»germany«

As mentioned before the official language at Volkswagen and Panopa is German. Nevertheless Panopa's website is in German, English and Polish which Dr. Hucht simply explains as a matter of good education. Panopa after all is a Polish company with Polish employees and Polish clients and communication foremost has to work for them.
At the same time, it was easy for Panopa to conduct their business in Poland since everything was communicated in German. Volkswagen simply enforces German in their factories on the managerial level. Evidently, this can be considered arrogant. And Dr. Hucht admits as well that it allowed the German staff in Poland to become quite lazy. Considering to send expatriates to Italy or Spain, for example, the need to learn the language is accepted without doubt. But calling employees to learn Polish would just be another counter-argument for a mission in Eastern Europe. To learn Polish does not attract a lot of Germans, different to learning Italian or Spanish for example. Polish has no use outside of Poland and Poland does not seem very exquisite to Germans. Italy on the contrary has a flair of culture and suits perfect for vacations.

[quotation follow-up]
("Die Mitarbeiter selber und die Kunden aus Polen, die sollen ja das verstehen, das da steht. Ich finde, das ist auch einfach eine Frage der guten Erziehung, wenn ich in einem Land tätig bin, dass ich mich zumindest bemühe, die Sprache dort zu beherrschen. Und auch als Unternehmen so auftrete, dass ich mich dann so präsentiere, dass ich diese Sprache beherrsche. Was es uns da sicherlich etwas leichter macht und auf der anderen Seite, wenn man es jetzt negativ sehen will, uns vielleicht auch faul werden lässt in der Beziehung, ist die Tatsache, dass die Projektkommunikation offiziell in Deutsch läuft. Zumindest auf der Managementebene, Geschäftsführung, Werksleitung, VW und die ein, zwei Ebenen darunter, da ist die Kommunikation auf Deutsch. Weil eben VW sagt: 'Da, wo wir ein Werk haben, wird Deutsch kommuniziert.' Das ist dann so, wenn man so will, die Arroganz, die sich jetzt das Unternehmen eben leistet. Uns kommt es entgegen, weil wenn wir dahin kommen und die Leute mit denen wir zu tun haben sprechen alle Deutsch. Und wenn es in die Werkerebene geht, dann ist zur Not ein Dolmetscher dabei. Das macht natürlich auch irgendwo faul." Dr. Hucht, 2nd 09.05 min.)

("Wenn ich normalerweise sag, ich geh irgendwohin, würde ich eigentlich damit verbinden: 'Du musst die Sprache lernen.'" Dr. Hucht, 2nd 11.29 min.)

("Wenn ich mir jetzt vorstelle, ich würde jetzt beruflich mich dazu entscheiden, in ein Land zu gehen dessen Sprache ich nicht beherrsche, würde ich mich normalerweise dran machen und die Sprache lernen. Und da kommt vielleicht auch so ein Punkt hinzu, wo Polen und auch Polnisch in den Augen von Deutschen einen anderen Stellenwert hat als z.B. Italien, Spanien, England mal sowieso - ich sag mal, Englisch sprechen die Meisten, wenn sie die Ausbildung hinter sich haben, zumindest ein bißchen. Aber wo ich auch schon Diskussion im Unternehmen mitgekriegt hab, 'also, wenn ich nach Polen muss, das ist ja wenig lukrativ' a) das Land und auch die Sprache, da kann ich international nichts mit anfangen. Das sieht bei Spanisch dann schon wieder anders aus. Wenn die Möglichkeit besteht, ich sag mal, einen Job in Italien oder Spanien anzunehmen, trifft man viel eher auf leuchtende Augen als wenn's darum geht, wer geht nach Polen." Dr. Hucht, 2nd 10.05 min.)

("'Kein Thema. Italienisch? Ja, klar, gerne.' Das ist dann auch irgendwie westlich. [...] Das hat dann irgendwie noch was von Kultur. Ich kann jetzt Italienisch - toll. Aber Polnisch hat da überhaupt keinen Stellenwert. [...] Und jemanden zu ködern - 'Da lernst du eine andere Kultur kennen und lernst ne andere Sprache.' - da muss das ja nicht Polnisch sein. Wenn schon, dann was, womit ich was anfangen kann: Urlaub mal - schick." Dr. Hucht, 2nd 12.07 min.)

("Zumal Polnisch sehr sehr schwer zu lernen ist. Ich hab's nicht geschafft." Vieth, 2nd 10.58 min.)

(thanks to my mother here a quick update on history....I know you need it ;-)

The medieval guilds in Germany had basically the function to suppress competition and see to it that their members were sufficiently secure. The leaders of the guilds decided on the number of their members and how many people worked in the master's business ( they decided how many apprentices and how many "Gesellen" - journeymen). Moreover, the quality of the products were controlled by the patricians (= the members of the city council), who were entitled to judge the economic worth of the product. Most of the production was due to orders - so consequently the market did not have the function to provoke competition.

So it makes sense to maintain that due to the control of the quality and - to some amount - the quantity of production organizers ( = managers) were not really needed.

