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J.S. Kardas, A. Świrska (scientific editing), Successful Management in Crunch Time, Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities Publishing House, Siedlce 2014, ss. 312. INBN 978-83-7051-752-6.
As year by year the competitiveness of enterprises increases, those businesses must meet ever-growing customer demands and cope with both internal and external crisis situations. Therefore, effective management during crisis requires well-planned and coherent actions on the part of both the administration and the employees of an organisation and requires the prediction of potential consequences not only of actions already made, but also of current activities. Coherent action is particularly important in situations that are difficult to predict, those with a large number of variables. Furthermore, in terms of innovative economy, it is important to focus on the quality and pace of change. The contemporary priorities of an organisation’s operations seem to be renewing resources, maintaining the energy of employees, creating and utilizing growth opportunities, immediately responding to crisis and systematically supporting management processes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse the macroeconomic and regional aspects of management in an uncertain environment and a climate of crisis.
This work is divided into four parts. The first part focuses on selected macroeconomic and regional issues where crisis is the main determinant. The functioning of an organisation in anticipated economic conditions that are difficult is discussed. Means by which phenomena leading up to a crisis may be analysed are presented as well as are shown select methods for reducing the uncertainty that accompanies a crisis. A preliminary assessment of the impact of crisis phenomena on the correlations between five world currencies is conducted and the impact on risk of a balanced portfolio rate is underscored. In this part, the challenge was to present elements of a strategy for Innovation and Sustainability that would mainly include key phenomena for the growth and survival of an organisation. In addition, the determinants of financial conditions, EU assistance programs and aspects of inter-organisational cooperation are presented.
In the second part, elements of effective business management are characterized, including possible measures that may be taken by managers and entrepreneurs to limit the occurrence of crisis and level or mitigate its effects. Various sources of innovation are indicated as well as strategies of talent management that may over the long term decide the competitive advantage of a company. The issue of the benefits arising from corporate social responsibility (CSR) are also undertaken with a thesis and argumentation that employee commitment and coherent CSR action can actually be a solution in time of crisis. In this part of the study, the potential of social media to create and strengthen an organisation’s image in time of crisis is analysed. Moreover, sustainable marketing is given a role in an enterprise’s efforts to maintain anti-crisis measures.
In the third part of the work, an analysis of knowledge management in organisations is made with a view to action taken during the crisis. A selection of models to measure intellectual capital is shown and the benefits to the organisation from these measurements are indicated. Disturbing causes of ignoring knowledge when making strategic decisions are shown. Knowledge management is a key factor of enterprise competitiveness in time of crisis, as well as a determinant of the effectiveness of crisis prevention. The issue of knowledge management in universities is also raised, pointing out elements of effective actions that may be taken in a competitive education market.
In the fourth and final part of this work, problems of management in an uncertain environment are dealt with and case studies, trends and challenges for the future business of an organisation are introduced. Key themes of research presented in this part of the work are the issue of the quality of university education and the final outcome of measured graduate qualifications, innovation of management in times of crisis based on the example of commercial banks, and the concept of marketing communication and its application in time of crisis. Besides these points, the functioning of rural communities and the possibility of anti-crisis measures on the basis of stream analysis are also analysed, as well as main elements of the cluster policy used in Belgium, defining basic models of cooperation. Trends and challenges of investment in Belarus are also analysed.
This work is for those who are concerned with management of an organisation, and especially for those managers who see the value in improving themselves and the competitiveness of their organisation. This work should also be used in the education of students majoring in management and in other programs that cover the issues discussed.