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Vergleicht man ein Automatisierungssystem mit dem menschlichen Körper, dann sind die Rechner (PC, SPS, Mikro-Controller) das Gehirn, die Signalleitungen die Nervenbahnen, die Sensoren die Augen und Ohren, die Aktoren die Muskeln, die Starkstromleitungen die Adern. Alle Teile sind wichtig und müssen zueinander passen.
Towards effective interaction with omnidirectional videos using immersive virtual reality headsets
(2015)
Variability of spiking responses varies with perceptual visibility in V4, but not in pulvinar
(2015)
Willingness to pay lip service? Applying a neuroscience-based method to WTP for green electricity
(2015)
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.
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.
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.
Recent work has pointed out the importance of social media for various components of a firm’s marketing communication strategy. However despite the clear movement to use social media as a marketing tool in general, the topic has captured little attention in academic literature, while limited research in general has closely examined online social media channels in the international content. To address this research gap the primary aim of this paper is to assess whether and to what extent international companies do adjust their marketing activities to the UK market. With the main focus on companies Facebook profiles this research paper focuses on the marketing efforts of the top 5 Facebook brands according to their number of followers from August 2014 to September 2015.
This paper elaborates the effectiveness of marketing channels for startups in all stages of their startup lifecycle. The focus here is put on startups operating in the German market. In general, nine out of 10 businesses fail within their first three years of operations. Even though there seem to exist numerous “how-to” guides and advices on how to run a startup, there are none giving a reasonable answer on customer acquisition strategies and on the effectiveness of channels startups may consider for their survival. Finding out common best practices for marketing should prevent the high failure rate that the market for startups undergoes. By investigating latest research findings and conducting expert interviews, this paper recommends best practices for a successful customer acquisition strategy and shows valuable insights based on an analysis of real startup cases. The results of the analyses reveal that a successful customer acquisition strategy does not depend on one marketing channel but rather on an interaction between all marketing channels providing overall consistency in communication. Furthermore, the stage of the startup is of utmost importance as the focus on different channels changes depending on its stage. This paper should not serve as a guide but rather as an inspiration for future marketing strategies considered by startups in their early stage.
Numerous, if not all, companies are faced with the very same challenge: To train their employees and to qualify them regarding ever new topics. But whilst enterprises are already cooperating in other business areas for quite some time, they do not (yet) share training materials treating the same topical areas. This thesis approaches this issue and thereby takes the first step in developing research on cross-company Content Sharing. This means the sharing of training materials between businesses. More specifically, the paper examines the question how the success of such a cooperation can be measured, to which extent success is likely to be achieved and how it can be developed. The work’s basis is formed by the scientific knowledge on inter-organizational cooperations and on learning objects. Starting from this point in-depth literature analysis and expert interviews were carried out. This resulted in the creation of the Evaluation-Criteria Framework for Content Sharing Cooperations. This model consists of four categories that group together ten evaluation criteria, 33 sub-criteria and 76 examination
elements. Subsequently the model was applied to a collaboration between Robert Bosch GmbH and DEKRA S.E., aiming at the joint development of training documents. To examine this inter-organizational relation a case study research was carried out. For this end various qualitative (interview, participant observation) and quantitative (questionnaire, cost calculation) methods. Seven out of then criteria were identified as fulfilled. The saving of five working days’ time as well as participant’s satisfaction can be emphasized. An unambiguous statement regarding costs, however, cannot be made. Finally, identified problems suggest that a thorough definition of target groups and their needs and requirements are of utmost importance for content sharing cooperations. The same holds for establishing the role of a (ideally company-independent) coordinator. In conclusion it can be recognized, that the Evaluation-Criteria Framework constitutes a reality-tested model which is also suitable for future research; like, for example, additional case studies to confirm validity of the second insight gained in this paper: Sharing training contents seems to be a promising approach for companies operating within the
knowledge society.
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 document presents an investigation about the carbon footprint certification and the main three different standards that help during the reduction process of CO2 emissions. A summary of the certification bodies and the certificates it provided in this paper, including an evaluation of the differences and explanation of the standards. Moreover, since the beginning of globalization and the industrial development happened, the environment has been suffering several changes. Some of those changes made a notable difference in the climate and in the pollution of the planet. The result of the situation was the popular Global Warming process. Global warming is cause by the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere; these gases capture the radiation coming from the sun and raise the world temperature. For improving the situation in a more sustainable way and reducing the environmental impact of the carbon footprint the next standards were developed: (1) ISO standards, (2) PAS 2050 and (3) GHG Protocol. Many companies, governments and civil societies apply the carbon footprint measurement and reduction process for achieving a more sustainable future and having positive repercussions. Being environmentally friendly has created many different ways of lowering the GHG emissions and the pollution in the environment. One of the methods is the carbon footprint certification and the creation of different standards for guidance and audit. On one hand these methods create excellent results, but on the other there is still a high percentage of people, countries and organizations which do not help with the reduction of the carbon footprint or any other problem the environment faces. For this reason making the society aware of the possibility to change the situation is of great importance.
