Hana Urbancová

Agricultural Enterprises in the Czech Republic

The Czech agriculture underwent several institutional and economic changes in the last two decades. These changes had a significant influence on the performance, structure and size of the Czech agriculture. The agricultural enterprises in the Czech Republic are increasingly influenced by the environment, especially by other parts of agribusiness. Farming is under pressure from market forces of both preceding and subsequent parts of the supply chain. The transfer of changes in prices of agricultural primary producers to consumers is minimal. The combination of innovative performance and quality human resources is an essential condition for the development of knowledge-based competitiveness. Applying the management of knowledge continuity is essential for Czech agricultural enterprises.

Approaches to the talent management agenda in forestry companies

Abstract Professional literature and practice started to focus intensively on the field of talent management. A lack of talented individuals occurred in all sectors worldwide. The war for talents has not faded out, on the contrary, it has been intensifying. The aim of the paper is therefore to analyse the perception of opportunities for development and management of talents in forestry and to specify characteristics of employee/ talent support perception in surveyed companies. The analysis is based on a primary survey conducted in 101 forestry companies. The data were obtained through surveys in which one manager and one employee represented a single company. One-dimensional and multidimensional statistics were used to evaluate the data. The results showed that employees perceived developmental conditions in companies more positively than what was stated by managers and company representatives. The average difference in the perception was 8.5%; employees perceived the conditions better than company representatives. When negative phenomena were analysed, the perception was quite opposite. The average difference was 9.5%. The limit of the paper is the narrow focus on primary sector companies. The results may help surveyed companies in the primary sector to encourage managers and employees to participate in developmental programmes as their own initiative and willingness to take part in education and developmental activities was found.

The costs of Age Management in agricultural companies.

In view of the strengthening demographic trend of ageing of the population and the pension reform underway in the Czech Republic, the problem of Age Management, which focuses on the management taking into account the age of employees, has become very current from the perspective of securing manpower. Th e agricultural sector has also long been facing problems in the area of manpower. Th erefore, the aim of the article is to analyse and evaluate the costs for supporti- ng the Age Management in agricultural businesses and to propose measures leading to the eff ective utilization of these ana- lysed fi nancial means. Th e data were acquired on the basis of a quantitative survey with the aid of a questionnaire survey in agricultural businesses in the Czech Republic (the number of businesses: n = 436, the number of agricultural businesses: n z = 103). One of the conclusions of the article is that 24.3% of the approached agricultural businesses are implementing the Age Management. Th ese are primarily small and medium agricultural businesses with up to 50 employees, which incur in average 6 to 10% of operational costs in relation to the gained profi ts on the application of the Age Management principles.

Good Practices and Unresolved Problems in Czech Agricultural Enterprises

The average age of employees in agriculture is higher than in the Czech economy. It is necessary to focus on building the employer brand, selecting appropriate agricultural business staff and investing time and adequate resources in the promotion of available jobs. Agricultural enterprise managers should participate in job fairs, which are regularly held by secondary schools and colleges. There is a need for cooperation with school teachers regarding course profiling and the topics of diploma theses. Knowledge sharing across generations inside the company should also be supported. Modern trends in management, for example, Age Management, Business Continuity Management and Knowledge Continuity Management, should be applied.

Managerial Challenges in Czech Agricultural Enterprises

Managerial challenges were identified thanks to the implementation of qualitative research performed by interviews with owners and managers in Czech agricultural businesses. Small businesses usually do not have a defined sales strategy and do not use consultancy because of high costs. Local or regional partnerships and cooperation between farm businesses influence one another. According to the interviewees, farming in the European conditions could not exist without subsidies. To find the best and most capable employees in the region is a principal factor of doing business in the field. It is difficult to find professionals because those who specialised in the field usually do not stay due to unfavourable conditions. A key managerial challenge is to set up a systematic cooperation between schools and agricultural businesses.

