the mba stakeholder - HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management

THE MBA STAKEHOLDER
News from the MBA Program Team & MBA Community at HHL
April 13, 2007
Welcome to this Spring edition of the MBA Stakeholder—a convenient way to stay “in the loop”
on the activities of our current students, alumni, faculty/staff and other HHL stakeholders. We invite
your news and views to keep us all informed and inspired. If you have news, please send it to
Dorothee Fleischer: dorothee.fl eischer@hhl.de
Please click directly below on the topics you’d like to view fi rst or read the entire Stakeholder when
your busy life gives you a few moments to refl ect.
HEADLINES / ACADEMICS / FACULTY & STAFF / STUDENTS & ALUMNI /
VIPS / MISCELLANY / WORDS OF WISDOM
. . .
HEADLINES/ACADEMICS
Case Challenge 2007: Cranfi eld and HHL win case competition
aimed at regional development and business solutions
The winner of this year’s European-Wide
Case Challenge was England’s Cranfi eld
School of Management, with the event’s
creator and host, Germany’s HHL–Leipzig
Graduate School of Management, as
runner-up. This year’s challenge was
entitled, “The Power Generation of the
Future: Shaping the Solar Industry”
and was sponsored chiefl y by solar cell
industry leader, Q-CELLS.
The intense, two-day, invitational event
took place on the HHL campus February
2-4 for the third year in a row and
brought together Europe’s top business
schools to focus on regional development and
real business solutions. Case Challenge is open
to around 60 schools throughout continental Europe
and Great Britain. This year seven schools
(eight teams of four students each, representing
13 nations and four continents) qualifi ed for the
deciding round of competition.
Case Challenge 2007’s primary sponsor and cojudge
– Q-CELLS AG of Thalheim, Sachsen-Anhalt,
Germany – is the world’s largest independent
solar cell producer and is widely recognized
for its high research and development profi le. Q-
CELLS expects to employ 5,000 thousand workers
and professionals in the high-performance
solar cell industry in the Leipzig region and to
be earning € 500 million annually by 2010.
Runner-up HHL team (left to right): M7s Erik Janshen, Katharina
Rosenbohm, Thomas Heißmeyer and Sven Stegmann.
Other sponsor-participants were the Chamber of
Industry and Commerce Halle-Dessau and the
Economic Initiative for Central Germany. International
automotive and logistics leaders BMW
and DHL served as lead sponsors in previous
years.
Each team’s challenge was to assess the potential
and deliver the best ideas for addressing
Q-CELL’s challenges and for growing central
Germany’s photovoltaic and cluster industries.
According to Dr. Joachim Reiß, there to represent
Q-CELLS’ strategic business development
division, “The presentations gave us many ideas
we would like to consider further and others that
we plan to implement right away.”

After being notifi ed in late December that they
had been selected and receiving the Q-CELLS/
HHL-developed case in mid-January, the fi n-
alist teams had barely two weeks to prepare their
case analyses in English. Once in Leipzig, they
had but ten hours to work on an additional assignment
before presenting their entire case to
a professional panel of judges. Challenge funds
paid most of their accommodation and travel expenses.
First place winner, the Cranfi eld Challengers,
took home €1000 Euros to be divided
among team members Dr. Steve Allum, Johnny
Johnston, Stuart Kistruck and Jeremy Carey.
The top two teams received trophies and all 32 participants
got handsome certifi cates for their efforts.
The winning HHL team consisted of MBA students
belonging to the seventh MBA class at HHL:
M7s Erik Janshen, Sven Stegmann, Thomas
Heißmeyer and Katharina Rosenbohm. As
one HHL administrator observed, “The Cranfi eld
presentation was extraordinary, so HHL had stiff
competition against which they did very well, indeed.”
Case Challenge 2007 student organizers
were: M7s Hicham Bou Habib, Jürgen Eschment,
Lili Grigorova, Ken Klatt and Konstantinos
Santikos and M6s Bidisha Chakrabarty
and Pedja Popic, led by M6 Javier Gómez.
