Werner Pfeiffer
Werner Pfeiffer (born September 18, 1933 in Plochingen am Neckar ; † May 22, 2019 in Nuremberg ) was a German economist . Pfeiffer was a professor emeritus for business administration , in particular industrial management with a teaching and research focus on (1) lean management and system rationalization as well as (2) technology and innovation management .
Life
Growing up in Wendlingen am Neckar, Pfeiffer completed an apprenticeship as an industrial clerk in the machine tool industry at Gebr. Heller Maschinenfabrik GmbH from 1953 to 1955 after graduating from high school . Subsequently studied business administration at the universities of Frankfurt am Main and Cologne (1955–1959), in Cologne with Erich Gutenberg among others . From 1960 to 1965 Pfeiffer was a research assistant (later research assistant) at the University of Mainz . 1963 promotion to Dr. rer. pole. by the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne (doctoral supervisor: Erich Gutenberg). Pfeiffer's dissertation sales policy in the field of the manufacture of special machines was published in 1965 under the title sales policy for capital goods for individual production . From 1965 to 1969 Pfeiffer was a post-doctoral fellow from the German Research Foundation . In 1970 Pfeiffer received the Venia Legendi for the subject of business administration. His habilitation thesis at the University of Mainz, General Theory of Technical Development as the basis for planning and forecasting technical progress , was published in 1971 (habilitation father: Siegfried Menrad ). Also in 1971 he was appointed full professor for business administration, especially industrial management, at the economics and social science faculty of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg . From 1973 Pfeiffer headed the research group for innovation and technological prediction (FIV) he set up. Pfeiffer retired in 1998.
Research focus on time-oriented technology and innovation management
"Waiting can cost the future"
According to Pfeiffer, the time factor is particularly important in technology and innovation management. As early as the 1970s, Pfeiffer discussed in detail the disadvantages of a follow-up strategy (→ time-oriented competitive strategies ). From the mid-1980s he coined the term " time trap " (→ time trap ) for the unfavorable (existence-threatening) situation that a latecomer (follower) in the technology competition can get into due to his delayed market entry. A central component in Pfeiffer's argument in favor of a “strategic pre-control of all corporate activities” are the “ time constants of preparation ”. The preparation of complex system innovations can only be shortened marginally by a follower company, even with a high use of resources. The decisive basis for competitive advantages in high-tech markets is therefore the early detection of technological trend breaks and the investment in promising new technologies in their very early development phases.
General theory of technical development as a basis
"Inventions can only be predicted by making these inventions yourself."
In his habilitation thesis "General theory of technical development as the basis for planning and forecasting technical progress", Pfeiffer explains the basic possibility of predicting technical development lines (→ technical progress ) and, based on this, derives the methodological principles of effective technology and innovation planning . According to the two basic axioms of Pfeiffer's theory, the process of technical development is to be understood as (1) an information acquisition and information transfer process and (2) a social process. As "induction mechanisms" of technological development describes Pfeiffer on the one hand the need for induction (of needs or shortages outbound demand pull for new / improved technical systems) and, second, the "autonomous induction" (supply pressure in the direction of the market-based application on the part of new scientific and technical knowledge ). The only method of forecasting future technical developments is one's own anticipation of (changed / completely new) future technical potentials and (changed / new) future user systems and user systems. In short: "Inventions can only be predicted by making these inventions yourself." A pure (linear) trend extrapolation as the basis for technological prediction is not sufficient for long-term technology and innovation planning in view of the possibility of trend breaks (→ early technology detection ). Pfeiffer therefore points out the special importance of creativity in the context of long-term planning activities.
Integrated product and technology life cycle
"Products don't fall from the sky."
The classic product life cycle concept focuses on the market phase of products and ideally describes the development of sales and sales volumes over time. From the 1970s onwards, Pfeiffer insisted on the problem of this view, which was limited to the marketing phase. “Products don't fall from the sky”. This means that the upstream phases of the product life on the market must also be recorded. And the downstream disposal phase must also be observed. The expansion of the market cycle leads to the integrated product and technology life cycle concept with (1) observation, (2) creation, (3) market and (4) disposal cycle . In the observation cycle, strategically relevant information from the corporate environment should be collected. Early detection instruments are used in the observation cycle to detect “weak signals”. The observation of the corporate environment is a permanent entrepreneurial task. According to Pfeiffer, the observation cycle should therefore be seen as a “permanent institution”. The development cycle begins with the initiation of the specific innovation process and includes activities from the definition of a product or system concept through development and construction to production and sales preparation.
