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Generalized coefficients of goods quality and satisfying of consumers demand
83-86Views:112In process of work the problems are set and solved. There are problems of social welfare research in conditions of nonhomogeneity of objects and subjects of management, of revealing and substantiating insuperable difficulties in rising of social welfare by approaches, worked out before. Also there developed a new direction in implementation of the most important aim of any socially-oriented economy.
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Integrated agribusiness in the dairy industry of Ukraine: main characteristics and success factors
59-68Views:140Ukraine belongs to the TOP 20 global producers of milk. Despite its position, the Ukrainian dairy industry is suffering from a permanent deficit of raw milk supplied for processing. on average, in 2007–2011 over half of the produced raw milk did not reach the processors. one of the reasons behind this lasting trend is that the structure of initial production of raw milk is dominated by households (having a share of 80%); the latter produce milk mostly for their own consumption and leftovers are sold at marketplaces where they can get more attractive prices. nevertheless, already today we observe results of largescale investments into the industrial production of milk made in the last few years. This article stresses an important place of the dairy industry in the agriculture of Ukraine, as it provides the population of vital food products, many of which are strategic in the export potential. Authors present essential characteristics of the concepts “agro-industrial integration” and “agroholding”, discloses their role and place in the agrarian sector of the economy, and justifies the necessity of the creation an integrated production in the Ukrainian dairy sub-complex. The study aims at identification and description of latest trends in Ukraine’s dairy market. Moreover, authors present a successful Ukrainian example of Milkiland N.V. as one of the TOP 5 players in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) dairy market.
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Efficiency evaluation of service marketing in a Hungarian Telecommunication Company
45-51Views:159It is unquestionable that marketing is an essential promotor of the economy and commerce. With its diverse tools, it can influence consumers and also regulate supply by measuring needs and demands (Bauer-Berács, 1998). Although the roots of marketing go back centuries, it is interesting that the raison d’être of service marketing was disputed even in the 1960s and 1970s. However, by today it has developed into a substantive specialty. In this study, the inquiry service and the implemented marketing tools of a leading Hungarian telecommunications company were studied for four years. (The data was provided by the communication manager of the company. Being bound to secrecy, I will not disclose the name of the company or the inquiry service.)
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Sports financing in Croatia
31-34Views:180Sport is a complex social activity that encompasses various areas. Some of these activities come within the category of public needs, which implies that sport is an activity of wider social interest and requires public intervention in its financing. These needs are determined by law and are an integral part of state and local budgets. It is also indisputable that the sport is an activity of exceptional significance for the society and it is equally clear that the investment into sport in Croatia is not proportional to that significance and top scores, which are achieved by the Croatian athletes. Sport can be in a partner relationship with the economy and the promoter of social changes and habits, but in order to become and remain that, general public has to be truthfully interested into sports.
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Food waste in EU countries
Views:452The biggest challenges of our time include meeting the demand growth resulting from the explosion in population growth and achieving sustainable management. In terms of food, the most significant problem is, on the one hand, that a large part of the population is hungry and, on the other hand, excessive food waste, which results not only in wasted food but also in wasted resources used for its production, transport, packaging and storage. Do to this the unconsumed food has a profoundly negative impact on the environment and the economy. There is a pressing need to prevent and reduce food waste to transition to a resource-efficient Europe. In this study, we would like to show how food waste changes in different countries, focusing on Europe. Our results show a significant discrepancy between Member States' data and where waste is generated. We find no significant correlation between GDP per capita and total food waste, but we find a moderately strong correlation between GDP per capita and restaurant waste at the point of generation.
JEL code: M21
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Relationships between competitiveness in the Northern Great Plain and the organisational culture of local authorities
13-20Views:151One of the five basic factors in the Lengyel-type pyramid model – institutions and social capital – is essential in the economic growth of the region. Economic success however, does not only depend on participants in the economy, but on social factors such as the roles played by local authorities, including their functions, operation and organisational culture, all of which are crucial factors. Based on the results obtained regarding organisational culture it can be stated that performance orientation, dominant motivation based on calculated risk, forward planning and regular feedback are expected values at local authorities in all three counties. All local authorities emphasise the importance of the need for forecasting. Respondents find it important that organisations encourage and reward individual action and contributions as expected values. The degree of human orientation expected by local authorities reflects the fact that respect for colleagues and attention to their well-being should be at the highest level. Reinforcing these organisational culture values (dimensions) is the basis for the efficient and successful operation of organisations (local authorities). The study examines the organisational culture of local authorities in the Northern Great Plain, looking for any relationships it might have with the competitiveness of the region. This study is an element of the wider research into organisational culture. We used the GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organisational Behaviour Effectiveness) survey, which had been successfully applied in the research programme In Competition with the World at the Corvinus University of Budapest. Koopman, Den Hartog, Konrad et al. (1999) examined the culture variables of 21 European countries in organisations. Based on Hungarian and international literature it can be stated that a similar survey of local authorities has not yet been conducted.
