Suchergebnisse

Entrepreneurial environment in Slovakia is monitored and recently demonstrates deteriorative level. Entrepreneurs themselves defined the shortfalls as it was also confirmed by analyses of regional and national agencies. In the Slovak Republic, the small and medium enterprises have an irreplaceable role to play. Entrepreneurs consider levying charges, frequent regulation modifications, difficult exaction of justice, unavailability of loans, ambiguous policies, corrupt practices at magistracies, tax charges, and many others to be the biggest obstacles. Definition and solution of these problems is highly important to support small and medium businesses. It can foster overall conditions of entrepreneurship in Slovakia and also increase Slovakia's competitiveness. The aim of the article is to point out entrepreneurship and business environment conditions in the Slovak Republic, mainly the organisations oriented towards small and medium enterprises, which have an irreplaceable role predominantly in the field of workplace establishment and regional development. ; Entreprenerystės aplinka Slovakijoje yra nuolat matuojama ir šiuo metu pastebimos blogėjimo tendencijos. Entrepreneriai patys pripažįsta situacijos blogėjimą bei tai patvirtina regioninių ir nacionalinių agentūrų pateikti duomenys. Slovakijos Respublikoje mažos ir vidutinės įmonės vaidina labai svarbų vaidmenį. Entrepreneriai pripažįsta mokesčių didėjimą, dažnus įstatymų kaitaliojimus, sunkią teisėtvarkos būklę, paskolų trūkumą, ambicingas nepagrįstas politikas, korupciją ir kt. kaip pačias didžiausias kliūtis entreprenerystės plėtrai Slovakijoje. Šių problemų apibrėžimas ir sprendimas yra labai svarbus, siekiant paskatinti smulkiojo ir vidutinio verslo plėtrą. Tai leistų ne tik pagerinti entreprenerystės sąlygas bet ir padidinti Slovakijos konkurencingumą. Straipsnio tikslas yra apibrėžti entreprenerystės ir verslo sąlygas Slovakijoje, turinčias įtakos smulkių ir vidutinių įmonių steigimui, kuris garantuoja naujų darbo vietų kūrimą ir regioninę plėtrą.

Economic growth in China contributed to the social transformation of Chinese society. Changes in the political and legal environment have stimulated the formation of non-governmental organizations. NGOs have become an integral part of Chinese society. Their number is growing rapidly and shows impressive growth dynamics. Individuals and groups of citizens were able to gain independence in the community and participate in its life on the «horizontal» level. Increasing the number of NGOs in China today shows that they fill the social space, which the government and the business sector cannot fill. Government political control over NGOs is tough enough. However, at the end of 2013 shall come into force amendments to the legislation that streamline and greatly simplify the process of registration of NGOs in China. ; Economic growth in China contributed to the social transformation of Chinese society. Changes in the political and legal environment have stimulated the formation of non-governmental organizations. NGOs have become an integral part of Chinese society. Their number is growing rapidly and shows impressive growth dynamics. Individuals and groups of citizens were able to gain independence in the community and participate in its life on the «horizontal» level. Increasing the number of NGOs in China today shows that they fill the social space, which the government and the business sector cannot fill. Government political control over NGOs is tough enough. However, at the end of 2013 shall come into force amendments to the legislation that streamline and greatly simplify the process of registration of NGOs in China.

