Indicators for European Union Policies. Business as Usual?

This paper looks at the role of statistics-based knowledge in the making of EU policy. We highlight shortcomings in the use of statistical indicators made in the course of the Lisbon strategy, ended in 2010. In our opinion the shortcomings are: (i) The paradox of the coexistence within the same European Commission of two holistic frameworks: the Structural Indicators and the Sustainable Development Indicators. One does not understand which of these two systems is taken to measure the overall policy performance of the European Union. (ii) A communication issue whereby the Lisbon strategy and its offspring EU 2020 are not communicated (Lisbon is to the average citizen the capital of Portugal) and are especially not communicated in relation to existing statistical indicators of good quality, against the opinion of academicians that transparency and accountability based on sound statistics favour democracy and participation. We illustrate the reasons that lead us to see these points as problematic and offer suggestions on how these should be tackled in line with the practices developed in the Open Method of Coordination. The danger is that in the absence of a debate on the issue, these shortcomings be perpetuated in the EU 2020 strategy.     

Abschlussprüferhaftung bei unpräzisen Sorgfaltsstandards und Ambiguitätsaversion

The Ellsberg-paradox suggests that individuals are subject to ambiguity aversion. When the standard of due care is not precisely defined, the context of auditor’s liability can be considered as an ambiguity situation. The paper shows that compared to an Expected Utility framework an ambiguity-averse auditor will exert less care with low damage payments but higher care with high damage payments. Hence, it might be advisable to put a liability cap. With strict liability there is no ambiguity situation and thus, there are no distortions from ambiguity aversion.     

Bausteine systemischer Führungskräftetrainings

The article describes core dimensions of leadership trainings, such as communication, cooperation, decision making, self-authoritation and self-care from a systemic point of view. It illustrates how a systemic perspective on these issues can help relieving the leader. At the same time existing leeway and responsibility are clarified.     

Parental leave regulations, mothers’ labor force attachment and fathers’ childcare involvement: evidence from a natural experiment

In 2007, Germany implemented a generous parental leave regulation in order to make parenthood more attractive and more compatible with a working career, especially for mothers. We evaluate the reform using a natural experiment that compares outcomes of parents with children born shortly after and before the coming into effect of the law, and find a significant decrease in mothers’ employment probability during the 12 months after giving birth, and an increase in mothers’ employment probability after the transfer expires. The implementation of two daddy months is currently not reflected in significant changes in fathers’ time devoted to childcare.     

Resilienzf?rdernde M?glichkeiten der Teamsupervision bei Changeprozessen

Supervisors frequently are confronted with emotional and social effects of efficiency-driven restructuring and process optimizations. Using case studies as well as conceptual ideas, the article explores whether and how the resilience of affected employees can be fostered in the frame of supervision. Promoting resilience within supervision is not to be mistaken as a further attempt to stretch employees?? limits. Rather, we conceive of it as an attempt to make employees aware of the centrifugal powers of every day working routines and to promote decisions for joint investment in cooperation??to make team work worthwhile, even in strenuous times.     

Aufsichtsratsverflechtungen und ihr Einfluss

This article examines the development of executive compensation of the German DAX corporations from 2001 to 2006. A higher executive compensation requires an approval of the supervisory board. Accordingly, we investigate the social network of the board of directors of these companies and use several variables describing the structure of this network as covariates of the development of the executive compensation in a panel analysis. Fixed and time effects panel estimations imply that a rising number of executives in the supervisory board of other companies results in increasing compensation. By contrast, executive compensation decreases when the supervisory board of the respective company is controlled by a growing number of executives from foreign companies.     

Das Eignungsfeststellungsverfahren für angehende Hauptfachstudierende der Soziologie

This article presents preliminary experience with a selection procedure for the diploma study course in sociology at the LMU Munich, which was first implemented in the winter term 2004/05. Furthermore, it examines the consequences of this procedure. The selection procedure, which is limited in time, was established due to high discontinuation rates and a remarkable congestion of the scientific personnel who are particularly involved in the foundation courses. Judicial fundament of the procedure is an “experimental clause” in the Bavarian University Act. First of all we point out that the number of newly registered undergraduates remarkably declined. Even the total number of applicants is lower than in the years before the initiation of the selection procedure. Secondly, we consider the dwindling during the process of the selection procedure. Contrary to some apprehensions it is obvious that applicants with a good university-entrance diploma do not choose possible alternatives, but still consider the diploma study course in sociology. Concerning the overall evaluation of the selection procedure’s consequences our results show thirdly, that the procedure is highly accepted by all parties concerned and that it therefore has to be regarded as an efficient solution to lower the discontinuation rates as well as to cope with the capacity overload.     

Ungleichheit und Vorurteil

The authors take a look at how established sociological research in Germany deals with two distinct subjects: migrants in the German school system and New Fascists. The article highlights surprising, contrary feeling rules social scientists active in these two research areas develop regarding their objects of investigation. As it turns out in both cases social disintegration serves as an explanatory research frame. But feeling rules derived from this frame point in opposite directions. New Fascists are cast in the roles of victims of social change and institutional failure, thus calling for empathy and/or sympathy as the feeling to be directed towards them. Migrants, in contrast, are blamed for their situation, which invokes indifference and antipathy as a feeling rule. Comparing both research areas reveals how they connect to each other. Together they establish a dichotomous emotional regime which traces the lines of simultaneous inclusion in and exclusion from the German society.