The Peculiarities Of German Negotiating Style

The paper is about how Germans think about negotiations, and how they use negotiation in promoting their goals. Of course, the German cultural traits play a crucial role in determining German behavior and German negotiating style. We try to present the importance of understanding German negotiating style both because these people are quite fascinating, and because this peculiar culture pushed Germany to the best positions in global economic environment. Their determination, aiming at a precise goal made German companies fearful competitors at global stage. But exactly these qualities are to be identified by someone who enters a negotiation with Germans. They are determined, precise, purposeful, well documented and informed; as their products are: they are: they are durable, powerful, and useful. Both, the negotiation peculiarities and the characteristics of the products share the same German cultural roots. In the same time the precision and lack of flexibility are to be found even when there is a business negotiation, followed by a meal. Each are distinct elements of the same relationship, but they are very separated in time and space. Negotiations and meals are two very distinct social activities. There could be seen how Germans try to use their national food and drinks to create good atmosphere in a relationship, but how different they use food in comparison with Americans, and especially French. If Americans use meals as occasions for business debates (for they time is money), the French would try the best to use French cuisine to create a special mood through impressing the foreigner with their national food and drinks. Germans try to do the best with what they have in culture, and in cuisine, and they do it very well. In the same time the presentation of the Gesamtkonzept has a peculiar space in the paper. Its role in a negotiation is a crucial one, and it is presented in this light. Everything spring from it: it is the conceptual idea which moves the German before, during, and after a negotiation process.