2.1 Professional Competencies

2.1.1 Knowledge 

The students will develop an in-depth understanding of:

• the importance of taking into account sustainability considerations in business decisions and the potentially detrimental impact of unsustainable business conduct,

• the business case for corporate sustainability, including sustainability as a driver of strategy, innovation, profit and positive stakeholder outcomes,

• different approaches to sustainability in classic and innovative business models and frameworks/ success factors for implementing these approaches,

• how sustainability has to be incorporated into the corporate fabric to avoid stakeholders' attributions of hypocrisy, including a transparent metric system and a carefully crafted reporting and communication.

Furthermore, students will apply their knowledge to a sustainability management-related question from either a real-life or a virtual corporation and derive solutions, also with the help of own research (quantitative analysis of questionnaire data, qualitative analysis of expert interviews and/ or desk research of secondary data and scientific research papers).

2.1.2 Skills 

The students can:

• apply analytical and critical thinking to complex sustainability challenges,

• use scientific findings and apply qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the potential impact of management decisions in order to develop suitable sustainability strategies,

• analyze the impact of management decisions on different stakeholder-groups by applying behavioral and psychological theories and research findings,

• take sustainability-related decisions in a virtual corporation and be prepared to become change agents for sustainability in classic business models.

2.2 Personal Competencies

2.2.1 Social Competencies

The students can:

• identify how they can contribute to sustainability goals both, individually and as future managers,

• take into account the demands and needs of multiple stakeholder-groups and balance trade-offs between all three responsibilities involved in sustainability (economic, ecological, social) when making management decisions,

• discuss implications of management decisions from different angles and handle the resulting complexities,

• coordinate teams in a results-oriented fashion,

• and present and prudently defend individual and team results in a complex and demanding environment. 

2.2.2 Autonomy

The students can

• critically assess the environmental and social impact of management decisions and reflect strategic and operational challenges in the light of this impact,

• work through scientific research papers that tackle up-to-date sustainability issues to find starting points for approaching sustainability dilemmas and challenges in organizations, 

• transfer this knowledge to different contexts whilst taking into account boundary conditions, 

• work independently and in teams on sustainability challenges that a real-life or virtual organizations face.

The achievement of a balanced economic, social and environmental development - as expressed in the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development - is one of the major challenges that society faces nowadays. 

Business activity is one of the major roots of social and environmental problems (e.g. by exploiting cheap labor and natural resources in developing countries and thereby contributing to social inequality or by being responsible for the largest part of carbon emissions). However, businesses might present the most powerful source for finding solutions to sustainability issues as they have the economic power, a large influence on consumption behavior and governmental institutions alike, and the organizational capabilities to scale sustainable innovations. 

Therefore, this course focuses on different strategic approaches how organizations can contribute to sustainability goals. The intention of this class is to offer students holistic insights into how organizations can embed sustainability concerns in their current strategies and into innovative business models (e.g., circular economy business models that decouple growth from the use of scarce resources) and how sustainability and corporate (social) responsibility interrelate. Furthermore, the class will provide insights and critical discussions on stakeholder-based benefits for sustainable business strategies and their respective boundary conditions, as well as up-to-date practices for accounting and reporting the ecological and social impact of businesses. Following topics will be covered:

1. Introduction to (Corporate) Sustainability: The Triple Bottom Line and the UN Global Compact

2. Changing Paradigms: From Milton Friedman's Shareholder Profits to Porter's Creating Shared Value

3. The Consumer Perspective: Sustainable Consumption and the De-Growth Movement

4. Sustainable Business Models I (Environmental): Circular and Sharing Economy

5. Sustainable Business Models II: Social Enterprises

6. Sustainability within "Classic" Business Models: The Link between Sustainability and Corporate (Social) Responsibility

