KuBus 54 - Foreigners in business 00'00" BA 00'03" These are hard times for business. And not only in Germany. 00'08" Throughout the world large companies are losing jobs. Many of them irrevocably. 00'17" And always, when the big companies can t make it, it is up to the small concerns. 00'24" The middle-classes are expected to put it right. Medium sized, small and even the smallest businesses. 00'31" Trade, retail and service industries as the engine of commerce. 00'39" A new independence of business is supposed to show a way out of the crisis. 00'48" Wuppertal. 00'50" Near the famous overhead railway Georgios Paridis has his carpet factory. 00'56" In German terms, Mr. Paridis has a most unusual career behind him. 01'01"
Mr. Paridis is Greek and first came to Germany in 1979 but not as a guest worker like most of his compatriots. 01'11" No. Right from the beginning Georgios wanted to be a businessman. elf sufficient and independent. 01'15" Original sound, Georgios Paridis (Off) "I was born in northern Greece... 01'19" (On)...I came from a family of ordinary farmers and we had to work hard to earn our daily bread... 01'28" (Off)...and so that I could finish school. When I arrived in Germany it was clear 01'33" (On)...that everything here functioned in a different way from Greece. I could compare Greek conditions with the German situation and I saw right away that here was a good place for a business that could grow. 01'46" (Off) Some find it hard to take seriously a foreigner setting up his own business, they expect all foreigners to be guest workers 01'53" (On)...but thankfully not all business people are like the ones who say, "Your boss is Greek? How did that happen then?" 02'03" It is a mighty leap from agricultural labouring in the Greek provinces to running a business in Germany, but it s no longer so unusual. 02'11" About 270,000 businesses in Germany have a foreign boss. And they account for a million jobs. 02'20"
An economic factor that is being encouraged. Through Kausa, for example, an initiative of the Federal Government along with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry that concerns itself with training schemes for foreign run businesses. 02'37" Original sound, Katharina Kanschat, KAUSA "Foreign businessmen have begun to play a very big part, and one can say that their numbers have gown rapidly over the last ten years and that has been accompanied accordingly with its own economic capacity. I think that in the meantime a number of foreign businesses have made a big contribution to the German economy, particularly in terms of foreign trade which is of classic importance for the German economy and in building bridges to countries like Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal." 03'11" For foreigners, setting oneself up in Germany is a lot easier today than it was 20 years ago. 03'19" In practice there are fewer hurdles. Anyone setting up business in one of the member states of the European Union is free to open branches in others without restriction. 03'29" But there are also special regulations and agreements for people who are not EU citizens. No one wants to put the brakes on a successful business especially in times of high unemployment and empty cash registers. 03'43" Attila Ihmer has been in the grocery trade for more than twenty years. Born a Turk he runs a delicatessen wholesalers in Cologne and employs 13 workers. 03'54" When he started he had to assume German nationality to run his business. 04'05" Original sound, Attila Ihmer (Off) "At that time there weren t so many Turkish businesses, they were mainly run... 04'10" (On)...by front men, as it were. There were some Germans, a few Turks were married to Germans, who could go start a business, and so on."
04'22" Mr. Ihmer maintains business contacts throughout the world and is happy enough with his situation. Despite some of the idiosyncracies of being based in Germany. 04'33" Original sound, Attila Ihmer (Off) "I can t complain, really. Even though we sometimes have problems with the Health Authorities who can be pettier than anyone else in Europe. On the other hand it is a good thing that one is so strict about food. 04'50" (On) I feel fairly powerful knowing that my business has paid more than a hundred and twenty million Marks in tax up until now. The people I value who know me also know that. But anywhere else I am treated just like any other Turk or foreigner, that much is obvious." 05'19" Cosmopolitan and focussed on success. Mr. Ihmer s wholesale company has all of the appearances of a modern business. The fact that virtually all of his employees are Turkish is chiefly because of the stock he handles. But that s not the only reason. 05'34" Original sound, Attila Ihmer (Off) "In the past we have hired a couple of Germans as drivers. Some times they have little to do, in the summer when things are quiet they are off the road. 05'44" (On) But when we re busy and they re needed to put in an extra hour they want overtime. The German workers are not as flexible as the Turkish workers." 05'58" Philippos Platis is an experienced motor mechanic. 06'04" He might have his own car repair business but he doesn t possess a master craftsman certificate. Without it you are not allowed to run a repair workshop in Germany. 06'15" Consequently Philippos is obliged to hire a master craftsman just to meet the letter of the law.
