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The aim of this bachelor thesis is to provide ZF Friedrichshafen AG with a flexible Human Resource concept for the successful handling of future joint venture projects in China. In order that future JV are planned and conducted successfully, a structured HR approach built on a combination of ZF experience and academic evidence has been developed. It points out cultural differences, creates awareness of potential organizational issues and gives advice. This thesis draws upon various academic resources which are expanded through ZF knowledge. For this, eight expert interviews with China experienced ZF managers were held.
This blueprint covers several of the HR issues that arise when setting up new joint ventures in China. By shedding light upon success factors a necessary flexibility when dealing with different partner firms is provided. After a theoretical outset and a brief introduction of ZF Friedrichshafen and ZF Passau this thesis peaks in the HR blueprint for joint ventures in China. Worth notable factors in setting up the structure, when recruiting and inheriting staff from the joint venture partner as well as considerations of the new Labor Contract Law and for policies and practices allow an understanding of what Human Resource issues can be anticipated in Chinese joint ventures. These then can be planned adequately for.
The results of this work offer a strategical Human Resource framework on how to best approach a next joint venture project in China. A broad range of HR issues have been analyzed and the most critical for joint venture success found implementation in the blueprint. Arranging a working organizational structure with a Chinese partner and implementing uniform policies and practices while considering cultural factors as well as complying with the legal requirements of the Peoples Republic of China is a task which is not easily carried out. Yet while setting up joint ventures in China already is a complex project, the partnering with a Chinese state owned enterprise is a challenge that requires special attention by HR professionals. The blueprint gives insights and guidance for stated issues.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine leadership trends in France and Germany. It is examined whether leadership in both France and Germany is going to become participative in the near future due to increasing internationalization and due to the emergence of a new leadership generation in France and Germany with different expectations and behaviors, namely
Millennials.
Design/methodology/approach – This thesis comprises three major parts: First, leadership career paths in France and Germany are compared. Second, French and German management cultures are compared and their likelihood of convergence examined. Third, a closer look is taken at inter- as well as intra-generational differences with particular focus on Generation Y/ Millennials – the new leadership generation. Their differences and similarities in comparison with older generations as well as across national cultures are presented and discussed.
Findings – The analysis shows that outstanding leadership in both France and Germany seems to be participative. Further, French and German Millennials tend to be more open towards participative leadership than older generations. Nevertheless, participative leadership is more likely to be practiced in Germany than in France. French top managers still share very distinct national career path patterns, providing an elitist reputation and certain privileges. This often leads to rather non-participative, but authoritarian command-and-control based leadership
practices in France.
Research limitations/implications – Limitations of this thesis include the enormous scope of the topic - not everything could be covered in depth. Further, the up-to-date nature of the data used must be questioned - the incredible speed of change in today’s business world makes even recent research studies outdated within a short period of time.
Originality/value – French and German top management career paths as well as French and German management practices have been examined individually as well as comparatively in countless studies. However, different than probably any research study so far, this thesis also
includes inter- generational as well as intra-generational differences and similarities in France and Germany in order to reveal future trends. All in all, this thesis provides a broad outline of leadership trends in France and Germany and points out where further research must be carried out in more depth.
This thesis is based upon an interest in the field of neuromarketing and a desire to depict which is the most advisable strategy to implement in a situation, where there is a potential introduction of a methodology coming from that field in a new / foreign market. Special emphasis is put on the market entry strategy (modes of entry and marketing strategy).
At the beginning of the thesis, there is a brief inspection of the neuromarketing field according to the nowadays situation that lead to the creation of a methodology, which is called neuromerchandising®. This methodology is the competitive advantage of a German consultant company called neuromerchandisinggroup GmbH&Co.KG. With this patented methodology, this consultant company provides strategic solutions to numerous companies mainly in the field of retail.
The main purpose of the thesis is to define which are the decisions to be made while introducing this methodology to a foreign country and in particular to Greece, in order to improve the Greek retail situation.
This thesis provides an analysis of the tools necessary to speculate whether Greece is the appropriate country to introduce this methodology. After this analysis, the thesis provides solutions of the potential market entry strategy putting emphasis on the marketing strategy of introducing this methodology.
Internal documentation of this company, market reports and analyses are used to provide a professional framework of the dynamic capabilities in the venture of introducing this methodology to Greece.
The study seeks for empirical evidence supporting the presence of weak form ans semi-strong form efficiency on the Vietnamese stock market. The sample includes the daily closing value of VN-index from 9th April 2009 to 3rd of December 2014. The results from both parametric and non-parametric tests provide the evidence, which implies the weak form efficiency in the Vietnamese stock market during the recent period from 4th June 2012 to 3rd December 2014. This period is used for testing the semi-strong form efficiency on the Vietnamese stock market. The results from event study do not support the semi-strong form efficiency in the Vietnamese stock market. The empirical evidence shows a delayed reaction of nine pharmaceutical companies' stock prices toward the earnings, dividend, insider trading and regulatory announcements. The findings in this paper are crucial for investors, analysts, academicians, regulators and the development of the Vietnamese stock market.
The title for this thesis “An Economic Analysis of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)” has been selected due to its topicality and its explosiveness. The stimulus to write this paper originates in the wish to get a deeper insight into the topic, which has been treated majorly under exclusion of the public, and to be able to make a clear statement whether to support or to oppose the partnership. In order to answer this final question, it is also tested whether results from former agreements like NAFTA or Mercosur can serve as a guideline to what can be expected of TTIP. Additionally, the paper aims at making a final statement about the implications of the partnership for the future. To do this, the present paper covers two main subjects. First, it provides an overview of the history of free trade, the different forms of agreements, as well as an insight into the experiences made with NAFTA and Mercosur. This first part is concluded with an estimation of the results and motivations of and for free trade agreements, as well as a transition to the second main subject by naming the impacts of the findings for the planned TTIP treaty. Secondly, after providing a broad overview of TTIP by giving an insight into the definition and the process of formation of the partnership, the benefits and concerns of the deal are revealed. This part is followed by a broad study of ten indicators, which outline the real effects of TTIP on the economy, by distinguishing between three different scenarios. The thesis is concluded by presenting the findings from the former analysis. Although NAFTA and Mercosur do not provide applicable experiences, they still serve as points of orientation and suggest that free trade should be supported. Thus, the planned partnership should also be agreed upon in order to go with the pace of time and to stay competitive. If this is the case, TTIP will be a leading example in the future, motivating more nations to either join the partnership or to form ones by themselves.
The primary purpose of this thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of how factors influence sport sponsorship, especially in football. In order to fulfill this purpose the thesis identifies, describes and tries to explain sponsorship in general as a non-classical communication instrument, the selection of sponsorship objects, companies´ objectives of sport sponsorship activities. In addition, the thesis considers companies´ planning process of sport sponsorship and finally, an identification of several factors, which may have an impact on sport sponsorship. Two examples of application of a company in the telecommunication industry and of a company in the automobile industry are pointed out, where the aspects of sponsorship of the German Fußball Bundesliga respectively the German national team, are studied. The paper makes use of studies which shows how respondents remembered sponsorship activities. It is possible to conclude from the thesis that many factors will have an effect on sport sponsorship. The paper demonstrates that image, memorizing, duration and the fit between sponsor and event or sponsor and sponsee are relevant criteria. Finally, the thesis summarizes the results and outlines of the possible future of football sponsorship.
Analyse der Berufsgruppe Architekten zur Ermittlung einer zielgruppengerechten Kommunikation für einen Baustoffhersteller
Analysis of the occupational group of architects to determine a communication appropriate to the target audience for a building materials manufacturer
This thesis deals with the specialties of addressing the occupational group of architects in Germany. It examines their role and approach in the process of buying building material with the aim of finding out a suitable way for a building materials manufacturer to communicate with the target audience. For this purpose a secondary analysis of architects is carried out and replenished with a primary data acquisition.
After analyzing the work, role and way of obtaining information of the architect the theory of corporate communication is explained. This chapter shows the requirements and possibilities and examines the features of communication for a business-to-business company. Following the primary data acquisition in the form of expert interviews is carried out. In conclusion the outcome of the secondary and primary research is merged, which allows the derivation of a recommended course of action.
The results show that architects have a powerful role in the buying center and therefore a tremendous influence on the buying process of building materials. However it emerges to be difficult to address the target audience, since they communicate in a passive way. Furthermore the study identifies that architects are artists and builders in one person. This is why it is important to them that their projects do not only look good but are also functional. Another result is that architects often do not feel respected as experts, although they have a wide specialized knowledge. Moreover the research shows that the target audience has to face new challenges with every project, which is why they are always searching for new inspiration and ideas. Finally it emerges that architects feel a special enthusiasm for their occupation and work as well as architecture in general.
From the insights gained it could be derived that the appropriate way to communicate with architects is in two phases. On the first stage the attention of the target audience needs to be won in the right moment, which is why the manufacturer has to show a steady presence. In the second phase the company has to provide all information needed to the architect. In conclusion of this thesis it is highly recommended for building materials manufacturers to address architects in an appropriate way because in the long run it will improve the market position of the company.
Der Begriff Wissensmanagement bietet eine Fülle an unterschiedlichen Definitionen, Interpretationen, Auffassungen und Sichtweisen. Hierbei wird der Schwerpunkt oft auf ITgestützte Systeme gelegt und nicht auf den Menschen als Hauptwissensträger. Auch der Bedeutung der Wissensverteilung innerhalb des Unternehmens wird nicht ausreichend Beachtung geschenkt. Aus diesen Gründen legt die vorliegende Arbeit das Hauptaugenmerk auf die Wissensverteilung und den Mensch als Wissensträger im
Unternehmen. Im Rahmen der Ausarbeitung werden unterschiedliche Sichtweisen zum Thema Wissen und Wissensmanagement vorgestellt und anerkannte Modelle
beschrieben. Weiter liefert die Arbeit einen Überblick an Methoden und softwaretechnischen Unterstützung, die auf die Wissensverteilung abzielen. Fallbeispiele
zeigen, wie Wissensmanagement schon erfolgreich umgesetzt wurde aber auch wie die Umsetzung in Unternehmen scheiterte. Im Anschluss wird mit Hilfe von empirischen
Studien ein Vergleich zwischen den theoretischen Ansätzen und der Praxis gezogen.
Auf Grund der gewonnenen Erkenntnisse schließt die Arbeit mit einer Empfehlung für Unternehmen ab.
Die Abschlussarbeit beinhaltete nicht nur die Implementierung des Shopfloor Management sondern auch die sorgfältige Analyse davon und den dazugehörigen Lean Methoden. Shopfloor Management bedeutet führen, kommunizieren und steuern am Ort der Wertschöpfung. Jeder Prozess besteht aus Wertschöpfung und Verschwendung und mittels der Lean Prinzipien die auch im Shopfloor Management angewandt werden, soll die Verschwendung vermieden werden. Durch eine transparente Visualisierung der aktuellen und wichtigen Kennzahlen direkt am Ort wird eine Akzeptanz bei den Mitarbeitern geschaffen. Diese neue Unternehmensführung sieht vor, eine offene Fehlerkultur zu entwickeln und die Fehler nachhaltig zu vermeiden. Es wurde die Wichtigkeit einer regelmäßigen Kommunikation erläutert, in denen die Themen und Probleme angesprochen werden. In dieser Arbeit wurden die Lean Prinzipien herausgearbeitet und ein Shopfloor Board entwickelt mit dem gestartet wurde. Zudem wurden die Mitarbeiter auf die Einführung vorbereitet und geschult. Die Mitarbeiter sollen durch das Shopfloor Management gezielt in den Verbesserungsprozess einbezogen werden und eine Eigenverantwortlichkeit entwickeln. Der optimale Zustand sieht vor, dass durch dieses System jeder Mitarbeiter die Ziele des Unternehmens kennt und durch die tägliche Revision der Kennzahlen, nachhaltige Poblemlösungsmethoden angewandt werden um die Ziele zu erreichen.
The thesis is about how an outsourcing process could be implemented at the company Kendrion in a bottleneck situation. The aim of this work is to develop a framework for outsourcing to effectively minimize a bottleneck in the production. Core issues are an analysis of the product roster and a cost calculation of possible outsourcing. In the theoretical part books and scientific articles are evaluated. In the practical part the theory is applied and experts are asked for their opinions.
Based on literature research a specific procedure with five phases is created for Kendrion. With the analysis of the product roster and current situation important information can be gathered. This makes it possible to find out how many parts each machine is producing. The turning plant produces mainly low volume series. Over 1,200 different parts were turned in the last two years. The focus for the outsourcing is the machine group G200 and the machine TNK-28. This decision is based on the amount of backlog days of the machine groups. After several analysis a list of articles which could be outsourced is produced. One such analysis is transaction cost economics. This range of selected parts is enough to eliminate the bottleneck. For the outsourcing the full cost accounting is recommended. In the calculation, depreciation is included to make future and necessary investments visible. After a cost comparison of five parts, one article of the G200 is outsourced. The costs difference between the TNK-28 and the external offers are too high. After further analysis, the result is that the TNK-28 is a very economic machine for Kendrion. The recommendation is to keep these parts in house.
The analysis of product roster should be done once a year. Furthermore, analyses should be carried out for the other machine groups.
