Volume 13, Number 1

Impresum

EVALUATION OF UNIVERSITIES SERVICE QUALITY THROUGH SERVQUAL METHOD

Mohammad ANISSEH, Narges SHARIFI, Zahra AKBARI

Abstract: Universities play a crucial role in societal development and growth, with higher education expanding every day. Therefore, it is essential for universities to prioritize the quality of educational services to ensure student satisfaction. Evaluating the quality of educational services is a fundamental step in improving higher education. This research is an applied study that uses descriptive and exploratory methods for data collection. The statistical population for this research includes students from the Faculty of Social Sciences at Imam Khomeini International University and the Faculty of Management at Tehran University. To gather information, a standard Servqual questionnaire was used to measure the significance of each educational service criterion on student satisfaction levels. In the end, the results have been reviewed and analyzed.

Keywords: Evaluation; Service Quality; Servqual model; Quality Gap.

ORGANIZATIONAL-LEVEL ANALYSIS OF THE EMPLOYEES’ COMPENSATION SYSTEM IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

Dimitrije GAŠIĆ, Nemanja BERBER, Agneš SLAVIĆ

Abstract: The purpose of the research is an analysis of the employee compensation system at the organizational level in the Republic of Serbia to determine the effects of the position of employees in the company, the size of the company, belonging to the private or public sector, headquarters, type, and belonging to the service or manufacturing sector. The sample was collected through an electronic Google Forms questionnaire, where respondents had the opportunity to answer two parts of the questionnaire, the first part related to organizational characteristics and the second part to questions about the assessment of the compensation system. A total of 1121 employees answered the questions, and after collected database performed by the authors, a non-parametric analysis was conducted using the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal Wallis test using the IBM SPSS statistics software program for data processing. The results indicate the existence of statistically significant differences in the level of application of the compensation system at the organizational level in the Republic of Serbia. Due to the insufficient number of papers on this topic, it can be said that this research represents a great contribution, but also a shortcoming due to the impossibility to compare with the author's research on this topic in the Republic of Serbia. The recommendation for future research refers to a larger number of respondents and the possibility of determining the impact on the working attitudes and behaviour of employees.

Keywords: Organizational level; Compensation system; Employees; Republic of Serbia.

ANALYSIS OF THE EFFICIENCY OF COMPANIES IN SERBIA BASED ON THE DEA SUPER-RADIAL APPROACH

Radojko LUKIĆ

Abstract: The issue of analyzing the company's efficiency factors is very challenging, current, significant, and complex. Based on that, this paper analyzes the efficiency of companies in Serbia based on the DEA Super-Radial approach. According to the results of the Super-Radial (Super-CCR-I and Super-CCR-O) model in 2021, none of the analyzed companies in Serbia was efficient. This means that the input/output elements were poorly managed. According to the results of the Super-Radial (Super-BCC-I) model in the same year in Serbia, two companies were efficient. These are JP EPS and NIS. Other observed companies were inefficient. According to the results of the Super-Radial (Super-BCC-O) model in 2021, three companies in Serbia were efficient. They are MERCATA VT, MY KIOSK GROUP, and KNEZ PETROL COMPANY. Other observed companies were inefficient. According to the projection, to achieve the planned efficiency, for example, at the DMU unit of JP EPS in 2021, it was necessary to reduce the number of employees by 51.93%, business assets by 57.18%, capital by 56.34%, business income by 3.00% and increase the net profit by 235.28 %. According to Slack analysis, for example, in the DMU unit of JP EPS, to increase efficiency, it is necessary to reduce the number of employees by 12469, business assets by 548953, capital by 339215 and increase the net profit by 35984.19 monetary units. The efficiency of companies in Serbia was influenced by numerous macro and micro factors: the economic climate, the efficiency of management of human resources, assets, capital, sales, and profit, etc. Their adequate control can significantly influence the achievement of the company's target profit in Serbia.

Keywords:Efficiency; Companies; Serbia, DEA Super-Radial model.

SAFETY COMMUNICATION IN MINING COMPANIES: DIFFERENCES ACROSS ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Vesna SPASOJEVIĆ BRKIĆ, Ivan MIHAJLOVIĆ, Martina PERIŠIĆ, Nemanja JANEV, Ivan RAKONJAC

Abstract: For mining processes to operate safely, information about safety is crucial. Numerous authors pay attention to fostering a good safety climate without paying attention to safety communication across organizational structure, which motivates this survey. Accordingly, this paper aims to check the hypothesis whether there is a difference between the attitudes of managers, operators, and auxiliary workers in the mining industry regarding safety communication, since differences on their attitudes about safety communication issues have potential to cause safety performance. A survey of 123 respondents working in different positions in Serbian mining companies, which have evaluated the importance of communication as well as the current state regarding the quality of communication in their organizations, was conducted. After evaluating the data and conducting descriptive statistics, followed by the Mann-Whitney test, it was determined that there are no statistically significant differences in the attitudes of managers, operators, and support staff toward safety communication. This indicates that issues with an organization's safety performance are not brought on by the differences on safety attitudes at different hierarchical levels. Proposal for the future research is to examine other possible causes, such as cognitive biases in risk perception, safety training and education and similar, and to use larger sample that may confirm our hypothesis.

