Reasons for and possible consequences of introducing the financial transaction tax in the European Union countries

The main aim of this paper is to analyze the problem of the financial transaction tax (FTT) in
Europe in its most crucial aspects. That is why the author of this article has presented the core idea
of the above mentioned tax, arguments in support and against its implementation and the fiscal
effects that could be achieved due to the financial transaction tax. In the absence of consensus on
the FTT among the EU countries, it will be introduced in a limited number of EU countries
through a mechanism called „enhanced cooperation” in 2016 or it even later.

Motives for the international expansion of Polish enterprises with special emphasis on political risk

The need for facing up the competitors and the wish to build the competitive advantage on the market contribute to enterprises’ expansion abroad. The decision concerning geographical expansion may be caused by making advantage of chances which appear on foreign markets. Nevertheless, it can also happen that adverse conditions of the enterprise’s external environment make the presence in the host country difficult or even impossible. This situation can appear when the political risk occurs in the country of expansion. The purpose of this paper is to present the characteristics of the enterprises’ motives of expansion on foreign markets with particular emphasis on the nature and specificity of political risk. In order to illustrate this important problem, the author made a synthetic analysis of the business environment in Ukraine and Russia during the conflict in the East of Europe. In the paper two types of research methods were used: methods of data collection and methods of organising and processing information.

Around the turn of the millennium, Tunisia achieved sizeable rates of economic growth. Given the additional fact of an increasing financial deepening and an emerging industry, the country had been considered by many observers as one of the ‘African Lions.’ However, even before the Arab Spring movements started in Tunisia, the average growth rate was still far from the rate required for a fast catch-up with high income economies. This article aims at analysing the role which foreign direct investment (FDI) has played and can play in spurring economic growth in Tunisia. It analyses domestic saving and investment as well as presents patterns of FDI and present promotional policies. The author argues that foreign direct investment can help to overcome some constraints in capital accumulation and even contribute to ‘inclusive growth,’ i.e., a regionally, socially, and inter-generationally balanced growth pattern. There are, however, two preconditions: capital inflows must be directed by appropriate promotional policies and Tunisia must insulate itself from any negative repercussions from the present political unrest in the Middle East and North African region.

After 2000, unprecedented rises in commodity prices were recorded. Despite sharp declines in the second half of 2008, from the beginning of 2001 to mid-2011 prices of primary commodities more
than tripled in value against the USD. The aim of the paper is to analyse the effects of commodity price changes after 2000 on the value of Africa’s exports and economic growth of commodityexporting African countries. Section 1 analyses the significance of primary commodities in African countries. Section 2 presents commodity price developments after 2000. Section 3 analyses relations between commodity price changes and changes in the value of Africa’s exports and economic growth of commodity-exporting African countries. The author uses mainly descriptive statistics as a method of analysis. The results of the analyses suggest that there is a strong shortterm relationship between commodity price changes and the value of Africa’s exports as well as between changes in commodity prices and changes in GDP in commodity-exporting African countries.

Public procurement in the European Union: A comparative analysis of procedures in selected member states

One of the essential dilemmas of the public procurement in the common market of the European Union is the problem of the so-called cross-border procurement, which urges the European Parliament to issue new public procurement directives that improve the proceedings, serve sustainable development and innovation, as well as aim to increase the involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises. The outline of the important aspects of the European discussion about effective expenditure of public funds presented by the author inspires the objective of this article, which is to illustrate the procedures used in contracts in selected Member States of the European Union. An analysis of the sources of law, the size and structure of the market, as well as individual procedures formulated the following conclusion of the above topic. The needed modernisation and compulsory implementation of the directives in the direction of the unification of the public procurement law in the European Union is needed to create an effective single market which guarantees equal treatment. Analysing literature, national and foreign, the intended purpose of the article is reached, using the method of the document.

The quality and efficiency of the northern German ports’ hinterland connections define their competitive potential. The assessment of gross domestic product achieved within a certain travel period via rail, road, inland waterways and intermodal freight transport provides a major indicator for the competitive positioning of the northern German ports. To measure this potential, we use simple travel time matrices for different modes of transport. The achievable purchasing power of the hinterland territories is thereby a prime determinant of port competitiveness. The European Union’s Trans-European Transports Network programme (TEN-T) may advance Hamburg and Bremen/Bremerhaven ports’ competitive situation by improving their hinterland accessibility, removing cross-border bottlenecks and upgrading infrastructure and streamline transport operations throughout the EU.