According to the United Nations, more than 70% of the world trade is carried out by the multinational companies which represent nearly 250% increase in the last four decades. This also represents the extended number of inter-company transactions such as transfer of money as well as transfer of goods and services from parent company to daughter company and vice versa. This issue of transfer of goods and more specifically transfer of money – as in transfer of profits – gave rise to debates in ‘Transfer Pricing’ in the international context. The companies use number of complex business models such as the Principal Company model as their supply chain network and move profits between different entities and create the tax advantages on basis of corporate tax rates in the different tax jurisdictions by allocating all the sales and profits to the principal company. The entities in high-tax jurisdictions, however, perform business activities on contractual basis and remunerated on cost plus mark-up by the principal company. This results several tax saving benefits for the group as a whole.
Under this behavior of the MNCs, the finance ministers of G20 and the authorities in OECD developed a 15 Action Plan under Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (hereafter “BEPS”) Agenda to develop ways to avoid tax evasions by the multinational corporations in the high-tax jurisdictions. The Action 7 of BEPS Agenda – artificial avoidance of Permanent Establishment status – was introduced for the change of wordings in the Article 5 of the OECD Model Tax Convention which explains the definition of a Permanent Establishment. By doing so, the contractual entities in high-tax jurisdictions, performing business activities on behalf of their cross-border parent in a low-tax jurisdiction, will be given a status of a PE and the sales and profits generated by these entities will be allocated to them and subjected to be taxed accordingly in a high-tax jurisdiction.
The analysis of the profit distribution and taxation of the contractual entities of the cross-border principal company in Germany is conducted by the author in this piece of research and shows the effect on the taxation of a company if the Action 7 of BEPS Agenda carries forward as a local legislation in the OECD countries.
The possibility of applying psychological negotiation methods at the purchasing department ABW2 of the Robert Bosch GmbH was investigated by undertaking extensive literature review and conducting qualitative expert interviews. Additionally, negotiation models and literature from the criminalistics context were analyzed in order to find opportunities to convert successful methods in this field into the business setting. The psychological methods are based on scientific knowledge about personality, emotions and human perception. Several similarities with forensic psychological methods could be identified, which demonstrated the feasibility of adapting methods, such as rapport-building, de-escalation and communication techniques, to business negotiations. Experiments previously undertaken by other authors have shown the potential benefits and improved negotiation outcomes that can be derived by implementing these techniques in negotiations. However, a limitation factor for translating these results directly to the Robert Bosch GmbH is the setting of these experiments. No real life results exist today to the author’s knowledge. Further limitations, areas for future research, and practical implications are discussed.
Aufbau eines Controllings für den Bereich Forschung und Entwicklung für die Firma Bruker Optik GmbH
(2015)
Der Bereich Forschung und Entwicklung trägt sehr stark zur Wettbewerbsfähigkeit eines Unternehmens bei. Heutzutage werden die F&E-Aufgaben jedoch immer komplexer, weshalb die Kosten in diesem Bereich kontinuierlich ansteigen und ein verlässliches F&E-Controlling somit unentbehrlich ist. Bei der Bruker Optik GmbH soll ein solches F&E-Controlling zur langfristigen Erfolgssicherung aufgebaut werden. Die vorliegende Arbeit wurde in erster Linie mit der
Absicht verfasst, diesem Unternehmen mit fachlichem Wissen sowie praktischen Handlungsvorschlägen, während der Verbesserung bzw. der Stärkung des Unternehmenscontrollings beiseite zu stehen. Genauer gesagt trägt diese Arbeit einen erheblichen Teil zum Aufbau eines Bereichscontrollings für Forschung
und Entwicklung bei, da die Tätigkeiten des Controllings in diesem Unternehmen zur Zeit noch auf Gesamtunternehmensebene basieren und auf Bereichsebene nur wenig detailliert sind. Die kaum vorhandene Transparenz der F&E-Kosten und die somit entstehende Schwierigkeit für die einzelnen Entwicklungsleiter ihre Abteilung effizient leiten zu können, stellen das Hauptproblemfeld des Controllings dar, bei dem es wichtige theoretische und praktische Lücken zu schließen gilt. Auch die F&E-Projektleiter benötigen zuverlässige Informationen auf Kostenträgerebene, um den Überblick über bereits verbrauchte Ressourcen und das Restbudget der Projekte behalten zu können. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden für diese praktischen Probleme Lösungskonzepte vorgestellt, die dann später die Basis für das neue F&E-Controlling der Bruker Optik GmbH darstellen sollen. Eine empirische Untersuchung sowie Befragungen bzw. Interviews mit Führungskräften im Entwicklungsbereich des Unternehmens unterstützen den Aufbau des Bereichscontrollings dabei erheblich.
Aufgrund der Komplexität der Aktivitäten im F&E-Bereich, berücksichtigt das aufgebaute F&E-Controlling neben der Projekt- und Abteilungsebene, ebenfalls die Ebene der Produktlinien. Die zu entwickelnden Tools im Rahmen der Forschungsarbeit werden in dem Programm „Microsoft Excel“ bearbeitet und dargestellt, wobei die Basis- Daten hauptsächlich aus dem Unternehmens-SAP stammen.
Die nachfolgende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Ausarbeitung eines Marketingkonzeptes für das Start-up Unternehmen THE EARTHBAG, mit Ausrichtung auf den deutschen Markt.
Die Bedeutung der Arbeit liegt in der Etablierung des jungen Unternehmens auf dem deutschen Markt sowie in der Steigerung des Verkaufs. Um diese Ziele zu erreichen, wird das Unternehmen in einer internen Situationsanalyse und dessen Konkurrenten in einer externen Marktanalyse untersucht. Weitere Informationen werden im Rahmen einer Online-Umfrage gesammelt. Anschließend wird eine Marketingstrategie anhand aller ausgewerteten Ergebnisse abgeleitet, welche mit Hilfe konkreter Maßnahmen imple-mentiert werden soll. Ein Mangel an Markterfahrung sowie eine finanzielle Einschränkung stellen Herausforderungen für diese Arbeit dar. Dennoch wird mit entsprechender Fachliteratur zum Thema Marketing sowie internen Informationen von THE EARTHBAG ein Marketingkonzept erarbeitet.
With the ED/2013/6 the IASB and the FASB issued an exposure draft that proposes a departure from the current leasing model. The risk-and-reward approach shall be replaced by the asset-and –liabilityapproach.
The thesis examines the impact of this reform on the basis of a case study on the GFT Group. The thesis shall provide an overview of the existing and future lease accounting and examined the effects on the consolidated balance sheet through a simulated application of accounting rules set out in the exposure draft, followed by quantification by the use of selected financial ratios. Result of this work is an insignificant change in most financial ratios. Substantial amendments have been found regarding the leverage ratio. The results are scrutinized with information from the simulation and the current state of discussion. Furthermore, suggestions and advice regarding the findings are given to the GFT Group.
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the fairly recent Basel III regulations, and to find out if they have impacts on the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises. Therefore, the theoretical impacts on financial institutions and on small and medium-sized enterprises would be analysed and compared to the real development. Basel III is an advancement to Basel I and II and contains stricter capital and liquidity requirement regulations for financial institutions, as well as a leverage ratio. The purpose is to create a financial sector, which would be more resistant against crises. Because the liquidity requirements and the leverage ratio are not, or only partly introduced yet, the thesis focuses more on the capital requirements. These requirements, demand banks to deposit a higher percentage of equity for each credit operation, depending on the risk. It is expected that financial institutions will face an excess need of capital to fulfil the requirements. On the one hand, banks could increase their equity, which hypothetically could lead to higher capital costs as well as an increase of credit costs. That would in turn result in worse credit terms for SMEs. On the other hand, banks could reduce their risk-weighted assets to lower the need for new capital. That could minimize the capacity of the credit business and lead to difficulties for SMEs in obtaining a loan. An empirical study, based on a theoretical simulation, came to the result that there will be a slight worsening of the credit terms and the credit supply for SMEs. Regarding to the question “if the new capital requirements are appropriate for SME-loans”, it shows that there is no increase of risk in that segment. Therefore, the capital requirements should be adjusted for these kind of loans. The theoretical impacts of the liquidity requirements and the leverage ratio are also expected to affect the loans for SMEs, which are the second important financing instrument. To compare and analyse the theoretical impacts to the real development, latest empirical studies were used to get a picture of the current situation. It shows that the group of financial institutions that are relevant for SME-loans have a moderate increase in their equity basis and almost no decrease of their risk-weighted assets. Theoretically, that should lead to worse credit terms and no change in the credit supply. While analysing the realised external funds made in recent years, it is affirmed that there is no decline in the credit supply. Regarding the increased capital basis, there is no worsening in the credit terms perceived in the reality. The favourable key interest rate could be the reason for that, because it compensates the increased capital cost. Hence, Basel III does not represents a threat to the mid-sized sector in average. However, it can be stated that, the smaller the enterprises are, the more difficult it is to get a loan and the worse the conditions are.
In the time of a globalizing economy where the costs of production and the closeness to customers, due to transportation cost, become more and more important. More and more medium-sized companies seek for the advantages of production facilities abroad either to cut cost and stay competitive or to follow other companies using their products. For several years Freilacke has been active in the Russian Federation via a subsidiary company (sales office in Moscow). This paper will analyze chances and risks for a possible production facility inside Russia. After tremendous changes in the situation in Ukraine, the production location Russian Federation has lost a bit of attractiveness. Nevertheless Russia is largest country in the world and with more than 146.3 million inhabitants on the ninth rank due to population worldwide and therefore remains an interesting destination. Follow-up analysis and numbers will show that even if the western world will close the borders to east Eurasia, the domestic market bares a high potential and attractiveness for investors.
Benefits of setting up a Machine tool production plant in Slovakia as an alternative to India
(2015)
Bericht über die Diskussion
(2015)
This bachelor thesis is about a Business Plan in form of a Business Model for a healthcare and mediation company for Germany and Switzerland.It basically asks the question how can vale for the customer, the placed employees and the company be created, maintained and increased. The purpose of this assignment is to analyze the existent HR Industry market and position the Company in a profitable niche in order to achieve a strategically important growth into other fields. The present work consists of five parts.In the following first part the HR Industry and its market potential are explained. Secondly the Business Model is explained theoretically and then applied to CarePers. In the third part the Philippines are analyzed culturally and the effects are used on an elaborated business adaptation. In the fourth part mayor basic strategy concepts are introduced and applied to CarePers. The fifth part concludes the work.
Several interviews have taken place with the company’s founder and the company’s COO. Extensive analysis of the market has been done by revising several official statistics. Based on theoretical aspects presented and explained a practical realization and adaptation of the academic content has been done
This thesis deals with the first evaluation of an entry program for the specialist career path,using the example of the ‘Graduate Specialist Program’ of the cooperation partner and topic initiator Bosch Rexroth AG. The overall research question examines whether the ‘Graduate Specialist Program’ comes out to be a success story to compete in the ‘War for talent’ and to what extent it contributes to fill high level expert positions. Background information about Graduate Programs and the Expert Career is therefore provided as a first step. In order to get an overview and detect any conspicuity, a quantitative data analysis is used which expresses the program’s development in figures. The focus hereby lies with the former candidates’ wage development as success indicator and the parallel existing program for the
management career, namely the ‘Junior Managers Program’, is used for a comparison. Qualitative interviews with former ‘Graduate Specialist Program’ participants and current mentors are conducted, inquiring the atisfaction with the program execution and its relationship with the subsequent career. Moreover, their opinion on the feasibility of an expert career in general and related to their department is inquired. The results state a clear satisfaction with the program, yet requires minor changes in the program elements. Generally, the concept of a graduate program tailored for future specialist is supported, even though the majority of the program respondents strive for a career in management in the long-run. It is named in this context that limits in career prospects can lead participants to switch to the management career. It can be concluded that the ‘Graduate Specialist Program’ is a success story as graduates are attracted for specialist tasks in the short to medium term. To conclude, the program’s major impact as a general recruitment instrument to compete on the labor market for junior staff in general outweighs the intention of training young talents for a career as high level experts in the long run. Thus, its characteristics relate more to the category of Generalist Graduate Programs.
Challenges and opportunities in building an Eastern European Brand: the Polish fashion market
(2015)
An insight on how domestic eastern European brands can go global The aim of the thesis is to find out how local eastern European brands can grow into international brands. There are already many global brands existing in the current world market. Most of these global brands are from developed countries. There are, however, brands from other countries which have great products. Eastern Europe, for example, has many products that are interesting, are of high quality but unknown to the world. For this reason the author would like to take Polish alcohol industry as an example. He will then look into the challenges and possible solutions of a domestic eastern European brand going global. The thesis first examines 4 big Polish liquor companies that start off unknown to the world. Through the implementation of a series of marketing and brand strategies they are able to become global players. Their product positioning are being looked into, and their marketing campaigns are being analyzed. The challenges that these brands faced before are summarized and possible strategies in coping with them are being suggested.
