An evolutionary logic towards the convergence of international business ethics

Author(s): Boon Seng Tan,Stephen Ko / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2014

The fundamental problem in developing a theory of international business ethics, without imposing ethnocentric assumptions, lies in the inherent conflict between the need for universal ethics and the reality of diverse national cultures. Integrative social contracts theory holds an intermediate position between ethical universalist and relativist positions – recognizing universal hypernorms on the one hand and moral free space on the other. We argue that all businesses share a common objective of sustaining long-run economic value for their stakeholders. We develop this argument using an evolutionary logic into a hypernorm along three propositions: First, the firm influences, and is influenced by, members of the society (social context proposition). Second, managers maximize profit subject to joint constraints of technical feasibility and ethical norms (managerial decision proposition). Third, ethical norms evolve from interactions among the stakeholders without a central authority. Natural selection favors norms that maximize long run economic value for the society (natural selection proposition). We show that the hypernorm can spawn widely agreed authentic ethical norms. However, moral bounded rationality when interpreting the hypernorm generates different authentic norms in the moral free space. The evolutionary logic is testable along the dimensions of variation, inheritance and selection of ethical norms.

Analiza položaja žene u društvu i porodici (Na primjeru pakračke regije)

Author(s): Vesna Čulinović-Konstantinović / Language(s): Croatian / Issue: 0/1982

Položaj žene u društvu i porodici možemo promatrati samo u uskoj zavisnosti s položajem članova porodice oba spola, s razvojem porodice kao društvenog organizma i profilom tradicijske društvene sredine u kojoj odnosne porodične strukture postoje. Seoske smo društvene sredine donedavno mogli promatrati kao tradicijska područja, radi postojećih kulturnih, ekonomskih i socijalnih razlika u odnosu na veće urbane sredine i radi ujednačenosti tradicijskih karakteristika i normi. Tradicionalnost, kao pojam današnjice, ima izraženu komponentu patrijarhalnosti, uz neke druge karakteristike kao npr. relevantnost javnog mnijenja lokalne društvene sredine, pravni dualizam (tj. zadržavanje običajnopravnih normi uz prihvaćanje pozitivno pravnog sistema) i dr. U relativno zatvorenijim, a možemo reći i introvertnijim, društvenim organizmima te su karakteristike indikator socijalne integracije. Međutim, današnje stanje pokazuje da osim u seoskim i u manjim i većim gradskim sredinama ponovo nalazimo izvjesne tradicijske karakteristike života i norme ponašanja. Takvo je stanje nastalo uslijed činjenice da je rast gradova baziran uglavnom na doseljavanju, i to većinom seoskog stanovništva, a manje samim priraštajem žitelja grada. To znači da prethodni sloj tradicijskog sadržaja, kroz vremensku dimenziju, dobiva impulse za održanje bar jednog dijela tog sadržaja, što zavisi o brojnosti useljenika i ujednačenosti njihova tradicijskog profila. O intenzitetu tradicijskog kvaliteta u urbanim sredinama, kao i u ruralnim, ovisit će i održanje osnovnih društvenih i moralnih karakteristika, brzina njihovih modifikacija i prilagođavanje novim uvjetima, koji postaju osnova za dalji razvoj.

Analiza procesu socjalizacji osób niepełnosprawnych fizycznie uprawiających sport

Author(s): Jakub Niedbalski / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 60/2017

Purpose of the conducted research was to analyze a processual dimension of transformations of a disabled person’s life, which take place under influence of experiences related to sport practicing. A basis for realization of the purpose mentioned above were personal experiences of the researched individuals. Hence, the research exploits qualitative data, collected during unstructured interviews, conducted among the disabled practicing sports. Analysis and interpretation of the research material was performed in accordance with procedures of the grounded theory. The article has been prepared as a consequence of research carried out between 2012 and 2015, among a society of the disabled, who practice professional sports. This research poses an attempt to develop a general characteristic related to the sports career path, which regarding its specificity, is strongly rooted in the institutionalized inclusion practices, as well as continuing and maintaining the main actions, which is sport practicing by the disabled individuals.

