Employment in high-technology industries in the european union and job satisfaction - case study Czech Republic and Poland

The significance and position of high-technology industries within the economy is often considered to be an attribute of the company’s maturity. The aim of this study is to compare employment in the high-technology sector in selected European Union and OECD countries and to analyse university-educated workers’ job satisfaction in the Czech Republic and Poland. The work will use available data concerning employment and data mining will be carried out. Job satisfaction will be examined through a questionnaire survey. From these results some dependence between employment and job satisfaction could be observed. The employment rate in the Czech Republic is slightly higher and the level of job satisfaction is also slightly higher than in Poland. It can be assumed that the importance of high-technology industries will continue to grow because it is in the interest of the companies themselves to be competitive. At the same time, this is needed for further economic growth and productivity gains, so these directions should be further developed and supported

THE PROPOSAL SYSTEM OF SUPPORTING ECONOMIC EFFECTS FOR INTRODUCING NEW EDIBLE OILS TO THE LIBYAN MARKET

There are two food production processes that involve the replacement of one ingredient with other substance or a mixture of two or more products. One of them is adulteration of food products. This applies to high-cost and high-quality oils e.g. olive oil that is frequently subject to adulteration with other edible oils of lower value. Such a food fraud affects the quality of the gentle oil and the foods the ingredient of which is olive oil. The second action often applied to the oils is blending of the variety of  products originating from many different regions and countries. Sometimes the oils originating from various sources and years are blended to create a consistent taste.The subject of this paper is the application of the multi-analysis method to assess the process of the blending of several oils and thus creating a new mixture to satisfy the market demand for new hitherto unknown oils, advertised as new products. For this task we construct a new system under the label of Special Modification Oil-SMO. The system consists of three parts: 1. Theoretical part, 2. Practical part; that is, an experimental part 3. The last part is the economic justification to fulfill market demand by launching new oils of high quality serving many purposes and at the same time being cheaper. Therefore, in this paper we mainly focus on the practical aspect of the issue; however, the economic justificatory criteria are of equal importance. Economics starts to be relevant once we start considering the possibility of producing the oils in question. The proposed SMO system has been used in these calculations to obtain the required composition of the blend destined for special application. The present work shows that the chemical parameters of the final mixture can be numerically calculated when the characteristics of primary components are known. The SMO procedure can constitute input data for theoretical evaluations. The SMO procedure computes the best mixtures for the new oil demanded by the market. According to the SMO’s formula, also the economic factors of a given undertaking are taken into account (that is, such technological factors as costs of different mixtures). The verification of experience finishes when certain economic ends are achieved

Women working in nonstandard forms of employment : meeting employee interests

PURPOSE: The main aim of this article was to present characteristics of the employment of women working in nonstandard forms of employment in Poland considering employee interests.DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Based on the narrative literature review, hypotheses and research questions were formulated and the meaning of key categories was clarified. Data for the analysis were derived from quantitative research conducted using the CAWI technique. The survey was conducted on a representative sample of 1,000 working Poles. The analysis of the results was performed using the methods of descriptive statistics and statistical tests to check the correlations between variables.FINDINGS: The research results did not confirm the beneficial effect of nonstandard forms of employment on the labor activation of women. Women do not work in these forms more often than men, but they are more frequently employed involuntarily. The possibility to choose the form of employment is linked to a better meeting of the interests of working women. In the standard forms, women's interests that are satisfied include employment stability, protection and access to social benefits, health services at the employer's expense, good occupational safety and health, training at the employer's expense and assistance during redundancy. In nonstandard forms, these mainly include a good atmosphere and the possibility to influence working time organization.PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The results of the research can be used in making the decisions of political character, concerning the applicability and share of particular forms of employment in the labor market. From the perspective of usefulness to employers, important results were obtained concerning the possibilities of choosing the form of employment and meeting specific interests of women.ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Previous research results have been relatively often based on secondary data from labor markets. A survey questionnaire was used in this project. Original and representative research results were obtained on women's work in nonstandard forms of employment in Poland, taking into account the criteria of voluntariness, type of forms and meeting of employees' interests.The project was financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland under the program “Regional Initiative of Excellence” 2019–2022, project number 015/RID/2018/19, total funding amount PLN 10 721 040,00.peer-reviewe

Quality and its improvement in the context of agility in Polish organic food processing

In a world of increasingly advanced technology and market turbulence caused by geopolitical turmoil and the spread of diseases of affluence, there is a growing need to adapt products and services to current market requirements in response to consumer expectations. The need to find its place in a constantly changing further and closer business environment has been also recognized in the agri-food sector. Consumers, looking for alternatives to industrially produced food and wanting to improve their well-being, have in mind, above all, not only the health quality of the food but also the absence of physical and chemical contaminants, and therefore, they are increasingly inclined to purchase organic food products. Under these circumstances, many Polish enterprises that choose this type of production are looking for solutions that allow them to respond quickly to changing consumer expectations. This paper first critically analyzes the scientific literature by compiling publications on aspects of enterprise agility to analyze issues related to quality assurance and its improvement as a manifestation of meeting customer expectations. This allowed for the identification of the research gap and formulation of the research objective, i.e. the assessment of the quality improvement activities as important problems of agility in Polish organic food processing. The main part of the empirical research was conducted in 2021-2022 using a questionnaire dedicated to entities involved in organic food production. The research was comprehensive in nature. The questionnaire was distributed to the entire population surveyed whereas the amount of the results leads to the conclusion that the sample is representative. Statistical analysis and inference were carried out using Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Shapiro-Wilk, ANOVA-Kruskal-Wallis, and U-Mann-Whitney tests

