3.2.1 germany as a worldwide marketplace
TRANSCRIPT
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Major International Trade Fairs in Germany
Industry Name and Location
Visitors
*Books/publishing Frankfurt Book Fair / Frankfurt 286,621 in 2006
Books/publishing Leipzig Buchmesse / Leipzig 127,000 in 2007
*Consumer electronics IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin) / Berlin 212,494 in 2006
Food ANUGA / Köln 161,000 in 2005
Furniture IMM – International Furniture Fair / Köln 125,000 in 2005
Games (video) Games Convention / Leipzig 183,000 in 2006
Industry/technology CeBIT (Centrum der Büro- und Informationstechnik) /
Hannover
385,400 in 2007
Photography Photokina / Köln 162,000 in 2006
Toys/games International Toy Fair / Nürnberg 80,000 in 2007
*Travel & Tourism ITB Berlin (International Tourism Show) / Berlin 177,154 in 2007
*denotes world’s largest
3.2.1 Germany as a Worldwide Marketplace
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Table 1. International arrivals to the U.S. by region & country of residency - January-December 2006
Region / Country 2006 2005
Total – all countries 43,502,211 41,148,537
Western Europe 9,675,462 9,879,934
United Kingdom 4,176,211 4,344,957
Germany 1,385,520 1,415,530
France 789,815 878,648
Italy 532,829 545,546
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce; Office of Travel and Tourism Industries 2007
Table 2.
Numbers of overnight stay for international guests in Germany in 2005
Region / Country 2005 2004
Netherlands 8,430,000 8 020 000
U.S.A. 4,420,000 4 320 000
United Kingdom 3,770,000 3 970 000
Switzerland 2,930,000 3 220 000
Italy 2,480,000 2 680 000
Belgium 1,940,000 2 080 000
Source:: Statistisches Bundesamt Deutschland, 2007
3.2.2 Travel and Tourism Statistics
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Sample 1
3.2.3 Sample Letters from Corporate Leaders on the Value of Knowing German
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Sample 2
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Sample
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Employment Possibilities
The following list provides examples of career titles German majors may wish to contemplate. This is only a
sampling and does not represent all careers you might consider. Some occupations may require education beyond
a bachelor’s degree and/or may require experience/education in another field.
BUSINESS
Business Executive
Import/Export
International Law
International Banking and Finance
Public Relations
Personnel Manager
Fashion Industry
Receptionist, Secretary, Stenographer
Sales
Textbook Representative
Lawyer
Automobile Industry
COMMUNICATIONS
International Telephone/Teletype
Operator
Foreign Correspondent / Photographer
Translator
Advertising (Ethnic / Foreign Markets)
Film and Entertainment
Interpreter
Editor (University Press)
EDUCATION
Teacher
University/College Professor
Textbook Author/Editor
Commercial Schools (Language schools, institutes)
ESL (English as a Second Language)
University Study Abroad / International Students Officer
Overseas Teaching for Foreign Corporations
Diplomat
Missionary worker
GOVERNMENT SERVICES
Peace Corps
Diplomatic Corps
Court Interpreter
Federal Agencies
Customs
INS
Intelligence
Aid Agencies
Armed Forces
United Nations
SCIENCE
Technical Liaison to U.S. firms in foreign
countries
Anthropology
Scientific Research and Translation
Archeology
Museum
Library and Information
Science
Archivist
TRAVEL SERVICES
Hotel and Restaurant Staff
Management Airline Industry
Travel Agent
Tour Guide
Foreign Travel Advisor
3.2.4 Career Planning Resources for German Majors at Southwest Missouri State University
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Marketable skills of German majors
CULTURAL COMPETENCIES PRACTICAL/ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS
• cross-cultural communication
• understanding of cultural differences
• knowledge of culturally specific behavior,
customs, and values
• working social and professional competence
in German
• language competence for speaking, writing,
reading and listening
• understanding of German history, literature,
music, and folklore
• oral and written comprehension
• following oral and written instructions
• attention to detail and good observation skills
• ability to instruct/motivate
• computer skills
• generating innovative ideas and solutions
• identifying resources
• evaluate/assess processes and products
• coordinating work with others
ANALYTICAL SKILLS COMMUNICATION SKILLS
• critical thinking
• creating and clarifying ideas
• gathering and analyzing information
• defining and analyzing complex problems
• ability to conduct research
• clear and concise writing
• understanding of audience needs
• ability to persuade/influence
• effective use of language
• oral presentation/public speaking
Books and articles related to foreign language careers
Great Jobs for Foreign Language Majors. Julie DeGalan, Stephen E. Lambert. Lincolnwood, IL: VGM Career Horizons, 1996.
Opportunities in Foreign Language Careers. Wilga M. Rivers, Marguerite Duffy. VGM Career Horizons, 1994.
Almanac of International Jobs and Careers. A Guide to Over 1001 Employers. Ronald L. Krannich, Caryl R. Krannich. 2nd ed. 1994.
How to Get a Job in Europe. Robert Sandborn. Chicago: Surrey Books, 1995.
Careers in International Business. Edward J. Halloran. 1996
Careers in Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality. 1997.
Careers for Foreign Language Aficionados and Other Multilingual Types. H. Ned Seelye, J. Laurence Day. 2nd
ed. Chicago: VGM Career Books, 2001.
Careers in Foreign Languages. Blythe Camenson. Chicago: VGM Career Books, 2001.
Liberal Arts Advantage: How to Turn Your Degree into a Great Job. G. Giangrange. New York: Avon, 1998.
