Refine
Year of publication
- 2015 (496) (remove)
Document type
- Bachelor Thesis (136)
- Conference Proceeding (107)
- Article (peer-reviewed) (75)
- Contribution to a Periodical (55)
- Report (35)
- Part of a Book (32)
- Master's Thesis (27)
- Other (13)
- Book (12)
- Doctoral Thesis (3)
Keywords
- Patent (10)
- CD-ROM (7)
- Cloud computing (4)
- China (3)
- Electrical impedance tomography (3)
- Fachkräftemangel (3)
- Gamification (3)
- Marketing (3)
- Motion tracking (3)
- Strategy (3)
The aim of this bachelor thesis is to provide ZF Friedrichshafen AG with a flexible Human Resource concept for the successful handling of future joint venture projects in China. In order that future JV are planned and conducted successfully, a structured HR approach built on a combination of ZF experience and academic evidence has been developed. It points out cultural differences, creates awareness of potential organizational issues and gives advice. This thesis draws upon various academic resources which are expanded through ZF knowledge. For this, eight expert interviews with China experienced ZF managers were held.
This blueprint covers several of the HR issues that arise when setting up new joint ventures in China. By shedding light upon success factors a necessary flexibility when dealing with different partner firms is provided. After a theoretical outset and a brief introduction of ZF Friedrichshafen and ZF Passau this thesis peaks in the HR blueprint for joint ventures in China. Worth notable factors in setting up the structure, when recruiting and inheriting staff from the joint venture partner as well as considerations of the new Labor Contract Law and for policies and practices allow an understanding of what Human Resource issues can be anticipated in Chinese joint ventures. These then can be planned adequately for.
The results of this work offer a strategical Human Resource framework on how to best approach a next joint venture project in China. A broad range of HR issues have been analyzed and the most critical for joint venture success found implementation in the blueprint. Arranging a working organizational structure with a Chinese partner and implementing uniform policies and practices while considering cultural factors as well as complying with the legal requirements of the Peoples Republic of China is a task which is not easily carried out. Yet while setting up joint ventures in China already is a complex project, the partnering with a Chinese state owned enterprise is a challenge that requires special attention by HR professionals. The blueprint gives insights and guidance for stated issues.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine leadership trends in France and Germany. It is examined whether leadership in both France and Germany is going to become participative in the near future due to increasing internationalization and due to the emergence of a new leadership generation in France and Germany with different expectations and behaviors, namely
Millennials.
Design/methodology/approach – This thesis comprises three major parts: First, leadership career paths in France and Germany are compared. Second, French and German management cultures are compared and their likelihood of convergence examined. Third, a closer look is taken at inter- as well as intra-generational differences with particular focus on Generation Y/ Millennials – the new leadership generation. Their differences and similarities in comparison with older generations as well as across national cultures are presented and discussed.
Findings – The analysis shows that outstanding leadership in both France and Germany seems to be participative. Further, French and German Millennials tend to be more open towards participative leadership than older generations. Nevertheless, participative leadership is more likely to be practiced in Germany than in France. French top managers still share very distinct national career path patterns, providing an elitist reputation and certain privileges. This often leads to rather non-participative, but authoritarian command-and-control based leadership
practices in France.
Research limitations/implications – Limitations of this thesis include the enormous scope of the topic - not everything could be covered in depth. Further, the up-to-date nature of the data used must be questioned - the incredible speed of change in today’s business world makes even recent research studies outdated within a short period of time.
Originality/value – French and German top management career paths as well as French and German management practices have been examined individually as well as comparatively in countless studies. However, different than probably any research study so far, this thesis also
includes inter- generational as well as intra-generational differences and similarities in France and Germany in order to reveal future trends. All in all, this thesis provides a broad outline of leadership trends in France and Germany and points out where further research must be carried out in more depth.
This thesis is based upon an interest in the field of neuromarketing and a desire to depict which is the most advisable strategy to implement in a situation, where there is a potential introduction of a methodology coming from that field in a new / foreign market. Special emphasis is put on the market entry strategy (modes of entry and marketing strategy).
