Przedmiotem opracowania jest analiza wpływu międzynarodowej fragmentaryzacji procesów produkcji na kształtowanie się przewagi konkurencyjnej krajów rozwijających się w handlu międzynarodowym. Stopień fragmentaryzacji został oszacowany za pomocą nowej metody opartej na koncepcji wartości dodanej w handlu. W roku 2009 najwyższy udział zagranicznej wartości dodanej w eksporcie brutto miały Tajwan i Meksyk. Kraje rozwijające się w ujęciu wartościowym były eksporterami netto produktów kapitałochłonnych oraz importerami pracochłonnych. Fragmentaryzacja została oszacowana poprzez dekompozycje całkowitej wartości dodanej na krajową i zagraniczną wartość dodaną wyrażoną w eksporcie całkowitym. W analizie wykorzystano dwa podstawowe Źródła danych: OECD-WTO Trade in Value Added Database (TIVA) [2013] oraz World Input-Output Database.

Celem artykułu było zweryfikowanie, czy chiński rynek gier komputerowych może być okazją do rozwoju dla polskich producentów gier oraz która część tego rynku jest najbardziej obiecująca i daje największe możliwości wzrostu. Drugim celem było zidentyfikowanie najważniejszych barier wejścia na chiński rynek gier komputerowych oraz sprawdzenie, czy jest możliwe pokonanie tych barier. Analiza wzrostu liczby ludności z dostępem do Internetu oraz wskaźnika penetracji wskazują, że chiński rynek gier internetowych ma potencjał, aby stać się największym na świecie. Dalsze analizy pomogły w ustaleniu, że rynki gier internetowych oraz gier na telefony komórkowe są najbardziej obiecujące z punktu widzenia polskich producentów gier. Zidentyfikowanych zostało wiele barier wejścia na chiński rynek gier internetowych i gier na telefony komórkowe, ale żadne z nich nie są na tyle wysokie, aby zatrzymać ewentualną ekspansję polskich producentów gier.

Ocena unijnej polityki spójności jest niejednoznaczna. Kontrowersje budzą zwłaszcza nieudane próby osiągnięcia głównego celu, tzn. spójności społecznej, gospodarczej i terytorialnej. Należy się zatem zastanowić, czy i w jakim kształcie politykę tę powinno się kontynuować, zwłaszcza że stanowi ona jedną z najbardziej kosztownych pozycji we wspólnym budżecie. Z wcześniejszych badań na poziomie regionalnym wynika, że jednym z kontrowersyjnych obszarów jest system instytucjonalny [por. Świerkocki, 2010].W świetle raportu Barki1 i propozycji zwiększania kompetencji władz regionalnych dyskusja ta wydaje się szczególnie zasadna, zwłaszcza teraz, gdy trwają prace nad kształtem organizacyjnym i finansowym kolejnej perspektywy finansowej (2014–2020) [Barca, 2009]. Główny cel artykułu stanowi ocena systemu zarządzania funduszami strukturalnymi UE na poziomie 5egionalnym w Polsce. Dokonano jej na podstawie literatury przedmiotu, prawa i dokumentów programowych. W pracy wykorzystano również wyniki badania kwestionariuszowego, przeprowadzonego w województwie łódzkim w latach 2010–2012 w ramach regionalnego projektu badawczego. Z badania wynika, że pomimo wielu lat doświadczeń (programy przedakcesyjne, NPR 2004–2006) system ma wady, które mogą obniżać efektywność wydatkowania środków publicznych oraz powodować prymat procedur nad merytorycznym zakresem działań.

Poruszona w publikacji problematyka dotyczy sytuacji, w której oferenci usług lotniczych i turystycznych uczestniczą w dynamicznie rozwijającym się procesie globalizacji oraz wzrastającej intensywności konkurencji. Zaprezentowano ważny dla zmian zachodzących w pasażerskich przewozach lotniczych proces liberalizacji rynku, który w tym przypadku spełnia funkcję stymulatora rozwoju współpracy z operatorami ruchu turystycznego. Przedstawiono zagadnienia związane zarówno z konkurencją międzysegmentową, jak i wewnątrzsegmentową oraz wpływ kryzysu na wybór formy organizacyjnej urlopów. Omówiono proces oddziaływania wzrostu poziomu podaży usług lotniczych na konkurencję w przypadku rozpoczęcia działalności nowego przewoźnika liniowego na polskim rynku turystyki lotniczej. Przedstawiono strategię cenową w czasie trwania promocji, najbardziej popularne destynacje oraz preferencje klientów dotyczące terminu podróży. Z przeprowadzonych rozważań wynika, że dynamika rozwoju turystyki jest zależna od stopnia dostępności komunikacji lotniczej, ze względu na realizowanie działalności poznawczej i rekreacyjnej w coraz odleglejszych regionach kontynentu i świata.

