Suchergebnisse

Regional differences are one of the most important forms of expression of uneven economic development. The unevenness of the level of development in the regions in the Republic of Serbia is one of the most complex development problems. The current economic policy has caused that the gap between rich and poor regions is increasing in Serbia. Different demographic development of the regions is consequences of differences of economic development. In this paper, the authors analyze the quantitative and qualitative population's characteristics. Attention is given to the implementation of VIKOR methods in order to rank the regions of Serbia according to the level of demographic development. Ranking regions by multiple criteria simultaneously, contributes to the determination of the real situation in terms of regional differences. The authors demonstrate that the multi-criteria analysis could be applied to determine the demographic disparities between the levels of development of the regions. The criteria and their importance could be changed depending on the consideration of demographic, economic and social development. Also, other methods of multi-criteria analysis in the evaluation of the demographic development of the region or state is applied.

Each day we make decisions, draw conclusions or resolve problems. The environment in which we make decisions is complex and dynamic and yet it influences the whole process as much as one's knowledge, experience, etc. In these situations, the decision making analysis stands out which provides a logic base for defining possible alternatives and the choice of an optimal option from the possible solutions. The decision making analysis helps the decision maker to choose the optimal option in line with his knowledge, reasoning, beliefs and preferences. When there are several criteria the decision making is ambiguous and one needs to find the optimal or the most efficient solution. The multi-criteria decision making can be multi-purposeful. In case the alternatives are explicitly defined and quantified we are dealing with the multi-attribute decision making. The criteria values for the analyzed alternatives can be qualitative and quantitative; therefore, the qualitative ones have to be quantified. Deciding on the location is one of the key elements of logistics and of the importance of the decision making process used by the companies in order to determine where to locate the facility is a decision of crucial importance to all logistic elements and the entire business development of the company. Further on, the contemporary economic, competitive and technological conditions and the business environment comprise a dynamic category, so the currently optimal location may not be optimal in the future. Companies use qualitative and quantitative criteria while deciding on the location of the factory. When deciding on the location of the factory one conducts a detailed analysis due to the dynamic business environment. Constant changes in the environment influence business adjustments. On the contrary, the logistic facilities and their locations are static and are not subject to alteration in a short period of time and in such a way respond to the business environment changes. While making such a decision one needs to use new methodologies and contemporary tools as a decision making support in order to adequately respond to the business environment changes and secure the high quality decision making by taking into account quantitative and qualitative criteria which are important for making a decision on a choice of a location. From the very beginning, local self-governments, worldwide as well as in Serbia, had different roles in the economic development. Local self-governments usually dealt with administrative procedures with no active part in the economic development. By establishing legal grounds local self-governments started improving the business environment and providing support to the business community, but also actively attracting foreign direct investments which have proven to be the key activity of the local economic development. Identification and understanding of the industrial location decision making process within the companies has been identified as a crutial activity which the local self-governments can use in improving the business environment and recruitment of direct investments. On the basis on the prioritization of the quantitative and qualitative decision making criteria in the process of selection a location, local self-governments can improve their business environment if resources are being used optimally and in such a way they support the local economic development by assisting the business community and attracting direct investments. In this paper we established a model which, using the method for decision making in the case of optimization of the industrial location decision making, enables efficient use of the resources of local economic development. The model will enable the identification of criteria / determinant of locations that should be invested in order to promote local economic development, on the basis of a comparison of local governments and types of potential investors. Use of standard methods of multiattribute analysis gives the possibility of a subjective approach to the researcher who must determine in advance the criteria weights, while the application of the model presented in this paper avoids the subjectivity and objectifies the process of preference, a combination of criteria DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis,) and multiattribute analysis methods (AHP, ELECTRE, PROMETHEE, TOPSIS). Within the dissertation, survey conducted, analysed local governments (alternatives) in terms of fulfilling the criteria (location determinants), within which each local government alone determines the criteria weight based on survey of types of potential investors. A comparative analysis of the results of these studies, where other various methods for decision making can be also used, identified the best method, among selected that are the best known and most used, and the result of the dissertation will determine the importance of the location determinants, which will enable to policymakers in field of local economic development, investment promotion and improving business environment at all levels, through the use of the proposed model of efficient planning, the opportunity to efficiently and cost-effectively use the resources at their disposal.

This doctoral dissertation confirmes possibilities of application of mathematical methods in the contemporary approach of decision making in development projects of cluster organizations in Serbia, as well as introduction of software application "MS Project" which ensure more effective and more efficient project management of cluster organization development, assessment of all project resources engaged and optimal forecast on the completion of the project implementation. Regarding the fact that this issue has not been sufficiently elaborated in Serbia, the main goal of the research was to clarify the role and significance of the mathematical methods, as well as to elaborate the theoretical models of multi-criteria analysis that can be successfully implemented in practice with the aim of identifying and solving problems in the development of cluster organizations in Serbia. The mode and level of topic elaboration is in compliance with the goal of theoretical and hypothetical research framework. Beside theoretical aspect the doctoral dissertation presents the application of the following methods of multi-criteria decision making: "ELECTRE" and "AHP", as well as the software application "MS Project" on data of cluster organization "Cluster House" in Nis.

The author presents the thesis about the difference between the cultural/historical and the political identity by distinguishing the cultural/historical majorities and minorities from the political winners and losers. He points to the democratic paradox according to which states are not ruled by the losers' political majorities but by the winners' political minorities. According to the author, in multi-ethnic societies it is necessary to equally develop the popular and the political culture - that is the culture and political tolerance. (SOI : PM: S. 56)

The disintegration of the socialist regime in Europe did away with the bipolar model of world order and inaugurated a new phase in seeking a new structure and model of international relations. This new world order, only broadly outlined and characterised by (mostly) unilateral leadership, has already been challenged. Two superpowers China and Russia - condemn the hegemony, unilateralism and the attempts at dictating the international relations. China and Russia are supported by a group of disgruntled countries who also think that a broadly-based multi-polarity is the direction that inter-national relations and the new world order should take. Judging by these challenges and criticisms it might be said that only multilateral co-operativeness can guarantee validity to the nascent world order. (SOI : PM: S. 93)

Harmonisation of the foreign policies of the Western Balkan states with the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the Charter 31 of the pre-accession negotiations will be a significant obligation and challenge for most of them. Within this context, the author takes as a starting point the regular annual reports on the progress achieved by the states in the region. They show the degree of harmonisation of their foreign policies with this Union's mechanism (within four years in the 2011-2014 period). The author of the article particularly points to the real and substantial discrepancy between the normative framework of the EU CFSP and the specific activities taken by the Western Balkan states in the part concerning their position to the current crisis in Ukraine which, in a way, 'reflects' the geo-strategic interests of the 'West', on one hand, and those of the Russian Federation, on the other. At the same time, he points to the membership in the North Atlantic Alliance as a favourable framework for the acceleration of harmonisation of a country's foreign policy with the EU CFSP.