Die Supervision von Kindertagesstättenleiterinnen in den neuen Bundesländern

Supervision of leaders of kindergartens in East Germany The collapse of the DDR brought up a big change first of all in the social welfare. In social welfare. In social work the traditional models of perception, interpretation and action became widely dysfunctional. The author describes an example of leaders of kindergartens how to work in the two systems, and describes how to try to support the women in the process of transfer by supervision.     

The East German Wage Structure in the Transition to a Market Economy

ABSTRACT: An important question for the development of the East German labour market in the transition to a market economy is whether wage differentials by qualification, industry or region (which were relatively small in the former GDR) adjust to those in market economies which are more in line with differences in productivities and economic conditions. We estimate empirical earnings functions to quantify the contribution of various important factors shaping the earnings distribution in the East German transition process. Estimation is based on the first six waves of the Labour Market Monitor which is a representative panel data set of the East German working-age population covering the period 1990 to 1992. The specification of the estimated earnings functions is motivated by the various hypotheses of the development of the East German wage structure in the transformation process. Although we find some similarities with the existing wage structure in West Germany, the East German wage structure still differs in some important dimensions.     

Gibt es (noch) etwas spezifisch Ostdeutsches im Beratungsbedarf?

Is there still something specific East German in the need for counseling? There is a specific East German background, considering the adaption of issues, contents and methods of counseling of East German top management, enterprises and institutions. In the last ten years, development in East Germany was above all a make up for the development of West German conditions. Today the trends in West and East Germany are equally faced with the reorganization of processes resulting from global standards. These are confronted with a hardly stabil economical and social basis in East Germany. The general need for counseling is determined by psychological counseling and change management.     

Career patterns of top managers in Europe: Signs of further globalisation?

Investigating career patterns of top managers has been a prominent topic in European Management Journal (EMJ) since the 1990s. Our article contributes to ongoing debates about national differences in top managers' career patterns between European countries. An open question is whether globalisation processes may have challenged the existence of specific career patterns and whether they may have transformed the profiles of business elites in Europe. Our article uses recent data from four European countries (France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK), collected in a way similar to an EMJ article published in 2013, with the objective to assess potential developments that have taken place over the last decade. Some of the major changes relate to the growing relevance of business school degrees or certificates (such as MBA degrees), a higher proportion of non-nationals and women on boards, more managers with international experience and an increasing number of top managers with a prior career with auditing or consulting firms. The article provides not only new empirical insights, but also a review of the key characteristics of top managers’ careers, some methodological reflections on cross-national comparison and new research avenues at the cross-roads of career literature and upper echelons literature. By shedding light on the career patterns of key decision-makers in large European firms, the article offers new insights for researchers, educators and managers alike.     

Intercultural differences in issue interpretation: Effects of emotions and framing

The interpretation of strategic issues as threats or opportunities influences strategic actions and firm performance. The extant research identifies cultural differences as an important driver of strategic issue interpretation. Specifically, research from a socio-cognitive perspective shows that differences in cognitive styles across cultures lead to differences in the interpretation of strategic issues by East Asian and Western managers. Based on cross-cultural research on emotions and decision-making, we argue that cultural affordances also lead to differences in emotional experiences and behavioral consequences across cultures which affect the strategic issue interpretation of managers from East Asian and Western cultures in different ways. We theorize that Chinese managers are similarly affected by fear and happiness in their strategic issue interpretation, while German managers are only affected by fear. For German managers, this effect is moderated by issue framing, which is not the case for Chinese managers. A vignette-based decision experiment involving 194 German and 174 Chinese executives offers support for our hypotheses. These findings have implications for cross-cultural research on strategic issue interpretation and for cross-cultural research on strategic decision-making in general.     

Up in the Skies? The Relationship between Body Height and Earnings in Germany

Abstract. This paper analyses whether taller workers earn more than their shorter counterparts. Using GSOEP data from 1991 to 2002, earnings functions are estimated for male and female workers for both West and East Germany. The Hausman–Taylor IV estimator is applied to account for unobservable heterogeneity including also time‐invariant indicators. The results do not imply wage differentials based on height for female workers and male East German workers. For the height range up to 195 cm there is, however, a wage premium associated with stature for male workers from West Germany of about 4 per cent for each additional standard deviation increment in height.     

Macht in der Organisationsberatung

Power in organization counseling. A qualitative study in a hospital in East Germany Power is a main topic of this analysis of a consulting process in an East German hospital: How power is appearing within organizational consulting? What is the power the client has, and the consultants have? And what is the interrelation between power and the resistance to change? In recourse to the theory of micropolitics, power is understood as the combination of rules and distribution of resources within an organization. The consulting process itself is interpreted as the consultant’s introduction to the ongoing game the organization is playing. The qualitative case study of the consulting process in an East German hospital clearly shows, how ineffective interventions remain, if the consultants fail to recognize and take into consideration the valid combination of rules and distribution of resources. In the presented case this combination is based on the peculiar history of East Germany. It was only after the project had failed that the consultants realized that they had been practiced upon.     

