Economics and Management 6 (4) 2014

Interdisciplinarity, which is a part of the research paradigm in all fields of science constitutes a real challenge in research. It manifests itself particularly in the diversity of the undertaken research topics, in the variety of the adopted research approaches (theoretical, methodo-logical, normative, empirical-descriptive), and in the flexibility and the ability to see both the scientific problems as well as the economic and social needs. The ability to cross the boundaries between the fields of technical and social sciences, to identify problems and to seek solutions at the frontiers of scientific disciplines, the eagerness to work in research teams diverse in terms of competence, age, skills, creating conditions for both the personal development and that of individual team members, breaking the stereotypical ways of thinking in the process of solving problems and anticipating future events are all features of an academic culture nurtured by Professor Joanicjusz Nazarko. His profile, which is an extraordinary example of the successfully implemented interdisciplinarity principle in research and teaching, is presented in this article at the occasion of his 60th birthday. The paper highlights the research of Professor Joanicjusz Nazarko, presents a review of his extensive scientific work and lists some of his publications.

Keywords:
Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)  benchmarking  foresight  regional foresight 

In 1979 the People’s Republic of China adopted a law introducing birth control planning, which is often known as the "one-child policy” in Western countries. The policy was created and implemented because of numerous demographic and economic problems. The paper presents the assumptions behind the introduced one-child policy, multidimensional analysis of the effects of its actions and their evaluation in the context of the economic development and demographic structure of the Chinese society. It further describes the historical and economic background of the policy and its short and long-term effects in the economic and socio-demographic areas. The analysis presented is based on the World Bank databases (for demographic data comparison), and on socio-political publications from both Western countries and mainland China. The paper strives to fully present and evaluate population planning policies implemented in the PRC.

Keywords:
China  one child policy  population control  demography  society  gender disparities 

The research paper aims to identify the determinants of political legitimacy in post-Soviet countries of Central Asia, to analyse the specific model of leadership in the region and to study the main directions of political transition from totalitarianism to authoritarianism in the Central Asian systems including paradigms of political power. In post-Soviet countries of Central Asia, the remains of a former regime are reflected both in the traditional mentality and in the informal or formal oligarchic and clan political connections. The authorities represent the model of the „neopatrimonial” authoritarian regime with a super-presidential ruling. A specific phenomenon is the significance of a strong leader based on its own ruling party or the armed forces. Elections in the countries have lost their character of a free political competition. Although the elections are held regularly, they do not provide an opportunity to transfer power. Their only purpose is to legitimize it so they have become a plebiscite for presidential popularity rather than a democratic form of people’s representation.

Keywords:
authoritarianism  Central Asia  legitimacy  legitimization 

It is widely accepted that the primary value of technology in relation to business and the national economy consists in the ability to generate high added value. R&D institutions are in need of a decision-making mechanism basing on a particular set of goals that will help avoid unproductive investments in the technology commercialization process. In other words, they need a tool for the assessment of the commercial potential of technologies. Specific characteristics of high technologies has not been taken into account in the scientific literature so fat. Therefore, research on the assessment of the commercial potential of technologies should be regarded as relevant in contemporary management sciences. The aim of the paper is to determine – on the basis of experts’ assessment – the significance of the factors influencing the commercial potential of high and traditional technologies. In order to achieve that goal the following research tasks have been formulated: (1) to determine the factors (and their constituents) influencing the commercial potential of technologies by applying the methods and models of critical comparative analysis; (2) to reveal the factors (and their constituents) determining the commercial po-tential of technologies through the analysis of the scientific literature on the high technologies marketing; (3) to conduct the expert study aiming at the gathering of information on the significance of the high and traditional technologies factors; (4) to evaluate the level of unanimity of experts’ opinions using statistical methods, to calculate the weights of factors and the constituents thereof.

