Understanding American and German Business Cultures
Intercultural training seminar for American-German relations

"The Germans are just too obsessed about getting things perfect. If this keeps up, our operations here will go bankrupt."
-American manufacturing executive, working in Frankfurt.

"The Americans are very easy-going and self-confident. But behind that façade, we sometimes find them shallow. They don't always follow up on what they say they are going to do."
-German engineering executive, working in Chicago.

These two quotes clearly illustrate the stress and frustration American and German executives often feel when trying to cope with each other's culture. The acquisition of intercultural competence is necessary to overcome what can become fatal obstacles. By taking part in this seminar, you'll learn to understand your counterparts' actions and reactions and know how to behave "correctly" in that context.

Topics include:

- Examining culture and stereotypes
- Exploring the conceptual frameworks of social researchers Edward Hall and Geert Hofstede
-Identifying American and German cultural values and business behavior
- Contrasting American and German communication styles (and how they distort perception)
- Learning how to be interculturally competent

Workshop length: two days (one day for individual coaching)

Usual number of participants: 6 to 18

Seminar design: Click here for the seminar design in PDF format