Parametric estimation of supplier's plant construction costs

Cost engineers of buying enterprises perform detailed product cost calculations of externally manufactured components. The aim of these calculations is to determine what a product should cost and to support purchasing functions in fact-based negotiations. While product cost engineers have deep knowledge in the calculation of direct cost, they need support in the calculation of supplier´s indirect cost categories. The calculation of industrial rent, which is expressed in annual cost per m² of occupied plant building floor space can be improved by providing accurate construction cost estimates. Construction costs are strongly impacting the calculation of supplier´s annual building depreciation, which is a crucial cost driver for the determination of the industrial rent. Academic literature is actually not providing an accurate and suitable cost model for product cost engineers, which is estimating construction cost per m² depending on different industrial building categories and alternative supplier plant locations. The paper aims to close this gap by applying linear regression analysis on a set of European construction cost data considering two industrial building categories: “warehouses/basic factory units” and “high-tech factories”. By regressing construction cost against construction labor rates within different supplier plant locations it was possible to form suitable and accurate parametric regression functions with R² values between 0.74 and 0.88. Next to high R² values acceptable mean average percentage errors between 7.45% and 11.77% could be realized by comparing estimated with observed construction cost. The estimation of industrial construction costs based on the paper´s results can be used to improve the calculation of industrial rent, which is one cost element, that has to be covered within product cost engineer´s Should Cost Calculations.

Is Generation Z changing the understanding of HR work?

This article aims to determine whether and how an increased entry of Generation Z could impact HR work. To answer this, two hypotheses were formulated. Afterward, an extensive literature search was carried out on various databases, with the search results being narrowed down step by step using two selection criteria. The finally selected literature, focusing on German-speaking areas, was then evaluated through qualitative content analysis. First, it was found that the research results on Generation Z are not as uniform as one might assume from the first impression, especially since there is also a tendency in the studies to prefer to interview students. However, it seems that the individual consideration of employees and communication with them will increasingly be demanded by them and thus become the focus of HR work, regardless of whether the employee is a talent or not. This fundamental claim could lead to the fact that the considerations regarding an exclusive or inclusive Talent Management approach are no longer expedient or even rather obstructive, especially since talent management in its current form has apparently not yet arrived at many companies even after more than 20 years. Considering the definition problem of the concept of talent alone, this is not surprising. The advantage of Talent Management over HR Management is that some main tasks from HR management are linked together. However, due to the framework conditions, all employees must be considered individually, and it could make sense to rename inclusive Talent Management to Employee Management. In that case, exclusive Talent Management is understood solely as Talent Management (methodological level), and both terms could be summarized under the generic term Human Resources Management (didactic level). This would result in a hierarchy of terms in which the terms are clearly distinguished from each other. Furthermore, the sharpening of the terms and the concentrated summary of essential aspects of personnel work (see Figure 3) should also make it easier for managers who are inexperienced in personnel work to carry out Human Resources Management. This article aims to contribute to the sharpening of theoretical concepts to facilitate their practical implementation. The article is suitable for entrepreneurs, executives, HR specialists, and academics.

impact of a smartphone or tablet application on learning transfer in the field of continuing vocational training

The study aimed to research the impacts of a smartphone or tablet application in the field of continuing vocational training(CVT). Well trained employees are of utmost importance in the eyes of any corporation. With the help of literature review and survey, the empirical study gets to conclude that these modes help proactively to increase learning transfer in CVT. Furthermore, the study shows that such applications are currently not yet a standard learning transfer tool.

Business Succession

This article deals with the key factors of a successful company handover. The aim is to use a qualitative content analysis to determine which factors are relevant to this project. The research question is therefore: ‘What are the success factors for a successful transfer of the company?’. This article relates to seven factors that are relevant to this. This issue is of great economic importance. It is a question of preparing the transfer of the company for the employees, the outgoing shareholders, the incoming shareholders, the coordination on the size and payment method of the purchase price, the drafting of contracts, the inheritance situation, and the preparation of a company concept with a timetable. Of course, in the end, implementation is also presented based on these factors.

Applying DEFCON and the Homeland Security Advisory System in organisational risk management

Many businesses face avoidable strategic and external risks that can be addressed by accepting, relocating, reducing, or eliminating them. Companies of all sizes should predict and prepare for the risks that come with doing business. When a scenario becomes a reality, a well-prepared organisation can mitigate sales, lost time and productivity, and negative impact on customers. They can assist in the safety of an organisation and its employees by offering a fully integrated threat management system that offers real-time threat impact assessments that the corporation can use to fulfil its duty of care obligations and keep employees safe. These systems are based on robust systems such as DEFCON, HSAS, and NTAS. In analogy to the application in Military and Anti-Terrorism, the systems DEFCON, HSAS or NTAS to the specific application, define the comprehensive explanations and define corresponding actions at each threat level. This article deals with the question, if the deployment of DEFCON, HSAS/NTAS is a suitable approach to meet the requirements of the ISO 9001:2015. To answer the given research-question the method of qualitative content analysis was used as outlined by Mayring. Six main codes and twelve subcodes were defined inductively and deductively, and the present literature was encoded according to the method of structured content analysis. To this end, 765 codings were carried out and then analysed in the context of the research questions. As a result, the research question was confirmed by the present study.