7. Unsustainable Business Conduct: Corporate (Social) Irresponsibility

8. Creating a "Sustainable" Competitive Advantage: A Stakeholder-based Approach to the Business Case for Sustainability

9. Sustainability Marketing: Avoiding Attributions of Greenwashing and Corporate Hypocrisy

10. Measuring, Accounting and Reporting Social and Environmental Impact

11. Corporate Political Activism - The Next Level of Sustainability

The course will employ multiple teaching methods to enable students to develop a holistic perspective on corporate sustainability and to evoke critical thinking. Input lectures and self-study (e.g. by reading scientific papers) will equip students with up-to-date sustainability management knowledge. By inviting guest lecturers from different fields of sustainability management (company managers, NGO's, scholars), this class will provide multiple insights and perspectives on sustainability management. In-class mini case studies will train students to critically assess and apply their knowledge. Finally, students will work in groups on an up-to-date sustainability challenge and synthesize their recommendations in a graded management presentation. 

Lectures incl. practitioners' best practices, case studies, results-oriented presentations in oral and written form

Formal: None

Knowledge and Competencies: Fundamentals of Strategic Management 

• Exam: 50%

• Case work and report and oral participation: 50%

Successful completion of assessment 

M.A. Business Management, M.A. International Management, M.Sc. International FACT

Chandler, D. (2019). Strategic corporate social responsibility: Sustainable value creation. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.

De Roeck, K., Raineri S., Scheidler, S. und Jones, D.A. (2018), Giving the Benefit of the Doubt: A Micro-Level Investigation of the Insurance-Like Effect of CSR, Academy of Management Proceedings (1),  DOI: 10.5465/AMBPP.2018.16540abstract

Edinger-Schons, L. M., Lengler-Graiff, L., Scheidler, S., & Wieseke, J. (2019). Frontline employees as corporate social responsibility (CSR) ambassadors: A quasi-field experiment. Journal of Business Ethics, 157(2), 359-373.

Edinger-Schons, L-M., Lengler-Graiff, L., Scheidler, S., Mende, G. und Wieseke, J. (2018), Listen to the Voice of the Customer -First Steps towards Stakeholder Democracy, Academy of Management Proceedings (1), DOI: 10.5465/AMBPP.2018.13503abstract

Lyon, T. P., Delmas, M. A., Maxwell, J. W., Bansal, P., Chiroleu-Assouline, M., Crifo, P. & Toffel, M. (2018). CSR needs CPR: Corporate sustainability and politics. California Management Review, 60(4), 5-24.

Farver, S. (2013). Mainstreaming Corporate Sustainability: Using Proven Tools to Promote Business Success. Cotati, CA: Greenfix, LLC.

Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2011). Creating shared value. Harvard Business Review, 89(1/2), 62- 77.

Schaltegger, S., Hansen, E. G., & Lüdeke-Freund 2016: Business models for sustainability: origins, present research, and future avenues. Organization & Environment 29(1) 3–10

Scheidler, S., Edinger-Schons, L. M., Spanjol, J., & Wieseke, J. (2019). Scrooge posing as Mother Teresa: How hypocritical social responsibility strategies hurt employees and firms. Journal of Business Ethics, 157(2), 339-358.

Scheidler, S. und Edinger-Schons, L.M. (2019), Partners in Crime? The Impact of Consumers' Culpability for Corporate Social Irresponsibility on their Boycott Attitude, Journal of Business Research, DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.03.043

Schons, L.M.,, Scheidler, S., Bartels, J. (2017), “Tell me how you treat Your Employees! A Field-Experimental Study on Customers’ Preferences for Companies’ CSR Efforts in the Employee Domain”, Journal of Marketing Behavior, 3(1), 1-37

Zollo, M., Cennamo, C., & Neumann, K. (2013). Beyond what and why: Understanding organizational evolution towards sustainable enterprise models. Organization & Environment, 26(3), 241-259.

