International Meetings

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International Meetings
Drs. Henri de Jongste Senior lecturer at FH
Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and
Arts Member of SIETAR Contributor to DIA,
www.dialogin.com
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International Meetings
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International Meetings
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International Meetings
GERMANY Federal republic in heart of Europe, 16
Länder Federal capital Berlin 82m
inhabitants Language German (native language of
105m people) 1990 re-unification 25 increase
in pop., 45 increase in surface area
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International Meetings
GERMANY Third-biggest economy in the world
(after USA, Japan) Biggest exporter in the
world Founder-member of European Union Home to
Mercedes, Volkswagen, Porsche, SAP, Lufthansa and
many, many highly successful SMEs
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International Meetings
GERMANY GDP per capita (2006) Germany 39,650
(19th) US 45,594 (9th) Human development
index Germany 22nd US 12th
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International Meetings
Communication is a social activity Any act of
communication contains propositional information
as well as social information Language use
mirrors peoples world view in a given culture In
intercultural communication different world views
and ways of expressing them meet Own experience
in Germany after having grown up in the
Netherlands Interest in those world views gt
interest in culture and communication
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International Meetings
EMIC APPROACH German ideology (a personal
view) Equality Compartmentalisation Order/Stabili
ty/Control Perfectionism Honesty
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International Meetings
Equality Equal opportunities for
everyone Horizontal politeness in terms of
address Strong anti-nepotism No elites unless on
the basis of (academic!) merit Respect for
achievement Striving for consensus among those
involved Generous distribution of written
information
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International Meetings
Compartmentalisation Strong sense of ownership
of objects as well as tasks/areas of
responsibility Clearly defined borders between
territories Clearly defined borders between
responsibilities and tasks Strong separation
between the professional and the social Careful
planning even in social life
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International Meetings
Order/Stability/Control View of world as
fundamentally static/stable Commitment to
long-term solutions Dislike of
improvising Preference of clear
structures Respect for expertise Respect for
established methods Respect for theories Respect
for rules and plans Need for detailed
preparation Resistance to change Conservatism
(tendency to be inward-looking), pessimism
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Humor in International Business Contexts

• Honesty
• Reliability, trustworthiness (What you say is
  what you do)
• Plain speaking rather than diplomacy or humor in
  workplace
• Commitment to objective truth and time
  indications
• Clarity more important than empathy
• Need for written records
• Expressed commitment is real commitment

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• Perfectionism
• Strong pride in personal achievement, difficulty
  admitting guilt
• Open show of personal ambition and
  competitiveness
• Respect for achievement
• Respect for precision