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Traditional methods used in operational activities

Author(s): Aneta Deneva,Sebastian Narojczyk / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The purpose of this chapter is to present the traditional methods used in operational management. The methods described include benchmarking, outsourcing, Just-In-Time, kaizen, TotalQuality Management, MRP I, MRP II, and core competencies developed in various periods of the 20thcentury to improve the planning process and efficient management of the flow of resources, goodsand information. Benchmarking consists of comparing the processes and practices used by one’s own enterprise with those used in enterprises considered to be the best in the analysed field. Outsourcing means separating from the organizational structure of the enterprise some functions performed by them independently and transferring them to other entities for execution. Just-In-Time is used toreduce work in progress and inventory levels in production and warehouse processes. Kaizen and TQM are based on the continuous diagnosis and improvement of all elements of the company. MRP methods are based on computer systems and clearly defined, inter alia, the volume of demand, order fulfilment time and provide other data relevant to the company’s logistics system and its operations. Core competencies are company-specific skills that are difficult to copy or win over to competitors.The authors focused primarily on the presentation of the main goals, principles of operation, as wellas the advantages and disadvantages of the selected methods in operational management.

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Modern methods used in production-operations management

Author(s): Bartosz Marcinkowski,Sebastian Narojczyk,Dariusz Nowak,Vasyl Zalizko / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Climate change, resource depletion, technical progress, growing consumer awareness and changing requirements causes companies to look for new production methods. They may concernvarious areas of the company’s activity, starting from product design, procurement organization, optimization of production processes, control of manufactured products and services, through improvement of work organization and reduction of production costs, and ending with the implementation of modern solutions based on digital technologies. The purpose of implementing new production methods is to improve labour mobility, optimization of the use of raw materials and resources, costsreduction, increase efficiency, productivity, etc. In the literature, there are many different types of methods that can be used by modern enterprises. It is practically impossible to present all methods in this study. The authors focused on the presentation of selected methods, which are characterized on the one hand by innovation and, on the other hand, by the possibility of implementation. Particular attention should be paid to methods focused on environmental aspects. This group presents basic information on environment-conscious manufacturing (ECM), life-cycle assessment (LCA) and waste management and recycling. These methods allow to implement the concept of sustainable development and are directly related to the 17 goals set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and adopted by UN member states. In the group of methods related to next generation production management, the focus was on Matrix shop floor control and cooperative manufacturing. Of particular importance is cooperative management, because cooperation in practice is considered as a specific resource and one of the most important factors of a competitive position. The next group of methods concerned production planning and control. Drum Buffer Rope (DBR) and theory of constraints (TOC) were discussed as part of it. From the company’s point of view, methods related to manufacturing processes are very important, including group technology (GT) and cellular manufacturing (CM). Another group focused on commercial aspects, including demand chain management (DCM) and competitive intelligence (CI). The chapter also presents methods related to auxiliary software support, advanced organizational manufacturing and focused on product design.In the first case, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) was discussed, in the second, virtual enterprises (VE) and World Class Manufacturing (WCM) were presented, and in the third, the assumptions concerning the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and House of Quality (HOQ) method were shown. Additionally, Statistical Process Control (SPC) and Computer-Aided Process Planning (CAPP) are discussed within the framework of methods focused on cost and quality manufacturing.

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Sustainable development and corporate social responsibility - organisation level

Author(s): Magdalena Stefańska,Blaženka Knežević / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Sustainable development and CSR are included in the strategies of most companies. To learn more what companies do for the environment and society—usually, one can visit their websites and read about their SD or CSR activities in reports. However—the quality of such reports differs—from minimum information to very deep immersion into explaining to stakeholders how an organisation understands its role in society. The aim of this chapter is to explain how sustainable development (SD) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) influence corporate strategy, both on a corporate level—mission, vision and its goals, and functional areas of organisation.

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Sustainable development in marketing strategy

Author(s): Atanaska Reshetkova / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Marketing strategy is an important part of every business strategy because it is crucial in attaining marketing goals and to grant the overall success of a company. Broadly speaking, marketing strategy allows to define the long-term marketing goals of a firm and what needs to be done in order to achieve these goals. This provides a set of planned steps to bring the marketing mix into the desired state to achieve the overall business goal. In this sense, the marketing strategy is never created independently based on the corporate level strategy. Marketing management has evolved over the past decade to become customer-cantered, and it continues to change along with consumers. It is not surprising that the concept of sustainable development (SD) has left its footprints on marketing strategy, as today it has strong impact on the consumer’s mind and behaviour. Managers face the challenge of incorporating the main dimensions of sustainability into the marketing strategy—environmental, social and economic aspects. The main goal of this chapter is to explain how SD is integrated with marketing.