Keywords:
commercial potential of a technology  high-tech  multi-purpose decision making methods 

The aim of the paper is to prove that leaders of the biggest companies operating in the Podlasie region demonstrate three different faces. Initially, the concept of the three faces of leaders was presented in the book The Three Faces of Leadership by Hatch, Kostera and Koźmiński. The authors explained how business officers use aesthetics to lead their companies successfully. They looked at how the leaders inspire organizations with their creativity, virtue and faith, and thus show the faces of the artist and the priest alongside the technical and rational face of the manager. The presentation of the three faces of Podlasie companies' leaders is based on the interviews published in the book Liderzy podlaskiej gospodarki by Jarmołowicz. The Three Faces of Leadership derive directly from the theory of organiza-tional narrative - a genre which is housed in a symbolic-interpretative paradigm of management.

Keywords:
leadership  management  interpretative paradigm 

The work concentrates on the concept of paradigm in the management and organizational sciences. The genesis of the paradigms in these fields, their typology and characteristics are presented. The article points out that, in the study of organizational culture, we have to deal with the multiplicity of paradigms. As the management as well as other sciences develop new paradigms inevitably emerge. Particular attention was paid to the concept of matrix paradigms described by Burrell and Morgan, with its modification proposed by Sulkowski (the idea of naming paradigms). It was stressed that Sulkowski's concepts, in com-parison to the originals from 1979, is a transformation that takes into account the historical perspective, including the development of management science and other social sciences at the turn of the twentieth and the twenty-first century.

Keywords:
paradigms  paradigms of social sciences  management sciences  paradigms of organizational culture 

Polish customs administration undertakes activities aiming at building relations with the business, which can be seen as the realisation of the policies adopted by both sides, at the promotion of the "3i" programme and at the creation of the positive image of Customs Service. The above activities mostly contribute to the facilitation of the goods trade abroad, which in result contributes to the development and to the increase of the competitiveness of Polish enterprises. The major document defining the direction and the range of changes is the Customs Service Business Strategy for the years 2014-2020. It is directed towards supporting economic activities of enterprises and at the increase of customer service stand-ards. It constitutes the basis for supporting activities which accelerate and facilitate the trade of goods abroad, for example the “i-duty” and “i-abroad” programmes. The article attempts to analyse and assess the activities implemented as follow-up to that strategic document. The scope of the required changes in the further entrepreneur-oriented actions facilitating the cross-border trade in goods have been indicated. The considerations in the article are based on the analysis of basic documents defining activities of Customs Service.

Keywords:
Customs Service  facilitate  strategy  entrepreneurs  international trade 

Social participation in shaping the budget of a local Polish government takes the form of the participatory budgeting. The intended effect of the introduction of this form of par-ticipatory democracy is the increased level of citizen satisfaction with public services. In view of the lack of analysis of this issue on the basis of Polish science, the goal of this article was to analyze the structure of the participatory budget on the example of the capital city of Warsaw in three aspects: the procedure of creating a participatory budget in the light of experience with its implementation; the supply-demand collation of projects within the participatory budget; the analysis of opportunities and threats resulting the implementation of the participatory budget. The following materials were used during the preparation of this article: source materials from the Centre for Social Communications of Warsaw, literature on participatory budgeting and the economics of common good, data from the interview with the chief Department of Public Consultation and Participation Warsaw office.

Keywords:
participation  budget  municipality  project  supply  demand 

The article concerns the issue of the amount and the structure of the own-sources revenues of local government units in the analysis of their financial condition. Following the example of the voivodship capital cities the situation of these units has been compared using selected indicators. The analysis led to the conclusion about the usefulness of the employed indicators. On the basis of that one can formulate conclusions regarding the financial standing of the local governments and their development perspectives, as well as the proposals for government policy.

Keywords:
local government  public finances  revenues of local government  Eastern Poland 

The paper addresses the developmental disparities among Polish regions and the problems of financing local authorities in the context of financial stability. Additionally, the socio-economic differences of living standards and the quality of life of the society (households) is analysed. Research into regional development is discussed and systematized. Actions to reduce imbalances in socio-economic development of Polish regions are proposed.

