Internship at DB Research

Internship Report

Maastricht University

School of Business and Economics

Nagoya, 18th September 2013

Hannah Berscheid

I6038469

BSc International Economic Studies

2

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 3

2. Deutsche Bank 4

3. Assignments

3.1 Infrastructure 5

3.2 Silver Surfer 5

3.3 Carbon Leakage 6

3.4 Open Innovation 8

3.5 Sector Information System 8

3.6 Industry 4.0 9

4. Discussion and Reflection

4.1 Learning Progress 9

4.2 Reflection – What was good? What was bad? 11

5. Conclusion 13

6. Appendix

6.1 References 14

6.2 Sample Work 17

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1. Introduction

During the summer 2013, I have successfully completed an internship at Deutsche Bank AG

in Frankfurt, Germany for eight weeks. I have worked for the division DB Research which

deals with daily economic and political analyses. The team I was working with is called

„Sectors, Technology and Resources‟. It consists of six members under the direction of Dr.

Antje Stobbe. The team conducts analyses related to sectors, resources, technology,

education and innovation. They publish their findings on the web page of DB Research.1

My tutor Mr Thomas Dapp focuses on current issues relating to technology. However, I

worked with different team members, so I had a look at various themes.

My tasks were correspondingly multifarious. I had to write summaries and notes about

meetings and presentations. Additionally I had to conduct analyses and I had to prepare

graphs. My main assignment, however, was to write reports. In the end of my internship, I

have published two studies. There is another publication which will be published at the end

of the year. After finishing my internship I was suggested for the student binding program

„internship reloaded‟ offered by Deutsche Bank.

During my internship I have learned a lot. First, I got an insight into the practice and

experienced a real work environment. Second, I looked into different current academic

subjects which highly increased my knowledge about day-to-day policy making in Germany.

Third, I was thankful for personal feedback which was given to me at the end of the

internship. The feedback and critics given by my tutor and colleagues were useful to value

my work.

This internship report provides an overview about the different assignments during my

internship. It starts with a short description about Deutsche Bank. It proceeds with a concise

insight into the publications about silver surfers, carbon leakage and infrastructure policies.

Then it continues with a summary of the smaller task regarding open innovation, the sector

information system and industry 4.0. The paper closes with a discussion about what I have

learned during the internship and how this experience will help me in the future.

1 DB Research: www.dbresearch.de

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2. Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank is a global universal bank acting all over the world. It is one of the biggest

financial institutions in Europe and the biggest bank in Germany with 97.158 employees

worldwide.2 Deutsche Bank offers five different products or services. First, they offer

financial services to „Private & Business Clients‟ which addresses individuals as well as

medium sizes companies. Second, Deutsche Bank provides „Asset & Wealth Management‟.

This section is responsible for wealth increasing activities of clients. Third, they „Corporate

Banking & Security‟ department deals with corporate finance and concentrates on sales and

trading. Fourth, Deutsche Bank offers a product called „Global Transaction Banking‟ which

provides services for other financial institutions. Finally, the „Risk‟ department tries to

reduce risk the company faces. Examples for subdivisions are the „Credit Risk Management‟

and the „Market Risk Management‟.

In 1870, Deutsche Bank was founded by private bankers leaded by Adelbert Delbrück in

Berlin. Their main target was to finance the German foreign trade in order to reduce the

dominance of English financial institutions. So the business was built global right from the

beginning. During the end of the 19th

century, Deutsche Bank expanded their business

segments and experienced an upswing. In the beginning of the 20th

century, Deutsche Bank

took over small German banks like the Lübecker Privatbank (1927) and the Hildesheimer

Bank (1928). In 1930, Deutsche Bank and the Disconto Gesellschaft merged. After the

Second World War, the Deutsche Bank was split into ten regional banks. In 1957, the

institutions have been reunited with their new main location in Frankfurt. After the

reunification, the Deutsche Bank continued to focus on becoming a global and international

institution. Today, Deutsche Bank is a global bank with activities in private as well as

investment banking. In the future, Deutsche Bank wants to become the „leading client-

centric global universal bank‟.3 It wants to increase their businesses in oversee regions like

America, the Asian-pacific region as well as in emerging markets like Russia, China or

Latin America.

DB Research is the economic division of the Deutsche Bank AG which deals with current

macroeconomic topics. DB Research acts as an advisor for the bank and its stakeholders.

The employees write reports, comments, studies, short summaries and brief colleagues in

other divisions. The research is mainly about macroeconomic analysis as well as current

political issues. Another focus lies on research regarding financial sectors as well as natural

resources.

2 Deutsche Bank AG (2013). Zwischenbericht zum 30. Juni 2013. Retrieved 18.09.2013 from

https://www.deutsche-bank.de/ir/de/download/DB_Zwischenbericht_2Q2013.pdf. 3 Deutsche Bank AG. Vision and Brand. Retrieved 07.09.2013 from

https://www.db.com/en/content/company/vision-and-brand.htm.

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3. Assignments

3.1. Infrastructure

At the beginning of my internship, I had to write a publication with the format of a „German

Policy Watch‟. This kind of paper is made to inform stakeholders abroad about policy

possibilities after elections (which take place in September 2013) in Germany. The „German

Policy Watch‟ addressed the infrastructure policies of the four big German parties (CDU/

CSU, SPD, The Greens, FDP). My task was to research data and to write the paper together

in English. I was supported by a colleague with whom I shared the work for the „German

Policy Watch‟. The paper, which is called „Transport and IT infrastructure policy:

Ambitious objectives – funding remains challenging‟4, was published on Monday, 29th of

July 2013.

The „German Policy Watch‟ states that the German parties support familiar objectives after

the election. Generally, the parties want to improve the transport and IT infrastructure. They

address the need for maintenance of road infrastructure and also the need for an expansion

of railway transportation capacity. According to the CDU/CSU, the SPD and the Greens,

traffic is supposed to be shifted from road to railway and waterways. Railway infrastructure

should be still owned by the state. Only the FDP stand for a partial privatisation of the

railway infrastructure. The improvement of energy efficiency of the transport sector is an

important topic for all parties as well. However, they have different implementation plans.

Regarding the IT infrastructure, all parties agree that broadband should be expanded. In this

regard, the Greens and the SPD call for the introduction of a „universal service‟. The

financing plans for the infrastructure policy differ among the parties. While the SPD wants

to use private capital for financing, the CDU likes to reduce costs and improve the

implementation of policy goals time wisely.

3.2. Silver Surfers

I have worked on a „Snapshot‟ which is a publication format that provides a short overview

over a current topic. It includes many graphs and short descriptions to illustrate the main

points. I was allowed to write the text, design the graphs and work on the paper in general

with a lot of freedom. Together with a colleague, the snapshot was published on the 20th

of

August 2013 under the name „Silver surfers. The importance of older generations for the

internet‟5.

This „Snapshot‟ deals with elderly internet users in Germany. The importance of silver

surfers increased in the last years and is expected to increase even more since this

population cohort is the only one which is said to rise in the future in Germany. Generally,

more than 90 per cent of people younger than 30 use the internet while half of the people

4 Berscheid, H. and Heymann, E. (2013). Transport and IT infrastructure policy: Ambitious objectives –

funding remains challenging. 5 Dapp, T. and Berscheid, H. (2013). Silver surfers. The importance of older generations for the internet.

6

older than 60 stay offline.6 The growth in internet users is especially high in the older

generation. Silver surfers are less likely to own devices. This is especially noticeable for

recently introduced technologies like smartphones or tablets. Generally, silver surfers and

younger age cohorts use the internet differently. While elderly look out for test results, sport

news or information about family and children, the younger generation prefers to use

communities and forums. These differences are age-specific as the cohorts have variable

interests and abilities which can be noticed in the purchasing behaviour as well. Above all,

elderly have more money available than the younger cohorts. Interestingly, the credit

demand has increased among all age cohorts, but especially people aged 55-75 have a high

credit demand with a relatively low redemption rate.7 Elderly still shy away from online

activities like online banking or e-commerce. Appealing applications like loyalty programs

or Quick Response codes are more common among the younger age cohorts than the older

ones. Silver surfers also prefer traditional payment methods like invoice instead of recently

introduced online payment methods.

