The Value of Postgraduate Students Opinions in the Quality Management of Academic E-Learning

The quality of online education is of interest to universities around the world. Only high quality and cyclical evaluation are the conditions for obtaining students’ satisfaction with this form of education. In the pandemic era, digital dissemination and open education have become a special obligation of academic education. This paper aims to present the opinions of postgraduate students on the quality of e-learning forced by the Covid-19 pandemic. The study was conducted using an online survey questionnaire sent to all 173 MBA and Executive MBA (EMBA) students studying during the pandemic era in Poland's leading Business School, 40% of whom returned completed valid surveys. Students assessed aspects of e-learning such as teaching materials, communication with lecturers, the attractiveness of online classes, networking, strategies, and criteria for evaluating didactic activities, e-learning platform, and support received from the university. The results showed that although most examined aspects are perceived very well or well by the students, there is always some space for improvement. Despite the fact that the study was conducted on a small sample of students, their opinions obtained during the survey provide valuable information to universities about the quality of postgraduate e-learning from its main actors, that is, students. Based on this, the paper presents clear recommendations to universities on how the quality of online education could be managed and improved.

Research Method for Management of Thermoplastics Production Improvement in Rubber Industry with the Use of 3D Simulation Modeling

The paper concerns research and improvement of production processes in one of the European companies in the rubber industry1. The main goal is to improve the production process of the thermo-plastics obtained from polymer materials on the company’s production line. Improvement is defined as a reduction of the setup time of a key machine in the tested production process. The research method includes the analysis of the literature, observation of the studied process, and the accomplished computer simulation experiments. The proposed activities relate to the reinforcement of the key part of the machine, the change of the machine setup method, and the preliminary staff assignment to the specific tasks. The results of the simulation experiments confirm the implementation of the proposed improvements. The theoretical contribution to the research field development is the proposal of the simulation modeling methodology to improve production processes of continuous materials. Practical conclusions lead to recommendations for the implementation of improvements in the enterprise, with direct application of the proposed actions.

Strategic Communication and Competitive Advantage: Assessing CEO Letters of Global Airline Alliances

For the last several decades, global airline alliances have ensured their market presence in the aviation industry. Scholars have focused on the effects of alliance affiliation for airlines and what the competitive advantages of alliances are. However, these issues have been discussed in relation to operational aspects. The quality of strategic communication can be an important factor in achieving a competitive advantage and realizing a differentiation strategy. This study assessed the differences in quality of strategic communication between the three leading alliance groups (oneworld, SkyTeam, and Star Alliance) and a non-alliance group. Comprehensive content analysis was implemented using the letters of chief executive officers (CEOs) of 46 airlines. We found that the non-alliance group has more ideal CEO letters than the alliance groups, and the main topics and quality of CEO letters of alliance group differed. This study provides a novel insight into the competitive advantage of global airline alliances.

Improvement of Eyeglass Lens Production Using Simulation Modeling and Dynamic Buffer Optimization

The subject of the paper is the investigation of possible improvements to the process of eyeglass lenses production. The research area concerns the application of modern IT tools to the enhancement of production results, in the context of digitalization of the economy, including industry. The main objective is to improve the efficiency of the realized production process in terms of the defined quality criterion. The applied approach is based on a simulation experiment method. A computer program implementing this method was used. The results show the effectiveness and universality of the proposed approach for the studied class of problems. The main theoretical contribution to the studied field is integration of the buffer allocation issue, defined as an optimization problem, into the simulation experiment method. The practical conclusions show the benefits for the company from the perspective of implementation of the production process.

Investment Activities of Polish Insurance Companies Before and After Solvency II

Insurance companies operate in a turbulent, constantly changing environment. The insurance market plays an important role in the economy. On the one hand, it is characterized by the dynamic development of services based on new technologies and distribution channels, and on the other hand, it is subject to transformations related to changes in the scope of conducting insurance activities – including new legal regulations – and has to counter global challenges, such as the crisis which started in 2007 on the American financial market. In such realities, insurers must manage their investment activities. The article indicates the legal basis of the restrictions applicable to insurance companies in relation to their investment activities. The Solvency II system is discussed and the most important differences from its predecessor – Solvency I – are presented, and there is an analysis of the structure of investments of domestic life and non-life insurance companies.

