Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Ivana Blažková Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Regional and Business Economics, Faculty of Regional Development and International Studies, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Gabriela Chmelíková Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Regional and Business Economics, Faculty of Regional Development and International Studies, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic Title: The Influence of Market Concentration on the Development of Newly Born Businesses in the Czech Republic Abstract: The paper deals with the market concentration as a detractor of life expectancy of new-born economic entities in the Czech economy. Although the start-up firms are small companies, their role in the economy exceeds their size, they are seen as providing the energy for economic growth. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the influence of different levels of market concentration on the business lifespan and consequently the job destruction in the economy. The analysis has shown that the greatest decline of start-up firms comes during the first and second year and that only around 30% of them get to their sixth year. From the viewpoint of the job creation it was found out that almost 30% of all new positions in the Czech economy are established in wholesale and retail trade sector, followed by manufacturing and professional, scientific and technical activities, both with 14% of new jobs. Using the regression analyses and statistical hypotheses testing the relationship between market concentration and firms' lifespan was investigated with result of semi-strong dependency of the business success on the market structure. The positive correlation between the probability of decline across individual economic sectors and the market concentration in these sectors was confirmed on the level of statistical significance α = 0.01. Keywords: start-up firms, market concentration, regional development Journal: Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis Pages: 929-938 Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Year: 2016 DOI: 10.11118/actaun201664030929 File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664030929.html File-Format: text/html File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664030929.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf X-File-Ref: http://acta.mendelu.cz/RePEc/mup/references/acu-201603-0025.txt Handle: RePEc:mup:actaun:actaun_2016064030929 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Jiří Hammer Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Public Finance, Faculty of Finance and Accounting, University of Economics, Prague, nám. W. Churchilla 4, 130 67 Praha 3, Czech Republic Title: The Budgetary Process with a Use of Modern Approaches in Cost Management Abstract: State organisational units still compile their budget as incremental and as such it therefore disregards causes of the origination of costs and does not put a sufficient pressure on increase in efficiency of economy. This article aims to propose a budgetary setup for operating costs using the methods of ABC/ABM (Activity Based Costing/Activity Based Management) in state organisational units (SOU). Essence of the proposed procedure towards budgetary setup as well as cost management is specification of such cost drivers that reflect the causal link between activities of the given organisation and indirect operating costs. Through a system of linear equations there is in turn resolved parity between demands on budgetary funding of a specific activity and full costs of activities. Using a multiple regression analyses, for selected cost groups there was also tested their dependence upon criteria that may act as general cost drivers. Undertaken research has also uncovered that frequently used variable "number of workers" cannot explain the analysed cost groups. Benefit of proposed solutions is increase in efficiency of SOU economy. This way, the management receives a tool for budgeting and cost control not only within the process structure based on activities, but also within individual items of the budgetary classification. Keywords: efficiency, ABC/ABM, budgeting, government Journal: Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis Pages: 939-947 Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Year: 2016 DOI: 10.11118/actaun201664030939 File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664030939.html File-Format: text/html File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664030939.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf X-File-Ref: http://acta.mendelu.cz/RePEc/mup/references/acu-201603-0026.txt Handle: RePEc:mup:actaun:actaun_2016064030939 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Zdeněk Konečný Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economics, Faculty of Business and Management, Brno University of Technology, Antonínská 548/1, 601 90 Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Marek Zinecker Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economics, Faculty of Business and Management, Brno University of Technology, Antonínská 548/1, 601 90 Brno, Czech Republic Title: Optimizing Risk Structure in Connection with the Corporate Life Cycle and Sector Cyclicity Abstract: Entrepreneurial activities and thus also investments are connected with two kinds of risks, namely with the operational and financial risk. Both of them are dependent especially on the corporate life cycle and on the sector sensitivity to the economic cycle. The main aim of this article is to propose a methodology supporting managers and investors when estimating the shares of operational and financial risks in the entrepreneurial risk with taking into account the corporate life cycle and the sector sensitivity to the economic cycle. This methodology is subsequently applied in a selected company in the form of a case study and thus their results prove its practical applicability for both financial managers and potential investors as decision makers. This study relies on both secondary and primary data that were collected using databases and a semi-structured questionnaire. The data were processed by using descriptive statistical methods and a case study. The proposed methodology considers the actual phase of the corporate life cycle and the degree of sector sensitivity to the economic cycle. Determining the risk structure should simplify the risk management and subsequently raise the capital access. The methodology also contributes to investment decision-making, because the investors can assess investments with regard to their risk profile. Keywords: monetary policy, business cycle, macroeconomics, microeconomics, management, corporate life cycle, financial risk, operational risk, investment decision-making, risk management Journal: Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis Pages: 949-959 Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Year: 2016 DOI: 10.11118/actaun201664030949 File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664030949.html File-Format: text/html File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664030949.