390 search hits
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Adult education in Germany : roots, status, mainstreams, changes
(1999)
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Jost Reischmann
- With its many traditions, roots, and facets, adult education in Germany is in a developmental stage marked by variety - various institutions, programs, aims and ideas, parallel developments and competition. Adult education providers show little cooperation and coordination among themselves. They are often unaware of other providers that comprise the full scope of the field. Some of the developments can only be understood in the context of German culture, history, and economy. Two central arguments are given in comparative adult education to explain the value of trying to understand adult education practices in other countries (Reischmann, Bron, Jelenc, 1999). On a practical level, “borrowing” is expected to help us adapt successful foreign practices and integrate them into our own practical work - and avoid mistakes and “reinventing the wheel”. On a theoretical level, the international-comparative perspective can help us to overcome ethnocentric blindness, helping us, irritated by observations in a foreign context, to better perceive and understand our own field and system. Certainly cultural differences limit the transfer from one country to another. Comparative research, by helping to understand the differences and similarities as well as their significance for adult education, can clarify the possibilities and limits of understanding and borrowing. Both are indispensable in a world where in many countries experiences in the various fields of adult education are gained and needed.
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Liturgy of the Hours and Islamic Salat - A comparative study of public-liturgical worship of Christians and Muslims
(2002)
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Alfred C. Anazodo
- This work aims to explore the possibilities of multireligious encounter of Muslims and Christians, in view of the liturgical worship, a problem which is highly controversial. It studies the ritual acts of the Muslims and Christians in the celebration of the daily worship as an expression of their belief in God's presence, mercy and goodness as outlined by Vatican Council II (Nostra aetate 3).
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Post-acquisition integration of small biotechnology firms in the structure of large pharmaceutical companies
(2002)
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Lars Schweizer
- This study deals with the post-acquisition integration of small biotechnology firms into the structure of large pharmaceutical companies. In this context, pharmaceutical companies face the paradox, that they need to integrate the biotechnology companies in some way in order to get access to the desired capabilities, whereas, on the other hand, they need to preserve the autonomy of the biotechnology company in order not to endanger the future existence of the desired capabilities. This study will analyze how pharmaceutical companies have handled this paradox by investigating five different M&A case studies with special regard to their specific post-acquisition integration activities. The overall aim of this study is to further the theory of post-acquisition integration by developing a framework for the development of a successful integration strategy of small high-technology companies into the structure of large companies.
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Value Added of Corporate Venture Capital: How do CVC Units Benefit from their Organizational Core? - Case Studies of the Relationship Between CVC-Unit and Business Units
(2003)
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Ingo Rauser
- This study on 'Value Added of Corporate Venture Capital- How do CVC units benefit from their organizational core?' deals with the problems and questions, that arise in the context of intra-organizational collaboration between the Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) - unit and the strategic/operational business units within large industrial companies. It is shown in this context, by which means the CVC units succeed in obtaining the collaboration of interesting business units along the investment process, in order to get on the one hand side access to their technological know-how, but on the other hand to transfer the innovations of start-up companies into the business units. Based on six case studies, the overriding aim of this study is to further the theory about Corporate Venture Capital by developing a new framework for the development of successful intra-organizational collaboration between the CVC units and the business units within the structure of large companies.
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Evolution of alliance networks and resources of firms in telecommunications and information technology industries
(2003)
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Nils Naujok
- Informed by the resource-based view of the firm and the strategic network theory, this thesis describes seven cases studies from the information technology and telecommunications industries. Proposed hypotheses cover three research questions on the dynamic aspects of the mentioned theoretical frameworks: Evolution of alliance networks, resource exchange and combination as well as implications of alliance networks for the competitive advantage of the firm. 16 hypotheses are derived from these seven cases studies and are combined into one framework. This framework is later compared with theoretical concepts from the resource-based view of the firm and the strategic network theory. The joint theoretical model and the derived hypotheses allow an outlook on recommendations for managerial practice.