Keywords: Safety communication; Mining industry; Managers; Operators; Auxiliary workers.

MANAGING THE RESKILLING REVOLUTION FOR THE DIGITAL AGE: CASE STUDY-WESTERN BALKAN COUNTRIES

Marijana VIDAS-BUBANJA, Srđan BOGETIĆ, Cariša BEŠIĆ, Zoran KALINIĆ, Iva BUBANJA

Abstract: Technological changes, the COVID-19 pandemic, the green transition, geopolitical changes, and risks have all complexified the working and business environment on the global market. Employee knowledge and skills become the companies’ key support, as the present circumstances compel them to react quickly and adapt to new business challenges. Education, training, and employee skills improvement aligned with new technological waves and changed work procedures are becoming prominent aspects of modern business. The analysis carried out in this paper has covered just some of the factors affecting the changes in employee skills, such as the effects of digital technologies on work performance, the problem of youth education and employment, the necessity of improving the existing workforce competencies as well as their reskilling and upskilling in the context of lifelong education. The research conducted had two goals. A comparative analysis of the implementation of supplementary adult and employee education in selected countries of the Western Balkans. The second goal was focused on the domestic labor market in order to show that local companies have a developed awareness of the need to innovate knowledge and skills, whereas it also drew attention to the specifics of that process with a distinctive focus on digital and green skills as skills necessary for modern business operations. The research results have shown that Serbian companies have become aware of the importance of a workforce that cultivates digital skills and possesses knowledge in the field of ICT. The analysis has shown a lack of awareness when it comes to personal employee upskilling, although most of the companies that participated in the research emphasize training programs and upskilling as something that is being continuously worked on.

Keywords: Modern business; Adult education; Digital skills; Digital technologies; Reskilling; Sustainable development.

THE IMPORTANCE AND LINK OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING WITH LEAN AND SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING

Miloš VORKAPIĆ, Bogdan POPOVIĆ, Dragan ĆOĆKALO, Mihalj BAKATOR, Sanja STANISAVLJEV

Abstract: In this paper, a comparison of conventional and additive manufacturing was made. Lean and sustainable manufacturing from the point of view of waste were also analyzed. It was established that conventional manufacturing is slowly being replaced by additive manufacturing, but its role is still significant. Lean manufacturing indicates that waste is everywhere, i.e. at all organizational levels. Sustainable manufacturing analyzes new technologies and measures their impact on environmental protection with as little resource consumption as possible. The paper examined the importance of additive manufacturing in sustainable manufacturing by considering Lean principles. In conclusion, there is a flowchart of documents and activities that methodologically introduce additive manufacturing through respect for Lean principles and sustainable production. Savings in production time, launching new products, and quick replacement of parts have become imperative today, and further continuation of this work should be aimed at defining models and procedures in the company's sustainable development.

Keywords: Waste; Additive manufacturing; Lean manufacturing; Sustainable manufacturing; FDM process.

THEMATIC ANALYSIS AND DEVELOPMENT OF A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR AGILE MEETINGS’ PROBLEMS

Maja GABOROV, Zeljko STOJANOV, Srdjan POPOV

Abstract: For Agile methodologies, it is extremely important to have a well-established communication system. In addition to the daily meetings of the project team members, there are also meetings before the start and after the end of each development cycle, when the client needs to express his opinion, proposals, and suggestions based on the delivered part of the product. Due to the great importance of having meetings, it is necessary to analyze the problems related to meetings. In this paper, inductive thematic analysis of the data obtained through a systematic review of the literature was carried out. The analysis was carried out using the software tool QDA Miner Lite by creating codes to determine the themes that represent problems in Agile meetings. Through thematic analysis, we want to show which problems occur at meetings in an Agile environment. Finally, we develop and present a conceptual framework encompassing the problems found in Agile meetings. This literature review offers a conceptual framework with identified key themes found in the literature: Meetings last too long, information is not shared with all team members, negative attitudes toward meetings, and less time is spent on tasks. The conceptual framework aims to help researchers and industry practitioners by presenting the issues. Developing a conceptual framework is important because if the problems presented in the mentioned framework are noticed in time, we believe that it is possible to intervene in time and solve a certain problem, which would increase the efficiency of work. Researchers can see how to create a conceptual framework based on the thematic analysis of data as well as extend this conceptual framework with more problems that may potentially arise. Based on the research findings, we discuss research implications and propose directions for future research.

Keywords: Agile methods; Agile meeting problems; Conceptual framework; Thematic analysis.

Appendix:

List of Reviewers

JEMC Template