Keywords:
developmental disparities  budget deficits of regions  asymmetry of prosperity 

The paper presents the analysis of the changes that have occurred within a short period in the relationship between savings and economic growth in selected regions of the world. The data published by the International Monetary Fund were used. Certain trends in the relationship between savings and GDP have been identified after analysing data for the years 1980-2012. It was pointed out that due to the level of development of particular regions and their relationships with the global economy correlation between savings and GDP in developing countries who are recipients of capital is positive. Negative indices (in the long run) are typical for developed countries which are donors of capital. However, in the short periods of changes caused by crises the dependence of the variables mentioned above is distorted or even reversed.

Keywords:
ecenomic growth  savings  level of development  correlation 

This article analyses the case study method and its application in accounting module. Labour market requirements in Lithuania and abroad are becoming higher and higher. Completing the theoretical studies is not enough for students. The case study method helps to connect the existing theoretical knowledge and practice. The case study method was used for the first time in 1870 at Harvard University. The method allows a student to be active throughout the process, to make decisions, to give grounded opinions, to work in a team and to make conclusions. This paper addresses the benefits of using case studies in account-ing module between the students without a relevant work experience. In the context of this study, the findings provide evidence that the case study methods should be used in the accounting studies.

Keywords:
case study  the relationship with work experience  awareness of the benefits 

The aim of the study was to analyze the spatial differentiation of living standards in the Warmia-Mazury using cluster analysis. It was found that highest standard of living was no-ticed in the counties of Great Masurian Lakes, such as: olecki, gizycki, mragowski and wegorzewski. It was also noticed that the situation in Elblag was very bad. Socio-economic situation of the county should be deeply analyzed by the local government and the institutions responsible for social infrastructure in the city.

Keywords:
standard of living  warminsko-mazurskie  spatial diversification  county 

The attitude of young people pushes ageing to the margins of modern life. It can be changed by social learning and the promotion of desired behaviors. Accomplished social advertising on old age, however, does not fulfill the necessary conditions for the precise determination of the recipient, content and appropriate range.

Keywords:
ageing  social learning  promotion  social advertising 

This article focuses his on the historical, ethnic, political and social factors which have had impact on religious organisations and the current confessional situation in Grodno area. It is noted that in the contemporary religious expansion of Christian churches – Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant – play an important role. The religiosity level of the popula-tion is high. According to the monitoring carried out in 2012 72.3% of respondents consider themselves believers while the national indicator is about 50%. There are 471 religious communities in Grodno area, 194 of them Orthodox, 176 Roman Catholic, 2 Greek Catholic, 4 Jewish, 8 Muslim, 85 Protestant, 1 Krsna consciousness. Reli-gious situation is essentially determined by the ethnic composition of the district. According to the 2009 census Grodno area was inhabited by 1 072 381 people, 715 249 (66.7%) being Belarusian, 230 810 (21.5%) Poles, 87 451 (8.2%) Russians, 14 983 (1.4%) Ukrainians, 2 153 (0.2%) Lithuanians, 1 710 (0.2%) Tatars and 0,1% declaring other nationality. In Grodno area – in contrast to another regions of the Republic – national identity is closely identified with the religious affiliation (Poles with Catholicism, Belarusians, Russians with the Orthodox Church). As per the legislation of the Republic of Belarus about religious organizations local authorities elaborate a system of relations with churches of various confessions. The article defines the directions and forms of this cooperation and describes the educational, charitable and religious dimensions of the religious bodies. Authorities also help with the renovation of the sacral buildings confiscated during the Soviet period and offer services in conducting events of the religious character. The whole system of cooperation of the authori-ties and religious organizations aims at catering for the spiritual needs of the people and at fostering the involvement of clergy and laity in society and culture.

Keywords:
religious activity  religious space  cooperation  officials local and provincial  church  legisla-tion of the Republic of Belarus  religious and national relations 

The aim of the article is to present and assess financing possibilities of the green economy from European funds planned for 2014-2020. It was done on the example of Podlaskie voivodeship. The article discusses the relationship between green economy and sustainable development. Reference was made also to other existing concepts: green growth and low carbon economy. Specific goals and tasks of the green economy adopted for implementation in the Podlaskie voivodeship were indicated. In the last part of the paper possibilities of financing these tasks from EU funds for 2014-2020 were discussed.

