Regional Formation and Development Studies

Public television is an important source of electoral information in Poland. The scope of its duties is regulated by the Election Code and media regulations. The presented content can fundamentally influence electoral attitudes of Poles and shape their views in this respect. The analysis of the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) reports on the monitoring of public television and the analysis of the opinion polls’ results carried out by the Public Opinion Research Centre (CBOS) revealed that the key factor that determined a low turnout in the 2015 parliamentary elections was not the lack of information or knowledge on the voters’ side, but more a disappointment in the quality of political life in Poland. In the local government elections of 2014, the phenomenon of insufficient provision of information indeed did occur, as the main media for informational and educational content were not nationwide but rather regional broadcasts with low viewership. The author used the following research methods to address the above issues: critical literature analysis, comparative and descriptive analysis, as well as analysis of legislation, documents and surveys.

The author considers scientific background of the methods and instruments of monetary policy under the integration conditions in the post-Soviet space. Analysis of formation conditions of the Economic and Monetary Union of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kirgizstan is presented. Findings about the expediency of the use of various theoretical approaches to regulation of exchange rate within the formation of state’s currency policy under globalization conditions are introduced. Problems of monetary and currency policy along with directions of their development in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are discussed. The directions of monetary and currency policy coordination within EAEU are offered. The author defines possibilities of their realisation under present conditions.

The paper deals with the problem of Slovak image abroad. Slovakia is a small country in terms of population and geographical size and despite its natural beauties and positive economic development it does not draw enough attention. The paper describes two main approaches to nation branding and outlines several typical branding strategies of chosen Eastern European countries. As there is a strong correlation between the image of Slovakia and Eastern Europe, the paper also studies the common characteristics of Eastern Europe image with specific focus on its reflection in popular culture. The final part of the paper summarises basic characteristics of the image of Slovakia in foreign press and briefly presents a new Slovak branding campaign Good Idea Slovakia.

The author demonstrates how the current refugee situation reflects the crisis of values within the European Union. Brexit and the election of Donald Trump in the United States have revealed that some western citizens are eager to restore traditional values and extreme order as an opposition to the current idea of democracy within the EU member states which leads to libertarian tendencies, and potentially to chaos. The conflict of traditionalist and libertarian tendencies among the European Union citizens most likely will increase, and this can lead to the further European Union disintegration. The case of Latvia and related analyses have shown that some Central and Eastern Europe countries will are not willing to accept refugees. Therefore, this study uses the grounded theory approach, based on historical facts and opinions of classical authors, while explaining that healthy and wealthy society should be based on an extended or at least on a nuclear family. In this paper, a case study of Latvian citizens’ attitudes towards refugees is used to support psychological hypotheses which are mainly of the theoretical nature. In the author’s opinion, it is important to understand that real traditionalism means democracy which is based on order and hierarchy. In contrast, libertarianism leads to the democracy where the family model is not supported and the whole system of values is corrupted. The author demonstrates on historical events that such attitude can lead to destruction of the whole society, and explains why virtues and family oriented systems have been established and promoted by classical philosophers and by religions.

Many Hungarian small and medium enterprises are facing problems using management methodologies. Strategic management consulting is a common type of business consulting and is one of the most important in the field. The article analyses two previous Hungarian surveys with the aim of better understanding the market. Two surveys are compared with each other and the size of the Hungarian strategic consulting market is calculated based on secondary data. Trends and problems in the industry are also described briefly. The findings of this paper help to better understand what is happening in the industry.

Tyrimo tikslas – išanalizuoti Lietuvos organizacijų normas. Analizuota normų, kaip taisyklių ir standartų, samprata, jų svarba organizacijoms, normų klasifikacijos pagal tipus, jų perdavimo būdų, kuriais formalizuojamos normos organizacijose, aprašymą dokumentuose. Atlikta Lietuvos organizacijų darbuotojų anketinė apklausa. Lietuvos organizacijos paprastai formalizuoja darbo, teisines, moralines ir estetines normas. Formalios normos paprastai sudarytos vadovų, neformalios formuojamos grupių lyderių ar darbuotojų. Tyrimas atskleidė, kad organizacijos normos paprastai draudžiamojo pobūdžio ir retai skatinančios pageidautiną elgesį. Akivaizdi tendencija, kad draudžiamosios normos dažniau slopina individualius pasiekimus, nei juos skatina. Rezultatai atskleidė, kad dažniausia darbuotojai Lietuvos organizacijose neskatinami laikytis normų, bet gana dažnai baudžiama už normų nesilaikymą. Todėl, remiantis tyrimo rezultatais, rekomenduojama įtraukti darbuotojus į normų formavimo procesą, kad jos būtų labiau pripažįstamos, sukurtų teigiamą darbo atmosferą ir skatintų savikontrolę.

Straipsnyje analizuojama komercinių bankų veikla, aptariamos jų bankų rūšys, apžvelgiamos operacijos ir funkcijos. Pateikiama Lietuvos komercinių bankų klientų nuomonės tyrimo metodika, formuluojama tyrimo problema, tikslai, aprašomas tyrimo metodas, pagrindžiamas jo pasirinkimas, atliekamas tyrimas, leidžiantis įvertinti Lietuvos komercinių bankų klientų poreikių patenkinimą bei nustatyti veiksnius, kurie daro didžiausią įtaką komercinio banko pasirinkimui. Vertinama, kaip per dešimtmetį pasikeitė Lietuvos komercinių bankų klientų poreikių tenkinimas, veiksniai, darantys didžiausią įtaką banko pasirinkimui. Kintant ekonominei aplinkai, kinta ir vartotojų teikiamos pirmenybės bei poreikiai. Remiantis šiais pokyčiais vertėjo ištirti Lietuvos komercinių bankų klientų elgseną renkantis vieną ar kitą komercinį banką jų poreikiams tenkinti. Atliktas tyrimas gali būti naudingas Lietuvos komerciniams bankams sprendžiant problemą, kokius esminius kriterijus jie turi išryškinti bei ką turi tobulinti siekiant klientų patenkinimo ir lojalumo.

Nowadays, in times of socio-economic and especially information technology development, the issue of human relations becomes more and more important. The aim of the article was to analyse the role of social media in shaping relations between universities and students. Given that aim the authors carried out research where in the framework of international cooperation prepared a research tool and conducted pilot studies. Students of selected universities, including Polish and Lithuanian ones, were a target group of the study. The conducted research clearly indicated the dominant role of Facebook as a communication portal used by students within universities. It appeared to be the most recognised primary tool for both rapid information flow and relationship building. The findings may be of interest to universities and public institutions or private actors, and, in particular, to social network operators.

The main objective of this study is to show the willingness of citizens to act through the prism of opportunities offered by participation at the local level. Citizens’ activity in public life is the core of democracy. Their engagement may assume various forms, among which the most common form is participation in elections. When it comes to direct democracy, participation in referendums is most widespread. However, an element of democracy, which is cognitively equally important as the above ones, results from citizens’ engagement in institutional activity through membership in political parties, trade unions, non-governmental organisations or local associations. It is also worth mentioning the participation expressed through signing of petitions, taking part in demonstrations or involvement in local initiatives. Having considered all the above data, one can state that it is clearly visible who undertakes political participation in Poland more often, and for whom this is a less frequent activity. This analysis with its conclusions seems to be a crucial suggestion for people who would like to take effective steps in order to increase citizens’ engagement in politics.