The main point of this snapshot was to show the increasing importance of silver surfers for

the web. Their online economic potential seems to increase which must be taken into

account by designing websites and by the topics and products offered online.

3.3. Carbon Leakage

The main task during my internship was to work on a „Study‟ about carbon leakage. A

„Study‟ is a detailed publication which provides an argumentation about a specific current

economic topic. My task was to conduct research and to write a preliminary version of the

text. The „Study‟ with the preliminary title „Carbon Leakage: ein schleichender Prozess‟

will be published at the end of this year including me as a co-author.

The „Study‟ about carbon leakage deals with the rising energy prices in Germany.

Compared to other countries, Germany has set itself strict climate and energy policy goals.

The government wants to increase the share of renewable energies and the energy efficiency.

The main goal, however, is to reduce the CO2-emissions. The cost debate regarding the

German „Energy Turnaround‟ shows that the current goals might harm the economic and

competitive situation of German companies. The loss of the competitive ability, especially

energy-intensive companies, is at first because of increasing energy prices. With energy-

intensive products like steel or cement, these stand at the beginning of the value chain. If

they are hurt by additional costs, the subsequent industries are harmed as well. So the

German comparative advantage of the vertical integrated value chain might be in danger.

This has implication for other parts of the chain, for example the innovative capacity might

6 Statistisches Bundesamt . IT Nutzung. Retrieved 24.08.2013 from

https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/GesellschaftStaat/EinkommenKonsumLebensbedingungen/ITNutzu

ng/ITNutzung.html. 7 SCHUFA (2013). Schufa Kredit-Kompass 2013. Retrieved 20.08.2013 from http://www.schuldnerberatung-

sh.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Literatur_SB/SCHUFA_Kredit-Kompass_2013.pdf.

7

be harmed or the purchase price of energy-intensive products might increase. Additionally,

the „Energy Turnaround‟ brings a lot of new policy options up for discussion leading to an

energy political insecurity.

The cost debate is indeed an important topic as data from Eurostat or the Federal Statistics

Office show.8 The electricity rate for the industry without taxes has fallen since 2008 in

Germany. But the taxes itself have approximately tripled during these years according to

Eurostat, so the energy rate including taxes has increased. The rate is around ten per cent

higher than the European energy rate. So the money which is available for investments or

the development of new products decreases because German companies have to spend

money on additional energy costs. Right now, energy-intensive companies profit from

exemptions regarding taxes. Therefore they face lower energy costs compared to non-

energy-intensive firms. However, due to external influences (e.g. the challenge of the

European Commission) it is not sure whether the exemptions – at least to the previous

extent – for energy-intensive firms will be preserved.

The possibly rising energy prices make German companies reassess their location decision.

In the long term, companies might migrate to countries with lower energy costs and a more

stable and secure energy market. However, this process of migration seems to be slow. The

companies will start to invest less in German locations and at one point in time, they will

drift. This process has already started. The level of modernity of the equipment and other

facilities has sunk over the last 20 years in the energy-intensive industries according to the

Federal Statistics Office. Since 2000, the investments in German energy-intensive industries

were low. They rather invest in foreign locations. Interestingly, the level of modernity and

the level of investment have fallen in non-energy-intensive industries as well. However,

energy-intensive companies face a stronger drop of investments. Therefore there must be

other factors that influence the location decision. But Germany has just begun with reaching

their climate policy goals. So the energy prices might increase even more in the future and

hence play a bigger role for the location decision.

8 E.g. Eurostat. (17.09.2013). Energy Data. Retrieved 15.08.2013 from

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/energy/datahttp://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/port

al/energy/data/main_tables/main_tables.

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3.4. Open Innovation

On the 1st of August, I went to a presentation by Prof. Dr. Frank Piller, who teaches

management at the RWTH Aachen, Germany. The presentation for employees of Deutsche

Bank dealt with open innovation. My task was to take notes about the contents covered in

the presentation and to present it to a colleague at DB Research who is responsible for IT

topics.

The presentation talked about open innovation which is a term related to innovation

management. It basically says that a firm can create value interactively by collaborating

with actors outside the firm. There are a lot of drivers for opening innovation processes for

example a lack of skilled workers or an external pressure. Generally, the chances due to the

opening process are huge as the problem solving room increases and the skills of more

people are combined. It also results in a more flexible and dynamic innovation process and

might reduce costs for the firm. However, there are also some problems arising with open

innovation. First, it might be hard to motivate the people and second, the firm might worry

about the property rights they lose.

3.5. Sector Information System

Deutsche Bank AG commissions a sector information system (German:

Brancheninformationssystem) on a yearly basis conducted by different division of Deutsche

Bank, amongst others DB Research. The information system covers around 90 different

sectors. The sector information system gives an overview over important sector specific

information and facilitates comparisons within and between sectors. It provides current data

as well as long-run and short-run forecasts.

My task was to update data as well as graphs and a final text related to specific sectors. I

have done this for the following sectors: manufacture of electronic components (26.11)9,

manufacture of instruments and appliances for measuring, testing and navigation; watches

and clocks (26.50), manufacture of electric motors, generators and transformers (27.11),

manufacture of electricity distribution and control apparatus (27.12) and for the manufacture

of medical equipment (26.60 + 32.50). The data I had to update dealt with trade, the major

firms in the sectors, the revenue of the sector and the expenses.

9 These numbers are the NACE codes for the different sectors.

9

3.6. Industry 4.0

During a meeting of my team, they discussed about the topic of „Industry 4.0‟. My task was

to record the arguments of my team members and to summarise them. The reason for this

short workshop was that one colleague has to do a study about the topic in the future and

needed some new ideas. Additionally, the further procedure of the study was discussed

during the meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting, a colleague has done a presentation about „Industry 4.0‟

which expresses the fourth industrial revolution. The general definition says that traditional

industries should be computerised with production units connected automatically and

autonomously. The concept of „industry 4.0‟ also includes an intelligent data processing

system realised by human beings and machines.10

„Industry 4.0‟ is especially important for

the automotive industries because of the mass production and the product variety.

Intermediary suppliers and also consumer electronics can benefit from this development.

The difference to the previous revolutions is that the concept was mentioned before it was

actually implemented. However, some experts say that „Industry 4.0‟ has already started

because it is a process evolving slowly over time.11

The development of the computerisation

depends on the technological possibilities so that in some sectors it is more advanced than in

others. But generally, the advantages of „Industry 4.0‟ are the connectivity among different

sectors and a faster and cheaper production.

4. Discussion and Reflection

4.1 Learning Progress

The internship at Deutsche Bank has given me the opportunity to gain an insight into the

practical working environment. It was the my first internship I did and therefore the first

time that I had real working experience. I faced a lot of challenges which has given me the

option to develop myself. First, the amount of teamwork was high for example in the work

about carbon leakage and IT infrastructure so I learned about teamwork in the working

environment, which differentiates from teamwork at university. In university, the motivation

of all team members can be completely different leading to a unbalanced amount of work

among the team members. However, at DB Research all people were equally motivated and

contributed equivalently to the work. Second, I gained experience about the interaction

among colleagues. The interactions have been really amicable and companionable which

reminded me of interactions among students. But in one point there has been a difference

between university and work. Everyone at work has taken care that no one loses face so that

the atmosphere at work stays positive and pleasant. Third, I learned about the daily work

routine. At DB Research exists a procedure which must be passed through before publishing 10 Frauenhofer (2013). Produktionsarbeit der Zukunft – Industrie 4.0. Retrieved 18.09.2013 from

http://www.produktionsarbeit.de/content/dam/produktionsarbeit/de/documents/Fraunhofer-IAO-

Studie_Produktionsarbeit_der_Zukunft_-_Industrie_4.0.pdf. 11

S. Heng. (Personal communication, 26. July 2013)

10

an article. After writing the first draft, the paper is given to the team leader who checks it.

This is done as many times so that the team leader permits the author to go on with the next

step of the procedure. The paper is then passed to the management of DB Research which

approves the article. Finally, the paper is given to the compliance division to verify that no

law (e.g. like copyright) is broken. The complexity and importance of such a procedure was

unknown to me before I have done my internship. Another routine in my team at DB

Research was the weekly team meeting to inform all team members about general or team

specific information and the activities of all team members in the upcoming week. The work

environment at DB Research showed me the importance of networking and a good working

atmosphere as well as the impact of routines on the work.

