ABSTRACT
This chapter takes a broad perspective on partnering and partnerships. It identifies three characteristics of meetings that provide insight into German national culture: purpose of meetings, amount of time allocated to meetings, and meeting content and format. The chapter emphasizes the influence of both national culture and organizational culture on the character of meetings, though meeting styles also may reflect the impact of subcultural groups or the composition of meeting participants (e.g., females, new hires). A critical part of partnership work involves addressing work-related issues. They found that partnerships have a life cycle beginning with an early period during which relationships are developed among the key players, progressing through increasingly focused joint work, and ultimately into some transition period. The cultural patterns embedded in meetings offer insights for understanding expectations, assumptions, and behavior in organizational and/or partnership settings. However, conflict is sure to surface when multiple decision-making models coexist within the same partnership.
