Die Professionalisierung der Professionalisierer?

There is a general agreement that central roles in organizations like manager and consultants cannot be professionalized. However, the development of coaching and supervision seem to show a slightly different picture. Because of their focus on persons the pressure to professionalize seems to be comparable to service providers in law, medicine, religion and education. This article reconstructs the professionalization pressure on coaching and supervision and analyzes their professionalization process.     

Die Rahmenbedingungen verändern sich — der Dritte in der Therapie

The background conditions are changing — the third party in therapy The author examines connections between dyadic and triangle structures in the rehabilitation of addiction diseases. He considers the background of his personal experiences related to the changes in his professional position. The traditional dyadic relationship between physician and patient becomes ?destroyed“ by an triangle system in the frame of rehabilitation. Only by reflecting the job order it becomes possible to hold the balance between the responsibilities regarding the patient, the institution, the financial supporter and oneself. The difficulties in this process are reflected (overestimation of oneself and/or of others resp. devaluation of oneself and/or of others). The author explains the necessity to learn, to respect and to estimate, what one has not learned and does not fit to one’s self-understanding.     

Die Definition in der betriebswirtschaftlichen Forschung — Reflexionen und empirischer Befund

Zusammenfassung  Definitionen geh?ren zum Handwerkszeug eines jeden Wissenschaftlers. Durch sie muss — speziell in den Realwissenschaften — den Adressaten wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnis laufend der Rückschluss von der sprachlichen Darstellung auf den behandelten in der Wirklichkeit vorhandenen Gegenstand erm?glicht werden. Dieser Beitrag hat zum Ziel, Funktion und alternative Formen der Definition zu verdeutlichen und zu beurteilen. Eine empirische Untersuchung über den Gebrauch der Definition in der Betriebswirtschaftslehre versucht die Konvention zu erheben, damit eigene Definitionen auf „festen Grund“ gestellt werden k?nnen.

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On the use of definitions in business research — thoughts and empirical findings

Summary  Definitions are among the most basic tools of every scientist. Especially in the social sciences, they constitute an essential means for the addressee of the scientific insight, in order to infer from the linguistic term to the actual object in reality. The aim of this article is to explain and assess functions and alternative forms of definitions. By an empirical study on the use of definitions in business science literature, we identify linguistic conventions which assist in laying the foundation for subsequent definitions.

     

Coaching bei Konflikten in der ?ffentlichen Verwaltung

This paper discusses conflicts in teams working in the public administration. It starts with a definition of conflicts and the discussion of special terms and conditions, which determine conflicts within the public administration. As such conditions, the shortage of resources, the high degree of specialisation of the employees and the low degree of fluctuation are examined. Finally, a case study is described.     

K?nnen Studienbeitr?ge die Lehre in der BWL verbessern?

The introduction of tuition fees by some German universities raised fears about possible negative effects, which scientific research has not substantiated, though. Meanwhile, little attention has been paid to positive effects tuition fees might entail. This is surprising as universities are obliged to use tuition fees to improve study conditions. Business programs are highly frequented with limited academic staff. More assistance would therefore improve study conditions substantially. Tutorials funded by fees can be introduced quickly and, unlike faculty positions, do not tie up money in the long run. This makes them ideal to cope with the one-time enrollment peak due to the shortening of secondary education. We show that tutorials improve both satisfaction and study outcomes. We use data from an introductory course characteristic of business programs, where tutorials have been introduced. This course is attended by about 750 students per term and the data cover several terms. We control for a number of effects, including general academic ability. Increased satisfaction and improved study outcomes show that tutorials enhance both the objective and perceived study conditions. This makes tutorials an example of how tuition fees can be used to produce positive effects.     

Coaching für ?rztinnen in der Facharztausbildung

The article describes a form of group coaching for female physicians during their medical specialty training. The basic approach of the coaching is solution and resource oriented and it comprises five sessions. Participants from different departments are given the opportunity to discuss aspects of their recent working experiences under professional guidance. Participants are therefore able to determine the topics to be discussed by themselves. Interest in the offer of coaching was very high and participants who completed the five sessions rated it very positively. The positive feedback allows us to conclude that as few as five coaching sessions can have a positive impact and can be of support for this target group.     

Das Team in der Ohnmacht Was kann Supervision in ausweglosen Situationen leisten?