Challenges in a multi-country and multinational project environment within a matrix organization
(2015)
Comau S.p.A. -Powertrain- (PWT) mainly manages its projects on a multinational level. In the past, several issues were identified some of which can be attributed to the complexity of a matrix organizational structure. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to investigate whether PWT project teams are still experiencing certain issues while working in multi-country projects and to develop certain proposals for improvement by analysing the possible causes. For this purpose a survey was conducted among project participants to identify the present issues and to discover the reasons for their occurrence. In addition, an analysis of cultural differences was performed also based on secondary data to examine the influences of cultural differences on employees’ perceptions. The results of the analysis indicated that some of the project teams are still facing certain issues while collaborating across regions and functions. Therefore, the importance of a better communication of certain defined roles was identified. In addition, an increasing awareness of the Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) as a tool for also obtaining the overall agreement of project responsibilities and as team building measure was recognized as important. Moreover, to obtain new insights into present issues from the perspectives of the project teams and for further research purpose, the execution of a workshop including all survey participants was stated as potentially worthwhile.
Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Rolle von Selbstgefälligkeit im Change Management. Dabei wird der Frage nachgegangen, wie sich Selbstgefälligkeit in Organisationen äußert und welchen Einfluss sie auf die erfolgreiche Gestaltung von Veränderungsprozessen hat. Außerdem werden Maßnahmen zum Umgang mit bzw. zur Reduktion von Selbstgefälligkeit näher beleuchtet. Ziel der Arbeit ist zu klären, ob Selbstgefälligkeit der Grund für die in der untersuchten Organisation beobachtete Wandelträgheit ist. Damit geht einher, einen Weg zu finden, wie die Existenz von Selbstgefälligkeit unter den Organisationsmitgliedern identifiziert werden kann, um dann mögliche Folgemaßnahmen ableiten zu können. Die Grundannahme basiert auf dem Acht-Stufen-Modell von John P. Kotter, der Selbstgefälligkeit als zentrales Hindernis in der Schaffung eines ausreichend hohen Dringlichkeitsgefühls für den Wandel sieht. Die entwickelte Vorgehensweise zur praktischen Anwendung der Theorie basiert auf den von Kotter genannten Ursachen von Selbstgefälligkeit. Hierzu werden verschiedene Instrumente gewählt, mit denen das Unternehmen auf diese Faktoren untersucht werden kann. Dazu zählen ein selbsterstellter Fragebogen zur Befragung der Führungskräfte, die Durchführung von Gruppenworkshops mit Mitarbeitern und die Analyse verschiedenster betriebswirtschaftlicher Themen wie die Strategie des Unternehmens, das Produktportfolio sowie Projektstatusberichte auf diese Symptome hin. Auch die Ergebnisse einer Kundenbefragung werden in die Untersuchung mit einbezogen. Damit wird eine umfassende und ganzheitliche Untersuchung des Unternehmens auf die Ausprägung von Selbstgefälligkeit gewährleistet. Im Ergebnis wird deutlich, dass viele der Selbstgefälligkeit verursachenden Faktoren erfüllt sind und eine deutliche Tendenz zur Selbstgefälligkeit innerhalb der Organisation besteht. Allerdings zeigen die Untersuchungsergebnisse ebenso, dass neben Selbstgefälligkeit auch weitere Faktoren existent sind, die ein Hindernis in der Gestaltung des Wandels darstellen. Fehlende Ressourcen in Form von Geld, Zeit und qualifiziertem Personal sowie die mangelnde Erfahrung und damit einhergehende unzureichende Fähigkeit im Bereich des Change Managements können dazu führen, dass keine konzentrierte Veränderungsbemühung angestellt wird, obwohl ein Gespür für die Dringlichkeit einer Veränderung stellenweise empfunden wird. Die Aufstellung der Hypothese, dass nicht nur Selbstgefälligkeit den Wandel behindert, sondern auch andere Aspekte eine Rolle spielen, muss in den Folgemaßnahmen berücksichtigt werden. Daraus resultiert die Erkenntnis, dass die stringente Anwendung der von Kotter vorgeschlagenen Strategie zum Abbau von Selbstgefälligkeit und damit zur Erhöhung des Dringlichkeitsgefühls im Fall der untersuchten Organisation hinterfragt werden muss. Im Rahmen der Arbeit werden alternative Handlungsmaßnahmen vorgeschlagen, die die Befähigung zum Change stärker berücksichtigen. Es wird die Anwendung einer Kombination aus Kotters Theorie und ergänzenden bzw. sogar widersprüchlichen Maßnahmen in Betracht gezogen, um die Wandelträgheit zu überwinden und eine Veränderungsprozess in Gang setzen zu können.
Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass es im Change Management keine allgemeingültige Vorgehensweise gibt, die auf jedes Veränderungsprojekt angewandt werden kann, sondern dass jedes Unternehmen seine eigene Strategie entwickeln muss, um in der Gestaltung des Wandels erfolgreich zu sein.
Die Arbeit liefert insofern einen Mehrwert zur bereits existierenden Literatur, als dass sie eine Vorgehensweise zur Anwendung der von Kotter aufgestellten Theorie liefert. Das Unternehmens profitiert von den Ergebnissen der Arbeit, weil dadurch festgestellt wurde, dass Ansätze von Selbstgefälligkeit vorhanden sind und damit ein – wenn auch nicht der einzige – Grund für die Wandelträgheit ist. Indem weitere Hypothesen über alternative Hindernisse aufgestellt werden und vorgeschlagen wird, wie damit umgegangen werden kann, gibt die Arbeit wertvolle Empfehlungen für zukünftige Maßnahmen.
The topic of change management gained significant importance within recent years. Through the internationalization of markets, became relevant to consider factors such as intercultural management and communication. Often managers are not able to control and coordinate these projects in an adequate manner.
One of the main reasons is the c different mindsets, expectations, ideas and working styles. During the planning and execution of change projects there is much focus on the strategy and the lead project teams. Nevertheless, employ because the foreign workforce as a whole consists of many different people from various
countries and cultures. Ensuring that a change can successfully be applied at all locations is a major task and failing in managing those varieties can lead to failure of the entire change. The regional management is often faced with inadequate decisions or poor communication by the headquarters. Additionally, even more than normal mid able to work with decisions they do not understand or support required to follow instructions from the other side of the world requires various skills. The purpose of this research is to identify the requirements of good communication a
management in regional offices in this context and to analyze how a well defined scope of responsibilities can lead an international change project to success.
City branding
(2015)
The subject of this Bachelor thesis is based on place branding. The goal is to show its evolution since its creation until today and to analyze its importance nowadays. Our work focus mainly on four aspects of place branding, namely sense of place, identity of a place, stakeholders and communication. Sense of place helps to create meanings and attachment to the place. Identity of a place is mostly created by the different people living there and is very important to build a successful brand. Stakeholders are fundamental to place branding and it is very important to recognize the right groups of stakeholders to involve in the branding process, especially local people. Communication is a big part of place branding and has to be managed in an adapted way. The growing evolution of online branding has to be taken into account and managed closely. Word of mouth is a very efficient and powerful way of communication and it should not be neglected when creating a city brand. All these elements are being studied through the example of Strasbourg’s city branding, “Strasbourg, the Europtimist”. We see that the city is ignoring some of the elements mentioned above and could improve its city branding by applying these aspects more carefully. The Bachelor thesis then analyses the success of one of Strasbourg’s sub-brands: “Strasbourg, Capital of Christmas”. Through its analysis, we demonstrate that the key success factors of this event are based on the involvement of the right groups of stakeholders, a strong identity of place, the creation of meanings to the place and a powerful word of mouth. Recommendations are then made to improve the branding of “Strasbourg, the Europtimist”, based on the successful branding of “Strasbourg, Capital of Christmas”.
Clinical Research is expanding into an international and more regulated environment, specifically its quality management. Pharmaceuticals and Research Organizations are investing significant amounts of money as well as the regulatory agencies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are improving and developing regulations and meetings to standardize globally these practices. Therefore this Thesis integrates and extends the FDA and EMA recommendation of implementing “Risk based quality management” in Clinical Research protocol execution with a multisource point of view and the proposal of adding a Risk Management Report as an output, which will work also as an input for future protocols implementation. Diverse articles and regulations related with Quality Management and Clinical Research Processes were reviewed to work as a base for the analysis of this thesis. Risk Based Quality Management is the actual trend and newly implemented process to improve quality in clinical research. The goal of this Thesis is to combine the different actual factors, methods and regulations in order to expand Risk Based Quality Management and reach a better degree in quality and standardization. The question therefore is whether this redesigned Risk Based Quality Management process can really be incorporated with the actual practices, and if it is possible to adopt it in Clinical Research.
The aim of this thesis is twofold: 1. to find out how intercultural collaboration between the German and French employees at MBtech and AKKA Technologies, a corporation which recently acquired MBtech, works and 2. to identify conditions under which such collaboration can function smoothly. In order to answer these questions, an extensive literature review as well as an empirical study in the form of interviews have been carried out. The consulted literature comprises English, German and French works. The empirical study is a qualitative method searching to understand the topic in more detail. Interviews were conducted with German and French employees of MBtech and AKKA Technologies living in France and Germany. Globalization and in particular the intense business interconnection between France and Germany, the two economically strongest forces in Europe at present, make intercultural research in this field a topic of interest and importance. The need for permanently constructive collaboration is fuelled by the fact that numerous intercultural collaborations between MBtech and AKKA Technologies are taking place over a long period of time.
The research question how intercultural collaboration works at MBtech and AKKA Technologies could only be answered to some extent due to the little representativeness of the qualitative method of interviewing. However, the insights obtained indicate that it works reasonably well. While many statements allow the conclusion that differing views on the German and the French side lead to difficulties, many other statements show that in spite of these differences, intercultural collaboration is on a good and growing level. Based on the findings gained for answering the research question under which conditions intercultural collaboration can function smoothly, a number of concrete recommendations were issued. Being related mainly to enhanced communication and mutual understanding, these recommendations aim at equipping MBtech and Akka Technologies well to face the future.
In the last 30 years academics were exploring the field of ethical consumption and identified an attitude - behavior gap in the decision making process. Since then diverse studies have been implemented to understand ethical consumers' attitudes, motives and behavior. Parallel to the academic research being developed, there had been an increasing interest from the consumer side in behaving and consuming more ethically. Particularly, consumers have inclined their ethical purchases towards fair trade products. The present exploratory research implemented a quantitative metaphoric method called Zaltman Elicitation Metaphoric Technique (ZMET) to further contribute in the literature of ethical and fair trade consumption. The ZMET in-depth interviews were carried out with 10 German fair trade food consumers during the months of February and March in 2015. The results revealed a connection between participants' feelings, emotions, personal values and fair trade food consumption; likewise the research identified an association of fair trade to sustainability.
In recent years the field of internal audit has gained tremendous importance. This was promoted by massive frauds, management scandals and bankruptcies identified at companies like Enron, Lehman Brothers and Cendant Corporation or by individuals like Bernard Madoff. The recent financial crisis, which has caused multi-billion dollars of economic damage worldwide contrib-uted as well. As a consequence governments passed new draft legislations, tightened up regula-tions of the financial market and implemented global standards to reduce financial risks – con-siderably those concerning the future. At the same time a shift in awareness at the management and boardroom level in institutes, companies and organizations alike took place and corporate governance was given a higher appraisal. Nowadays it is necessary, even vital for the above mentioned to be aware of corporate objectives and their social and environmental impact (Pickett, 2003). In this context, internal audit (IA) has undergone a magnificent boost of attention, representing a key function within the organization by reviewing, analyzing, monitoring and improving its pro-cesses and operations. However, in order to keep up with constantly increasing standards and company guidelines to meet the expectations of the management, and more important, those of the stakeholders as well as to reduce costs, new methods needed to be developed and implemented accordingly. One of these methods, which in fact has long been there, but still ekes out a marginal existence in Germany, is the control self-assessment (CSA).
Today’s globalized world is situated in a difficult stage of egoism and inequality. The unfair distribution of income leads to a huge amount of people around the world who are suffering from poverty and the spread of deadly infections while others steadily increase their wealth. The coexistence of wealth and poverty becomes particularly obvious in the transnational business operations of multinational enterprises which import raw materials from resource-rich countries or locate production plants in countries with a low level of education and income. Using the example of South Africa, this paper shows the impact that history can have on a country’s economic, social and political situation and the reasons for the need of a collaboration of companies, government and society to solve the country’s problems. By establishing a subsidiary at a specific location, a company starts to bear responsibility for the local community. People often refer to this correlation as Corporate Social Responsibility. This paper clarifies the concept and extent of Corporate Social Responsibility by explaining some well-established definitions and theories. The practical part of the paper consists of a comparison between the activities of multinational enterprises in industrialized and developing countries. Concerning their social responsibility, companies in industrialized countries tend to focus on the avoidance of environmental pollution, sustainable utilization of resources and prevention of the discrimination of minorities in the labor market. In South Africa the most important and necessary fields of activity are the rapid spread of HIV due to insufficient medical care, steadily increasing social inequality, deficient level of education and the lack of possibilities of professional development. The last section of the paper compares the activities of different industrial sectors regarding Corporate Social Responsibility using the example of selected companies which operate in South Africa.
In times of globalization Country Images and Country of Origin Effects have increasingly gained importance.
More informed consumers are able to purchase goods from around the globe and are no longer restricted to buying only goods produced in one’s home country. This has led to a rise in competition in the international market place, not only in the fashion industry. Managers are increasingly concerned with how brand’s Country of Origin is perceived and what effects it might have to relocate production to a developing country. While previous research was mainly focused on cross-sector investigations and studies of countries in Europe and North America, this paper’s focus was put on the perception of German consumers in regards to the countries New Zealand, Australia and China. The overall question to be answered in this study is “how do German fashion customers perceive the labels “Made in China”, “Made in New Zealand” and “Designed in Australia” and how do these perceptions affect the buying decision and price sensitivity? The results of this paper add value to the Australian brand Unreal Fur and the New Zealand brand PIA NAERA. It analyses their situations in the marketplace and gives suggestions of which marketing methods can be used in order to guide the customer’s perceptions and help support a positive image.
