Series:Икономика и общество – Издателство Изток-Запад

Capital, Melting Glaciers and 2°C

Sustainable Corporate Governance in 21st century

Author(s): Bistra Boeva / Language(s): English

This book is dedicated to those, who wish for a stress-free natural environment for themselves, their children and their children’s children. The narrative tells the story of how investments – a critical factor in the global economy – can mitigate the impact of climate change. Finding a way for the key corporate governance players to reconcile economic and sustainable development criteria is the main theme. This is a point that needs to be understood by the global community, because, unlike financial crises, the ill effects of global warming can not be reversed.Working on sustainable development issues from the vantage point of corporate governance is a continuous journey, as new topical phenomena emerge and their proper place must be found in the scientific narrative.English. First edition (Updated First Bulgarian edition, 2018)

АНТИкорупция / антиОБРАЗОВАНИЕ

Изследвания върху корупцията във висшето образование в България

Author(s): Georgi Dimitrov,Petya Kabakchieva,Dimitar Blagoev,Pepka Bojadshieva,Vassil Garnisov,Georgi Ganev,Ivan Hristov,Valentin Dantchev,Martin Gramatikov,Elena Stojkova / Language(s): Bulgarian

"This book presents an analysis of the first, and in this sense unique empirical sociological survey representative of all higher education institutions in Bulgaria (except those under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry and the Defense Ministry) at the faculty level. The survey covered 31 universities and all their 147 faculties in 12 cities, based on a sample that is exhaustive with respect to higher education institutions and their faculties, and typological with respect to students and teaching staff. The sample included full-time second-, third- and fourth-year students, and habilitated and non-habilitated members of teaching staff – a total of 1,313 students and 283 members of teaching staff. The survey used two standardized anonymous questionnaires – one for teaching staff and another for students – that included a common set of questions for both groups and specific questions relevant to the respective group. It was conducted in May 2004. The purpose of the survey and of the analysis is not to exonerate or accuse the academic community of corruption. The purpose is to see whether the problem of corruption exists in the academic community and, if it does, to identify the institutional conditions for its existence and, consequently, the institutional possibilities for its elimination. That is why the approach applied in studying corruption was institutional, connecting corruption with a specific type of institutional practices in the public sphere that result from abuse of uncontrolled power. The analysis shows that the problem of corruption in higher education exists as part of the informal culture of the academic environment, and that the gravity of this problem is judged differently by the key participants in the educational process: students are the most critical, followed by non-habilitated members of teaching staff, whereas habilitated members of teaching staff are the most satisfied with the status quo. This means that perceptions of the problem are determined by academic status which, as the analysis shows, is constituted above all as power status. In the respondents’ perceptions the phenomenon of corruption is certainly not limited to bribery only, but includes various forms that are specific to teaching staff and students as well as the administration. However, the numerous forms of corruption are grouped around two basic elements of the educational process: firstly, examinations, which are rated first both by teaching staff and students; secondly, admission to university, involving both entrance examinations and transfer from one university or discipline to another."

Българите. Социологически погледи

Author(s): Petar-Emil Mitev / Language(s): English,Bulgarian

The book concerns the fundamental questions set by the founder of Bulgarian sociology Ivan Hadjiiski: Where are we coming from? What have we gone through? How far have we reached? Where are we going? Sociology is a science in which the person puts his imagination and heuristic potential. Sociology is a craft, in the practice of which the outcome depends on the mastery of the techniques and methodologies, the correct observance of rules and procedures. Sociology is a business that requires certain resources and also can reproduce or increase them. Sociology, however, is something else; it is not only a knowledge of society, but it is a public activity. It loses its meaning beyond the public realization or changes it if this realization does not correspond to the scientific credibility.

Държавата КТБ

Author(s): Zornitsa Markova,Tatyana Puncheva- Vassileva,Nikolay Stoyanov,Rosen Bosev,Ilin Stanev,Ani Kodzhaivanova,Desislava Leshtarska / Language(s): Bulgarian

This book is the result of a two-year journalistic investigation that traces the history of Corporate Commercial Bank from its origin to its bankruptcy (1994-2014). The investigation was conducted on the basis of dozens of meetings with direct participants or witnesses of the events, representatives of state structures, political parties, business, regulators. In the process, hundreds of official and informal documents have been analyzed. Access to information by Bulgarian and international organizations has been requested many times. The collected facts, data, documents, and exclusive testimonies included in this book contain for the first time conclusive evidence of political corruption in Bulgaria. The aim of the KTBfiles project is to show the genesis of the "CCB model" (Corporate Commercial Bank model) and the technology of its expansion to magnitude, which pressed all key state institutions to the wall. The book explores the circumstances that made this vicious model possible, as well as the mechanisms for its eradication. This makes the investigation much more comprehensive, multi-layered and important than the chronology of bank bankruptcy, whether it is the largest in Bulgarian history. This qualitative journalistic investigation answers not only to the question #WHO but also to the questions how, why and especially what follows if we stop asking and live permanently with civil indifference and cynicism.