Great Jobs for Liberal Arts Majors. B. Camenson, S.E. Lambert, J.A. Degalan. Chicago: McGraw-Hill, 1997.
Exploring Careers Using Foreign Languages. E.W. Edwards. New York: Rosen, 1990.
Source: Southwest Missouri State University / http://careerservices.smsu.edu/
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American students have found German to be an especially useful language for expanding career opportunities. Teaching,
translation and related areas (e.g., publishing, media, marketing) offer the most direct application of German language
skills. Who speaks German? Foreign Service officers, journalists, Montessori teachers, professors, politicians, Peace Corps
volunteers, hotel management staff, bankers, research chemists, software engineers, musicians, flight attendants and
corporate lawyers do. Combining language skills and cultural knowledge with other training can provide a variety of
possibilities for students of German. These include various fields of government service, business and banking,
communications, science and technology, music and fine arts, travel and tourism and many others. German can take
you anywhere! Here are just a few possibilities:
Education
Teaching at the middle and high school level is certainly a worthwhile goal. Should you wish to teach at the college level, you
will need to work toward a PhD. There are also numerous additional options for those graduates interested in the field of
education: a '93 alumna of German is currently a program coordinator in the International Programs Office at the
University of Michigan. Another graduate is Senior Associate Executive Search Consultant for educational institutions while
others are career counselors, exchange program coordinators or foreign language audio and computer lab directors.
Travel and Tourism Industry
Graduates may be interested in working in the travel industry and might seek a position as customer service agents or inter-
national flight attendants as did several of our alumni. A '89 alumnus attended the Institute of Certified Travel Agents,
completed the Austrian Travel Counselor Specialist Program, and currently runs his own travel agency.
Translating and Interpreting
You may want to explore the field of museum curators and translate documents, treatises, catalogues and even movie
scripts for a museum. Interpreters and translators may also opt to work freelance at Olympic Games, World Expositions,
Deutsche Welle, the German Information Center, or the UN, to name only a few organizations. Several of our graduates
work as technical translators for Austrian or German firms in the U.S. or abroad.
Political Organizations:
Many political organizations have international ties and need employees competent in languages. One of our
graduates worked as a congressional aid in Washington while another spent a semester as an intern at the UN in
Vienna. Another alumna has secured a post in the Foreign Service and is planning a career as an intelligence analyst in
European affairs. Working for political advocacy groups may also interest our graduates. See the following ad: "Wanted:
Program Assistant for implementation of international development programs, National Democratic Institute for
International Affairs."
Journalism and Publishing
Graduates in German will have learned how to research, write, and discuss their ideas not just in one but two languages.
These are skills necessary to be successful in international journalism. Entry-level positions in publishing usually involve
copy-editing and proofing, such as in the following announcement: "Wanted: Editor (entry level) to edit/proof translated
research articles, patents, etc., at Corporate Translations, Inc."
3.2.5 Career Opportunities for German Graduates
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Business and Law
A number of our graduates have found employment with German and Austrian firms or international firms. A
'95 alumnus is working for "Commodity Components Inc." in Massachusetts, an electronics components company that
supplies Siemens Austria and IBM France, among other European firms. A 1990 graduate is working for Electro-Wire Products
as program coordinator for a BMW project. She suggests: "Those searching for job tips: send resumes to German firms." The
recent Daimler-Chrysler merger may offer further opportunities. Others have pursued an MA or a PhD in Business/ Business
Administration. Graduates may be interested in working in the area of international law. One alumna is teaching introductory
U.S. law courses at the Humboldt University in Berlin.
AREAS EMPLOYERS STRATEGIES • U.S. Government
• Translation and Interpretation
• Teaching
• Journalism
• Linguistics
• Diplomacy
• Civil Service
• Foreign Service
• Security
• Intelligence/Law Enforcement
Agencies
• Census Bureau
• Armed Services
• Immigration and Naturalization
• State Department
• Customs Bureau
• Joint Publication Research Services
• Learn federal, state and local job
application procedures
• Attend special foreign language
programs and study abroad
• Obtain experience in the Armed
Forces
• Arts, Media and Entertainment
• Advertising
• Translation
• Broadcasting
• Editing
• Museums
• News agencies
• Publishers
• Libraries
• Recording Agencies
• Sports Management Agencies
• Learn about the customs and culture
of the country you are interested in
• Keep current with international
papers and broadcasts
• Industry and Commerce
• Banking
• Word Processing
• Customer Services
• Marketing
• Intercultural Training
• Manufacturing
• Banks and other financial institutions
• Import-export firms
• Multinational companies
• Manufacturers
• Retailers
• Law firms
• Find out what companies do
business with and in the country you
are interested in
• Consult resources in the Career
Services office and on the internet
• Consider business college
coursework
• Travel and Tourism
• Interpretation
• Airline industry
• Hospitality
• Travel agencies
• Hotel chains
• Airlines
• Cruise lines
• Take courses in hospitality
management
• Seek a part-time job in the industry
• Improve your computer skills
• Scientific and Professional
• Computer Sciences
• Engineering
• Law
• Medicine
• Information Sciences
• Corporate and research libraries
• Hospitals and laboratories
• Foreign firms operating in the U.S.
