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The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a transformational leadership style on employee well-being.Data for the study were taken from an on-line survey of all employees from six German companies in the information and communication technology sector. The data obtained were analyzed using multiple logistic regressions.Analysis of data from a total of 318 employees (response rate 58.4%) revealed a significant relationship between transformational leadership and employee well-being (P = 0.00; OR = 1.13; 95% CI = 1.05 to 1.22). A higher degree of perceived transformational leadership is associated with greater well-being.The results of this study suggest that a transformational leadership style, which both conveys a sense of trust and meaningfulness and individually challenges and develops employees, also has a positive effect on employee well-being.

Objective: This study examines the association between social capital at work and depressive symptoms in employees. Methods: Data for this cross-sectional study were collected through an online survey with the full population of employees from six companies in the German information and communication technology sector (response rate: 58.4%). A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: Results of data from a total of 328 employees suggest that, after controlling for sociodemographic factors, health awareness, and job strain, lower levels of perceived social capital at work are associated with the experience of depressive symptoms (OR = 0.76; 95% CI: 0.64–0.90). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that characteristics of high social capital at work, such as an established environment of trust and a sense of common values and convictions, could be an essential resource for preventing depressive disorders.

Objective This study examines the association between perceived social capital and health promotion willingness (HPW) of companies from a chief executive officer's perspective. Methods Data for the cross-sectional study were collected through telephone interviews with one chief executive officer from randomly selected companies within the German information and communication technology sector. A hierarchical multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed. Results Results of the logistic regression analysis of data from a total of n = 522 interviews suggest that higher values of perceived social capital are associated with pronounced HPW in companies (odds ratio = 3.78; 95% confidence intervals, 2.24 to 6.37). Conclusions Our findings suggest that characteristics of high social capital, such as an established environment of trust as well as a feeling of common values and convictions could help promote HPW.

SUMMARY This study takes a first step toward examining the relationship between organizational characteristics and the perceived attitude toward health promotion in companies from the perspective of chief executive officers (CEOs). Data for the cross-sectional study were collected through telephone interviews with one CEO from randomly selected companies within the German information and communication technology (ICT) sector. Multivariate logistic regression analysis (LRA) was performed, and further LRA was conducted after stratifying on company size. LRA of data from a total of n ¼ 522 interviews found significant associations between the attitude toward health promotion and the company’s market position, its number of hierarchical levels, the percentage of permanent positions and the percentage of employees with an academic education. After stratification on company size, the association between the attitude toward health promotion and both market position and the percentage of employees with an academic education was still present in small companies. There were no significant relationships between the attitude toward health promotion and the structural characteristics of medium-sized and large companies. The preliminary results of the study indicate that a perceived attitude toward health promotion in companies can be explained, to a certain degree, by the intraorganizational characteristics analyzed. Our key findings highlight that efforts toward establishing a positive attitude toward health promotion should focus on small companies with a lower market position and a greater number of employees with a lower education level.

Der Beitrag berichtet uber Ergebnisse des BMBF-Verbundprojektes „PraKoNeT – Vorsprung durch gesunde Arbeit“, das 2007 bis 2010 in funf Unternehmen der ITK-Branche realisiert wurde. Im Fokus des Projektes stand die Identifikation von Disbalancen zwischen psychischen Belastungen und der Wahrnehmung von psychischen Beanspruchungen und Stress in wissensbasierten Arbeitsprozessen. Die Wiederherstellung der Balance zwischen Belastungen und Beanspruchungen erfolgte prozessorientiert durch ein flexibles Ressourcenmanagement, das mit einem Wandel in der Orientierung und im Verhalten der Fuhrung verbunden ist. Es kamen quantitative und qualitative sozialwissenschaftliche Methoden zum Einsatz. Dabei konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass die Reduzierung von psychischen Beanspruchungen/Stress und die damit verbundene gesundheitsforderliche Prozessoptimierung sowohl eine beteiligungs- und vertrauensorientierte Fuhrung als auch eine hohe Mitwirkungsbereitschaft der Mitarbeiter voraussetzt.

