1 Annotated Bibliography Student Name Course/Number Due Date Faculty Name You may include a cover page for your annotated bibliography. This is an example of an APA cover page for undergraduate and master’s students. Doctoral students should use the annotated bibliography sample found on the Doctoral Writing Resources site under Formatting. 2 Annotated Bibliography Biemiller, L. (2013, December 6). From a million MOOC users, a few early research results. The This annotated bibliography includes references formatted according to APA standards. Chronicle of Higher Education [Web log post]. Retrieved from An annotated bibliography is a list of references to books, articles, web pages, and other sources. The reference is listed first and is followed by a brief summary, or annotation, of the source. The annotation informs the reader of the relevance and quality of the sources. http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/from-a-million-mooc-users-a-few-early-researchresults/48841 This article discusses a study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education. Sixteen massive open online courses, or MOOCs, were observed to determine student retention. Student completion of the courses was unremarkable. Several differing variables may have contributed to the outcomes of each course based on topic, length of course, student nationality, and so on. More studies on how MOOCs are administered and conducted must be made. Films for the Humanities and Sciences. (Producer). (2014, August). Internet research: What’s credible? Available from Films on Demand in the University of Phoenix Library http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=7967&xtid=58373&loid=266720 This video discusses the risks taken with using popular search engines to locate resources for academic work. It notes that most resources available online are not guaranteed reliable or peer-reviewed. Some tips are offered to help alleviate some search issues and to aid in locating appropriate resources. Detailed reasons to not use Wikipedia and like sites are provided. Francois, E. J. (2014). Motivational orientations of non-traditional adult students to enroll in a degree-seeking program. New Horizons in Adult Education & Human Resource Development, 26(2), 19–35. doi: 10.1002/nha3.20060 Center for Writing Excellence ©2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. All rights reserved. Academic sources should be relevant and credible. Include sources that are more recently published so the research is up to date. 3 The research in this study focused on motivating factors for non-traditional, degreeseeking adults. The Education Participation Scale (EPS) was used to evaluate adults in associate, bachelor’s, master's, and doctoral programs. The particulars of the motivational orientations can be useful for recruitment materials and designing curriculum. The annotations should be written in third person point of view just like an academic paper. Shepherd, M. M., & Tsong Shin, S. (2014). The effects of informal faculty-student interaction and use of information technology on non-traditional students' persistence intentions and educational outcomes. Journal of Higher Education Theory & Practice, 14(2), 46–60. Notice each entry is listed in alphabetical order by author’s last name just like on a reference page. The study presented here attempts to address concerns over the education outcomes for nontraditional students when using social integration. The authors explore the impact of IT and informal faculty-student interaction. Their results suggest that IT may have a positive effect on student psychological well-being and academic performance. TEDTalks. (Producer). (2014, July 18). Bill Gates—Mosquitos, Malaria, and Education [Video file]. Available from University of Phoenix Media Library ID: 53c93663dd7d12d094c4c6e2 In this TEDTalk, Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates discusses some ways to combat problems in our world. He addresses the lack of support for malaria elimination in struggling countries and how it affects their ability to thrive. He then compares this struggle to that of education. There is an inequality with how people survive physically and mentally in this world. He believes that success hinges on applying the right tools and paying attention to all who are affected. Center for Writing Excellence ©2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. All rights reserved. Organizacija, Volume 41 Research papers Number 4, July-August 2008 The- Role- of In-formati-on- for Re-cog-n-i-si-n-g- Bu-si-n-e-ss Op-p-ortu-n-i-ti-e-s An-dre-ja Lu-tar Ske-rbi-n-je-k Uni-ver-za v Mar-i-bo-r-u, Eko-no-m-sko--po-slo-vna fakulteta Mar-i-bo-r-, Razlago-va 14, 2000 Mar-i-bo-r-, andr-eja.lutar-@uni-m-b.si- Manager-s need a lo-t o-f kno-w-ledge and i-nfo-r-m-ati-o-n to- m-ake deci-si-o-ns and r-eco-gni-ze busi-ness o-ppo-r-tuni-ti-es. They can acqui-r-e thi-s kno-w-ledge and i-nfo-r-m-ati-o-n i-n di-ffer-ent w-ays. Acco-unti-ng i-nfo-r-m-ati-o-n, par-ti-cular-ly i-nfo-r-m-ati-o-n r-elati-ng to- the cr-edi-tw-o-r-thi-ness o-f busi-ness par-tner-s and co-m-peti-to-r-s, i-s i-m-po-r-tant. Such i-nfo-r-m-ati-o-n, w-hi-ch can co-ntai-n no-n-acco-unti-ng i-nfo-r-m-ati-o-n, i-s o-ften der-i-ved fr-o-m- annual r-epo-r-ts. The fastest and cheapest w-ay o-f accessi-ng