At the beginning of the thesis, there is a brief inspection of the neuromarketing field according to the nowadays situation that lead to the creation of a methodology, which is called neuromerchandising®. This methodology is the competitive advantage of a German consultant company called neuromerchandisinggroup GmbH&Co.KG. With this patented methodology, this consultant company provides strategic solutions to numerous companies mainly in the field of retail.
The main purpose of the thesis is to define which are the decisions to be made while introducing this methodology to a foreign country and in particular to Greece, in order to improve the Greek retail situation.
This thesis provides an analysis of the tools necessary to speculate whether Greece is the appropriate country to introduce this methodology. After this analysis, the thesis provides solutions of the potential market entry strategy putting emphasis on the marketing strategy of introducing this methodology.
Internal documentation of this company, market reports and analyses are used to provide a professional framework of the dynamic capabilities in the venture of introducing this methodology to Greece.
The study seeks for empirical evidence supporting the presence of weak form ans semi-strong form efficiency on the Vietnamese stock market. The sample includes the daily closing value of VN-index from 9th April 2009 to 3rd of December 2014. The results from both parametric and non-parametric tests provide the evidence, which implies the weak form efficiency in the Vietnamese stock market during the recent period from 4th June 2012 to 3rd December 2014. This period is used for testing the semi-strong form efficiency on the Vietnamese stock market. The results from event study do not support the semi-strong form efficiency in the Vietnamese stock market. The empirical evidence shows a delayed reaction of nine pharmaceutical companies' stock prices toward the earnings, dividend, insider trading and regulatory announcements. The findings in this paper are crucial for investors, analysts, academicians, regulators and the development of the Vietnamese stock market.
The title for this thesis “An Economic Analysis of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)” has been selected due to its topicality and its explosiveness. The stimulus to write this paper originates in the wish to get a deeper insight into the topic, which has been treated majorly under exclusion of the public, and to be able to make a clear statement whether to support or to oppose the partnership. In order to answer this final question, it is also tested whether results from former agreements like NAFTA or Mercosur can serve as a guideline to what can be expected of TTIP. Additionally, the paper aims at making a final statement about the implications of the partnership for the future. To do this, the present paper covers two main subjects. First, it provides an overview of the history of free trade, the different forms of agreements, as well as an insight into the experiences made with NAFTA and Mercosur. This first part is concluded with an estimation of the results and motivations of and for free trade agreements, as well as a transition to the second main subject by naming the impacts of the findings for the planned TTIP treaty. Secondly, after providing a broad overview of TTIP by giving an insight into the definition and the process of formation of the partnership, the benefits and concerns of the deal are revealed. This part is followed by a broad study of ten indicators, which outline the real effects of TTIP on the economy, by distinguishing between three different scenarios. The thesis is concluded by presenting the findings from the former analysis. Although NAFTA and Mercosur do not provide applicable experiences, they still serve as points of orientation and suggest that free trade should be supported. Thus, the planned partnership should also be agreed upon in order to go with the pace of time and to stay competitive. If this is the case, TTIP will be a leading example in the future, motivating more nations to either join the partnership or to form ones by themselves.
An electrical travel aid for visually impaired based
on depth sensing and vibrotactile technology
(2015)
The primary purpose of this thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of how factors influence sport sponsorship, especially in football. In order to fulfill this purpose the thesis identifies, describes and tries to explain sponsorship in general as a non-classical communication instrument, the selection of sponsorship objects, companies´ objectives of sport sponsorship activities. In addition, the thesis considers companies´ planning process of sport sponsorship and finally, an identification of several factors, which may have an impact on sport sponsorship. Two examples of application of a company in the telecommunication industry and of a company in the automobile industry are pointed out, where the aspects of sponsorship of the German Fußball Bundesliga respectively the German national team, are studied. The paper makes use of studies which shows how respondents remembered sponsorship activities. It is possible to conclude from the thesis that many factors will have an effect on sport sponsorship. The paper demonstrates that image, memorizing, duration and the fit between sponsor and event or sponsor and sponsee are relevant criteria. Finally, the thesis summarizes the results and outlines of the possible future of football sponsorship.
