THE IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON SUPPLY CHAINS IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

Health crises have an impact on supply chains, mainly by disrupting their regular activities. In this research, the authors have analyzed the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has made on business relationships between supply chain partners in the automotive industry and their suppliers, which are mostly from territories where the initial outbreak of the SARS COV 2 virus occurred. The analysis shows that in some cases, there is a strong dependency between the pandemic and production levels. Being dependent prevents supply chains from maintaining stability and causes system vulnerabilities. The authors conclude their work with a thesis on the pronounced impact of the current pandemic on automotive supply chain activities. For the analysis to be complete, it is necessary to monitor changes in production levels further, since data for the current year still does not provide a realistic insight into all the consequences at the supply chain level.

IMPLEMENTATION OF MANAGERIAL INNOVATIONS IN RUSSIA: DECISIONS’ BACKGROUND, MAJOR AREAS AND FREQUENCY

Unpredictable, complex and ambiguous business environments compel local and multinational companies to be more flexible and innovative in managerial practices. Nowadays managerial innovations (MI) are becoming a prevailing research area in management worldwide. This study investigates the key aspects of MI implementation in Russia from theoretical and empirical perspectives. The empirical study involved 1 025 employees from 791 companies operating in Moscow and the Moscow region as the major business centers of Russia. The results showed that companies operating in the Russian market base their decision to implement MI mostly on “proprietary investigation” (29% respondents). It was revealed that the major areas of MI implementation for such companies are “motivation” and “effective communication”, which are part of the “soft managerial practices”. Finally, the results of the study showed that in the majority of companies operating in the Russian market, the implementations of MI are made occasionally, without a systematic approach (39% respondents).

EXPANSION OF E-PAYMENT

As a result of the difficulties caused by Covid-19 all over the world, there is an expansion of contactless and online payment. People are turning more and more toward E-commerce, and if this is not possible, they tend to choose contactless payment, in order to comply with all the current health and safety regulations. This paper is about the current variety of offers for contactless payment in Serbia, which is expanding daily. Cash is used less and less in Serbia, this being the consequence of mass usage of internet cards offered by the banks operating in our country, as well as Apple pay, one of the most advanced and secure ways of payment in the world.

SOME FACTORS OF CONTEMPORARY FINANCIAL BUSINESS OPERATIONS

Contemporary forms of funding business entities are developed. Financial instruments of the capital market are built. Optimal financial strategies and tactical-operational activities are a necessity. Financial managerial management and decision-making structures are of special significance. Financial capital is dominant in contemporary conditions. A credit-monetary policy is an important economic policy system.

A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW: SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS FOR TIME-MANAGEMENT IN REMOTE WORK SETTINGS

Ever since the onset of the Internet and the rapid development in communications, a paradigm shift has been occurring between the human resources and the management systems in place. That shift has already rendered plenty of legacy management systems obsolete and ineffective. Evidently, the acceleration of data transfer speeds has produced a side effect in decreasing the location dependency of the average worker in certain industries, which in turn created a new challenge for the contemporary manager especially when dealing with remote teams and time-management of the same. This work-location decoupling meant that new systems had to be created, new studies to be introduced and plenty of modernization to the legacy control systems had to be implemented. And fast! This paper contains a systematic review of available software solutions for time management, location independency, virtual work and work teams and will provide analytic insight.

SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE MARKETING IN THE "NEW NORMAL"

Given the fact that we are in a time of uncertainty, when we cannot predict how a coronavirus-induced pandemic will affect community life, socially responsible behaviour as well as the impact of socially responsible marketing come to the fore in particular. The goal of socially responsible marketing is to educate and take actions that will positively affect the change of behaviour, and all participants from business entities to individuals must be aware of their responsible behaviour towards themselves and others in order to improve well-being and benefit the society we live in. The paper presents models of socially responsible marketing communication in the "new normal" as well as their impact on raising awareness of responsible behaviour and the adoption of new habits among consumers.

INVESTIGATION OF PLATE WASTE IN UNIVERSITY REFECTO

Food waste is a crucial global problem in the world. It is also a crucial issue for food services, consumers etc. Food is wasted throughout the entire food chain. At the consumer level, 35 percent of wasted food occurs. One of the main causes of food waste at consumer level is determined as “plate waste”. Although, the issue needs sustainable solutions to decrease food waste, there is no permanent solutions in mass consumption places about food waste such as refectories, cafeterias. The aim of the study is to analyse the amount of plate waste in Yaşar University (YU) refectories in İzmir by observation method and to find ways of minimizing food waste in YU, providing sustainability and contributing to the development of circular economy and raising awareness about food waste problem. For this research, the food waste at the YU refectories in Izmir was analysed by observation method. For 1-week observation study, a total of 3883 trays were examined throughout the Main campus and T blocks. It is determined that the biggest percentage is the main course and more than 50 percent of trays consist of waste in YU refectories.

SUSTAINABLE VILLAGES

Despite the fact that we live in a country where the farmers' associations are created among the first on the Old Continent, and where one of the first Institute for Nature Protection is created, statistics warn us that the demise of several hundred Serbian villages and thus the emptying of strategically important areas of the state of Serbia today, is a serious development problem. In this paper an analysis of the rural, age and educational structure of the population, in rural areas of the Republic of Serbia, has been performed. The authors believe that the situation is not hopeless and point out that the sustainable development of the village is possible only if favorable local preconditions for it are met. Therefore, it is necessary to revive and institutionally expand the competencies of rural local communities as a form of local rural self-government in the Serbian folk tradition. Accordingly, decentralization and polycentric development are the main conditions for the renewal of the population and devastated parts of Serbia. Moreover, native networks and integrated rural development are models applicable through LAP in accordance with the characteristics of the area. Nowadays, it is necessary to raise people's awareness of the importance of rural survival and sustainable management of resources in agriculture, i.e. to breathe new life into rural areas, which would also be a motive for staying in the countryside.

ONLINE IDENTITY IN A PANDEMIC – FROM INNOVATION PRACTICE TO COMPETITVE ADVANTAGE THROUGH THE LEARNING PROCESS

The current chapter presents the transformation of perception about the online identity of a business in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Online identity and related marketing activities, perceived until only recently as innovative actions, today are a prerequisite for a competitive advantage. The chapter comments on the general knowledge and understanding of this topic, the different types of innovations, the elements of online identity and the marketing actions related to them. The competitive advantage and the evolved view of its nature are outlined as a positive transformation – a creation of new knowledge as a result of the learning processes application.

REGIONAL HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT – ASPECTS OF INTERACTION WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE TERRITORY

The development and modernization of societies define new approaches in managing human resources and, in particular, their characteristic - human capital. There is a growing need for its study and characterization and analysis of the extent to which it is crucial for the economic development of European regions, particularly Bulgaria. Human capital is a specific public resource phenomenon that creates added value based on education, knowledge, skills, intelligence, acquired professional experience, and many other components. The object of study is the targeted promotion of these components through public policies, programs, and initiatives, which creates prerequisites for improving the regions' overall economic performance. The authors set the task to analyze the stated public policies presented in the integrated territorial strategies to develop the planning regions, emphasizing the specific dimensions of human capital management in the different territories.