Profitability in Czech Agricultural Enterprises

In the Czech Republic, the most profitable specialisation in terms of achieved income from agricultural activities is crop production. A high level of income from agricultural activities was also achieved by such production specialisations as milk production and cattle breeding as well as mixed production. The situation of Czech farmers is often worse due to administrative measures of the government, which are more strict and demanding than EU requirements. On the one hand, Czech agriculture is characterised by small family farms and on the other hand, by large enterprises such as cooperatives, joint-stock companies or limited liability companies. The present structure developed during the 1990s and the membership of the Czech Republic in the European Union did not bring any essential changes to the structure.

Adherence to Healthy Lifestyle Principles Among College Students: A Case Study

Dietary habits of every human impact her or his health. The society-wide situation with regard to the dietary habits is not positive according to the existent surveys, and the same applies to the college students. This paper goal is to identify the dietary habits frequented among the college students at a selected institution (a case study); evaluate the habits; and, propose actions for the institution under review, aimed to positively influence their students’ dietary habits. The paper has been designed as a case study, while the data has been obtained from the evaluation of a quantitative survey (based on an executed questionnaire survey) including the total of n = 219 college students of the selected educational institution. As revealed by the results, there is a statistically significant difference in the students’ dietary habits according to gender and age category.

Benefits of Employer Brand and the Supporting Trends

DOI: 10.14254/2071789X.2017/10-4/4 ABSTRACT. Shortage of qualified staff and constant struggle for talents along with the retention of most valuable employees belong to the hottest personnel issues for the majority of organizations nowadays. HR marketing can significantly help in these areas. Within HR marketing human resources officers become those marketers who strive to keep their organization’s name in the minds of all stakeholders, thus drawing their attention to organization’s qualities as an employer, and in such a way winning by taking care of the most talented employees. The aim of this paper is to determine and evaluate the benefits resulting from employer branding and also to identify the trends conducive to the strengthening of an employer’s brand. The data were obtained using a questionnaire survey (n = 492) in the selected Czech organizations. The results show that employer branding is an important element in all economic sectors and businesses can build their brands by focusing primarily on the stability of their current employees, their continuous development and their retaining of the most valuable knowledge. The article focuses on new strategic trends in building employer’s good brand and attracting the most knowledgable workers.

Statistical Results of Activities Categorization in Czech Agricultural Companies

Abstract In today’s competitive environment, to identify and correctly adjust the individual components of the business model is an important strategic device for every entrepreneur. This paper (preliminary study) deals with different types of business models applied to the sector of small and medium-size farms in the Czech Republic. The main objective was to identify and categorize activities undertaken by Czech farmers into homogeneous clusters and offer recommendations on possible business model modification. The research was based on data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (hereafter FADN). The principal component analysis and cluster analysis were carried out as part of the assessment, under which farms are categorized into homogeneous groups. The results showed that the farms surveyed can be categorized according to similar economic characteristics, production plans, and implementation processes into three basic clusters. The first business model is elaborated for the classic field production and various kinds of vegetable or livestock production, the second model for the special crop and livestock production, and the third one for the animal production. The use of FADN data and the fact that most Czech agricultural companies are of small- and medium-size should be taken into account as limiting factors of the study.

Ways of Human Resource Branding in Czech Agricultural Companies

Abstract Current demographic and economic conditions in individual countries lead to a significant increase in competition in the labour market. Every employer from all economic sectors wants to have competent and talented human resources and the fight for such employees becomes still harder. To attract and retain the best employees, it is necessary for the companies to build up a good employer brand that may appeal to talented employees. The article provides a picture of the current situation in employer branding in the agricultural, forestry, and fishing sectors in the Czech Republic and deals with the ways of its improvement. The investigation was conducted by means of a questionnaire survey covering 108 participating companies, and the methods of analysis, synthesis, deduction, and induction. The results have shown that the majority of agricultural companies (75.9%) perceive knowledge continuity management as a trend that contributes to good employer branding. The major benefits arising from the encouragement of employer branding in agricultural companies include acquisition of new talented human resources (57.4%) and retention of key employees (56.4%).