Impact of Management Ethics on Payment Discipline

A company\u27s ethics is one of the key factors of its effectiveness. Having poor business ethics usually lead to the lack of payment discipline. The main purpose of the study was to identify the possible impact of management ethics on the financial discipline of companies. The study involved 273 Slovenian public and private companies, which represented 9.1% of all companies invited to take part in the survey. The data on management ethics were collected using the Corporate Ethical Virtues measurement instrument questionnaire and the data concerning average late payments were obtained from the database of the Slovenian rating agency “I d.o.o.”. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 20.0 for Windows. We conducted a factor analysis and a regression analysis using the stepwise method. We found that management ethics has a positive impact on payment discipline. At the end of the article, we give suggestions for improvement of payment discipline. This work is licensed under a&nbsp;Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.</p

Can an ethical work climate influence payment discipline?

Purpose: All European companies are faced with the lack of payment discipline, which often affects even their survival. One of the key reasons for the lack of payment discipline is poor business ethics, which is primarily introduced with the subject of ethical climate in the literature. For this reason, we wanted to determine whether a company%s ethical climate influences its payment discipline. Design/methodology/approach: In the research, we used Arnaud%s measurement instrument (2010) that helped us to identify six dimensions of ethical climate. The data about a company%s ethical climate were later compared with the data about its payment discipline, calculated using the Dun & Bradstreet rating agency methodology. We included in the sample 273 Slovenian companies, which represented 9.1% of all companies invited to take part in the survey (2978 Slovenian enterprises with 10 or more employees). Findings: We established that (among the six dimensions of the ethical climate) the dimension %moral sensitivity % the lack of norms of empathetic concern% had statistically significant influence on the average delay of payment, and the more significant for the company the lack of norms of empathetic concern was, the longer the delay of the payment to suppliers would be. Our conclusion is that the appropriate forms of the incorporation of training and education on ethical subjects into business studies may increase the payment discipline of companies. Originality/value: The present study represents an important contribution to understanding the causes of payment defaults. The study also includes non-financial antecedents of payment discipline, which represents a new, important contribution of the research

Findings of mute swans (Cygnus olor, Gmelin) in Croatia ringed in other countries

Znanstveno prstenovanje ptica je metoda istraživanja koja se temelji na individualnom obilježavanju divljih ptica i predstavlja jednu od najučinkovitijih metoda u proučavanju selidbe ptica. U razdoblju od 1989. do 2008. godine u Hrvatskoj je zabilježen 641 nalaz vrste crvenokljuni labud prstenovanih u 10 europskih zemalja: Srbiji, Italiji, Slovačkoj, Mađarskoj, Poljskoj, Njemačkoj, Sloveniji, Bjelorusiji, Češkoj i Austriji. Na području srednje Europe crvenokljuni labud je skitalica i pokazuje manja kretanja u vezi s potragom za hranom. Zimi povremeno napušta područje gniježđenja, ali ne odlazi na jug kao prava selica već se zadržava u istim geografskim širinama. Najviše je nalaza crvenokljunog labuda s prstenima mađarske prstenovačke centrale. Na temelju nalaza utvrđeno je da je crvenokljuni labud u Hrvatskoj u posljednjih dvadesetak godina sve češći za zimovanja, a od početka devedesetih, tu se i gnijezdi. Uspješni projekti zaštite u Europi uzrokovali su porast brojnosti crvenokljunog labuda, što je popratilo i povećanje areala gniježđenja ove vrste.Scientific bird ringing is a research method based on individual marking of wild birds, and represents one of the most efficient methods for studying bird migrations. In the period between 1989 and 2008, 641 findings of Mute Swan specimens ringed in 10 European countries, including Serbia, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Slovenia, Belarus, Czech Republic and Austria, have been recorded in Croatia. Mute Swan is a vagrant bird in the middle European region, with short migrations because of foraging. Mute Swans leave their nesting sites periodically during winter, but unlike real migratory birds, they do not migrate to the south, and remain in the same latitude. Most of the Mute Swan findings were marked by the Hungarian bird ringing central. Based on the findings, it has been determined that over the last twenty years in Croatia this species is more common in winter, and Mute Swans have begun nesting there. Successful bird conservation projects have caused an increase in the population of Mute Swans, which in turn caused an increase in the breeding areal of this species

Findings of mute swans (Cygnus olor, Gmelin) in Croatia ringed in other countries