As Cranfi eld spokesman David York, noted,
“the event was perfectly organized and really
impressed us – HHL and Q-CELLS were super
hosts!” Dr. Steve Allum, leader of the winning
team, typifi ed the event as a win-win situation for
everyone involved. HHL Dean, Prof. Dr. Hans
Wiesmeth, summed it all up by saying of the
Case Challenge, “In light of high caliber events
like this one, we can certainly look forward to future
business-education partnerships with great
optimism.”
Editor’s note: Last Summer, a stalwart team
of HHL MBA students took it upon themselves
to enter Cranfi eld’s famous sailing regatta.
HHL’s was the winning German team. Well,
they were the only German team, but they
gave new meaning to the sporting term: win,
place or show! To help beat this untarnished
record in the upcoming July 2007 regatta (and
if you are a current HHL MBA student or alumna/us),
please contact P2 Friedhelm Wachs:
friedhelm.wachs@hhl.de.
. . .
London Business School
back in the city of Bach
Following a successful introductory study-tour in
2006, MBA students and faculty from the London
Business School will again visit Leipzig and HHL
in 2007. Last year’s event was so rewarding
that it boosted demand from two sets of visitorscholars
April 26-28 and May 3-5 and will, once
more, focus on the automotive cluster topic.
Those visiting in April will stay at the NOVOTEL.
Following Friday morning breakfast on the 27th,
they will enjoy a guided tour at BMW, and then
be whisked off to Porsche in the early afternoon.
They expect to arrive at HHL around 4 p.m. for
a discussion of innovations in the auto industry
– led by HHL and LBS faculty. The remainder of
their trip will be devoted to peer networking and
free time in the lively university town of Leipzig.
The second group, arriving in May, will stay at
the Mercure-am Gutenbergplatz. Although they
will get to see Porsche mid-day May 4th, they will
miss the BMW tour due to production scheduling.
This gives them the opportunity, however,
to arrive about an hour early at HHL for refreshments
and interaction with members of the HHL
community. They, too, will have the opportunity
to enjoy the culture, shopping and Spring weather
Leipzig has to offer.
For further details, please contact the Chair of
Strategic Management and Organization: Prof.
Dr. Torsten Wulf and/or Christine Gille at:
christine.gille@hhl.de.
. . .
Global Immersion Seminar takes shape
The P2 class (Part-time MBA) will conclude its
studies in September 2007 with a weeklong
trip to Boston and Cambridge and the upper
New England “high tech beltway” to explore
cutting-edge academic and business themes.
Still refi ning the itinerary, the organizers – HHL
Visiting Professor Dr. Stefan Spinler, Christian
Rook (an HHL MBA and until recently CEO of
Brooks Automation GmbH) and HHL MBA Executive
Director Petra Spanka – are targeting visits
to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology
with emphasis on Supply Chain Management),

the Fletcher School, Harvard Business School
(Institute for Strategy and Competition) et al., as
well as discussions with corporate leaders in the
Boston-Cambridge area.
HHL visiting professors, Christopher “Rusty”
Tunnard of the Fletcher School and entrepreneur
Dean Goodermote of Double-Take (see
related VIP article) are arranging visits with their
respective area contacts. Christian Rook has set
up visits to several fi rms, including Brooks Automation,
Lytron and Presstek (as of this writing).
Stay alert for further details in the August 2007
Stakeholder about what is expected to be an intense
and rewarding “capstone” to the Part-time
MBA studies program.
. . .
Nixdorf Stiftung funding to create
new chair in IT/logistics
HHL announced in February that it is the recipient
of a Heinz Nixdorf Stiftung grant to sponsor
a chair in IT-supported logistics. Sponsorship
of this discipline promises to benefi t students in
the MBA program in the form of actual coursework,
visits to and by fi rms, and lectures from
leading logistics experts. All this takes place
in a city of growing importance to the logistics
industry, given that Leipzig is the home of DHL
headquarters, as well as a key storage location
for Amazon.com book operations and a lynchpin
in other trade and delivery service developments
throughout Europe. IT know-how is, in turn, a
major factor in logistics success.
