INVOLVEMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN OPERATIONAL PLANNING OF MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES: LATVIA EXPERIENCE

The main feature of teamwork is a common goal, and the involvement of employees is essential to its achievement. In a wider scope, it is understood not only by the involvement of employees in decision-making but also as the involvement of employees in operational planning and strategic issues. Research aim is to find out whether the involvement of employees in decision-making, goal setting and planning is inherent in manufacturing enterprises. According to a survey of 268 different level employees of 25 manufacturing enterprises in Latvia, it was found out that involvement of all employees in the decision-making process is not perceived by the enterprises` performance and strategic planning, and the involvement of employees in decision-making and goal setting can only be seen within the department. Keywords: decision-making, employee involvement, goal setting, operational planning, manufacturing enterprise, teamwork

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SELECTED TRANSPORT COMPANY OPERATED ON THE CZECH MARKET

Corporate social responsibility is a much-discussed topic because it includes an inexhaustible number of activities in the economic, social and environmental fields. The basic theoretical basis of social responsibility is applied to a specific Czech company. A questionnaire for the employees of the subsidiary helped with the research. It was found that the company is doing very well in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and has a good portfolio for compiling a comprehensive CSR report, which is a proposal as one of the measures. Another area suitable for the development of some activities is the ecological part. The company actively supports the ecological approach and behaviour, and it has set some measures, such as ISO 14001 certification at its gas station branches, so it is well on its way to certifying its office buildings. Keywords: corporate social responsibility, transport industry, Czech Republic

CONTROLLING IN ERA OF INDUSTRY 4.0: OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESSES IN THE FIELD OF THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Automation, robotics, Internet of Things and Big Data are currently a big challenge for businesses. However, they can also be a great opportunity. One of the corporate areas where new technologies can be used is controlling. In this research, the issue is narrowed down to the impact of new technologies on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems of companies, which are a basic tool of controlling in companies. The research analyses the possibilities of integrating elements of Industry 4.0 with ERP systems and the possibility of using data for corporate controlling. For this purpose, a literature review was carried out and gained results were further analysed according to the defined criteria. The outcome of the literature review is an essential current state analysis of the impact of new technologies on corporate ERP systems with regard to the company's controlling processes. This paper serves as a very first step in designing a systematic research study in area of controlling 4.0. Keywords: automation, controlling, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Industry 4.0, management control, management accounting

AN OVERVIEW OF BIG DATA IN COVID-19 AS A CONTRIBUTION TO THE MANAGEMENT OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE

In times of pandemic, rapid sharing of research data is urgently needed, as is the intensification of networking. The COVID-19 pandemic brought a new perspective in relation to knowledge management in various organizational means, whether through the search for innovation or the improvement of its processes. Thus, to calculate the state of the art and track scientific and technological knowledge in the COVID-19 spectrum, the keyword “Coronavir*” was used in the PubMed and Espacenet databases. Data were processed by Carrot Search Lingo4G® and PatentInspiration®. In the Pubmed database, 1,000 documents were retrieved, which were organized into 81 groups of sub-themes, with emphasis on the sub-theme “treatment during coronavirus disease”, with 188 articles (18.8% of the total). Regarding technological innovation, China and the United States were the countries that filed the most patent applications, especially in 2020 and 2021, corresponding to 68.5% of the total. The first 4 (four) applicants with the highest number of patents were Pfizer, Gilead Sciences Inc., Center Nat Rech, Crucell Holland. The results obtained over a period of time demonstrate a partnership between universities and companies towards the fight against the pandemic. The tools for identifying, extracting and processing data (or free), are needed efficiently in the management of scientific and technological knowledge in COVID -19, thus being able to contribute to more assertive decision-making at various organizational levels. Keywords: Big Data, COVID-19, Knowledge Management, coronavirus patents

INTEGRATED BORDER MANAGEMENT AS A VECTOR TO COMBAT ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IN MOZAMBIQUE

This research intends to understand how an integrated border management can contribute to combat illegal immigration in Mozambique, and the evils that come from this irregular entry, as well as the related crimes associated with it. Taking into account the sad events perpetrated by the terrorists in Cabo - Delgado, which has a participation of foreign citizens, it is assumed that some of these citizens have entered illegally or enticed the border authorities to enter Mozambique through illegal means, therefore, it is interesting to understand how the management and control of borders is carried out. It is important to understand how the Mozambican authorities have managed the phenomenon of illegal immigration, even recognizing that some of the borders are porous. The permanent articulation with the various forces involved in border control, in ways that each one of them appropriates illegal immigration, may be the horizon to follow, so that there is no violation of borders, preserving national sovereignty, as efficiency and the effectiveness of the different sectors involved in the border process, can be achieved as long as the different entities that control the border carry out their activities in a coordinated manner, allowing for an ever-increasing flow of commercial transactions. The research is bibliographical, qualitative, using the technique of direct observation, and data provided by the General Directorate of Migration of Mozambique. Keywords: border management, illegal immigration, related crimes, Mozambican Legal Framework

