Integral Management: Knowledge on the MER Model in Postgraduate Master's Study Programs

In the contribution we represent how the knowledge on the MER Model of integral management is built in the master's study programs on the case of the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Maribor. The MER Model of integral management has been developing at the research Institute MER Eurocentre in Slovenia and is the result of the cooperation of researchers from different countries. The research work on the development of MER Model started in 1992; the first attempts of building the knowledge on the MER Model dated back to 1994. Based on the acquired experiences of the past decade more systematical incorporation of the MER Model in the new study programs (so called Bologna study programs) was possible after 2004.management, integral management, management models, study programs, MER Model of integral management

Exploring Enterprise Life Cycle: Differences in Informal and Formal Institutional Measures of Business Ethics Implementation

Since science recognizes the fact that an enterprise passes through different life cycle stages, and that life cycle stages differ in terms of management systems, formal structures, control systems, documentation of transactions, and number of procedural hurdles, our main research problem was focused on differences in informal and formal institutional measures of business ethics implementation. The case study research methodology was applied to explore the differences of informal and formal institutional measures of business ethics implementation at different stages of enterprise life cycle. The pre-designed questionnaire was used in conducting face-to-face interviews with 40 managers who were in most cases also owners of the studied enterprises.

INTEGRALNI PRISTUP KULTURI PODUZETNIŠTVA KAO JEDNOM OD KLJUČNIH FAKTORA USPJEHA U PODUZETNIŠTVU

Enterprise culture is judged by many acknowledged scientists and researchers now as a major determinant of any enterprise’s success. The present article shows the research cognitions on the impact of enterprise culture to the success of the enterprises observed. It investigates the impact of customer and employee oriented enterprise culture on market and financial performance of the enterprise. Results suggest that enterprises, which are more customer (externally) oriented, show better market performance as well as better financial performance. The cognitions also show that more employee (internally) oriented enterprises, show positive impact to their market as well as to their financial performance.Mnogi priznati znanstvenici i istraživači smatraju kulturu poduzetništva jednom od osnovnih odrednica poduzetničkog uspjeha. Ovaj članak pokazuje rezultate istraživanja o utjecaju kulture poduzetništva na uspjeh promatranih poduzeća. Istražuje poduzetničku kulturu usmjerenu na klijenta i zaposlenika te njen utjecaj na tržište i financijsku performansu poduzeća. Rezultati ukazuju na to da poduzeća koja su usmjerenija na klijenta (eksterno), pokazuju bolje tržišne kao i financijske performanse. Rezultati također pokazuju da poduzeća orijentiranija na zaposlenike (interno) pokazuju pozitivan utjecaj na tržište i na vlastite financijske performanse

MER Model of Integral Management: Culture as Enterprise’s Key Success Factor

Enterprise culture is judged by many acknowledged scientists and researchers now as a major determinant of any enterprise’s success. The present article shows the research cognitions on the impact of enterprise culture to the success of the enterprises observed.

Towards socially responsible corporate governance with authorities’ interventions

Due to the fact that moral commitments of individuals as well as of corporations were not enough for successful fostering of the socially responsible behaviour of corporations, we are facing the new international and national laws fostering the reporting on non-financial activities of the corporations. We can, therefore, observe how the development of theory on corporate governance, in a relationship with the corporate social responsibility has finally resulted in significant changes in international as well as national legislatives. Therefore, in our paper we examine the legal framework of the EU on corporate social responsibility reporting as well as on non-financial statements of corporations. We analyse the aim, the content and the legal effects of this statements under the last amendments from 2014 (Directive 2014/95/EU) and evaluate its contribution to fortifying the role of corporate social responsibility in the corporate governance of EU corporations. The presented paper argues the importance of institutional development in the context of corporate governance and the influence of institutional measures on corporate ethical behaviour and, consequently, on their success implementing the simple aim to protect the interests of all corporations’ stakeholders within the framework of corporate functioning

INTEGRALNI PRISTUP KULTURI PODUZETNIŠTVA KAO JEDNOM OD KLJUČNIH FAKTORA USPJEHA U PODUZETNIŠTVU

Enterprise culture is judged by many acknowledged scientists and researchers now as a major determinant of any enterprise’s success. The present article shows the research cognitions on the impact of enterprise culture to the success of the enterprises observed. It investigates the impact of customer and employee oriented enterprise culture on market and financial performance of the enterprise. Results suggest that enterprises, which are more customer (externally) oriented, show better market performance as well as better financial performance. The cognitions also show that more employee (internally) oriented enterprises, show positive impact to their market as well as to their financial performance.Mnogi priznati znanstvenici i istraživači smatraju kulturu poduzetništva jednom od osnovnih odrednica poduzetničkog uspjeha. Ovaj članak pokazuje rezultate istraživanja o utjecaju kulture poduzetništva na uspjeh promatranih poduzeća. Istražuje poduzetničku kulturu usmjerenu na klijenta i zaposlenika te njen utjecaj na tržište i financijsku performansu poduzeća. Rezultati ukazuju na to da poduzeća koja su usmjerenija na klijenta (eksterno), pokazuju bolje tržišne kao i financijske performanse. Rezultati također pokazuju da poduzeća orijentiranija na zaposlenike (interno) pokazuju pozitivan utjecaj na tržište i na vlastite financijske performanse

