Š T E F A N K A S S A Y
Oficiálna stránka vedca, pedagóga, podnikateľa a ekonomického diplomata
Mojim životným krédom je symbióza vedy a praxe. Všetko, o čom teoreticky uvažujem, musí mať aplikačný výstup. Som presvedčený o tom, že zmyslom vedy je rozširovať poznanie a napomáhať praxi.
First part
LEADERS AND MANAGERS
Second part
KEY ASPECTS OF MANAGERIAL PRACTICE
Third part
ENTREPRENEURIAL STRATEGY
Fourth part
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES
Fifth part
THEORETICAL BASES AND CONDITIONS OF ENTERPRISE
FINANCIAL POLICY OPERATION
Sixth part
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OF ENTERPRISE
Seventh part
ANALYSIS OF MARKET PROFITABILITY
Eighth part
INVESTMENT STRATEGY AND INVESTMENT PROJECTS
Ninth part
THEORY OF COMMUNICATION AND ITS UTILISATION
IN ENTERPRISE PRACTICE
Tenth part
COMPONENTS OF MULTI-SECTIONAL COMMUNICATION – PART A
Eleventh part
COMPONENTS OF MULTI-SECTIONAL COMMUNICATION – PART B
Twelfth part
CUSTOMER CARE
Thirteenth part
FUNDAMENTALS OF DESIGNING
INNOVATIVE COMPANY
Fourteenth part
DESIGN OF GLOBALLY
DRAFTED COMPANY – PART A
Fifteenth part
DESIGN OF GLOBALLY
DRAFTED COMPANY – PART B
Sixteenth part
REALISING PROJECTS IN INDUSTRIAL PRACTICE
Seventeenth part
KNOWLEDGE ENTERPRISE
Eighteenth part
CASE STUDIES
Nineteenth part
NEW WORLD, NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Twentieth part
APPENDICES, FINAL STATEMENTS
First part
LEADERS AND MANAGERS
The primary function of control is managing people. Together with other managerial functions creating the managerial job forms assumptions for the manager to be an effective leader. Effective control has its rules and is affected by a number of factors, especially the personality of the led and also the leading employee, the competence and power implemented in the company. Leadership is defined by the methods of decisionmaking resulting from the managerial styles, the position of the leading employee and the behaviour of the work groups or work teams. The properties and abilities of the leader are very important for the enterprise and its development. This is in a particular entrepreneurial environment, which is always specific, varies over time and therefore in the claims of leadership and managers. The journey from management to leadership is demanding, requires constant study and sufficient practice in managing and leading people. The author expresses this in a clear and prominent way, mainly on the basis of personal management practice in large enterprises for several decades.
Second part
KEY ASPECTS OF MANAGERIAL PRACTICE
Management theories are continually developing and, in general they are a delayed response to the situation in practice. Management demands grow and so, in the case of not knowing or lack of input information, management uses the „trial-error“ method. The new experiences that are acquired in this way are usually „costly“, because there can be many unsuccessful attempts until the solution is reached. Even in those cases where, for the given situation, there exists verified theoretical knowledge, and yet management uses habitual practices and decisions that may be inefficient in a new situation. To avoid such a situation it is desirable to become acquainted with aspects of managerial practice, especially those aspects that substantially influence them. In this book, the author particularly emphasizes that, as the entrepreneurial environment changes not only theory adjusts but above all the management practices, the legitimacy of which will be shown by the future.
Third part
ENTREPRENEURIAL STRATEGY
Particularly in the current period of constant change, it is necessary to re-evaluate the established management practices and to realize that the formation of a business strategy is actually a preparation for the concrete steps that need to be taken at a given time if the enterprise is to survive and be competitive. It is not important to stack strategy documentation, but ability to act, realization response to unexpected surprises and concrete decisions in real time. However, such a stance on strategy can not be confused with the day-to-day operation. The strategy is adopted for a longer period, but with unexpected changes of the outside environment it cannot become a “shirt made of iron”. That is why the book is devoted to formulating, developing and defining a strategy. This section also includes strategic analysis and its role in exploring entrepreneurial resources, potential and competition for current and future enterprise performance. The individuality of the author‘s approach to these issues is confirmed by the results achieved in the particular business of which he is the main strategist.
Fourth part
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES
Success in entrepreneurship greatly requires structuring. However, the structure cannot be universal, same and unchangeable for every enterprise and with no regard on what is happening in the relevant environment. Not updating the structure means ignoring the surrounding influences, which would inevitably lead to a threat of its own existence. Definitely, in a turbulent environment an enterprise would not survive if it would not be able to act and if it maintains itself at the level of forever ”buried in concrete” structures. But, an enterprise can only progress if it is able to adapt and anticipate changes in a timely manner and conform changes in internal company structures. The modern enterprise not only strives to predict, but also clearly reflects the existing situation, merciless competitive pressures and responds to new unexpected situations. Existing structures are promptly tailored in the interest of necessary strategic change in enterprise and entrepreneurship. In this book, in addition to the world literature piece of knowledge, author shows the reader his personal experience and provides sources of strategic changes, their types and ways of managing them.
