Andrijana Rogošić

Employee involvement as a key determinant of core quality management practices

The framework of this research consists of eight quality management (QM) principles (customer focus, leadership, involvement of people, process approach, system approach to management, continual improvement, factual approach to decision-making and mutually beneficial supplier relationships) according to the ISO 9001 standard. The implementation of these principles results in QM practices often divided into infrastructure and core practices. The aim of this study is to investigate which infrastructure QM practice affects all core QM practices. The literature review leads to the assumption that implementation of employee involvement (as one of the infrastructure QM practices) might be crucial for the implementation of process approach, system approach to management, continual improvement and factual approach to decision-making (core QM practices). Empirical research was conducted on large-sized Croatian companies. The research instrument was a questionnaire addressed to the board of directors and quality managers. In order to reveal which infrastructure practice has an impact on core QM practices, multivariate analysis of variance was performed. Research results showed that employee involvement through different concepts (employee training, communication, empowerment and rewards and recognition) has a positive impact on the implementation of process approach, system approach to management, continual improvement and factual approach to decision-making.

Bank sustainability reporting within the GRI-G4 framework

Sustainability accounting, with its final output – sustainability reporting, is a new field of accounting focused on evaluating and following up activities regarding a firm’s governance, environmental issues and social inclusion and interaction. Among several standardized frameworks, companies worldwide often choose the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. Since the year 2000, GRI Guidelines have evolved and currently the fourth generation is in use. The aim of this study is to assess the latest form of sustainability reporting within an integrated report in the banking industry using the UniCredit Group, which operates in 15 countries, as an example. Sustainability reporting will soon become mandatory in the European Union (EU) for large companies, listed companies and public-interest entities (e.g. banks) with an average of at least 500 employees, starting from the year 2018 (for activities in 2017). This paper is focused on a content analysis of the recent bank sustainability reporting with a critical review on this matter.

Tobacco Taxation in Croatia – Comparison Within EU Context

In Mexico, the society in general lacks the habit and ethics of properly disposing garbage or in taking care of the environment. This paper focuses on analyzing and disposing garbage in an automated way. The present study also seeks to create and promote care for the planet. The minicomputer (GreenScanProcess) is an automated system whose process is based on an algorithm that stands out for its functionality. GreenScanProcess has sensors that allow the analysis and scanning of garbage. It also measures the weight and humidity of the garbage. The minicomputer also examines the garbage to know its composition. Likewise, GreenScanProcess takes the garbage to the container according to the garbage. The benefits obtained when conducting the research were: environmental, economic, technological, and educational.

Explaining CSR Performance with Contextual Factors: Focus on Development Banks

With a stronghold in the institutional theory of corporate social responsibility (CSR), a hypothesis is made on banks’ CSR performance being positively driven with the contextual factors, i.e., countries’ macroeconomic and institutional development and their banking sectors’ development (briefly country development level). Development banks, rather than commercial banks, are at the center of the empirical evidence, mainly because they are perceived to be socially responsible institutions by their definition, as well as the best in class example for commercial banks’ CSR practices in certain country. CSR performance is measured throughout CSR reporting quantity and reporting form following Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. By combining the aforementioned data and the World Bank’s data for 22 European countries in 2013 out of which 15 are Balkan and Eastern European countries and the rest Western European countries, we find out that GDP per capita, research, and development expenditure over GDP, gross savings over GDP, and employment of total labor force are positively related to development banks’ CSR performance, while banking sector variables (net interest margin and regulatory capital to risk-weighted assets) are negatively related to development banks’ CSR. Countries’ institutional development variables are also connected to development banks’ CSR performance, but with rather slight differences between better and lower performing development banks with regard to CSR. Thus, more developed economic systems as well as less profitable banking systems, which have lower level of regulatory burden have higher performance of development banks’ CSR when K-means clustering approach was adopted. An important caveat of the research is that there is a trade-off between cost of banking intermediation and development banks’ CSR performance, while macroeconomic performance and CSR performance are in complementary relationship. Altogether, a conclusion is made that banks’ CSR performance is rather modestly explained by the country development level in the previous empirical works and thus a more general approach when researching and creating public policies about the CSR phenomenon is required.