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Sustainability in human resource management

Author(s): Magdalena Stefańska / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The concept of sustainability is referred to the basic functions of human resources (HR)—recruitment, motivation, assessment and control. They should embrace sustainability, not just for organisational effectiveness and long-term economic benefits, but also for ethical reasons. Owing to SHRM, the awareness and behaviour of the whole organisation may strongly express SD goals inplanning and implementing the whole corporate strategy. Frequently, the term ‘sustainable practices’ in SHRM is congruent with CSR. The main goal of the chapter is to explain how Sustainable Development Goals can be implemented in human resource management (HRM) and translated into sustainable human resource management (SHRM).

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Sustainable development in accounting

Author(s): Marzena Remlein / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The purpose of this chapter is to present and discuss the essence and importance of accounting in the concept of sustainable development. Considerations are particularly focused on reporting CSR issues. The growing importance of the idea of sustainable development and the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility that arose on its basis, gave rise to the need for accounting systems to develop solutions enabling the provision of information on the methods and results of implementing these concepts in entities operating on the market. The interest in accounting with regard to the area of sustainable development has contributed to the development of vocabulary related to measurement, calculation, disclosure, reporting and verification of information on the activities of units for sustainable development. Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is still largely voluntary and non-standardised. However, there are various international organisations that develop frameworks and voluntary standards for non-financial reporting, the so-called Social Reporting Standards. The most important EU legislative initiative in the field of disclosure concerning environmental, social and corporate governance information is Directive 2014/95/EU of the European Parliament and Council from 22 October 2014 amending Directive 2013/34/EU as regards disclosure of non-financial and diversity in formation by certain large undertakings and groups. The combination of financial information (financial statements) with non-financial information relating to the environment, society and corporate governance is included in the integrated report. In Poland, the requirement to present non-financial information related to CSR was introduced by the Accounting Act. Polish companies should prepare a separate report—“Statement on nonfinancial information”. In 2017, the Polish Standard of Non-Financial Information (SIN, 2017) was published to help enterprises fulfil their obligations under the EU Directive.

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Corporate Responsibility towards employees – Raben Group

Author(s): Natalia Jankowska / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Human capital management in an organisation is one of the key areas of company success and its competitive advantage, particularly in a service company such as Raben (Zając, 2014). As an entity operating in the Transport Forwarding Logistics (TFL) sector, its decisions in the area of human resources management depend on industry factors. This is evidenced, among others, by the structure of employees. The aim of this case study is: first, to draw attention to the problems that companies operating in specific sectors may face. The second goal is to identify their ability to implement the concept of a company responsible to employees. The company strives to take the goals set by the United Nations (SDGs) into account. These include taking care of appropriate employment structure, ensuring employee development, ensuring diversity, caring for work-life balance as well as safety in the workplace, and building relations with external stakeholders. The specificity of the industry in which the presented company operates makes it pursue a number of Sustainable Development Goals—both with regard to employees and in terms of environmental protection. Some need to be adapted accordingly.

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Product life-cycle – problems of product planned obsolescence and fast fashion

Author(s): Magdalena Stefańska / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an idea according to which enterprises take responsibility for the effects of their activities and undertake actions aimed at reducing negative effects and improving quality of life of a broadly understood group of stakeholders. In turn, marketing is a concept according to which all activities of enterprises are undertaken with the intention of satisfying consumer needs in the best possible way—by creating and modifying products and services. It would seem that they both—CSR and marketing, share the same goal—providing value to consumers in order to improve their quality of life. However, it can be seen that there is a whole scope of activities under the marketing instruments that primarily serve only to intensify sales. This would not raise any major objections if not for the fact that the occurrence of the demand for restitution is accelerated due to the planned shortening of the product life-cycle. This is in contradiction with the idea of CSR and sustainable development as well as sustainable consumption. So why is it a practice that does not cause widespread outrage and resistance from buyers? And how should it be dealt with? Two widely implemented strategies of manufacturers and retailers are described in that chapter: the 1st one is planned product obsolescence, the second—fast fashion. Retail chains follow the fast fashion trend—offering customers short, frequently changing product lines. However, seeing the effects of this type of strategies, it is possible to undertake a number of activities aimed at reducing the negative effects of these actions.