Nekateri vidiki etike podjetja v družinskih podjetjih v Sloveniji

At the most basic level a family enterprise may be defined as an enterprise, which is controlled by members of a single family. But family enterprises are not homogenous. They vary in terms of degrees of family involvement. The research cognitions described in the present paper show that 30,9 % of the observed enterprises face strong influence of the families through the ownership as well as management of the enterprise. The main purpose of our paper is therefore to better understand the association between the degree of involvement of a family in ownership and management of a family enterprise and the business behavior of family enterprise in different business situations. The main data source for our paper is the survey of 350 SMEs in Slovenia. Overall findings suggest that enterprises, characterized by a high degree of family involvement do not differ significantly from the firms that are characterized as non-family ones, regarding the total sales revenues, economic efficiency, value added per employee, export orientation and cooperation with large companies. The same goes for firms characterized with a low degree of family involvement. It is very likely, that in the present state of development of family firms and market economy in Slovenia, the degree of family involvement is not crucial for business behavior and business performance regarding the variables analyzed. Several extensions of our research are also proposedDružinsko podjetje lahko opredelimo kot podjetje, ki ga obvladujejo člani družine. Vendar pa družinska podjetje niso homogena skupina podjetij. Razlikujejo se glede na stopnjo vključenosti družine. Po rezultatih raziskave, ki jo opisujemo v prispevku, je v 30,9% proučevanih podjetij prisoten močan vpliv družine z lastništvom in vodenjem teh podjetij. Glavni namen prispevka je zato razširiti razumevanje povezave med stopnjo vključenosti družine v lastništvo in management ter obnašanjem dru- žinskega podjetja v različnih poslovnih situacijah. Glavni vir podatkov je bila raziskava 350 malih in srednje velikih podjetij v Sloveniji. Rezultati raziskave kažejo, da se podjetja z visoko stopnjo družinske vključenosti v podjetje bistveno ne razlikujejo od nedružinskih podjetij, in sicer ko gre za proučevanje razlik v poslovnih prihodkih, uspešnosti, dodani vrednosti na zaposlenega, izvozni usmerjenosti in sodelovanju z velikim podjetji. Enaka ugotovitev velja tudi za podjetja z nizko stopnjo vključenosti družine v podjetje. Glede na trenutno stanje razvoja družinskih podjetij in tržne ekonomije v Slovenji stopnja vključenosti družine v podjetje ni ključnega pomena za obnašanje in uspešnosti podjetij (z vidika analiziranih spremenljivk). V prispevku predlagamo tudi smeri nadaljnjega raziskovanj

The importance of culture for enterprise dynamics: the role of type and strength of culture

Nowadays, enterprises can gain and sustain a competitive advantage in hypercompetitive environments for only a limited period of time. In order to be able to do that, enterprises must be dynamic. Even though – several authors suggest a positive association between organisational culture and the enterprise’s dynamic – we are still lackingthe empirical su pport for such assertion. Therefore, we empirically tested the association between the type and strength of culture and the level of enterprises’ dynamics. Since organisational culture and the enterprises’ dynamics are both a complex phenomenon, we applied a case study approach combined with quantitative methods. The research indicates that the adhocracy culture type positively influences the level of enterprises’ dynamics. Regarding the strength of culture, our research results show that positive effects of strong culture exceed the eventual negative effects of such culture and positively influence the level of enterprises’ dynamics

Das erneuerte MER-Modell für ein integriertes Management

Background: The research work on entrepreneurship, enterprise\u27s policy and management, which started in 1992, successfully continued in the following years. Between 1992 and 2011, more than 400 academics and other researchers have participated in research work (MER research program) whose main orientation has been the creation of their own model of integral management. Results: In past years, academics (researchers and authors of published papers) from Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Byelorussia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the US have cooperated in MER programs, coming from more than fifty institutions. Thus, scientific doctrines of different universities influenced the development of the MER model which is based on both horizontal and vertical integration of the enterprises\u27 governance and management processes, instruments and institutions into a consistently operating unit. Conclusions: The presented MER model is based on the multi-layer integration of governance and management with an enterprise and its environment, considering the fundamental desires for the enterprises\u27 existence and, thus, their quantitative as well as qualitative changes. The process, instrumental, and institutional integrity of the governance and management is also the initial condition for the implementation of all other integration factors.Einleitung: Die im Jahre 1992 begonnenen Forschungsarbeiten zur Unternehmenslust und -politik und zum integrierten Management wurden in den nachfolgenden Jahren mit Erfolg fortgestetzt. Im Zeitraum von 1992 bis 2011 haben über 400 wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter am Forschungsprojekt (im Forschungsprogramm MER), das auf die Ausarbeitung eines eigenen Modells für das integrierte Management hinzielte, teilgenommen. Ergebnisse: In den letzten Jahren nahmen im Rahmen der MER-Programme wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter (die sich an den Forschungsarbeiten beteiligten und ihre Forschungsergebnisse veröffentlichten) von über 50 Forschungseinrichtungen aus Österreich, Belgien, Bosnien und Herzegovina, Bulgarien, Wei?russland, Kanada, aus der Tschechei, Kroatien, Estland, Frankreich, Deutschland, Ungarn, Italien, Polen, Rumänien, Russland, aus der Slovakei, Slowenien, aus der Schweiz, aus der Ukraine und den Vereinigten Staaten teil. In Anbetracht dessen haben die Forschungsdoktrinen von unterschiedlichen Universitäten einen Einfluss auf die Entwicklung des MER-Modells, das sich sowohl auf die horizontale, als auch vertikale Integration von Managementmodellen im Unternehmen, von Managementprozessen, angewendeten Tools und Einrichtungen in ein einheitliches Operationskörper stützt, ausgeübt. Fazit: Das projizierte MER-Modell ist auf das Mehrebenen-Integrationssystem für Management und Leitung des Unternehmens und seiner Umgebung gestützt, wobei die grundlegenden Geschäftsziele seiner Existenz, sowie dessen quantitative und qualitative Veränderungen berücksichtigt werden. Der Prozess der instrumentalen und institutionellen Integration des Unternehmensmanagements ist somit auch die einleitende Voraussetzung für die Einfürung von anderen Integrationsfaktoren