Sometimes in the course of a team supervision it becomes obvious, that the team is stuck in a predicament that cannot be influenced. We can even realize downright double-bind-constellations. With three case examples the author dwells on the question if it makes sense to uncover and explore the situation nevertheless, even if there seems to be no scope of action. Which kind of support supervision can offer the team at all in this situation? Which ethical, pragmatical and methodical questions are implied?     

Popularity kills the Talentstar? Einflussfaktoren auf Superstargeh?lter in der NBA

The observation that top athletes earn top salaries is well known. The (controversial) debate on superstar-salaries is mainly based on the two competing but equally plausible explanations outlined by Rosen (Am Eco Rev 71(5):845–858, 1981) and Adler (Am Eco Rev 75(1):208–212, 1985). Although both authors illustrate conclusive arguments, the discussion which of these two theories is more adequate in explaining superstar salaries still remains unsolved. The present paper analyzes salary information from the National Basketball Association (NBA) to explore the effect of Rosen’s (Am Eco Rev 71(5):845–858, 1981) talent approach versus the network and media approach by Adler (Am Eco Rev 75(1):208–212, 1985). Using innovative indicators for talent (draft position) and popularity (Facebook fans) in one model, the results of our preferred quantile regression specification indicates that player talent is stronger related to earning than popularity, particularly in the upper quantiles.     

Coaching für Wissenschaftler in der au?eruniversit?ren Forschung

The author presents a concept for introducing a coaching programme in a non-university research institute with the aim to strengthen scientific excellence. The paper analyzes requirements for coaching that result from characteristics of scientific work and derives steps for implementation. The results are: (1) There is a tension between individual career objectives and short time organizational goals related to external research funding and commissioned research; (2) coaching should be introduced primarily as individual career coaching; (3) an important challenge exists in sensitizing leading scientists to address this tension between individual career objectives and organizational goals more actively. The paper discusses the relationship between individual consulting and more general organizational goals in science coaching.     

über die Wertsch?tzung der Wertsch?tzung in Organisationswelten. Oder: Wie man sein Glück in der Arbeit verspielen kann

In this text a point of view is criticized, which the researchers and consultants Mirko Zwack, Audirs Muraitis an Jochen Schweitzer-Rothers argue for in their article published in OSC 4/2011. They say, a personal appreciation cannot be expected in organizations. This text holds the opposite point of view: Without mutual appreciation neither an organization cannot functioning well nor members can be satisfied. Such appreciating construction of reality in organizations needs to integrate knowledge according of ethics, happiness, organization as an interacting system, power and play.     

Coaching in der Pastoral der Diözese Speyer

Coaching in the pastoral of the diocese of Speyer. Internal coaching between office and independence A lack of priests and changes in social conditions are forcing the Diocese of Speyer to employ people on an honorary basis in executive functions of spiritual welfare. The permanent staff of the bishopric are now to coach those volunteers in order to accompany the process. For this they need a great deal of independence as ?new coaches“, which can however put their loyalty to the ecclesiastical office into question, as long as they fail to acquire appropriate forms of communicative plausibility. No one can on any account escape from the momentum sparked off through the use of coaching in a hierarchically structured operation — neither the operation nor the coaches.     

Die Arbeitsbeziehung im Coaching �C ein Stiefkind der Forschung

This study examines the relevance of the coaching relationship. 30 semi-structured interviews with coaching officers in swiss large-scale enterprises are analyzed in the frame of a qualitative content analysis. The half of the polled experts believes that a good coaching relationship is the crucial impact factor of coaching. One third considers a well-working relationship as an important condition to achieve a successful coaching process. The most mentioned attributes and capacities of a coach in order to contribute to a functioning relationship are the ability to listen, empathy, appreciation, trustability, interest and openness. The discussion explains the relevance of these findings for prospective efforts in the field of coaching research.     

Die Evaluation von betrieblichen Weiterbildungsma?nahmen

Although there is a sharp increase of job training measures in firms we have scarce knowledge if and how the management check the quality of those programs by assigning evaluation instruments. This is especially crucial for training measures which are provided by firm-external trainers. In this paper we focus on the assignment of evaluation procedures which can be analyzed as a result of rational decision making as well as a process driven by institutional determinants. Based on the Swiss Organization Survey on Job Training we test some hypotheses derived from both theoretical frameworks. The results show that the assignment of evaluation instruments varies in respect to the type of job training or the characteristics of the department??s managers. We conclude that the decisions on evaluation measures are driven by cost-benefit analysis as well as imitation of other firms.     