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Social responsibility and quality in practice

Author(s): Krisztián Kis / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

In this chapter, two excellent examples from Hungary are presented as cases related to the issues discussed in Chapter 2.6, titled Social responsibility and quality: issues of competitiveness and sustainable development. One case is about a Sustainable restaurant initiative introduced by the Heroes of Responsible Dining Foundation, while the other concerns the Safe place certification developed by the CertUnion certification and consulting company. Both cases are examples for presenting responsibility, quality and innovation from different approaches while contributing to both competitiveness and sustainable development.

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Social supermarkets as a solution to food waste and issues of poverty

Author(s): Blaženka Knežević / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The main objective of this chapter is to present and discuss a possible solution to food waste as a problem occurring in traditional food supply chains, on the one hand, due to food overproduction, and on the other, poverty as a result of economic and pandemic crisis in Europe. The structure of the chapter covers two areas: 1. Food waste as a problem in food supply chains. 2. Reduction of poverty by implementing social supermarkets as new players in the food supply chain.

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Sustainability in renewable energy businesses

Author(s): Gabriel Grabowski / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The sustainable development goal 7 (affordable and clean energy) seeks to ensure that energy is clean, affordable, available and accessible to all (SD Goals, https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators). Replacing fossil fuel-based energy sources with renewable ones, which include: bioenergy, direct solar energy, geothermal energy, hydropower, wind and ocean energy (tide and wave), would gradually help the world achieve the idea of sustainability. Renewable energy technologies provide an excellent opportunity for mitigation of greenhouse gas emission and reduce global warming through substituting conventional energy sources (Panwar, Kaushik, & Kothari, 2011; Owusu& Asumadu-Sarkodie, 2016). Nevertheless, investment costs, as well as political environment andmarket conditions, have become barriers preventing countries from full utilisation of the potential to improve the quality of air or water. The aim of the chapter is to initiate discussion on the importance of renewable energy as wellas its environmental and society-related health aspects. Two short case studies presented in the text allow to describe projects concerning solar installations. In the first case, it is educational institution investing in thermal solar panel systems to supply heat for domestic hot water. The results of research conducted by Filho et al. (2019) on a small sample of universities from around the world indicate that in more than half of them, only a small share of energy consumption comes from renewable sources, whilst the European Union policy has identified promotion of energy efficiency in buildings, including educational ones, as a key objective of its energy and climate policy (EPBD Recast, 2010). In the second case study, thoughts on photovoltaic systems installed to supply buildings with electricity are contained and the problem of public resource support forms for that purpose are discussed.

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Structural equation modelling in sustainable development research

Author(s): Todor Krastevich,Atanaska Reshetkova / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This chapter is dedicated to the structural equation modelling methods applied to solve sustainable development research problems. A structural equation model is an abstraction of reality, and the researcher’s job is to build a model that approximates that reality as closely as possible. This task can be difficult if we do not have a clear understanding of what the reality of the studied phenomena is. Sometimes there is a sound theory behind the studied phenomena, and we can use variables that other researchers have already pointed out as valid indicators. In other situations, we have to start with a set of variables and test many hypothetical relationships based only on theoretical work. In this chapter, we focus on providing researchers with the knowledge needed to specify, evaluate, and interpret structural equation models (SEMs) in any field of social sciences, but most and foremost—in research related to the concept of sustainable development.

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Data envelopment analysis methods in sustainable agricultural development research

Author(s): Katarzyna Smędzik-Ambroży,Agnieszka Sapa / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Sustainable development of business entities can be analysed in terms of three dimensions, i.e., economic, social and environmental ones. The economic dimension of sustainable development can be assessed, inter alia, by entities’ technical efficiency defined as the relation of outputs to inputs. One of the methods that is used to assess the technical efficiency of business entities compared to other entities is the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. The aim of the chapter is to determine the relative technical efficiency of representative agricultural farms from the individual European Union countries in 2018. Moreover, the scale efficiency indexes and the area of scale effects (increasing or decreasing) of the analysed farms were also determined. In the study the data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) for 2018 were applied. In order to achieve the assumed research goals, the input-oriented DEA model was used, and the technical efficiency indexes of farms were estimated with the assumption of constant return to scale (CRS) and variable return to scale (VRS). This allowed, among others, for indicating the countries with farms achieving the highest technical efficiency (Belgium, Spain, Italy, Malta and Netherlands assuming CRS, and Belgium, Spain, Italy, Malta and Netherlands, Greece, Ireland, Romania and Slovenia assuming VRS), the lowest technical efficiency (the Czech Republic and Slovakia) within surveyed group of farms. All relatively inefficient farms (except Slovakia) functioned in the area of increasing economies of scale.