• Large hospitals with foreign clientele
and operations
• Environmental organizations
• Develop good communication skills
• Consider an M.A. in library science
• Accrue office managerial skills
• Service and Education
• Teaching
• Social Work
• Administration
• Health Services
• Hospitals
• Social service agencies
• Universities and colleges
• Study and travel abroad organizations
• English language institutes
• Civic organizations in the U.S. and
abroad
• Civil rights organizations
• Familiarize yourself with teaching
certification in the U.S. and abroad
• Notify local hospitals and chambers
of commerce of your willingness to
help
Source: excerpts from www.bgsu.edu (Bowling Green State University)
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To demonstrate how desirable German skills are on the job market today, encourage your students to do a job search
under keyword “German” on a major employment search engine, such as Monster or Hotjobs. Of the jobs found, a
representative sample of 38 different types of jobs that require or recommend German were chosen. They are listed below by
category. Keep in mind that these are in no way representative of all careers in which German is useful or necessary. Rather,
they are the results of a specific day’s listing. Some of the very obvious careers for German speakers, such as teacher,
translator, musician, were not listed. But this does give you an idea of some concrete careers available in which German is
needed.
In Business
Account Manager
Chief Financial Officer
Communications Specialist
CPA / Accountant
Credit Analyst
Customer Service Specialist
Division Controller
Equity Analyst
International Controller
Management Trainer
Senior Financial Analyst
Tax Accountant
In Computers
Customer Service/Web Support
Representative
Manager of Desktop Software
Development
Systems Support Coordinator
Systems Analyst
Software Sales Consultant
Troubleshooter / Support
User Interface Software Engineer
In Engineering
Advanced Product Engineer
Application Engineer
Benchmarking Coordinator Engineering Specialist
Process Engineer
Also look at the following samples (next pages) and links:
The Germany-USA career center: http://www.germany-usa.com/
The state of Virginia lists foreign-owned companies in Virginia at
http://www.runet.edu/~geog-web/alliance/vaworld/data.html
The German Information Center website lists seven German-American Chambers of commerce:
http://www.germany-info.org/newcontent/be/be_6.html
Contact your regional office about a list of German companies in your area.
American Chamber of Commerce in Germany http://www.amcham.de/
For ideas about career possibilities with American companies in Germany:
http://www.amcham.de/links/index.htm
The newly expanded web site for the International Engineering Program at the University of Rhode
Island clearly shows career possibilities (corporate partners/internships) in that field:
http://www.uri.edu/iep/. Designated as the National Resource Center for International Engineering, the
URI/IEP site has additional useful information such as the rationale for international engineering education
(good fuel for any language teacher) and a list with links to all IE programs at American colleges and
universities. CDS international: http://www.cdsintl.org/fromusa
3.2.6 Sample Internet Job Ads Listing German Skills as Desirable
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In a general search of all categories and geographical areas with the keyword “German,” the following results
were found on various employment websites on one particular day (jobs posted only on June 19, 2007)
165 results with the keyword “German” resulted in various opportunities, some of which are listed here:
Account Executive, Boston, MA
Automobile Technician/Mechanic, West Los Angeles, CA
Chef, Charlotte, NC
Design Engineer, Auburn Hills, MI
Electrical Engineer, Irvine, CA
Finance Marketing and Portfolio Analyst, Memphis, TN
Logistics Specialist, Seattle, WA
Massage Therapy Instructor, Shelton, CT
Rigger - Cruise Line, Miami, FL
Video Game Master/Technician, Los Angeles, CA
Wind Controls Senior Engineer, Spartanburg, SC
120 results with the keyword “German” resulted in various opportunities, some of which are listed here:
Account Strategist, Chicago, IL
Associate Software Engineer, Princeton, NJ
Finance Management, Houston, TX
Medical Interpreter, Rochester, MN
Teacher (Language Instructor), Los Altos, CA
Trademark Assistant, Mountain View, CA
30 results with the keyword “German” resulted in various opportunities, some of which are listed here:
Clinical Pharmacist, San Diego, CA
Information Technology General Analyst, Arlington, VA
Nanny, Atlanta, GA
Nurse, Columbus, OH
Program Director – Language Center, Ithaca, NY
23 results with the keyword “German” resulted in various opportunities, some of which are listed here:
New Product Development Director, Rochester, NY
Product Usability Manager - Medical Technology, Dallas, TX
Technical Business Analyst, San Francisco, CA
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Major German Companies in the U.S. Major U.S. Companies in Germany
More than 1,100 companies in German-speaking
countries have subsidiaries in the United States, e.g.,
subsidiaries of German, Austrian and Swiss companies
More than 750 American companies do business in
German-speaking countries
• Adidas
• Aldi (Aldi, Trader Joe’s)
• Allianz (The Allianz Group)
• Audi
• BASF (Badische Soda- und Anilin Fabrik)
• Bayer
• Bayerische Landesbank
• Beck’s
• Bertelsmann
• BMG (Bertelsmann Musik Gruppe)
• Blaupunkt
• BMW
• Bosch (Robert Bosch Corporation)
• Braun
• Daimler-Chrysler
• Degussa
• Deutsche Bank
• DHL (DHL Holdings)
• DKV (Deutsche Krankenversicherung)
• E-on
• Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (Tengelmann)
• Hapag-Lloyd
• HypoVereinsbank
• Leica
• Langenscheidt
• Melitta
• Mercedes-Benz
• Porsche
• SAP
• Siemens
• T-Mobile (Deutsche Telekom)
• Thyssen Krupp
• Volkswagen
• America Online (AOL)
• Citibank
• Federal Express
• Ford
• Hewlett-Packard
• Microsoft
• Starbucks
• Merck
• Merrill Lynch
• United Parcel Service (UPS)
Source: STAT-USA on the Internet, U.S. Department of Commerce
3.2.7 Major German Companies in the U.S. – Major U.S. Companies in Germany
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In the U.S., there are more than 2,800 German subsidiaries and affiliates. Listed below is a selection of the most
noteworthy. They turn over 500 billion in sales per year. According to figures from the Center for Transatlantic
Relations, German firms directly employ some 730,000 Americans and support hundreds of thousands of
additional jobs.