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Goat Keeping and Goat Milk Products in Human Nutrition - Review
24-36Views:633The aim of this paper is to review the status quo and future perspective of goat keeping and goat milk products, particularly emphasising the role of goat milk products in human nutrition. Across the globe, goats can be kept almost anywhere, even in poor surroundings. Considering the deteriorating geographical conditions due e.g. to global warming, the importance of goat and goat products will probably further increase. Goats can play an important role in the nutrition of the continuously increasing human population. The wool, meat and milk of goats are all valuable products. Goats are able to provide high quality products under diverse climate conditions and in extreme environments. Globally, more people drink jmilk from goats than from any other animal. Due to the components and profile of goat milk, it can be processed and a wide range of high quality and healthy value added products can be produced from it. Goat milk plays a decisive role in feeding starving and malnourished people in developing countries. In developed countries, a significant segment of many populations suffers from gastro-intestinal disorders and cow milk allergy. Goat milk plays an important role in the treatment of certain health problems. Moreover, due to its favourable effects on human health, goat milk has found a niche for itself in the trend towards healthy nutrition in developed countries, where connoisseur consumers are ensuring goat milk products a growing market share. In these countries, goat milk products, e. g. cheeses are also recognised as gastronomic and festive products.
JEL Classification: Q13
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A note on the Dutch disease
34-38Views:225Many resource rich countries are poor, where many resource poor countries are rich. One of the possible explanations of this paradox called the ‘resource curse’ is the Dutch Disease. This paper aims to analyse this phenomenon with the help of a simple macroeconomic trade model. It presents a number of Dutch Disease Cases of which the ‘Norwegian Case’ provides an example containing an effective policy against the negative impact of Dutch Disease on the national economy.
JEL Classification: O11, O24, Q33
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Regional identity in rural development: Three case studies of regional branding
19-24Views:303Within the globalizing world, regions and their identities are subjected to great pressure. At present, places are engaged in a process of “territorial competition” in an integrated world economy. The identity of the region can be used as a starting point to brand a region and differentiate it from others. In the regional branding process, the region as a whole becomes a product or brand and offers a “basket” of regional products and services. Regional branding is aimed at creating a more distinctive image or reputation, which helps to increase regional competitiveness. This paper discusses the possibility of regional identity as a mobilizing force for rural development, by studying best practice examples of regional branding. Using the grounded theory approach, we conducted interviews in three case regions:West Cork (Ireland), Groene Woud (the Netherlands) and Pajottenland (Belgium). The study of these cases led to the formulation of critical success factors on the organization of regional branding. Comparative analysis of the cases demonstrates the importance of passionate initiators as ambassadors of the region and the advantage of a well-coordinated internal network in the region. Next to that, the internal marketing of the region is considered an important critical success factors.
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Long-term government responses to sustainable tourism development: principles and strategies
89-92Views:234Tourism is one of the leading sectors in the world economy. Enhancing its well-known economic, social and environmental benefits while managing its negative impacts are highly important for the national governments in European Union. Strategic planning is essential to meet the long term requirements of sustainability. National sustainable development strategies and tourism strategies are fundamental means of strategic planning as they provide guidance for the decision-makers of the tourism sector. The member states of the European Union have prepared their national sustainable development strategies, furthermore the Union’s common strategy and the national strategies of some member states have already been revised and renewed by now.The Hungarian strategies – National Sustainable Development Strategy and National Tourism Development Strategy – were completed the World Tourism Organization published its twelve aims for an agenda for sustainable tourism in 2005. Consequently these strategies are expected to contain references to the sustainability requirements and environmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development. In the present study we analyse the issues of sustainable tourism development in the sustainable development strategies of the EU and Hungary and the National Tourism Development Strategy of Hungary 2005-2013 with special attention to the principles laid down by the WTO in 2005. Our aim is to investigate the cohesion between the principles of sustainable development and sustainable tourism, and their manifestations in some of the strategic documents influencing Hungarian tourism development.