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf X-File-Ref: http://acta.mendelu.cz/RePEc/mup/references/acu-201603-0027.txt Handle: RePEc:mup:actaun:actaun_2016064030949 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Ivana Koštuříková Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Finance and Accounting, School of Business Administration in Karviná, Silesian University in Opava, Univerzitní nám. 1934/3, 733 40 Karviná, Czech Republic Title: The Effect of Changes in Sickness Insurance on Incapacity for Work in Selected Regions of the Czech Republic Abstract: Sickness insurance as part of social insurance is obligatory for a majority of Czech citizens - i.e., they are required by law to pay this insurance. On the other hand, they are entitled to certain benefits of this system in the case of social events determined by law. Legislative changes in sickness insurance significantly influenced the development of all indicators of temporary incapacity for work (TIW) in individual regions. These changes are reflected most markedly in the indicators of the number of new cases of TIW per 100 insured persons, the average duration of 1 case of TIW and the average percentage of TIW. The aim of this paper is to give an idea of sickness insurance, especially of the impact of legal regulation changes in the system of this insurance on employees, who represent the largest share of socially insured persons, focusing on Prague, the Moravian-Silesian and the South-Moravian regions. The impact of changes in sickness insurance will be presented by selected indicators of temporary incapacity for work using regression analysis to estimate the development of individual indicators in the following years based on knowledge of the development of indicators in the years 2000-2014. Reform steps in the area of sickness insurance and sickness benefits have brought a reduction in the number of cases of incapacity for work and extending the length of one case of TIW. The value of the average percentage of incapacity for work was also registered a decrease in the researched period. Keywords: sickness insurance, sickness benefits, TIW, employees, Czech Republic, regions, R2 index Journal: Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis Pages: 961-969 Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Year: 2016 DOI: 10.11118/actaun201664030961 File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664030961.html File-Format: text/html File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664030961.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf X-File-Ref: http://acta.mendelu.cz/RePEc/mup/references/acu-201603-0028.txt Handle: RePEc:mup:actaun:actaun_2016064030961 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Jana Laštůvková Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Finance, Faculty of Business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic Title: Liquidity Determinants of the Selected Banking Sectors and their Size Groups Abstract: The article focuses on the factors affecting the liquidity of selected bank sectors, as well as their size groups, using panel regression analysis. For higher complexity of the results, multiple dependent variables are used: liquidity creation, outflow and net change. The values are calculated based on the specific method of liquidity risk measurement - gross liquidity flows. The results indicate both multiple effects of some factors on the given variables, as well as isolated influence of factors on a single liquidity form or size group. Thus, when looking for determinants using just one form of liquidity, such as creation, the results need not necessarily comprehensively show the influence of the given factors, and can lead to erroneous conclusions. The results also point to the differing behaviours of the size groups and their different sensitivity on the factors; smaller banks have shown higher sensitivity on macroeconomic variables. Higher flexibility in regulation could lead to higher optimization. Keywords: liquidity determinants, measurement liquidity, size of the banks, different liquidity forms Journal: Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis Pages: 971-978 Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Year: 2016 DOI: 10.11118/actaun201664030971 File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664030971.html File-Format: text/html File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664030971.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf X-File-Ref: http://acta.mendelu.cz/RePEc/mup/references/acu-201603-0029.txt Handle: RePEc:mup:actaun:actaun_2016064030971 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Jana Lososová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Accounting and Finances, Faculty of Economics, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Branišovská 1645/31a, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic Author-Name: Jaroslav Svoboda Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Accounting and Finances, Faculty of Economics, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Branišovská 1645/31a, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic Author-Name: Radek Zdeněk Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Accounting and Finances, Faculty of Economics, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Branišovská 1645/31a, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic Title: Comparison of Operational Subsidies on Less Favoured Areas in EU Countries Abstract: This article is aimed at an analysis of operational subsidies on the Less Favoured Areas (LFA) in the European Union