IS427 cities wiki: 2013T1 Munich/Enter
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Contents
General
Germany is in Western and Central Europe, with Denmark bordering to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France and Luxembourg to the southwest, and Belgium and the Netherlands to the northwest. It lies mostly between latitudes 47° and 55° N (the tip of Sylt is just north of 55°), and longitudes 5° and 16° E. The territory covers 357,021 km2 (137,847 sq mi), consisting of 349,223 km2 (134,836 sq mi) of land and 7,798 km2 (3,011 sq mi) of water. It is the seventh largest country by area in Europe and the 62nd largest in the world.
As we know Germany owns 16 Federated States. The two main religions are Roman Catholic and Protestant. The German renowned companies include: Deutsche Bank, Siemens, BMW, Volkswagen, SAP, Bertelsmann and so on.
Munich
Munich is the capital and largest city of the German state of Bavaria. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, behind Berlin and Hamburg. About 1.42 million people live within the city limits. Its inhabitants are sometimes called Munichers in English.
Its native name, München, is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat of arms. Black and gold—the colours of the Holy Roman Empire—have been the city's official colours since the time of Ludwig the Bavarian. Munich was first mentioned in 1158. From 1255 the city was seat of the Bavarian Dukes, it was an imperial residence from 1328 and in 1506 became the sole capital of Bavaria. Munich was the host city of the 1972 Summer Olympics. Munich is home to many national and international authorities and major universities, major museums and theaters. By a large number of architecture worth seeing, international sports events, exhibitions and congresses and the Munich Oktoberfest is an attraction for tourism. The city's motto is "München mag dich" (Munich loves you). Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" (Cosmopolitan city with a heart).
Modern Munich is a financial and publishing hub, and a frequently top-ranked destination for migration and expatriate location in livability rankings. Munich achieved 4th place in frequently quoted Mercer livability rankings in 2011 and 2012. Munich is one of the economically most successful and fastest growing cities in Germany and the seat of numerous corporations and insurance companies. For economic and social innovation, the city was ranked 15th globally out of 289 cities in 2010, and 5th in Germany by the 2thinknow Innovation Cities Index based on analysis of 162 indicators. In 2010, Monocle ranked Munich as the world's most livable city (in 2012, Munich was ranked fifth in Monocle's ranking, yet remained the highest ranked city in Germany).
Source: http://www.discover-munich.info/about_munich.php
Culture
People
German generally looks very formal and has strongly individualistic value, for example hand-written note to thank host, bring a gift flowers/chocolates if invited to a house. They believe in equality and opportunity, and thus they most of them are very good planners. They do not like surprises and do not want to exposure their life privacy. Titles and credentials are very important to them. They are very proud of their nationality and they love their rules very much. What's more, they also love their cars and dogs.
Bavarians
They are pride in Local Customs & Traditions Bavarian Zest for Life, Highly Opinionated Oktoberfest (Wiesn)
Local Customs & Traditions: folk songs, dances,music practiced by many Bavarian towns and townships Kinderzeche – pageant designed especially for children. Tanzelfest (dance festival) & various medieval knight tournaments
Oktoberfest – originated in 1810 as a wedding feast in honor of the marriage of the crown prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen (other states emulate it, but munich has “the original”)
Attitudes
To Foreigners: Some anti-foreigner sentiment (more so to specific races/religions) East & North – higher intolerance Nationalistic, though varied
Local: Public drunkenness in not acceptable The hand shake & greeting Praise is the absence of criticism Doesn’t matter even if you are a stranger...
The hand shake & greeting – you shake hands with everyone (familiar or not, friends or not, everytime you meet) & you greet everyone in a room/place – no exceptions!
No praises – all good unless stated otherwise (therefore you have to eat everything on your plate else people will think something is wrong – or you will be scolded for not eating enough)
Doesn’t matter even if you are a stranger – they won’t hesitate to give you their opinion
Business
Dressing: Understated, Formal, Conservative Formal, Bureaucratic, Hierarchal Punctual, Suspicious, Blunt Personal Relationship not needed, No open-door policy Deference to authority & credentials Written communication Humor is not appreciated
Dressing: Men should wear dark colored, conservative biz suits, women should wear either biz suits or conservative dresses (do not wear ostentatious jewelry or accessories)
Political History
Bavarian – something dirrent from the rest of germany and they are proud of it – people, biz, attitudes – to mncs, smes, foreign versus local, reactions and attitudes.
