Innovative company: A story of Linet

The article deals with the analysis of the Czech company Linet in an effort to reveal a sustainable business model. It describes the company in the historical context (birth and gradual development), the organizational context (infrastructure) and the innovation context (sources of innovation). The main aim of the article is to find out answers to questions how the company's journey looked like from zero to the position of European leader in the hospital beds production and what prerequisites the company had to fulfil in order to create a creative culture and what are the imaginary seeds from which its innovations are growing. Fulfilling this goal required to search for literature sources dealing with innovation, innovation sources (opportunities windows), innovation process and innovation companies and also to create a case study that focused on the company's innovation practice in years 1990-2016. The Linet study is based on six structured interviews with both the founder of the company as well as its current CEO. Research has shown that the company achieved rocket growth thanks to two basic principles, namely constant improvement and respect to people and market focus (openness to the outside world). These principles were applied in practice through controversial thinking, staffinexperience, learning infrastructure, learning and learnership. Openness to the outside world has been identified as an important source of innovation. This openness was ensured by systematic monitoring of the internal and external environment which consisted of stafftesting, centres of excellence, patent scanning and the Academy of Productivity and Innovations. The results of the study have led to the conclusion that the company has achieved high innovative performance through ability of absorbing theoretical knowledge, applying it to its processes and principles and integrate it into a comprehensive system that responds to its needs (adapt). © 2018 General Jonas Zemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania

Healthcare quality management in Great Britain and Czech Republic

Healthcare quality can be defined as the summary of the results achieved in prevention, diagnosis and treatment, based on findings of medical science and practice, or as the degree of excellence of the provided care in relation to a contemporary level of knowledge and technological development and in compliance with economic possibilities. Research and monitoring of the effectiveness of quality systems can be implemented in different ways: (1) measuring the quality system through the entire institution rating (self-assessment or accreditation), based on the assumption that appropriate care is the result of well-organized processes and systematic quality assurance and improvement; (2) measuring critical points in the process of care compliance of specialists with recommended practices or professional standards; (3) measuring outcomes in relation to the benefit of patients, such as clinical outcomes, client satisfaction and perceived quality of life in connection with the results of the provided care. The paper deals with monitoring the effectiveness of quality in health facilities based on customer satisfaction and compares patient satisfaction rating methodologies applied in the United Kingdom and in Czech Republic

Working capital management and firm's profitability: Evidence from Czech certified firms from the EFQM excellence model

Working capital management (WCM) is one of the most important decisions for all firms. The main components of WCM are days sales outstanding (DSO), days inventory outstanding (DIO), days payable outstanding (DPO), and cash conversion cycle (CCC). Using a sample of 332 Czech firms, including 20 certified firms from the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) Model, the current study explored the effects of the main components of WCM on firms' profitability. We used two different regression models to test the hypothesis, i.e. pooled regression and maximum likelihood estimation (MLE). The findings of the research revealed all the components of WCM have a negative impact on firm profitability. On the other hand, the interaction terms of the EFQM certified firms with the components of WCM showed a positive impact on firms' profitability which means that there is a positive relationship between the components of WCM of the certified firms and profitability. However, it is examined that the quality certificate/award from EFQM Excellence Model decreases the firm's profitability. The outcomes of the current research will be beneficial to academics, managers, leaders, and directors of the firms to improve their firm's profitability.Internal Grant Agency (IGA) in Tomas Bata University in Zlin; Internal Grant Agency [IGA/FAME/2021/009, IGA/FAME/2021/014]Univerzita Tomáše Bati ve Zlíně: IGA/FAME/2021/009, IGA/FAME/2021/01

Quality cost flows in manufacturing companies

Companies have increasingly focused their attention on quality costs. Therefore, raising awareness of this group of expenses is essential. This paper aims to present a survey on the topic of costs of quality management in manufacturing companies in the Czech Republic. This paper opens with a literature review that focuses on the existing cost of quality models and then focuses on empirical research results. Manufacturing companies represent the framework of this research. The research with a total of 159 respondents provides information about the real market situation. The aim was to determine the significance of costs and cost-effectiveness. The study's findings revealed that 73% of organizations quantify their quality costs completely, 21% of companies quantify their costs only partly (external costs), and 6% of companies do not. 36% of surveyed companies (42 companies) that monitor quality costs use some of the recommended models, mainly the PAF model. The research was confirmed by hypothesis 1 that companies that use some type of evidence cost of quality have lower levels of these costs.Internal Grant Agency of FaME TBU; [IGA/FaME/2021/014

