Management

In aviation anonymous incident reporting systems (IRS) have been set up for decades to reduce or to control operational incidents and risks systematically. The aim of such instruments is to fall back on existing knowledge of the employees in order to optimize operational performance. The system can only be successful in the long run, if anonymity and non-punitivity are guaranteed. Moreover, the company requires a constructive error culture.

The percentage of employees beyond 50 years of age will grow tremendously over the next 25 years. Fewer younger workers will be available and companies will face the challenge to retain older workers. Companies will be required to introduce an age-differentiated human resource management that deals with the challenges of an older workforce. Based on the results of a survey of companies primarily from the industrial sector, the paper analyses the current situation and develops recommendations for necessary changes in the design of HR instruments of companies.

Getting qualified and motivated employees and high potentials for companies and keeping them is going to be an important issue in leadership in the years to come. Employees achieve the most if they have a clear understanding of their working tasks and claims by using their talents and resources to their best. Not following these in house policies will lead to a high fluctuation, high status of employee´s illness and burn out. Implementing those resourceful strategies will lead to higher strength and better use of talents in business.

In the past years, people as a human resource has developed as a major factor of business success. But, access to highly qualified employees and managers is not secure because certain qualifications and committments have become absolutely scarce. Maintaining durable access to this resource therefore becomes a new strategic task and requires business organizations to adapt a Sustainable Human Resource Management (Sustainable HRM) which is systematically concerned with long-term HR measures human resource maintenance and reproduction. In this article, we explore how companies can counter proactively a potential shortage of highly-qualified employees and managers by implementing family-friendly HR practices and measures.

The handling of customer-individual requirements, product variants and a worldwide market requires the professionalization of knowledge-intense processes. Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME) often have excellent individual competencies, but lack a systematic management of the associated knowledge. IT-solutions for Knowledge Management in SMEs provide limited functionalities and are thus rarely used. Therefore, a need exists for the business process oriented approach for Knowledge Management in SMEs, featured in this article. Implemented in a portal for information management, it supports optimization of knowledge-intense processes.

Many companies use Web2.0 applications in their internal processes to benefit from the advantages known from the internet. However experience shows that the connected benefit does not meet the expectations previously described. A taxonomy which supports a successful implementation on wiki based, interactive process management systems is presented. The taxonomy was developed by the company Modell Aachen UG in cooperation with the WZL of RWTH Aachen and is used in several implementation projects successfully.

Nowadays, every partner in a global supply chain storages the logged information central. Due to the increasing complexity in supply chains, the central storage of information doesn’t fulfill the high requirements. Therefore it is essential to get a more transparent supply chain by exchanging important information. On the one hand, a technical part for exchanging information is needed and on the other hand, a standardization of which information should be exchanged is necessary. This paper presents a framework for the information management of global supply chains at the example of automotive logistics. The framework describes which information and where this information should be exchanged in a supply chain.

Transportation and logistics operations are vulnerable to numerous types of risks. The globaly distributed production and sales lead to complex logistics tasks and more high-value goods are transported in global logistics networks. Nevertheless, detailed information about the condition of the goods and their integrity are not consistently available. The exact conditions during transport remain unclear. Efficient information and communication processes improve the coordination and effectiveness already in logistics. This article describes how the logistics network can be optimized by integration of cargo insurances as competent managers. Consequently, transport processes in terms of the potential dangers can be improved and entirely new business models can be developed.

Industry and export are the engine of the German economy. Not least the financial crisis and the impact on the real economy showed that the general conditions of the industrial enterprises change increasingly faster and radically. Changes which have been observed for longer times are enforced by the aftermath of the financial crisis. Two category groups can be identified as main challenges for the German industry: encrusted structures and socio-technical change. In companies the classical management methods are widely spread whose effectivity relies on the entire knowledge of causal connections and influence factors. But against the background of the actual challenges this not the status quo. This article explains how the comparison with nature offers explanations and approaches for the described problem.

The motivation of employees is an essential requirement for operational efficiency, the quality of the production process and the effectiveness of the work force. Therefore the primary objective for a company’s success should be the achievement of a high degree of employment motivation and satis-faction. Nevertheless, a high motivation of employees is not a matter of course. Therefore, we empirically investigate the status quo of employee orientation and motivation of the workforce aiming to identify potential improvements with regard to a better employee orientation. The results are surprising: The majority of employees are dissatisfied with the work tasks, the leadership of the supervisors or the working atmosphere in the company. The consequence: Lower works force motivation and a poor quality of employee performance, even though in the service industries employees are key for delivering quality and results.