Technology portfolio analysis
"In a time of the highest rate of change in technology, the market and society, it is becoming more and more urgent for companies to think and act long-term."
The decline of numerous companies, e.g. B. the Swiss and Black Forest watch industry at the end of the 1970s, in the course of a fundamental change in technology, in Pfeiffer's eyes, is regularly due to the inability or the lack of will to long-term strategic planning. As an instrument of strategic technology management, Pfeiffer and employees of the research group for innovation and technological prediction (FIV) he heads developed the technology portfolio analysis (TPF analysis). Their use serves the systematic evaluation of (new) technologies and provides the basis for strategic investment decisions in favor of economically promising (new) technologies. Steps of the TPF analysis are (1) the technology identification, (2) the future-oriented technology assessment and (3) the evaluation of the technology portfolio. The TPF analysis is designed for use in the observation cycle and the early development cycle of technologies. The analysis therefore does not provide exact market data (sales, quantities), but rather shows long-term technological development directions. Pfeiffer therefore also demands that the TPF analysis as a method innovation be accompanied by an “innovation in thinking” of the decision-makers in the company - away from a philosophy of orientation towards short-term financial results.
Functional market analysis
"Anyone who demands thinking in terms of core competencies must mean those of tomorrow and therefore also keep an eye on the further development or replacement of the core competencies of today."
The technology portfolio concept is supplemented by the functional market concept . A serious problem in the context of strategic technology planning lies in the late identification and incorrect evaluation of fundamentally new technologies - both with regard to their substitution effect and their market opportunities. Pfeiffer therefore advocates a functional-abstract perspective instead of a phenomenological one in the context of strategic technology planning. The mode of action of a functional, abstract view of technologies and markets becomes particularly clear using the example of a manufacturer of mechanical keys. In the case of a phenomenologically narrow market definition, the latter sees itself as a manufacturer of mechanical keys, in the case of a functional-abstract one as a provider of a problem solution for the "access control" function. Chip cards, biometric systems and code-based processes are recognized as technological alternatives to one's own current product and adaptation measures can be initiated in good time.
Research focus on system rationalization and lean management
System rationalization and system economy
"Good and bad economic feasibility studies differ in the objective scope and the time horizon of the impact processes taken into account."
Pfeiffer emphasizes his comprehensive understanding of rationalization with the term system rationalization. In contrast to the traditional rationalization theory, which is often focused on the production area, a company is analyzed and (re) designed within the framework of system rationalization with all functional areas and design factors as well as its upstream and downstream stages of the value chain. Accordingly, according to Pfeiffer, the underlying understanding of economic efficiency must also be more comprehensive than is the case with selectively effective measures ( system economic efficiency ). This perspective is also expressed in the fundamental principle of effective and efficient value-added network design : The leverage for optimizing profitability increases disproportionately with the expansion of the observation horizon. This applies in terms of content and time. The earlier and the more comprehensively business structures and processes are thought about and decided, the greater the effectiveness ( doing the right thing) and efficiency of the measures (doing something right ).
Examples of a systemic economic perspective of rationalization: (1) Modernization investments in individual workshops (e.g. turning, milling, stamping, ...) of a production area which is organized according to the principle of workshop production increase the productivity of these workshops. Significantly greater improvements at the higher-level system level could possibly be realized if a complete reorganization took place, in which the entire production area was designed according to the flow principle and divided into production segments. (2) With rationalization measures during the market cycle or after the start of series production of a new product, a company increases productivity , for example substituting a metal component with a plastic component. On the other hand, measures that start in the development cycle of the new product are more effective, for example reducing the number of components to be assembled by designing integral components.
According to Pfeiffer, system rationalization and innovation processes are in a complementary relationship and must be initiated, supported and controlled by the company management on an equal footing. If the cost perspective dominates in order to improve their competitive position, companies run the risk of “rationalizing themselves to death”. On the other hand, innovations in products, processes and processes can fundamentally improve the market position and at the same time completely new rationalization reserves can be tapped.
Lean management
"Lean management is not a specifically Japanese concept and can therefore in principle be transferred to local conditions."
