Nyelvtanulás | Angol » Germans communication style

German’s communication style: As a country, Germany is filled with different types of people. According to statistics, there are approximately 7 million foreign people called themselves as ‘guest workers’. Most of them are Turks; they were invited by Germany around 50’s and 60’s to be labors, who remained in Germany. Other ethnics that exist in Germany are Danish minority who lives in the north, and a small Slavic minority known as the Sorbs lives in eastern Germany. It can be clearly seen how Germany is an intercultural country. Low context culture: Germans are well known for their strong cultural value in business among other European countries. Germany is an example of a typical European country that has a low- context culture. Their individualism reflects their philosophical meaning, which is having the sense of achieving one’s goal in order to provide good for the community. They have little social hierarchy observed in the organization as they focus on their personal

achievements. Truth and directness are two important aspects in business, therefore criticism and other strong comments are not considered as personal disapproval. Their communications are very explicit, they believe that they solve their problem by explicitly speak up their thoughts. As the result of their openness, confrontations among workers often happen for the sake of a better result. In order to have good communication, effective communication should be done. But, there is a major barrier that happens in most of Germany’s organizations. Barriers of effective communication: One common barrier to effective communication in Germany’s business is language. It is better to be able to speak German when dealing with Germans, as they are strong in their culture. Problems come in the process of learning the language, because learning a language is the same thing as learning its culture. And one important thing in the world of Germany’s business is about humor. Business people

do not appreciate humor to their works, and it can be one of the problems in understanding Germany’s business culture. Non- Verbal Communication: In business situations, shake hands at both the beginning and the end of a meeting is really important. Additionally, a handshake may be accompanied with a slight bow and a good eye contact. In meetings, age takes precedence over youth If you are in a group setting, the eldest person enters first. This is an example of cultural non- verbal communication that needs to be acknowledged in the business context. There are certain non- verbal communications applied in doing job interview. Most of them are common like being well prepared, demonstrating competence and confidence, being punctual and reliable. But in Germans’ context, there are several important points such as shaking hands and slightly bow, being punctual, and do not sit until invited. Silence: Compared to Asian countries, Europeans has similar interpretation of silence with

Americans. For Asians, silence is gold, but for Europeans, silence interprets uncertainty and negativity towards an action. Uncertainty is an unacceptable action in Germany’s business, as it will lead to confusion. Therefore, silence is not an appropriate way of non-verbal communication for Germans as it is completely against their cultural background. Communication network: Germans put authority and hierarchical differences in front. Formal communication is the choice for Germans’ business people, as they act towards autocrats. Autocratic leaders give order in certain manner which shows directness and straightforward. People called this as The Eiffel Tower Culture, as orders coming from the top level. These types of behaviors advance them to use formal communication with downward direction of communication. Role of electronic communication Technology is one of the major concerns for the Germans; they are really in the lead in dealing with technology issue. Therefore it impacts

to the role of electronic communication. In fact, they are developing new innovation in their world of communication. They will wiretap all electronic communications such as mobile, emails, and Internet traffic. Such innovation shows how important and valuable electronic communication in Germany. By having improvement in technology, Germans get huge advantages in using electronic communication. One of the most popular electronic communications is through email; they get the productivity that they want, especially in efficiency. Bibliography: - http://www.communicaidcom/%5Ccross-cultural-training%5Cculture-for-businessand-management%5Cdoing-business-in%5CGerman business culturephp - http://www.cyborlinkcom/besite/germanyhtm - http://www.plasticboyde/?p=17 -http://international-tradeleaders.suite101com/articlecfm/german culture leadership style - Academic Article: House, J. (2006) "Communicative Styles in English and German". European Journal of English Studies