cooperation networks

To prepare employees for structural changes within the organization is crucial for the competitiveness of an enterprise. Pretty often changes in an organization are enabled and driven by technological innovations, e.g. information and communications technologies. The arising information and qualification deficit of the employees has to be faced with respect to the changed organizational environment. In this article we describe how these effects can be faced with the methodology of business simulation games.

Sensor und RFID technologies are increasingly shaping the logistics processes in production and in the service industry. In order to fully exploit the potential of these technologies, a paradigm change must take place where closed and monolithic company structures are transformed into value networks where a multi-faceted exchange and cooperation between companies is the rule. To make this transition attractive for all (or most) participants, the resulting cooperation relationships must be restructured with technical, economical and organizational aspects in mind.

The cooperative production of industrial goods and services in networks is a key success factor for a large number of companies. However, inter-organisational cooperation does not only lead to new opportunities in a competitive environment but additional risks can also arise. These risks have to be assessed and controlled by a systematic deployment of advanced risk management methods during all phases of a cooperation’s life cycle. Therefore, this article shows which approaches should be chosen and which constraints have to be considered.