Nathalie Schmidt

"We're Not Better - Just Different": Comprehending Cultural Differences Between Germans and Americans Nathalie Schmidt

The increasing transnational business activities of enterprises and globalization in general, make it more and more important for companies to expand their business activities abroad. Besides the information on the commercial, political and economic factors about the host country the company conducts business with, the cultural aspect should not be neglected. Intercultural competence is as important as facts and figures in order to successfully conduct business overseas. Therefore every employee who is in touch with individuals from different cultural backgrounds ought to be able to manage this intercultural contact. Even though a foreign culture cannot be learned, its main features and characteristics can be observed, analyzed and understood. This book interprets the cultural challenges of German - American cooperation and sensitizes the employees for intercultural matters. Problems and difficulties that occur when people of different cultural backgrounds work together are revealed and explained, with the main focus on the German and the American culture.