The diploma thesis is focused on tourism of Slovenia, especially on its position in the international tourism market. Following general informations about Slovenia and its basic macroeconomic characteristic the thesis focuses on Slovenian tourism, its policies, its position in national economy and position in the the international tourism market (particularly in Europe). The evaluation of competitiveness of the country is also part of the thesis. Perspectives of tourism development in Slovenia are presented in the final part.

In this theses I explain the concept of flexicurity aplied in the conditions of Czech Cepublic. The main goal was to explain the impact of flexicurity on competitiveness in the social and economic framework of Czech Republic. The main topics are labour market processes, social protection and lifelong learning strategy as 3 main pillars of flexicurity working togehter to fight unemployment and support employment and labour market flexibility, to ensure a right mix of social protection for people.

The main objective of this thesis is the analysis and comparison of environmental competitiveness between companies Unilever, Nestlé and Procter & Gamble. Companies are examined and evaluated in three areas: the internal environment of the company, the company microenvironment and the macroenvironment of the company. For each company is calculated and determinated environmental level, followed by comments and recommendations. A secondary goal of this thesis is the explanation of environmental protection and environmental management, including explanations of possible tools and standards (ISO 14001, EMAS). Relationship between environmental maturity and competitivness is evaluated at the end.

The diploma thesis deals with the economy of Italy and trends in tourism. The aim is to evaluate the development of the economy based on the analysis of key economic indicators, together with the evaluation of the tourism situation, which is followed by the identification of trends in tourism. The work is divided into four chapters. The first chapter provides a theoretical introduction to the topic of the thesis, while in the second chapter the author analyzes the Italian economy and its position on the international scene. The third chapter analyzes the tourism industry, its importance for the economy of the country, and its position in the international tourism market. The trends prevailing in the field of tourism are summarized at the end of the chapter. The last chapter is devoted to the World Expo, which took place in Milan in 2015.

This master thesis deals with the analysis of competitiveness of Slovakia in comparison with the Czech Republic. The theoretical framework of competitiveness is presented in the early section of this thesis. First chapter examines diferents approaches and theories concerning competitiveness. The next part focuses on measurement and evaluation of competitiveness at macroeconomic level. In this context, an overview of the methodologies used by the World Economic Forum, The World Bank and The International Institute for Management Development is presented. The key part is the analysis of competitiveness of Slovakia which is realized on the basis of selected price and costs variables and composite indicators. The main aims established while runnig the research were the following: to evaluate the development of competitiveness of Slovakia after its entry into the eurozone, to examine its relative position to the Czech Republic and identify strengths and weaknesses of the both economies resulting from the international competitiveness reports.

This thesis deals with the issue of increasing competitiveness in the context of sustainable growth in the European Union and the Slovak Republic. The method used in the thesis is a multivariate statistical method called factor analysis. This method enabled to narrow dimension of the input data with the least possible loss of information and consequently we obtained new variables called factors. According to the obtained factors the competitiveness of Slovak regions at NUTS II level was evaluated. Based on these results, it is possible to identify the most competitive region of the Slovak Republic which supports its growth in a sustainable way.

This research paper focuses on Thailand’s textile and clothing industry since its liberalisation in 1995. The industry used to be the number one generator of export income for Thailand. As exports strongly declined in the late 1990s, the Thai government employed ‘industrial policy’ to reignite the industry in 2003 and 2007. However, the policies have had little effect on the export pattern. We argue that the way government sees the industry is inappropriate and leads to ineffective industrial policy.The research findings illustrate that industrial analysis at ‘macro’ or ‘aggregate’ level is weak and impractical. These high-level analyses do not give policy makers and government a clear understanding of the industry, structure or drivers of performance. Furthermore, we are unable to identify common factors that differentiate well-performing firms from poorly performing firms. The aggregate level data make it difficult for policy makers or government to see what key success factors to focus on in this complex and dynamic business environment. There is no obvious ‘model’ that distinguishes those firms or sectors that do well and grow, against those which do not. So rather than focus on aggregate level, government and policy makers should focus on firm-specific characteristics, strategies or business models that differentiate them from others. Government needs to understand in depth the specific industry structure of the sector and the relationship between key players. This will help it to understand its role and the measures it can use to support the private sector. This new method may consume more time and require better skills and knowledge from researchers and policy makers. The approach requires committed researchers with strong strategic and analytical skills who can divide or dissect the industry into various sub-groups, and policy makers with better mindsets. But most importantly, problematic policy is a result of a fragmented policymaking process that stems from poor economic governance.