i-nfo-r-m-ati-o-n i-s vi-a the Inter-net. Because sear-chi-ng fo-r- i-nfo-r-m-ati-o-n abo-ut di-ffer-ent busi-nesses o-n thei-r- Web si-tes can be ti-m-e co-nsum-i-ng, a qui-cker-, m-o-r-e effi-ci-ent o-pti-o-n i-s to- access thi-s i-nfo-r-m-ati-o-n o-n databases that co-ntai-n useful i-nfo-r-m-ati-o-n r-elati-ng to- the m-ajo-r-i-ty o-f busi-nesses i-n the co-untr-y. In thi-s paper-, w-e di-scuss the i-m-po-r-tance o-f kno-w-ledge and i-nfo-r-m-ati-o-n fo-r- r-eco-gni-zi-ng busi-ness o-ppo-r-tuni-ti-es. We also- analyze the appr-o-pr-i-ateness o-f acco-unti-ng i-nfo-r-m-ati-o-n avai-lable fr-o-m- fi-ve o-f the m-o-st w-i-dely used databases co-ncer-ni-ng Slo-vene and Cr-o-ati-an busi-nesses, fo-r- esti-m-ati-ng the cr-edi-tw-o-r-thi-ness o-f busi-nesses. Ke-y words: busi-ness o-ppo-r-tuni-ti-es, kno-w-ledge, acco-unti-ng i-nfo-r-m-ati-o-n, cr-edi-tw-o-r-thi-ness i-nfo-r-m-ati-o-n, databases, busi-ness par-tner-s, co-m-peti-to-r-s, annual r-epo-r-ts, appr-o-pr-i-ate i-nfo-r-m-ati-o-n, r-epo-r-ti-ng agenci-es. 144 Organizacija, Volume 41 Research papers 1 In-trodu-cti-onIt is very important for managers to recognize opportunities for managing a successful business. To support that, they need a lot of know-ledge and information of any kind. A vital part of information is that relating to business partners and competitors w-ith w-hom they already do business or intend doing business w-ith. Accounting information contains a lot of information about businesses. We live in the 21st century, w-hen living and w-orking w-ithout computer support is unimaginable in many different fields. Likew-ise, in accounting, computers make our w-ork easier and enable us to obtain information faster and more reliably. Using the Internet to access information at the office or at home is cost-effective and saves a lot of time (Lutar Skerbinjek, 2005:76). The annual reports of many businesses can be accessed on the Internet, usually on the company’s ow­n Web sites. How-ever, not all businesses have their ow-n Web sites. To obtain information concerning such businesses, and because it is very time-consuming to search the information about many businesses on their Web pages, it is useful to use databases w-hich feature information relating to the majority of businesses that operate in a particular country. They are created and maintained by reporting agencies and credit reporting agencies, w-hich obtain creditw-orthiness information as w-ell. Usually, they create creditw-orthiness information on the basis of information obtained from annual reports for each business. They create it for many businesses, so they can compare them and make credit scores w-ith w-hich they rank businesses. In this paper w-e discuss the importance of know-ledge and information for recognizing business opportunities, and do a comparable analysis of tw-o databases created by reporting agencies on a national level. These follow- the National Reporting Agency of former Yugoslavia, w-hich is called Slu`-ba dru`-benega knjigovodstva. These are the databases of the Agency for Public Evidence and Statistics (Agencija za javnopravne evidence in statistiko (AJPES)) in Slovenia, and the Financial Agency, Fina (Finan~-na agencija Fina) in Croatia. Furthermore, w-e perform a comparable analysis of three databases created by other Credit Reporting Agencies. These are the GVIN database in Slovenia, the BonLine database in Croatia, and the database created by the international business company Creditreform, w-hich operates in Slovenia, Croatia, and many other European countries. On the basis of the results of our comparative analysis, w-e made a critical evaluation of those databases, w-hich w-e ex-plained. We believe that such analysis has not been made, so it w-ill be useful for Slovene and Croatian businesses and companies globally that are doing business w-ith them to choose the database w-hich w-ould be most appropriate for obtaining creditw-orthiness information. Number 4, July-August 2008 2 Ne-e-d for kn-owle-dg-e- an-d i-n-formati-onDrucker and others describe advanced economies as »know-ledge« economies because they are becoming progressively less dependent on materials and energy. As Business Week put it, »The traditional factors of production – capital and skilled labor – are no longer the main determinants of the pow-er of an economy. Noweconomic potential is increasingly linked to the ability to control and manipulate information« (Fitzroy and Hulbert, 2005: 23). In order to make decisions (for either decision management or control), managers require information (Zimmerman, 2000: 652). We live in the information age, in w-hich modern business organizations function in a vastly aletered environment. To prosper, these organizations must treat information as a valued resource. A steady stream of information is needed to enable firms to make sound planning decisions and to control their operations. Firms that use information effectively can take advantage of their opportunities and thus gain ground on their competitors (Wilkinson et al., 2000:4). Indeed, information may be the most important organizational resource (Bodnar and Hopw-ood, 2001: 2). Information has economic value in that is enables decision making, so it contributes to the achievement of a business’s goals. The information age classifies information as an