Recommended Reading on Germany

Many books on international business and intercultural studies have a section on Germany. Some of these are surprisingly superficial and out of date. There are, however, some notable exceptions.

Very useful is the e-book by Peter Franklin of Konstanz University of Applied Sciences. It can be found and ordered on the internet.

• Peter Franklin
  “Communicating and Cooperating with German Business People: A Guide for the British”,
  Konstanz University of Applied Sciences

A standard text on German culture is the following book by Greg Nees:

• Greg Nees
  “Germany, Unraveling and Enigma”
  Intercultural Press, 2000

 I like and have used some of the case studies in Patrick Schmidt's book about American and German business cultures.

•  Patrick Schmidt
  "Understanding American and German Business Cultures:..."
  Meridian World Press
  May 1999

As a general introduction to German business, the relevant chapter in Richard D. Lewis' book "When Cultures Collide" gives a good first overview.

• Richard D. Lewis
  "When Cultures Collide, Leading Across Cultures"
  Nicholas Brealey International, Third Edition, 2006

John Mole's classic "Mind your Manners" is also very useful.

• John Mole
  "Mind your Manners, Managing Business Cultures in the New Global Europe"
  Nicholas Brealey Publishing
  London, 2003 

Another old favourite of mine is Craig Storti's "Old World, New World". By means of short, exemplary dialogues he explores the cultural differences between Germans and Americans

• Craig Storti
  "Old World, New World, Bridging Cultural Differences: Britain, France, Germany and the US"
  Nicholas Brealey Publishing
  London, 2001

For those who want to go beyond the level of general observations (and who speak the language) I would recommend Ulli Wickert's "Zeit zu handeln". Have you ever questioned certain trends in German society? Did you not quite know how to make sense of them? Did you wonder what it is that really drives Germans today? Wickert manages to verbalise and explain many of the recent trends and to put them into a historical context.

• Ulrich Wickert
  "Zeit zu handeln. Den Werten einen Wert geben"
  Hoffmann und Campe
  Hamburg, 2001

The importance of cultural differences between different nations has been widely acknowledged. Few people will be aware of the fact, though, that such cultural divides can exist within the same nation. In a way which is highly sensitive and perceptive, Olaf Georg Klein takes his readers through the potential communication conflicts between East and West Germans. His suggestions for resolving these problems are very helpful for intercultural communication in general.

• Olaf Georg Klein
  "Ihr könnt uns einfach nicht verstehen!
  Warum Ost- und Westdeutsche
  aneinander vorbeireden"
  Eichborn
  Frankfurt am Main, 2001

Meinhard Miegel takes a critical look at German society, which he calls a "Deformierte Gesellschaft", governed by complacency, self-congratulation and ignorance. Challenging reading!

• Meinhard Miegel
  "Die deformierte Gesellschaft"
  Wie die Deutschen ihre Wirklichkeit verdrängen
  Propyläen
  Berlin, München, 2002