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.
This paper analyzes the importance of recommender systems for B2C e-Commerce businesses, using extensive literature review as well as a consumer survey. Readers will gain a basic understanding on how the technology behind the recommendation works, how competitiveness in e-Commerce can be defined and what the consumer perspective on recommender systems is. The paper will ultimately provide valuable insights into how recommender systems can create a major competitive advantage for online retailers and why an online-shop without a recommender engine will struggle to stay or become competitive.
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.
The German-French personnel consultancy Rheinbrücke Consulting intended to gain a deeper knowledge of the German market for personnel consulting. Due to the lack
of comprehensive literature, expert interviews were conducted in the framework of this thesis in order to analyse the structure of the German market for personnel consulting how it is changing and to derive consequences for the positioning of Rheinbrücke Consulting today and in the future. The result is that the German market for personnel consulting is opaque and that a lot of companies from sole entrepreneurs to personnel consulting concerns supply a lot of services that vary considerably in their quality. Potential clients prefer to employ recommended personnel consultancies that are specialised and supply performance-based billing. They aim for long term business partnerships with personnel consultancies wherefore the author recommends to Rheinbrücke Consulting to follow up in their strategy work with the key subjects networking, relationship between customer and personnel consultancy, specialisation and remuneration.
Diese Arbeit beschreibt die Erstellung und Umsetzung der Sanierung der Klinik für Biokinematik. Sie beschäftigt sich mit der Frage was die Klinik ist, was ihre Besonderheiten darstellen, wie sie entstanden ist und warum sie in Schieflage geraten ist. Daraus werden Schlussfolgerungen gezogen und in eine Umstrukturierungskonzept eingebunden, welches das Ziel hat die Klinik wieder voll in Familienhände zurück zu führen und wieder wirtschaftlich nachhaltig rentabel zu machen.
Jobsharing in Management
(2015)
According to a recent German law companies are obliged to increase the proportion of female managers in strategic significant departments because women are nationally and even globally underrepresented in management. Simply raising their share, however, won’t solve the more profound problem. Part of the thesis is the consideration of reasons to the current situation. Mentioned reasons are the management framework conditions and social norms. Furthermore the working model jobsharing in management will be presented as method that realizes a sustainable change in gender diversity. There are already companies which started projects for gender diversity management in order to acknowledge gender disparity and deal with it. A fact referring to social norms is that women still struggle more between their professional career and family than men do. Besides, society pushes women into their classical roles as home keeper. Studies prove that the main reason for women to quit their job is more time for their family. Another fact referring the management framework conditions is that managers often have to work more than 100 percent based on average working time. Jobsharing in management, later on called leadsharing, may enable qualified women not to choose either a management position or their family. Hence, companies may save experienced executives. In this time flexible working model two mangers own the same position and share their job related responsibilities. The characteristics of leadsharing as well as its benefits and challenges will be introduced in relation to eight reports of experienced leadsharers. Leadsharing has proven to be possible and successful but it’s anyway negatively associated with huge effort in communication, dependency within the leadsharing team and infeasibility in management. Thus, the most important requirement for leadsharing is a receptive cooperating company and the perfect partner who can be trusted. The German start-up Tandemploy is specialized on matching jobsharing interested employees and companies. Today’s technologies and circumstances on the shrinking specialists and executive staff market may also support a jobsharing popularity. For companies which are against stagnation and honestly promote gender equality the adoption of leadsharing is apparently a chance to ensure sustainable gender parity in management.
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.
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.
The purpose of this paper is a conceptualization of the identification and motivational methods for top distributors in the Chinese market for frequency converters. An examination of the market size, participants and segments is provided. Further the benefits for the manufacturer and distributor that occurring from a partnership are elaborated on and the term top distributor is defined.
Based on marketing channel literature a conclusive multidimensional model for the top distributor selection has been developed. The basic dimensions for distributor selection were determined as Sales/Market, Product/Service and Risk/Uncertainty factors. Those dimensions are supplemented by the China specific factors Guanxi and Human Capital. With special focus been given on the aspects that businesses might encounter when operating in China the reginal factors in distributor evaluation are also being discussed.
IN order to determine the value of different rewards two surveys were conducted. For the identification of the most valuable motivators a rewards portfolio was developed and applied on the data gathered in this surveys. The rewards portfolio was based on the portfolio analysis first developed by the Boston Consulting Group. The rewards determined as most valuable from both the manufacturers and distributor sides were “additional marketing and customer acquisition support”, “extended payment terms” and “market intelligence from manufacturer”. An explanation for the importance of those rewards is additionally provided.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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”.