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The European Company and current European Court of Justice rulings on the freedom of establishment - Consistent European regulations? Arbeitspapier präsentiert im Rahmen eines Workshops an der Universität Bamberg von 19.-20. November 2004
(2004)
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Sandra Schwimbersky
- Companies doing cross-boarder business in Europe can choose between several national and European legal alternatives. In the centre of this paper, are two of them: alternatives provided by the freedom of establishment and the European Company Statute. The focus of this paper is not on the practical implications of these two action alternatives for enterprises, but on the judicial issues arising in this context. After presenting the current rulings of the European Court of Justice regarding the freedom of establishment and the basic contents of the legal acts, council regulation No. 2157/2001 and council directive No. 2001/86/EC, regarding the European Company (SE), two issues of great importance are examined in this context: the issue of the governing law and the issue of harmonisation. Finally it is presented to the reader to what extent those European provisions are consistent, respectively, restrict one another.
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European legislation and the European Court of Justice -impacts on worker participation in Europe. Konferenzpapier im Rahmen der IREC "Governance issues in shifting industrial and employment relations" in Utrecht von 26.-28.08.2004
(2004)
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Sandra Schwimbersky
- Worker participation at the supervisory board has always been subject to controversial debate. It is not the aim of this paper to examine worker participation as to its advantages and disadvantages, but to give the reader an overview of how companies can determine the depth, form and level of worker participation by choosing between different legal structures within the EU. Generally speaking, three alternatives can be identified. First of all, companies that do business across boarders in the EU/EEA and are organised as joint-stock companies may establish a European Company (Societas Europaea = SE) from October 8th, 2004 on. The Council of Ministers has agreed on the European Company Statute during the Nice Summit in December 2000 after more than 30 years of controversial debate. In this context two legal instruments have been enacted, the council regulation (No. 2157/2001) on the Statute for a European Company, which rules the internal corporate governance structure of the SE, and the council directive (2001/86/EC) supplementing the Statute for a European Company with regard to the involvement of employees on the company level, which emphasises voluntary negotiations between employees' representatives, a so-called special negotiating body, and the management. The negotiation's outcome primarily depends on the negotiating skills of the parties involved. If no agreement is achieved, the management, however, still wants to establish a SE, standard rules are applied that are specified in the Annex of the Directive. Secondly, companies continuously organise their activities by choosing a legal form that is provided by national law. According to rulings as to freedom of establishment by the ECJ, member states have to recognise companies that have been established according to legal provisions in another member state as long as this member state follows incorporation theory. This means, for instance, for the management that it may establish a British private limited company. Then the ltd. can even transfer its administrative centre to Germany. In order to do business there, the ltd. must be registered in the German commercial register. Consequently, German legislation regarding worker participation at the company level cannot be applied. Finally, the proposal for a EU directive on cross-border mergers of companies with share capital is mentioned in this context. The proposal provides two alternatives concerning worker participation in the case of a merger. On the one hand, one ore more companies participating are subject to any form of worker participation so far and there are no national provisions on worker participation in the member state, where the new company is incorporated. In this case a procedure in accordance with the SE Directive will have to be established. On the other hand, the member state, in which the new company is incorporated, offers national provisions regarding worker participation. They will have to be applied in consequence. In sum, the above-mentioned organisational alternatives might put considerable pressure on the different industrial relations systems persistent in the EU. In the long run, this pressure might result in a convergence not only of the industrial relations systems but also of the corporate governance systems.
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Do Catholic women with non-smoking husbands earn less in a second job? - Assorted topics in empirical labor economics
(2004)
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Guido Heineck
- This study is a collection of essays in empirical labor economics with a focus on labor supply. The topics chosen are from different fields of research that are not on the top of economists' agenda and therefore are underresearched. First, it is examined whether religion affects individuals' economic outcomes. The effects of substance use, measured by smoking behavior on absenteeism and earnings are subject of another essay. The final essay explores secondary jobholding. Both cross-sectional and panel estimation techniques are employed. The latter are more appropriate to control for unobservable individual heterogeneity. The studies mainly use data that are drawn from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP).
