KVANTIFIKACIJA TROŠKOVA KVALITETE: UTJECAJ NA KVALITETU PROIZVODA

Companies have increasingly focused their attention on quality costs because related activities use substantial resources, which directly affect business performance. Therefore, it is crucial to raise awareness of the quantification and rationalization of this group of expenses. The aim of the paper is to investigate if companies which pay more attention to quantifying quality costs produce products of higher quality compared to their competitors. Croatian companies whose securities are traded on a regulated market (Zagreb Stock Exchange) represent the framework of empirical research. The sample included 48 companies whose accounting/finance managers agreed to participate in the study. The results of the study have shown that companies that quantify quality costs achieve higher quality of products in terms of performance and reliability. In addition, the paper has shown that companies’ characteristics differ depending on whether they quantify their quality costs or not. Reorganization and quality costs quantification are justified with possible financial benefits for companies. Therefore, companies should be encouraged to extract the quality costs from the total overhead costs in order to improve quality and consequently achieve better financial results.Poslovni subjekti su sve više usmjereni na troškove kvalitete, jer srodne djelatnosti koriste značajna sredstva koja izravno utječu na poslovne rezultate. Dakle, ključno je podizanje svijesti o kvantificiranju i racionalizaciji skupina troškova. Cilj rada istražiti je one subjekte koji usmjeravanjem veće pozornosti kvantificiranju troškova kvalitete proizvode outpute veće kvalitete u usporedbi prema svojim konkurentima. Hrvatski subjekti čijim se vrijednosnim papirima trguje na uređenom tržištu (Zagrebačka burza) predstavljaju okvir empirijskog istraživanja. Uzorak uključuje 48 poslovnih subjekata čiji su menadžeri računovodstva/financija pristali sudjelovati u istraživanju. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su kako subjekti koji kvantificiraju troškove kvalitete postižu veću kvalitetu proizvoda u pogledu performansi i pouzdanosti. Osim toga, u radu se prikazuju različita obilježja subjekata ovisno o tome kvantificiraju li troškove kvalitete ili ne. Reorganizacija i kvantifikacija troškova kvalitete opravdava se mogućnošću postizanja financijske prednosti poslovnih subjekata. Dakle, subjekte treba poticati na izdvajanje troškova kvalitete iz ukupnih troškova s ciljem poboljšanja kvalitete, a time i postizanja boljih financijskih rezultata

Investigation of the relationship between contemporary cost management methods and improvement in financial performance

This article gives an overview of contemporary cost management (CCM) methods (target costing [TC], activity-based costing [ABC] method, total quality management [TQM]), and presents the benefits of introducing them to business practices. Previous studies have considered the possibility of cost reduction and optimisation by ntroducing CCM methods thus improving company performance. This explorative empirical study is a first step in investigating the relationship between CCM methods and financial performance. The aim of the research is to clarify the conceptual and methodological ambiguities surrounding the justification of using adopted measurement scales. This study is based on the outcomes of a questionnaire completed by a representative sample of 48 Croatian limited companies. The findings highlight the influence of CCM methods on the financial performance of the companies surveyed. They also provide the basis for recommendations to management accountants and raise more questions for research. Based on psychometric characteristics of measurement constructs, the questionnaire applied in this study can serve as a starting point for instrument development in future research

ISPLATI LI SE BITI DRUŠTVENO ODGOVORAN? EMPIRIJSKI PODACI IZ KOTIRAJUĆIH PODUZEĆA

Today’s companies are doing business in an environment that, in addition to the financial aspect, evaluates various aspects of their business. One of them includes the responsibility of a company to society as a whole. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on financial performance (profitability). Corporate social responsibility was measured by using a survey questionnaire, while for financial performance, secondary data (i.e., annual reports of investigated companies) were used. The questionnaire was addressed to the Chief Accounting/Financial Officer of Croatian listed companies. The results of correlation and regression analyses show a statistically significant positive association between CSR and financial performance.Današnja poduzeća posluju u okruženju koje, osim financijskog aspekta, vrednuje različite aspekte njihovog poslovanja. Jedan od njih uključuje i odgovornost poduzeća prema društvu u cjelini. Glavna je svrha ovog rada istražiti utjecaj društveno odgovornog poslovanja (DOP) na financijsku uspješnost (profitabilnost). Društveno odgovorno poslovanje mjereno je pomoću istraživačkog upitnika, dok su za financijsku uspješnost korišteni sekundarni podaci (tj. godišnja izvješća istraživanih poduzeća). Upitnik je bio upućen voditeljima računovodstva/financijskim direktorima kotirajućih poduzeća. Rezultati korelacijske i regresijske analize pokazuju statistički značajnu pozitivnu povezanost između društveno odgovornog poslovanja i financijske uspješnosti

