Lectures and Essays I E-Book

Reinhard Mohn

• Herausgeber: Bertelsmann Stiftung
• Kategorie: Sachliteratur, Reportagen, Biografien
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Seitenzahl: 264

Beschreibung

Neben seinen Buchveröffentlichungen hat Reinhard Mohn über viele Jahre auch immer wieder in Reden, Interviews und Aufsätzen seine Ideen zur Diskussion gestellt. Mit der Gründung der Bertelsmann Stiftung begann er Anfang der achtziger Jahre, seine Vorstellungen regelmäßiger zu veröffentlichen. In den drei Bänden "Vorträge und Schriften" sind diese Dokumente chronologisch zusammengefasst.

Leseprobe

Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic information is available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.

One-time posthumous special edition on Reinhard Mohn, published by the Bertelsmann Stiftung.

This issue is based on the original German edition of Reinhard Mohn’s lectures and essays as an unabridged, licensed edition for the Reinhard Mohn Complete Works Edition,

© 2010 E-Book-Ausgabe (EPUB)

© 2009 by Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung, Gütersloh.© 2010 eBook edition (PDF)© 2010 Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung, Gütersloh

Responsible: Karin Schlautmann

Production editor: Sabine Reimann

Translation: CPSL Documentation & Tools GmbH, Ludwigsburg

Cover design: Bertelsmann Stiftung

Cover illustration: Archive Bertelsmann Stiftung

Author’s photo: Christoph Gödan

Typeset and printed by:

Hans Kock Buch- und Offsetdruck GmbH, Bielefeld

Printed in Germany

ISBN : 978-3-86793-291-2

www.bertelsmann-stiftung.org/publications

www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/verlag

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Titel

Impressum

Contemporary arrangement of company top management - Ideas and proposals

Opening remarks

Corporate governance at a crossroads

Top management organization viewed critically

Business leadership and supervision of top management: Do management controls work?

Strategic loopholes in German corporate governance: The deficit in the ...

Reform of corporate governance: New legal regulations or further developments ...

The German stock corporation leadership model in comparison with the ...

I. The German stock corporation leadership model

II. The concept of leadership in the American board system

III. The English board system

Leadership practice in German stock corporations - Starting points for a ...

Social change, leadership, and partnership

Opening remarks

Changes in fundamental values - A challenge for entrepreneurial activity

Democratization of commerce and industry?

I. The meaning of leadership

II. Leadership in the political realm

III. Leadership in the economic realm

IV. What reasons are given for democratic leadership and decision-making in ...

On the road to partnership

The transformation of organizational structures in industrial society

On the search for self-realization

New goals for employers and employees

People in the workplace from the business and entrepreneurial perspective

I. Is a job the same as a vocation?

II. The businessperson’s changed image

III. The shareholder

IV. Changed duties

V. Humane workplaces

Self-realization in state administration?

Today’s premises for our societal order

An assessment of Germany’s state administration

Safeguarding business continuity

Foreword

Reasons for the need for continuity

I. Further development of a business’ concept of itself and its inner structure

II. The meaning of the human resources-management component in a company’s ...

III. The management technique of a business as a contribution to its survival ...

IV. The contribution of strategic planning for the guarantee of business continuity

V. Securing financing while taking into account the influence of capital on ...

VI. Who is responsible for guaranteeing our company’s continuity?

New approaches in employer-employee relations

Foreword

New approaches in employer-employee relations

The story of Bertelsmann

Changes in the goal-setting and work methods of a company

The development of a new management technique

Technical management premises for the principle of decentralization through delegation

Motivation as a condition for the functioning of an organization led in a ...

The foundations of motivation

The assessment of the new business model developed in the Bertelsmann house

The influence of socio-political structures on business success and a national economy

Business positioning and orientation in a modern society

The company’s duty

The conditions for business operations have changed

A critical evaluation of the objectives

A critical assessment of employer-employee self-conception

New tasks for management, capital, and labor components

The “capital” component

New challenges for business management

The employee as partner

A summarized assessment of the necessary changes

Afterword

Proper codetermination in the economy

The abuse of codetermination

Having a say at the workplace

States’ responsibility for structures in the economy

Reinhard Mohn was born in Gütersloh, Germany, on June 29, 1921. After his release in 1946 by the Americans as a prisoner of war, he returned home to take over management of the familyowned printing and publishing house. He led the business, one of the leading international media enterprises, for over 40 years. The business structure is characterized by the principles of fairness, partnership, and justice. These are expressions of his idea of business culture.

In 1977, Reinhard Mohn founded the Bertelsmann Stiftung, which carries on the tradition of cultural, social, and socio-political involvement while ensuring the enterprise’s continuity. Reinhard Mohn transferred the majority of Bertelsmann AG’s share capital to the foundation in 1993. This act reflects his conviction that wealth and prosperity should also be coupled with a commitment to social engagement.

Reinhard Mohn died on October 3, 2009.

Contemporary arrangement of company top management1

Ideas and proposals

Opening remarks

The Bertelsmann Stiftung’s fields of activity are set forth in its Articles of Association and, among others include “the promotion of leadership techniques, especially in the field of business and civil servitude through research, pilot programs and apprenticeship” as well as “the encouragement of the development and testing of effective contemporary business forms and structures, particularly through the support of research projects, pilot schemes, etc.” These principals are repeatedly followed and actively referred to, most recently in the treatment of the question being debated again today regarding purposeful organizational structure within top management, especially with regard to large companies.

These issues were thoroughly addressed and considered in a series of technical discussions at home and abroad as well as in one of the colloquiums organized by the Bertelsmann Stiftung. Reinhard Mohn, Executive board member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung and Chairman of the Bertelsmann AG supervisory board, and Dr. Herbert Henzler, Director of McKinsey & Company, Inc., both give their thoughts and suggestions in this booklet. Dr. Knut Bleicher, Professor of Business Administration Studies at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany, introduces the subject and characterizes it for us.

Corporate governance at a crossroads

Professor Dr. Knut Bleicher

Top management organization viewed critically

In the last decade, the organization of stock corporation top management has increasingly moved into the spotlight of both a more broadly interested public and the discussion among professionals regarding business management and the legal aspects thereof. There are numerous and diverse reasons for this. The lack of consideration for legitimate public interest when company policy decisions are made is part of this, as we see spectacular corporate collapses raising questions regarding their timely recognition by business leadership and supervision bodies, as well as about crisis prevention by management. Reckless-and too often absurd-corporate takeovers resulting from the omnipotence and bravado of a particular kind of business personality, inept efforts to sufficiently discourage this type of behavior on executive and supervisory boards, and spectacular cases of failure to ensure continuity when filling company top management positions are further exemplary reasons for the current discussion questioning our top management’s ability to function.