Current Issues in Germany
Currently, Germany is facing post reunification economic problems caused by a number of factors including the flow of refugees into Germany, the flow of East Germans leaving to West Germany, and the poor economic conditions left in East Germany by the Communists. In the East, the unemployment rate remains at about 18%, despite efforts to lower it. Within the political arena Germany remain to be one of the fieriest opponents to the war on Iraq and diplomatic relations between themselves and the USA and Britain and have hit a low point, but given time and talking these issues will be resolved.
Germany has changed a lot since the end of the Second World War. This is a country that lay in ruins, the majority of its infrastructure was destroyed, millions of its citizens were killed and its economy was in tatters. However nowadays nearly 60 years after the war Germany brought itself back into world economics.
Germany remains to be one of the main players in global economics, its many industries i.e. the car industry have lifted it from the depths of recession to become a strong economy.
About Berlin
Located in the north-east of Germany and with a population of 3.5million, one third is covered by woodland, parks and waterways.
Despite efforts to become a city of the future, Berlin has also made every effort to preserve its history. Berlin is home to the largest construction project Europe has seen since World War II, the city is redefining itself.
The construction of the Berlin Wall on Aug 13, 1961 set the seal on the city's division and separated its people.
The city celebrated on Nov 9, 1989 when the Berlin Wall was torn down. After the reunification in 1990 Berlin became residence of the Federal Government, which held its first plenary session in the redesigned Reichstag on Apr 19, 1999. The Reichstag with its new glass dome became an attraction for both Berliners and tourists from all over the world. The new millennium was celebrated with a magnificent party at the Brandenburg Tor. A lot has changed in Berlin since then. And Berlin will keep changing.
Museums
Berlin's museums present art works of international appreciation. More than 170 museums invite to see collections of the world culture such as the Pergamonaltar or the bust of Nofretete, painting works from Giotto and Breughel over Caspar David Friedrich and Picasso to contemporary artists. Spectacular new buildings like the Filmmuseum or the Jewish Museum and the reopening of great museums like the Old National Gallery enhance the fascinating range of Berlin's museums.
Nightlife
Night owls with stamina can also give their undivided attention to the interesting range of pubs around Savignyplatz in Charlottenburg. The area consists of a great number of restaurants and bars where everyone can meet the stars of television or Berlin's culture and political scene. Here is the melting pot that combines symbolically the former west and the new centre to a harmonic construction.
Especially the younger crowd is attracted to the Pariser Straße. At this location you will find taverns, bars, American diners, Mexican restaurants and very modern and stylish discos. During the summer life concentrates on the street in form of many chairs and tables that invite us to rest. In the middle of this street the well-maintained Ludwigkirchplatz with its rich areas of green providing a relaxing shadow is located.
For someone who is going to live in a strange country it is important if they make themselves aware of certain customs within that country or a certain part of the country i.e. Tipping in a restaurant the bill you receive at a hotel, restaurant, cafe or bar often includes a service charge already. A tip is an indication of your satisfaction – 5% is average, whereas 10% indicates exceptional service. Tip taxi drivers about 5%, and porters and others who assist you with baggage one Euro per item.
Berlin is one of the liveliest capitals in the world; it has huge volumes of history attached to it
German Car Industry
Germany is the birthplace of the automobile - in 1887 Karl Benz designed a couch fitted with an internal combustion engine, and the modern car was born. In 1901 Germany was already producing 900 cars a year; today the total is as high as 10 million. The industry employs about 1.26 million people, and over half of all the cars produced in Germany are exported. Today Daimler-Chrysler, the result of the merger between Daimler-Benz, Germany's largest manufacturers of cars, and the American Chrysler Corporation, is the third largest car manufacturer in the world.
The names of the car companies tell interesting, often personal stories. For example, when August Horch designed his first car, another car manufacturer operated under Horch's name, so he was forced to find a new name for his company. He selected the Latinised version of the German word Horch, listen, and came up with Audi. Mercedes was originally the name of an early Daimler sports car - it was named after a client's daughter.
The car industry has remained one of the pillars of the German economy. Currently about 1.26 million people are employed in the car industry. In 1998 5.73 million cars were produced and 3.27 million of these were exported. Daimler-Benz is the largest of the three major players, Volkswagen being the second and BMW the third.