Keywords:
green economy  EU funds  sustainable development 

The supply of environmental protection services is a part of environmental protection expenditure accounts (EPEA). These accounts are an addition to the national accounts and provide important information about the economic conditions of the environment. One of the most important aspects of the EPAE accounts is the production of environmental services. The purpose of this article is to present the volume of production of environmental services, their structure in the configuration of economic sectors and divisions of environmental protection. International comparisons are also carried out. To achieve this goal, an analysis of the literature and existing statistical data as well as sample surveys of the current costs of environmental protection in Poland were conducted.

Keywords:
environment al economics  environmental protection services  global production of envi-ronmental protection services 

This paper demonstrates how the insight-generating features of a static input-output model can be structurally integrated with a comprehensive system dynamics simulation model. The purpose of such integration is to add value to regional economic modeling. We examine how the constraints inherent in the traditional static model can be eliminated and/or relaxed in a dynamic model. Such constraints arise from assumptions of fixed technology, fixed combinations of labor and capital, fixed prices, and surplus factors of production. We describe how these constraints can be alleviated in a system dynamics model. Integration of the two methods enables a disciplined disaggregation of system dynamics-based macro-economic models into interactive industrial sector submodels that facilitate economic impact studies of regions and small nations. Moreover, integration, with its elimination of con-straining static assumptions, extends the applicability and value of input-output analysis.

Keywords:
economic development  input-output  multiplier  system dynamics 

It is important to build good intuitive knowledge of dynamic systems in order to make good decision. However, this intuitive knowledge is often lacking. This is indicated by learning problems at schools, laboratory experiments to test understanding, and observed mismanagement of real world systems. While mathematics is needed to untangle the complexities of dynamic systems, many find mathematics difficult and develop mental blockages. This paper discusses how insights from the field of System Dynamics could be used to help develop intuitive understanding of dynamic systems. The teaching method has four key elements. First one starts with a water analogy. For the dynamic systems that are dealt with in this paper, the analogy consists of a funnel and glass system. Second, a generic symbol lan-guage is used to describe system structure with the necessary cause and effect relationships. Third, simulation is used to study the behaviour over time that follows from the system structure. Simulation can both be used to see if the model structure is able to explain and replicate observed problems, and to test the effects of policy interventions. Fourth, stock and flow diagrams for simple systems are used as starting points when studying the dynamics of systems from different fields. Hence, the method enables interdisciplinary teaching, research, and collaboration. A common language is also crucial for effective transfer of knowledge from a known to an unknown territory.

Keywords:
teaching  System Dynamics  stock and flow diagram  analogies  simulation  transfer of knowledge  interdisciplinary 

The subject of the investigation is the analysis of the existing organizational activities in geological exploration, appraisal and revaluation of groundwater storage, design and construction of large water intakes. The body of knowledge on these issues has developed for 70-80 years of the last century. New principles in organization activities on research (exploration), planning, design and construction of water intakes, and reconstruction and (or) extension of water intakes are proposed in the paper.

Keywords:
water intakes  appraisal  revaluation  exploration 

Organizational and economic optimization of the exploitation of agricultural water supply system consists in the analysis of the process of operation, the development of models allowing to maintain a high level of operation with minimal cost and the selection of the optimal algorithm for creating an organizational model based on the exploitation of the factors in the external and internal environment of agricultural enterprises.

Keywords:
agricultural water supply system  organizational models of operation  decision algorithm  cost analysis 

This paper aims to disclose the opportunities of the offering innovations in enhancing value for wellness services customer. Research relies on the scientific literature studies in order to disclose the specifics of innovations and its aspects, in the wellness services industry in Lithuania. The qualitative content analysis of wellness services enterprises websites was carried out in order to explore the innovations used. The results of the research showed that the Lithuanian wellness services suppliers, preparing the innovative offerings for the wellness services customers, use the modern information technologies as well as technologies directly engaged in the wellness services supply, together with acknowledged wellness products, services and know-how. The innovative value for the consumers is shaped on the ground of value extension through the product, place and promotion. Findings showed the gaps in fulfilling the innovations in processes or pricing of the wellness services in the market.

