CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

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1 3rd International Open Conference on BUSINESS & PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 2016 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS Edited by: Dimitrios A. Giannias & Eleni Sfakianaki, HELLENIC OPEN UNIVERSITY Athens 2016 ISBN: HELLENIC OPEN UNIVERSITY 1

2 CONTENTS PUBLIC UTILITIES PRIVATIZATION IN OPEN ECONOMY: A LITERATURE REVIEW 5 ENTREPRENEURSHIP TARGETING POLICIES, TECHNOLOGICAL GROWTH, AND UNEMPLOYMENT FOOD SECURITY IN TRANSITION ECONOMIES: THE CASE OF UZBEKISTAN37 THE ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPETENCIES OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE MANAGERS IN THE KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN IMPACT OF FINANCIAL CRISIS ON ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR & JOB SATISFACTION: HOW CAN CORPORATE LEADERSHIP ASSIST? FINANCIAL EFFECTIVENESS OF MUNICIPALITIES IN GREECE AND THE USE OF MODERN FINANCIAL TOOLS HUMAN CAPITAL AND PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION FROM EMPLOYEES AND SENIOR MANAGERS PERSPECTIVE BUSINESS STRATEGY AND MANAGEMENT OF RISKS AND CHALLENGES STUDY ON EXPRESSWAY MARKETIZATION IN CHINA STUDY ON THE SUPERVISION MECHANISM OF PUBLIC POLICY IMPLEMENTATION IN CHINA THE INTERNET THINKING INFLUENCE ON THE PUBLIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REASERCH - BASED ON THE PERSPECTIVE OF CHAORD THEORY ANALYSIS OF SUPERVISION MEASURES IN LOCAL NETWORK MARKET A SURVEY ON THE PUBLIC S SMOKING AND SMOKING CONTROL IN HANDAN CITY THE GUIDING OF LOW-CARBON LIFE A PERSPECTIVE ON THE ANTI-CORRUPTION ACCUMULATED FUND SYSTEM---- AN EXAMPLE OF JIANGMEN CITY IN CHINA

3 THE PROVISIONS ON MIGRANTS SMUGGLING IN THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME AND IN THE HELLENIC LEGAL ORDER. THE MANAGEMENT OF THE HELLENIC SEA BORDER BETWEEN HELLAS AND TURKEY IN THE PERIOD STUDY ON THE BRAIN DRAIN OF GRASS-ROOTS CIVIL SERVANTS IN CHINA167 STUDY ON JOB BURNOUT PROBLEM OF PRIMARY CIVIL SERVANT DURING THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD-AN EXAMPLE OF HEBEI PROVINCE, CHINA THE PROVISIONS AGAINST CORRUPTION AND OF TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME IN THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME AND IN THE HELLENIC LEGAL ORDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION OF GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE IN PDCA CYCLE STUDY ON CAREER DEVELOPMENT OF FEMALE CIVIL SERVANT IN CHINA205 LITERATURE REVIEW ON THE STUDY OF PRESCHOOL EDUCATION IN CHINA 209 SEARCH AND RESCUE AT THE EAST MEDITERRANEAN SEA. THE CASE OF CYPRUS LITERATURE REVIEW ON SELF-GOVERNANCE OF VILLAGERS IN CHINA 221 LITERATURE REVIEW ON URBAN INTEGRATION OF THE RURAL WORKERS IN CHINA STUDY ON THE MOTIVATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF HELPING BEHAVIOR MORAL MODELS DEMOGRAPHIC STUDY ON TRUST BEHAVIOR OF CHINESE MORAL MODELS233 STUDY ON THE MOTIVATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF SAMARITAN BEHAVIOR SUPERVISION OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS REVISITED: THE TRANSITION FROM BASEL I TO BASEL III. A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED REGULATORY FRAMEWORK IN RESPONSE TO THE CREDIT CRUNCH DIVIDEND PAYOUT AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ACROSS THE GREEK LISTED FIRMS A STATISTICAL STUDY ON THE EQUITY MUTUAL FUNDS IN GREECE

4 CREATING A PARTIAL SUPPLY CHAIN REFERENCE MODEL FOR THE ENERGY INDUSTRY ON A DUOPOLY GAME WITH HOMOGENEOUS PLAYERS AND A QUADRATIC DEMAND FUNCTION STRATEGIC COMPETITION ANALYSIS AND GROUP MAPPING: THE CASE OF THE GREEK INSURANCE INDUSTRY EUROPEAN YOUTH GUARANTEE: A NEW PATHWAY FOR THE TRANSITION OF YOUNG PEOPLE TO THE LABOUR MARKET? RESEARCH ON THE REFORM OF THE BROADBAND SALARY SYSTEM OF CHINESE GRASS-ROOTS CIVIL SERVANTS AN INVESTIGATION OF THE FACTORS THAT CAN HINDER THE GROWTH OF LOW COST DIGITAL MARKETING OF INDEPENDENT MUSIC MUSEUM ATMOSPHERICS : A MARKETING AND AN INTERPRETIVE TOOL 335 OFFSHORE SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT: A COMPARATIVE STUDY IN THE OIL INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING AND SERVICE ORGANISATION A CRITICAL STUDY: HOW GENDER DETERMINES CONSUMER PREFERENCES 359 CULTURE DIFFERENCES OF CHINESE AND AMERICAN TRADITIONAL FESTIVAL COMPARING GREEK ACCOUNTING STANDARDS: OLD VS NEW, WHAT ACTUALLY BELIEVE THE GREEK ACCOUNTANTS

5 PUBLIC UTILITIES PRIVATIZATION IN OPEN ECONOMY: A LITERATURE REVIEW KOSTAS KARAMANIS, Technological Educational Institute of Epirus EIRINI TRIARHI, Technological Educational Institute of Epirus 1. Introduction Globally over the last decades, public utilities have undergone significant structural changes. Most of the developed and developing countries implemented policies leading to privatization and reorganization of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). These initiatives are justified by the fact that SOEs operating as cumbersome bureaucratic state organizations with limited expertise could not respond adequately to the new conditions created in the markets, such as technological developments, increasing customer demands for new services, for highest quality of existing service, lower prices, etc. Therefore, globally policies started to be implemented leading to the reform of industries which until then were operating exclusively under state control and supervision. An interesting case is the telecommunications sector which from the 80s onwards has experienced rapid development and growth worldwide (Karamanis and Georgopoulos, 2006). In particular, almost all developed and developing countries have implemented privatization policies of Public Telecommunications Organizations (PTOs) while at the same time gradually the markets were liberating to the competition and a regulatory framework was establishing. Internationally, there is a significant number of studies trying to evaluate the impacts of these strategic changes. In these studies which are based either on empirical econometric analysis either on descriptive analysis (cases studies), the effects of reforms both at market and enterprise level, are examined. The purpose of this paper is to record important studies and to draw useful conclusions on the effects of structural changes in public utilities. As a case study the telecommunications markets will be analyzed, since in almost all developed and developing countries the telecommunication sector has experienced a transition process from a highly regulated stated owned monopoly to a liberalized competitive market regime. In particular, the impacts of the privatization of the traditional organizations, introduction of competition and the establishment of an independent regulatory authority related to market performance indicators such as telephone penetration, amount of investments, prices and quality of service, employment and labor productivity, will be examined. 2. Telephone Penetration Of all the recorded studies in this paper, it is found that the implementation of the reform programs has significantly improved the level of telephone penetration (Thamae, 2015; Gasmi and Virto, 2010; Fink et.al, 2003; Chung and Ypsialntis, 2003; Li and Xu, 2002; Ypsilantis, 2002; Ros and Banerjee, 2000; Fink et.al., 2001; Mueller and Lovelock, 2000; Hughes and Phillips, 1999). The number of main telephone lines, simultaneously being digitized, grew rapidly as did the number of coin -operated machines / payphones and telecentres (Laffont and N Guessan, 2003; Haggarty and Shirley, 2003; Tusubira et.al., 2002; Dia et.al., 2002). In particular, the competition raised the number of main lines and coin-operated machines. By itself privatization was negatively correlated with the penetration of main lines, while appeared to have a positive effect only on the number of coin -operated machines. In the cases where the privatization took place before the advent of competition, the penetration of main lines became moderate (Fink et. al., 2003). The telephone penetration was positively influenced when before the privatization, an independent regulator and an independent regulatory framework were established (Djiofack-Zebaze and Keck, 2009; Wallsten, 2002; Wallsten, 2001; Galal and Nauriyal, 1995). The greater was the degree of independence of the regulatory authority of a country, the greater the increase in penetration of main telephone lines (Montoya and Trillas, 2007; Baudrier, 2001). Moreover, countries that proceed in the privatization of their national telecommunications operator at least by 50%, experienced a significant increase of the main telephone lines. Instead, the ensuring of exclusive provision of basic telecommunications services from traditional telecommunications operators for a specified period of time, reduced the growth rate of main telephone lines (Wallsten, 2000). In addition, the impact of the reform on the telephone penetration is not dependent on the country s per capita income. There is no evidence to prove that privatization led to a higher increase of the main lines in those countries with higher per capita GDP (Ros, 1999). In contrast, Lam and Shiu (2010) found out that there is a bidirectional relationship between real gross domestic product (GDP) and telecommunications development (as measured by teledensity) for European and high-income countries. 5

6 More specifically, the reform of this sector caused a rapid increase in the rate of penetration of new telecommunications services mainly in mobile telephony (Thamae, 2015; Gasmi and Virto, 2010; Clarke et.al., 2003; Ypsilantis, 2002; Ypsilantis, 2002; Xavier and Ypsilantis, 2001; Ypsilantis and Min, 2000; Xavier and Ypsilantis, 2000; Sato and Ypsilantis, 2000; Yamada and Ypsilantis, 2000; Samarajiva, 2000; Min, 1999; Min and Ypsilantis, 1999; Bloendal and Dirk, 1997). The introduction of competition related positively with the growth of mobile telephony market (Djiofack-Zebaze and Keck, 2009). However, the penetration of mobile telephony was influenced positively by competition only in the case that competition concerned digital operators (Fink et.al., 2001). Both the ownership and the eventual privatization appeared to have no clear relation to the market growth (Nicoletti, 2001). On the contrary, the internet market especially in developing countries presented lower rates of growth (Thamae, 2015; Laffont and N Guessan, 2003; Lee, 2002; Vanyai, 1998; Serra, 1998; Gonzalez et.al., 1998; Athreya, 1996; Sinha, 1996;). The competition and the privatization had no direct impact on the growth of users and internet hosts. The internet growth was higher in countries that had democratic political system, encouraging the entrepreneurship and investment. Additionally, the higher the per capita income, the installed telephone lines and the use of English language, the higher was the number of internet users (Giullen and Suarez, 2001). Moreover, significant for the growth of the internet market was the relation of the internet penetration rate to P/C s penetration. As higher the P/C s penetration rate of a country was, the more positive were the prospects of the specific market s growth (Lee and Ypsilantis, 2002). In contrast, the monitoring of internet by government organizations resulted in the slowed growth of this market (Chung and Ypsilantis, 2003). Finally, extremely important are the findings that the increased penetration of mobile telephony and the internet has improved the efficiency of telecommunications, and pushed for expansion and modernization of telecommunications infrastructure (Jha and Majumdar, 1999). The increase in main telephone lines, which appeared intense in the first years of the reform, decreased after the complete liberalization of the market due to high competition in mobile telephony (Ypsilantis and Min, 2001; Sacripanti 1999). However, the study of Gutierrez and Berg (2002) leads to the opposite conclusion, which is that the growth of mobile telephony either functioning complementary to the fixed telephony either competitively, significantly increased the main lines level per 100 inhabitants. As an important problem remained the goal of universal service, since the poorest regions, particularly in developing countries, continued after the reform of the telecommunications sector to be excluded from more and better telecommunications services (Haggarty et.al., 2003; Laffont and N Guessan, 2003; Tusubira et.al., 2002; Gonzalez et.al., 1998). While, there is no clear conclusion as to whether the competition was beneficial or not for achieving the goal of universal service (Wen et.al. 2012; Barros and Seabra, 1999). The study of Lumanto and Kosuge (2005) provides evidence that the performance of the telecommunications sector after reform is largely determined by how well the institutions in the reform process work, rather than depending on reform strategies such as privatization, market competition, creation of a regulatory body, or an increase in the number of players. In any case, the delay of telecommunications sector reform caused significant negative impacts to the penetration rate of both fixed and mobile telephone lines, as well as to the extent of use of internet services (Coldstein, 2003). 3. Investments Referring to the level of investments, from the examined studies found that this significantly increased in countries that have reformed the sector in relation to countries that did not release their markets to competition and the state retained the majority of the traditional telecommunications organization (Gutierrez and Berg, 2002; Li and Xu, 2002; Ypsilantis, 2002; Ros and Banerjee, 2000; Yamada and Ypsilantis, 2000; Vanyai, 1998; Gonzalez et.al., 1998). Biancini (2011) concluded that competition seemingly helps stimulating investment in the most developed areas, but does not seem to have a significant impact on the less developed ones. In particular, intense investments are presented in new technologies with focus on optical fiber, thus enhancing the digital technology, which increased the productivity and efficiency of the sector (Li, 2012; Madden et.al. 2003; Haggarty and Shirley, 2003; Tusubira et.al. 2002; Heracleous, 2001). Additionally, an 6

7 important percentage of the total investment in the sector is in the mobile telephony market, which presented rapid growth (Lee and Ypsilantis, 2002). It also emerged that while public investment declined steadily in recent years, the total investment in the sector has increased mainly due to considerable investments made by new entrants to the market. Particularly important was the investment in the fixed spinal infrastructure using the existing infrastructure of electricity, road network, railway network and bridges consortium (Xavier and Ypsilantis, 2000; Sato and Ypsilantis, 2000). Lestage et.al. (2013) concluded that greater competitive pressure fosters infrastructure investment by state-owned incumbents but reduces investment by private incumbents. Moreover, the entry of foreign multinational companies on the market, either through partnerships or through acquisitions, significantly increased the level of investment (Athreya 1996; Sinha 1996). The expansion of telecommunications services which was not combined with an analogous modernization of infrastructure, has resulted in fewer investments. Furthermore, ensuring a period of exclusive provision of basic telecommunications services to traditional telecommunications operators had negative impact on the level of investments (Wallsten, 2000). According to Howell et.al. (2010) competition between vertically integrated telecommunications providers would likely induce more efficient and sustainable investment and competition than would separation. Finally, the establishment of an independent regulatory authority prior to privatization positively affected the level of investments. Paleologos and Polemis (2013) analysis reveals that there is a strong and positive relationship between effective regulation and investment. Positive effect on investments also had the economic situation and the size of country s population (Gutierrez and Berg, 2002). On the contrary, the level of investments remained low due to the weakness to implement a successful regulatory policy (Wallsten 2002; Galal and Nauriyal 1995). The malfunctioning in the independent and impartial operation of the regulator as well as the government influence at receiving regulatory decisions, prevented potential investors to invest in the market (Clarke et.al.,. 2003). Overall, the results suggest a higher social rate of return on telecommunications infrastructure investment for the aggregate economy (Nadiri et.al., 2009). 4. Pricing of Telecommunications Services The prices in telecommunications services reduced steadily after the sector s reform. (Djiofack-Zebaze and Keck, 2009; Parker, 2004; Haggarty et.al., 2003; Min, 1999; Ypsilantis, 2002; Dia et.al., 2002; Heracleous, 2001; Xavier and Ypsilantis, 2000; Holder, 1998; Vanyai, 1998; Spiller and Cardilli, 1997; Xavier, 1996). More specifically, it is clear that the increasing competition (number of competitive companies or business new entrants market share) and the technological advances resulted to a decrease in services prices. Alike, the prospect of competition (as represented by the number of years which falls short before the market liberalization) had a strong negative price effect (Boyland and Nicοletti, 2000). As the competition becomes more intense, the more the average price is falling (Lee and Ypsilantis, 2002; Nicoletti 2001; Galal and Nauriyal, 1995).The fall of price under conditions was also caused by mergers and acquisitions, which usually intensify competition (Cricelli et.al., 1999). Instead, the privatization of public organizations by itself without the existence of an independent regulatory authority did not lead substantially to the reduction of prices (Wallsten, 2001). In addition, the problems that were presented at licensing new entrants, restricted competition and had eventually significant effect on the price level (Yamada and Ypsilantis, 2000). A modest reform policy, with many problems in its implementation, resulted not to reduce the prices. Thus, often resulted to higher prices not only for mobile telephone services but also for the local and long distance calls (Clarke et.al., 2003). Regarding the effects of the reform on the level of prices in the individual telephone services, the results were ambiguous. Specifically, the study of Ros and Banerjee (2000), found that privatization mainly reduced the connection prices to the telecommunications network and the cost of the minimum local call. Two other studies (Sato and Ypsilantis 2000; Hughes and Phillips 1999) concluded to the sharp fall of prices of long distances, international and mobile telephone services. Instead, other studies (Ypsilantis and Min, 2000; Cho et.al., 1996) concluded that despite the significant fall in prices, however this did not apply for international services and prices of leased lines, which still remained relatively high. The study of Min and Ypsilantis (1999) found that stronger price fall was mainly at business market (leased lines) and the international market. Another series of studies (Tusubira et.al., 2002; Serra, 1998; Gonzalez et.al., 1998; 7

8 Bloendal and Dirk 1997) concluded that the price of international and long distance telephone services decreased significantly, while the price of local fixed telephony first appeared to increase and then to decrease very slowly. Ypsilantis and Min (2001) like Sacripanti (1999) observed significant price reduction both in mobile telephone and internet services, due to the strong competition which prevailed in these markets. On the contrary, the lack of fierce competition in the leased lines market maintained high lease prices, thereby reducing the decline in prices for the internet access (Xavier and Ypsilantis, 2001). Finally, important is the conclusion that the growth of digital technology pushed down the level of prices (Madden et.al, 2003). However, there is a lack of clarity about what is the impact on one hand of the reforms and on the other of the technological advances at reduction of prices (Bloendal and Dirk, 1997). 5. Quality of Telecommunications Services The index of service quality, which is measured cumulatively or disjunctively by the waiting time for the main telephone lines, the percentage of defects repaired within 24 hours, the annual number of defects per 100 lines, the average duration of outages and the number of complaints, found to be significantly improved by the sector s reform (Parker, 2004; Dia et.al., 2002; Ypsilantis, 2002a; Ypsilantis, 2002b; Ypsilantis and Min, 2001; Yamada and Ypsilantis, 2001; Samarajiva, 2000; Xavier and Ypsilantis, 2000; Ros and Banerjee, 2000; Hughes and Phillips, 1999; Sacripanti, 1999; Min, 1999; Holder, 1998; Vanyai, 1998; Gonzalez et.al., 1998; Xavier, 1996). Moreover, Ypsilantis and Min (2000), specialized even more, studied the rate of the success of the call and the rate of access in order to examine the quality of mobile telephone services and found that the reform is positively associated with the quality of mobile telephone services. The growing competition and the privatization of public organizations had a strong positive effect not only on the previous performance indicators, but also on the quality of provided services (Nicoletti, 2001; Boyland and Nicoletti, 2000; Spiller and Cardilli, 1997). A positive effect on the quality of services had also the definition of the regulatory policy and the establishment of an independent regulatory authority (Fink et.al., 2001, Serra 1998; Galal and Nauriyal, 1995). Instead, the limited competition and the problematic establishment of regulatory authorities fixing the function of the markets, significantly delayed the improvement of quality (Coldstein 2003; Clarke et.al., 2003; Laffont and N 'Guessan, 2003). Additionally, very significant impact on the quality had the new technological advances, especially digitization and modernization of telecommunications infrastructure, such as broadband networks, fiber optics, etc. (Madden et.al., 2003; Lee and Ypsilantis, 2002; Xavier and Ypsilantis, 2001; Boyland and Nicοletti, 2000). However, in some cases, especially in the developing countries, the total quality of services provided didn t not present improvement despite the reform of the sector remaining approximately to the levels that existed before the introduction of the reform (Leong, et.al., 2012; Haggarty et.al., 2003; Tusubira et.al., 2002). 6. Employment The total of the examined studies (Li and Xu 2002; Ypsilantis and Min 2001; Xavier and Ypsilantis, 2001; Ypsilantis and Min, 2000; Xavier and Ypsilantis, 2000; Sacripanti, 1999; Cho et.al., 1996) found that despite staff reductions in traditional telecommunications organizations, total employment in the telecommunications sector after the reform, increased due to the entry of many new enterprises in the market. In the beginning, a decrease in employment in traditional telecommunications organizations was mentioned, while after the complete liberalization of the market the total employment in the sector increased (Yamada and Ypsilantis, 2001). Greatest contribution to this increase had the new entrants in the market of new services such as mobile telephone and internet services (Ypsilantis, 2002; Ypsilantis and Min, 2001; Giullen and Suarez, 2001; Hughes and Phillips, 1999; Jha and Majumdar, 1999). 7. Work productivity The telecommunications sector s reform contributed to the increase in labor productivity, as measured by the number of subscribers per employee or after dividing the total revenue to employment (Fink et. Al, 2003; Haggarty et.al., 2003; Laffont and N 'Guessan, 2003; Li and Xu, 2002; Ypsilantis, 2002; 8

9 Lee and Ypsilantis, 2002; Fink et.al., 2001, Ypsilantis and Min, 2000; Xavier and Ypsilantis, 2000; Min and Ypsilantis, 1999; Holder, 1998; Cho et. al., 1996). Specifically, it is found that the labor productivity increased rapidly in countries that fully released to competition on the telecommunications market compared with the countries that have made partial liberalization (Bloendal and Dirk, 1997). Increased competition and technological advances have improved labor productivity (Fink et. Al., 2003; Boyland and Nicoletti, 2000). Also, positively to labor productivity contributed the rise in production, expressed mainly by the level of telephone traffic flows (Madden et.al, 2003), and the reduction of employees in traditional telecommunications organizations (Dia et.al, 2002). Instead, the impact of privatization for this performance index was ambiguous (Nicoletti, 2001). Only when the privatization was combined with the existence of an independent regulatory framework, contributed positively to labor productivity (Wallsten, 2001). Countries that managed to effectively regulate the market presented significant improvement in productivity. In countries that failed to implement a successful regulatory policy, labor productivity did not improve (Galal and Nauriyal, 1995). However, it is important to be mentioned that high productivity profits, acquired by privatized enterprises, benefited consumers only when the market experienced a healthy competition (Serra, 1998). Palcic and Peeves (2010) find no clear evidence that ownership change had a significant impact on productivity. Improvements were associated with competition and the impending deregulation of the market as well as considerable changes in the internal organizational structure of the firm. Conclusions The world's current policies of privatization of state enterprises with the simultaneous release of the markets to competition have changed enormously the organization and operation of these markets. Typical is the case of the telecommunications sector, where applicable reform policies have led to significant changes in key market performance indicators such as the telephone penetration, the amount of investments, prices and quality of provided services, employment and labor productivity. More specifically, the study of the international literature revealed that the level of telephone penetration has been significantly improved. The number of main telephone lines simultaneously digitized grew rapidly as also the penetration rate of new telecommunications services, especially of mobile telephone and internet services. On the contrary, as an important problem remained the goal of universal service, since the poorest regions, particularly in developing countries, continued after the reform of the telecommunications sector to be excluded from more and better telecommunications services. Regarding the level of investments, all the examined studies found that this increased significantly. In particular, it is observed that while public investment declined steadily in recent years, the total investment in the sector has been increased mainly due to the significant investments made by the entry of new enterprises in the market. The major percentage of the total investment in the sector is in mobile telephony market. Moreover, important were the investments in new technologies with focus on optical fiber thereby enhancing the digital technology. Referring to the price index, most of the examined studies found that this declined steadily after the reform. Increased competition and technological advances reduced the prices of the provided services. Concerning the quality of provided services, it is proved that the reform has contributed significantly to their improvement, a fact that attributed mainly to new technological advances and especially to the digitization of telecommunications infrastructure. However, in some cases the quality of provided services mainly in the developing countries did not improve, despite the structural changes, remaining approximately to the levels before the introduction of reform. Regarding to employment size is revealed that despite the reduction of staff in traditional telecommunications organizations, total employment in the sector increased mainly due to the entry of new enterprises in the market. Greatest contribution to this increase had the new entrants in the market of new services such as mobile telephone and internet services. Finally, the labor productivity has been increased with the reform of the sector. The competition that introduced in the market, the rise in production and the reduction of employees in traditional telecommunications organizations had a positive effect on the productivity level. 9

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12 Mueller Milton and Lovelock Peter (2000), «The WTO and China s ban on foreign investment in telecommunication services: a game theoretic analysis», Telecommunications Policy, Vol. 24 (8-9), pp (Elsevier Science) Nadiri M. Ishaq, Banani Nandi and Chandana Chakraborty (2009), «Telecommunications infrastructure, telecommunications intensity and productivity growth in US industries: a disaggregated approach», (Inderscience Publishers) Nicoletti Giuseppe (2001), «Regulation in services: OECD patterns and economic implications», OECD Palcic Dónal and Eoin Reeves (2010), «Organisational status change and performance: The case of Ireland s national telecommunications operator», Telecommunications Policy, Vol. 34(5-6), pp (Elsevier Science) Paleologos John M. and Michael L. Polemis (2013), «What drives investment in the telecommunications sector? Some lessons from the OECD countries», Economic Modelling, Vol. 31, pp (Elsevier Science) Parker David (1999), «Regulation of privatized public utilities in the UK: performance and governance», International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 12(3), pp (Emerald Group Publishing Limited) Ros Agustin (1999), «Does Ownership or Competition Matter? The Effects of Telecommunications Reform on Network Expansion and Efficiency», Journal of Regulatory Economics Vol. 15(1), pp (Kluwer Academic Publishers) Ros Agustin and Banerjee Aniruddha (2000), «Telecommunications privatization and tariff rebalancing: evidence from Latin America», Telecommunications Policy, Vol. 24(3), pp (Elsevier Science) Sacripanti Andrea Michele (1999), «Liberalizing telecommunications in Italy: the role of the regulator», Info The Journal of policy, regulation and strategy for telecommunications, Vol. 1(5), pp (Emerald) Samarajiva Rohan (2000), «The role of competition in institutional reform of telecommunications: lessons from Sri Lanka», Telecommunications Policy, Vol. 24 (8-9), pp (Elsevier Science) Sato Kyoko and Dimitris Ypsilantis (2000), «Regulatory Reform in the Telecommunications Industry in Denmark», OECD Serra Pablo (1998), «Regulation, Competition and Privatization Evidence from Utility and Infrastructure Privatization in Chile», Twelfth Plenary Session of the OECD Advisory Group on Privatization (AGP) Sinha Nikhil (1996), «The political economy of India s telecommunications reforms», Telecommunications Policy, Vol. 20 (1), pp (Elsevier Science) Spiller Pablo and Cardilli Carlo (1997), «The Frontier of Telecommunications Deregulation: Small Countries Leading the Pack», The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 11 (4), pp (JSTOR) Thamae Leboli Zachia (2015), «Lesotho telecommunications sector reform: an assessment of regulatory governance and substance», International Journal of Technology Policy and Law, Vol. 2(1), pp (Inderscience Publishers) Tusubira F.F, Gebreab Frew Haggarty, Luke και Shirley Mary (2002), «Telecommunications Reform in Uganda», World Bank Vanyai Judit (1998), «A new era: the development of telecommunications in Hungary», Technology in Society, Vol. 20(1), pp (Elsevier Science) Wallsten Scott (2000), «Telecommunications Privatization in Developing Countries: The Real Effects of Exclusivity Periods», Stanford University Wallsten Scott (2001), «An Econometric Analysis of Telecom Competition, Privatization and Regulation in Africa and Latin America», Journal of Industrial Economics, Vol. 49(1), p. 1 (Blackwell Publishing) Wallsten Scott (2002), «Does Sequencing Matter? Regulation and privatization in Telecommunications Reforms», World Bank Wen Wang Yan, Li Baozhen, Ge Jing and Guo Guihua, (2012), «The Current Situation and Regulations of Telecommunications», Physics Procedia, Vol. 33, pp (Elsevier Science) 12

13 Xavier Patrick (1996), «Monitoring telecommunications deregulation through international benchmarking», Telecommunications Policy, Vol. 20(8), pp (Elsevier Science) Xavier Patrick and Ypsilantis Dimitris (2000), «Regulatory Reform in the Telecommunications Industry in Spain», OECD Xavier Patrick και Ypsilantis Dimitris (2001), «Regulatory Reform in the Telecommunications Industry in Czech Republic», OECD Yamada Takashi and Ypsilantis Dimitris (2001), «Regulatory Reform in the Telecommunications Industry in Ireland», OECD Ypsilantis Dimitris (2002a), «Regulatory Reform in the Telecommunications Industry - Canada», OECD Ypsilantis Dimitris (2002b), «Regulatory Reform in the Telecommunications Industry United Kingdom», OECD Ypsilantis Dimitris and Min Wonki (2000), «Regulatory Reform in the Telecommunications Industry in Korea», OECD Ypsilantis Dimitris and Min Wonki (2001), «Regulatory Reform in the Telecommunications Industry in Italy», OECD 13

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15 ENTREPRENEURSHIP TARGETING POLICIES, TECHNOLOGICAL GROWTH, AND UNEMPLOYMENT KOSTANTINOS DELLIS, University of Piraeus SOTIRIS KARKALAKOS, University of Piraeus COSTANTINA KOTTARIDI, University of Piraeus ABSTRACT Technological growth, entrepreneurship, and unemployment influence each other in numerous ways, forming a trio of inter-related components, yet the literature has traditionally emphasized the endogenous determination of one or two components of this trio. In this study we intend to elaborate on the interrelationship between entrepreneurship, unemployment and economic growth in a dynamic context using vector auto-regressions (VAR) with panel data across 30 OECD countries for a period covering 1970 to We use data from the Compendia dataset to estimate three empirical specifications for entrepreneurship, growth, and unemployment. On the right-hand side (RHS) of them there are lags of entrepreneurship, unemployment, and growth in our benchmark model, which we later enrich by including control variables according to the relevant literature. Each equation is estimated with Difference GMM and System GMM estimators. Moreover, an AR(2) model with additional control variables that include the degree of market capitalization and the equity level is estimated with system GMM. The results are enhanced by including macro-economic variables such as R&D spending, Taxes and Wage levels in our specifications. Finally, we use a Propensity Score Matching (PSM) estimator to overcome a selections bias in a country's decision to perform entrepreneurship targeting. 1.Introduction The notion of entrepreneurship has gained a place in the epicenter of economic thinking and empirical research during the past twenty years. Part of this development is the paradigm shift in the majority of the industrial countries, where small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have increased their activity share after the 1970s (Wennekers & Thurik, 1999, Audretsch & Thurik, 2001). On top of that, the relationship between entrepreneurial activity and key macro-economic variables like economic growth, unemployment and interest rates has drawn the interest of economic scholars generating interesting results and policy propositions. The key in understanding these relationships is to realize their dynamic nature (Plehn- Dujowich, 2009). More specifically, entrepreneurship affects economic growth and employment, which in turn spur feedback effects as well as effects on one another (see for example Galindo&Mendez, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the dynamic effects between entrepreneurship, economic growth and unemployment through a panel Vector Autoregressive Model (VAR) for 30 OECD countries during the period from 1970 to Moreover, we estimate dynamic panels for each one of the dependent variables including two lags and independent variables to control for financial characteristics (market capitalization and equity financing) as well as macroeconomic variables (Tax revenues, R&D spending and wages). According to Audretsch & Thurik (2001) the developed countries are undergoing a fundamental shift towards the knowledge-based economy after the two oil crises in the 1970s. Globalization and the innovations in the communication sector have diminished the comparative advantage of the developed countries in the traditional economic activities of the 20 th century. This development is followed by the increased importance of SMEs in the OECD countries. Carree & Thurik (2002) recognize this shift as the sequence of the two Schumpeterian technology regimes 1.They authors summarize the recent developments as a move from a Schumpeter Mark II to a Schumpeter Mark I regime (see also Wennekers&Thurik, 1999). Complementary to Audretsch & Thurik (2001), Carree & Thurik (2002) identify the increased demand for variety as income and wealth rose in the advanced economies and deregulation as key drivers behind this creative destruction. In Europe the role of entrepreneurship and SMEs is highly valued and 1 The Schumpeter Mark I regime describes the process of creative destruction, where the innovative new enterprise renders the existing technologies and enterprises obsolete. The Schumpeter Mark II regime describes the creative accumulation undertaken by large firms that outperform small ones by investing in R&D creating feedback mechanisms 15

