As a German, i am very confused about the brit-managment-bashing. The general difference that i noticed in my career is that the Germans have extreme hard discussions about technical Problems of the products; the brits and americans instead are very focused on costs and profits. The most german companies believe in quality as the most selling-factor, not marketing.

Very funy is also the fact of music here. A good example for modern music is, that krautrock was very influential – but the only good documentary was made by the BBC. If interested http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B89-69icyc

Greatings from Germany

People who are obsessed with reducing C02 emissions – yet also obsessed with closing down all nuclear power stations (perhaps they think there is going to be a massive earthquake and wall of sea water – in southern Germany).

And people who are determined to be natural -yet refuse to breed (surely the most natural thing).

These things are very hard to understand.

May be a cultural/generational thing, being Texan — when I think Germans, I think musicians and businessmen. Not sure who’s better at middle-management among these three (though as numerous posts have pointed out, Brits are clearly and by far the worst). I find individual Brits to be brilliant, but most of them to be, contrary to the “truculent” theme, among the most conformity-bound people I have ever met. It doesn’t surprise me even vaguely that the socialist types are so strong there.
I do think it’s a serious mistake to lump the Austrians and the Germans together, however.