THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL DIALOGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN THE PROCESS OF SHAPING WORKING CONDITIONS

The article explores the influence and importance of social dialogue and collective bargaining on the formation of working conditions. Social dialogue and collective bargaining are among the basic ways to influence the conditions of work through employees’ representatives and how to represent the weaker party from the point of view of labour law (the interests of the employee). The article points out the fundamental importance of social dialogue in creating an environment of decent work, both in the international environment (especially the competence of the International Labour Organization or the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights) and wages or addressing the impacts of COVID-19 pandemics in the national environment of the Czech Republic.

KEEP THE PACE: THE UNCORKED POTENTIAL OF WINE TOURISM IN ŠUMADIJA

In the last two decades, Serbia has begun to re-establish itself within other wine-producing countries. One of the Serbian wine regions – Šumadija – caught hold of this opportunity and launched in the wine tourism industry. This paper, based on visits to Šumadija wineries and interviews with winemakers, is a survey of the present tourism infrastructures and wine histories. The aim is to explore the capacity of the wine industry in its attempt to develop tourism as a component of regional developmental progress. It is a review of the wine tourism situation and development in the Šumadija region, a survey of where it is today, and an assessment of its potential in the future. The author conducted interviews with winemakers and collected primary data from tourists at the regional wine event in 2017. In conclusion, recommendations are made for the further development of the area as a wine destination.

PANDEMICS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORLD ECONOMY: A HYPOTHESIS OF CORRELATION

Coronavirus disease 2019-nCoV is a novel and highly transmissible infectious disease. However, in the history of human development, there have already been many infectious diseases that caused pandemics. Through a review of pandemics over centuries, the author tried to understand whether there was any correlation between the pandemics and the development of the world economy of the associated period. Although 2019-nCoV pandemic is deeply affected every country varying only in the degree, and the response measures taken by countries against the pandemic are also various, however, the pandemic has spread globally without exception; therefore, this study aims to call on to adopt a prevention strategy to face the new challenges ahead with a healthy rhythm of progressive globalization.

SUPPORT OF BUSINESS INNOVATION IN THE FORM OF TAX BENEFITS FOR R&D OF ENTREPRENEURS IN SLOVAKIA

Since 2015, the tax advantage of the R&D of entrepreneurs in Slovakia has been in the form of indirect support of innovation and creativity in companies. It could be a competitive advantage for the entrepreneurs who apply them. They are important on the revenue level, e.g. in the creation of a new product and on the cost level, in streamlining the conduct of business. This article aims to analyze the application of super-deduction in tax due to R&D carried out by entrepreneurs in Slovakia from the first year and focuses on R&D in the Slovak Republic from 2015 to 2018. Theoretical interpretations of R&D in legislative standards at transnational and national levels, different tax policies on innovation and gross domestic spending are defined at the outset. The theoretical background is important from the point of view of understanding the R&D in the conditions of the Slovak Republic, where the following quantitative research is carried out. As the main method of investigation, we used the quantitative analysis and comparison that we use to compare the increasing number of companies that used the R&D cost (expenditure) deduction in the context of legal form in the period considered for the years 2015 to 2018 and the amounts of applied super-deduction for individual types of companies. The performed quantitative analysis shows a weak use of the provided income tax relief in the form of super-deduction of costs in connection with the implementation of R&D by companies in Slovakia, despite the year-on-year growing trend. Due to the relative representation of individual legal forms of entities in Slovakia, according to our research, Limited Liability Companies apply a super-deduction of R&D costs annually in the period under review. The number of these entities is constantly growing, as is the amount of the super-deduction applied. Based on the findings, we can state that the increased percentage deduction rate had a positive effect on the motivation of entrepreneurs to apply incentives.

IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS CRISIS ON SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

The crisis caused by the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has hit the corporate sector from an economic point of view particularly hard. The forced closure of operations led to a dramatic drop in sales and disruption of normal cash flow. In this regard, SMEs have been affected the most. Because of their economic and social importance for the economies, governments have taken many measures to help them. This article aims to evaluate the impacts of the coronavirus crisis on small and medium-sized enterprises in the Slovak Republic. For this purpose, we surveyed 139 SMEs up to the end of 2020. The results of the survey show that the existing help from the state has not compensated for the loss of sales and losses that entrepreneurs have had to deal with. The negative impact of the measures related to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic was felt by up to 96% of the addressed SMEs. The article also includes proposals from interviewed SMEs regarding business support measures. In this regard, it is necessary to focus especially on eliminating the technical and procedural shortcomings of the measures.

