To be sure, serious obstacles still remain in Europe -- most notably, the rigid labor laws that make relocating jobs a long and costly process. For example, while it's relatively easy for companies in the U.S. To fire employees whose jobs they want to outsource, to lay off an employee in Germany, a company first has to justify its decision to the union and then give its worker a notice period of four weeks to seven months.

The difference in attitudes goes back to the way both regions developed, says Richard Hill, an intercultural consultant with Europublic, a Brussels-based agency that advises companies in international business. "America was based on a can-do mentality, which is a reflection of the first Europeans who got to a huge, open, immensely rich country and were able to exploit it without any inhibitions," Mr. Hill says. On the other hand, Germany became a nation...
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