Key summary & takeaways
Historical Facts
Began with the arrival of a community of Benedictine monks, back in 1158, founded by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria. Officially became a city in 1175. Name reflects its origins: derived from the medieval German word 'Munichen', which can be translated as 'monks'. 1810: the first Oktoberfest was held. a celebration of the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. 19th Century: the city expanded beyond its boundaries, flourished under the rule of King Ludwig II However, in 20th century: turbulent, difficult times Political unrest in WWI: Munich Raterepublic, a Bavarian Soviet Republic put down in May 1919. National Socialism founded rising to pre-eminence in the inter-war years. In November 1923, Hitler attempted to overthrow the Weimar Republic. In 1933, when the National Socialists took power, Munich became the 'Capital of the Movement'. WWII: Munich suffered heavily from Allied bombing raids, which destroyed more than 40 percent of its buildings.
Post-War: New Germany emerged Massive rebuilding programme began and a more modern city slowly emerged from the rubble Buildings are preserved 1972: Munich hosted the Olympic Games and a stadium was built, together with an underground rail system As a celebration of a new Germany Sadly, however, it ended in tragedy when a terrorist incident led to the death of a number of Israeli athletes.
Munich's history began with the arrival of a community of Benedictine monks. Searching for fertile farming land, they settled on the site of the present-day city. Its name reflects its origins - it is derived from the medieval German word 'Munichen', which can be translated as 'monks'.
Source: http://www.world-guides.com/europe/germany/bavaria/munich/munich_history.html, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/397501/Munich
What History Has Taught Us: Key Takeaways
People’s attitude towards entrepreneurship: Positive Resilience and Endurance Increased their drive to innovate To create something out of value
Entrepreneurship Scene Ecosystem
Bavarian – something dirrent from the rest of germany and they are proud of it – people, biz, attitudes – to mncs, smes, foreign versus local, reactions and attitudes.
Munich’s Economy
Germany's most innovation-friendly city (check) Lowest unemployment rate Home to giants Eg. Siemens, BMW
Entrepreneurship Scene Ecosystem
One of the 2 hubs of Entrepreneurship in Germany Munich Berlin Lag behind in terms of tech startup activity, but also have interesting companies Eg. West Wing
Network of Support
Plenty of support for incubators Eg. Y-Combinator Competitions, such as Munich Business Plan Competition Institutions Expansive network of business angels, venture capitalists and numerous other funding sources Incubators: Wayra Venture capitalists: Earlybird
Support From Local Universities
Incentivizes young people to become entrepreneurs
4 Entrepreneurship Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Technical University of Munich University of Applied Sciences University of the German Federal Armed Forces
Support For Women
Few meetups for female entrepreneurs and women in leadership positions in science and technology previously
However… The Guide Project Women Entrepreneurs
Lack of Government Support
Government is not powerful enough to do anything about the real problems for entrepreneurs Eg. Labour rules
Main Sight
BMW Welt: Munich, Germany› Notable building
"BMW Welt (English – BMW World), is a multi-functional customer experience and exhibition facility of the BMW AG, located in Munich, Germany. In direct proximity to the BMW Headquarters and the Olympiapark, it is designed to present the current products of BMW, be a distribution center for BMW cars, and offer an event forum and a conference center." Credits to: http://www.360cities.net/image/bmw-welt-munich-muenchen-germany#150.20,0.80,80.0
Allianz Arena : Munich, Germany› Soccer stadium
Sporting and architecture fans alike should take a side trip to the northern suburb of Fröttmaning to see the ultraslick €340 million Allianz Arena, Munich's dramatic football stadium. The 75-minute stadium tours are hugely popular (no tours on match days); tickets are sold in the 3rd-floor gift shop.Nicknamed the life belt and rubber boat, it has walls made of inflatable cushions that can be individually lit to match the colours of the host team (red for 1 FC Bayern, blue for TSV 1860, and white for the national side). Credits to: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/germany/munich/sights#ixzz2ieJar74d
Investment Scene
Positive government policy that encourage share ownership Government policy is to encourage a wide spread of share ownership among general public, and a number of incentive programs in order to support the objective. Nevertheless these programs are all rather small in scale and have little effect.
Banks posses greater power Virtually all shares of publicly held corporation are bearer shares and are usually deposited with banks.Therefore the banks offer caretaking services to the shareholders,which include collecting dividends on their behalf and also acting as proxies at shareholder’s meetings. The bank generally recommend how shareholder’s votes should be cast and often seen with greater voting power than how their own portfolios should justify.
Encouraging regulation for foreign participation in industry There are no significant controls preventing or restricting foreign investment as such and the typical form of foreign participation in German industry is that of a wholly or substantially majority owned subsidiary. Joint venture or minority investments are comparatively rare and are usually the result of special circumstances.
House new technologies and traditional industries Munich is distinguished by its mix of sunrise industries and traditional business sectors.It has the most important location for electronic media. In particular, television stations and international IT companies like Microsoft, Apple, Oracle and Lotus have their administrative headquarters in Bavaria.Munich is the country’s second main industrial city, housing world-leading companies such as Siemens, BMW and MAN .