important, even dominant, business resource. The normal operation of a business is not possible w-ithout information. How-ever, in spite of the huge supply of data and information, they are still relativey rare resources, and are not alw-ays available to everyone, so w-e should use them sparingly (Knez Riedl, 2000a: 31). The information process of an organization is roughly equivalent to the nervous system of a human being. It permeates every part of the organization, as w-ell as sensitive key areas of the environment. The better the information an organization gathers about its performance, its capabilities, and its environment, the better the organization w-ill perform and the more effectively it w-ill be able to change (Law-ler et al., 2006: 119). Firms that gather, assimilate, and evaluate ex-ternal and internal information most effectively gain competitive advantages over other firms. Recognizing the importance of having an effective management information system (MIS) w-ill not be an option in the future; it w-ill be a requirement. Information is the basis for understanding in a firm. In many industries, information is becoming the most important factor in differentiating successful firms from unsuccessful firms (David, 2005: 301). The w-ider availability of information w-ill also accelerate the learning of competitors, so advantages gained through ex-perience may be shorter-lived than hitherto. This w-ill inevitably mean organizations w-ill need to revisit and redefine the basis on w-hich they are competing more frequently. In 145 Organizacija, Volume 41 Research papers turn, this w-ill put yet more information demands on the organization (Johnson et al., 2005: 458). Decision makers need information, and the more important the decision, the greater the need (Harrison and Horngren, 2001:5). Managers often have more complete information about the products or services they offer, w-hile outsiders rely on information the manager is w-illing to share (Bergh et al., 2008:134). How-ever, information acquisition is costly (Schnatterly et al., 2008: 219). An organization’s capability for creating know-ledge depends on the ex-tent to w-hich managers and other know-ledge employees can combine and ex-change information (Goll et al., 2007). Number 4, July-August 2008 Information is data w-ith contex-t. Know-ledge is information w-ith meaning. Wisdom is know-ledge plus insight and sound judgement. When applied to any community, these concepts refer to the sum total ex-perience and learning residing w-ithin an individual, group, enterprise, or nation. The new- source of w-ealth is know-ledge, not labor, land, or financial capital. It is the intangible, intellectual assets that must be managed (Leibold et al., 2002:14). Know-ledge structures order an information environment in a w-ay that enables subsequent interpretation and action; they are built on past ex-perience, and represent organized know-ledge about a given concept or type of stimulus (Kabanoff and Brow-n, 2008: 149). 146 Fi-gu-re 1: Forces Dri-vi-ng Indu-stry Com-peti-ti-on. Sou-rce: Wheelen and Hu-nger, 2002: 61. Organizacija, Volume 41 Meso and Smith Research papers (2000) understand Number 4, July-August 2008 know-ledge 147 Organizacija, Volume 41 Research papers management as the creation of sustainable advantage through continued organizational learning. According to Kerste and Muizer (2002), know-ledge management is dealing w-ith the structural supply of, and demand for, know-ledge w-ithin an enterprise. This know-ledge can be developed in an enterprise or obtained from ex-ternal sources. Know-ledge can be defined as the aw-areness, consciousness, or familiarity gained by ex-perience or learning. How-ever, in the contex-t of organizations, it is not just individual know-ledge that matters, but the know-ledge of groups of people in the organization, or the organization as a w-hole. Organizational know-ledge is the collective and shared ex-perience accumulated through systems, routines, and activities of sharing across the organization (Johnson et al., 2005: 133). Training and development improve quality and make organizations more efficient; they also develop future talent and reduce staff turnover (Pardey, 2007:16). The evidence is that sharing know-ledge and ex-perience is essentially a social process that relies on ‘communities of interest’ developing and sharing information because they see it as mutually beneficial. This could happen through formal systems such as the Internet (and indeed does), but it is also facilitated by social contact and trust (Johnson et al., 2005: 134). The Internet is an ex-tremely important new- technology, and it is no surprise that it has received so much attention from enterpreneurs, ex-ecutives, investors, and business observers. The Internet is an enabling technology – a pow-erful set of tools that can be used, w-isely or unw-isely, in almost any industry and as a part of almost any strategy (Leibold et al., 2002:79). Internet technology provides better opportunities for companies to establish distinctive strategic positionings than previous generations of information technology did (Leibold et al., 2002:80). The Internet is an ex-cellent source of information about industries as w-ell as individual companies (Wheelen and Hunger, 2004: 351). The Internet is supposed to be