This post was written by Jessica and Greg:
Monday we embarked on our first day of European business
endeavors. The group hit the floor running with a briefing at breakfast on the
two places we’d visit for the day. Greg and Jessica presented on the Department
of Labor and Economic Development and Michelle and Bonnie on Knorr Bremse.
During our visit to the Department of Labor and Economic
Development we received a presentation on Munich as a business hub. Munich itself has one of the world’s lowest
unemployment rates at 3.6% with its top industries being information and
communication technology/media, automotive engineering, and aerospace/satellite
navigation.
Knorr Bremse, the worlds leader in manufacturing brake
systems for rail and commercial vehicles, was kind enough to host us for lunch
and provide an insightful presentation on its history and position in a global
market. Aside from learning about key aspects that a company must incorporate
when expanding into different markets and cultures, we also gained a piece of
German business etiquette when we learned that in such a setting it is not
typical to drink directly from the bottle of water/soda/juice we had received
with our lunch. There were glasses on the table, but we did not pick up on the
que and some thought they would’ve provided an inconvenience by “dirtying” a
glass for them. This miniscule detail gives some great insight on how we on one
hand often do not mean to offend other cultures and on the other hand are not
mindful of their cues in our surroundings. This will be an experience we will
certainly take with us on the rest of the week’s visits.
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