ANALIZA REZULTATA ISTRAŽIVANJA O PROBLEMIMA S KOJIMA SE SUSREĆU TRANSRODNE I TRANSEKSUALNE OSOBE U BOSNI I HERCEGOVINI

Author(s): Ryan Finn,Jasmina Čaušević / Language(s): Bosnian / Publication Year: 0

Sarajevski otvoreni centar i neformalna grupa Trans*BiH su od februara do maja 2015. godine radili na istraživanju problema u svakodnevnom životu sa kojima se susreću trans* osobe u BiH. Inicijalni cilj ovog istraživanja bio je mapirati stvarne probleme i procijeniti konkretne potrebe trans* osoba u BiH kako bi se moglo, argumentirajući preciznim podacima, dalje raditi na rješavanju tih problema kroz konkretni rad sa raznim institucijama, te kroz zagovaranje izmjena zakona, sastanke sa odgovornima, edukacije i slično, sa onima za koje se pokaže da diskriminiraju trans* osobe, da ne obavljaju svoj posao u skladu sa etikom ili da na bilo koji drugi način ugrožavaju ljudska prava trans* osoba. Do procjene realnih problema i potreba došlo se kroz statističku obradu upitnika, koje su popunjavale trans* osobe koje žive u BiH.

Analyse uber die stellung der frau in der gesellschaft und in der familie (Als beispiel: das gebiet von Pakrac)

Author(s): Vesna Čulinović-Konstantinović / Language(s): German / Issue: 0/1982

Die Stellung der Frau in der Geselschaft und in der Familie können wir nur in enger Abhängigkeit von der Stellung der Familienmitglieder beider Geschlechter und der Entwicklung der Familie als ein gesellschaftlicher Organismus und Profil einer traditionsgemässen Umgebung, wo entsprechende Familienstrukturen bestehen, betrachten. Dorfgemeinschaften konnten wir noch bis vor kurzem wegen der bestehenden kulturellen, wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Unterschiede im Vergleich zu grösseren urbanen Mitten und wegen der Gleichheit der traditionellen Charakteristiken und Normen als ein Traditionsgebiet anshen.

Analysing Challenges of Teaching Supply Chain Management in Higher Education Institutions

Author(s): Nuria Camps / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2017

The aim of this paper is to provide an analysis of the main challenges in teaching and learning Supply Chain Management in Higher Education Institutions. It also reviews the perceived challenges faced by university students studying SCM modules as part of business management studies in a Scottish university. Findings indicate that traditional ways of teaching Supply Chain Management are not always effective and students expect a more student-centred pedagogy to improve the depth of their learning.

Analysis of the Formation of Personal and Professional Qualities of Future Social Workers for Street Social Work

Author(s): Olena Vasylenko,Yulia Grach,Liudmila Romanovska,Tetiana Kravchyna / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2019

The paper presents the diagnostics of the state of formation of personal and professional qualities of future social workers being able to carry out street social work. While undergoing the study, it has been found that the professional readiness of street social work specialists involves the formation of such a level of professional skills and competence of future social workers that will allow them to perform the various functions of street social work successfully. Interpersonal interaction with clients of street social work provides for the presence of such specialists’ traits as: empathy, compromise and speed of thinking, diplomacy in relations with others, optimism in perception of reality, communicativeness, sociability, high mental capacity, comprehensiveness of interests, mood stability, independence, initiative and business orientation in professional activity. To study the state of formation of the listed qualities of future social workers, we conducted a diagnostic study among students of second-fifth years-of-study of specialty “Social work” of Khmelnitsky National University. Diagnostic results show that the majority of future social workers, while studying in higher educational institution, have sufficiently low indicators of formation of both personal and professional qualities. They are diagnosed with low levels of business orientation and professional motivation for street social work, as well as low level of manifestation of diplomacy, pessimism in the perception of reality, rigid thinking, low mental capacity, changeability of interests, multilevel of mood, dependency, lack of initiative. Therefore, we propose to develop and introduce psychological-pedagogical and social-pedagogical conditions (for the formation of future social workers' professional readiness for street social work) into the educational process.

ANTICORRP Integrated Report

Anti-Corruption Policies Revisited: WP9 Organised crime and impact on vulnerable groups

Author(s): Salvatore Sberna,Alberto Vannucci,Tihomir Bezlov,Dimitar Markov,Maria Karayotova,Ana Hećimović,Iva Nenadić,Munir Podumljak,Péter Gyimesi,Szidónia Nagy,Boróka Pápay,Zoltán Szántó,István János Tóth,Edona Krasniqi / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2015

