Statistical assessment of quality of credit activity of Ukrainian banks

The article conducts an economic and statistical analysis of the modern state of credit activity of Ukrainian banks and main tendencies of its development. It justifies urgency of the statistical study of credit activity of banks. It offers a complex system of assessment of bank lending at two levels: the level of the banking system and the level of an individual bank. The use of the system analysis allows reflection of interconnection between effectiveness of functioning of the banking system and quality of the credit portfolio. The article considers main aspects of management of quality of the credit portfolio – level of troubled debt and credit risk. The article touches the problem of adequate quantitative assessment of troubled loans in the credit portfolios of banks, since the methodologies of its calculation used by the National Bank of Ukraine and international rating agencies are quite different. The article presents a system of methods of management of credit risk, both theoretically and providing specific examples, in the context of prevention of occurrence of risk situations or elimination of their consequences

Voice assistants in hospitality: using artificial intelligence for customer service

Purpose: Voice assistants (VAs) empower human–computer interactions by recognising human speech and implementing commands pronounced by users. This paper aims to investigate VA-enabled interactions between hotels and guests in the hospitality context. The research positions VAs within the artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) context, disrupting old practices and processes. Smart hospitality uses VAs to support effortless value cocreation for guests cost-effectively. The research examines consumer perceptions and expectations of hospitality VAs and explores VA capabilities through expert technology providers. Design/methodology/approach: This empirical paper investigates the current use and future implications of VAs for hotel environments. It uses qualitative, semi-structured in-depth interviews with 7 expert hospitality VA technology providers and 21 hotel guests who have VA experience. The research adopts a demand and supply approach, addressing the VAs in hospitality holistically. Findings: The findings illustrate the requirements from both end-users’ sides, hotels and guests, exploring VA advantages and challenges. The analysis demonstrates that VAs increasingly become digital assistants. VA technology helps hotels to improve customer service, expand operational capability and reduce costs. Although in its infancy, VA technology has made progress towards optimising hotel operations and upgrading customer service. The study proposes a speech-enabled interactions model. Research limitations/implications: This research stimulates the transformation of hospitality services by using VAs and the development of smart hospitality and tourism ecosystems. The study can benefit from further research with hotel managers, to reflect hoteliers’ points of view and investigate their perception of VAs. Further research can also explore different aspects of consumer–VA interaction in different contexts. Practical implications: The paper makes a significant contribution to hospitality management and human–computer interaction best practices. It supports technology providers to reconsider how to develop suitable technology solutions towards improving their strategic competitiveness. It also explains how to use VAs cost-effectively and profitably while adding value to travellers’ experience. Originality/value: VA studies are often focussed on the technology in private households, rather than in commercial or hotel spaces. This paper contributes to the emerging literature on AI and IoT in smart hospitality and explores the acceptance and operationalisation of VAs. The research contributes to the conceptualisation of VA-enabled hotel services and explores positive and negative features, as well as future prospects

РАДЯНСЬКА ІДЕНТИЧНІСТЬ ТА ЇЇ ВПЛИВ НА ФОРМУВАННЯ СУЧАСНИХ СУСПІЛЬНИХ СТЕРЕОТИПІВ ЛЮДЕЙ ПОХИЛОГО ВІКУ ) (ЗА МАТЕРІАЛАМИ УСНОІСТОРИЧНИХ ДЖЕРЕЛ ПІВДНЯ УКРАЇНИ)((Soviet identity and its influence on the formation of modern social stereotypes of older people (on materials oral history sources south of Ukraine))

У статті розглядаються особливості сприйняття людьми похилого віку радянського та сучасного життя, вплив «радянської ідентичності» на політичні уподобання. Проаналізовано специфіку вживання традиційної радянської термінології, їх оцінка та осмислення. Зроблена спроба дослідити, які з проблем сучасної України є актуальними для людей похилого віку (In the article the features of perception are examined by people declining years sovestkoy and modern life, the influence of «Soviet identity» on political preferences. The specific of the use of traditional soviet terminology is analysed, attitude toward the most sign events of the pas, their estimation and comprehension. Zdelana attempt to probe, what from the problems of modern Ukraine of yavlyayut’sya actual for people declining years.

Defining Organizational Context for Corporate Sustainability Assessment: Cross-Disciplinary Approach

Extensive research has already been conducted on the technical aspects of a Sustainability Assessment (SA) at a company level, i.e., Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). However, previous research paid little attention to the context in which an assessment takes place, i.e., the conditions within the organization that facilitate or inhibit the effectiveness of CSA as a decision support tool. This study seeks to shed more light on the organizational context for CSA. Since the research in this topic is limited within the SA discipline, the knowledge from the Performance Measurement (PM) discipline is used. Using a cross-disciplinary approach, factors that define the organizational context for CSA were proposed. Furthermore, they were ranked by 104 sustainability professionals using online survey. The survey results revealed that the top five factors are “leadership commitment”, “sustainability strategy”, “data collection capabilities”, “understanding of purpose and benefits of SA” and “focus on continuous improvements”. The practical application of the result of this study was illustrated using a multiple case study, in which the readiness to implement CSA by four manufacturing companies was evaluated