This thesis deals with issues related to innovation in the Czech company and their influence on their competitiveness. The aim of the work in the first part is the definition of terms: innovation, competitiveness and demand and their relationships. Attention is paid to the impacts of global competitive and turbulent world and the competitiveness of Czech companies. They show the expected basic trends of the world. The second part describes Czech industrial company (GZ Digital Media, Inc.) and its trends over the past year. It analyzes the development of the basic indicators (profitability, liquidity and business activity) and quantifies the prediction possibilities of bankrupt (Altman index, IN 05). Finally there are definitions of factors of the current success of the business, including its persistent and intense innovation and strong influence of leading figures in business management.

National economic competitiveness is a major concern to governments, firms, and individuals in an increasingly globalised world. Culture is known affect economic competitiveness, but there is little existing research that links Hofstede’s cultural dimensions with the Human Capital Indicators in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index. U-blox is an international firm with offices around the world. The firm has grown through acquisitions and has become a key player in the wireless communication and positioning semiconductors business. The chosen topic will study the cultural aspects of a selected group of u-blox subsidiaries. The values in a workplace are in fact influenced by culture and by their human capital. Using Hofstede’s dimensions to analyse the cultural factors, it is possible to study the international context of the human capital in each subsidiary by using reliable international indicators provided in the Global Competitiveness Index.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo principal desenvolver um sistema de avaliação de desempenho de clusters, capaz de analisar as vantagens potenciais que um cluster pode oferecer e concluir a respeito do aproveitamento dessas vantagens e dos aspectos que podem ser aprimorados. Para isso, o trabalho se propõe a: (i) identificar os constructos e variáveis que devem ser utilizados para representar as vantagens potenciais que um cluster industrial pode oferecer; (ii) desenvolver um sistema de avaliação do aproveitamento das vantagens potenciais de um cluster, baseado nos constructos e variáveis identificados; (iii) testar o sistema, avaliando o nível de desenvolvimento, no que tange ao aproveitamento de vantagens potenciais em que se encontra o cluster moveleiro do Oeste de Santa Catarina; e (iv) estabelecer um plano para aprimoramento das operações e consolidação do referido cluster. Esta tese está baseada numa abordagem quantitativa e qualitativa, utilizando questionário aplicado em 112 empresas, grupo focado e entrevistas. Uma das principais contribuições desta tese é a proposição de um modelo capaz de avaliar o aproveitamento das vantagens potenciais de um cluster, auxiliando na tomada de decisão dos envolvidos (poder público, instituições de classe, empresas) e melhoria da competitividade das empresas do cluster em relação às empresas externas. Outra contribuição deste trabalho é a proposição de ações que possam aumentar o aproveitamento das vantagens oferecidas às empresas pertencentes ao cluster moveleiro do oeste de Santa Catarina e à sua competitividade. / The main objective of this work is to develop a performance evaluation system of clusters, able of analyzing the potential advantages that a cluster can offer to its member companies and conclude about the use of these advantages and about the aspects which could be improved. Considering this general objective, this work intends: (i) identify the constructs and variables that should be utilized for represent the potential advantages that an industrial cluster can offer; (ii) develop an evaluation system for access the use of the potential advantages of a cluster, based on the constructs and identified variables; (iii) test the system, evaluating the development level of the west of Santa Catarina furniture cluster, regarding the use of the potential advantages, (iv) establish a plan for the improvement of operations and consolidation of the mentioned cluster. This dissertation is based on a qualitative and quantitative approach, comprising a survey involving 112 companies, focus group and interviews. One of the main contributions of this dissertation is the proposal of a model capable of evaluate the use of the potential advantages of a cluster, assisting on the decision making of the stakeholders (government, class association and companies) and competitiveness improvement of the cluster member companies compared to outside companies. Other contribution of this work is the proposal of a plan of actions that could increase the use of the advantages offered to the member companies of the west of Santa Catarina furniture cluster and their respective competitiveness.