The focus of my work was to write articles. Therefore I have learned a lot about writing

texts as well as which different forms of publication at DB Research exists. The rules I have

learned about writing in general will help me for my future academic work. My colleagues

have provided me with some hints regarding structuring a publication and wordings. They

pointed out the importance of an abstract and a detailed structure with specific notes for

each item in order to avoid doubling of information in the text. There are some specific

words like dramatically which should not be used in an academic work. Articles must not be

subjectively manipulating the reader but instead providing objective arguments which might

convince the reader to agree with the author‟s argumentation. Since I had to write different

kind of publications (snapshot, study, and German policy watch) I had to write flexibly and

got to know some forms of publications. It was interesting to see that the writing style must

be changed for every publication format.

Because of my research for the articles I also gained information about academic themes

mentioned above like silver surfers or the German „Energy Turnaround‟. I learned about

current political and economic topics because I had to read the news every day to scan them

for new information. This is also very useful for the studies at university. I especially got

interested in the „Energy Turnaround‟ which I maybe choose as a topic for my CAPSTONE

assignment next year. I have also learned about the sector information system and the

importance of this work for the bank, stockholders and investment decisions in general.

Because of my work on the sector information system, I also improved my knowledge about

some sectors in detail. I got used to the NACE code system.

During my internship I was also able to deepen my knowledge of how to conduct research

and how to do notes. In the latter case, being secretary in tutorials at Maastricht University

helped me a lot to deal with this task. For conducting research, DB Research gave me the

opportunity to participate at a further training on how to use the research program „Retis‟.

Retis has been programmed for Deutsche Bank. It ties all relevant economic data bases and

therefore facilitates the research process. I was also taught on how to use the program called

„Rewrite‟ which facilitates the publication process by providing a standardised design kit for

all publications done by DB Research.

In the end of my internship, the colleagues have given me a personal and detailed feedback

about my work and my appearance at DB Research. The feedback is an opportunity to learn

11

about myself and the level of my work. At university, such a detailed feedback is not

provided, but in my opinion it is really useful for the development of oneself. The feedback

will help me for my future career because I now know the skills I have to improve.

4.2 Reflection – What was good? What was bad?

The Deutsche Bank organises the internships very well. At first, they arrange an

introduction event for all new interns to provide them with necessary information. Every

interns get an own working place for the whole period at Deutsche Bank. The tutor

introduces the intern to the new working area and to other colleagues. The team leader tells

the intern the targets she/he wants you to reach and introduces the division as well as the

company Deutsche Bank to you.

The assignments for interns at DB Research are alike the work done by regular employees.

This is very good to get to know the real work done by DB Research. Generally, the tasks

were neither too difficult nor too easy. It was a good mix of assignments with a different

level of difficulty. Additionally, I got the impression to do something useful as an intern and

nothing unnecessary to fill your time. They treat interns as adequate team members and give

them an adequate level of responsibility. Interns are allowed to work with a lot of freedom

and act independently. The opinion of an intern is most welcome even when it contradicts

the argumentation of a colleague. Additionally, the feedback at the end of the internship is

very detailed. They also allow you as an intern to criticize the format of the internship and

notice your idea for improvement. Deutsche Bank also does a lot to connect the interns

among each other and to stimulate networking. They organize regulars‟ table for interns on

a weekly basis and make an exchange with another intern possible to receive an impression

of the work done by another division.

Positively striking was the good and welcoming working atmosphere. The teamwork

functioned well both within as well as across the teams. To stimulate the networking across

the teams, colleagues from different teams go out for lunch. The team leaders from all teams

have set a specific day to meet and discuss problems and to inform other teams about their

future work. I also liked the relation of the supervisor and employees. The relation is

characterized by a high level of trust as well as a low level of hierarchy and a lot of respect.

This facilitated working together and generated a quick communication.

Deutsche Bank attaches importance to gain and keep good employees. They watch out for a

well-functioning working environment by providing a good IT service and good basic

equipment. Additionally, they offer a lot of leisure facilities for their employees like a

library and a gym. They take care about the quality of food offered at the canteen and

cafeteria and provide every floor with a coffee corner including free drinks and the news.

Deutsche Bank simplifies the compatibility of working and family. They have an own

kindergarten for children of their employees and permit part-time work even for seniors.

The working hours at DB Research also facilitate a combination of working and family. The

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employees can flexibly chose their working hours (as long as they work for the time

specified in their contract) or can do home office for a day easily.

However, the working environment has one great disadvantage: Apart from the seniors, all

employees work in an open plan office. This makes it sometimes very difficult to

concentrate on the work because there is always someone who is called on the phone. But

this kind of office also facilitates the communication among the colleagues. For long-lasting

calls or team work, Deutsch Bank offers „think tanks‟ which are rooms separated from the

open plan office.

Moreover, the working procedure with proofreading by colleague members and seniors was

sometimes boring for me because at that time, there was nothing left to do. The problem is

that you cannot ask for a new long-lasting task because you were supposed to work on the

old assignment after getting it back from the review. However, there was always a

possibility to do something else, e.g. reading news.

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5. Conclusion

Generally, my impression of the internship at DB Research was very positive. I especially

liked the working environment and working atmosphere. The flexibility of the employees

and the good comparability of work and family life is a big advantage of working at

Deutsche Bank. I also like the fact that they treated the interns as adequate colleagues and

not as someone on a lower level. A big advantage of doing an internship at Deutsche Bank

is the fact that they give interns the possibility to network and to write and publish

publications.

The variety of work was good as well. During my internship, my main task was writing

three publications about firstly the policy goals of Germany parties after the election

regarding infrastructure, secondly a snapshot about silver surfers and thirdly a study about

the risk of a movement outside of Germany by companies due to high energy prices and

uncertainty about the energy market in Germany.

The multifarious assignments have given me the possibility to explore a lot of academic

topics and different working tasks. This has allowed me to learn a lot during my internship.

First, I improved my knowledge about how to write and publish academic work. Second, I

have got to know the daily routine in a big company. Finally, I have also deepened my

knowledge about different themes. I can use all these newly learned objects in my future

career as well as at university.

In the end, I recommend an internship at DB Research. It teaches the interns a lot and helps

for their future career.

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6. Appendix

6.1 References

Aichele, R. and Felbermayr, G. (2011). Auswirkungen der Kyoto-Verpflichtungen auf

Emissionen und Carbon Footprints. Ifo Schnelldienst 64 (22), S.23-25.

Aichele, Rahel and Felbermayr, G. (2011a). Internationaler Handel und Carbon Leakage.

Ifo Schnelldienst 64 (23), S.26-30.

Bardt, H. and Kempermann, H. (2013). Folgen der Energiewende für die deutsche Industrie.

IW Köln.

Auer, Josef und Eric Heymann (2012). Energiewende fordert Kommunen und Stadtwerke.

Frankfurt am Main. Retrieved 16.08.2013 from

https://www.db.com/cr/de/docs/Energiewende_fordert_Kommunen.pdf.

BDEW (2013). Erneuerbare Energien und das EEG: Zahlen, Fakten, Grafiken (2013).

Berlin. Retrieved 20.08.2013 from

http://www.bdew.de/internet.nsf/id/17DF3FA36BF264EBC1257B0A003EE8B8/$file/Energ

ieinfo_EE-und-das-EEG-Januar-2013.pdf.

Berscheid, H. and Heymann, E. (2013). Transport and IT infrastructure policy: Ambitious

objectives – funding remains challenging. Frankfurt am Main. Retrieved 07.09.2013 from

http://www.dbresearch.com/servlet/reweb2.ReWEB?addmenu=false&document=PROD000

0000000317593&rdShowArchivedDocus=true&rwnode=DBR_INTERNET_EN-

PROD$NAVIGATION&rwobj=ReDisplay.Start.class&rwsite=DBR_INTERNET_EN-

PROD.

Dapp T. and Berscheid, H. (2013). Silver Surfers. The importance of older generations for

the internet. Frankfurt am Main. Retrieved 07.09.2013 from

http://www.dbresearch.com/PROD/DBR_INTERNET_EN-

PROD/PROD0000000000318645.pdf?kid=dbr.inter_ghpen.headline.