The development of modern technologies used in the analysis of customer information allows not only for the collection of past data on buyers’ preferences, but also makes it possible to analyse consumer behaviour on the Internet, online payments, social media and other real-time sources. The aim of the paper is to present the possibilities of using big data in the process of customizing the offer in the context of buyer behaviour. The paper analyses the process of collecting and processing data for the purposes of customizing the offer and identifies practical examples of using big data in the international business practice. It has been stated that the ability to meet the individual needs of buyers has become the basis of modern competitiveness. The real-time acquisition of non-structural data and the ability to analyse it are a condition of successful operation for businesses in technologically developed economies. To build market position, companies need to use big data analysis capabilities, anticipating future customer behaviour and customize not only the product but also all the components of the marketing mix.

The author analyses the phenomenon of labour migration in Ukraine and its impact on the country’s economic development. Its positive consequences include more foreign currency flowing into Ukraine due to the remittances from the labour immigrants, as well as opportunities for the working population to improve its financial situation. Among its negative effects are the reduction of the population of Ukraine and the instability of its social security system. Some recommendations to address the issues of labour migration are also provided, which include, i.a., job creation, a reduction of the shadow economy and a continuous analysis of the scale of illegal labour migration from Ukraine.

The aim of this article is to present the principles of the Norwegian pension scheme, which is being reorganized since 1 January 2011 with regard to the acquisition and determination of pension rights and the possibility of combining work with pension in the light of demographic challenges. The phenomenon of an aging population (which is the result of, i.a., rising longevity and declining fertility rate) and the migration processes have become a serious threat to public pension systems of most countries. For this reason, they decided to implement radical reforms in the retirement security of citizens. Among these countries was also Norway, despite the fact that its liberal immigration policy, very high fertility rate and, primarily, the funds collected in the state pension fund seem to protect its pension system, as well as public finances, against the collapse. The choice of the subject was influenced by the growing popularity of Norway as a destination for employment and by the considerable complexity of the Norwegian pension scheme, especially in the ongoing transition period in which the old and new regulations operate simultaneously. This paper is based on the materials collected in the branches of the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) in Stavanger, statistical data and analyses compiled by Statistics Norway (SSB), as well as the information published by NAV and the Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

Older workers on labour markets in the European Union countries: Selected aspects

The aim of this article is to characterise briefly the situation of older workers on labour markets in the European Union countries. Taking into consideration that they constitute one of the most problematic groups on the labour markets, main indicators such as activity employment and unemployment rates were presented to illustrate their situation. Also, key solutions which help to increase and stimulate the professional activity among older workers in the European countries were described and analysed. The discussion of these problems confirm the assumption that ageing of societies, one of the main challenges of this century, is a very important factor influencing the level of employment and the direction of employment policy in the countries of the EU. Moreover, it is a key element in the Europe 2020 strategy.

The importance of cultural intelligence in managing international teams

In the contemporary world, economically and communicatively interconnected, more and more people live and work in different cultural environment. Expansion of transnational corporations, development of international joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, and international project teams cause growing demand for professionals – expatriates and inpatriates – travelling and working worldwide. Sometimes virtual solutions are employed in managing international teams. Business practice shows that international managers have to face much more difficult challenges than domestic ones. Globalization, with the growing mobility of highly educated, talented people, resulted in the development of global labour market, powered by professionals coming from diverse countries and cultures. As a result, the intercultural problems and conflicts become more and more burning, which creates the need for cultural intelligence – an important attribute of expatriates, together with general intelligence, emotional intelligence, and other managerial competencies which was the reason for researching cultural intelligence in international business. The aim of this paper is to identify the essence, the origin, the dimensionsn and the sub-dimensions of cultural intelligence, and to indicate its importance in different types of international teams. Studies and analysis of relevant sources were conducted to complete the task. To present the results of the findings the monographic method was utilized.