Purpose: This study investigates the role that entrepreneurial talents play, and the influence of such
talents in firms’ success and raising funds through crowd-funding platforms as well. It discusses and analyses which talents are needed by entrepreneurs in order to place them in the best position to attract funds from these platforms. Further, the study attempts to create a bridge between entrepreneurial talent and crowdfunding, hence acting as one of the contributors towards the entrepreneur’s business success. Design/Approach/Methodology: This topic is a novel idea and it aims at examining whether or not entrepreneurial talents, as influencing factors should be taken into account when raising funds from crowdfunding platforms. This paper includes two main parts: theoretical and practical. In the final part, this paper provides lessons learnt. Originality/Value: This thesis will add value to research in the field of crowdfunding and its operation especially when entrepreneur funding is considered. Additionally, the hypothesis that forms the basis of this thesis, advocates for a new mode of sourcing for funds from crowdfunding platforms. This new approach is premised on the idea that the entrepreneurial talent can be a significant influencing factor for successfully raising funds from crowdfunding platforms. The analysis of the case studies will reveal an appropriate pattern of the talents needed and associating factors that will help entrepreneurs become successful in obtaining funds for their business
ventures, when they elect to use crowdfunding as their financing method. Practical implications: There are four practical implications to this paper. The first, is that entrepreneurs who intend to seize the huge opportunities offered by the crowdfunding platforms should place emphasis on convincing the participants in the platforms of their talents rather than placing too much focus on perfect business plan. Secondly, the platform participants should deviate from the traditional approach of WHAT to invest in, to a new approach of WHOM/WHO to invest in. Thirdly, from the perspective of the relatively new crowdfunding industry, this paper proposes for the creation of talent-based crowdfunding platforms as opposed to the project-based ones that are currently operating. Finally, the paper encourages the academic researcher to pursue ideas and new applications in the crowdfunding industry.
Living in times when the Internet and Social Media is changing customer’s behavior, Customer Relationship Managers face the question how to deal with those changes and how to optimize their strategy to remain attractive for the customers. The behavior of people is changing immensely as customers do not prefer to be influenced by companies which are pushing products and brands to them. The force and pressure of customers towards brands is rising steadily, since they expect them to actively engage with them and to offer high quality information rather than a brand who is trying to make the purchase decision for the customer. These times, ordinary customers turn into active influencer who could reach a huge number of people and potential customers and therefore influence their purchase decision. Therefore understanding the current customer behavior and the way how, when and why they make a purchase and what could influence their decision is crucial to businesses. Consequently, businesses have to start managing the complete Customer Decision Journey of each target group and customer. On this account, this Thesis will cover each step of the Customer Decision Journey – Formulation, Pre-Purchase, Purchase, and Post-Purchase - and its influence factors. Thus the key success factors will be indicated, afterwards the Thesis will continue with the concept of corporate Online Shops and Multichannel Retailing and two Case Studies will finish this paper. After a secondary research, findings show that the participation of a certain generation and culture, as well as product reviews on the Internet and Social Media peers are influencing the Customer Decision Journey tremendously. Thus, Online Shops are playing an important role in the first two stages of the Customer Journey and the second Case Study shows the importance of the post-purchase stage. On the one hand side, all those new channels that are influencing and changing the customer and his/her behavior could be a big challenge for businesses. But on the other hand, businesses could start to modify their strategy and approach towards its customers, make use of new possibilities the Internet is offering and start creating a positive, memorable and shareable customer experience.
Das Phänomen „demographischer Wandel“ rückt immer mehr ins Zentrum öffentlicher Diskussion. Mit seinen unterschiedlichen Facetten prägt es Wirtschafts- und Arbeitswelt. Geringe Geburtenraten und steigende Lebenserwartungen führen zu einer dramatischen Veränderung der Altersverteilung. Dies hat, unter anderem zur Folge, dass immer mehr Erwerbstätige in den Ruhestand wechseln und ihre Know-how mitnehmen. Dies stellt Unternehmen vor Herausforderungen, da qualifizierte Fachkräfte nur schwer zu finden sind. Unternehmen werden zum Umdenken und aktiven Handeln aufgefordert. So könnten nicht oder schlecht genutzte Ressourcen wie zum Beispiel Rentner eingebunden werden um dem demographischen Wandel entgegenzuwirken. Die vorliegende Bachelorthesis beschäftigt sich daher mit der Weiterbeschäftigung im Rentenalter. Ziel ist es zu klären, ob die Bereitschaft für eine Erwerbstätigkeit im Rentenalter überhaupt besteht, welche Motive ein Rolle spielen und welche Rahmenbedingungen vorhanden sein müssen. Auf der Basis von aktueller Fachliteratur und einer Befragung älterer Personen ab 55 Jahren, werden diese Fragen in sechs Kapiteln diskutiert. Nach einer kurzen Einleitung wird in Kapitel zwei der demographische Wandel und dessen Herausforderungen für die Arbeitswelt erläutert. Kompetenzen Älterer und Ruheständler so wie betriebswirtschaftliche Effekte werden in Kapitel drei aufgeführt. Kapitel vier beschreibt die Voraussetzungen und Rahmenbedingungen für die Beschäftigung von Ruheständler. Eine Illustration der Befunde der empirischen Untersuchung erfolgt in Kapitel fünf. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung zeigen eine deutliche Leistungsfähigkeit und auch eine Bereitschaft für die Weiterbeschäftigung im Rentenalter. Zu den wichtigsten Motiven gehören Spaß an der Arbeit, Kontakt mit Menschen, Fit bleiben und Wissen weitergeben. Um die Potenziale dieser Bevölkerungsgruppe in vollem Umfang nutzen zu könne müssen bestimmte Voraussetzungen erfüllt und Rahmenbedingungen vorhanden sein. Hier besteht noch auf verschiedenen Ebenen Handlungsbedarf.
Abstract. Over the last years the German economy perceives the ongoing demographic change which is the reason for a lower offer of skilled workers. A war for talents is declared and recruiters try to meet this challenge. Especially small and medium sized companies notice the lack of qualified applicants that is why these firms should transform into an “employer of choice”. In order to become more attractive for workers, they should invest in marketing strategies to differ from the employer competitors. The theme of the scientific work deals with the development of a human resources marketing plan. The aim is to increase the brand awareness of the pharmaceutical mid-sized company the “BIPSO GmbH”. Evolving a strong employer brand which is in line with the business strategy is the center of gravity. All HR-Marketing activities are aligned to the brand “BIPSO”. In the course of the strategic process, internal and external analyses support the definition of personnel marketing measures. The methods and knowledge have been transferred to the BIPSO GmbH and checked for their applicability. The theories of “how workers choose an employer” or the analysis presented by Simon Sinek conduce to obtain a better understanding of the external target group and the strengths and weaknesses of the company. The interface between Human resources and marketing could be detected by the mutual influence of the employer brand and the product brand. Overlaps are noticeable in the strategic steps of marketing such as the positioning with the help of the EVP (= Employee Value Proposition) or the segmentation of the target groups. To address the audience via their preferred media channels and recruitment channels, an empirical research was performed. Expert interviews with the target group helped to gain insights in their media habits or the identification with the company. The results determine how the communication policy for the BIPSO GmbH should be configured. The outcome shows the need to invest in the linkage of print and online channels. In order to differentiate BIPSO from the competition, the firm should emphasize its origin as an independent family with an ethically valuable product. This unique feature is integrated into all activities. The emotional component is complemented by the rational employers offer such as the performance of the collective agreement of chemistry. In addition to the external measures internal activities were focused, which should lead to a better working environment, because "true beauty comes from the inside." Nevertheless, the human resources marketing concept is not a long-term solution for the demographic development and the lack of skilled labor. However, it can increase the level of awareness and attract the interest of candidates so that companies like the BIPSO GmbH can benefit in hiring new collaborators.
Diese Bachelor-Thesis befasst sich mit der Analyse des aktuellen Konsolidierungsprozesses bei der Hectronic-Gruppe, der Identifizierung der Problemstellen sowie möglichen Lösungsansätzen zu dessen Optimierung und Standardisierung im Rahmen des Konzernabschlusses.
Dabei werden zuerst wichtige Begriffe, Gesetzesgrundlagen in der Schweiz sowie Konsolidierungsmethoden und Trends, die für ein Grundverständnis der Thematik notwendig sind, erklärt. Anschließend wird der Konsolidierungsprozess analysiert und die Problematik Excel als Tool zur Durchführung der Konsolidierung aufgegriffen. Des Weiteren werden anhand der Fachliteratur, aktueller Studien und Trends drei Optimierungsvorschläge entwickelt: der Wechsel des Rechnungslegungs-Standards von OR zu Swiss GAAP FER, der Einsatz einer Software-Lösung und das Outsourcing des Konsolidierungsprozesses.
Die Software-Auswahl fand anhand einer Nutzwertanalyse statt, die mit Hilfe von Experteninterviews und eines Fragebogens durchgeführt wurde. Dabei schnitt die Software-Lösung der LucaNet AG am besten ab. Das Outsourcing, das anhand von Fragebögen (=E-Mails BPO-Anbieter) evaluiert wurde, bietet sich weniger für die Hectronic-Gruppe an, da sich zeigte, dass die Alternative auf lange Sicht gesehen teurer ist und es sich als schwierig erwiesen hat, einen geeigneten Outsourcing-Anbieter zu finden.
Nach der Gegenüberstellung der Alternativen mit ihren jeweiligen Vor- und Nachteilen sowie der Kosten wird der Hectronic-Gruppe empfohlen, den Rechnungslegungs-Standard von OR zu Swiss GAAP FER zu wechseln sowie den Einsatz einer Software-Lösung dem Outsourcing vorzuziehen.
Der steigende Kosten- und Wettbewerbsdruck stellt Unternehmen immer wieder vor neue Herausforderungen bei der Entwicklung und Gestaltung von Produkten. Die Ausweitung der Lean-Philosophie auf die Produktentwicklung bietet ein enormes Potenzial, um in der Produktion anfallende Verschwendung bereits während der Entwicklung zu reduzieren. In dieser wissenschaftlichen Arbeit wird ein Modell entwickelt, durch welches der Wirkzusammenhang zwischen einzelnen Produktgestaltungsrichtlinien und die in der Produktion anfallende Verschwendung bewertet werden kann. Der Fokus dieser Bewertung liegt vor Allem auf den Ursachen, die zu Verschwendung führen.
Especially in the past years, the Internet of Things and strategic alliances between different companies have become increasingly important. While previous research has mainly focused on the purpose of alliance failures and the success of partnerships in general, this paper introduces a standardized partner evaluation tool for connected products and digital services to prevent poor candidate selection. Based on an extensive literature study, this work analyzes the core industry of the home appliances manufacturer BSH Hausgeräte GmbH with a particular focus on the Internet of Things. Through the conduction of expert interviews, literary findings about strategic alliances are verified. Additionally, the interviews support the optimization of the decision instrument and prove its relevance and suitability. Further, the paper aims at identifying whether the home appliance manufacturer lacks knowledge in selecting suitable partners for digital services and whether such a tool will improve the speed and preciseness of the decision-making process in the future. Lastly, future research questions are discussed. This study confirms that rating partners by standardized criteria is especially beneficial to support the selection decision in front of other stakeholders. The results of this work significantly contribute and add value to the Corporate Digital Transition Department at BSH Hausgeräte GmbH. In particular, managers with the responsibility to evaluate potential partners to extend the digital services portfolio of BSH’s smart home solution will benefit from this paper.