Differences in the Perception of Organizational Culture in Non-Public Universities in Poland by Academic and Administrative Staff – A Study Based on Cameron and Quinn's Model

The purpose of this paper is to present differences in the perception of current and desired organizational culture between two different types of workers – academic and administrative staff – in non-public universities in Poland. A synthetic review of the literature on organizational culture at universities and the workplace attitudes of the two groups of university employees was conducted and presented. Research in the form of a survey based on Cameron and Quinn's model was conducted in three non-public universities in Poland. A sample of opinions of 115 workers was gathered and analyzed. It was found in the study that according to academic workers, the present culture was market culture, whereas for administrative workers, it was hierarchy culture. Both groups chose clan culture as the preferred culture. The findings may be useful for higher education decision makers in their attempts to transform universities into market-oriented, yet friendly workplaces. The study's limitations include a relatively small sample of respondents. A further, more comprehensive research into the subject will be worth conducting.

Creating a New, Sustainable Mindset through Responsible Consumption: A Case Study of the International Chain of Sustainable Restaurants

This paper presents research conducted in the United Arab Emirates with the management of Bareburger, the chain of sustainable restaurants, as well as among its clients. In our project, we are interested in the relation between the offer of sustainability and the culture of conscious consumption. The opinions of industry experts and customers collected in an interview session are analyzed to derive the answer to the research questions. The research focuses on finding the possibility of changing the mindset and habits of consumers and creating an impact on consumer behavior by offering a responsible and sustainable nutrition model. An experiment was conducted to analyze the effect of sustainable restaurants on consumer culture in terms of cultivating healthy food habits. In our case study, we analyze Bareburger, a healthier fast-food chain that originated in the United States, which took the concept of sustainability to a completely new level, from ideation to implementation. Observing this process, we checked whether the unhealthy eating habits that we observe in the Middle East can be changed through the carefully composed model of a responsible restaurant.

Innovation and Leadership: A Study of Organizations Based in the United Arab Emirates

The successful practice of innovation in any organization demands the integration and interaction of individual, collective, and organizational climate levels of management. Leadership styles have an impact on all these three levels of management. However, little work has been done to assess this impact, especially in the context of United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based organizations. This study was conducted with the purpose of assessing whether leadership processes, tools, and techniques differ in innovative organizations and, thereafter, propose general leadership requirements for innovative projects in the UAE. This study adopts statistical data-processing methods, such as descriptive statistics, the reliability of the instrument, correlation, and regression analysis. Data obtained through a survey of UAE-based organizations were used for analyzing whether innovativeness (as perceived by employees) is statistically correlated with leadership dimensions. The research results show that the transformational leadership style scores better over transactional leadership when it comes to predicting innovations.

Evaluation of Cluster Management Quality Based on Consumer Opinion Sentiment Analysis

This article discusses the issue of assessing the quality of cluster management by utilizing Internet customer feedback about companies that are members of clusters. Due to the growing number of Internet users, companies pay greater attention to the opinions published about them. Consumers are also increasingly willing to share their opinions and thoughts about the products they use. As a result, it has become possible to analyze the quality of services and products provided by an enterprise based on Internet opinions. In this article, we analyze the quality of cluster management as reflected in the European Cluster Excellence Initiative (ECEI) label, as measured by sentiment analysis of Internet opinions. The paper proposes a method for the identification and evaluation of Internet sources used in the opinion sentiment analysis. Sentiment analysis of Internet opinions of cluster and in-cluster business customers was performed, and the results were compared with the level of the ECEI label, which was awarded to the analyzed clusters. The conducted research showed convergences between formalized systems of management quality assessment and the level of opinions expressed on the Internet. The results testify that sentiment analysis can complement the evaluation of cluster management quality.

Patterns of the Distribution of the Demand of End-Consumers among Retailers in the Zone of their Residence

The rapid development of retail and e-commerce is forcing marketing and logistics to be competitive and adapt to the demands of end-customers. At the same time, accurately determining the demand for goods allows to better understand customers and plan deliveries. The purpose of this article is to study the change in patterns of probability of choosing the option to purchase goods among end-consumers with and without the presence of e-commerce. The study consisted of research buyers, determining the probability of purchasing goods from “consumer basket” in the traditional way and over the Internet, which is considered for the example of one of the Kharkiv districts. The results develop e-commerce potential in Ukraine and are intended to determine the motives of consumers when choosing a shopping option.