Paradoxiemanagement mit dem „Werte-und Entwicklungsquadrat“

Conflicts and crises in Family Businesses often arise through paradoxical demands, which result from the paradoxical organisation of the family business. This organisation refers to the coupling of the two social systems “family” and “business” which follow different (and in parts contradicting) guidelines and principles. Thus, the situation could arise that right behaviour in the company is wrong behaviour in the family (and vice versa). A special tool for counselling is the Value-and Development Square, which enables to capture the paradoxes and to reframe in a resource and development oriented way.     

Fisher information and maximum-likelihood estimation of covariance parameters in Gaussian stochastic processes

The inverse of the Fisher information matrix is commonly used as an approximation for the covariance matrix of maximum-likelihood estimators. We show via three examples that for the covariance parameters of Gaussian stochastic processes under infill asymptotics, the covariance matrix of the limiting distribution of their maximum-likelihood estimators equals the limit of the inverse information matrix. This is either proven analytically or justified by simulation. Furthermore, the limiting behaviour of the trace of the inverse information matrix indicates equivalence or orthogonality of the underlying Gaussian measures. Even in the case of singularity, the estimator of the process variance is seen to be unbiased, and also its variability is approximated accurately from the information matrix.     

Worum geht es, wenn es um nichts geht?

Rational choice theories appear to have difficulties when it comes to explain behaviour in so called ‘low cost, low benefit’ situations. As a consequence, low cost situations are sometimes regarded as a serious problem of the rational choice paradigm as a whole. We demonstrate that, quite to the contrary, theories of rational action are perfectly well suited to understand the logic of low cost situations. The costs of information and decision making on the part of the actor and the clarity of incentive or cost structures on the part of the situation prove to be the central variables. Since there is a close link between low cost situations and certain collective good problems, the role of these variables is discussed with regard to the production of collective goods. In adapting an established model of routine based decision making, we show how the threshold of a low cost situation can be determined analytically.     

Was müssen Führungskräfte können?

Ethics Education complements business administration only if it teaches strategic competencies that help managers to become better leaders. To this end, this article sketches an ordonomic approach to an economic ethics for competitive markets, to a business ethics for firms (corporate citizens), and to a process ethics for new governance. The core idea of this ordonomic approach is the win-win concept of mutually beneficial value creation. Thus, ordonomics is compatible with the market economy and at the same time supplements the management education in business schools: This approach systematically identifies strategic competencies that enable managers to display the kind of entrepreneurial leadership that is necessary for firms to fulfill their social function of value creation—by making use of moral commitments as a factor of production.     

Overviewing the transition of Markowitz bi-criterion portfolio selection to tri-criterion portfolio selection

Over 60 years ago, Markowitz introduced the mean-variance efficient frontier to finance. While mean-variance is still the predominant model in portfolio selection, it has endured many criticisms. One serious one is that it does not allow for additional criteria. The difficulty is that the efficient frontier becomes a surface. With it now possible to compute such a surface, we provide an overview on how Markowitz’s risk-return (bi-criterion) portfolio selection can be extended to tri-criterion portfolio selection. With a focus on the geometry of the extension, many graphs are used to illustrate.     

Third Sector Organizations and Migration: A Systematic Literature Review on the Contribution of Third Sector Organizations in View of Flight,Migration and Refugee Crises

Long before the current refugee crisis, third sector organizations (TSOs) have played a pivotal role in dealing with the multifaceted challenge of migration. Researchers have analyzed this role in many ways. What is missing, however, is a comprehensive overview of how the third sector contributes to dealing with migration. To close this gap, we conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) that maps the scholarly debate on TSOs and migration. Our SLR identifies four domains of TSO migration engagement: first, the direct provision of basic services and social welfare; second, migrant-oriented capacity development; third, system-oriented advocacy; and fourth, complementary research activities. We propose a conceptual framework that highlights the contribution of TSOs with regard to individual-oriented and system-oriented services that are necessary for a successful integration of migrants. A key implication of our derived framework is to understand migration as a holistic challenge that requires contributions by different actors on different levels, thus highlighting the need for coordination and communication between the TSOs, the state and other stakeholders.     

Fehlschlüsse über die „Weltgesellschaft“

In a contribution to this journal (KZfSS 63/2011) Bettina Heintz und Tobias Werron worked out a reorientation of the theory of world society. They discuss an explanatory model that identifies the conditions under which global structures may emerge along the lines of a theory of institutional differentiation. The following reply critically examines Heintz’ and Werron’s concept concerning the theory of world society. To evaluate their thesis, we need to ask whether the assumption will lead to successful research in this area.