Culture Smart! Germany: A Quick Guide to Customs and Etiquette (Culture Smart!)

By Barry Tomalin

Book Overview

With the FIFA World Cup in its pocket Germany is feeling its social, political, and economic power once again. After organizing a successful World Cup in 2006 and winning it against Argentina in Brazil in 2014, Germany sees a note of confidence, even triumphalism, permeating the country. As a European leader committed to the success of the EU and the Eurozone, Germany is a leading driver of European affairs. It emerged from the recession of 2008 as the strongest economic power in Europe, and German manufacturing, product brand value, and exports are going from strength to strength. What are the implications of this new world confidence for German society itself? In the last few years we have seen East and West Germany come together socially and achieve a greater degree of economic balance as a long-term result of German re-unification. At the same time German society itself is internationalizing, with increased immigration and the adaptation of age-old values and attitudes to a multinational, multicultural era. Traditional attitudes of formality and rigid protocol in business are softening as German business globalizes. This new, updated edition of Culture Smart Germany examines these changes. It explains how German traditional values and working methods are adapting to take advantage of international opportunities and global society while maintaining the commitment to quality, organization, and time that marks out German business life. It shows how the traditional differences between Germany's regions are lessening, enabling society to come together and better absorb new immigrants, and above all how Germans are losing the fear and guilt associated with their twentieth-century wars and finding a new voice on the international stage.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1857337115
• ISBN13: 9781857337112
• Release Date: July 2015
• Publisher: Kuperard
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.5" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Some useful tips, but otherwise very basic

This is an easy to read book that covers some general details of the customs and cultural aspects of Germany. It does not go into enough detail on any given subject to be particularly useful, but it is an interesting read and you will probably learn something new.

Excellent - Not Too "Touristy"

Helpful, real-world information on the culture of Germany and the attitudes that are a part of that culture. Detailed pointers on the business world as well as more personal level. Not funky or silly - and not too serious either. Great preparation for visiting or living in Germany.

A Lot of Little Somethings

This is a great book, it has a little of everything on how things are over there. I would definitely recommend you get this book before planning a trip so you can brush up on their culture. It's easy to read and very helpful on a variety of subjects. It was just what I was looking for.

Very enjoyable and enlightening

I found this book very useful for it is pocket size and easy to carry around. It can also be used a reference book, skipping the sections that may not apply to you. I think, however, that this book provides a great all-around insight into the life and culture of Germany and each section is just as useful and interesting as the next. Tomalin starts with a map of Germany and an introduction, followed by a useful chart of key facts. It ends with an appendix of simple vocabulary as well as a list of further reading. One aspect of this book that I liked in particular were the shaded boxes or `bubbles'. These were areas throughout the book in which the author goes above and beyond to provide us with extra commentary, explanations, or suggestions. It was very informative and I felt that it gave an accurate depiction of German life and culture. The author's writing style is very easy to read and often humorous. He provides short real-life stories to make the reading more interesting, understandable and easy to relate to. I would give this book five starts and recommend it to anyone wanting to travel to any German country as well as those simply interested in learning about other countries and cultures.