It started on 06th of February 2002 with headlines in all major newspapers in Germany.
The German Federal Audit Office demanded the highly centralized Federal
Agency for Labour (Bundesanstalt für Arbeit) in Nuremburg revise their statistics
(Anonymous, 2002a; Anonymous 2002c; Anonymous, 2002d; Baulig C. et. al., 2002).
According to the audit office report 70 per cent or 2.7 million of the successes in the
mediation of employment were faked (Kogelfranz, 2002). The agency, with its 90,000
employees, turned out to be one of the most inefficient but most expensive agencies
of that kind in Europe. After a couple of days the president of the agency Bernhard
Jagoda resigned under the pressure of the federal government and Chancellor
Schröder. His successor Florian Gerster was told to reform the mammoth-agency.
Meanwhile the German government realized that the whole system of labour mediation
had become both too inefficient and too costly. So, among other things Chancellor
Schröder hired Dr. Peter Hartz to head a commission which should work out solutions
for a new German labour market model. The former Volkswagen (VW) executive
and his commission rolled out a concept of 13 modules of innovation (see Figure 1)
in July 2002. This concept called “Modern Services on the labour market” followed
the premise of enabling the unemployed to participate actively in their attempt to get
a new job (Hartz-Commission, 2002b, p.19). That means, on the one hand, to lower
barriers for people who like to show self initiative but were blocked by complicated
labour and tax laws. On the other hand self initiative should become a duty and
unemployed people who do not show enough commitment in their struggle for a new job will have to face dole-cuts. Also in order to set incentives for companies to hire
from the ranks of the unemployed, the commission suggested removing some sacred
cows of employee protection. [...]
Table of Contents
Introduction – The crash of a system
Summary
The Situation today
Key principles of Personnel Service Agencies (PSA)
Model of operation
Aims of PSAs
Organisation of PSA
Legal implications
Stadium of implementation
Foreign precedences
Method of analysis
Concept
SWOT analysis
Resource based view
Competitive Forces Paradigm
The Value Net
Adaptation to PSAs
Questionnaire design
Execution
Findings
Agreement with the concept
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Conclusion
Resource based view
Comparative Forces Paradigm
The Value Net
Outlook
References
Apendix
Research Objectives and Themes
The work aims to evaluate the implementation and operational model of Personnel Service Agencies (PSA) in Germany, which were introduced as part of the Hartz-Commission reforms to combat labour market inefficiencies. The primary research goal is to conduct a resource-based SWOT analysis to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with this new system.
- The historical context and failure of the existing labour mediation system in Germany.
- Core principles, operational structures, and legal framework of Personnel Service Agencies.
- Application of the resource-based SWOT analysis, including the Competitive Forces Paradigm and the Value Net.
- Expert assessments regarding the effectiveness and future viability of PSAs.
Excerpt from the Book
Introduction – The crash of a system
It started on 06th of February 2002 with headlines in all major newspapers in Germany. The German Federal Audit Office demanded the highly centralized Federal Agency for Labour (Bundesanstalt für Arbeit) in Nuremburg revise their statistics (Anonymous, 2002a; Anonymous 2002c; Anonymous, 2002d; Baulig C. et. al., 2002). According to the audit office report 70 per cent or 2.7 million of the successes in the mediation of employment were faked (Kogelfranz, 2002). The agency, with its 90,000 employees, turned out to be one of the most inefficient but most expensive agencies of that kind in Europe. After a couple of days the president of the agency Bernhard Jagoda resigned under the pressure of the federal government and Chancellor Schröder. His successor Florian Gerster was told to reform the mammoth-agency.
Meanwhile the German government realized that the whole system of labour mediation had become both too inefficient and too costly. So, among other things Chancellor Schröder hired Dr. Peter Hartz to head a commission which should work out solutions for a new German labour market model. The former Volkswagen (VW) executive and his commission rolled out a concept of 13 modules of innovation (see Figure 1) in July 2002. This concept called “Modern Services on the labour market” followed the premise of enabling the unemployed to participate actively in their attempt to get a new job (Hartz-Commission, 2002b, p.19). That means, on the one hand, to lower barriers for people who like to show self initiative but were blocked by complicated labour and tax laws. On the other hand self initiative should become a duty and unemployed people who do not show enough commitment in their struggle for a new job will have to face dole-cuts. Also in order to set incentives for companies to hire from the ranks of the unemployed, the commission suggested removing some sacred cows of employee protection.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction – The crash of a system: This chapter details the collapse of the existing German labour market system due to inefficient practices and inaccurate statistics, leading to the formation of the Hartz-Commission.
Summary: This section provides an overview of the research structure, outlining how the paper progresses from the introduction of PSAs to the application of analytical models and final findings.
The Situation today: This chapter analyzes the disequilibrium in the German labour market caused by reunification and structural deficits, which necessitated the introduction of new employment programs.
Key principles of Personnel Service Agencies (PSA): This section explains the modus operandi, goals, organizational structure, and legal implications of the newly established Personnel Service Agencies.
Foreign precedences: This chapter discusses the lack of direct European role models for the German PSA approach, contrasting it with the focus on part-time work in other EU countries.
Method of analysis: This section details the methodology used, specifically Valentine’s resource-based SWOT framework, including Porter’s Competitive Forces Paradigm and the Value Net.
Findings: This chapter presents the empirical results of the study, categorizing expert feedback into strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Conclusion: This section synthesizes the findings, discussing the sustainability of identified strengths and the permanency of certain system weaknesses.
Outlook: This chapter emphasizes the uniqueness of the Hartz-concept and suggests that further research is required to fully understand the long-term impacts of the implemented modules.
Keywords
Personnel Service Agencies, Hartz-Commission, Labour Market, Unemployment, SWOT Analysis, Resource Based View, Competitive Forces Paradigm, Value Net, Employment Policy, Germany, Temp-work, Labour Mediation, Structural Reforms, Flexibility, Subsidies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on the introduction and assessment of Personnel Service Agencies (PSAs) in Germany, evaluating their role as a new model within the German labour market reforms.
What are the central thematic fields addressed?
The research covers labour market policy, organizational management, the economic evaluation of temporary employment, and the analysis of state-subsidized employment models.
What is the primary objective or research question?
The primary objective is to determine whether the PSA model serves as an effective, sustainable solution to German labour market inefficiencies by analyzing its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Which scientific methodology is utilized?
The study employs a resource-based SWOT analysis framework as developed by Valentine (2001), supplemented by Porter’s Competitive Forces Paradigm and the Value Net of Brandenburger and Nalebuff.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main body examines the history of the labour market crisis in Germany, the operational principles of PSAs, the methodology for analyzing these agencies, and the findings derived from an expert questionnaire.
Which keywords best characterize the study?
Key terms include Personnel Service Agencies, Hartz-Commission, labour market reform, SWOT analysis, and employment mediation.
How do experts perceive the PSA model in the context of long-term funding?
There is a strong consensus among the consulted experts that PSAs will remain dependent on federal subsidies and are unlikely to become fully self-financing entities in the near future.
What impact does the "equal-pay" agreement have on the PSA system?
Many experts consider the agreement with trade unions regarding equal pay after six weeks to be a significant weakness, as it artificially inflates temp work fees and may reduce the intended flexibility of the system.
- Citar trabajo
- Florian Leuchtenstern (Autor), 2003, Introduction of Personnel Service Agencies in Germany (A ressource based SWOT-Analysis), Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/23281