16 reflected in the Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan (European Commission, 2012). In the context of the financial crisis of the past six years, SMEs are considered as a force of potential growth and job creation (European Commission, 2013), especially in the European South. Moreover, the Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan revolves along three pillars; incorporating entrepreneurship in the educational system and training, removing structural barriers to entrepreneurship and fostering the entrepreneurial culture in Europe. Darvas (2013) also addresses the problem of SME financing during this time of credit constraints and corroborates the view that entrepreneurial activity is a priority for solving the Euro-crisis. Despite its importance the notion of entrepreneurship is not unambiguously defined theoretically and also difficult to measure empirically (Wong et al. 2005). Wennekers & Thurik (1999) describe it as an [ ] illdefined, at best multi-dimensional concept, whereas in one of its publications OECD acknowledges that the organization has contributed to this confusion since it uses many different definitions in its reports (OECD, 2008). Galindo & Mendez (2013) underline that innovation is a similar but not synonymous aspect, because not all innovation takes place in new enterprises and not all entrepreneurs are innovators. Addressing and assessing the multiple definitions of entrepreneurship is beyond the scope of this paper 2, however measuring entrepreneurial activity is crucial in order to carry out an empirical project. It is quite evident that, given the theoretical drawback of a lack of definition, identifying the correct variable to measure entrepreneurship is a burdensome task. Braunerhjelm (2010) notes that it is a set of abilities embodied in an individual; hence every effort to measure entrepreneurship is bound to be erroneous to a point. Wong et al (2005) acknowledge the caveats in fully capturing a multi-dimensional concept. The absence of a consensus on the topic has lead empirical researchers to use different measures of entrepreneurial activity, which partly explains the variety of results (as noted by Acs & Desai, 2008) as we shall see in the following section. The strong connection between self-employment and entrepreneurship and self-employment (see Plehn-Dujowich, 2010) has promoted the use of the share of self-employed over total employment as a popular measure (Salgado-Banda, 2005, van Stel et al. (2007), Acs et al, 2004 and Plehn-Dujowich & Li, 2008). Another variable of choice in the empirical literature is the entry and death rate of firms, which captures the concept of Schumpeterian creative destruction (see Plehn-Dujowich, 2010, Wennekers et al., 2005, Acs & Armington, 2004). Finally, the evolvement of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) since 1999 and the World Bank Group Entrepreneurship Survey (WBGES) since 2007 have provided datasets of variables measuring entrepreneurial activity in a variety of ways 3. Van stel, Carree & Thurik (2005), Wong et al. (2005) and Galindo & Mendez (2013) use the GEM dataset in their research. The empirical analysis consists of three steps: (1) a panel VAR(1) of three equations linking entrepreneurship, growth and unemployment, where each equation is estimated using differnence GMM (Arellano & Bond, 1991) and system GMM (Arellano & Bover 1995, Blundell & Bond, 1998), (2) an econometric model, which allows to take into account the endogeneity (by specifying a dynamic equation), estimated using the SystemGMM estimator, proposed by Blundell and Bond (1998) and (3) we use the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) technique to control for the selection bias problem. The policy characteristic we wish to observe is entrepreneurship targeting, that is if a country is determined to increase its levels of entrepreneurship as expressed by the ratio of business owners in the labor force. This paper is organized as follows. We review the literature in Section 2; describe the data sources and the choice of variables in Section 3; Section 4 deals with the econometric specifications and Section 5 discusses the results of the empirical procedure. 2. Entrepreneurship and Economic Factors In recent years a strong belief that entrepreneurship is a crucial driver of economic growth for both developed and developing nations has emerged among both scholars and policy makers (see, for instance Audretsch, Keilbach and Lehmann, 2006 and, for a comprehensive survey, Van Praag and Versloot, 2007). However, moving from macroeconomic scenarios to the micro foundations of entrepreneurship, since the seminal contribution by Baumol (1990) we have known that Shumpeterian innovative entrepreneurs coexist with defensive and necessity entrepreneurs, the latter being those who enter a new business not 2 For a thorough overview of the various definitions of entrepreneurship see Braunerhjelm (2010) pp A description of the two datasets, their similarities and differences can be found at Acs & Desai (2008). 16

17 because of market opportunities and innovative ideas, but merely because they need an income to survive. For obvious reasons, this kind of survival-driven self-employment is particularly diffused in the Developing Countries (DCs) (see Naudé, 2009 and 2010), where poverty and lack of formal opportunities in the wage sector often push a large number of people into entrepreneurial activities ranging from street vending to traditional and personal services (in most cases within the informal sector of the economy, see Ihrig and Moe, 2004; Maloney, 2004). Empirically a world-wide research project, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), has been collecting survey data using standardized definitions and collection procedures on potential and actual entrepreneurship since 1999, and now covers 60 developed and developing countries; see Zacharakis, Bygrave and Shepherd, 2000; Reynolds et al., 2005; Acs, Desai and Klapper, This project reports the rates of business start-up and of self-employment across different countries of the world, but makes it clear that these statistics comprise both opportunitymotivated entrepreneurs and those driven by necessity, the latter being defined as those who have started their own firms as a consequence of the following personal situation: because they cannot find a suitable role in the world of work, creating a new business is their best available option (Reynolds et al., 2005, p.217). Several studies have investigated the relationship between entrepreneurship and basic macro-economic variables, mainly economic growth and unemployment. Most of the studies, as we shall see below, examine these relationships in pairs, assuming a casual relationship with definite direction. Nevertheless, theoretical foundations as well as empirical research points out that the effects between these variables are most likely dynamic and have to be considered and estimated as such. In the relevant literature there exists a variety of papers considering these pair-wise relationships theoretically and empirically (Carree et al, 2007, Koellinger & Thurik, 2009, Salgado & Banda, 2005, Berthold & Grunder, 2012). The first channel estimated is the potential effect of entrepreneurship on economic growth. The traditional growth theory fails to acknowledge the value of entrepreneurship (Wennekers & Thurik, 1999), since in the market equilibrium there is no room for the profits of entrepreneurs. In the endogenous growth theory, however, emphasis is given to the role of the research sector as an engine of growth (Romer, 1986, 1990). Innovation is considered to be the driving force for technological change in a model of creative destruction, where incumbents are replaced by innovators who enjoy monopoly profits until the too become obsolete in the model developed by Aghion & Howitt (1992). Despite the fact that the two concepts are closely correlated, it must be underlined that entrepreneurship and innovation are not identical. Acs & Varga (2004) elaborate on the function of entrepreneurship as reducing the knowledge filter. In endogenous growth theory knowledge is assumed to be accessed by everyone serving as a public good (Audretsch & Keilbach, 2008), however the authors distinguish between this free knowledge and tacit knowledge that cannot diffuse at its entirety. In this case entrepreneurs become the transmitters of this new knowledge, thereby increasing economic growth. Audretsch & Keilbach (2008) note that, it is because of the high degree of uncertainty related to knowledge that the entrepreneurs serve as a conduit for the transmission of new ideas. They confront the risk of the aforementioned uncertainty and create new knowledge and therefore reduce the knowledge filter that stands between knowledge and the commercialization of this knowledge. In the same line of theory, Block et al. (2012) emphasize the role of the entrepreneurs in creating innovations to transmit the new knowledge to the market. Innovations are divided into new-to-market and new-to-firm. The former are calculated as the shares of turnover attributable to new or improved products in the market, whereas the latter as the same amount in the firm level. Both of them are modeled against the rate of knowledge-intensive firms, the entrepreneurship rate and the level of GDP per capita in their analysis. Knowledge intensity appears to have a significant positive effect on new-to-market innovation; however the entrepreneurship coefficient is not significant. Nevertheless, the interaction of the two variables proves to increase innovation significantly, thus exposing a moderation effect of entrepreneurship in the transmission of new knowledge. Moreover, van Stel et al. (2005) add that apart from generating knowledge spillovers, entrepreneurs increase competition and work longer hours than wage-earners, thus enhancing economic performance. According to Braunerhjelm (2010), the positive effect of entrepreneurship and productivity in the micro level is well established in the empirical literature. 17

18 Salgado-Banda (2005) uses data for 22 OECD countries during with GDP growth as the dependent variable and self-employment as a share of total employment and patents as proxies for entrepreneurship. Only patents appear to be positively correlated with growth in a dynamic panel including lagged growth. In the simple cross-section with average growth for as the dependent variable, self-employment is insignificant and patents become insignificant once control variables are included. Berthold & Grundler (2012) estimate a growth regression with a five-year moving average of economic growth as the dependent variable in a panel of 188 countries from 1980 to They include entrepreneurship in the standard growth regression model proposed by Barro & Lee (2005) either through the self-employment rate or through TEA. They adjust the self-employment rate by the percentage of micro firms (occupying less than nine employees) in the country to find significant effect on growth. The results are validated when TEA is included as the entrepreneurship variable. Galindo & Mendez (2013) estimate three separate panels for growth, innovation and entrepreneurship to find that both innovation (approximated by number of patents) and entrepreneurship represented by TEA from the GEM dataset prove to enhance growth significantly. Moreover, signs of feedback are presented since economic growth promotes entrepreneurship. This concept is addressed also by Carree & Thurik (2007) who argue that firms take time to adjust to new tastes and new technology. In their specifications with seven period lags, the immediate effects on growth are positive and significant, while the positive long-term effects fail to show significance. Audretsch & Keilbach (2008) argue that the entrepreneurship capital of a certain region can increase growth through facilitating the knowledge spillovers and through enhancing regional diversity. The use data for 440 German regions and conclude that the rate of start-ups, especially high-technology ones, has a positive effect of growth.. Mueller (2006) also hypothesizes that entrepreneurship penetrates the knowledge filter. There is a gap between the creation of knowledge and its commercialization; that is transforming it into products and processes that contribute to growth. In his study for German regions from he regresses regional gross values added on the number of new ventures per 1000 employees, private and public R&D spending to find that new ventures stimulate regional growth. As in Audretsch & Keilbach (2008), new firms in the high-tech sector prove more effective. Plehn-Dujowicj & Li (2008) highlight the two contradicting effects of entrepreneurship. On the one hand, there is the positive effect through innovation (the entrepreneurship effect ) and on the other there is the negative effect because workers leave production (the production effect ). They conclude that this leads to a non-monotonic effect of entrepreneurship effect on growth, more specifically an inverted U-shape effect. They test their theory using data from the NBER-CES manufacturing productivity database for the U.S. for 76 sectors from 1983 to To capture the non-linear relationship they add a quadratic term which proves to be negative and significant in all their estimations. The implication of these results is that an optimal level of selfemployment exists. Acs et al. (2004) use a set of 20 OECD countries from and define entrepreneurship as the share of non-agricultural self-employed over the total working force. The interaction term between entrepreneurship and R&D spending proves positive and significant underlining the complementarities between new ideas and entrepreneurship. Wong et al. (2005) use the GEM database and distinguish between different aspects of entrepreneurial activity (TEA). However, in their estimations they find that only High-Potential TEA causes more growth. Average annual growth ( ) for 36 OECD countries is the dependent variable in the analysis of van Stel et al. (2005), who include initial GDP per capita and the Growth Competitiveness Indicator (CGI) from the Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum as controls. They also use an interaction term initial GDP with TEA to check for non-linearities. According to van der Zwan et al (2013) different types of entrepreneurs are concentrated in different countries according to the technological environment. That is, a high stock of knowledge in the economy attracts knowledge-specific activities. The authors employ data for 70 countries from 2001 to 2009 and distinguish between three types of TEA and the level of economic development. They conclude that it is high-technology TEA that drives the positive relationship between the two variables for all countries in the sample. Apart from the conclusions on the positive effect of entrepreneurship on growth, it is of pivotal importance to understand the bi-directional causality in this nature. Wennekers & Thurik (1999) postulate a U-shaped relationship between a country s level of economic development and entrepreneurial activity. Wennekers et al. (2005) validate this result using a set of 36 advanced economies. Nascent entrepreneurship is the dependent variable and the concave relationship is confirmed both when per capita 18

19 income and the innovative capacity index are used as a metric of economic development. The issue of reverse causality is addressed with two simultaneous equations for growth and entrepreneurship, estimated with 3SLS, in Audretsch & Keilbach (2008). Growth rate of GDP exhibits a positive significant coefficient in 75% of the specifications. On average a one percentage point increase in the growth rate increases the start-up rate by 50%. Given the dynamic nature of this relationship (see Plehn-Dujowich, 2010), a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) approach is also proposed in the literature. Holtz-Eakin & Kao (2003) estimate a three equation VAR(1) for Total Factor Productivity (TFP), birth rates and death rates of firms, to capture the notion of creative destruction and the forces behind it. The impulse response functions reveal that a productivity shock positively affects birth rates; however this effect dies out quickly. Galindo & Mendez (2013) reveal a strong feedback effect of growth on entrepreneurial activity in all of their specifications. A two equation VAR is implemented in the study of Carree et al. (2007), who deduct that the best fitted relationship is actually L-shaped, indicating that the fall of entrepreneurship with GDP is halted but does not seem to be reversed. Plehn-Dujowich (2010) estimates a three equation panel VAR to find that past growth increases the net entry rate in 4 out of 10 sectors (Granger-causality) and that none of the sectors shows negative feedback from TFP growth on entrepreneurship. Fritsch et al. (2013) include the HP filtered GDP in the regressors for and find that the cyclical component of GDP has a negative effect on the annual number of business registrations. This result is concomitant with the implication that different stages of growth have different effect on entrepreneurship. The relationship between entrepreneurship and the business cycle is the epicenter of the work of Koellinger&Thurik (2009, 2012). They decompose the GDP series into trend and cycle components through the HP filter and estimate a VAR (2) model both in a sample of 22 countries ( ) and for each country individually. The data reveal that an unexpected 1% rise in entrepreneurship (measured as the share of business owners over the labor force) is followed by a 0.19% increase in real GDP after one period in the global sample. Nevertheless, they fail to establish Granger-causality from economic growth to entrepreneurship neither in the global nor in the national level. Another interesting relationship is the one between entrepreneurship and employment. Two diverging forces are recognized in this relationship (Thurik et al., 2008): The Refugee effect according to which high unemployment leads to higher rates of self-employment (through the unemployment-push effect) and the Entrepreneurial effect, which captures the employment opportunities created by start-up firms. Nevertheless, both effects should be approached with caution, according to the authors. The unemployed usually possess little human capital and wealth to start a business. Furthermore, high unemployment usually coincides with periods of economic downturns, where opportunities for new business formation are restricted. A far as the creation of employment by new firms, their low survival rates renders the total contribution to employment modest at best. Van Stel & Storey (2004) point out that new firms create jobs through increased competition to the incumbent firms and through innovation which leads to higher longterm growth. On the other hand, they underscore the small proportion of the job rate that the new firms account for, the modest innovation experienced in practice and the variation of employment creation as mitigating factors. Carree & Thurik (2007) recognize both positive and negative effects of start-ups on employment. The immediate, direct effect is definitely positive but the medium-term effect governed by the low survival rate and the crowding-out of incumbents is negative. In the long term, however, supply side effects kick in and generate employment through innovation and greater competition in the market. In their seminal paper, Audretsch & Thurik (2001) test the effect of lagged entrepreneurship (measured by share of self-employed per labor force) on unemployment change for 23 OECD countries for the period The data is organized into three time cohorts (1974, 1984, 1994) to capture long-run effects. Lagged entrepreneurship change proves to reduce unemployment in their calculations. Carree & Dejardin (2011) distinguish between market-room and unemployment push self-employment using data from Belgian firms for a period between 1999 and What spurs entrepreneurship is the deviation from the equilibrium number of firms in a specific industry in a local market, as well as the local unemployment rate. In their findings we can see a moderate support of the error-correction mechanism (the convergence to the equilibrium rate of self-employment) and strong indication of unemployment-push effects in the entry and exit of firms. Van Stel & Storey (2004) use two different sets of equations for the 1980s and 1990s in Great Britain. Employment change is regressed on the sectorally adjusted start-up rate, population growth and wage growth to reveal an interesting result. Only the 1990s set indicates a positive effect of entrepreneurship on employment, possibly revealing the paradigm shift observed in advanced economies 19

20 towards self employment. Also, augmenting the lag length shows that long-run effects are more prominent. The same consensus is reached by Audretsch & Fritsch (2003) for Germany during the same time period. Carree & Thurik (2007) find an S-type relationship when examining the effect of the change in business owners on employment. Their data for 21 OECD countries foe a time span between 1972 and 2002 give support to the positive direct effect on job creation, which dies out. Nevertheless, the coefficient for the 6- year lag of entrepreneurship appears positive which indicates a reversal of the relationship and the consolidation of long-run supply side effects of entrepreneurial intensity. Noseleit (2011) highlights that the channel through which entrepreneurship spurs employment is the sectoral reallocation of factors of production. The existing firms fail to restructure due to high costs and nascent firms usually operate in new sectors. He analyses data for German regions between 1975 and 2002 using two measures as proxies for sectoral reallocation. First, the similarity between the activity of new firms and incumbents and second the similarity between the structure of entering firms and the initial sectoral structure in the region. The dependent variable is the long-run employment change between 1983 and Reduced similarity between entering and existing firms reduces unemployment significantly and so does low similarity with the initial structure in the region. Acs & Armington (2004) emphasize on the role of entrepreneurship as a conduit for knowledge spillovers. They also find that new birth rates significantly ameliorate unemployment. Thurik et al (2008) argue that there exists an optimal level of entrepreneurship and that deviation from that threshold has a negative effect on employment. However, according to their calculations, the majority of countries exhibit a lower-than-threshold entrepreneurship level (as measured by the share of self-employed). Hence an increase towards that threshold is expected to have a diminishing effect on unemployment. The authors estimate a two equation VAR(2) with unemployment change and entrepreneurship change as the left-hand side variables. Self-employment is shown to Granger-cause unemployment to decrease and high unemployment Granger-causes entrepreneurship to increase, giving support to the Refugee effect described above. Fairlie (2013) reaches a similar conclusion in his examination of 250 metropolitan areas in the U.S. from The probability of becoming an entrepreneur is the dependent variable in his empirical specification. An increase in the local unemployment rate by five percentage points is estimated to increase this probability by 0.04 percentage points. The currently unemployed are more likely to start a new business than wage earners according to the results. Fristch et al. (2013) also find that lagged unemployment increases entrepreneurship and Plehn- Dujowich (2010) concludes that unemployment Granger-cause entrepreneurship in three out of ten sectors in his 3 equation VAR described above. Finally, the relationship examined in this stream of literature is the one between growth and unemployment. The nature of this relationship remains ambiguous (Plehn-Dujowich, 2010, Elsby & Shapiro, 2011). In their seminal work Pissarides & Vallianti (2004, 2007) argue that the effect of rises in TFP depends on the extent to wgich new technology is embodied in new jobs. The simultaneous development of falling productivity and growing unemployment after the 1970s in developed economies provides the incentive to test whether these developments are correlated. According to Pissarides & Vallianti (2007) technological improvements generate two choices for a firm: either to upgrade the existing jobs and keep their employees or to lay off part of its working force. The two choices obviously have contradictory effects on total employment. In their empirical analysis they show that the semi-elasticity of employment with respect to TFP growth is 1,23 and significant. This goes to show that a substantial portion of changes in unemployment can be attributed to decreasing productivity. Blanchard & Wolfers (2000) argue that it is the interaction of adverse shocks and adverse labor market conditions that explain the surge in unemployment since One of these shocks is the deceleration of TFP growth. Using a panel of 20 OECD countries for a period covering 1960 to 1996, they fins that a fall of 3 percentage points in TFP growth increases unemployment by 1,5%. Hatton (2002) also considers the institutions and the shocks as decisive factors in the labor market. He uses a rich dataset for the U.K. covering a period from 1871 to 1990, because productivity growth changes over long time periods. He estimates a two equation model with real wage change and unemployment as dependent variable. They are both affected by productivity growth as well as the lagged deviation between productivity and real wage. An increase in productivity is shown to slow down unemployment; however TFP alone cannot explain the variation in employment dynamics over time. Benigno & Ricci (2011) implement a three equation VAR model with drifting coefficients for productivity growth, real wage growth and unemployment. Their calculations 20

21 show that a one standard deviation rise in TFP reduces the unemployment rate by 0.47 percentage points. They also add the volatility of TFP as an explanatory variable to find that a one standard deviation increase in TFP volatility actually increases unemployment by 0.25 percentage points. According to Moreno & Galbis (2012) the effect is non-linear in the sense that a positive TFP growth change increase unemployment for unskilled workers and not for skilled or unskilled workers who are getting trained. 3. Data Sources and Descriptive Statistics Τhe empirical analysis uses data for 30 OECD countries that cover a time span from 1970 until All data are taken from the Entrepreneurs International (COMPENDIA) Dataset which combines information from OECD and ILO databases as well as the European observatory for SMEs. The main variables we use are entrepreneurship, economic activity and unemployment. Following Carree& Thurik (2007), Plehn-Dujowich & Li (2008), Acs et al. (2004) among others, we use the number of business owners as a measure of entrepreneurship (bow). The COMPENDIA Dataset provides o harmonized series of business owners, since the standards of measurement of the variable vary across OECD countries. The total number of self-employed in the private sector is included as well as the number of business owners excluding agriculture, hunting, and forestry and fishing (bowx). To capture economic activity we include GDP per capita, which is taken from OECD National Accounts and measured in millions of US dollars at constant prices of 2000, using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) of the same year (gdp). The unemployment variable (unemp) measures the number of unemployed divided by the labor force. The main source for the unemployment data is OECD Main Economic Indicators. A first review of the data indicates the key variables included in the model. The variable through which we approximate the notion of entrepreneurship is the number of business owners in the private sector, to begin with. The mean value in our panel is nearly two-and-a half million people, with the USA exhibiting the highest value throughout the relevant years with more than fourteen million business owners in the whole of the private sector of the economy. The lowest number comes from Iceland, which averages nineteen thousand during the forty years of our sample. Portugal and Greece stand out from the smaller countries as they present a higher number of business owners than, for example Sweden or Austria. To extend our analysis and control for the country size we construct a variable that shows the number of business owners as part of the labor force for each country. Again, the USA account for the highest share with almost 50%, while the Slovak Republic, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland are the only countries with an average of less than 10%. It is interesting to compare the findings for the absolute number of business owners and the one with the share of business owners over the total of the labor force in each country. While USA and Turkey lead in both categories, we see that smaller countries like Greece and Ireland have a substantial share of entrepreneurs if compared to the labor force in Figure 1: 21

22 Australia Austria Belgium Canada Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Japan Korea Luxembourg Mexico New Zealand Norway Poland Portugal Slovak Republic Spain Sweden Switzerland The Netherlands Turkey USA United Kingdom Figure 1: Entrepreneurship by country.5 Business Owners by Country Source: COMPENDIA, OECD We then differentiate the dataset into two sub-groups according to the mean value of the GDP per capita. Rich countries average more than 20000$ (the mean value in our sample). It turns out that poor countries outperform the richer ones in terms of both business owners in total and as a share of the labor force. According to our data unemployment averages near 6%, so we use this threshold to divide the countries into high and low unemployment. Countries with relatively high unemployment (average 9%) appear to have a higher number of self-employed both in absolute as well as in relative terms. Moreover, we use expenditures in Research & Development (R&D) by the state as a divisive factor between countries. It turns out that the share of business owners is 3 percentage points lower for countries with R&D expenditures higher than 1,6% of GDP, thus implying that poor performance in research by the government motivates agents to pursue self-employment. Finally, two sub-groups emerge if we account for the share of tax revenues relative to GDP. It is this categorization that provides with the most robust result, since a share of tax revenues above 33% of GDP is associated with a share of business owners ten percentage points lower than the share of low taxation countries. As described above the mean value for GDP per capita in our sample is 20900$ with Norway and Switzerland standing at the top of the table. The level of unemployment averages around 6,2%, which is expected given the construction of our panel from OECD countries. The average unemployment rate for rich countries (as defined earlier) is 6,6 percentage point in comparison to 5,9 for poorer ones. Furthermore, the differential widens between high and low R&D economies to three percentage points higher unemployment for high R&D countries. There are some stylized facts that are worth mentioning. Firstly, taking country averages over time reveals a modest negative relationship between unemployment and business ownership (Figure 2). Again, the USA stands out as an observation with a high level of business owners per labor force and relatively low unemployment. 22

23 Figure 2 Entrepreneurship and Unemployment Country Means.5 Entrepreneurship and Unemployment USA GRE KOR TUR MEX PRT ITA AUS NZL ICE JAP CZE AUT FIN BEL CAN FRA NOR NED HUN SWI LUX SWE DNK GER IRE ESP POL SVK 0 UK Unemployment Source: COMPENDIA, OECD The mapping of the data on GDP against the level of entrepreneurship (Figure 3) produces a somewhat unexpected outcome, since it indicates that there is a negative relationship between the number of business owners and economic activity. The effect is more solid once the outliers of USA and Luxembourg are removed as can be seen below. Figure 3 Entrepreneurship and GDP Country Means.5 Entrepreneusrship and Economic Activity USA KOR TUR MEX PRT POL HUN SVK GRE ESP CZE ITA IRE AUS NZL JAP FIN FRA BEL AUT CAN ICE NED DNK GER SWE NOR SWI LUX 0 UK GDP per capita Source: COMPENDIA, OECD Nevertheless, we have to bear in mind that the relationship between economic activity and entrepreneurship is a dynamic rather than a static one (Carree et al. 2007, Holtz-Eakin & Kao, 2003, 23

24 GDP Koellinger & Thurik, 2009). It comes as no surprise then that the nature of this relationship changes once we deploy yearly means in our analysis. The following graph (figure 4) verifies a robust positive correlation between GDP and the one-period lagged value of business ownership. Figure 4 Entrepreneurship and GDP Yearly Means GDP and Lagged Business Ownership Business Owners/Labor Force (t-1) Source: COMPENDIA, OECD 4. Empirical Analysis The data construct an unbalanced panel with 30 cross section units (countries) and 42 time observations. Given the dynamic nature of the relationship between the variables in question we estimate a threeequation Vector Autoregressive Model (VAR) with one lag. The presence of a lagged dependent variable in the right-hand side of each equation renders First Difference (FD) and Fixed Effects (FE) estimators biased. Verbeek (2012) illustrates how the Fixed Effects Estimator is biased and inconsistent and Nickel (1981) shows the magnitude of this bias as the cross sections of the panel reach infinity. Taking first differences does not solve the problem since lagged values of the dependent variable are obviously correlated with lagged values of the idiosyncratic error term. Hence, some form of instrumenting is required to estimate each regression. Anderson & Hsiao (1981) proposed the two-period lagged value of the dependent variable (y i,t-2 ) as an instrument for the first difference (y i,t y i,t-1 ) since it is uncorrelated with u i,t u i,t-1. Nevertheless, Verbeek (2012) underlines that this IV estimator imposes only one moment condition in the estimation process. In order to increase the efficiency of the estimators we follow the methodology suggested by Arellano & Bond (1991) who use a list of instruments to exploit additional moment conditions in the first-differenced model. For example for t=2 we have one instrument y i0 since E[(u i2 u i1 )y i0 ]=0 (1), for t=3 we have two instruments because E[(u i3 u i2 )y i0 ]=0 and also E[(u i3 u i2 )y i1 ]=0. (2) This results into a total of T-1= T(T-1)/2 moment conditions. The instruments are the elements of each row of the (T-1xT-1) matrix Zi so that E(ZiꞌΔu i )=0. The GMM estimator proposed by Arellano & Bond (1991) minimizes the following expression [ N -1 Σ Z i ' (Δy i Δy i,-1 )] ' W N [N -1 Σ Z i ' (Δy i Δy i,-1 )] (3), where W N is a positive definite weighting matrix. In our results this is referred to as the Dynamic GMM Estimator. 24

25 Arellano & Bover (1995) and Blundell & Bond (1998) move one step further from the Dynamic GMM Estimator and impose more moment conditions to improve the efficiency of the estimators. The authors keep the set of exogenous instruments for the differenced equation and add lagged differences of the endogenous variable as instrument for the level equation as E(Δy i,t-1 u it ) = 0 (4) The estimation of this system of two equations yields the System GMM Estimator which we also report in our set of results. 5. Results Our results from the estimation of the three equation Panel VAR(1) follow the lines of Plehn-Dujowich (2009). It is well known that the magnitude of the coefficients in the VAR has no significant interpretation. Nevertheless, the sign of these coefficients gives us the indication of Granger-causality of one endogenous variable to another (Greene, 2003). The results are summarized in Tables (1) and (2) to differentiate between the use of total business owners and business owners excluding fishing, forestry and agriculture as the entrepreneurship variable. The odd columns represent difference GMM and the even columns represent system GMM estimation. The estimation reveals a positive and statistically significant coefficient for the effect of past entrepreneurial activity on GDP per capita growth. This effect is more pronounced once the number of business owners excluding forestry, fishing and agriculture is used as the entrepreneurship variable. The results show robustness between Difference and System GMM estimations. These findings corroborate the ones of Plehn-Dujowich (2009) as well as Galindo & Mendez (2013). The feedback effect seems to hold as lagged values of GDP per capita are estimated to have a positive and significant effect on entrepreneurship as in Holtz-Eakin & Kao (2003) and Audretsch & Keilbach (2008). On the other hand, this result does not hold once the System GMM estimator is chosen for the model. The effect of past unemployment on entrepreneurship is positive yet significant in only two out of six specifications. The inverse relationship is also somewhat inconclusive. In the VAR where business owners excluding fishing, forestry and agriculture is the preferred entrepreneurship variable, it is shown to significantly reduce unemployment as predicted also by Audretsch & Thurik (2001). The use of the total number of business owners does not yield statistically significant estimators. Probably the most robust result is the one describing the effect of past unemployment on GDP growth. In all specifications the coefficient is positive and significant at a 1% level. Moreover, economic growth is observed to have a positive effect on employment. The coefficient of GDP per capita in the unemployment regressions is negative and significant in half of them. This provides evidence to the case of Pissarides&Valliante (2004, 2007) who find strong positive effects of Total Factor Productivity on employment. 25