This bachelor thesis aims at elaborating a relationship between corporate sabbatical programs and their impact on employee retention by taking the dimension of flexible working as mediating tool. The trend towards offering multiple ways of flexible working is growing as employees are demanding workplaces that encourage work-life balance. Sabbaticals are one type of flexible working arrangements regarding the continuity of work. Flexible working is becoming more and more commonly used by organisations with the goal to increase their recruitment attractiveness and their (employee) retention capability for “high potentials”. A relationship between sabbaticals and employee retention could be hypothesised in two theories. First, the component Flexible Working with the example of sabbaticals was added to the employee lifetime value (ELV) model. The ELV model describes an approach to employee retention, recognising the employee as an internal customer of the organisation. With applying the ELV model, an indirect relationship between sabbaticals and retention could be developed. Second, the retention impact of sabbaticals was implied by transferring the retention effects of flexible working in general on sabbatical leaves directly. The retention effects were measured in the dimensions of job embeddedness and organisational commitment. Both theories are able to design a relationship between the two variables, directly and indirectly, but always considering and linking flexible working to the concepts.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Aufgrund steigender finanzieller Notlagen in der europäischen Fußballindustrie, stehen Fußballvereine erstmals vor der Herausforderung sowohl ihre ursprünglichen Ziele in der Nutzenmaximierung des sportlichen Leistungsvermögens zu bewahren, als auch Mindestkriterien in finanzieller Hinsicht zu gewährleisten. Ausgangspunkt dieser Bachelorarbeit ist die Analyse der langfristigen Tragfähigkeit der europäischen Fußballvereine. Im zweiten Kapitel werden Maßnahmen untersucht, anhand derer die Risiken der Geschäftstätigkeit abgekoppelt werden können. Ein besonderes Augenmerk sei der revolutionären Financial Fairplay Regelung gewidmet, auf welche die Akteure der Fußballindustrie angewiesen sind, neuartige Konzepte zu entwickeln, die ihnen ermöglichen, schwarze Zahlen zu schreiben und in sportlicher Hinsicht wettbewerbsfähig zu bleiben.
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.
The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between the level of Chief Executive Officers’ incentive compensation and subsequent share price performance for the 80 biggest stock listed German companies between 2005 and 2014. The performance proxies are geometric monthly returns, as well as risk-adjusted geometric returns using the Sharpe Ratio. Additionally t-statistics for quintile portfolio returns have been calculated. The results are mixed, indicating that there might in fact not be a relationship between incentive compensation and share price performance at all for this sample. Consequently this study finds that average monthly returns for firms with incentive pay-outs are strongly correlated to the returns for firms without incentive payouts and that the samples do not differ significantly . A relationship between the level of incentive compensation and the level of future share price performance can also not be
determined with absolute certainty. However there are indications that would support a negative relationship between the two, as average monthly returns decrease over longer time horizons. The Sharpe Ratio analysis finds mixed evidence on this question while the t-statistics indicate that there are no significant differences between 94% of the formed quintile portfolios.
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.
Strategic Performance Management with the Balanced Scorecard in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
(2015)
Although the Balanced Scorecard, designed by Kaplan and Norton in 1992, seems to be established as accepted performance measurement and management tool, a minority of small and medium-sized enterprises were recognised using it. Thus, further investigation of this minority was seen as interesting. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to demonstrate and examine possible drivers and challenges within small and medium-sized enterprises using a Balanced Scorecard and additionally provide areas of improvement for the analysed company, tecnotron. In order to reach this, a company study was conducted, clustering around three types of data collection, including the analysis of company documents, information obtained from general managers, and semi-structured personal interviews with six key persons of the middle management. This enabled to create a holistic view of the current practices used at tecnotron and revealing possible issues with regard to their performance measurement framework and system. The results of the study demonstrated that quality certification norms are supportive approaches and can be seen as drivers to succeed in developing and using a Balanced Scorecard in small and medium-sized enterprises. Moreover, the study results primarily indicated challenges regarding the selection of measures and the movement towards a strategically linked Balanced Scorecard with the perception as strategic management tool. For tecnotron it was recommended that the consideration of establishing linkages among their objectives, with the help of a strategy map, could be advantageous for their future development.
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.
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.
Die vorliegende Bachelorarbeit verfolgt zwei Ziele. Zum einen wird die Art der Vermarktung und die Konzeption einer Summer School, sowie deren praktische Umsetzung vorgestellt. Zum anderen wird eine Entscheidungsgrundlage geschaffen, auf deren Basis die Entscheidung getroffen werden soll, ob die Einführung einer Summer School durchgeführt wird oder nicht. Der Grundlagenteil dieser Arbeit befasst sich mit Kooperationen, Social Media Marketing, sowie mit dem Event-Planungs-Prozess Hierbei werden die Aufgaben der Kooperationspartner und die Nutzungsmöglichkeiten von drei online Marketingkanälen vorgestellt. Anhand eines Prozessmodels wird auf die Budget-, Personal- und Logistikplanung eingegangen. Den zweiten Teil der Arbeit bildet die praktische Umsetzung und stellt zunächst den Projektplan dar. Daraufhin wird detailliert auf zentrale Aspekte des Projektes und seiner Durchführung eingegangen. Abgeschlossen wird dieser Teil mit der Seminarplanung, welche den Ablauf der Veranstaltung zeigt und einen Speiseplan, sowie die Einkaufs- und Packliste enthält.