Long before the global lean management wave broke out after the MIT study was published in the late 1980s, Pfeiffer and employees of the Research Group for Innovation and Technological Prediction (FIV), which he led, provided approaches for a modern and economical design of work organization in industrial companies ( including a study in 1982 entitled “New Forms of Work Organization”). Pfeiffer and Weiß presented a comprehensive and systematic presentation of the basics of the lean management concept in 1992 ("Lean Management. Basics of the management and organization of learning companies", 2nd edition 1994). Pfeiffer emphasizes that lean management principles, such as those implemented very successfully at Toyota by Taiichi Ohno among others , are not specifically Japanese inventions. According to Pfeiffer, lean management principles can in principle also be transferred to European companies. However, successful application requires a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the Lean Management philosophy.
- Methodical lean management principles :
- Holistic approach: Company processes should be designed from a systematic, integrated and interdisciplinary perspective. In the event of changes, the interrelationships between all 5 decisive design factors in the company - input, personnel , organization , material resources and output - must be taken into account. A negative example of a non-integrative optimization is an organically grown "cultivation factory" in the production area.
- Process orientation : The focus of corporate design is on activities and processes, not structures. This principle requires a consistent view of all activities in the entire value-added network (suppliers → company → customers) until the customer problem has been completely resolved. Organizational interruptions in the chain of activities at functional departmental and area boundaries must be avoided (minimized).
- Attitude principles of lean management : Pfeiffer and Weiß define attitudes as stable attitudes with which problems can be seen and handled:
- Factual orientation before value orientation : The essential optimization parameters at the factual level are quality , time or speed, flexibility, productivity and inventory quantities. The design of these material variables provides the essential lever for realizing improvement potential. The variables on the value level ( revenues , costs , profitability ) follow the measures on the factual level.
- Permanence and consistency in thinking and acting : improvement processes in the company must be constantly promoted. Even in times of good order books and market-leading competitive positions, the company system should be kept in productive tension. Pfeiffer points out the continued striving for quality in companies, even if only one and two-digit parts per million (ppm) error rates are achieved.
- Implementation orientation : According to the motto “Do it right away: Better 50% now than 100% never!” Pfeiffer recommends overcoming paralysis through analysis and moving quickly from the planning and discussion phase to the implementation phase in innovation and rationalization projects.
- Perfection even on a small scale : If ABC analyzes are used to determine the focus of rationalization , improvements on - supposedly - subordinate levels are neglected. Pfeiffer, on the other hand, is in favor of permanent optimization of operational processes according to the Kaizen maxim “One improvement every day”, which supplements the optimization of higher-level structures and process chains.
- Avoidance of waste : Waste consists, for example, in reworking, multiple handling of parts, transport routes that are too long, multiple data entry and unnecessary inventory. Activities of this kind that do not add value are to be consistently avoided.
- Customer orientation : The principle of customer orientation applies not only to end customers, but also to internal delivery and communication relationships. The person responsible for the next activity is seen as an (internal) customer. Service areas such as IT can also contribute to increased productivity through increased customer orientation.
- Content principles of lean management :
- Change of perspective from tangible to human assets : Pfeiffer warns of severe restrictions on the freedom of action of employees, as is typical in companies with a strong Taylorist organization. An alignment to McGregor's theory Y-image of the employees and an expansion of the personal room for maneuver, on the other hand, opens up the chance of a greater use of dispositive and creative employee potential.
- Design of the value chain as a super network : In accordance with the fundamental principle of the effective and efficient design of the value network, the cooperation with suppliers, customers and trading partners represents a significant lever for rationalization and innovation potential. In cooperation with suppliers, Pfeiffer advocates a targeted avoidance of interfaces (hierarchization of the supply chain ) and interface design (e.g. through greater use of supplier know-how in development projects).
- Design of the supernetwork supplier-producer-buyer as a learning system : At the end of the 1980s, the MIT study showed considerable learning advantages that Japanese automobile manufacturers were able to achieve when ramping up the series production of new models. Pfeiffer sees a significant advantage in this context in the immediate error tracking and consistent error handling. These are also based on a reversal of organizational structures with a high degree of division of labor and the transfer of competencies to value-adding employees.
- Integrated consideration of product and production process : If the sole focus of resource allocation is the development of product technologies, the establishment and optimization of complementary production processes are neglected. Pfeiffer therefore calls for a “symmetrical” weighting of process development. This is implemented, among other things, through process technology development (→ Simultaneous Engineering ), which starts early and runs largely simultaneously with product development .