26 Table 1 Panel VAR with total number of business owners Entrepreneurship GDP Unemployment Model Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Estimator Difference GMM System GMM AH-IV Difference GMM System GMM AH-IV Difference GMM System GMM AH-IV Entrepreneurship 0.911*** 1.000*** 0.441*** *** * ** (-1) ( ) ( ) (0.103) ( ) ( ) (0.0288) (0.232) (0.0857) (1.026) GDP (-1) *** ** 0.963*** 0.961*** 0.541*** * *** *** ( ) ( ) (0.0417) ( ) ( ) (0.202) (0.125) (0.0939) (1.871) Unemployment (-1) *** *** *** *** 0.937*** ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (0.0105) ( ) (0.0786) Constant 0.354*** *** 0.387*** ** 4.896*** 0.446*** (0.0502) (0.0355) ( ) (0.0439) (0.0282) ( ) (1.325) (1.018) (0.0577) Observations 1,013 1, ,013 1,043 1,012 1,013 1,043 1,011 Number of countries Standard errors in parentheses *** p<0.01 ** p<0.05 * p<0.1 26

27 Table 2 Panel VAR with Business owners excluding agriculture, fishing and forestry Entrepreneurship GDP Unemployment Model Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Estimator Difference GMM System GMM AH-IV Difference GMM System GMM AH-IV Difference GMM System GMM AH-IV Entrepreneurship (-1) 0.717*** 0.948*** 0.284*** *** ** ** * ** ( ) ( ) (0.0265) ( ) ( ) (0.0220) (0.183) (0.0804) (0.841) GDP (-1) 0.172*** ** 0.134*** 0.943*** 0.961*** 0.522*** *** ** Unemployment (-1) ( ) ( ) (0.0486) ( ) ( ) (0.194) (0.167) (0.103) (1.879) *** 1.23e *** *** *** 0.934*** ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (0.0108) ( ) (0.0806) Constant 0.133*** 0.471*** *** 0.296*** 0.361*** * 2.712*** 4.747*** 0.449*** (0.0464) (0.0535) ( ) (0.0282) (0.0252) ( ) (1.019) (0.925) (0.0601) Observations 1,019 1, ,019 1,049 1,017 1,019 1,049 1,015 Number of countries Standard errors in parentheses *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1 27

28 The results in Table (3) refer to the estimation of the linear dynamic panel data model with the use of the System-GMM estimator (Blundell & Bond, 1998). All three dependent variables show a strong persistence, which is highlighted by the positive significant coefficient of the lagged dependent variable, as depicted in the first row of the table. Columns 2,4 and 6 report the results with the inclusion of a second lag, however it appears to be insignificant in all specifications. The same conclusion holds for the binary variables indicating common language and the participation in the monetary union. The final two rows of the table yield significant results for two categorical variables. Firstly, the degree of market capitalization (d MARK CAPIT ) appears to be positively correlated with the share of business owners and GDP. More specifically, column 1 indicates that an upward shift of one unit in the degree of market capitalization increases the share of business owners in the labor force by 3,2%. It is noteworthy that the same variable appears to raise unemployment significantly (columns 5,6). Finally, the degree of equity as a share of leveraging for enterprises is characterized by positive and significant coefficients for the regressions with business ownership and GDP as the dependent variable but not so for unemployment. We also perform the diagnostic check for serial correlation (Arellano-Bond test) in the error terms. Given the fact that the test is performed in the differenced specification, the null hypothesis of no autocorrelation is strongly rejected for the AR(1) model. No autocorrelation for the differenced error terms implies that the original error terms follow a random walk (Greene, 2003). Second order autocorrelation would imply misspecification in the model; however we fail to reject the hypothesis of no autocorrelation in our specification. In addition, the output of the Hansen J-test for over-identification is presented at the bottom of the table. The p-values indicate that we fail to reject the hypothesis that the instruments implemented are valid. Table 3 Baseline Model Entrepreneurship GDP Unemployment Model Model 1 Model 2 Model 1 Model 2 Model 1 Model 2 Estimator Lagged Dependent Variable Lagged (2) Dependent Variable Constant Time dummies GMM -SYS 0.979* (0.402) GMM- SYS 0.932* (0.473) (0.012) GMM- SYS 0.785** (0.286) GMM- SYS 0.937** (0.285) (0.415) GMM- SYS 0.522* (0.217) GMM- SYS 0.595*** (0.057) (0.667) d LUG (0.332) (0.332) (0.501) (0.459) (0.476) (0.537) d UNION (0.065) (0.128) (0.230) (0.602) (0.544) (0.244) d MARK CAPIT 0.032* 0.047* 0.039* 0.057* 0.507** 0.697* (0.014) (0.023) (0.025) (0.032) (0.120) (0.320) D EQUITY LEV 0.185* 0.197* 0.305* 0.426* (0.086) (0.102) (0.171) (0.185) (0.746) (0.847) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N. instruments Arellano-Bond serial correlation tests AR(1) p-value [0.000] [0.000] [0.000] [0.000] [0.000] [0.000] AR(2)

29 p-value [0.272] [0.792] [0.769] [0.843] [0.720] [0.591] Overidentification test (Hansen J) Chi-squared p-value [0.976] [0.285] [0.268] [0.003] [0.963] [0.980] Notes: each equation assumes time dummies as exogenous variables and the lagged y and d as predetermined variables. The second, third and fourth lags of y and all lags from t-3 of ds are used as instruments Table (4) enhances the results by taking into consideration key macro-economic variables. Before turning to their effects, it is worth mentioning that the autoregressive component remains positive an statistically significant for all dependent variables. On the other hand, the indicator variable capturing market capitalization loses its significance in all but three regressions and is smaller in magnitude compared to the results from table 1. The most robust results from the inclusion of macro-economic variables comes from the R&D expenditures which appear to increase business ownership as well as GDP, a result compatible with endogenous growth theory. Notably they also have an implied negative effect on employment, perhaps indicating a substitution effect between new technology and labor. Finally, wages only have a significant effect on unemployment-positive as expected. The same specification tests are applied in this set of estimations. Again, we fail to reject the hypothesis of no serial autocorrelation of order 2 for the error terms and also the results of the Hansen J test point towards valid instruments used in the estimation. Table 4 Model with Macroeconomic control variables Entrepreneurship GDP Unemployment Model Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Lagged Dependent Variable 0.549*** (0.121) 0.962*** (0.079) 0.925*** (0.097) 0.966*** (0.062) 0.944*** (0.067) 0.784*** (0.116) 0.817*** (0.093) 0.584*** (0.062) 0.520*** (0.055) d MARKET CAP i, t * 0.023* 0.031* (0.020) (0.014) (0.014) (0.016) (0.008) (0.015) (0.377) (0.664) (0.531) d LUG (0.035) (0.031) (0.033) (0.032) (0.034) (0.234) (0.255) (0.336) (0.330) Pop it * 0.367* 0.710*** 0.762** 0.766* (0.034) (0.034) (0.034) (0.232) (0.245) (0.170) (0.254) (0.378) (0.423) Tax i, t (0.041) (0.012) (0.027) (0.073) (0.073) (2.356) (3.172) (1.466) (1.452) RD it 0.291*** 0.178*** 0.139*** 0.101*** 0.342* 0.303* (0.030) (0.035) (0.030) (0.026) (0.157) (0.156) Wage it * (0.097) (0.105) (0.152) Constant Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes YYes Yes Yes Yes e Time dummies Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes YYes Yes Yes Yes s e s N. instruments Arellano-Bond

30 serial correlation tests Overidentification test (Hansen J) AR(1) p-value [0.000] [0.000] [0.000] [0.000] [0.000] [0.000] [0.000] [0.000] [0.000] AR(2) p-value [0.713] [0.655] [0.919] [0.032] [0.035] [0.171] [0.096] [0.490] [0.411] Chi-squared p-value [0.949] [0.306] [0.891] [0.700] [0.855] [0.986] [1.000] [1.000] [1.000] In the final set of estimations we perform the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) technique to control for the selection bias problem. The policy characteristic we wish to observe is entrepreneurship targeting, that is if a country is determined to increase its levels of entrepreneurship as expressed by the ratio of business owners in the labor force. In order to take this issue into account, several solutions have been proposed in the literature. In particular, considering that our measure of investment is dummy taking value 1 when a country changes status from non-entrepreneurial to entrepreneurial, one could apply propensity score matching and difference-in-difference estimators (Blundell and Costa Dias, 2000). The idea of these techniques is that endogeneity can be accounted for by selecting a control group of countries with characteristics very similar to the sample of countries actually increasing their share of business owners. Following the literature (Rosenbaum & Rubin, 1983, Heckman, Itchimura & Todd, 1998) we estimate a logit model to assess the impact of several economic variables on the probability of adopting entrepreneurship targeting. The second step is to estimate the difference in the outcome variable, here GDP and Unemployment between a country in the treatment group and its nearest neighbor in the control group. The logit models are estimated using variables chosen to reflect the characteristics of an economy accounted for in the decision of whether to be an entrepreneurship targeter or to adopt some other type of policy, such as low unemployment targeting. The goal of estimating the propensity score is not to find the best statistical model to explain the probability of policy adoption as the conditional independence assumption implies that it is legitimate to exclude variables that systematically affect the probability that a country adopts entrepreneurship targeting but do not affect the economic outcomes in the logit regressions (Persson, 2001). All variables are expected to be positively correlated with the probability that a country will adopt entrepreneurship targeting. Table 5 Logit Model Propensity Score Estimates High Market Capitalization Countries Low Market Capitalization Countries Model Model 1 Model 2 Model 1 Model 2 Baseline Low Unemployment Countries Baseline Low Unemployment Countries Lagged 0.397*** *** 0.091** Entrepreneurship R&D * 1.110*** Lagged Tax Wage ** ** Population

31 Constant *** 2.359*** Pseudo-R square Note: t-statistics are reported below the coefficients *, **, and *** indicate significance at the 10%, 5%, and 1% level respectively The results of the estimation of the propensity scores of the baseline model of equation (1) are reported in Table (5). Past entrepreneurship is undoubtedly a key driver towards entrepreneurship targeting in all specifications. Also R&D spending has a positive effect on the probability of increasing business ownership, while wages seem to have the opposite effect. Most of the coefficient estimates from the model for both the High Market capitalization countries and Low Market capitalization countries group have signs in accordance with expectations. The main exception is for the entrepreneurship term for the developed countries which is positive here in contrast to negative coefficients in Ball and Sheridan (2004); Lin and Ye (2007, 2009); de Mendonça and de Guimarães e Souza (2012); and three of the four cases in Samarina et al. (2014). The lag-wage term for the low-unemployment countries is negative and consistent with the literature. R&D expenditure is positive but insignificant for all country types. To ensure that the treated units and control units are comparable, the estimated propensity scores are sorted and the control units with estimated propensity scores which are less than the lowest score of the treated units are discarded. The results for the range of matching methods considered for the baseline model are illustrated in Table (6). The first column reports the nearest neighbor matching results. The next three columns contain the radius matching results with radian of r = 0.01, 0.02, and The final two columns contain the results of the kernel and stratification matching. Table (6) presents the results of the propensity score matching for both the high and low unemployment countries for both high and low capitalization countries. The evidence regarding the effectiveness of entrepreneurship targeting in these cases is a little less strong for the low unemployment countries than when only the high unemployment countries are included. The GDP growth rates are relatively strong and significant. The majority of the matching methods indicate that this additional increment to the growth rates for the entrepreneurship targeting countries is significant. In turn, the estimated treatment effects on the R&D spending and wages are found to be significant for all matching methods and are related to the adoption of entrepreneurship targeting. In terms of population there are no significant effects no matter the matching method. The second panel of Table 6 presents the results of excluding the low unemployment countries from the propensity score matching for the low capitalization countries. The results of the Table 6: Estimates of the average treatment effect of entrepreneurship targeting on economic variables in the baseline model High Market Capitalization Countries Nearest Neighbor Matching Radius Matching r = 0.01 r = 0.02 r =0.03 Kernel Matching Stratification Matching Entrepreneurship *** * * 1.229** 1.362*** *** (2.901) (1.724) (1.95) (2.412) (2.742) (2.678) Tax ** *** *** ** *** (-1.873) (-0.142) (-0.328) (-0.048) (-0.042) (-0.039) GDP 2.817* * (1.857) (1.437) (1.675) (1.585) (2.319) (2.739) R&D 1.684** 1.196* 0.851* 0.912* 1.36* 1.239** (2.253) (1.769) (1.674) (1.645) (2.07) (2.193) Wage ** *** *** -4.13** *** (-1.178) (-2.042) (-2.692) (-2.686) (-2.323) (-2.775) 31

32 Population 1.437** (0.188) (0.218) (0.42) (0.292) (1.154) (1.096) Low Market capitalization countries Entrepreneurship * * * (-0.677) (-0.894) (-1.471) (-1.775) (-1.375) (-1.658) Tax * * ** *** *** (-1.045) (-0.121) (-0.284) (-0.119) (-0.005) (-0.019) GDP 2.249** * 1.334* (2.378) (1.283) (1.561) (1.759) (1.782) (1.474) R&D 2.447* 4.014** 2.376** 2.363** 1.685* 1.495* (2.198) (2.879) (2.051) (2.04) (1.657) (1.702) Wage *** ** *** *** *** *** (-2.757) (-2.548) (-2.969) (-3.154) (-3.094) (-2.927) Population * (0.058) (0.292) (0.417) (0.97) (1.609) (1.953) Note: Bootstrapped t-statistics are reported below the ATT coefficients *, **, and *** indicate significance at the 10%, 5%, and 1% level respectively. baseline model in Table 5 effectively still hold. Entrepreneurship outcome for entrepreneurship targeting countries are lower, and in conjunction with a statistically significant lower GDP, entrepreneurship targeting does not appear to work for low capitalization countries. 6. Concluding Remarks We are interested in the dynamic inter-relationship between entrepreneurship, growth and unemployment, given the increased importance of self employment in OECD countries over the past 25 years (Audretsch & Thurik, 2001). For this purpose we use data for 30 OECD countries for a period from 1970 to 2011, obtained from the COMPENDIA dataset, the OECD and the IMF. The descriptive statistics outlined in section 3 of the paper give us a first taste of the feedback mechanism between the three key variables. Once we take averaged values for each year we observe a clear positive pattern from past entrepreneurship (as measured by the ratio of business owners in the labor force) to economic activity (as measured by GDP per capita). Furthermore, past unemployment seems to spur entrepreneurship, giving vigor to the notion of refuge entrepreneurship and also, not surprisingly GDP growth is found to reduce future unemployment. Moving on to the parametric analysis, we use a panel VAR(1) model in the lines of Plehn-Dujowich (2009) and Holtz-Eakin & Kao (2003). To overcome the endogeneity issues we use the IV estimator proposed by Anderson & Hsiao (1981) and the GMM estimator introduced by Arrellano & Bond (1991), commonly referred to as Difference GMM. Furthermore, we use the System GMM estimator following Arrelano & Bover (1995) and Blundell & Bond (1998). This first set of results is presented at Table 1 and Table 2 of section 5. All variables show a strong autoregressive component and the most robust relationship is the positive one of past entrepreneurship on GDP, with a positive and significant coefficient in five out of six specifications. In four out of six cases the feedback effect from GDP to entrepreneurship is statistically significant, while past entrepreneurship significantly reduces unemployment in half of the specifications. Finally, as expected GDP significantly lowers the unemployment rate in all but one specifications. Table 3 reports results with separate AR(1) and AR(2) models for each of the three aforementioned variables. The second autoregressive lag proves insignificant in all three cases but the first lag is still significant. Dummy variables for common language between the entrepreneur and the host country and participation in a currency union are included, nevertheless do not exhibit significance. We also include to categorical variables to capture the degree of market capitalization and equity as financing source of enterprises. Both of them significantly increase business ownership and GDP per capita. A higher degree of market capitalization is also connected with an increase in unemployment. The second lag is dropped 32

33 for the specifications reported in Table 4 and the control variables are augmented by including macroeconomic variables. What stands out is the positive effect of population n unemployment and the increase in all variables caused by R&D spending. Finally, we use the Propensity Score Matching method (Rosenbaum & Rubin, 1983) to overcome the self selection bias in determining a country's policy decision towards entrepreneurship targeting. The Average Treatment Effects reported in Table 6 show that countries adopting entrepreneurship targeting as a growth policy exhibit significantly higher economic growth rates and lower unemployment References Acs, Z., Audretsch, D. B., Braunerhjelm, P. & Carlsson, B., The Missing Link: The Knowledge Filter and Entrepreneurship in Endogenous Growth. Discussion Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Policy. The Max Plank Institute for Research into Economic Systems, Group Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, 0805 Acs, Z. & Arington, C., Employment Growth and Entrepreneurial Activity in Cities. Discussion Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Policy. The Max Plank Institute for Research into Economic Systems, Group Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, 1304 Acs, Z. & Varga, A., Enrepreneurship, Agglomeration and Technological Change. Discussion Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Policy. The Max Plank Institute for Research into Economic Systems, Group Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, 0604 Audretsch, D.B. & Fritsch, M, Linking Entrepreneurship to Growth: The Case of West Germany. Industry and Innovation, 10 (1) Audretsch, D.B. & Keilbach, M., Resolving the Knowledge Paradox: Knowledge-Spillover Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth. Research Policy, 37 Audretsch, D.B. & Thurik, A.R., Capitalism and Democracy in the 21st Century: From the Managed to the Entrepreneurial Economy. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 10 Ball, L. & Moffitt, R, Productivity Growth and the Phillips Curve. NBER Working Paper Series, 8421 Benigno, P, Ricci, L.A. & Surico, P., Unemployment and Productivity in the Long Run : The Role of Macroeconomic Volatility. NBER Working Paper, Blanchard, O. & Wolfers, J., The Role of Shocks and Institutions in the Rise of European Unemployment: The Aggregate Evidence. The Economic Journal, 110 Brauninger, M. & Pannenberg, Unemployment and Productivity Growth. Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) Working Paper, 136 Carree, M., van Stel, A., Thurik, R. & Wennekers, S., The Relationship Between Economic Development and Business Ownership Revisited. Cranfeld University Research Papers, 8 Carree, M. & Thurik, R., The Lag Structure of the Impact of Business Ownership on Economic Performance in OECD Countries. Discussion Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Policy. The Max Plank Institute for Research into Economic Systems, Group Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, 0206 Carree, M. & Thurik, R., The Impact of Entrepreneurship on Economic Growth. In Acs, Z. & Audretsch, D. (eds.) International Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research Carree, M. & Dejardin, M., Firm Entry and Exit in Local Markets: Market Pull and Unemployment Push. University of Namur Working Paper Series, 1114 Fairlie, R. W., Entrepreneurship, Economic Conditions, and the Great Recession. CESIFO Working Paper, 4140 Fristch, M., Kritikos, A. & Pijnenburg, K, Business Cycles, Unemployment and Entrepreneurial Activity: Evidence from Germany. Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) Working Paper, 7852 Galindo, M. A. & Mendez, M. T., Entrepreneurship, Economic Growth and Innovation: Are Feedback Effects at Work?. Journal of Business Research, Holtz-Eakin, D. & Kao, C., Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth: The Proof Is in the Productivity. Center for Policy Research Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs Syracuse University Working Paper, 50 33

34 Koellinger, P. D. & Thurik, R., Entrepreneurship and the Business Cycle. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 94 (4) Mueller, P., Exploring the Knowledge Filter: How Entrepreneurship and University-Industry Relationships Drive Economic Growth. Research Policy, 35 Neumark, D., Wall, B. & Zhang, J., Do Small Businesses Create More Jobs? New Evidence for the United States from the National Establishment Time Series. Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) Working Paper, 3888 Noseleit, F., Entrepreneurship, Structural Change, and Economic Growth. Paper prepared for the 7th European Meeting on Applied Evolutionary Economics (EMAEE) Evolutionary Perspectives on Technical Change and Industrial Dynamics, February 14-16, 2011, Sant Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa Pissarides, C. A. & Vallianti, G., The Impact of TFP Growth on Steady-State Unemployment. International Economic Review, 48 (2) Plehn-Dujowich, J. M., The Dynamic Relationship between Entrepreneurship, Unemployment, and Growth: Evidence from U.S. Industries. Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, 29 (16) Plehn-Dujowich, J. M. & Li, D., The Impact of Entrepreneurship on Schumpeterian Endogenous Growth: Theory and Evidence. Mimeo Salgado-Banda, H., Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth: An Empirical Analysis. Dirección de Estudios EconómicosDirección General de Investigación Económica Banco de México Thurik, R, Carree, M. & Audretsch, D., Does Self-Employment Reduce Unemployment. Journal of Business Venturing, 23 (6) van Stel, A., Carree, M. & Thurik, R., The Effect of Entrepreneurial Activity on National Economic Growth.. Discussion Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Policy. The Max Plank Institute for Research into Economic Systems, Group Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, 0405 van Stel, A. & Storey, D. J., The Link Between Firm Births and Job Creation: Is there a Upas Tree Effect? Discussion Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Policy. The Max Plank Institute for Research into Economic Systems, Group Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, 3304 Wennekers, S., van Stel, A., Thurik, R. & Reynolds, P., Nascent Entrepreneurship and the Level of Economic Development. Discussion Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Policy. The Max Plank Institute for Research into Economic Systems, Group Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, 1405 Wong, P.H., Ho, Y. P. & Autio, E., Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Growth: Evidence from GEM Data. Small Business Economics, 24 van der Zwan, P., Hessels, J. & Sanders, M., Entrepreneurial activity, industry orientation, and economic growth. Panteia Becker, S. O. & Hvide, H. K., Do Entrepreneurs Matter? CESIFO Working Paper, 4088 Berthold, N. & Grundler, K., Entrepreneurship and economic growth in a panel of countries. Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Beiträge des Lehrstuhls für Volkswirtschaftslehre, Wirtschaftsordnung und Sozialpolitik, Universität Würzburg, 118 Szabo, Z. & Herman, E., Innovative Entrepreneurship for Economic Development in EU. Procedia Economics and Finance, 3 Ahmad, N. & Seymour, R., Defining Entrepreneurial Activity: Definitions Supporting Frameworks for Data Collection. OECD Statistics Working Paper European Commission, Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan: Reigniting the entrepreneurial spirit in Europe Darvas, Z., Banking System Soundness is the Key to More SME Financing. Bruegel Policy Contribution, 10 Romer, P. M., Endogenous Technological Change. Journal of Political Economy, 98 (5) Romer, P. M., Increasing Returns and Long-Run Growth. Journal of Political Economy, 94 Aghion P. & Howitt, P., A Model of Growth through Creative Destruction. Econometrica, 90 Barro, R. J. & Lee, J-W., IMF Programs: Who is Chosen and What are the Effects? Journal of Monetary Economics, 52 (7) Verbeek, M., A Guide to Modern Econometrics 4th Edition, Wiley 34

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37 FOOD SECURITY IN TRANSITION ECONOMIES: THE CASE OF UZBEKISTAN SAMARIDDIN BERDIEV, University Las Palmas Gran Canaria The objective of this paper is to investigate food security in a transition economy looking at the specific case of Uzbekistan. The question is to what extent the evolution from a planned central economy towards a liberal market economy increases or decreases food security. This is investigated by analyzing the data on food consumption and food production since the year of independence. The results find that food security has decreased in Uzbekistan following independence, and that policy measures have been ineffective in counteracting this effect. The earth, taking place as a result of natural disasters, climate change, increasing urbanization process due to the shrinking of agricultural crop areas, the shortage of water for irrigation, food production more difficult situations such as drought. As a result, world food prices continue to rise in the markets. Also, since 2008, the ongoing global financial and economic crisis, which caused deterioration of the problem. For this reason, the whole world is given great importance to the issues of food security. Ensure the safety of food independence is the key to the socio-economic and political stability in the country. Since the early years of independence, food security, social and economic policy is one of the central issues. As a result, the country has made great strides in this direction. Grain self-sufficiency, per capita basic food products - meat, milk, eggs and fruit and vegetable production has grown significantly and as a result, all the country's major food production at full force. According to the natural and climatic conditions, with the exception of the products can not be produced in the country. Institutional reforms: creation of inefficient liquidation of the company's farm and farms, agricultural production, storage, processing and sale of agricultural land fund to support the development of the private sector in order to support and improve the quality of reclamation fund to be established and important role in this process, etc. played. As a result, agricultural production has increased more than 2 times. This is an increase of about 10million people, or more than 30 percent of the country's population, the per capita consumption of meat 1.3 times, milk and dairy products by 1.6 times, potatoes by 1.7 times and 2 times more than vegetables and fruits to increase about 4 times. the country every year, 16 million tons of fruit and vegetables are grown. Per capita of about 300 kilograms of vegetables, 75 kg of potatoes and 44 pounds of grapes. This is optimal, that is three times higher than the norm deemed acceptable. Now, well-being and to improve the quality of life of the population, the population with food, with the full problem of food security issues are closely linked. Therefore, the implementation of food to ensure food security based on theoretical grounds and priorities of the need for a scientific study of the theoretical and practical aspects of this research has determined that the urgency of the topic. Food security of the country's population with basic food products without sufficient internal resources, software, represents the achievement of a minimum level of dependence on imports. The agricultural sector of each country the main purpose of the reform is intended to achieve self-sufficiency in food supply, and this is of great socio-economic importance. The need to ensure self-sufficiency in food production to maintain independence, economic security and social stability in the country is one of the conditions. The urgency of this problem, our former totalitarian regime fragile, weak, one-sided developed, mainly focused on the production of raw materials and intermediate products; the economy has become the inheritance with him. 95 percent of the cotton processing has been taken out of the republic. During the Soviet period, 50 light industry, the share of the total production volume of the network by 54% to 37%, while the share of the food industry fell from 30 percent to 14 percent. As a result, vegetables, fruit orchards, vineyards, forage crops area reduced, the main types of flour, potatoes, sugar, animal products and other food products had been transported from other regions. The threshold of independence, in 1990, 82 percent of the grain for consumption, 50 percent of meat and meat products, dairy products, about 60 percent, and 50 percent of the potatoes, sugar, powdered milk and baby food imported 100 percent. Flour and flour products to the country's average annual import of almost 500 thousand tons, potatoes thousand tons, 300 thousand tons of sugar, meat and meat products thousand tons of milk and dairy products was 3.7 thousand tons. However, the volume of food products 37

38 imported into the country was not enough to meet the needs of the population. They would be in the range of medical standards. After Uzbekistan gained its independence, to ensure food safety measures will be carried out in two directions: - Allocation of new plots and expand the rural population; - Revision of the structure of agricultural crops. The state policy on food, potatoes, fruits and vegetables also provides for self-supply. Adequate supply of vegetable oil and animal products to the public, processing and storage of agricultural products, as well as to create the necessary framework for the formation of the main types of food products sufficient reserves to ensure the sustainability of their retail price, and to reduce the volume of imported products as well as ensuring food safety is an important area. It showed a drop in the level of the financial status of families in 54 countries around the world, the hunger, the main part of the state's population may tell more than 20 shorten the average life expectancy of the population in the country for the last 12 years, more than 840 million of the world's population suffers from hunger evidence of this all over the world for this reason food great importance to the issues of food security. The whole world is given great importance to the issues of food security. Issues of food security, the World Food Summit held in Rome in 1996 were discussed at the forum. This forum was attended by 130 countries. The least developed countries discussed issues related to food aid. At the forum, the center of attention, you need to feed the population of the globe? That is the question. According to the information because poor the world so much, they do not have enough food to eat daily, suffering from hunger. Often illiterate, more than four children, the unemployed, low-wage, part-time employees is poor or disabled people. Every 7 minutes a child in the world dies of hunger or related causes. Fill one-third of all children under five suffer from malnutrition. Each year, more than 6 million children under the age of 5 die because of malnutrition around the world. 1.3 billion people a day at the expense of less than US $ 1 a day. The majority of poor people live in South Asia. 522 million of them live on less than $ 1 a day. Sub- Saharan Africa, almost half the population of the entire region in the south percent - live in poverty. Access to basic services, and only 80 billion dollars is needed to reduce poverty. This is less than 0.5 per cent of world income. The sum of the world's three richest oligarchs - much higher than the country's total gross domestic product of the 48 poorest. So part of the UN Millennium Summit in 2000, leaders of 189 countries adopted the Millennium Development Goals is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger as the first set. According to him, on an income of less than $ 1 a day by 2015 the population who suffer from hunger and the proportion of the population is two times two important functions, such as the reduction of their contributions. The first set as a goal the reduction of poverty and poor nutrition. According to this country by 2015, two-fold reduction of poverty. This is to ensure food security in Uzbekistan, including the world is indicative of how important. Food security of the country's population with basic food products represents the ability to provide independent self. As well as a way to get rid of the food is very dependent on imports. It should be noted that food security is to ensure domestic food products with a full measure of self-limited. To do this, the import of food is also taken into account. Including food security, physical and economic availability of food and nutrition security (table-1). Table-1. Components of food security. With the physical supply of food Food security and economic food safety Effective activity of the Sustainable level of income To control the quality of agriculture and processing support products and raw materials industry The development of food Ensuring economic stability in The development and products and raw materials the country certification of quality markets management systems Development of trade The level of price regulation To improve the health of the population 38

39 The creation of new jobs To support the employment of the population Plots of land to create the conditions for security The growth of payments to the budget The formation of a healthy lifestyle This can be seen in the table, with the physical availability of food products, food represents the amount of the increase in production volumes. Food economic welfare of the population with incomes increase, the level of inflation to maintain an acceptable level of food products through the acquisition represents the ability to grow. Represents a safe eating healthy diet component improve the quality of the population. It should be noted, every man for food security through innovation to reduce waste, and increase the quality of the food and nutrition, people avoid eating too much excess. Food macro and micro elements include adequate intake and energy balance. The variety of food and nutrition characteristics of the population, religion, customs and traditions, as well as advertising and psychological effect. To ensure food security in developing countries, food production and self-sufficiency rate is. This ratio is created and consumed in the country is the expression as a percentage of the value of agricultural products. This coefficient for each agricultural product prices is subject to change settlement. All calculations carried out in constant prices. These prices will be determined based on the calculation of wholesale prices. The world's food self-sufficiency factor in the decline is affected by the following factors: - An increase in demand for food products; Population growth; - The growth of per capita consumption; - The need for a variety of products asymmetry. As a result, the level of productivity, there will be some reduction in the volume of product types; - A part of the land due to the acceleration of the process of urbanization, industrial facilities, residential buildings, construction of roads will be busy. As a result of this shrinking of arable land used for agriculture. Therefore, the volume of agricultural production stagnant growth rates high enough; - The use of land areas converted to the decline factor; - Lack of labor force; - Entered the country on imported food products at low prices; - A decrease in the growth rate of production of certain agricultural products; - Fertilizer, agricultural chemicals and substances used too much and adequate irrigation and drainage work, timely completion, quality of agricultural land due to the absence of sufficient attention to the rules of the deterioration of land fertility. Norms of human consumption of food products, food products to determine the chemical composition and the norms of human security must be unfavorably substances which may be the right choice if they knew the full inelastic demand. Products structural protein, carbohydrates, fat, food acids, vitamins, enzymes, and a group consisting of mineral materials. Feed consumer demand for the products of the human person, regardless of gender, age, and may vary depending on the types of work activities. Middle-aged man, 800 grams of food and 2 liters of water a day should be consumed. Heavy labor involved with the students of 4500 kcal to 3300 kcal, labor activity among the people who need kcal food consumption demand. Therefore, to ensure the safety of the food will need to do the following: - Use of land and water resources in agriculture, to ensure the effective use of legislation aimed at strengthening the implementation of appropriate measures; - Agricultural products with a high level of food products; - Support the production of agricultural products by the state, political, legal, social and economic measures to stimulate the development and implementation of a set of measures; - Agricultural production, storage, processing, strengthening the material-technical base of the widespread use of modern technologies; - Improve the quality of the seed and breeding; 39

