Academic foundation › Master’s thesis
What I studied –
and what still counts today.
In 2015 I subjected a mandate I had been responsible for myself to academic scrutiny: the turnaround of GE Money Bank Austria. 216 pages, a case study with a comparison group, graded 50 out of 50 points.
The research question
Five questions from 2015 – and why I still ask them today
A statement of objectives and five research questions defined the scope of the study. They do not sound academic, because they never were: they are the questions that need answering before any restructuring.
„Mit Hilfe dieser Master Thesis soll der Nachweis erbracht werden, dass ein zielorientiertes Training und Coaching von Mitarbeitern in Verbindung mit einer im Vorfeld entwickelten Strategie dem betroffenen Unternehmen dabei hilft, seine neue Strategie umzusetzen und die definierten Ziele und Erträge nachhaltig zu erreichen.“
“This master’s thesis is intended to demonstrate that goal-oriented training and coaching of employees, combined with a strategy developed in advance, helps the company concerned to implement its new strategy and to achieve the defined targets and earnings sustainably.” (translated from German)
Statement of objectives, chapter 5, page 14.
What determines the direction?
Which elements influence the direction of the new corporate strategy?
What must implementation include?
Which elements must implementation in practice include for a sustainable increase in earnings, or the turnaround, to succeed?
What does enablement depend on?
Which success factors influence coaching and training?
What role does sales play?
What role does sales force effectiveness play in implementation in practice?
What is the yardstick for success?
How is success measured?
Research questions as worded in the thesis (translated from German), chapter 5, page 14. The headings above the questions are a reading aid and do not appear in the thesis.
How the study was conducted
A method that can be disproved
The thesis draws on specialist literature and on my own empirical research using grounded theory. The data were collected, coded and analysed while the change and training process was under way – both quantitatively and qualitatively.
The comparison is what matters: the results of the trained branches were set against those of a comparison group with a similar customer structure and the same potential. Only this design makes it possible to say whether a measure worked – or whether it was the market.
The supervisor’s assessment states that the presentation of results is „transparent sowie graphisch dargestellt und für jeden Leser nachvollziehbar“ (“transparent, presented graphically and comprehensible to every reader”, translated from German) and meets the criterion of falsifiability.
Why this is here: a method that can be disproved is the difference between an opinion and a finding. I bring the same standard to my mandates.
Slotta, M. (2015): Change Management – Veränderung als Chance zur nachhaltigen Ertragssteigerung und Mitarbeitermotivation. Master’s thesis (in German), AIM Austrian Institute of Management / FH Burgenland. Assessment: 50/50 points, grade Excellent (1).
Supervisor’s assessment dated 25 March 2015. All ten criteria in the original wording, with translation.
Three findings that have endured
What stood as a finding in 2015 – and has recurred ever since
01 · Issuing instructions does not create change
„Das bloße Anweisen von neuen Richtlinien und Prozessen innerhalb einer Organisation führt nicht mehr zu den gewünschten Ergebnissen und ist im Rahmen einer modernen Unternehmensführung nicht mehr zeitgemäß.“Conclusion, chapter 17, page 157.
“Simply issuing new guidelines and processes within an organisation no longer leads to the desired results and is no longer appropriate in modern corporate management.” (translated from German)
02 · Line managers decide whether it lands
„Als wichtiger Bestandteil für die erfolgreiche Umsetzung von Veränderungsprozessen sind die Führungskräfte und ihr Einsatz zur Unterstützung der Maßnahmen anzuführen. Sie entscheiden in ihrer täglichen Arbeit, ob und wie Veränderungen erfolgreich umgesetzt werden können.“Answers to the research questions, chapter 16.2, page 150.
“Managers and their commitment to supporting the measures must be cited as an important component for the successful implementation of change processes. In their daily work, they decide whether and how changes can be implemented successfully.” (translated from German)
03 · What is not measured does not count
„Die jeweiligen Trainings- und Coachingmaßnahmen müssen daher zur Unternehmensstrategie passen und ein Ziel, das auch entsprechend gemessen werden kann, verfolgen. […] Die Erfolgsmessung ist für die Legitimation der Maßnahmen aus betriebswirtschaftlicher Sicht ein Muss.“Conclusion, chapter 17, page 156, and chapter 16.5, page 153.
“The respective training and coaching measures must therefore fit the corporate strategy and pursue a goal that can also be measured accordingly. […] From a business perspective, measuring success is a must in order to legitimise the measures.” (translated from German)
From the case study
Three figures from the study
The study examined branch sales at GE Money Bank Austria: pilot branches with training and an advisory tool against a comparison group with neither.
Comparison of cash loan sales: chapter 15.10, table 7, page 133. Management appointments and team effectiveness: chapter 15.11, pages 143 and 144. Original document (in German) available on request.
A side finding is the most honest part of the measurement: imitation effects occurred in the comparison group. Branches passed elements of the training content on to one another. In terms of measurement accuracy, that was a flaw – for the company, it was proof that the approach worked. The project management deliberately did not stop it.
The uncomfortable part
What I wrote about external consultants in 2015
At one point, chapter 17.4 of the thesis argues against using external consultants. That appears in a thesis that a consultancy now uses to present itself. It still belongs here.
„SFE ist im Vergleich zur Beauftragung externer Berater kostengünstiger, flexibler und kann zudem schneller auf betriebliche Anforderungen reagieren, da es im Unternehmen fest verankert ist und über das jeweilige spezifische Wissen verfügt. […] Ein Engagement von externen Beratern kann jedoch temporär sinnvoll sein, um die Risiken der Betriebsblindheit durch den Austausch von Best Practice innerhalb der Branche und branchenübergreifend zu gewährleisten.“
“Compared with engaging external consultants, SFE is more cost-effective, more flexible and can also respond more quickly to operational requirements, as it is firmly embedded in the company and has the relevant specific knowledge. […] Engaging external consultants can, however, make sense on a temporary basis in order to counter the risks of operational blindness through the exchange of best practice within the industry and across industries.” (translated from German)
Conclusion, chapter 17.4, pages 159 and 160.
I still see it the same way. If a task is permanent, it should be mastered in-house – any other solution is more expensive and slower. External support pays off where operational blindness is the issue, where a function is needed for a limited time, or where a restructuring is due for which there is simply no capacity in-house.
That is exactly how I work. If a mandate does not fall into one of these three cases, I say so in the first conversation – and advise against it.
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What is on this page is eleven years old. What becomes of it in today’s mandates is something I write up once a month in my newsletter Klartext (straight talk): an analysis from an institution I have supported myself. When you sign up, you choose what you receive first – or choose nothing, and you receive everything. The newsletter is published in German.
Sales and customer acquisition
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How you can tell three months in advance that an initiative is about to tip over.
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What distinguishes institutions in which change takes hold from those in which it fizzles out.
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