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A Matrix Model for Integrated Pest Management as a Combined Function of Extension Education and Economic Concepts
Views:232The Farmer Field Schools (FFS) help to establish the significance of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) concept, i.e., the FFS contributed to demonstrating the importance of the IPM idea. In this paradigm, the integrated pest management specialist's decision is based on the application of agricultural extension and economic principles. This requires an analysis and understanding of the ecosystem and plant physiology, followed by monitoring the population dynamics of the pest to determine the pest’s economic injury level, and finally, determining the appropriate action to suppress it. The transition point from organically integrated pest control measures to chemical pest control is when pest density exceeds economic injury. In other words, when pest density surpasses economic damage, an organically integrated pest control approach gives way to the chemical pest control method. This study advises conducting research experiments and studies to ascertain the economic impacts of pandemic pests on the targeted crop, such as powdery mildew and aphid pests in the protected tomato plant culture.
JEL CODE: Q16
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Risks and competitiveness in agriculture with emphasis on wine sector in Croatia
11-17Views:142International competitiveness, being a key objective of each economic entity, is at the same time significantly determined by the level of risk the entity is coping. Based on the assumption that risk management is directly linked to competitiveness in agribusiness, the scope of this paper is predominantly focused on the wine agribusiness in Croatia. The aim of this paper is to encompass available literature and transfer findings to interested parties, about risks and competitiveness in agriculture, with particular reference to the wine sector. Qualitative analysis of secondary data, descriptive i.e. monographic method, deductive method and comparison of available papers from the world and Croatia were applied in the paper. There are very few companies in general, however, that tend to use their abilities to manage risks as a source of competitive advantage. These companies go beyond compliance or cost-controlling defensive approaches and take a more aggressive stance toward risk. They have realized that their risk management capabilities can be leveraged as a source of competitive advantage (Elahi, 2013). Current literature showed that such companies indirectly exist within global agribusiness. Examples of such companies in the wine sector could be found in Old World and New World wine countries. In regards with the mentioned, further research in the wine sector that would more directly link competitiveness and risk management and benefits that could be drawn from such “linkage” is needed.
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ONLINE AND E-LEARNING BEST PRACTICES, NEEDS AND HABITS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL AGRIMBA NETWORK
Views:167From the literature part of this research, it shows that, some of the most popular Learning Management Systems (LMS), such as Moodle, Canvas and Blackboard, are used by many universities and colleges worldwide and their popularity is steadily increasing as more institutions adopt online learning. The usage statistics of LMSs by universities can be influenced by a number of factors, such as the size of the university, the specific requirements of the institution, the availability of alternative solutions, and the preferences of faculty and students. In addition, the popularity of LMSs among universities may change over time as new systems enter the market or as existing systems improve and evolve. Based on the number of customers, Moodle's three biggest competitors in the learning management systems category are Google Classroom with 11.70%, LinkedIn Learning with 8.87% and TalentLMS with 5.16% market share.
The most frequently used functionalities of the e-learning system are: study content creation, course management and content library, and the least frequently used are integration with other systems, multilanguage utility, plagiarism checking, accessibility to people with disabilities and personalized learning. Similarly, the most popular functionalities are course management, study content creation and assessment and testing. Respondents least liked the functions of integration with other systems, webinars, accessibility for inclusion, and video hosting and streaming.
Lectures or slides are most often uploaded to platforms, followed by written materials and links, then videos, pictures and tables. Judging by the answers received, the majority of respondents are either completely satisfied (34%) or moderately satisfied (42%) with the e-learning systems they are using now.
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More insurance subsidies for European farmers – is it needed?
33-38Views:150In addition to traditional sources of uncertainties, such as market price volatility and animal and plant health-related risks, the impacts of climate change have recently become a major concern in the agricultural sector throughout the world. Insurance has been commonly proposed as a key instrument in farm risk management, and agricultural insurance schemes have become more widespread both in developed and developing countries. We conducted a case study in the UK to investigate farmers’ risk perception and willingness to pay for crop insurance by using contingent valuation method (CVM). Similarly to the experience from developing countries, we found that farmers are less willing to pay for insurance, however they do take actions to reduce their risks. While these results suggest that the provision of premium subsidies to European farmers can be justified; in order to avoid counter-productive policy outcomes, one may consider the introduction of a risk-based approach in agricultural risk management.