2.1 Professional Competencies

2.1.1 Knowledge 

The students know and understand

• the core aspects, concepts, methods and principles of the technologies digital twin and artificial intelligence, 

• the areas of application of the methods of machine learning and simulation for companies, 

• process models in digitization projects and simulation projects

2.1.2 Skills 

The students can

• explain the basics of digital twins and artificial intelligence

• name and classify their methods

• assess suitability and maturity for business use cases

• assess the relevance, opportunities, risks and limitations of use in for business use cases 

• solve smaller, application-related problems with selected technologies

• identify required skills and competences in the company upon introduction

2.2 Personal Competencies

The students

• develop an attitude towards the technologies of digital twins and artificial intelligence and their methods

• can deal with complexities when working in groups

• are able to present and defend team results in a complex and demanding environment

The students can

• cope with complex tasks

• work on case studies independently and in groups in a targeted manner

Digitization, the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 will significantly change companies and supply networks. The basis for a sustainable competitiveness are smart products, innovative services and new business models based on digital technologies. 

Two core concepts of digitalization are Digital Twins and Artificial Intelligence. The digital twin promises to offer a real-time, always up-to-date, digital model of physical resources (machines, employees) and processes. It allows to determine relevant KPI and to forecast developments, e.g. by use of simulation techniques.

Artificial intelligence is not only found in technologies such as autonomous vehicles, smart production machines and speech recognition, but also in sales forecasting, supply chain risk management, quality control, marketing and many other business tasks.

Consequently, both concepts hold many opportunities, but in order to apply these in a targeted manner and to derive recommendations for the necessary skills and abilities of the employees, it is necessary to gain an insight into the underlying technologies and to identify the success factors as well as risks and limitations.

This course offers a case study-based, application-centered introduction to both technologies for students with a business background. 

After an introduction to the concepts of digital twins and artificial intelligence, possible applications in the business environment are discussed. Following, the basics of simulation are imparted. The students work on case studies using the popular simulation software Anylogic. 

In the artificial Intelligence part, a technical overview of the common methods of artificial intelligence is given and small, basic case studies on selected methods are worked on in groups using a Python environment. In contrast to other, more statistically or technical oriented modules, the focus in this module lies on machine learning, i.e. cluster and classification methods, such as those used in supply chain management for supplier or customer classification, in quality management for error detection or in risk management for bottleneck forecasting.

Lecture Structure

• Digital twin and artificial intelligence 

  • Basic concepts, principles, and methods

  • Areas of application of the methods of machine learning and simulation within companies

• Digital twin and simulation 

  • Introduction, digitization projects and simulation projects 

  • Basics of simulation with Anylogic

  • Case studies 

• Artificial intelligence

  • Introduction to AI and machine learning

  • Basics of programming in Python

  • Supervised learning: principles, applications and case studies 
     (Nearest Neighbor, Decision Trees, Neural Nets)

  • Unsupervised learning: principles, applications and case studies
     (k-Means, hierarchical clustering) 

• Summary

  • Suitability and maturity of concepts and methods

  • Relevance, opportunities, risks and limitations in applications

  • Required skills and competencies

Note: 

• This course includes an introduction to the simulation software Anylogic. The software will also be applied for a case study in Module 9_10 Supply Chain Process Improvements (Code Number 984012). 

• This course includes an introduction to programming in Python. Python will also be applied for a case study in Module 7 SCM Applications (Module Number 98251).

• Lectures introducing concepts, methods and tools

• Online courses introducing programming concepts

• Group work to practice methods and to work on case studies 

• Guest lectures

Formal: none

Knowledge and competencies: none 

• 50% contributions within the course (homework, group work, presentations, case studies)

• 50% written or oral examination at the end of the course

In total a required minimum level has to be achieved in all above named parts of the assessment (typically 50%).

M.Sc. Digital Transformation

Ertel, W. (2021): Grundkurs Künstliche Intelligenz - Eine praxisorientierte Einführung, Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH

Freitag, Kotzab, Megow: Dynamics in Logistics, Springer 2021

Frochte: Maschinelles Lernen: Grundlagen und Algorithmen in Python, Hanser, 2021

Göpfert: Logistik der Zukunft, 8. Auflage, Springer Gabler, 2019

Gutenschwage, Rabe, Spiekermann, Wenzel: Simulation in Produktion und Logistik, Springer, 2017

Kubat: An Introduction to Machine Learning, Springer 2021

McKinney, W. (2012). Python for data analysis: Data wrangling with Pandas, NumPy, and IPython. O'Reilly Media. 