Fonts
Books as an author
- Sales policy for capital goods for individual production. Stuttgart 1965.
- General theory of technical development as the basis for planning and forecasting technical progress. Göttingen 1971.
- with U. Dörrie and E. Stoll: Human work in industrial production. Göttingen 1977, ISBN 3-525-03111-4 .
- with G. Metze, W. Schneider and RW Amler: Technology portfolio for the management of strategic future business areas. 6th edition. Göttingen 1991, ISBN 3-525-12555-0 .
- with E. Weiß: Lean Management, basics of leadership and organization of learning companies. 2nd Edition. Berlin 1994, ISBN 3-503-03678-4 .
- with E. Weiß, C. Strubl and M. Küßner: Systemwirtschaftlichkeit . Conception and methodology for the business foundation of innovation-oriented decisions. 1st edition. Göttingen 1994, 2nd edition, Göttingen 1999, ISBN 3-525-12578-X .
- with E. Weiß, T. Volz and S. Wettengl: Functional market concept for strategic management of fundamental technological innovations. Göttingen 1997, ISBN 3-525-12577-1 .
Books as editor
- with G. Neipp: Strategies of the industrial manufacturing economy. Berlin 1986, ISBN 3-503-02583-9 .
- with E. Weiss: Technology Management. Göttingen 1990, ISBN 3-525-12566-6 .
- with E. Weiß: International high-tech competition. Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-503-03344-0 .
Essays
- with E. Staudt: The creative element in technological prediction. In: ZfB. 42, 1972, pp. 853-870.
- with P. Bischof: Capital goods sales. In: B. Tietz (Hrsg.): Short dictionary of the sales economy. Stuttgart 1974, Col. 918-938.
- with P. Bischof: Product life cycles as the basis of corporate planning. In: ZfB. 44, 1974, pp. 635-666.
- with E. Staudt: Innovation. In: E. Grochla, W. Wittmann (Hrsg.): Concise dictionary of business management. Stuttgart 1975, Sp. 1943-1953.
- with E. Staudt: Consequences of new forms of work organization. In: The company. 31, 6, 1977, pp. 81-97.
- with G. Metze: System rationalization by reducing the division of labor. In: FB-IE. 26, 6, 1977, pp. 371-379.
- with R. Randolph: Rationalization, operational. In: W. Kern (Hrsg.): Concise dictionary of the production economy. Stuttgart 1979, Sp. 1757-1776.
- Problems of small and medium-sized enterprises in the technological break in trend and state programs of direct technology promotion. In: FB-IE. 28, 1, 1979, pp. 11-19.
- Innovation management as know-how management. In: D. Hahn (Ed.): Leadership problems of industrial companies. Berlin 1980, pp. 421-452.
- with P. Bischof: Product life cycles - an instrument of every strategic product planning. In: H. Steinmann (Ed.): Planning and control. Munich 1981, pp. 133-166.
- with G. Metze, R. Amler and W. Schneider: Waiting can cost the future. In: BddW. December 24, 1982.
- with E. Weiß: Using time as a strategic resource. In: BddW. November 9, 1988.
- with E. Weiß and M. Hartmann: Today's lean management principles are not specifically Japanese inventions. In: BddW. March 18-19, 1993
- with E. Weiß and M. Horneber: Why wander into the distance when the good is so close? In: BddW. April 5, 6, 7 and 8, 1993.
- Rationalization. In: W. Wittmann, W. Kern et al. (Hrsg.): Concise dictionary of business administration. 5th edition. Stuttgart 1993, Sp. 3639-3648.
- with E. Weiß: Technology-oriented competitive strategies. In: H. Corsten (Ed.): Handbuch Produktionsmanagement. Wiesbaden 1994, pp. 275-291.
- with E. Weiß: Methods for the analysis and evaluation of technological alternatives. In: E. Zahn (Hrsg.): Handbuch Technologiemanagement. Stuttgart 1995, pp. 663-679.