German Parent Company Turnover
in U.S. in
billion €
Employees Major Subsidiaries Business
Daimler Benz Stuttgart 81.5 105,000 Mercedes Benz of North
America, Montvale, NJ;
Freightliner Corp., Portland. OR
Automobiles
Trucks
Siemens AG, Wiesbaden 24.4 93.700 Siemens Energy and
Automation, Atlanta, GA;
Siemens Medicalo System,
Iselin, NJ; Siemens Osram
Sylvania, Iselin, NJ; Siemens
Rolm Communication, Iselin, NJ
Automation technology,
medical equipment,
lighting technology,
communications
technology
Volkswagen, Wolfsburg 17.3 35,400 Volkswagen of America, Inc.,
Auburn Hills, MI
Automobiles
BMW, München 13.1 21,400 BMW of North America, LLC,
Woodcliff Lake, NJ; Technical
Training Center, Port Jersey, NJ
Automobiles
Tengelmann
Warenhandelsgesellschaft
Mühlheim (Ruhr)
11.0 61,000 The Great Atlantic and Pacific
Tea Company (A&P), Montvale,
NJ
Retail (Food)
Thyssen Krupp AG, Düsseldorf 9.1 27,400 The Budd Company, Troy, NY Automotive supply
Bayer AG, Leverkusen 8.9 21,200 Bayer Corporation, Pittsburgh,
PA
Chemical/pharmaceutical
information technology
(Agfa)
BASF AG, Ludwigshafen 7.8 14,200 BASF Corp. Chemical
Bertelsmann 7.3 27,600 Random House, Inc., New York,
NY; Gruner+Jahr USA
Publishing Co., New York, NY;
BMG Music Services, New
York, NY; Fremantle Media
Enterprises USA, New York, NY;
Arvato Services North America,
CA
Media and entertainment
products; publishing
E-on 4.5 11,600 Eon-Light USA, South
Hackensack, NJ
Lighting
Source: STAT-USA on the Internet, U.S. Department of Commerce
3.2.8 German Presence in the U.S. – a Selection of Companies with Significant Holdings
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Table 1. Ranking of GTable 1. Ranking of GTable 1. Ranking of GTable 1. Ranking of Germany's Foreign Trading Partners, 2006 (in ermany's Foreign Trading Partners, 2006 (in ermany's Foreign Trading Partners, 2006 (in ermany's Foreign Trading Partners, 2006 (in €€€€) ) ) )
No. Import Country Of Origin € Mil Export Country Of Destination € Mil
1 France
2 Netherlands
3 China
4 USA
5 United Kingdom
6 Italy
7 Belgium
8 Russia
9 Austria
10 Switzerland
63,490.4
60,518.9
48,750.9
48,517.0
42,829.0
40,325.8
35,499.7
30,181.8
29,895.1
25,205.7
France
United States
United Kingdom
Italy
Netherlands
Belgium
Austria
Spain
Switzerland
Poland
86,775.8
78,011.4
65,340.5
59,971.4
55,876.5
49,249.2
48,921.1
42,159.2
34,725.7
28,820.4
Source: Federal Office of Statistics, Germany 2006
Table 2.Table 2.Table 2.Table 2. Ranking of U.S. Trading Partners in Foreign Trade, 2006 (in Ranking of U.S. Trading Partners in Foreign Trade, 2006 (in Ranking of U.S. Trading Partners in Foreign Trade, 2006 (in Ranking of U.S. Trading Partners in Foreign Trade, 2006 (in US $US $US $US $))))
No. Import Country Of Origin $ Bil
1 Canada
2 China
3 Mexico
4 Japan
5 Germany 6 United Kingdom
7 Republic of Korea
8 Taiwan
9 Venezuela
10 France
303.4
287.8
198.3
148.1
89.1
54.3
45.8
38.2
37.2
37.1
Trading Partners Trading Partners Trading Partners Trading Partners
Most exporting companies (62%) traded with only one foreign country. A small percentage of companies, less
than 0.5% shipped to 50 or more countries. Over 88% of all companies exported to at least one of the top 25
trading partners in 2001. The greatest number of companies shipped to Canada (100,515), followed by Mexico
(45,565), the United Kingdom (39,107), Japan (29,166) and Germany (26,228).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2003
3.2.9 Ranking of Foreign Trading Partners for Germany and the U.S.
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The following is a listing of German-owned and German joint-venture companies in Alabama.
M = manufacturing
S = Sales office
D = Distribution operation
Se = Services
Source: Alabama Germany Partnership
www.alabamagermany.org
Company Location Products and/or Services Activity*
Alabama Precision Mold
Bayer Pursell
CRH North America
Defense Research
Degussa Corporation
DML, Division of Vermont America
ETEC/Durawear
Feralloy Corp
Hoechst Celanese
Hoerbiger Drivetech
Hüls America, Inc.
I.B. Chemical Co.
IMD Corp.
Kauth
Knauf Fiber Glass
Kommerling
Laempe + Reich
Lampi LLC
Lehigh Portland Cement
MAHA
Mercedes-Benz U.S. Int'l
Oris Automotive Parts AL, Inc.
Phenolchemie
Rehau Corporation
Sherman Utilities Structures
Schenker International, Inc.
T.L.T. Babcock
Ultraform Co.