Change management is a very diverse subject which can be found and applied in every department of a big company. One area, where it often could be found is Business Process Management (BPM). BPM links the company’s goals, and also eases the day-to-day workload of the people, and increases the performance of the company by implementing technologies. These technologies range from something really simple to really big-scaled, e.g. a new operational platform. However, when something like that is undertaken change management methodology has to be applied. Since BPM is implementing a new technology in that field, change management methodology has to be applied, IT change management. The theoretical part of this research paper identifies the possible IT change management model. Examples mentioned include BPR, STS and PROGRESS that could be applied in a big scale project. This is the first set of challenges that has to be resolved. The second set of challenges that was identified is namely what role the IT consultant is going to assume - an Expert role, Pair of Hands role or a Collaborative role. Thirdly, it has be seen in theory what are the pre-requests for an IT change management project or a possible check list that has to be taken into account when undergoing an IT change project. The second part of the paper evaluates how the challenges, identified in the theoretical part, are observed in practice. In particular, if they have been experienced in the past or also after Platform B was being implemented in Organization A. The information provided in this research paper is based on primary research with seven interviews of people from Organization A, one survey amongst a particular group in Organization A, and secondary research incorporates literature review on relevant points and also corporate documents of Organization A.
Traditional costing methods apply overhead costs of indirect areas to products or production areas based on predetermined overhead rates. Many years ago when the direct costs were high and indirect costs were low any inaccuracy in the charging of overhead costs to products was not significant.
Nowadays, the traditional costing method for overhead costs is not suitable for complex manufacturing environment, where goods are produced by smaller customized batches which leads to high proportion of overhead activities – such as quality control – which are not related to the production volume.
In this bachelor thesis the author discusses about this relevant problem relating to the department “quality assurance in procurement” of the Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG.
The bachelor thesis contains theoretical basics of the meaning of quality, as well as the principles of quality management systems. The theoretical basics of the activity-based costing are also discussed. Moreover it is important to say that the overhead costs of the “quality assurance in procurement” are reflecting at the same time quality costs. In this way the importance of a cooperation between the controlling department and the quality management in relation to managing quality costs are also displayed.
The second part of the bachelor thesis deals with the practical application. To provide a basis, initially, the company, the department “quality assurance in procurement” and the current cost accounting system are displayed. Afterwards all steps to develop a new allocation method by the help of an activity-based costing system are showed and described. Finally, in a short version a key figure model for non-conformity costs is worked out.
Participating in a Winter School offers to stay abroad for a short period of time while extending ones knowledge in an international environment. Introducing a Winter School by a higher-education-institution increases its international presence. Thus the concept of a Winter School serves the constantly growing demand of internationalization. In the present thesis it was examined whether and under which circumstances it is possible to realize a Winter School of the Hochschule Furtwangen University. Using the qualitative research approach, activities to be carried-out, necessary resources and possible risks were identified. Insights of service marketing formed an important basis. Besides, a desk study on competition provided additional findings. From this, the concept for an HFU Winter School was developed and implications for marketing were derived.
It was found that it is possible to implement an HFU Winter School under certain circumstances. Competitive ability and the existence of a sufficiently high demand are fundamental aspects. Besides, compliance with the elaborated concept components, existence of sufficient staff as well as the implementation of a given course management are essential. Cooperation in the fields of organization, human resources, marketing and finance additionally has a positive effect on a realization.
Telearbeit, also das Arbeiten von zu Hause aus oder von jeden anderen beliebigen Ort abseits des herkömmlichen Arbeitsplatzes im Unternehmen, ist ein flexibles Arbeitsmodell das sich seit der Jahrtausendwende weltweit sehr stark verbreitet hat. Dies liegt vor allem an der rasanten Entwicklung der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologie und der immer besseren Netzabdeckung. Wichtige Faktoren sind aber auch die teilweise veränderten Wertevorstellungen der Generationen X und Y. Die traditionelle Arbeitszeit von 8-17 Uhr wird immer unattraktiver, vielmehr möchten Arbeitnehmer über die Souveränität verfügen den Zeitpunkt und die Lage ihrer Arbeit weitestgehend selber bestimmen um somit ihr Privat- und Berufsleben besser miteinander vereinen zu können. Bezeichnet dafür ist das Ergebnis einer Umfrage: Jeder zweite Deutsche würde gelegentlich außerhalb des Büros arbeiten wenn er die Möglichkeit dazu bekäme. Weltweit hegten diesen Wunsch sogar 63% der Befragten. Viele Unternehmen bieten bereits verschiedene Telearbeitsmodelle an, eine Vielzahl von Experten hält dies aber immer noch für zu wenig. Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt, dass Telearbeit unter bestimmten Voraussetzungen zu einer win-win-Situation für alle Beteiligten wird. Je nach Unternehmensgröße können Einsparungen in Millionenhöhe auf Grund sinkender Betriebskosten und steigender Produktivität erzielt werden. Mitarbeiter sind motivierter und empfinden weniger Stress was sich positiv auf die Gesundheit auswirken kann. Sogar Verkehrsnetze können durch Telearbeit entlastet und der Ausstoß von C02-Emissionen verringert werden. Jedoch sind viele Tätigkeiten schlichtweg nicht in Telearbeit umsetzbar. Betroffen sind vor allem der Einzelhandel sowie handwerkliche und produzierende Gewerbe. Auch nicht jeder Arbeitnehmer ist für Telearbeit geeignet. Je höher der Bildungsgrad und je komplexer die Aufgabe desto größer ist die Wahrscheinlichkeit jene Aufgaben außerhalb des Büros erledigen zu können. Die wichtigsten Faktoren für eine erfolgreiche Umsetzung von Telearbeitsprogrammen sind aber in erster Linie die Vorgesetzten. Vertrauen in die Fähigkeiten und die Selbständigkeit der Mitarbeiter und die damit verbundene Bereitschaft direkte Kontrolle abzugeben