. . .
L-BEST Seminar 2007 begins in May
HHL’s unique L-BEST seminar (Leadership–
Business, Ethics, Society and Technology) features
internationally prominent speakers in a
give-and-take dialogue between guest speakers
and students/faculty/guests in an informal setting.
L-BEST is offered to MBA students and,
for the fi rst time in 2007, to Diplom students.
Richard B. Mancke, HHL’s Professor of Public
Policy and Leadership, directs the program.
In addition to the Full-time MBA and Diplom version
of L-BEST, there is a Part-time MBA version
for mid-career students. The P2 and P3 (current)
classes will engage in a one-day, panel-
discussion event on the 18th of May, immediately
prior to HHL‘s European Ivy League Fußball/soccer
competiton. The over-arching theme for this
day is “Learning from Challenges.” In addition,
the P2 class will visit Boston/Cambridge in September
2007 for an intensive course, the Global
Immersion Seminar (see related article).
Although the subjects addressed in the L-BEST
course are diverse, there is a unifying theme:
changes in the external environment in which
every fi rm conducts business frequently confront
a fi rm and its management with great challenges
as well as great entrepreneurial opportunities.
Effective leadership is a major factor in meeting
challenges creatively and successfully.
The 2007 roster of distinguished speakers is as
follows (*indicates a return visitor to the L-BEST
seminar):
4 May (recruiting weekend) – Prof. Dipl.-Ing.
Menno Harms*
Twice CEO of HP Germany and an honorary professor
at the University of Stuttgart, Prof. Harms
currently heads his own consultancy (Menno
Harms GmbH) and serves on the boards of
many corporations and non-profi t organizations.
He is an annual guest of the L-BEST seminar
as well as a participant in HHL’s MBA recruiting
weekend.
5 May (recruiting weekend/L-BEST adjunct
event) – M3 Jack Artman*
Infi neon Technologies AG Germany
Senior Manager of Mergers & Acquisitions, Infi -
neon Technologies AG, Germany, Jack Artman
served as a fi nancial-investment analyst and
Captain in the United States Marine Corps. Jack
holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political
Science from Stanford University and received
HHL’s esteemed Schmalenbach Scholar
Award for his outstanding work as a member of
the HHL MBA Class of 2003. He has conducted
several Leadership workshops, etc. on behalf of
his alma mater.
8 May – Dr. Johannes Meier*, Vorstand
Bertelsmann-Stiftung
Currently on the Management Board of the Bertelsmann
Foundation where he has responsibility
for Personnel and Finance as well as the subject
area of Society and the Economy, Dr. Meier

was previously CEO of GE Compunet Computer
and, prior to joining Compunet, a Principal at
McKinsey. He is a regular L-BEST participant,
having addressed the management principals of
General Electric and the policy implications for
Germany and Europe of current and projected
demographic trends.
16 May – Dr. Ulrike Wolff
Dr. Wolff, Management Beratung
Dr. Wolff began her Berlin-based management
consultancy in 1996. Her fi rm focuses on
coaching for executives and management teams
of larger, internationally oriented enterprises.
24 May – Frank Lamby*
Sprecher des Vorstands, Hypo Real Estate
Bank AG
Mr. Lamby is currently Chairman of the Management
Board of the Hypo Real Estate Bank AG
where he led a major restructuring and return to
profi tability. His career has focused on real estate
and property development issues in Germany,
especially in the former East German states
and neighboring Eastern European nations.
1 June – Steffen Naumann*, COO and CFO,
Axel Springer AG
Currently on the Management Board of Axel
Springer AG where he has responsibility for Finance,
Controlling, Strategy, etc., Mr. Naumann
previously served as Executive Vice President
and CFO of Random House, an international
publishing fi rm based in New York City and now
owned by Bertelsmann.