Vermont American
Wolf System
ZF Industries, Inc
Cottondale
Birmingham
Clanton
Anniston
Theodore
Muscle Shoals
Birmingham
Birmingham
Bucks
Auburn
Theodore
Bucks
Birmingham
Auburn
Lanett
Huntsville
Trussville
Huntsville
Leeds
Pinckard
Vance
Bessemer
Theodore
Cullman
Birmingham and
Tuscaloosa
Birmingham
Alabaster
Theodore
Auburn
Bay Minette
Tuscaloosa
plastic injection molds/repair molds
lawn and garden products
auto seat frames
defense hardware
chemicals
cutting tools
ceramic
sheeted and slit steel
chemicals
automotive wet friction products
chemicals
coating machines
stamped auto parts
fiberglass insulation products
plastic injected windows
fluorescent and halogen lights
portland cement
passenger cars
automotive parts
chemicals
plastic injected products
prestressed spun concrete poles
freight forwarder
conveyor components, industrial fans
engineering plastic
precision investment castings
purchasing operation
automotive axle systems
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3.2.10 Alabama-based Companies with Operations in Germany
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German companies are at home in Alabama: Steel giant only the most recent one to make major
investment in state
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A partnership with roots in
luxury automobiles and moon rockets is thriving
between Alabama and Germany, with Thyssen
Krupp AG only the latest German company to
locate in the state.
Once known overseas for farming, poverty and
strained race relations, Alabama is now home to 50
German industries that state officials say employ
upward of 12,000 people. Thousands more work in
related companies.
Thyssen Krupp made a splash May 11 when it said
it would build a mammoth, $3.7 billion steel plant
near the Gulf of Mexico in Mobile County. But
before it, there were other German companies in
Alabama including BASF AG, Degussa AG and —
the crown jewel of all — DaimlerChrysler AG's
Mercedes-Benz.
Like others, ThyssenKrupp said it selected Alabama
because of a combination of incentives, location
and other factors. "We see many similarities
between Alabama and Germany," spokesman
Christian Koenig said. "Generally speaking, both
Germany and Alabama are great places to do
business. More specifically, both have a well-trained
work force and a strong work ethic."
The surge in German industry dates to 1993, when
Mercedes picked a farming community west of
Birmingham for its first U.S. assembly plant. The
factory now makes three different vehicles and
employs more than 4,000 people.
German manufacturers weren't the only ones lured
to Alabama in the wake of Mercedes — Japan-based
Honda Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. of South
Korea have both since constructed plants in the
state. But Germany remains Alabama's largest
international market, with exports of $3.6 billion
last year, according to the International Trade
Administration.
Neal Wade, director of the Alabama Development
Office, said the state's recruitment of international
industries can be defined by two periods: before
Mercedes and after Mercedes. "Everything changed.
Doors were opened to us internationally that had
never been opened to us until Mercedes came
here," he said.
Alabama's ties to the European nation go back
further than Mercedes, however. German
immigrants founded the north Alabama city of
Cullman in 1866, and Huntsville has a thriving
space industry because of the late German rocket
scientist Wernher von Braun.
Von Braun, the chief rocket engineer for Nazi
Germany, moved his team of scientists to what was
then a Tennessee Valley cotton town after World
War II. Huntsville boomed and became the home of
the Saturn V rocket, which first took astronauts to
the moon in 1969. Hajo Drees, the German-born
head of Alabama's industrial recruitment efforts in
Europe, said the von Braun story and Mercedes are
both "great selling points" for Alabama in Germany.
Speaking by telephone from Germany, where he
was on the road trying to recruit a small automotive
supplier to the state, Drees said the strong German
presence in Alabama helps lure more companies
there.
"It becomes a quality-of-life issue," Drees said.
"Germans are respected (in Alabama). You can feel
it." Some of that feeling is nothing but old-fashioned
Southern hospitality, but some of it is calculated.
Trying to make Alabama feel like home for
Germans, the non-profit Alabama-Germany
Partnership was formed to help foster friendships
and make the transition to life in America easier for
European ex-pats. Its one-room office in
Birmingham has ties to Germany's U.S. consulate.
3.2.11 German Companies are at Home in Alabama
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The director of the partnership, Patricia Coghlan,
said at least three Alabama universities have
German-language programs, and several towns have
German festivals, including a dry Oktoberfest in
Cullman, where alcohol sales are illegal.
German-owned industry has developed its own
synergy in the state partly because executives who
speak German willingly help the state's recruitment
efforts by writing letters, making phone calls and
meeting with potential new industries.
"Part of it is their ability to ask, `Did you get what
you were promised? Are these good people? Can
you trust them?'" she said.
Source: Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
ALABAMA TOP TRADING PARTNERS 2006
Rank Country US $
1 Germany 3,619,063,544
2 Canada 2,246,168,787
3 Mexico 960,105,663
4 Japan 774,662,026
5 United Kingdom 742,277,411
6 China 662,243,101
7 Republic of Korea 485,982,331
8 Netherlands 355,527,651
9 Brazil 325,418,232
Source: Huntsville Times, June 17, 2007
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Oct. 30, 2005, by Mark Roth
For many German companies, growth is coming from everywhere but their own country:
Home sour home: Growth everywhere but at home
On this day, the bowling ball is missing.
At the 13-acre Veka Inc. plant in Beaver County
near Zelienople, the bowling ball is a prime prop.
During trade shows, it is dropped from 10 feet in
the air onto Veka's decking material to prove a
point: that the reinforced polyvinyl chloride-and-
glass fiber beams made at the plant are just as tough
as their all-wood competitors.
The bowling ball routinely shatters the wood fiber
composite decking of other competitors at the same
shows, "so they really hate this demonstration,"
Mark Ammer, Veka's manufacturing director, said
with a smile.
