Culture of German ManagementWord格式.docx

1、s wishes. The watchwords for most German managers and companies are quality, responsiveness, dedication, and follow-up.Product orientation usually also means production orientation. Most German managers, even at senior levels, know their production lines. They follow production methods closely and k

2、now their shop floors intimately. They cannot understand managers in the United States who want only to see financial statements and the bottom line rather than inspect a plants production processes. A German manager believes deeply that a good-quality production line and a good-quality product will

3、 do more for the bottom line than anything else. Relations between German managers and workers are often close, because they believe that they are working together to create a good product.If there is a third objective beyond quality and service, it is cooperation-or at least coordination-with gover

4、nment. German industry works closely with government. German management is sensitive to government standards, government policies, and government regulations. Virtually all German products are subject to norms-the German Industrial Norms （Deutsche Industrie Normen-DIN）-established through consultati

5、on between industry and government but with strong inputs from the management associations, chambers of commerce, and trade unions. As a result of these practices, the concept of private initiative operating within a public framework lies firmly imbedded in the consciousness of German managers.The G

6、erman management style is not litigious. Neither the government, the trade unions, nor the business community encourages litigation if there is no clear sign of genuine and deliberate injury. Firms do not maintain large legal staffs. Disagreements are often talked out, sometimes over a conference ta

7、ble, sometimes over a beer, and sometimes in a gathering called by a chamber of commerce or an industrial association. Differences are usually settled quietly, often privately. Frequent litigation is regarded as reflecting more on the accuser than on the accused. Because of these attitudes, Germany

8、has comparatively few lawyers. With one-third the population and one-third the GDP of the United States, Germany has about one-twentieth the number of lawyers.German managers are drawn largely from the ranks of engineers and technicians, from those who manufacture, design, or service, although more

9、non-engineers have risen to the top in recent years. They are better paid than other Europeans （except the Swiss）, but on average receive about two-thirds of the income that their American counterparts expect. Because managers usually remain in one firm throughout their careers, rising slowly throug

10、h the ranks, they do not need a visible bottom-line result quickly. Managers do not need to be concerned about how their careers might be affected by a companys or a divisions progress, or lack of progress, for each year and certainly not for each quarter.German taxation also induces management towa

11、rd long-term planning. German tax legislation and accounting practices permit German firms to allocate considerable sums to reserves. German capital gains tax rules exempt capital gains income if the assets are held for more than six months or, in the case of real estate, for more than two years.Bec

12、ause management has not been regarded in Germany as a separate science, it was rare until the 1980s to find courses in management techniques such as those taught at schools of management in the United States. Germans believed that management as a separate discipline bred selfishness, disloyalty, bur

13、eaucratic maneuvering, short-term thinking, and a dangerous tendency to neglect quality production. Instead, courses at German universities concentrated more on business administration, or Betriebswirtschaft , producing a Betriebswirt degree. Despite this, two West German schools for business admini

14、stration, the Hochschule fr Unternehmensfhrung and the European Business School, were established during the 1980s, but they teach in ways that reinforce rather than overturn traditional German ways of management.Out of this compendium of business practices arises what might be termed a German manag

15、ement style, with the following characteristics: collegial, consensual, product- and quality-oriented, export-conscious, and loyal to one company and committed to its long-term prospects. One could legitimately conclude from this that the German system could stifle change because it is not as innova

16、tive, aggressive, or results-oriented as the United States management style. That, however, would not be correct, for change can and does take place. It occurs gradually, not always obviously, under the mottoes of stability and permanence, with the least dislocation possible, and often under competi

17、tive pressures from abroad. German managers themselves occasionally speculate that change might come too slowly, but they are not certain whether or how to alter the system and its incentive structures.German Culture Leadership StyleCountries around the globe have to adapt to what is known as the Ge

18、rman filter, which reflects Germanys nationalistic management methods. Some analysts refer to Germanys rule-oriented, hierarchical focus on task accomplishment as an example of an Eiffel Tower management style.While it is true that German subordinates rarely disobey or openly question orders from hi

19、gher level authority, corporate power structures in Germany are typically more flat than they are tall. Thats because German businesses are collections of highly specialized teams.Moral of the story? Germanys Eiffel Tower structures arent very tall.Inside Germanys Eiffel Tower CultureThe Eiffel Towe

20、r culture is most common in Northwest European countries, including Germany. Deutschland is famous for its more deliberate, stodgy German process of management by consensus.The way in which Germans learn and work differs strikingly from other cultures, including those of neighbouring European nation

21、s.In Germany, jobs are well-defined while assignments are fixed and limited. German employees know what they are supposed to do within an Eiffel Tower culture that is hierarchical, with orders coming down from the top with very little upward communication.Formal German QualificationsGerman organizat

22、ions rely heavily on formal qualifications in deciding how to schedule, deploy and reshuffle personnel. Companies manage their human resources through assessment centers, appraisal systems, training, development programs and job rotation. These procedures help to ensure that a formal hierarchical an

23、d bureaucratic approach work well.Difficulty Handling Organizational ChangesWhen changes need to be made, the German culture is often ill-equipped to handle the complex burdens that a rule-based Eiffel Tower bureaucracy demands. Manuals must be rewritten, procedures changed, job descriptions altered

24、, promotions reconsidered and qualifications reassessed.Germans Resist ChangesGenerally, German managers are slow to accept changes partly because of Germanys strong aversion to risk. Also, Germany is the worlds number one exporter noted for precision engineered products. Germans strongly believe th

25、at their processes have been proved superior, and its hard to argue with their successes.However, Germanys superiority complex sometimes leads to an ethnocentric style of management in which strong nationalism compels German headquarters to maintain control of key international management positions.

26、 Today, a more global management approach that focuses on the best qualified applicants regardless of country of origin may be a better long-term strategy.German Leadership and Motivation StyleSystems integrators that they are, Germans have evolved a unique leadership and motivation style that integ

27、rates the features that most closely fit with the strongest German cultural characteristics. Therefore, German leadership and motivation style synthesizes the most pertinent characteristics from Authoritative Theory X, Paternalistic Theory Y and Participative Theory Z.Below is a summary of Theory G,

28、 based on the most relevant features from the above three theories.From Theory X: Germans like to be directed. In Germany, job security is primary.From Theory Y: Since Germans are committed to goals, they exercise high self-control. No threats of punishment are required to ensure task completion.From Theory Z: Germans are mo