Communication and Negotiations in Germany

Communication and a strong multi-cultural team is directly linked. Communication within German teams are direct and blunt, as they value direct communication, being honest and full transparency in relation to negotiations (Commisceo Global, 2022). Whilst this may work well for German teams alone, when operating internationally, German HRMs need to consider that other cultures may have a different approach to communication within their teams and also outside of their direct teams. As a result of this, German corporations may struggle when working with those in China as in their culture, they see negotiations as part of developing a relationship and prior to the negotiations, they should build rapport before discussing deals (Browaeys & Price, 2019). This differs from German negotiations where they would see the negotiation as the main objective and get straight into it. This may offend their Chinese counterparts and could affect the outcome of the negotiation. Weiss (1994) suggests that communication should be seen as a communicative event, where both parties understand the best way to approach the negotiation, taking into consideration the different culture approaches and ensuring that clear communication is maintained throughout the process. Weiss’ (1994) strategic framework is important in showing how the understanding of culture can help communication and negotiation. The framework shows that the more familiar the negotiator is with the counterparts’ culture and vice versa, the higher chance of a successful negotiation (Browaeys & Price, 2019). To improve communication and negotiations within cultures, German HRMs should encourage and train teams going into negotiations on how Weiss’ framework and how to adapt the negotiation strategy used when dealing with other cultures. In these training sessions, German HRMs can follow Weiss’ five steps which encourages negotiators to reflect on their own culture’s negotiation script as well as their counterparts, consider the relationship they would need to establish and under what circumstances the negotiation is under, try to predict how their counterpart would approach the negotiation by undergoing research on their culture and based on that, chose a strategy.

Germany may face issues with communication in a multi-cultural team as they tend to keep their work and personal lives separate. They believe that relationships at work do not have much of an impact on work objectives and that people can work well together without developing a good relationship both inside and outside of work (Briscoe et al, 2016). This could pose an issue when they are working alongside Americans. This American work culture is known for having power breakfasts and drink socials, however events like these would be resented in Germany due to the line they draw between work and personal life (Schneider et al, 2014). In order for Germany to successfully operate globally, HRM leaders need to train German employees to understand the importance of engaging with employees inside the workplace. As per Weiss’ framework, building on communication and relationships is beneficial for negotiations.

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References

Briscoe, D.R., Tarique, I and Schuler, R.S (2014). International human resource management: policies and practices for multinational enterprises. 5th edition. New York: Routledge: New York.

Browayes, M and Price, R (2019). Understanding cross cultural management. 4th edition. Harlow: Pearson.

Commisceo Global (2022). Cross Cultural Management Guide for Germany. Available at: https://www.commisceo-global.com/resources/management-guides/germany-management-guide (Accessed: 5th April 2023).

Schneider, S.C., Barsoux, J.L and Stahl, G.K (2014). Managing across cultures. Harlow: Person.

Weiss, R.S. (1994) Learning from Strangers The Art and Methods of Qualitative Interview Studies. The Free Press, New York.