Dapp, T. (2011). Die digitale Gesellschaft. Neue Wege zu mehr Transparenz, Beteiligung

und Innovation. Frankfurt am Main. Retrieved 07.09.2013 from

http://www.dbresearch.de/PROD/DBR_INTERNET_DE-

PROD/PROD0000000000274079.pdf.

Dapp, T. (2010). Promoting innovation via social networks and open company culture.

Frankfurt am Main. Retrieved 07.09.2013 from

http://www.dbresearch.com/PROD/DBR_INTERNET_EN-

PROD/PROD0000000000267047/Presentation%3A+Promoting+innovation+via+social+net

works+and+open+company+culture.PDF.

Deutsche Bank AG (2013). Zwischenbericht zum 30. Juni 2013. Retrieved 18.09.2013 from

https://www.deutsche-bank.de/ir/de/download/DB_Zwischenbericht_2Q2013.pdf.

15

Deutsche Bank AG. Deutsche Bank. Retrieved 07.09.2013 from https://www.deutsche-

bank.de/index.htm.

Deutsche Bank AG: Chronik – von 1870 bis heute. Retrieved 07.09.2013 from

https://www.deutsche-bank.de/de/media/Deutsche-Bank-Geschichte--Chronik-von-1870-

bis-heute.pdf.

Deutsche Bank Research. Dafür stehen wir. Frankfurt am Main. Retrieved 07.09.2013 from

http://www.dbresearch.de/servlet/reweb2.ReWEB?rwnode=DBR_INTERNET_DE-

PROD$RSNN0000000000135512&rwsite=DBR_INTERNET_DE-PROD.

DIHK (2013). Auslandsinvestitionen in der Industrie. Berlin und Brussels. Retrieved

07.09.2013 from www.dihk.de/ressourcen/downloads/auslandsinvestitionen-13.pdf .

DIHK (2012). IHK-Energiewende-Barometer 2012: Noch überwiegt die Skepsis. Berlin.

Retrieved 07.09.2013 from www.dihk.de/ressourcen/.../ihk-energiewende-barometer-

2012.pdf

Eurostat. (17.09.2013). Energy Data. Retrieved 15.08.2013 from

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/energy/datahttp://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.e

u/portal/page/portal/energy/data/main_tables/main_tables.

Frauenhofer (2013). Produktionsarbeit der Zukunft – Industrie 4.0. Retrieved 18.09.2013

from

http://www.produktionsarbeit.de/content/dam/produktionsarbeit/de/documents/Fraunhofer-

IAO-Studie_Produktionsarbeit_der_Zukunft_-_Industrie_4.0.pdf.

IHK (2012). Energiewende im Strommarkt. Chancen nutzen – Risiken vermeiden. Munich.

Retrieved 23.08.2013 from http://www.muenchen.ihk.de/de/innovation/Anhaenge/studie-

die-energiewende-im-strommarkt-.pdf.

KFW/ZEW (2012). CO2-Barometer. Anreizwirkung des EU-Emissionshandels auf

Unternehmen gering – Klimapolitische Regulierung wenig relevant für

Standortentscheidungen. Frankfurt am Main. Retrieved 07.09.2013 from

http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/co2panel/CO2Barometer2012.pdf.

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants (2012). GreenTech made in Germany 3.0.

Umwelttechnologie-Atlas für Deutschland. Herausgegeben vom Bundesministerium für

Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit. Berlin. Retrieved 18.08.2013 from

http://www.bmu.de/fileadmin/bmu-

import/files/pdfs/allgemein/application/pdf/greentech_3_0_bf.pdf.

Statistisches Bundesamt . IT Nutzung. Retrieved 24.08.2013 from

https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/GesellschaftStaat/EinkommenKonsumLebensbed

ingungen/ITNutzung/ITNutzung.html.

16

SCHUFA (2013). Schufa Kredit-Kompass 2013. Retrieved 20.08.2013 from

http://www.schuldnerberatung-sh.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Literatur_SB/SCHUFA_Kredit-

Kompass_2013.pdf.

17

6.2 Sample Work

Transport and IT infrastructure policy: Ambitious objectives – funding remains

challenging

With regard to transport infrastructure, the parties are voicing support for familiar objectives.

Some favour higher investment spending. To address the worsening condition of the roads

in Germany, the parties are emphasizing the need for maintenance of the road infrastructure.

Traffic is to be shifted from road to (already quite crowded) rail and inland waterways in

order to reduce bottlenecks on the roads. In addition, the parties are campaigning for the

expansion of the railway transportation capacity, the greater use of combined transport and

improvements in the connection between seaports and hinterland. All parties want to

increase the energy efficiency of the transport sector.

Every party is calling for nationwide access to the broadband network. The SPD and the

Greens would like to introduce a „universal service‟, which would grant citizens an

enforceable right to broadband access.

Financing the expansion of the transport and IT infrastructure will be a huge challenge. The

parties have different views about how to involve private investors. In the past, the political

objectives of infrastructure expansion and modernisation have been impeded by public

budget constraints. This situation is unlikely to change dramatically after the election.

In the run-up to the federal elections in Germany infrastructure policy is an important topic.

In their manifestos, the parties have addressed the problems of the dilapidated infrastructure.

Generally, they want to expand and improve the transport infrastructure as well as the

broadband network. However, the different political statements remain quite vague in many

cases.

Germany‟s infrastructure has been underfinanced for many years now. Experts are critical

of the deteriorating condition of the roads, the railway system and the inland waterways and

are calling for an extension of the broadband network. In December 2012, the so called

Daehre Commission on the „Future of transport infrastructure financing‟ calculated that the

transport sector alone requires additional funding of EUR 7.2 bn per year. Currently, the

Federal Government spends slightly more than EUR 10 bn p.a. on transport infrastructure.

The CDU plans to invest an additional EUR 25 bn in transport infrastructure alone over the

next four years. The SPD recently decided that it would seek to invest EUR 80 bn per year

in various infrastructure areas and public services (including transportation, broadband

network, municipal infrastructure, education and science and elderly care). Investment in

transportation infrastructure is set to be increased by EUR 2 bn p.a. according to the SPD

plans.

Investment in (transportation and IT) infrastructure certainly does need to be increased.

However, the last decades have shown that investment in infrastructure is not given the

highest priority as soon as there are public budget constraints. In the past, politicians have

18

often preferred to focus on consumption and transfers rather than investment spending

because they expect this to be more greatly appreciated by voters at the next election.

Moreover, investing in infrastructure can easily be postponed. It is therefore unlikely that

the investment proposals for infrastructure will be implemented in full.

At first glance, the focus and the objectives of the parties look quite similar: a secure,

modern and well-functioning infrastructure. But in detail, the parties have different priorities

and contrasting concepts.

Transportation: Familiar objectives

Maintaining and expanding the road infrastructure represent huge challenges. The parties

acknowledge that maintenance is becoming more important than a further expansion. The

major parties mention in their manifestos that Germany‟s roads are seriously overloaded

with traffic. To improve the situation, the CDU/CSU, the Greens and the SPD explicitly

support the shifting of traffic from roads to railways and inland waterways. Similar

measures to alleviate the situation can be found in the manifestos of the parties, such as

expanding railway transport capacity, increasing the use of combined traffic and improving

the connection between seaports and the hinterland. Shifting traffic from roads to railways is

an old and well-known policy goal that has barely been achieved in the past. The plain truth

is that the capacity of the railway system is far too small to absorb a large proportion of road

traffic. The latter is also faster and more flexible than rail traffic.

The parties have a quite clear position regarding the ownership of the railway infrastructure.

All parties say that the infrastructure should be owned by the state. However, the parties

differ in terms of the privatisation of transport services. The FDP supports the partial

privatisation of these services, while the others reject this option. Both, the FDP and the

CDU/CSU want to increase the competition in the railway sector, which is indeed an

important step towards further boosting the efficiency of the system.

Both ruling coalition parties are campaigning (with differing degrees of intensity) for the

abolition of the air traffic tax that they introduced in 2011. They have obviously recognised

the negative effects of this tax on certain airports and airlines. However, the question is why

the CDU/CSU and the FDP are not seeking to abolish this tax right away.

All parties underline the goal of boosting the energy efficiency of the transportation sector.