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Coevolution of alliance portfolio and organization of new technology-based firms: A case study of the Mobile Internet industry
(2004)
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Tillmann L. von Schroeter
- Coevolution of alliance portfolios and organizations: A cross sector analysis of new technology based firms in the European Mobile Internet industry / Tillmann von Schroeter, EXIST-HighTEPP at the University of Bamberg. Strategic alliances and partnerships have extensively been studied over the past twenty years. Research has shown that they are a way to gain resources in a cost-efficient manner, especially for new firms with limited resources. In addition, alliances can help to spread technological development risks. One may conclude, that for new technology-based firms (NTBF) strategic alliances are a logical and timely response to intense and rapid changes in economic and technological environments. Given that the benefits of a partnership change over time, it is difficult however, to determine how the optimal alliance portfolio should be structured. NTBFs frequently face the problem that some partnerships in their alliance portfolio (defined as the collection of all partnerships) are not efficient (defined as time and resources devoted over the received benefits). Therefore, it is important on one hand to understand how benefits are derived from an alliance portfolio and what its impact on the organizational development is. On the other hand, it is critical to recognize the superior forces, which drive the alliance portfolio dynamics. One partnership intensive industry, which is both high-tech and entrepreneurial, is Mobile Internet. Four forces - high levels of required investments, changing industry barriers, significant dependencies due to a highly integrated value chain, and fast technological innovations - largely explain why this is the case. This study analyzes how alliance portfolios influence the organizational development of NTBF’s in this industry, and what impact an efficiently managed alliance portfolio has on company performance. In addition, it researches if organizational changes trigger structural changes concerning the alliance portfolio and, therefore, its dynamics. The research is based on nine in-depth case studies selected from three sectors of the mobile Internet industry and comprises three major steps: (1) Industry analyses based on secondary data (industry reports and white papers), conferences, and preparatory interviews with industry experts such as mobile operators and consultants. (2) Company analyses based on secondary data including annual reports, press clippings, Internet sites, and databases such as Factiva, OneSource, and Hoover's. (3) Two-hour face-to-face interviews with one or two founders or managers from the companies, with follow-up telephone interviews on specific questions. In summary, 400 pages of interview transcripts, 5,000 pages of corporate information and 15 industry reports are the basis of this study. A profile has been established for each company showing its organizational development over time (characteristics such as its structure, management style, and resource requirements), its alliance portfolio (partnership foundation, degree of intensity) and its performance (survival, revenue development, profits and employees, and awards as a proxy for technological achievements). The efficiency of alliance portfolios is analyzed by comparing resource requirements with the shape of the alliance portfolio at every development stage. Pajec, a software tool to analyze large social networks, supports this analysis. The research on alliances has focused more on dyadic relationships than on alliance portfolios. This explains why later research suffers from the deficiency that the process of alliance portfolio formation and transformation has not been fully addressed. Although recent studies have stressed the portfolio approach, they have predominantly assessed static scenarios. The impact of organizational development stages on the alliance portfolio structure remains largely undiscovered. The contribution of this research, offering an extensive analysis of the alliances of NTBFs in the European Mobile Internet industry, is twofold: (1) Life cycle approaches, the RBV, and network theory (approaches which have until now been regarded separately most of the time) are linked into one comprehensive model. This model adds to the underdeveloped area of the dynamics of alliances. It contains the - time-dependent - aspect of alliance portfolio efficiency by comparing NTBF's portfolio structure with its resource requirements depending on the position in its life cycle. (2) It provides managers of NTBFs with a tool to structure and manage their alliance portfolio pro-actively.
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Worker participation in Europe - Current developments and its impacts on employees outside the EU. Konferenzpapier präsentiert im Rahmen der AIRAANZ Konferenz "Reworking work" in Sydney von 09.-11. February 2005
(2005)
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Sandra Schwimbersky
- Worker participation has been subject to controversial debate in Europe. Although the member states' traditions in industrial relations and especially in worker participation vary greatly, the Council of Ministers agreed on some directives in this regard, recently: the EWC directive (94/45/EC) and the information/consultation directive (2002/14/EC), and the directive (2001/86/EC) supplementing the Statute for a European Company with regard to the involvement of employees, which emphasises voluntary negotiations between employees' representatives, a so-called special negotiating body, and the management. The latter directive does not only provide information and consultation procedures but also provisions regarding board-level representation. For that reason, the focus of this paper is on the European Company (Societas Europaea = SE). In this context, the fundamental provisions regarding the SE are presented. After discussing some exemplary cases in order to demonstrate the practical implications of this legal initiative regarding employee involvement, some issues arising are examined.