Module 1 : Successful personnal integration in Germany
1. Cross-cultural awareness : the key to a successful expatriation
- Taking stock of one's own cultural baggage
- Culture shock and the integration process
- Identifying and going beyond cultural stereotypes
2. Key aspects to German culture
- An ageing but powerful European nation
- The glory and the upsets of a united Germany
- The importance of the federal aspect
- An economic power in the process of restructuring
3. German values and behaviour patterns
- The family, regional identity and festivals: the impact of collective identity
- Religion and the State: a country with no secular tradition
- The challenge of being a woman in modern Germany: juggling the role of mother and working wife
- Precision, planning and segmentation
- Systematic thinking: reasoning, organising and acting
- Caution when faced with risks
- Cosiness: the German notion of Gemütlichkeit
4. Practical day to day information
- Focus on the host town or city
- Regional differences and the specific characteristics of the East
- A country brimming with history just waiting to be discovered.
- Transport, administration, housing, security, hygiene and healthcare
- Social life, leisure activities, schools, extracurricular activities, sport
Module 2 : Successful professionnal integration
1. The German corporate world
- An informal but nevertheless important hierarchical structure.
- The German notion of Mitbestimmung or collective decision-making
- Performance and efficiency in the workplace, the role of the unions
- Understanding the concept of team working and delegation.
2. Effective communication with the Germans
- Making the most of the German language to forge and improve relationships
- A pretended transparency in non-verbal communication
- German advertising: an example of optimal communication
- Interpersonal socialisation: an aspect belonging firmly to the private sphere
3. Working with German teams
- Building confidence: respect for rank and status, and a willingness to listen
- Effective management: time management throughout the working day
- Demonstrating personal efficiency: expertise and precision
- Conflict resolution: mediation, dialogue and decision-making
4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Germans
- Identifying decision-makers and understanding where the true power lies.
- Achieving credibility: preparation, deadline observance, responsiveness
- The importance of ethics, attitudes to written contracts
- Managing the post-negotiation phase
5. Final handy tips
- Social standards, gifts, business cards, dress code, etc
- Sensitive subjects: politics, history, religion
- Humour: a double-edged sword