The car industry is, however, facing the biggest changes since the introduction of mass production. With ever changing markets and fluctuating economies mass production in the old sense may be on its way out. Cars that are not sold quickly turn into huge losses for their company. This may be avoided by introducing more flexible production systems. The idea is to produce cars according to customer’s wishes and, more importantly, when they want to buy them. This idea is based on BTO (built-to-order) systems. In Germany about 60% of cars are built according to orders placed directly or indirectly with the factory. The next step, mass customisation, would suit both customer and manufacturer. The problem is to develop a production system that can adapt quickly to a changing demand and supply at a lower cost. Together with American and Japanese car makers Volkswagen is involved in the so-called "3DayCar" project which tries to apply the mass customisation model initiated by the computer manufacturer DELL to the car industry. Considering the size of German car manufacturers like Volkswagen and Daimler-Benz, these new production methods may mean major changes on a huge scale.
Another change is the increasing size of car manufacturers. The five leading corporations worldwide are General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Toyota and Volkswagen. The worldwide overproduction of cars and fluctuating markets has meant that all five have been involved in a number of acquisitions and mergers in order to consolidate their position as global players. DaimlerChrysler is now said to be interested in Mitsubishi Motors and Volkswagen in BMW.
German Car Exports to Ireland
In the year 2000 about 25% of all new cars bought in Ireland were of a German brand. (55.160 vehicles). The largest number of imports, 37 700 cars, were by Volkswagen.
BMW
BMW, which stands for Bayerische Motoren-Werke, started off as a manufacturer of aircraft engines. After the First World War the production of these engines was forbidden by the Peace Treaty of Versailles. BMW therefore began to manufacture motor cycles. Later on BMW bought a company which was licensed to produce a car called Dixi. The cars sold very well despite the economic downturn of the late 1920s and when the licence expired BMW started designing their own models. The company began building six cylinder cars and sporting models. With every new model BMW introduced went a sporting model since taking part and winning races was the best publicity a car manufacturer could get.
During the war the company received large orders to build aircraft engines. Because of its contribution to the arms industry of the 1930s and 40s the BMW plants were banned from production for three years after the Second World War. Two of the company's plants, in Berlin and Eisenach, were in the Russian sector and later were nationalised by the East German government. The factory in Munich remained, but since it had only produced motor cycles car production did not start until 1951. For a while the company tried to both mass-produce as well as develop prestigious models which put it under considerable financial strain. In 1959 BMW nearly went bankrupt but managed to keep going. Between 1955 and 1962 the company produced Isetta cars under licence. This led BMW to work with Italian designers which proved to be very successful for the company. A major reorganisation of the company took place in the early Sixties under the auspices of major shareholder Herbert Quandt. The success of these changes allowed BMW to built bigger cars and offer a more comprehensive range in the following years.
In today's competitive markets the quality of the marketing and advertising of a product is just as important as the quality of the product itself. An example of this is the latest advertising campaign by BMW in the US. Instead of TV and cinema ads BMW financed five short films which can be viewed on the internet. The films are made by internationally renowned directors and are part of a series called The Hire. All films feature a chauffeur and his car, a BMW. Guy Ritchie's film, the first of the series, stars Madonna and was an immediate success. Since the start of the US campaign three months ago (May 2001) six million people have viewed the films and BMW is now considering a similar project in Germany. Surveys showed that most potential customers are far more likely to surf the internet than to look at TV or magazine ads. The campaign, which is typical for so-called Image-Advertising, indicates that the perception of a car is nowadays as important as the actual product, if not more so. (www.goethe.de)
BMW Group worldwide mission statement is:
"To be the most successful premium manufacturer in the industry."
What is BMW (GB) Ltd’s turnover?
(Source: www.bmw.com)
BMW (Bavarian Motor Works) began life as a manufacturer of aircraft engines during World War I when it built a reputation of reliability and excellence.
In 1923, BMW built its first motorcycle and in 1928, its first motorcar - a version of the Austin Seven built under licence.
Production Range.
With a workforce of approximately 2,700 employees, the Berlin Plant builds up to 400 motorcycles of the R, K and F Series a day. Also manufacturing camshafts, brake discs and track control arms for BMW's various car models, the Berlin Plant is an important supplier for other locations within the BMW production network.
Human resource policy
The human factor is the No. 1 criterion in determining a company's relative success. Accordingly, we see our associates not as a cost factor, but instead as an essential performance factor. This is especially true because any human resources policy that is not oriented towards the associate will always lead to negative cost effects in the long run, thus proving uneconomical.