JEL classification: Q14
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The Opinion of Visitors on the Touristic Attractions and Services of the Esterhazy Castle of Fertőd
97-102Views:152The lately renovated Esterhazy Palace is one of Europe’s biggest Baroque palaces. This paper examines the visitors’ opinion of this worldwide famous palace. This survey-based study was carried out in 2016/2017. The sample was of 800 people, using paper-based questionnaire. It emerged from the study that the visitors needed to be separated analyzed differently under and above 18 years of age, because the push and pull factors vary significantly. Other words, the adult visitors (persons, families) decided themselves to go and see or not, but the young people were influenced by their teachers. Other important lessons of the study was that the visiting process does not end with the viewing of rooms and tools, but the different souvenirs and providing further information, and services are also part of it. This is evidenced by the fact that the worst rating was given by the related service. Organizing and ensuring this is an important task of the management of the palace.
JEL Classification: M3. O18, Z32
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Some aspects of accounting and management accounting during economic downturns
33-35Views:195Economic slowdown and downturn creates new situation for every organisation, no one can avoid facing to new situation created by the global financial-, and economic crisis.All of the organisational function should reconsider its own role within the company due to the new circumstances, Accounting and Mangement Accounting can not be exception, but they have more complex and emphasized role in these difficult times. In the following paper I can not avoid to mention some general statement about importance of accounting and accounting principles, while there are a number of criticalaccounting and financial reporting issues that accountants and auditors should consider.In the framework of the paper I can not face with all relevant issues of the topic, but after some general statement I would like to highlight some special area regarding to management accounting, which can be more important during these challenging time for decision makers and accountants.Regarding to balance sheet analysis its important to mention current debate about fair value comparing with historical cost from accounting point of view, on the other hand from the view of management reporting system I would like to highlight the importance of working-capital indicators. More practical topic is the crucial role of budgeting and forecasting during economic downturns, and at the end I would like to show why it is more important monitoring price variance and indirect cost allocation in these uncertain business circumstances.
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How Digital Technologies Are Changing Sport?
89-96Views:962Sports is considered to be an outstanding sector of industry all over the world and can be defined in various fields from business point of view: for example competitive sports, recreation, fitness and entertainment (running commentary). All of these areas have been remarkably transformed by digital technology. Over the past three decades, the discipline sport informatics has become a growing discipline. In today’s connected world, the use of wearable technology, big data analytics, social media and sensor technology have revolutionized the way sports are played, analyzed and improved. Through various modern advances and apps, pro athletes can gain greater insight into their performance, improve training methods and elevate their skills. In addition to these, fans looking for mobile-friendly apps to give them the latest stats on the favorite players; real-time, behind the scenes content coupled with the instant reaction, from athletes and fellow fans alike. They want the highs, the lows, the remix replays, seeking a connection beyond the game and looking to share the experience with like-minded fans in the moment (WESTON, 2018). The aim of this present study, on the one hand, is to determine the interlocks of sports and information technology, on the other hand, to show how to increase fan experience with digital technologies under-propping them with practical examples. According to international literatures, there are 4 macro areas which show the linking between sport and informatics: athletic performance, sport club, event management, fan experience. Mobil fan experience, augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR), big data, social media are those technologies which even popular are these days in order to enhance fan experience in sport.
JEL Classification: L83
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Strategic approach to sustainable business of Galenika Fitofarmacija A.D. in a context of accession of Republic of Serbia
109-110Views:109Strategic management is ultimately concerned with the quest for sustainable advantage. To be practical, advantage for commercial firms concerns earnings and sustainable means a concern with earnings into the future. Pearce and Robinson define strategic management as a set of decisions and actions that results in the formulation and implementation of plans designed to achieve a company’s objectives. David says that strategic management can be defined as the art and science of formulating, implementing, and evaluating cross-functional decisions that enable an organization to achieve its objectives. Strategy is also hierarchical concept – it takes place at three different levels: corporate, business, and functional. These levels correspond with the activities of managers in different parts of the organization.