Fifth part
THEORETICAL BASES AND CONDITIONS OF ENTERPRISE FINANCIAL POLICY OPERATION
The company‘s financial policy is closely related to the external environment. It is clear that if an enterprise creates new values by using new technologies through innovation and better work organization it can calculate that from new sources it will ensure further development of the enterprise. However, reality is different in practice. Within the framework of the government policy the decision-making sphere enters into enterprises vicariously through the regulatory measures that imply an increase in costs under new laws and regulations. It has already been seen how difficult it is to monitor the company‘s original and approved financial policy. Moreover, in addition to regulatory intervention, the state has higher management components. Most notable are external interventions in conditions of European integration, which take into account the needs of European structures and in this sense they establish a centrally managed financial policy when there is an internal contradiction in business management. In this sense, the publication deals with macroeconomics and microeconomics equally since a mutual adaptation must be achieved between these two influence spheres.
Sixth part
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OF ENTERPRISE
The relationship of two content units itself – i. e. financial policy and financial management in an enterprise – gives insight into the context of these determinants to each other. Without respecting the financial policy it is not possible to effectively manage an enterprise as such – likewise without respecting the concreteness of financial instruments. These are issues that are gaining acceleration momentum even in relation to international tension and constant new regulations in the EU, but also in the world at all. Therefore it is common for enterprises to lose a large part of the profit which has been earmarked for further investment development – for example purely due to exchange rate differences that cannot be predicted. This situation creates financial risks for the very essence of the enterprise existence and all the more demanding attention is paid to management accounting, financial planning system, inspection and other aspects resulting from constant, often surprising changes caused by outside environment.
Seventh part
ANALYSIS OF MARKET PROFITABILITY
It is clear that in a demanding hyper-competitive environment a great deal of effort is being made in enterprises to maintain its existence. Only a few companies have the potential that is sufficient to ensure its development. Another question is the extent to which the acute problems are addressed by the weakening of the enterprise availability as such and whether the top management is capable of anticipating the changes and thus determining the direction of further development as well in the short and the long term. The enterprise strategy itself takes on completely different dimensions because we cannot rely on the long-term planning of the enterprise future and the actual information system and indicators that decide about the internal financial management. Understandably, the enterprise management in a new situation has to focus mainly on profit-making and, in relation to its position and activities on world markets it has to deal more with issues of internationalization and globalization.
Eighth part
INVESTMENT STRATEGY AND INVESTMENT PROJECTS
The question of new investments is also a matter of preserving the existence of an enterprise and predicting future solutions made possible by its own and systematic creation of new resources. If the strategy loses its effectiveness in the long run then the investment projects are also threatened by a high uncertainty of future situations. In addition, enterprises need not only to modernize production but also to keep up with the significant requirements of the decisive world-wide dimension – especially concerning the environment protection. There is a number of other requirements formulated in the basic documents of the decisive sphere that aim to achieve such an enterprise performance so that it is sufficient in the future in the projected horizon. So that by quality and innovation the enterprise can create products that are new in its character and have the prospect of penetrating on world markets, characterized by a higher value generated in consideration of the existence of these products.
Ninth part
THEORY OF COMMUNICATION AND ITS UTILISATION IN ENTERPRISE PRACTICE
Communication is the basic method of handing over and receiving information. As a result of the change of preferences and the perceiving of the values of individuals as well as social values, and a subsequent receptiveness to the changes, forming qualitatively new goals are followed most frequently through communication, and especially target-oriented communication strengthened by the corresponding communication technologies. Particularly from the point of view of the social and company objectives, the essence of communication consists in affecting the awareness and consciousness of the human being. Communication helps us to know ourselves and others. It regulates our actions and behaviour; it affects our aspirations, our performance and directs the overall view of personal and social life. The expected result is an acceptance of goals, objectives, and messages. Increased opportunities for seeking knowledge and making it accessible from various sources assist this phenomenon; however, at the same time it requires improving the communication capability and becomes an essential part of our existence. The traditional approaches, i.e. utilising diversified tools of communication and their combinations, led to a phenomenon that the more the individual tools were used the stronger fragmentation developed and the stronger the need for an integrated communication grew.