In search of a European model of strategic management

Focusing on middle managers from France and Germany, Michael Lubatkin and Steven Floyd's central question in this article is — does there exist a common European approach to management that facilitates knowledge transfer and other collaborative work efforts?The authors find that there are differences, along at least three dimensions, in perceptions that French and German managers hold about strategic management - traceable to historic predispositions. At the same time, there are similarities as well. The co-existence of differences and similarities in perceptions about strategic management may hinder the actual achievement of benefits from cross-national collaborations.     

Was heißt kommunikative Kompetenz im Spannungsfeld von Ost nach West?

What does communicative competence mean concerning the tension between East and West Germans? Although East and West Germany have been formaly reunified and ten years have passed the existence of different cultures cannot be denied. Trompenaars dimensions offer the possibility to make an intercultural comparison of the two cultures. I have chosen firm-cultures, individualism versus collectivism and specific versus diffuse culture. I also compare my experience as a West German lawyer in an East German administration with the results. The awareness and identification of these differences are important for more genuine recognition and acceptance of East and West Germans.     

Analysis of human capital development in Puerto Rico: summary and conclusions

This study explored whether perceptions of organizational business ethics differ by hierarchical levels. The study sample included more than 40,000 executives, mid-level managers and non-managerial employees from business organizations in six countries: Brazil, China, Germany, India, the UK and the US. We found that executives provided the most positive assessment of ethical business culture within their respective organizations. Employees’ assessments were less positive, and mid-level managers’ assessments fell in the middle. Organizational size and respondents’ age were not related to differences in responses. Statistically significant differences among hierarchical levels were found in Brazil, the US, Germany, the UK and China. Differences were not significant in India. Executives with longer tenure at the same organization tended to provide higher ratings of organizations’ ethical cultures, while managers’ and employees’ ratings tended to decrease with time.     

Entrepreneurial orientation as a function of national cultural variations in two countries

Building on a large-scale survey study in Germany and China, this research develops and validates a model of internal variables fostering entrepreneurial orientation. The objective of the research is to understand whether organizational mechanisms, such as organizational structure or leadership style that underlie entrepreneurial organizations are universal or are contingent on national culture. The findings of this study indicate that some components are universal and some are contingent on culture. For instance, cross-functional integration, consideration, and development culture impact most dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation across cultures positively, whereas centralization does so negatively, suggesting strong similarities of entrepreneurial organizations. On the other hand, participation exerts an influence on entrepreneurial orientation only in Germany. There are also differences in the strength of relationships: cross-functional integration and consideration have stronger effects in China than in Germany. One major implication is that commonalities of entrepreneurial organizations are generally not strong enough to completely outweigh the influences of national culture. This research may help managers to foster the degree of entrepreneurial orientation in their businesses that operate internationally.     

Judgments of Personal and Environmental Risks of Consumer Products—Do they Differ?

Many psychometric studies have investigated judgments concerning personal risks from technologies, activities or consumer products, but only a few studies have included judgments of risk to the environment. Thus, little is known about this aspect of environmental risk perception, and whether it differs from personal risk perception. This study investigates risk judgments for 30 consumer products of various types such as herbal remedies, mobile telephones, genetically engineered drugs, or garden pesticides. A survey was conducted in two German cities: Leipzig and West Berlin. In total, 408 subjects evaluated the consumer products with regard to personal and environmental risk (and other risk-related aspects) and whether they would recommend the product to others. The findings show statistically significant differences between the mean values of perceived personal risk and environmental risk for most products. Despite these differences, the rank order of mean personal risk and environmental risk judgments for the products is quite similar. However, separate analyses for each product reveal that correlations between perceived personal and environmental risk vary strongly across products. Multiple regression analyses with personal and environmental risk judgments as predictors and product recommendation as criterion, run separately for each consumer product, show that it is mainly the judgment of perceived personal risk that explains product recommendation. Perceived risk to the environment adds little explanatory power. The study also explores differences in judgments of personal and environmental risk with regard to two sociodemographic variables: location (former East Germany vs. West Germany) and gender. Differences in both types of risk judgments are found with regard to location but not for gender.     

Managers' uses of models

This paper argues that management scientists need to understand how models are used by managers and correspondingly apply appropriate criteria to their own efforts. Types of models used by managers are discussed. Then an example is presented of how such understanding can be used to evaluate the worth of formal analysis. The evidence points to patterns of quite different inquiry and response by managers than have typically been envisioned by management scientists.     

