The unique German economyGermany has Europe's strongest economy and is the world's 3rd largest exporter after China and the US. This is amazing since Germany was destroyed during WW2 and had to rebuild the whole country.
Take a look at this website Deutsche Welle which is Germany's international broadcaster in English. They have a lot of interesting snippets of German and European life.
www.dw.de
This page Made in Germany focuses on the economy.
http://www.dw.de/program/made-in-germany/s-3066-9798
The Mittelstand
What makes Germany different from most Western countries is the Mittelstand (pronounced meetelshtand) meaning thousands of small and midsize companies which employ 70% of German workers. These Mittelstand companies make highly-specialized products (a "razor thin focus") that are innovative and high value and hard to copy. The companies then export these products around the globe, often with little competition.
Take a look at this website Deutsche Welle which is Germany's international broadcaster in English. They have a lot of interesting snippets of German and European life.
www.dw.de
This page Made in Germany focuses on the economy.
http://www.dw.de/program/made-in-germany/s-3066-9798
The Mittelstand
What makes Germany different from most Western countries is the Mittelstand (pronounced meetelshtand) meaning thousands of small and midsize companies which employ 70% of German workers. These Mittelstand companies make highly-specialized products (a "razor thin focus") that are innovative and high value and hard to copy. The companies then export these products around the globe, often with little competition.
Some examples would be:
-Flexi - world leader in dog leashes
-TetraMin - world leader in fish food
-Koenig & Bauer - world leader in making printing presses
They are sometimes called "hidden champions" because the companies are leaders in their industries but few people know about them because their products are so specialized.
One thing is clear: We could use more Mittelstand-style i.e. small and medium-sized companies in the US!
The German Skills Machine
Germany also has a very different education system that the US. At age 16 about half of German kids choose to veer off onto a vocational track on which they can study high-tech skills. Major tech corporations design the curricula and fund these programs and guarantee jobs by the end of the training. So young people choosing this route know they are getting useful high-tech skills and that they will have a job.
This whole system of hands-on skills-based education has been called "The German Skills Machine." We could definitely use a US skills machine as well! NOVA fills that role in Automotive, HVAC, etc. but Germany's vocational system is much broader and connected directly to corporations.
Economist magazine article on Mittelstand
http://www.economist.com/node/17572160
Introducing the German Mittelstand - part of Make it in Germany an interesting website for foreigners who want to work in Germany
http://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/working/introducing-the-german-mittelstand/
Extreme Focus and the Success of Germany's Mittelstand
http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/02/good-old-focused-strategy/
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