Objective:

The effects of demographic change are already noticeable today. For example, the absolute number of specialists and managers available on the labor market is declining, while the relative number of older employees is continuously increasing. This social change, which will become even more pronounced in the coming years, creates new challenges for all companies in terms of corporate, recruitment, qualification and health policy, as well as in terms of work organization and design. The key question here is "How can a company be managed in a sustainable and value-enhancing manner under the influence of a rapidly changing population and workforce structure?"

The "Demographic Change" working group is addressing this question. The aim is to derive recommendations for action for companies based on current and future developments in demographic change. To this end, strategies, models and methods are to be developed that are specifically applicable to the companies participating in the working group and their problems. Current research methods as well as best-practice case studies are provided by the Chair of Innovation and Technology Management.

Approach:

In accordance with the objectives of the working group, approaches are selected together with the participating companies from which concrete recommendations for action can be derived. In this context, the first meeting on March 23, 2009, will be used to define the focal points of the working group. The focus will be on the concrete challenges and problems of the participating companies in dealing with demographic change. In order to facilitate the entry into the thematic complexes in this context, several possible focal points are suggested by the Chair of Innovation and Technology Management. After fixing the thematic focal points, possible solutions are discussed, modeled and implemented together with the companies, taking into account best-practice examples and common research methodologies. Direct applicability of the results in practice is ensured by field reports from corporate practice and detailed suggestions for implementation from a scientific perspective.

Duration:

The Demographic Change Working Group will start on November 23, 2009, and will comprise a total of five meetings. The entire term is scheduled for twelve months.