Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject Leadership and Human Resource Management - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,9, , language: English, abstract: Evolution and the urge to become increasingly independent are said to be vital characteristics of human beings and although different countries face different challenges, there is one thing which they all share: the wish to become successful. Two countries, which are completely different to each other, Germany and India, have both tried their best to reach a highly respected status in the world. They do not share many similarities and this makes it interesting to identify their respective challenges and find out their strengths and weaknesses.Most countries participated in, or were shaped by World War II. India, however, did not face as severe challenges as Germany did after the war. This global conflict did not mark a key turning point in India’s history. India’s turning point in economic history came when Western countries realized the potential and benefits of its cheap labour force in the late twentieth century. Up to that point, India had largely been an agricultural-based country and was not prepared for such a rapid economic growth and development.Germany, on the other hand, had to deal with severe dam-ages after World War II, and this is said to be one of the major turning points in this country’s history, marking it until today. Thanks to both financial aid by its partners (e.g. Marshall Plan) and the implementation of new immi-gration laws in the 1960s, Germany regained the trust of its partners and is now known to be the largest economy in Europe, with a chancellor, who is said to be the second most influencing person in the world.The momentary financial crisis within Europe and the Western world, as well as the need for the expansion of mostly IT-related companies into India, are interesting aspects which will be discussed in the framework of this essay.