06'22" Original sound, Philippos Platis "That, I think, is typically German. In the meantime it is also happening in other countries but I think it should be up to every customer to decide for himself. There are workshops with and without a master craftsman and if I want to go to one because I feel safer that way I should. But if I don t then, my God, I should be able to go to another workshop." 06'47 It is well to note that Mr. Platis doesn t have this problem because he is a foreigner. But the problem is all the same an obstruction to the freedom of a business to establish branches within Europe. 06'57" Original sound, Katharina Kanschat, KAUSA "A serious factor for many businessmen is that things are harder and tighter when it comes to tradesmen. Job qualifications from foreign countries and that is an immense problem these job qualifications get only scant recognition here in Germany." 07'17" The process for settling the different European interests has for a long time been far from concluded. 07'23" But workshops set up by foreigners show, as a rule, how normality in daily working life can be successfully achieved. 07'30" Original sound, Fritz Burkhard, Car Mechanic - Master craftsman (Off) "Mr. Platis is someone who has really adapted and fitted in here but despite the whole business he has not lost his mentality 07'38" (On)...he is still a Greek. He s a really great type and a good boss. We have no problem at all with that. But other undertakings are no different than this one. Perhaps here there is a bit more tolerance than there is in other businesses." 08'00" About 40% of all employees in foreign owned businesses are German.
08'06" As with Gerda Hahn who keeps books for Georgios Paridis. 08'11" There are special aspects of this co-operation, though, that everyone concerned needs to get used to. 08'19" Original sound, Gerda Hahn, Book keeper (Off) "What really bothers me is that when the Greeks are all together 08'25" (On)...they only speak Greek among themselves. Whether they are on the telephone or talking to each other. And as a German you feel very uncomfortable when you re there. I don t know why but you always have a bad feeling that they are talking about something you have done. Greece is a southern land and the laws there are taken a bit more lightly than here. At the beginning I had a lot of work putting Herr Paridis on the right track. I had to lead him, because ultimately it s my neck on the block." 09'07" As much as the business intiative by foreigners is welcomed by politics and business, there is just as much regret that these businesses don t offer more training facilities. 09'17" Germans standards of job training are seen as being too complicated and too demanding. 09'22" Original sound, Katharina Kanschat, KAUSA "Many just don t know how things function. Many believe that it is unbelievably difficult and then they are completely surprised to find that they can carry out their own training with just a few steps. I think that there are lots of opportunities just waiting there that society could profit from if only they were realised." 09'43" Perhaps this is just a generation problem. The firms are still strongly identified with the cultural background of a founder who was not born in Germany which in itself does not make it any easier for a following generation. 09'58" Original sound, Katharina Kanschat, KAUSA
"In any case it is clear that there are wide cultural differences. In small and medium sized businesses there is a lot of familiarity. You are part of a family. There are many Turkish youngsters who say they would never go into a Turkish company for that is just the sort of control they do not want anymore. These sort of things exist. But there are also businesses that are completely liberal and free with their training." 10'25" For Georgios Paridis a good training is a sound basis for all commercial activities. 10'32" Mr. Paridis got both his basic training and further training here in Germany. Now he holds the US and German patent rights on his machines. 10'41" He wouldn t think of changing the German location for his business. 10'46" Original sound, Georgios Paridis "This is a paradise for business activity. You can plan. You have the know-how and the infrastructure; everything is there. Being in business for yourself makes you less dependent on any change of government. A change of government might mean that employees get to earn more but there would be no big changes that could threaten the business itself." 11'15" In the final analysis it is hard to find anything special that makes them any different from German enterprises. 11'23" If at all, then it is in a feeling or personal approach. 11'28" Original sound, Philippos Platis (On) "A lot of people come in here because we give them a sympathetic ear, we don t deal with them briskly but we always have time to chat about any problems 11'38" (Off)...and when we are not too busy we can sit down and have a coffee. It is no big problem and perhaps that is not the proper way to go about business but that s the way we are
11'51" (On)...life is for living." 11'57" This does not necessarily make the foreign employer a bad businessman and experience shows quite the opposite. 12'07" Original sound, Katharina Kanschat, KAUSA (Off) "The tendency is that they are prepared to take a greater risk; the desire for independence is greater. You could even say it was a bit rough and ready. 12'14" (On) These businessmen are a bit harder because that had to fight harder to get there. Just think of going to a foreign country and setting up a business; that s pretty challenging. Or you begin on the assembly line and then you set up a business, that happens as well. I think that not only are they a bit harder but they can see things through and perhaps they are better fitted for weathering a crisis." 12'45" Despite the economic downturn the business flair among foreign businessmen in medium sized companies shows an unbroken desire to take risks and to achieve independence. 12'57" And perhaps we really ought to experience hard times ourselves in order to better deal with such crises. 13'12" End www.goethe.de/kubus