This thesis deals with the investigation of internationally operating project teams, using the automotive division of the cooperation partner and topic initiator Marquardt Group. The overall research question examines which skills in terms of emotions, culture and know how are required from program managers as a result of globalization. Background information about globalization, project management and the company itself is provided as a first step. In order to get an overview, qualitative expert interviews are conducted with program managers, their superiors, disciplinary supervisors and team members. The interview process serves to gain a stronger knowledge of the weaknesses in project management within the Marquardt Group. The results reveal clear problems, particularly in the analyzed subject areas processes, intercultural competence and communication.
Further information concentrating on intercultural competence and its potential training measures, as well as communication in so-called virtual teams due to the lacking face-to-face communication is given, followed by recommendations for improvements for the analyzed fields with weak points. It can be concluded that globalization and the consequent internationalization have a major impact on project teams requiring especially the advancement of professional, the related methodological, as well as leadership and social competences of program managers.
The Light Commercial Vehicle is a small vehicle, of up to 6 tons, mainly used for small business in the transportation of good or for personal purposes. LCV market is not well known and yet to be considered as a potential business, especially for Commercial Vehicles Business Unit which belongs to the Interior division of Continental Automotive. Some neighboring segments within Interior division have some participation in the market; however, it is not considered as a main priority for either of them. There is no proper focus on analyzing its potential and find the right strategy to tackle it. Due to some sort of pressure to grow Continental’s businesses, Commercial Vehicles BU, represented by Vehicle Electronics segment, has come up with the intention of finding how to approach this new business opportunity in the face of other neighboring segments of the same division also getting into this broad opportunity. There is also a need to establish a right internal communication process and its impact upon a concrete choice of product to enter this new business. Finally, to establish if LCV market is a promising opportunity, in particular for Commercial Vehicle Business Unit. This research is highly beneficial for Continental Automotive, in special for Commercial Vehicle Business Unit since it helps to understand its current situation in the market at different regions levels. Business Unit is able to find right approach for the LCV market together with a suitable sales strategy for each region and a concrete choice of products at a competitive price level with the results, discussion and recommendation of this research. In other words, to get new businesses for future sales growth. Continental Automotive was founded in Hannover in 1871. Nowadays, it is one of the German Automotive Supplier leaders of the automotive market worldwide. The company has presence in 50 countries and sales of €34.5 billion and mainly supplies tires, brake systems, chassis components, vehicle electronics and powertrain controls. Vehicle Electronics segment, part of Commercial Vehicles segment, is the direct responsible for this LCV market. The segment specialist in electronic solutions in six fields of applications such as Commercial Vehicles, Bus, Agriculture, Construction, 2-Wheeler and Marine business. The Light Commercial Vehicle is consider as an important part of the fleet of vehicles and for a number of years now have been taking a constantly increasing share of the transport services, both in Germany and Europe” (BASt, DEKRA, UDV, & VDA, 2013, p. 5). The potential market for this kind of vehicle stands on BRIC countries, mainly India and China. Although Brazil is considered as the most mature and stable of the BRIC by (Barclay, 2010), still is hard to forecast due to economic volatility and changing regulation, indicates (Roland Berger, 2014). The market development in Russia is hard to anticipates, points out (Barclay, 2010) due to its crisis and political issues. “India is expected to return stronger growth” (Roland Berger, 2014) owning the fastest production growth from the other three. For (Roland Berger, 2014) China will be the global volume driver in automotive, remaining by far the largest of the market. The methodology held in this study is based on an exploratory research; using qualitative data which has been collected thought secondary and primary data. This research work starts with the introduction, following by chapter one which includes the problem background, problem statement, research questions and objectives, purpose and significance of the study and finally limitations. The second chapter continues with the review of related literature and studies. It explains the Light Commercial Vehicle characteristics, segmentation production and demand. Besides, it describes the company’s history, SWOT analysis, structure segments and portfolio. It also gives an overview of the trends in the automotive industry, OEMs, suppliers and BRIC opportunities. Chapter three informs about the methodology used together with the data collection and target group. Chapter four focus on developing all findings. Finally chapter five explains the discussion and recommendations of this study.
