Petr Pirožek

The Association of Selected Economic Parameters in Construction Output – an International Comparison

Abstract The aim of this article is to illustrate the impact which the ongoing economic crisis, together with the 2012 amendment to the Public Procurement Act, has had on the construction industry in the Czech Republic (CR) and in neighbouring Austria. In 2012 and 2013, a research project entitled ‘Cross-border cooperation between construction companies in the South Moravian Region, Lower Austria and the city of Vienna’ was carried out. The research took the form of a questionnaire addressed to 3000 construction companies in these regions. The results of the questionnaire then underwent statistical analysis. The research showed that in the CR price was no longer linked with quality in construction work and that customers were guided by other measurable criteria, such as the warranty. The statistical investigation among companies also showed that there is a clear relationship between quality and the cost of the work carried out, and that the warranty is an important criterion for measuring the quality of construction work.

The Transformation of Hospitals by the Change of their Legal Form Cases from Czech Republic

This paper aims to describe and analyze the process ofntransforming hospitals by changing their legal status. Thenpaper analyzes a sample of approximately 80 hospitals operatingnin the Czech Republic which have gone through thentransformation process. Empirical research has been carried outnby the evaluation of secondary economic data and internalnmaterials of hospitals providing health care services inndifferent regions of the country. Particular emphasis is put onnthe process of changing the legal status from public hospitalsnto private limited companies and the assessment of thencausality of this process. It further describes the reasons fornthe transformation and its practical implications in hospitalnmanagement using a legal business entity, focusing on thenclarification of the administrative aspects of hospitalnmanagement/ownership. This study is based on the comparison ofnthe hospitals’ activities provided by the hospital management,nboth during the pre-transitional and post-transitional phases.nThe research outcomes evaluate the effect of governance andnmanagement of new legal entities in selected areas within thenfield of healthcare services.