Analyse der Berufsgruppe Architekten zur Ermittlung einer zielgruppengerechten Kommunikation für einen Baustoffhersteller
Analysis of the occupational group of architects to determine a communication appropriate to the target audience for a building materials manufacturer
This thesis deals with the specialties of addressing the occupational group of architects in Germany. It examines their role and approach in the process of buying building material with the aim of finding out a suitable way for a building materials manufacturer to communicate with the target audience. For this purpose a secondary analysis of architects is carried out and replenished with a primary data acquisition.
After analyzing the work, role and way of obtaining information of the architect the theory of corporate communication is explained. This chapter shows the requirements and possibilities and examines the features of communication for a business-to-business company. Following the primary data acquisition in the form of expert interviews is carried out. In conclusion the outcome of the secondary and primary research is merged, which allows the derivation of a recommended course of action.
The results show that architects have a powerful role in the buying center and therefore a tremendous influence on the buying process of building materials. However it emerges to be difficult to address the target audience, since they communicate in a passive way. Furthermore the study identifies that architects are artists and builders in one person. This is why it is important to them that their projects do not only look good but are also functional. Another result is that architects often do not feel respected as experts, although they have a wide specialized knowledge. Moreover the research shows that the target audience has to face new challenges with every project, which is why they are always searching for new inspiration and ideas. Finally it emerges that architects feel a special enthusiasm for their occupation and work as well as architecture in general.
From the insights gained it could be derived that the appropriate way to communicate with architects is in two phases. On the first stage the attention of the target audience needs to be won in the right moment, which is why the manufacturer has to show a steady presence. In the second phase the company has to provide all information needed to the architect. In conclusion of this thesis it is highly recommended for building materials manufacturers to address architects in an appropriate way because in the long run it will improve the market position of the company.
Der Begriff Wissensmanagement bietet eine Fülle an unterschiedlichen Definitionen, Interpretationen, Auffassungen und Sichtweisen. Hierbei wird der Schwerpunkt oft auf ITgestützte Systeme gelegt und nicht auf den Menschen als Hauptwissensträger. Auch der Bedeutung der Wissensverteilung innerhalb des Unternehmens wird nicht ausreichend Beachtung geschenkt. Aus diesen Gründen legt die vorliegende Arbeit das Hauptaugenmerk auf die Wissensverteilung und den Mensch als Wissensträger im
Unternehmen. Im Rahmen der Ausarbeitung werden unterschiedliche Sichtweisen zum Thema Wissen und Wissensmanagement vorgestellt und anerkannte Modelle
beschrieben. Weiter liefert die Arbeit einen Überblick an Methoden und softwaretechnischen Unterstützung, die auf die Wissensverteilung abzielen. Fallbeispiele
zeigen, wie Wissensmanagement schon erfolgreich umgesetzt wurde aber auch wie die Umsetzung in Unternehmen scheiterte. Im Anschluss wird mit Hilfe von empirischen
Studien ein Vergleich zwischen den theoretischen Ansätzen und der Praxis gezogen.
Auf Grund der gewonnenen Erkenntnisse schließt die Arbeit mit einer Empfehlung für Unternehmen ab.
Die Abschlussarbeit beinhaltete nicht nur die Implementierung des Shopfloor Management sondern auch die sorgfältige Analyse davon und den dazugehörigen Lean Methoden. Shopfloor Management bedeutet führen, kommunizieren und steuern am Ort der Wertschöpfung. Jeder Prozess besteht aus Wertschöpfung und Verschwendung und mittels der Lean Prinzipien die auch im Shopfloor Management angewandt werden, soll die Verschwendung vermieden werden. Durch eine transparente Visualisierung der aktuellen und wichtigen Kennzahlen direkt am Ort wird eine Akzeptanz bei den Mitarbeitern geschaffen. Diese neue Unternehmensführung sieht vor, eine offene Fehlerkultur zu entwickeln und die Fehler nachhaltig zu vermeiden. Es wurde die Wichtigkeit einer regelmäßigen Kommunikation erläutert, in denen die Themen und Probleme angesprochen werden. In dieser Arbeit wurden die Lean Prinzipien herausgearbeitet und ein Shopfloor Board entwickelt mit dem gestartet wurde. Zudem wurden die Mitarbeiter auf die Einführung vorbereitet und geschult. Die Mitarbeiter sollen durch das Shopfloor Management gezielt in den Verbesserungsprozess einbezogen werden und eine Eigenverantwortlichkeit entwickeln. Der optimale Zustand sieht vor, dass durch dieses System jeder Mitarbeiter die Ziele des Unternehmens kennt und durch die tägliche Revision der Kennzahlen, nachhaltige Poblemlösungsmethoden angewandt werden um die Ziele zu erreichen.
