In 2010, over 27,000 students earned their bachelor’s degree after writing their thesis for a business-related degree program. This well-grounded knowledge could be used by companies, but is often overlooked. For the first time, the School of Governance, Risk & Compliance (School GRC) at Steinbeis University Berlin has bestowed awards for exam papers looking at the issues of corporate governance or compliance.
To qualify for the award, applicants must have written and submitted a thesis at a German university. It must be of a high academic standard and be based closely on business practice. Papers have to be bound and submitted by mail, with a PDF copy and a cover letter containing the student’s contact details. The jury selects the top three theses from all submissions. Winners receive an award as the “Best of Theses” valued at € 3000.
The final submission date for this year is April 30, 2012. The award will be bestowed on prizewinners at a special event at the School GRC in September 2012, which is also a good opportunity to meet people and forge contacts with business representatives.
Health management within companies is key to competitiveness and the profitability of businesses and organizations. Given the rising influence of demographic change and the rapid acceleration in business processes, companies need an increasing number of health instruments to safeguard the performance and health of staff in the long term.
The Steinbeis Business Academy at Steinbeis University Berlin recently started offering a Business Health Managers (SHB) certification course. The new training equips staff with the skills they need to plan, manage and steer health programs at companies. They are taught the theory, methods and personal skills, and learn to run a health promotion program professionally within a business. It has already been proven that investments in health promotion perform well in terms of costs and benefits. Company health managers therefore have good career prospects.
The Steinbeis Business Academy (SBA) at Steinbeis University Berlin has launched an SBA grant program to promote the interests of talented bachelor students. The aim of the bursary is to help bachelor students who are expected to achieve outstanding results on their degree, or at work, or who have already done so. Support comes in the form of funding for their studies.
Under the grant program, 80% of the SBA bachelor tuition fee is paid by a sponsor and the SBA. In keeping with the project skills philosophy, the grant is linked to a business project to be carried out within a company or organization while students are studying for their degree. The SBA grant lasts one year, and, in any case, no longer than the duration of regular studies.
In addition to Quality Management, Six Sigma and Lean Management, another leading management philosophy of modern times is the Theory of Constraints, or TOC. stw unisono training+consulting now includes TOC instruction in its continuing professional development and training program. The courses are an ideal opportunity for managers and staff to leverage hindrances and set the right priorities.
Constraints aren’t necessarily a threat to business profits. According to the theory of constraints, tight situations are an opportunity to grow. They set the pace of the production value chain and make rigid structures more fluid.
The TOC philosophy was developed by the Israeli scientist and strategy consultant, Eli Goldratt. Goldratt observed companies and processes from a physical perspective. Simultaneously, he defined three kinds of constraints. Physical, or equipment constraints are dictated by low capacities. Policy constraints relate to strategic management limitations or conflicting goals. But the most intriguing and perhaps most intangible constraints are psychological hindrances. What pulls people back from actively participating in value-adding processes? What anxieties and inhibitions result in bad decisions or false expectations?
Participants on TOC courses learn to pinpoint mental constraints and policy restrictions from the point of view of the market. The first step is to evaluate customer orientation and external communication. This is summarized in a business analysis. Based on these results, the second step of the workshop is to develop suitable strategies. The third step is to identify internal constraints.
Lea Itze
stw unisono training+consulting (Ulm)