Индивидуални различия при вземане на решения

Author(s): Georgi Karastoyanov / Language(s): Bulgarian

The monograph attempts to provide an empirically grounded answer to a number of discussional scientific issues related to individual decision-making differences by building a comprehensive conceptual model and constructing a specifically selected toolbox as a prerequisite for creating an empirically validated methodology in the field of research of individual differences in decision-making. Original empirical results have been obtained confirming that the style of decision-making is not identical to cognitive style (nor is it a subset, but contains a cognitive component that does not exhaust any of the styles) and is related to mental self-regulation due to individual differences, generated by the ways of satisfying the hedonistic motif (regulatory focus and fashion), the need to control excitement (stress control), and the need for connectivity and increased self-esteem. These results are a prerequisite for the further development of individual decision-making research as well as the decision-making theory itself, because it allows for a fuller consideration of individual differences and their interaction with the characteristics of the situation and the problem that is being solved.The methodological basis of the study is the cognitive survival theory of Seymour Epstein. The results and theoretical summaries obtained empirically confirm the validity of the global personality theory that has the potential to explain new scientific problems, incorporating private theories such as E. Tory Higgins' motivational theory and Mark R. Leary's sociometric mechanism.

Капитали, топене на ледове и 2 градуса по Целзий

Корпоративно управление и устойчиво развитие

Author(s): Bistra Boeva / Language(s): Bulgarian

According to CLEPA (the European association of automotive suppliers), there are more than 3000 automotive suppliers in EU member countries, with 5mln employees and turnover of more than EUR 600 bln. In Bulgaria, there are more than a hundred companies that deliver components to big multinationals from the automotive sectors. The majority of local suppliers (first, second and third tier) are independent local and foreign companies, although subsidiaries of international first-tier suppliers function as well. Irrespective of certain difficulties in the field research, the findings show the following: - Foreign buyers are not interested in the environmental and social policies of local suppliers. The social and environmental impact of the suppliers within the local community is not an interest as well; - Foreign buyers do not embed in their contracts with the suppliers' requirements for compliance with ESG standards; - Local suppliers comply with the legally established norms about air pollution, the protection of soil and water and the management of the waste. How have we interpreted the above findings: buyers rely on local legislation and they do not go beyond. We did not manage to contact the procurement offices of foreign buyers and their boards. We tried to discover evidence in their annual reports and we interviewed the representative offices of big multinationals - European and Asian. Despite the fact that we received similar answers, we did not include them in our analysis. Our research proved the importance of the holistic approach when evaluating sustainable development policy of listed companies. The reverse mirror is not a research method only. It is another tool for evaluating the effectiveness of sustainable framework of corporate governance.

Оценка на системата за почтеност в банковия сектор в България

Author(s): Bulgaria Transparency International,Vanya Kashukeva-Nusheva,Daniela Mihalkova,Kalin Slavov,Boyan Ivantchev,Petyo Slavov,Ognyan Minchev / Language(s): Bulgarian

This study is provoked by one of the most significant cases of abuses over the last two decades in Bulgaria - the bankruptcy of CCB (Corporate Commercial Bank), the fourth largest bank in the country. After the 1996-1997 crisis, when one third of the banks went bankrupt, the country's banking sector collapsed. This is the second case in which huge financial resources "evaporated" and the negative consequences affected a wide range of public institutions and private subjects. The emergence of periodically recurring financial crises, with multiple impacts on public, economic and political life, motivates Transparency International Bulgaria to look for a systematic response to the problem and look beyond the specific case. The present book is based on the analytical approach of the international anti-corruption organization Transparency International "National Integrity System" which assesses clearly defined criteria, the capacity, functioning and management of sectors and institutions with key importance in counteracting corruption. The study is based on an analysis of the legislation and practical actions of the investigated institutions, a wide range of documentary sources, reports, assessments, media publications, and interviews with experts and public figures that have had direct observations and touch with the CCB case. It reflects an attempt to formulate an impartial, objective assessment of the functioning of the banking supervisory system in the 2009-2014 periods but also pursues another objective - to serve as a starting point for policies and strategic actions to give an adequate systemic response to established deficits. Viewed through this prism, this publication expresses the ambition of the Transparency International Bulgaria to not only prevent future crises of this nature, but also to contribute to the institutional strengthening of the system of supervisory institutions in Bulgaria.

Човешката несигурност

Author(s): Georgi Fotev / Language(s): Bulgarian

Prof. Georgy Fotev is a Bulgarian sociologist. His scientific works are in the areas of theory and history of sociology and the disciplinary fields of modern sociology. The focus of the research interests of G.Fotev is the nature of sociology as a multiple paradigm science. Another major theme in the works of Georgy Fotev is the dialogue as a base and horizon of multiple paradigm sociology. Georgy Fotev has publications in the fields of historical sociology, sociology of politics, ethnosociology, the crisis of legitimacy, sociology of values, etc. His books "The long night of communism in Bulgaria" and "Bulgarian melancholy" throw light on the dramatic fate of the Bulgarian national society. Georgy Fotev was Minister of Education and Science (1991 - 1992). He is professor emeritus of New Bulgarian University. In 2003 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the American University in Bulgaria. Mankind is shaken by a multitude of uncertainty. There is an increasing perception that uncertainty becomes permanent. The focus is on the existential, social, political, economic, global and other basic varieties of human uncertainty. The author explores the fundamental conditions of human uncertainty and the main forms of her manifestation and experience. The phenomenon is seen in the light of the new science of chaos and complexity in the context of the risky society/world, in terms of catastrophic consciousness and the conditions of crisis types. Particular attention is paid to trust as a fundamental social attitude and condition against decadent attitudes and nihilism.