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Perspectives for development social entrepreneurship in republic of Moldova
21-29Views:189Social entrepreneurship, as a field for research and scientific disputes between scholars and practitioners, it still remains a novel investigation area, as far as new opportunities, challenges, business approaches and concepts appear into the modern world and competitive market. This paper puts emphasis on social framework behind the development of social businesses in Moldova. Moreover, it presents the grass-root state of readiness of existing small and medium – sized enterprises from Moldova to undertake the leap towards the new kind of economy and different organizational approaches. The paper provides a content analysis of specific literature on social entrepreneurship, with particular emphasis on general perception of the small holders and small and medium – sized enterprises on social business. A total number of 593 small and medium – sized enterprises and individuals participated to organized interviews. The survey results show that 66% of the respondents are not acknowledged with social entrepreneurship concept and functionality. From those (34%) who are informed about the topic, most of them are actual young entrepreneurs. Additionally, young entrepreneurs, respondents, wouldn’t reinvest their profit for social mission (73%). Unlike young entrepreneurs, individuals would reinvest their profit in social missions, in case they have a business. These findings suggest that, in the society there is a lack of general understanding on social entrepreneurship. The author also found out that, the general perception regarding social problems is mostly assigned to public authorities instead of enterprises. Moreover, the research results show that the absence of a clear mechanism which would raise public awareness regarding social problems and social capital, affects the active implication of community stakeholders into the societal problems.
JEL code: M140
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A multi-dimensional ethical approach to accounting and reporting practices
13-26Views:150Purpose – The purpose of this research is to find out the multi-dimensional ethical approach to accounting and reporting practices going on in India and abroad. What has been the shift in Reporting Practices by Indian companies? What drives the Indian companies to report on the non-financial matters?
Design/methodology/approach – This paper mainly focuses on the inclusion of Non-Financial Matters in the Corporate Annual Reports. An Empirical Survey was carried out and the questionnaires were administered to 122 respondents comprising of 75 academicians and 47 chartered accountants. This paper compares the perceptions of academicians and accounting professionals on the ethical reporting practices of the Indian companies.
Findings – The results were tested using the t-test analysis. The research suggests that more companies should report on their environmental, social, and corporate governance performance and find a way to express them in their Annual Reports and the reporting of data regarding the carbon emissions, energy use, pollution, impact on the local economy, etc., should be made mandatory for companies.
Research limitations/implications – The research included respondents who are currently living in Delhi. For more generalized opinion nationwide survey can be carried out. Another important category of stakeholder for judging the usability of Corporate Annual Reports could be the Institutional Investors.
Practical implications – The results of this study would help the policy makers in framing the guidelines for standardized annual reports, synergizing social and business interest needs on top priority. Corporate philanthropy needs to transform into the realm of core business and corporate social responsibility. Integrated reporting could pave the way for synthesizing financial and non-financial reporting into one form and give a holistic view of companies’ strategies to its stakeholders incorporating new dimensions of IFRS.
Social implications – More emphasis on Non-financial matters will certainly contribute in making the corporates more responsible to the society, environment, and to the future generations. -
Historic landmarks in the development of Agricultural Land Market in Poland after the year 1989
41-44Views:158For a number of decades in the second half of the XXth century, agricultural land has been divided in Poland between three sectors: family, state owned and cooperative farms, with a dominating share of private, individual farmers in land use. As a result, ownership structure of agricultural land in Poland is quite unique among the former socialist Central and East European countries. Until the year1989, when the transformation to a market economy was initiated, the land market in Poland was almost non-existent. The State Land Fund(SLF), an institution created in 1944 was fordecades a substitute to land market. Originally, the Fund was responsible for the implementation of the land reform. After nationalization or confiscation of real estates, state farms have been established on a larger part of agricultural land under Fund’s management. Therest has been divided between formerfarm workers and small farmers owing less than 5 hectares of land.
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Opportunities and obstacles of areabased partnerships in rural Hungary – main features of the operations of leader local action groups based on a nationwide survey
109-117Views:193Based on the results of our questionnaire survey, our study presents the major operational features of LEADER LAGs established in Hungary in the second half of 2007. Our national survey indicated that most of the partnerships established do not have experience in the implementation of community-based rural development programmes and there are no traditions and practices for development cooperation, which may cause problems as the success of programme implementation highly depends on the preparedness of local society, on the cooperation of local people. The survey indicates that the development of areas covered by LAGs is hindered by so-called soft factors characterizing human resources (rural people and communities). Therefore human resources are not only factors of the rural economy but areas for development as well. Having examined the tasks of LAGs,it can be established that they deem it to be their principal task to grant support funds.Inouropinion, performance of this task is obviously necessary but far from sufficient to fulfil their catalyst role expected in local developments. For this purpose, it is essential for action groups to play a proactive role in organizing and thereby increase the capacity of local communities, a prerequisite for implementing a LEADER programme. In accordance with the basic principle of subsidiarity, rural development should be implemented locally, managed by local communities, and decisions should be made at local levels in a decentralized manner. At the same time, the survey points out that LAGs operate under strong government influence and control, leading to the conclusion that the Hungarian practice of the LEADER programme is characterized by decentralization without subsidiarity. In the present structure, the activities of LAGs are predominantly financed from central resources.Administration is the primary goal of their financing, which restricts their effective and efficient operations, thereby the successful implementation of the LEADER programme. It is unquestionable that LAGs need to be centrally financed since their operation is fundamental for programme implementation, but this requires more than acting in their present role of distributing resources. In order for action groups to fulfil their real roles to boost local developments, they need to recognize their mission; and from the financing and regulatory side, they must be enabled to complete the tasks expected from them and their function.