Малое и среднее предпринимательство является необходимой и очень важной частью экономической системы хозяйствования Нижегородской области. Нижегородская область – это один из ведущих субъектов страны по уровню развития предпринимательства, а Нижний Новгород с 2013 г. занимает 9 место в ежегодном рейтинге городов, наиболее привлекательных для бизнеса и жизни. Значительному вкладу малого и среднего предпринимательства в социально-экономическое развитие Нижегородской области во многом способствовала реализация предыдущих комплексных целевых программ развития предпринимательства, ставших эффективным инструментом осуществления государственно-общественной политики Правительства Нижегородской области по отношению к субъектам малого и среднего предпринимательства. В статье представлены Целевые программы развития малого и среднего предпринимательства в Нижегородской области и проанализированы показатели развития предпринимательства за период по 2012 год. ; Small and medium enterprises is an integral and very important part of the economic system of managing the Nizhny Novgorod region. Nizhny Novgorod region is one of the key players in the country in terms of enterprise development, and Nizhny Novgorod in 2013 ranked 9th in the annual ranking of cities most attractive for business and life. Significant contribution of small and medium enterprises in the socio-economic development of the Nizhny Novgorod region has greatly contributed to the implementation of the previous complex target enterprise development programs have become an effective instrument of public-public policy of the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod region in relation to small and medium businesses. The article presents the development of targeted programs for small and medium enterprises in the Nizhny Novgorod region and analyzed indicators of entrepreneurship development for the period to 2012.

Данная статья посвящена риску, как обязательному элементу международных коммерческих договоров. Проведено исследование рисков по трём направлениям: правовому, финансовому, неопределённости ситуации и отражена отдельная система мер предупреждения правовых рисков и методов предупреждения финансовых рисков. Правовой риск связан с необходимостью регулирования международного бизнеса не посредством российского законодательства, а в соответствии с нормами международного права и практикой их применения. Коммерческая деятельность может не дать ожидаемый результат и здесь имеет место финансовый риск. Опасность финансового риска всегда связана с опасностью возникновения убытков. Сегодня можно говорить о новом виде риска неопределённости, который возникает с введением западным политическим сообществом «новой» модели влияния на международный коммерческий рынок - отождествление бизнеса и политики. ; This article is concerned with the risk as a compulsory element of international commercial agreements. Within the framework of this article subject the study of three risk areas legal, financial and uncertainty risks – have been conducted and the scope of legal risks preventive measures and financial risks preventive procedures are related herein. Legal risks are connected with the necessity of global business management not by virtue of the Russian laws but in compliance with statutes of international law and the said law enforcement practice. Should commercial operations results fail to meet expectations financial risk arises. Financial risk always triggers the possibility of loss exposure. Nowadays one may talk about the new uncertainty risk profile which emerged after introduction of a "new" global commercial market influence model by western society implying identification of business with politics.

Исследование заключается в отраслевом анализе Соглашения «Об устранении технических барьеров во взаимной торговле с государствами участниками СНГ, не являющимися государствами-членами Таможенного Союза». Рассмотрены возможности использования Украиной технических регламентов Таможенного Союза на альтернативной или безальтернативной основе в целях защиты интересов субъектов предпринимательской деятельности взрывозащищенного оборудования Украины в международном сотрудничестве и торговле ; In view of recent events that occur in relations between the two countries, Ukraine and Russia, the issue of maintaining successful economic positions of Ukrainian manufacturers of explosion-proof equipment in Russian-Ukrainian relations is becoming very important. The paper deals with current problems in the field of technical regulation, standardization, conformity assessment of explosion-proof equipment and removal of technical barriers to mutual trade in this equipment with the neighboring CIS countries. As a result of the study, a comparative analysis of existing technical regulations of Ukraine (TR 898) and Russia (TR CU 012/2011) was conducted, the main contradictions of these documents were highlighted and a reasonable assessment of the effects of using TR CU 012/2011 on alternative or non-alternative basis by Ukrainian business entities was given. The results are of practical importance and can be used for further in-depth study of the impact of technical barriers on business entities of explosion-proof equipment in Ukraine when using technical regulations of the Customs Union. The analysis and conclusions, presented in this paper are of interest of government and non-government agencies and organizations that deal with the above problem.