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The relationship between corporate governance and corporate social responsibility
28-34Views:697Corporate governance (CG) is a corporate governance system for large companies which includes policies and procedures for corporate social responsibility (CSR). The present study examines the relationships between CG and CSR, and analyzes the studies that separate or combine the explanation of the two concepts.CG can be interpreted as the relationship between governors and stakeholders. Angyal (2009) and Auer (2017) agree that the two phenomena coexist and are connected at several points. The goals of the two phenomena are intertwined, compliance with other important requirements (environmental, labor law) besides the primary corporate goal. CG is a system based on the sharing of power and roles between owners, management and boards (board, supervisory board). The roles of ownership, supervision, and control are separated. The division of power means that the boards keep the management under strict control and the owners can account for the boards (Tasi, 2012). According to Tasi (2012), responsible CG involves careful management; financial planning and implementation; control mechanisms for the operation of the company; company transparency and business ethics
issues; publicizing corporate information and corporate social responsibility policies and practices. Angyal (2009) sees that CG and CSR are intertwined “neither intersection, nor intersection, nor parallelism, but coexistence”. (Angel,
2009: 14). It does not agree with the incompatibility of corporate governance or corporate governance and social responsibility, in practice the former two are more common. Corporate governance encompasses corporate social responsibility policies, procedures, and can be interpreted as the relationship between governors and stakeholders. The authors of the studies analyzed agree that the two phenomena coexist and are connected at several points. The goals of the two phenomena are intertwined with compliance with other important requirements (environmental, labor law) besides the primary corporate goal.JEL Classification: G30; G39, M14
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Destination managament in Hungarian tourism
81-84Views:170The principle of the regional concentration – as one of the important means of regional competitiveness – and the cooperations being organised more consciously have big parts in the development and operation of the tourist destination management. The principle of complexity is emphasised differently that means, on the one hand, the more effective use of the connection possibilities of tourism to other branches, on the other hand, it takes for granted the development of the background infrastructure supporting tourism more intensively beside the development of the tourist infrastructure. The basic principle of the competitive developments are the sustainable developments and the innovative approach. Tourist destination can be identified with the tourist suppl (product) from the elements of the tourist system: the tourist supply and the tourist destination are consisting just of the same elements. The difference is that the tourist product can be only one product and destination can be characterised as a complex pile of attractions and services being in connection with each other. The cooperation of the characters of destination are organised by the tourist value chain of which elements are the experiences in connection with the formation of the image, preparation of travel, travel, destination, return from the point of view of the tourist and the service providers of destination. Services of different level provided by the suppliers can influence the opinion and experience of the tourist in connection with destination negatively. The independent destination management system with suitable competence and specialists, running a coordinating activity can make a connection between the tourist and the receiving area.
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Towards innovative environmental management in the Agro-food Industry
7-14Views:136This article focuses on the problem: what external (stakeholder) and (internal structural/organizational) factors drive companies in the food- and agribusiness towards innovative environmental management? Innovative companies are those considered to have adopted a supply chain perspective, instead of a focus on the single business unit. We propose that innovativeness is associated with stakeholder wishes (the government, the public environmental policy being a major influential factor), in combination with structural characteristics of the firm (like R&D-efforts, culture and managerial competences). We surveyed 492 companies in 2002, to get insight into the causes of innovativeness in the Dutch agri-food sector, and supplemented this data by means of a similar questionnaire in 2005. Structural equation modeling and correlation analysis were applied. The research provided evidence that companies are restricted by, and therefore not comfortable with, public environmental policies, which seem to obstruct innovativeness rather than stimulate it. Firms that(1) have enough internal (physical, financial, social)resourcestoinnovate, and (2) are more embedded in a web of (commercial) stakeholder wishes, prove to be more innovative. Suggestions are made to shift the corporate and public policies towards a supply chain-oriented approach by granting benefits for vertical cooperation in supply-chains.
