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Nowadays international businesses are exposed to a constant change of regulations, regularly altering organisational structures and the pressure to continuously improve efficiency to stay competitive. It is no longer a secret for international companies that the ability to adapt, is a key success factor in managing globally connected processes. Facing this challenge, MTU Friedrichshafen, one of the leading manufacturer of diesel engines in the world, set a target of optimising core processes of License Management due to the fast growing number of international projects and related international regulations. This optimisation can be achieved by analysing weak points at all stages of the working processes and developing standardised approaches throughout the partner management cycle. The main purpose of this thesis, therefore, is to analyse and standardise core processes of the MTU License Management with a completely new approach in steering international projects.
After spending ten months at the MTU License Management Department, including mandatory six months internship, I was involved in different working procedures in a form of “internal job rotation” in order to have clear understanding over main processes at License Management. With all this knowledge in mind, a deep research about core processes has been conducted and individual improvement measures for each process were defined. These improvement measures are in line with the Global Strategy Program “Shaping Our Future 2018” that has been determined by Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG, MTU’s holding company. Also, during the research, it was obvious that combining several processes into one core tool was a major challenge. After brainstorming through various ideas with internal IT experts, a standardised approach by using Microsoft SharePoint has been identified as an effective way to enhance various processes.
Only with the proper implementation of the recommended optimisation process and continuous improvement, global organisations will succeed in responding to the increasing pace of changes in the business environment.
The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the impact of Intelligent Automation on individuals, organizations and economy and how organizations can adapt. Within the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the use of new technologies is on the rise and rapidly developing and the world is becoming more and more digital.
Organizations in financial services like banks and insurance companies are reevaluating their processes, however, automation has not been applied yet and their back office processes still contain a huge amount of paper and many repetitive tasks, which make the processes inefficient. In processes like this, there is a huge potential for Robotic Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence, which allow organizations to automate end-to-end processes with humans only handling exceptions and doing small configurations. The results are higher quality and speed at lower cost.
Despite the fact that the implementation of Intelligent Automation can be done fast and simple, companies have to involve the right people, analyze which processes are actually automatable and follow necessary steps in the implementation process in order to successfully implement Intelligent Automation.
In the era of digitalisation, mobile devices are supporting us throughout the day, in any situation, at any place and any time. We purchase goods and services through our phones, communicate with others and can get information about anything we want. The mobile technology is the fastest growing industry the world has ever seen. Mobile technology is the most influential driver of current social and economic change. Therefore mobile marketing is already a major factor in today’s marketing mix. Nevertheless adaption of mobile marketing progresses differently in different parts of the world. China took on a leading role in mobile marketing without many people outside China noticing. The purpose of this paper is to examine and display the major differences between China and Europe when it comes to mobile marketing. Especially, I will focus on WeChat, a relatively new communication application in China that has shaped mobile marketing significantly since 2011, the year of its launch.
However, due to significant differences in market scale, market complexity and adoption of technology in Europe and China it is important for European companies to understand the potential power of WeChat if they want to do successful business in China. Therefore I will give a comprehensive overview on how to use WeChat for business. Additionally I will connect the mobile marketing aspect with Chinese language learning. Chinese language learning represents a global current trend and is building a bridge between China and Europe both culturally and economically. For this paper I conducted practical research in a Chinese language school under European management in Beijing/China. This way I was able to gain first-hand insight in the obstacles a European company faces when it comes to WeChat mobile marketing in China. This paper will cover the theoretical foundation of mobile marketing and will connect it with real recommendations for successful WeChat mobile marketing.
The advertising industry has strongly changed over the past years. Obviously, the coming of digital media has created networking between consumers and revolutionized traditional marketing toward companies building lasting relationship with potential customers and thereby generating an exponential growth in exposure and influence still called viral marketing. Despite the fact that viral marketing is an old topic, its relevancy in the business area is quite recent. However, little research is devoted to the adoption and internal usage of social media in SMEs, which are of high social and economic importance. Findings of numerous researches on this topic have been constructed on the B2C market. For this reasons, the aim of this study seeks to address the gap in knowledge regarding the use of social media in the B2B SMEs in Germany.
Underperforming employees are quickly put into the low performer category and rash decisions and actions need to be taken. Managers “just want the problem to go away” and human resources must find a solution – transfer, change of contract, disciplinary actions are often the only choices. But it doesn’t need to always end in escalation. Early identification and communication is the first step towards a solution and a win-win situation for all parties involved. Followed by a thorough cause analysis and a matched action plan the foundation for improvement is laid. Raising awareness of plausible causes, the right actions to be taken and empowerment of the management level are the next steps towards a performance improvement oriented culture. Focusing on how to improve low performance is a corrective measure, taking actions and measures to prevent low performance to arise, like implementing a holistic performance management system, is the more effective and easier way.
Corporate Culture is more and more becoming an important factor to be competitive in the constantly changing environment. Technology as well as generation (in this case generation Y/millennials) and organizational structures are influencing the organizational performance and culture. The shift from hierarchical to networked structured organizations has an impact on the collaboration within and outside the company. Organizations need to find new ways to transmit theirs corporate culture, reach their employees and support collaboration.
Enterprise 2.0 tools are one of the newest tools of this century. Facebook and other social media platforms are already celebrating great success. So why shouldn’t it be able to reach this success in terms of internal use of social tools? And how does Enterprise 2.0 tools influence others aspects of the organizations which may as well have an impact on the corporate culture?
Incentive Europe Premiums Concepts & Licensing (IEPC) is a Dutch company that specializes in the sales and distribution of premiums and promotional products. Its goal is to support companies all over Europe in terms of boosting sales numbers, increasing brand awareness or attracting new clients. In order to achieve these goals Incentive Europe has a number of assets to assist this endeavour; namely an in-office design department, over a decade of experience and a good relationship with several sourcing and production sites in China, headquarters in Amsterdam and Shenzhen (China) and a dedicated team of regional account managers.
Currently Incentive Europe Premiums Concepts & Licensing is active in several different markets within different business segments. The company has put its main focus in producing branded USB sticks and power banks and is quite successful in this regard in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain and Italy but now the company is aiming higher.
IEPC is already active in the segments of premiums and merchandising and are presently facing the challenge of entering the German premium market in the best way possible. The competition in the German market is unexplored and Incentive Europe has to find a way to gain traction in the premium market.
For this reason, this bachelor thesis is related to the German market of premiums and merchandising in order to discover and explore entry strategies and analyse the possible options.
Presently a lot of emphasis has been put on the need for brick-and-mortar stores to reinvent themselves, in light of increasing competition. Therefore, the topic of shopping experience has recently received special attention by retailers, as they increasingly endeavor to create pleasant store environments. Several studies have shown, that a positive shopping experience results in increased customer satisfaction, store loyalty and thus long-term success of a company.
While new technologies are on the rise, they have so far not been fully exploited in retail stores, neither extensively researched in the context of shopping experience.
Therefore, this bachelor thesis aims to provide a general understanding on the construct of shopping experience and explores how certain phases of the customer journey can be complemented by in-store technologies. Moreover, it provides valuable insights on the capabilities and limitations of in-store technologies. Particularly, RFID equipped tablet computers, as an in-store technology for fashion retailers, are researched in-depth.
Secondary data retrieved from academic journals, academic books, press articles and study reports are used to provide an overall understanding on the construct of shopping experience, certain customer journey phases, technologies in retail stores and on the changed buying behavior caused by digitalization.
Primary research is conducted to research RFID equipped tablet computers as a in-store technology for fashion retailers. It identifies which shopping experience determinants should be targeted, when considering the implementation of in-store technology in a fashion retail store. Moreover useful information regarding the perception towards chosen tablet functions are highlighted.
Findings are discussed with reference to available literature. Conclusions are drawn and presented as implications for fashion retailers.
