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Through the public procurement rules, protection of competition, equality of choice & transparency of the procedure in relationships between the public & private sectors are provided, to the greatest extent possible, in the EU rules. All the contractual relationships between the public & private sectors cannot be subject to strict & formal rules on public procurement primarily due to the special nature of business operations, complexity & duration of the relationships. Concessions or public-private partnerships of a concessionary nature are excluded from the legal regime that applies to public procurement. This paper analyses the contractual relationships of the concessionary nature & the EU efforts for ensuring a certain degree of equal treatment of private partners entering into public-private partnerships. Adapted from the source document.

Raziskovalno delo se ukvarja s problemom neobjektivnosti ter vse večjega števila napak, ki jih delajo bonitetne agencije. Še posebej pozorni bomo na tri največje agencije na svetu, to so: S&P, Moody's ter Fitch, ki skupaj zavzemajo več kot 95% celotnega bonitetnega trga. Podrobneje si bomo ogledali pretekle finančne/gospodarske krize in napačno vrednotenje ameriških propadlih koncernov. Napačne bonitetne ocene, ki so prenizke ali previsoke, imajo velik vpliv na določene, za državo zelo pomembne, parametre. Višjo bonitetno oceno kot dobi država, po nižjih stroški se bo lahko zadolževala in obratno. Do neobjektivnosti pri vrednotenju pride iz večih razlogov. Najpogostejši razlog je profitni motiv agencij, ki privede do konflikta interesov. Agencije v veliki večini poslujejo po poslovnem modelu "izdajatelj plača", kar pomeni, da je naročnik in plačnik ocene, izdajatelj vrednostnega papirja. Ker agencije plača nekdo, kogar morajo objektivno oceniti, prihaja do konflikta interesov, saj so v osnovi agencije profitne institucije, ki poslujejo z enormno visokimi dobički. Problem se nahaja tudi v skoncentriranosti agencij na območju Združenih držav Amerike in zelo omejenem številu agencij, kar priča o oligopliji ter pomanjkanju konkurence. V zgodovini se je pojavilo veliko primerov, v katerih so bonitetne agencije storile hude napake in te napake so nosile posledice. Ugotovimo pa lahko tudi, da agencije niso znale niti pravočasno predvideti prihajajočih finančnih kriz in pred njimi posvariti. ; This research work deals with the problem of the lack of objectivity and a growing number of errors made by the credit rating agencies. Particular attention will be given to the three largest agencies in the world, namely: S&P, Moody's and Fitch, which together occupy more than 95% of the total credit market share. We will analyse this against several practical examples of past financial crises as well as defaulting of major US corporations such as Enron, Lehman Brothers, AIG and others. Misratings, whether too low or too high, have a significant impact on certain important parameters of a given country. The higher the rating a country gets, the lower its cost of borrowing will be, and vice versa. The lack of objectivity in the evaluation process occurs for several reasons. Most commonly, the reason is the profit motive of the agencies, which leads to a conflict of interest. Agencies in the vast majority operate on a business model following the "issuer pays" principle, which means that the client and payer of the ratings is the issuer of the security. Since the agencies get paid by someone whom they should objectively evaluate, this creates a conflict of interests, given the fact that they are essentially profitable institutions with enormously high earnings. Additional problem lies in the high concentration of agencies in the territory of the United States as well as in the limited number of operating agencies on a whole, reflecting the oligopoly of the markert and a severe lack of competition. There are a lot of historical examples in which credit rating agencies committed serious errors which carried consequences. We can also conclude, that the agencies have failed to accuretely anticipate and warn of the upcoming financial crises.