Znanstveno prstenovanje ptica je metoda istraživanja koja se temelji na individualnom obilježavanju divljih ptica i predstavlja jednu od najučinkovitijih metoda u proučavanju selidbe ptica. U razdoblju od 1989. do 2008. godine u Hrvatskoj je zabilježen 641 nalaz vrste crvenokljuni labud prstenovanih u 10 europskih zemalja: Srbiji, Italiji, Slovačkoj, Mađarskoj, Poljskoj, Njemačkoj, Sloveniji, Bjelorusiji, Češkoj i Austriji. Na području srednje Europe crvenokljuni labud je skitalica i pokazuje manja kretanja u vezi s potragom za hranom. Zimi povremeno napušta područje gniježđenja, ali ne odlazi na jug kao prava selica već se zadržava u istim geografskim širinama. Najviše je nalaza crvenokljunog labuda s prstenima mađarske prstenovačke centrale. Na temelju nalaza utvrđeno je da je crvenokljuni labud u Hrvatskoj u posljednjih dvadesetak godina sve češći za zimovanja, a od početka devedesetih, tu se i gnijezdi. Uspješni projekti zaštite u Europi uzrokovali su porast brojnosti crvenokljunog labuda, što je popratilo i povećanje areala gniježđenja ove vrste.Scientific bird ringing is a research method based on individual marking of wild birds, and represents one of the most efficient methods for studying bird migrations. In the period between 1989 and 2008, 641 findings of Mute Swan specimens ringed in 10 European countries, including Serbia, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Slovenia, Belarus, Czech Republic and Austria, have been recorded in Croatia. Mute Swan is a vagrant bird in the middle European region, with short migrations because of foraging. Mute Swans leave their nesting sites periodically during winter, but unlike real migratory birds, they do not migrate to the south, and remain in the same latitude. Most of the Mute Swan findings were marked by the Hungarian bird ringing central. Based on the findings, it has been determined that over the last twenty years in Croatia this species is more common in winter, and Mute Swans have begun nesting there. Successful bird conservation projects have caused an increase in the population of Mute Swans, which in turn caused an increase in the breeding areal of this species

Influencing collective moral judgement by changing ethical culture in tourism industry: The case of Slovenia

Moral reasoning is a process of determining what is wrong and what is right from a moral point of view. Four components of moral reasoning are: moral sensitivity, moral judgement, moral motivation and moral character. Our research presented here is focused on the second component – moral judgement. Moral judgement refers to reaching an appropriate decision from the moral perspective in response to a given situation or a problem. Individuals can decide between focusing on themselves (egoistic moral judgement) or others (benevolence – disposition to be good) in their decision-making process. While the environment influences us, individuals differ within this spectrum. Thus, the prevalent collective moral judgement in any given company is under the influence of company characteristics and its ethical culture. This paper examines the effects of the ethical culture of Slovenian companies in the tourism industry on the collective moral judgement of their employees and identifies those ethical culture dimensions that could alter the collective moral judgement of the employees in the tourism industry. The results were collected through quantitative empirical research. The research was conceptualised and analysed with reference to Kaptein\u27s (1998) Corporate Ethical Virtues Model, comprised of seven ethical culture dimensions: clarity, congruency, feasibility, supportability, transparency, discussability and sanctionability. Results of our research have shown that if these dimensions of ethical culture are expressed more highly, collective moral judgement tends to increase its focus on how decisions will affect others. Suggestions for the management of tourist companies, as well as the Slovenian national tourist organisation (STO), have been proposed on the basis of the results of this paper

Comparison of the knowledge of Croatian and Slovenian elementary school and grammar school students about the human evolution