MOTIVACIJA ZA POSTIGNUĆEM U POJAŠNJENJU NAMJERA ZA SAMOZAPOŠLJAVANJEM

Teoretičari, psiholozi i istraživači značajnu pozornost usmjerili su prema istraživanju značenja, utjecaja i otkrivanja dimenzija motivacije na društvene fenomene. U pedesetim godinama prošlog stoljeća intenzivno su se izučavali koncepti motivacije. Proveden je velik broj studija koje analiziraju motivacijske faktore i upravo one rezultirale su mnogobrojnim teorijama motivacije za čije se podjele u literaturi pronalaze različiti pristupi. Istraživanjima motivacije ispituje se kako stajališta utječu na ponašanje pojedinaca, čime su pojedinci potaknuti na određena ponašanja i kako upravljati tim ponašanjem. Svrha ovoga rada je istraživanje motivacije za postignućem i prediktivne sposobnosti motivacije za postignuće kao mjernog konstrukta u izučavanju karijernog odabira, odnosno namjera za samozapošljavanjem mlađih dobnih skupina. Karijera samozaposlene sobe jedno je od mogućih rješenja i za nezaposlene mlade osobe, posebice ako je ono rezultat realizacije poslovne prilike. Za promicanje samozapošljavanja važno je utvrditi jesu li osobe radije spremne pokrenuti vlastiti posao, nego zaposliti se u privatnim ili državnim poduzećima. S ciljem ispitivanja namjera mlađih dobnih skupina koje se nalaze pred samim završetkom formalnog obrazovanja provedeno je istraživanje na studentima diplomskog studija Ekonomskog fakulteta u Osijeku (n=428). Rezultati regresijske analize pokazuju statistički značajnu povezanost ( = 0,254, p < 0,001) konstrukta motivacije za postignućem i namjera za sapomozapošljavanjem

Empirical study of the effectiveness of unconventional theatre marketing activities targeting generation Y

Cultural institutions, specifically theatres, which are the main focus of this research paper, are struggling to find the best way to approach and attract the audience, in particular the young audience (in this case Generation Y). The authors of the paper believe that unconventional marketing has potential as a tool of communication with the audience in terms of both future research and practical application. Unconventional marketing can be used for the benefit of not only the theatres, but also the whole society by building a theatre audience and in general by raising awareness of the role cultural institutions play in the economic development of a country. Based on empirical research of city and national theatres in the Republic of Croatia, the objective of this paper was to identify and understand unconventional marketing and determine if it can be a useful marketing tool for communication with Generation Y. The research focused on two types of theatres (i.e. city and national theatres) and comprised two surveys, one for theatre employees, n=41, and the other for Generation Y, n=285. Research hypotheses were focused on analysing the effectiveness of both promotional methods used by the theatres and unconventional marketing targeting Generation Y. Research results indicate that theatres have not adapted their promotional activities to Generation Y. However, they also show that unconventional marketing has great potential in both groups with respect to theatre events. Psychometric analysis confirmed the good metric properties of the proposed Theatre PUMA Scale, which measures the potential of unconventional theatre marketing

Entrepreneurial intention modeling using hierarchical multiple regression

The goal of this study is to identify the contribution of effectuation dimensions to the predictive power of the entrepreneurial intention model over and above that which can be accounted for by other predictors selected and confirmed in previous studies. As is often the case in social and behavioral studies, some variables are likely to be highly correlated with each other. Therefore, the relative amount of variance in the criterion variable explained by each of the predictors depends on several factors such as the order of variable entry and sample specifics. The results show the modest predictive power of two dimensions of effectuation prior to the introduction of the theory of planned behavior elements. The article highlights the main advantages of applying hierarchical regression in social sciences as well as in the specific context of entrepreneurial intention formation, and addresses some of the potential pitfalls that this type of analysis entails

IS IT WORTH GOING GREEN IN CROATIA? EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM SMEs