40 - Improve the supply of scientific information; - To increase the human resource capacity; - The establishment of production management to refine and perfect the mechanism on a regular basis, the use of advanced farming methods; - Food products in domestic and foreign markets to ensure the supply and demand balance, etc. To ensure food security in Uzbekistan's independence is the key to the socio-economic and political stability in the country. After the collapse of the former Soviet Union at that time, in 1989, according to statistical research and consumer market with all the necessary products for nearly 95 percent of the population and the territory of the former Soviet Union, which cuts through the daily basic food products to the population cards led to the introduction of the system of sale was. In 1989, the national statistical authorities in the middle of the country's population by the official 89.3 percent of those interviewed said they do not eat enough meat products. These indicators of dairy products 56.5 percent, from 55.3 percent in the sugar confectionery products 49.5 percent, while 17.5 percent of potatoes. These numbers are on the verge of independence, there is a threat to food security in the country must be able to ensure the country's food security. For this reason, after independence to ensure food security has become a matter of life and death. In order to improve the supply of food products to the population of the country in the establishment of new orchards and vineyards, extensive work has been carried out. During the years 2010 and 2014, about 50 thousand hectares of new parks, more than 14 thousand hectares, including 23 hectares of intensive orchards, vineyards were created. For the establishment of intensive orchards, Poland, Serbia and other countries brought more than 6 million seedlings. In 2011, the garden created at the 2014 average of 300 centers per hectare was harvested. Structural changes in the livestock sector. The number of cattle in 1995 to 5.2 million. In 2005, 6.5 million of them have been. the other at the beginning of ,3ming animals. The number of sheep and goats in 1995 totaled 9.3 million head. In 2005, 11.3 million of them. the other at the beginning of 2014 amounted to thousand (table-2). Table- 2.The dynamics of the increase in the number of livestock and poultry in the Republic of Uzbekistan (beginning of the year, in thousands) Livestock species 2005 y 2014 y % In 2014 compared to 2005 Cattle ,3 161,4 Including cows 2821,3 4020,6 142,5 Sheep and goats 11351, ,6 156,1 Bird 20540, ,8 231,2 61.4% of the number of cattle, including cows by 42.5%, while the number of birds has increased by 2.3 times. Cattle hoofed animal products as a result of increased production volume has been growing year by year, and the years of meat (live weight) increased by 225.7%. Milk production in the same period increased by 236.7% (table-3). Table-3.The main indicators of livestock production (thousand tons) Production line 1991 y 1996 y 2000y 2010y 2013y % In 2013 compared to 1991 Meat (live , ,4 1787,8 225,7 weight) Milk ,2 6169,0 7885,5 236,7 Eggs (million.) ,9 3058,8 4388,1 186,9 Agriculture and large-scale changes and updates about the quality of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan "land and agricultural crops zoning to optimize our comprehensive and well-thought-out 40

41 policy is carried out on the most important raw materials and export volume of cotton production, which is relatively stable production of other agricultural products, while maintaining a few times to increase. Most importantly, led to the foundation of our food products to ensure the full, if necessary, allow them to export to foreign countries. In particular, grain production increased 2-fold compared to 2000, potatoes - by 3.1 times, vegetables times, the grape - 2 times, meat and milk - by 2.1 times, eggs times. " Increase food production and processing of agricultural products, has the following shortcomings and problems in the implementation of investment projects aimed at: 1. The problems associated with the financing of investment projects. They include delays in the life of the loan term and conversion of funds, high interest rates on credit, the initiator of the project is its lack of funds, credit, insurance, mortgage, there are problems such as the lack of warranty. 2. Strengthening the material-technical base of the projects and the problems associated with the supply of energy resources. They are the organizers of the project of land allocation, building construction and technological problems and difficulties in the supply of equipment, electricity, gas and water supply disruptions occur. 3. Projects for staff training, special training and re-training experts in the legal, technical and economic problems related to the lack of knowledge. 4. The initiators of the project problems and difficulties in providing news and information. 5. Agricultural products processing enterprises and the processing capacity utilization rate remains low. For example, 55% of the energy production of vegetable oil, processing of meat and meat products by 30.5%, milk and dairy products, 17% of the energy used in processing. In addition, the fat-and-oil industry is a lack of raw materials. To solve these problems to ensure the country's population with sufficient quantities of food products, increasing the level of processing of agricultural products will ultimately ensure sustainable food security. -Effective way of ensuring food security in Uzbekistan is one of the important directions of further development of the food industry, on the basis of modernization, technical and technological re-equipment of processing of agricultural products, increase production and quality of food products is achieved. For this purpose, the country for the years the production of food products, meat, milk, fruits, vegetables and grapes, as well as the construction of processing plants for the modernization and reconstruction of the existing targeted programs are being implemented. 90 According to the program for meat processing project based on the construction of 47 new enterprises, reconstruction and modernization of the existing 43 enterprises (table-4). Table years, new enterprises for processing of agricultural products, construction, reconstruction and modernization of the existing indicators Type of product The total number of So, new construction Reconstruction and projects modernization Meat processing Milk processing For processing of fruits, vegetables and grapes, As part of this program 118 projects for the processing of milk on the basis of 44 new construction, reconstruction and modernization of 74 total. Processing of fruits, vegetables and grapes, 104 projects on the basis of 78 new companies on the construction, reconstruction and modernization of 26 works are carried out. As a result, in 2015 compared to 2011 production of canned fruits and vegetables ready to 132,8%, fruit juices and 141.9%, tomato pastes 116.7%. Sausages and canned meat products increased by 132.0% to 2 times, milk and milk products are 142%, butter by 154.6% and 107.6%, vegetable oil, confectionery products increased by 137.5%. As well as being exported 132,8% fruit juice, canned fruits and vegetables, 129.4% and 172.1%, tomato paste, dried fruits, the volume increases by 117%. 41

42 Food industry carried out 391 investment projects. January 23, 2015, the Senate and the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan held a joint meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan provided the near-term and long-term action programs According to the food industry of Uzbekistan is planned to implement 391 investment projects. According to the program, increasing the efficiency of agricultural production as the foundation and guarantee of the Government pays special attention to improving the productivity of irrigated lands. Measures to improve the reclamation of irrigated lands for the years continued the implementation of the program. The application of modern irrigation facilities construction and reconstruction, as well as more complex, involves the installation of energy-saving equipment. The aim - 5 years, 1 million 400 thousand hectares of irrigated land reclamation is to ensure and increase the productivity of agricultural crops. The introduction of water-saving technologies, including orchards and vineyards continue to expand drip irrigation systems is one of the most important tasks. This allows you to save up to 1 billion cubic meters of water each year. Increase the processing of agricultural products - is another important task. For this purpose, the food industry, the implementation of 391 investment projects, at least 1 million 300 thousand tons of fruits and vegetables with a storage capacity of more than 2 thousand construction of modern cold storage facilities is expected to reach 2 million tons of the total volume. At the same time the link between the logistics system will be developed. Conclusion National security of citizens, society and the vital interests of the state, as well as a wide range of national values and lifestyles, represents the vulnerability of the various external and internal threats. National security of citizens, the person, is aimed at protecting the interests of society and the state. The national security of the country s national interests in various political, military, economic, environmental, ideological, information and other factors, and is aimed at protecting threatened. Therefore, the complex structure of the composition of the national security, political, military and defense, ideological, economic, environmental, and includes information security. An important component of national security, it is the most important indicator of the condition or factor in ensuring economic security. "Economic security" was the most common way the country's material and represents the economic potential of the non-renewable and renewable. Food security of the country's population with basic food products represents the ability to provide independent self. As well as a way to get rid of the food is very dependent on imports. It should be noted that food security is to ensure domestic food products with a full measure of self-limited. To do this, the import of food is also taken into account. Policies to ensure food security of the country, mainly in its agricultural production and the development of domestic markets, partly on the basis of overseas imports of food products to meet the minimum level of food needs of the population will be provided. Increasing food production in the Republic of Uzbekistan carried out agrarian reforms and structural changes in agriculture, reduced acreage of cotton, vegetables, potatoes, vegetables, melons, expansion of cultivated land and orchards and vineyards, livestock development, agricultural products in food industry the growth in the production and processing of food products is important. Increase food production and processing of agricultural products, has the following shortcomings and problems in the implementation of investment projects aimed at: - The problems associated with the financing of investment projects. They include delays in the life of the loan term and conversion of funds, high interest rates on credit, the initiator of the project is its lack of funds, credit, insurance, mortgage, there are problems such as the lack of warranty; - Strengthening the material-technical base of the projects and the problems associated with the supply of energy resources. They are the organizers of the project of land allocation, building construction and technological problems and difficulties in the supply of equipment, electricity, gas and water supply disruptions occur; - Projects for staff training, special training and re-training experts in the legal, technical and economic problems related to the lack of knowledge; - Initiators of the project, problems and difficulties in providing news and information; 42

43 - Processing enterprises and the processing of agricultural products, capacity utilization rate remains low; Rural areas of uncultivated agricultural crop growth in year-over-year decline in soil salinity, salinization, land reclamation situation deteriorated serious problems in terms of the volume of food production and food security. Reliable way to ensure sustainable food security in the Republic of Uzbekistan in order to improve ameliorative condition of irrigated lands for agriculture will need to do the following: irrigate agricultural crops efficient use of water resources through the application of advanced technologies; irrigated agricultural land from the permanent monitoring the status of an aimless and irrational use of harsh measures against aging and as a result of bad land use appropriate measures in relation to that goal. In order to increase food production for the country's agricultural structural change is necessary to carry out the following: - Livestock, grain, potato fields such as advanced countries should be a learning experience and apply it; - Varieties of agricultural crops, taking into account natural and climatic conditions of the regions and districts, focus on improving product quality and productivity of crops; - Pests and disease resistant, early maturing and high-yielding agricultural crops; - The effective use of mineral fertilizers, pests and expand the use of biological means. REFERENCES 1. Islam Karimov, (2011) The threshold of independence. - T. 2. Islam Karimov, (2014) "Food Program of reserves," keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the international conference. 3. Islam Karimov,(2014) The development of high growth rates in 2014, the mobilization of all available, and will consistently continue our proven strategy of reforms: in 2013 the country's socio-economic development of the most important priorities of economic program for 2014 and the findings of the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers. T. 4. Islam Karimov, (2015) In 2015, the implementation of major structural changes in the economy, due to the continuation of the process of modernization and diversification opportunities for private ownership and entrepreneurship - the priority task: in 2014 the country's socio-economic development and economic program for 2015, the most important priorities Ministers.// publication of the report on the meeting of the Cabinet. 5. Abulkosimov H.P.(2006) Economic security. - T: The Academy. 6. Abulkasimov X.P. (2012)Economic security of the state. Study Guide. T.: Academy. 7. Abulkosimov H.P. Rasulov T.S. (2015) Ensure the safety of food. Brochures. 43

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45 THE ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPETENCIES OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE MANAGERS IN THE KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN VENUS D. BUNAGAN, Arab Open University-Bahrain ABSTRACT This research entitled the Entrepreneurial Competencies of Small and Medium Enterprises in the Kingdom of Bahrain determined the following competencies of the managers such as: leadership skills, educational skills, interpersona skills, professional and managerial skills. The study further determined the relationship between the respondents characteristics and their perceived competencies which were done by the owner-managers themselves and selected staff. Findings and Conclusions 1. The owner / managers of the small businesses in the Kingdom of Bahrain are relatively young; there are 9 males and 1 female owners / managers. Some finished their BS degrees and some finished the secondary education. In table 6, 6 pr 60% of the owners / managers are in business for 10 years and more. Two (2) or 20% have been in business for 7-9 years and only one (1) or 10% of the respondents are in business from 4-6 years and 3 years below. This means that the owner / managers are really entrepreneurial and are competent in their business undertakings. 2. The owners / manager are perceived to possess the different competencies like the leadership skills, educational skills, interpersonal skills, professional skills and the managerial skills. 3. The subjects / respondents vary in their perceptions of the competencies of the owner / manager. 4. The data shows that the male owner / managers exhibit better managerial and leadership skills than their female counterpart. The data likewise suggest that the relatively older owner / managers, exhibit better educational skills that the younger ones. I. Introduction Management experts have spent a great deal of time and effort providing guidance to supervisors concerning the best methods for setting and communicating expectations. However, comparatively little has been developed for supervisors dealing with appropriate and effective ways to monitor efforts toward achievement of these objectives. One of the most difficult parts of managing is the appraising and judging of employees performance both from top echelon which is composed of the heads, the middle level management and supervisors. While a number of tools for the evaluation of these groups of people have been formulated, still great deal of suggestions is needed for the improvement of such. The Kingdom of Bahrain has always been characterized by a vibrant partnership between the government and the private business sector in the task of enforcing the state s constitutional mandate to provide smooth flow of businesses to all Bahrainis and other nationalities. With the private business sectors still accounting dominantly doing business, ability of the country to produce manpower with the world class skills required to compete in the global market will be dependent, to a large extent, upon the ability of private businesses to maintain the highest standards of quality in the production of goods and services. (Kotler,1998). Attached to the recruitment, selection and hiring of people by the small business enterprises is the regular performance appraisal of the employees for standard performance and operations. To achieve the goals and objectives of the organization means that administrators/managers should possess important competencies. Having a leader who is a visionary, a collaborator, a salesperson and a negotiator, or a manager, who is a manager, who is a captain, an analyst, a conductor, and a controller, is considered to be indispensable. Business managers and owners should possess the following key roles in their operations: 1) to ensure the task is performed as required, 2) to provide supervision with accurate data for organizational performance appraisal, 3) to motivate employees to work at peak performance even when the supervisor is not present and 4) to motivate workers to display appropriate behavior (PACSB Newsletter, 2002). 45

46 The process of overseeing work not only increases the likelihood that the task will be performed as expected but it also provides the opportunity for supervision to offer feedback to subordinates on the quality of the work effort. Thus, the need to have fully qualified people for the task equipped with the following skills: a) leadership skills, b) educational skills, c) interpersonal skills, d) professional skills and the e) managerial skills. This study aimed at determining further business owners as managers being in the fore in leading their respective subordinates and staff. Other than the usual competencies which are categorized in the evaluation tools for the business owners and managers this study aimed at determining further the following skills: a) leadership skills, b) educational skills, c) interpersonal skills, d) professional skills, and e) managerial skills which eventually should be considered in the general evaluation of performance of business owners and managers of small enterprises in the Kingdom of Bahrain. 1.1 Statement of the Problem This study aimed to determine the competencies of the small business owners and managers of selected enterprises in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Specifically, the study sought to answer to the following questions: 1. What are the characteristics of the respondents in terms of: a. Age b. Gender c. Educational attainment d. Length of Stay in the Business e. Trainings Related to Business 2. What are the competencies of the respondents in terms of: a. Leadership skills b. Educational skills c. Interpersonal skills d. Professional skills e. Managerial skills 3. Is there significant relationship between the characteristics of the respondents and their competencies? 4. Is there significant difference in the perceptions of the two groups of respondents as regards the competencies of the business owners / managers? 1.2 Hypotheses 1. There is no significant relationship between the characteristics and competencies of the business owners and managers as perceived by the two groups of respondents. 2. There is no significant difference in the perceptions of the two groups of respondents as to the competencies of the business owners and managers. 1.3 Scope and Delimitation of the Study The focus of the study is the competencies of the business owners and managers in the Kingdom of Bahrain The variables of the study included the demographic profile of the respondents like the age, gender, highest educational attainment, field of specialization and trainings attended in the different levels. The other variables are the competencies like the leadership skills, educational skills, interpersonal skills, professional skills, and managerial skills. The demographic profile and the skills were tested as to their relationship. Likewise, the relationship between the characteristics of the respondents and their administrative competencies and the differences on the perceptions of the two groups of respondents as regards competencies of the business owners and managers was also tested. 1.4 Significance of the Study The results and findings of this study will be beneficial to the following: 46

47 Top Management. The results and findings of the study could serve as supplements to the performance appraisal to which the business already use. Meaning, the management could possibly input some improvements in the existing tool for the efficiency rating of the subjects similarly, management could also become more consistent and stricter in the choice of the people to be designated in such positions so that better quality of management of people and resources is achieved in the business. Owners and managers of the business. The findings will be a source of enlightenment as regards other managerial competencies and skills they have to be well-equipped with in order to become fully capable and effective in the performance of their duties and functions. Staff of the business. The staff/workers as direct staff of the owners and mangers will be properly monitored and supervised as to their managerial efficiency and other related tasks because the owners and managers will already be equipped of the necessary skills. Customers. As the end-beneficiaries of the study conducted, the customers will be better delivered of the expected quality of goods and services. They, being the direct consumers of the business who are efficiently supervised by the owners and managers. This would create a chain reaction of benefits. 2. Review of Related Literature Management and leadership are often thought of as the same thing. The managerial function leading is defined as the process of influencing people so they will contribute to organization and group goals. While working toward goals, a manager must take into account the dignity of the whole person (Welrich and Koontz, 2003). A leader sees beyond the immediacy of decisions, exercising the ability to often predict the effects of actions, policy and even words. A leader keeps up with current industry research and best practices in hopes of benefiting the enterprise with such knowledge. The successful leader defies limitations. He works effectively not only with his immediate work group but also those outside the formal line of authority in order to accomplish any of the enterprise s goals. Every resilient, a leader will actively seek assignments, guidance and feedback that are necessary in order to prepare him/her for handling current or future objectives (Levines, Teresa, September 2001). On the other hand, manager, as sorted from Levines, (October, 2001) is considered as a Captain, an Analyst, a Conductor, and a Controller. In the book entitled Great Leader as for Great Government, Drucker (1998) mentions key characteristics for great leaders, they are: 1. Understanding and appropriately applying procedures, regulations and policies related to specialized expertise; understanding linkage between administrative competencies ad mission needs, keeping current on issues, practices and procedures in technical areas. 2. Stressing results by formulating strategic program plan that assess policy/ program feasibility and include realistic short and long-term goals and objectives. 3. Exercising good judgment in structuring and organizing work and setting priorities, balancing the interests of clients and readily readjusting priorities to respond to customer demands. 4. Anticipating and identifying, diagnosing and consulting on potential or actual problem areas relating to program implementation and goal achievement, selecting from alternative curses corrective action, taking action from developed contingency plans. 5. Setting program standards, holding self and others accountable for achieving these standards, acting decisively to modify standards to promote customer service and/or the quality of course and policies. 6. Identifying opportunities to develop and market new products and services within or outside of the organization; taking risk to pursue a recognized benefit or advantage. 2.1 Leadership Traits Efforts to understand success focused on the leader s personal characteristic of traits. Traits are the distinguishing personal characteristics of a leader, such as intelligence, values and appearance. 47

48 Some of the characteristics of a leader include: 1) social background and mobility, 2) Intelligence and ability judgment, decisiveness, knowledge, fluency of speech, 3) personality alertness, originality, creativity, personal integrity, ethical conduct and self -confidence, 4) work related characteristics achievement drive, desire to excel, drive for responsibility, responsibility in pursuit of goals, task orientation 5) social characteristic ability to enlist cooperation, cooperativeness, popularity, prestige, sociality, interpersonal skills, social participation, tack and diplomacy (Garry, 2001). Recent work on leadership has begun to distinguished leadership as something more: a quality that inspires and motivates peoples beyond their normal level of performance. 2.2 Transactional leaders The transactional leaders clarify the role and task requirements of subordinates, initiate structures, provide appropriate rewards and try to be considerate to and meet the social needs of subordinate. The transactional leaders ability to satisfy subordinates may improve productivity. They often stress the impersonal aspects of performance, such as, plans, schedules and budget. They have a sense of commitment to the organizational norms and values. 2.3 Charismatic leaders These types of leaders go beyond the transactional leader s techniques. They have the capacity to motivate people to do more than usually expected. The impact of characteristics leader is normally from: 1) stating a lofty vision of an imagined future that employees identified with: 2) Shaping a corporate value system for which everyone stands; 3) trusting subordinates and earning their complete trust in return. Charismatic leaders raise subordinates, consciousness about new outcomes and motivate them to transcend their own interest for the sake of organization or the department (draft, 1997) 2.4 Transformational leaders These leaders are similar to charismatic leaders but are distinguished by their special ability to bring about innovation and changes. They emerge to take an organization through major strategic change such as: revitalization. They form intangible qualities, such as vision, shared values and provide common ground to enlist their followers in the change (Richard 1997) 2.5 Interactive leaders Interactive leaders are concerned with consensus building, inclusiveness, and participation and caring. They promote idea that striving to reach organizational goals to en able employees to reach their personal goals (Richard, 1997) Some critics argue that the importance of leadership is greatly overrated and that in many contexts, leaders make either little or no difference. 2.6 Managing employees No one needs to be reminded of the growing diversity in the workforce today. The multi- cultural force will continue to grow both on a domestic level and an international level. A diverse workforce not only results from a global economy, but has itself become more multi- cultural reflecting the changing general population demographics. The consequences for managers are great and varied. This diversity reflects the need for managers to be more flexible. 2.7 Manager s competencies Competencies will help determine how successful a manager might be at managing others. Professor Edgar Schein as cited By Gary (2001) says career planning is a continuing process of discovery in which a person slowly develops a clearer occupational self-concept in terms of what his/her talents, abilities, motives and values are. Schein also says that as one learns more about himself, he becomes apparent that he has a dominant career anchor, a concern for value that he will not give up if a choice has to be made (Gassler, 2001). 48

49 2.8 Related Studies Being a business owner and manager is a broad function, which encompasses specific functions, task areas and responsibilities. One of the responsibilities is the evaluation/appraisal of business processes and products. Process refers to the procedures that the owner and manager and staff use in their business operations, while products deal with the results or outcomes of these processes in terms of customer satisfaction. 2.9 Roles and Competencies for Distance Education Programs in Higher Education An expert panel of distance educators had identified and analyzed the roles and competencies needed in higher and distance education programs. The study had three purposes: The first was to identify the roles and competencies in distance education in higher education. The second purpose was to rate the importance of those competencies. The third goal was to compare the results to those of a previous competency study done five years ago. The study identified thirteen roles needed to implement and manage distance education program in higher education. Many roles are typically assumed by one position, depending upon the skills of the person in that position. However all these roles should be considered in staffing and training decisions. The importance of the roles and the competencies will vary depending on the institutional environment particularly related to the distance education model be implemented. A set of thirty general competencies emerged that are necessary to varying degrees across all roles. They include competencies related to communication and interpersonal skills, administration and management, technology and instruction. The level of mastery of a general competency will vary from role to role. Some of the general competencies are primary to one role such as the change agent skill to the role of leader/change agent, for example, or secondary or tertiary in the function of other roles. The following are the different competencies attached to certain roles: teamwork skills, basic technology knowledge, interpersonal communication skills, English proficiency, writing skills, questioning, adult learning theory, knowledge of support services, feedback skills, organizational skills, technology access knowledge, planning skills, software skills, knowledge of intellectual property, facilitation skills, public relations skills, multi-media knowledge, presentation skills, consulting skills, evaluation skills, group process skills, editing skills, project management skills, change agent skills, negotiation skills, needs assessment skills, personal organization skills (Thatch, E., 1997 ). In a study by Balton, his conceptualization includes a number of key concepts as follows: 1. Evaluation is a cyclical process of planning collecting information and using information. 2. Evaluation includes the examination of input, process and outcomes. 3. Evaluation involves consideration of process and products of several people. 4. Evaluation is a subsystem interrelated with other subsystems within the total school organization 5. Evaluation involves self-evaluation plus the evaluation by the outsiders. 6. Evaluation includes the assessment of common objectives and processes plus objectives related to a specific situation. Moreover Balton (1993) views evaluation as a cyclical process, not an activity which occurs at a given point in time when a judgment is made regarding the value of the person s performance or the value of some products. Neither does evaluation consist of multiple phases which are sequential cyclical and repetitive. On the other hand, Huplin 1990) conducted studies of leadership with the used of the twodimensional Leader behavior descriptive questionnaire. This instrument was constructed on the premise that leader behavior can be explained in the continuum of both consideration and initiation of structure. Based on a study Schein s MIT graduates, as mentioned by Dassler 1998), he concluded that managers have a stronger managerial competence career anchor. They show strong motivation to become managers, and their career experience enables them to believe that they have the skills and values necessary to rise to such general management positions. A management position of high responsibility is their ultimate goal. When pressed to explain why they believed they had the skills required to gain such positions, many said they saw themselves as competent in three areas: 1) Analytical competence, the ability to identify, analyze and solve problems under conditions of incomplete information and uncertainty, 2) interpersonal competence, the ability to influence, supervise lead, manipulate and control people at all levels and 3) emotional competence, the capacity to be stimulated by emotional and interpersonal crises 49

50 rather than exhausted or deliberated by them, and the capacity to bear high levels of responsibility without becoming paralyzed (Dassler, 1998). Another study conducted by Hitts in the Managerial Competencies, Leadership skills, and Work Performance of Nurse Supervisors and the Implications to the Nursing Practice explored the relationships among the managerial competencies, leadership skills and work performance in administrative and clinical nursing of nurse supervisors at Hospital ng Maynila. The results of the study showed that the nurse supervisors at Ospital ng Maynila demonstrated evidences of managerial competencies and leadership skills. Furthermore, managerial competencies were found to be significantly useful in administrative nursing, but not as much in clinical nursing. Specific conclusions given were: 1) Nurse Supervisors at Ospital ng Maynila generally demonstrated managerial competencies and leadership skills, but these have to be raised at a higher level to meet the demands of the hospital work, 2) Variations in the perceptions of the three respondent groups were due to various factors, requiring further investigation, 3) Nurse supervisors who exhibited passable managerial competencies were likely to become good leader and viceversa, 4) Nurse supervisors who demonstrated passable managerial competencies were also likely to demonstrate acceptable work performance in the aspect of administrative nursing, but not necessarily in clinical nursing and 5) The nurse supervisors who performed well in clinical nursing may not always have high managerial competencies (Hitts, 2000). The literature and studies gathered are related with the present study since these dealt with managerial competencies, leadership skills which employees in varied organizations even in educational institutions should possess as basis for their performance evaluation. Likewise, sole related literature and studies provide theories in leadership and management which are supplements to the discussion on competencies enumerated Theoretical Framework/Conceptual Framework Efforts to understand success focused on the leader s personal characteristics or traits. Traits are the distinguishing personal characteristic of a leader, such as intelligence, values and appearance. In addition to personality traits, physical, social and work related characteristics have been studied. Of these characteristics include: 1) social background and mobility, 2) intelligence and ability, 3) personality, 4) work-related characteristics which now consists the administrative competencies like the leadership skill, educational skill, professional skills and managerial skill, and 5) social characteristics like interpersonal skills and social participation. (Dassler, 2001) Managerial competencies help determine how successful managers might be at managing others. Professor Edgar Schein s study a cited by Dassler, 2001 says career planning is a continuing process of discovery in which a person slowly develops a clearer occupational self-concept in term of what his or her talents, abilities, motives and values are. A study by Hits on the managerial competencies, leadership skills and work-related performance of Nurse Supervisors and Implications to the Nursing Practice explored the relationship among the managerial competencies, leadership skill and work performance in administrative and clinical nursing of nurse supervisors at Ospital ng Maynila. The results show that the managerial competencies were found to be significantly useful in administrative nursing, but not as much as clinical nursing. (Dassler, 2001) Above concepts from literature and findings of certain studies were bases of the researcher in the formulation of managerial competencies inherent or are acquired by the owners and managers in the performance of their administrative and supervisory functions. With the rapid pace of technological change, the way jobs are performed require all types of workers to be resilient in adapting changes or improvements in their work environments. They should possess skills in leadership, educational, interpersonal, professional and even managerial skills to satisfactorily perform given functions especially with administrative and supervisory tasks. Assessing the administrative skills of managers either in organizations offering goods or services however, is issued for a variety of purposes, including compensation administration, assessing training needs and to come up with a better, more reliable and more objective performance evaluation. 50

51 Figure 1 presents the paradigm of the Study. Independent Variables Characteristics of the business owners and managers in terms of: Dependent Variables Business competencies of the business owners and managers in terms of: Paradigm of the Study a. Age a. Leadership Skills The research paradigm presented shows the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. b. Gender b. Educational Skills c. Educational attainment c. Interpersonal Skills This study holds that the independent variables as demographic profiles of the business owner and managers d. Length which of include stay in the business characteristics of the respondents d. in Professional terms age, Skills gender, highest educational attainment, length of stay in business, trainings related to business have bearing on the development of the dependent e. Trainings variable Related which to includes the business competencies e. Managerial such Skills as leadership, educational, interpersonal, Business professional and managerial skills. 3. Methods of Analysis This chapter presents the research design, locale of the study, respondents of the study, sampling technique, the research instruments, the research procedure and the methods of analysis. 3.1 Research Design This made use of the descriptive correlation research design because the study described an existing relationship between and among variables and the degree to which two or more of these variables are related. The study tried to relate the demographic profile of the business owners and managers in terms of age, gender, educational attainment, field of specialization and trainings undertaken related to business with their managerial competencies such as leadership skills, educational skills, interpersonal skills, professional skills and the managerial skills. The difference in the perceptions of the two groups of respondents as business owners and managers were also considered. 3.2 Locale of the Study The study was conducted in some selected small business enterprises in the Kingdom of Bahrain through the help of some staff of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 3.3 Respondents of the Study The study involved the business owners and managers and selected staff enterprises of the Kingdom of Bahrain. of small business 3.4 Sampling Procedure The study employed random samples of business owners and managers of small enterprises as suggested by the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In order to gather more reliable data on the managerial competencies of business owners and managers, the BCCI assisted the researchers in identifying the sample respondents and subjects of the study. 51