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The relevance of sports financing
19-22Views:245According to estimations sports exploit approximately two percent of world GDP. In addition sports represent an important function in culture, socialization and also in education, act an outstanding role in economy, as well, though academic researchers cannot find positive relationship between sports financing and economic growth. Sports were originally civil actions, with non-profit nature, where they did not aspire to reach high returns, but fulfilment of sport itself. However returns can be realized and reinvested in sports. This paper tries to collect the different aspects of sports financing in order to highlight its relevance.
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Use of methods and tools for an effective small and medium-sized enterprise in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county in Hungary
Views:203Small and medium-sized enterprises form the engine of the Hungarian economy, both in terms of their number and their employment rate. Therefore, the efficient operation of this sector is in the interest of many economic actors. However, experience shows that today's SME sector still needs to develop in many ways to become efficient. This study aimed to analyze whether SMEs use the necessary methods and tools to be efficient. Planning and the development of strategy are very important methods and tools for efficient and organized work, as it defines and clarifies the direction taken by an enterprise. However, the survey and the in-depth interview showed that they are not necessarily considered important for the participating SME leaders. According to the interview, one of the reasons is that SME leaders have a better understanding of everyday tasks and their implementation than the managers of large companies. Furthermore, in most cases, the SME leader is personally involved in everyday work. This provides the advantage of having the opportunity to fully understand the enterprise, thus managing, and developing it more effectively, as he or she can intervene more flexibly, faster, and more accurately if necessary. However, due to the small size of the organization, the manager also must perform the tasks of several functions (marketing, management, finance, etc.), which require multidisciplinary knowledge and skill. In SMEs, due to their specificities, it is difficult to apply best practices in large enterprises in both management and various functions.
JEL code: M21
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Current situation and development of the bee-keeping sector in Hungary
71-74Views:225Rural development has become more and more important issue in Hungary since rural areas also contribute to the efficiency of the national economy. Development of rural areas also very important issue in the European Union, which could contribute to the improvement of profitability of small family businesses, higher employment rate in rural areas as well as slow down the migration of people from rural into urban areas. Nowadays the bee-keeping– as one of the activities can provide alternative income for small businesses in rural areas– has become more and more important topic in Hungary. Bee-keeping sector provides income roughly 15 thousands families in Hungary. At the same time it takes important role in the preservation of rural landscape, traditions and their regional values. However, the sector has serious problems, as well (for instance quality issues, competitors on the market, etc.). It can be stated that the market position of Hungarian honey can be preserved through the improvement of quality assurance and product development. These developments can be carried out by the utilization of national and European Union funds.
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The present of equine tourism in Hungary in reflection to an empirical research
19-23Views:272In the last years the necessity of developing equine tourism in Hungary has been called for by experts. Moreover, the government has spent a significant amount on constructing equestrian facilities all around the country, and has published equestrian brochures in order to attract foreign guests. On the contrary, little attention is paid to equestrian life inside Hungary, though it would be essential to create a Hungarian equestrian audience, so that more and more horse riders could regularly exercise different riding activities.
A more economical operation of equestrian facilities is vital in order to achieve a busier domestic equestrian life, since it is currently self-supporting: it is covered exclusively by the incomes of horse riding. A reinforced financial support of the sector, however, would provide countless additional advantages for the economy. Moreover, enriched riding opportunities drive people back to nature, promote environmental awareness, and provide regular horse riding opportunities for a high number of riders. The present study aims at introducing an empirical survey research in the framework of which participants of Hungarian equestrian life and their features of touristic demand were investigated.
