Experience report on the Master's thesis in MBA General Management

Field report on the Master's thesis by Alexander Müller

In today's business world, competition is intense and constantly growing, forcing companies to adapt continuously. This constant change is essential for a company to be successful in the long term in a highly competitive market. An excessive focus on current successes can cause a company to lose touch with the dynamic and fast-moving business world. Digitalization is a key driver of these current changes and is rapidly transforming the working landscape. Companies must therefore constantly deal with the changes in their environment, which are characterized by globalization, technological innovation, changing customer requirements and increasing competitive intensity. The pressure to adapt to these changes is constantly increasing, as companies could otherwise lose their competitiveness and future viability.

B. Braun sees innovation as the driving force behind the company's continued success. For the Aesculap division, this specifically means focusing on the growth areas of digitalization and robotics. Close dialog with customers and users will serve to identify potential and open up new business opportunities with innovative products and services. This goal is to be achieved by expanding value propositions in conjunction with digital solutions. It is not only digital technologies, but also data analytics and artificial intelligence in particular that are rapidly transforming the healthcare sector. For B. Braun, these technologies open up enormous opportunities for optimizing and automating processes, which in turn leads to an increase in productivity and efficiency.

For these reasons, it was clear to me from the outset that I wanted to dedicate my Master's thesis to a digital topic. Especially since I am completing my Master of Business Administration with a specialization in Digital Business Management. In my Master's thesis, I would like to look at how artificial intelligence at B. Braun can help to make surgical tray consultation more efficient.

Communication with my lecturer was excellent. From the first meeting via MS Teams, where I was allowed to present my ideas, to further coordination via e-mail on the structure of the thesis. I am very happy that my lecturer is interested in the topic I am working on for my Master's thesis and has paved the way for me to be able to delve further into this innovative topic.

As I work full-time at B. Braun, I only work on my Master's thesis in the evenings after work or at weekends. Despite the double workload, I enjoy delving deeper into the subject area. Not only because it is necessary for my Master's thesis, but also because it strengthens my personal development. I believe that the continuous acquisition of new knowledge will be important for future professional life, as the world is turning faster and faster and we should not lose touch with emerging technologies and tools.