In their manifestos, the FDP and the CDU/CSU emphasise the role of electric mobility. The

Green Party emphasizes the importance of the use of renewable energies in the

transportation sector and an ecologically friendly infrastructure. The Greens advocate the

almost exclusive use of renewable energies in the sector by 2040, which is to be supported

by a variety of measures. This „Vision 2040‟ will most probably remain a vision, since road

freight transport will remain dependent on a high (albeit declining) share of fossil fuels and

the railway infrastructure cannot be expanded in such a way that it would alone meet the

demands of an industrialised country. Regarding the ecological aspects, all parties explicitly

state that traffic noise must be reduced.

19

In addition, all parties want to include the public in the planning and implementation

process for infrastructure projects. They emphasize the importance of greater transparency

and more rights of participation for citizens. Such policy goals are probably a reaction to the

negative experiences that have recently stemmed from protests against major infrastructure

projects in Germany.

Broadband infrastructure to be expanded

The parties mention the importance of an expansion of the broadband network in their

manifestos and call for nationwide access to such a network. However, the instruments to

expand this network are different in detail. The Greens and the SPD want to introduce a

„universal service‟ for the broadband network. This implies an enforceable right to

broadband access which would be akin to the universal service in the post and

telecommunication sector. The SPD propose co-financing by the state and private

companies. The other parties neither advocate nor oppose co-financing. The CDU wants to

utilise EU funding to finance the expansion of the broadband network. The FDP, by contrast,

says that this task should be assigned to private companies in general.

Financing: use of private capital

The financing plans of the parties differ very sharply. The SPD agreed upon the use of

private capital for financing infrastructure measures. They promote the possibility for

people to buy shares in infrastructure projects in order to give the public the opportunity to

support projects that they consider desirable. The government would guarantee an adequate

return. The SPD calls this idea „Citizen Funds‟ (Bürgerfonds). In addition, the party wants

to stimulate municipal bonds to increase the local infrastructure budget. It is unclear how

this goal could be implemented in times of „debt brake‟ for municipalities, though. The SPD

also suggests higher taxes for the wealthy to finance their investment plans.

In order to increase efficiency in financing infrastructure projects, the CDU/CSU aims to

reduce costs and to realise a faster implementation of these projects. One way to do so is a

better coordination between the public and private investors involved in public-private

partnerships.

In general, the parties have failed to provide very precise details on how to promote

infrastructure development after the election in autumn. They mention many targets but they

often do not specify policy measures or financing issues. At the end of the day there could

be cause for concern that infrastructure will again find itself playing second fiddle –

regardless of the outcome of the election.

20

CDU/CSU:

Additional budget for modernisation of infrastructure.

Investment of EUR 25 bn in reconstruction and extension of national roads.

Support for public transport services. Commitment to promote competition among

private railway companies.

Reduction in traffic volume on roads by increasing the use of railways and inland

waterways as well as improving intermodal transport by supporting the building of

handling plants.

No privatisation of the railway infrastructure.

Consideration of the abolition of the air traffic tax.

Cost reduction and faster implementation of infrastructure projects by improving the

coordination between public and private investors involved in public-private

partnerships.

One million electric cars on German roads by 2020.

Expansion of the broadband network by 2018 with the support of the European

Union. In addition, expansion of wireless broadband networks in the future.

FDP:

Statement that roads remain the most important mode of transport. This is to be

reflected in the allocation of the public budget.

Increase the railway budget.

Support for an increase in the number of operators and an increase in competition

among these operators in the public transport system. Promotion of competition in

long-distance rail services.

No privatisation of the railway infrastructure.

Partial privatisation of railway transportation and logistics services.

Linking of international metropolitan areas by integrating the German transportation

system into the trans-European transportation system.

Improving the competitiveness of German companies. Abolishing the air traffic tax

and in general precluding unilateral burdens for German companies.

Promotion of electric mobility.

Support of a countrywide broadband network. Expansion should generally be

enforced by private companies.

SPD:

Invest EUR 80 bn per year in different forms of infrastructure (see above); increase

federal transportation budget by EUR 2 bn p.a. Financing the expansion of

infrastructure by giving citizens the possibility to buy shares in infrastructure

projects with guaranteed returns by introducing “Citizen Funds” (Bürgerfonds). Also,

municipal bonds are intended to increase the infrastructure budget for local projects.

21

Give priority to a well-functioning transport infrastructure. Enlarge the railway

transport capacity and shifting traffic from road to rail and waterways in order to

reduce the traffic volume on roads. In addition, improve the connection between

ports and the hinterland via railways and the increasing use of combined transport.

No privatisation or partial privatisation of railway infrastructure and railway services.

Improve the German broadband network and introduce a statutory universal service

(Universaldienst).

Greens:

Rearrangement of the transport system by using renewable energy (almost)

exclusively from 2040 onwards. To be implemented by, for example, preventing

redundant transport journeys, promoting railway and bicycle infrastructure and by

expanding the renewable energy infrastructure. New infrastructure projects should

take into account climate issues.

Promotion of combined transport.

Promotion of public transport systems, car sharing and bike sharing.

Expansion of railway infrastructure e.g. by using the returns on railway traffic. The

railway infrastructure is to be become directly owned by the State.

Long-distance coach services (Fernbusse) to be included in the German road toll

system.

Introducing a compulsory universal service (see above). Also, promoting free and

public wireless networks.

Authors:

Hannah Berscheid, Eric Heymann, +49 69 910 31730, eric.heymann@db.com

Source:

http://www.dbresearch.com/servlet/reweb2.ReWEB?addmenu=false&document=PROD000

0000000317593&rdShowArchivedDocus=true&rwnode=DBR_INTERNET_EN-

PROD$NAVIGATION&rwobj=ReDisplay.Start.class&rwsite=DBR_INTERNET_EN-

PROD

Internship Report

Controlling and Human Resource Management at

ADAC Nordrhein e.V.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maastricht University

School of Business and Economics

Maastricht, September 2nd 2013

Reinermann, Maxime

ID number: i6032099

Study: International Business

Coordinator’s name: Dr. Bollen

Writing Assignment: Internship Report

Word count: 5484

 

 

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to the firm ....................................................................................... 1

2. Tasks in the human resource department .......................................................... 2

2.1 Contractual framework and legal requirements ............................................................................. 2 2.2 Recruitment practices and signaling theory ................................................................................... 3 2.3 Internal training and development ................................................................................................. 4 2.4 Workforce analysis for strategic inferences ................................................................................... 5

3. Insights into other departments .......................................................................... 6

3.1 The core business ........................................................................................................................... 6 3.2 Account system and financial transactions .................................................................................... 7

4. Functions as assistant to the head controller ..................................................... 8

4.1 General tasks and organization ...................................................................................................... 8 4.2 Strategic projects .......................................................................................................................... 10

5. Specific project: Aggregate financial planning ................................................ 11

6. Conclusion and main lessons ............................................................................. 13

7. References ........................................................................................................... 15

1

1. Introduction to the firm From July to August 2013 I spent my summer break from university to complete an internship

at ADAC, the general automotive club of Germany. With 18.5 million members worldwide it

is the second largest association of its kind and a pioneer in the fields of mobility and member

support (ADAC, 2013). I was located in the Cologne office, which is responsible for all

members in the district of North Rhine-Westphalia. With approximately 2.5 million members

and over 500 employees it represents the largest subdivision of the ADAC. The main reason I

chose to apply for an internship at ADAC is the large diversification in its product range and

the large corporate network both within German politics and the economy. The firm’s core

product is technical and advisory support for its members related to all fields of mobility,

ranging from towing defect cars off the road to legal support in case of an accident. Further,

the ADAC operates 25 branches in the North Rhine district as well as a travel agency; it

engages in political lobbyism as a consumer protection agency, organizes motor sports events,

and distributes a wide range of financial insurances (ADAC, 2013). A central aspect to all

operations is the firm’s legal registration as a club, which mainly finances its operations out

of membership fees. Consequently, the organization has a service-based perspective rather

than a profit-based one and strives to deliver a maximum of high-quality service.

Concerning my internship, I wanted to work in departments that would allow me to get an

understanding of how an organization as a whole functions and therefore applied for the

human resource and controlling department since these two specifically cooperate with all

other departments and keep an overview of the complete entity. The orientation towards a

general overview of an organization derived from my personal interest in organizational

studies and the long-term wish to work for a consulting agency. In addition, it enabled me to

combine my third year major and minor courses. I registered for ‘Organization Studies’ with a

minor in ‘Financial Policy’ to combine general theoretical knowledge about enterprises with

specific quantitative skills related to corporate financials.

