Education Spotlight

Certification courses for compliance officers

School GRC and the BITKOM Academy provide training as “Compliance Officer Mittelstand” for medium-sized enterprises

In collaboration with the BITKOM Academy, the School of Governance, Risk & Compliance (School GRC) at Steinbeis University Berlin is launching a certification training program for compliance officers at medium-sized enterprises. The Compliance Officer Mittelstand (COM) scheme, which starts in September 2014, will provide people responsible for compliance at companies from a variety of industries with an opportunity to receive training in line with the idiosyncrasies of medium-sized enterprise.

The course content and topics covered will reflect the fact that compliance officers at medium-sized firms are typically responsible for a complex number of governance, risk and compliance issues. At the same time, they have to be able to work on a conceptual level. “Compliance officers in the Mittelstand or even family businesses are involved in strategic and legal issues at the same time, overlapping with pricing agreements, fraud and embezzlement, the loss of know-how and data protection. In addition to this, they control computer-based monitoring and control processes, update guidelines and run courses. It’s a complex task and one that’s impossible to cover properly in a one- or two-day seminar!” explains Birgit Galley, who is the director of School GRC. Galley goes on to explain that to match needs precisely, a certification program has to be fast-track, since managers typically have little time to invest in training.

The certification program consists of a number of modules: Law & Economics, Competencies and Compliance. Course participants come looking for training in areas like the statutory fundamentals of compliance, the key success factors of compliance management and an in-depth look at interviewing, conflict management, or IT compliance. The curriculum spans three months and involves six classroom-based sessions, concentrated e-learning modules, and periods of at-home study. Examination involves passing three tests. On successful completion of the course the participants are awarded a certificate as a “Compliance Officer Mittelstand.”

Certification program to become a License Manager (SHB)

Course focuses on software asset management

Procurement and the license management of software can be a major challenge for people working in purchasing and IT, in both the free economy and public administration. Licensing programs are often complicated, user numbers vary, and people use a system in different locations, making it difficult to ensure nothing slips through the net. The licensing rules laid down by the producers change continuously, as do the needs of the organization. The Steinbeis Transfer Institute ACADEMY of Public Administration and Law has developed a certification program based on business practice in collaboration with the COMPAREX licensing academy. The first course starts in Berlin in October.

The course involves 14 days of teaching over a six-month period, with two or three days of seminars per month. It starts with an introduction to the fundamentals of software asset management, followed by modules on Microsoft licensing laws, license management I and II, an overview of SAM tools, procurement and contract management. Students learn how to systematically identify and gather validations, and how to keep software inventories and manage license balance sheets. Processes in the organization are evaluated with respect to SAM and optimized in line with the DIN/ISO standard 19770-1. The aim is to install sustainable software asset management procedures to manage the in-house software portfolio and keep tabs on costs incurred.

Certification course as a Competence Project Manager (SHB)

How to successfully manage projects

Project teams are often under time pressure, have limited resources, work across multiple departments, but have no authority to give orders. As a result, they need a basic toolkit of methods, procedures and approaches to systematically manage projects successfully, in keeping with the actual aims. Working in collaboration with stw unisono, the competence institute unisono (kiu) now offers certification as a Competence Project Manager (SHB).

Project management also involves determining organizational requirements and proactively establishing the appropriate framework conditions within a company. Non-material influences are pivotal to projects and often interpersonal skills are the key to success.

Training lasts 12 days spanning 150 teaching units. This lays the foundations for successful work as a project manager. Course participants receive training in three modules, learning how to embark on projects and understand the roles and responsibilities of project organization, despite the conflicting interests encountered in companies. They learn about the necessary prerequisites, instruments, tools and methods to manage and complete projects effectively and efficiently.

Contact

Peter Schust
Steinbeis Transfer Institute competence institute unisono (Ulm)
www.sti-kiu.com

Entering Asian markets in real time

Seminar for evaluating market potential in Asian countries

The population of Vietnam is 90 million and the country has risen to become the second biggest market in Asia – outstripped only by China (CBRE Study, 2014). German products are held in high esteem, but for German companies, the markets of Vietnam are still undeveloped and untapped in many areas. For many medium-sized enterprises, entering the market with its 90 million inhabitants is a major challenge and they find themselves confronted by a market lacking in transparency, with insufficient development carried out by unprofessional sales partners. One new option for assessing a company’s chances is offered by a real-time seminar called Growth Manager ASEAN. The course is run by the Steinbeis Transfer Institute MiWIN (Management Institute for Education, Innovation and Sustainability).

The seminar addresses three fundamental questions regarding market entry. (1) What is the potential for my company in the new market? (2) What will it cost to leverage this potential? (3) What is the best way for my company to enter the market? The focal topic of the seminar is how to solve specific issues faced by the company during the actual seminar. The integrated approach adopted by the course participants allows them to derive immediate value for the company and to develop skills needed in the long term. It also enables people to solve similar problems independently in the future.

Course participants systematically evaluate the market potential for their companies in an ASEAN country and create an individual road map for market entry. In the first module, the key success factors of internationalization are determined, complete with a brief for an agency to carry out a market study. Based on this brief, in the second module, an individual study is carried out for each company in the field. In the final and third module, each course participant uses this market data to draft a roadmap for decision-making. This also covers specific steps needed to enter the Vietnamese market. The program starts in September.

Contact

Jörg Waidelich
Steinbeis Transfer Institute Management Institute for Education, Innovation and Sustainability (MiWIN) (Stuttgart)

Developing leadership qualities

Leadership training in management

Quick and confident decision-making under time pressure in an environment dictated by uncertainty. Communication with team members so that decisions can be implemented properly. Successful crisis management. Mistake avoidance. These are the kinds of skills that will be covered by a new leadership course offered by the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Management Innovation. Scheduled to run in November 2014 and April 2015, these courses will be held in the German city of Essen. The training is targeted at entrepreneurs, business leaders and managers who would like to hone their leadership skills.

The two instructors – Prof. Dr. Waldemar Pelz and flight captain Farid Merdaci – also teach techniques specifically developed for aviation relating to leadership, decision-making, stress and communication. The training, which also takes place in a flight simulator, provides direct feedback on how participants managed situations and what they could improve. To ensure training targets are met, a comprehensive diagnosis is offered hand-in-hand with systematic training which becomes more difficult at each stage. The two-day course finishes by transferring lessons learned back into everyday practice. The maximum number of course participants is eight.

Farid Merdaci is a flight captain for a large German airline and has frontline business experience as an engineering graduate at a construction company. He was also a long-standing member and spokesman of a bargaining committee and member of a supervisory board at an airline company. Dr. Waldemar Pelz is a professor of international management and marketing at the Mittelhessen University of Applied Sciences. He is also director of the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Management Innovation in Bad Soden near Frankfurt. He has over 15 years’ experience in a variety of roles within industry.

Contact

Professor Dr. Waldemar Pelz
Steinbeis Transfer Center Institute for Management Innovation (Bad Soden am Taunus)
www.management-innovation.com

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