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The future role of agriculture in multifunctional rural development
163-171Views:90This paper is focused on analysis and evaluation of the future role of agriculture in multifunctional rural development in Ukraine and also reviewing of the significant basic factors which have influence on it.
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Plant production for biomass into energy: economics and energy efficiency view
65-71Views:165The aim of the paper was to determine the influence of the fertilization level on the energy and economics efficiency of the production technologies of selected crops processed into bioethanol or biogas. There were investigated the following crops: rye, triticale, wheat, sugar beets, maize, sorghum, reed canarygrass and Virginia fanpetals. In the energetic efficiency the Energy Return on Energy Investment index (EroEI) was used. Apart from the ERoEI ratio, the Net Energy Value (NEV) ratio was also used. In the economics efficiency attitude, the Gross Margin (GM) was determined.The investigations proved that in general, the production technologies of crops where the lowest levels of nitrogen fertilization were applied proved to have the highest energetic efficiency. The highest economic efficiency was characterized by the production of corn for biogas. In the case of the production of bioethanol (all plants), ratios were on the verge of profitability or the lack of it showed.The analysis proved that the efficiency of the technologies of production of the crops to be processed into biogas is several times higher than the energetic efficiency of the technologies of production of the crops to be processed into bioethanol.
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Police organization in the Republic of Croatia – problems in decision making
99-102Views:131During the last few years of my police work I had a chance to speak and share opinion with my work associates about the police system in Croatia. My colleagues sometimes shared my opinion and sometimes they did not about the quality of police organization. Everyone’s conclusion was that some sort of change in the police organization has to be made; organization of the police must follow and embrace modern standards in organization and conduct. Almost each person had the same opinion about police management and decision making. Their opinion was that management is not efficient; decision making is based on chain of command and not on finding good solutions; members of the management team do not have education or creativity to be qualified managers; form is more important than the quality of work.
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Educational projects – support for development of tourism and rural areas in Serbia
65-69Views:162The paper presents three mini-projects that have been implemented by The Institute of Agricultural Economics – Belgrade in the 2006–2008 period. Those were special educational projects in agriculture and rural development, whereas extension activities were concentrated onto three topics: farm management, support of rural development and improvement of small farms. Implementation of projects took place on the territory of the South Banat County and some Belgrade city communes. The projects intended to solve current problems of sustainable agriculture and rural development. Within the projects there were identified priorities related to investments, strategic planning and tourism. Educational activities were aimed at a number of holders or members of their registered farms. Dynamics of the projects' implementation included introduction and discussion with a number of farmers, formation of small groups, preparation and making of materials, a series of theoretical lectures and determination of the joint work results. Education programs are aiming at improvement of the farm holders' knowledge in the field of business and management. Specific objectives of training are to increase sales of goods and services at domestic and foreign market, to increase competitiveness in a particular market, to achieve higher profits, to create new jobs and improve living conditions in rural areas. Evaluation of projects was related to determination of level, to which there were achieved set objectives, then to define implementation of projects in accordance with the plan, as well as to determine an impact of educational activities to promotion of knowledge concerning business and management.
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Structured commodity finance
77-83Views:236Over the past years, the financial stock market – providing the capital demand that is the result of stockpiling and the characteristic strong seasonality observed in the agricultural sector – has increasingly grown and become more “used” by market participants. Its size had reached an annual value of 200 billion HUF, of which agricultural products had received the largest proportion through the various market participants (producers, integrators, traders, feed producers, mills). In the meantime, this market had become part of the competition between the commercial banks that are the largest financers of the sector, due to which the financing credit institutions had undertaken increasing risk levels, with respect to both degree of financing and the VAT financing related to stockholding. The practice of commodity financing by banks display a rather varied picture at present. Considering the exceptional degree of fall in prices and the actions of companies totally disregarding business ethics in 2008, it seems necessary to reveal the full scope of risks inherent in commodity financing. The primary aim of such an exercise is to ensure the prudent operation of refinancing activities for commercial banks. The inherent risks in trade financing – as has been proven by the experiences of previous years – are not found primarily in the goods themselves, but rather at the actual storage facility and also emerge in relation to clients, as well as the inadequate and ineffective risk management of price volatility by the financers. Therefore, the establishment of banking risk management and risk prevention techniques, including the development of new financing procedures become indispensable, minimizing all types of risks that had emerged in previous years.