The following report will describe and reflect upon my experiences within the departments of

the ADAC and outline, which theoretical background from my international business studies

at Maastricht University were of use during the two months and which insights I gained for

my future academic career.

2

2. Tasks in the human resource department As originally planned, I spent several weeks in the human resource department and got an

idea of various human resource functions and responsibilities. During my first days, the head

of HR showed me around the office, introduced me to other heads of departments, and

familiarized me with organizational layout and structure. These introductory days turned out

to be very helpful in the following weeks as I already knew the most important managers and

was given opportunities to visit their departments. The HR part of my internship was

organized like an actual career within the firm, starting with a presentation on labor contracts,

continuing with recruiting, training and development, and finishing with salary accounting.

2.1 Contractual framework and legal requirements  In order to understand which elements are important to a labor contract, a typical contract was

analyzed from beginning to end, while looking up the relevant legal passages in employment

law. This fixation on regulatory circumstances was new to me, as my courses at Maastricht

University so far have not covered employment law in this detail. All major aspects of an

employment agreement are subject to legal restrictions, mostly in order to protect employees

and guarantee fair working conditions. In addition to directions given by the government, the

firm has to take into consideration wage agreements by labor unions as well as firm-specific

labor agreements issued by the workers’ council. Moreover, the contract provides a legal

insurance for the firm in case of agency behavior or conflicts with employees because rights,

duties, and responsibilities are clearly outlined. Thus, I was able to understand which rights

and duties I personally have as a prospective employee and what each human resource

employee has to keep in mind.

Legal requirements are also relevant when looking at salary accounting and taxes that both

employee and employer have to cover. These are also outlined in each individual contract. To

get a better overview, the salary accountant introduced me to the relevant social insurances in

the context of my personal wage calculation. Although most employees receive a salary,

attendance times are still measured for both statistical purposes and an overview of plus or

minus hours that can develop during certain projects or peak working months. These can be

used to reduce the workload in other weeks. Again, the legal framework contains some very

precise regulations on salary accounting and taxes in general, which underlined the

importance of having a found knowledge on legal matters when working in the human

resource department.

3

2.2 Recruitment practices and signaling theory

Subsequently, I assisted a recruiter for several days in order to understand, which applicant

profile best fits the ample job opportunities within the firm. The practical application of

recruitment practices was based on several theories from the human resource management

course I took just before the internship. We looked at applications for the firm’s call center

and had to take both theoretical knowledge and work experience into account. Likewise, the

overall impression of the application was of crucial importance, as we had to make

predictions on the applicant’s personality and his performance when talking to customers,

while only looking at a written application. I noticed severe differences in the applicants’

ability to present them and ‘signal’ their abilities. Bangerter, Roulin and König (2012) refer to

‘signaling theory’ as the way in which an applicant sends honest and reliable signals to

prospective employers. In this case academic qualifications were of minor importance as all

call center agents are trained in-house about products and selling strategies on the phone.

However, we were looking for reliable signals such as open-mindedness and a sympathetic

personality, which are also referred to as ‘hard-to-fake signals’ due to their psychological and

subconscious nature.

Special consideration with regard to signaling theory was given to applicants for an

apprenticeship at ADAC. The organization aims at keeping labor turnover at a minimum and

at adopting fully trained apprentices as full-time employees. After a first round of

applications, which basically filter applicants according to their academic signals, attention is

given to the personal impression and prediction of long-term commitment and personality.

The HR department has thus developed a questionnaire that two recruiters simultaneously fill

out while interviewing prospective apprentices. The questions they ask during the interviews

aim at triggering underlying psychological characteristics, such as spontaneity, selfishness,

and absorptive capacity. Apart from recruiting talented employees, signaling theory is also

related to the employer and the way a firm presents itself towards prospective applicants.

‘Employer branding’ has become a popular HR practice in recent years and also found its

application within the ADAC. The firm aims at providing applicants and staff with a positive

overall impression to market the firm as a favorable employer. Measures to achieve this

objective are frequent updates throughout the application process, honest feedback, and direct

contact to the recruiters. Engaging in human resource marketing is particularly important in

4

times of the well-known ‘war for talent’, which describes the scarcity of qualified and

specialized applicants (Hunter, Cushenberry, & Friedrich, 2012).

My role consisted of assisting the recruiter with checking CVs and accompanying him to job

interviews of applicants who raised our interest. I was able to get some firsthand experiences

on how these interviews are structured and more importantly, which information the

interviewers are trying to get by asking certain questions. Most of the time, the questions

merely serve as a way to see how applicants react to certain situations and how they logically

organize their answers. Due to the human resource management course at Maastricht

University, I was already familiar with the theoretical aspect of a job interview’s function.

However, the practical application taught me some valuable lessons on what an employer

focuses on during the interview. These experiences certainly influenced the way in which I

will behave during my next job interview.

2.3 Internal training and development

Whenever a new employee enters the firm, he or she is registered for the corporate

‘academy’, a web-based learning tool that provides employees with organizational values and

the different products. It further serves as a platform for knowledge development. The content

of the ‘academy’ is subject to the function of each individual user, meaning that modules and

information are customized according to the specific job requirements. Sales associates, for

instance, receive detailed training on selling techniques as well as quantitative goals for the

next weeks, whereas call center agents need to learn the different membership plans by heart.

The ADAC ‘academy’ is incorporated into the firm’s own web browser client, which serves

as a classic knowledge management system. Hansen, Morse and Lovas (2005) characterize

such a system as one that gathers and distributes knowledge throughout an enterprise and

serves as a way to communicate competencies and data.

The ADAC intranet offers these options by indicating managerial objectives and storing

actual sales data, which subsequently help to assure predetermined service levels.

Furthermore, the firm can cover its legal duty of training employees on current issues such as

data protection. Data generated by the system can be used for extensive analyses; a task that I

did as a project for the head of education and training. I downloaded and consolidated the

completion rates of all branches and departments in order to create a statistical analysis of

learning and progression rates. The resulting excel sheet allowed us to see, which branch

5

managers had to motivate their employees more to complete their training. For the analysis I

benefited from technical skills acquired during the quantitative methods courses in my first

and second year. Moreover, the spreadsheets skill course provided some helpful information

on how to use Pivot tables for flexible tabular analysis.

2.4 Workforce analysis for strategic inferences

Apart from theoretical insights into the various functions of HR, I was also given certain

projects to work on independently. In some cases however, the supervision of an HR

employee was necessary due to the confidential nature of data being used. A continuous

project throughout the internship was the creation of a so called ‘knowledge database’, which

represents a consolidated file of all personnel records. I worked together with various

colleagues in going through labor contracts and personal profiles of all 500+ employees in

order to digitalize the most important information such as academic education,

apprenticeships, work experiences, and other relevant qualifications. The database is still

under construction but in its final form it will reveal relevant information on the firm’s

underlying structure of competencies and qualifications. In addition, yet unused potentials by

certain employees will be addressed and integrated. The corporation thereby hopes to increase

labor efficiency and make use of all talent residing within the firm. Moreover, identifiable

weaknesses in the competency structure can be communicated to recruiting in order to tackle

these organizational issues in the future.

A second project I worked on was the analysis of all reported illnesses in 2013. Certain

departments have been found to show high rates of long-term sickened employees, which

called for a detailed examination. Again, I made use of available data concerning target and

actual working hours and digitalized all certificates of disability. As the reasons for an

employee’s sickness are confidential, I made use of the signing doctor’s specialization in

assigning missed days to certain categories. Subsequently, I analyzed the most important rates

and means as well as other statistically relevant factors, such as standard deviation and

distributions. The results were interesting and led to several strategic inferences. First, the

average sickness lasted for around 8.5 days, which is lower than the country-wide average of

12.6 days (ZEIT Online, 2013). However, a large portion of certificates only indicated one or

two missing days, a time frame that usually does not require an official certificate but is

required in some departments. I therefore concluded that there had to be significant durations

6

on the other side of the statistical distribution, pushing the mean time towards the reported 8.5

days.

