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Reasons to Study German
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Speaking German will enable you to communicate with over 100 million people worldwide. German is the official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg. One quarter of Europeans speak German and German ranks among the top 10 most frequently spoken languages in the world. More... |
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Enhance your employment opportunities in the global economy Germany has the largest economy in the European Union and the third largest in the world. It is the world's leading exporter and importer. More... |
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Get to know one of the great European cultures German is a leading language of science, literature, philosophy, theology, history, music, film and art. Becoming acquainted with artists, composers, scientists, great thinkers and their contributions is very rewarding if done in their language. More... |
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Have a chance to study or research in Germany The German education system has a long tradition (the oldest German university, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität in Heidelberg, was founded in 1386) and a good international reputation. Foreigners like coming to Germany to study. More... |
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Travel in Germany and other German-speaking countries Millions of foreign tourists visit German-speaking countries every year. They want to see and experience King Ludwig's castles in Bavaria, the Austrian and Swiss Alps, German beer at the Oktoberfest or the stunning Rhine river. More... |
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Of course, the internet speaks English - but German ranks as the second most frequently used language on the internet. According to "Netz-Tipp-Studie", 56.4% of web pages were in English, in the second place were 7.7% web pages in German. More... |
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Please keep in mind that German is as easy to learn as any other language. You already know much more German vocabulary than you think: Professor, Kindergarten, Angst, etc. More... |
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Knowledge of German improves your chances of employment. German companies abroad and foreign companies in Germany seek experts with a knowledge of German. Staff in international companies also enjoy an advantage if they know German. In the European Union there are interesting training, study and employment opportunities for specialists with this knowledge. |
In this article, Bill George, professor of management practice at Harvard Business School and former CEO of Medtronic Inc. explains Germany's unusual success in world business.
Bill George: What Minnesota can learn from Germany
MUNICH, GERMANY - The United States seems in awe of China's economic miracle, but rather disdainful of Europe, especially Germany. To the contrary, there is great wisdom in the German economic model from which Minnesotans can learn.
Germany is a jobs machine. Its unemployment is just over 5 percent vs. 8.5 percent in the United States. In Munich unemployment is only 2.2 percent. Germany exports four times as much as the United States with only 30 percent of the population. It has a positive $200 billion trade balance, compared with negative $700 billion for America, and favorable trade balances with China, India and Japan, as well all European countries.
Germans are well-paid, have excellent health care and pension benefits, and save 11 percent of their income. Yet German health care costs only 9 percent of GDP compared with 17 percent in the U.S.
Politically, the country operates like a grand coalition, with narrow differences between moderates on both sides. Politicians put the country's interests ahead of their parties. A decade ago the government went through a restructuring that moderated the cost of wages and benefits to be competitive with Asian countries. Germany is fiscally responsible: inflation is just over 1 percent, and deficits are 3.3 percent of GDP compared with 11 percent for the U.S.
German industrial strategy focuses on sectors where its technology and highly skilled workforce provide competitive advantage: machine tools, automobiles and auto parts, chemicals, electrical equipment and construction. Its financial sector finances German industry at home and around the world. It operates with conservative ratios that enabled most German banks to escape the 2008 financial meltdown.
Leading German companies like Siemens, BMW, Volkswagen, Daimler, BASF, and Thyssen-Krupp are flourishing these days. But there are deeper reasons for Germany's success: relationships between labor and management; its apprentice system, and the Mittelstand -- small and medium-size privately held enterprises.
Labor-management relations. German unions have long practiced "co-determination" with management on corporate boards, but their approach differs dramatically from American counterparts. They are committed to ensuring that their companies do well, produce superior products, and are cost-competitive. Work rules are flexible. Strikes are rare. They focus on collaborative relationships to make their enterprises competitive on a world scale.
Apprentice system: German education utilizes a rigorous system of preparing students for jobs and careers. Students are divided into those who enter gymnasium (high school) to prepare for university education and others who are better suited for careers in skilled positions in 342 recognized trades. They complete their education prepared for a career suited to their talents; dropouts are rare. Those in skilled-labor tracks move into three-year apprenticeships where they learn specific skills, such as computer programming or operating complex computer-controlled machinery. Educators work closely with industrial counterparts to understand skills required for future jobs. Heinrich Heimbold, CEO of Thyssen-Krupp, the world's second-largest steel company, believes labor relationships and apprentices have given his company advantage over U.S. and Asian competitors.
Mittelstand companies. These small and medium-sized firms are export-oriented and focus on high-value manufactured products utilizing skilled apprentices. Typically, they are rural and privately owned and occupy worldwide niche market leadership positions. Mittelstand companies combine long-term approaches with modern management practices like lean manufacturing and total quality management. They work closely with universities and researchers and cluster around large manufacturers. Owner-managers often rub shoulders with workers.
Steven Rosenstone, the new chancellor of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, believes in the German approach to education and industrial competitiveness. "It's a painful reality that many of the 215,000 Minnesotans without jobs don't have the education needed for the new economy," he said. "By 2018, 78 percent of all Minnesota jobs will require some post-secondary education." Rosenstone is restructuring MnSCU to train people for future needs, and also creating custom retraining programs for existing employees.
Minnesota's CEOs are recognizing the importance of Minnesota's skilled workforce. Cargill CEO Greg Page is leading a task force to address these education issues. Ecolab CEO Doug Baker Jr., who chairs Greater MSP, said: "Ultimately, the education and skills of the workforce is MSP's competitive advantage."
In my view, Minnesota gave up too soon on manufacturing competitiveness to focus on the service sector. It's time to refocus on manufacturing advanced technology products, using skilled labor to enable Minnesota companies to compete globally and restore full employment. It's not too late.
*Read this article online at http://www.startribune.com/business/136776593.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue Bill George is professor of management practice at Harvard Business School and former CEO of Medtronic Inc. His e-mail is Bill@BPGeorge.com.
1. (CNN) - The city of Freud, Klimt and the famed Spanish riding school is top of the pops when it comes to the world's best cities to live in, according to a new survey. For the third successive year, Vienna was ranked number one as European cities claimed more than half of the top 25 positions in Mercer's 2011 Quality of Living index, which awards points for a range of criteria, including political and economic stability, culture, health and sanitation, quality of schools, public services and housing. Zurich in neighboring Switzerland came in second, while New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, was third in the list of 221 cities worldwide.
Top 10 Cities in the World Rated for Quality of Life
- Vienna (Austria)
- Zurich (Switzerland)
- Auckland (New Zealand)
- Munich (Germany)
- Dusseldorf (Germany)
- Vancouver (Canada)
- Frankfurt (Germany)
- Geneva (Switzerland)
- Bern (Switzerland)
- Copenhagen (Denmark)