11 June – Dr. Hans-Dietrich Winkhaus
Henkel KGaA, Düsseldorf
Former CEO of Henkel, Dr. Winkhaus will address
one of his favorite topics, Private Equity in a European
context, and explain how that relates to
his experiences at Henkel.
14 June – Dr. Paul-Bernhard Kallen
Burda Vorstand
Currently a member of the Board of Directors
of Hubert Burda Media Holding GmbH & Co.
KG-Technology and Treasurer and Managing
Director of several companies within the Burda
Group, Dr. Kallen earlier served as a Partner at
McKinsey & Co. Inc. and was Managing Director
of Burda Services GmbH in 1996-2001.
POSTPONEMENTS:
The Honorable William R. Timkin, Jr.
United States Ambassador to Germany
Due to involvement in the G8 conference to
be held in Germany, Ambassador Timkin’s talk
will be rescheduled (at a date in 2007 to be announced).
Mr. Timken is the current Ambassador
of the United States of America to Germany. He
has served in a wide range of roles at the Timken
Company, including President and CEO, as well
as Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO.
He was also chairman of the Securities Investor
Protection Corporation, the National Assoc. of
Manufacturers, the Manufacturing Institute and
the Ohio Business Roundtable and has served
on the Advisory Council of the Stanford University
School of Business and the U.S.-Japan Business
Council.
Dr. Michael Naumann*
Editor-in-Chief/Publisher of Die Zeit
Currently campaigning as the SPD candidate for
Oberbürgermeister (Lord Mayor) of Hamburg,
Dr. Naumann will return to HHL as an L-BEST
speaker in May 2008. Chief Editor and Publisher
of the distinguished newspaper, Die Zeit, journalist
and businessman, Dr. Naumann served as
Minister for Culture in the Cabinet of Germany‘s
Kanzler Gerhard Schroeder and earlier as
Foreign Editor of Die Zeit and Der Spiegel, as
well as publisher of Rowohlt Verlag and the New
York-based Henry Holt Publishing.
. . .
FACULTY & STAFF
M6 Javier Gómez joined the HHL MBA Team as
MBA Program Manager on April 1, 2007. Javier
holds a Bachelor in Marketing from the University
of Guadalajara in Mexico and an MBA from
HHL.He is the fi rst MBA alumnus to become a
member of the MBA administrative team and is
the contact person regarding the MBA academic
schedule and consulting projects. His e-mail is
javier.gomez@hhl.de or he can be reached by
phone at +49 (0) 341 / 98 51 652 (Room 206).
. . .

Wedding bells
STUDENTS & ALUMNI
M3 Mahesh
Bhatter is happy
to announce
that he married
the former Ina
Fuchs of Chemnitz
on February
9 in Kolkata,
India. The couple
took their
honeymoon on
the Andaman
& Nicobar Islands,
which
are still isolated
from Internet
or even mobile
telephone use. He sends “Liebe Grüße
und bis bald!” and shared a photo of
Ina and himself in their wedding attire.
. . .
M3 Onur Köksal got married in Istanbul last
August 18, 2006 to Deniz Comelek (now Köksal).
He is currently working as senior project
controller at Multi Group, an affi liate of Morgan
Stanley Real Estate Fund in Istanbul. He met up
with classmates Hans, Eric, Juan and Guillermo
in February to celebrate Karneval in Köln. “It was
really fun,” he added, and sent regards to those
in the MBA offi ce.
. . .
M3 Tze-Kiu Wu wrote to Dorothee Fleischer,
“You‘re right. I got married already. My wife‘s
name is Katty Lai. We got married in Hong Kong
on 14 October 2006. Attached you can see a picture
we took with some HHL friends in the wed-
ding. Currently I‘m working in the area of IT Audit.