The start of the financial crisis in 2007 and the collapse of Lehman Brothers the end of 2008 led to a severe global economic crisis. To counter the negative shocks of the crisis, central banks pushed their conventional monetary policy tools to their limits. As policy rates reached their zero lower bound and no further stimulation of the economy was possible through the standard operating framework, additional measures were needed to improve the overall situation of dislocated financial markets and liquidity shortages. Therefore, central banks in advanced economies implemented unconventional monetary policy measures called quantitative easing (QE). Quantitative easing mainly works through an expansion of a central bank’s balance sheets and is aimed to reach a desired inflation target of 2%. This thesis examines detailed introduction, procedures, risks, and exit strategy of QE. The focus of this thesis is on design and operation of QE conducted by the Bank of Japan, the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, and the European Central Bank and on their achieved results regarding interest rates and broader economic effects. In addition, evidence for the effectiveness is analyzed with help of an event study. Key findings of this thesis demonstrate that by means of QE, positive development on economic indicators can be recorded but it also has limited impacts. If central banks conduct their stimulus for too long, it creates risks, and, for this reason, an appropriate exit strategy is required to avoid ineffectiveness of the monetary policy. To date, no country has completed their exit and, therefore, the future will illustrate the final consequences of QE.
The goal of this thesis is to give an overview of the carbon footprint of the commercial aviation industry and to introduce measures to mitigate emissions. This will be done by taking the German Lufthansa Group as an example.
In the first part, relevant theoretical background information will be given. It will be shown that the commercial aviation industry is subject to steady and relatively strong growth. Even though the global share of GHG emissions caused by air traffic is currently relatively low, it is projected to increase in accordance with overall industry growth.
In the second part, measures taken by the aviation industry to reduce its emissions are presented using the example of Lufthansa. The measures that are taken are various, reaching from fleet renewal over infrastructural improvements such as airspace management to alternative fuels. It is also shown that the efficiency of an airline depends on different things and hence leads to different performances in the industry.
Even though the reduction of emissions is typically related with a reduction of costs for the aviation industry, the progress in some areas is still relatively slow.
Climate change is one of the most challenging topics to the world and has been subject to international negotiations for more than 25 years, one of the main players being the USA.
Game theory, on the other hand, is a popular tool from economics, frequently used to analyze strategic situations such as international negotiations. Together, the insights from these topics can help understand why the USA’s president Donald Trump has announced to quit the Paris Agreement and which consequences this might have for the US, other countries and for the future of international climate change negotiations. In order to assess the different implications, this thesis gives some theoretical background and presents game theoretic findings on climate change negotiations. It will be found that, from a game theoretic point of view, different reasons might have caused the USA to take this decision and that there is a chance that a withdrawal of the US from the Paris Agreement could have some effect on the future of climate protection. However, a precise assessment would require further research on the topic.
The goal of this thesis was to create a sustainable and global training concept for the department Industrialization of the Marquardt Group. For that reason qualitative interviews with global Industrialization employees were conducted to get an overview of the current training situation in all Marquardt subsidiaries. The interviews showed that the employees in the subsidiaries lack a local contact person and support regarding questions arising after the training. Therefore a literature research on learning transfer and global training concepts was performed leading to a focus on the factor trainer of the Baldwin & Ford (1988) model. The proposal includes a restructuring of the headquarter-subsidiary relationship with local trainers for each subsidiary who train the local employees and thereby support the learning transfer.
“The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit” – Milton Friedman.
There has always been, across the history, a human side, an ideology, that people follow with the hope of finding justice and equity in the world. This concept has always been adapting to the culture, time, and situation it faces. In our actual economic system, this concept is known as social responsibility, and to adapt to the market necessities it has evolved to corporate social responsibility, but apparently, when the people want to see results this is not enough.
The markets are expanding, we live in a world where everything and everyone are connected, there is no more privacy, and therefore, no place to hide. Companies need to be honest with the information they share and should follow the international rules for environmental and social protection and development. People are demanding better quality, more innovation, and eco-friendly and socially responsible company. The people verify many factors before acquiring any product, starting with the quality, the suppliers, the factories conditions, the employee’s satisfaction levels, and the corporate responsibility of the company.
The central topic of this thesis is the so called “corporate volunteering” a concept that brings together the business necessities and ties them together with the social responsibility. In this concept, the company participates actively and directly to enhance the social and environmental situation, using their resources, and their human capital. There are many advantages of implementing the corporate volunteering, but also many factors to consider while changing the corporate culture, and transmitting values.
The idea of this text is to present the corporate volunteering as a new concept, highly efficient for the companies and communities, while analyzing its changes, objectives, implementations, benefits and challenges to face while implementing the corporate volunteering.
In response to the global financial crisis, some of the major central banks in the world have implemented so-called unconventional monetary policy tools, in particular Quantitative Easing. These tools were aimed to improve conditions in financial markets, to provide liquidity and later on, in response to the European sovereign debt crisis, also to stimulate the economies. At the height of the European sovereign debt crisis Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, said that “…the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro” on 26 July 2012. How much will it take? What could be the negative side effects? And in particular, what are the implications for financial stability? These questions become increasingly important, as the balance between benefits and costs of such tools tends to worsen the longer QE is in place.
This paper wants to answer whether QE could have negative impacts on financial stability and if so, whether it could lead to another episode of financial instability, i.e. a financial crisis. First, it will explain what monetary policy is, which goals it has and what the conventional and unconventional monetary policy tools are, that central banks can use, e.g. QE. The next part will explain what financial stability is and which factors can lead to a financial crisis by using the most recent episode, the global recession.
This thesis will mainly focus on the negative impacts, the QE programme of the European Central Bank has on financial markets and the banking sector. Only in the analysis of the financial markets, it will make an exception and also include the programmes of the Bank of England, Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve. The analysis of the financial markets will include results of other research papers, studies and journal articles as well as a self-conducted event study, by analyzing QE announcements and their impact on bond yields and stock indices. The analysis of the banking sector will focus on financial stability indicators, their response to QE announcements and their development in the time QE was implemented incorporating results found by other researchers. In the final part, all results found here will be brought together to answer whether or not QE negatively affects financial stability.
Changes are constantly accelerating. A major issue that companies are dealing with is how to communicate those changes in a way that is efficient and effective and therefore successful. Traditional models such as the ones by Lewin, Bridges or Kotter are reaching their limits due to the orientation on fixed vision, goals and processes. The time has come to change the way change is managed. New organizational structures are therefore required. An example of a new model to deal with the speed of change is agile management. Agility provides a platform for better communication, including the quantity and quality aspect. IMS Gear, an automotive supplier located in South Germany, is currently in the stage of a transition. Agile mindsets are anchored in their vision and strategy, yet the implementation of agile frameworks is still improvable. The PEP project is a first step into the direction of ensuring the future of the company despite all external and internal changes. Therefore, based on a model by Audi AG consultant Gergs, improvement approaches are developed.
This Bachelor Thesis aims to review previous studies in the broad field of M&A. It assesses whether M&A activities are beneficial for shareholders in terms of their returns. Effects on shareholder wealth, both in the short- and long-run, will be evaluated within this thesis. For this purpose, a large data set covering a time horizon of 64 years starting in 1950 until 2014 is used in the short-run. The long-run period involves 81 years lasting from 1929 to 2010. After an overall comparison, taking into account all takeover deals, a more detailed analysis of the announcement effects of M&As considering several different takeover characteristics will be executed. In the short-run, returns for bidder, target and combined firms’ shareholders are considered. For long-run shareholders’ wealth, data only for bidder firms will be evaluated.
The results show that shareholders of target, bidder and combined firms earn significantly positive returns upon the announcement of M&As. Most gains however accrue to target firms’ shareholders. Long-run returns to bidder firms’ shareholders seem to be negative across all three event windows. The longer the event windows, the more negative returns to shareholders. The results also demonstrate that takeover characteristics can significantly influence shareholder wealth.
Furthermore, this thesis aims to address following research questions: (1) what drives M&A activity and what are the individual motives for M&A decisions? And (2) how do several takeover characteristics impact the outcome of M&As?
Analysis of the evolution of banking sector stability in Europe since the global financial crisis
(2017)
The period of the global financial crisis followed by the sovereign debt crisis represents the strongest period of recession in Europe since the Great Depression in 1929. The response by regulators and politics were extensive regulatory reforms that influence the banking sector massively. This thesis has the purpose to describe how banking sector stability can be defined, why regulation is necessary in the banking sector and to shed light on the complicated system of the resulting regulatory institutions in Europe by means of a qualitative literature research. In addition, this thesis evaluates the effectiveness of the current regulatory reforms and the current state of banking sector stability on the basis of a quantitative analysis of risk indicators with respect to the newly introduced regulations. It can be concluded that the regulatory reforms are an improvement in stability enhancement with potential for more improvement, however. Individual banks’ stability has also improved, whereas stability in the whole banking sector cannot be considered as much greater.