52 TABLE 1 Distribution of Respondents and subjects of the study Respondents Frequency Percent Owners/managers Staff Total Research Instruments The study made use of a questionnaire for gathering data. The questionnaire consisted of two parts. The first part elicited the characteristics of the business owners in terms of age, gender, educational attainment, length of stay in business, and trainings acquired related to business. The second part of the questionnaire determined the competencies of the subjects specifically on their leadership skill, educational skills, interpersonal skills, professional skills and managerial skills. These are perceived by both the owner respondents and the staff respondents. The questionnaire was developed by the researchers from their vicarious experiences. They tried gather as many competencies as possible explained in management books authored by both from Local and Foreign Nationals that were deemed closely related to how the business owners and managers function as supervisors in the business. The questionnaire was then passed to selected research experts in the university and was scrutinized as to its validity. The questionnaire were administered to respondents with due permission from concerned authorities. Informal interviews were also conducted to supplement the data gathered from the questionnaire. 3.6 Data Gathering Procedure The researchers personally administered the floating of these to the respondents for prompt retrieval of the questionnaires. The researchers saw to it that every item in the questionnaire was understood by the respondents for reliability of answers. 3.7 Method of Analysis In the determination of the characteristics of the respondents of the study, the frequency count and simple percentage were used. The weighted mean was utilized to determine the business competencies of the respondents. The significant relationship between the characteristics and the business competencies of the business owners were determined through the use of the Person Product Moment of Correlation. ANOVA was used to determine the significant difference in the perceptions of the two groups of responde on the business competencies of the respondents. 4. Results and Discussions This chapter presents the findings, analyses and interpretation of data gathered. Tables 2-5 present the percent and frequency distribution of the owners/managers in terms of their age, gender, and educational attainment length of stay in business and trainings in business and other related trainings. 52

53 Table 2 Distribution of Subjects According to Age Age Bracket Frequency Percent (100%) above 1 10 Total Table 2 shows that majority of the owner/managers of the small businesses belong to ages years accounting to 30 % of the total subject respondents, followed by ages and years respectively. Only one (1) of the respondents belongs to age bracket 43 above. This proves that of the randomly selected owner/managers of business, majority are matured managers who can really handle the operations and management of the undertakings. Table 3 Distribution of Subjects According to Gender Gender Frequency Percent Male 9 90 Female 1 10 Total % Table 3 shows that 9 or 90% of the owner / managers are males and only 1 or 10% is female. This is attributed to the culture that most of the men do the work and business management. Table 4 Educational Attainment Levels Frequency Percent Certificate 7 70 Diploma 1 10 BS Degree 2 20 Total The above table shows that 7 or 70% of the owners / managers have finished certificate level, only 2 or 20% finished their BS degrees in business and only 1 or 10% finished the Diploma level. Table 5 Trainings Related to Business Trainings Frequency Percent Local 8 80 National 1 10 International 1 10 Total Table 5 reveals that 8 0r 80% of the owner / managers had undergone local trainings through the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a manifestation that the owner / managers are active members of the organization (BCCI). One or 10% of each owner / managers was able to attend national and international trainings related to business. 53

54 Table 6 Length of Stay in the Business Number of Years Frequency Percent 3 yrs. below yrs yrs yrs.-above 6 60 Total In table 6, 6 pr 60% of the owners / managers are in business for 10 years and more. Two (2) or 20% have been in business for 7-9 years and only one (1) or 10% of the respondents are in business from 4-6 years and 3 years below. This means that the owner / managers are really entrepreneurial and are competent in their business undertakings. Table 7 Leadership Skills of Owner Managers As Perceived by the Staff and Themselves A. Leadership Skills of Owner/Manager Owners/Managers Staff W.M. Adj.Value W.M. Adj.Value 1.encourage and emphasize teamwork & staff 4.75 SA 3.92 A participation 2.effectively share decision-making 4.50 SA 3.78 A responsibilities with staff when necessary 3.develop & disseminate goals & objectives of the 4.50 SA 4.09 A business. 4.seek relevant input from the staff in the planning 4.50 SA 3.64 A process. 5.share responsibilities & authority with other 4.00 A 3.85 A staff members. 6.delegate tasks in order to assist staff in 4.50 SA 3.89 A improving their skills. 7.provide clear & consistent direction for business 4.25 A 4.04 A 8.able to inspire and challenge staff A 4.04 A 9.encourage staff initiative and innovation SA 3.94 A OVERALL W.M A 3.91 A Table 7 shows that the owner / managers agree that they all exude the different leadership skills, item 1 being very evident of them. That is they encourage and emphasize teamwork and staff participation. Items 5 & 8 on the other hand, were only rated 4.00 respectively. They agree that they share responsibilities and authority with other staff members and are able to inspire and challenge I n their business. This implies that the owner / managers choose only those responsibilities which can be shared to staff and which require a little authority, The staff simply agreed that the owner / managers possess the enumerated leadership skills. Implications: The findings is strengthened by Levines, Teresa, 2006 that a leader demonstrate a clean understanding of the strategic direction of the enterprise in aligning work and personnel behavior with the organizations vision. She further stated that a leader, even resilient, actively seeks assignments, guidance and feedback that are necessary in order to prepare for handling current or future objectives. 54

55 The manager, she said, likewise use information to drive his learning as well as nurturing the business continued success. After careful review of all the corrected data and alternatives, only then the manager makes timely decision. Table 8 Educational Skills of Owner Managers As Perceived by the Staff and Themselves Owners/Managers Staff Educational Skills of Owner/Manager W.M. Adj.Value W.M. Adj.Value 1.observe & evaluate staff on a regular basis SA 3.56 A 2.initiate improvement efforts based in proven 4.75 SA 3.76 A methods, technique operations 3.establish & maintain expectations of staff and 4.75 SA 3.68 A customers. 4.ensure that business operations is directly 4.75 SA 3.95 A related to goals & objectives. 5.provide systematic & effective supervision to 4.75 SA 3.70 A continuously improve operations. 6.seek ways to support & strengthen the business 4.50 SA 3.63 A operations. 7.regularly visit & supervise staff to evaluate 4.75 SA 3.35 A current business operations 8.actively involved in the development of new 4.75 SA 3.65 A methods to improve business operations. 9.use appropriate support on staff effectively SA 3.54 A OVERALL W.M SA 3.64 A As to the educational skills of the owner / managers, the owners / managers themselves strongly agree that they all possess these. They all rated themselves 4.75 except on items 1 and 6 with 4.5, that they observe and evaluate their staff on a regular basis and seek ways to support and strengthen the business operations. The staff agreed that the owner / managers exude all educational skills, item 4 rated the highest mean; the owner / managers ensure that business operation, is directly related to goals and objectives. The least rated item is 7 where the owner / managers regularly visit and supervise staff to evaluate current business operations. Implications Levines stated that in business organization, an accurate picture of the enterprises profitability can only be achieved through careful considerations of all the details comprising typical business activity. This examination status with basics: a review of consumer elements of success, and extends all the way to determination of obstacles to performance in the workplace. The manager never loses monitoring results, controlling resources and modifies business activity to better achieve project plan. Table 9 Interpersonal Skills of Owner Managers As Perceived by the Staff and Themselves Owners/Managers Staff C. Interpersonal Skills of Owner/Manager W.M. Adj.Value W.M. Adj.Value 1.counsel staff regarding their personal problems SA 3.72 A 2.work with consuming public to determine their 4.50 SA 3.74 A expectations. 3.establish good relationship with other 4.50 SA 4.09 A stakeholders. 4.encourage different stakeholders to participate 4.00 A 3.76 A 55

56 in some business activities as part of its social responsibility. 5.effectively receive feedbacks from stakeholders 5.00 SA 3.82 A as regards products & services offered by the business. 6.work supportively with the government in 4.75 SA 3.87 A relation to business operations. 7.use effective techniques in establishing & 4.75 SA 3.89 A monitoring good relations with stakeholders in the community. 8.demonstrate concerns and concerns to 4.75 SA 4.09 A stakeholders concerns. 9have the ability to listen & appreciate others, 4.75 SA 3.94 A both staff & other stakeholders. OVERALL W.M SA 3.88 A Table 9 shows that the owner / managers strongly agreed that they possess all interpersonal skills. Item 5 is rated the highest which states that they effectively receive feedbacks from stakeholders as regards products and services offered by their businesses. This figures the basis for improving the quality of the goods and services they offer to consumers. However, they rated item 4 as the lowest. They just agreed that they encourage the different stakeholders to participate in some business activities as part of its social responsibility. The staff simply agree that the owner / managers possess all the interpersonal skills. Implications Dauden (2000) explains that some of the characteristics of a leader includes social characteristics which concern about the ability to enlist cooperation, cooperativism popularity, prestige, sociability, interpersonal skills, social participation, trust and diplomacy. Draft (2001) stated that the impact of charismatic leaders is normally from: 1) stating a lofty vision of an imagined future that employees identify with, 2) shaping a corporate value system for which everyone stands, 3) trusting subordinates and having their counter trust in return. Further, he said, interactive leader are concerned with consensus building, inclusiveness, participation and caring. Table 10 Professional Skills of Owner Managers As Perceived by the Staff and Themselves Owners/Managers Staff D. Professional Skills of Owner/Manager W.M. Adj.Value W.M. Adj.Value 1.behave in appropriate manner 4.50 SA 4.11 A 2.attend professional meetings for businessmen SA 4.20 A 3.keep abreast of current & innovative trends in 4.75 SA 4.10 A business. 4.participate in activities to improve personal 5.00 SA 3.28 A knowledge & skills in business. 5.belong to & participate in professional 4.50 SA 4.02 A organizations directly related to business management. 6.achieve success & honors in areas relevant to 4.75 SA 3.82 A business operations. 7.pursue a planned program of professional 4.50 SA 4.10 A growth. 8.create a favorable impression by dressing & 4.50 SA 4.01 A 56

57 grooming appropriately a business executive 9.punctual to work, meetings & appointments with 4.75 SA 3.03 A staff & other stakeholders OVERALL W.M SA 3.85 A Table 10 reveals that the owner / managers strongly that they possess all the professional skills specially that of being participative in activities to improve knowledge and skills in business. The staff agreed that owners / managers have all the professional skills. Implications Draft (2002) stated that charismatic leader raise subordinates consciousness about new outcomes and motivates them to transcend their own interest for the sake of the organization or the department. Borich (2001) believes that any appraisal system implemented must be comprehensive enough to evaluate multiple criteria such as procedures to assist in upgrading performance through continuing department program. Table 11 Managerial Skills of Owner Managers As Perceived by the Staff and Themselves Owners/Managers Staff E. Managerial Skills of Owner/Manager W.M. Adj.Val W.M. Adj.Val 1.efficiently prepare, monitor and implement budget requests SA 3.77 A 2.demonstrate knowledge of finance & budget SA 3.72 A 3.schedule time & other resources to provide maximum utilization & minimum disruption of business activities A 4.60 SA 4.account for budget expenditures A 3.74 A 5.ensure that business records are systematically & accurately maintained A 4.00 A Total W. M. 4.3 A 3.96 A On Managerial skills, the owner / managers strongly agree that they efficiently prepare, monitor and implement budget requests and demonstrate knowledge of finance & budget. However, they just agree on the 3 rd, 4 th and last item. Similarly, the staff agrees that the owner / managers exude all the managerial skills. Implications Levines, in The Supervision Magazine, (2004) consider a manager to process keen analytical skills coupled with a group of the enterprise s budget. He works diligently current and accurate information about situations and technology. Further, he said at all times, the manager will use whatever resources are appropriate to identify minor plan, work, eliminate concerns, resolves problems and make the necessary adjustments to reach optimum performance. Table 12 Relationship Between The Competencies and Characteristics/Profile of Owner / Managers Variable Age Gender Educational Attainment Training Leader-ship Educ l Skills Inter-personal Professional Managerial Age 1.0 Gender Educ l Attaint

58 Trngs. Related to Bus Leadership * Educ l Skills.516* Inter perso-nal Skills Professional Skills Mana- Gerial skils * * 1.0 * Significance level -.05 Table 12 shows the significant relationship between the characteristics / profile and competencies of the owner / managers. The results show that at.05 level of significance, the gender as a characteristic / profile of the owner / managers is negatively related to the leadership skills with a computed value of This means that the male owner / managers are perceived to have better leadership skills than the female. On the other hand, the age is positively related with the educational skills with.516 computed correlation, meaning that the more mature the owner / manager, the better are the educational skills that are exhibited by them. This is because they have gained more trainings or experiences and have enhanced their educational qualifications. The table likewise presents positively correlated competencies, namely the professional and managerial skills with a computed value of.822. This means that the more professional skills acquired by the owner / managers, the better are their managerial skills. In the same table, the result is supported by a research undertaken by Ohio State University which revealed that gender differences are significant both in the development of leadership and how males and females lead (Bontol, et al, 1999). On the other hand, Rahabandse (2005) disputes the report about gender and leadership skills which hold that women are better team players, are open and mature in the way they handle sensitive issues, and more concern of their impact in others and are better people managers. Table 13 Difference in Leadership Skills of Owner / Managers as Perceived by Respondents Groups N Mean F Value Significant Decision Owner/Manager Reject Ho Staff * Significance level at.05 Statistically, the Table above shows that the significance value of.008 is less than the significant value of.05, thus the null hypothesis is rejected. This means that the leadership skills of owner /managers have significant difference as perceived by their staff and themselves. Specifically, the perceptions of the owner / manager respondents yielded the highest mean which shows that they rated themselves higher on leadership skills than the staff respondents. 58

59 Table 14 Post Hoc Analysis of Significant Differences Respondents Mean Difference Significant Decision Owner / Manager and Staff Reject Ho The Post Hoc Analysis shows that the significance value of.008 is less than the significance level of.05 thus the null hypothesis is rejected. The mean difference of 7.18 confirms a significant difference on the perceptions of the owner / managers and staff in the leadership skills of the owner / managers. Table 15 Difference on Educational Skills as Perceived by the Respondents Groups N Mean Value(F) Significant Decision Owner / Reject Ho Manager Staff * Significant Level at.05 Above table shows that at.05 level of significance, the computed value is.001 which is less than the former. This rejects the null hypothesis. This means that there is significant difference on the perceptions of the two groups of respondents on the educational skills of the owner / managers. The owner managers rated themselves highest compared to the staff respondents. Table 16 Post Hoc Comparison Difference Groups Mean Significant Decision Owner / Manager and Staff Reject Ho The Post Hoc Comparison with a mean of 7.36 reveals that there is significant difference on the perceptions of the educational skills of the owner / managers as perceived by the staff and themselves. The owner managers perceived themselves to have high educational skills than how their staff perceived them to be. Table 17 Difference on Interpersonal Skills of Owner / Manager as Perceived by Respondents Groups N Mean Value (F) Significant Decision Owner Accept Ho /Manager Staff * Significant at.05 level As revealed in the table, the null hypothesis is accepted since the significance value of F-test is.337 is greater than the significance level of.05. This connotes that there is no significant difference on the perceptions of the owner / managers and staff on the international skills of the latter. This means that the owner / managers are perceived to be able to relate well with their staff and the consuming public. 59

60 Table 18 Difference on Professional Skills of the Owner / Manager as perceived by the Respondents. Groups N Mean Value (F) Significant Decision Owner / Accept Ho Manager Staff * Significant at.05 level As revealed in the table, the null hypothesis is accepted since the significance value of F-test which is.297 is greater than the significance level of.05. This means that the staff and the owner / managers have the same perceptions on the professional skills of the owner / managers. Table 19 Difference on Managerial Skills of Owner / Manager as perceived by the Respondents Groups N Mean Value (F) Significant Decision Owner / Accept Ho Manager Staff * Significant at.05 level The table shows that when the respondents are grouped into two, that is, the staff and the owner / managers themselves, their perceptions do not vary as to the managerial skills of the latter. This decision is based on the significance value of F-test which is.078 and is greater than the significance level of.05 Dunhan (2000) stated that one of the key to being an effective manager is the ability to lead. While the leader is measured by how much influence he has in stimulating people to strive towards an objective, the manager is measured by how much he has attained an objective, not just using people but also the use of materials, machines, money and methods. Hence, the leader is a good manager because he can cause and direct people to serve towards an objective, however, he can also be the lousiest manager if he is inefficient in the use of other resources. 5. Summary of Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations 5.1 Summary of Findings Characteristics / Profile of the Business Owners / Managers: 1. The owner / managers of the small businesses in the Kingdom of Bahrain are relatively young; there are 9 males and 1 female owners / managers. Some finished their BS degrees and some finished the secondary education. In table 6, 6 pr 60% of the owners / managers are in business for 10 years and more. Two (2) or 20% have been in business for 7-9 years and only one (1) or 10% of the respondents are in business from 4-6 years and 3 years below. This means that the owner / managers are really entrepreneurial and are competent in their business undertakings. 2. The owner / managers are perceived to possess the different competencies like the leadership skills, educational skills, interpersonal skills, professional skills and the managerial skills. 3. The subjects / respondents vary in their perceptions of the competencies of the owner / managers. 4. The data shows that the male owner / managers exhibit better managerial and leadership skills than their female counterpart. The data likewise suggest that the relatively older owner / managers, exhibit better educational skills than the younger ones Perceptions on Leadership Skills or Owners / Managers The two groups of respondents agree that the leadership skills are possessed by the owner / managers. The owner / manager respondents noted themselves higher in this skill than that of their staff. 60

61 Perceptions on the Educational Skills of Owner / Manager All other educational skills are agreed by the respondents to be evident in the performance of the owner / manager functions. The very evident educational skills of the owner / manager are: 1) provide for organizing, collecting and analyzing of data to be used to identify business needs, 2) provide systematic and effective supervision to improve business operations and assure that business management is related to established goals and objectives Perceptions on the Interpersonal Skills of Owner / Managers The owner / managers manifested all interpersonal skills are perceived by themselves and their staff. Among the notable interpersonal skills which were rated the highest are: 1) establish good working relationships with staff and community and also using effective techniques in maintaining good relations specifically with customers, 2) counsel staff regarding personal problems by listening and appreciating them Perceptions on the Professional Skills of Owners / Managers Generally, the respondents perceived that all professional skills are possessed by the owner / managers. However, the following professional skills were noted to be very evident: 1) Attend professional meetings for businessmen, 2) keep abreast of current and innovative trends in business, 3) belong to and participate in professional organizations directly related to business management Perceptions in the Managerial Skills of Owner / Managers Of the managerial skills, the following are very evident to the owners / manager: 1) efficiently prepare, monitor and implement budget requests, 2) demonstrate knowledge of finance and budget and 3) schedule time and space to provide maximum utilization and minimum disruption of business activities. Relationship Between and Among the Characteristics / Profile and Competencies of Owners / Managers: Among all the characteristics / profile of the owners / managers such as age, gender, educational attainment and trainings acquired related to business, which were tested as to their relationship to the competencies, the gender is negatively related to the leadership skills. This implies that men have better leadership skills than women in business. On the other hand, the profile age and educational skills are positively related. This means that the older the owner / managers the better their educational skills. Two of the competencies of the owner / managers namely the managerial; and professional skills resulted to a positive correlation which means that the more professional skills acquired by the owner / managers, the better are their managerial skills Difference on the Competencies of Owners / Managers Among the competencies of the owner / managers, the leadership skills and educational skills reveal to have significant differences as perceived by the staff and themselves, while the interpersonal skills and managerial skills bear no significant differences Post Hoc Analysis of Significant Difference The post hoc analysis reveals that there is significant difference on the perceptions of the staff and owner / managers on their leadership skills Post Hoc Comparison of Significant Difference The post hoc comparison reveals that there is significant difference of the educational skills of owner / managers as perceived by themselves and their staff. 61

62 5.2 Conclusions 1. The owner / managers of the small businesses in the Kingdom of Bahrain are relatively young; there are 9 males and 1 female owners / managers. Some finished their BS degrees and some finished the secondary education. In table 6, 6 pr 60% of the owners / managers are in business for 10 years and more. Two (2) or 20% have been in business for 7-9 years and only one (1) or 10% of the respondents are in business from 4-6 years and 3 years below. This means that the owner / managers are really entrepreneurial and are competent in their business undertakings. 2. The owners / manager are perceived to possess the different competencies like the leadership skills, educational skills, interpersonal skills, professional skills and the managerial skills. 3. The subjects / respondents vary in their perceptions of the competencies of the owner / manager. 4. The data shows that the male owner / managers exhibit better managerial and leadership skills than their female counterpart. The data likewise suggest that the relatively older owner / managers, exhibit better educational skills that the younger ones. 5.3 Recommendations Based from the findings and conclusions of the study, the researchers recommend the following: 1. The owner / managers should pursue their BS degrees to further strengthen their educational skills as well as professional skills. 2. Capability building for the other skills. Like the leadership, interpersonal and managerial should likewise be undertaken. 3.Further researches should be conducted to rule out the factor that contributes to the varying responses of the subjects and respondents. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Foremost, I would like to thank the Arab Open University Bahrain for continuously nurturing my desire to conduct research, no matter how simple these maybe, kind to mention the following Supervisors: Dr. Adnan, the Program Coordinator of the College of Business Studies, Dr. Habil Ogalo Slade, the GCC for some third (3 rd ) level business subjects, Dr. Dananeer Jalal, the BCC for some third (3 rd ) third level subjects and Dr. Ahmed Omar, also a BCC for some first level and third (3 rd ) level business subjects. The owner-managers of selected small and medium enterprises in the Kingdom of Bahrain, their staff and others in these establishments who in one way or the other contributed to the accomplishment of this simple research. The staff of Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry who furnished me with some relevant sources of information to support the research. My family for the encouragement to do every task I am interested with, my friends and my colleagues, thank you very much. And above all to my GOD for the everlasting Guidance and Protection for all my undertakings. THE RESEARCHER BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Bantol, Kathy. Management. London: International Thunseen Press, Bonich, Randalls B. Management. London: Allyn and Baun, Cooper, Annabel. Leadership Through Strategic Planning, London: International Thompson Brunnen Press, Draft, R. Organization and Management. New York: Dell Publishing, Dacslen, Gary. Leadership. London: Scott Forseman and Company, 2008, Drucker, Peter. Management. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.,

63 Heinz, Ralph. Modern Management. (3 rd edition), New York: Free Press, Jawer, Mentin. Management of People. McGrawHills Company: Peter, William. Great Leader for Great Government, New York: Haughton, Millan Unpublished Materials Balton, E. The Leadership Styles of Today s Leader. Research Paper, University of Colorado. Huplin, Peter. Leadership Styles in Selected Firms. Research Paper, Cambridge University. Magazines and Newsletters Levisen, Tevera, Supervision Magazine, September, 2009 Levisen, Tevera, Supervision Magazine, January, 2010 Levisen, Tevera, Supervision Magazine, January-March,

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65 IMPACT OF FINANCIAL CRISIS ON ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR & JOB SATISFACTION: HOW CAN CORPORATE LEADERSHIP ASSIST? EVANGELIA FRAGOULI, University of Dundee ABSTRACT Job satisfaction is a very important work-related attitude that affects employees and their commitment and performance on their job. A number of scholars have investigated the influence of the current global financial crisis on employee satisfaction. Under the present circumstances, employees feel more pessimistic, anxious and threatened in their professional environment. Researchers have attempted to identify the possible ways leaders can help in order to boost their employees satisfaction. The present work investigates the role of financial crisis on job satisfaction and the role of corporate leadership on organisational behaviour. It is a qualitative study based on critical literature review. The study illustrates that the high unemployment rates have pushed individuals to accept part-time and less well paying posts which incur feelings of dissatisfaction, employees feel less happy and more pessimistic for their diminishing job prospects. It concludes that through a shift in the leadership style employed by senior management employees, positive results can be brought in such a crisis period. Concepts such as transformational leadership, authentic leadership and a more flexibility-oriented organisational culture are being further discussed in relation to their effect on job satisfaction. Key words: Job satisfaction, financial crisis, transformational leadership, authentic leadership 1. INTRODUCTION The economic crisis began in 2008 with analyst comparing it to the great depression of the 1930s which brought business leaders into survival mode and organizations wishing to remain in business had to remain in credit, with enough revenue on hand to meet short-term demands and enough capital available to meet future obligations. This meant tough decision had to be made (e.g pay cuts) which affected the organizational behaviour with regard to job satisfaction. The crisis revealed itself globally when US investors lost assurance in secured mortgage, leading to a liquidity crisis. The immediate reaction was substantial capital injection from the American Federal Reserve, Bank of England and European Central Bank (Şerbănică et al., 2009, pp ) cited in (Mihaela 2012).The domino effect of the crisis was manifested by the collapse of numerous bourses leading to bankruptcy of many banks, lenders, insurance companies and organizations wishing to remain in business had to remain in credit, with enough revenue on hand to meet short-term demands and enough capital available to meet future obligations. This was the case for profit and not-for profit organizations and over this period, leaders found out how dependent their operations are on how well others manage their finances and they also came to the conclusion that their organizations may not be organized as well as they thought which resulted in them making tough choices in a number of areas including product quality and production; property and plant management; acquisition and expansion; and personnel. Though the crisis originated in the USA due to the bursting of the boom in the housing sector, it spilled over to other countries so how did this scandal become a crisis, the source of the problems was identified as poor risk controls, too much leverage, and blindness to the bubble-like conditions in the housing market but really these were signs of a much bigger problem which was the gradual but ultimately complete collapse of ethical behaviour across the financial industry (Grey Court 2008). To give broader explanation to what we mean by collapse of ethical behaviour let s take an in-depth look at the financial industry. Financial firms, much more than other firms, live and die on trust because of the nature of their business, but unethical behaviour in the financial industry eventually became so widespread that trust was lost and so no one was willing to do business with anyone in the industry and this caused the failure of the weakest, most leveraged, least-trusted firms which led business to dry up for firms that were strong but were distrusted by the public (Grey Court 2008). Another behaviour that indicated the decay of ethics in the financial industry was the disappearance of any sense of fiduciary responsibility to the financial industry s customers.so long as financial firms felt a sense of responsibility to their clients, there 65

66 were serious limits on how bad their behaviour could become, but once they relied that their customers could be treated badly and the only consequence was that profits went up the industry went straight to hell.this attitude of neglecting customers was not without consequence as it caused customers to walk away from the financial industry in gigantic numbers and this meant that the financial industry was doomed (Grey Court 2008). The economic slowdown also brought the spectrum of downsizing and lay-offs which led to adverse changes in work characteristics, decreased job control, high job insecurity, increased physical demands and the general health of employees (Kivimaki et al. 2001) and this had a negative effect on the commitment of employees. It is important to understand the impact of the recession on the employees as it has a direct effect on employee morale and well-being, which may have important consequences for Companies as they rely on employees to produce and deliver high-quality products and services. The bottom line is that perhaps more than any other single issue financial matters directly impact an organization s ability to function. Workrelated attitudes seem to have interested a large number of researchers who have stressed the importance of employees job satisfaction for the success and sustainability of the organisation. Various scholars have tried to define the concept of job satisfaction (Spector, 1997; Kaliski, 2007; Armstrong, 2008) which refers to the feelings, positive or negative, related to the tasks undertaken at work, developed by the individual. Satisfied personnel usually lead to organizational success, whereas dissatisfied employees seem to be a drawback for leaders vision for the future. The question raised in this study refers to the negative effects of the financial crisis on employees satisfaction and how leadership can assist to the negative feelings they have due to the current poor economic conditions. The study indicated that employees feel less happy and more pessimistic for their diminishing job prospects. The high unemployment rates have pushed individuals to accept part-time and less well paying posts which incur feelings of dissatisfaction. To add to that, limitations with regard to promotion opportunities and the threat of losing the job act as factors that detach the employee from innovative thinking and positive attitude towards their job. Hussein et al. (2011) argue that when rewards and other satisfaction factors are absent, the individual displays lowered interest in their job which leads to lower performance and commitment to it. As it derives through the literature, stress and anxiety also increase the chance of employees displaying symptoms of anxiety, depression and hence lower productivity. A number of ways that can mitigate this problem are being discussed in this study. A shift in leadership style employed by the leader towards a more transformational or authentic approach seem to be in the right path to enhance employees satisfaction from their working environment. Moreover, a more flexibilityoriented organisational structure would be appropriate for promoting a more supportive and innovative context in the company. 2. A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE CONCEPT OF JOB SATISFACTION Job satisfaction has received a lot of attention from scholars during the years but it seems that no conclusive and widely accepted definition has been introduced (Aziri, 2011). One definition that appears to be usually cited in the literature is that job satisfaction concerns the feeling of an employee for their job and different aspects of it; whether they like their job or not (Spector, 1997). Kaliski s definition focuses on the joy the individual gets from doing their job and the enthusiasm they show about it, while at the same time stresses the importance of rewards, such as recognition or promotion, to the fulfilling sentiment one receives (Kaliski, 2007). Positive feelings mean that the employee is satisfied by doing their job, whereas negative feeling imply dissatisfaction (Armstrong, 2008). The above definitions indicate that job satisfaction is a multi-fold concept that is perceived differently by different individuals (Mullins, 2005). According to Galup et al. (2008) satisfaction of the employees plays a vital role in the success of the organisation. In other words, a successful company usually has satisfied employees and vice versa. Research has shown that the main drivers for job satisfaction are achievements, recognition, responsibility and the work itself (Kok and Muula, 2013, p.5) as well as job security, flexibility and leadership (Voon et al., 2011). The presence of these drivers from senior management towards the employees guarantees a positive work-related attitude. However, other factors such as working conditions and salary, can affect negatively the employees satisfaction. In problematic situations (e.g. during the financial crisis) the staff 66

67 availability is low and the workload of individuals much larger, which result in lower job satisfaction. Cooper-Hakim and Viswesvaran (2005) consider two components of job satisfaction; extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic satisfaction refers to external aspects of the job, affected by external circumstances, like remuneration, management policies, physical conditions, or job security (p.414). On the other hand, intrinsic satisfaction derives from the job itself and refers to the feeling the individual gets from the nature of their work (Hirschfield, 2000). 3. INFLUENCE OF CRISIS ON ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR People are often described as an organization s most valuable resource it is perceived that is by the actions of people that the organization s mission is realized as they effect operations (skipper 2009). Staffs are often one area first affected during financial crisis Layoffs, reduction in force and downsizing are some of the issues employees face during financial crisis. All this activates will obviously have a huge impact on the employees or staff of an organization so in order to understand this impact that is where the study of job satisfaction comes in but the first question one needs to answer is what is job satisfaction? Job satisfaction is regarded as a bi-dimensional concept consisting of intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction dimensions. Intrinsic sources of satisfaction are related to individual characteristics such as the ability to use initiative, relations with supervisors and the work that the person actually performs, whereas extrinsic sources of satisfaction are Situational and depend on the environment (for example, pay, promotion and job security) and are essentially the financial and other material rewards or advantages of a job (Rose, 2001) cited in (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions 2013). Theorists (Sousa-Poza and Sousa-Poza, 2000) suggest that job satisfaction depends on the balance between factors like education, working time and effort which are inputs into the organization and factors like wages, fringe benefits, status, working conditions which are seen as output of the job. It is believed that if the work role outputs increase relative to work role inputs then job satisfaction will increase. By the annual Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) 2014 an employee job satisfaction and engagement survey is carried so as to identify and understand factors important to overall employee job satisfaction from the perspectives of both employees and HR professionals. Compensation/pay, job security, opportunities to use skills and abilities, benefits, relationship with management and work conditions employees top five very important job satisfaction contributors. Compensation/Pay Compensation/pay was rated as very important by 60% of employees in 2013, this is not surprising as many firms have responded to the economic crisis by reducing employee numbers, introducing short-time working, and cutting pay and benefits. In the survey conducted by the WSI Institute in Germany 11% of employees indicated that they had suffered cuts in their regular monthly income, together with reductions in other benefits, such as Christmas and holiday payments, allowances and premium pay. In Austria, information on wages and job satisfaction during the crisis is available (Arbeitsklima Index) but this was cited in the (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions 2013).The report shows that Austrian employees were less satisfied with their income in 2010 than they were in 2000: 65% reported being (very) satisfied with their income in 2000 while 58% were (very) satisfied in 2010.Employees were then asked how likely they were to stay with their current company if they were offered more money, with the same benefits, at another company and the result was that almost six out of 10 employees indicated that they would be very likely to leave their current position if they received an offer of a 30% salary increase and the same benefits package from another company Job security and opportunities to use skills/abilities In a period of recession it would not be surprising for employees to have greater concerns about their job security which was proven by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) 2014 survey, because it rated second (59% each) along with opportunities, to use abilities among the factors reported as very important to job satisfaction. In a survey carried out in Germany by the WSI Institute it was discovered that more than a third (38%) of respondents stated that the economic situation of their employing organisation had deteriorated between the beginning of 2009 and the time at which they responded to the survey. The result was not a surprise because the case was also dire for the US economy where the crises began, according to SHRM Labour Market outlook, seven out of 10 human resource professionals were anticipating deeper job cuts in the U.S. labour force in the first quarter of