This integrated report investigates the link between political corruption and organised crime, by examining the modalities, resources and strategies used by criminal groups to govern and/or capture the market of political corruption. On the one hand, the report looks at the infiltration of organised crime in three main policy sectors where public spending and regulations play a pivotal role: public procurement, the privatization of public services, and management of EU funds. Alongside this, the report also analyses the criminal penetration of electoral politics, by evaluating the influence that criminal organisations can achieve in electoral arenas. As a result, the report provides a general assessment of policy regulations, legal countermeasures and practices adopted to prevent and combat organised crime, especially in interaction with political corruption. The report is drawn from data collected in five European countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo) across the above themes, and includes two more countries for the assessment of anti-organised crime legislation and initiatives (Albania and Georgia). The methodology involves both extensive and intensive strategies of investigation. A quantitative assessment of the crime and politics nexus is based on the Organised Crime & Corruption (OCC) events database, in which events data about the link between criminal groups and political corruption have been gathered and assembled1. A qualitative assessment involves in-depth understanding of the mechanisms of corrupt exchanges, presented as single case studies conducted in the countries covered by this study, inclusive of primary and secondary sources (interviews, legal proceedings, academic and policy-oriented reports). Data collection and analyses were conducted by five institutions across Europe (EUI, CSD, BCE, IKS, PSD).

Anti-Corruption Reloaded: Assessment of Southeast Europe

Author(s): / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2014

Corruption in Southeast Europe has been in the news, in the focus of public debate, and on the policy agenda of national and international institutions so often and for so long that its scrutiny hardly needs to be justified. It is precisely because it has proven to be such an intractable issue that innovative approaches to its understanding – and hence its reduction – are warranted. The EU accession prospects for the countries in the region – though distant – provide an enabling framework for action but it is local stakeholders, and in particular civil society who can bring about sustained progress in anti-corruption. The Southeast Europe Leadership for Development and Integrity (SELDI) has made the in-depth diagnosing and understanding of corruption and governance gaps in the region one of its main priorities, as a requisite condition for its advocacy of knowledge-driven anticorruption policies. This SELDI report fits in the development and implementation framework of the emerging regional anticorruption policy and infrastructure as exemplified by the SEE2020 Strategy’s Governance Pillar run by the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative. Despite some important achievements – mostly with respect to the stabilisation of democratic institutions, the adoption of laws in key anticorruption areas, a reduction in petty bribery and growing public intolerance of corruption – anticorruption and good governance reforms are not consolidated, corruption among elected politicians and judges seems to be increasing and the enforcement of anticorruption legislation is haphazard. Anticorruption policies and institutions in the region will benefit immensely from the adoption of regular and accurate victimisation-survey based tool for measuring corruption and the rate of progress in good governance, similar to the special Eurobarometer on anticorruption, UNODC’s SEE monitoring of corruption and organised crime, and the Corruption Monitoring System employed by this report.

ANTIDISKRIMINACIJA. Mladi u borbi protiv Diskriminacije

Author(s): Mirela Selmanović,Snježana Ivandić Ninković,Božena Puljić / Language(s): Bosnian / Publication Year: 2011

Jednakost svih ljudi i zabrana diskriminacije jeste jedno od prava koja se garantiraju brojnim međunarodnim dokumentima. Shodno Dejtonskom mirovnom sporazumu, Bosna i Hercegovina je dužna primjenjivati ove najviše međunarodne standarde. Osim toga, kako se BiH nalazi u procesu priključivanja Evropskoj uniji, to je njena obaveza na primjenu ovih standarda veća, posebno kada je riječ o usklađivanju zakona sa zakonima EU. Međutim, svjedoci smo da je, bez obzira na sve obaveze koje je država preuzela, diskriminacija veoma široko rasprostranjena i bez adekvatnog odgovora države, tj. institucija odgovornih za provedbu Zakona o zabrani diskriminacije.

Applying Genre Theory to Citizen Participation in Public Policy Making: Theoretical Perspectives on Participatory Genres

Author(s): Marie Dufrasne,Geoffroy Patriarche / Language(s): English / Issue: 21/2011

This research is aimed at constructing a theoretical framework for the study of citizen participation in public policy making, based on genre theory. Drawing on various approaches to genre (rhetorical analysis, literary analysis, sociolinguistics, media studies, organisational communication, user interface design, and computer mediated communication), this paper suggests a series of theoretical perspectives on participatory genres, a notion freely borrowed from Erickson (1997) and applied to the methods, activities or applications of citizen participation in public policy making (e.g. consultations, petitions, citizens panels, opinion polls). The proposed theoretical framework takes into account the contexts of participation (conceived as both situations and communities) as well as the interrelationships between participatory genres, and focuses on the repertoires of elements (Lacey, 2000) that characterize participatory genres in terms of ‘why’, ‘how’, ‘what’, ‘who/m’, when’ and ‘where’ (Orlikowski & Yates, 1998). It is argued that approaching citizen participation in public policy making through the lens of participatory genres is valuable to both researchers and practitioners.