Veka's decks, along with its fast-growing line of
PVC fence railing and its mainstay window and
door frames, are one reason the German-owned
company has been experiencing a booming business
of about $200 million in annual sales in the
Western Hemisphere and nearly $750 million
worldwide.
But even though Veka has plants in Germany as
well as in the United States, Russia, Poland, France,
Spain, the United Kingdom, China, India, Canada,
Mexico, Brazil and Chile, almost none of its sales
growth is coming from inside Germany, said Veka
President Walter Stucky. And that sums up the
paradox of the German economy today. Powered by
Veka and other German-based firms in the
international market, Germany is the world's No. 1
export nation. But at home, its economy has barely
grown at all over the past four years and its
unemployment is mired at 11 percent, about twice
the level in the United States. What explains this
contradiction?
Much of the answer can be seen in the challenges
that face Germany's small and medium-size
companies, which employ 70 percent of the
nation's workers.
One of those firms, tucked into an unassuming
building in Carnegie, is Vollmer of America.
Vollmer, headquartered in Biberach in south-
western Germany, makes high-end machinery to
manufacture saws and cutting tools for industry, as
well as machines that sharpen them. The U.S.
headquarters in Carnegie is overseeing a growing
market for the firm's machines on this side of the
Atlantic, said Vollmer of America President Ralf
Kraemer.
The company as a whole is growing, too, Mr.
Kraemer said, but not because of any purchases
inside Germany. Much of the reason for the
lackluster German economy lies in how costly it is
for employers to hire a worker there, compared
with other parts of the world. Stephen Silvia, an
international relations professor at American
University in Washington, D.C., said that a typical
American firm pays fringe benefits equal to 20 to
40 percent of wages, while the latest German
figures show that companies there shoulder a fringe
benefit burden of 65 to 75 percent of wages. The
reason for the discrepancy is Germany's vaunted
social welfare system, in which the state provides
generous unemployment, retirement, disability and
other benefits.
And even though recent reforms have shaved those
benefits, they are still significantly higher than in
the United States, and are stratospheric compared
with low-cost nations in Eastern Europe and the
developing world. At Vollmer, Mr. Kraemer noted,
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the company's tax burden for its employees here is
"much, much lower" than in Germany, even though
the U.S. workers actually get higher benefit
payments than their German counterparts. There
are other significant differences between the
German and American labor markets. Many of
Germany's labor contracts are negotiated by
national associations of employers, which tends to
standardize high wages throughout the nation.
Anti-dismissal rules
It is also much harder to lay off an employee in
Germany than in the United States. "In America, if
you need to reduce your labor force, you say, 'Sorry,
I don't have a job for you anymore,' " said Michael
Brandl, an economist who teaches at the McCombs
School of Business at the University of Texas. "In
Germany, it's much more difficult to do that. You
essentially have to apply to the government for
permission to lay people off."
German law requires companies to take into
account seniority, age, marital status, dependents
and disability in deciding who to let go, Dr. Silvia
said. So if a company does want to lay off an
employee, it has to choose a single person over a
married one, a younger over an older, an able-
bodied over a disabled, and so forth, and each one
of those decisions can be appealed to special labor
courts. The biggest impact of the anti-dismissal
rules, Dr. Silvia said, is that they discourage
companies from hiring older workers, because once
such a worker is signed on, it is almost impossible
to furlough him. And since many of Germany's
unemployed are older workers displaced from the
shrinking steel, chemical and coal industries, their
prospects of ever working again are grim. Other
obstacles: In Germany's service industry, there are
restrictions stretching all the way back to the
medieval guilds on who can be a baker, a mechanic,
a hairdresser, or any of dozens of other worker
categories; and overall, German employees work
many fewer hours than their American counterparts
each year.
"A typical worker in Germany has six weeks of paid
vacation, 38½ hours of work per week and
unlimited sick leave," said Christian Terwiesch, a
professor at the Wharton School of Business at the
University of Pennsylvania and a German native. "If
you just sum up the labor hours over the year ...
you get a 20-percent cost disadvantage for German
companies" because of the extra employees they
have to hire to cover all those days off.
"I think the predominant theme among the work
force in Germany right now is fear," Dr. Terwiesch
said. "I go back to Germany three or four times a
year, and I have never seen the average person so
pessimistic about his future."
Larry Feick, interim dean of the Katz Graduate
School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh,
said it's natural for consumers everywhere to hold
back when an economy worsens and nemployment
rises. But that tendency is worse in Germany, he
said, because "Germans are much more pessimistic
by nature, and their savings rate is higher by
nature." So instead of trying to spend their way out
of a recession with credit cards, the way some
Americans might do, Germans are socking money
away in a society that discourages buying on credit.
The German government under outgoing chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder has tried to implement some
labor market reforms.
The biggest one was to reduce unemployment
benefits after one year to the same level as welfare
benefits, and put more pressure on unemployed
people to look for jobs. But Dr. Terwiesch said
cutting unemployment benefits by itself "is not the
right move, because at the same time they have to
open up the labor market to create more jobs and
give the unemployed a fair chance to work."
To make matters worse, there is still a huge gap
between the more prosperous western part of
Germany and the former Soviet territory in eastern
Germany. Unemployment in many East German
cities is 20 percent or higher, and young people
have fled those regions in search of jobs elsewhere.
German taxpayers also continue to pay a "solidarity
tax" of more than $100 billion a year to subsidize
the East German economy.