Background The Worksite Health Promotion Capacity Instrument (WHPCI) was developed to assess two key factors for effective worksite health promotion: collective willingness and the systematic implementation of health promotion activities in companies. This study evaluates the diagnostic qualities of the WHPCI based on its subscales Health Promotion Willingness and Health Promotion Management, which can be used to place companies into four different categories based on their level of health promotion capacity. Methods Psychometric evaluation was conducted using exploratory factor and reliability analyses with data taken from a random sample of managers from n = 522 German information and communication technology (ICT) companies. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were conducted to determine further diagnostic qualities of the instrument and to establish the cut-off scores used to determine each company's level of health promotion capacity. Results The instrument's subscales, Health Promotion Willingness and Health Promotion Management, are based on one-dimensional constructs, each with very good reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.83/0.91). ROC analyses demonstrated satisfactory diagnostic accuracy with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.76 (SE = 0.021; 95% CI 0.72-0.80) for the Health Promotion Willingness scale and 0.81 (SE = 0.021; 95% CI 0.77-0.86) for the Health Promotion Management scale. A cut-off score with good sensitivity (71%/76%) and specificity (69%/75%) was determined for each scale. Both scales were found to have good predictive power and exhibited good efficiency. Conclusions Our findings indicate preliminary evidence for the validity and reliability of both subscales of the WHPCI. The goodness of each cut-off score suggests that the scales are appropriate for determining companies' levels of health promotion capacity. Support in implementing (systematic) worksite health promotion can then be tailored to each company's needs based on their current capacity level.

In Theorie und Praxis des Wissensmanagements wird in der Regel davon ausgegangen, dass das Management von Wissen darin besteht, die „Ressource Wissen“ im Unternehmen zu identifizieren, mit oder ohne IT-Technik zu verteilen, zu nutzen und zu dokumentieren — Wissensmanagement als Handling von Wissen.

Das Erkennen und die Nutzung von Erfahrungswissen ist eine standige Herausforderung und Bedingung zum Erhalt der Innovationsfahigkeit der Unternehmen. Diese wird durch die Hypertext-Fahigkeit (Kapitel 2) entscheidend gepragt. Die Hypertextfahigkeit wird umso wirkungsvoller, je besser das Erfahrungswissen der Mitarbeiter verbalisiert, innerhalb und zwischen den verschiedenen Unternehmensbereichen kommuniziert, transferiert und im Unternehmenswissen verankert werden kann. Bislang fehlten dafur praktikable Methoden, insbesondere zur Explizierung und zielfuhrenden Weitergabe des verbalisierbaren impliziten Wissens der Mitarbeiter. Damit ist auch zu erklaren, warum das Thema Wissenskommunikation bisher eher im Zusammenhang mit IT-Prozessen als mit der Kommunikation zwischen Menschen erortert wurde. Jedoch: „Wissen liegt immer zwischen Menschen, nicht auf Festplatten.“30

In der Diskussion um die Realisierung von Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien und auch den Chancen der Beteiligung von Frauen an und in diesem Prozes steht die Frage des Zugangs zum und der Beteiligung im Internet meist im Mittelpunkt. Inzwischen sind diese neuen Technologien aber auch in Form des Intranets in raschem Tempo bereits Realitat im Alltag von Unternehmen und Organisationen geworden. Auch hier ist — in letzter Zeit auch noch zunehmend — vor allem die Frage der Prasenz der Unternehmen im Internet nach ausen (website/e-commerce) der Hauptgegenstand der Diskussion.

Dieser Bericht uber die Entwicklung der a&o research GmbH seit ihrer Grundung entstand aus meiner sehr personlichen Sicht als Geschaftsfuhrerin und Direktorin dieses Instituts. Er zeigt die Herausforderungen und Schwierigkeiten, ebenso aber die Entwicklungen und Erfolge des Teams auf seinem Weg zu einem erfolgreich marktwirtschaftlich agierenden Forschungsinstitut.