Globally operating stamping and hybrid parts manufacturer KRAMSKI and the FRANUHOFER IPA have developed a new prosthetic foot designed for developing countries. Although low-cost solutions in developing countries exist, these significantly lack functionality. The new prosthetic foot will be more expensive than most low-cost alternatives, which start from $ 5.00 for a simple SACH foot, but can be sold for a much lower price than most high-tech prosthetics imported from industrialized nations, which can cost more than $5,000. The purpose of the paper was to determine the market potential for the prosthetic foot, to monitor the competition and to create an overall marketing concept for distributing and promoting the product. Therefore market and competitor analyses were conducted. On base of the market and competitor research, strategies were formulated. As a last step, the marketing mix with its four elements was regarded and different distribution and promotional tools have been reviewed to propose marketing activities that could be undertaken by KRAMSKI. Since six different target countries in Asia and Latin America (India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) were chosen in agreement with KRAMSKI, the market potential for each of these countries was estimated. Two different approaches were used to estimate the market potential of each country. Following the first approach, the total market demand of all six countries added up to more than 5.6 million potential. The second approach added up to a total of 6.7 million potential customers for the target regions. The numbers revealed that 95 % of all lower limb amputees lived in India. Therefore India has been chosen as the target country for all further research in the paper. The monitoring of the market change revealed that prosthetic foot demand was going to increase over the next decades due to lost limbs through road traffic incidents and diabetes. Besides, by the year 2030 most of the world’s middle class (80 %) will be living in developing countries As a consequence, more people will be able to afford health care products such as prosthetic feet. It has been found out that customers in developing countries lay emphasis on either low cost or quality. As a second step, the competitive environment within the prosthetic foot sector in India has been analyzed. Although the Indian healthcare system is still underdeveloped, the sector offers future opportunities for the private sector. The biggest commercial manufacturers of prosthetic feet in India are Otto Bock, Endolite and Streifeneder-Collegepark. But also international and local NGOs, such as BMVSS (Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti) with the Jaipur Foot, distribute prosthetic feet. Most of the commercial products are significantly more expensive than the products distributed by NGOs. Most NGOs manufacture prosthesis by themselves in order to save costs and create jobs. Many amputees can receive the prostheses and service for free due to donations which finance the NGOs. The competitive suppliers either own fitting centers or distribute their products through local wholesalers. On base of the market, consumer segmentation has been conducted. The Indian population has been divided into different income levels. Rural aspirers and urban seekers could be seen as the most profitable target segments, but urban customers might be easiest to reach due to location. In a last step, the marketing mix for the prosthetic foot has been analyzed. The prosthetic foot should offer specific features to align with developing countries. The product needs to be priced according to company objectives, demand, cost and competition. Since KRAMSKI does not yet have the capabilities and resources to fit prosthetic feet, the company needs to distribute to the end-user through indirect distribution channels such as wholesalers, clinics and NGOs. Therefore an important activity for KRAMSKI is the acquisition of distribution channels. This can be approached through promotional tools such as personal selling, direct marketing, online marketing or the participation on trade fairs and exhibitions.
A few years ago Porsche AG defined its “Strategy 2018”, to be followed by all subsidiaries worldwide. This includes ambitious sales and financial targets, which only can be fulfilled if Porsche becomes more efficient. One of Porsche’s core measures to reach the set targets is the development of its global dealer network. Currently, the subsidiary Porsche Middle East and Africa, responsible for the future growth in the Middle East, India and Africa, lacks this efficiency. A defined process for the set up of a new dealership in this region is not existent and tasks as well as responsibilities are not transparent among the task force.
This thesis was used to analyze the set up process of Porsche Middle East and Africa and to define an overall concept. Based on relevant literature, conducted interviews and gathered information, the required activities to successfully establish a new dealership have been identified and finally an all-encompassing concept have been created. The three stakeholders of a dealer set up, the parent company, its regional and its local presence served as informants.
The proposed concept provides Porsche Middle East and Africa and the new investors with a detailed guideline during the whole process and permits a smooth and punctual dealer set up and opening. The process integration takes Porsche Middle East and Africa a major step forward on its way to Porsche’s ‘Strategy 2018’.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the development process of renewable energy sector in Bulgaria and how far it is at the moment. Another aim was to find out the issues that exist in this field, as well as possible forecasts for the future.
The research was based on different literature sources and primary research techniques like interviews, which succeeded to answer the proposal questions. The key challenges Bulgaria is faced with were also identified through provided industry analysis and detailed outlook of the available renewables in Bulgaria.
The analyses of the thesis indicate the main issues that appear in the current legislative and administrative structure. Furthermore, the investigation found that there is a lack of liberalization of the market, which leads to confusion in the whole business picture of Bulgaria.
This research contributes for better understanding the potential of the renewables in Bulgaria although the non-availability of great political conditions as well as the pure issues in the social and economic growth. The results provide also suggestions for making better policies and finding more partners due to the fact that sustainable future is better for all of us.
Trotz gesetzlicher Frauenquoten in unterschiedlichen Ländern sind Frauen in den Boards der verschiedenen Unternehmen unterrepräsentiert. Aus diesem Grund wird in dieser Arbeit ermittelt, wie sich die Frauenquote auf Frauen, Boards und Unternehmen auswirkt. Dabei wird untersucht wie die Quote die Beförderung von Frauen, den Frauenanteil im Board, das Humankapital, die Board-Charakteristiken, die Zusammenarbeit im Board, die Unternehmensform, den Firmenwert, die Unternehmensperformance, die Strategie und das Ansehen der Firma sowie den Führungsstil beeinflusst. In diesem Zusammenhang wird auch analysiert, welche Rolle Sanktionen dabei spielen. Zur Ermittlung der Ergebnisse wurden verschiedene wissenschaftliche Abhandlungen und Studien aus den Datenbanken Business Source Premier (via EBSCO Host) und Science Direct, sowie Google Scholar verwendet. Es wurde ermittelt, dass die Änderung der Unternehmensform durch Sanktionen begünstigt wird, genauso der Frauenanteil im Board, was das Erreichen der kritischen Masse wahrscheinlich macht. Dadurch beeinflussen weibliche Board-Mitglieder Humankapital, Zusammenarbeit im Board, Führungsstil und Reputation des Unternehmens positiv. Jedoch üben Frauen nur in wirtschaftlich guten Zeiten Einfluss auf die Unternehmensstrategie aus, denn in Krisenzeiten reagiert das Board mit altbewährten Verhaltensweisen und weibliche Board-Mitglieder verlieren dadurch ihren Einfluss. Die Quotenregelung erhöht die Aufstiegschancen der Frauen. Jedoch verändern neue weibliche Board-Mitglieder die Board-Charakteristiken, was sich negativ auf den Firmenwert auswirkt. Es konnten keine eindeutigen Ergebnisse in Bezug auf die Unternehmensperformance ermittelt werden.
“Is it feasible to use flexible benefits as a possible employee retention tool? A survey about the possibilities of a value-oriented flexible benefits system as a method for innovative employee retention on the example of the organisation EVOMOTIV GmbH”
Being an engineering company, the current changes in the labour market caused by a lack of qualified experts, have had quite an effect on the employee retention of the organisation EVOMOTIV GmbH. Therefore the aim of this thesis is to develop a value-oriented flexible benefits system which can support the organisation to improve employee retention. This flexible benefits scheme enables employees to choose between various benefits, which are provided by the employer. First this thesis elaborates the theoretical framework of the conducted empirical study. Therefore employee retention, value-oriented human resource management and value-oriented incentive system are explained. As a result, the information collected through the theoretical study illustrates that there is a growing demand for a value-oriented flexible benefits scheme. The second part of the thesis examines the present state of the organisation EVOMOTIV GmbH and presents the results of the company data analysis. The aim is to identify the influences on increasing turnover of staff and employee satisfaction. From these results, it can be concluded that the main cause of the turnover is the business model used by the company and that the employee satisfaction has been increasing yearly. To develop such a value-oriented flexible benefits scheme, an empirical study was conducted together with the employees of the EVOMOTIV GmbH. The study consisted of questionnaires in combination with a workshop. The aim was to establish contents for the flexible benefits scheme based on of the values and needs of the employees. The questionnaires were used to gain more information on the present state. The result of this thesis is a new flexible benefits system, which is based on the needs and values of the employees in the EVOMOTIV GmbH. Moreover the thesis demonstrates that the system supports the improvement of employee retention, yet its efficiency is limited through the effect of the business model. To measure the efficiency and to keep the system up-to-date with future employee values, a long-term survey is recommended by the author.
Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung der Eurozone vor und nach der Finanzmarktkrise sowie die institutionellen Konstruktionen die mit der Eurozone einhergehen. Die Arbeit ist in zwei Zeitfenster aufgeteilt: einmal von 2002 bis 2007 vor der Finanzmarktkrise und von 2008 bis 2014 nach der Krise. Es wird der Frage nachgegangen, inwiefern die Umsetzung der Währungsunion und das Auftreten der Finanzmarktkrise die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung der Mitgliedstaaten in der Eurozone beeinflusst hat. Dafür werden die Mitgliedstaaten in Süd- und Nordstaaten unterteilt. Die Fragestellungen werden auf der Grundlage verschiedener Datenbanken von der Europäischen Union wissenschaftlich analysiert. Wissenschaftliche Texte stellen eine ergänzende Informationsquelle dar. Im Ergebnis wird deutlich, dass sich die Eurozone, allen voran die Südstaaten, noch nicht von der letzten Finanzmarktkrise erholt hat. Nicht nur die Wirtschaftskrise macht der Eurozone zu schaffen. Vielmehr sind es institutionelle Fehlkonstruktionen in den Verträgen, die das Projekt Eurozone und Europa gefährden. Durch Nichteinhaltung selbst aufgesetzter Regelungen sowie ständige Änderungen sämtliche Verträge, hat das Projekt, ein gemeinsames Europa durch einen gemeinsamen Währungsraum
zu schaffen, an Glaubhaftigkeit verloren.
This paper examines the role of Latin America and the Caribbean as a trading partner of Germany with regard to Brazil and Mexico. To analyse the position of those two countries and the region as a whole, the following research questions will be answered:
What kind of historic connections have Latin America and the European Union have in common?
How is the trade development structure between Latin America and the Caribbean and Europe as well as Germany and Brazil/Mexico respectively?
How attractive is the Brazilian and Mexican market for the German economy?
What kinds of conditions promote and hinder the trade integration with Germany? It is also important to mention that this research is based on the analysis of different secondary data collection mainly extracted from the databases of the Deutsche Bundesbank, the European Commission, the OECD and the IMF. First, we find out that the beginnings of historic connections between Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union go back as far as the 15th century. However, the relationship was mainly strengthened towards the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century as, for instance, several agreements between these regions were adopted. Secondly, we can observe developments of the trade structure between Latin America and the Caribbean and Europe. That clearly shows that there was a massive increase in the flow of commodities as in the mutual direct outward investments in those last years. The same goes for the trade structure between Germany and Brazil respectively Mexico. It is important to note that the countries play a subordinate role for Germany in the international comparison. However, comparing Latin America and the Caribbean, Brazil is the most important trading partner for Germany followed by Mexico. Thirdly, against the background of the PEST analysis, the two Latin American countries achieve similar results. The core strengths of both countries lie in the socio-cultural conditions whereas the deteriorating economic conditions pose a weak point. In addition to that, it has to be mentioned that the Brazilian market is more attractive than the Mexican one. However, with regard to the (expected) economic growth and the opinions of several other authors the prognoses of Mexico are more positive than for Brazil. Consequently it is doubtful whether Brazil will be able to defend its position in the future.
In cooperation with the Customer Relationship Management and Communication department at Volkswagen AG the thesis “The future of Service Marketing in the automotive industry” was written. The sales part of After Sales is relatively small compared to the total turnover, but it is the biggest part of benefits of a car manufacturer. This is just one reason why After Sales has such a big relevance in the automotive industry. This thesis defines After Sales and Service Marketing, gives reasons for the importance of After Sales and details how to attract the right customer groups in the context of After Sales. Additionally, it is discussed how customer needs are best addressed and fulfilled, and what kind of new Service Marketing tools could help Volkswagen to exploit the full market potential of its after sales division. The data on which this paper is based was drawn from various company-internal and external sources. The most important company-external data sources were articles about the after sales practices of other car manufacturers and companies of completely different industries. With regards to internal sources, this paper is based on internal best practices and data collected in an expert workshop regarding the internal visions that are shaping the future of Service Marketing. The given data was qualitatively analysed and resulted in a collection of potential Service Marketing tools for the international Brand Volkswagen Cars markets. The most important findings are new digital communication tools, new customer relationship tools and point of sales tools.
In this thesis, the author researches the topic of global Scotch whisky marketing strategies and adapted strategies for the emerging markets in Asia, using the example of Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal. Scotch whisky has become a truly international spirit, with a growing demand coming from the emerging markets of Asia. The multinational players in the Scotch whisky industry soon recognized the need to adapt their marketing strategies for the Asian markets in order to gain a foothold and survive in the highly competitive spirit market. The two leading multinational Scotch whisky producers are Diageo and Pernod Ricard. They both successfully market two blended Scotch whisky brands globally, Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal. Their current global marketing strategies for these brands are based on six key elements, which are Innovative Packaging, Responsibility/Consideration of Social Aspects/Care about Society, Strategic Sponsorships/Partnerships, Celebrity Branding, Digital Marketing/ Social Media Engagement, and Experiential Marketing /Physical Spaces. The marketing actions of Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal in Asian markets have four elements in common, which can be seen as key success factors for a successful marketing strategy in Asian markets: tell sophisticated Brand Stories in an authentic, inspiring and emotional connecting way; use Digital Content and interactive platforms, like Social Media, to engage with Asian consumers; create rich brand experiences with Physical Spaces, and use the power of Influencers to inspire and communicate brand content.
Studierende und Lehrende als Kunden wissenschaftlicher Bibliotheken sind im digitalen Zeitalter aufgrund virtueller Angebote nicht mehr wie früher auf physische Bibliotheken angewiesen. Die Tendenz zu „entmaterialisierten Bibliotheken“, stellt komplexe Anforderungen an das Bibliotheksmanagement, mit dem Ziel, die E-Medien als umfassende Services für ihre Zielgruppen sichtbar darzustellen. Ausgehend von diesem Fokus soll das E-Medien-Portfolio der Bibliotheken der Hochschule Furtwangen konsequent an den Bedarfen ihrer Kernzielgruppen ausgerichtet werden. „E-Medien-Service nach Maß“ bedeutet eine komplexe Herausforderung und ist zugleich eine strategische Aufgabe des Bibliotheksmanagements, im Kontext von Studium und Lehre sowie dem Qualitätsmanagement der Hochschule.