TELEWORKING IN THE MANAGEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL TEAMS – EXPERIENCE REPORT

The use of information and communication technologies in an organizational context allows enhancing performance and defining business support strategies. The objective of this paper is to research the importance of teleworking in order to reflect the conditions for monitoring international project teams, and in this sense to contribute to the optimization of the practices instituted. The most common business processes of organizations are supported by generic software products, also called enterprise resource planning, in which the organization consolidates its experience over time in order to provide increasingly better services. The main contributions of the paper focus on the presentation of the fundamental competences of the teams regarding the performance in configuration projects in view of the practical experience in the international labor market in face of pandemic scenario.

THE ROLE OF AGILE SOFTWARE ARCHITECT IN THE AGE OF DIGITAL DISRUPTION AND TRANSFORMATION

The consequence of the increasing development and use of digital technologies, in every segment of society, is the emergence of digital disruption - a powerful external pressure that is changing the way business is done in all industries. Businesses are responding to digital disruption by digital transformation, which involves organizational change, redefining and aligning digital and business strategies, new business models, increased agility of software development and delivery processes, migration and/or integration of legacy systems using cloud-based platforms and ecosystems. In such a context, one of the key responsibilities of a software architect is to maintain the agility of the organization by defending the flexibility of digital strategy and IT resources so that the enterprise is able to transform and respond adequately and rapidly to the effects of digital disruption. In this regard, the question arises as to how digital disruption and business transformation affect the change in the role, importance, competence and agility of a software architect, especially in the context of the development of complex business software systems. This paper aims to present the role of an agile software architect in the era of digital disruption and transformation, by integrating the results of theoretical and empirical research. A systematic literature review identifies the role, importance, and competencies of a software architect in implementing agile architecture. In other hand, empirical research, based on a case study in a large enterprise, provides a better understanding of the importance of software architect for aligning business and digital strategy, as well as its contribution to increasing the agility of the process of developing, delivering and integrating complex business software systems.

THE RESTRICTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN A PANDEMIC CRISIS: THE CASE OF UKRAINIAN LEGISLATION

The presented paper is aimed at substantiating the formal and legal grounds for the introduction of restrictions on human rights in the battle against the spread of COVID-19 in Ukraine. The analysis of restrictive measures introduced by the Government of Ukraine is conducted by the author on the basis of their interpretation and comparison of Ukrainian legislative acts that define the legal regimes of quarantine, an emergency situation and a state of emergency. The author analyzes the problematic legislative provisions that formed the basis for the introduction of quarantine measures and an emergency situation in Ukraine and established restrictions on the implementation of a number of the constitutional rights of citizens. The article substantiates the conclusion on the constitutionality and legality of restrictions on human rights under a state of emergency, which was not introduced in Ukraine.

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC – AN IMPEDIMENT IN PERFORMANCE OF CONTRACTS

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented situation all over the world, ocmpelled the governments to declare lockdown, closing of businesses, industries, commercial activities, ban on certain imports and exports. Under these circumstances, an obligor may not be able to perform his contractual obligations, consequently may result in breach of contract. In case of claim of damages by the obligee for breach of contract, the obligor may seek exemption from damages under the law of impediment or force majeure. According to Article 79 of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods 1980 (CISG), a party is not liable for damages due to non-performance, delay or defect in performance, if he can prove that the failure was due to an impediment beyond his control. The COVID-19 situations are beyond the control of the parties to the contract, must be considered as an impediment or force majeure and the non-performing party is entitled for exemption from damages under Article 79 of CISG.

SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES FORMING A PERCEPTION OF CORPORATE IMAGE BRAND IN THE CROATIAN BANKING INDUSTRY

The banking industry is currently at the forefront of the development of technolo¬gy-based service delivery, and the survival of banks depends on their ability to deal with the environmental challenges. Due to these challenges, many banks are faced with an identity crisis and increased customer migration rates that negatively affect the levels of business profitability. Croatian market ads additionally challenge almost 30 banks currently operating with customers that are extremely price sensitive. Research shows that in the banking sector, a favorable image is considered a critical aspect of a company’s ability to maintain its market position, as the image has been related to core attributes of organizational success. This paper studies the dimensions of corporate image, focusing on the corporate image concept in the Croatian banking industry as perceived by consumers and its possible impact on their choice of banks. The purpose of this study is to give an insight and provide a deeper understanding of how the banks, by developing a strong and consistent corporate image using corporate communication activities, ensure a long-term source of sustainable competitive advantage and influence on customers’ end choice. A study was carried out in Croatia during 2019 using 250 respondents-consumers who used different types of banking services in different banks. Series of ANOVA analysis shows how the perception of the corporate image of the bank and its influence on the customer’s choice of the bank, bank loyalty and the quality of the bank services varies depending on some demographic and social variables. Results pose implications for bank communications and service positioning within customer segments. This research raises ideas for future studies as well.