countries. With the help of cluster analysis, the EU countries were divided into groups and, using correlation and regression analyses, the relations between defined indicators were evaluate. The indicators of FADN EU related to the cultivated land area were completed with relative indicators. Some differences were proved in subsidy effectiveness between particular groups of the countries. The amount of operational subsidies only has a positive impact on subsidised costs in the mountain LFAs. Worse productive and climate conditions increase the dependence of the output on subsidies related to cost effectiveness. No dependence of the output share of subsidies and the subsidised costs was proven in all groups. Keywords: agriculture, CAP, Operational subsidies - excluding on investments, outputs, inputs, LFA Journal: Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis Pages: 979-992 Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Year: 2016 DOI: 10.11118/actaun201664030979 File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664030979.html File-Format: text/html File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664030979.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf X-File-Ref: http://acta.mendelu.cz/RePEc/mup/references/acu-201603-0030.txt Handle: RePEc:mup:actaun:actaun_2016064030979 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Martin Mariš Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of European Studies and Regional Development, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovak Republic Title: Effect of the Centrifugal and Centripetal Effects in Core Versus (Semi)Periphery in Central Europe Countries Abstract: The paper focuses on examining regional disparities in Austria, Czech republic, Slovakia and Hungary (CE countries) in spatial perspective on NUTS III level. It took two crucial topics: spatial regional imbalances and polarization of the development. Spatial imbalances over the territory were examined via using the Moran's coefficient of spatial autocorrelation and the Geary's C statistics for mutual comparisons of achieving results. Both results showed a significant degree of the inequality. Polarization of the development was examined via measuring the possible centrifugal and centripetal effects, present in the proximity of the core regions of CE countries. Empirical examination showed "contradictory" results, indicating presence of both effects based on Gi(d) statistics introduced by Getis and Ord (1992). Thus we can conclude the spatial imbalance over the territory of CE countries is significant, and we can't rule out acting of centrifugal and centripetal effects, however distinctly in some core regions. Keywords: region, spatial imbalance, regional polarization, centrifugal and centripetal effects, spatial autocorrelation Journal: Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis Pages: 993-1000 Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Year: 2016 DOI: 10.11118/actaun201664030993 File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664030993.html File-Format: text/html File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664030993.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf X-File-Ref: http://acta.mendelu.cz/RePEc/mup/references/acu-201603-0031.txt Handle: RePEc:mup:actaun:actaun_2016064030993 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Eva Mazegue Pavelková Author-Workplace-Name: PPG Industries Czech Republic, s. r. o., Holandská 6/8, 639 00 Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Iva Živělová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Regional and Business Economics, Faculty of Regional Development and International Studies, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic Title: Pricing Electric Power in the Czech Republic and in Selected Countries Abstract: This paper focuses on state intervention in the pricing of electricity from renewable power sources in the Czech Republic when compared with the pricing in the Slovak Republic, Germany, France and Italy. In these countries the state intervention is implemented in different forms, but the critical part of the price is regulated everywhere by the state. The price of electricity is determined by its production costs, which depend on the source from which electricity is produced. The highest cost of electricity is required to generate renewable energy, particularly solar power, while the lowest costs of power are associated with its production by coal-fired and natural gas-fired thermal power plants. However, hydroelectric power plants attain clearly the lowest cost for generating electricity. State intervention includes supporting power generation from renewable power sources by guaranteeing purchase prices. Keywords: the price of electricity, power generation from renewable power sources, the cost-effectiveness of power generation, state intervention in the electricity market Journal: Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis Pages: 1001-1011 Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Year: 2016 DOI: 10.11118/actaun201664031001 File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031001.html File-Format: text/html File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031001.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf X-File-Ref: http://acta.mendelu.cz/RePEc/mup/references/acu-201603-0032.txt Handle: RePEc:mup:actaun:actaun_2016064031001 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Michal Medonos Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Business and Management, Brno University of Technology, Kolejní 2906/4, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Marie Jurová Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Business and Management, Brno University of Technology, Kolejní 2906/4, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic Title: Implementing Lean Production - Application of Little's Law Abstract: This article is about implementing lean production in a company and problems with this process. Firstly it focuses on the definition of lean production. From literature review we find that there isn't uniform opinion on the process of implementing lean production. Every author focuses on usage of different framework and tools during this process. In the article, there is mentioned problem of evaluating the level of implementation of lean production in the companies too. Secondly article presents the opinion of the authors about the principles of implementation of lean production. It is mechanism based on variability and buffers in the production systems. Little's law is presented as a main tool that can help to better understand the process and manage the implementation in the right way. Finally there is shortly presented practical use of this law and mechanism in real company. Keywords: lean production, cost of buffers, improving performance, company strategy, efficiency Journal: Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis Pages: 1013-1019 Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Year: 2016 DOI: 10.11118/actaun201664031013 File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031013.html File-Format: text/html File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031013.