Spanje je ena izmed osnovnih življenjskih potreb vsakega posameznika. Kako dragoceno je spanje, po katerem se zbudimo spočiti in naspani, pa se pogosto zavemo šele takrat, ko spanca ni več. Ker v postelji preživimo tretjino svojega časa, je zelo pomembno, da ta čas preživimo oziroma prespimo kakovostno. Ponudba ležišč v Sloveniji presega povpraševanje. Posamezniki imajo na razpolago veliko izbirno območje, a ker je konkurenca med ponudniki vsak dan ostrejša, se nam je pojavilo vprašanje, kako se posameznik odloči za nakup določenega ležišča. Se odloča na podlagi blagovne znamke, cene, garancije, preizkusa, naravnih materialov ali zgolj na podlagi oglasov, priporočil prijateljev in znancev, prodajnega osebja ali prodajnega mesta? To je vprašanje, ki smo ga želeli raziskati in prikazati ključne dejavnike procesa odločanja, ki vplivajo na posameznika in ga privedejo do odločitve za nakup oz. nenakup ležišča. Teoretični del magistrskega dela je predstavljen v drugem poglavju. S pomočjo izbranega gradiva s področja problematike na področju nakupnega vedenja porabnikov smo opredelili kulturne, družbene, osebne in psihološke dejavnike nakupnega vedenja. Predstavili smo proces odločanja pri nakupu ležišča ter dejavnike, ki vplivajo nanj, ter opredelili stopnje procesa odločanja. V tretjem in četrtem poglavju smo predstavili trg ležišč v Sloveniji in ključne dejavnike procesa odločanja pri nakupu ležišča. V drugem delu magistrskega dela predstavljamo raziskavo ključnih dejavnikov procesa odločanja pri nakupu ležišča in njihovo pomembnost. Ugotovili smo, da so osebe, vključene v raziskavo, izrazito racionalne. Na njih ne vpliva samo ena informacija, en oglas, ampak več dejavnikov. Ključni dejavniki, ki vplivajo na proces odločanju pri nakupu ležišča, na podlagi rezultatov raziskave, so: priporočila prijateljev in znancev kot glavni viri informacij, naravni materiali kot glavna značilnost ležišča ter garancija ležišča kot daleč najpomembnejša dodatna storitev pri nakupu ležišča. Podrobnejše ugotovitve in predloge za ponudnike ležišč smo strnili v zaključnem delu magistrskega dela. ; Sleep is one of primary human needs. But we are often not aware of the value of a good night's sleep that leaves us feeling rested until it's gone. Since we spend a third of our lives in bed, it is very important to spend or sleep those years in a quality way. Selection of mattresses in Slovenia exceeds their demand. People have a vast area of selection at their disposal, but since the competition among providers stiffens every day, we asked ourselves how somebody decides to buy a certain mattress. Does he or she decide on the basis of a brand, price, warranty, test, natural materials, or solely on the basis of ads, recommendations of friends and acquaintances, sales personnel, point of sale? This is the issue we wanted to explore and present the key factors in the decision making process, which influence a person and lead him to decide to buy or not to buy a certain mattress. The master's thesis is essentially divided to two parts ; the theoretical and practical part. We can say that appendices represent the third part, because they contain more extensive tables and computer print-outs, which served as the basis for the research part. The theoretical part of the thesis is presented in the second chapter. By means of the selected material in the problem area relating to the purchase behaviour of users, we defined cultural, social, personal and psychological factors of purchase behaviour. We introduced the decision-making process when buying a mattress and the factors influencing it, and defined the levels of the decision-making process. In the third and fourth chapter we present the mattress market in Slovenia and the key factors in the decision making process when buying a mattress. The second part of the thesis presents the research of key factors in the decision-making process when buying a mattress and their significance. We have determined that persons included in the research are distinctly rational. They are not influenced by one single piece of information, one ad, but by several factors. The key factors, which influence the decision-making process when buying a mattress, on the basis of the research results, include: recommendations of friends and acquaintances as the main sources of information, natural materials as the main feature of a mattress, and warranty of mattress as the far most important additional service in the purchase of a mattress. More detailed findings and proposals for providers of mattresses were summed up in the final part of the thesis.