The depth of these problems has made many
observers pessimistic that the new German
government, which will consist of a coalition of the
nation's two largest political parties, will be able to
have much success at righting the economy over the
next few years. As the government tries to figure
out its next moves toward reform, large German
companies have begun to lead the way on their
own, particularly in the auto industry.
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Jawboning workers
One significant new deal in recent weeks was
Volkswagen's decision to build a new sport utility
vehicle at its main German plant in Wolfsburg
rather than in Portugal, but only after union leaders
agreed to a special contract that called for longer
work hours and 20 percent lower wages for that
model's production force.
Smaller companies such as Veka and Vollmer can't
jawbone their German workers into cheaper
contracts by threatening to shift production to
lower-cost countries, but they can thrive by tapping
into the much more vibrant world market. By
investing heavily in technology and automation,
Veka has remained the only German company in its
field in North America, Mr. Stucky said, and now
produces 15-20 percent of the more than 30 million
PVC window and door frames in the U.S. market.
Vollmer has found a new growth market in making
and repairing diamond tipped cutting tools used in
the metalworking, rubber and composites
industries, Mr. Kraemer said, but unlike Veka, it's
not likely to build production plants in the United
States. One reason, he said, is that the German
labor system still has one significant edge over
America for manufacturing firms like his -- a strong
apprenticeship system that produces highly skilled
workers who develop a lifetime loyalty to their
firms.
Still, Mr. Kraemer has never regretted coming to
the United States because it offers something
Germany has not yet achieved - a greater sense of
individual autonomy.
"I love going back to visit in Germany, but I don't
get homesick," Mr. Kraemer said. "It's really what
makes me feel very comfortable here - that we are
in charge of our own destiny." Mr. Stucky agrees. "I
always said if there's a chance to move to the U.S.,
I'll take it, and now I've been here for 18 years," he
said. Why did he want to make the move?
"Basically, it was the way business is done here.
There's a lot less bureaucracy."
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3.2.13 Does Speaking a Foreign Language Have an Impact on Earnings?
This article is best used with students who are
focused on selecting a career. It is important to stress
that the best job options are available to students who
combine German skills with other competencies.
This is a question that most Americans face and answer in
their education years. It is more relevant as the use of English
as the international common language becomes more
extended. Learning a second language is a possibility
many consider at some point. Language courses are an option
or a requirement in elementary, secondary, and college
education. Private foreign language institutions,
educational materials, and distance courses are
regularly advertised in newspapers and magazines. Reports
in the popular press suggest that speaking a second
language has become a “desirable skill in the work force,
one employers are willing to pay for.”
Despite the salience of the decision of whether to invest in
a second language and the anecdotal evidence that suggests that
it is a valuable skill in the labor market, little research has
been undertaken on the labor market returns to learning a
second language in the United States. The literature
on language acquisition and labor market outcomes has so
far concentrated on the returns to learning English for
immigrants. In this paper, we estimate the returns to
speaking a second language for college graduates who
are native English speakers in the U.S.
We find that college graduates who speak a second
language earn, on average, wages that are two percent higher
than those who don’t. We include a complete set of controls
for general ability using information on grades and college
admission tests and reduce the concern that selection
drives the results controlling the academic major
chosen by the student. We obtain similar results with
simple regression methods if we use nonparametric methods
based on the propensity score and if we exploit the temporal
variation in the knowledge of a second language. The
estimates, thus, are not driven by observable
differences in the composition of the pools of
bilinguals and monolinguals, by the linear functional
form that we impose in OLS regressions, or by
constant unobserved heterogeneity.
To reduce the concern that omitted variables bias our
estimates, we make use of several instrumental variables
(IVs). Using high school and college graduation
requirements as instruments, we estimate more
substantial returns to learning a second language, on the
order of 14 to 30 percent. These results have high
standard errors, but they suggest that OLS estimates may
actually be biased downward.
The estimation of the returns to speaking foreign
languages may have important policy implications. Many
states regularly update their high school graduation
requirements. There is much discussion on the skills
that secondary education should provide. Skills rewarded
in the labor market seem of paramount importance among
these. The relative labor market value of second
language skills should thus weigh heavily in these choices.
Colleges and other educational institutions also need to
make decisions on graduation requirements. This paper
should provide helpful input to these issues.
Furthermore, our results may help us understand
individual decisions on whether to learn a second
language. Human capital theory guides our
understanding of the individual’s decision. One should
invest in the acquisition of a foreign language if the
present value of the future returns for doing so exceeds
the costs. Some of the returns from learning a second
language consist of the direct consumption of services
produced by the individual’s knowledge of the language.
Speaking a second language while traveling abroad,
asking an immigrant shopkeeper for a product in her
native language, and relating to foreign friends are all
examples of these. This paper cannot address them.
The value of the labor market skills that learning a
foreign language provides is the other important
component of the returns to learning the language. Our
objective is to quantify it.
There are several reasons that can make the knowledge of
a foreign language useful in the American labor
market. First, American companies export and
import products to the rest of the world. Knowledge
of a second language may be a valuable asset for
such companies doing business abroad or for
companies catering to immigrants or people of
foreign background within the U.S.
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Offering a service in the language of the prospective customers may be demanded from several
government agencies that deal with foreign affairs: diplomatic service, CIA, military intelligence, and the like.
Additionally, an extensive literature suggests that learning a second language may help individuals
develop their cognitive and communicative abilities. Research in linguistics underlines the possible
advantages of bilingualism in terms of intellectual and academic achievement. If speaking a second
language is important for improving cognitive capabilities, we should find that the individuals who speak
a second language are more productive and earn higher wages; at the same time, access to foreign media
and literature may help innovation and adoption of best practices from abroad and improve workers’
productivity.