the great equalizer, allow-ing small and mediumAs show-n in Figure 1, the nature of competitiveness in a given industry can be view-ed as a composite of five presented forces (David, 2005: 94). They do not involve only competitors, but all other business partners, as w-ell. Competitive advantage stems from a firm’s ability to leverage its internal strengths to respond to ex-ternal environmental opportunities w-hile avoiding ex-ternal threats and internal w-eaknesses. Thus, like a distinctive competence, a competitive advantage must be difficult to imitate to be sustainable. Unlike a distinctive competence, a competitive advantage must also enable a firm to outperform the firms to w-hich it is compared (Mooney, 2007). The w-ay to beat low-cost competitiors that have the potential to become serious competitors is to identify and deal w-ith them early, before they get a foothold in a market (Morehouse et al., 2008). So, for a business to gain competitive advantage, it must obtain information about all the business partners w-ith w-hich it has or intends to have business relationships. All of them could have a crucial influence on the financial success or failure of the business. So it is 148 Number 4, July-August 2008 important to obtain as much information about competitors as possible. Common data sources can include (Reuvid, 2000: 9): statutory accounts, returns, and filings credit agency reports trade of corporate directories online databases, including the Internet – an increasingly useful source of information on both industries and potential partners other publications, eg. trade magazines and new-spapers prospect lists, contacts, etc. of outside advisers. A w-ealth of strategic information is available to organizations from both the published and unpublished sources listed above. The Internet has made it easier for firms to gather, assimilate, and evaluate information. It offers consumers and businesses a broad range of services and information resources from all over the w-orld. Interactive services offer users not only access to information w-orldw-ide but also the ability to communicate w-ith the person or company that created the information. Historical barriers to personal and business success – time zones and diverse cultures – are being eliminated. The Internet has become as important to our society as television and new-spapers (David, 2005: 96). A very important part of information for decision making is accounting information. Managers of businesses use accounting information to set goals, evaluate progress tow-ard those goals, and to take corrective action, if necessary (Harrison, Horngren, 2001: 5). Accounting information is crucial in deciding w-hether to invest money, make a loan, go into business w-ith a potential partner, or analyze the financial statements of potential business partners or their ability to meet scheduled payments or other obligations. So management needs accounting information for all businesses it is involved w-ith (business partners, competitors, businesses to invest in etc.). Developments w-ithin the global economic environment require that finance professionals are not only adept at analyzing internal operations but that they are also ex-posed to, and thus ex-perienced in, generating information relating to operations outside their ow-n organisations (Chivaka, 2007:24). Basic accounting information about business can be found in financial statements of the business, w-hich are included in the annual report. The objective of financial statements is to provide information about the financial position, performance, and changes in financial position (i.e. cash flow-) of an entity that is useful to a w-ide range of users in making economic decisions. The financial statements show- the results of the stew-ardship or accountability of management for the resources shareholders entrust to them (Collier, 2006: 110). Financial statements, footnotes, and supplementary schedules constitute the company’s financial report, and all significant information should be included in the financial report. Additionally, other relevant n n n n n n Organizacija, Volume 41 Research papers information, w-hich can assist in understanding the financial report, is presented in narrative form. Ex­amples of these types of items are management’s discussion and analysis and the letter to stockholders (Schroeder et al., 2005: 550). According to Company Law- (Zakon o gospodarskih dru`-bah ZGD-1, 2006) an annual report in Slovenia must contain a balance sheet, income statement, cash flowstatement, capital flow- statement, supplements to the financial statements, and a business report. Small businesses that don’t sell their shares on the organized capital market are ex-cluded from these requirements Their annual report must contain a balance sheet and an income statement. Besides the annual report (balance sheet, income statement, cash flow- statement) other data such as data related to a branch, for ex-ample, are important for a better understanding of the business partner’s other data (^an~­er and Knez Riedl, 2005:147). This means that much ex-ternal and internal data are needed. These data are components of creditw-orthiness information. 