Further analysis showed that psychiatrists issued a majority of these long-term certificates,

which corresponded with prior observations of increased sicknesses in these categories. More

importantly, a large portion of these sicknesses could be traced back to a certain service

department, which is reported to be subject to high workload and increased expectations by

top management. The conclusion of negative effects on employees’ health will certainly find

strategic significance in the future. My analysis showed further interesting facts related to age

structure and timely distribution of sicknesses and was an interesting project to make practical

use of my statistical courses at Maastricht University.

3. Insights into other departments  In order to get a better understanding of how other departments work and influence strategic

decisions on managerial level, I visited several departments and was able to extend my

knowledge of the organization as a whole. Some departments were related to the conceptual

architecture of the firm, while others served for customer contact and sales.  

3.1 The core business  Understanding the core business of a firm is undoubtedly relevant for making good strategic

decisions. Because my internship was conducted in departments making these decisions, an

insight into the core business was exactly what I needed to deepen my awareness of the

underlying assumptions, conclusions, and information. I visited both the firm’s call center and

a sales branch, where the actual interaction with members and customers takes place on two

dimensions. First of all, products such as travel information packages, car tools, and

insurances are being marketed and sold. Second of all, services are provided in the form of

route information, the travel agency as well as support and handling of emergency calls

related to accidents. While staying in both departments, I had the opportunity to listen to

phone calls with members and watch the sales associates interact with the customer. In

addition, the branch manager introduced me to the newly adopted strategy of cross selling,

which aims at triggering psychological feelings when marketing a product. Thereby, an

additional product or insurance is being offered to the customer in absence of an official

7

‘sales atmosphere’. In fact, most of the time the interaction reminds of small talk and a

personal interest of the associate in informing the customer well and in his interest.

Since the adoption of the strategy, sales have steadily increased and insurances yield

profitable provisions. Further, the firm can maintain its healthy image of a ‘club’ by avoiding

forcing sales strategies that do not allow the customer to feel at ease. Central points to the

selling strategy were personal recommendations (‘If we were good friends, I would not let

you travel without this insurance’) and catchy summaries of the products benefits (‘Our health

insurance means: You take the best doctor available, we pay for it!’). By reducing the entire

augmented product to its core benefits, the customer ignores environmental influences such as

price comparisons and alternatives and often decides to contract the insurance. I was

astonished how many facts have to be kept in mind when trying to sell a product. Especially

today, price comparisons and saving efforts make it increasingly difficult to sell rather

specialized insurances such as legal protection or an advanced travel insurance. An

investment in to an advanced selling strategy therefore has proven to be a smart strategic step.

Additionally, I was able to use these experiences later on in the controlling department when

calculating different scenarios and making assumptions about future developments in supply

and demand.

3.2 Account system and financial transactions  Each organization needs a solid infrastructure, which is supported by appropriate financial

accounts. The ADAC is organized into different departments, which operate several

subdivisions. Whenever performance is measured, this is done on all levels of the

organization. Starting with detailed profit and loss analyses of the respective subdivions,

continuing with consolidated reports of all departments, and concluding with a final financial

statement of the whole enterprise. Because the financial build-up works best to understand the

organizational architecture of the firm, I spent a couple of days in the accounting department

and looked at back office activities. Everything evolves around an account system, which

structures all financial transactions based on the issuing department, the specific account as

well as the second party to the transaction. Although the structure is quite complex, I was able

to understand the basic principles and how each payment is handled via the Enterprise

Resource Planning System (hereinafter: ERP). Booking all transactions correctly appeared to

be a lot of work. However, the detail in work is required by government law and further

helps, when examining cost and revenue structure.

8

Related to my international business studies, I could build upon my knowledge from the

various accounting courses in understanding the debit and credit bookings to a transaction and

the general layout of the accounts. Moreover, I was able to discuss several strategies on long-

term investments with the head of accounting, which was really interesting since it involved

using theoretical knowledge for real-life business matters. In principle, the main objective for

investments of the ADAC is avoidance of risk and safe growth to sustain the wealth of all

members paying. This conservative investment strategy does not generate huge abnormal

returns but has helped the firm to achieve a solid financial positions within the over 100 years

of its existence.

Another topic was the implementation of new accounting software in several sales branches. I

was able to join an extensive meeting in which objectives and difficulties were discussed in

detail. The central problem was to create a fusion between the new system and the existing

ERP software. Although the insights into the accounting department were limited to these two

days, I often joined meetings of both the controlling and accounting department and was able

to benefit from the knowledge gained.

4. Functions as assistant to the head controller  Apart from my time in the human resource department, I worked in the Controlling

department for several weeks and had the opportunity of assisting the head controller during

both his daily tasks and special projects. During this time I learned a lot and was able to

extend my knowledge on practical financial matters. In particular, I benefited from the direct

contact and the possibility to continuously ask questions. Throughout the internship, I was

given an increasing amount of insights into confidential data. Further, I had the opportunity to

conduct certain analyses by myself. In the following, I will outline my experiences related to

the controlling part of my internship.

4.1 General tasks and organization  The controlling department serves, per definition, as a supervisory unit within organizations,

which is responsible for the verified creation of financial statements (Investopedia, 2013). As

these activities require the interaction with all units of the firm, I learned a lot about the

interactions between departments and how these contribute to organization-wide coordination.

9

This interaction directly influences the work of the controller. Throughout the day, the head

controller was in contact with various departments, clarifying issues and both receiving and

sending out financial data. Essentially, a large portion of the job consisted in filtering out

financial data from the ERP software and translating it into clearly formulated strategic

imperatives. Further, the controlling department serves as a central place to request financial

data and analyses. Consequently, a tight cooperation with the accounting department was of

critical importance when creating financial statements and verifying payments. This led to

many meetings and phone conferences, which was a great way for me to not only grasp

elements of the work itself, but also to get a feeling for business communication and

interaction.

An important requirement in the controlling function is to keep an overview of all

departments within the firm, hence, to see the firm as a whole. The analyses we conducted

were related to both matters of single departments and strategic considerations of top

management. For instance, the head of tourism needed information on how customers paid for

their vacations in the past year. The controller then requested additional information on the

various methods that should be compared. In the following, the analysis was run and the head

of tourism received an excel file including the absolute amounts in Euros that were attributed

to all methods of payment (i.e. cash, credit card, check etc.) as well as their relative

frequencies. Cases like this one occurred on a daily basis and sometimes involved several

hours of work. Because listing and explaining all of them takes a lot of time, I will focus on

the projects initiated by top management to determine the future strategic path of ADAC.

These were often set up as projects due to their time wise limited nature and the involvement

of several departments. To better coordinate these projects, the controlling department also

consisted of a project specialist, who provided all parties with aggregated schedules, informed

about relevant decisions, and served as the central communication location in the firm. Here, I

was able to benefit from the courses ‘Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management’ and

‘Management of Operations and Product Development’, which provided me with the

theoretical knowledge on project management, determination of critical paths, and

optimization in the form of activity crashing. Further, I needed the knowledge acquired in the

courses ‘Finance’ and ‘Finance and Accounting’ to understand the architecture of the

financial statements and how to interpret the numbers. Certainly, the case based approach of

the courses was a huge help in this regard.

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4.2 Strategic projects

During my time at ADAC, two strategic considerations were of main importance: Firstly, the

service call center for members needed to revise its concept. Lately, the firm had developed a

focus on sales and provisions rather than simple customer service and the question was

whether this strategy should be reconsidered. Secondly, the firm owns a large number of cars,

which are used in an inefficient and costly manner. Therefore, top management initiated a

project to examine whether a pool of shared cars could substitute the current system.

The call center calculation was supposed to contrast two different models of operations:

Mainly focusing on service phone calls and providing information or focusing on cross selling

and substituting service for sales marketing. It involved many unknown variables since call

numbers, staff, and workforce efficiency vary over time and are subject to external influences.

