Information Provision for Strategic Planning in Bulgarian SMEs

The information provision of strategic planning in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) is a subject that provokes the research interest due to the increased importance of strategic planning for the corporate development. This article - based on the results of a survey among 50 SMEs in Rousse region (Bulgaria) - analyzes some problem areas related to practical implementation of the concept of strategic business planning, and in particular the practice of providing information for solving strategic issues in SMEs. The aim is to highlight some typical information sources for the strategic planning in SMEs and to formulate some problem areas that need special attention and responsible action.SMEs; corporate strategic planning; information provision for strategic planning purposes.

The Role of Dimension in the Online Chasing Problem

Let $(X, d)$ be a metric space and $\mathcal{C} \subseteq 2^X$ -- a collection of special objects. In the $(X,d,\mathcal{C})$-chasing problem, an online player receives a sequence of online requests $\{B_t\}_{t=1}^T \subseteq \mathcal{C}$ and responds with a trajectory $\{x_t\}_{t=1}^T$ such that $x_t \in B_t$. This response incurs a movement cost $\sum_{t=1}^T d(x_t, x_{t-1})$, and the online player strives to minimize the competitive ratio -- the worst case ratio over all input sequences between the online movement cost and the optimal movement cost in hindsight. Under this setup, we call the $(X,d,\mathcal{C})$-chasing problem $\textit{chaseable}$ if there exists an online algorithm with finite competitive ratio. In the case of Convex Body Chasing (CBC) over real normed vector spaces, (Bubeck et al. 2019) proved the chaseability of the problem. Furthermore, in the vector space setting, the dimension of the ambient space appears to be the factor controlling the size of the competitive ratio. Indeed, recently, (Sellke 2020) provided a $d-$competitive online algorithm over arbitrary real normed vector spaces $(\mathbb{R}^d, ||\cdot||)$, and we will shortly present a general strategy for obtaining novel lower bounds of the form $\Omega(d^c), \enspace c > 0$, for CBC in the same setting. In this paper, we also prove that the $\textit{doubling}$ and $\textit{Assouad}$ dimensions of a metric space exert no control on the hardness of ball chasing over the said metric space. More specifically, we show that for any large enough $\rho \in \mathbb{R}$, there exists a metric space $(X,d)$ of doubling dimension $\Theta(\rho)$ and Assouad dimension $\rho$ such that no online selector can achieve a finite competitive ratio in the general ball chasing regime

Strategic outsourcing directions: examples of good practice

One of the main goals of an outsourcing strategy is to transform business organizations into entities that are highly flexible and adaptive to the changing business environment. This can be achieved by concentrating on the core business, as well as by entrusting tasks, activities or even whole functions to other specialized external companies. The article aims at analyzing of good practices concerning the implementation of outsourcing as a strategic tool in industrial enterprises, bearing in mind its three main directions: the business process, the information technology, and the knowledge process outsourcing. Due to outsourcing activities, organizations can benefit from lower investment risk, improved revenue structure and lower fixed costs

Strategic management accounting in Bulgarian manufacturing SMEs

Analyzing the strategic aspects of managerial accounting in the context of reporting in industrial SMEs is a critical management issue. This paper aims to present the main results of an empirical study on this topic among some SMEs from the knitwear industry in the southern part of Bulgaria. Analytical and synthesis methods, descriptive statistics, and comparison techniques are used for this study. All the companies studied have been on the market for more than ten years and have experienced and well-trained managers and other characteristics that imply the availability of managerial reporting/accounting and the application of adapted models for strategic planning in SMEs. The analysis is intended to draw basic conclusions about the application of strategic management accounting in SMEs. In addition, the authors’ broader intention is to propose ideas for improving the strategic management reporting techniques that could be useful for management, especially in cases where strategic planning has been implemented. The authors find that the owners or managers of SMEs in Bulgaria are not aware of some features of management accounting that could be useful for their business, especially for strategic planning. It is believed that the range of services offered by external accounting organizations limits the level and thus the role of management accounting information for strategic management. Observations show that some models and techniques that could be good indicators of high risk of business failure are not applied because of the limited information base

On the Esthetic Value of Works of Art

The study of the processes involved in the creation of a work of art has been the focus of numerous complex theories which continue to find new interpretations in an attempt to reflect the emerging innovative forms of visual arts. Theory and history of art are an ever-changing field of ideas and interpretations of the processes of art creation and discussions about the definition of what constitutes a „work of art“. Works of art have a special social significance as they are an integral part of the culture of a society. They reflect the esthetic and artistic values of the time in which they were created, and the style and changes it undergoes in time. The interpretation of a work of art has always been a kind of improvisation, which however requires esthetic empirical evidence and professional expertise in the respective type of art

Strategic aspects of tourism development in UAE

The strategic aspects of the tourism development in the UAE have been discussed on variable forums and in different documents of the native government and refer to infrastructural, marketing, financial and organizational issues. The idea has been to raise the attractiveness and values of the domestic tourist industry. The aim of the paper is to present and analyze strategic aspects related to the competitiveness of the UAE as a tourist destination from a business point of view. The method of comparative analysis is used. The resources and the infrastructure of the destination, as well as the supporting services forming the business environment, have a significant impact on the competitiveness of UAE tourism development. The strategic path of tourism in the country is related to the coordination of all management levels – micro, mezzo and macro

LINKING ACCOUNTING INFORMATION WITH BUSINESS PLANNING IN BULGARIAN SMEs

ABSTRACT Observations of accountability and planning show that the best practices of leading foreign companies are poorly known and hardly used in Bulgarian small and medium-sized enterprises (SME

USING ACCOUNTING INFORMATION FOR STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING IN A MULTI-SEGMENTED COMPANY

The reason of being of corporate accounting is not only to record, interpret and present data about existing business processes, but also to provide information for supporting main decision-making activities of management. This article presents basic problems outlining the relationship between accounting and strategic management of companies. The main ideas are connected with the philosophy of presenting information in financial and management reports, on the one hand, and the levels of management activities and their relationship to the development strategy of the organization, on the other hand. The aim is to trace the relationship between the segmental accounting and the strategic management of diversified organizations and to highlight problem areas, deserving management attention. The research methods of analysis and synthesis have been used. The outcomes of the research show that choosing a proper cost structure and allocation basis at operating segment level will contribute to increasing the capabilities of managers to make better corporate strategic decisions