Tenth part
COMPONENTS OF MULTI-SECTIONAL COMMUNICATION – PART A
In the process of unprecedented social changes and growth of competition, creating public relations has achieved a strategic importance for enterprises. The communication acceleration and the width of the communication “intervention” in the global communication space unequivocally affect the quality of the entrepreneurial environment, the conditions of trade with partners and last, but not least, they influence the value of the company itself. The new situation establishes new requirements; it means that developing relationships with the general public requires creative procedures, a multiplicity of shared communication contents, variant utilisation of various communication technologies and tools. At the same time the interactivity of the relations and an integrated influence, also in unexpected crisis situations is awaited. The essence of public relations results from the sense of communication of the company with the general public. It is about acquiring the space for the existence, growth and multilateral development of the enterprise. The opinions concerning the position of public relations in the company, and the relationships with the general public are obvious also from wider, society-widely created points of view regarding public opinion.
Eleventh part
COMPONENTS OF MULTI-SECTIONAL COMMUNICATION – PART A
Advertising can never be the way it used to be, and this has been caused by the new communication technologies and development trends. These force a company and its managers to constantly improve their communication campaign even more and to manage it at a higher level, to integrate advertising oriented towards the products and brands into the overall communication of an enterprise. This denotes creating and using the new forms of providing information with a quality feedback, following the effects of advertising and comparing them with an initial state as well as involving the persons concerned into the optimisation of the expenses related to the communication campaign. Within the framework of the operation of the integrated communication tools and a systematic influence on the customers, the price plays a fundamental role. It becomes one of the most important communication tools for inducing a quick response from the customers. The price fluctuation is an extraordinary sensitive factor in the customers´ decision-making when choosing to buy a product, or a product represented by a corresponding brand. A suitable price responds to the market and customers´ behaviour.
Twelfth part
CUSTOMER CARE
The influence of communication from the point of view of affecting the customer is difficult to gauge, however, it can be said unequivocally that it is less efficient than in the past. The attributes creating the communication power in achieving an extreme reach mean that a communication aggression is even created. It results from the differentness of the socially acknowledged values and individual axiology, simultaneously with the growth of erudition and the rejecting of state control from any source. The stream of various social directions quite naturally causes leaps and particularly individual differentiated changes of the life conditions, and thus also the life style of the customers of the coexisting market segments and customer generations. It is therefore unrealistic to be in accord with the routine opinions and approaches of the enterprises towards developing relationships with customers in an environment of customer promiscuity in which the main tool of communication influence bordering on the pressure and manipulation of the multidimensional competition is the generally acknowledged accent towards some profit or benefit. In an environment of total competition, increasing the value of the enterprise becomes a question of existence therefore it is the object of long-term effort and search for optimal solutions.
Thirteenth part
FUNDAMENTALS OF DESIGNING INOVATIVE COMPANY
Changes in the world today due to globalization, constant turbulence and global economic tension increase the uncertainty of the behavior of political-economic subjects despite the developmental interstage called the New Economy and decisively determine the behavior of enterprises. The unexpected surprises and regulatory interventions of the decision domain greatly threaten their own existence. In the case of the entry of the company to the world competition, it is a matter of course to follow development of the world markets and recognize parameters posing for the newly-developed world-class enterprise. On this basis, shareholders and interest groups must first rationally consider the assumptions and opportunities to achieve the highest level of entrepreneurship in conditions of continual and merciless global competitive confrontation. Quality is the decisive factor in global hyper-competition. The company has to control the quality level on all management levels and to follow its development and costs. The quality due to its extensiveness and importance has to be objectified. Its characteristics arranged into a certain complex of connected factors enable rational approaches to understanding the term quality but they also determine the synergy level in the realisation processes.
Fourteenth part
DESIGN OF GLOBALLY DRAFTED COMPANY – PART A
Designing a company, especially a company of a global dimension, is an extraordinarily demanding creative and organisational process. Implementations of the latest trends in the given area with the aim to improve the competitive potential of the company designed are expected as commonplace. Already during the preparation phase for beginning the design it is necessary to state the basic parameters. It means that the business plan is considered and all decisive aspects are adapted to it in the project. If we are designing on the “green field” then already on the level of planning the project creation the entrepreneurial visions, targets and strategies for achieving the goals are created. The most important step of every company is the willingness to give up things which were done in the past but today they are insufficient, unsuitable, to change the way of thinking and to admit also new possibilities, new company trends which can mean the part for the enterprise to achieve the world class performance. We could assume that mainly the large multinationals would enter the network enterprises. However, this assumption, as the development has shown, is incorrect. We can observe gradual establishing of new generation companies which are small and manufacture only one specialised product and are socially responsible. The question is how the small companies, which are unable to enter the competitive confrontation in a direct comparison, can thrive in the thrall of larger and financially stronger enterprises.