Müller: Introduction to machine learning with Python. O'Reilly Media, 2016

Norvig, P., Russel, S. (2021): Artificial Intelligence, Harlow Pearson Educations

Wagner: Industrie 4.0 für die Praxis, Springer Gabler, 2018

Winkelhake, U.: The Digital Transformation of the Automotive Industry, Springer International Publishing, 2018

2.1 Professional competence

2.1.1 Professional and methodological competence 

• Students are able to use an ERP system to monitor and control a complex business process
.
• Students can describe the use of an ERP system in a complex business process, classify its significance for corporate management, establish and discuss references to other business applications.
Students can recognize, describe, plan and analyze the added value of modern technologies from the field of Industry 4.0 for business processes.Students can design extensions for standard software for a complex business process on the basis of technical requirements.Students can implement complex extensions for standard software as web applications.Students learn to evaluate their own work results.

2.1.2 Interdisciplinary methodological competence

• Students are able to present, justify and discuss designs, procedures and results
.


2.2 Personal skills

2.2.1 Social skills

• Students learn to develop results in project groups
.
• Students learn to operate and present themselves in an entrepreneurial environment.

2.3 Professional field orientation

• Students learn about currently relevant aspects of ERP systems and how to classify them in their professional environment
.
• Students learn about the cooperation between different groups in a company and their roles in the course of a project

1. system architecture S/4HANA®, current SAP strategy overview

2. interaction of different SAP modules in the overall process

3. SAP implementation strategies / technology integration in SAP®

4. extension of business processes using concrete examples 1 (MM/PP/QM)

5. enhancement of business processes using specific examples 2 (SD/TM/EWM)

6. data modeling in ABAP®/OO

7. ABAP® 7.50

8. DB accesses

9. Optimized processing of internal tables

10. technical tools for customer-specific requirements

11. extension concept based on EWM LVM framework

12. integration of the web-based applications into the SAP world

13. SAP Fiori® application

• Exercises or projects based on practical examples
• Seminar-style teaching with flipchart, smartboard or projection
• Solving practical exercises in individual or team work
• Group work and individual work
• Concluding presentation
• Case studies

Formal: none

Content: 

• Basic programming knowledge in SAP systems (ABAP syntax, SE80, data dictionary ...)
• Basic knowledge of the operation of SAP systems (SAP GUI, transactions)
• Basic knowledge of web technologies, especially JavaScript

• Examination services during the semester

• Project work with oral examination

• successful project work
• passed oral examination

M.Sc. Business Informatics, M.A. Business Management

ANTOLOVIC, M. 2016. Einführung in SAPUI5, Bonn, Rheinwerk Verlag GmbH.

CORSTEN, H., GÖSSINGER, R. & SPENGLER, T. S. (eds.) 2018. Handbuch Produktions- und

Logistikmanagement in Wertschöpfungsnetzwerken, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Oldenbourg.

GOEBELS, C., NEPRAUNIG, D. & SEIDEL, T. 2017. SAPUI5 Das umfassende Handbuch, Bonn,

Rheinwerk Verlag GmbH.

Zur veranstaltungsbegleitenden Aneignung von Grundlagenwissen werden zusätzlich

Videomaterialien zur Verfügung gestellt.