Preventing bullying in the organisation in selected countries of the European Union – legal considerations

In broadly understood global economy, where human capital is the most important link in any organisation, workplace bullying has become an increasing problem in both the developed and the developing countries, as well as in Poland. Emphasised in the literature is the fact that bullying in its early stages can be recognised the fastest in the countries with a high level of organisational culture. In other countries, however, it is only noticeable when it takes a radical form. This is mainly due to the perception of this phenomenon from a legal perspective. In those countries where the concept came to legislation earlier, the reaction to bullying is quicker. Since the issue of bullying in the organisation has a multifaceted character, this publication refers to the aspects arising from the law of a given country. At the beginning of these considerations, the causal process of bullying has been described, starting with its definition and brief characterisation. The global dimension of this phenomenon is presented with the scale of its occurrence in selected countries of the European Union. The article presents the legal regulations concerning the methods of dealing with psychological harassment, and, in particular, the analysis of organisational and legal solutions within organisations. Its main aim is to find an answer to the following question: How should the problem of bullying in Polish companies be solved? Attempting to answer this question, the author takes into account the experiences of other Member States and the views of the representatives of various scientific disciplines regarding the prevention or the understanding of the mobbing problem. The article reviews Polish and foreign source literature, thereby deepening the knowledge on human resource management by psychological harassment.

Media multitasking: The specificity of the construct and a multicultural context

The growing importance of the Internet in everyday life, the use of multiple data sources and the necessity of rapid information processing more and more often lead social scientists to attempt to describe and study the phenomenon of media multitasking [Castells, 2007; Rosa, 2013; Ophir, Nass, Wagner, 2009], which constantly generates questions about its cognitive and social consequences as well as the research tools that will allow us to define it. The objective of the article is to review the existing research findings in media multitasking area with a special focus on individual and cross-cultural differences. The presented analysis, including the analysis of the author’s own empirical research conducted using a media multitasking questionnaire, shows significant differences in the simultaneous use of several media between men and women. Age and country of residence also turn out to be important variables. The differences also depend on the type of media processed in a given time.

Economic implications of gender parity implementation in supervisory boards of public companies

The purpose of the article is to present the economic aspects of the implementation of gender parity in public companies. The test method used involves the analysis of Polish and foreign source
literature. The starting point for considerations are two European Commission documents: ’Strategy for equality between women and men 2010–2015’ and ’Green Paper – EU corporate governance framework,’ which commit public companies to implementing gender parity in the countries of the European Community. The article also quoted examples from outside the European Union. Furthermore, it presents a brief outline of the stages of the implementation of gender parity in the supervisory boards of European companies and attempts to show the wider context of the problem of equality between women and men in the labour market. The analysis of the issues of gender parity and the availability of supervisory board member positions in public companies also became a contribution to the consideration of the position and role of women in the modern economy.

Children’s and youth’s economic socialisation

This paper focuses on children’s economic socialisation, especially its financial aspect. It adopts an interdisciplinary approach and the aim of its authors is to indicate the tendencies in global business life which influence the process of economic socialisation, as well as to present the conclusions based on the analysis of the stages and factors of economic socialisation and the behaviour contract as a very effective method of children’s financial socialisation. The methods used in the paper include the analysis of specialist literature and observation. Economic socialisation continues through childhood into adult life of an individual and determines the process of his pursuit of enrichment, which takes place both in the context of the child’s cognitive and social development. Paying attention to children’s economic socialisation is important, because it is during childhood when the habits related to the consumption, budgeting and saving are being shaped.

ublic perception of healthcare personnel in Poland and some other European countries in view of selected studies

The paper presents current trends in the perception of healthcare in Poland and other European countries. The authors present the results of numerous surveys conducted both in Poland and abroad, which demonstrate significant changes in the way healthcare is perceived by the public in individual countries. As the diagnosis of how the medical profession is perceived in Poland gives no grounds for optimism, factors affecting its perception must be identified. This shows healthcare evaluation to be contextually-based, depending on the performance of both individual healthcare establishments and of the whole healthcare system in Poland. Demography has a heavy impact on the evaluation, as the medical services are being rated by the ageing society.