68 According to a SHRM poll conducted in early 2009, 30% of employees believe that in six months their jobs would be moderately or significantly at risk. It is generally thought that employees feel good about their jobs when they are using their skills and abilities and contributing to the organization. In the SHRM survey of 2009 employees were asked how certain factors have affected their sense of job security during the current economic climate and the result they got was that one -half of employees (47%) indicated that their professional abilities/skills and the importance of their job (role) to their organization s overall success increased their sense of job security. Relationship with management The relationship with immediate supervisor or management rated (54%) in the survey Van Rooy et al (2008) cited in ( Klappe 2013) are one of the first authors who analyse employee engagement in relation to the financial crisis. They concluded that employee engagement programs are often among the first programs to be postponed or removed during times of financial crisis, because companies are forced to reduce their costs, but they also reach the conclusion that this action of cutting out employee engagement was short-sighted and actually the worst thing to do.one of the few researchers who clearly studied employee engagement was the Marchington and Kynighou (2012). They examine the relationship between the financial crisis and employee engagement by reviewing annual reports of companies. In their analysis, they found examples of large international companies that had to downsize as a consequence of the financial crisis, and yet to maintain or increase the engagement of their employees. Some of the examples are: Marks and Spencer: There was a plan to fire over staff but was amended in 2009, and jobs were actually cut and employee engagement levels increased in Shell: After the crises shell underwent a major restructuring of the business in 2009 so as to engage more directly with employees. This included frequent letters from the CEO, webcasts, publications and face-toface gatherings. However, the Shell People Survey showed a decline from 78% to 71% in employee engagement scores between 2009 and Benefits The overall benefits package score 53%, this is not surprising as employee benefits are used by organizations to recruit and retain top talent. In times of economic recession, when organizations might not be able to give employees pay raises and bonuses, benefits become one of the many tools employers use to increase loyalty, productivity and job satisfaction. Employers that have been confronted by the current economic crises are taking actions to help them weather the economic storm while continuing to achieve their business goals. In doing so, some employers have either reduced, frozen or completely removed employee benefits. In SHRM US survey of % of companies that indicated they have reduced employee benefits as a way to cut cost, 78% reported that they have reduced health care coverage for employees. Benefits aids for employees can include a wide array of perks; however, the ones employee view as primary importance health care, paid time off, retirement and family-friendly benefits. Workplace Conditions The work conditions with 51% rounded up the top five factors that contribute to job satisfaction. Working conditions have worsened during the economic crisis and when Workplace managers were asked about the extent to which their workplace had been adversely affected by the recession in the Work Place Employment Relations UK survey the result was varied. One fifth (19%) said that the recession had affected their workplace A great deal, while one quarter (24%) said that it had affected them Quite a lot. A further 27% said that it had affected them A moderate amount and one in six (18%) said that it had only affected them A little. The remaining 11% said that the recession had No adverse effect on their workplace. The economic crises as stated earlier comes with pay cuts and downsizing which means staff may have to work more for lesser pay, in the WSI Institute Germany survey carried out Three-quarters (76%) of respondents in organisations highly affected by the crisis reported that pressures to perform had increased; 75% stated that the workplace atmosphere had depreciated; and 66% felt that opportunities for promotion had become more limited. In whole the survey a large number of respondents (65%) stated that they were under greater pressure to perform, and 57% stated that the work- place atmosphere had worsened when it was done for every company in Germany. 68

69 4. EFFECT OF CRISIS ON JOB SATISFACTION The literature shows that the financial crisis that hit many nations around the world and the austerity plans introduced in order to cope with it have had a negative impact on employee work-related attitudes. The tough measures on behalf of the government, through lowering public expenditure, subsidies and social benefits, as well as the inevitably high unemployment rates have caused changes in employees organisational behaviour (Ghellab and Papadakis, 2011). Several surveys conducted around the world have shown similar findings; individuals wellbeing and happiness, but also job satisfaction, job motivation and job security levels are decreasing drastically (Bell and Blanchflower, 2011; Seršic and Sverco, 2000; Mehri at al., 2011; Lee et al., 2011). The financial crisis is perceived as a threat imposed by the current environment on employees in various sectors and countries. Lower happiness levels, pessimism and dissatisfaction Bell and Blanchflower (2011) argue that employees from Southern Europe (especially Greece, Portugal and Spain) are noticeably less happy due to the recession. Their research focuses mainly on the wellbeing levels and job attitudes of employed and unemployed people and their expectations toward the future. People become less optimistic with time and their expectation is that the crisis situation will worsen and job prospects will diminish. They argue that employees in Europe become more and more dissatisfied with their surroundings and professional environment. However, further research indicates that this is not a strictly European phenomenon but rather a global one. Lee et al. (2011) demonstrate in their study that the high unemployment rates in Asia and more particularly in Taiwan are affecting labour s feelings as well as direction. The financial crisis has led many people to seek part-time employment and hence obtain lower monthly income due to the fact that temporary workers are less well-paid that they would be in a permanent position. Their research indicates that the low availability of working hours and low wages are worsening the feeling of dissatisfaction that employees get form their job. Therefore, there is a positive correlation of monthly income and job satisfaction level. Deterioration of professional competencies and fewer job prospects Under these circumstances, the focus of the employed individual deviates from the norm, as he or she believes that the crisis situation is posing limitations to his or hers competencies. As everyday uncertainty prevails, individuals fear that they may have overlooked or not satisfied part of their duties (Leonardelli et al., 2007). It is also obvious that in turbulent times opportunities for professional acceleration worsen and employees focus more on trying to maintain their current job than on become more innovative and entrepreneurial (Filippetti and Archibugi, 2011). In line with these beliefs, Lanaj et al. (2012) indicate that when a crisis event forces employees to focus on maintaining their post rather than on other future positive outcomes, such as the probability of being promoted, there is a negative correlation with their job satisfaction. Absence of factors that improve job satisfaction Furthermore, Hussain at al. (2011) consider three factors that boost job satisfaction and performance; motivation, expectations and rewards. However, the presence and the degree of their presence in employees professional lives are being squeezed due to the recession. The economic downturn of the latest years and the trend of companies to invest more in developing countries have left them with less funding which results in downsizing their personnel. The employees spirit is also lower due to the financial situation and uncertainty, facts that make them dissatisfied with their working status. They lose interest in their job and become more and more demotivated (Hussein et al., 2011). These negative feelings result in lower performance and lower esteem of the individual about their job (Etemadi, 2004). The adverse effect of the financial crisis on moods and overall feelings can be found in Markovits et al. work (2013) that underpins the fact that even those employees who remain in a company after a layoff period are very likely to show lower commitment due to fact that they identify with their colleagues who have been fired. Job stress, depression and lower productivity Lastly, the increasing uncertainty caused by the job crisis is also causing feelings of stress to employees, especially in women (Witkin, 2001). Research has underlined the strong correlation of job stress and job satisfaction (Cremlin and Biosir, 2009). This form of increased and continuous anxiety can lead individual employees to depression and lower productivity (Pliezer at al., 2007). Another cause for job-related stress is the fact that employees have more complex tasks to address. This happens especially due to the fact that 69

70 their companies downsize and they are given a heavier workload on top of their past job requirements (Wanan et al., 2003). Brockner et al. (1993) also argue that in general, stress levels rise pursuant a layoff period. On the other hand, this stress could also act as a motivation and increasing commitment to work for the particular company, as the employees, despite having lower job satisfaction, they feel that they are stuck with the company because they do not have alternative opportunities (Markovits, 2013). It appears that the individual is trying to balance out the gains and losses that arise from staying in or leaving the company as such a sacrifice may be too costly for them. In any case, their satisfaction decreases due to stressful feelings and the idea that they cannot take advantage of other occasional opportunities (conversely to the situation prior the crisis). However, apart from the feeling of organisational commitment out of necessity, the literature shows that the financial crisis does not present any significant effect on the employee s morale about staying in the organisation out of feelings of loyalty. These feelings are developed as social values outside the company and before the individual joins an organisation (Markovits, 2013). 5. HOW LEADERSHIP CAN COUNTERACT THE LOW JOB SATISFACTION LEVELS? Several studies have shown that the past leadership practices are not sufficient in the current financial environment. The downturn that has been affecting the economy since has put a lot of pressure on leaders who need to adopt a new kind of mindset in order to mitigate the negative effects of the crisis and to satisfy their human force (Elo, 2009). 5.1 Change of leadership style The transformational leader as a motivation role model Leadership style is studied to be a vital factor influencing employees job satisfaction. When leaders adopt the appropriate leadership style, they can affect employees feelings and beliefs as well as their commitment and performance (Voon et al., 2010). Timothy and Ronald (2004) have indicated that different leadership styles affect the workplace in different ways. More specifically, the transformational style of leadership affects positively satisfaction in the organizational environment (Felfe and Schyns, 2006). In his way towards a common outcome along with his followers (Northouse, 2010), the transformational leader acts as a role figure that has gained the respect of his followers/ employees. This particular concept of leadership is crucial in turbulent times, such as the current global financial crisis, when institutional reform is inevitable. Such times call for a leadership behaviour that will aid develop motivation and commitment from the side of the employees (Leithwood and Jantzi, 2000). In line with Leithwood and Jantzi, Litz and Litz (2009) argue that this type of leadership will help go through a fast paced and highly internationalized world, where economic downturns are bound to be global. This change has to be embraced by the leader who, by so doing, will inspire trust and feelings of deep respect to the employees (Brown, 2009). The work of many scholars has shown that the transformational leader focuses on introducing changes in the organizational environment and trying to motivate and engage his followers while, at the same time, is trying to cover their needs (Alsaeedi and Male, 2013). According to Franco et al. (2002), motivation in the professional environment is the eagerness of the individual to put effort in achieving goals that are common to them and the organisation. When motivation improves, so does the employees performance (Kok and Muula, 2013) and positive feelings are induced for their job. In order to satisfy employees, an effective leader should attempt to turn the chaotic situation into a productive zone of disequilibrium (Heifetz et al., 2009, p.5). In addition, a keen leader will be able to initiate innovative and entrepreneurial thinking, focusing on the need on employees to identify with the organisational goals and success. Employees need to feel that they are part of the organisation and that their ideas and values are accepted, something that makes them more willing to maintain their position in a company (Markovits et al., 2013). This way of thinking reflects on the cognitive need of the individual to belong in a team (Vandenberghe, 2009). 5.2 Change of leadership style The authentic leader as a genuine and transparent role model Another form of leadership style that has positive impact on employees is authentic leadership. An authentic leader is an individual who acts in his workplace the same way as he acts elsewhere; in other words he is genuine (George et al., 2007). This type of leader is self-aware of his strengths and weaknesses 70

71 and draws his leadership techniques from his own experiences and internal values (Avolio et al., 2004). He is also open to his followers about his thoughts and communicates effectively in order to motivate and empower them by being transparent and ethical at the same time (Avolio et al., 2004; Caldwell et al., 2008). To add to that, the authentic leader uses his intrinsic morale in order to inspire his followers and align their goals and achievements to those of his company. These competencies are argued to have a positive relation to employees performance (Peterson et al., 2012) and job satisfaction (Bamford et al., 2012) because they have a role model to look up to. 5.3 Shift to a more flexible organizational culture Furthermore, another concept that appears in the literature to be very important for the improvement of job satisfaction is organisational culture. The current, increasingly competitive environment calls for companies to invest in and develop their own organisational identity (Azanzaa and Moriano, 2013). An organisation s culture can change due to the circumstances and the leader is the person who can initiate such change successfully in order to enhance organisational performance. McKinnon et al. (2003) and Silverthorne (2004) argue that employees are more likely to be satisfied and happy in a more flexibilityoriented environment. This environment is more supportive towards the development of employees and by also promoting innovation, it creates better opportunities for the organisation in the competitive economy. Such a company is more appealing for employees who would rather work in this context than in a more control-based, hierarchical one (Azanzaa and Moriano, 2013). This is also studyed by Brown (2009) who argues that in poor economic conditions, it very important that a company has the ability to maintain its human capital. Employees with higher level of satisfaction will remain at their jobs and will be willing to work harder and be more loyal to the company. Especially through rewards, as it is backed by Voon et al. s research (2011), employees get more satisfaction from their working conditions. Moreover, an environment that promotes openness and high values acts as a motivation for higher performance and commitment (Wolf, 2009). When the leader empowers his followers and communicates his vision for the future by encompassing them in his decisions, he promotes creativity and he sets the foundations for adaptability to the harsh economic situations (Henri, 2006). 6. CONCLUSION The overall aim of the present work is to underline the relationship between economic conditions and job satisfaction. The consequences of the current financial crisis on work-related attitudes of employees were discussed in the first part and were found to be severe and potentially dangerous for the organization. It is obvious from the above that financial crisis affects employees and organization negatively and research have indicated that employees who are satisfied with their jobs are more likely to stay with their employers. Pacelli et al (2008) cited in (Chung et al 2010) also found a link between income security, measured as wages, and perceived job insecurity of individuals. One can argue that there is a positive side to the crisis s at least for the organization, In Norway for example the financial crisis and economic uncertainty led to more than a third of employees to be more loyal to their employers than ever before. This finding was revealed in the 2010 edition of a global workplace survey called the Kelly Global Workforce Index the survey revealed that 35% of Norwegian workers believed the financial crisis had made them more loyal to their employers. The impact of the financial crisis on employees cannot be tied into one neat bow as what constitute as job satisfaction has been known to be different for everyone, Erlinghagen discovered that individuals that classify their household financial situation as bad also fear for job loss, even when other individual characteristics are taken into account (Erlinghagen, 2008). He explains this relationship through by telling us the gravity of the situation for these individuals losing their job, therefore impacting how they see a job insecurity. Similarly, Anderson and Pontusson (2007) more or less echoed the same sentiment, but job satisfaction could also depend on their age, gender and the sector they work for. According to the Kelly global workforce The impact of economic uncertainty was greatest among older workers (aged years), among whom 38% said they had become more loyal compared with 36% of those aged years and 33% of those aged years. The above result is not surprising because with the significant drop in the stock market in late 2008, many older workers may need to continue working past retirement age because their retirement benefits are no 71

72 longer what they expected which means S defined benefit pensions are not likely to be available to Generation X employees by the time they leave the workforce, according to many predictions, hence this group will feel the need to be loyal more at the time of crisis s and their level of job satisfaction will be easier met than those of the young bracket. Historically most downturns have hit the least skilled the hardest, as employers hold on to workers with unique skills who would be expensive to replace but given that low-skilled and low-paid employees are mostly of the younger generation they will or have experienced a greater decline in income and more job insecurity which means their level of job satisfaction will be lower and harder to meet. Age and skill is not only the determinant of how economic recession will affect employee gender also play a role, the Cyprus Gender Equality Observatory (CGEO) reported that within a specific wage group, men feel more insecure than women. The sector one works for, also determines how employees have been affected by the financial crisis according to the WSI Institute survey most marked deterioration, measured in terms of employee responses, was in the metalworking industry, where this was indicated by 65% of respondents, 28% in financial services., chemicals (53%) especially hard hit. The reduction measures used include leaving vacancies unfilled, allowing fixed-term contracts to expire, and terminating the use of agency employees which meant that employees that were contract staff or temps were out of jobs and not likely to get a new one which entails that their job satisfaction will be low. This study suggests some ways that can solve the problem of low satisfaction levels. At first, leaders have to change their style of empowering employees in order to motivate them. Two leadership styles have arisen to be more effective in boosting job satisfaction; transformational and authentic leadership. The former promotes motivation and entrepreneurial thinking that make employees feel that they are part of the organization. The latter focuses on the values, transparency and authenticity of the leader who inspires morality and respect to his followers. The last concept that is introduced in this study is a more flexibilityoriented organizational structure which promotes a more supportive and innovative environment for employees to work in. Such employees, literature shows, are going to be more satisfied by their professional environment. REFERENCES Alsaeedi, F. and Male, T. (2013) Transformational Leadership and Globalization: Attitudes of School Principals in Kuwait. Educational Management Administration & Leadership. 41(5), Avolio, B. J., Gardner, W.L., Walumbwa, F.O., Luthans, F. and May, D.R. (2004) Unlocking The Mask: A look at The Process by Which Authentic Leaders Impact Follower Attitudes and Behaviors. The Leadership Quarterly. 15, Azanzaa, G. and Moriano, J.A. (2013) Authentic Leadership and Organizational Culture as Drivers of Employees Job Satisfaction. Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. 29, Aziri, B. (2011) Job Satisfaction: A Literature Review. Management Research and Practice. 3(4), Armstrong, M. (2006) A Handbook of Human resource Management Practice (10 th ed.) Kogan Page Publishing: London. Anderson, C. and Pontusson, J. (2007). Workers, worries and welfare states: Social protection and job insecurity in 15 OECD countries. European Journal of Political Research, 46(2), pp Bispinck, R. and Dribbusch, H. (2010). WSI Institute Report. Biswas, U. and Biswas, S. (2010). Organizational Health, Stress & Commitment during Global Financial Crisis. the indian journal of industrial relations, 46(1), pp Brigid van Wanrooy, e. (2011). Workplace Employment Relations Study. First Findings. Bamford, M., Wong, C.A. and Laschinger, H. (2012) The Influence of Authentic Leadership and Areas of Worklife on Work Engagement of Registered Nurses. Journal of Nursing Management. 21, Bell, D. N. F. and Blanchflower, D.G. (2011) The Crisis, Policy Reactions and Attitudes to Globalization and Jobs. In M. Bacchetta and M. Jansen (eds.), Making globalization socially sustainable Geneva: ILO & WTO. Brockner, J., Grover, S., O Malley, M.N., Reed, T.F. and Glynn, M.A. (1993) Threat of Future Layoffs, Self-esteem and Survivors reactions: Evidence From the Laboratory And the Field. Strategic Management Journal. 14, Brown, T. (2009) Leadership In Challenging Times. Business Strategy Review. Autumn 2009,

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77 FINANCIAL EFFECTIVENESS OF MUNICIPALITIES IN GREECE AND THE USE OF MODERN FINANCIAL TOOLS CHRISTOS L. PALLIS, Hellenic Open University PETROS L. PALLIS, University of Piraeus Abstract Municipalities are autonomous economic and administrative entities, with common actions and responsibilities. The primary aim of this survey is to investigate and observe phenomena and views related to issues concerning Greek municipalities, such as the financial problems they face and which is the funding scheme they prefer. The entire sample of municipalities in Greece has been separated into categories, based on the effectiveness of financial management and financial performance into effective and ineffective ones. In this study, we investigated the existence of differences between the characteristics of these two categories. The main objective is to investigate the views of Mayors in each Municipality as regards the influence of financial effectiveness on: (a) which is the most important source of finance, (b) which is the most important financial instrument and (c) which is the financing instrument that would prefer to use. Key words: Municipalities, Financial Effectiveness, Funding, Financial Tools, Empirical Investigation, Greece 1. Introduction Municipalities are autonomous economic and administrative entities, with common actions and responsibilities. On the other hand, all municipalities are quite different considering specific characteristics, such as geographic, demographic and economic. The aim of this research is to separate the entire sample of municipalities in Greece into categories, based on the effectiveness of financial management and financial performance into effective and ineffective ones. In this study, we investigated the views of Mayors in each Municipality as regards the influence of financial effectiveness on: (a) which is the most important source of finance, (b) which is the most important financial instrument and (c) which is the financing instrument that would prefer to use. The following chapter will present the methodology used, including a description of the sampling and data collection process, determination of the population, specification of the scope of the sample, definition of the sampling unit, etc. The third chapter will present the results of the methodology used, and the results of data analysis. Finally, the fourth chapter will set out the overall conclusions of the research. 2. Methodology This chapter presents the research methodology adopted in conducting this empirical project. More specifically, it includes: (a) the definition of population and the study sample, (b) the data collecting method, (c) the response to the survey and the characteristics of Municipalities participating, and (d) the process whereby the research tool used to collect data was created (structured questionnaire) and its analytical presentation. The process of choosing the sample and collecting data is complex and includes six stages (Stathakopoulos, 2001): Definition of population, Determination of the sampling frame, Definition of sampling unit, Determination of sample size, Implementation. From this process the total number of respondents that will participate in the survey emerges. The first and most important step in the primary data collection process is to define characteristics on the basis of which the population to be examined will be defined (Churchill and Iacobucci, 2002). The full definition of the population requires the inclusion of four basic parameters: the item, the sampling unit, the extent of the sampling and the time (Parasuraman et al., 2004). The item and sampling unit in this survey are defined as the Municipalities of Greece, the extent of sampling concerned the whole of the Greek state and the time it was conducted was from 10 June 2010 up to 30 September Communities in Greece were excluded from the population in the survey due to their small size and different needs in relation to the Municipalities. So in the end, the survey population was defined as being the 914 Greek Municipalities throughout the state, as recorded in the inventory of the National Statistical Service (2001). 77

78 The next step, after defining the population to be examined, is to locate a sampling frame which must be composed of the fullest and most accurate inventory possible of members of the population to be examined (Churchill and Iacobucci, 2002). The sampling frame used in this survey was the most recent inventory of the National Statistical Service (2001) which includes the census of the population of Greece based on geographical Districts, Prefectures, Municipalities and Communities. The sampling units were defined as being the Greek Municipalities. As regards the respondents from whom survey data was collected, the «key informant method» was used, meaning the person in the survey unit (Municipality of Greece) who had the greatest knowledge of the subject of the survey. This method reduces to a satisfactory degree any concerns regarding the reliability of answers given by respondents, as the respondent chosen in each unit is the best available person with knowledge of the data that must be collected through the survey (Kumar, Stern and Anderson, 1993). In this survey the key informant was chosen to be the Mayor in each Municipality examined. Sampling methods considerably affect the possibility of generalizing the results. In order that the results emerging in the sample might be generalized throughout the total population, a probability sample must be used (Kinnear and Taylor, 1996) in which each unit in the sample has an equal chance of being selected from the population. The safest way of producing a probability sample is the population census and the definition of the total census as a sample in the survey (Stathakopoulos, 2001). This method was followed in this survey, ensuring the generalization of results. As a result of the census method, the size of the sample coincides with the size of the population in the 914 municipalities recorded in the inventory of the National Statistical Service (2001). With reference to conducting the survey, the two following sub-paragraphs explain the method of contact with the respondents and the reasons they were finally chosen, as well as the results of the method. Completion and collection of questionnaires was carried out during the period from 10 June 2010 to 30 September 2010 in one phase with the use of self-completion questionnaires. The sample in the survey (which coincides with the population in the survey) is characterized by considerable heterogeneity, as it has been specified that it will be all the Municipalities in Greece. 3. Research Results and Data Analysis The method of collecting data that was used, in the end brought about the collection of questionnaires from 299 Municipalities out of the total of 914 that had been specified as the sample population. This result provides a response percentage of 33% which is considered quite satisfactory, on the basis of the method adopted (Kinnear and Taylor, 1996). As described in table 1 (Pallis and Pallis, 2013), the 299 Municipalities that responded to the survey represent the total population as there was good stratification and representation from all Prefectures in Greece with fairly satisfactory response percentages in each Prefecture. The Greek Municipalities that finally answered the questionnaire represent all the Municipalities in Greece as there was no Prefecture in which the individual response percentage was not satisfactory. Out of the 299 questionnaires collected, 41 were excluded from the analyses due to a large number of answers to questions that would have reduced the statistical reliability of the findings. Additionally in these 41 excluded questionnaires, cases were observed in which the respondents misinterpreted the hierarchical questions. In the end out of the 299 questionnaires 258 exploitable ones were taken into account in the survey (87%), a number which is statistically acceptable (eg. Kohli and Jaworski, 1990, Narver and Slater 1990, Ruekert, 1992). Table 1. Respondents per Prefecture Geographical Districts Prefectu res Municipalities Participation (number) Total Number of Municipalities 78 Respo nse Municip alities Participa tion (populati on) Total Populati on of Municip alities Attica Athens % % Respo nse Eastern % % Attica Western % %

79 Attica Piraeus % % Subtotal ,07 % ,24 % Rest of Central Greece and Euboea Etoloakar nania % ,81 % Boeotia % ,52 % Euboea % ,01 % Evrytania % ,13 % Fthiotida % ,91 % Fokida % ,46 % Subtotal ,74 % ,03 % Peloponnese Argolida % ,16 % Arcadia % ,66 % Achaia % ,59% Ilia % ,06% Corinthia % ,36 % Laconia % ,08 % Messinia % ,53 % Subtotal ,16 % ,84 % Ionian Islands Zakinthos % ,23 % Corfu % ,57 % Cefalonia % ,59 % Lefkada % ,35 % Subtotal ,36 % ,59 % Epirus Arta % ,07 % % ,12 % Thesproti a Ioannina % ,69 % Preveza % ,67 % Subtotal ,07 % ,23 % Thessaly Karditsa % ,27 % Larissa % ,66 % Magnesia % ,96 % 79

80 Trikala % ,68 % Subtotal ,25 % ,63 % Macedonia Grevena % ,99 % Drama % ,83 % Imathia % ,64 % Thessalo niki % ,91 % Kavala % ,66 % Kastoria % ,75 % Kilkis % ,02 % Kozani % ,42 % Pella % ,17 % Pieria % ,23 % Serres % ,88 % Florina % ,35 % Chalkidik i % ,51 % Subtotal ,31 % ,87 % Thrace Evros % ,55 % Xanthi % ,60 % Rodopi % ,86 % Subtotal ,48 % ,16 % Aegean Dodecane se % ,51 % Cyclades % ,53 % Lesvos % ,36 % Samos % ,54 % Chios % ,47% Subtotal ,75 % ,18 % Crete Iraklio % ,80 % Lassithi % ,23 % Rethymn on % ,60 % Chania % ,96 Subtotal ,47 % 80 % ,77 %

81 Total ,71 % Source: Pallis and Pallis, ,07 % 3.1 Division of sample into categories depending on financial performance This section of analysis aims to divide the entire sample into categories, based on financial management efficiency (efficient - inefficient municipalities). (Pallis and Pallis, 2014) Cluster analysis was used to separate the sample in groups. (Pallis and Pallis, 2014) This statistical analysis is a widely used method in various scientific fields, including biology, IT and marketing (Kinnear and Taylor, 1996). The aim is to explore the possibility of dividing the sample into clusters based on one or more characteristics (variables) (Kinnear and Taylor, 1996). In this research, three variables were used for the creation of clusters, which are: a municipality s borrowing capacity, flexibility in non-investing costs, and flexibility in investment costs. These three variables were considered to be the key dimensions of efficiency in financial management; therefore, their use is illustrative of efficiency. (Pallis and Pallis, 2014) The observations that resulted from sampling can indeed be divided into two groups on the basis of the three questions above. The first cluster includes 110 municipalities, while the second one includes 146 municipalities. The value for the first cluster centers (central observation) was 3 for all three variables, while the value for the second cluster centers was 2 for all three variables. Considering that the potential answers to the questions used ranged from 1: very good to 4: poor, the first cluster can be named Municipalities with inefficient financial management and the second cluster can be named Municipalities with efficient financial management. (Pallis and Pallis, 2014) 3.2 Descriptive measures of variables for municipalities with ineffective financial management Table 2. The Most Important Source of Funding Source of Funding Frequency Percentage % State subsidies Own revenue from state taxes and business activity Revenue yield from direct taxation Revenue yield from indirect taxation European funds Total Figure 1. The Most Important Source of Funding 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% The outcome of the analysis clearly indicates that the most important source of finance for municipalities with ineffective financial management are, for the majority of mayors, state subsidies (30% percent). A smaller percentage of mayors consider alternative sources to be more important. Specifically: 26% of the sample consider revenue from direct taxation to be most important, 18% own revenues from levies and their own business enterprise initiatives, and 15% give top ranking to European programs. The source of 81

82 finance characterized as the most important by the smallest number of mayors in this category of municipality, that is, 11%, was the revenues derived from indirect taxation. Table 3. Financial Instruments that Municipalities Use Financial Instrument Frequency Percentage % Local taxes 18 17% European programs 43 40% Bank loans 5 5% State loans 18 17% Leasing 7 7% PPP 8 7% Utilization of real estate assets 8 7% Total % Figure 2. Financial Instruments that Municipalities Use 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% The vast majority of mayors (40%) in municipalities with ineffective financial management replied to this question by stating that their most important financial instrument is European program funding. Responses giving top ranking to local taxation and lending from government bodies were fewer, though worth noting, given that 17% of mayors in charge of municipalities in this category ranked these sources as most important. All other forms of financing were judged to be the most fundamental by a much smaller percentage of respondents. It is worth noting that the three forms of borrowing were ranked as the most important instruments by 29% of mayors in this category, a significantly higher percentage than the corresponding percentage of the overall sample (21%). Diminished financial capacity is probably the reason that these municipalities rely to a greater extent on loan financing. Table 4. Financial Instruments that Municipalities Prefer to Use Financial Instrument Frequency Percentage % Local taxes 16 15% European programs 66 61% Bank loans 6 6% State loans 3 3% Leasing 1 1% PPP 2 2% Utilization of real estate assets 7 6% Municipal bond issue 7 6% Total % 82

