Gordana Dukić

An analysis of job satisfaction among Croatian librarians as support to library human resource management

In the ICT-dominated world, libraries are facing major challenges in an attempt to fulfil their functions. If libraries are to respond adequately to rapid and complex changes, they need highly skilled and motivated employees. As people are an organization’s greatest asset, human resource management in libraries should be given proper attention. Different questions related to job satisfaction are definitely crucial for efficient human resource management. This paper presents the results of research focused on the way in which librarians in Eastern Croatia perceive certain aspects of their work. The analysis shows that Eastern Croatian librarians have a relatively positive attitude to their work, but they are less satisfied with their social status, salary levels, working conditions, possibilities for further training, and interpersonal relations at work. To a large extent, the results of this study indicate that human resource management in Eastern Croatian libraries needs to be improved. Statistical methods were also used to examine the differences in librarians’ opinions with regard to gender, age, professional title and the type of libraries they work in.

Implementation of computer-aided statistical analysis in a simulation scheduling model

A range of methods have been developed as project management support. In order to improve decision-making efficiency in conditions of uncertainty, simulations began to be applied in the area of project management. In performing such simulations, the durations of project activities have to be defined as random variables. In this paper it is assumed that activity durations follow a beta PERT distribution. Different information required for decision-making in such a simulation model is obtained by means of adequate statistical methods. The decision-making process can be further improved by modified usage of certain elements of statistical analysis. A computer-aided statistical analysis thus becomes an indispensable tool for a project manager. The construction of adequate decision-making system and the development of software applications are prerequisites for implementing the proposed model.

Public administration employees’ readiness and acceptance of e-government: Findings from a Croatian survey

Despite the widespread use of digital technology in public administration, little attention has been given to understanding e-government adoption and acceptance by its employees. This paper examines the level of public administration employees’ ICT literacy and the extent to which they support e-government. The influence of background variables is also explored in the analysis. A structured online questionnaire was used to gather data from employees of Croatian central government bodies. According to the results, surveyed employees rated their general ICT literacy as high. They are more confident in their basic ICT skills than in advanced ones. The level of such skills is associated with socio-demographic characteristics. The findings also indicate that employees accept e-government, but they are less satisfied with its implementation. However, socio-demographic factors do not affect to a great extent employees’ acceptance and satisfaction with e-government. The study expands previous research by analysing the group differences at both manifest and latent levels. It also contributes to the identification of factors that may influence e-government success.

Assessment of the Knowledge Management Project at Croatian Polytechnics

The main aim of this paper was to establish to what extent the knowledge management project has become a reality at Croatian polytechnics, and how far polytechnics have fulfilled their task. The analysis was based on the perceptions of polytechnic students. In the survey encompassing 818 respondents the emphasis was on the assessment of knowledge gained, and the process of knowledge transfer. The research results have indicated that there are several areas in which additional efforts must be undertaken in order to fully implement the knowledge management project. On the one hand, the obtained results can be used as a guideline for eliminating the noticed deficiencies ; on the other, they can be the foundation for formulating future development strategies of Croatian polytechnics. The research also has a wider significance, insofar as the instrument that was developed can be applied to analyse the performance of any higher education system.

Risk management and business credit scoring

Risk management is focused on preventing the losses and protecting the companys asset base. Banks are most exposed to credit risk, so their goal is to minimize the losses that occur as a result of default or insolvency. Business credit scoring models are designed to estimate the probability of corporate default. In this paper we presented the business credit scoring model based on a decision tree analysis. The emphasis in the research is on the selection of the variables that are relevant for the business credit scoring model applicable to the Croatian financial system. In order to reduce the number of variables included in the analysis, we suggest the use of the Information Value and inferential statistical methods.

Knowledge management and e-learning in higher education: a research study based on students’ perceptions

In order to achieve economic and social progress, it is particularly important to incorporate knowledge management into the education system. E-learning as a knowledge transfer tool is closely connected to knowledge management. This article examined the information and communication technology (ICT) competencies of Croatian and Scottish students to participate in knowledge transfer activities, as well as their perceptions of e-learning. The results of this study confirmed assumptions about differences in ICT usage and e-learning perceptions between students from the two countries, indicating a more favourable position for Scottish students. The results presented have a wider use, since the instrument developed can be used both for the analysis of differences between any two countries (educational systems), and in the context of multilateral analysis.

Library activities management based on a simulation queuing model and an aspiration level model using statistical methods

Determining the number of computers to be purchased in order to achieve an optimum relation between access waiting time and server idleness, is a problem frequently encountered by library supervisors due to rapid development of informatics. In an attempt to solve this problem, in our research we applied a simulation queuing model, as well as an aspiration level model, as its extension. Simulation sets whose expected waiting time in system and idleness do not show statistically significant differences were identified in the paper by the analysis of variance and post hoc comparisons. The initial model was improved by this usage of inferential statistics methods, thus raising the decision-making efficiency in library management.

Portfolio optimization based on a computer simulation of securities rates of return from the bivariate normal distribution

The basic aim of all investors investing in securities is to achieve maximum yield while keeping their loss risks at a minimum. A number of techniques and methods have been devised as a decision support tool in this domain. In this paper, the initial model of portfolio optimization has been enhanced by using computer simulation. It was used in the model to generate random rates of return from the bivariate normal distribution. It was assumed that its parameters are established on the basis of empirical data and estimates of the expected rates of return for securities. In this model, the efficient solution set, from which an optimum portfolio is derived, is obtained by finding extrema of the function by means of the Lagrange method.