The economic impact of communication in the care of patients

This article deals with the communication between patients and nurses or physicians and their effects on the healing process. In particular, the economic aspect of reducing recovery costs through a targeted communication process between patient and caretaker is addressed. The focus of this article is therefore on the following two questions: "What does the phenomenon of communication in the patient – caretaker constellation consist of?" and "What influence do the economic determinants of communication have on human health? " In order to answer these questions, the method of qualitative content analysis according to Kuckartz and Gläser is used. The article shows the extent to which targeted and positive communication between patient and caretaker arises and how this communication can reduce the economic costs of the recovery process.

Robust maritime supply chains

Container terminals are an important interface in the maritime supply chain, as they connect the geographically localized last mile to the customer and the shipping company. Its handling efficiency makes a decisive contribution to the fact that the maritime supply chain functions in a high-performance way. The aim of this article is to identify and describe potential optimization potentials in operational operation for container terminals. The focus is on the interfaces to the most important stakeholders of the container terminal, i.e., water-side handling, yard, and intermodal transport. For this purpose, the method of qualitative content analysis as outlined by Mayring was used. The software MaxQDA was used to code the given literature and analyze its content. In the given literature 12 categories were identified and 786 codes and subcodes were analyzed. The basic barriers to optimization of container terminals have been identified by this study.

critical Analysis of the current state of research on the topic of business succession

In the next few years, many companies in the field of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Germany are about to change the generation of entrepreneurs. This article deals with the reasons and strategies for regulated succession of entrepreneurs in these SMEs. The following research question is at the heart of the present study: 'What are the reasons and strategies for finding a business successor considering the company analysis for small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany?'. Within the scope of an extensive literature analysis, the current state of research on the topic of business succession is analysed by a qualitative content analysis according to Mayring and the most important reasons and strategies are identified. For this purpose, 4 main codes and 14 subcodes were defined inductively and deductively, and the present literature was encoded according to the method of structured content analysis. 673 codings were carried out and then analysed in the context of the research questions.The main reasons and strategies were identified, and the research question was fully answered. In addition to answering the central research question, the article also makes recommendations for the planning and complete implementation of a regulated business succession within the framework of the article conclusion. This article is the author's second article on the topic of Business Succession and is complementary to the author's first article.

Leadership Sentiment and Price Fluctuations

The relationship between prices and leadership mood was examined using the example of crude oil prices and the sentiment of the CEOs of 5 leading oil production companies between 2014 and 2019. The crude oil market was chosen due to recent price fluctuations and upcoming challenges, and for its significant for the global economy. This study uses an empirical approach based on a mood analysis of the CEO's natural language. 160 speech transcripts were analyzed using a leading aspect-based sentiment analysis machine learning algorithm to obtain sentiment data. The relation between sentiment and oil price was tested using linear regression. The results of this study show in detail that the sentiment correlates positively in times of low prices and negatively in times of high prices. The average threshold price calculated using this method was 63 USD per barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil in the observed period. This corresponds to analysts who estimated the ideal oil price for 2018 at USD 60 to 70. Finally, the restrictions and prospects are discussed. Findings of this study could aid investors decision making and advance the use of sentiment analysis in economic sciences.

Link between digitalization and new product launch

Digital transformation and new product success are critical factors for companies’ competitiveness. Does a link exist between digitalization measures within companies, and their new product success? A former study among trading companies has diagnosed a link already. However, as only limited to trading business and a small sample, results stay little robust. Further research is needed. Therefore, the question of this work is, if this link also exists within B2B industrial firms, hypnotising that the link should also be there. Therefore, empirical data among 1.000 production firms in Germany has been gathered with a huge panel survey. Current times are described by high competition and fast changing trends. Companies’ abilities to innovate is therefore a result and a necessary ability to encounter the threat of being outperformed by competitors. Research on this subject therefore closes a relevant scientific gap. This article enlarges the knowledge gathered from a first survey among traders, with a bigger survey among industrial firms. The method of this work is to collect data within German B2B industrial firms and to run a correlation and regression analysis to answer the question, if companies who took relevant digitalization measures, report also higher new product success and compare the results to the previous study among trading firms. The study confirms the previously found link as well for industrial firms. Companies who take digitalization measures, can take profit from them by a higher success of new products.