Self-Confidence, Rationality, Efficiency, Hardwork - How Characteristic Are These Traits for Germans - Essay Example

Germans are thought to be very hardworking and frugal which impresses a lot of people. When Germans start to work on something, they really concentrate and focus on that work to finish it on time and give out quality output. They do not like to be interrupted once work has started and able to combine contradictory demands of efficiency and quality (Tomalin 18).Germans are very assertive in the sense they take pride in themselves and also regard themselves highly. They have high self-esteem and can communicate very well because of they of their assertiveness.

Another German trait is efficiency, sometimes brought to the extremes people often term it as cold efficiency or ruthless efficiency to the point of disregarding other peoples feelings as long as the job gets done. They want nothing to get in their way. Germans are also very rational, using logic and reason to pursue and justify their ends. This trait is often brought to extremes also to the point of becoming almost mechanical and it could be used to justify some wrong ends or objectives through twisted logic.

Assertiveness and efficiency are two traits which are comparable to American values. On the other hand, I find orderliness and rationalism to be the exact opposites. Americans are fond of doing things they like such as living in a disorderly dorm room or starting several jobs at once. Americans are not so guilt-ridden with angst like the Germans with Faustianism.