As far as I know conditions were not really different in England; but in Germany the guilds were the decisive form of organization and had the control up to the time when Napoleon's troops occupied the land and reforms were established (about 1810, some earlier, some later; cp: Steinsche Reformen in Prussia).

patricians, patriciate - the latter is the name for this social shift. Just as you were born into the nobility you were born into the patriciate. Nevertheless there was competition among them. They were the merchants that traded with far away regions; so one might speak of international business. In the big international market places the successful merchants used to have their own offices and their own money in the currency of the city (like Venice, Bruges, Cologne, Rome to name just a few.). So it was up to them how to value the products they sold or purchased. Naturally the merchant dealing on such a scale was not able to be present in these different market places but had their representatives - often relatives -, who acted on their behalf and were responsible for their actions.

The fact that the patriciate was something like a closed shop is reflected in the story of the Fuggers in Augsburg. When they were the most successful business in Augsburg and even lent money to the Kaiser they applied for being a member of the Augsburg patriciate. The August city council, which consisted only of members of the patriciate, was not pleased at all and only the influence of the Kaiser opened the door for the Fugger family to the council.

So you may say that among the closes circle of the patriciate competition was possible but the patricians saw to it that they had a common basis which they decided on as members of the political body. As you may remember the guilds rebelled against this economic and social structure and in the course of the 15th century the guild masters got their access to the councils which then had two chambers and only when both chambers agreed on a draft this could become a law.

All this applies only to the free towns which were only under the Kaiser and no other authority.

As the reform bills under von Stein and Hardenberg show it was the king who decided on the liberties of the towns and in the early 19th century many Prussian town were entitled to decide on their economic activities.

Altogether, my interview partner summarizes, are German companies appreciated for their accuracy and precision in planning and construction. They often believe that only a German company will put the project through in the limited time given. He claimed that in some towns even some streets are named after his company. This appraisal keeps them from delegating expatriates among subsidiaries. A client assigns a German company because he expects German experts.

At the same time Germans are seen to be smart asses that know everything better and know how to do everything better. They live on their procedures and check-lists and they cannot talk about anything else than business. They are the small talk losers because after two minutes they get serious and talk business again.



And of course you are invited to comment on other things typical for Germans, especially regarding the work aspect...

The Expatriate Business
The expatriates in a construction company are of course working on their projects long before they get to go on the construction site. Additionally, everybody is working on several projects at the same time since normally it is not clear till the end which company will actually get the order to build. From 10 projects planned only two will get ordered. Thus projects normally are kicked off four to five years in advance. For the expatriate business this as several advantages. First of all every project is run by a small fixed team. Other people will join that group during the course of the project but the leading troop will remain together. Thus by the time an expatriate mission is becoming relevant all the parties concerned are already long acquainted to each other. And of course the company tries to install groups that already proved to work well together in order to not face any additional problems. The more tricky a project is the more important the personal binding turns out to be ("bei den Schlüsselfiguren achten wir auf eine feste Bindung").
The company further promotes personal bounds by organizing workshops or training programs in which employees from all over the world join together. ("Damit möglichst viele Menschen im Konzern ein Netzwerk haben.") Thus when expatriates go to work abroad they do not arrive at a completely unknown setting. ("Normalerweise kennt man schon Kollegen aus dem anderen Land; Berührungspunkte gibt es überall.")
This concept of personal bounds also helps to avoid problems of power structures which the host country nationals often face. While it is never easy to admit mistakes or to ask strangers for help, a company is dependent on sharing knowledge. But a Polish employee would never call for help in the head office in Germany even though he might knew that the company has 100 experts sitting there especially trained in solving problems just like his. This is eased up by introducing employees to each other. Then the Polish employee does not have to call some unknown boss but calls Hans or Karl and turns to them for help as a friend.
The company also tries to consider employees personal preferences. This means if somebody often goes on vacation in Greece, he will most likely be assigned to projects taking place in Greece. As an international company they are dependent on being enrooted in the environment. They kind of expect their employees to also deploy their personal contacts and to cultivate networks ("ein Apparat will gepflegt werden").

Networking is further institutionalized by the kind of projects the company is participating in: joint-ventures are the most successful projects where each participating company is responsible for their share. Sometimes this is the only way to get into big building projects. They are often initiated by public institutions and nowadays financed through public-private-partnerships. Consequently it is difficult to give projects such as airports which are of public and national interest to a foreign company.
These professional partnerships on the other hand minimize the risks and allow access to already existing networks in the foreign market. The German company would assign a team of engineers which then would be responsible for assigning appropriate companies. The Joint-Venture-Board itself would meet once a month. And financial matters from all running construction projects are reported to the German head office every monday. While daily communication among all people in charge is absolutely essential, somebody from the German head office will visit the construction site at least every three to four weeks.

While sometimes only one expatriate will be sent abroad, a number between five to 20 is quite usual for a project with a turnover of 170 million ? and 400 employees in peak times.

