If an organisation is to develop in today’s highly competitive environment, it cannot do so without continuous training and development of its employees. The benefit to the individual can be assessed by a measurable degree of his knowledge, mastering a certain operation, etc. Evaluating the effectiveness of training is not easy, because very often we work with quantities that are difficult to quantify, and therefore difficult to measure. The prerequisite is the precise definition of educational goals and ensuring the controllability of educational results (training). This article aims to find factors influencing evaluation of effectiveness of employee training and development. The data was obtained from a questionnaire survey in which 207 organisations operating in the Czech Republic participated. The results show that when evaluating the effectiveness of employee training, organisations prefer methods based on subjective evaluation by an evaluator (direct supervisors, colleagues), but also on their own self-evaluation regarding the number of training days. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, current human resources (HR) trends and priorities for 2021 have changed significantly. The systematic process of evaluating employee training effectiveness depends on the business sector (p-value 0.022), on the fact that the organisation is or is not a part of a larger group (p-value 0.000), on (non)existence of an HR department (p-value 0.000), and on the organisation size (p-value 0.000).

The business that is not focused solely on short-term profits and takes sustainability principles into account can be called a sustainable business. In contrast, the sustainable competitive advantage is the basis of business performance. This article discusses the benefits of selected strategic trends for sustainable competitiveness. The sustainability approach has rarely been considered in the competitiveness studies examined. An appropriate framework for its sustainable competitiveness requires taking into account the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental dimensions on the one hand and the consideration of all stakeholders on the other one. While global corporations have been integrating sustainable business into their strategies, this important step to make still awaits Czech organizations. The main goal of the study was to identify strategic trends implemented by the selected Czech organizations aiming at ensuring competitive advantage and evaluating the orientation of organizations depending on the selected variables. The factor analysis was used (principal component method, varimax method), and the dependencies of the organizations´ orientation and the identifying variables from the questionnaire survey (n1 = 183) and focus groups (n2 = 8) were tested. The results from the questionnaire survey and focus groups have revealed six factors, namely, the integrated management system, employee development, CSR reporting, the organizational structure for innovation development, succession planning, and knowledge continuity.

Beekeeping is an important part of the bioeconomy. Throughout its existence, it has been one of the fields of human endeavour that contributes to sustainability. It has significant benefits for society, both economically and environmentally. Most (90%) of honeybees’ benefit to humankind lies in their pollination capacity, and only 10% lies in bee products (honey, propolis, wax, etc.). The research presented was carried out in the conditions of the Czech Republic in the first half of 2020 through a questionnaire survey within a Google Form, which was aimed at beekeepers. The aim of this paper is, based on a questionnaire survey, to evaluate ecosystem services of beekeeping from the perspective of beekeepers, including the valuation of selected types of ecosystem services. The results show that in the Czech Republic, the most common reason for beekeeping is as a hobby (34.18%). As expected, the demand for pollination is very low compared to other countries (11.6%). From the point of view of the benefits of ecosystem services, the questionnaire survey showed that the most important benefit is the pollination of cultivated and other plants (54.7%) and honeybee products (24.8%). The value of all selected ecosystem services totals 3,646,368 CZK. The results show that state support is needed, which should address the negative demographic development of beekeepers and thus ensure the production of ecosystem services.

Approaches of selected organisations in the Czech Republic to promoting the concept of sustainable development and corporate social responsibility | Pavla Vrabcová, Hana Urbancová | Agricultural Journals

Nowadays, when we are facing several strict regulations, the question arises - does higher strictness lead to the desired results? This study addresses the fact that less research attention has focused on the effects of environmental policy stringency (EPS) on perceived health expressing quality of life, and on green international cooperation. In addition, previous research has provided rather mixed results on the impact of EPS on green innovation. Therefore, we fill an interesting research gap and help better understand the relationship between market-based and non-market-based EPS, perceived health, green innovations, and green international cooperation in OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. Using three complementary databases provided by OECD, Eurostat, and the World Bank and the classical linear regression model, we confirm hypotheses that strong market-based EPS and green international cooperation have positive effects on perceived health. Surprisingly, contrary to the findings of prior research, we do not confirm the positive effects of market-based and non-market-based EPS on green international cooperation. This study contributes to the literature on the Porter hypothesis, technological collaborations in green technological development, and environmental innovation theory. In addition, this study provides several practical implications for policymakers across OECD countries.