The world trade, and the global logistics system it has created, strongly impact the international
maritime transport sector as well as other segments of the global economy. The existing relations
among them are reflected in the most comprehensive form on global commodity markets
(primary ones) and transport markets (secondary ones). Author has analyzed both types of
markets and their dynamic, trying to identify and evaluate the main tendencies and occurrences
existing in each of those sensitive segments of the global economy. Furthermore, he has made an
attempt to determine the influence of world commodity markets and global logistics system in
terms of their scope and strength over global maritime container transport market. The research
results unequivocally indicate that this segment of global freight market shows relatively high
degree of adaptability to the dynamic changes of its trade pattern and logistics environment.
Moreover, the world maritime container transport market does not generate high logistics costs
and thereby it is not a barrier to the world merchandise trade and the global logistics system
development.

The field of human resource management (HRM) has undergone significant changes due to ongoing
globalization processes, IT technology developments, economic environment changes, organizational
shifts, evolving perceptions of employees in the work environment, etc. As a result,
new organizational landscape has required a new approach towards managing people, who became
the most valued assets of a strategic potential. The aim of this article is to search for terminological
clarity, and systematize the concepts within the HRM field, which is abundant with
numerous terms referring to individuals in organizations. A random use of the HRM terms and
regarding them as synonyms cause ambiguities. The author attempts to juxtapose these terms
and suggest relevant terminological solutions that suit contemporary developments within the
HRM field. To achieve the aim of the article, current scientific references regarding the field of
people management were used, with special emphasis being placed on personnel management,
human resource management, and human capital management.

The role of local government in shaping active ageing through the use of ICT and e-services
This article aims to identify opportunities to shaping and supporting the active ageing by local
governments through the use of ICT and e-services in the Wielkopolska Province. At the local level,
only 8% of local governments have entries in the strategic documents for supporting the elderly
through ICT. The study found that supporting active ageing is different for rural communities, urban
and urban-rural areas as well as Social Welfare Centers operating at various levels of the government.
In the context of demographic projections an opportunity for development of the region is that 80%
of local governments need to implement schemes for the use of ICT and e-services to support active
ageing in ways to improve communication, mobility, health and safety. Representatives of over 50%
of the Social Welfare Centers and about 30% of local governments decided that the basic benefits
include improving the functioning of elderly people at home and work, and in the community as well
as better health and increased self-reliance. The digital society will see an increasing demand of the
elderly for e-social services, as opposed to e-government services.

Working time in countries of the European Union in 2010 – selected aspects
The aim of this article is to characterise briefly working time on labour markets in countries of the
European Union. There were presented its main indicators such as age, gender or type of employment.
There were also described general impacts of the number of working hours on capacity to
reconcile employment with commitments in family and private life. The discussed problems are
confirming the assumption that the working time arrangement is a fundamental factor influencing
quality of life both inside and outside work. The reconciliation of work with private life or life
outside work is a longstanding goal of EU employment and social policies. It is an element of the
Europe 2020 strategy not only to enable more people to take up paid work, but also to promote
greater gender equality. As emphasised, people in their ‘prime working years’ – especially
women – are particularly involved in unpaid work, such as childcare, household jobs or care of
the elderly, so the issue of work – life balance extends across the whole working age. Flexible
working time arrangements are generally seen as a way to improve employees’ work-life balance.

The essence and the economic consequences of burn-out
In the postindustrial era, based on services and informatisation of all aspects of an individual’s life,
employees’ knowledge and skills (preferably communication and interpersonal skills), their flexibility
and mobility acquired a particular significance (importance). A permanent increase in the
flow of information which has to be analysed, and the need of communication with others result
in lenghtening of a working day. A universal use of mobile phones and mobile Internet cause that
the end of a working day becomes illusory for many employees, because it is very common to find
a requirement of evening and weekend availability in the candidate profiles published by employers.
However, increasing involvement, duties, and responsibilities of employees do not result
in an adequate (appropriate) rise of their salaries. The consequences of this process can lead to
burnt-out syndrome. The phenomenon of the burnt-out syndrome becomes more and more common
and that is why the purpose of the paper is to diagnose its essence, reasons, and to find the
methods of its prevention. Literature studies and case study methods illustrating the burnt-out
syndrome were utilised to achieve the aim of the paper, and the monographic method was used
to present the results of the research.