Not that I'm getting sick of expatriates already but Harvey and Napier introducing the inpatriate got me. To implement business by expatriates seems to be forced in a way. Inviting host country nationals to your home base seems much more convincing. I still wonder if it works.
At the same time that goes pretty much in line with my idea to introduce the working environments of two countries: Poland and Germany. It's just not only about Germans going to Poland but also Polish people coming to Germany. Poland seems to be a perfect partner taking into account the close ties to Germany and facts like that there are a lot of Polish learning German.

At the same time I thought of people of - let's say: polish ;-) origin establishing business in Poland.

Just some thoughts flipping through my head....

Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła - Poland is not lost yet.

Actually, I don't even know where to start with the pros.

Starting with business: Poland is a Eastern European country (yes, sorry, Linda&Miro, I know, just like Slowenia not geographically but still). Thus can be considered an emerging market. (Guess, I still need numbers for that.)

Then I've been to Poland already a couple of times and it is kind of around the corner (3 hours drive) which would solve the problem of getting visual material.

Poland is strongly interlinked with Germany - despite the recent problems. Hopefully, this interdependance shows in numbers of businesses going there. (Need numbers for that as well.)

I know Polish people. Connections - yesyes! I know Polish immigrants, I know a Polish mayor (ok, actually my mum knows him, but that counts), and I know people living in Poland. But: I don't know any business people having gone to Poland; neither of German origin nor maybe immigrants having gone back to Poland. So, that is the big drawback.

Ok, still have some books lying here and then will start researching....

Turkey is everywhere. Having grown up in Western Germany I have grown up next to the kids of Turkish immigrants. I like to put an emphasis on having grown up beside each other because I really do not know any myself.

Finally, in Belgium I got close friends with two Erasmus students from Turkey which actually allowed Turkey to become a country in my head. Turkey was not in the houses of immigrants anymore who belong to neither culture but became a vivid, buzzing country on its own.

The debate about Turkey's entry into the European Union further drew my attention.

It might be quite interesting to work out the interdependencies: Turkey's drive towards Europe, the relation between German and Turkish economies, and the interactions possible between Turkish immigrants and their country of origin.

I liked the idea. But I've never been there and Turkey is quite far away.

France from a German perspective: difficult. I have a loose notion about France but nothing tangible. Taking numbers, concepts, systems, structure, ... Germany and France seem to be so much alike but still ... they are different.

Janet tried to establish a deeper understanding asking around in her French community.

Cadre labels a social group of very different professions (but office jobs in general). In order to become a member of cadre you should have attended one of the Grands Ecoles. At the same time Julien with his Bac +5 (having graduated and then studied for 5 years) and now working on his PhD is also considered cadre. Even though he did not study at one of the Grands Ecoles.
To attend one of these Grands Ecoles you have to follow a two year preparatory program which is said to have the highest suicidal rate among students.

(the article Kay quoted allows a glance on the importance of the Grands Ecole)

The bac is differentiated into different fields: science, language, art, social science,... With 15, 16 students decide into which direction they will move and hardly ever change afterwards.

Non-cadre are normally technicians and workers but there are also middle-class-cadres. Thus the sections cannot be separated so clearly anymore.

The non-cadres are tightly organized in unions which like to push their claims with strikes. Which supports Hofstede's statement that each group carries its own pride even though it does not explain the come-abouts.

All in all groups seem to stick to their group members: designers among themselves, programmers among themselves, sociologists among themselves (and Janet among all those groups). I actually think that that is due to the fact that you know most people from your studies. In Germany it often shows to be much the same. (Maybe a Western-European style?) Nevertheless, I found it quite striking that people actually apply terms like bac +5, or cadre and non-cadre. This very much supports Hofstede who said that the individuals are aware of their position in the hierarchy. In Germany I do not necessarily find that to be true. We have terms like the Bildungsbürgertum (I'll write on that later...) but I do not see such fixed groups. But obviously I need to investigate into that.

Janet hinted me towards "Karambolage". It's a programme running on arte, the French-German tv station. They pick out differences, sometimes just minor details between the two countries and explain where they come from.

They put their last four editions online, so I get to see them even without tv:

• in German
• and in French

I really like their concept of collages and presenting culture in little bits and pieces. Additionally they seem to have different designers each time: some styles I really like, others are too trashy for me but for sure always interesting...

from the emission on Oct, 29:


from the emission of Nov, 19:

Nowadays, German is still spoken in the higher management level at Volkswagen as well as at Panopa. In the second level both companies mostly employ Polish people who also speak German.

In general Panopa is sending fewer expatriates to Poland every year. In the beginning jobs in the strategic division were filled project-specific with German expatriates. Nowadays the job is done by two fixed employees and help is only sent in emergencies. Instead Panopa makes sure to grant their employees qualification trainings to build up competencies on site.
This redundantizes the business with expatriates which is comparably expensive and takes a lot of energy from the company as well as from the employees concerned: motivating employees to leave Germany and to stay abroad for weeks and months at a time for single projects, permanent shuttling, ... Dr. Hucht resumes that it is simply easier and less expensive to establish methods of qualification at the respective location. ("Wenn ich in Deutschland jemanden motiviere da rüber zu gehen, dann redet der erstmal über mehr Geld." Dr.Hucht, 13.45 min.)