2.1 Professional Competencies

2.1.1 Knowledge 

Standards and Mainstreaming

The students can explain

• the core aspects of standards in general and in project management,

• the core concepts of PMBOK (knowledge areas, process groups and processes - and important links among processes),

• the concepts of ISO 21.500, 9000, ISO 14000, ISO 26000 and the links among these standards,

• The main characteristics of The ICB concept

• The main characteristics of PRINCE2

• The main characteristics of SCRUM

• the role of standards in the description and certification of competences,

• The benefits of company project management standards

Managing Quality 

The students are able to explain 

• core issues of quality management,

• principles and process of quality management according to ISO,

• the concept of a quality system,

• structure and content of a quality manual,

• concepts and processes of the knowledge area of quality in project management standards,

• core methods and tools of quality management (cause-effects analysis, failure mode effects analysis, etc.),

• methods and tools for the description and for the development of processes (EPC, BPM, etc.).

• relevant theories and concepts about TQM, Six Sigma, Lean Project Management and the Project Excellence Model

• relevant concepts and methods from recent and core project management and quality management publications 

2.1.2 Skills 

Standards and Mainstreaming

The students are able to 

• analyze standards, compare standards and detect gaps and weaknesses,

• adapt standards and guidelines for projects based upon the international standards,

• develop processes for project management and select and apply appropriate tools and techniques supporting these processes.

• Apply standards in project management

Managing Quality 

The students are able to

• apply methods and tools of quality management (cause-effects analysis, failure mode effects analysis, etc.) in selected cases,

• apply methods and tools for the description and for the development of processes (EPC, BPM, etc.) in selected cases,

• design a limited quality system in a case study

• critically analyze and follow up on scientific publications in major project management and quality management journals

2.2 Personal Competencies

2.2.1 Social Competencies

The Students can/know/apply

• handle complexities while working in international teams,

• Students develop an attitude to project management according to standards

• Students show a quality attitude according to standards

• Students manage projects based on structured and well defined processes and in depth analysis

• Students can achieve high effectiveness and efficiency in running complex projects

• a deep understanding of the core competencies according to Project Management Standards (PMBoK; ICB or similar standards) 

2.2.2 Autonomy

The Students can/know/apply

• manage and transform work or study contexts that are complex, unpredictable and require new strategic approaches,

• reflect operational challenges of a company in the background of social values,

• the interplay between economic regulation and institutional framework and the strategic outline of a company and is able to derive an own mind on it,

• work out independent projects and ideas and can do what is necessary to carry out a sustainable management initiative

Standards and Mainstreaming

This course is a core element of the study program with strong links to most other courses. The course gives an overview of standards in general and going on with important standards in project management. Standards of the International Organization for Standardization, and standards of project management associations like IPMA, PMI, AXELOX, AIMP, and APM are discussed.

The scope, the differences and the application of standards as well as the different project management approaches are in the focus of the course.

This course mainly covers the following topics

• Standards in general

• Overview and differences of Project Management standards 

• ISO 21.500

• PMBOK

• ICB 

• Prince2

• SCRUM

• Further standards used in Project Management (ISO standards)

• Characteristics of company standards

Managing Quality

This course provides an introduction to quality management. Principles of quality management shape project management, principles like: Customer focus, leadership, involvement of people, process approach, system approach to management, and factual approach to decision making. For some of these principles the core area is in other courses like MP06 on human resource management or MP14 on creativity and decision making. In MP08 there is a main focus on processes and systems. Methods and tools for the description of processes are analyzed and applied. Event process chains and business process management are included. Tools like ARIS, ARIS express, and Visio are used.

Quality management is a knowledge area of project management according to PMBOK for example. Concepts and processes of this knowledge area are discussed.

Quality management standards are discussed, the ISO9000 family and also EFQM. A special role plays ISO 10006 with guidelines for quality management in projects. In addition, concepts as Six Sigma, Total Quality Management, Lean Project Management and the Project Excellence Model will be introduced. 

Quality management processes are developed in case studies, as well as modules of a quality system and a quality manual.

In addition, special emphasis is laid on the modern understanding of quality management for projects based on scientific literature.