As a future-oriented company, we seek to pursue an exemplary, creative and associate-oriented human resources policy, making significant contributions to business success through our human resources activities. The human resources policy of the BMW Group is an integral feature of our overall corporate policy in both strategic and operative decisions.
What are the BMW Group brands?
BMW
The BMW brand stands for one thing: sheer driving pleasure. Sporting and dynamic performance combined with superb design and exclusive quality
MINI
The MINI brand wins hearts and turns heads. MINI is part of a lifestyle that is cosmopolitan and confident, ready for everything.
Rolls-Royce
Uncompromising concentration on quality is a matter of course. The Rolls-Royce fascinates through unique solutions in detail
BMW Ltd applies selection processes for both internal and external applicants which ensure the appointment of the highest quality staff.
Special selection events are designed to give applicants every opportunity to demonstrate their skills and abilities in a variety of relevant activities and to learn as much as they can about the organisation and the role they are applying for.
BMW Ltd actively encourages its employees in the development of their careers
Generally, vacancies will be advertised internally and wherever possible a current member of staff will be recruited into a position. Only if an internal appointment is not possible will BMW consider external recruitment.
BMW Ltd operates an equal opportunity policy
BMW Ltd offers all employees (Head Office and Dealer Network) the practical support, advice and training opportunities to encourage personal development, aligned to the achievement of corporate objectives.
The BMW Centre for Development team helps employees to select and undergo the most appropriate training programme for their needs. Requirement is assessed annually during the appraisal process
Managers are expected to interact regularly with their team and this process is formalised through "Portfolio" where managers and employees review performance together every November covering the following areas:
- Review of performance against agreed objectives
- Establishing objectives for the forthcoming 12 months
- Identification of individual training and development needs
Planning actions to build on strengths address weaknesses and plan career development.
BMW offer an extensive induction programme which includes one or two days where the person is allowed to talk to fellow workmates on an informal basis. New workers are put into groups and set a task i.e. finding certain places within the factory. They are also assigned a mentor for 12 months this is so if they have any problems they can go to this person and hopefully they can sort it out, usually the new worker doesn’t use the mentor for 12 months it’s normally for the first month or so.
BMW Ltd applies selection processes for both internal and external applicants which ensure the appointment of the highest quality staff.
Special selection events are designed to give applicants every opportunity to demonstrate their skills and abilities in a variety of relevant activities and to learn as much as they can about the organisation and the role they are applying for.
BMW Ltd actively encourages its employees in the development of their careers
BMW Ltd offers all employees (Head Office and Dealer Network) the practical support, advice and training opportunities to encourage personal development, aligned to the achievement of corporate objectives.
The BMW Centre for Development team helps employees to select and undergo the most appropriate training programme for their needs. Requirement is assessed annually during the appraisal process.
Courses available to staff include:
Management
Sales
After sales
Technical
Dealer Service
Managers are expected to interact regularly with their team and this process is formalised through "Portfolio" where managers and employees review performance together every November covering the following areas:
Today BMW has various production plants in Germany, Austria, South Africa and the USA as well as sales offices in Asia and Mexico. Apart from cars and motor cycles the group is involved in the production of aircraft engines. Cars, however, account for nearly 75% of the company's sales. Company's operations also include software (softlab GmbH). Due to recent changes in the car industry there has been speculation about a possible merger between BMW and another car manufacturer, but the Quandt family who owns about half of the BMW shares has downplayed such speculation. In the beginning of 1994 BMW bought 80% of the shares in the Rover Group. The company later on sold Land Rover to Ford and Rover Cars to Phoenix Consortium. BMW is known for its production of passenger and Formula 1 cars as well as motor cycles. In the year 2000, BMW sold 830 000 cars, 74 000 motor cycles and employed 93 000 people.
BMW are and will continue to be one of the largest car manufactures in the world, producing top of the range vehicles for years to come and being a credit to Germany is what BMW is all about.
Bibliography
excellent site provides very good history on the car industry within germany and also that of bmw
Another very good website, very helpful, will post out brochures to you about germany and getting around Berlin. Would be very good to a person who has never visited germany
A good site offering details on accomdation within Germany, although does lack in the fact that it could be more helpful with regards to providing maps etc of germany
Provides good history articles on various car manufacteurs in germany
Provides excellent maps first of Germany then of Berlin, its different regions etc.
Good website providing information on different festivals that happen in Berlin, also features tips on how to live to in Germany
