Abstract
Germany
is one of the richest European countries in the world. It is the country with
the highest level of skills and technological advancement. Most of its
nationals have better standards of living as compared to the nationals of the
other countries since they have an advantage owing to their low population.
This has therefore enabled the government to appropriately plan for them in
terms of creating opportunities in order to lower their cost of living. This
essay is going to explore the versatile dynamics of the country as regards
their culture, covering their languages, dress mode and eating habits and also
their business conduct and basic etiquettes. The essay is also going to cover
the economic background of the country in relation to its Gross domestic
product and the key industrial sectors, in relation to the opportunities they
create for the development of business. We are also going to look at the
contribution of investors in the country and the role that have played so far
in its economic development.
Germany
is located in the center of Europe and it borders countries like Austria and
Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands (The central intelligence Agency, 2013).
Map
showing the location of Germany in Europe and the neighboring countries.
Its
climate is mainly cool and wet exhibiting characteristics of both marine
temperate climatic conditions. It has a population of about 82,424,609 people
with the greatest composition coming from the German community, with the rest
from Greece, turkey and Poland. Most of the people are Christians with only a percentage
of about 3.7 % coming form the Muslim community (The central intelligence
Agency, 2013). The official language spoken in the country is German with most
of the people in the country speaking it as a first language. However, the
other minority groups speak Sorbian and Danish languages (Coy, 2011).
Below is a map showing the various population
distributions in Germany.
The
society is characterized by a culture of high organization and specific planning.
They are best regarded as the masters of planning as they are mostly involved
in thought and activities that can help them purge forward. Due to the high
planning culture, most of the people from the region are financially safe and secure.
It is also believed in Germany that respect for people and knowing one’s limits
in regards to what you can do to people or in certain places is very important
(Rogowski, 2010). There is a clear demarcation between their work and their
individual lives; they are never mixed at any one time. It is also clear that
there is a culture that fosters doing the right thing at the right time, an
indication of proper and clear planning. At home the principle is the same.
They believe in thorough organization with most of them being very neat and tidy.
The comfort of their home is only made open to close friends and acquaintances
with most of their greetings being conducted in a rather formal manner. It is
essential o carry gifts when going to a Germans home since this is the way in
which things are done and to arrive on time is a basic etiquette and code of conduct,
after which you are required to send a formal handwritten letter expressing
gratitude for the invitation received, a day after the visit. They also practice
continental table manners and are very essential for a visitor to remain
standing before they are formally invited to acquire their seats (Kwintessential, 2013).
Meals will only be eaten once the guest gives an invitation to do so quoting
something like “gutten appétit” to imply have a good appetite. While eating it
is essential that ones consumes all the meal that has been given, appropriately
eating them by folding the salads and not cutting them, breaking rolls by hand,
allowing the host to initiate the toast and through avoiding to lean on the
table with one’s elbows(Kwintessential,2013).
It
is also highly important that one maintains a formal dress code that is not revealing
but rather conservative at all times. Business meetings have to be conducted in
suits and women are not allowed to spot accessories and jewelries that make
them seem very conspicuous
(Kwintessential,
2013).
Pictorial
representation of appropriate dressing modes in Germany
Just
like at dinner, it is important that time is kept while attending business
meetings and that you wait for your turn before entering an office. The culture
maintains that business is carried out in closed doors (Kwintessential,
2013).Despite this however, Germans
are not hostile individuals. On the other hand however, they can be described
as very formal and keen to details. Their main foods include combination of
dishes ranging form pork to poultry and fish. They love to eat healthy and thus
their meals are usually accompanied by lots of vegetables. The pretzels are a regioanl cuisine in the eastern regions.
common meal
pretzel.
pretzel.
Economic analysis
Over
the period, the economy of Germany has grown and developed top emerged as the
10th best economy in the European continent and this is a remarkable
establishment because it has reflected on the significant increase in the
performance of the economic attributes. The depiction of the data about the
country of Germany is based on the consideration of the research findings that
was conducted and evaluated in the 2013 index. In this regard, the research
findings has stated that with a population of 81.8 million, the countries GDP
has stabilized at $3.1 trillion dollar which is an equivalence of €2,270 and
this represents an growth of 3.1% from the previous period. Analysis of the
overall depiction of economic growth shows that the compounded growth of the
economy for a period of five years is attained to be 1.1%. This depiction is
beneficial because it reveals that the economy has continued to grow. Normally,
another attribute for ascertaining the authenticity of economic growth is the
use of per capita income that represents the per capita earning of the nation.
Normally this is calculated through the use of total population and the GDP. In
this regard, the per capita income of the nation has been established to
$37,897which is an equivalence of €1245 (Kwintessential, 2013). Further analysis of the
economy has shown that the country exhibits partial income distribution where
the aspects of income distribution are skewed. Asymptotic income distribution
in the German socio-economic aspects has ensured that the wealth of the nation
is accorded to 20% of the population. With regard to the consideration of
development, the nation has devised ideal commitment measures that are geared
towards realization of efficiency in the open-market and this attribute has
enhanced reduction in the inflation rate that currently stagnates at 2.5% while
the unemployment rate has also been reduced to 5.5%. These two aspects are
crucial for the establishment of economic growth.