The issue of innovations management in Czech companies

Creating innovations should be a controlled process, which leads to the generation, transmission and implementation of ideas into practical applications and produces qualitative changes under which the customer is willing to appreciate the added value and as well is ready to pay for the product. Innovations are built on company success and how it differs from the competition. At the same time, innovation is also the most difficult element of entrepreneurial activities in terms of business management and planning. The aim of this study is to compare theory with practice, to find out what is the reality. The paper deals with monitoring organizations in the Czech Republic related to quality and innovation management. The author is using findings of a research project implemented in 2011. This quantitative research project was carried out in more than 100 organizations of the Czech Republic

Effects of working capital management on firm performance: Evidence from the EFQM certified firms

The main aim of the current study is to explore the relationship between working capital (WC) and firm performance. We chose a sample of 326 Czech firms, including 20 certified firms from the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) Excellence Model from the Albertina database. The sample of the Czech firms was taken from three sectors: manufacturing, automobile, and construction. We employed a two-step system generalized method of moment (GMM) technique to determine the results. The study results revealed a negative impact of WC on firm performance; moreover, the firms having a quality certificate from the EFQM Excellence Model perform better. The findings of previous research, which were held globally, and the current study results will encourage the directors, managers, and leaders of the Czech firms to participate in the quality award. © 2021 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.Internal Grant Agency (IGA) of Tomas Bata University in Zlin, the Czech Republic [IGA/FAME/2021/008, IGA/FAME/2021/014]Univerzita Tomáše Bati ve Zlíně: IGA/FAME/2021/008, IGA/FAME/2021/01

Process for producing integral parts based on expanded polystyrene with built-in functional and/or decorative elements

Způsob výroby integrálních dílců na bázi lehčeného polystyrenu spočívá v tom, že při výrobě báze z předpěněných perliček z lehčeného polystyrenu se do formy umístí funkční a/nebo ozdobné prvky, jejichž kontaktní plocha umístěná uvnitř formy se předem opatří nánosem z kapalného prepolymeru na bázi polyester nebo polyetéruretanů, kopolymerů butadienu a styrénu, butadienu a akrylonitrilu, případně z dalších monomerů zakončených NCO skupinou o obsahu 0,7 až 3,0 hmotn. dílů, nejlépe 1,2 až 2,2 hmotn. dílů na 100 hmotn. dílů prepolymeru, na takto připravený polotovar se působí vodou ze syté vodní páry, čímž se z předpěněných perliček vytvoří báze z lehčeného polystyrenu a současně se působením vody na koncové NCO skupiny nánosu kapalného prepolymeru vytvoří na rozhraní báze a funkčního a/nebo ozdobného prvku pevný polymer. Tato technologie umožňuje spojování bloku na bázi lehčeného polystyrénu s dílci v podobě obvodových stěn na bázi deskových materiálů, elektroinstalačních příp. vodoinstalačních trubek, výztužných materiálů v podobě trubek, drátů, síťovin apod., tapet nebo fólií sloužících jako povrchová úprava případných dalších funkčních dílců, které budou důležité pro uplatnitelnost integrálního dílce v praxi

Quality Process Management in Healthcare Facilities

The paper deals with the issue of healthcare facilities in the Czech Republic (CR) using integrated management systems and possibilities of standardization. The first part of the paper is aimed at trends in the quality of provided healthcare and patient safety, as perceived by the World Health Organization and the current status and trends in the healthcare facilities management in the CR. The second part focuses more specifically on the standardization of the healthcare facilities management by means of national and international standards. The article tackles mainly the possibilities of integration of management system within the system of ISO standards and their compatibility with national accreditation standards for hospitals in the CR focusing on two key attributes of health care, i.e., quality and patient safety. In connection with this issue the possibility of using ISO 9001 and ISO 31000 having an immediate impact on these attributes is further discussed. The result of a detailed comparison of the above regulations and standards consists in the finding that the standards can be integrated with each other; they are not incompatible, but conversely complement each other