Need to travel a lot – sometimes in European
countries like UK, Italy and Holland. However,
I haven‘t had a chance to travel to Germany so
far. If I travel nearby Leipzig, will defi nitely visit
you all. I heard Leipzig is getting busier and busier
now. I miss the city very much. Best wishes
from Hong Kong.”
. . .
P1.5 Andreas Abt married Birgit Heymanns-
Abt (the former Birgit Heymanns) in Dresden in
early December 2006, following a long (7+ year)
courtship. The couple took a bit of time off from
workaday pressures to enjoy a honeymoon in India
and the Maldives.
Why is Andreas called P1.5 (and why is he the
only one)? Because he plunged into work with
the P1 class while it was already in full swing,
then fi nished up with P2 so as, typically, to maximize
his efforts! He and Birgit are looking forward
to tackling some new, more challenging opportunities.
Stay tuned for that news.
. . .

Baby boom
M3 Andreas König and his wife Susana welcomed
a new child, a son named Gabriel (Spanish
pronunciation accenting the last syllable) into the
world on February 11, 2007. Gabriel weighed
3550 grams and was 51 centimeters long. The
couple is very happy and grateful, doing well and
sends joyous greetings from Nuremberg.
. . .
M6 Christian Zimmer and his wife Ana Carolina
welcomed a daughter, Adelina, into the family at
Christian‘s Graduation day on August 19, 2006.
They’re all doing well in Bad Homburg. His classmate
and neighbor, M6 Rainett Wagenknecht
also sends her greetings.
. . .
M3 Julia Mirsch gave birth to a little boy named
Konstantin in November 2006. She reports
that Mom and baby are doing fi ne! The family
recently moved to a new residence in Hannover.
. . .
Don‘t forget to join in the competition and celebration:
HHL IVY LEAGUE GAMES and ALUMNI GATHERING
Date: Friday-Sunday, May 18-20
Place: HHL campus andoff-campus
Further information: dorothee.fl eischer@hhl.de or www.ivy-league.de

Executive ladder
M2 Gregor Dorsch writes that his start-up fi rm
in Augsburg, Syntops GmbH – which customizes
hardcopy news for its clientele – is in action as
of December 2006. He and his colleagues took
out a few moments to celebrate reaching their
fi nancing milestone. He promises ongoing
contact and cooperation with the MBA program
whenever his busy life and schedule allows. In
mid-March Gregor also sent e-mails to a number
of classmates and friends seeking feedback on
the cultural contents and media his fi rm seeks to
offer. To contact him and provide feedback, go to:
Email: dorsch@syntops.de or www.syntops.de.
. . .
M6 Amir Taheri sent a cheerful note late February
about his new life in Frankfurt. He’s busy,
hence has little time to read books, especially
in English, as he continues to make progress in
reading auf Deutsch.
He reports, “I fi nally began working with IBM, the
fi rst of this month. It was a month delayed due
to the Arbeitserlaubnis. That was a pickle let me
tell you. Also, last Sunday I moved into my new
fl at here in Frankfurt. It was so diffi cult to fi nd a
place. But, I do like it a lot even though it is fairly
small and expensive. The thing is, that it‘s my
fi rst place all my own, and that has its own special
feel.
Work has just started to build up now, with my
project starting, and the long hours kicking in.
Oh, if you’re wondering what I am doing, it is internal
consulting for IBM itself. Even the consultants
need consultants. Have to admit it would
look funny for them to have outside consultants
come in, right?! Other than that not much new.”
Amir, who is also the M6 Class Agent, invites
classmates to send him their own news for future
issues of the MBA Stakeholder. His address:
amir.taheri@mba.hhl.de.
. . .
P1 Stefan Bielau took over leadership of the
media concern, WAWA-Unternehmensgruppe,
at the end of December 2006. As such, he is
living in Warsaw and working mainly in Poland.
He took the time to write a letter of thanks to all
his friends and colleagues who supported him
in the time leading up to his decision. He has
not ruled out some private entrepreneurship
of his own. He wishes everyone “freundlichen
Grüssen” and “Pozdrawiam.”