Creating successful teams after an M&A is challenging enough when employees share the same location and the same cultural background, but when the team consists of people coming from different cultures and is working in different locations, social distance can cause misunderstandings, distrust and miscommunication which makes successful M&As even more challenging. After the acquisition of Letrika in Slovenia and Kokusan Denki in Japan, the workforce within MAHLEs mechatronic division became highly diverse. On the one hand, this diversification is regarded as added value, but on the other hand it bears numerous challenges in day-to day business.
This thesis aims to outline cultural differences between Japan, Slovenia and Germany that affect collaboration within this division. Using literature research and an online questionnaire, the author intends to compare theoretical concepts with actual data collected at MAHLE Mechatronics. The questionnaire also includes multiple open questions that allow examining the current situation and supports the findings with real-life examples.
The first part focuses on the theoretical framework for this thesis. In chapter two an understanding for the concept of culture is given. Different models and explanations provide fundamental knowledge to grasp the construct of culture. Chapter 2.1. depicts the Lewis model, a model developed in 1996 categorizing cultures into three groups. In chapter 2.2., the paper continues with the GLOBE model which forms the basis of the empirical research conducted at MAHLE. Afterwards, culture specific characteristics of Japan, Germany and Slovenia are portrayed and compared in order to predict possible clashes that might emerge in work-related encounters (chapter 3). The illustration of the concept of intercultural competence, a skill to manage, understand, decode and interpret behaviors and mindsets of people from different cultures, will conclude the first part of this thesis (chapter 4).
Chapter five describes the methodology used in this paper. The findings of this study are presented in chapter six and are followed by the discussion and reflection (chapter 7). The paper concludes with an analysis and interpretation (chapter 7.1.), recommendations for future action (chapter 7.2.) and limitations of the study (chapter 7.3.) highlighting the main findings of the study and emphasizing the development of intercultural competence at MAHLEs mechatronic division.
In 2008 a white paper called “Bitcoin: A Peer-To-Peer Electronic Cash System” was published by Satoshi Nakamoto. This paper describes an electronic payment system that succeeds where many have failed before. The system is called Bitcoin and it deals with the double spending problem. Also, it is a peer-to-peer decentralized system meaning that it works separately from any government or any financial institution. Bitcoin relies on cryptographic proof-of-work blocks any chance of protocol disruption. Satoshi Nakamoto called Bitcoin an electronic payment system but the public now calls it a cryptocurrency because of its similarities to a currency.
Many pessimists thought that Bitcoin could never be successful and that this technology will not have any value in the future. Despite that, a considerable amount of people believe in the possibilities of cryptocurrencies and in the possible developments that this futuristic technology could inspire, especially in the financial service sector.
This purpose of this thesis is to investigate cryptocurrencies and the financial service industry in order to examine the challenges and opportunities that cryptocurrencies deliver. Section I of the paper will look into cryptocurrencies and their mechanism. Afterwards, an analysis of whether cryptocurrencies are actual currency will be given. The next section of the thesis will cover government regulations on cryptocurrencies. Then, the paper will analyze public perception and why it is important. Section II of this thesis evaluates the current financial service system and the potential benefits of the blockchain. Central banks and moral hazards in the finance sector are examined afterwards. Then, analysis on inflation and wealth is provided. After that, a summary of the advantages and drawbacks of both the cryptocurrency system and the traditional finance service system are given, followed by a section that estimates the utilities and effects of cryptocurrencies in the future. Finally, a conclusion is derived.
Managing employee engagement in high-growth companies: The case of Red Hat in high-growth companies
(2017)
Purpose
This thesis aims to analyze employee engagement in high growth companies with the case of Red Hat.
Methodology
Primary research involved the gathering of a mix of qualitative data in the open- source IT company Red Hat in the United Kingdom. Both an interview and a focus group methodology was applied. Literature from the research fields of employee engagement was reviewed and integrated into the primary research design.
Findings
The findings showed that fast-growing companies encounter many challenges in the fields of employee impact and purpose, recruiting and retaining, career development, leadership and management, and organizational culture. Best practices on how to scale culture were worked out. The findings concluded that actionable solutions such as modifying the recruiting process for cultural fit and giving more autonomy to regional leaders and teams, can help cope with the challenges of employee engagement in a fast-paced environment.
Limitations and implications for further research
One of the main limitations of this study is the lack of literature available to link organizational growth and employee engagement. Contrasting more stable environments with change environments or using a larger sample size may potentially add to this field with further reliable and insightful findings. This issue may be re-investigated in the future as well, as the nature of change environments can affect the findings. Red Hat is a very people-focused company with a flat hierarchy. Thus, investigating this issue in more hierarchical companies could lead to different findings with different challenges and would further complete this research field.
Although sustainability reporting in China receives more attention in the past ten years, effective studies and literature of sustainability reporting are still in urgent need. A good sustainability reporting will provide stakeholders with needed information and guidance in the activities, and it also minimises the potential harm while creating economic, social and environmental values (Schaltegger & Wagner, 2006, 5). The main objectives of this research are not only to have an overall view of Chinese sustainability reporting situation but also to look into how Chinese companies will develop or what needs to be changed for a better development. To achieve this goal, sustainability reporting issued by top 10 manufacturing companies will be studied concerning GRI. During the analysis, the GRI Specific Standard Disclosures and Principle of Defining Report will be adopted to view how Chinese companies perform in sustainability reporting both in content and quality. Further, the possible elements of influencing companies development will be illustrated. Then make an attempt of what will future SR focus. The result obtained from the analysis is that Chinese sustainability reporting still have many problems in both quality and content. Most of them share the similar preference on how and what to disclose, such as focusing on resource saving. After making an explanation of what will affect future development of the companies in China, it is concluded that in the future the focus of SR will be concentrated on adoption of new energy, technology innovation, application of greener supply chain and consumption of green products.
The concept of Job Crafting was developed by Amy Wrzesniewski and Jane E. Dutton in 2001. It describes job alterations initiated by employees that can occur in three different ways: Task crafting, relational crafting and cognitive crafting. The aim of Job Crafting is the better alignment of employee needs and preferences to the job demands and rewards.
In this bachelor thesis, the concept of Job Crafting will be explained and will be put into the context of similar concepts. Both, positive and negative outcomes of Job Crafting behaviour will be explained and opposed. The outcomes can have the form of increased motivation, performance and person-job fit which are intended by the Job Crafting behaviour. But misalignments of Job Crafting with organisational goals and negative impacts on colleagues on the negative side can also occur and need to be considered. The bachelor thesis also illustrates important motivators for Job Crafting and the most important aspects that play a role in Job Crafting behaviour. In the end, the thesis provides an outlook of Job Crafting based on the information that was evaluated. The aim of this bachelor thesis is to provide an insight into the concept of Job Crafting and to inform about the recent state of research on the topic.
Job Crafting is considered to be a rather positive employee behaviour that mostly results in better outcomes for employees than before Job Crafting actions. As organisation in the current economic state need to be adaptive in order to stay competitive, Job Crafting offers a solution for organisations to provide their employees with enough freedom to stay flexible. Job Crafting is not to be considered as a substitute for common Job design but rather as a complement to it that can be used by employees to further enhance their behaviour and performance. Managers should be aware of its existence and even foster it into a direction that benefits the organisation.
HomeMade, a Dutch producer of business-to-customer baking mixes established in 2004, belongs since July 2014 to the internationally operating company Royal Smilde bv with their business unit Smilde Bakery bv which is an industrial bakery for the business-to-business market. One of the countries HomeMade can introduce its products to is Germany as the mother company Smilde Bakery has a sales subsidiary in this country with an own sales force of which HomeMade can make use. One main research question and six underlying sub-questions are addressed in the research work. The main question is about “What marketing strategy should HomeMade adopt for their market introduction in Germany?” and the sub-questions are used to answer the main question by looking at macro-environmental factors, the performance of potential competitors, the market attractiveness, the characteristics of possible customers in Germany, the distribution channels available and the current performance of HomeMade on the Dutch market. To answer these questions, primary research (qualitative interviews and a survey) and secondary research (literature and desk) have been conducted. Each chapter of the research work is designed to answer one sub-question to make conclusions about the suitable marketing strategy of HomeMade in Germany. The strategy will be derived in the final part of the research work by comparing the identified strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and threats of all sub-questions and giving recommendations and plans for implementation as well as a cost estimation for the chosen marketing strategy of HomeMade’s market introduction to Germany.