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Sustainable agriculture: Development of organic farming. Case study of the Czech Republic

Author(s): Pavel Kotyza,Luboš Smutka / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Sustainability is a crucial topic in today’s agricultural policy discussion. Agriculture faces 2 challenges—feeding increasing number of people, while being sustainable and reducing negative environmental effects. Agriculture will require “structural transformation” to meet goals of global society—the Sustainable Development Goals. Land management, bio-diversity and soil degradation are often correlated with farming practices. Thus, having sustainable agriculture requires transformation of farming practices, and organic farming belongs to potential directions. For over 3 decades, organic farming has gained on importance, market share as well as popularity among consumers, producers and policymakers. Health concerns, public support and market potential convinced farmers to introduce non-conventional farming practices. On the contrary, organic farming is often criticized for lower production potential, higher pricing and labour intensity. In the Czech Republic current organic production is rather extensive (on pastures), and products are not sold as organic due to the market oversaturation. However, slow but increasing trend in crop production, which could lead to improved farm economies is observed. The future of organic farming development as individual by side effects related to organic farming are considered to be of the key significance for long-term sustainability of agricultural activities. Organic farming is not a solution to current society issues, butit could be considered as innovative alternative approach for future generations.

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Innovations on rail freight market

Author(s): Dora Naletina,Mate Damić / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Ten years ago, the European Union recognized the importance of stopping further development of road freight transportation and the need for making rail freight a more prominent branch of industry. Rail transportation used to hold a more relevant position, but because of slow response to changes on the market and no investments in modernization, it now occupies only around 10%of the share in freight transportation in most EU member states. Most members have initiated the implementation of the restructuring and liberalization of rail market, with the aim of establishing a multimodal transportation network and reducing negative impact of road freight on the environment. The Croatian market is no exception, of course. It has liberalized the rail freight market since the Accession to the EU, while the rail passenger traffic is still monopolized by a company owned by the state. The Croatian national carrier HŽ Cargo has decided to face the competition by restructuring the current business and giving a sharper focus on innovation (intermodal terminals, RO-LA, and digitalization of business operations). The above-mentioned topics are analysed in the following chapter.

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Brand as an innovation—The case of Czech wine

Author(s): Jan Zavodny Pospisil / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The Czech Republic is not a typical wine-growing country, yet winemaking and viticulture are among the oldest Czech crafts. Although the situation is slightly improving today, domestic wine production is not very preferred by Czech consumers since more than two-thirds of the wine that Czechs drink each year is imported. In the long term, the worst situation prevailed with the sales of a young wine. The cause was twofold: On the one hand, the market was already penetrated by imported Beaujolais nouveau, which became a synonym for the young wine. On the other, a peculiar Czechs’ taste for young wine was also an obstacle. As a young wine, many Czechs drink partially fermented must from grapevine fruits called “Burčák”. The young wine market was therefore seemingly penetrated with a low possibility of new brands entering it. The proposed case study will describe an ongoing campaign in which a new brand, “Svatomartinské víno”, was created. With this brand, it was possible to change the Czech consumers’ view of immature wines fundamentally. Thanks to the innovative branding approach, the product, which Czech consumers had neglected for many years, became a superior and must-have product for broad consumers. Also, the relationship between the brand and consumers has been established. The new brand has become a potential for many other related events. Last but not least, the consumption of domestic wine increased, which led to the support of local wineries and related regions.

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Storytelling in business—How to increase customer engagement

Author(s): Iwona Olejnik / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Storytelling, as a marketing innovation, is the market communication tool that allows present the facts in a coherent and attractive way so as to stand out from the competition and more effectively influence the consumer’s imagination and engagement. It can be concluded that the history of storytelling itself dates back to the beginnings of mankind, when humans started to transfer knowledge from generation to generation. The chapter indicates that storytelling evokes emotions in customers, and these in turn affect commitment and action. The most important and primary elements of storytelling include superior message, conflict, characters (the archetypes) and plot. Each good story can be based on a few important points, which are well described by the concept proposed by American writer Joseph Campbell. In addition, the chapter also presents examples of sources of inspiration for storytelling. Among them, it is worth mentioning, for example: history of the company’s founder or president, the beginnings of the company, employees’ stories or milestones (successes or failures). The last part presents two case studies of the use of storytelling by enterprises. These are examples from the Polish market regarding the use of storytelling in employee recruitment and customer engagement.

