Tagged: business

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Cultural Differences in Business between the USA and Germany from A to Z

Welcome to Intercultural Reflections, a blog touching on the various cultural differences between Germans and Americans. I spend a lot of time focusing on how these differences affect the business relationship. Sometimes, though, I highlight topics of more general interest.

While I hope you visit– and stay– for all the posts and join the conversation, I understand that time is often short, the Internet is full of information, and sometimes you just need what you need, fast.… read more

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Three (-ish) Dos and Don’ts of Greetings: You Had Me at HELLOOO!

Greetings—and their cultural nuances—are easy to overlook in preparing for business communication. They’re brief, standard, issued multiple times per day without thought, and have little to nothing to do with the conversational or written content that follows.

And yet, failing to recognize a greeting’s cultural undertones can lead to confusion and even offense when interacting with folks from other areas of the world.… read more

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Business ABC’s: Dates

This is a blog post about dates: no, not the kind you go out on after „swiping right“. Nope. That’s for someone else’s blog. Here, I’ll keep the focus on the more banal meaning, namely the measure of time. This may not yield as interesting around-the-water cooler stories, but there are some differences worth noting to avoid misunderstandings with your German or American counterparts, namely:

-In abbreviating dates, the day comes first, followed by the month.… read more

Business ABC’s: Communication 3

Business ABC’s: Communication

This post comes courtesy of the letter “C”, as in “communication”. When it comes to business between Germans and Americans, it is often this very topic that makes or breaks the relationship, which is why I’ll devote the entire entry to communication alone.… read more

From Benefits to Brainstorming: Business ABC’s 2

From Benefits to Brainstorming: Business ABC’s

Howdy, and welcome to the Thank-Goodness-It’s-Spring (on the calendar, anyway) edition  of Intercultural Reflections

I will continue A,B,C-ing my way through the American business landscape…today’s blog comes courtesy of the letter „B“, as in…

Benefits: Germans may be surprised to learn that some of the job benefits they take for granted—and are even codified in labor law—are not a requirement (and thus sometimes not on offer) for their American counterparts.… read more

Field Report: Where Germans Struggle with American Business Practices 2

Field Report: Where Germans Struggle with American Business Practices

February was a short month chock full of trainings. In addition to giving me the chance to add push pins to my „places visited“ German map, I as always came away with valuable observations from my seminar participants regarding cultural differences that make an impression.… read more

Go International in 2016! 0

Go International in 2016!

The New Year 2016 is underway, and it is time for companies to set new business goals and budgets.
If your enterprise is seeking to expand its international presence this year, we would be happy to do our part to make your transition to the global stage a smooth one by offering you our Intercultural Training USA, Presenting for an American Audience, Negotiating with Americans and/or Conflict Management in International Teams seminars!… read more

Five Ways Your German Workplace Will Differ from Your American One 1

Five Ways Your German Workplace Will Differ from Your American One

1. Colleagues may bring in baked goods to share on their birthday

Let’s start with the fun, fluffy stuff. Once, when I worked at a high school in the U.S.A., I was greeted in my office on my birthday with a beautiful home-baked birthday cake by my boss (I still remember, Pat!) Granted, this may have been over and above what many bosses do, however, it is generally the typical order of things in America for people bring treats to YOU, the birthday child (assuming, of course, people know it’s your birthday)

So, you can imagine my confusion after moving to Germany when office colleagues would bring in cake, muffins and the like, followed quickly by a round of collegial handshaking and wishes of „Alles gute zum Geburtstag!“ to the bearer of the treats.… read more

Welcome to intercultural reflections! 0

Welcome to intercultural reflections!

Hello and Guten Tag,

My name is Michelle Diehl. I am an American living in Germany who teaches a variety of business skills, including German – American intercultural understanding to many, many fine professionals here in Germany. Thanks to the thoughtful contributions of my training participants, each seminar brings me to an even higher and more nuanced level of understanding, and I hope to continue the enlightening dialogue through this blog.… read more