The analysis of the demographic information from the CIA
world facts has revealed that the Germany has a population of 8.1 people and
the recent survey and prediction in the economy has highlighted a growth rate
of -0.2%. Generally, the consideration population growth considers the
attributes of surplus from the migrants that may b entering or living the
concinnities’ of Germany and this has resulted in a deficit. The demographics
of the nations show that 74% of the population resides in the urban areas while
minimum population resides in the rural areas. On the same note, the rate of
urbanization has been established to be 0% (Braun, 2012). Certainly, the
country is exhibited by more women than men depicted by the rate of 43% against
44% for the men. With regard to the consideration of the literacy levels, it is
stated the children of 16 years have the capacity to read and write and this
data translates to 99% of the population in the nation of Germany (Braun,
2012). In this aspect, the economy has extremely high literacy of 99% and this
has helped in the establishment of performance. With regard to the
consideration of the above factors, the country has low unemployment rates of
5.5% showing that majority of the population seeking employment are employed
because there is a huge supply of labor force to meet the daily needs of the
industries (Kwintessential, 2013). Finally, the ethnic composition of the nation shows that
the following subdivisions German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4% and other 6.1%.
In
the wake of the recession that hard hot most of the countries in the world,
Germany was the hardest hit. It experienced significant fall in its economic activities
with its gross domestic product going even to below 4.7%.However in the
consecutive years of 2010 and 21012, the economy was able to pick up and the
gross domestic product (GDP) was revived to about 3.7 and 3 % respectively
(Braun,2012). It is said that the biggest contributor to their GDP was as a
result of the fixed investments which went up by around 5.6% therefore
resulting to improved construction climate in the year 2011(Braun, 2012).Germany
is also a trading partner to New Zealand contributing to about 2.7 billion to
its economy in the period ended 2011.This trade is conducted two way between Germany
and the neighbor New Zealand and it has been very helpful in contributing to
the country’s trade benefits.
As
a country Germany has many factors that are enabling it to sustain its long
term development growth plans (Braun, 2012) .These are inclusive of a very able
and willing workforce which is also an added advantage owing to the fact that
they are also very highly skilled. Other factors like proper infrastructural
systems and good but stable institutions have also aided in the development of
the German economy and in fostering the country total income and revenue
generated.
However,
the country is mainly characterized by a work force that mostly comprise of old
people since the population has become static and is therefore being restrained
in growth (Paterson, 2012). This will have adverse effects on the economy as
the country’s potential growth rate is deemed to fall by about 1% in the following
seven years to come. However, their gross domestic product has been assumed to
grown by an average rate of about 1.8 percent yearly in the next period to come
better than the previous years but is not enough to be equalized in measure as
the income attained by the united states.
In
terms of the industrial sector and its contribution to the economy, it is
stated that the manufacturing industry is a major contributor of the GDP with a
contribution mounting to amount 19 percent and with an employment rate of up to
20 percent of the total population in the country (Braun, 2012).
German
market place
The
manufacturing industry is majorly characterized by car assembly industries
which are every essential in the development of vehicles and other metal
products. It is encouraging to note that most of the manufacturing companies re
operating in their desired operation capacities and are also employing more
people to work in their companies as a result of the high demand for better
quality produced vehicles from Germany in the Chinese country.
Other
industries like the agricultural producing companies however have effect to the
GDP of the country being that they employ about 2 percent of the total
population and that they offer a total GDP of about 1 percent (Braun, 2012).This
figure is actually negligible in the real world since its contribution is
actually very insignificant. The banking sector ion the other hand however is constantly
exposed to foreign policies which have necessitated the development of
stringent regulatory and supervisory guidelines in order for the government to
better regulate the performance of the investment channels/platforms. However,
the country is making plans to ensure that the banking sector has been aligned
during the next midterm period.
German
business centre
Trade
and foreign investment in Germany has been propelled mainly through good
governance with the government of the country offering a conducive climate for
foreign direct investment thus allowing for investors to come into the country
(Braun, 2012). This has also been fostered through better terms of trade where
the foreign investors received the same treatments as local German investors.
The eastern part of Germany has however received better foreign investment as
compared to the western states. As studies show, the investment climate in the
east has been able to earn Germany at least 6.6 billion us dollars just in the
first six months of 2011 although this was a dramatic fall compared to that
which was earned in 2010.This is partly attributed to the fat that other developing
countries pulled back Germany to ensure that their economies grew after the
financial crisis.
The
largest income earner for Germany in regards foreign direct investment is china
(Braun, 2012) .Due to the availability of highly skilled workforce in the German
country; Chinese nationals find it essential to invest in the country so as to
reap the possible benefits of the economy. Other countries have as well carried
out investment in Germany especially in the areas relating to automobiles and
transportation.
The
political stability of the country has also contributed positively to the
growth of the economy (Paterson, 2012).The country is widely known for its
peaceful coexistence and tranquility. It is governed by a federal council body
owing to its federal parliament republic characteristics. Bilateral trade
opportunities in the country are also very high with most of its exports being
transported to France, followed by the United States and the Netherlands. It is
estimated that the total earnings received from its exports are about us$1440
billion as far as the year 2011 was concerned (Braun, 2012).Machinery equipment
emerged as the major exports, followed by vehicles and electrical machines. In
the same year also Germany exported to the capacity of about us$1227 billion.