Pupils (doctoral and post-doctoral candidates)
| Surname | year | title | Art |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amler, Robert W. | 1983 | Analysis and design of the company's strategic information systems | Diss. |
| Asenkerschbaumer, Stefan | 1987 | Analysis and assessment of technical know-how | Diss. |
| Billerbeck, Holger | 2003 | The time factor in innovation management | Diss. |
| Bishop, Peter | 1976 | Product life cycles in the capital goods sector | Diss. |
| Bleacher, Frank | 1989 | Efficient research and development. Personnel, organizational and management instruments | Diss. |
| Dirsch, Harald | 1999 | Technology-based information and communication systems in the learning organization | Diss. |
| Dögl, Rudolf | 1985 | Strategic quality management in industrial operations | Diss. |
| Döhl, Wolfgang | 1983 | Acceptance of innovative technologies in offices and administration | Diss. |
| Dörrie, Ulrich | 1976 | Supply and maintenance of the factual and personal production structure in industrial companies | Diss. |
| Eberle, Maximilian | 1984 | Planning and implementation of technology-based information systems | Diss. |
| Gempper, Sven | 1995 | Optimization of the business agenda in lean management | Diss. |
| v. Goetze, Sonja | 1992 | Optimization of the variety of variants | Diss. |
| Hartmann, Matthias | 1996 | Technology accounting | Diss. |
| Hermann, Ursula | 1984 | The implementation of operational rationalization actions and the personal resistance | Diss. |
| Horneber, Markus | 1995 | Innovative disposal management | Diss. |
| Janecek, Franz | 1983 | Solar energy handling product life cycle | Diss. |
| Klein, Jürgen | 2001 | System economy in material-oriented innovations | Diss. |
| Koch, Alexander | 2004 | Technology balance sheet | Diss. |
| Kral, Gerhard | 1984 | Rationalization of electronics production by organizing know-how transfer | Diss. |
| Küßner, Mark | 1999 | Organization in the lean company | Diss. |
| Lender, Friedwart | 1991 | Innovative technology marketing | Diss. |
| Matern, Christian | 2000 | Systemic variant management | Diss. |
| Metze, Gerhard | 1980 | Basics of a general theory and methodology of technology assessment | Diss. |
| Polkowski, Hans-Erich | 1976 | Obsolescence processes in the capital goods sector | Diss. |
| Randolph, Rainer | 1979 | Pragmatic theory of indicators | Diss. |
| Rathnow, Peter J. | 1993 | Integrated variant management | Diss. |
| Sandler, Christian Heinrich | 1986 | Innovative technologies in sales - presented using a practical case from the textile industry | Diss. |
| Schäffner, Gottfried J. | 1982 | Implementation of innovative business knowledge through specific cooperation between theory and practice | Diss. |
| Schlobach, Thilo | 1989 | The economic importance of video conferences in the information and communication process of the industrial company | Diss. |
| Schneider, Harald | 1992 | Management of material-oriented innovations | Diss. |
| Schneider, Walter | 1984 | Technological analysis and forecast of strategic corporate planning | Diss. |
| Student, Julia | 1996 | Strategic technology management in biotechnology | Diss. |
| Mayor, Bodo | 1978 | Environmental protection and raw material problems in corporate planning | Diss. |
| Seyd, Michael H. | 1984 | Methodological basics of an analysis and design of corporate elasticity | Diss. |
| Staudt, Erich | 1974 | Structure and methods of technological predictions | Diss. |
| Staudt, Erich | 1979 | Planning as piecework technology | Habil. |
| Steger, Hans-Diego | 2004 | System flexibility | Diss. |
| Strubl, Christoph | 1993 | System design principles | Diss. |
| Struthoff, Ralf | 1999 | Management and organization of business networks | Diss. |
| Syring, Anja | 1993 | Management of innovative information systems | Diss. |
| Volz, Thomas | 1997 | Management of complementary services for material goods | Diss. |
| White, Enno | 1988 | Management of discontinuous technology transitions | Diss. |
| White, Enno | 1995 | Time-oriented management of technological innovations | Habil. |
| Wettengl, Steffen | 1999 | Initiation of technological system innovations | Diss. |
Web links
- Literature by and about Werner Pfeiffer in the catalog of the German National Library
- Publication series “Innovative Unternehmensführung” in the German National Library
- Representative / professor for industrial management ( memento from February 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Individual evidence
- ↑ Werner Pfeiffer obituary notice , Süddeutsche Zeitung of May 29, 2019, accessed on May 31, 2019
- ↑ Werner Pfeiffer: Obituaries: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved June 2, 2019 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Pfeiffer, Werner |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German economist and university professor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 18, 1933 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Plochingen |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 22, 2019 |
| Place of death | Nuremberg |