Open Government: Theoretische Bezüge und konzeptionelle Grundlagen einer neuen Entwicklung in Staat und ?ffentlichen Verwaltungen

New models of innovation have suggested that the innovation process of product and service development is becoming more open, emphasizing the importance of external knowledge and systematically involving external actors and sources in innovation endeavours. The growing success of open innovation practices in many firms raises the question whether these principles can be transferred for reinventing public sector organisations. Beyond technocratic eGovernment and digitalization effort, but with support of web 2.0 technology, we present first examples of how external collaboration and innovation with citizens for public administrations can offer new ways of citizen integration, enhancing public value creation and the political decision making process. In the following, theoretical references and conceptual foundations of this development are identified. By intensive use of internet technologies the aim of Open Government is to achieve more transparency, more participation and a closer collaboration with the various stakeholders in the public sector.     

Ein metrikbasierter Ansatz zur Messung der Aktualit?t von Daten in Informationssystemen

Due to the importance of using up-to-date data in information systems, this paper analyzes how the data quality dimension currency can be measured. Therefore, we design a probability based metric that allows for an objective and to a great extent automated assessment of data’s currency. In contrast to existing approaches, the resulting values of the new metric meet important requirements such as ratio scale and can be interpreted as probabilities. Hence, they can also be applied to calculate expected values for decision making in a methodically well-founded manner. Moreover, the metric can be adapted to the context of a particular application considering both, the specific characteristics of attribute values and supplemental data stored in the information system. The evaluation of the approach is based on six requirements for data quality metrics. Furthermore, the case of a mobile services provider illustrates the metric’s applicability and its practical benefit.     

Die Organisation des Verdachts und „Das Leben der Anderen“

The film “The Lives of Others” relates two worlds to each other – the world of the Stasi (State Security Service of the GDR) and the world of arts, theater and literature in the mid-eighties during the GDR. A chief of Stasi eavesdrops and spies on life of an initially party-loyal playwright. Step by step the “operative process” transforms not only the life of the one, but also of the Stasi-chief himself, who becomes a secret accomplice of the opposition. The film gives an insight into the process of organizational erosion of surveillance and of cultural change, which by the end encompasses the entire political system. It emphasizes the question of a “good person”, the corruption and dependence on a power, and finally of resistibility against it by the good and the beautiful.     

Die Digitalisierung von Coaching – Gedanken aus der Perspektive teilnehmender Beobachtung

This article focusses on the influence of digitalization on the performance of coaching services. Five relevant aspects are examined with regard to the opportunities and risks: (1) the coaching market, (2) the coaching process, (3) the communication between coach and client, (4) the coaching methods and tools and (5) the coach himself. The considerations make obvious that the future development of coaching depends not only on further technical innovations, but also on the answers of the professional community to the challenges of digitalization described above.     

Supervision in der Gesundheitsförderung

Supervision in mental-health A brief outline of supervision as such is followed by a specification of supervision in the pretherapeutic field of mental-health. Here, supervision has an identity promoting function as well as a didactic one for the leaders of workshops and seminars. Using short sequences of group supervision, the psychoanalytic method is demonstrated. In the course of the supervisory process mirror phenomena of the participants’ psychodynamics can be observed as well as the dynamic of the employing institution (open questions and conflicts) and their interference become visible. Supervision in mental-health is useful for securing the quality of the standards of the work, serves the mental hygiene of the leaders, and promotes the development of the organisation.     

Output-Flexibilität in der Dienstleistungsproduktion

Zusammenfassung  Den Ausgangspunkt der überlegungen bildet die Interpretation von Dienstleistungen als Probleml?sungen, die eine M?glichkeit zur formalen Analyse der Output-Flexibilit?t er?ffnet. Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden in einer eigenschaftsorientierten Betrachtung zun?chst die Komponenten der Output-Flexibilit?t identifiziert, um dann darauf aufbauend ein Kalkül zur Gestaltung der Output-Flexibilit?t von Dienstleistungsunternehmungen abzuleiten.

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Summary  Output flexibility enables the service provider to cope with both uncertainties in demand and the external production factor. This paper aims at formulating a calculus for the design of output flexibility based on production theory. The interpretation of services as specific problem solutions serves as a basis for a feature-oriented modelling of service production.

Die Autoren danken zwei anonymen Gutachtern für wertvolle Verbesserungsvorschl?ge.