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf X-File-Ref: http://acta.mendelu.cz/RePEc/mup/references/acu-201603-0033.txt Handle: RePEc:mup:actaun:actaun_2016064031013 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Natalia Mokhova Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economics, Faculty of Business and Management, Brno University of Technology, Antonínská 548/1, 601 90 Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Marek Zinecker Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economics, Faculty of Business and Management, Brno University of Technology, Antonínská 548/1, 601 90 Brno, Czech Republic Title: Corporate Negative Equity: The Evidence from the European Union Abstract: After the Global Financial Crisis the frequency of reported losses of companies has increased significantly in countries of the European Union. Moreover, the financial leverage of companies have increased and even exceeded 100% in several countries. The reason of this development is negative equity that companies find themselves to report. At first sight negative equities are caused by accumulated losses from prior periods. However, there are some other reasons that can result in increasing negative equities in companies. They remain adequate as long as a company is able to pay its bills. Nevertheless, a company with negative equity is exposed to risks. This paper investigates whether the corporate negative equity is a sign of the future failure of a company. We examine non-financial manufactured companies from selected countries of the European Union within the period 2005-2012 from database Amadeus (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Germany). By the means of comparison between negative and positive equities we applied descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis. We find that in all surveyed countries the size positively influences the equity of companies. Other factors as profitability and growth opportunities do not influence the corporate equity. In addition the binary logistic regression analysis has been conducted based on the evidence from Czech companies. Our results indicate that negative equities are not a sign of bankruptcy or insolvency of a company. But the low profitability or low business activities (that are predictors of bankruptcy) might lead to negative equities in the balance sheet. Keywords: business cycle, financial crisis, corporate economics, European Union Journal: Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis Pages: 1021-1036 Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Year: 2016 DOI: 10.11118/actaun201664031021 File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031021.html File-Format: text/html File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031021.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf X-File-Ref: http://acta.mendelu.cz/RePEc/mup/references/acu-201603-0034.txt Handle: RePEc:mup:actaun:actaun_2016064031021 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Ľudmila Nagyová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Marketing and Trade, Faculty of Economics and Management, Slovak University of Agriculture, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovak Republic Author-Name: Mária Holienčinová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Marketing and Trade, Faculty of Economics and Management, Slovak University of Agriculture, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovak Republic Author-Name: Ingrida Košičiarová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Marketing and Trade, Faculty of Economics and Management, Slovak University of Agriculture, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovak Republic Author-Name: Tomáš Holota Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Quality and Engineering Technologies, Faculty of Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovak Republic Title: Corporate Social Responsibility in Food Manufacturing Companies - Environmental Dimensions Abstract: The degree of a company's acceptance and integration of the CSR concept is directly reflected in the fundamental principles of the company. Through the environmental sustainability, a company can make a positive contribution to the society and the natural environment. Competitive and cost pressures are the key drivers of sustainable development in the industry. Today, many international food and drink companies are delivering excellent achievements. The present paper tries to highlight how much are food manufacturing companies committed to caring for the environment as a main component of their CSR strategy. In order to fulfil the defined objectives of the paper, the primary and secondary sources of information were collected and used, as well as there was used the method of interview, using a questionnaire (total number of respondents was 100 food manufacturing companies). In our research the highest percentage of large, SMC and micro companies indicated the reduction of negative operational impacts as the most important commitment of companies in relation to environment. Most large companies invest to installing pollution reducing technology to improve environmental quality (67%) and utilizing more environmentally friendly raw materials (51%). These areas indicated the highest percentage as well as for SMC. In the case of large companies there are more visible movements in environmental practices than in micro and small-medium companies. Keywords: environmental sustainability, corporate social responsibility, food company Journal: Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis Pages: 1037-1043 Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Year: 2016 DOI: 10.11118/actaun201664031037 File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031037.html File-Format: text/html File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031037.