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Audyt podatkowy jako zewnętrzny mechanizm nadzorczy

Author(s): Edyta Małecka-Ziembińska / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

Purpose: The purpose of the chapter is to identify, characterize and compare types of tax audit and their location in the structure of the internal tax supervision framework. In addition, the role of tax advisory companies, audit companies, tax advisers and statutory auditors in this processwas highlighted. Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the purpose, an analysis of legal acts was used, including in particular the Tax Ordinance, as well as the documents of the National Revenue Administration (KAS) operationalizing the shape of the Cooperation Programme and its components. Initial data on the number of cooperation agreements and entities submitting applications for such agreements were also collected and analysed. Findings: In the light of the presented analyses and statistics, the tax audit institution is at the initial stage of development. In the case of an audit carried out by the Head of KAS, only pre-audit procedures are developed and verified, which is aimed at checking the taxpayer’s settlements in terms of potential risks related to the fulfillment of tax obligations and allows to determine whether the taxpayer has not only the willingness, but also the ability to effectively supervise tax function. There is no—so far—practice of monitoring audits aimed at ensuring that the Head of KAS can exercise effective and efficient supervision over the correct implementation of the cooperation agreement. There is a strong feedback loop between the latter type of audit and the audit of the tax function. The higher the level of effectiveness and adequacy of internal tax supervision, and the higher the level of tax function audit, the lower will be the scope and form of supervision carried out by the Head of KAS, especially in the form of a monitoring audit. Taking into account the complexity, high dynamics, as well as interpretative divergences and ambiguous jurisprudence of tax law, the development of the tax audit service can be expectedin the near future—not only within the framework of the cooperation agreement, but also outside such an agreement.

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Pojęcie równowagi na konkurencyjnym rynku ubezpieczeń

Author(s): Łukasz Kuryłowicz,Adam Śliwiński / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

The article shows the possibility of analyzing the insurance market by using the Rothschild–Stiglitz equilibrium model and its subsequent modifications. As an example the Polish market of compulsory third party liability insurance was used. The first part of the article describes this market, both in terms of its structure and the financial results of insurance companies operating in the group 10 of insurance. In the next part, the main focus is on describing the assumptions of the Rothschild–Stiglitz model both for the markets characterized by full common knowledge and those operating under the conditions of information asymmetry. In the last part, the authors used the Rothschild–Stiglitz model to simulate the market behavior after having introduced a new type of insurance contract which allowed access to information collected byon-board ADR recorders. The simulation showed that, in accordance with the model, the use of new technologies can bring the market closer to the state of equilibrium.

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Instytucjonalne uwarunkowania niestabilności na rynku ubezpieczeń. Studium przypadku holdingu American International Group, Inc.

Author(s): Lyubov Klapkiv,Faruk Ulgen / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

The aim of the article is to analyze the institutional conditions of instability that occurred on the insurance market during the global financial crisis (GFC) on the example of the American International Group, Inc. The global financial crisis of 2007–2008 called into question the ability of liberalized financial markets to function in a stable manner in the long term and questioned the positive contribution of financial innovation to economic development. Numerous and varied factors played a role in this process: low interest rates, easy and accessible credit, loose regulations, “toxic” mortgage loans leading to high-risk financial operations in innovative products. As a result of the crisis, attention has shifted to the banking sector as it has been the most important source of instability in the financial market. The insurance sector is usually considered a minor player in the financial market but clearly regulated. The total assets of European Union banks in 2019 accounted for EUR 49.3 trillion, and the total assets of the EU insurance sector: EUR 12,706.1 billion. However, the case of AIG shows that the role of insurance companies in generating and spreading financial instability is underestimated. It can also be concluded that the insurance sector in the United States of America still remains insufficiently regulated. The collapse of AIG was a combination of defects and violations in the regulatory mechanisms and the lack of appropriate legislation, which allowed for the appearance of certain elements of fraud in the functioning of the insurance market.

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