Die Arbeit stellt dazu eine qualitative Studie vor, die im Wintersemester 2014/2015 am Campus Tuttlingen durchgeführt wurde. Sie erläutert Hintergrund und Zielsetzung der Untersuchungsfrage, beschreibt die angewandte Methode und das Untersuchungsdesign.
Ziel der Studie war, Nutzungsaspekte und Bedarfe der Zielgruppen Professoren und Studierende der Fakultät Industrial Technologies festzustellen. Darüber hinaus wurde ermittelt, inwieweit das E-Medien-Angebot der Bibliotheken bekannt ist und welche Möglichkeiten bestehen, es besser sichtbar zu machen. Die Ergebnisse aus der Studie wurden in Empfehlungen zur Optimierung des E-Medien-Portfolios zusammengefasst.
Darauf basierend kann ein strategisches Konzept entwickelt werden, welches durch die Untersuchung der Bedarfe und unter Beachtung der Relevanzsysteme ihrer Zielgruppen erfolgreich vom Bibliotheksmanagement eingeleitet werden kann.
Economic Valuation of Investments in Tangible Fixed Assets of BASF Asia Pacific: Methodology Review
(2015)
The objective of this thesis is to review and evaluate the valuation methodology for investments into fixed tangible assets methodology applied at BASF East Asia Regional Headquarters for the Asia-Pacific region to develop recommendations based on current research. The net present value, adjusted net present value and economic value added approaches are analyzed as well as other key performance indicators, real option analysis and methods of integrating volatility into the valuation criteria. A shift from the currently utilized basic net present value model is suggested as the static nature of the model can oversimplify or exclude many factors relevant to accurate investment valuations. Ultimately, the net present value should be split up to highlight areas of value creation, real options should be integrated into standard methodology and project cash flow volatility should be considered in the process. The latter can be integrated by use of Monte Carlo simulations, which can be re-run at relevant decision tree nods to show volatility differences throughout the projects timeline. These values can then, either via twin-security, market correlation or internally determined scales be integrated into the discount rate, thus effectively adjusting for project specific risk.
Werte gewinnen zunehmende Bedeutsamkeit in der heutigen Gesellschaft. Auch in Unternehmen sind sie nicht mehr wegzudenken. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden die Herausforderungen und Probleme, die bei der Einführung von Unternehmenswerten auftreten können, aufgedeckt. Dafür werden im ersten Teil der Arbeit drei Methoden zur Einführung eines Wertemanagementsystems ausgewertet und kritisch hinterfragt. Der zweite Teil der Arbeit konzentriert sich auf Interviews, die mit 20 Probanden der Michelfelder Gruppe durchgeführt wurden. Unter den Probanden befanden sich Mitarbeiter und Teamleiter. Die Studie wurde entwickelt um herauszufinden, welche Einstellung die Angestellten zu den Werten haben und inwieweit diese in der Praxis umgesetzt werden. Nach theoretischen Erkenntnissen hätte man die Werte anders einführen müssen, schaut man sich jedoch die Ergebnisse der Interviews an, kann man sagen, dass die genutzte Methode die richtige war.
Shopping-trolleys being available, in working order and ready to use are the three decisive characteristics of successful shopping-trolley-management and accordingly concern the functional areas procurement, maintenance, cleaning (and ultimately disposal). This bachelor-thesis has been written in cooperation with Kaufland and describes the processes and costs of the shopping-trolley-management of Kaufland in the above named areas. Kaufland is a trading firm, which has been founded in Germany, has business operations in Central- and Eastern-Europe and is known especially for its self-service-stores named „Kaufland“. In these stores, with a retail area between 2000-12.000 m², customers can choose from a product range of up to 60.000 goods of the food- and non-food-area. The strategic coordination of the shopping-trolley-management is located in the department Branch-Equipment of the functional area Procurement International, which is responsible for product development, purchasing and standardization of the objects used to equip a store. The thesis is divided into two parts: At first the processes and costs of the shopping-trolley-management of Kaufland in Germany and in the KMO-countries (Kaufland Central- and Eastern-Europe) are presented. To record the processes and costs, face-to-face- and telephone-interviews were conducted and data were gathered in inquiry forms by mail. The results can be reviewed in written process descriptions and the completed inquiry forms. This section of the thesis is based on the theories of life-cycle-costing and concludes with a presentation of the „Best Practices“ of processes and the calculation of the life-cycle-costs of the Kaufland shopping-trolley-stock. The life-cycle-costs are calculated in the form of nominal- and present-values (discounted-values) taking into account the most important life cycle phases (procurement, maintenance, cleaning and disposal).
Next a leasing- and service-offer for the Kaufland shopping-trolley-stock, created by the Wanzl Metallwarenfabrik GmbH in cooperation with the Deutschen Leasing, is presented. The leasing part is viewed as an alternative to the current way of procuring shopping-trolleys, the service part is compared with the current service-processes and -costs of the shopping-trolleys. This section of the thesis is based on the leasing-, procurement-theory and economic efficiency calculations and concludes with an assessment of the given offer as well as a compilation and assessment of possible leasing-contract-alternatives. The used and given information originate from the literature reviewed, face-to-face- and telephone-interviews with the contact persons at the Wanzl Metallwarenfabrik GmbH and the Deutschen Leasing. The results show that the given leasing- and service-offer is not connected to process improvements and cost savings by Kaufland and should not be accepted, however the application of the described „Best Practices“ in all countries as well as the development of a new, flexible leasing-offer, taking into account the information about processes and costs obtained in this thesis, might very well be economically favorable.
Despite the growth the luxury industry has experienced in recent years, marketers are increasingly facing the emergence of a younger luxury consumer that has different values, priorities, and attitudes. Since these consumers are soon to replace the current luxury clientele as the primary luxury consumer due to their size and purchasing power, successful luxury brands have changed their strategies in order to stay relevant. Being faced with a considerable decrease in brand loyalty, a deeper understanding of the drivers of brand loyalty among this clientele is of utmost importance. Whereas loyalty has often simply been defined as repeat behavior of purchasing one single brand, the literature suggests a more complex definition, which emphasizes the importance of a favorable attitude toward the brand in order for a consumer to be considered truly loyal. Since this attitudinal part of brand loyalty does not necessarily presuppose actual brand usage, Gaggenau as a luxury appliance brand needs to find ways to attract and establish a pre-purchase bond with these consumers even before they have reached their peak buying power, which will create the basis for enduring brand loyalty.
This thesis was set out to explore the complex process of loyalty creation in view of a different luxury consumer, which is increasingly gaining strategic importance. Focus of this thesis was to provide the luxury appliance brand Gaggenau with advice on how to create the basis for enduring brand loyalty among young Generation Y consumers. As a basis for the analysis, the term “luxury” including its different facets and the role aspirations play in the consumption motives for luxury goods has been investigated. This was followed by an examination of the important role of a new type of luxury consumer, characterized by different traits and attitudes. These consumers are likely members of the Generation Y cohort. Due to decreasing loyalty levels, particular emphasis has been put on understanding how to establish an enduring customer-brand relationship. For this, the formation of loyalty, including different degrees and types of loyalty, has been thoroughly investigated. The importance of truly knowing the consumer’s values, desires, and preferences in the creation of brand commitment or in other words the attitudinal part of loyalty as an ultimate milestone to creating enduring brand loyalty, has also been pointed out. Therefore, the next step was to understand Generation Y consumers. The investigation has mainly focused on the opportunities for creating aspiration or an emotional bond with the consumer at the early stage of the consumer journey. Then, the specific challenges Gaggenau is facing with regard to this new luxury consumer and due to the difficulty of reconciling its status as luxury and appliance brand have been presented. The insights gained throughout this dissertation have then been summarized in a recommended course of action. Finally, based on the development of a Weighted Average Scoring Model for potential Gaggenau consumers, a selection of specific touch points has been evaluated on their effectiveness of creating the basis for enduring brand loyalty at the early stages of the consumer journey.
Recently, the behavior of customers is changing significantly. Instead of visiting one specific channel of a company to make a purchase, customers are using several channels of different suppliers before making a final purchase. They are switching between these suppliers constantly with the aim of comparing product details and prices to find the best offer. Customers are combining the advantages of the different channels, offered by different suppliers. However, in order to increase customer loyalty and value, companies have to find a way to bond customers to their brand. A multi-channel strategy is trying to build long term customer relationships and to increase customer loyalty. By integrating the different channels, instead of running each channel individually, companies can create an additional value for customers. The channel integration is initiated by offering multichannel services, which are connecting online and offline channels to merge them together. These services should lead to an increase of customer satisfaction, build loyalty, and create a long-term customer relationship. Schiesser has recognized this trend in customer behavior and the need to implement a multi-channel strategy. Yet, as the distribution channels of Schiesser are not working with common enterprise resource planning systems, information systems and cash register systems, it would be highly expensive and time consuming to create an integrated multi-channel system. The absence of a CRM-System and the resulting lack of information about the customer journey of Schiesser consumers are further serious obstacles in the way of realizing a multi-channel strategy. However, Schiesser faces the alternative of implanting a hybrid multi-channel system, which combines various channels loosely without being based on common systems. Both, the integrated and the hybrid multichannel system are accompanied by advantages and disadvantages for the Schiesser AG. Considering the current situation and the high costs of an integrated multi-channel system, a hybrid multi-channel system appears to be the appropriate choice for Schiesser. This system allows Schiesser to offer services like “Return to Web/Retail”, “Click and Collect”, “Pick up at Retail” and “QR-Code Scans” without investing in common used systems. These services can be offered by adapting internal organizational processes and by training staff in retail stores. This relatively low investment of time and money enables Schiesser to provide a unique selling proposition for their customers, build a relationship and increase customer value. If Schiesser wants to stay competitive, the introduction of a multichannel strategy is essential, as direct competitors like Lascana and Hunkemöller have already implemented multi-channel strategies.
Der bekannteste Weg Gewinn in einem Produktionsunternehmen zu erzielen liegt daran, Herstellkosten zu senken und gleichzeitig hochwertige und innovative Produkte auf den Markt zu bringen. Die J. Schmalz GmbH, die weltweit führender Anbieter von Vakuum-Technologie in der Automatisierungs-, Handhabungs- und Aufspanntechnik ist, ist ständig auf der Suche nach Innovation und Verbesserung um die Qualität seiner Produkte zu steigern. Dies hat die Schmalz GmbH zu folgenden Gedanken und Fragen gebracht; wie könnten bestehende Komponenten der Firma J. Schmalz GmbH optimiert und vor allem die Effizienz von Saugern gesteigert werden? Der Schwerpunkt unserer Arbeit wird somit aus diesen beiden Fragen bestehen.
Um diese Fragen zu beantworten werden wir erstmal in dem Stand der Technik einen Fokus auf die Effizienz und die Sicherheit von Sauggreifer bei dem Transport von Werkstücken von einem Punkt zu einem anderen raussuchen. Danach werden die verschiedenen Lösungen, die wir für unser Problem gewählt haben, präsentiert. Der dritte Teil wird aus den Versuchen (Durchführung und Auswertungen) bestehen. Zum Schluss kommt das Fazit, um das Ergebnis unserer Arbeit zu zeigen.
Erarbeiten eines einheitlichen Vergütungssystems für die ausländischen Standorte der IMS Gear GmbH
(2015)
Due to globalization more and more companies open up subsidiairies across national boundaries. To struggle with high growth, customer focus and personnel exchange those companies ask themselves whether it is necessary to develop corporate processes and standards across borders or not. IMS Gear, a medium-sized company, headquartered in Donaueschingen with subsidiaries in China, USA and Mexico wants to optimize its excisting compensation system regarding standardization. The purpose of this thesis is to check whether an international standardized compensation system at IMS Gear GmbH is reasonable or in which extent elements of the German compensation structure could be applied in the foreign locations. By researching compensation systems, the internationalization strategy of the company and its current status as well as analyzing cultural and legal differences at the locations this thesis provides a discussion about advantages and disadvantages of global standards and local differentiations. As a result this thesis concludes that IMS Gear is a multinational company which acts in some points global but is still not on a level where global standards in all sectors are meaningful and accepted by all locations. Therefore some recommendations are given which show further steps the company should take to improve the current situation.
This Bachelor thesis deals with drawing up a new marketing concept for the Villingen Institute of Public Health and the subsequent implementation of one part of the concept. The institute offers further education in the field of Public Health. The aim of the thesis is to find marketing activities which will increase the publicity of the institute and help to canvass a sufficient number of participants for its different courses. Initially, the term ‚Public Health’, the institute as well as the concept of Blended-Learning and services marketing are presented. Afterwards, there were some analyses conducted. The internal factors like marketing measures taken before, strengths and weaknesses of the institute, just as the external factors like the market environment and the competition, are evaluated. Due to a large number of other providers, it is Difficult to survive against one’s competitors. Therefore, the Villingen Institute of Public Health should try to stand out from them, emphasizing its university status as well as the practical phases and the flexibility of its courses. Having a really low marketing budget (over 500 €), the VIPH should use principally onlinemarketing measures, as they are often lower-cost or even for free and are able to reach a large amount of interested persons. On the basis of the mentioned findings, there was a marketing concept developed. After determining the target groups and the positioning within the market, a marketing-mix was made, consisting of the 7Ps of services marketing (product, price, place, promotion, person, physical evidence, process). By means of direct marketing via e-mail, post or phone, some target groups can be reached directly. Supporting web-marketing measures can help to get better-known and to be perceived by more people. Public relations to local or regional media can increase the publicity for the institute. During this work, it has been decided to produce an image-film and to write an entry in Wikipedia, the internet encyclopedia, which should represent the implementation part. Finally, the planning and the realization as well as the first results of the implementation measures are presented.
