Marjana Čubranić-Dobrodolac

A model for the comparison of business units

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology for the comparison of business units and to illustrate its implementation. Job stress is introduced as a mediator variable. A postal company is taken as a case study and its three business units are compared. The units (i.e. employees who have direct contact with customers) analyzed are postal clerks, couriers and call center operators. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative data were collected using two questionnaires: the first to assess the state of predefined organizational parameters, and the second to measure the stress levels of employees. The χ2 test of independence (χ2 test) and Fisher’s exact test are used to calculate correlation. Work stress score and stress distribution index, which are proposed in this study, are used to quantify the levels of stress, the state of organizational parameters and possible improvement points, as well as to compare the business units. Findings According to the results, the most demanding job is that of couriers, followed by postal clerks and call center operators. Originality/value The proposed model could be used to assess and improve businesses and to reduce the stress levels of employees. Further, a model for the comparison of business units might be a useful tool for managers in defining working hours, breaks, length of holiday periods and even in creating a wage structure.

The risks associated with using a mobile phone by young drivers

AbstractA substantial body of research has shown that mobile phone usage could lead to the impairment of driving performance and increase the likelihood of driving accidents. The use of mobile phone while driving is a major problem for inexperienced drivers. The reason for this lies in the fact that they have not developed abilities to process different types of information simultaneously. Mobile phone use may result in reduced attention allocation to the various tasks during driving. The research of young drivers’ habits related to mobile phone usage while driving is presented in this paper. A series of questions were administered, including along with demographic measures, self-reported number of traffic accidents and several kinds of driving behaviour such as alcohol consumption. The results have shown that 68% of young drivers used mobile phone while driving. Additionally, a relationship was found between frequency of mobile phones usage and the number of traffic accidents, consequences of traffic acc...