Strategic management in SMEs and its significance for enhancing the competitiveness in the V4 countries-a comparative analysis

The study's main aim is to determine how the entrepreneurs in SMEs of the Visegrad Group (V4) perceive the strategic management process and how they manage strategic risks within it. The study also focuses on how a perception of examined determinants differs depending on business duration, management education and sex. The research was performed from 9/2019 to 4/2020 in the V4 countries by means of online questionnaire. The findings were interesting. SMEs' business duration is a significant factor in evaluating the total structure of entrepreneurs' attitudes to the following fact: Firm's strategic management is inevitable for corporate governance. Both SMEs' business duration and educational attainment are significant factors in evaluating the total structure of entrepreneurs' attitudes to the following fact: Implementation of strategic management is required for day-to-day operations of a business. However, SMEs' business duration, management education and sex do not influence managers' attitudes to strategic management and strategic business risks. The results provide a valuable platform for the creators of national and regional strategic and development plans. Similarly, the results enable a creation of national and international benchmarking indicators in this area that would allow an improvement of the business environment and a creation of risk management systems, which are inevitable for SMEs. © 2020 Beata Gavurova et al., published by Sciendo 2020.Research and Development Agency GAAA [21/2020

Planning for Tomorrow-Today: A Financial Management Program for South Dakota Agricultural Producers, 1985- 1988

As conditions in the ag economy worsened the early 1980s, it became apparent that m any farmers and ranchers were crisis managing their operations. They responded to situations as they developed, instead of anticipating changes and preparing ways to cope. The South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service (SDCES) realized crisis-managing would be disastrous for many producers and recognized a need for educational programs to help producers manage the crisis. The Planning For Tomorrow Today (PTT) program was developed by the SDCES to meet this need. PTT was designed to be used by any producer, whether he was experiencing financial difficulties or not, who wanted to examine reorganizing or restructuring alternatives for his operation in an attempt to increase the financial viability of the business. Fifteen South Dakota counties participated in the pilot program during the winter of 1985-86. Winter months, primarily November to March, were chosen to deliver the program in an attempt to maximize producer participation. via a workshop setting. PTT was delivered During the workshops, participants were encouraged to either develop or formalize short- and long-term personal and business goals. Based on these goals, participants developed a management plan for the operation in order to meet the identified objectives. Through PTT workshops, participants learned the benefits of better management through planning, controlling and analyzing their current operation. Participants could also examine alternatives for their operation and determine what would be required to bring an alternative plan into reality. PTT\u27s success during the pilot year, led to its expansion into a statewide program in 1986. As economic conditions improved in the ag sector during 1987, the focus of PTT changed to reflect the new operating environment. Instead of stressing farm financial management as a way to cope, PTT workshops provided the mechanism to incorporate farm financial analysis into a day-by-day farm management strategy for farmers/ranchers. Results from the workshops are very encouraging. several producers reported they were able to obtain financing for the subsequent planting season based on the plans they developed during the PTT workshops. Lenders who reviewed the operating plans were equally please

Creating and Sustaining a Maintenance Strategy: A Practical Guide

Manufacturing companies should create maintenance strategy and link it to the manufacturing and business goals but recent research in the North East of England suggested that few companies do this. It is unclear why this inertia existed but it could have been due to the complexity and variety of the advice on offer in relation to the formulation and implementation of strategy. The purpose of this paper was to provide a simple generic guide or roadmap for practitioners to follow. It began by highlighting the importance and benefits of a maintenance strategy and then considered literature appropriate to the topic. A key point arising from this review was that the three elements; process, content, context, need to be considered over the lifecycle of a strategy. Moreover, most strategic models converged to simple sequential models affording a generic functional process to be developed. This involved the integration of the “corporate hard systems” model and the “Plan, do, check, act, cycle“, forming a suitable maintenance strategy process. Accordingly, further guidance on policy assured the right “content”. The paper concluded with a short questionnaire used to audit the effect of “contextual factors” on maintenance strategy. The result was a comprehensive guide on how to formulate and implement maintenance strategy

Strategic Planning at Five World-Class Companies

Most successful executives know that strategic planning offers the best way to deal with their changing world. Information is central to successful strategic planning. A field study of 5 world-class companies revealed details regarding information used for strategic planning and the role of management accountants in this process. Key executives were interviewed at: 1. Johnson Controls, 2. Coors Brewing Co., 3. Schering-Plough, 4. Xerox, and 5. 3M Company. The executives were interviewed to find out how their companies did strategic planning. Issues addressed included the distinction between strategic and long-range planning, the strategic planning process, information used for strategic planning, and the role of accounting in strategic planning. Results of the field study are discussed

Trusting in Change

Describes the background to a series of changes that led the foundation, beginning in 2000, to implement a new grantmaking approach

Designing Administrative Organizations for Health Reform

Describes proposals to create new entities to research comparative effectiveness, make coverage decisions, manage health insurance markets, or offer a public health insurance plan. Discusses types of agencies and considerations for organizational design

Implementation and unification of the ERP system in a global company as a strategic decision for sustainable entrepreneurship

This article considered factors connected with the implementation and unification of an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system, and their influence on the sustainable development of global companies. It showed a cognitive model on such impact and gave an example in the form of a case study of a global company listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. The basic strategic objectives of each organization include long-term growth and sustainability. In a growing competitive environment, it is essential to manage the company effectively. This can be achieved provided that the company's organizational structure and operations are properly set from the point of view of the ERP system. The research results were aimed at creating the generalized process of the ERP system's gradual implementation, to make the development of an organization progressive. The paper was focused on describing the implementation and unification of the Enterprise Resource Planning System, in a global company listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. The aim of the paper was to monitor and evaluate, the links between Enterprise Resource Planning and Customer Relationship Management. This process is time consuming and costly. To achieve the aim, the case study was carried out in the form of an expert survey aimed at assessing the impact of the unification and implementation of the ERP system in a global company. The study included methods of systemic analysis, methods of sociological expert survey, a method of qualitative peer review, and a method for a cognitive model. It leads not only to effective management of global companies but enables the monitoring and comparison of Key Performance Indicators and the Net Promoter Score in each country, using the same parameters. The implementation of a unified Enterprise Resource Planning system leads to a significant cost reduction and has a positive impact on the financial indicators reported on the stock exchange. This study highlighted the importance of the implementation of an effective ERP system, to make the development of organizations sustainable.Web of Science108art. no. 291