Organizacije morajo zaradi vse večje konkurence in prostega nastopa na trgu stremeti k čim večji tržni prednosti oziroma prepoznavnosti in uspešnosti, ne glede na področje poslovanja. To velja tudi za neprofitne organizacije, ki svojemu neprofitnemu poslanstvu profitno sledijo in ga neprofitno uresničujejo. Med neprofitne organizacije spada tudi Obrtno-podjetniška zbornica Slovenije, ki v slovenskem prostoru deluje že 47 let in je nastala na podlagi skupnih interesov takratnih obrtnikov zaradi omejevanja države pri razvoju obrti in dandanes predstavlja obrtno-zbornični sistem. V teoretičnem delu smo na kratko predstavili neprofitne organizacije, management neprofitnih organizacij in njegove temeljne funkcije. V nadaljevanju smo obravnavali in opredelili strategijo, vizijo in poslanstvo, ki je vodilo delovanja vseh organizacij, še posebej pa neprofitnih, ki ne obstajajo zaradi ustvarjanja dobička, ampak zaradi uresničevanja skupnih interesov določenih skupin. Pravilno postavljeni cilji so vodilo za uresničevanje strategije, izvrševanja poslanstva in sledenje viziji neprofitne organizacije. Ker neprofitne organizacije večinoma delujejo na storitvenem področju, smo opredelili storitve, zagotavljanje njihove kakovosti in merjenje. V nadaljevanju smo na kratko opredelili človeške vire, saj so zaposleni najpomembnejši kapital v vseh storitvenih organizacijah, v neprofitnih organizacijah pa predstavljajo edini kapital, s katerim razpolagajo takšne organizacije. V tretjem poglavju smo predstavili delovanje zborničnega sistema v Evropski uniji in njegovega evropskega združenja ter primerjali podobne zbornične sisteme v državah EU s slovenskim obrtno-zborničnim modelom ter ugotovili podobnosti in razlikovanja v njih. Opisali smo tudi podporno podjetniško okolje v Sloveniji, katerega del je tudi Obrtno-podjetniška zbornica Slovenije in njene območne zbornice in smo ga v magistrski nalogi podrobno obravnavali. V raziskovalnem delu magistrske naloge smo poleg nekaterih socio-demografskih podatkov in vprašanj o delovanju obrtno-zborničnega sistema preverjali raziskovalne hipoteze, ki se nanašajo predvsem na ugotavljanje zadovoljstva zaposlenih in uspešnost delovanja obrtno-zborničnega sistema. Naredili smo tudi SWOT analizo obrtno-zborničnega sistema. Rezultati raziskave kažejo, da zaposleni v obrtno-zborničnem sistemu ne kažejo izrazitega zadovoljstva oziroma nezadovoljstva glede delovanja le-tega. A večina zaposlenih se strinja, da bi ta lahko deloval bolje, saj ima ustrezno usposobljen strokovni kader v območnih zbornicah in dobro svetovalno službo v krovni organizaciji. Primeri dobre prakse v drugih državah EU so pokazali, da ni popolnoma primerljivega modela, ki bi bil enak slovenskemu obrtno-zborničnemu sistemu, še najbližja in najbolj podobna sta javnopravna sistema zbornic v Nemčiji in na Hrvaškem. V zaključku naloge smo na podlagi izhodišč raziskave, primerjave nekaterih zborničnih sistemov in SWOT analize podali predloge za izboljšanje delovanja obrtno-zborničnega sistema, ki so smernice za zaposlene in vodstvo obrtno-zborničnega sistema. ; Due to increasing competition and free market entry, organizations must strive for the largest possible market advantage or recognisability and performance, irrespective of the area of operation. This also applies to non-profit organizations, which follow their non-profit mission in a profit manner and realize it in a non-profit way. Chamber of Craft and Small Business of Slovenia is also a non-profit organization, which has been operating in the Slovenian space already for 47 years and it was established on the basis of common interests of craftsmen of that time and because of the limitations of the state in the development of crafts. In the theoretical part we presented non-profit organizations in short, the management of non-profit organizations and their basic functions. Further on we addressed and defined the strategy, the vision and the mission, which are guides for the operation of all organizations, especially the non-profit ones, which do not exist to make profit but due to the realization of common interests of certain groups. Properly set goals (short-term or long-term) are guides for the implementation of the strategy, the implementation of the mission and the pursuance of the vision of a non-profit organization. Since non-profit organizations operate mainly in the service sector, we have defined services, their quality assurance and measuring. In the continuation we defined human resources in short because employees are the most important asset in all service organizations, and in non-profit organizations they represent the only asset of such an organization. In the third chapter, we briefly presented the operation of the chamber system in the European Union and its European associations, and we compared similar chamber systems in the EU countries with the Slovenian craft chamber model and we established their similarities and differences. Within this part we briefly described the supportive business environment in Slovenia, a part of which is also the Chamber of Craft and Small Business of Slovenia and its regional units – regional chambers of craft and small business. In the continuation we discussed and described the craft chamber system in Slovenia in detail. In the research part we verified research hypotheses, beside certain socio-demographic data and some current questions about the operation of the craft chamber system, we made a SWOT analysis with which we defined the strengths and weaknesses of the craft chamber system as an organization, and threats and opportunities that the craft chamber system has in the external business environment. We have established that the employees in the craft chamber system are not satisfied nor dissatisfied with the system's operation, but the majority of employees agree that it could function better as it has well-versed professional staff in regional chambers of craft and small business and good counselling service in the umbrella organization. Good practice cases in other EU countries have shown that there is no completely identical case that would be the same as the Slovenian craft chamber system ; however, the closest and the most similar are the public-law systems of chambers in Germany and Croatia. In the conclusion of the thesis, we made proposals to improve the operation of the craft chamber system, which are guidelines for the employees and the management of the craft chamber system on the basis of the research, system comparison and SWOT analysis.