The Labour Market for Women in the Old and New Länder of the Federal Republic of Germany

Abstract. As in the former FRG (Federal Republic of Germany), in the former GDR (German Democratic Republic) there was also sex-related segregation of, or within, occupations with less opportunities for development, less income, poorer working conditions and restricted opportunities for advancement for women. The transition from a centrally planned economy in the former GDR to a “social market economy” is still accompanied by reports of a dramatic rise in the unemployed and those working short-time. It is becoming clear that women are affected by unemployment to a greater extent than men in the new German Lander, and that the chances for women in the labour market are likely to deteriorate rapidly.     

The evolution of university–industry linkages—A framework

This qualitative study extends literature on research commercialization by examining the dynamic nature of university–industry linkages (UIL). Thirty in-depth interviews conducted in Australia and Germany/the Netherlands provide evidence of the different phases through which UILs evolve and respective measures of success. Communication, understanding, trust, and people are universal drivers, yet managers must consider the variations in the nature of these factors to ensure successful UILs. This study equips managers involved in technology transfer, innovation, and commercialization with critical insights into developing effective relationships. The proposed conceptual framework also uncovers notable theoretical and managerial implications and offers some key research directions.     

Price Effects of the Minimum Wage: A Survey Data Analysis for the German Construction Sector

Utilizing the link between employment and price changes as a result of minimum wages, we use firm‐level data to evaluate the effect of minimum wage introduction in the German construction sector. In East Germany we find significant positive price effects that exclude the possibility of rising employment. Rather, the results indicate the existence of a competitive sector‐specific labour market, and thus declining employment. In contrast, we cannot find any significant price reaction for West Germany. This suggests that the implemented minimum wage in West Germany is too low in comparison to the predominantly paid wages and is hence not binding.     

乡镇企业产权改革、所有制结构及职工参与问题研究

运用改制企业及其职工问卷调查资料 ,本文研究表明:(1)县以上政府出于财政目标的需要 ,鼓励并主导了乡镇企业产权制度的改革 ,改革具有自上而下推动的特征 ,而并非完全像过去主流观点所认为的那样 ,改革完全是自下而上推动的结论;(2)地方 (社区 )政府、改制企业的原经营者、企业职工及社区全体居民在改革后具体企业产权模式的选择上 ,具有明显的鹰—鸽博弈特征 ,地方社区政府、改制企业的原经营者之间的博弈结果是改革后具体企业产权模式的选择的主要的决定力量。乡镇政府和企业经理共同控制了乡镇企业的改制 ,普通职工只有被动的参与权;(3)乡镇政府和原企业经理均无选择股份合作制的动力;(4)企业职工对于是否持股并不十分积极、其能否持股取决于多种因素;(5)职工对改制企业在激励机制、决策机制、管理机制等方面的进步给予积极的肯定;(6)股权结构对企业生产率影响不明显 ,它表明所有权结构只是生产率提高的必要条件 ,而非充要条件 ,它也不是改革最终走向“经营者持大股"的逻辑原因;(7)企业改制、特别是经营者持大股企业对就业、企业长期投资产生了积极影响 ,改制推进了企业经营水平、市场竞争力的提高。     

DO HIRING SUBSIDIES REDUCE UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG OLDER WORKERS? EVIDENCE FROM NATURAL EXPERIMENTS

Abstract We estimate the effects of hiring subsidies for older workers on transitions from unemployment to employment in Germany. Using a natural experiment, our first set of estimates is based on a legal change extending the group of eligible unemployed persons. A subsequent legal change in the opposite direction is used to validate these results. Our data cover the population of unemployed jobseekers in Germany and was specifically made available for our purposes from administrative data. Consistent support for an employment effect of hiring subsidies can only be found for women in East Germany. Concerning other population groups, firms’ hiring behavior is hardly influenced by the program and hiring subsidies mainly lead to deadweight effects. (JEL: J64, H24, C31)     

Occupational and Locational Substitution: Measuring the Effect of Occupational and Regional Mobility

The paper analyses the effects of occupational and regional mobility on the matching rate using monthly panel data disaggregated at the regional and occupational level. The main contribution of the paper is to measure the effect of substitutability between vacancies in different occupations, and vacancies in different regions on the matching rate. The estimates indicate higher regional mobility in West Germany but higher occupational mobility in East Germany. The results show that if occupations were perfect substitutes, then the number of matches could increase by 5–9 per cent. Perfect regional mobility would increase matchings by 5–15 per cent. It is also shown that partial aggregation causes a downward bias in substitutability estimates.     

Doppik und Produkthaushalte als Instrumente strategischen Managements in Kommunen – Eine vergleichende Fallstudie

This study aims at answering the question whether currently adopted approaches of accrual accounting and product-based budgeting are appropriate for strategic management in local government. A comparative case study is undertaken in Nordrhein-Westfalen as one of the leading federal states in Germany to reform its municipalities?? financial management. Generated insights allow deriving determinants of a successful change to accrual accounting and product-based budgeting thus contributing to a research framework for strategic management in local government. Furthermore, implications on how to deal with this paradigm shift are generated for public managers.