Determinanten des Informationsgehalts von Managementprognosen – eine empirische Untersuchung anhand der DAX und MDAX-Unternehmen

In this article the characteristics and determinants of the information content of management earnings forecasts of the German DAX and MDAX companies between 2002 and 2005 are analyzed. As proxy for the information content I use the precision of the wording of a forecast. I can show that the forecasts of MDAX companies are more precisely formulated than those of DAX companies. Furthermore forecasts are formulated more precisely, when companies have, (1) a lower percentage of intangible assets, (2) lower market capitalization, (3) lower volatility of earnings and (4) a higher need for external financing.     

Ausgelernt? Professor/innen im Prozess der Professionalisierung

Do university teachers have finished to learn, when they are hired for a position as full professor? That seems to be false, if you look at knowledge enrichment by research as learning. For Teaching and management it seems more justified. Factually full professors very seldom participate at corresponding continuing education or consulting. Learning takes place mostly on the side as learning by doing. Professionalization in a full sense however is only realized, if competences are developed also in these fields. As corresponding learning can be supported by continuous education and consulting is a very important task of academic personnel development.     

Abusive Supervision in Work Organizations – als Ursache für Workstress und Burnout

A growing literature explores abusive supervision as non-physical form of hostility by managers against there direct reports. However, researchers have used different terminology to explore phenomena that overlap with abusive supervision. The author therefore provides a review of literature how an US-american author, who researches some years ago about abusive supervision explains. The antecedents and consequences of abusive supervision and directions for future research are discussed.     

Coaching für Habilitand/innen am Beispiel der LMU München

This practice report describes coachings for junior faculty members at LMU Munich. First, we describe the challenges junior faculty members are faced with at German universities and the HR development undertaken at LMU to help junior faculty cope with these challenges. In particular, we elaborate on coachings, i. e. we describe the process and topics most frequently mentioned therein. These include the sandwich position junior faculty members find themselves in, the oftentimes informal nature of their leadership position, and the requirement to react to conflicts. Finally, we present the various ways of responding to these challenges developed within the coaching process.     

Einkommenseffekte beruflicher Weiterbildung

The claim for lifelong learning or vocational further training is most often set out without having clarified satisfactorily the individual gains which result from training activities. Based on human capital theory, which we extend by arguments from signaling- and game theory, the paper investigates for western and eastern Germany individual returns of training on income with longitudinal data (1996–1998) from the recently available “Mikrozensus-Panel”. A problem in identifying causal training effects is a selection bias caused by unobserved heterogeneity which – using conventional methods – leads to overestimation of the effects. Fixed- and Random-Effects-Models – which we discuss and confront empirically regarding the training issue – present a method for controlling the selection bias. The results show evidence for positive and significant training effects on income, although the actual amount of income growth is low. Whereas no differences by sex were found, separate analyses by age, skill levels and region indicate that not all of the subgroups benefit positively from further training activities. Therefore, the findings relativize the importance of social inequalities in the access to further training for the process of status attainment in general.     

Strukturelle Kränkungen als Thema im Coaching

In this article hurts in the workplace are discussed, which are not aggressions of one person against another person. Rather they are effects of structural conditions in organizations or effects of legal processes in societies. The author presents three case studies with examples of such hurts and she postulates, that the Coach has to reflect political conditions in his work.     

Home gardening practice in Pune (India), the role of communities,urban environment and the contribution to urban sustainability

Urban Ecosystems - Urban agriculture (UA) is regarded as an emerging tool and strategy for sustainable urban development as it addresses a wide array of environmental, economic and social...     

Working Poor

The study compares relative risks of working poor in the US and Germany. The risk of working poor is assumed to be a consequence of both the macro-structural change towards post-industrial service societies and the micro-structural change of private households. From this twofold perspective, the guiding hypotheses are developed and then tested with the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). The risk of working poor has increased both in Germany and the United States. Both commonalities and marked differences appear: Whereas high numbers of children dominate risks in the US, the German risk-set is determined by the hurdle between part-time and fulltime households, which disadvantages young and lone parents particularly. A common development is the successive devaluation of fulltime employment by sector risks which are growing into the fulltime labour market even in Germany.     

Interkulturelles Training

With proceeding internationalization and globalization of society the demands of working life have changed in the last decades. To meet these demands executives and professionals cooperating with foreign partners abroad or in Germany need the central key qualification of intercultural competence. This important key qualification does not evolve automatically from intercultural experiences, but has to be acquired during an extensive learning process, which is mainly organized in intercultural trainings. This text first describes what intercultural competence is and how it is developed. Based on scientific findings on developmental stages of intercultural competence central aspects of intercultural trainings are covered in detail. Objectives and methods of various intercultural training formats are outlined to illustrate the conceptualization and outcomes of learning effective trainings. The text concludes with future developments of intercultural training in the light of expatriates facing increasing demands regarding the quality of their work. Trainee groups will become more culturally heterogeneous, more trainings will be needed that moderate acculturation processes while staying abroad, training contents and methods have to be adapted according to local customs, modern information technology will play a major role, and family members coming along have to be involved in the training process.