The Revive Turbo Cleaner is a cleaning fluid which removes carbon deposits from inside petrol or diesel engine systems. It is distributed internationally through wholesalers and sales agents to workshops and private car owners. After the acquisition of Revive Automotive Solutions Ltd by Bartec Auto ID Ltd in summer 2016, the new owners decided to further develop the brand and to move into the promising German automotive aftermarket, as the Cleaner had shown good sales figures in the home market UK and in a number of international markets. This paper examines environmental factors influencing the German marketplace, analyses Revive’s actual customer segments including consumers and business clients, provides profiles of its competitors and substituting technologies, regards the characteristics of the specific industry and defines the product’s qualities in order to draw a conclusion on the appropriate Marketing Mix to employ for the German market. In advance to the analytical work, the paper critically considers the range of theoretical frameworks used for the analysis, namely PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces Analysis, the SWOT Analysis and the Marketing Mix in order to define and update original concepts as wells as adapt them to the research requirements.
Economic growth in China is slowing down and China will no longer be the manufacturer of the world and consumers become more sophisticated. Therefore Chinese companies have to change strategies. This thesis aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the reasons for Chinese companies transitioning from equipment manufacturers to brand manufacturers, the phase of innovation in China, the internationalization of Chinese brands and accordingly the consumer behaviour. The change is fast and challenging and the Chinese companies have to overcome obstacles like culture, innovation and the country of origin effect. Chinese government is promoting innovation. The quality of Research & Development output lacks behind quantity and is often limited to technology improvements rather than basic research. Government is also pushing companies to go abroad. The biggest obstacle for Chinese consumer brands expanding internationally is the country of origin effect. To compete internationally and to be successful in the long run, Chinese companies have to deliver high product quality and use effective branding. After entering the market with low price products to gain market share, Chinese brands increase product quality and promote the consumer brand. By analyzing the smartphone market, this thesis evaluates the progress and sustainability of changing from low cost to high end manufacturing and branding.
The vegan trend has experienced continuous growth in recent years, influencing companies inside and outside of the market due to shifts in consumer behaviour. This thesis investigates the perceptible success factors for entry into the healthy vegan snacks market and delivers promising implementation strategies. To identify and understand the market situation, current food trends are identified and described and detailed insights into the terminology of healthy vegan snacks are given. Subsequently, qualitative interviews with established companies and dieticians are conducted to better understand current food trends and to determine the most relevant success factors. Based on the findings, the author provides concrete strategy recommendations for established companies and newcomers in the market segment. The findings of the study show that the healthy vegan snacks market is very attractive and therefore offers several strategic options for successful market entry. However, newcomers have to face several challenges that should be considered and ideally overcome when planning market entry. Most successful entrepreneurs truly identify with their products and represent the customer groups themselves, enabling them to optimally understand and apply customer needs.
The paper focuses on the complexity of effective cross-cultural communication and trust building (chapter 2). In chapter 2.1 the cultural and medial impact on communication is discussed. Different tools, their capability of transferring a message and culturally-based preferences are examined. In chapter 2.2 the paper continues with analyzing the importance of trust. High-Trust and Low-Trust Teams are analyzed, outlining the differences that lead to success. Furthermore, cultural implications on the trust behavior and relationship building capabilities are described. The theoretical part of the thesis concludes with chapter 2.3 by connecting effective cross-cultural communication and trust building, pointing out their interdependence.
The second part of the paper is based on the theoretical part one of the thesis. After introducing a focus group in chapter 3.1 from a German automotive company where team members are based across Europe, the virtuality of this HR team is analyzed. In order to derive best practices from the team, structured interviews are carried out in chapter 3.2. The online survey and the subsequent expert interviews with each of the 11 team members analyze their communication and trust behavior. The findings from the survey point out commonalities and differences with what can be found in literature.
The paper concludes with chapter 4, highlighting the importance of the topic and the relevance for today’s companies. Working virtuality becomes increasingly important and, therefore, understanding the communication and trust behavior in a VT is essential for both management and each member in the team. Ensuring accessibility of various tools, encouraging the members to share best practices and provide the team with cultural training, not only to raise awareness but also to strengthen the ties, is highly relevant in making a difference in today’s global and ever changing economy.
The department Tachographs, Telematis and Sevices belongs to the Business Unit Commercial vehicles and after market. CVAM is part of the Interior division from Continental and belongs to the Automotive Group.
In this thesis a PEST analysis looks at the factors that influence the fleet management market. Furthermore a SWOT analysis to explore internal and external factors influencing the telematic services at continental. In the theory part an overview is given, about the best already proven methods and measures to implement in finding the customer needs implement them in an early stage of the development process.
Possible solutions were found by conducting interviews with the sales force and development team inside of the company to get their feedbacks and ideas.
Purpose: The goal of this paper is to develop a technology acceptance model for digital anamnesis and explore the factors that influence individual adoption behavior.
Methods: Through a literature review we identified important factors that influence acceptance. We then conduct an empirical study among patients with 115 respondents. Subsequently, we test the model using partial least squares path modelling.
Results: We found that performance expectancy, social influence, and trust are the most have significant influence on behavioral intention. A group comparison reveals significant differences between young and old patients. The model explained 57.5 % of the variance of behavioral intention.
Conclusions: This study helps us understand the key determinants of patient acceptance behavior, and enables us to give advice to businesses in the early stages of development.
Due to fierce competition in the recent decades, focus on customer service is becoming increasingly important in all industries including grocery retail. The purpose of this study is to discover the different services offered by grocery stores in Egypt and Germany, to examine the reasons behind offering different services in the different countries and to learn the effect of the same services being offered in different countries.
The data was collected by conducting an online survey and then analyzed with reference to available literature. Findings and conclusions are presented in the form of lessons learned and suggestions for grocery stores in both countries to improve their consumer’s future shopping experience.
In an ever smaller and connected world, the need for instant access and communication is becoming more and more necessary. This is especially true in business, and no one understands this better than the people working at the Global Success Club. This is why they have decided to develop a mobile application specially catered to serve busy executives of innovative manufacturing companies, and help them find the right business partners for their next business venture or innovative collaboration. This thesis was written on the behalf of the Global Success Club to help them determine the optimal way to develop a mobile application that aims to connect innovative manufacturing companies in a global setting by looking at two research questions:
1. How to win B2B users/customers for a mobile application by focusing on smart user interface; and
2. Which method of marketing communication, direct marketing (emails & follow-up calls) or social media marketing, is more successful in winning over users in the internet affinitive US market.
This paper will accomplish its task by first looking over past research done by authors and researchers about how mobile applications are changing the way of the world and the way we communicate. The paper will also explore why businesses are now deciding to adopt new technologies to help them with business processes that were traditionally done offline. In order to answer the questions posed by this thesis, research was conducted on previous studies and what they have suggested pertaining to the research questions. Based on the research, hypotheses were made and those ideas implemented into the final plans by the company for the design and marketing communication strategy. Conclusions were made about the most effective user interface designs based on the hypotheses, and a study will be carried out at a later to judge their effectiveness. A study on the marketing strategy taken by the company was able to show that a more direct marketing message is optimal to win users and would be more effective if combined with wide spread and cost-effective online marketing.
This bachelor thesis is designed to develop a segmented sales approach using the target costing method. Herby it is important to note that this thesis is a practical one, on behalf of a German high-tech company. The assignment was to create feasible action points, which will later assist during the company's sales approach improvements.
The theoretical part of this thesis deals with the basics of product segmentation, process analysis and sales channel analysis. Afterwards, the theoretical background for the sales cost analysis, target costing method and sales scenarios is elaborated. The aim was to define major elements later applied in this thesis.
The second part of this thesis applies the theoretical knowledge established in the first chapter to the situation at the company. The results of the project show an importance to focus on one specific product, due to a high level of competition. Currently, the sales scenario consists of the direct and the indirect sales channel. As a consequence, sales costs are very high. The third chapter gives recommendations for each chapter. Results show the need for simplicity and less reporting as well as one maintained document archive system. The third part shows the importance of establishing an online channel. Furthermore, it is advised to establish one strategy for the sales channels and to communicate this to coordinate different sales channels effectively. The fourth and fifth parts deal with the sales cost and target costing recommendations, highlighting marketing and HR costs as the main cost driver. One solution to reduce the sales cost is to establish the online channel, saving travel costs and to reevaluate marketing activities. That way, the target of limiting the sales cost to 15% of the revenue could be met.