Public Sector Accounting: Transparency Issues

This study explored the food expenditure patterns of college students. Information on monthly food expenditures and income from a sample of students was used to estimate the proportion of income that the average student spends on food and analyze the Engel relation between food expenditures and income. The average college student was found to spend about 30 percent of income on food. The estimated marginal share is 0.076. These findings indicate that food and related establishments that sell mostly to college students will receive very little of any potential increases in student income. However, increases in student income may be a boon for businesses that sell non-food items.European integration is one of the most demanding processes for Kosovo institutions and society. While citizens of Kosovo overwhelmingly support membership in the European Union, assessment reports specify that Kosovo and its institutions still need serious reform to achieve this goal. The integration process offers mechanisms that civil society namely NGO sector can use in order to monitor and give direct contribution for this process, which could also impact to transform Kosovo institutions and society. The Annual Progress Report of the European Commission requires from governments and institutions of countries aspiring for integration to the EU to pursue sound governance practices that allow civil societies to have an impact on policy and decision-making processes. Relying on this requirement, NGOs can use the process as a way to shape the organization and function in their society and institutions. At this stage the role of Kosovo NGO’s whose focus is political activism that tends to increase demands for democratic participation in the political system is more than needed. These NGO’s apart from monitoring role towards the Government, they can become one of the main partners for EU Integration Process, especially to the European Commission (EC). The aim of this paper is to analyze the role of NGO’s as part of civil society in the whole process of EU integration and current possibilities for improving their capacities and contributions towards the public policy and decision making process.Psychological contract is composed of employees’ beliefs about what they owe to the organization and what does the organization owe to them in return. However, the psychological contract which is supposed to be between employee and employer and exists in employee’s mind as mutual obligations; is sometimes broken and damaged. When the employer does not fulfill or delayed in fulfilling some obligations, these obligations being either obviously promised or implied, the employee thinks that psychological contract is breached. Organizational cynicism is seen at the employee who perceives a psychological contract breach as a reaction behavior. Organizational cynicism is defined as the negative attitude of an employee towards the organizations (s)he is employed by; which is composed of believing that the organization lacks integration, negative feelings towards the organization, and consistently, humiliating and hypercritical behavior tendency. Organizational cynicism has three dimensions called cognitive, affective and behavioral. In this context, the objective of the research is to reveal the effects of psychological contract breach which is gaining importance for organizations; on organizational cynicism and its dimensions. The data collection method of the research is determined as a survey, and the universe is restricted as research assistants working in a state university. According to the descriptive analysis results, the level of psychological contract breach and organizational cynicism levels of research assistants are low. According to analysis results, psychological contract breach effects both organizational cynicism and its dimensions. Consequently, organizational cynicism increases while psychological contract breach increases.The Albanian labour market has changed drastically during the last two decades as a result of technological developments, labour force mobility, structural unemployment etc. New skills are required by firms and many types of skills turned to be obsolete and no longer in demand. The article tries to analyze the situation in the Albanian labour market, in order to identify the actual trend and to explain theoretical reasons and determinants that cause it. Using Labour Force Survey data it’s aimed an empirical model to evaluate the determinants of employees’ participation in vocational training in Albania. Based on the empirical literature such determinants can be person related, job related, and employer related. The findings from this paper will be compared with findings from the literature in order to see differences and similaritiesare.Human capital theory states that the incidence of training should be higher among men than women. Literature have confirmed it in different empirical studies. Recently, there is a small number of studies that have reported the reversed trend: women are now more likely to participate in training than their male counterparts. Using Labour Force Survey data we present a descpritive analysis to evaluate if there are evidences of discrimination; if it’s measurable and which are the determinants of vocational training of men and women employees in the Albanian labor market. Determinants such as improvements in the labour market status of women (Vanden Heuvel, 1997) increased labour force participation rates among women (Green and Zanchi, 1997) are detected in the paper. This paper should be seen as a actual scan of Albanian labour market in context of vocational training incidence and evidences of discrimination among gender.Nine-Year Schooling is the new educational concept developed in Mauritius by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources with the perspective of favouring holistic learning aimed at the future of the Mauritian workforce. With its main intention of being a strategy that aligns Mauritius with international learning standards, this concept should be an effective one although its outcomes have not yet been developed. It is expected that higher learning might be affected by the inputs of the NineYear Schooling namely in terms of competences and skills that are likely to be developed by learners in the new system. This research work analyses how Nine-Year Schooling will impact higher education in terms of prerequisites developed by existing learners, the new paradigm of secondary school education and the new challenges of tertiary education. It also analyses the challenges that the Nine-Year Schooling might pose to higher education. Assuming that outcomes are not yet available, the research seeks expert advice from various stakeholders and a panel of expert opinion to see how the Nine-Year Schooling posits itself in the future and how universities will have to embrace such a new concept.