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The future role of agriculture in multifunctional rural development
81-89Views:130This paper is focused on analysis and evaluation of the future role of agriculture in multifunctional rural development in Ukraine and also reviewing of the significant basic factors which have influence on it.
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Financing and operating questions of sports facilities
5-8Views:320This paper tends to present financing and operating questions of sports facilities. Infrastructure is very important for the sport businesses. Sports facilities and sports institutions, infrastructure development, and their legal, financial, accounting conditionality can be defined by the investors and the government (subsidies, taxes, etc.). Financial questions and IT background of facility management can be crucial for the enterprises interested in operating sports businesses. The paper focuses on these kinds of aspects of facility management based on practical examples.
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POTENTIAL USES OF BLOCKCHAINS IN HUMAN RESOURCES
Views:92Blockchain technology offers businesses many opportunities for more efficient operation and safer data management. It also becomes easy tostore and share employee data, while the blockchain guarantees that it does not fall into unauthorized hands. The management of financial transactions and the automation of the payment process are also a great advantage for businesses, which can manage the payment of wages andbenefits more efficiently. Another area of application of blockchain technology is the creation of more efficient workflows that can improve productivity and reduce costs. The management of work schedules and optimized work processes will also be easier with the help of the blockchain, so businesses can become more efficient and effective. In this article, the relationship between HR and blockchains was explored through a meta-analysis based on available related publications. -
Master training in Agribusiness and Rural Development at the University of Zagreb
87-91Views:186The title of the proposed JEP project is: “Agribusiness Higher EducAtion Development” with the acronym AHEAD. This curriculum development project – in case of acceptance – will last for three years, from July 2005 and June 2008. The primary project site is the University of Zagreb, Croatia; the contractor and the co-ordinator institution is the University of Debrecen, Hungary. In the consortium, 3 further European universities (University of Hohenheim, Wageningen University and Scottish Agricultural College) will participate, from the Croatian side the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and an additional 7 Croatian institutes will also be involved. The total number of members in the consortium is 13.
The main objective of the AHEAD project is to establish new BSc and MSc programmes in Croatia at two Faculties of the University of Zagreb. These are as follows: Agricultural and Rural Development, Food Safety and Quality Management and pilot MSc training in Agribusiness and Rural Development. These are preceded by faculty retraining programmes in food safety and quality management, as well as agribusiness and commerce within the framework of a MBA programme accredited by the International MBA Network. The professional content of the project is a modernised curriculum and training palette that would be available by the end of this project at the University of Zagreb, serving not only the higher education of the country, but the demand of the Croatian national economy as well, in line with the basic principles of the European Union. -
An Agro-Food Waste Commercial Utilisation Behaviour Lens among Urban Agro-producer Households in a Developing Economy
Views:161Small-urban farm businesses utilise agro-food waste emanating from own production and other levels of food supply chain activities to supplement conventional inputs. Out of these, the food produce surplus from agro-producer households is offloaded to the urban market. As such, the aim of the study was to assess the determinants of agro-food waste commercial utilisation behaviour among urban agro-producer households. An electronically-designed research tool was administered to 456 agro-producer households to collect self-reported estimates of their agro-food waste utilisation behaviour. Results indicated higher budget share towards conventional inputs (0.73) compared to agro-food waste (0.27) but the observed suboptimal production intensification could be rectified with increased use of agro-food waste. Structural equation modelling results indicated that attitude, environmental awareness and concern, motivation and perceived moral obligation had positive significant influence on commercial utilisation intention. The adopted constructs for the model could explain 79.1% of the commercial utilisation behaviour variance. Furthermore, commercial utilisation intention, risk perceptions and perceived behavioural control had significant influence on the commercial utilisation behaviour. Findings are an indicator that agro-food waste commercial utilisation intentions among small-urban farm businesses would likely transition to commercial utilisation behaviour. Since behaviour can be learnt and developed, aspects that contribute to commercial utilisation intentions and behaviour would need to be stimulated. As a strategy of reducing the collectible waste, urban authorities may introduce tailor-made programs meant to stimulate commercial utilisation intention and behaviour in small-urban farm businesses. In valuation of agro-food waste, methodologies that could factor in utility would provide more precise insights in its commercial utilisation.