Approaches to Food Safety Hazard Control and Risk Management: A Case Study of Preston City Council’s Food Safety Compliance Strategy

Author(s): Richard Bradford-Knox,Kevin Kane,Simon Neighbour / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

This case study aims to demonstrate that an approach based on cooperation and collaboration can improve the rapport and trust between food businesses and enforcement officers leading to improvement in levels of compliance and reduce costs. The study integrates a desk research literature review with a qualitative case study approach supported by quantitative data. Case interviews with food industry professionals were performed to identify opinions and barriers to successful legal compliance plus in depth interviews with the Preston City Council whose approach is the focus of this case study. The barriers and challenges facing all parties involved implementing risk based food safety management systems and achieving an acceptable level of compliance with the various public regulations and industry regulations have been the subject of much research. These include factors of motivation, commerce, training, hazard control, analysis and management. This case study shows that the cooperative approach, and techniques used by Preston City Council demonstrates a trend towards improvement in the levels of food hygiene compliance among food businesses as well as economic benefits in the use of resources.

APSENTIZAM KAO DRUŠTVENI I EKONOMSKI PROBLEM - MJERENJE I KONTROLA UZ PODRŠKU INFORMACIONIH TEHNOLOGIJA

Author(s): Helena Lajšić / Language(s): Bosnian,Croatian,Serbian / Issue: 2/2017

More or less, absenteeism exists in every organisation and institution. This is the most frequent and most visible indicator of problems in an organisation and society as well. In human resources management, absenteeism means multiple absences of employees from their jobs without a justified reason. Absenteeism is regarded as one of the most complex management problems in all organisations. In occupational health and occupational psychology, absenteeism is mostly indicator of certain social, health or personal disorders (e.g. social dysfunctionality, troubled interpersonal relationships, stress, mobbing, work conditions, personal lack of work ethic, strategies to avoid work, depression, alcoholism, other forms of addiction etc.), especially if absence is due to illness or without approval.Nowadays, absenteeism is rightfully considered a massive social disorder, which occurs as a result of numerous internal, external, and personal factors. Absenteeism can be measured in terms of frequency and duration of absence, of being late, leaving work too early and other forms of occasional and temporary abandoning a specific organisational role. Control of absence from work can be performed through recording the time with information systems or, more precisely, functionality of human resources management software solutions i.e. modules to record presence that record the time of arrival, departure, explanation of reasons for coming late, allowing the employees to record the time spent on different jobs, linking with payroll, generating reports for the management etc. This paper presents the etalon model and specifies the structure of a part of human resources management information model, which is built based on results of theoretical studies and empirical accounts.

Around the bloc: 200,000 Kosovans Sign Petition Against Serbia Deals

Author(s): TOL TOL / Language(s): English / Issue: 12/01/2015

Kosovo's constitution obliges the authorities to consider an initiative against giving ethnic Serb population greater autonomy.

Around the bloc: Activist in Kyrgyzstan Will be Retried

Author(s): TOL TOL / Language(s): English / Issue: 07/19/2016

Azimjan Askarov was among the ethnic Uzbeks sent to prison for allegedly fomenting fierce ethnic clashes in 2010.

Around the Bloc: Albania Gets Set for Second-Ever Royal Wedding

Author(s): TOL TOL / Language(s): English / Issue: 10/11/2016

Communists labelled King Zog a traitor and erased the royal family from the history books; monarchists see Prince Leka II’s upcoming marriage as an important symbol.

Around the Bloc: Azeri Police Hunt Suspected Shiite Radicals

Author(s): TOL TOL / Language(s): English / Issue: 12/08/2015

Police reportedly seize grenades, ammunition, and suspicious pamphlets in Baku and Ganja.

Around the Bloc: Buckwheat Panic Grips Russia, Czech Leader Urges ‘Finlandization’ of Ukraine

Author(s): TOL TOL / Language(s): English / Issue: 12/02/2014

Plus, 'Western values' blamed for infertility in Kazakhstan, and a Russian journalist fights deportation from Poland.

Around the Bloc: Controversy Grows as Dozens Return Hungarian Knight's Cross

Author(s): TOL TOL / Language(s): English / Issue: 08/30/2016

Past award recipients have returned the state distinction because of decision to honor infamous xenophobe, who is close to the ruling party.

Around the Bloc: Czech Republic Sees Unique Alternatives to Wedding Rings

Author(s): TOL TOL / Language(s): English / Issue: 10/18/2016

Czechs have turned to different displays of devotion to their partners, such as engraved watches or tattoos.