THE CHALLENGE OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN GLOBAL HEALTH IN PANDEMIC TIME

In 1948, with the creation of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Right to Health gained a little more global prominence, since the very purpose of the international entity is to guarantee the highest level of health for all human beings, advocating that the state of physical and mental well-being does not only consist in the absence of diseases or illnesses, but mainly when a set of values and principles are established and available to all individuals, anywhere on the planet (WHO | The Right to Health, 2012). Health in this new millennium must be seen as a global problem. The globalization of health is a good for which we must work in an explicit and programmed way, as it becomes a desirable social purpose, either for its intrinsic value or as a symbol of the predominance of human values over other interests (Oliveira & Cutolo, 2018). In a global context with rapid changes in the disease patterns, the best understanding of the Health context is to consider the broad spectrum of the ecosystem containing the social, economic determinants of health and the diversity of institutional agents, given the considerable change in the global health scenario in recent years (Kickbusch & Berger, 2010). The conception that health should be seen from a comprehensive and plural perspective brings other aspects closer to its effectiveness.

DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE LEADERS THROUGH TRANSFORMATIONAL EXECUTIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMS

The goal of executive education programs is to prepare the leaders to act in swiftly changing business and social environment. However, various research show that the program completion may not induce the expected change unless it has more transformational nature. In other words, the program curriculum should put more emphasis on soft skills development and incorporation of experiential learning methods. Therefore, the quantitative, longitudinal research was conducted among participants of executive education program at a highly ranked university which met the criteria of transformational education program. The study aimed to measure the change at the level of basic motivators among 71 Executive MBA students that occurred during 2 years of studies at the executive program using REISS Motivation Profile®. There were discovered significant changes in 5 motivators: Acceptance, Social Contact, Status, Order and Tranquility. The results indicate that the program participants become leaders that are more oriented towards collaboration with others and value more planning and balanced approach to management. The results bring valuable indication for both university management and educators calling for changes in the executive education curriculum. Keywords: executive education, leadership development, RMP®, quantitative research

MANAGING TERRORISM IN AFRICA

Despite the different interpretations on the origins and a possible way to manage the Islamic terrorism in Africa, a thing is clear: this phenomenon gained importance in the last few years. Data of ACLED show that in 2015 Africa registered 381 attacks, which resulted in 1.394 fatalities; five years later the number increased to 7.108 attacks and 12.519 fatalities (Mroszczyk & Abrahms, 2021). It is not difficult to deduce that Islamic terrorism was not managed appropriately by the African States. It is the case of countries as Nigeria with Boko Haram, Somalia with Al-Shabaab, Mozambique with Ansar-al-Sunna, with links with the Central African Province of the Islamic State.

THE MANAGEMENT OF PROCESS LEAD TIME IN THE RELEASE OF STERILE PHARMACEUTICAL BATCHES: A CASE STUDY OF OPTIMIZATION IN AN OFFICIAL BRAZILIAN PHARMACEUTICAL LABORATORY

Medicines must comply with quality, safety, and efficacy pillars. Nowadays, organizations seek to incorporate new management models encouraged by quality program following the world trend regarding the technological revolution. The present research aims to improve the sterile pharmaceutical product batches release process, using the Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA) method. This study addresses the gap in literature on quality risk management during batch release. The methodology uses a form adapted to the process in order to systematize the information, improving its comparison and analysis, thus estimating, the identification of potential failure modes and their effects on their performance. Made it possible to assign values for the severity, occurrence, and failure modes detection, to then determine the risk level and the priority of risk level. The results obtained showed the mitigation and elimination of failures in the process, as well as opportunities for improvement and causes of failures identification, improvement in the process performance indicators, greater reliability, and reduction in batch release time. Keywords: good manufacturing practices pharmaceutical industry, risk management, risk management tools

COMPARING SCHEDULING APPOINTMENT RULES PERFORMANCE IN HEALTH CARE UNITS: A DISCRETE EVENT SIMULATION APPROACH

Health care systems are affected by sudden increases in demand that can be generated by factors such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, epidemics, among others. Patient demand can be divided between scheduled and walk-in and, in pandemic scenarios, both of them must be managed in order to avoid higher patient waiting times or number in queue. A discrete event simulation model is proposed in order to evaluate critical indicators like: patient waiting times, number in queue, resource utilization (doctors), using four different patient schedule appointment rules. In this study it was also considered patients impunctuality, walk-in patients and no-show in different scenarios. The best schedule appointment rules for each demand scenario were evaluated. After comparing six performance indicators, four schedule appointment rules in nine different scenarios it was found that the most known scheduling rule had the lowest queue sizes at scenarios with low or no walk-in patients, whereas, as the unpredictability of the scenarios rose, other rules outperformed it. It was also presented to exist an inverse relation between queue size and the physician idle time. Keywords: discrete event simulation, idle-time, queue management, appointment scheduling, health care.