The aim of this piece of work is to elaborate a conceptual approach for supporting market development in Asia Pacific. It includes the investigation of relevant criteria for an objective analysis in terms of market attractiveness for eight markets. The first part of this research project describes the theoretical framework and concepts used in international market selection as well as international market development strategies. The second part of the study consists of defining relevant criteria in order to evaluate market attractiveness and competitive strength. In conjunction with this, the level of significance of each criterion is determined by the conception of an appropriate classification model. The results reveal that the levels of market attractiveness and competitive strength differ significantly in each market. Additionally, the country with the highest score in market attractiveness and competitive strength is being investigated in further depth with the aim to understand the market dynamics. The study then concentrates on determining strategic objectives and key performance indicators in order to improve the corporate’s strategy. Finally, research findings are discussed critically and several recommendations are formulated. To conclude the study, a conclusion is made followed by limitations and recommendations for further analysis.
This research paper is about Mobile Banking. Mobile banking is rapidly growing in emerging countries as compared to emerged countries. The research conducted here will help us to understand as to why mobile banking is so successful in emerging countries and the factors that contribute to its success, the regulations behind it and to see if the Technology Acceptance Mobile (TAM) theory can be proved or linked to the success of mobile banking in the countries used for analysis. The analysis was conducted using a qualitative research method of document analysis
Already having surpassed the previous generation in terms of size of the workforce, Millennials have received extensive attention in media and literature. As critical as this generation might be portrayed in media and sometimes also academic literature, the reality and underlying message of it all is that this generation is rapidly entering the workforce with high expectations, implications are made and companies need to react and adapt accordingly. For a company like thyssenkrupp Presta North America, consisting mainly of employees with an engineering background and seeking for these in a highly competitive job market, understanding this generation, specifically the Millennial Engineers, in order to successfully recruit and retain candidates is imperative for successfully operating in the future. Being natives to information technology, highly motivated, ambitious and determined, Millennials have the potential to have an extremely positive impact on the success of businesses. Reported high self-esteem and narcissistic characteristics make this generation require extensive adaptation and adjustment. Change in the engineering role is happening towards a more dynamic workplace. A modern engineer works in a team environment and interfaces with many different stakeholders. With this development in recent years away from the very traditional role of an engineer, the importance of social and soft skills greatly increased. In order to facilitate this, the processes of organizational socialization play a major role and are an opportunity for employers to influence and shape the adjustment. A well-structured process facilitates adjustment and positive long term outcomes. The question was raised, whether the high expectations of Millennial engineering graduates before their first job reported in literature will change once the work life has been entered. Through a series of qualitative interviews with Millennial engineers at thyssenkrupp Presta North America, the high expectations reported previously were not found. The main objective for the employees surveyed was to simply get started in the work life. In regards to change of expectations, however, much greater emphasis on career progression and training and development possibilities was placed.
As the fourth most populous countries in the world, Indonesia likely has many workforce from various age groups. The latest government demographic survey showed that there are many Indonesians who are in their productive ages. However, some employers have similar perspectives that many potential workers in Indonesia still lack employability.
This thesis attempts to discuss about Indonesians’ lack of employability based on the analysis of cultural background and education. Many researches show that education and cultural values might affect the employability. Therefore, there will be some further analysis on how exactly Indonesia’s culture and education system directly affect the Indonesians’ employability.
Some parts of this thesis also discuss the Tionghoa ethnic group in Indonesia. The discussion is to learn some lessons from the said ethnic group, since many Tionghoa tend to be successful businessmen in Indonesia, despite being minority ethnic group who receive so many discriminations from other Indonesia’s ethnic groups.
As a part of empirical evidence, there was a survey conducted to prove the arguments in this thesis. Six initial hypothesizes about ethnic groups’ perspectives of Indonesia’s education and employability, which formulated the survey’s questionnaires, are proven to be true. That means, it is safe to assume that the theories provided in this thesis were also proven to be accurate. Unfortunately, the reliability of the survey is pretty low, most likely due to the small number of participants and small number of the questions.
Admittedly, Indonesia’s education system and culture still need some developments to improve the employability of its citizens. Therefore, the last part of this thesis tries to give some possible recommendations that might help the Indonesians refining their employability and competitive advantages against the foreign workforce.
Country risk affects cross-border investments significantly. Therefore, this paper aims to understand the concept of country risk and the available country risk assessments (models), by comparing and evaluating them. Secondly, the effectiveness of these assessments in predicting an economic downturn will be analysed. Lastly, this paper investigates the determinants behind the country risk models, using country credit ratings as a proxy.
The effectiveness analysis is based on the comparison of the credit ratings with the respective real GDP growth of Malaysia, Mexico, Japan and Portugal in a case study approach. Thereafter, Spearman’s rank order correlation coefficient analysis will be performed to investigate the determinants of the country risk models.
Results from the case study approach show that country risk assessments generally could not predict an impending economic slowdown. In addition, the correlation coefficient analysis illustrates that some variables have in general weak correlations to the credit ratings. For instance, the real GDP growth has mostly weak relationships with the ratings and tends to be statistically insignificant. On the other hand, lending and deposit interest rates have relatively strong correlations to the credit ratings and are significant at 0.01 level for some of the ratings. In addition, Mexico and Japan have the tendency to produce opposite results with the same set of indicators.
Even though investors should not rely on these country risk assessments to forecast a major crisis, the models could act as the basis of risk management. This is because these assessments do provide investors with some useful information.
The B. Braun Aesculap AG division “Degenerative Spinal Disorders” will be launching a new Spinal System mid 2017. A Spinal System is a combination of implants and instruments used to treat spinal disorders caused by deformity, tumors, trauma or via degenerative conditions.
The current industry standard is that manufacturers sell the implants necessary for these surgeries in non-sterile packs, which require sterilization by the client organizations. This is different in other orthopedic sectors such as hip or knee, where the use of sterile packed implants is the industry benchmark. As this is not the standard case for spinal surgery so far, all processes within the majority of client organizations are accustomed to using non-sterile packed spinal implants in their operating room processes and logistics.
The new Spinal System, being offered by Aesculap AG in the near future, is challenging this status quo, as it will be offering a system solution in which the implants will be sold in sterile packaging.
This new business model entails changes in the processes within the manufacturing and client organization. These changes need to be implemented and communicated correctly.
In this thesis both business models based on sterile and non-sterile packed implants and their respective processes are compared. Strategic and operative relevant aspects are analyzed to define strategic criteria necessary to appropriately implement and communicate the new system.
Ethnic Marketing Using Confectionery for Consumers of Turkish Origin Under the Age of 45 in Germany
(2017)
This bachelor thesis presents marketing strategies for the targeted address of consumers of Turkish origin between the age of 15 to under 45 by confectionery manufacturers in Germany. Both primary and secondary data are consulted to fulfill the objective of the thesis. This contribution combines the marketing instruments of ethnic marketing, the target group specifics and the product modification options for confectionery with the findings of an empirical study conducted by the author to examine the group’s consumer behavior for confectionery, to deliver an adjusted marketing mix for the forenamed target audience. This thesis determines the target group’s considerable potential for confectionery companies in Germany by confirming the group’s effectiveness for market segmentation through specific tests of Pires and Stanton (2005) and suitability for efficient ethnic marketing through the analysis method of Gerpott and Bicak (2015).
With the help of the culture-boundedness theory, the limited compliance of currently proffered confectionery items with the culture of the target group is evidenced, and solid product modification options are presented for the application by confectionery manufacturers in Germany. The findings of the previously mentioned empirical study reveal the high demand for special “Turkish” product variants and provide a broad range of valuable insights for an efficient implementation of strategies regarding the product, price, distribution, and promotion policy of confectionery companies in Germany.
The topic of simplicity has drastically increased in branding in recent years, as it allows companies to conquer a competitive world dominated by growth and complexity. There are studies explaining the benefits and power of simplicity in business in general. Nevertheless, simplicity is a field that has not been explored extensively for single industries.