Technological progress and innovations in production are the basis for increasing productivity and reducing operating costs. On the other hand, rapid development accompanied by neglected environmental issues has resulted in adverse effects on the environment, and thus on the entire society. The consequences on the environment occur in the form of natural disasters, climate change and global warming. In order to reduce the adverse effects on the environment, states have introduced legal provisions, such as pollution charges. Such charges represent the costs incurred by the company that consequently burden its financial result. On the other hand, those charges can be lower for companies that apply more efficient production methods. The question is whether it is worth for a company to be “green” and hence pay a lower charge, or not to take into account “green business” and pay a higher charge for using inefficient production methods. This paper will explore whether it is worth being green, i.e. whether improving production efficiency results in a reduction of production costs. The emphasis is thereby placed on small and medium-sized enterprises as generators of economic growth and green jobs. In order to give an adequate review of green business and green market in Croatia, authors will analyse the Eurobarometer survey Flash Eurobarometer 426, focusing on Croatian data (n=502). It is evident that “green business” is one of the main business areas in the context of sustainable and socially responsible business

Critical examination of the IEET measurement instrument for the assessment of textbook quality

As is the case in other sectors of the creative industry, the publishing industry also evaluates its projects finalized in the form of products and services in the market of creative contents. This paper aims to investigate the IEET measurement instrument that enables quality evaluation of products in the publishing industry. Quantitative research was conducted for the purpose of testing the main hypothesis of the study by which the quality of products in the book publishing industry features objectively measurable characteristics that can be determined by analysing user opinions. In this paper, an elementary school textbook has been selected as a publishing industry product and 147 respondents were involved in the research. Respondents, who evaluated the quality of the product by using the IEET measurement instrument, were selected according to the criterion of using a publishing industry product (textbook) in the educational process. After an exploratory factor analysis, the dimensions of the IEET measurement instrument were confirmed. A correlation analysis was applied to test the correlation between the identified dimensions and the most important textbook characteristics. Te research results are critically reconsidered and can be utilised as guidelines for future research

Mjerenje kvalitete zdravstvene skrbi – paradigma MEDQUAL

Medical activity is assumed to be service activity the effects of which can be measured. The SERVQUAL scale was used as a starting point for our research, which resulted in a new, adopted scale called MEDQUAL. The MEDQUAL scale aims to measure the quality of healthcare provided by medical staff of one hospital department instead of the overall quality of hospital services or parts of services on which medical staff in one department has no influence. The study was conducted in a clinical hospital department in Croatia and included 300 respondents (169 patients and 131 medical staff members). The MEDQUAL scale, designed and tested in the study, showed high reliability in all established dimensions, i.e. trust in doctors (Cronbach’s Alpha 0.923), nursing professionalism (0.913), medical professionalism (0.938), and departmental organization (0.810). The scale proposed evaluates both patient satisfaction with the quality of healthcare received and medical staff satisfaction with the quality of healthcare provided. The results were comparable to the groups of respondents, departments, and institutions with potential longitudinal studies of this phenomenon. MEDQUAL is a simple, repeatable and cost-eff ective scale, applicable to almost all departments and used for measuring the quality of healthcare services both provided and received, the aim of which is to contribute to the assessment of healthcare quality and its improvement.Polazišna pretpostavka rada bila je da je medicinska djelatnost uslužna djelatnost učinke koje je moguće mjeriti kao i u drugim uslužnim djelatnostima. Istraživanjem izgrađenih i testiranih mjernih instrumenata za ocjenu kvalitete uslužnih djelatnosti izabran je mjerni instrument SERQUAL te je adaptiran u MEDQUAL. Mjerni instrument MEDQUAL ima za cilj mjerenje kvalitete pojedinačne medicinske usluge odnosno kvalitete medicinske usluge medicinskog osoblja jednog bolničkog odjela umjesto kvalitete cjelokupne bolničke usluge ili dijelova usluge na koje osoblje ne može utjecati, jer je ranije određeno drugim čimbenicima. Istraživanje je provedeno na jednom odjelu klinike u Republici Hrvatskoj u kojem je sudjelovalo 300 ispitanika (169 bolesnika i 131 član medicinskog osoblja). Istraživanjem je izrađen i testiran mjerni instrument MEDQUAL visoke pouzdanosti na svim utvrđenim dimenzijama: povjerenje u liječnika (C. alfa 0,923), profesionalnost medicinskih sestara (0,913), profesionalnost liječnika (0,938) te organizacija klinike (0,810). Temeljna odlika predloženog mjernog instrumenta ogleda se u mogućnosti istodobne ocjene zadovoljstva kvalitetom pružene i primljene medicinske usluge rezultata usporedivih prema skupinama ispitanika, odjelima, ustanovama s potencijalom longitudinalnog praćenja ovog fenomena. MEDQUAL je jednostavan, primjenjiv na sve odjele, učinkovit i ponovljiv mjerni instrument za mjerenje kvalitete pružene/primljene medicinske usluge, koji ima svoje mjesto u procjeni kvalitete medicinske usluge kao i u njenom poboljšanju