83 Figure 3. Financial Instruments that Municipalities Prefer to Use 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% As observed in the previous table, European programs are the financing instrument which the vast majority of mayors (61%) of municipalities with ineffective financial management would prefer to use. 15% of mayors would prefer local taxation to all the other instruments, 6% bank borrowing, 3% exploitation of assets and issue of municipal bonds, 3% borrowing from government bodies, 2% public & private partnerships (PPPs) and only 1 mayor (1%) favored leasing. These results are not very different from the corresponding results for the overall sample. This fact gives an indication that for the specific variable the factor effective financial management is a differentiating parameter. 3.3 Descriptive measures of variables for municipalities with effective financial management Table 5. The Most Important Source of Funding Source of Funding Frequency Percentage % State subsidies 40 28% Own revenue from state taxes and business activity 35 24% Revenue yield from direct taxation 35 24% Revenue yield from indirect taxation 16 11% European funds 17 12% Total % Figure 4. The Most Important Source of Funding 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% According to the outcomes of the analysis, the source of finance judged to be most important by the majority of mayors in municipalities with effective financial management, i.e. 28%, is state subsidies. Fewer Mayors in this category consider own revenues from levies and business activities (24%), or collection of revenue from direct taxation (24%) as being the most significant sources. Lastly, the sources of finance which were characterized as the most important by fewer mayors in this category of municipality are European programs (12%), and revenues from indirect taxation at 11%. 83

84 Table 6. Financial Instruments that Municipalities Use Financial Instrument Frequency Percentage % Local taxes 32 24% European programs 66 49% Bank loans 6 4% State loans 6 4% Leasing 8 6% PPP 6 4% Utilization of real estate assets 12 9% Total % Figure 5. Financial Instruments that Municipalities Use 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Χρημοτοδοτικά Εργαλεία In response to this question, the majority of mayors (49%) in municipalities with effective financial management said that their most important financial instrument was European program funding. A significantly large number of participants in this category (24%) ranked local taxation first. All other forms of financing were judged to be the most fundamental by a much smaller percentage of respondents. The differences between the percentages of the two groups of municipalities for all three forms of borrowing (borrowing from government agencies, bank borrowing, leasing) is of particular interest. The sum of the three percentages for the first group of municipalities is 29%, whereas for the second group it is 14%. Table 7. Financial Instruments that Municipalities Prefer to Use Financial Instrument Frequency Percentage % Local taxes 12 8% European programs 90 63% Bank loans 10 7% State loans 0 0% Leasing 3 2% PPP 6 4% Utilization of real estate assets 16 11% Municipal bond issue 7 5% Total % 84

85 Figure 6. Financial Instruments that Municipalities Prefer to Use 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% With regard to the previous question, the results indicate that the financing instrument which the vast majority of mayors (63%) of municipalities with effective financial management would prefer is European program funding. Moreover, 11% of mayors in this category would prefer to use the exploitation of municipal assets, 7% bank borrowing, 8% local taxation, whereas other financing instruments were ranked first by only a very small percentage of the respondents. 4. Conclusions This research attempted to divide the entire sample into categories, based on the efficiency of financial management (efficient - inefficient municipalities). Cluster analysis was used to separate the sample in groups. Three variables were used to create the clusters in this research: a municipality s borrowing capacity, flexibility in non-investing costs, and flexibility in investing costs. As shown, the municipalities were divided into two clusters, based on the three questions above. The first cluster includes 110 municipalities (Municipalities with inefficient financial management) and the second cluster includes 146 (Municipalities with efficient financial management). In this study, we investigated the existence of differences between the characteristics of these two categories. The main objective is to investigate the three mentioned questions regarding the use of modern financial tools by Greek municipalities. The outcome of the analysis clearly indicates that the most important source of finance for municipalities with effective and ineffective financial management are, for the majority of mayors, state subsidies (28% & 30% percent respectively). Responses to the specific question are not differentiated between the two groups of municipalities. Therefore the sources from which financial resources are drawn do not affect the effectiveness of financial management. On the other hand, the vast majority of mayors (40%) in municipalities with ineffective financial management replied to the question by stating that their most important financial instrument is European program funding. In response to the same question, the majority of mayors (49%) in municipalities with effective financial management said that their most important financial instrument was European program funding. The differences between the percentages of the two groups of municipalities for all three forms of borrowing (borrowing from government agencies, bank borrowing, leasing) is of particular interest. The sum of the three percentages for the first group of municipalities is 29%, whereas for the second group it is 14%. Therefore, the observation made in the corresponding section of the previous chapter, namely that municipalities with ineffective financial management rely to a greater extent on loan financing, which, in turn, makes their financial situation more difficult, is confirmed. As observed from the answers of the third question, European programs are the financing instrument which the vast majority of mayors (61%) of municipalities with ineffective financial management would prefer to use. These results are not very different from the corresponding results for the overall sample. This fact gives an indication that for the specific variable the factor effective financial management is a differentiating parameter. With regard to the same question, the results indicate that the financing instrument which the vast majority of mayors (63%) of municipalities with effective financial management 85

86 would prefer is European program funding. The results are slightly different from those of the first category, but the differences are small. Thus, it can theorized that municipal financial performance does not affect the extent to which mayors may wish to use any particular financial instrument. References Churchill, G., & Iacobucci, D. (2002). Marketing research, methodological foundations (8th ed.). London: Harcourt Publishing. Hooley, G., Lynch, J. and Shepherd, J. (1990). The marketing concept: putting the theory into practice, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 24 No. 9, pp: 7-25 Kinnear, Τ., and Taylor J., (1996). Marketing Research, an applied approach, McGraw and Hill, Inc Kohli, A. and Jaworski, B. (1990). Market Orientation: The Construct, Research Propositions and Managerial Implications, Marketing Science Institute, Report no , Cambridge, Massachusetts Kumar, N., Stern, L., & Anderson, J. C. (1993). Conducting interorganizational research using key informants. Academy of Management Journal, 36(6), Narver, J., C., and Slater, S., F. (1990). "The effect of a market orientation on business profitability, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54, October, pp: Pallis, L. C., & Pallis, L. P. (2013). Analysis of key obstacles and problems faced by municipalities and their citizens: An empirical investigation in the municipalities of Greece. International Journal of Economics and Business Administration, 1(2), Pallis Christos & Pallis Petros (2014). Separating Municipalities regarding their Financial Performance & Financial Management: An Empirical Investigation of the municipalities in Greece. International Scientific Conference era - 9, Athens, Greece. September 2014 Parasuraman, A., Grewal, D., & Krishnan, R. (2004). Marketing research. New York: Houghton Mifflin. Ruekert, R., W. (1992). Developing a market orientation: An organizational strategy perspective, International Journal of Research in Marketing, vol.9 pp: Stathakopoulos, B. (2001). Market Research Methodologies. Mpenou Publications, Athens, Greece (In Greek) 86

87 HUMAN CAPITAL AND PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION FROM EMPLOYEES AND SENIOR MANAGERS PERSPECTIVE DESPOINA ISYCHOU, Hellenic Open University PANOS CHOUNTALAS, Hellenic Open University ANASTASIOS MAGOUTAS, Hellenic Open University IRENE FAFALIOU, University of Piraeus Abstract Human capital is often considered as one of the most fundamental requirements for high organizational performance, whereas key driver for the achievement of higher levels of employees' productivity is considered the employment of a suitable performance appraisal system. Based on this perspective, we assume that every organization needs to establish an effective appraisal system which will be sufficient to facilitate employees continuous development. This is especially relevant for public sector organizations that in some countries implement fundamentally flawed performance appraisal systems. On the verge of the transition from the bureaucratic to the new public management model, the organizational units of the public sector seem to have an excellent opportunity to redesign their key processes, including human capital appraisal forms. This paper explores the context and role of a few critical human capital practices, which are mainly related to employees self-evaluation and performance appraisal, and are currently implemented in the Greek public sector. To attain our goal, an empirical investigation was conducted via a questionnaire survey to specifically determine whether self-evaluation and appraisal problems exist, in particular in terms of objectivity, consistency, adequacy, and credibility. The questionnaires were addressed both to employees and senior managers. The empirical results obtained, highlight some core problems that the public sector faces, with regard to existing self-evaluation systems and appraisal practices. These, among others, include the following: a lack of objectivity both in employees selfevaluation and in their appraisals assessed by the senior managers; inconsistencies between the way the public servants perceive the range and quality of their merits and those included in their job description; mistrust and lack of reliability on employees evaluation reports and selection criteria. Finally, some policy reformations are proposed to cope with these problems. Keywords: public sector; performance appraisal system; employees' self-evaluation. 1. INTRODUCTION Traditional public administration, still being applied in Greece, is a centralized, hierarchical model of public services. Administrative rules are determined by the central government and implemented by all public organizations, the latter having relatively little potential for choosing strategies at a local level (Bach and Della Rocca, 2000). In this context, organizational success in the public sector presents as a major challenge. It seems that superior organizational performance is only accomplished when employees try hard enough to exceed themselves on behalf of the organization (Guest, 1997; Purcell, 1999; Armstrong, 2006). In other words, results can only be achieved due to the responsible work of employees (Pfeffer and Veiga, 1999). Thus, organizational success strongly depends on people s knowledge, skills, and abilities. As Schuler and Macmillan (1984) claim, organizations that can acquire and use valuable and scarce resources, including human, have an advantage in meeting this challenge. Collins & Clark (2003) argue that there is a powerful link between how people are managed and organizational performance. Thus, the choice of appropriate human capital practices and their subsequent effective implementation can only make a substantial impact on any organizational performance. Human capital practices like employee selection procedures, performance appraisals, rewards and benefits, employee training, and development, often have a direct effect on organizational productivity and performance. Schuler and Macmillan (1984) contribute to this aspect, supporting that effective human 87

88 capital management results in an increasing ability to attract and retain qualified employees. Having the right employees motivated to over-perform would result in greater profitability, lower employee turnover, higher product quality, lower production costs, and a more accurate implementation of organizational strategy. Human capital practices are the primary choice of any organization to influence and shape the skills, attitudes, and behavior of employees in order to do their work and, thus, achieve organizational goals (Collins and Clark, 2003; Martinsons, 1995). In this direction, the redefinition of human capital, especially in the public sector, can lead to the successful response of local governments to the new organizational reality and enhance the effectiveness of both the services provided to people and the growth of the local community. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the context and role of a few critical human capital practices, mostly related to employees' self-evaluation and performance appraisal in the public sector. To attain our goal, an empirical investigation was conducted via a questionnaire survey to specifically determine whether self-evaluation and appraisal problems are present, in particular in terms of objectivity, consistency, adequacy, and credibility. The issue at hand was examined from both employees' and senior managers' perspective. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows: Sections 2 and 3 provide a brief review on human capital and performance appraisal literature respectively; Section 4 outlines the research methodology; Section 5 presents the research results; and Section 6 summarizes the main conclusions of the study. 2. HUMAN CAPITAL Human capital is one of the major components of the intellectual capital (i.e. the intangible assets and resources of an organization), others being customer capital, structural capital, and innovation capital (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997; Roos et al., 1997; Sveiby, 1997; Stewart, 1997; Chen et al., 2004; Tseng and Goo, 2005). Human capital is represented by the company s employees individual knowledge asset (Bontis et al., 2000) and has long been argued as a critical resource in most firms (Pfeffer, 1995). Human capital has been thoroughly defined by Edvinsson and Malone (1997) as the combined knowledge, skill, creativity and individual capability of the employees, used for the duty accomplishment, as people are those resources that can learn, change, innovate, and provide creativity in such a way that, if properly motivated, are able to ensure competitive advantage and survival of the organization. Human capital attributes such as education, experience and skills, especially when they are characteristics of top senior officers, are suggested by research that affect firm outcomes (Pennings et al., 1998; Finkelstein & Hambrick, 1996; Huselid, 1995; Wright et al., 1995). In this context, two classifications of knowledge are proposed: articulable and tacit (Polanyi, 1967; Lane & Lubatkin, 1998). Articulable knowledge can be systematically coded in a way that enables this knowledge to be written and easily transferred (Liebeskind, 1996). Tacit knowledge, on the other hand, cannot be easily transferred (Teece et al., 1997). Most of the times, tacit knowledge is embedded in uncodified routines and the social context within the organization is set (Liebeskind, 1996). Tacit knowledge may include the individual skills and the collaborative working relationships within the organization (Szulanski, 1996; Nelson & Winter, 1982). Maister (1993) supports that tacit knowledge is integral to professional skills. This makes it unique, and difficult to imitate (Mowery et al., 1996). The probability of creating strategic value through tacit knowledge is much higher (Lane & Lubatkin, 1998). The educational degree that an employee may possess is a value that holds throughout his/her professional career (D Aveni & Kesner, 1993). The development of managerial skills such as leadership, decision making, allocation of resources, the ability to resolve conflicts and process information, in addition to making relationships with subordinates, peers, superiors and clients are really individual skills and, although they can be taught, they cannot be transferred (Harris & Helfat, 1997; Mintzberg, 1973). Recent scholars have argued in favor of the importance of human capital contribution on organization's outcomes (Lepak & Snell, 1999; Sherer, 1995; Pfeffer, 1995; Barney & Zajac, 1994). According to the results, an organization's strategy is strongly 88

89 affected by the human capital that the organization owns, but this relationship is more complex than originally assumed (for an in depth discussion, see Hitt et al., 2001). 3. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL Performance management, according to Mullins (1999), refers to a continuous judgment on employees behavior and performance. It is essential for employees to know exactly what is expected of them, and the way their performance is to be measured. A well-designed appraisal system enables a reliable evaluation, highlighting the potentials, identifying the training and development needs, the financial rewards, and career progression. An effective appraisal scheme can offer the opportunity of future performance amplification. It has become widely accepted that the evaluation of human resources is a necessary condition for the Public Administration s effective function. Through continuous evaluation, the management is able to collect those data necessary for defining priorities, formulating the necessary policies, adopting specific proposals and, then, taking corrective actions to continuously upgrade the quality of work produced, and the potentials of administration. The application of advanced administrative theories (i.e. New Public Management, Public Governance etc.) and best management practices demarcate the transition from the bureaucratic public administration to an effective, flexible and extrovert public management (Boyle, 2006). In order to make the upcoming administrative change possible, it has become clear that it would be extremely useful to implement an effective system of measurement and management of performance (Pidd, 2012). However it should be noted that the actions of the public sector cannot be attributed solely to monetary terms, due to its multidimensional mission (social, political, economic development and other). Therefore, the recording and analysis of administrative efficiency is necessary, aiming at the continuous improvement of the existing level of service and the employees' skills (Behn, 2003). Each human resources evaluation system should be based on a carefully designed scorecard system and performance management through specific targets (Kreitner, 2009). Under this administrative viewpoint, which is based on the core principles of management science, the evaluation of public sector employees should be determined by one or more realistic and workable objectives and performance measurement. Also closely related to performance appraisal are the issues of employee selection and rewards. Huselid (1995) notes that when recruitment procedures are successfully joined with a reliable selection regime, they can provide a substantial influence over all employees. Armstrong (2006) supports that reward and benefits management is about rewarding people fairly and equitably in consistence to the value of the organization so as to assist the organization to achieve its strategic goals. Both employee selection and rewards are enabled by an effective appraisal system. 4. RESEARCH METHOD This section provides a comprehensive view of how this study was carried out. Research method and measures used for the questionnaires development are presented. The data analysis of the respondent population is also described. The main purpose of this paper is to identify existing problems in employees self-evaluation and performance appraisal practices as they are currently implemented in the Greek public sector. The research method that was decided to be used for the analysis of this study is empirical investigation through questionnaire survey. Questionnaires assist in gathering information for further analyses as all respondents face the same standardized questions and format. This kind of measurement is accurate and guarantees the collection of comparable data. A combination of the descriptive research method (to accurately portray the characteristics of relevant groups) and the statistical hypothesis testing was used. 89

90 Two questionnaires were developed, in order to obtain information of the public sector s serving personnel s point of view on human capital, performance appraisal, and the reactions to the current Evaluation Law enforced in the Greek public sector. The first questionnaire was addressed to employees, and the focus was put on self-evaluation questions. The second questionnaire, with the exact same questions, was addressed to senior managers. However, the focus for senior managers was put on evaluating their subordinates. The questionnaires consist of the following three parts: 1. Demographics (i.e. gender, age, level of education, previous working experience in the Local Authorities and/or the private sector); 2. Human capital attributes evaluation; 3. Performance appraisal and Evaluation Law enforcement. In order to gather the information needed for the human capital attributes evaluation, Standard Questionnaire Intellectual Capital (Bontis, 1998) was used on: (i) self-evaluation of certain characteristics from the employees point of view (i.e. how they evaluated their own skills, abilities, knowledge, and efficiencies), and (ii) appraisal of the same characteristics from the senior managers point of view (i.e. how they evaluated the same traits of their subordinates). This approach allows for direct comparison between self-evaluation and third party appraisal scores. This measure consists of 12 items, and in the present study the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was very high (>0.86). The rest of the questions, regarding the existence of inadequate serving personnel, the existing evaluation problems, as well as the reactions to the current Evaluation Law, were common across the two questionnaires and chosen after literature review and extensive discussions with the Local Authorities serving personnel. The main part of the questionnaire consists of structured questions giving the respondent multiple choice selections, mainly by a 5-point scale. Also, unstructured open-ended questions were used in order for the respondents to answer in their own words, ideas, standpoints or opinions. The questions were developed on the basis of clarity and easy understanding. A pre-test was used to both categories of respondents. Data were gathered through questionnaires, which were electronically distributed to Local Authorities in the region of Central Macedonia, Greece. A total of 182 questionnaires from employees and 83 from senior managers were gathered. However, 4 questionnaires from employees were eliminated, due to their poor completion. The majority of the respondents were women (61%), as they appeared more willing to participate in the research than men. The overwhelming majority of the employees (86%) and senior managers (95%) were between the ages of years. In addition, a relatively large number of the participants held a master or a PhD (19% of employees; 35% of senior managers) and a bachelor degree (48% of employees; 62% of senior managers). Another fact worth mentioned is that almost 40% of employees and 20% of senior managers had over 5 years of experience in the private sector. 5. RESULTS This section presents the results of the empirical survey as follows: Comparison between self-evaluation and third-party appraisal scores Employees' demographic factors effect on their self-evaluation scores Senior managers' demographic factors effect on the appraisal scores given to their employees Matching between personal merits and job description Employees' role in appraisal processes Evaluating the evaluation reports Evaluating the criteria for selecting or positioning personnel Evaluating the current Evaluation Law 90

91 5.1 Comparison between self-evaluation and third party appraisal scores One part of both questionnaires deals with human capital, as it is self-evaluated by employees in contrast to their supervisors appraisal. More specifically, employees were asked to evaluate the prevalence of 12 items (obtained from the Standard Questionnaire Intellectual Capital) by representing their own skills and abilities on a 5-point scale. Senior managers responded to the same items, evaluating the traits of their employees. The following research hypothesis was formulated, in order to examine the possible gap between self-evaluation and third party appraisal scores: H 1 (accepted) Human capital attributes are not equally evaluated by employees (self-evaluation) and senior managers (evaluation of employees). The above hypothesis was examined for employees (n=178, m=4.06) and senior managers (n=83, m=3.62) using the independent samples t-test. The test results in the rejection of the null hypothesis at a 99% level of significance (t=6.219; p<0.01). This means that employees evaluate their skills and abilities much higher than these characteristics are evaluated by their senior managers. This result confirmed a gap between employees' self-evaluation and the way these traits are evaluated by senior managers. This could originate from employees inability to evaluate their skills clearly, thus thinking higher of theirselves. It could be also possible that senior managers do not evaluate their subordinates properly. Either reasoning leads to the fact of an objectivity and consistency problem between self-evaluation and third-party appraisal. As shown in Figure 1, most of the individual items examined present significant gaps, the highest of which are found on: Share knowledge, experience and information Respond positively to the needs of colleagues Carry out organizational tasks successfully On the contrary, no significant gaps are present on: Participation on training programs Skills and abilities have positive effect on department The responses on the comparison between self-evaluation and third party appraisal scores are shown in Figure 1. Statistical differences are also provided for each individual item and in total (independent samples t-test). 91

92 Figure 1: Employees' self-evaluation and senior managers' appraisal of employees 5.2 Employees' demographic factors effect on their self-evaluation scores Next, we examine some research hypotheses regarding the employees' demographic factors that possibly affect their self-evaluation scores. H 2.1 (not accepted) Employees' gender affects their self-evaluation scores. To test this hypothesis, independent samples t-test was used. The test does not result in the rejection of the null hypothesis (t=0.410; p>0.05). The meaning of this result is that men do not differ from women in their self-evaluation scores. Men appear to evaluate themselves higher than women (t=2.860; p<0.01) only on the "Suggest sufficient changes" item. H 2.2 (not accepted) Employees' age affects their self-evaluation scores. To test this hypothesis, one-way ANOVA was used. The test does not result in the rejection of the null hypothesis (F=1.599; p>0.05). The meaning of this result is that older employees do not differ from younger ones in their self-evaluation scores. Older employees seem to evaluate themselves higher than younger ones (F=2.945; p<0.05) only on the "Put priorities effectively" item. 92

93 H 2.3 (accepted) Employees' educational level affects their self-evaluation scores. To test this hypothesis, one-way ANOVA was used. The test results in the rejection of the null hypothesis at a 95% level of significance (F=3.040; p<0.05). The meaning of this result is that employees of lower educational level generally evaluated their own traits higher than employees of higher educational level. Thus, well-educated employees might be stricter to themselves on self-evaluation. This applies to most individual items. However, it is interesting to note that the well-educated employees appear to evaluate two individual items higher than employees of lower educational level, namely: Skills and abilities have a positive effect on the department (F=3.481; p<0.05). Participation in training programs (F=3.649; p<0.05). H 2.4 (accepted) Employees' previous experience in the Local Authorities affects their self-evaluation scores. To test this hypothesis, one-way ANOVA was used. The test results in the rejection of the null hypothesis at a 95% level of significance (F=3.145; p<0.05). The meaning of this result is that employees with more previous experience in Local Authorities evaluated their own traits higher than employees with less experience. Thus, it seems that the longer they serve, the higher is the self-evaluation score recorded. This is particularly evident on two individual items: Suggest sufficient changes (F=4.823; p<0.01) Knowledge of the procedures (F=7.118; p<0.01) H 2.5 (not accepted) Employees' previous experience in the private sector affects their self-evaluation scores. To test this hypothesis, one-way ANOVA was used. The test does not result in the rejection of the null hypothesis (F=0.387; p>0.05). The meaning of this result is that employees with more previous experience in the private sector do not generally differ in their self-evaluation scores from employees with less or no experience in the private sector. However, the former seem to evaluate their "Skills and abilities (that) have positive effect on department" lower (F=3.155; p<0.05) than the latter. This is an interesting result, requiring further investigation in future research. The abovementioned results are summarized on Table 1. Table 1: Employees' demographic factors effect on their self-evaluation scores H Demographic Factor Test Η A acceptance H 2.1 Gender Ind. samples t-test H 2.2 Age One-way ANOVA H 2.3 Educational level One-way ANOVA H 2.4 Previous experience in Local Authorities One-way ANOVA H 2.5 Previous experience in private sector One-way ANOVA : H A accepted (p<0.05); : H A not accepted (p>0.05) 5.3 Senior managers' demographic factors effect on the appraisal scores given to their employees Next, we examine some research hypotheses regarding the senior managers' demographic factors that possibly affect the appraisal scores given to their employees. 93

94 H 3.1 (not accepted) Senior managers' gender affects the appraisal scores given to their employees. To test this hypothesis, independent samples t-test was used. The test does not result in the rejection of the null hypothesis (t= 0.213; p>0.05). The meaning of this result is that men do not differ from women in the appraisal scores given to their employees. Men appear stricter than women (t=2.860; p<0.01) only on the "Competence development at ideal level" item. H 3.2 (not accepted) Senior managers' age affects the appraisal scores given to their employees. To test this hypothesis, one-way ANOVA was used. The test does not result in the rejection of the null hypothesis (F=1.973; p>0.05). The meaning of this result is that older senior managers do not differ from younger ones in the appraisal scores given to their employees. H 3.3 (not accepted) Senior managers' educational level affects the appraisal scores given to their employees. To test this hypothesis, one-way ANOVA was used. The test does not result in the rejection of the null hypothesis (F=1.125; p>0.05). The meaning of this result is that senior managers of lower educational level do not differ from senior managers of higher educational level in the appraisal scores given to their employees. Well-educated senior managers appear stricter than senior managers of lower educational level (F=2.945; p<0.05) only on the "Share knowledge, experience and information" item. H 3.4 (not accepted) Senior managers' previous experience in Local Authorities affects the appraisal scores given to their employees. To test this hypothesis, one-way ANOVA was used. The test does not result in the rejection of the null hypothesis (F=0.171; p>0.05). The meaning of this result is that senior managers with more previous experience in Local Authorities do not differ from senior managers with less experience, in the appraisal scores given to their employees. The less experienced senior managers appear stricter than the more experienced ones (F=3.012; p<0.05) only on the "Feel proud of department s efficiency" item. H 3.5 (accepted) Senior managers' previous experience in the private sector affects the appraisal scores given to their employees. To test this hypothesis, one-way ANOVA was used. The test results in the rejection of the null hypothesis at a 95% level of significance (F=3.458; p<0.05). The meaning of this result is that senior managers with more previous experience in the private sector appear stricter than senior managers with less or no experience in the private sector. This is particularly evident on two individual items: Cope with the duties, obligations (F=4.346; p<0.01) Participation in training programs (F=4.275; p<0.01) The abovementioned results are summarized on Table 2. 94

95 Table 2: Senior managers' demographic factors effect on the appraisal scores given to their employees H Demographic Factor Test Η A acceptance H 3.1 Gender Ind. samples t-test H 3.2 Age One-way ANOVA H 3.3 Educational level One-way ANOVA H 3.4 Previous experience in Local Authorities One-way ANOVA H 3.5 Previous experience in private sector One-way ANOVA : H A accepted (p<0.05); : H A not accepted (p>0.05) 5.4 Matching between personal merits and job description A part of the survey was focused on employees perceptions of how they evaluate their own merits in relation to those required by their job description. The following research hypothesis was formulated, in order to examine this matching: H 4 (accepted) The matching between personal merits and those required by job description is not equally perceived by employees and senior managers. The results showed that over 50% of the employees consider their merits as higher or much higher in comparison with their job description requirements. On the contrary, most senior managers think that their job description matches their merits. Thus, the gap between employees' merits and those required by their job description is larger than the senior managers'. This difference is significant at the 99% level (t= 2.702; p<0.01). As far as the demographic factors that possibly affect this gap are concerned, the following can be obtained from the research results: the employees' gap is larger for men (t= 4.617; p<0.01), well-educated (F=6.207; p<0.01), less experienced in the Local Authorities (F=3.127; p<0.05), and more experienced in the private sector (F=3.127; p<0.05). Age (F=1.400; p>0.05) does not seem to affect the gap. The senior managers' gap does not seem to be affected by any of the demographic factors. 5.5 Employees' role in appraisal processes The role of employees is also examined, in terms of their participation in the evaluation of their (i) senior manager and (ii) colleagues. Two research hypotheses were formulated respectively, as presented below. H 5.1 (not accepted) The participation of employees in the appraisal of their senior manager is not equally perceived by employees and senior managers. The above hypothesis was examined for employees (n=177, m=4.42) and senior managers (n=83, m=4.33) using the independent samples t-test. The test does not result in the rejection of the null hypothesis (t=0.942; p>0.05). This means that both employees and senior managers strongly agree that the former should participate in the appraisal of the latter. H 5.2 (not accepted) The participation of employees in the appraisal of their colleagues is not equally perceived by employees and senior 95

96 managers. The above hypothesis was examined for employees (n=178, m=3.58) and senior managers (n=81, m=3.67) using the independent samples t-test. The test does not result in the rejection of the null hypothesis (t= 0.492; p>0.05). This means that both employees and senior managers agree that the former should participate in the appraisal of their colleagues. 5.6 Evaluating the evaluation reports The value of evaluation reports currently in use by the Greek public sector is also addressed in the survey. Figure 2 presents the perceptions of employees and senior managers on the information the reports actually show. Figure 2: The information actually shown by evaluation reports Firstly, it is obvious that the reports fail to meet their main objective, i.e. to evaluate employees' performance, as both employees and senior managers agree (t=0.757; p>0.05). Employees mostly believe these reports actually show the supervisors' favoritism to certain employees. On the other hand, senior managers mostly believe the reports are indicative of their good intention to avoid conflicts with employees. In either case, it is a common belief that the evaluation reports, as used to date, are of very limited practical use. 5.7 Evaluating the criteria for selecting or positioning personnel The perceptions of employees and senior managers on the actual criteria used in the Greek public sector for selecting or positioning personnel are presented in Figure 3. 96

97 Figure 3: The actual criteria used for selecting or positioning personnel The survey results indicate that decisions on selecting and positioning public sector personnel are mostly based on meritocratic criteria. This belief is more profound among senior managers than employees, regarding skills and academic qualifications (t= 3.881; p<0.01), and service board points awarded (t= 3.753; p<0.01). However, favoritism also plays a significant role in the decision, especially from the employees' perspective, as they may feel that they are held back due to injustice. On the other hand, it is obvious that senior managers do not share this belief, probably because they have already been selected for a higher rank. The differences in their answers are indicative of their perceptions: Political favoritism (t=3.078; p<0.01) Mayor's environment favoritism (t=2.508; p<0.05) In-department favoritism (t=3.753; p<0.01) 5.8 Evaluating the current Evaluation Law The perceptions of employees and senior managers on the actual role of the current Evaluation Law enforced in the Greek public sector are presented in Figure 4. 97

98 Figure 4: The actual role of the existing Evaluation Law Both employees and senior managers unanimously stated that the current Evaluation Law does not lead to a better utilization of the existing personnel as it should. On the contrary, it seems that its actual role is anything but an effective appraisal system. Thus, the fear of redundancy due to the application of the Evaluation Law is pervasive in the public sector, especially for older (F=3.682; p<0.05) and female employees (t= 2.995; p<0.01). Under these circumstances, its failure is certain. 6. CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION Today, it is evident, particularly in traditional public administration, that when mismanagement in employee appraisal appears, a lack in achieving goals also emerges. It is something of a hindrance, undermining performance and demotivating individuals. The findings of this paper provide an interesting insight into the role of some critical human capital practices, mostly related to employee self-evaluation and performance appraisal, in the public sector and particularly in Local Authorities. Both employees and senior managers' perceptions were examined separately, or in comparison with each other. A first significant finding is the differences emerged regarding the assessment of human capital attributes, between employees evaluating themselves and senior managers evaluating their subordinates. More specifically, employees seem to evaluate their own skills, abilities, knowledge, and efficiencies much higher than their senior managers would evaluate them. This result confirmed an evident gap between employees' self-evaluation and their appraisals assessed by the senior managers. This could originate from employees inability to evaluate their own characteristics objectively, thus thinking higher of theirselves. More specifically, employees of lower levels of education evaluate their own skills higher than others. The same applies to employees serving longer time in Local Authorities. Another possibility is that senior managers do not appreciate their subordinates objectively. Senior managers evaluation of their subordinates' traits seem to be particularly influenced by their previous experience in the private sector, since those with over 5 years of experience seem to be stricter than the rest. Either reasoning leads to the conclusion that a problem of appraisal exists, in terms of consistency and objectivity. Regarding the issue of self-evaluation of qualifications in relation to present job description, the senior managers answered that their merits are roughly equivalent to the needs of their position. However, the employees appear rather disappointed, since their job description did not come close to their perceived qualifications. This gap was greater for men, employees of higher educational level, and employees with some private sector experience. The latter feel that their abilities were rather wasted on a public sector job position, most certainly in comparison with their private sector experience. 98

