Reputation of organizations has become an attractive subject of research, absorbing the efforts of researchers from different fields and representing a major challenge for practitioners. The concept of reputation is dynamic and ambiguous, depending on the research perspective adopted and the recipient expected. This article adopts the understanding of reputation from the perceptual perspective, i.e. perception of achievements of the organization in the eyes of its stakeholders. The reputation of universities and its importance for their development were analysed. The results of research carried out among international experts of the higher education sector showed a substantial degree of respondents’ awareness in terms of the perceived importance of reputation for the development of universities, and also contemporary recognition of reputation as a key category of organizational intangible resources. The conclusions of the research can be applied to strategic management, with a focus on a relatively new trend – reputation management.

In this article deals on the role played by informal constraints in socio-economic life and the nature of their impact on the effectiveness of formal institutions. The answer to this question will show the right approach to the construction of the development strategy, in particular whether and how social factors should be taken into account. The aim of the article is therefore to present the mechanisms of informal constraints in terms of socio-economic development. The observations lead to the conclusion that the assessment of the development strategy should not be limited to the analysis of its effectiveness in improving the material well-being of societies. It should also be consistent with ethical standards, i.e. meet the requirement of fairness, in particular accordingly with the understanding of the community which is supposed to be covered by the activities of the strategy. Achieving ethicality and high effectiveness of activities must, however, be based on the inclusion of informal restrictions in the processes of constructing development strategies.

The article concerns informative assertiveness and the difference between its rational and irrational kinds. The study presents the examples of this distinction in the analysis of the expert and advisory roles, sales, negotiations and organizing in typical situations of management. Based on these examples, the text specifies the conception of rational and irrational informative assertiveness and their roles in management. The objectives were realized using the phenomenological analysis and the case study. The study formulates hypotheses and shows the perspective of further research on the impact of rational and irrational informative assertiveness on management processes.

Services are provided by different entities for the benefit of society, among which the largest group is constituted by non-governmental organizations. They are funded from different source, inter alia, one possibility is to use the concept of Cause Related Marketing. It assumes a collaborative partnership with the commercial organization whose aim is to engage in solving social problems.
The purpose of this article is to explore the concept of Cause Related Marketing in contexts of social services, based on programs Cause Related Marketing conducted in Poland. This article uses the method of critical analysis of the literature. Additionally four Cause Related Marketing programs which were carried out in Poland are thoroughly analysed.
The analysis showed, that Cause Related Marketing is a tool through which NGOs can obtain financial resources for the implementation of its statutory objectives. Through the cooperation of enterprises with non-profit organizations it is possible to offer and to provide a variety of services to the public.
 

One of the aspects of the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment is the contagion effect that impacts the organization. In order to understand what the contagion does and what contagion effect means for organization, the author conducted an in-depth literature review, and defined these ambiguous concepts emerging in various research fields. The paper also discusses models of mechanisms that facilitate the spread of contagion including the 4C model, contagion model of sales peak. What is more, the author proposed the diagnostic tool to map a contagion effect induced by external factors. The theoretical consideration on the contagion and contagion effect is supported by examples coming from the business practice.