The bachelor thesis attempts to investigate the critical importance and power of simplicity in the customer journey of the car rental business and to provide an overview of possible improvements for the customer experience on the example of car rental company Hertz. Secondary data adopted from academic books, academic journals, study reports and press articles are used to develop a comprehensive analysis and a theoretical framework on the topic of customer experience, customer loyalty in connection with simplicity. The car rental company Hertz and its customer journey are being investigated through the lens of simplicity. Qualitative and quantitative research is adapted to cover insufficient information on Hertz and to uncover the pain points in Hertz’s customer journey. An expert interview with a Hertz executive is conducted to gather first-hand insights on Hertz's viewpoint of simplification and to what extent the company aims to use simplicity as a tool for its customer journey. A succeeding customer survey is executed to gain a better understanding of Hertz customers' perceptions and towards Hertz and to collect a broader picture of Hertz's customer journey. The conclusion drawn is used to derive possible simplification enhancements for Hertz in order to achieve various desired business results. A critical assessment for future research on the topic and limiting conditions are discussed in the conclusion.
The purpose of the following bachelor thesis is to provide a strategic marketing concept for PTC’s Augmented Reality software in the life science industry.
The first part deals with an introduction into the underlying process of strategic marketing planning.
The thesis then investigates the internal and external environment from a PTC perspective to draw conclusions on sources of competitive advantage. The market for Augmented Reality software is analyzed and provides a profound picture regarding industry structure and size. The life science industry is then narrowed down through segmentation and targeting based on potential buyer personas. Product positioning is followed by the definition of marketing objectives and key performance indicators to measure the success of the developed marketing actions according to the technology adoption lifecycle.
Research was gathered from secondary sources like industry analyst and technology reports, complemented with thoughts of potential target customers and experts.
To conclude, the thesis argues that the life science industry disposes of a high potential for Augmented Reality use cases with a strong ability to address industry trends. Combined with the attractiveness of a fast growing Augmented Reality software market and strong internal competencies, PTC seems to be in a favorable position for successful market entry. However, results also suggest that a high degree of industry adaptation is required for a better addressability of customer requirements and to gain trust among target customers.
The subject of this bachelor thesis is a review of literature concerning the development of methods for the improved estimation and management of employee relocation costs. According to the reviewed literature, the problems of developing a uniform method are determined including the lack of standard practices, guessing costs rather than estimating them, the lack of metrics for both costs and benefits and the difficulty of collecting all relevant data. Moreover the approaches of creating a uniform process, the expatriate return on investment as the most important one, are discussed.
As a result, this thesis presents recommendations for establishing an improved employee relocation cost management.
Internationally standardized POS layout considering success factors - the example of Würth Group
(2017)
This work is part of the project “International expansion – Standards”. The overall objective of this thesis is to develop an internationally standardized POS layout which ensures a uniform international appearance. The situation in Germany as the headquarters and development center and the surrounding countries Austria, Switzerland and France has been taken into consideration. An analysis of the current layouts regarding shelving system, arrangement of the product groups, guidance system and design factors has been carried out in selected pick-up shops in these countries. In addition, a customer survey has been conducted whereby orientation, overview and legibility of the store have been focal points. As a third analysis the assortments of the respective countries have been analyzed and compared. It was found that some areas at the POS vary from country to country. Major differences exist in the assortments of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France. Among the areas of arrangement of the shelves and product groups, size of the sales area, guidance system and coloring scheme, differences have been revealed as well. Taking into consideration the differences and similarities in the layouts and assortment optimization possibilities have been worked out. As a result an ideal layout has been developed on the basis of the conducted analyses. The layout itself can be implemented cross-nationally. Due to limitations in the analysis of the assortment, it must be analyzed in more detail in order to implement it for the new shop concept. However, a cross-national uniform appearance can only be reached if in addition to the new stores all existing pick-up shops are adapted to the ideal layout.
The objective of this thesis is to examine the recent rollout of Commercial Excellence, a sales-process standardization and improvement project within the currently ongoing integration of TRW Automotive Holding Corporation into ZF Friedrichshafen AG. Focusing on change management and the challenges posed by resistance to change, the aim is to derive recommendations for action during future rollout phases. Based on leading theories regarding change management, expert interviews delivered mixed results. While it is indicated that resistance to change was only a minor issue throughout the rollout the careful analysis of the collected responses still offered the potential for improvements. Therefore the author was able to identify the inclusion of sales support functions into the project as a solution for resistance to change caused by restrictive data release policies. Additionally, it was found that the diversification of the communication mix as well as centrally offering individualized training programs can further facilitate future rollouts of Commercial Excellence.
Life cycle management of key products (franchises) offered by a company is one of its most strategically important tasks. As their overall ability to capture and use sales data improves, companies have been able to investigate and manage their franchises better than ever before.
This thesis explored the franchise management framework of Nike Inc., a global leader within the sporting goods retail industry. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part explored the current franchise management framework of Nike and its effectiveness. The second part applies this framework to one of Nike’s biggest franchises and prime sources of revenue for the ‘Running’ category. ‘Nike Free’, the franchise in question, suffered a big decline in sales and surgical franchise management had to be applied in order to revive it. The results indicated that this framework delivered positive results and helped improve the performance of this franchise.
Fact based decision making, enabled by effective gathering and processing of sales data was used during this study. Overall, the goal of the thesis is to help understand and lay a foundation for effective franchise management for a sales organization.
Business-to-business services make up an increasing share of the total economy. Due to growing specialization companies are more and more outsourcing non-core services. The aim of this thesis is to examine the market trends, the competitive landscape and success factors for proving IT supply chain services.
IT supply chain services are service provisions that encompass the procurement of equipment, the staging and personalization, as well as the logistics of end-user devices. This thesis explores the business case of Computacenter, a European IT-service provider. Given the complexity of IT supply chain service provisions and the distinct characteristics of services, major contracts in this area are examined in order to derive good and best practices. Two research questions are addressed. The first one examines how Computacenter performs against major trends in the IT service market by reflecting customer demand and competitors’ strategies. The second research questions aims at identifying in which areas and how Computacenter could improve the delivery of its IT supply chain services.
The applied research methods include secondary data, such as competitors’ websites or industry reports, primary data like surveys or observation, as well as descriptive and comparative methods. The research is divided into three sections. First, the theoretical fundamentals of IT service management and the Service Supply Chain Management are outlined, focusing on reference models and methods used by the respective company. Second, the company itself and the market environment including competition and customer aspects are examined. Third, an empirical study conducted in the form of a survey on selected projects assesses Computacenter’s best practices. In the final part of this thesis practical recommendations are given including all investigated aspects.
Today’s business and work environment has become increasingly exposed to the pressure of globalization and the steadily growing degree of virtuality. This is demonstrated by the rising number of global virtual teams (GVT) playing a crucial role in many internationally oriented organizations, with an ongoing upward trend. The purpose of this thesis is to promote a better understanding of how employees can be trained to collaborate successfully in a GVT, and whether this is possible at all. In this context, the paper primarily focuses on the social dimensions influencing successful virtual collaboration. A mixed methods approach of primary and secondary data was used in this thesis. Apart from a literature review providing a theoretical foundation of concepts concerning the key issues of the study, the paper examines two different perspectives. On the one hand, expert interviews with two European training companies and an active seminar participation enabled greater insight into the employee training industry. The objective was to discover the key sources of problems in GVTs leading companies to rely on professional help. A particular focus was laid on examining how trainers master the difficult task of preparing employees for global virtual teamwork as well as to collect information about the provided training services. As the interviews revealed, communication problems among the virtual team members (VTMs) display the main reason for a team’s low performance or failure. Concrete recommendations for actions have been described as a basis for optimizing the collaboration and to strengthen the social ties within a GVT. On the other hand, the main practical part of this thesis focuses on a GVT of a multinational business consultancy. An online survey and individual interviews with the team members have been conducted aiming at answering the following research questions: On the basis of which skills do present members of a GVT define successful virtual collaboration? How is the need for training services in general assessed? In addition, the empirical study examined the social dimensions among the VTMs and the team’s current work situation. On the basis of these insights, the team’s current need for training services has been analyzed and specific recommendations for actions have been proposed.
The aim of this thesis is to elaborate and evaluate the current employer branding concept at a subsidiary of a globally represented organization. This enables the author to draw conclusions and give improvement recommendations.
The first part is based on scientific literature and data. It outlines the concept of employer branding and shows which areas of a company are affected hereby. Next, it is explained why a successful employer branding concept can be advantageous for companies and how to communicate it. To conclude the first part, challenges that come with employer branding in a global company context are elaborated.