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 – 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.
The bachelor thesis “ international Markenführung in China- Wie kann man eine Marke auf dem Wachstumsmarkt China stärken?” was created in collaboration with the company GF Automotive in Schaffhausen and covers he topic of branding in China. Considering the growth strategy of GF, especially for the Chinese market, this thesis should answer the question to what extent the branding strategy needs to be adapted to Chinese culture in order to be successful and which actions need to be taken to strengthen the brand awareness. As brands are an important asset which can generate value and differentiate form competitors it is important to develop a strong brand identity which can successfully be applied to the highly competitors it is important to develop a strong brand identity which can successfully be applied to the highly competitive Chinese market.
Following a short introduction into the theory of branding and its relevance for the Chinese market there will firstly be undertaken and examination of the Chinese automotive market. In the next step the current brand appearance, its values and goals will be analyzed with respect to the Chinese market. Within the scope of the online survey there will take place an evaluation of the current brand loyalty of the employees of GF Automotive in China. As the theory is closely related to the identity- based brand management, the first step of all brand activities is to strengthen the brand internally and create a common understanding. Therefore, the results of this survey are important for the further investigations of this thesis. In addition, the expert interviews should examine the findings of the theoretical research and give further insights into the practices of branding in China. Marketing experts report about their experience and point out what needs to be taken into account for a successful brand strategy in China. As a conclusion, this research should identify problem areas, which need to be improved to successfully strengthen the brand GF in China. Thereupon will be developed recommendations for actions which need to be taken by GF. The thesis shows, that in order to strengthen the brand in China it is very important to partly adapt to the Chinese circumstances. The heterogeneity of the two countries, China and Swiss, makes it impossible to simply apply a standardized branding. The culture, the language, etc. require an adaption of the branding in order to successfully reach the Chinese audience. Therefore the transnational brand strategy turns out to be the most successful for GF Automotive in China. It covers both, standardization and adaptation.
Today Outdoor-Trainings are an element in the modern world of work which increases steadily. It is about an activity-oriented method where vital key skills are developed. Outdoor-Trainings are particularly used as a learning method for management qualifications and teambuilding skills. During Outdoor-Settings participants are learning key skills by action and experience. Nevertheless Outdoor-Trainings are controversially discussed. Purpose of the present thesis is the elective “White Water Principles of Management“ of Hochschule Furtwangen University. Management skills are a learning target taught during an excursion by kayaking on a white water river. There are just a few empirical studies regarding effectiveness and efficiency of Outdoor-Trainings. This is why the following study is analysing the outcome and effectiveness of “White Water Training” for management education. Moreover the elaboration explores the coherence between the characteristics of the students and their management skills. The method used for data collection is a questionnaire where probands indicate their level of agreement towards their management skills on a rating scale. The present study consists of a quasi-experimental design where test persons are classified in an experimental and a control group by criteria of participation or non-participation. This means that people are not randomly assigned to a group. Data are collected two points in time, before and after the measure respectively the workshop. The purpose of the study is to find out whether the experimental group changed more than the control group. The effect of the workshop is measured by the difference in the amount of change between the experimental and the control group.
After evaluating the collected data the study shows that the experimental group respectively the group which participated in the elective, changed clearly more than the control group. Regarding the coherence analysis a connection between business studies and the outcome of the study can be clearly observed. Students of business studies achieved the highest outcomes compared to students of other fields of studies. Moreover it was discovered that students who already had done an apprenticeship had higher levels of agreement before the measure as their colleagues without apprenticeships.
Gegenstand der hier vorgestellten Bachelorarbeit ist das Konsumentenverhalten der Automobilkäufer. Die einzelnen Faktoren, die einen Einfluss auf das Konsumentenverhalten haben, werden hierfür analysiert. Auf Geschlechterunterschiede wird dabei weit möglichst eingegangen. Der Untersuchungsschwerpunkt wird auf die Beeinflussungsfaktoren der Informationssuche von den Individuen vor einem Autokauf gelegt. Als Unterstützung wird eine empirische Studie in Form einer Umfrage an Studenten und Absolventen gesendet. Zu diesem Zweck wird die Nutzung von persönlichen und unpersönlichen Informationsquellen, im Zusammenhang mit subjektivem und objektivem Wissen untersucht. Zusätzlich wird der Wert der persönlichen Erfahrungen der Konsumenten hinterfragt. Es konnte festgestellt werden, dass signifikante Unterschiede bezüglich der persönlichen, aber nicht der unpersönlichen Informationsquellen bestehen. Außerdem ergab die Umfrage, dass die weiblichen Probanden ihr subjektives Wissen deutlich geringer einschätzen, als die männlichen Teilnehmer.
Mögliche Implikationen und Zukunftsaussichten für die Automobilindustrie werden diskutiert.
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.
