Philosophy

 

We are candid, curious, and intrinsically interested in exploring complex issues of management and organization. This implies – besides the reception of current research – fostering a lasting interest in challenging established knowledge as well as developing and formulating new insights.

Our course offer aims at conveying basic knowledge in business administration as well as current research developments. We regard our course portfolio (lectures, tutorials, research seminars, case study seminars, colloquia) - despite being based on a modular approach - as a coordinated and integrated concept.

It shall be seen as an invitation to participate in and enjoy the academic discourse by gaining a deeper understanding of the problems related to managing complex socio-economic systems.

Research

In our understanding, reseach first and foremost stands for enjoying the academic discourse. This implies – besides the reception of current research – fostering a lasting interest in challenging established knowledge as well as developing and formulating new insights. A prerequisite for actively participating in this discourse not only lies in well-founded knowledge of the relevant research on management and organizations, but also in a deeper understanding of the problems related to managing complex socio-economic systems. We therefore understand research on management and organizations as interdisciplinary in principle, with boundaries not set by a certain discipline but by the problems stemming from managing organizations. Regarding the research process, we are open to all research methods, which contribute substantially to answering the research questions at hand. In terms of empirical research, however, our emphasis lies on qualitative approaches. In general it is our aim to raise students’ interest in research on management and organizations early on through conveying and practicing academic thinking and sense-making. We are convinced that the ability to analyze complex circumstances, to reconstruct insights, and to actively participate in the academic discourse represents a core competence that is of high relevance to all professional fields in our knowledge-intensive society.   

Teaching

Our course offer aims at conveying basic knowledge in business administration as well as current research results in the fields of management and organization. We regard our course portfolio (lectures, tutorials, research seminars, case study seminars, colloquia) - despite being based on a modular approach - as a coordinated and integrated concept. We do not consider ourselves as exclusively research-oriented, but we aspire to provide a basis for a reflected application of academic knowledge with the goal of solving practical management issues in organizations. It is of critical importance to us that our students not solely acquire specialized knowledge in certain sub-sets of the research on management and organizations, but that they rather gain a general understanding and sharpen their view for the big picture. We understand our course offer therefore as an invitation to participate in the academic discourse. All of our examinations follow this standard and do not aim at only testing internalized knowledge, but at testing the ability to apply knowledge to new problems.

Students

Our students should be candid, curious, and foster a lasting interest in contemplating complex issues. Moreover they should be extraordinarily motivated, which is reflected by a healthy dose of ambition, diligence, and insistence. Candidness is expressed by the willingness to take on new, multifaceted (theoretical) perspectives. Curiosity motivates to get to the bottom of problems as opposed to taking over ready-made solutions. Contemplation means to scrutinize offered solutions. Our main goal is to encourage and to enable students to challenge presumably established positions within the research on management and organizations. Last but not least, we hope for students who are interested in the practical challenge of managing organizations and the scientific exploration of it. Fun and real interest in our specific field are the best foundation for intriguing discussions as well as exciting seminars and research projects and a prerequisite for successfully starting a career. For this purpose, we want to enable our students and advance them into responsible and reflective decision makers in our society.