This orientation develops pressure towards regular notable improvements and short term-results, being even more reinforced by the regulation requiring publication of the balance sheet every three months. Firms are subsequently under pressure for short-term business to attract and keep investors, leading to quick operations: decisions, changes in direction, departures and replacement of staff have to be quick. In opposite, in European companies the connection to stock price change is not felt intensively. There is the decision-making model characterized more by deliberate search for information, stress on consensus and long-term perspective. (1)
Comparison of German and US Management

To illustrate the differences between American and European management, I have decided to focus on the management conception and practice in Germany. This choice was influenced both by certain distinction of German management and my personal experience while doing an internship in Germany. 1. Cultural differences
According the four cultural dimensions defined by Hofstede, American and German cultures differ significantly only in the dimension of individualism/collectivism and uncertainty avoidance. While American culture is strongly individualistic and German culture is considered to be rather collectivist, in Germany there are strong interpersonal distances and highly developed sense of privacy. Compared to Germany, the collectivist nature reflects in the socially oriented market economy system, characterized by high degree of solidarity. In the US, people are rather expected to take care for themselves by means of plenty insurance systems. (4)
Germans are known to have low uncertainty avoidance. In reality it means, they have tendency to formalization, expression of rules and procedures. In relations at the workplace, they require clear role and responsibility definition, declared skills confirmed by appropriate education and experience. Nevertheless, such cultural value does not lead to centralization and bureaucracy (formalization is only one of features of bureaucracy). As a matter of fact, German companies are less centralized, with shorter hierarchical lines and smaller proportion of functional people than other countries, with smaller formalization tendency (e.g. France). (2)
On the other hand, US culture is known to be rather risk embracing. American managers put much emphasis on speed and promptness, expressing things in the simplest manner possible. Doing a decision, speed matters more than certitude that all necessary information and parties had been involved.