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 today's society tourism plays a far more significant role and acquires more and more people. Particularly Asian destinations have risen in their notoriety. In the past 30 years Vietnam has increasingly become popular as a destination for tourists from all over the world but also especially for European tourists. The aim of this dissertation is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of Vietnam, to determine the risks and to illustrate what future developments are to be expected. The tourist market analysis is to demonstrate which potential Vietnam has for Europeans. The selection of European tourists refers to the English, French and German tourist group, as those are important visitors for Vietnam. Here, their travel behavior is compared in order to achieve a comprehensive overview of European tourists. In addition, the competitive position of Vietnam is compared to the selected countries Cambodia and Thailand by using a strengths-and weaknesses analysis. In the empirical part of the work, 8 interviews were conducted with two travel specialists in the selected countries, which will enhance this work. Both the study as well as the interviews with the experts shows that the travel destination Vietnam has not yet exhausted its potential and that there are further development opportunities for tourism, especially the cultural aspects of the country holds a sustainable development opportunity. Problems prevail at the alarming pollution, especially in the tourist areas, the sustainable development of the country and the weak infrastructure. Furthermore, the future developments of exchange rates in Europe will have a significant impact on the further development of Vietnam. In addition, the government is hoping to increase the number of visitors by the abolition of the visa in several countries in Europe.
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.
Before the eruption of the latest financial crisis in 2008, Social Responsible Investments were considered as not relevant within the financial market's spectrum, in fact, late 90`s academic literature argues that Social Responsible Investments worsen portfolio performance, seemingly a well established paradigm for almost thirty years. However, why the perception of financial markets about Social Responsible Investments is changing?
Given the controversy surrounding Social Responsible Investments, the current document has tested the performance of a selection of Social Responsible portfolios for the period (2007-2014). Results showed that performance is not diminished and Social Responsible portfolios do not perform significantly different from the benchmark market. Additionally, theory and results are replicated into an interactive business game that aims to discover Social Investment profiles for users and highlight the importance of Social Responsible Investment in financial markets making the current document a combination of financial theory with the design of practical game fully playable.
Due to the great cultural distance between Germany and Thailand, German leaders who work in Thailand may encounter several intercultural concerns. In order to effectively lead Thai employees, these leaders may need to behave differently from what they used to do in their home country in some aspects. Thus, this study examines the changing perception of leadership due to the effect of Thai culture form German managers who are working in German organizations in Thailand.
GLOBE project and its culturally endorsed leadership theory were the key literature explored in this study. To attain the outcomes, both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed. Twenty-three questionnaires were collected from German expatriate managers in German organizations in Thailand. While two in-depth interview were acquired from Thai employees who worked closely with German superiors.
The results confirm German managers greatly value inspirational and trustworthy attributes as well as avoid being tyrannical, tender and provocateur in order to work in German-Thai boundary. The leadership styles such as Charismatic/Value-Based or Transformational and Team-Oriented leadership also suit German leaders to work in Thai culture.
As waste generation increases, so are initiatives to recover products and recycling. A particular waste that has continuously grown is plastics. Since its introduction, it has provided practical implications to different industries; however, it has also negatively affected the environment by its disposal. The recycling of plastic has offered opportunities to conserve non-renewable fossil fuels, reduce energy consumption, and avoid waste. Many countries seek for a sustainable system to recover plastics such as PET bottles. Mexico’s high soft-drinks consumption had consequently increased the disposal of PET bottles. Mexico has developed a recycling industry of PET bottles by following a Shared Responsibility between government, industry and society. However, a lack of awareness and knowledge among the society about the importance to collect the bottles and to recycle them makes it imperative for the introduction of a system that could create a society that recycles more. Providing a description of the opportunities and challenges for a collection system in Mexico simplifies future chances of comprehending the direction and actions needed for increasing recycling activities in the country.
Non-R&D-intensive firms and industries play and continue to play an important role in the German manufacturing industry, as their 41% share of value added in 2007 indicates. Nonetheless, non-R&D-intensive SMEs especially need to ready themselves for a future shaped by a continuously increasing internationalization of competition, rising knowledge intensity and complexity and an impairing job market situation due to demographic changes. Non-R&D-intensive SMEs are therefore more than ever required to boost the effective and efficient exploitation of firm-specific resources and competences in order to generate, secure or enhance competitive advantages. As studies however show, existing strategic competence management concepts are currently implemented rather by large firms. In addition to small firm size, low R&D intensity effects staff setup, innovation behavior, generation and use of knowledge and competitive market behavior which further negatively influence a firm's possibilities and propensity to implement these strategic competence management concepts. In a first step into this field of study, this master thesis aims to identify and analyze specific characteristics facilitating or discouraging an implementation of strategic competence development processes in non-R&D-intensive SMEs in the form of requirements, drivers and barriers. A literature review addressing the particularities of non-R&D-intensive SMEs and the attributes of current strategic competence management concepts discouraging an implementation of strategic competence development builds the foundation for nine guided interviews of explorative nature involving four non-R&D-intensive SMEs conducted to acquire qualitative empirical data to complement the theoretical findings. A total of 22 specific characteristics, i.e. eleven requirements as well as six drivers and five barriers, facilitating or discouraging an implementation of strategic competence development in non-R&D-intensive SMEs were identified after forging the bridge between theoretical and empirical findings.
