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CULTURAL ANALYSIS
Originally inhabited by the Helvetians the territory comprising modern Switzerland was conquered by Julius Caesar during the Gallic wars and made part of the Roman Empire. It remained a Roman province until the 4th century AD. Under Roman influence, the population reached a high level of civilization and enjoyed a flourishing commerce. Important cities, such as Geneva, Basel, and Zurich, were linked by military roads that also served as trade arteries between Rome and the northern tribes.
After the decline of the Roman Empire, Switzerland was invaded by Germanic tribes from the north and west. Some tribes, such as the Alemanni in central and northeastern Switzerland, and the Burgundians, who ruled western Switzerland, settled there. In 800, the country became part of Charlemagnes empire. It later passed under the dominion of the German emperors in the form of small ecclesiastic and temporal holdings subject to imperial sovereignty.
Switzerland adopted a federal constitution in 1848, modeled in part on the U.S. Constitution. The Swiss amended their constitution extensively in 1874, establishing federal responsibility for defense, trade, and legal matters. Since then, continued political, economic, and social improvement has characterized Swiss history. The Swiss did not participate in either world war (www.brittanica.com).
Cheap Custom Essays on Switzerland
From a climate point of view, Switzerland is located in a transition zone. In the west, there is a strong influence of the Atlantic Ocean. Winds bring a lot of moisture into Switzerland and cause rainfall. In the east, there is an almost continental climate, with lower temperatures and less precipitation. On the other hand, the Alps - which run from east to west - act as a climatic divide. South of the Alps, there is an almost Mediterranean climate, with significantly higher temperatures but also a lot of precipitation.
Generally speaking, spring is wet and cool, April is well known for fast and often changing weather conditions. Summer is supposed to be warm and dry, while fall is usually dry, but cool. The temperature will drop significantly in September or October. Winter is supposed to be cold and dry. In the Alps, they usually get a lot of snow, but even at lower elevations, there is a good chance that they will get a foot of snow every now and then (www.cia.gov).
INSTITUTIONAL
Family
People marry relatively late. They concentrate on their training and career before they start a family. The majority of couples have only one or two children. Surveys have shown that parents put financial difficulties as the main reason for restricting family size. Large flats are expensive, and there is a shortage of affordable child care.
Women complain of the difficulty of combining motherhood with a career, and as a result, many give up work. Women still tend to look after the house and children while the man is normally the main breadwinner. The number of women continuing to work after starting a family increased dramatically during the 10s, but most of them do so part time.
Switzerland has a higher rate of both marriage and divorce than the average across the European Union. Far fewer babies are born out of wedlock than in most other European countries, although the percentage is rising. Most Swiss couples now live together first, often only getting married shortly before the birth of their first child.
Education
Since Switzerland has no natural resources, education and knowledge have become very important resources. Therefore Switzerland claims to have one of the worlds best education systems. In Switzerland, most children go to public schools. Private schools usually are expensive and people tend to think that students of private schools probably didnt make it at the public school.
In Switzerland, every child must at least go to elementary school. Unlike school, children are not required to attend kindergarten, but most children do go to kindergarten. They do not learn to read and write but develop their social capabilities and get used to sitting quietly for a while and pay attention to the teacher. Children may attend kindergarten for one year or two years.
After elementary school, kids may either choose to go to secondary school or to start an apprenticeship. In the later case, after finishing the apprenticeship, it is still possible to start an academic career at either a secondary school or a so called Fachhochschule (technical college).
In Switzerland, most kids start a Berufslehre (apprenticeship) after elementary school. Depending on the profession, an apprenticeship takes two to four years. Apprenticeships include all kinds of professions, from handicraft to office worker. Apprentice will get trained at a company or organization, but also attend school for one or two days a week. Some companies also provide additional classes on their own. After apprenticeship and depending on their education, young people can either start a job or join other schools for further education.
Political System
Switzerland is divided politically into 6 cantons. There are German-speaking and French-speaking cantons, one Italian-speaking canton and cantons in which both German and French are spoken. There are cantons which are virtually made up of just one city and there are cantons consisting almost entirely of mountains and valleys.
Each canton has its own constitution, its government, its parliament, its courts and its laws, though they must, of course, be compatible with those of the Confederation. The cantons enjoy a great deal of freedom of decision-making. They have independent control over their education systems and social services, and each has its own police force. Each canton also sets its own level of taxation (www.cia.gov).
Legal System
Day-to-Day Living
Housing
The Swiss enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world, and an
exceptionally high cost of living to match. Switzerland has a large number of one and two person households. Many older people live alone or in retirement homes, rather than with their children or relatives as they used to. However, children are staying in the same house with their parents for longer, often living there with their first partner.
