Since the winter semester 2019/2020, Dr. Martin Klose has been teaching and conducting research as a newly appointed professor of business administration, in particular controlling, at the Department of Management, Controlling, HealthCare at the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences. We spoke with Professor Dr. Martin Klose about his career so far, his plans for teaching and research in Ludwigshafen, and his own time as a student.
You have been a professor in Ludwigshafen since this semester. What were you involved with before that?
Martin Klose: Coming from a background in investment controlling, I spent 17 years working in corporate practice, primarily in areas where controlling or finance faced particular challenges due to a special financing situation. As a rule, these were companies backed by a financial investor; at one of my last stations, I was responsible for a financial restructuring as CFO.
What prompted you to take this new career step?
I had been toying with the idea of going to university for some time. There was an opportunity to do so once before, but I didn't want to leave my former company and my employees alone in a critical situation. I got to know HWG LU as a university that has ambitions and doesn't want to stand still. That appeals to me, and at the same time it was now a good fit with the environment, which I was able to leave in harmonious agreement and with positive memories.
What particularly appeals to you about the new task?
In the past, I have had the great fortune to gain a great deal of experience and to be confronted with issues that are anything but commonplace and that many business administrators do not get to see in their professional lives. I would now like to pass on this experience and at the same time hope that I will succeed in inspiring students for this subject.
What are the main topics you focus on in your teaching?
Clearly: I want to give students an understanding of economic issues and an economic way of thinking. Unfortunately, a lot of economic contexts are not seen or not seen correctly today, and then in many cases they are also interpreted incorrectly. If I can make a small contribution to changing this in the future, I would be very satisfied.
And in research?
Challenges to controlling in special situations such as a start-up, a special financing situation or in restructuring are currently the area that seems most exciting to me. I also have the impression that this is only given marginal attention in the literature at best. In addition, during my time as an assistant, I was already very interested in services and their creation, and this fits in well with the focus of HWG LU.
What do you particularly like to think back to in relation to your own time as a student?
I was allowed to study in a very personal environment and enjoyed this very much. I have such a variety of positive memories of my student days that it would go beyond the scope of this interview to recount them all. Even more than twenty years after my graduation, I am still in contact with several dozen of my former fellow students - I think that speaks for itself. In general, I have made the experience that the time spent studying shapes one's personality more than anything else. Every day, I observe behavioral and decision-making patterns in myself that I know exactly from which lecture in my studies they originated.
Many business students are confronted with the accusation that "only those who didn't know exactly what they wanted would study business." How would you respond to such an accusation?
I cannot understand this accusation. On the contrary, I have met very many students of this subject who have worked extremely determinedly to develop themselves both personally and professionally and who know and knew very well what they want to achieve.
What would you give students as a general tip?
Always stay (1) alert, (2) critical, and (3) inquisitive about what is happening around you!
Thank you so much for your time!
Interview: Elena Wassmann/Michelle Schlösser