For instance, major catastrophes such as this years flooding of eastern Germany, heavily

increase calls, as people require information on which streets are open. To initiate a thorough

analysis, several phone conferences and visits to the call center were made. Precise data from

previous years were available, however, these data were based on different circumstances

(e.g. different working hours) and were therefore difficult to adopt. An important lesson I

learned during the calculation is to systematically start with basic assumptions instead of

trying to shortcut. Hence, the first thing we calculated were the planned working hours of

employees, which we then adapted according to expected efficiency levels and average minus

hours due to sickness or vacation. As a result, we received a number of how many hours a

year each call center agent operates on average. We then multiplied the numbers with ratios of

how many phone calls per hours each agent can make in the respective model, these ratios

were discussed with the head of the call center extensively. The further calculations then

evolved around compensation, which derives either from membership fees in the first model

or from insurance provisions in the second one. Moreover, variable and overhead costs were

assigned, labor efficiency and service level included, as well as compensation per minute by

the Munich headquarters. The results indicated that neither one of the two options was

feasible or realistic; in fact, the question was on how to divide the workforce into the two

models to maximize payoffs while minimizing costs. We calculated an ideal financial

situation, in which different teams within the call center used both models. The final

discussion with the CEO however is still outstanding.

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The interesting part about the calculation was the diverse nature of knowledge required.

Mainly, quantitative mathematical and statistical skills were required, but also theories from

marketing or strategy were of high importance. This underlined the importance of having

diverse knowledge of the organization. Although a calculation can be seen as numbers only,

the underlying assumptions of cross selling, services marketing, human resource

management, and many others also need to be taken into consideration.

The carpooling project was started within the last week of my internship and firstly dealt with

creating a financial overview of all cars maintained by the firm. I assisted the creation of a

spreadsheet, which extracted all relevant information from the ERP software such as initial

price, usage in months, accumulated depreciation and current book value. A major finding

was that few cars were sold after they had been used for the designated time period. In fact,

most of them were kept for department purposes, a strategy, which had sharply increased

costs over the past years. The controlling department then commented on several cars,

analyzed their condition, and made a list of potential ones to sell. The vision of top

management is to only operate five to ten cars instead if currently over thirty and to share

these cars efficiently through carpooling software. Several systems are being examined and

the CEO will make a decision by the end of 2013. Despite my rather short involvement in this

project, it showed me one of the greatest benefits of working as a controller: Having a

complete overview of the organization and a changing nature of work every few weeks. Due

to the diverse business portfolio of ADAC, I had the opportunity of looking into many fields

of operations, such as insurances, asset analysis, and real estate management. The aggregate

financial planning for the next five years summarized all of these and was the most interesting

part of my internship

5. Specific project: Aggregate financial planning  The aggregate financial planning project lasted for around 5 weeks and therefore filled a

major part of my internship. The objective of such an analysis is a projected financial

situation of the firm and all divisions for the next 5 years, which reflects intended strategic

and economic change.

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As the name already indicates, the project consisted of planning financial results based on

both quantitative data and qualitative strategic imperatives. Therefore, specific excel based

macro files were created and sent out to all heads of departments. The files extracted all

relevant revenue and cost positions from the ERP software and listed them in the same way

income statements of large corporations are structured. This allowed for a detailed view of

how each respective department’s financial situation was structured. In the following step, the

head controller, whom I was able to assist for the whole project, and the department managers

projected the future development of all positions in the file. Some were relatively easy to

adapt, such as rent expenses, which increase by around two percent every year. Others, in

contrast, needed clarification with top management and the divisions involved. For instance,

labor costs were subject to intended hirings or layoffs or sales subject to the product portfolio.

The project involved highly confidential data and it was a big honor for me to be part of a task

this important. The projection and consideration of changes to the firm’s strategy took several

weeks and were all documented in written form for future inferences.

The most interesting projections were those of all sales branches as well as the real estate

assets, which the firm owns to maintain its members’ wealth. Here, we were able to

reconsider major assumptions of profit margins, sales distributions, investment profitability

and many more. It was great to look into so many different divisions’ financial positions and

analyze the numbers based on elementary assumptions. I conducted a consolidation of all

labor requirements issued by the departments. These involved the ‘man-years’1 of each unit. I

collected the information of all divisions and sub-divisions and consolidated the numbers into

a labor requirement on the organizational level.

Consolidation was the next step in the project as well. We consolidated the financial

projections on divisional and organizational level to end up with an overview of the firm’s

financial performance. The preliminary results were then frequently discussed with the CEO

in order to eliminate any remaining mistakes or make further adaptions to the numbers.

Sometimes these changes were quite radical, such as cancelling a planned job position or

delaying an investment a department was hoping for. In general, the whole process taught me

a lot on strategic planning on top management level. The way in which the CEO made

decisions and communicated his ideas to people in charge was a unique practical experience.                                                                                                                1  one man-year indicates the amount of work one person completes over the course of one year based on a 38h/week contract. People with a 40h contract for instance represent 1.053 man-years

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Further, I learned that not everything can be quantified, even in jobs that deal mostly with

numbers. I learned a lot from the head controller, who supervised my internship for the entire

period. Not only tangible skills in preparing and analyzing financial statements but also

knowledge of a more tacit nature.

Nonaka (2007) defines tacit knowledge as knowledge that is difficult or impossible to

document or quantify. In fact, it is often rooted in experience and intuition and that is exactly

what I was able to observe during the projection of financial data. Many factors about the

future development of the firm are uncertain and I was astonished to see how experience and

intuition can help in making educated guesses and understandable assumptions on future

development. I believe that this is a central aspect of an internship: gaining practical

experience and learning something that can simply not be taught in a classroom.

6. Conclusion and main lessons

All tasks and projects that I was able to participate in helped me in getting a first practical

impression of the business world. It was a great experience to see many familiar concepts and

calculations from my international business studies being used in the organization. Moreover,

I had the opportunity of learning new things, especially the communication within a firm and

the workflow throughout an entire organization. There are many things that I learned. Yet,

some were particularly striking and are worth mentioning.

First, I realized the importance of having basic knowledge of financial data. Regardless of the

job, task, or department, financial data is everywhere and it is necessary to interpret numbers

for strategic inferences. In addition, quantitative measures of performance, such as ratios,

percentages, and deviations from planned numbers help to communicate information across

departments. I learned that the best way of giving someone an impression of a business or

sales branch is to provide financial data with helpful comments that explain certain positions

or deviations.

Second, I experienced how essential a view of the organization as a whole is. When making

calculations in the controlling department about the strategic direction of another division, it

is more than helpful to have been in that division and to see things out of another perspective.

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My visits to the accounting, sales, and many other departments helped me in getting an

impression of different types of work and the various interests that are at stake when top

management has to balance expectations and possibilities. It is vital to success to be close to

customers and to know where profits come from.

Third, legal restrictions were brought to my awareness in the context of applications and

recruiting. Each business action both within and among organizations is subject to a legal

framework that needs to be kept in consideration. I realized that I made several wrong

assumptions about what is allowed and what not. Having legal knowledge is therefore

something I want to achieve in the future.

Finally, communication is another key to success. Despite uncertainty and time pressure, even

difficult business problems can be solved if the right people are involved. Further, strategy is

not simply something the CEO comes up with. In fact, it is a reciprocal process of

communication up and down the hierarchy to spread all knowledge relevant to decision

making appropriately. I learned many other things as well, about the importance of IT skills,

having a control mechanism for financial transactions, internal promotions and much more.

My internship was a real success and I am highly motivated to use my experiences in

combination with my further studies at Maastricht University to become continuously better

at doing business.

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7. References

ADAC. (2013). ADAC Homepage. Retrieved August 15, 2013, from www.adac.de

Bangerter, A., Roulin, N., & König, C. J. (2012). Personnel Selection as a Signaling Game.

Journal of Applied Psychology , 12, 719-738.

Hansen, M. T., Morse, M. L., & Lovas, B. (2005). Knowledge sharing in organizations:

Multiple networks, multiple phases. Academy of Management Journal , 48, 776-793.

Hunter, S. T., Cushenberry, L., & Friedrich, T. (2012). Hiring an innovative workforce: A

necessary yet uniquely challenging endeavor. Human Resource Management Review ,

22, 303-322.

Investopedia. (2013). Definition of 'Controller'. Retrieved August 29, 2013, from

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/controller.asp

Nonaka, I. (2007, August). The Knowledge-Creating Company. Harvard Business Review ,

162-171.

ZEIT Online. (2013, February 27). Fehlzeitenprotokoll: Mitarbeiter sind im Durchschnitt

zweieinhalb Wochen krank. Retrieved August 20, 2013, from Zeit Online:

http://www.zeit.de/karriere/beruf/2013-02/fehlzeiten-report-2011