Cultural Differences: Germany

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This report is designed to highlight noticeable differences in culture between the USA and Germany. Since the purpose is to prepare Kelly Services for expanding into the German market, I will also note some similarities between the USA and Germany. The differences and similarities will be noted so that our people will have a better understanding of what they will encounter, what they should do, and what they should avoid when dealing with Germans. Some Basic Facts about Germany Historically, Germany has not been a nation for very long. Germany used to be composed of many different territories, principalities, and cities and was not unified into a German nation until 1871. Germany was again divided at the end of World War II and existed as two separate countries (commonly called West Germany and East Germany) up until they were reunited in 1990. The full name of the German nation is the Federal Republic of Germany. It is a federal parliamentary republic with its capital in its largest city, Berlin. Germany is made up of sixteen states, several of which have the names of the separate territories from pre-1871 Germany, such as Brandenburg, Bavaria, and Saxony. That much of Germany existed as separate territories for so long a time, there are differences between different regions of Germany reflecting the different cultural traditions of those regions. Today, Germany has a population of about 82 million; it is the largest European nation, by population. There are 4 cities with more than 1 million inhabitants, and another 11 cities with a population between 490,000 and 690,000. A little over 80% of the population is ethnic Germans. Another 8% are other European ethnicities, a little over 5% are Middle Eastern ethnicities (the largest single minority group is Turkish). The remaining 7% is spread amongst Asians, Africans, Americans, Mixed, and Unspecified. Germany
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