The aim of this thesis is to identify and investigate the meaning of customers’ expectations in the IT-industry explained by the example of introducing a new product and to develop a strategy how expectations can be managed in the IT-industry.
The first part of the thesis deals with the reasons and the general framework for the research and defines objectives and scope of the thesis.
In the second part, results of the literature and theories about expectations are presented. These show what previous research has found out and give an overview about different types of expectations and corresponding effects. The flowing part constitutes the case study as research instrument and how it can be used to generate results. With the help of a case study of a specific example of the IT-industry the meaning of expectations regarding new products will be highlighted. Additionally, it gives_a basis to develop a strategy to manage expectations in the IT-industry.
Afterwards the results of the literature review and the case study are combined into a usable strategy to manage expectations of new products in the IT-industry. The thesis illustrates the necessary steps of the strategy and gives an assessment of the results.
In conclusion, the thesis argues that expectation management is an essential step of influencing innovation to optimize business and gives instruction to identify, manage and influence customer’s expectations. Besides, this thesis addresses industries which are faced with the challenge of expectation management and offers an initial research about expectation management in the IT-industry. Furthermore, this thesis intends to provide a basic research to show the importance of expectation management and inspire following research.
Nowadays, big sport events such as Olympic Games are not only an exciting carnival for sports enthusiasts, but also a good opportunity for the host country/city to accelerate its economic development. After more than 40 years of development, Computable General Equilibrium has been proved to be a very powerful tool to analyze the impact of big sports events on host country/city. In this paper, 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be used as the target case to study the impact on the economy. A Supply model and a demand model will be established according to CGE theory to describe the case. This paper is not focused on the detail but the whole picture of Beijing’s economy by analyzing the industrial structure changes under the influences of hosting the Olympic. Beijing’s industrial structure development will also be analyzed in this paper.
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.
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.
Mit der vorliegenden Bachelorarbeit soll die Auslegung des Druckausgleichselements, das in einem Radarsensor der Firma Continental verbaut ist, untersucht werden. Durch Höhenänderungen entstehen Druckdifferenzen zwischen der Umgebung und dem Sensor. Wird diese Druckdifferenz nicht vollständig über das Druckausgleichselement ausgeglichen, kann durch einen Unterdruck Wasser über die Kabelschnittstelle in den Sensor angesaugt werden. Dadurch kann es zu einem Kurzschluss oder zu Fehlfunktionen beim Radarsensor kommen. Eine spezielle Messvorrichtung wurde konstruiert, um eine Passfahrt zu simulieren. Hierfür wurde ein Umgebungsdruck in einem Behälter erzeugt, und darin wurde der Innendruck des Sensors gemessen. Ein entsprechendes Berechnungsmodell wurde zusätzlich erstellt, um die Druckdifferenz im Sensor zu berechnen. Zusätzlich wurde die Durchlässigkeit der Kabelschnittstelle untersucht. Durch das Berechnungsmodell und verschiedene Messungen kann ausgeschlossen werden, dass bei einer Passfahrt Wasser über die Kabelschnittstelle in den Sensor gesaugt wird. Ein Gasaustausch an der Kabelschnittstelle kann jedoch nicht ausgeschlossen werden.
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.
Background
The recent worldwide financial crisis that occurred in last quarters of 2007 up until mid 2009 was accompanied by the massive failure of many financial institutions and liquidity providers. Investment banks and other institutionalized financial investors were unsuccessful in producing any real returns for their clients. This drastic fail in all the other traditional investments led to the questioning of how well the hedge fund industry performed in this light based on their promise as absolute return producers regardless of the market environment. This paper seeks to analyse the performance of the Long/Short Equity Strategy in particular relative to the performance of the overall market.
Methods
Thorough examination and validation of numerous empirical studies which have already been carried out on the subject matter are brought to light through the analysis of available historical data of the returns posted by these funds during the crisis using generally accepted statistical funds’ assessment tools giving an adequate angel to the performance of Long-Short Equity hedge Funds especially at the heart of the financial crisis in the last quarters of 2007 to mid 2009.
Results
Equity Long/Short Hedge funds as every other strategy in they industry succeeded in 2008 in outperforming other traditional investment vehicles and the broad stock an bond markets although the failed in to produce the absolute returns promised to their investments. In 2009 they posted similar results to that of S&P 500 index with subsequent declines in 2010 and 2011 thus failing to period their returns where highly correlated with that of the overall market coined with negative skewness and high kutorsis.
Conclusion
Even though hedge funds succeeded in outperforming the market in the heart of the crisis, they failed to provides their investors with absolute returns and also the benefits which the provide in terms of diversification to reduce the exposure of their funds to market risk was limiting. The very high fees paid to them by investors was not justified by their performance.
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.
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.