Register Analysis of Business E-mails

Mūsdienās elektroniskais pasts ir kļuvis par plaši izmantotu komunikācijas līdzekli uzņēmumos. Pētījuma mērķis bija noteikt lietišķo e-pastu reģistra izplatītākās iezīmes Latvijas azartspēļu uzņēmuma iekšējā un ārējā komunikācijā. Pētījumā tika izmantots Baibera un Konrāda (2009) reģistra analīzes modelis individuālajam e-pastam. Pētījuma rezultāti parādīja, ka lietišķajiem e-pastiem ir gan mutvārdu, gan rakstiskās diskursa īpašības. Lietišķo e-pastu izplatītākās iezīmes ir patstāvīgie darbības vārdi, lietvārdi, modālie darbības vārdi, personu vietniekvārdi, nozarē lietoti žargonismi un saīsinājumi. To lietojumu ietekmē situācijas konteksts , un to var sekmīgi pētīt, izmantojot Baibera un Konrāda (2009) reģistra analīzes modeli.Electronic mail has become a means for frequent communication in companies. The goal of the study was to identify pervasive features of the register of business e-mails communicated in a gambling company in Latvia using the framework of register analysis of individual e-mails proposed by Biber and Conrad (2009). The results revealed that business e-mails comprise both the characteristics of spoken and written discourse due to its medium of communication.The pervasive linguistic features of the register of business e-mails communicated externally and internally are the use of lexical verbs, nouns, modal verbs, contracted forms, personal pronouns, specific jargon and abbreviations. They are affected by the situational characteristics, which can be discovered and analysed with the help of the “register analysis” proposed by Biber and Conrad (2009)

On the Applicability of Sustainability Assessment Tools in Manufacturing

The literature on sustainability assessment abounds with different tools, methods, models and frameworks, and the amount of literature on sustainability assessment applied to the field of manufacturing is rapidly growing. This study aims to review the state of the art associated with the latter, synthesising and analysing the applicability of the different approaches with their practical applicability in real-world manufacturing at the heart of the discussion. Based on review of research trends within sustainability assessment, we identified a list of tools addressing three pillars of sustainability which all can be applied on company level. These tools were evaluated from a manufacturing company’s point of view, including (1) reliability; (2) manufacturing company’s context; (3) time and resources required for assessment; (4) point out problem areas; and (5) point out solutions. Finally, the sustainability assessment framework based on a value chain concept is proposed as a possible solution for handling challenges related to sustainability assessment in manufacturing

The concept of sustainable manufacturing and its definitions: A content-analysis based literature review

The concept of sustainable manufacturing (SM) is becoming increasingly mature due to the focus on many of its research topics for a long time. This research has undoubtedly extended the body of knowledge, yet the numerous definitions of SM in prior art still indicate a lack of consensus on the true meaning of the concept. It is thus to be expected that these discrepancies will constrain further development and use of the SM concept in industrial practice. The goal of this paper is to analyze the different definitions of SM and identify the current understanding of what researchers mean by the concept. We use an inductive content analysis of definitions published from 1990 to 2016 in a variety of academic journals. A total of 189 articles including a manifest definition of SM and 89 original definitions were identified. Our analysis revealed that the most commonly used definition is the one proposed by U.S. Department of Commerce in 2008; 63% of the analyzed articles cite or slightly rephrase this definition, while 86% of the identified definitions are used in less than three articles. Although the majority of researchers seems to agree upon eleven subcategories of SM, a wide range of issues (67 sub-categories) associated with SM indicates inconsistency in the general understanding of the concept. It is proposed that the findings in this study can serve as a foundation for the development of a common language for SM in both research field and industrial practice

A Holistic approach to corporate sustainability assessment: Incorporating sustainable development goals into sustainable manufacturing performance evaluation

Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) in manufacturing is a framing of tools that guide the organization toward sustainable practices and indicate how the same organization contributes to a global Sustainable Development (SD). In addition to the discussion about shortcomings of existing CSA practices, the need to incorporate UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into reporting has been advocated by the sustainability society. This paper proposes a new CSA method for manufacturing companies in which (1) sustainability is seen as a process of directed change, (2) assessment tool is designed by modeling manufacturing company using systems representation, and (3) assessment of Corporate Sustainability (CS) is context-based and linked to SDGs. The proposed CSA method takes a holistic view on Sustainable Manufacturing (SM) and CS

Testing and Verification of a New Corporate Sustainability Assessment Method for Manufacturing: A Multiple Case Research Study

This paper aims at answering the question of how to design a theoretically sound corporate sustainability assessment (CSA) method that can strengthen the ability of manufacturing companies to contribute to global sustainable development (SD). In our effort to answer this question, we conduct a case study to test a newly designed CSA method to develop assessment tools for each of four different case companies. The method combines criteria-based indicators development with qualitative system dynamics modeling based on mental models of decision-makers. This strategy ensures a holistic approach to what corporate sustainability and sustainable manufacturing are. The paper is intended to serve, first of all, as a practical guide to the development of CSA tools. The scientific value of the method is discussed in terms of how it assists in the development of a tool that provides the potential to overcome shortcomings of existing approaches to sustainability assessment and to embrace the complexity of the sustainability concept. From the case study results, we demonstrate the capability of the new method by showing how it satisfies scientific requirements to sustainability assessment and fulfills functions of CSA. We also show how it may overcome some of the observed limitations of existing CSA tools.publishedVersion© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)