are in the front row is resolved by the fact that the car behind you immediately honks when you are not driving when the traffic light changes to green :-)”

“The main reason why traffic lights in Germany are on your side of the crossing is clarity. Germany with its old town centers has many very irregularly shaped crossings, and a traffic light at the opposite side can not easily be attributed to a certain lane or even a road. When the first traffic lights were introduced in the 1920s, Germany experimented with the placement of the traffic lights on the opposite side or hanging down from cables spanned across the crossing. In the 1950s, all those installations were removed due to constant confusion of drivers.”

“Turning right on red lights is not often used in Germany due to pedestrian and bicycling traffic. When you are waiting on a crossing, chances are high that you not only have to watch out for car traffic, but also for pedestrians and other traffic you don’t regularly have in the U.S.. Thus in Germany, turning right on red lights is decided on a case-by-case base.”

“My instructor in Germany told me early on: “You are behind the wheel, you are handling a weapon.” This stuck with me.”

“About the driver’s license: there is a 40% fail rate on both the theoretical and practical exams here in Germany, which says a lot about the quality of the drivers the government is striving for. As I tell my kids: Driving is easy. Being a driver is not.”

Want to know the why for a culture’s behavior? Simply ask them.