Prethodna istraživanja pokazuju da učenici imaju teškoće u razumijevanju evolucije čovjeka zbog zahtjevnosti teme. Cilj rada je bio utvrditi kakvo je znanje hrvatskih i slovenskih osnovnoškolaca te gimnazijalaca o evoluciji čovjeka. Nastojalo se utvrditi postoji li razlika u znanju učenika između dviju država, spolova, vrste škola te dobi učenika. Osim znanja, željelo se utvrditi i postojanje učeničkih miskoncepcija o evoluciji čovjeka. Istraživanje je provedeno 2017. godine u slovenskim i hrvatskim gimnazijama te osnovnim školama. Sudjelovalo je 170 učenika, od čega 100 osnovnoškolaca, te 70 gimnazijalaca iz obiju zemalja. Ukupni prosječni uspjeh na ispitu znanja bio je 64,8 %. Najzastupljeniji točan odgovor učenika odnosio se na nalazište neandertalaca u Hrvatskoj, kod kojeg je 96,4% učenika odabralo Krapinu kao točan odgovor. Rezultati su pokazali da postoje razlike u znanju o evoluciji čovjeka između učenika različitih zemalja, škola i razreda. Slovenski gimnazijalci su pokazali više znanja o evoluciji čovjeka u odnosu na hrvatske (14 statistički značajnih razlika; p < 0,05), dok su hrvatski osnovnoškolci bili uspješniji od slovenskih (16 statističko značajnih razlika; p < 0,05). Hrvatski gimnazijalci pokazali su lošije rezultate na ispitu od slovenskih osnovnoškolaca. Osnovnoškolsko znanje o evoluciji čovjeka se razlikuje od gimnazijskog po učestalosti točnih odgovora. Hrvatski osnovnoškolci su pokazali više znanja o evoluciji čovjeka od hrvatskih gimnazijalaca. Postoje razlike u poznavanju evolucije čovjeka među spolovima, ali nisu statistički značajne. I hrvatski i slovenski učenici imaju slične miskoncepcije povezane s evolucijom čovjeka. Čak 41,5% učenika smatra da su se ljudi razvili iz čimpanzi, a da smo potomci biblijskog Adama i Eve smatra 39,2% učenika. Dobiveni rezultati trebali bi utjecati na promjene u poučavanju sa svrhom postizanja boljih rezultata učenika vezanih uz koncept evolucije čovjeka, a posebice na sprečavanje stvaranja uočenih miskoncepcija.Previous studies show that students have difficulties in understanding the evolution of human beings due to difficult conceptions and complexity of the subject. The objective of this research was to determine the knowledge of Croatian and Slovenian elementary and grammar school students about human evolution. We wanted to see if there was a difference in knowledge between the students of two countries, genders, and ages. Besides the knowledge, we wanted to determine whether there exist some characteristic students misconceptions about human evolution. The research was conducted in 2017 in Slovenian and Croatian gymnasiums and primary schools.170 students participated, of which 100 Croatian and Slovenian elementary students, and 70 high school students from these countries. An anonymous knowledge test was used for the research, and the data were processed in the SPSS program with the Mann-Whitney test. Research has shown that the knowledge of tested students about human evolution is satisfying. The overall average success on the anonymous test of knowledge was 64,8%. The most common correct answer was about the Neandertal site in Croatia, where 96,4% of students selected Krapina as correct answer. We have compared and checked the results that we collected. We can conclude that there are differences in the knowledge of human evolution between students of different countries, and grades. Slovenian high school students showed more knowledge about the evolution than Croatian high school students (we found 14 statistically significant differences, p < 0.05), while Croatian elementary students were more successful than Slovenian (we found 16 statistically significant differences, p < 0.05). Croatian gymnasiums have shown worse results than Slovenian elementary school students. Primary school knowledge about human evolution differs from grammar school by the frequency of correct answers in the test. Croatian elementary school students have shown more knowledge about the human evolution than Croatian high school students. There are negligible differences in the knowledge of human evolution between the genders, and Croatian and Slovenian students have similar misconceptions associated with human evolution. 41.5% of students think that we have evolved from chimpanzees, and 39,2% of students think that we are all descendants of Biblical Adam and Eve. The obtained results will effect on changes of teaching with a purpose of achieving better student outcomes associated with the concept of human evolution, and especially to prevent the creation of new misunderstandings

Findings of mute swans (Cygnus olor, Gmelin) in Croatia ringed in other countries

Znanstveno prstenovanje ptica je metoda istraživanja koja se temelji na individualnom obilježavanju divljih ptica i predstavlja jednu od najučinkovitijih metoda u proučavanju selidbe ptica. U razdoblju od 1989. do 2008. godine u Hrvatskoj je zabilježen 641 nalaz vrste crvenokljuni labud prstenovanih u 10 europskih zemalja: Srbiji, Italiji, Slovačkoj, Mađarskoj, Poljskoj, Njemačkoj, Sloveniji, Bjelorusiji, Češkoj i Austriji. Na području srednje Europe crvenokljuni labud je skitalica i pokazuje manja kretanja u vezi s potragom za hranom. Zimi povremeno napušta područje gniježđenja, ali ne odlazi na jug kao prava selica već se zadržava u istim geografskim širinama. Najviše je nalaza crvenokljunog labuda s prstenima mađarske prstenovačke centrale. Na temelju nalaza utvrđeno je da je crvenokljuni labud u Hrvatskoj u posljednjih dvadesetak godina sve češći za zimovanja, a od početka devedesetih, tu se i gnijezdi. Uspješni projekti zaštite u Europi uzrokovali su porast brojnosti crvenokljunog labuda, što je popratilo i povećanje areala gniježđenja ove vrste.Scientific bird ringing is a research method based on individual marking of wild birds, and represents one of the most efficient methods for studying bird migrations. In the period between 1989 and 2008, 641 findings of Mute Swan specimens ringed in 10 European countries, including Serbia, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Slovenia, Belarus, Czech Republic and Austria, have been recorded in Croatia. Mute Swan is a vagrant bird in the middle European region, with short migrations because of foraging. Mute Swans leave their nesting sites periodically during winter, but unlike real migratory birds, they do not migrate to the south, and remain in the same latitude. Most of the Mute Swan findings were marked by the Hungarian bird ringing central. Based on the findings, it has been determined that over the last twenty years in Croatia this species is more common in winter, and Mute Swans have begun nesting there. Successful bird conservation projects have caused an increase in the population of Mute Swans, which in turn caused an increase in the breeding areal of this species