The following part of the thesis, is developed from internal data and information. It focuses on the current employer branding concept at the subsidiary. Moreover, it is revealed why an employer brand is necessary and which challenges and opportunities, for this concept, exist at that subsidiary. It is also reflected on the effects, set corporate guidelines and conditions, have on the local employer branding concept.
The last part, attempts to measure the success of the current employer branding concept at the subsidiary. This is conducted by assessing three different sources with regard to their influence and significance on the employer brand. At first, the company’s key performance indicators are evaluated. Secondly, results of two surveys, which were conducted for this thesis, are analyzed and interpreted. Both give insight on people’s expectations and experiences with employers: One survey investigated an external target group while the other questioned the employees at the subsidiary. As a third source, results of a recent internal survey, which evaluated the employee’s perspective on their workplace, are included and assessed.
To conclude the thesis, improvement suggestions on how to have a successful employer brand, according to demographic region, operating business sector and global context are given. The recommendations include content-related adjustments, proposals for the inclusion of corporate standards, ideas on how to raise the employer brand’s awareness and finally suggestions for improved communication of the local employer brand.
Most Western countries have very low percentages of women who study in science,
technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. These fields are of economic
importance as they are essential for innovation - the key to the creation of new products,
ideas and processes. Especially in developed countries, the STEM sector is one of the
largest growth factors. Having mainly men studying in STEM fields limits the available
talent and thus the quality of human resources; therefore, it is important that more
women study in STEM fields for more efficiency and increased economic development.
In contrast to Western countries, Muslim countries exhibit large numbers of women in
STEM majors. This thesis analyses different aspects of Muslim countries to determine
reasons for more women in these countries to study in STEM fields. The current study
is based on literature such as journal articles, textbooks and online sources. The
following factors are studied to answer the first research question: social reasons
(including religion, history, perception of women, wealth and social status, and
educational system), legal framework, technological reasons and economic reasons.
The findings indicate that a combination of aspects and circumstances leads to the large
numbers of women in Muslim countries in STEM majors. Among the analysed factors
the educational system and economic situation of Muslim countries seem to be the root
cause.
Furthermore, the current study analyses consequences of the high number of women in
STEM fields in Muslim countries in the labour market, to answer the following
questions: (1) Do educational opportunities lead to equal opportunities in the labour
market? (2) Is it respectable for women in Muslim countries to work? (This question
addresses factors such as Islam, tradition, a woman’s role as a mother, mixed-gender
workplaces, demography and legal restrictions) (3) In which sectors do women work?
(sectors and leadership positions) (4) What is the relation of female labour to the
economy? (impact of economic situation, economic landscape, globalisation, and
importance of female employment for the economy).
The result is that educational opportunities for women in Muslim countries do not
translate into equal chances in the labour market. Regarding STEM fields the
employment of women ranges from gender equality to nearly no opportunities at all,
depending on the country. The small numbers are most likely due to the lower position
of women in society, the generally less opportunities for women in the labour market
and women’s rights issues.
In a time, where supply increases and thus distinguishing oneself from the competition becomes increasingly important, different neuroscientific methods are being used in order to find out what consumers want, how they react to stimuli and how they make a decision. The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to find out how neuroscience can help understand what happens in the human brain, and how neuromarketing influences the consumer behaviour, answering the question whether the drugstore chain ‘dm-drogerie markt’ has the key to the brain of their consumers. By clarifying the neuroeconomic foundations like the structure of the human brain and the human senses, and by explaining the modern measuring techniques which are being used nowadays, the foundation is laid which is needed in order to be able to understand the insights of neuromarketing, its prospects and limitations, as well as Limbic®. By understanding the influence of emotions and motives with regard to decision making, the four ways into the brain of a consumer, as well as the prospects and limitations of neuromarketing, the relevance and importance of neuromarketing becomes clear. Taking a closer look at Limbic® (Limbic® map, emotional systems and the Limbic® types) offers theoretical support, which is being combined with the results obtained from an online survey as well as a store analysis, allowing a clear idea of why ‘dm-drogerie markt’ is this successful and to what extend neuromarketing plays a role with regards to the success. In the end the conclusion is being drawn that ‘dm-drogerie markt’ has the key to the brain of their customers, and that using neuromarketing elements is one of the major reasons for the success.
The Sharing Economy: Bartering, Lending, Renting or Swapping peer-to-peer is an increasing phenomenon in Consumer Behaviour. As a result of overconsumption in society the past few decades and the financial crisis in 2008, consumers’ awareness towards consumption shifted to a more sustainable use of resources to prevent rising CO2 emission, climate change, global warming, pollution of oceans, massive interventions in ecosystems and to support global fairness.
Even though this Collaborative Consumption is still in its infancy, the participation of caring consumers is still rising.
But how sustainable is this new way of consumption, if it is a new phenomenon at all?
By describing the Sharing Economy as a rising business model, its history and the four major drivers for its success the topicality and brisance of this fast-changing appearance get illustrated. The Transportation Technology portrays, how intense Sharing, Bartering, Lending or Selling influences the daily consumer behaviour in twenty-first century.
Mostly, this Thesis evaluates advantages and disadvantages of the Sharing Economy, and finally concludes if Collaborative Consumption is as sustainable as it is proclaimed by its supporters and how influentially and environmentally-sustainable collaborative consumption might be for the future.
The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and optimize accounts receivable management for the locations of the automotive supplier IMS Gear in the United States consisting of IMS Gear Holding Inc. and four subsidiaries. The tangible asset accounts receivable has a significant impact on profit and liquidity of a company and influences cash flow, working capital and customer relationships. An effective, transparent and comprehensive accounts receivable management is therefore crucial for the successful continuation of a company. In the course of this thesis the reader will be provided with definitions of all relevant terms and concepts, followed by theoretical knowledge about process management, including process analysis, problem diagnosis and process optimization. The differences in accounts receivable management between the United States and Germany as well as possibilities of measuring the effectiveness of accounts receivable management and goals of accounts receivable management are treated both practically and theoretically.
On the basis of internal benchmarking and a detailed process analysis, five fields for improvement were defined: creditworthiness, contract management, cash discount, dunning, and avoidance of bad debt. When optimizing a process, it is important to additionally consider all processes influencing the outcome of the concerned process. The optimization suggestions therefore do not only concern the finance and accounting area but rather affect a number of other departments in the company including sales, logistics and the business units. The reader will furthermore be provided with a discussion of suggestions to improve problems detected in the process analysis and internal benchmarking. A summary of the suggested improvements together with their probability of implementation is presented. Discussed suggestions include, among others, the consideration of country specific payment habits, the offer of cash discount for payment in advance and the introduction of the payment term “cash in advance”.
This thesis has proven that even if a process is functioning, optimization is still necessary in order to provide a more effective, reliable, and transparent process. Moreover, process optimization secures the future success and growth of a company and is therefore crucial in today’s fast changing business environment.
This bachelor thesis focusses on the elaboration of a list of requirements for external warehousing including IT services (installation, repair and disposal) in the direct proximity of key customers of Bechtle.
In order to consider all relevant aspects, five affiliates of Bechtle AG based in Germany have been taken into account. Different scientific approaches have been used for the current state analysis and the elaboration of the list of requirements. The product of this thesis is a decision template for Bechtle Logistik & Service GmbH Management whether the concept is to be developed further, or if the approach of a standardized concept contradicts the company’s character. In any case, the taken decision will have significant impact on the company’s strategy as it will send clear signals to all stakeholders. Under the consideration of all findings a recommendation for action is presented.
The Influence of Macroeconomic Indicators Towards Sovereign Credit Rating and Sovereign Bond Spread
(2017)
The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate and to identify the macroeconomic indicators, as the determinants that could impact the sovereign risk. The sovereign risk here is represented by sovereign credit rating and sovereign bond spread. The world economy nowadays has become more globalized. It is becoming essential for all stakeholders in the global economy to become aware of the economic and the financial situation of a country. Sovereign risk interestingly represents not only the economic and financial situation of a country, but also the ability of a country to meet its financial obligation. This indicator plays an important role in attracting capital inflow and investment in a country. By using panel-data
framework, the estimations were built and analyzed to investigate the impact and the influence of the macroeconomic indicators towards the sovereign risk. The sample data of the research consists of 9 macroeconomic indicators as the explanatory variables, each of them includes 50 countries and 10 years of time period. Two separate panel data estimations with fixed effects model were created for each of the dependent variable, sovereign credit rating and sovereign bond spread. The results indicated that central bank rate, government debt level, total government reserves and unemployment rate have significant effects on the sovereign credit rating. Moreover, the results also indicated that current account balance, GDP growth rate, government debt level and unemployment rate have significant influence on sovereign bond spread. As both estimation share 3 significant explanatory variables, this implies that they are closely related.