. . .
VIPS
Dean Goodermote launches
yet another exciting venture
For the past fi ve years, Visiting Professor
Dean Goodermote has been giving HHL
MBA students high stakes, real-time insights
to augment the theories he incorporates
in his annual Entrepreneurship lectures.
A corporate executive seasoned in start-ups,
management, acquisitions and turnarounds,
Dean has founded or run six companies, two of
which he has taken public. He is currently Chairman
and CEO of Double-Take Software, Inc. of
Southborough, Massachusetts, USA – a maker
of disaster recovery software. Dean took Double-
Take public in December 2006 after a whirlwind,
12-day, 22-city tour of six nations, where he made
80 public presentations to raise nearly $100 million
for the IPO. As of around mid-March, Double-Take’s
market capitalization was $320 million
(a fi gure always subject to market fl uctuations).
Dean’s previous experience includes positions
as a Venture Partner at ABS Capital Partners,
Chairman and CEO of Clinsoft, (clinical trial
data management software – acquired by
Phase Forward), Chairman and Founder of
IPworks (IP address management and broadband
provisioning – acquired by Ericsson),
CEO of Process Software (Internetworking
software – acquired by Platinum), and Chairman
and President of MRO (formerly PSDI,
maintenance management software – IPO).
Companies Dean has led have received recognition
in Business Week’s “Top 100 Growth Companies,”
Fortune Magazine’s “Top 200 Small
Companies,” Manufacturing System’s “Top 50,”
Software Magazine’s “Top 100,” CIO Magazine’s
“Top 100,” the “New England Fast Fifty” award
and “The INC 500.” In addition, Dean is the founder
of the start-up, Grid-Analytics, which targets
the search and analysis of health care information
to improve safety and quality of care. He sits
on the boards of several high-tech companies.

A graduate of the Fletcher School (Tufts University,
Medford, Massachusetts, USA), Dean’s
non-business interests include serving on
the Health Advisory Board of the Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health where
he also chairs its Advisory Board to the Center
for Refugee and Disaster Response. He
sits on the board of the Endowment for Psychotherapy
at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard
Medical School and on the Board
of Overseers at the New England Aquarium.
In his “spare time,” he enjoys freestyle skiing,
horseback riding and music. Recently, he earned
a Master’s Certifi cate in Music Theory and Harmony
at Berkleemusic, the extension school of
Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music,
and plays bass in ClusterFunk, the Double-Take
company rock band, which has been known to
entertain large high-tech convention audiences.
Dean, his wife Diane and two children, Rachel
and Luke, fi rst visited HHL and Leipzig in 2002.
Dean has been teaching annually at HHL as a
courtesy to the school and MBA staff – and to
his former Fletcher professor, Richard Mancke –
ever since. The school granted him an honorary
professorship in 2005. MBA students taking his
courses have often found themselves astonished
to be involved in actual decision-making and negotiations
regarding the fi rms and industries their
professor knows “inside out.” The course is a
rigrous, weeklong event characterized by little sleep
for its highly engaged and motivated participants.
Dean also assists HHL by recommending visiting
faculty and is helping to set up visits to the
Boston area for the forthcoming P2 Global Immersion
Seminar (September 2007, see related
story under Academics).
. . .
MISCELLANY
Who is an MBA Stakeholder?
If you receive this publication, you may
be wondering, just who is an MBA Stakeholder?
We use a very broad defi nition to include
as many inside and in contact with
the extensive HHL community as possible,
including these constituencies:
1. MBA staff and volunteers
2. Current MBA students
3. MBA alumni – full-time and part-time
4. Current HHL students – including international
exchange students and those enrolled in the Diplom,
M.Sc. and Ph.D. programs
5. HHL alumni from all programs
6. HHL faculty, staff and administrators – including
visiting professors and assistants
7. Former faculty-staff-administrators
8. Applicants and potential students and faculty
9. L-BEST (Leadership course) guest speakers,
past and present
10. Members of the Aufsichtsrat and Kuratorium
to whom the HHL administration forwards matters
of interest
11. Additional friends of HHL and the greater
Leipzig and/or business community.
