SECP Project Papers are usually the result of student groups or project work. Bachelor’s theses, master’s theses and project reports with sustainability relevance that meet special quality criteria are made available to the public.
This paper examines the issue of bank mergers from the perspective of their contribution to improved bank profitability. Starting from the observation that bank profitability is declining and that this can have negative effects on financial market stability, the challenges of and requirements for bank mergers are first presented. On this basis, two research questions are answered: Are bank mergers suitable for improving profitability? And what are the implications for society? First, these questions are explored with the help of theoretical models that show the complexity of the topic and the different challenges. Building on this, the questions are analyzed empirically in twelve interviews by questioning experts from different fields and evaluating their statements using qualitative content analysis.
The main objective of the paper is to investigate how effective the application of transformational leadership is in the Covid-19 situation. Therefore, the objective is to answer the following research questions:
What characteristics of a crisis apply to the Covid 19 pandemic?
To what extent is transformational leadership actually applied in practice in the Covid-19 pandemic?
What impact does transformational leadership have on the issues between companies and employees that arise from the Covid-19 threat?
What industry and situational circumstances favor or disadvantage transformational leadership?
The Covid 19 pandemic is now a pervasive issue that requires a show of force from the entire world at a wide variety of levels. The consequences of the pandemic are far-reaching, both socially and economically. Companies are challenged to a special degree at this time and are faced with the task of finding a balance between ethically responsible but at the same time economically efficient corporate management in order to ensure the survival of the company while not discarding values, norms and morals. It is precisely at this point that the constant tension arises and exists between the pursuit of profit maximization, i.e. economics, and ethics and its accompanying moral concepts. The importance of the interaction between these two complexes of issues has increased due to the growing awareness of the population and other stakeholders, such as employees, suppliers or end customers, for sustainability and morality. This also increased the sensitivity to morally reprehensible business practices. Companies that set a morally negative example are often punished with calls for boycotts and a declining reputation, which inevitably leads to a drop in profits. Thus, companies are often faced with the question of how they can simultaneously operate profitably and be received positively by the public in moral terms. In the best case, corporate responsibility should be used as a competitive advantage without making it a motive for that behavior. The Covid 19 pandemic presents a test and offers both opportunities and impediments for corporate responsible behavior.
This excerpt from the master’s thesis is divided into two parts. In the first part, a theoretical and partly philosophical basis for understanding ethics, morality and various ethical approaches and forms is provided. These theoretical foundations are essential for the second part. The latter describes business ethics, business ethics, its origins, exemplary problem areas and various theoretical orientations of business and business ethics.