The thesis is about how an outsourcing process could be implemented at the company Kendrion in a bottleneck situation. The aim of this work is to develop a framework for outsourcing to effectively minimize a bottleneck in the production. Core issues are an analysis of the product roster and a cost calculation of possible outsourcing. In the theoretical part books and scientific articles are evaluated. In the practical part the theory is applied and experts are asked for their opinions.
Based on literature research a specific procedure with five phases is created for Kendrion. With the analysis of the product roster and current situation important information can be gathered. This makes it possible to find out how many parts each machine is producing. The turning plant produces mainly low volume series. Over 1,200 different parts were turned in the last two years. The focus for the outsourcing is the machine group G200 and the machine TNK-28. This decision is based on the amount of backlog days of the machine groups. After several analysis a list of articles which could be outsourced is produced. One such analysis is transaction cost economics. This range of selected parts is enough to eliminate the bottleneck. For the outsourcing the full cost accounting is recommended. In the calculation, depreciation is included to make future and necessary investments visible. After a cost comparison of five parts, one article of the G200 is outsourced. The costs difference between the TNK-28 and the external offers are too high. After further analysis, the result is that the TNK-28 is a very economic machine for Kendrion. The recommendation is to keep these parts in house.
The analysis of product roster should be done once a year. Furthermore, analyses should be carried out for the other machine groups.
According to the United Nations, more than 70% of the world trade is carried out by the multinational companies which represent nearly 250% increase in the last four decades. This also represents the extended number of inter-company transactions such as transfer of money as well as transfer of goods and services from parent company to daughter company and vice versa. This issue of transfer of goods and more specifically transfer of money – as in transfer of profits – gave rise to debates in ‘Transfer Pricing’ in the international context. The companies use number of complex business models such as the Principal Company model as their supply chain network and move profits between different entities and create the tax advantages on basis of corporate tax rates in the different tax jurisdictions by allocating all the sales and profits to the principal company. The entities in high-tax jurisdictions, however, perform business activities on contractual basis and remunerated on cost plus mark-up by the principal company. This results several tax saving benefits for the group as a whole.
Under this behavior of the MNCs, the finance ministers of G20 and the authorities in OECD developed a 15 Action Plan under Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (hereafter “BEPS”) Agenda to develop ways to avoid tax evasions by the multinational corporations in the high-tax jurisdictions. The Action 7 of BEPS Agenda – artificial avoidance of Permanent Establishment status – was introduced for the change of wordings in the Article 5 of the OECD Model Tax Convention which explains the definition of a Permanent Establishment. By doing so, the contractual entities in high-tax jurisdictions, performing business activities on behalf of their cross-border parent in a low-tax jurisdiction, will be given a status of a PE and the sales and profits generated by these entities will be allocated to them and subjected to be taxed accordingly in a high-tax jurisdiction.
The analysis of the profit distribution and taxation of the contractual entities of the cross-border principal company in Germany is conducted by the author in this piece of research and shows the effect on the taxation of a company if the Action 7 of BEPS Agenda carries forward as a local legislation in the OECD countries.
The possibility of applying psychological negotiation methods at the purchasing department ABW2 of the Robert Bosch GmbH was investigated by undertaking extensive literature review and conducting qualitative expert interviews. Additionally, negotiation models and literature from the criminalistics context were analyzed in order to find opportunities to convert successful methods in this field into the business setting. The psychological methods are based on scientific knowledge about personality, emotions and human perception. Several similarities with forensic psychological methods could be identified, which demonstrated the feasibility of adapting methods, such as rapport-building, de-escalation and communication techniques, to business negotiations. Experiments previously undertaken by other authors have shown the potential benefits and improved negotiation outcomes that can be derived by implementing these techniques in negotiations. However, a limitation factor for translating these results directly to the Robert Bosch GmbH is the setting of these experiments. No real life results exist today to the author’s knowledge. Further limitations, areas for future research, and practical implications are discussed.