Topics for Bachelor theses
Supervision is carried out by the first examiner Prof. Dr. Rick Vogel and a research assistant and follows the supervision process for theses at the Chair of Public Management.
You are welcome to send your own topic proposals by e-mail to one of the research assistants. They also offer concrete suggestions for topics.
These topics are offered and supervised by Sandra Henninger
Public sector consulting
Current challenges lead to a need for reform in public administration, which often cannot be met by the public sector alone. For this reason, public administrations use services from management consultancies. In 2020, consulting in the public sector comprised around 10% of the total consulting market in Germany (BDU, 2021). Despite this importance of consulting for the public sector and a - in many cases - high public interest in corresponding projects, there has been little scientific research on its opportunities, challenges and success factors (see e.g., Cerruti et al., 2019). Bachelor theses could contribute to a better understanding of consulting in the public context and, for example, investigate the challenges public consulting projects face, how public consulting projects ensure that recommendations for action are implemented, how successful cooperation between consultants and public sector employees is ensured, or how consultations gain legitimacy vis-à-vis the public and the client.
Strategic HR management in the public sector
HR departments are undergoing a transformation in light of current trends and challenges: Demographic and societal change, digitalization, and new expectations of applicants and employees are changing the role of HR from a service provider and administrator to a strategic partner of managers that can contribute significantly to achieving the strategic goals of their organization. There is a large body of research in the private sector on "strategic HR management" (SHRM) and the associated changes in the structures and roles of HR departments (see, e.g., Jiang & Messersmith, 2018). In the context of the public sector, however, there has been little research on this domain (cf. Knies et al., 2018; Ongaro & Van Thiel, 2017). Bachelor theses could contribute to a better understanding of SHRM in the public sector and, for example, investigate what role(s) HR departments currently have in public administration and how these role(s) are reflected in the structure and tasks of HR departments. It could also be investigated which antecedents play a role in the strategic orientation or modernization of HR departments, which hurdles the public sector faces in the strategic orientation of HR, how it is positioned with regard to the competencies required for strategic HR management (e.g., big data, HR analytics), or what influence strategic HR management has on employee and manager satisfaction and the performance of public organizations.
"Sector switching" in the context of employee recruitment in the public sector
In the next 10 years, around 27% of public sector employees are expected to retire due to their age (DGB, 2021). To counteract the shortage of skilled workers, it is not only important for the public sector to retain current employees, but also to attract employees from other sectors. Currently, little is known about the motives of so-called sector switchers (e.g., Bozeman & Ponomariov, 2009). Bachelor theses could contribute to a better understanding of sector switching by investigating, for example, why members of different occupational groups decide to switch sectors (e.g., teachers, educators, IT experts), why people with training in public management decide to start a career in another sector, which hurdles exist when switching to the public sector, and how employee recruitment and management should be designed in order to attract interested parties from other sectors and retain employees in the public sector.
These topics are offered and supervised by Finn Hollberg
Public leadership in times of crises
Crises dominate our society. No continent or country in the world is free from dangers and risks, disasters and catastrophes, conflicts and unrest, uprisings and revolutions, turmoil and terrorism. Whether formal or informal, individual or collective, in times of crisis, people expect their leaders, whether elected leaders in governments or town halls or non-elected leaders in government agencies or research institutions, to guide them through profound uncertainty, help them manage change, and ultimately protect them from dramatic consequences. Leadership and crisis are viewed as "closely intertwined phenomena" (Boin & 't Hart, 2003, p. 544).
Research on this topic is interdisciplinary and can be found not only in public management research but also in political science and management research. Measured by the relevance of the topic, the literature in general is rather underdeveloped (e.g., Mau et al., 2022; Riggio & Newstead, 2023). However, over the past two decades, research interest has increased due to various crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Theses could contribute to a better understanding of public leadership in times of crisis by providing a systematic overview of existing research, e.g., focusing on research articles on collective leadership or decision-making in crises, and deriving recommendations for future research. Moreover, theses could conduct empirical research, e.g., based on interviews or documents, to examine various factors influencing public leaders, e.g., in communicating during crises or learning from crises.
These topics are offered and supervised by Melissa Satzger
Employer attractiveness in the public sector
The ongoing shortage of skilled workers and employees affects almost all industries, but particularly the public sector due to the existing age structure ( Statistisches Bundesamt, 2019). Accordingly, due to the competition for talent, the "employer market" has been replaced by the "employee market". For a long time, "job security" was considered the key competitive advantage of public employers (Lewis & Frank, 2002). Although this key factor has continued to grow in importance during the Covid-19 crisis, the question is whether this employment characteristic will remain as critical in employer selection in the medium and long term. Bachelor theses can address a wide variety of questions within this topic area. For example, it could be investigated which different employment characteristics are important in order to be perceived as an attractive and preferred employer. To what extent do intrinsic, extrinsic and prosocial employment characteristics play a role and how should employer strategies be adapted to effectively increase employer attractiveness in the public sector?
Job design in the public sector
Currently, more and more organizations acknowledge that the previous traditional top-down processes regarding job design should be complemented by various bottom-up measures of the employees. Job crafting is one of these new measures and refers to the active and individual design of one's own job (Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001). In this process, employees modify their everyday work so that the boundaries and conditions of work tasks and work relationships better fit their abilities and needs (Berg, Dutton & Wrzesniewski, 2008). Bachelor theses can empirically examine various antecedents or outcome variables of job crafting in the public sector. Other aspects and concepts within the Work/Job Design domain can also be explored.
Potentials of ageing in the public sector
In the public sector, one in four employees is over the age of 55 and will therefore retire in the near future ( Statistisches Bundesamt, 2018). Although it is important to fill these positions with qualified personnel, the older workforce must by no means be neglected. But what happens to public sector workers as they age? Bachelor theses can investigate a wide variety of issues within this domain. For example, it could examine which strategies have already been implemented or could be developed to reduce age stereotypes in the public sector workplace. In addition, it could be analyzed to what extent the performance and motivation of older employees change and how public organizations deal with changing behavior patterns. In this context, it could be investigated which concrete measures public organizations offer to maintain the motivation and productivity of older employees and to what extent these are accepted or even rejected.