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf X-File-Ref: http://acta.mendelu.cz/RePEc/mup/references/acu-201603-0035.txt Handle: RePEc:mup:actaun:actaun_2016064031037 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Tomáš Najbrt Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Wood Processing, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Kamila Hasilová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Econometrics, Faculty of Military Leadership, University of Defence, Kounicova 65, 662 10 Brno, Czech Republic Title: Impact of the Financial Crisis of 2008 on Furniture Industry in the Czech Republic and Development of Tangible Fixed Assets in 2005-2012 and its Possible Renewal Abstract: This paper is focused on furniture firms in the Czech Republic during the period 2005-2012, which covers the year of the crisis. The aim was to assess the given economic situation of the manufacturing businesses comparing some of the economic indicators such as tangible fixed assets, revenue from own production and services, pre-tax profit and labor costs. The study was conducted in the Czech Republic using the data provided by the Czech Statistical Office. Results for the specified period and selected groups of micro furniture companies are shown; dependence of economic indicators within the given time period is also analyzed. The analysis has shown that the smallest of the firms were least affected by the economic crisis; moreover, the medium-sized of the companies exhibit tangible assets growth and certain degree of inertia in years 2008 and 2009. Finally, possibilities how the micro furniture companies could proceed when purchasing new technologies are outlined. Keywords: furniture company, tangible assets, machinery obsolescence, investments Journal: Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis Pages: 1045-1052 Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Year: 2016 DOI: 10.11118/actaun201664031045 File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031045.html File-Format: text/html File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031045.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf X-File-Ref: http://acta.mendelu.cz/RePEc/mup/references/acu-201603-0036.txt Handle: RePEc:mup:actaun:actaun_2016064031045 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Petr Petera Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Management Accounting, Faculty of Finance and Accounting, University of Economics, Prague, nám. W. Churchilla 4, 130 67 Praha 3, Czech Republic Author-Name: Jaroslav Wagner Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Management Accounting, Faculty of Finance and Accounting, University of Economics, Prague, nám. W. Churchilla 4, 130 67 Praha 3, Czech Republic Author-Name: Kateřina Knorová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Management Accounting, Faculty of Finance and Accounting, University of Economics, Prague, nám. W. Churchilla 4, 130 67 Praha 3, Czech Republic Title: Perception and Interpretation of Sustainability Among the Largest Corporations Established in the Czech Republic Abstract: The paper addresses perception and interpretation of sustainability among the largest corporations established in the Czech Republic. Despite the fact that the amount of literature on sustainability is substantial, there is lack of empirical investigation into understanding sustainability among corporations established in the Czech Republic. We used qualitative methodology (semi-structured interviews) to investigate how the largest corporations established in the Czech Republic understand and deal with sustainability-related issues. Key sustainability-related themes are identified and discussed in the paper. On the basis of comparison of our results with the prior literature it is possible to sum up that our findings are mostly in accordance with previous research. Majority of our respondents perceive sustainability as containing economic, environmental and social dimension and their sustainability-related initiatives are both internally and externally oriented. Reporting on sustainability is relatively new topic for respondents, but its importance is growing. The key future challenges include better integration of sustainability-related initiatives into the core business activities, implementation of sustainability accounting and standardization of sustainability reporting (probably on the basis of the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines). Keywords: understanding sustainability, sustainability-related initiatives, motives for dealing with sustainability, reporting on sustainability, reporting standards, Global Reporting Initiative, stakeholders Journal: Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis Pages: 1053-1065 Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Year: 2016 DOI: 10.11118/actaun201664031053 File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031053.html File-Format: text/html File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031053.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf X-File-Ref: http://acta.mendelu.cz/RePEc/mup/references/acu-201603-0037.txt Handle: RePEc:mup:actaun:actaun_2016064031053 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Ladislav Skořepa Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Landscape Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Branišovská 1645/31a, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic Author-Name: Kamil Pícha Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Trade and Tourism, Faculty of Economics, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Branišovská 1645/31a, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic Title: Factors of Purchase of Bread - Prospect to Regain the Market Share? Abstract: The aim of the article is to assess the consumers' buying behaviour and decision-making process when purchasing bread and to propose the ways of how to improve the position of bread in the market. 