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- ItemThe competitive environment among companies in the Czech part of Euroregion Neisse-Nisa-Nysa(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Dědková, Jaroslava; Blažková, Klára; Ekonomická fakultaThe paper concentrates on the characteristics of the competitive environment in the Czech part of Euroregion Nisa and a constituent part of the outcome of a specific research project at the Faculty of Economics at the Technical University in Liberec. It can be assumed that a company that wants to succeed on the market must use its competitive advantage and develop its competitiveness. This is based on the ability to respond quickly and correctly to the requirements of customers and competing companies. Competitiveness means a company generating competitive advantages faster than its competitors. The authors look at the question of which competitive advantages exist among the companies in ERN, what is important to companies and what relationship there is between competitive advantages and the competitive strategies used. The introduction to the paper presents methodological approaches to the topics of competitive strategies and the competitive environment from the perspective of experts on the matter. The main aim of the paper is to identify and characterise the competitive environment of companies in the Czech part of Euroregion Nisa based on an evaluation of data from primary questioning. The authors of the paper deal with the issue of the main competitive strategies that companies now use and in what lies their competitive advantage. Results and discussion are found in an evaluation of primary research undertaken among 170 companies in the Czech part of Euroregion Nisa. A detailed investigation confirmed that competitive advantage and competitive strategies need to be understood as multi-dimensional and multi-factored. There are several “key” types of competitive advantage, their number and order of importance depending on many circumstances; for example a company's sphere of activity, the area of business activity, the size of the company, the requirements of owners and customers, the priorities of management and so on. Each industry uses its own competitive advantage differently and the decisive factor is succeeding with customers. It can be contended that successful companies need to produce differentiated products at low cost and need to be flexible.
- ItemScenarios and their application in strategic planning(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Fotr, Jiří; Špaček, Miroslav; Souček, Ivan; Vacík, Emil; Ekonomická fakultaThe article deals with the concept of scenario planning. Scenarios, as opposed to usual prediction methods, are focused on the identification of discontinuities in the development and help the organization cope with sudden changes and noticeably contribute to its survival. Contemporary methods of scenarios construction work on need to ensure flexibility of the strategic plan and get the firm ready for a quick reaction when set trigger points specifying the corresponding scenario come to pass. Processing of business environment information, known as Business Intelligence, becomes necessity. Based on the methodological platform, it describes in detail the stepwise process of scenario construction. The very process of scenario elaboration goes through six basic steps, Identification of risk factors and determination of their importance; Selection of key risks which, according to the company’s opinion, fundamentally influence fulfilment of strategic goals; Formulation of basic scenarios and testing their consistency; Determination of probability of scenarios occurrence and Performing a “gap analysis” for the sake of determining the extent of strategic goals fulfilment. There are various types of scenarios which might be respected due to the development of entrepreneurial environment introduced and discussed. Respecting the indicated risk factors and their influence on key risks of the financial plan, the spread of scenarios is being drafted. It is typical of business practice to work with 3–4 scenarios. Besides determining the impact of a risk on the firm’s performance (the rate of fulfilling set strategic goals), the probability assessment of each scenario is also necessary. Outputs from constructed scenarios are to be worked up into a particular strategic option, which may be used as a qualified base for the strategic decision-making process.The practical application shows how the methodology used raises flexibility in strategic planning of the firm.
- ItemThe costs and reimbursements for lung cancer treatment among selected health care providers in the Czech Republic(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Šimrová, Jana; Barták, Miroslav; Vojtíšek, Radovan; Rogalewicz, Vladimír; Ekonomická fakultaThe objective of the article is to objectivise and assess the costs for the lung cancer therapy from the payer’s (health insurance company) and the healthcare provider’s (hospital) perspective based on information available from several large hospitals and specialised centres. No comprehensive assessment of costs related to the treatment of lung cancers at all stages has been published in the Czech Republic to-date. The results in this study are calculated based on diagnostic and therapeutic algorithms, i.e. process maps. These, in turn, are derived from the recommended therapeutic procedures issued by the Masaryk Institute of Oncology, the University Hospital in Hradec Králové and the University Hospital in Plzeň. In total, the costs and reimbursements were calculated for 32 utilized algorithms, i.e. process maps. The costs for therapeutic processes account for 22 results, while 10 results correspond to diagnostic processes. Both direct and indirect costs were included in individual calculations. The calculations imply that treatment costs significantly differ depending on the selected diagnostic and therapeutic procedure. It becomes apparent that the setting of the reimbursement system presently generates different stimuli for providers, who may reach both positive and negative balances. This fact, in turn, may have an effect on the economic result leading, in its consequence, to the preference of more suitable alternatives in terms of reimbursement regardless of the optimum procedures for the particular patient. This fact is, to a certain extent, reflected by the reimbursements calculated by means of the DRG system. The given algorithms may potentially be used by health care providers to reach working costs, which will allow accurate calculations for particular hospitals.
- ItemTranzitivní ekonomiky: politická ekonomie Ruska, východní Evropy a střední Asie(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Koutský, Jaroslav; Ekonomická fakultaTranzitivní ekonomiky: politická ekonomie Ruska, východní Evropy a střední Asie
- ItemDestination attractiveness of Slovakia: perspectives of demand from major tourism source markets(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Pompurová, Kristína; Šimočková, Ivana; Ekonomická fakultaThe destination attractiveness is an expression of territory attractiveness in relation to the decision-making process of its visitors. It plays a key role in determination of destination’s competitive advantage; subsequently it influences the economic effects resulting from goods and services consumption in its territory. In scientific literature a significant attention has been paid to this concept for several decades. The aim of this paper was to examine destination attractiveness of Slovakia in terms of the most important tourism source markets demand – Visegrad countries’ inhabitants, representing 80% share of the overall visitation of Slovakia. The attractiveness analysis results in terms of satisfied demand suggest that Slovakia is attractive to 4% of the V4 countries’ population who visit it on average once a year, that is, to 14% of the V4 countries’ population, who undertake one over-night stay per year on average. Slovakia is extremely attractive to the Czechs thanks to its proximity, common political history and non-existing language barrier; however, it remains unattractive to other V4 countries inhabitants. In terms of potential demand, Slovakia meets the ideal destination expectations of 70–71% of V4 countries population, which means it is strongly attractive to them. The Poles find it the most attractive while Hungarian and Czech residents find it less attractive. Slovakia’s own inhabitants appreciate this tourism destination the least. They particularly criticize lack of quality services, negative attitude toward customers and high prices which do not correspond with the quality of services. Slovak respondents find the natural beauties of their own country most attractive. Such an evaluation is common for the Czech and Hungarian respondents too. According to the Polish respondents, the most attractive in Slovakia is the positive attitude of local population. They evaluate sports and recreational facilities and activities extremely positively. The inhabitants of Slovakia, Hungary and Poland find Slovakia much more attractive from the point of view of perceived destination attractiveness than in terms of satisfied demand attractiveness. Thus, there is a large gap for visitation increase, but also for perception improvement of Slovakia as a tourism destination. In the case of the Czech market, the attractiveness of Slovakia in terms of satisfied demand is very strong, and it is necessary to maintain this positive fact. In this connection the innovations and their promotion on relevant markets may be decisive. And thus the position of tourism as a tool for economic, social and cultural development of the country can be enhanced.
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