Kapitel 2

A Glance at German Lands

Germany has been one of the most traumatizing and traumatized western countries in recent history. Therefore it merits a closer examination, an additional glance from an intercultural stance. This intercultural approach has only originated in the latter part of the second half of the twentieth century. The concept is new, so new that even the leading US interculturalists barely knew the meaning of the 'intercultural' concept in the middle of the seventies of the past century (Milton Bennett). Thus it is fairly concomitant with the digital age.  So, it appeared two hundred years after Bentham had coined the term 'international' to designate relations between sovereign states. However, the meaning of 'nation' which underlies the term 'international' remains unclear. In countries like England and France, where political union has been realised long ago, the term 'nation' means 'state'. In Germany, which has no such history of political unity - the last 're-unification' only dates back to 1989 - 'nation' cannot be equated with a clearly defined political framework. As a consequence, 'nation' rather refers to the 'cultural community'.

And if the term 'nation' is understood differently, international relations should also be conceptualized differently. Therefore, in Germany for example, there tends to be empowerment of the federal states with regard to international relations, particularly in the economic sector. The pioneers of the intercultural approach continued thinking in terms of 'nations' and 'national cultures'. Therefore, in historically fragmented countries, national culture profiles should be relativized intra-culturally in order to account for possible local and regional differences. Equating fixed cultural values to fixed geopolitical frameworks is only a first step to anchor one's intercultural thinking. The meaning of culture should therefore be contextualized by the cultural history of a country. Subsequent conceptualizations of culture nuance this understanding to allow for a more differentiated understanding of cultural diversity. 

Germany, the country we are living in here is particularly interesting, because it lies at the very heart of Europe, the continent where modern civilization took off. As the heart, core and centrepiece of Europe it had and has to integrate geopolitical and cultural cross-currents of Anglo-Nordic, Transatlantic, Latin, Viking and Slavic origin. Today it has a special challenge of integrating, in addition to the European expansion, a major Muslim community, although it shares this challenge with the major EU partners. The assumed 'labyrinthine' German mind, so termed by N. Holden, and referring to its complexity may be due to its historical fragmentation and these numerous cross-currents it was exposed to and which it had to integrate as a country of the middle - somehow reminding us, at least terminologically, of the Chinese concept of ‘chungguo’ (referring to the middle kingdom) - and due to the structural complexity of the German language. At certain times in its history there was enormous internal complexity with up to some hundreds of sovereign political entities across German lands.  The need to process these inputs may have led, one may guess, to a seemingly labyrinthine wiring. Thus, the uniqueness of Germany seems to be complexity, inner and outer complexity. To manage itself and its environment, to meet the challenge of survival with regard to this inner-outer continuum of complexity it requires order, orders, structure, certainty, continuity, identity, and simplistic solutions. This is the origin and the structure of the German mindset, some key components of its mental infrastructure.  So, the assumed and famed complexity is a very straightforward and simple affair after all. It puzzles the owners of these minds themselves as well as their observers. Variously it has attempted to integrate this diffuse holistic complexity in ever higher edifices of thought, ever more perfect systems for the better or the worse, which our neighbouring cultures have envied in the former and feared in the latter case: The quest for order in complexity might thus be a German values continuum, its reconciliation a key driving force of its subconscious mind.

Using a rhyme in the title comes quite naturally to the German writer of this text. This natural response translates his own conditioning to a more diffuse, holistic, philosophical, poetic penchant of the German mind which precedes its overriding technicality and task orientation observable these days at the level of cross-cultural comparison. As a matter of fact, it translates a value preference, which naturally points to its complementary pole, which is strong task orientation. The two, and thus their reconciliation, are clearly relevant in German culture: 'Romantic, philosophic versus strong task orientation' is the second values continuum, one can observe.  They are two complementary poles on a values continuum that continuously strive to reconcile and balance each other. Positively it is a system of checks and balances, to use a modern Anglo term, to preserve internal and external, individual and social homoeostasis; the art and the need of managing extreme value polarizations. The cause of this continuum can be argued historically. Sometimes it takes the form of a virtuous, sometimes that of a vicious cycle, if we may use the intercultural terminology used by THT (Trompenaars, Hampden-Turner). When the romantic, philosophical penchant allies itself with positive values of philosophy, literature, science, and music…the resulting synergies are that of great philosophy, art and science: a virtuous circle. When the romantic, affective pole allies itself to negative causes, great misery results for Germany and beyond: a vicious circle, which our numerous neighbours may testify to. Just think of the war and related destruction. This German ambivalence along with German extremism, materializing as vicious and virtuous cycles, is a dance on a values continuum which I chose to term 'furorteutoniens', a known Latinism or 'the quest of the absolute', more philosophically. It involves issues like predictability, ambiguity, and extremism. It can be framed in Trompenaars' and Hampden-Turner's intercultural dimensional terminology by the dichotomy 'affective versus neutral' allied with and reinforced by the dimension 'relationship versus task orientation'.  Combined, the two seem to account to a certain extend for the numerous contradictions outsiders as well as Germans themselves observe about Germany historically as well as at present. German history is a dance on these two continua, which provide the dynamism to the 'German soul'. 'Furorteutoniens', though it may be waning - before things disappear they usually grow strong to be cleansed in a catharsis - may be looked upon two-dimensionally, materializing as vicious or virtuous cycles throughout recent German history, depending on what the value preference is geared to: creative or destructive. It can be visualized in the following culture map below (Fig. 1).

So, one may argue that disfunctionalities in German culture, at least to some extent, can be explained the mismanagement of the following two dimensions of cultural difference: Affective - neutral and task-relationship orientation: 

Fig. 1

The crossing of the two dimensions is maybe a formula of and for Germany in science, art, management etc. In Fig. 1 it leads to a virtuous cycle of creativity, alternatively it may be perverted and become vicious as in Fig. 2.  Here I use a culture map to illustrate but I do not postulate the application of dilemma theory as THT do. The two dimensions have to be harmonized within and between each other. The four poles have to be squared. This leads to a quintessential center point. The center point can be connected to the bottom left and top right which results in a straight line - the line of harmony of values - which integrates four poles.  On this middle path, an integration occurs. It is a double helix which is constructive - provided it is balanced! - in both directions. One could map each dimension separately or invert the poles of the combined map to apply orthodox THT dilemma resolution approaches. Here, I have chosen a synoptical synergy model, where straight can be likened to virtuous and the corruption of the straight line to vicious:    

Fig. 2

This straight line of the middle path can synergize infinitely. However, a strong deviation from the center and that middle path may lead to various forms of lopsidedness, for example, to either inhumane management, or some cold-blooded vicious cycle.

Inspired by the THT approach it differs from it in more ways: I differentiate the AFF/EM - NE (affective/emotional - neutral) country culture score for Germany and I add a fifth ethical dimension. Here, 'affective' goes beyond the level of expression of emotion to encompass its substance. The additional 'ethical' and the 'noetic-transcultural' dimensions are the two specifics of my 'transcultural management approach'. The duality of values and finalities is manageable through these additional dimensions. (See “Transcultural Management Profiler”, page 131). 

But, beyond...