Mr. Christian Schulten, Director People Development & Communication at Homag Group AG (a Dürr Company), the world's leading manufacturer of machines and systems for the wood-processing industry and trades, was the last guest in classroom welcomed by the MBA in International Management during summer semester 2017.

With around 6,000 employees, the Homag Group AG (a Dürr Company) operates international production plants and sales and service companies. They are present in more than 100 countries and own an estimated global market share of almost 30%. Products range from individual machines for trade businesses to complete, networked production lines for highly industrialized, individual furniture production. The wide range of services related to the machines and systems together with the corresponding control software makes Homag Group’s offering unique.

In his presentation, Mr. Schulten focused on Change Management, as organizations with a high change maturity have a key competitive advantage in global business these days. He did not only mention and explain different models of Change Management, such as “Kotter's 8-Step Change Model”, but also used Homag Group AG as an example for Organizational Change Management.

Einstein once said: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Therefore, Change Management is essential for any company striving to compete on the market and striving for success in today’s globalized business world and cannot be ignored.

Mr. Schulten encouraged the students to ask questions throughout the guest lecture.  During and after the presentation, students actively participated by reporting about their own experiences in regards to Change Management and any conclusions they could draw from the examples seen in class.

We would like to thank Mr. Schulten for visiting the MBA at Pforzheim University, the insightful presentation and taking the time to exchange with current MBA students, who very much appreciated the guest in classroom.