12. Those who you, the reader, suggest might be
interested in learning more about the MBA programs
and linkages to other programs and activities
at HHL.
. . .
WORDS OF WISDOM
Lost and found in translation
Watch your manners and mannerisms! HHL
Alumni Relations and MBA Administrative Coordinator,
Dorothee Fleischer, has attended workshops
on Latin America and China, sponsored
by Gate-Germany/DAAD (www.gate-germany.
de), to learn a few cultural tips and better serve
HHL community members. Here are a few of
the things she’s learned, and she invites anyone
who wishes to enlarge upon, modify and update
her discoveries:
China
Chinese society is organized in a collective
(known as “danwei”), as opposed to individualistic
manner, which results in a clear hierarchical
system. A person’s title and responsibilities are
serious matters. Everyone needs to know his or
her place if the system is to function effectively
and it is seldom wise to put forth a “better idea”
that might extend outside your own area of expertise
or purview.
“Saving face” or not embarrassing others is a
beacon of correct Chinese behavior. This means

that open criticism of someone else or their ideas
is taboo. Praise, praise and more praise is what
you should offer before even suggesting that
someone has made a misstep.
To say “no” outright is highly impolite. Even if
you mean no, fi nd a way to soften and modify
your position, postpone being negative or work
around to another solution that incorporates that
unspoken “no.”
Social harmony is extremely important. Consensus
building, not asking for direct answers, is the
key. It can even be dangerous to ask individuals
their opinion, since they are not likely to appreciate
such a “confrontational” approach. No answer
means” I don’t know.” The offer of help and
information is one way some Chinese tell you
what they think without telling you what to do.
Artful, perhaps somewhat evasive and clever approaches,
along with tact, are considered signs
of intelligence are more readily appreciated than
“transparency.”
Latin America
The clock ticks more slowly in Latin America than
elsewhere. Expect to wait for someone to show
up or let you in. It’s not uncommon to “multi-task”
or to devote time to private matters and work
simultaneously. Without setting a precise date
when you ask for something, you will never get it.
It’s not that people forget – they just don’t regard
it as urgent without a fi rm date. But planning too
far in advance is hazardous. Latin Americans
would seldom think to invite someone a month in
advance. Give short notice and you’ll get better
results.
Latin American has its own hierarchy. This makes
it diffi cult to get to the point right away. Criticism
is an insult and those who engage in it endanger
others’ perception of their status. This is not
unlike the Chinese notion of “saving face” or preserving
personal grace and dignity. (Or perhaps
it is universal human nature to want to put on
“the best face” in front of friends, acquaintances
and colleagues or in public.)
Getting to be an “insider” in Latin America is an
arduous process. You won’t get far if you don’t
know someone or unless you are recognized
as “the” person to know – or if you fail to show
your generosity, which might mean throwing
a bit of money about to prove it. Latin Americans
tend to defi ne themselves by their outward
demeanor and “look.” A well-groomed, welldressed
appearance denotes high status. Moving
up the social scale is an accepted practice
that many engage in.
In intercultural situations, and especially when
you are “green” or new to a culture, it is easy to
misinterpret or misunderstand things – gestures
or expressions.
Dorothee is looking forward to attending more
workshops on some of the many international
cultures and backgrounds she encounters at
HHL, as well as getting her information from “the
horse’s mouth” that is, the students and visitors
themselves.
. . .
The information for this edition of the Stakeholder
e-newsletter was gathered, prepared and
distributed by Barbara Hobbie and Dorothee
Fleischer. Thanks to those students and alumni
who contributed photos of the events in which
they participated. Special thanks to M7 Katharina
Rosenbohm for working with Dorothee to
revise the layout for our „new look.“