Anomaly detection in sentiment analysis refers to detecting abnormal opinions, sentiment patterns or special temporal aspects of such patterns in a collection of data. The anomalies detected may be due to sudden sentiment changes hidden in large amounts of text. If these anomalies are undetected or poorly managed, the consequences may be severe, e.g. A business whose customers reveal negative sentiments and will no longer support the establishment. Social media platforms, such as Twitter, provide a vast source of information, which includes user feedback, opinion and information on most issues. Many organizations also leverage social media platforms to publish information about events, products, services, policies and other topics frequently. Thus, analyzing social media data to identify abnormal events in a timely manner is a beneficial topic. It will enable the businesses and government organizations to intervene early or adopt proper strategies if needed. However, it is also a challenge due to the diversity and size of social media data. In this study, we survey existing anomaly analysis as well as sentiment analysis methods and analyze their limitations and challenges. To tackle the challenges, an enhanced sentiment classification method is proposed and discussed. We study the possibility of employing the proposed method to perform anomaly detection through sentiment analysis on social media data. We tested the applicability and robustness of the method through sentiment analysis on tweet data. The results demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed method and provide meaningful insights into this research area.

This paper explores the differences in the use of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system to manage food safety risks in the food chain from farm to fork in the EU and the US. In particular, this paper investigates the current uses and potential expansion of HACCP as a mechanism for the delivery of safe agricultural products, particularly safe produce. It considers not only whether HACCP systems are the best mode of governance for delivering safe food, and describes why HACCP has achieved an important role in the regulatory framework that governs food safety, but asks why this role is different in the EU and US. Within the EU, HACCP is compulsory at all stages of the food chain other than primary production, whereas the mandatory use of HACCP in the US is less widespread. However, the empirical work found that HACCP is being used by businesses in both the EU and US as a basis for organizing their business, even when not required by regulation. Using data derived from semi-structured interviews with regulatory actors in the EU and US, this paper argues that the different approach to HACCP is a result of differing ideas about the role that it plays in the governance of food safety, and the different concepts of the role of regulation in securing safe food. Finally, the paper explores the difficulties of utilizing HACCP to manage produce safety risks, and raises further challenges that must be met in order to ensure that HACCP can successfully fulfill its potential as a governance mechanism.

Tourism is a fast growing industry and has the potential for poverty alleviation for rural persons. Butha-Buthe is located in a rural area of Lesotho with magnificent mountain scenery, attractions to be promoted, and adventure activities to be experienced. However, tourism in Butha-Buthe is under-developed, and it is very important to identify tourism's potential in this area, and explore how small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) could contribute to the development of the industry. The study examines the economic role of small, medium and micro enterprises towards the development of tourism in Butha-Buthe. Challenges faced by the SMMEs include lack of resources, poor infrastructure and roads, transportation, and a lack of network communications. Other challenges would be poor business skills in regard to employment and management, which leads to business failures. Questionnaires were distributed to local entrepreneurs in Butha-Buthe, conveniently chosen community members, local government officials, and other stakeholders in the district. A comprehensive literature review was also undertaken in order to establish the SMME situation in selected African and other developing countries. The questionnaires were analysed which allowed for conclusions and recommendations based on the findings. These findings revealed that there is a huge potential for tourism development in Butha-Buthe through the SMME sector, but that there are still challenges faced by the sector in this district, despite the economic contributions they make. However, through the anticipated support of the government (with good policies and policy implementation) and private sectors, these challenges could be dealt with.

Global health initiatives usually require collective business-healthcare professional based partnerships and address health issues and concerns that transcend national borders, irrespective of practices, policies and systems in the host country. Social networks (SNs) formed by organizations like UNICEF, WHO, the World Bank and private corporations, which are working together, have produced innovative financial tools to support these initiatives. The purpose is to find better ways to raise funds, apply resources and develop meaningful alliances among networks working towards a common goal (e.g., delivering vaccines to children in developing countries). Business, social and healthcare networks can amalgamate their skills to prevent illness and relieve suffering, even in the current economic challenges. Social networks, with their ability to foster interdependency, such as kinship, common interest, financial exchange, relationships or common beliefs, knowledge and prestige, are able to operate on many levels, from individual families up to national and global levels. Historically, SNs play a critical role in determining the way problems are solved, organizations are run, and the degree to which both individuals and organizations succeed in achieving their goals. This paper will utilize Social Network Analysis (SNA) as a means to examine three strategic areas to global healthcare delivery: expanding delivery of new or under-utilized healthcare initiatives; achievement of global access to healthcare through private sector partnerships; and the strengthening of research, development and activation of private and political support as a means to empower communities to advocate for policies that will improve their health.