4 Cre-di-tworthi-n-e-ss i-n-formati-onCreditw-orthiness is the ability of a business to ex-ist and sustainably develop its business (Knez Riedl 2000b). Estimating creditw-orthiness, also know-n as corporate rating, is designed to give investors a relative indication of the ability of an issuer of a fix-ed-interest security to repay interest and capital on the security on time and in full. Ratings are intended to be comparable across different industries, groupings, and across issuers from different countries, although the underlying assessments vary from industry sector to sector. The rating process reflects a review- of the key underlying strengths and w-eaknesses of the company being rated and is typically based on five years’ past financial data, plus sector information, management forecasts, and discussion of future performance and strategic direction. The rating methodology for industrial companies may be divided into tw-o broad areas: business risk and financial risk. Business risk is a qualitative risk, w-hereas financial risk is a quantitative risk. Rating on credit quality is looking into future ability to repay debt (Fight, 2001: 137-138). The most relevant quantitative and qualitative factors of creditw-orthiness should be taken into account to ensure highquality decision making. The quantitative factors are presented mainly by financial ratios, based on annual statements. There are many different, and at the same time similar, financial ratio systems, w-ith a limited number of selected ratios, w-hich are fix-ed in their mutual interdependencies and hierarchy. They are divided into subgroups, depending on the depth of the analysis goals and the ex-pectations and demands of decision makers (^an~-er and Knez Riedl 2005). Number 4, July-August 2008 To estimate quantitative factors of creditw-orthiness, eleven groups of ratios can be used (Knez Riedl, 2000:5658): capacity ratios (number, structure, and changes of employees; efficiency of w-orking time; technical capacity) ex-isting structure and changes of branch ratios (capacity, structure, and changes of production; capacity, structure, and changes of sale; capacity, structure, and changes of ex-port and import) ratios of products’ and services’ quality (rate of products w-ith defects; number of reclamation; quality costs in operating revenue; number of suggestions for improvement of quality) financing and investment ratios (value, structure, and changes of assets and liabilities; equity financing rate; debt financing rate; share capital rate; long-term financing rate; short-term financing rate; operating fix-ed assets rate; operating current assets rate; longterm assets rate; short-term assets rate; equipment to labor ratio; accumulated depreciation rate; equity to fix-ed assets ratio; equity to long-term assets ratio; long-term financing to long-term assets and normal inventories ratio; acid test ratio; quick ratio; current ratio) turnover ratios (current assets turnover ratio; inventory turnover ratio; trade receivables turnover ratio) revenue, ex-penses, and income ratios (value and structure of revenues, ex-penses, and income; changes on revenues; rate of revenues to employees) efficiency ratios (quantitative capacity of production to employee; valued ex-tent of production to employee; revenues to employee) profitability ratios (net return on equity ratio; ex-panded return on assets ratio; net return on share capital ratio) liquidity ratios (net cash flow- rate; investment to net cash flow- ratio; debt to net cash flow- ratio; equity to net cash flow- ratio; cash flow- per share ratio) ratios of investing in development and innovation activities (rate of research and development costs in revenues; rate of new- products/services in business program; number of innovations to employees; innovations revenue in revenue rate; savings from innovations compared to ex-penses); and environment ratios (containing materials in product; packaging to sales w-age rate; rate of defective products to produced quantity; rate of recycled material in defective products; energy consumption; voter consmption; special emissions; environmental investments to all investments rate). Within quantitative analysis lately there has been more and more important cash flow- analysis, assisted by properly designed ratios, as w-ell as analysis of financial flex-ibility and long-term and short-term efficiency. This means there are more and more important reports for shorter periods than a year, even temporary short-term reports and not only audited annual reports. Besides classical financial ratios, n n n n n n n n n n n 149 Organizacija, Volume 41 Research papers series of ratios, calculated on the basis of up-to-date accounting standards and data on strategic accounting, can be found (Knez Riedl, 2006:26). Qualitative factors are descriptive and can be divided into five groups (Knez Riedl, 2000:59-62): general characteristics (comprising legal form, ow-nership, age, size, location, organizational structure, business relationships, information system) business activity (standard industrial classification, business program, product and service quality, technology) resources/potentials (e.g. employees, management, facilities, innovations and investment activity) market orientation (buyers, suppliers, competitiors); and other qualitative factors (e.g. business morale, organizational culture, reputation, strategies, environmental aw-areness). So, qualitative