The German Basic Law gives the Chancellor Richtlinienkompetenz — authority to determine the general guidelines of policy. The constitution allocates the power to set the framework as a named competence, distinct from the power to decide within it.
Holding the pen
Federführung — the quill-leading. The German term for which department holds the pen on a document, a project or a negotiation. It is contested openly, because whoever drafts determines what is discussed.
Whose competence
Zuständigkeit — competence, jurisdiction, the area for which one is responsible. German organisations and public bodies define it precisely, and disputes about it are real disputes. Dafür bin ich nicht zuständig is not an evasion. It is a statement about where the authority sits.
The works agreement
A Betriebsvereinbarung between employer and works council binds both and governs how work is organised. Negotiating one is a genuine contest, and its terms determine daily working life more directly than most management decisions.
The rules of procedure
German bodies from the Bundestag to a works council operate under a written Verfahrensordnung governing who may put items on the agenda, in what order, and how a decision is taken. Control of the rules of procedure is understood as control of what can be decided.
The industry association
German industry associations draft technical guidelines, model contracts and codes of practice for their sectors — VDI, VDE, VDA, VDMA. Influence over an industry runs through the documents it works to.
The specialist department
German organisations give the technically competent function authority over how its work is done, and the phrase das ist Sache der Fachabteilung — that is the specialist department’s affair — settles a question by naming who owns it.
The standards committee
German standards are written by committees within DIN, drawn from industry, research, government and consumer bodies. Firms send their engineers and pay for the seat. A place on the committee that writes the standard is worth having.
The quality officer
The German Qualitätsbeauftragter has authority independent of production management and, in regulated industries, may halt release. The person who defines the process is deliberately placed outside the line that would benefit from bending it.
The Works Constitution Act
Das Betriebsverfassungsgesetz gives the works council co-determination rights over working hours, overtime, holiday scheduling, monitoring of employees, and the rules of conduct in the workplace. On these matters the employer cannot act alone. Not consultation — agreement.