Predmet doktorske disertacije je upravljanje zunanjetrgovinske politike države ob upoštevanju delovanja nadnacionalnih entitet, pri čemer je naš osrednji cilj identificirati optimalen način realizacije nacionalnih interesov v okviru nadnacionalne entitete (tj. Evropske unije). Zunanjetrgovinska politika je eno izmed najstarejših ekonomskih področij, o katerem so tekle resne akademske razprave že v Antični Grčiji pred več kot 2000 leti. Vendar o razvoju svetovne trgovine kot sistematičnem globalnem načinu trgovanja govorimo šele od 15. stoletja dalje. Za boljše razumevanje področja v doktorski disertaciji najprej opredelimo teoretska izhodišča, v okviru katerih predstavimo teorije mednarodne menjave ter analiziramo vlogo države in ekonomske diplomacije skozi različna zgodovinska obdobja (merkantilizem, liberalizem, protekcionizem, intervencionizem ter obdobje liberalizacije in globalizacije). Kot najpomembnejše teoretično izhodišče od Davida Ricarda dalje identificiramo ugotovitev, da svet ni ničelna vsota – vse države z zunanjo trgovino pridobivajo. Kljub temu da so države skozi različna zgodovinska obdobja (glede na gospodarske razmere) vodile različne zunanjetrgovinske politike (protekcionistične ali liberalne), teorija in praksa potrjujeta, da liberalna zunanjetrgovinska politika povečuje konkurenčnost gospodarstva. Študije ekonomistov (Sachs in Warner 1995, 35 ; Frey v Pruslecki 2008, 5 ; Krueger 1980, 289) namreč kažejo, da države z liberalno zunanjetrgovinsko politiko dosegajo višjo gospodarsko rast od tistih s protekcionistično. Kot potrditev teze navajamo izsledke analiz, ki kažejo na višje stopnje gospodarske rasti v t. i. hitro rastočih gospodarstvih (državah BRIICS ‒ Braziliji, Rusiji, Indiji, Indoneziji, Kitajski in Južni Afriki). Slednje so na podlagi liberalizacije trgov v zadnjih dvajsetih letih dosegale višje stopnje gospodarske rasti od razvitih gospodarstev. Glede na to da je predmet disertacije zunanjetrgovinska politika v okviru Evropske unije (EU), ki jo Slovenija sooblikuje, se v okviru analize ukrepov osredotočimo na ukrepe zunanjetrgovinske politike EU, vlogo nacionalnih in nadnacionalnih (vladnih in nevladnih) akterjev ter povezavo vsebin z drugimi politikami. Ključni akterji v procesu formalnega delovanja na področju zunanjetrgovinske politike EU so: Evropska komisija (Direktorat za trgovino), Svet EU (Odbor za zunanjetrgovinsko politiko, Coreper in Svet za zunanje zadeve), Evropski parlament ter nevladni akterji (združenja, nevladne organizacije) kot nadnacionalni akterji in (vladni in nevladni) akterji na nacionalni ravni držav članic EU. Prioriteta zunanjetrgovinske politike EU je multilateralna zunanja trgovina, vzporedno pa potekajo pogajanja s številnimi državami oz. regijami za sklenitev preferencialnih trgovinskih sporazumov. Med ukrepi zunanjetrgovinske politike EU je pomembna še Strategija dostopa na trg, v okviru katere se dosegajo sinergije na podlagi okrepljenega partnerstva med Evropsko komisijo, državami članicami in gospodarstvom. Ugotavljamo, da postaja v obdobju globalizacije zunanjetrgovinska politika izrazito večplastna ter da izginjajo meje med zunanjimi in notranjimi politikami. Na primeru pogajanj t. i. Razvojne agende iz Dohe, ki potekajo v okviru Svetovne trgovinske organizacije, potrdimo tezo o prepletanju pogajanj na različnih ravneh (bilateralni, regionalni in multilateralni) in vsebinski povezanosti zunanjetrgovinske politike z drugimi politikami (z razvojno, s kmetijsko ipd.). Slednje potrjujejo tudi strateški dokumenti EU (Strategija Evropa 2020 ; Trgovina, rast in svetovne zadeve ter Globalna Evropa: konkurenčna v svetu), v katere je zunanjetrgovinska politika vključena kot pomemben sestavni del politike konkurenčnosti. ; The doctoral thesis focuses on a country's external trade policy management in relation to the processes witin