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Human resources management in small and medium enterprises
71-74Views:249Development of small and medium enterprises (SME) represents primary goal of every modern economy. It is complex challenge which includes great number of directly concerned parties in every sector of the state and economy. SME stimulate private ownership and entrepreneurship. Their characteristic is that they are flexible and can easily adjust to changes in supply and demand on the market. At the same time they open possibilities for increase of employment, promote diversification of economical activities, support sustainable growth and give significant contribution to export, trade and increase the competitiveness of the entire economy. Importance of SME for economy is undisputable. All research show that globally, more than 90% of all business activities are realized by SME. SMEs employ two thirds of total labor of European Union. Approaching to European Union presumes harmonization of the systematic environment and improvement of the climate of entrepreneurship, private initiative, development of SME. This determination has strongpoint in current world processes that prefer the development of SME, utilizing their profit efficiency and established advantages relating to the adaptability of small business to dynamic changes in economy. Problem of Human resources management is very sensitive issue in SMEs. Namely, in big companies there are entire teams of agencies or consultants are hired for selection and education of new employees, whereas in SMEs this work is done by owner or manager. Therefore, in this paper several facts were pointed out which need to be considered in selection of new employees, since every mistake in this activity can cause far-reaching consequences on functioning of SME.
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Sheep production in Hungary – is it a sustainable sector?
95-100Views:184The question of sustainability of agricultural production especially animal production and events leading to its development can be dated back to the second part of the last century. Sustainability is a priority subject matter as it is a core element in our existence and in the survival of the forthcoming generations. The notion of sustainability comprises three aspects: ecological, social and political and economic target systems, which by now have been supplemented with cultural and regional elements including the protection of environment, local traditions, scale of values, cultural and historical heritage. The principles of sustainable development also include the improvement of human and animal health and the maintenance of vital rural communities. The priority notion of sustainability of agricultural production refers also to animal husbandry and especially sheep production. Sheep have contributed substantially to the grassland-based agricultural production in Hungary for centuries. Sheep sector is important in rural areas as the tool of sustainability of animal production. It should also be highlighted that contrary to numerous efforts, the globally difficult process of sustainable development poses almost unsolvable problems for implementers even on local and regional levels. This paper will review briefly the levels of sustainability in the Hungarian animal production with a special regard to sheep production and their content and then points out the most significant economic issues by the application of “SWOT” – analysis, “problem tree’and “structure of objectives” methods, on the grounds of the received findings.
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Supply chain management practices for SMEs
89-96Views:295In today’s globalized business environment small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) face many challenges. In order of their survival SMEs need to produce more, at a lower cost, in less time, and with a few defects. They form the most significant group of manufacturing firms and give supports to large companies in many supply chains. In addition, SMEs contribute greatly to entrepreneurship, gross domestic product (GDP) and employment. Despite the fact that micro, small and medium sized enterprises have very important role in business networks, they still have many problems with using supply chain management (SCM) practices. In this research my purpose was to find the best SCM practices as a strategic method to improve SMEs’ performance. First, I give information in general about SCM and the SMEs, then highlight main characteristics of small firms compared to large ones and the reasons why it is essential and efficient to use SCM practices. The article is based on secondary data, using several analysis, surveys, books, journals and my personal experiences collected in this sector. I conclude the research by summarizing my recommendations in connection with SCM practices, the opportunities and barriers.
JEL code: M11
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Risk and risk management in Hungarian sheep production
61-65Views:187The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the risk attitudes of Hungarian sheep producers regarding the changes they have had to go through since the political changes of 1989–1990. Moreover, the objective of this study is to strengthen the empirical basis for risk analysis by identifying the importance of farmers’ risk attitudes. The results of a nationwide survey of over 500 sheep farmers presented a framework of risk attitudes, risk sources and applied risk management techniques of livestock producers.
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