Just as the Netherlands is German’s biggest export country, so was it also the biggest
importer. It mainly imports mineral fuels and other products such as machinery
and other electrical equipment in relation to what it does not produce.
In 2011 Germany was
able to export a range of commodities to New Zealand from eggs to milk and
other dairy products that getting about NZ$775 million in cash from the country
as income n regards exports (Braun, 2012). On the other hand however, Germany
imports products like Vehicles machinery and electrical appliances form Germany
spending around NZ$1.9 billion of their total income to New Zealand. The
sectors of the economy that can be expanded in Germany owing to the bilateral trade
it does with Germany are like The health care sector since it is so far the largest
in the European countries having up to 5 million of the total population employed
as work force (Braun,2012). The total expenditure spent on the economy is
almost 11 percent of the total income earned by the economy. High technology is
maintained in this sector with very high quality delivery techniques. Despite it’s
first hand service equipment and performance Germany is still able to offer the
cheapest service in relation to cost to its nationals. Other potential areas
include the home care facilities. In relation to investment these sector
creates a lot of opportunities to those who view it as a profitable venture
(Pierenkemper& Tilly, 2012). This is regarding the areas such as telemedicine
and clinical information systems no to mention that e-prescriptions and e-referrals
are also very marketable ventures.
Towards
its contribution to the economy, the food and beverage sector has been very beneficial.
This is due to high demand that is rising as a result of convenience and the
need to take in healthy and nourishing foods. However, since Germany does not have
its own foods processing plant, most of its foods and beverages are imported from
other countries therefore making it the largest importer of food s and beverages
n the European market (Pierenkemper& Tilly, 2012). Most of the sea food
that is consumed in Germany is as a result of importation form the other
countries as well. Many households are spending more on sea food each and every
day especially on fish. Other types of foods that are also exported for consumption
in Germany are the green shell mussels which mainly come from New Zealand.
However, Germany counters there importation of food through exportation of
wines to other countries. In fact, Germany is the largest importer of wide all
over the world with Italy. France and Spain being the most wine consuming
countries (Braun, 2012).
Another
major economic contributing sector is the engineering and manufacturing
industry especially in the production of renewable and efficient energy which
has made Germany one of the strongest competitors to align with in the world.
However, the plastics manufacturing industry are still facing structural
problems due to the need to alleviate their standards to be inline with the
global supply chain standards (Pierenkemper & Tilly, 2012). The aviation and
aerospace industry are however doing very well with an increased growth rate
over the last period of years.
The
information technology industry is also the largest in the European region with
German being the fourth among all the countries in the world. This has been so
far the major contributing factor adding the growth rate in the economy of German
and developments are still going on. Due to the fact that most of the
industries in German are small and highly medium sized technological
development over the years has been very easy to foster (Braun, 2012). These
industries contribute to up to 89% of the companies located in the country. It
has been very essential that the companies acquire highly skilled experts in
various areas of expertise in order to deal with the production of high tech
products.
The
education sector of German is characterized with many of its nationals choosing
to study abroad. However, those are studying locally have increased over the
years by 78% form the period ending 2006 to the period ending 2010.This could
be partly the reason why German has very many skilled personnel (Braun, 2012).When
most of the students finish their studies they prefer to repatriate their
acquired skills back home.
Conclusion:
As
a country it is evident to see that German is very rich and diverse though the
proper mode of conduct is by acting formal at all times. It is also evident
that Germans respect one another and regard observing protocols as a core
fundamental issue regardless of whether in the formal or informal setting. Most
importantly, the country also has a very strong economic background being one
of the major exporters of the world. Its specialization in the automobile
industry has not only led to the development of the country in regards to
technology but also in development of vast infrastructure. It can also be said
that it gets most of its income form export trade especially from the New
Zealand and France which are its major export zones (Braun, 2012). The
population of the country, though small is also very well cast with adequate
knowledge and skills that have also led to the spiral development of the
country therefore earning the country lots of income. This is also because most
of the nationals have good standards of living as most of them are financially
able and also the industrial sector has ensured that most of them are employed
in the various industries in the country. These factors and many more make
German a world destination. Not just in regards to tourism but also as a
learning experience
Reference
Braun, J, H, (2012),The German economy in the twentieth
century, New York, Rouletdge
Central intelligence
agency (2013) The world fact book: Germany country profile. Retrieved from www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gm.html
Coy, P, J,(2011), A
brief history of Germany. Newyork, Facts on file.
Kwintessential, (2013),Germany - Language, Culture, Customs and Business Etiquette ...
Paterson,W,(2011),German culture),Chicago,Biblio Bazaar.
Pierenkemper , T,
tilly, H, R (2012), The German economy during the
nineteenth century,Berlin, Berghahn Books
Rogowski, C. (2010).
Re-calibrating German Modernity. Germanic Review, 85(2), 162-169.
Doi:10.1080/00168891003756921
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