Keywords:
service offering innovation  value proposition  wellness service  wellness industry 

The complexity and dynamics of the processes taking place in the modern world, including the growth of global problems causes the development of various forms of international cooperation in various fields and areas. Tourism is also such an area, the high growth dy-namics of which in recent years makes it an increasingly important instrument for solving a variety of economic, environmental, social and cultural issues. The aim of the article is to analyse the importance of international cooperation in tourism and the identification of its basic forms, identification of the main actors of the international tourism policy and their initiatives undertaken for the development of tourism, with particular emphasis on the European Union. Against this background, Polish international cooperation in the field of tour-ism was also analysed. The article focuses on the cooperation between government organ-izations. The analysis showed that the increasing importance of various forms of international cooperation in tourism continues to expand its scope and role in the development of modern tourism policy. This trend will escalate, among other things, as a response to the progressive globalization of the tourism economy. International Governmental Organisations primarily constitute an important regulatory system, supporting and coordinating the development of tourism in the world.

Keywords:
international cooperation  tourism  international tourism organizations  European Union  tourism policy 

The aim of the article is to show the applicability of the Delphi method in the process of building a tourism development strategy in the region. The analysis of the regional tourism development strategies, as well as of the literature indicates that the Delphi method has not yet been used in research in the area of tourism in Poland. The foreign literature, however, contains the examples of its use, starting from the eighties of the twentieth century. The article presents the framework of the research process using the Delphi method. It also presents the theses and the research questionnaire developed by the experts from the tourism sector from the Podlaskie Voivodship within the framework of the research project "Foresight as a tool to improve tourism management in the region". Indication of the possibility of applying the Delphi method in the process of building a tourism development strategy in the region will be an opportunity to build a vision of the future, based on the experience and expertise of the stakeholders in the field of science, admin-istration, business, non-governmental organizations, protected areas, cultural institutions and media. Supporting the strategic planning process through the substantial involvement of experts and stakeholders will enable the joint development of the social vision of the future of tourism development by the parties concerned and to uphold a sense of need for its implementation.

Keywords:
tourism management  strategy  Delphi method 

Recent years have witnessed a significant increase of interest in forex market among investors. Whereas ten or fifteen years ago transactions concluded on this market may have been treated as alternative investments, currently it seems that we are dealing with the so called investment of our times. The financial crisis as well as the global situation have made part of investors with smaller possibilities of earning on capital markets move to forex market. The young, beginning investors on the other hand, do not start from equity market acquiring knowledge and indispensable experience, and they frequently start (and unfortunately quickly end) from derivatives market or precisely from forex market. These are very demanding markets on which without a proper investment strategy it is impossible not only to earn but also to sustain. This paper presents the fundamental elements and principles of constructing investment strategies on forex market and attention has been paid to the issues of capital, risk and time management.

Keywords:
forex  investment strategy  elements of strategy  forex risk 

In Poland the business angels’ market is fledgling and it seems to be an extremely interest-ing undertaking to determine its size, the role of business angels in financing firms that are at early stages of development, or to determine investment preferences. Theoretical considerations on this subject have been in progress for the last few years and within this area, indicating the role of business angels in financing startups seems quite obvious. Difficulties, however, appear in relation to the practice of economic life. There is a lack of accurate and complete statistics concerning this subject, and all given data are of estimative character. The main sources of information are most frequently the national and regional networks of business angels. Therefore, the aim of the present paper is to determine the actual role of business angels in financing startups in Polish economic reality. In order to realize the indicated aim, data analyses have been conducted, as well as analyses of information provided by identified Polish networks, institutions and international organizations. Furthermore, statistics have been used of the European Business Angels Network (EBAN) and, to a limited extent, statistics of American market (USA).

Keywords:
business angels  network of business angels  startup  financing startup