Management

Using industry 4.0 maturity models, companies can systematically record their performance in the context of industry 4.0. When the status quo is determined, the question “Where do we want to be in future?” is usually associated at the same time. However, companies are not always in a position to introduce what is fundamentally possible. Therefore, this question is not trivial. If a company is supposedly aware of its I4.0 target position, external influences often lead to the fact that the achievement of the target is made more difficult or hindered. It is therefore important to take these circumstances into account. This paper shows how environmental developments can be taken into account when determining a promising I4.0 target position. The target position forms the starting point for the implementation of industry 4.0 in the company.

Digitalization is a strategic core issue that has to be anchored in the strategy of every company. The challenge in this context is that there is no uniform pattern for the digital transformation of a company. Instead, each company has to develop its own company-specific plan how it will position itself in the context of digitalization. Furthermore, the development of an individual digitalization strategy is required. The following article presents a planning approach for the development of such a digitalization strategy, based on three major steps.

Companies have always been in a constant state of change. This change is today closely linked to the buzzword’s “digitization” and “agility”. Agile methods, especially in complex projects, can pave the way for targeted digitization and, on the other hand, provide a more agile way of working for digital technologies. Through group discussions with managers from small and medium-sized IT companies, this article focuses on the question of whether agility is the precondition or consequence of targeted digitization. This article is aimed at decision-makers from SMEs who want to increase the degree of agility in the company in the context of increasing digitization.

When digitalising and automating work processes, it is often overlooked that this can trigger serious changes for the organisation. This article shows that such changes can lead to an incongruence between “what an organization does” (practice), “what it can do” (knowledge) and “who it is” (identity). These incongruities must be overcome in order to implement change successfully. If managers are aware of this, many problems such as the collapse of existing routines, knowledge gaps or the departure of important employees can be foreseen and solved.

Management tools are a dime a dozen. The US-American strategy consultancy Bain & Company, for example, analyses regularly the 25 most popular of them worldwide. However, the best tool is only as good as its user. The proper and efficient utilization requires common sense. If a manager has it or not can be identified by the following qualities: He knows that others see him different from how he sees himself. He sets high value on a respectful feedback culture in his company, and he counts on the power of cooperation.