Diese Bachelorarbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Erstellung eines strategischen Marketingkonzepts für das B-to-B IT-Serviceproviderunternehmen agilTech Information Technologies GmbH. Durch mangelnde strategische Ausrichtung und die vorherrschende Projektarbeit als Individualsoftware entwickler und IT-Berater, sah sich das Unternehmen bisher einem großen Absatzrisiko und einer volatilen Nachfrage ausgesetzt. So hat sich das Unternehmen opportunistisch am Markt bewegt, keine konkreten Unternehmensziele definiert und konzeptlose Marketingmaßnahmen ohne Zielgruppenbestimmung durchgeführt. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist somit die Entwicklung eines strategischen Marketingkonzepts, um agilTech wettbewerbsfähig am Markt zu positionieren, mehr Projektanfragen zu generieren und so ein strategisches Unternehmenswachstum im fragmentierten Individualsoftwaremarkt zu ermöglichen. Der Lösungsansatz dieser Arbeit basiert auf Taylor’s (2015) strategischem Marketingplanungsprozess, der sich in die Phasen Ziele und Marktanalysen, Strategieentwicklung und operatives Marketing einteilen lässt. Als Ergebnis entstand eine Marketingstrategie, Servicemarketing Mix-Maßnahmen und Kommunikationsmittel wurden identifiziert sowie Handlungsvorschläge unterbreitet. Für die Organisation und Implementierung der Servicemarketing Mix-Maßnahmen wurde ein detaillierter Plan erstellt, für die Marketing-Kontrolle je Servicemarketing Mix-Maßnahme mehrere Key Performance Indicators definiert und Messinstrumente vorgestellt. Damit das erarbeitete, strategische Marketingkonzept positive Resultate erzielen kann, ist jedoch Top Management Support in Form von Engagement sowie zeitliches und finanzielles Investment notwendig.
This thesis focuses on the development of a business plan for a planed nonprofit organization for single mothers located in Mexico.
It contains on the one hand a theoretical explanation of the most important differences between the nonprofit sector and profit driven sectors. On the other hand it provides an empirical study about the target group and the competition of the planned organization. Therefore the method used for this work is a combination of a theoretical as well as an empirical approach, which provides a wider view on the issue. Based on this obtained data from these researches, the business plan is developed.
During the work it is found that there is a big demand for the planned organization from its target group. In addition there is little competition in this specific sector and the business plan shows a good feasibility of the project as well as growth opportunity of this specific nonprofit organization.
Etablierung einer Willkommenskultur für griechische Pflegekräfte am Beispiel der BruderhausDiakonie
(2015)
Situation | Currently, there is a big lack of qualified labour in Germany. The recruitment of foreign workers and employees with a migratory background, which are still not employed, was identified as a solution for this problem. However, several companies still have a problem with this solution and they still see a lot of challenges. In Germany the word „welcome culture“ already exist, which describes minimization of barriers for immigrants and support for their integration. Now, they also like to use this strategy for companies. That’s why they like to develop different strategies to support, structure and simplify the integration process. Aim | The aim is to develop a recommended course of actions for the BruderhausDiakonie, based on interviews with people with migratory background, the analysis of the Greek culture and on several best practice examples as well as existing theories. This should be realized by taking care of the resources and request of the company. Concept | The main part of the welcome culture concept is made of practices which can be used individually to support recruiting processes for employees from abroad and employees with migratory background as well as for on-boarding-process of new employees. This concept considers internal and external conditions. Result | The result was an establishment of actions and the identifications of significant internal and external conditions, which companies have to face when they set the concept into practice. The concept has to be tested first by considering the identified metrics. Additionally it is recommended to implement the metrics into the Balanced Scorecard of the company. The shown practices should be set into practice in each department. The process of establishing a welcome culture should be seen as a long lasting learning-process and organizational development for which some responsible should be named.
The present thesis on "recruiting skilled employees in the field of apprenticeship for SMEs in the crafts using the example of best practice companies" consists of a theoretical and a practical part.
In theory the terms “crafts” and “small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)” are defined. The current situation of recruiting skilled employees in the field of apprenticeship is also explained in more detail. It can be seen that the number of new vocational training contracts decreases progressively. For the most part the reason for this is the failure of merging companies and young people. Furthermore the concept of “best practice” is discussed. The practical part consists of a description of the institution “Chamber of Crafts Karlsruhe” in general and particularly in relation to the topic of apprenticeship. The Chamber represents the interests and concerns of the craft, advises and assists the member companies in different areas especially in the search and placement of apprentices. Companies are examined, which set a good example for the recruitment of apprentices. Based on interviews with 21 “best practice craft enterprises” (17 SMEs, 4 larger companies) different ways of acquisition of apprentices are demonstrated. For each company, the recruiting measures used are represented by percentage depending on the success rate of the obtained apprentices. As a result, the applications for the acquisition of apprentices of SMEs and larger companies are summarized and compared. The aim of the thesis is that the craft industry, be it SMEs or larger businesses, learn and benefit from each other. They should get an overview of what other companies do for the acquisition of apprentices and how they adapt and expand their recruitment activities to the situation of labor shortages in the area of apprenticeship.
Mergers and Acquisitions are powerful tools for companies worldwide and it has been implemented since many years. However, in a time of globalisation M&A is even more important than ever. There are several reasons for companies to perform Mergers and Acquisitions, such as strategically, political or to prevent bankruptcy (Rosenbaum & Pearl, 2013). However, M&A’s are more often a failure than successes, due to the wrong reasons of a Merger and Acquisition or because of the wrong implementation of such (Bloomberg, 2013).
This study aims to give an insight of how to implement a Merger and Acquisition and what is important to be successful. Therefore, a comparative equation between the cases of Daimler and Chrysler and Exxon and Mobil is conducted to get real life data about a very successful case, here Exxon/Mobil and a very unsuccessful case, here Daimler/Chrysler. These results will show which tools companies should care more and less about, to implement a successful Merger and Acquisition.
Thus, the study will define what a Merger and Acquisition is and how to implement such. Furthermore, it will be carved out how to define a success or failure, which is very critical to the outcome of an evaluation. After the equation of the two cases the question will be dissolved if there is a clear answer on a strict path to follow for a successful merger or acquisition, or is there no formula for a successful M&A.
Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich hauptsächlich mit zwei Themen: die Steigerung der Komplexität eines Bauteils und Wirtschaftlichkeitsberechnungen. Nachdem der Stand der Technik von Leichtbau im Allgemeinen und Faserverbundkunststoffen erläutert wurde, wird das neu entwickelte Pull-Press Verfahren erklärt. Mittels dieses Herstellprozesses können komplexe Sandwichbauteile produziert werden. Ziel dieser Thesis ist es, das Pull-Press Verfahren dahingehend zu optimieren, dass möglichst komplexe Verbundbauteile hergestellt werden können. Bevor über mehrere Komplexitätsstufen hinweg die zu testenden Bauteil-Geometrien definiert werden, wird ein Anforderungsprofil erstellt. Es folgen Werkzeugkonzepte für die Herstellung der Bauteile. Des Weiteren geht es in dieser Arbeit um die Wirtschaftlichkeit dieses Verfahrens. Es werden die Herstellkosten für ein Beispielteil mit Rohacell-Kern mit denen des RTM-Verfahrens verglichen. Hier wird auf die Aspekte Materialkosten und Bauteilgewicht, die Investitionskosten sowie die prozessunabhängigen und prozessabhängigen Werte eingegangen.
Longevity in the globalised marketplace depends on the ability to remain competitive. Various definitions of economic competitiveness exist: this report compiles them, discusses the methodologies used to measure economic competitiveness and compares the results obtained when these various systems are applied to the country of France. Thereafter, examinations of aspects such as the development of gross domestic product, trade performance, price competitiveness, productivity and employment will be conducted with the aim of providing answers to the following questions: does France really experience a competitiveness problem? If so, what are potential causes of this competitiveness? Is there a particular domain in which France experiences greater difficulties than in others? Comparisons are constantly drawn to countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany and China, where possible. First of all, France's GDP development is described in combination with a discussion of whether or not GDP (per capita) serves as a measure of the performance level of an economy. Then, the country's trade performance is closely examined. Aspects such as France's export market shares and its trade products and partners are investigated. Thereafter, focus is placed on price competitiveness. Analysis of the real effective exchange rate based on consumer price indices, the inflation rate and the nominal effective exchange rate is conducted before the aspects of labour costs and productivity are treated. A breakdown of France's GDP and GDP per capita growth rates, as well as unit labour costs are explored in detail. As the last component of the examination, focus is placed on the subject of employment. The findings of this report suggest that France suffers from a competitiveness problem which presents itself mainly in the field of employment which has a knock-on effect on the labour market. The findings of this report mainly confirm the findings of the literature. Proposed measures in order to resolve France's competitiveness problem target the minimum wage, the elderly workforce, labour market regulations and labour taxes. It is argued that implementation of the suggested measures could eventually improve France's level of productivity and the other issues examined.
Due to the “War for Talents”, personal development in companies has become of utmost importance in recent years. In order to acquire high potentials, enterprises have to think about the essential reasons candidates take into consideration when choosing an employer and why an employee should stay with a company. This paper investigates the way personal development works in incubated startup companies. Nowadays, startups face challenges such as rapid growth, a dynamic organizational structure and the special needs of their employees. Therefore, it is likely that the functioning of personal development in startups differs heavily from how it works in established companies. Instead of off-the-job activities, startups rather focus on implementing a learning-culture, which stimulates individual growth. Based on qualitative expert interviews, this paper proves that personal development in startups is implicit and happens automatically.
Generationenmanagement - Maßnahmen zur Motivation Mitarbeiter aller Generationene un Unternehmen
(2015)
Das wohl aktuellste und brisanteste Thema in den Personalabteilungen deutscher Unternehmen und der Politik ist der demografische Wandel und seine Auswirkungen auf die Arbeitswelt in der Zukunft.
Die gesamte Bevölkerung in Deutschland wird zunehmend altern und die Altersstruktur wir sich von Grund auf ändern mit Trend zu einer alten Gesellschaft. Auch steigen in der Zukunft die Anforderungen an Arbeitnehmer mit zunehmender Geschwindigkeit, während gleichzeitig allerdings kein Anstieg der qualifizierten Arbeitskräfte zu erwarten ist. Dies stellt Unternehmen vor ganz neue Herausforderungen, die es mit innovativen Maßnahmen zu bewältigen gilt.
Dazu gehört zum Beispiel die Frage, welche Folgen der demografische Wandel auf die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der entsprechenden Unternehmen hat. Schließlich werden die bisherigen, traditionellen Führungsstile in deutschen Unternehmen kaum mehr effektiv funktionieren können, durch eine zunehmend größer werdende altersspezifische Kluft innerhalb der Unternehmen. Heutzutage arbeiten in einem Unternehmen bis zu fünf unterschiedliche Generationen Seite an Seite. Jede davon hat andere Erwartungen an den Arbeitgeber, Ansichten, Prägungen sowie Werte. Die vorliegende Arbeit setzt an diesem Punkt an und beleuchtet die unterschiedlichen Auswirkungen des demografischen Wandels, die unterschiedlichen Generationen sowie die Maßnahmen, die ein Unternehmen im Personalmanagement einbringen könnte, um sich an die Bedingungen des demografischen Wandels anzupassen. Ziel ist es, einen Führungsstil zu entwickeln, der mehrere Generationen zusammen effektiv führen kann und vor allem zu motivieren.
Global Sourcing - ,,von der Theorie in die Praxis'' - Analyse alternativer Beschaffungsmärkte
(2015)
Steigender Wettbewerbsdruck im Zuge der Globalisierung zwingt Unternehmen dazu, sich noch stärker von der Konkurrenz abzuheben. Wesentlicher Erfolgsfaktor ist neben dem Absatz innovativer Produkte auch zunehmend die Beschaffung der erforderlichen Komponenten zur Herstellung dieser Produkte. In diesem Zusammenhang hat sich in den letzten Jahren der Begriff Global Sourcing in der Beschaffungsabteilung von Unternehmen etabliert. Dabei geht es um die Ausweitung der Beschaffungsaktivitäten auf weltweite Anbietermärkte. Andere Länder können durch unterschiedliche Bedingungen bestimmte Produkte zu besseren Konditionen anbieten als der Heimatmarkt. Um von diesen Vorteilen profitieren zu können muss überprüft werden, ob Alternativen auf internationalen Märkten bestehen und ob diese nachhaltig genutzt werden können. Der Inhalt der vorliegenden Bachelor-Thesis stellt die Analyse internationaler Beschaffungsmärkte dar. Das Unternehmen ARBURG GmbH + Co KG hat diese Potenziale erkannt und ist bestrebt, diese weiter voranzutreiben. Das Ergebnis dieser Arbeit liefert neue Erkenntnisse bezüglich internationaler Lieferantensuche, - bewertung und -auswahl. Dabei wurde überprüft, ob für bestimmte Produktgruppen alternative Lieferanten identifiziert werden können, die ihre Produkte zu besseren Konditionen als bisherige Lieferanten anbieten. Die Ergebnisse wurden als erfolgsversprechend eingestuft, lassen Schlüsse für weitere Beschaffungsaktivitäten zu und können in eine ganzheitliche Strategieableitung des Unternehmens integriert werden. Ausgewählte Methoden und Konzepte wurden dabei angewendet, um eine nachvollziehbare und zukünftig anwendbare Vorgehensweise zu etablieren.