subnational entities. Our main goal is to identify an optimal approach to realizing national interests in the context of a subnational entity (i.e., the European Union). External trade policy is one of the oldest economic policies. The first discussions on trade issues started among philosophers in Greece 2000 years ago, but global trade as a systematic process emerged in the 15th century. At the beginning of the doctoral thesis, the focus is on the theoretical background ‒ theories of external economic co-operation. We analyse the role of the state and economic diplomacy in different historical periods (mercantilism, liberalism, protectionism, interventionism, liberalisation and globalisation). The most important theoretical finding is (discovered by David Ricardo and confirmed in subsequent theories) that all states, engaged in external trade, gain (we talk about the so called positive sum). Although countries led different external trade policies during various historical periods (liberal or protectionist), theory and experience show that the liberal external trade policy increases competitiveness of an economy. Studies of several economists (Sachs and Warner 1995, 35 ; Frey 1984 ; Pruslecki 2008, 5 ; Krueger 1980, 289) also confirm, that countries with a liberal external trade policy record higher growth rates than those in favour of protectionism. Emerging economies (the so called BRIICS countries ‒ Brasil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China, and South Africa) record higher growth rates in the last twenty years – after liberalising their markets. We analyse the European Union (EU) external trade policy measures, the role of national and subnational (state and non-state) actors, and the interconnectedness of the external trade policy and other national policies. The key actors in the formal process of creating EU external trade policy are: European Commission (Directorate General for Trade), Council of the EU (Trade Policy Committee – formerly 133 Committee ; Coreper, Foreign Affairs Council), European Parliament, non-state actors (associations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs)) as well as actors in the member states (state and non state actors: ministries, diplomatic network, business associations, chambers of commerce, NGOs, etc.). The priority of the EU external trade policy is multilateral trade – successful conclusion of the WTO Doha Development Agenda. In parallel, EU is negotiating preferential trade agreements with several countries and regions. One of the most important trade policy measures is also Market Access Partnership, where active involvement of member states and the business sector is expected. Globalisation has changed the patterns of global economic co-operation and global trade. External trade has become more complex (linked to the competition, energy, environment and sustainable development policies) and the number of actors (state and non-state) involved in the policy has increased significantly. The boundaries between external and internal policies disappear as well. We show the interactions between different actors, negotiating levels, and policies on the World Trade Organisation Doha Development Agenda case, where the positions of the negotiations have to be agreed on at different levels: national, bilateral, regional, and multilateral. External trade policy is an important part of the EU strategic documents (Global Europe: competing in the world, EU 2020), and therefore an important element of the competitiveness policy. The thesis also confirms that the role of economic diplomacy in trade issues has gained importance during the last twenty years. Saner and Yiu (2003) argue that the main function of the post-modern economic diplomacy is representation in the international organisations and influence on other countries' policies.