Families with children prefer to live outside the big cities, if possible buying their own homes. However, the proportion of owner-occupiers remains the lowest in Europe. Two thirds of people in Switzerland do not own a home.
Diet and Nutrition
In Switzerland, breakfast typically includes bread, butter, marmalade or honey, maybe some cheese or cereals, plus milk, cold or hot chocolate, tea or coffee.
Lunch may be as simple as a sandwich or it could be a complete meal. Depending on what people had for lunch, dinner can be a full main course or just some bread, cheese, maybe some dried meat or any other light meal. Drinks range from plain water to different types of soft drinks including most internationally well known brands plus some local products, to a great variety of beers and wines. Hot drinks include many different flavors of tea and coffee.
Recreational Activities
There is a huge variety of recreational activities and sports in Switzerland. The country's geographical structure and small size is very beneficial for these activities. Among the activities are biking, skiing, hiking, ski diving, boating, windsurfing, and golfing.
The boom in adventure sports has arrived in Switzerland with a vengeance and dozens of companies are offering canyoning and bungee-jumping, as well as aerial sports such as paragliding, air gliding, and a host of others.
Swimming and watersports have big followings at all the lakeside resorts, and almost everywhere is clean enough. Boats and equipment for windsurfing are for rent on almost all lakes, but getting enough of a breeze can be a problem. Rowing and canoeing are also popular, especially on the Rotsee near Luzern. Cycling is massively popular. To complement the country's many cycle routes, there are also currently three long distance inline skating routes of around 00 km each.
Official Language
There are as many as four different official languages with German being the most used at 74 percent, French at 0 percent, Italian at four percent, and Romansh at one percent. The remaining one percent speaks other languages.
The term German speaking Swiss is not really correct, they actually speak Swiss-German. Swiss-German is very different form the German spoken in Germany or Austria. Even more surprisingly, there is no written Swiss-German at all. People in Austria, Germany and Switzerland share the same written German language, known as high German. However, the term written German is far more accurate. The written German is very different form the Swiss-German. It is almost a foreign language itself.
Business Customs and Practices
While some American businessmen may find their Swiss counterparts somewhat conservative in such things as dress and the formal use of family names, conducting business in Switzerland is quite similar to how business operates in the United States. Punctuality, particularly in German-speaking areas, is highly valued. Allowing ample lead time in setting up business appointments is also considered polite. One should not expect to drop in without an appointment on a business acquaintance. Swiss are punctual for all appointments, both business and social, and expect you to show the same courtesy. Most Swiss business people will entertain you in restaurants rather than at home, usually for lunch.
Swiss calendars fill up weeks, even months in advance. Allow plenty of time when seeking appointments. It is important to always make clear the purpose of any meeting. All correspondence should be typewritten.
In Swiss business culture, clothing is formal and conservative. All clothes should be subdued in appearance, yet pressed, clean, and in perfect condition. Clothing styles for both men and women are more subdued in the German north than in the French and Italian speaking regions. Standard attire for men includes finely tailored suits, starched shirts, and ties. Standard attire for women includes suits with skirts of a conservative length. Pantsuits, in classic styles, can also be acceptable. Dress well, but modestly. The Swiss dislike showy displays of wealth. Any jewelry that is worn should be elegant, but very simple and understated.
Economics and Income
Switzerland has one of the highest per capita rates of gross domestic product in the world. Switzerland has virtually no mineral resources and a restricted surface area. It depends for its wealth on foreign trade. The relatively small size of its domestic market is another factor which has encouraged Swiss manufacturers to look abroad. They need foreign markets in order to make investment in research and development worthwhile.
The Swiss economy is not built on mass production, but on highly-qualified work and well-trained workers. Many businesses have followed what they call a niche strategy, concentrating on a small range of high-quality products. As a result even some small enterprises have been able to corner the world market in their own specialty.
Overall, the important areas for Swiss exports are micro-technology, high technology, biotechnology, the pharmaceuticals industry and banking and insurance know-how.
What people earn is a private matter. It is seldom discussed, even among friends. Switzerland is a rich country and most people can live well. Although some are better off than others, they act modestly and dont flaunt their wealth.
Three Swiss families were included in the 00 list of the 100 richest people in the world drawn up by the US magazine Forbes. The magazine put a total of 1 Swiss residents among the worlds 47 dollar billionaires.
In Switzerland, poverty means not having what others take for granted. The official poverty line in 1 was ,100 francs per month for a single person household, or 4,000 for a family with two children. Under this definition, 10.6 percent of the population was poor. Single parent families and men living alone are the most likely to experience poverty. Contrary to popular belief, poverty among the elderly is no more widespread than across the population as a whole.
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