Organic Foods in Diets of Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease

Sustainable consumption is increasingly being promoted in the face of the decreasing amount of natural resources in the world. In general, sustainable consumption means using products and services that meet human basic needs while minimizing the consumption of natural resources and reducing waste. At this point, it is worth noting that the production of organic foods is conducive to the development of sustainable consumption through, e.g., natural methods of production, without the use of artificial fertilizers and crop protection chemicals. Nowadays, more and more emphasis is put on the correlations between health and diets. Consumers who care for their health often choose organic food. Therefore, the focus of this study was on the identification and presentation of the interest in organic foods among people who provide care to patients with Alzheimer’s disease. In order to achieve this aim, the theoretical part of the study attempted to demonstrate, on the one hand, the benefits of organic food and, on the other hand, the specific nutrition of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The achievement of the study aim was supported by the analysis of the related literature, including the results obtained by other authors. The results of the authors’ own survey conducted in 2017–2018 were also used, with the respondents being the carers and potential carers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and medical specialists. A statistical analysis was also carried out, including Pearson’s test analysis and a correspondence analysis. The literature survey and empirical examinations led to the conclusion that organic food is characterized by health benefits which should be taken into consideration during planning of diets for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Carers indicated the deficiency of knowledge concerning demanded diet components. They intuitively perceive the need for using organic food due to its health benefits and for the implementation of the principles of sustainable consumption. Carers are unable to identify the values which would help improve the health of patients with Alzheimer’s disease

Sustainable tourism: tourists’ behaviour and their impact on the visited place

With part of society growing rich, ease of movement around the world, cheaper airline tickets, and big competition on the websites that offer accommodation, tourism is becoming more and more popular. Many places are becoming a destination for tourists, not only because of their tourist values but more often because of fashion. This, unfortunately, is associated with the increasing overcrowding in such places, and thus with the occurrence of the phenomenon termed overtourism. The salvation for such places is the attempts to incorporate the concepts of sustainable tourism into their operation. However, for this to be successful, tourists also need to understand the need for such activities, otherwise, it will be hard to do anything. The aim of this paper was to assess the attitudes of people in different regions of Europe towards sustainable tourism, with the emphasis on understanding the concept and using it in their travels. The survey was conducted in the form of an online questionnaire filled in by the residents of the countries of the Visegrád Group. The survey is part of a larger project on sustainable tourism and people's perceptions of this tourism in Europe. The results of the survey showed that the respondents understand what the concept of sustainable tourism means and what its assumptions are. However, this often does not translate into their behavior and using these assumptions in their lives as tourists. Conducting similar research, however, can inspire respondents to rethink and change their behavior

Agile management in Polish organic food processing enterprise

With expanding local, national, and international markets and changing customer expectations, enterprises are faced with the need to implement solutions to compete effectively. It is expected that agile management allows enterprises to achieve this objective. Therefore, many organizations, including those in the food sector, are taking advantage of agile management solutions and see changes in consumer behavior as an opportunity for growth. The present study has a theoretical and empirical character. The basis of the theoretical considerations is a critical analysis of the scientific literature on the concept of agility and its relevance to organizations. The diversity of perspectives on the problems of agility, highlighted in many publications, provided the basis for identifying a research gap and formulating a research objective and conducting an empirical study. The study describes the agile management of enterprises, indicates the characteristics and mechanisms applicable to organic food production, and characterizes organic food processing enterprises in Poland. The survey was conducted in 2021-2022 and allowed the authors to analyze the location, size, type of production, or capital in the enterprises. This was possible with a properly designed questionnaire and statistical analysis

Próba wzbogacenia pieczywa pszennego

Szymon T. Dziub

FAM-FMC system as an alternative element of the software used in a grain and flour milling enterprise

Processes of computerization have become a standard in contemporary production plant methods. Implementation of these processes is aimed at limiting activities which had up to that point, been performed manually. Dedicated computer systems are being developed according to the requirements imposed on concrete enterprises with consideration of their manufacturing specificity. These adjusted systems facilitate and accelerate production and improve its performance while helping maintain a consistent level of quality for the final product. Flour mill laboratories use the software to record and facilitate computation of the measurements. This study is aimed at analysing the potential for implementation of the FAM-FMC system as a tool to support production of flour with parameters that match specific customer expectations

Does the COVID-19 pandemic affect food safety training of food sector employees? Case study

Food health safety has always been an important element for consumers. Enterprises in the food sector want to meet customer expectations and the requirements set out in national and international legislation and implement a variety of tools, methods, or techniques in their organizations. Increasing health safety and even improving the quality of produced food is possible through properly planned training of employees. This training should be tailored to the capabilities and needs of both employees and the enterprise. Nowadays, with the era of the COVID -19 pandemic, training in food safety becomes of particular importance, as the production of safe food is a basic objective to be taken into account by all employees. Under these circumstances, it seems appropriate to carry out additional training in the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 in the context of the health safety of the produced food. The aim of the present paper is to examine the subjective assessment of food employees regarding the amount and quality of food safety training in the COVID-19 pandemic. The research is a pilot study conducted at the turn of December 2020