Fifteenth part
DESIGN OF GLOBALLY DRAFTED COMPANY – PART A
The heterogeneity of production is involved in the differentiation of the industry itself and this fact results from the distinctiveness of the concrete manufacturing systems. The individual industries differ from each other by their main technological processes. Nonetheless, in every industry the sense of manufacturing is to select the most suitable technologies so that from a semi-product the final product (component) with specified geometric and qualitative properties which are given by the technical documentation can arise. The possibilities of creating a project using the systems of a new generation correspond with the concept of building a company on a greenfield site represented by comprehensive integrated solutions which implement the latest software, information, and communication technologies and intelligent manufacturing systems associated in a new adaptable organisational structure in the form of a digital company. The objective of these solutions is to increase productivity without losing flexibility, by shortening the production time, improving quality and values of the products as well as services. They are modified as social and economic systems and therefore they are challenging from the point of view of design, realisation and operation. The company 3D model has a wide utilisation – beginning with creating a new product, following the manufacturing processes up to a detailed analysis of manufacturing equipment breakdowns and simulation of their operation.
Sixteenth part
REALISING PROJECTS IN INDUSTRIAL PRACTICE
The publication cumulates the experience gained from the operation of large enterprise systems. The entrepreneurial environment mercilessly dictates newer and newer requirements and this fact determines the whole production process. The ability of enterprises to survive, prosper and grow is conditioned by the progressive tendency of developing strategic tools in a competitive environment. The worldwide trend in building such enterprises is focused towards increasing product quality, reducing company costs, increasing productivity, reducing time between order and delivery, increasing flexibility of response to customer needs. For that reason production systems at all levels of management and production realization that are sufficiently flexible and guarantee high-quality production even in shorter production times are indispensable.
Seventeenth part
KNOWLEDGE ENTERPRISE
Real life brings experience and verifies theories. If the reality is diametrically different, then the assumptions, goals and projects have brought only a small benefit and soon become the past and time spent in vain. The principal social changes of the recent years, the real life will call for changes in the way of thinking, new solutions and bases. The current truths require major corrections and many things are to be forgotten. Socio-Economic alternations and their reflections in company management and components related to knowledge and knowledge society imply explanation of the social change processes and their consequences for the human quality of life and behaviour.
Eighteenth part
CASE STUDIES
The dictate of time is merciless. Everything is different today than a year ago when an appropriate structure of the publication was formulated – that would contribute to the development of social production practice with a clear goal: to maintain the enterprise, to survive the complexity of the times caused by the global crisis and to help enterprises clarify new effective methods and tools, which would lead to the growth of competitiveness in a complex global environment. Based on the favourable response that followed the publication of the first four volumes of the pentalogy it can be already stated now that the theoretical essence of the ongoing phenomena and company processes was sufficiently explained at the time and even appropriately in advance. Placing boundaries on the thoughts presented in the pentalogy considering the qualitative differentiation of the past, the present and the future is one of the possible ways to realise that the development of global affairs is irreversible as far as its direction is concerned. Only its speed, including the relevant acceleration changes, while it is assumed that this development is understood as an historical test of human wisdom providing us with an opportunity to avoid the unfavourable consequences of the uneconomical handling of our planet‘s wealth.
Nineteenth part
NEW WORLD, NEW OPPORTUNITIES
A New World, Forming Its Cultures. The future of people and their expectations during an era of changes and unexpected surprises – what can mankind expect, how will the companies and entrepreneurs look, what is waiting for us in the coming decades? These few points induce fears, doubts and concerns about the future. The people of today, people in this “strange world” permanently and urgently look for an answer to the question – what will happen in the near future? There are not only the forecasts of shamans or erratic phantasmagorias. The vaults of science are being filled with correctly reasoned ideas which originate in observations of more and more frequent and transparent changes which people are not able to foresee and control. What then is the human future, what possible alternatives are there? Undoubtedly it is mistaken, from the point of view of morale, that society will produce more during the same time period as before, and thus the majority of the population feels a lack of the basic needs.
Twentieth part
APPENDICES, FINAL STATEMENTS
After processing of the issue of learning and growth in the form of a prepared book publishment, many relevant events influencing the life of man have also taken place in the global space. Society changes, economy changes, also political views – and of course, as a result of the great pressures psyche of man changes. Every other day there are new views on the future of man adding up, new philosophical insights on the meaning of life, human existence, purpose of business are occurring. This deficit can be solved by enlargement of the previously discussed issues in the form of supplementary, thematically focused appendices. Let us recall the thoughts of approaching the world reality of the newly created living conditions of a man at the borderline of limit sources as well as the warnings of the International Institute for Applied System Analysis (IIASA) in Luxembourg. The words spelled out by the personalities of science, including the Nobel Prize winners, world politics and the business community, do not leave anyone distant. Within a short period of time from these warnings, a large number of changes have taken place in the world, but with great implications also for countries that have in no way contributed to such undesirable developments. The entrepreneurship itself is in many cases severely limited, and the situation is also changing fundamentally in companies.