The 21st century has been marked by the first ever social environment encompassing four distinct generations: Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials. These cohorts grew up in different times, shaped by various political, technological and social events, which carved their character, mentality and perceptions in a contrasting manner. The results have been a clash of ambitions, opinions and personalities that has been prominent in both the private and the professional life. The university and in particular the Business School of the Hochschule Furtwangen University is a place where cross-generational members collide and experience the differences first-hand. In addition, it is the last frontier before the students and their respective careers as professionals. Thus, it is equally relevant to be explored as a potential ground zero for misunderstandings and conflicts as any other social environment. For these reasons, the thesis focuses on analyzing the three predominant generations of Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials and identifying the key characteristics that differentiate them, which would provide a better understanding behind their actions and behavior. In addition, the findings aim at bringing relevance of the analysis to the university in question and improve the generational interactions and collaborations. In the end, it has been concluded that the generational gap exists and its influence is strongly present. Furthermore, it has been established that there is a lack of awareness on campus regarding the issue and more measures should be taken into consideration. Therefore, a number of recommendations have been made, the goal of which are to improve the environment and tighten the gap as much as possible.
In the pursue of findings, the thesis includes a primary research in the form of a questionnaire, distributed to the students and faculty staff, as well as a secondary research, encompassing literature review and relevant topics.
The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate how different types of reward motivate employees and to show that the degree of motivation of a reward differs from one organi-sational culture to the other and from one person to the other. Furthermore, it makes recommendations which reward components could be used, and which rewards should not be used in certain cultures. In the first part, several motivation theories like the content theories of motivation and the process theories are discussed. These explain the different approaches to determine what motivates people. The thesis then provides an overview of the various extrinsic and intrinsic rewards and illustrates how different reward components influence the motivation of employees. It is highlighted why it is necessary to focus on the total rewards package, rather than on single rewards. In addition, the thesis clarifies how to evaluate reward packages in order to ensure they are effective. The last part deals with culture and exemplifies how rewards need to be adapted to different cultures. Here, the thesis draws mainly on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory.
In conclusion, the thesis argues that it is crucial that a company uses an effective re-wards package which meets the needs of as many individuals within the company as possible. The thesis hopes to provide all people dealing with Human Resources useful insights into Total Rewards, and thus make a contribution to improving the way re-wards packages are set within organisations.
Today more than the half of the world population live in cities which is 3.3 billion people. By 2050 it is estimated that almost 5 billion people will live in cities. By 2025 there will be 447 mega-cities in the world. Due to this development there is an increasing competition among cities. The purpose of this paper is to describe the different approaches, processes and methods which are needed to turn a place into a destination. First of all the theory of place branding will be described which includes the specification of a place which leads to the theory of place-making.
The next chapter describes what a destination is and from which perspectives you can look at a destination. Depending on the target group, expectations of a destination can be different. To improve a destination it is necessary to know the main elements of a destination as well as attributes which will give memorable experiences to the visitor of a destination.
To get a destination campaign started, several challenges need to be taken like building relations with cooperation partners or securing preservation of architecture and sustainability. This research paper will show you the first steps which need to be done to get a successful start of a destination campaign, as well as important elements of creative place-making and what is important to consider when starting the creative place-making process. After the establishment of a place-making project there are seven steps to follow which are accomplished inside this thesis.
To improve a place there exist different place-making models. For example there is the Business Improvement District model or a government driven model and the Town Centre Management model which have different approaches of turning a place into a destination. To show examples of place-making concepts in the world you will find three Case studies. One about Detroit and the other about New York. The last one will show you a current example of Dún Laoghaire, Ireland. This project started in April 2014 with a Business Improvement District.
HR Wachstumsstrategie bei P3
(2015)
The primary purpose of this thesis is to investigate and evaluate the current candidate experience of applicants and new employees at P3 Systems, in order to derive recommendations for the ongoing recruiting and onboarding processes. Therefore, the section on the candidate journey from the moment of the first direct contact, namely the face-to-face interview, up to and including the first 90 days in the company, has been highlighted. The latter will be referred to as onboarding phase. P3 Systems is one of 12 subsidiaries of the internationally operating P3 Group. Since 2006, it has specialized in automatic and manual testing of electric and electronic systems and their components. Due to the continuous increase in the number of employees, as well as the expectation of further growth, revising the current procedures is desirable to ensure future competitiveness. Data for this study was gathered with the help of theoretical models provided by findings in the customer experience management field, as well as from various surveys carried out over the last year. Using these insights, a first draft implementing a candidate experience management within the named company, has been drawn up. Furthermore, two internal surveys have been conducted to explore the candidates’ perspectives. These focused especially on the key touchpoints for P3Systems along the candidate journey. For this objective, 62 applicants, who already had participated in a face-to-face interview, but had not yet been informed about the outcome, were selected. They were invited to fill out an online questionnaire dealing with the experiences within the context of those interviews. Concurrently, 64 employees of P3 Systems were asked to share their impressions regarding their onboarding program. The results revealed areas of potential optimization, e.g. concerning the time - to - respond to candidates, the content design of the interviews, and the social and professional integration of new employees. Towards the end of this thesis, recommended courses of actions were suggested to improve the current candidate experience. In conclusion, the boundaries and shortcomings of this thesis were indicated.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) among internet companies increased rapidly during the last decade which was caused by the growing competition and changing consumer preferences. Many startup companies enter the market offering hit products and getting millions of users in a short period of time. Due to such quick success established internet players like Google, Twitter and Facebook tend to acquire these startups instead of developing their own R&D. Internet acquisitions are very risky and imply high premiums, therefore, their impact on the innovation performance is quite unclear in the short- and long-term perspective. There is a variety of factors that can affect the innovation performance of both acquiring and acquired companies after the M&A transaction. This thesis is aimed to analyse the impact of M&A on the innovation performance of internet companies taking into account recent acquisitions among social networking players. A case study about Facebook's acquisition of Instagram occurred in 2012 presents the main application for the thesis. Qualitative data for the research is taken from the articles that contain opinions of the industry experts which are then critically assessed using the main scientific concepts about M&A and innovation performance.
Der Autor stellt in dieser Arbeit einen Referenzprozess dar, der die wichtigen Faktoren für die Implementierung der Quality Gate Systematik in ein Unternehmen detailliert betrachtet. Um die Zielführung der Quality Gate Systematik zu gewährleisten, stellt der Autor eine genaue Vorgehensweise für die Erstellung einer Quality Gate Checkliste bereit. Der Referenzprozess orientiert sich an bereits vorhandenen Quality Gate Systematiken. Er nutzt die Erkenntnisse dieser Vorgehensweisen, um eine detaillierte Beschreibung der wichtigsten Bausteine bereitzustellen. Die Erstellung der Quality Gate Checkliste steht dabei unter dem zentralen Punkt der Identifikation der zielführenden Checklisteninhalte. Zur Unterstützung dieses Vorgangs stellt der Autor verschiedene Analyse Methoden bereit, die eine zielführende und aussagekräftige Festlegung des Checklisteninhalts gewährleisten sollen.
Improving conditions for economic growth in Colombia, Investment opportunity in Infrastructure
(2015)
The purpose of this thesis is to get a clear understanding of the situation of transport infrastructure of Colombia. Examine the reasons and the current situation of the country´s background that explains the delay in infrastructure development and the poor quality of the transport networks, being able to find objective arguments to suggest certain type of investment for the coming years that will help to improve the conditions for economic growth. The research goes deep in to the evolution of the country and the role of transport infrastructure in Colombia, highlighting the most important facts and types, to get an overall understanding of the actual situation. The objective is to identify which is the line of investment that will best fit the country´s development in the time where globalization and free trade agreements take active part of Colombia´s growth in the last years, however threatening the industries pushing them to a more efficient and productive environment. On the basis of the results of this research, it can be concluded that Colombia needs heavy investments in the future years to try closing the breach left behind decades of inefficient policies and strategies. The involvement of the private sector in transport infrastructure projects is necessary to fund the type of investments that the country needs. Furthermore, there has to be continuity in the actual concession programs for the road network plus a big investment to bring back the railroad network into an efficient long lengths transport for both passengers and products.
Problem: The thesis is about Marketing options for Sharklet retrofit at Airbus. Sharklets are wingtip devices which cut down on aerodynamic drag by reducing the vortices that are formed at the wingtips of any aircraft during flight.1 Airbus is looking for new Marketing options to increase sales of Sharklets. Market research findings from various fields will be highlighted and the relevance for Sharklet retrofit will be reviewed. The leading question during the thesis will be: How should Airbus continue to market Sharklets?
Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to describe which Sales and Marketing strategy Airbus uses at the moment and to find out where the weak points of the actual strategy are. Furthermore it will be analyzed what the actual brand image and brand communication of Airbus Sharklets is and whether it is in line with the desired brand identity. The thesis evaluates in which way Branding, Neuromarketing and Customer Journey Mapping can contribute to a better Marketing and Sales strategy.
Conclusion: Airbus should continue to market Sharklets by starting with a Customer Journey Map and figuring out what the customer is really looking for and how Airbus can react to the customers’ expectations. Sharklets should be marketed as wingtip devices that are environmentally friendly, fuel-saving and modern by guaranteeing that the Marketing material is consistent. Sharklets should be marketed not only on a rational basis. Emotional Marketing can be used to improve the brand image and the customer’s associations with the product. A mix of rational and emotional Marketing would be the best for Airbus to try how the customer reacts to emotional Marketing first. Last but not least Airbus should use the opportunity to better inform passengers about Sharklets and to provide input for In-flight-magazines to position the company itself and the customer as environmentally friendly and modern.
With the ever increasing global competitive business environment, capturing new lucrative markets has taken the forefront for Multinational Entities (MNE’s). In the recent past, emerging countries have gained prominence as a focal growth destination for many MNEs. Despite the business opportunities that they offer, they still remain complex markets in which to do business. Consequently, for the MNEs that have made entry into these markets, adequate growth strategies designed to include sets of activities that deliver a unique mix of value to the organization are imperative.1 This therefore calls for such organisations to adapt their existing growth strategies in emerging markets to various demands. This is in order to maximise performance through well-orchestrated growth agendas that work in concert with the overall corporate strategy. Nevertheless, for overall success, businesses are becoming more aware that operational and control failures can be extremely costly.2 This is because growth comes with increased risks hence a need for new solutions to mitigate and manage the risks. Consequently, the discipline of compliance which is designed to mitigate risks through adherence of; legal requirements, internal and external policies is no longer a second-thought function that requires action down the road. Corporate leaders now recognize that it is important for business expansion and the protection of shareholder value.3 In these markets, compliance related issues have proved to be difficult hurdles for many organisations and they are widely viewed high risk compliance markets. 4 Despite this, many MNEs that venture into such markets fail to integrate their growth strategies and compliance programmes/strategies.
This paper explores the hypothesis that for organisations to optimise performance, their compliance programmes/strategies should work in concert with their broader strategic goals, e.g. growth. This thesis aims to show how the two can be integrated by using Rolls-Royce Power Systems’ AG (RRPS) growth strategy in China and its compliance programme as a case study. The hypothesis is that, if successfully integrated, RRPS can maximise its growth performance in China. Secondly the study seeks to provide a flexible check list or template that RRPS can adapt in its future Integrated Sales Road Maps (ISRMs) in other targeted countries or regions.
Business includes interactions both in societal and organizational dimension. And interactions are done through communication. Communication is not just about sharing ideas through words. Communication is anyway a complex phenomenon. However in the age of the global business, where culture has become the core and with that more complex and therefore is neglected more than before. Besides, cultural aspects seem not to have given enough importance, in spite of doing business internationally, where culture plays an essential role. Thus global business, in form of overseas, offshoring, outsourcing, franchising, expatriates, investment etc. is a game where international entrepreneurship, intercultural challenges, culture, communication and results, leading either to successful and effective cooperation or disputes and conflicts, have a main role. Hence, this thesis, Intercultural challenges for international Entrepreneurs in Nepal and guidelines, instruments and recommendations for solving them, is all about how to combine these elements and deploy strategies by entrepreneurs from Germanic Europe while doing business in Nepal, considering the cultural differences of both cultures. Consequently the aim of this thesis is to provide with essential components concerning cultural differences that should be considered seriously while doing business in Nepal. A research conducted through questionnaire to obtain results in order to identify the most important cultural differences in terms of dimensions facilitated to develop strategies. To get to the recommendations, as the end part of this thesis, first some basic terminologies and concepts will be conceptualized. After, deeper concepts regarding the role of communication and language will be provided to reach the research part. Once, some concepts are explained in research part, results and findings will be illustrated before reaching to recommendations and conclusion. To conclude, strategies in this thesis are presented in form of recommendations and instruments according to the results, which show that there are few differences in some cultural dimensions and there are huge differences in some cultural dimensions, to foster cross-cultural cooperation without conflicts and disputes.