В статье рассматривается деятельность малого и среднего бизнеса в Великобритании в современных условиях быстрого развития информационно-коммуникационных технологий и сети Интернет. Вызовы и трудности, с которыми малый и средний бизнес государств Запада сталкивается сегодня, придется преодолевать и российским фирмам. Изучение опыта одной из передовых стран Запада Великобритании было бы полезно для России как с точки зрения использования возможностей сети Интернет, включая потенциал привлечения средств для развития компании, так и с позиций правительственной политики. На взгляд авторов, обращение к западному опыту особенно актуально с учетом недавнего резкого сокращения числа зарегистрированных индивидуальных предпринимателей. Это позволит российскому бизнесу если не избежать провалов, то хотя бы смягчить их последствия и повысить свою конкурентоспособность на мировой арене. ; The article concerns small and medium enterprises in the UK under modern conditions of rapid development of information and communication technology and Internet network. Russian companies would overcome challenges and difficulties, which Western small and medium enterprises have to cope today. It is useful for Russia to study experience of the UK as one of the most advanced Western countries in terms of using Internet opportunities (including potential of fundraising for business development) as well as in terms of government policy. The authors believe that addressing to the Western experience is especially timely, given recent sharp decline of registered individual entrepreneur numbers. This would enable Russian businesses if not to avoid failures, but at least to mitigate the consequences and to improve competitiveness worldwide.

Nowadays interactive Web-applications are an essentialpart of the information systems of business, governmentalstructures, etc. The main feature of such systems is toorganize the client access, business partners and employeesto the resources of the Internet. For access to onlineservices and defining the level of authority, users mustclearly identify themselves. There are many ways to organizethe process of users authentication; the mostcommon way is authentication with the help of forms. Inthis article the questions connected with increasing securityof the authentication process and control user sessionsare considered. ; Интерактивные Web-приложения в настоящее время являются важной частью информационных систем самого раз-ного назначения – бизнеса, государственных структур и других. Основной особенностью таких систем является органи-зация доступа клиентов, деловых партнеров и собственных сотрудников к информационным ресурсам через Интер-нет. Для доступа к онлайн-услугам, определения уровня полномочий, пользователи должны однозначно идентифици-ровать себя. Существует множество способов организации процесса аутентификации пользователей, из которых чащевсего используется аутентификация с помощью форм. В статье рассматриваются рекомендации, направленные наповышение безопасности процесса аутентификации и управления сессиями пользователей. ; Інтерактивні web-додатки в даний час є важливою час-тиною інформаційних систем різного призначення –бізнесу, державних структур і інших. Основною особ-ливістю таких систем є організація доступу клієнтів,ділових партнерів і власних співробітників до ресурсівсистеми через інтернет. Для доступу до онлайн-послуг,визначення рівня повноважень, користувачі повинніоднозначно ідентифікувати себе. Існує безліч способіворганізації процесу аутентифікації користувачів, з якихнайчастіше використовується аутентифікація за допо-могою форм. У статті розглядаються питання, пов'язаніз підвищенням безпеки процесу аутентифікації і управ-ління сесіями користувачів.