1601 properly filled questionnaires were used for the analysis. Results are presented under the form of frequencies of answers and statistical tests. The analysis included evaluation of statistical hypotheses about the independence (significance level α = 0.01) using the chi-square goodness of fit test and Pearson coefficient of contingency. The significance level was then compared with the value p-value, for p-value > α, the null hypothesis was not rejected. The most important factors of choosing bread are freshness, appearance habit and price. The importance of the price grows with the increasing age of respondents and decreases with the increasing income of questioned consumers. The importance of the brand, as well as the reference or recommendation from the family and friends slightly strengthens with the increasing income of the consumers. Most of the respondents make no difference between both (yeast and rye leaven) technologies of baking bread when making their buying decision. We cannot say, however, the preference to the rye leaven bread grows with the increasing age of respondents to the detriment of the yeast bread or vice versa. Keywords: buying behaviour, food choice, consumer preferences, bread, yeast, rye leaven, promotion, market Journal: Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis Pages: 1067-1072 Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Year: 2016 DOI: 10.11118/actaun201664031067 File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031067.html File-Format: text/html File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031067.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf X-File-Ref: http://acta.mendelu.cz/RePEc/mup/references/acu-201603-0038.txt Handle: RePEc:mup:actaun:actaun_2016064031067 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Petr Svoboda Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Business Economic and Management, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Pardubice, Studentská 95, 532 10 Pardubice, Czech Republic Title: Analysis of Market Concentration in Selected Sectors of Public Procurement Abstract: The goal of this article is the analysis of influence of market concentration in selected areas of public procurement on chosen parameters of public procurement in years 2007 and 2011. Five concentration ratios and five parameters of contracts are calculated for each of five chosen areas of public tenders in 2007 and 2011. After this task, the correlation analysis between concentration ratios and parameters of contracts is done for finding out mutual relation between these two variables. Correlation analysis is then compared with four created hypotheses about the relationship between market concentration and parameters of public procurement The results of the analysis are surprising, because in most cases, the stated hypotheses were rejected, meaning that the correlations between the parameters of public procurement and market concentration were different than this study predicted based on economic theory. The possible reasons for this result, discussed in the article, are corruption and also poor quality of data from Information system of public procurement administered by the Ministry for Regional Development of Czech Republic. Keywords: concentration ratios, public tenders, parameters of contracts, analysis, correlation Journal: Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis Pages: 1073-1082 Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Year: 2016 DOI: 10.11118/actaun201664031073 File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031073.html File-Format: text/html File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031073.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf X-File-Ref: http://acta.mendelu.cz/RePEc/mup/references/acu-201603-0039.txt Handle: RePEc:mup:actaun:actaun_2016064031073 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Hana Urbancová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 21 Praha 6, Czech Republic Author-Name: Helena Čermáková Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Trade and Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 21 Praha 6, Czech Republic Author-Name: Hana Vostrovská Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Trade and Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 21 Praha 6, Czech Republic Title: Diversity Management in the Workplace Abstract: Diversity is a phenomenon which is increasingly manifesting itself in the globalized society; therefore, it is observable in various areas of human activity, and thus also in the labour market and work teams. Age, sex, ethnicity and nationality, creed or disabilities are among the parameters of diversity. The aim of the article is to identify and evaluate the implementation of Diversity Management in workplaces, whilst bearing in mind researched factors of diversity. The results were gained by conducting a primary survey by questionnaire in organizations (n = 315). The results showed that a total of 41.9% of selected organizations operating in the Czech Republic implement Diversity Management. The largest part of organizations operate in the tertiary sector (69.7%). The survey results show the situation concerning Diversity Management in the selected organizations and support the oppinion that Diversity Management is a current global matter and its concerns all organizations. The research parameters influenced the application of Diversity Management in organizations (Cramer's V is from 0.176 to 0.430). One of the recommendations for organizations is that they devote more attention to this phenomenon, as qualified human resources is on the decline and adequate attention will once again need to be devoted to groups of potential workers who have hitherto been overlooked. Diversity Management represents a new opportunity for organizations to build the employer's good brand and attract knowledge workers. Keywords: diversity, labour market, diversity management, working group, workforce, organizations, human resources Journal: Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis Pages: 1083-1092 Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Year: 2016 DOI: 10.11118/actaun201664031083 File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031083.html File-Format: text/html File-URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201664031083.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf X-File-Ref: http://acta.mendelu.cz/RePEc/mup/references/acu-201603-0040.txt Handle: RePEc:mup:actaun:actaun_2016064031083