Analysis of the scrum implementation and establishment at Mercedes-Benz Cars 2020 Best Finance
(2017)
In an increasingly complex and dynamic world organizations must be able to be adaptive and act more flexible to remain competitive and sustainable. This also applies for the implementation of long-term projects which is the focus of this thesis. Project organizations increasingly tend towards agile process models (scrum) in project management as an alternative to traditional process models (waterfall) in order to increase the project efficiency through greater flexibility and transparency.
This bachelor thesis deals with an analysis of the scrum implementation and establishment in the project Best Finance at Mercedes-Benz Cars. After the theoretical foundations of the traditional process model are explained another part reviews the implementation of it in Best Finance. In this context, the challenges with this approach based on theory and experienced in Best Finance are identified to justify the transition to agile methods. Main object for the practical part constitutes a research concept to analyze and evaluate Best Finance based on scrum. The basis of the concept constitutes the generally valid project management success factors which are complemented by questions of the agile theory.
The interrogation with the representatives of Best Finance by means of quantitative and qualitative data collection serves as an information source for the research concept. The project management success factors are evaluated and analyzed. Main results show that the agile process model is still at the beginning regarding its operational application, though, the project organization of Best Finance made first positive experiences with this approach. However, the analysis also reveals that there is still potential for improvement regarding the project procedure based on scrum. The practical recommendations suggested at the end of the thesis aim at creating a better understanding of scrum and the promotion of the establishment in Best Finance.
The promotion of Fruits and Vegetables (F&V) is challenging, especially in the past
centuries. The difficulties in branding or advertising arise from traits of the produce,
making it less presentable than manufactured products. Modern farming technologies
ensure better produce appearance, therefore, need to re-examine the possibilities of its
promotion. The technology changed, so had the dietary trend. In contrary to modernised
farming, F&V advertising that appeared to be a carry-on from the 40s had seemingly
dissociated itself from consumers. This paper collected results from empirical studies.
Most of the works, however, conducted experiments with manufactured products, might
not apply to fresh produce. Discussions on the relevance of the sources are, therefore,
necessary. This research identifies a lack of branding of fresh produce, which could be a
direct causal for inactive promotion. Further examinations suggest deeper market
segmentation, which helps the marketer to create a better advertisement. The research
also notices many researchers regard promoting nutritional value as equivalent to
effective advertising, which leads to higher consumption. Promoting nutritional value,
however, appears to be merely attractive to the certain consumer. In many cases, other
mechanisms, for instance, originality, health, fun and other emotional tags, could attract
more attentions.
The study attempts to analyze the short-term effects of merger and acquisition bids of German acquirers on the stock prices of two involved companies. On the announcement day, a statistically significant average abnormal return of 11.5% is found for the target firms compared to an insignificant negative abnormal return of -0.28% for bidding firms, and the synergistic gain for involved firms is 5.72% on average. The strategy of specialization or diversification shows strong evidence that it has a large impact on the short-term stock returns with specialization triggering stronger abnormal returns than diversification bids for bidding firms and substantially smaller price reaction for target firms. The outcome also suggests that higher target cash-to-market-value ratio leads to significantly lower abnormal returns for target firms during the announcement period.
The importance of lean management in indirect areas has drastically increased in recent years, as it allows companies to remain competitive. At Bosch Gasoline Systems, lean management has been practiced in indirect areas for some two years now, but the project team responsible still attempts to improve tools and processes wherever possible.
This bachelor’s thesis therefore provides an overview of the possible improvements that might be made to the Lean Management System (LMS) in order to facilitate its introduction in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, the US, Japan and Korea.
After an extensive literature review, an “ideal” lean culture profile is developed, which is then compared to the cultural profiles of the countries of interest. The basis of the “ideal” lean culture profile is derived from the study of Liker (2014) and Zollondz (2013) where they present 14 lean principles and then the significance of these principles is analysed using Hofstede’s cultural model.
Thereafter, interviews are conducted with experts from the lean team as well as with locals from the various countries of interest in order to find out about the cultural differences between the countries of interest and Germany, as well as to find out about the applicability of the current version of the lean management system in these countries.
Since there are differences between the developed “ideal” lean culture profile and those of the other countries discussed in this thesis, these differences are then analysed. The conclusions drawn, which are also supported by statements from the interviewees, are used to derive countermeasures and possible ideas for facilitating the introduction of the LMS abroad.
In the conclusion, limitations and further research questions are discussed.
This research provides a comprehensive analysis on the relationship between reputation and brands image through a better understanding of the effect of corporate scandals on brand image. Secondary data taken from academic journals, academic books and press articles were used to develop this research. While some corporate scandals are the result of misbehaviour from inside the corporate, some are the result of external factors the corporate had nothing to do with and some are due to technological failures. However, irrespective from the source of the scandal, all types of scandals will change the consumer’s perception on the corporate’s brand. For example, a certain degree of brand distrust or brand hate might develop after the scandal. Nevertheless, a corporate can recover from any scandal through several appropriate strategies. While these strategies might differ in detail, they all must include addressing the public about the issues truthfully and adopting relevant corrective actions depending on the scandal’s type and scale. The main purpose of this thesis is to explore these concepts further in detail, to understand how a corporate can recover from a scandal and restore their pre-scandal brand position. Finally, a case study about Samsung’s recent exploding devices scandal will provide a current example on the topic. While this research will provide a summary on how will a scandal affect consumer’s perception and how could a corporate recover from a scandal, it is important to note that each scandal is unique and therefore will have unique effects on perception and will require a unique strategy to recover from it.
Outsourcing as a remedy to current challenges and profitability issues within the banking sector
(2017)
In addition to current market fluctuations, the Banking Sector continues to face emerging challenges such as low profitability, increasing cybercrime, more regulations to comply with, high-rocketing cost and a huge reliance on information technology. In tackling these challenges, several banks have come to realize that,this can no longer be a one man’s fight. Outsourcing a few functions such as Customer Management, Information Technology, Human Resources Management, Application Management, Payroll Operations, Marketing Activities, Research and Data Processing could help individual banks mitigate risks and solve current demanding problems resulting from complications and challenges within the entire banking sector.
This piece of work will examine the current situation and challenges within the Banking Sector. And with the help of a case study within the German Banking Sector, demonstrates how Outsourcing could serve as a solution to problems resulting from these challenges and complications. Such problems may include: increasing costs, low net-revenues/profitability and shareholder dissatisfaction.
The purpose of this thesis is to analyse how small and medium enterprises in Germany are dealing with the increasing importance of the cultural diversity within a company which is caused by the complex growth of the external economic factors through the rising internationalization as well as the demographical change, whereby the integration of international skilled employees is seen as a key role.
The first part of the thesis focuses on the framework between the basic component of the topic, the value of the company’s culture which is based on Hofstede´s theoretical approach, and diversity management. The following part indicates on one hand the opportunities as well as the threats which can arise when implementing an intercultural integration approach. This comparison should give the possibility to get a better overview of how complex the topic is and how many influencing factors are to be considered for a successful integration. The thesis then covers strategic aspects of how to proceed. Thereby it refers to the acculturation model of Berry and his four acculturation strategies. Furthermore, the comparison of the assimilation and segregation approaches are mentioned and analysed as well as their golden mean. The method to underline the theoretical part is supported by interviews. These interviews, which were held with two “best-practice” companies as well as one independent diversityexpert, give the possibility to get a real overview of how companies deal with this approach and which problems as well as advantages they are facing. The interviews which are not only held with the manager rather than German and foreign employees are important to get a feeling how companies handle the intercultural integration on different hierarchical levels which might prove useful in discovering potential in their own company.
The conclusion of the thesis is that cultural homogenous societies rarely exist today, which means that the cultural diversity shouldn’t be seen as a trend rather than a constant conditionality. Small and medium enterprises should also stop seeing the downside to their size rather than their advantages which also come with their size. Companies have to build a true understanding and consciousness in order to create a cultural diverse friendly environment. Nevertheless, in an ideal case a company does not see the cultural diversity as something special, but more likely as something normal, regardless from which cultural background an employee is, he or she is a member of the company.