analysis takes into account many qualitative factors relating to the business and its environment (branch and direct business environment), market position, management, and accounting of the business. The risk and perspective of the branch is also taken into account. Also considered are the businesses’ market position, competitors’ ability, diversification of programs, ex-tent of selling, diversification of buyers and suppliers, cost position, and intangible assets. Management is important, especially in relation to managing a business, strategy, risks, and goals of the business (Knez Riedl, 2006:26). Furthermore, w-e have done a comparative analysis of five databases in Slovenia and Croatia w-hich offer creditw-orthiness information. n n n n n 5 Asse-ssme-n-t of database-s wi-th cre-di-tworthi-n-e-ss i-n-formati-on- For the comparative analysis, w-e choose the five most w-idely used databases in Slovenia and Croatia. The first tw-o are databases on a national level: AJPES in Slovenia and Fina in Croatia. Businesses are obliged by law- to give these databases annual reports because they are based on official national reporting agencies. Furthermore, w-e choose tw-o databases that are w-idely used in those tw-o countries: GVIN in Slovenia and BoneLine in Croatia, as w-ell as Creditreform, an international database that is used in Slovenia and in Croatia. Information on these databases can be found on the Internet (AJPES, 2008; FINA, 2008; GVIN, 2008; BonLine, 2008; and Creditreform, 2008), and although their information could be considered comparable or equal, detailed research has show-n vital diferences among them. From the AJPES, FINA, and GVIN databases w-e can obtain w-hole annual reports. The BonLine and Creditreform databases contain only some basic data 150 Number 4, July-August 2008 from annual reports. Fina’s database contains the most detailed information relating to financial statements for small and middle-sized businesses. The reason for this is that Croata’s businesses use international accounting standards and Slovenia uses our local standards, w-hich allow-s more synthetic information in financial statements for smaller businesses. Only the AJPES database contains supplements to the financial statements. Organizacija, Volume 41 Research papers In Table 1 our assessment of the appropriateness of creditw-orthiness information for these five databases is show-n. In our assessment w-e have estimated the number of calculated ratios in each group of ratios, w-hich w-e note w-hen defining creditw-orthiness information and ranking factors. We researched qualitative and quantitative factors separately, and each group of included ratios. For each group of ratios w-e Number 4, July-August 2008 made a rank from 0 to 5. Zero (0) means that the database does not consider any ratio from the estimated group, 1 means it considers 1% -25 % ratios, 2 means that it considers 26%-50% of ratios, 3 means that it considers 51%-75% of ratios, 4 means that it considers 76%-99% of ratios, and 5 means that it considers all ratios from the group. Tabel 1: Assessm-ent of apropri-ateness of credi-tworthi-ness i-nform-ati-on Final assessment of appropriateness is calculated as an arithmetic proportion of values of included ratios into groups. We can conclude that only a small range of ratios is included in the creditw-orthiness rank of researched databases. There is no database w-hich w-ould include all ratios. And there is no group of ratios w-ith all ratios involved in ranking. Ratios in all databases are mostly the same ones - those w-hich could be calculated or obtained from annual reports of businesses or registration data. So there is no database w-hich w-ould include capacity ratios, ex-isting structure, and changes of branch ratios, ratios of products’ and services’ quality, ratios of investing in development and innovation, environment ratios, and other qualitative ratios. Liquidity ratio is only partly involved in the GVIN database; no other database involves it. 151 Organizacija, Volume 41 Research papers Qualitative factors are limited to legal form, ow-nership, 152 Number 4, July-August 2008 Organizacija, Volume 41 Research papers establishment, and founders. They only mention the business activity w-ithout specific data. Resources/potentials are limited to the number of employees, and some databases involve a list of managers. Only the BonLine and Creditreform databases offered some information about more important buyers. Important suppliers are mentioned only in the Creditreform database. The reason for that is also the fact that data for obtaining such information is not included in the annual reports of businesses. Because all databases include pretty much the same ratios, only the Creditreform database includes some more qualitative ratios. We beieve, therefore, that the Creditreform database is the most appropriate for estimating the creditw-orthiness of Slovene and Croatian businesses. The GVIN database is more appropriate for branch analysis, because it includes a comparison w-ith four other businesses, the economy as a w-hole, and the branch in the country. No other database does this. In the GVIN database w-e can also find a comparison of the basic categories from annual reports and some ratios for the chosen business for the previous five years, and