The results of the research show that Hungarians riding on a regular basis are mostly attracted by affordable European riding holidays and riding study visits. -
Master training in Agribusiness and Rural Development at the University of Zagreb
87-91Views:192The 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. -
The effects of the global economic crisis on the markets for fossil and renewable fuels
131-136Views:156The 2008/2009 world economic crisis had significant impact on oil and fuel markets. This crisis has been developed from the meltdown of the American mortgage and financial market and spread throughout the global economy. As each country reacted differently to the crisis, the changes in the fuel market have also shown significant geographic variation. In our present research, the changes of the US, German and Hungarian fuel markets were analysed, looking for answers to the reasons behind different crisis reactions. We examined the tendency of fuel consumption, the changes of gasoline and diesel price elasticity and the possible effects of the crisis on the regulatory system.
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Renewable energy resources in Hungary – solid biomass utilization in terms of necessity and opportunity
75-78Views:158In the 21st century a country’s success significantly depends on how it can solve the problems (supply safety, growing prices, climate change, etc.) induced by the application structure of the fossil energy sources with the means of energy saving, energy efficiency and the utilization of renewable energy resources. The utilization of renewable energy sources has positive effects on five key areas: environment protection, energy policies, fulfilment of EU expectations, agriculture and rural development and on the whole of the national economy. The bioenergy – beside fulfilling the national economic aims – it is putting up the value of the role of agriculture and rural development. The role of agriculture is multi-functional in the process. The agricultural sector has an important task in the area of bioenergy to ensure the proper quality and quantity of raw materials for the increase of bioenergy utilization. This also means new sales perspectives and opportunities for the producers. Above all this, the agricultural policy aims for the agriculture and the rural development segment to be the unambiguous winner of the new bioenergy sector and for most of the available profit to stay with the agricultural sector, with the rural players. For this reason encouraging the raw material production it wishes to encourage the producer their primary process and their local utilization. One of the fundamental objectives of the measures is that agriculture should go beyond the raw material production and take steps towards processing and utilization. The multifunctional role in the product chain might mean extra income and more added value for the producers and the active players in the process. The other objective is to promote the local utilization, the scatter of the environmentally friendly energy sources in rural areas, to change the energy is “lying on the ground unutilized” principle while local processing and promoting the utilization, to achieve a lower energy dependency and to optimize and disseminate cost efficient solutions. To realize all this means a great task and a huge challenge for the agricultural government as well as the rural societies and micro regions but might lead to a successful rural development. The range of the tools and measures to fulfil the aims might be very broad, from the regulating instruments to the various subsidies, coordination and dissemination tools. Part of the subsidy schemes are direct production-type of subsidies (the so called direct payments, for example the area based subsidies) and the other main forms are the investment-type subsidies which are for technology development, promotion of competitive production and local processing and for establishing a green energy industry. In the period of 2007-2013 the key elements of the development schemes were drafted in the frame of the New Hungary Rural Development Programme (ÚMVP) and the Environmental Energy Operational Program (KEOP). The available raw materials and the conditions are taken into consideration while designing the development schemes because a successful realization of a product chain means the assurance of the inputs and outputs. The starting point of determining the development direction is the principle of an operation which is sustainable and economical on the long run. In addition such developments are considered reasonable which are viable on medium and long term and bring numerous rural development, environmental and societal returns.
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Knowledge transfer: a case study approach
15-19Views:147The article builds on the growing importance of knowledge as a strategic resource for maintaining the competitive advantage of a business. We illustrate one of the initiatives contributing to effective knowledge transfer by describing a case study approach which suggests how universities might assist in disseminating knowledge and enhancing industry competitiveness.The case study approach is apparently an effective way to share best practices, and with the use of appropriate ICT tools, it provides for an enormous diffusion of codified (explicit) knowledge in the industry.The example in the focus of this article describes aVirtual Portal designed as a single-point access to information and tools (case studies, decision models and software), with the emphasis on case studies (their selection, coding and use).
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Integrating environment economy to project management
39-43Views:413Environmental sustainability is a horizontal issue that appears at all level of economic activities and private life. Due to the increasing complexity of regulations, particularly in case of EU funded developments, all the projects need to meet a lot of criteria on environment protection issues. These activities include the conduction of environmental studies, data collection, future emission estimations, improving social attitude, acquiring necessary permissions and environment friendly equipment and finally all the administrative activities to monitor everything mentioned previousThe project management organization increasingly needs a special expertise to meet all the requirements no matter what is the original scope of the project. The study collects different type of knowledge and expertise to manage environment economic issues during project management on four different categories, such as legal, technical, financial or human. The summary of the different type of knowledge provides logical conclusion on how the project management organization should meet the challenges of climate change in terms of daily work and organizational operations.
JEL classification: O22
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