Theorie is theory. Kapitel is chapter, as in a book.
In German universities it is expected not only in B.A. and M.A. theses, but also in course term papers, that the second chapter, after the introduction, be devoted to theory, the so-called Theoriekapitel.
In it the author demonstrates that she is aware (conscious) of the complexity of the subject matter, that she understands that subject matter in the broader context of current research on it, and most importantly that she can durchdringen (penetrate) that complexity.
November 12, 2024. Bill Anderson, CEO of Bayer, reports on the company’s progress. A video with the title “90 days in 90 seconds.”
However, many Germans were not convinced. Not because Germans are mean people. Not because Germans are negative, destructive, or pessimistic. But instead, because they have a different approach to persuasion. How they persuade. How they allow themselves to be persuaded.
See the Anderson-video and the comments on LinkedIn. Here are some of the German comments:
“Dear Bill Anderson: I know that you have a difficult job, and I don’t want to blame you for the mistakes of your predecessors. Nevertheless, you should be able to honestly tell employees, shareholders and the German public, how things are going at Bayer. Your above statement is in my point of view misleading and irresponsible.
Bayer’s existence is threatened and you and the top management (seem) have not yet understood this. Stop being the Olaf Scholz (German Chancellor) of the German industry and please switch from Disney Land mentality to the necessary crisis mode. If you and management are unable to recognize, communicate and resolve the realities, please clear the way for leaders who can. And please stop sugarcoating terrifying realities ASAP!!!”
The commenter is a Ph.D. university professor in Pathology and Immunology. And the commenter is a German who has also become an American citizen.
Another comment from a German on LinkedIn: “‘We’re making great progress in some areas.”‘ You cannot be serious! The share price is at a 20-years low. It is true that you cannot be blamed for your predecessors’ mistakes, but where was the share price at, when you started as CEO at Bayer?”
And this from a Bayer-employee: “With this performance and a drop of more than 10% in share price today, I would be surprised if you survive another year as CEO. Be honest and inform the public that the Bayer Monsanto merger is a huge insolvency risk. It is time for a rescue plan to save at least parts of the company.” The commenter is German.
“If you care about being thought credible and intelligent, do not use complex language where simpler language will do. Couching familiar ideas in pretentious language is taken as a sign of poor intelligence and low credibility.” From Thinking, Fast and Slow. Daniel Kahneman, 2002 winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics.
Frankfurt. Handelsblatt. September 13, 2025. Forget “keep it simple”: according to a recent study (in Germany), start-up founders raise more funds when they express themselves in a more differentiated way. What makes a good pitch.
When start-up founders want to convince investors of their idea, they often receive the same advice: keep it simple. Messages should be as clear as possible, with few foreign words and no frills. However, a new study by researchers at the Technische Universtät Dortmund, the Universtät Passau, and the Technische Universtät Munich, published in the journal Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, shows that it’s not quite that simple.
According to the study, the use of cognitively complex language leads to greater financing success: those who expressed themselves in a more linguistically sophisticated manner during their pitch received an average of more than seven percent or approximately $125,000 in additional investment in the twelve months that followed.
A separation of a whole into its component parts; the identification or separation of ingredients of a substance; a statement of the constituents of a mixture; proof of a mathematical proposition by assuming the result and deducing a valid statement by a series of reversible steps; an examination of a complex, its elements, and their relations; a method in philosophy of resolving complex expressions into simpler or more basic ones.
In their curriculum vitae (resumé) German job applicants highlight their analytical abilities, knowing well that German employers value those skills especially.
German resumés (curriculum vitae) are written chronologically. The potential employer is given a complete overview of the applicant’s background, from the beginning to the present.
Germans reading a resumé look closely not only at those areas relevant to the job, but at all information which might give them a full picture of the applicant.
Most importantly, and critically, they look for Lücken (gaps) in the Lebenslauf – the German word for resumé or curriculum vitae. Leben life + lauf from laufen + to run: how one’s life has run, proceeded, moved forward. And if they spot any Lücken, they’ll be sure to address them in a face-to-face interview.
Based on what the applicant reveals in the interview the employer can gain even deeper insight into work experience, degree of reliability, motivation, ambitions. The goal is a realistic assessment of the job candidate.
As early as in high school Germans students are told: “Take seriously what you do after high school. Gaps in your resumé are not good!” German university students fill gaps between semesters with internships, language classes or travel abroad.
A turnkey solution is a total solution which allows the user to “turn a key and the system is ready to go”. Originating in the IT sector, turnkey systems include all necessary hardware and software. They are typically developed by original equipment manufacturers (OEM).
Germans prefer turnkey systems, as the receiver of the system, whether they are in the buiness-to-consumer or business-to-business context. Conversely, Germans prefer to develop and market turnkey systems. In fact, many German manufacturers will go as far as to make their own tools and machines, in order to make the products they then sell.
For Germans, all new knowledge is based on previous knowledge. Before Germans accept new knowledge, they need to see how it flows from current knowledge.
Academic works in Germany, including Master‘s and Ph.D. level theses, almost always begin with a full account of relevant context information: definition of terms, lengthy description of topic, current status of research, methodology applied. The context can amount to as much as one-third of the length of the paper. Some universities expect that it exceed one-half.
“The history of a problem may be the principal approach to its diagnosis.”
“History for us has become a form of thought.” and “There is no field of human action that may not be approached, studied, described, and understood through its history.”
“The very purpose of historical knowledge is not so much accuracy as a certain kind of understanding: historical knowledge is the knowledge of human beings about other human beings.”
“The hair in the soup” is a German figure of speech which describes well German Problembewusstsein – literally: problem-consciousness. “To look for a hair in the soup” goes even further, describing the strong German inclination to look for problems even in areas where they are not likely to exist.