Lectures incl. practitioners' best practices, Interactive case studies, Seminar, Case studies, (Short) presentations, Results-oriented presentations in oral and written form

• Lectures introducing concepts, methods and tools

• Group work to practice concepts and methods, to develop skills and to work on case studies

• Semester assignments or scientific papers to add individual contributions

• Presentations to communicate results

Formal: -

Knowledge and Competencies: -

• 50% contributions within the course (homework, group work, presentations, case studies)

• 50% written or oral examination at the end of the course

Successful completion of examination, Presentation (individual / group)

M.A. European Master in Project Management, M.A. Business Management

Standards and Mainstreaming

• PMBOK® - 5th edition, PMI® 2013.

• IPMA (2015), ICB 4.0 

• Kerzner, Harold: Project Management, 10th edition, New York 2009.

• Schelle, Heinz; Ottmann, Roland; Pfeifer, Astrid: Project Manager, GPM 2006.

• http://agilemanifesto.org/iso/de/

• ISO - selected documents.

• AXELOS - selected documents

• SCRUM Guide, 

Managing Quality

Most course materials are available in ILIAS (including quality management standards) and additional web portals - a few books to mention here:

PMBOK® - 4th edition, PMI® 2008.

Kerzner, Harold: Project Management, 10th edition, New York 2009.

Schelle, Heinz; Ottmann, Roland; Pfeifer, Astrid: Project Manager, GPM 2006.

Westerveld, E. (2003). The Project Excellence Model : linking success criteria and critical success factors. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0263-7863(02)00112-6

Turner, J. R., & Cochrane, R. A. (1993). Goals-and-methods matrix: coping with projects with ill defined goals and/or methods of achieving them. International Journal of Project Management, 11(2), 93–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/0263-7863(93)90017-H

Additional reading:

Cicmil, S. (2000). Quality in project environments: a non‐conventional agenda. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 17(4/5), 554–570. https://doi.org/10.1108/02656710010298599

Anttila, J. (1992). Standardization of quality management and quality assurance: a project viewpoint. International Journal of Project Management, 10(4), 208–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/0263-7863(92)90079-O

Pollack-Johnson, B., & Liberatore, M. J. (2006). Incorporating Quality Considerations Into Project Time/Cost Tradeoff Analysis and Decision Making. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 53(4), 534–542. https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2006.883705

Parast, M. M. (2011). The effect of Six Sigma projects on innovation and firm performance. International Journal of Project Management, 29(1), 45–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2010.01.006

Bryde, D. J. (2003). Modelling project management performance. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 20(2), 229–254. https://doi.org/10.1108/02656710310456635

Hilton, R. J., & Sohal, A. (2012). A conceptual model for the successful deployment of Lean Six Sigma. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 29(1), 54–70. https://doi.org/10.1108/02656711211190873

Kwak, Y. H., & Ibbs, C. W. (2002). Project Management Process Maturity (PM)2 Model. Journal of Management in Engineering, 18(3), 150–155. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0742-597X(2002)18:3(150)

Luu, V. T., Kim, S.-Y., & Huynh, T.-A. (2008). Improving project management performance of large contractors using benchmarking approach. International Journal of Project Management, 26(7), 758–769. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.10.002

Brady, J. E., & Allen, T. T. (2006). Six Sigma Literature: A Review and Agenda for Future Research. Quality and Reliability Engineering International, 22(3), 335–367. https://doi.org/10.1002/qre.769

Banuelas Coronado, R., & Antony, J. (2002). Critical success factors for the successful implementation of six sigma projects in organisations. The TQM Magazine, 14(2), 92–99. https://doi.org/10.1108/09544780210416702

The Master's thesis, as the final module of the course, is intended to provide proof of the ability to carry out academic work.

The thesis can be carried out as an independent, practice-oriented research activity based on the scientific theories covered in the degree program.

Alternatively, the thesis can also be designed as project work. Existing company contacts, collaborations and student contacts are regularly used to implement practice-oriented research approaches together with companies as part of a Master's thesis. For example, a strategic issue arising from academic discussion or business practice is addressed and systematically developed further as part of the Master's thesis.

The thesis serves to sustainably expand the scientific methods and knowledge already acquired during the course. Conceptually, the thesis should generally have both a scientific and practical application context.