The implementation of Basel III and its consequences for Polish and European banking
Started in 2010, the form of actions on the implementation of European law regulations Basel III is
becoming more and more advanced. However, despite the anticipated starting date of the new
regulations on January 1, 2013, still there are discussions and numerous details to be clarified.
These delays are not only due to the European system’s possible unpreparedness for rules ofCRDIV/
CRR, but also because of the heated discussions on the plans to introduce a banking union, which
would obligatorily include all countries of the euro zone. Lack of consensus on the forms of uniform
international supervision of banks is also a serious problem in Poland. Although the country
would like to participate in the creation of a banking union, its participation in it is not recommended
by reason of the possible high costs. The purpose of this article is to show the degree of
preparedness of European and Polish banking sector to adopt the Basel III regulations, and to
show the risks that may arise in connection with the Polish accession to the banking union. In the
paper bases on an analysis of reports from research centers and institutions as well as on the
analysis of data provided by national supervisors and banks.

Behaviour and preferences of small and medium enterprises in Poland in the area of using bank services – changes and trends
Dynamic changes in the banking sector both in Poland and in the world have impact on behaviour
and preferences of small and medium enterprises in the area of using bank services. The aim
of this article is to present the trends in this issue and identify changes in the area of SME customers’
needs and the reasons of these changes. Basis of the main conclusions in this article is research
project: “MSP Finance”. The survey was conducted in years 2011–2012 on a representative group
of SME companies (sample: 1094 SME companies, located in all Poland – all 16 regions). The main
conclusions from the survey are following: there is a big impact of the financial situation of SME
companies on behaviour and preferences in the field of using bank services (problems with financial
liquidity) and the fact that the SME owners are not willing to make risk decision. The results of
these phenomena are: a decrease in using bank credit products, a decrease in tendency to invest
money, particularly among the micro companies, and a significant decrease in using bank term
deposits. It is worth mentioning that the role of Internet banking is increasing in the relations of
SME companies with banks.

Forfaiting services market in Poland
The aim of this paper is to present the forfaiting market in Poland, from forfaiting services
introduced to the offer by the institutions operating on the Polish market and the functioning and
current term for development perspective. Using forfaiting enables Polish exporters to expand
into markets previously inaccessible due to various reasons, which in turn leads to increased sales
and acquiring new customers. Financing transactions using forfaiting can affect positively on
Polish exports and help reduce the current account deficit of balance of payments. In addition,
The Programme KUKE Forfaiting allows to minimize the risks incurred by banks as a result of the
financing of export transactions using forfaiting. Financing of investments by public sector
entities using forfaiting, though it differs from the classical definition of forfaiting, may be an
important element of the Polish forfaiting market. Not without significance is the fact of
acquisition of credit risk by the financing institution without recourse to the seller.

The use of credit scoring in credit risk management
Banks, from the beginning of their existence, have been trying to work out a method that will reduce
the risks and costs associated with lending. One of the newest methods used by banks is
credit scoring, which is a tool used to evaluate the creditworthiness of prospective borrowers. The
article presents issues related to the use of credit scoring in a bank. Particular attention was paid to
the factors influencing the quality of scoring methods. The aim of this paper is the description of
influence of credit scoring on credit portfolio quality. The conclusions were based on a study of
scoring models implemented at Polish retail banks. The main conclusion that can be drawn from
this research is that implementation of credit scoring models improves credit portfolio quality. It is
worth noting that credit scoring has also the following benefits: increased speed and consistency
of risk assessment, possible automation of the risk assessment process, and reduced subjectivity
and increased objectivity in risk assessment.

This paper, drawing on the experience of the Polish city of Gdynia, focuses on urban development
strategies in the era of a knowledge-based economy. Given that some doubts have recently
been cast over the effectiveness of certain urban policies based on innovation generation and
creativity promotion, the study constitutes a voice in the debate on the opportunities and threats
facing modern cities. It examines these issues through the prism of central and eastern Europe,
which – due to a confluence of various politico-economic factors – is seen as a fertile ground for
the promotion of new urban strategies. Specifically, the paper, while highlighting the fact that Poland’s
nationwide business environment is unsupportive of entrepreneurship and new knowledge
creation, shows how the municipal authorities act with a view to advancing Gdynia’s
development. Hence it makes a contribution to the existing body of literature, thereby deepening
our understanding of modern urban development patterns.