the same comparison for the branch to w-hich the business belongs. In the balance sheet and income statement w-e can find calculations of similar ratios for the past tw-o years. So w-e can conclude that the GVIN database is the most appropriate for branch analysis. But w-e must take into account the fact that this includes information only about Slovene branches. The information contained in all five databases is based on historical data, so it is very risky to predict the future operation of businesses. A ranking of the businesses could be found in all databases. The Creditreform database provides the most specific one, because the rank is set betw-en 100 and 600, w-hile the other databases have a much tighter range. Because Creditreform contains information concerning most businesses all over the w-orld, in our opinion it is the most appropriate database among those w-e researched. 6 Ne-e-de-d chan-g-e-s of an-alyse-d database-s to be- morede-p-e-n-dable- Very important creditw-orthiness information w-hich can not be found in any database is: capacity, structure, and changes of production; capacity, structure, and changes of sale; value and structure of revenues, ex-penses, and income; changes on revenues; liquidity ratios, especially net cash flow- rate; ratios of investing in development and innovation activities, especially rate of newproducts/services in business program and savings from innovations compared to ex-penses; ratios of products’ and services’ quality, especially rate of products w-ith defects and number of suggestions for improvement of quality; environment ratios; n n Number 4, July-August 2008 resources/potentials, especially information about facilities, innovations and investment activity; market orientation w-hich include information about buyers, suppliers and competitiors; information about reputation, strategies and environmental aw-areness. Each database should include the information listed above, w-hich is essencial for assessment of businesses creditw-orthiness. For better information it should be created from short-term reports and audited annual reports. And planned information about nex-t periods should be added. n n n 7 Con-clu-si-onThe success of a business is highly dependent on the recognition of business opportunities. Management and other employees need a lot of know-ledge to support that recognition. Know-ledge and information become the most important resources for any organization. Information about the competition is also crucial for business success. This includes accounting and nonaccounting information, of w-hich creditw-orthiness information plays a special role. Qualitative and quantitative factors are important for the purpose of ranking a business and estimating its creditw-orthiness. Databases w-hich offer information about the creditw-orthiness of a business seldom include quantitative factors. Our research analyzed the AJPES, FINA, GVIN, BonLine, and Creditreform databases. Among them, Creditreform takes into account the most ratios from all groups and offers the w-idest rank, so their ranking is the best. Consequently, w-e believe it is the best database for estimating the creditw-orthiness of a business. In our view- such a research has not been conducted for Slovenia and Croatia, so w-e believe it could be useful for all users of research databases. The GVIN database is the most appropriate for doing an analysis of a Slovene company, because it includes more comparisons among businesses and w-ith branches and the economy as a w-hole. At the end of the paper w-e recommended w-hich information should be added to analysed databases to make them more dependable. n n n n n 8 Li-te-ratu-reAJPES (2008), (online). Available on http://w-w-w-.ajpes.si/ (19.2.2008). Bergh, D. D., Johnson, R. A. & Dew-itt, R. L. (2008). Restructuring through spin-off or sell-off: transforming information asymmetries into financial gain. Strategi-c Managem-ent Jou-rnal, 29(2): 133-148. n 153 Organizacija, Volume 41 Research papers Bodnar, G. H. & Hopw-ood, W. S. (2001). Accou-nti-ng Inform-ati-on System-s. Eighth edition. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River. BonLine (2008), (online). Available on: http://w-w-w-.bonline.hr (18.2.2008). Chivaka, R. (2007). Strategic cost management: Value chain analysis approach. Accou-ntancy SA, August 2007: 24-27. Collier, P. M. (2006). Accou-nti-ng for Managers: Interpreti-ng Accou-nti-ng Inform-ati-on for Deci-si-on-m-aki-ng. Second edition. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Chichester. Creditreform (2008), (online). Available on: http://w-w-w-.creditreform.si/ (18.2.2008). ^an~-er, V. & Knez Riedl J. (2005). Why and How- to Evaluate the Creditw­orthiness of SME’s Business Partners. Internati-onal Sm-all Bu-si-ness Jou-rnal, 23(2): 143-160. Davis, F. E. (2005). Strategi-c Managem-ent: Concepts and Cases. Tenth edition. Pearsons Education International, New- Jersey. Fight, A. (2001). The Rati-ngs Gam-e. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Chichester. FINA (2008), (online). Available on: http://w-w-w-.fina.hr (18.2.2008). Fitzroy, P. & Hulbert, J. M. (2005). Strategi-c Managem-ent: Creati-ng Valu-e i-n a Tu-rbu-lent World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Chichester. Goll, I., Brow-n Johnson, N., and Rasheed, A. A. (2007). Know-ledge capability, strategic change, and firm performance: the moderating role of the environment. Managem-ent Deci-si-on 45(2): 161. Available on: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdw-eb?i ndex-=2&did=1226766211&SrchMode=3&sid=37&Fmt =3& clientld=70262&RQT=309&VName=PQD. GVIN (2008), (online). Available on: http://w-w-w-1.gvin.com/ (20.2.2008). Harrison, W. T. Jr. & Horngren, C. T. (2001). Fi-nanci-al Accou-nti-ng. Upper Saddle River, New- Jersey. Informativno gradivo GviN, 2005. Johnson, G., Scholes, K., and Whittington, R. (2005). Ex-plori-ng Corporate Strategy: Tex-t and Cases. Seventh Edition. FT Prentice Hall Financial Times, Harlow-. Kabanoff, B. & Brow-n, S. (2008). Know-ledge structures of prospectors, analyzers, and defenders: Content, structure, stability and performance. Strategi-c Managem-ent Jou-rnal, 29(2): 149-171. Kerste, R. & Muizer, A. (2002). Effective know-ledge transfer to SMEs: Lessons from marketing and know-ledge management. Strategi-c Stu-dy, B200202, EIM Zoetermeer. Knez Riedl, J. (2000a). Analiza podjetja v spremenjenih okoliš­~­inah poslovanja. MER 2(4-5): 28-36. Knez Riedl, J. (2000b). Pojmovanje in presojanje bonitete podjetja. Zveza ra~-unovodij, finan~-nikov in revizorjev Slovenije, Ljubljana. Knez Riedl, J. (2006). Vzporednice med presojanjem bonitete podjetij in upravljanja dru`-b. Razgledi MBA XII (1-2): 24-30. Law-ler III, E.E. & Worley, C.G. (2006). Bu-i-lt to Change: How to Achi-eve Su-stai-ned Organi-zati-onal Effecti-veness. Jossy-Bass, San Francisco. Liebold, M., Probst, G. & Gibbert, M. (2002). Strategi-c Managem-ent i-n the Knowledge Econom-y: New Approaches and Bu-si-ness Appli-cati-ons. Publicis & Willey, Erlangen. 154 Number 4, July-August 2008 Lutar Skerbinjek, A. (2005). Ra~-unovodsko finan~-ne informacije na internetu. V: Zborni-k refratov XX. Posvetovanja dru­štva ra~u­novodi­j, fi­nan~ni­kov i­n revi-zorjev Mari-bor. Druš­tvo ra~­unovodij, finan~-nikov in revizorjev Maribor. Meso, P. & Smith, R. (2000). A resource-based view- of organizational know-ledge management systems. Jou-rnal of Knowledge Managem-ent, 4(3), 224-234. Mooney, A. (2007). Core competence, distinctive competence and competitive advantage: w-hat is the difference? Jou-rnal of Edu-cati-on for Bu-si-ness, 83(2): 110-115. Available from: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdw-eb?index-=18&did=14109 038 91&SrchMode=1&sid=6&Fmt=3&clientld=70262&RQT =3 09&VName=PQD. Morehouse, J., O’Meara, B., Hagen, C. & Huseby, T. (2008). Hitting back: strategic responses to low--cost rivals. Strategy & Leadershi-p 36(1): 4. Available from: http://proquest.umi. com/pqdw-eb?index-=2&did=1440893591&SrchMode=3&si d=25&Fmt=3&clientld=70262&RQT=309&VName=PQD. Murphy, G. B., Celuch K. & Callaw-ay, S. K. (2007). Small business Internet use and strategic flex-ibility. Jou-rnal of Sm-all Bu-si-ness Strategy, 18(1), 57-68). Pardey, D. (2007). Leadership in turbulent times, effective leadership during times of organizational change. Strategi-c HR Revi-ew 6(5): 16-19. Reuvid, J. (2000). Managi-ng Bu-si-ness Partnershi-ps. Kogan Page, Ltd., London. Schnatterly, K., Shaw-, K. W. & Jennings, W. W. (2008). Information advantages of large institutional ow-ners. Strategi-c Managem-ent Jou-rnal, 29(2): 219-227. Schroeder, R. G., Clark, M. W. & Cathey, J. M. (2005). Fi-nanci-al Accou-nti-ng Theory and Analysi-s; Tex-t readi-ngs and cases. Eighth edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken. Wheelen, T.L. & Hunger, J. D. (2004). Strategi-c Managem-ent and Bu-si-ness Poli-cy. Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River. Wiersema, M. F. & Bow-en, H. P. (2008). Corporate diversification: the impact of foreign competition, industry globalization, and product diversification. Strategi-c Managem-ent Jou-rnal, 29(2): 115-132. Wilkinson, J. W., Cerullo, M. J., Raval, V. & Wong-on-Wing, B. (2000). Accou-nti-ng Inform-ati-on System-s: Essenti-al Concepts and Appli-cati-ons. Fourth edition. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New- York. Zakon o gospodarskih dru`-bah (2006), (online). Available on: http://w-w-w-.uradni-list.si/1/objava.jsp?urlid=200642&stevilk a=1799 (20.2.2008). Zimmerman, J. L. (2000). Accou-nti-ng for Deci-si-on Maki-ng and Control. Third edition. Irw-in McGraw--Hill, Boston. An-dre-ja Lu-tar Ske-rbi-n-je-k has been em-plo-yed at the Uni-ver-si-ty o-f Mar-i-bo-r-, Faculty o-f Eco-no-m-i-cs and Busi-ness si-nce 1993, i-ni-ti-ally as an assi-stant, and si-nce 2003 as Assi-stant Pr-o-fesso-r- i-n Acco-unti-ng. She has lectur-ed o-n Basi-c Acco-unti-ng, Co-st Acco-unti-ng, and Co-m-puter- Suppo-r-t o-f Acco-unti-ng and Audi-ti-ng. She has the degr-ee o-f Speci-ali-st fo-rAudi-ti-ng o-f Annual Repo-r-ts at the Faculty o-f Eco-no-m-i-cs, Uni­ver­si­ty o­f Ljubljana, and a m­aster­’s and do­cto­r­al degr­ee o-f Busi-ness Sci-ence at the Faculty o-f Eco-no-m-i-cs and Busi-ness, Uni-ver-si-ty o-f Mar-i-bo-r-. She w-as aw-ar-ded her- do-cto-r-al Organizacija, Volume 41 Research papers Number 4, July-August 2008 degr-ee i-n 2002. In 1995, she go-t the Fulbr-i-ght Scho-lar-shi-p fo-rr-esear-ch w-o-r-k and w-o-r-ked fo-r- fi-ve m-o-nths at the Gr-aduate Scho-o-l o-f Busi-ness, Fo-r-dham- Uni-ver-si-ty, NewYo-r-k. Her- bi-bli-o-gr-aphy co-ntai-ns 117 bi-bli-o-gr-aphi-cal uni-ts. 155
Purchase answer to see full attachment