Source: Introduction from Working Paper 02-16, The Returns of Speaking a Second Language, October 2002.
http://www.phil.frb.org/files/wps/2002/wp02-16.pdf
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• The need for Business German knowledge has only become more dominant over the last decade. A global
mindset for Americans is essential for keeping our role as a major player in the international
market.
• A study of 1,250 businesses and industries in the Atlanta and the Southeast indicated they want access to a supply of
college graduates with international business skills.
Among the most desired skills of future employees were: 56% knowledge of the business customs of other
countries, 53% knowledge of the management practices of other countries; 48% knowledge of a foreign language
• Number of departments in colleges which offered Business German courses
1991 - 97 departments
1999 - 141 departments
Here is the breakdown:
Courses offered
German for Business 132
German for Engineering 16
German across the Curriculum 28
Minors offered
German for Business 67
German for Engineering 11
Degrees offered
Bachelor in German for Business 74
Bachelor in German for Engineering 10
MA in German for Business 7
Source: Excerpts from article by Cothran, Bettina and Anne-Katrin Gramberg: Business German: The Next Step - The Birth of a New
Discipline; in: Unterrichtspraxis, 33 (2000): 148-171
3.2.14 The Growth in Business German
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The following article was published in March 2005 in the Handelsblatt.
Amerikanische Studenten entdecken die deutsche Sprache: US-Universitäten locken mit
Praktika und speziellen Fächerkombinationen MONICA VON WYSOCKI, NEW YORK HANDELSBLATT, 11.3.2005. Fremdsprachen erfreuen sich bei
Amerikas Studenten wachsender Beliebtheit. Jeder zehnte der insgesamt 14 Millionen US-Studenten lernt derzeit eine
Fremdsprache. Dies ist der höchste Anteil in den vergangenen dreißig Jahren. Und das Fach Deutsch liegt mit fast 100 000
eingeschriebenen Studenten auf dem dritten Platz des Rankings für Fremdsprachen an US-Universitäten - hinter Spanisch und
Französisch. Das geht aus einer Analyse der Modern Language Association of America hervor. Am Ende der Liste stehen
Portugiesisch und Koreanisch.
Diese Entwicklung ist schon deshalb bemerkenswert, weil nach Erhebungen des Goethe-Instituts vom Jahresanfang das
Interesse am Fach "Wirtschaftsdeutsch" weltweit zurückgegangen ist. Demnach ist die Zahl der Studenten, die am Goethe-
Institut die Prüfung im Fach "Wirtschaftsdeutsch International" abgelegt haben, in den vergangenen Jahren um ein Drittel auf nur
noch 763 Studenten gesunken. Die amerikanischen Universitäten haben sich erfolgreich von diesem Trend
abgekoppelt und locken ihre Studenten mit Doppelstudiengängen wie etwa einer Kombination aus Deutsch und
Ingenieurwissenschaften.
Die Modern Language Association of America kommt in ihrer Analyse zu dem Schluss, dass die amerikanischen
Studenten nun zunehmend die Wichtigkeit von Fremdsprachen in einer globalisierten Gesellschaft begreifen. "Heute sind
schon die Erstsemester viel pragmatischer eingestellt und fragen direkt: Was habe ich davon, Deutsch zu studieren?",
sagt Harald Zils, Gastprofessor an der Binghamton University.
Eine wachsende Zahl von US-Universitäten hat den Trend erkannt und bietet entsprechende Progamme an. So hat die
Georgia Tech University, eine Hochschule mit 17.000 Studenten, ein Deutschprogramm für Studenten der
Ingenieurwissenschaften entwickelt. Zum Studium gehört auch ein bezahltes Praktikum bei einem Unternehmen in
Deutschland.
"Der Student kann dann beispielsweise ein Semester an unserer Partneruniversität TU München studieren und ein
Praktikum bei Siemens machen", sagt Bettina Cothran, Professorin an der Georgia Tech University. Für die Studenten kann das
Praktikum bei Siemens auch den Einstieg in das Berufsleben bedeuten. Auch die Unternehmen profitieren von dieser
Entwicklung an den US-Universitäten. "Wir sind bisher von keinem Praktikanten der Georgia Tech enttäuscht worden
und haben fast alle Absolventen entweder bei Siemens in Deutschland oder in den USA fest angestellt", sagt Ricardo Wiedenbrüg,
der sich bei Siemens mit den Universitätskontakten beschäftigt.
Seit 15 Jahren baut die Georgia Tech University immer weitere Partnerschaften mit deutschen Unternehmen auf. Konkret
schlägt sich die Pflege dieser Partnerschaften in den Einschreibezahlen der Universität nieder. Die Georgia Tech verzeichnete
eine Steigerung von 23 Prozent innerhalb von drei Jahren im Fach Deutsch.
Auch das International Engineering Program (IEP) der University of Rhode Island bietet diesen Doppelstudiengang an und
vermittelt die Studenten an deutsche Partnerunternehmen. Seit 1990 entstanden an der Universität 30
Partnerschaften mit Unternehmen in Deutschland und der Schweiz. Französische Unternehmen sind dagegen nicht so
begehrt. Mit ihnen gibt es nur drei Partnerschaften.
Source: www.handelsblattmachtschule.de
3.2.15 American Students Discover German
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Here are a few more general links to “all things German.”
• http://german.about.com/
• www.redensarten-index.de
• http://webgerman.com/german/
• www.germanculture.com
The main portal of the Goethe-Institut worldwide is also an excellent cyber starting point
• www.goethe.de
3.2.16 General Links