A software module called ECC Research made its premiere at this year’s Steinbeis day, with visitors from the Steinbeis Network invited to a workshop to take a first look at the latest extension to the Steinbeis Enterprise Competence Check© (ECC). The ECC is used by consultants, companies, and lecturers as an analysis tool and it can also be used to carry out empirical research into large samples.
Large volumes of data can be captured with the software, typically descriptive statistics outlining the structural details of a company, and this data can be compared to individual skills indicators, also collating them into different groups. For example, regional differences in companies’ skills profiles can be examined or the specific nature of skills profiles broken down by sector of industry, turnover category, or company size. This expands the evaluation possibilities of the ECC to include new options, e.g., to identify skills in individual regions or industry, to map these systematically, and to analyze differences. It is also possible to examine factors relating to the specific emphasis of a competence profile for large or small companies, for firms with higher or lower turnover, or for new or established companies.
ECC Research is easy and intuitive to use, so it will also be interesting for users not so familiar with research techniques because it allows them to quickly carry out evaluations and analyses without complexity, despite being robust in terms of methodology and content. Not only can ECC Research be used by consultants in their work, but also by people working in economic development who can conduct studies and make assessments.
Access to the ECC Research application is provided during a one-day training session. The training course is free for members of the Steinbeis Network. Courses cover the underlying fundamentals of the system, how the software works, different types of analysis, and how they function.
To register for training and choose a training date, go to https://steinbeis-ukc.de/en/training/
Dr. Michael Ortiz, Sonja Anklam
Steinbeis Headquarters (Stuttgart)
ukc@stw.de
A consulting session reveals that a company has liquidity gaps that could threaten its very survival – gaps that probably cannot be closed. Suddenly, the client and the consultant find themselves confronted by potential liability and penalty risks. What are the options and opportunities open to consultants and their customers in such situations? This was the central question posed at the 23rd consulting forum for Steinbeis directors and project managers. The forum took place in Stuttgart last November.
The speaker at the forum was Jurgen Cramer, project manager at the Steinbeis Consulting Center Business Start-Up and director at Management Consulting Cramer (MCC). Cramer has 35 years of experience in manufacturing and real estate, from startups to company restructuring and financial recovery.
Talking alongside the attorneys Alexander Kastle and Dr. iur. Steffen Hattler, the co-managing directors of the leading law firm Hirt + Teufel, he turned what sounds like a dry topic into a lively and interactive session. There was also plenty of story-telling and sharing of thoughts from the audience, resulting in many questions being answered plus a whole string of practical tips for consultants’ own work.