À partir de l'analyse de dizaines d'exemples d'engagement d'entreprises internationales ou canadiennes en matière de responsabilité sociale, nous avons fait les constats suivants: (1) les politiques de RSE ne sont trop souvent que l'expression de vœux pieux; (2) elles ne sont assujetties à aucune obligation d'applications concrètes; (3) elles peuvent être démenties par des pratiques contraires à la politique; (4) elles sont rentables car le public croit davantage l'expression de générosité que les mensonges qui les entourent. Dès lors, les entreprises ne se gênent aucunement pour projeter d'elles-mêmes une image d'entreprise responsable tout en ayant des pratiques condamnables, car en général la sanction de l'opinion publique n'est pas au rendez-vous. L'exemple des Prix Pinocchio en France en témoigne. Having analysed dozens of examples of the commitment of international and Canadian businesses in the area of social responsibility, we arrive at the following observations: (1) CSR policies are all too often merely a matter of lip service; (2) they do not involve any obligation to apply concrete measures; (3) they may be contradicted by practicesthat are contrary to the policy; (4) they are profitable because public belief is more strongly influenced by the expression of generosity than by the fact of the lies surrounding them. As a result, businesses do not hesitate to project the image of a responsible enterprise while engaging in reprehensible practices, because in general public opinion does not cast blame upon them for doing so. The example of the Pinocchio Awards in France is a reflection of this.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to set out the process by which a smart specialisation strategy was developed for a small, peripheral economy in the European Union, the Republic of Malta. It assesses the applicability of the approach in the context of a micro-economy with an industrial structure based on a small number of foreign direct investments and a predominance of micro-enterprises. Design/methodology/approach – The paper follows an action research approach by presenting as a case study the process by which the strategy for Malta was assessed and developed through successive rounds of engagement with business and other actors with the application of scenarios and other prioritisation approaches to facilitate its development. An initial consultation with 20 public sector and representative organisations was followed by a general business workshop and 21 sectoral focus groups. Findings – Lack of critical mass can be mitigated by maximising the generic use of available skills and competences. Given the higher vulnerability to external shock in micro-economies, strategies need to have a high degree of flexibility and adaptability. Greater internationalisation provides the main response to peripherality. Practical implications – The approach can be applied more generally for micro-economies and in some aspects to other countries or regions lacking critical mass in research and innovation assets or facing peripherality. Originality/value – The smart specialisation approach had not been applied in these circumstances and hence the findings allowed the concept to be extended and adapted to deal with the issues raised.

Migration is a local reality. Cities are places where both migrants and non-migrants interact, be it through working, studying, living, playing or raising their families. This report blazes a trail by linking migrant and refugee integration policies, public-private partnerships and the local level in a comparative discussion. It will serve to fill an important gap in the literature. The study, initiated by The Hague Process on Refugees and Migration (THP) in partnership with UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance, looks at how businesses and governments in global cities contribute to the economic and social integration of migrant and refugee populations, either through outreach, specialised programs, the provision of services or targeted funding of NGOs; and to what extent these contributions can be deepened or expanded. The study focuses on efforts by the private sector and city governments – both separately and in partnership – to give these groups greater protection and opportunities in employment markets and communities. More specifically, this report identifies good practices among the selected cities as well as gaps in intervention by determining whether and how business and cities are currently working together to create opportunities for migrants and refugees to deepen their integration into society. Where there is presently no collaboration between the private and public sectors, the research identifies barriers and opportunities for potential partnerships. To this end, the research draws from eight case studies: Auckland (New Zealand), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Chicago (USA), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Lisbon (Portugal), Nairobi (Kenya), Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and São Paulo (Brazil).

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the role flexible work arrangements (FWA) play in diversity policies, and the reasons for/barriers to their implementation.Design/methodology/approach– Based on qualitative case study research in four large multinational service companies. Primary data were collected through senior and line-manager interviews and questionnaires.Findings– The research shows FWA are an integral part of diversity implementation but organisational imperatives, particularly management concerns about client interaction, constrain the acceptance of FWA and therefore restrict their impact as a means to greater diversity. As FWA have different effects (being available "remotely" vs not being available) their acceptability is not inclusive, but dependent on job character and level.Research limitations/implications– Further research is needed on the difficulties of implementing FWA and, particularly, its impact on career progression. The prioritisation of business imperatives over social arguments, such as client needs and staff availability, with its impact on the acceptability of FWA and hence ultimate enhancement of diversity deserves more attention.Practical implications– This paper shows that company discourse with its unambiguous business focus highlights the shortcomings of relying upon FWA to bring about a changed climate for diversity.Originality/value– Importantly issues are explored which have not featured significantly in the literature to date, especially the role of clients/customers and differences in the effect of FWA as elements in managerial perspectives on the acceptability of FWA, which can act as constraints to its use for diversity enhancement.