Vol.44, No 2 (2011)

Dragan Ćoćkalo

Technical faculty “Mihajlo Pupin” in Zrenjanin, 23000 Zrenjanin, Djure Djakovica bb, Republic of Serbia

Dejan Đorđević

Technical faculty “Mihajlo Pupin” in Zrenjanin, 23000 Zrenjanin, Djure Djakovica bb, Republic of Serbia

Zvonko Sajfert

Technical faculty “Mihajlo Pupin” in Zrenjanin, 23000 Zrenjanin, Djure Djakovica bb, Republic of Serbia

Abstract

Background/Purpose: Satisfying customers and other groups of interest is the key output of relationship marketing. This paper presents the parts of the research that had been carried out by the first quarter of 2008 which included 84 quality management (QM) certified companies and 37 experts from Republic of Serbia. The goals of the research, related to this article, were: firstly, to explain customer satisfaction from the standpoint of relationship marketing concept; secondly, to show that relationship marketing concept is/can be accepted and implemented in QM certified Serbian companies – in order to integrate customer satisfaction and realionship marketing in QM concept.

Aleš Ahčan

Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, Kardeljeva ploščad 17, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Abstract

Background/Purpose: In this paper we analyse the behaviour of the LJSEX, the main index of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, in the period from January 2000 till May 2010. More precisely, we test for the presence of bubbles and antibubbles and try to determine whether or not a bubble could have been predicted (both the formation and the date of the bubble burst). Second, we also employ techniques used to model antibubbles to forecast the future behaviour of the LJSE index. Besides modelling index dynamics for the aforementioned period, we also seek to determine the factors that led to the bubble forming and later bursting. We find that the bubble could have been forecasted at least several months in advance. On the other hand, a very precise date of the crash seems harder to identify. By more closely analysing the interplay between interest rates, credit activity and the LJSEX, we conclude that there is a clear connection between decreasing interest rates, increased credit activity and the formation of a stock bubble. If there is a clear correlation between the early phase of a bubble and increased credit activity of the banking sector, the link between the end of the bubble and the restriction of credit activity is less pronounced. By fitting the extended antibubble model from (Johansen 1999a) we obtain the values of parameters that give us some indication of the future behaviour of the LJSEX. Based on these results we conclude that in the next few years we are likely to experience a period of increased volatility with no clear increasing or decreasing growth pattern.

Vlado Dimovski

University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics, Kardeljeva ploščad 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Miha Marič

University of Maribor, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, Kidričeva cesta 55a, 4000 Kranj, Slovenia

Jasmina Žnidaršič

University of Maribor, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, Kidričeva cesta 55a, 4000 Kranj, Slovenia

Marko Ferjan

University of Maribor, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, Kidričeva cesta 55a, 4000 Kranj, Slovenia

Abstract

Background/Purpose: Unemployment has become more and more pressing matter nowadays. Governments all across the world are implementing policies to increase the employment rates back to the levels before the economic downturn. One of the most important policies implemented by countries governments were employment subsidies, which means that companies got government funding when employing and also that private citizens had the possibility for entrepreneurship stimulus packages. The scope of our study was to determine how the gross domestic product and the government’s subsidizing on a country’s level affect the number of unemployed on a country level. We have conducted the empirical part of our study on the case of Slovenia and found out that gross domestic product has a bigger effect on the number of unemployed than government’s subsidies.

Drago Papler

Univerza na Primorskem, Fakulteta za management Koper, Slovenija

Štefan Bojnec

Univerza na Primorskem, Fakulteta za management Koper, Slovenija

Abstract

Background/Purpose: Organisation of working processes and satisfaction of employees are important factors of enterprise fficiency. This paper presents the in-depth survey results between the employees in the enterprise about opinions on organisation of working processes on relations and satisfaction of the employees. They are related to good relations between the employees and working conditions for employees. Less satisfactory are found organisation of informing of employees, level of wages and opportunities for promotion. The employees spare the remuneration according to the achievementsin the market environment. The multivariate factor analysis indicates that for the employees are important factors of motivation and trust, image and cooperation between the employees as well as the leadership and managerial abilities for successful business operation and for social security of employees. Deficient is investment into the human capital to improve abilities of employees for programming and organisation of methods and working operations as well as for improvements of working climate and incentives for introduction of new ways of motivation and management of business conduction.

Suzana Laporšček

Univerza na Primorskem, Fakulteta za management Koper, Slovenija

Primož Dolenc

Univerza na Primorskem, Fakulteta za management Koper, Slovenija

Abstract

Background/Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the characteristics of labour markets in the EU Member States, with special emphasis on Slovenia, especially in terms of design and implementation of flexicurity policies. The empirical analysis points on existence of considerable differences in flexibility and security in the labour market between EU Member States. The least successful at simultaneous implementation of flexibility and security at labour market are eastern and Baltic Member States, showing rigid labour markets at very low security of employees. Even more rigid labour market have Mediterranean States (including Slovenia), however they attain higher employment security. The most balanced flexicurity policies, thus ensuring high levels of flexibility and security, can be found among Scandinavian States. The latter, together with the United Kingdom and Ireland that show the highest labour market flexibility, are characterised with the highest GDP per capita among the EU Member states, high employment rates and low rates of longterm unemployment. The Slovenian labour market is very rigid with generous social security system. In terms of flexicurity it faces many challenges, among them low flexibility of contractual arrangements, low expenditures for active employment policies and suitability of the unemployment benefits system.