INFLUENCE OF ETHICAL CLIMATE AND ETHICAL CULTURE ON UNETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICE OF LATE PAYMENTS

Problem, ki ga v disertaciji preučujemo, je neetična poslovna praksa plačilne nediscipline v podjetjih. Formalno definirano je etično vedenje tisto, ki je v določeni situaciji z moralnega stališča gledano “dobro” in “pravilno” v nasprotju s “slabim” oziroma ”napačnim” (Sims 1992). Na medorganizacijskem trgu (»medorganizacijski« trg sestavljajo vsa podjetja, »ki kupujejo blago in storitve z namenom, da jih bodo uporabile pri izdelavi drugih izdelkov ali storitev, ki jih nato prodajajo, dajejo v najem ali dobavljajo naprej« (Kotler 1994), lahko vsaka prodaja predstavlja pomemben delež skupne realizacije prodajalca, zato podjetja upravičeno pričakujejo plačilo v razumnem roku, da lahko tudi sama poplačajo svoje dolgove in investirajo v prihodnje aktivnosti in sredstva (Commission of European Communities 2009). Vendar pa je velik del plačil podjetij v Evropi izvršen po plačilnem roku. Kako velik problem je plačilna nedisciplina podjetij v Evropi, kaže podatek, da ima kar 98 % evropskih podjetij (vzorec je vseboval podjetja iz desetih evropskih držav – Belgije, Francije, Italije, Madžarske, Nemčije, Nizozemske, Poljske, Španije in Velike Britanije) težave s plačilno nedisciplino svojih kupcev (Euler Hermes 2006). Še posebno zaskrbljujoča je ocena Evropske komisije, da je zaradi plačilne nediscipline ogrožen obstoj 35 % podjetij (Commission of European Communities 2009). Etičnost podjetja je v literaturi s področja poslovne etike primarno predstavljena z dvema večdimenzionalnima konstruktoma: etično klimo in etično kulturo (Treviño et al. 1998). Da bi ugotovili, ali etičnost podjetja vpliva na plačilno disciplino podjetja, smo analizirali vpliv etične klime in etične kulture na plačilno disciplino podjetij. V okviru raziskave smo uporabili Cullenovo in Victorjevo (1993) metodologijo za merjenje tipov etične klime, Arnaudino (2010) metodologijo za merjenje dimenzij etične klime in Kapteinovo (2008b) metodologijo za merjenje dimenzij etične kulture. Na podlagi empiričnih rezultatov raziskave lahko zaključimo, da tako etična klima kot tudi etična kultura vplivata na plačilno disciplino podjetij, kar pomeni, da je plačilna disciplina podjetij v Sloveniji odraz neetičnega delovanja podjetij.The problem that this dissertation examines is the unethical business practices of late trade payments by firms. Formally defined as the ethical behaviour what is in a certain situation from a moral point of view "good" and "right" as opposed to "bad" or "wrong” (Sims 1992). At the interorganizational market ("interorganizational" market consists of all companies "that buy goods and services in order to be used in the manufacture of other products or services, which can then be sold, rented or supplied on" (Kotler 1994) ), each sale can represent a significant share of the total turnover of the seller, so companies rightly expect payment within a reasonable time so that they may themselves repay their debts and invest in future activities and resources (Commission of the European Communities, 2009). However, a large part of the payments in Europe are executed after the payment deadline. According to the statistics (Euler Hermes 2006) 98% of EU companies (pattern had included companies from ten EU states – Belgium, France, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Holland, Poland, Spain and UK) has problems with customer payment discipline, what consequently shows the scale of the late payment problem. Particularly worrying is the assessment of the European Commission that late payments threaten the existence of 35% of companies. In the literature company’s ethics in the field of business ethics is primarily represented by two multidimensional constructs: the ethical climate and ethical culture (Treviño et al. 1998). In order to determine whether the company’s ethnic affects the payment discipline of the company we have analysed the impact of ethical climate and ethical culture on payment behaviour of companies. In the research we have used the Cullen and Victor’s (1993) methodology for measuring the types of ethical climate, Arnaud’s (2010) methodology to measure the dimensions of ethical climate and Kaptein’s (2008b) methodology to measure the dimensions of ethical culture. Based on the empirical results of the research it can be concluded that both the ethical climate and ethical culture affects the payment behaviour of companies which means that the payment discipline of companies in Slovenia is a reflection of unethical corporate behaviour