99 In the crucial issue of whether subordinates opinion should be taken into consideration during their senior manager s appraisal, the answers were shaped positively from both sides. Thus, both employees and senior managers strongly believe that when senior managers are to be evaluated, the opinion of their subordinates should count as well. The evaluation among co-workers was also rated positively but in a lower degree. In an effort to examine the serving personnel s viewpoint on the evaluation reports already used in the public sector, it seems that these reports do not actually show the performance of each employee. Employees tend to believe that these reports show the supervisor s favoritism. The senior managers regard the reports' results as more indicative of their intention not to come into ruptures with their subordinates. The answers on the criteria in use for selecting or positioning personnel in Local Authorities varied among the responders. Senior managers consider the selection processes as quite fair, based on academic qualifications, skills, previous working experience, and award points of the Service Board. On the other hand, employees seem more skeptical, since they believe that the selection processes are also frequently based on political criteria, such as favoritism from the Mayor s environment. On the basis of the latter results, it can be stated that a serious credibility problem in Local Authorities selection processes exists. Additionally, in an effort to examine whether the current, enforced by the Greek government, Evaluation Law addresses possible challenges in appraisal processes adequately, the results showed that both employees and senior managers share quite the same opinion: the Law enforcement is definitely not about solving the existing problems and rather aims to create a pool staff for redundancy. Factors affecting these answers were age and gender (i.e. the fear of the Evaluation Law enforcement is higher to the older employees and women). Overall, this paper highlighted a number of critical issues the Greek public sector is confronted with, regarding the existing evaluation and appraisal practices. The abovementioned issues seem not to be addressed by the existing Evaluation Law, thus a lot more needs to be done in this field in the future. First, the government should ensure that the appraisal system to be implemented is objective, useful, feasible, reliable and intelligible, so as to be generally accepted by the public sector employees. It should also be conducted by appropriately trained and experienced personnel. Furthermore, it should be based on specific objectives and aim at the collective and individual improvement rather than in punishment and redundancy. Finally, it should be noted that the appraisal system should not be seen in a fragmented way but as a part of a wider upgrade of the public sector management system, as a whole. All the above issues could be practically addressed in future research. REFERENCES Armstrong, M. (2006) A handbook of management techniques: A comprehensive guide to achieving managerial excellence & improved decision making. Kogan Page Publishers, London. Bach, S. and Della Rocca, G. (2000) The management strategies of public service employers in Europe. Industrial Relations Journal, 31(2): Barney, J.B. and Zajac, E.J. (1994) Competitive organizational behavior: Toward an organizationally-based theory of competitive advantage. Strategic Management Journal, 15: 5-9. Behn, R.D. (2003) Why measure performance? Different purposes require different measures. Public Administration Review, 63(5): Bontis, N. (1998) Intellectual capital: An exploratory study that develops measures and models. Management Decision, 36(2): Bontis, N., Chua Chong Keow, W. and Richardson, S. (2000) Intellectual capital and business performance in Malaysian industries. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 1(1): Boyle, R. (2006) Measuring public sector productivity: Lessons from international experience. CPRM Discussion Paper 35, Institute of Public Administration (IPA), Dublin. Chen, J., Zhu, Z. and Yuan Xie, H. (2004) Measuring intellectual capital: A new model and empirical study. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 5(1):

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101 Stewart, T.A. (1997) Intellectual capital: The wealth of new organizations. Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London. Sveiby, K.E. (1997) The new organizational wealth: Managing & measuring knowledge-based assets. Berrett Koehler, San Francisco, CA. Szulanski, G. (1996) Exploring internal stickiness: Impediments to the transfer of best practice within the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17(S2): Teece, D.J., Pisano, G. and Shuen, A. (1997) Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7): Tseng, C.Y. and Goo, Y.J.J. (2005) Intellectual capital and corporate value in an emerging economy: Empirical study of Taiwanese manufacturers. R&D Management, 35(2): Wright, P.M., Smart, D.L. and McMahan, G.C. (1995) Matches between human resources and strategy among NCAA basketball teams. Academy of Management Journal, 38(4):

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103 BUSINESS STRATEGY AND MANAGEMENT OF RISKS AND CHALLENGES EVANGELIA FRAGOULI, University of Dundee NIKOLAIDOU ZOI, Hellenic Open University ABSTRACT Globalization created new opportunities and companies from developed countries expand to emerging markets to increase their revenues and their market share. The present study reviews the factors that have to be considered when companies expand to emerging markets, the practices that are followed in order possible risks to be mitigated, the policies that should be applied in order challenges and opportunities that arise from this expansion to be managed effectively. The study shows that even the largest and most wellknown enterprises, should take into account and adapt to the specific environment of each country in order to have a successful presence. The study identifies risks and challenges companies face when expand abroad and presents strategies these to be addressed effectively. It concludes emphasizing on the importance of incorporation of risk management policies into the corporate management policy before and during the entrance to new markets. Keywords: risks, challenges, strategy, expansion, risk management 1. INTRODUCTION Strategy development in foreign markets has been an interesting research topic since the rise of globalization. When an organization plans to enter a foreign market, there are a variety of decisions to be made, such as the entry mode (Sarkar & Cavusgil, 1996; Hill, 2007). The aim of a company s decision to enter a new market is to increase its profit on sales, to find new resources, new markets, build new strategic capabilities (Dunning, 1993). The development of new markets is thought to be the most important reason for internationalization (Floyd, 1996; Mayer, 1995; Ruzzier et al., 2006; Ramamurti, 2012). But there are a great number of complex decisions that need to be made in order for the internationalization to be successful, such as market selection, market entry, strategy formulation and implementation. When a company decides to enter a new market, it has to consider its main strengths and weaknesses, but it should also evaluate the opportunities and threats of the external environment (Prahalad & Hamel, 1990). In order to examine the opportunities and risks of a new market, managers may use market growth and other rations referring to the market (Kumar et al., 2004) but also factors affecting its adaptation costs, such as cultural aspects (Wood & Robertson, 2000). Many companies decide to enter markets with great potentials as shown in quantitative factors, such as the Chinese and the Indian market which have a great size and very high market growth, but fail to capture more qualitative aspects, such as cultural differences. This may have a great negative impact on their market entry. The aim of this study is to explore how companies are managing opportunities and risks as they enter emerging markets and also to explore the practices they use to become successful (in terms of market share and profitability) in the new environment. The methodology used in this study is a critical literature review approach following a qualitative analysis. A qualitative analysis helps the understanding of the background of the examined subject (Richie & Lewis, 2003, Denzin & Lincoln, 2000). 2. STRATEGIES FOR INTERNATIONALIZATION In a globalized era, the competitive position of companies in a national market is affected by the competitive position they have in other national markets, so they have to formulate a global strategy (Ghoshal, 1987; Prahalad & Bhattacharyya, 2011). The levels of strategy are the following: corporate level strategy, business level strategy and strategic business strategy. Corporate strategies are strategies that affect the direction of the organization as a whole, such as internationalization development strategies. Business level strategies refer to business units, and include the competitive strategies each unit uses, such as cost leadership. The third category of strategies refers to specific functions of each business, such 103

104 as production or marketing. A global strategy is a corporate level strategy because it refers to the overall direction of the company, such as geographical coverage, diversity of products and decisions about the way resources are allocated between business units (Johnson et al., 2005). But, are all multinational companies global as well? Rugman and Varbeke (2004) assess whether multinational companies are actually global, regarding their penetration level in markets across the globe, and more specifically, markets of NAFTA, the European Union and Asia. They used data from the 500 largest multinational companies and they find out that very few are successful globally, as an average of 80.3% of total sales are in their home region. So, many of the world s largest firms are not global but regionally based. This means that although they have expanded to a great number of foreign markets and may implement other strategies there, they still count on their home country for their success as the great majority of their sales happen in their home market. So, their main strategy is the one followed in their mother country. These results show that global strategy is risky and complex even for the largest companies in the world. So, it is critical for companies to adopt a strategy that treats decentralization and centralization as complements. For example, MacDonalds have different menus for each country, but unity remains in branding, technology and processes (Prahalad & Bhattacharyya, 2011) Analysis of the environment The environment has a critical role for internationalization decisions. The company needs to take into consideration the impact of globalization, which has increased interdependence between economies (Hamel & Prahalad, 1986). Moreover, there are many factors that need to be examined, such as political, economic, social-cultural and technological factors. A strategic tool which may contribute to the environmental audit of the strategy is PEST analysis. This is a very useful tool for understanding the larger image of the environment in which the company is operating or is considering to operate in (Bowman & Faulkner, 1996). More specifically, PEST analysis is a framework that divides environmental factors as political, economic, social and technological (Jones & Hill 1992). When a company decides to implement a global strategy, it has to consider its main strengths and weaknesses, but it should also evaluate the opportunities and threats of the external environment. The main views on the factors affecting a company s strategy formation are resource based view and market based view. The resource base view focuses on a company s internal strengths when forming strategies, in order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage (Prahalad & Hamel, 1990). Accordingly, the market-based view refers to strategies that are based on the market positioning of the company (Rumelt, 1991). So, the factors that affect the company s strategic decisions can either be external on internal. External factors come from forces outside the organization, while internal factors come from inside the organization. The factors of the internal environment are the structure, culture and tangible, intangible and human resources (Mpourantas, 2002). The structure depicts the relations in an organization. Culture consists of the beliefs, values, norms and beliefs in the organization, while the resources comprise of people, know-how, factories, capital and other factors that help the company achieve its goals. The organization can only have control on internal factors, so they have a critical importance when formulating a strategy. Finally, global operating organizations deal with domestic forces of each host country they operate in (Ball et al., 2004). The main international business challenges are the diverse international marketplace and the changing nature of the international marketplace. The multinational companies with are successful recognize the diversity of the world marketplace, and have the ability to cope with the uncertainties in the constantly changing market environments. On the other hand, the changing world marketplace produces political uncertainties, economic uncertainties, cultural uncertainties and financial uncertainties. In order for executives to cope with these challenges, they need to focus on cultural understanding, use analytic tools from a broad range of scientific disciplines (Hill, 2009). So the analysis of the environment has a close relation to the risk management of the company, because it can reveal the new risks the company will undertake. 2.2 Market selection In order for a company to plan its strategic directions, there is a practice tool called the Ansoff product / market growth matrix. According to this, the organization can either (Johnson et al., 2008): (1) penetrate in the existing market, (2) develop new products for the existing market, (3) develop new markets for the 104

105 existing products, or (4) diversify in new markets with new products. In the first choice (market penetration), the organization can gain market share, through the achievement of economies of scale and experience curve benefits. This is the most apparent choice for companies. The second strategic choice is product development, which is more costly, as it requires expenditures for Research & Development department, thus making it a riskier choice. Market development may refer to new segments or new areas, so it is a risky and costly choice. The last strategic choice is diversification, which includes new markets and new products, as well. So, market development and diversification are strategic choices most related to internationalization. In this case, the organization has to decide which markets to enter (which is a corporate strategy of development), which competitive strategy to use in each one (for example, cost leadership, differentiation or focus), whether the product or other parts of the marketing mix need to be changed and so forth. Furthermore, the organization needs to precede environmental audit, so as to evaluate the external environment and its competitive features. Country selection is essential for the organization s success (Rahman, 2003). Accordingly, the country and the specific market are selected, and the organization has to find out which is the best way to enter the market (Johnson et al., 2008). The process of country selection the company will invest in is complex and includes questions, such as the entry mode that is most suitable for entering the specific market (O Farrel & Wood, 1994). For instance, if a country has a totally different culture, such as China, it may be safer for a company to form a joint venture with a local company, in order to be more easily accepted and reduce risk and cost. It is also useful for the organization to conduct an analysis for the demand for a product. In this analysis, it is significant for the company s management to examine data such as average sales of the product, future trends and growth rate of the market (Wood & Robertson, 2000). Market growth is considered to be a useful indicator when examining potential markets (Kumar et al., 2004). There should also be an analysis on the adaptation costs, which include changes in product or marketing due to the different preferences of the consumers in the foreign market. The decision of market selection also involves cultural aspects, such as differences in culture (Wood & Robertson, 2000). These factors include language, culture, level of education and level of development and so forth. Other researchers state factors, such as distance (Malhotra et al., 2009) and psychological distance (Dow, 2000). Koch (2001) also states that market entry and mode of entry are affected by the same factors, so the two decisions should be faced as one. 2.3 Market entry The next step after market selection is market entry, as the company has to choose the way it is better to enter the new market. The most usual entry modes are the following: exporting, licensing, franchising, joint ventures or alliances and foreign direct investment. The entry strategies that were first used are exporting and Foreign Direct Investment (Sarkar & Cavusgil, 1996). In order for an organization to make up its mind for the market entry it will implement, it has to make two main decisions, the location and the mode of control. Control refers to the authority over operational and strategic decision-making and this decision depends on the risk the company is willing to take and the degree of control it desires to have. The level of control is minimum in licensing and maximum in wholly owned subsidiary, while in joint ventures, it depends on the ownership conditions and the agreements made (Hill et al., 1990). Another factor affecting the market entry mode decisions are the differences in resource commitment requirements (Vernon, 1983). Companies entering emerging markets need to make strategic decisions on the market entry mode, which depend on the conditions that prevail on each country, and which may also vary within the host economy. Meyer and Nguyen, (2009) analyze how institutions in an emerging economy influence entry strategy decisions, by examining the determinants of two aspects of entry strategy: location and entry mode. The results show that sub-national institutional variables have a significant influence on both dimensions. The availability of scarce resources affects the location of FDI and the decision of Greenfield entry. On the other hand, institutional pressures from state-owned firms lead to joint venture entry. In another research, Meyer et al., (2009) show how resource-seeking strategies are implemented using different entry modes in different environmental conditions. Greenfield, acquisitions, and joint venture give companies the opportunity to overcome different kinds of market inefficiencies. They conclude that in a weaker institutional framework, joint ventures are used to provide access to many resources. Contrary, in a stronger institutional framework, acquisitions are proffered in accessing resources which are intangible and 105

106 organizationally embedded. Pan et al. (1999) find that early entrants have higher market shares and profitability than late followers. Moreover, they conclude that equity joint ventures tend to perform better than wholly owned operations and contractual joint ventures. Kwon and Konopa (1993) focus on the features of the host country that affect the entry mode decision of exporting and foreign direct investment. The host country s features examined are business environment, production factors, and competitiveness of local companies. The results of the survey indicate that the level of competition of local competitors and availability of local production factors have a greater impact on the firm s entry mode choice. Moreover, there are other factors affecting these decisions. Isobe et al. (2000) examine whether early movers and technology leaders perform better in emerging markets in 220 cases of joint ventures of Japanese companies in China. They find that high commitment and early entry had positive impacts on the economic performance. 2.4 Strategy formulation and implementation After making the above decisions, global companies have to design the competitive strategy they will implement in the market The process of the strategy formulation takes into consideration the results of the environmental analysis. The analysis of the external and internal factors of the company s environment can be summarized in a SWOT matrix. Then strategies can be designed, aiming at giving the company a strategic advantage relative to its competitors. Another solution could be for the company to mimic precede its competitors and expand to a market in order to compete them, even without analyzing the environment and formulating an appropriate strategy. Successful execution of each strategy requires different resources, strengths, organization, managerial style and other practices and company culture, which are part of its internal environment (Kasimoglou, 2000). Strategy formation and implementation in cases of internalization has been subject of research (Solberg & Durrieu, 2006; Zou & Cavusvil, 2002), but there is little agreement on the results of different strategies. Solberg and Durrieu, (2006) examine the generic and internationalization strategies followed by UK firms and found out that generic strategies affect the internationalization strategy decision. Moreover, Zou and Cavusvil (2002) suggest that there are internal (standardization of the product, standardization of marketing activities etc) and external factors (standardization of the customers needs, worldwide awareness of the product, standardized products from the competitors etc), that both affect global marketing strategy. They also propose that that organizations prefer to enter markets whose cultural background is similar to theirs (Buckley & Casson, 1998). The strategic management process helps the company achieve strategic competitiveness and above-average returns. The first step of this process is the external and internal environment analysis to determine the strategic inputs. This information allows the company to develop its vision and formulate its strategy. Referring to strategy implementation, the firm takes actions toward achieving strategic competitiveness, using a dynamic process, as the environment evolves constantly. Nowadays, the global market has changes the environment, and consequently, strategy formulation and implementation, For example, in the past; China was seen as a low-competition and cost market, but today it is a very competitive market with local companies that are more cost effective and faster in product development (Hitt et al., 2009). Moreover, while it is true that China has been viewed as a country from which to source low-cost goods, lately, many multinational companies became net exporters of local management talent; they have been dispatching more Chinese abroad than bringing foreign expatriates to China (Luo, 2007). The situation is similar in India, which is one of the fastest growing markets in the world, so many large companies turn to these two countries in improve their profitability and market position (Khanna & Palepu, 2006). 3. THE PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES FOR ENTERING EMERGING MARKETS AND THEIR EFFECTIVENESS Top management of western multinational corporations are aware that globalization is the most critical challenge they have to face, so they have to find internationalization strategies (Khanna et al., 2005). More specifically, emerging countries show challenges and opportunities for global companies, as they include a large number of potential customers and only a few competitors, so they offer great opportunities for profits (Prahalad, 2006). But, these markets are more uncertain (Khanna et al, 2005). So, when a company 106

107 identifies opportunities in an emerging market, it has to make sure it has the necessary capabilities to take advantage of them (Johansen, 2014). The financial crisis of 2007 increased economic uncertainty and led many companies to review their strategies, so as to have a longer-term focus, which serves all of a firm s stakeholders rather than just shareholders. Moreover, the financial crisis affected more severely the developed economies, giving emerging economies with large population, such as China and India the opportunity to strengthen their market position (Witcher & Chaw, 2012). Deloitte (2014) conducted a survey for the prospects of globalization. In the Globalization Survey, 423 executives share their opinions for the opportunities and challenges of operating in developed and emerging economies. This sample is the most appropriate to give information for the best practices a company can implement in emerging markets. The survey shows that executives in emerging markets have more positive perspectives for the future, as emerging markets are expected to increase their role in the global business environment and have greater economic growth and demographic growth. Moreover, their consumers are expected to have increasing buying power. But, on the other hand, operating in an emerging market poses more threats to the companies, such as protectionism. The main practices proposed for expanding in an emerging market are the following: Engagement with local communities for recruitment and collaboration with locals. There are talents in these markets that can be significant resources for the company External partnerships are crucial for achieving innovation. These partnerships can share their know-how for the production of the products and also for the prevailing conditions in the market. The companies should have in mind social impact issues, concerning worker rights, improving the local community and local infrastructure and environment. Social business tools, such as collaboration with customers and real time information, are very useful in emerging markets. These tools can be obtained through the social media. Greater protectionism in policies followed in emerging markets is more intense, so this has to be taken into consideration. There are more supply chain challenges, as it more difficult to access supply chain capabilities in emerging markets. Global issues have to be addressed with local solutions. This practice can be implemented with local market research, customized strategies, joint ventures with local companies, partnership with government, local R&D, employment of local vendors and talents, design of products suitable for local customers and transfer of managers from the headquarters at the host country. Companies in developed countries are used to having infrastructure available for the execution of their business models in their home markets, but infrastructure is usually underdeveloped in emerging markets. Moreover, in emerging countries companies can t find market research companies to get information for the market it considers entering. There is also lack of logistics providers and human resources firms to screen large numbers of candidates. Because of all those institutional deficiencies, multinational companies perform poorly in developing countries. This is the reason why many CEOs are avoid emerging markets and prefer to invest in developed countries. So, companies cannot do business in emerging markets the same way they do in developed countries, because of the quality of the market infrastructure, which has differences from country to country. Less-developed economies tend to have unskilled intermediaries and less effective legal systems (Khanna et al., 2005). So, companies can achieve success in an emerging market if they fit to their environments. Johansen (2014) conducted 12 interviews with managers responsible for emerging markets marketing, in order to define the key issues for superior performance in emerging markets. The results show the factors that improvise firm capabilities and competitive advantages in emerging markets. The firm s willingness to operate in uncertainty is an important driver of performance in emerging markets. Other factors that may help managers in an emerging market entry are rapid decision making; persuasiveness; autonomous decision making; less risk-averse attitude in hiring and training practices. The characteristics of the managers are important as they lead the company gain knowledge on the new market and building the necessary capabilities to manage the risks and the opportunities of the emerging markets. This process should include a thorough understanding of each market infrastructures. Multinational organizations take into consideration either the macro factors (openness and sociopolitical environment) or market factors, but 107

108 only a few of them examine both. Referring to political and social factors, every country s political system has an impact on its market, while the country s social environment is significant as well. The relationships between ethnic, regional, and linguistic groups a market may also affect the market entry decision. Referring to openness, economies need to be open in order for companies to enter, because they welcome direct investment. The two macro contexts determine the market contexts. Accordingly, market analysis includes product markets (as companies try to get reliable information about consumers), labor markets (multinational companies have difficulties recruiting skilled personnel, as the quality of human resources is difficult to ascertain), capital markets (financial markets in developing countries lack of sophistication and reliability) (Khanna et al., 2005). So, in order for multinational companies to succeed, they have to be aware of the conditions in the emerging market environment and try to fit its activities and internal capabilities to the environment. These conditions may require that the company has to alter its business model for each country it enters, and at the same time, it has to keep its core business values, because if changes are too radical, it will lose its advantages of global scale and global branding. Finally, it may be uneconomical for some companies to adapt their business models to emerging markets, so they have to abandon this market entry (Khanna et al., 2005) or proceed to other option, such as strategic alliances and so forth, in order to reduce the cost (Parsa & Kwansa, 2010). A distinctive example of the need for adjustment of the global companies to the local conditions is the entry of some global companies in the Indian market. The contribution of the study is that it shows that even the best known companies in the world had to adjust their strategy in this market. When the Indian market was opened to the world, most of the global brands decided to enter. The main reason is that India is one of the largest markets along with China, as the two countries account for 37 percent of the overall world population. It was a surprise to most global companies that most of them failed, as they could not understand the needs of Indian consumers and features of the Indian market, On the other hand, there are a few companies that succeeded in positioning their brands into the Indian. Their key to success was their attempt to understand in depth the needs of the consumers before entering the market. The Indian market is complex and much diversified, as the habits and preferences of consumers alter in each region of the country. Furthermore, the Indian market is very complex, due to the large number of cultures, religions, diverse levels of income of the population. These features of the market make it a necessity for global companies to adapt to the local market conditions. Even some of the most successful brands started their operations in India making mistakes. For example, Kellogg s, McDonald s, LG, Reebok and Coca-Cola are among those companies. They initially introduced standard products using standardized global strategies, but they realized their fault, so they s modified their product to fit the needs of Indian consumers and became successful. So, global brands need to focus on strategies that adapt to the local market conditions and try to be as local as possible, or as it is called, they should try to get glocal (Taneja et al., 2012). This study examines the way three specific companies used glocality, in order to succeed in emerging markets. UK Trade & Investment (2010) along with the Economist Intelligence Unit conducted a global survey of 523 companies from all major industries, which either already operate in emerging markets or plan to do so. The results of the survey show that emerging markets are now viewed as sources of new consumer demand, and not just low-cost production hubs ( as mentioned by 76% of the respondents). Moreover, emerging markets are getting more familiar, as nearly half of the companies have been operating in emerging markets for at least a decade, while and two-thirds have been operating there for at least six years. In order to enter successfully an emerging market, companies look for partnerships and alliances with local companies because of the need for local knowledge and contacts. Deloitte Consulting (2011) conducted a survey of 628 executives to examine revenue opportunities in emerging markets. The results showed that success in emerging markets did not come from establishing a sales office for their existing products, but the companies had to understand the preferences of customers in each market and design a strategy to meet their needs at appropriate prices. The research identifies three features of successful growth strategies. The first one refers to locality. In order to become successful, companies have to establish company-owned production, use local service support centers, employ company-owned distribution or sales, conduct R&D locally, and other operations, in order to approach to customers and the local community. Companies with company-owned operations in emerging markets are considered to be more successful. Local operations have other advantages, such as better knowledge of the 108

109 market, brand awareness and more experience in navigating government approvals and procedures. The second successful strategy is organic growth for expanding in emerging markets followed by joint ventures with local companies. The third important key for success is adapting to the market. Companies have to customize their offerings to local customers needs, by designing products specifically for the local emerging market and offering a different value proposition. So, the results of the survey show that successful strategies include local operations, organic growth and adapting to the market. On the other hand, the participants note that there are also strategies that are considered to be unsuccessful, such as, non-traditional models, non-traditional distribution channels, offering products in smaller packages at lower prices and partnering with non-governmental organizations (Deloitte, 2011). These results are in accordance with Taneja et al., (2012) and Deloitte (2014). Boston Consulting Group (2013) conducted a survey in more than 150 top executives in order to understand their priorities and their performance in emerging markets. The survey seeks for the key elements that make companies successful in emerging markets. For the respondents, the first priority is China, followed by Brazil and India. The results showed that the success factors are the following: top management support, local talents, market knowledge, and a broad range of capabilities. The survey concludes with a checklist, which can guide companies to enter an emerging market. According to this, the companies should: Identify opportunities, set priorities and specific targets. This is the first step in strategy formulation procedure, and managers seem to implement it. Identify their strengths and weaknesses, conduct market research, analyze how their products fit the local needs and learn more about the function of formal and informal distribution and marketing channels. Develop and test their business model, in order to identify changes that need to be made. Develop relationships with stakeholders and analyze the local environment for potential mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other types of market entry. Assess and evaluate their workforce, set training programs and find potential rising stars in the emerging markets. Set emerging market issues on agenda of top management, hold meetings with stakeholders, locate managers in the emerging markets, create incentives for the success in emerging markets and make sure that the managers have the skills for adaptation, forecasting and best-practice sharing. The above list helps managers identify and face the opportunities and risks of emerging markets, the roots of these risks and the factors that influence them and their relation the company s internal environment. The above procedure shows that the respondents have the right priorities, but they do not seem to have identified the practices that would help them succeed. The basic opportunity of emerging markets is the fact that they offer 28% of the overall revenues on the companies and their prospects for the future are very positive, as emerging countries already contribute to 38% of the global GDP. On the other hand, the most important threat that managers reported, are local competitors, who have the ability to react faster than multinationals. Referring to the internal environment, none of the participants responded that their companies capabilities were sufficient for these markets. A solution to this lack of capabilities could be local talent employment, which would help to the creation of new capabilities and market knowledge, while leadership support is also considered to be important. London and Hart (2004) state that multinational companies expand to emerging markets to exploit the opportunity to gain the largest and fastest-growing segment of the world's population, which are almost four billion people and that it is a great challenge for companies to form capabilities for emerging markets. They conduct an exploratory analysis, consisting of interviews with managers, case studies, and other data, and they find that the transnational model of national responsiveness, global efficiency and worldwide learning may not be sufficient. Companies develop strategies that rely on leveraging the strengths of the existing market environment outperform and not try to overcome weaknesses. These strategies may include relationships with non-traditional partners, collaborations for inventing custom solutions, and building local capacity. 109

110 4. RISK MANAGEMENT IN GLOBAL STRATEGIES A global strategy requires adaptation of the company s risk practices, as environmental uncertainty rises. Most companies focus on risks before they enter the market, but they tent to underestimate the risks that come after the entry, a fact that leads to the underestimation of new threats that were not present at the time of the entry, so business leaders must constantly re-adjust their risk management strategy (PwC, 2012). Risk management consists of risk identification, assessment and mitigation (Olsson 2002). Risk management is an integrated approach to the evaluation, control and monitoring of the different types of risks. Risk management enhances the effectiveness and efficiency of the operations of a company. Moreover, it ensures that the selected strategy in effective and efficient, so it is able to deliver the expected results. Risk management can also contribute to the avoidance of a future global financial crisis. In order for this to happen, there should be common processes and practices, a deep understanding of risk tolerances. Its practices should be incorporated in all decisions and processes, while the information used in these decisions should be of high-quality (Hopkin, 2014). According to Hallikas et al. (2004), a typical corporate risk management process consists of four stages: Risk identification, risk assessment, risk monitoring and control and decision and implementation of risk management actions. Risk identification includes the finding of risks and the possible damage to the company. Risk assessment involves the determination of the severity of risks and their effect through financial function, production, logistics etc, and the probability of a risk. Risk monitoring refers to control of risk using planned actions or reactions in the short, medium and long term, implementation of protection measures, staff training and so forth. Risk decisions implementation includes strategies for risk management such as risk transfer, risk taking, risk elimination, risk reduction, and analysis of individual risks (Lavastre et al., 2012). The first step is risk identification. Emerging markets are characterized by high uncertainty, so risk management is even more necessary as it involves probabilities and possible results. There are numerous types of risks related to expanding in emerging markets. Emerging markets have greater political risks, as their political systems tend to be more unstable, they have elections more often or rarely and they lack transparency, the political system may encourage clienteles (Henisz & Zelner, 2010), there is greater state intervention, higher debt, small capital markets (Olsson, 2002). Moreover, there are financial risks due to the different stage of the business cycle they are in; economic crises may be more severe due to fiscal imbalances etc. Exchange risk is also important, as emerging countries tent to have unstable currencies (Bailey & Chung, 1995). Social factors may also increase risks, due to tribal divisions which cause instability, religion may cause conflicts, health care conditions (many diseases as AIDS, malaria etc, are common in emerging countries) (Olsson, 2002). Another type of social risk is the risk that the society will be hostile towards foreign companies and multinationals (Henisz & Zelner, 2010). Physical risks refer to size, location, physical attributes of the country, climate (as most emerging countries are in tropical zones), natural disasters (as many emerging countries are located in areas vulnerable to earthquakes, floods and other disasters). There are also legislation risks, due to the lack of an appropriate regulatory framework (Olsson, 2002). Many of these risks can be addressed through stronger international law and risk management (Henisz & Zelner, 2010). The above risk factors contribute to the emergence of the following risk types (Olsson, 2002): credit risk, market risk, business risk, sovereign risk, liquidity risk, operational risk, country risk, political risk, industry risk environmental risk, accounting risk, regulatory risk, systemic risk, reputational risk. The Economist Intelligence Unit (2006) conducted a survey about the operating risk in emerging markets. Its results showed that managers increase the time and resources for risk management and they appear to think that the risk/return ratio is getting more favorable. The respondents understand the importance of operating risk in emerging markets, as the political stability is recognized as the biggest threat. Referring to the risk management practices, managers note that the majority of companies do not have a formal process operating risk management, while 49% of the companies have a formal process for integrating political risk management into their investment process. The importance of the political risk for managers shows that emerging markets remain highly volatile and that the due diligence processes are fairly robust. For the majority of the companies, risk management focuses on the period of environmental analysis, before the investment, while only 44% manage risk on a continuous basis. The next step is to measure these risks, by 110

111 assessing the probability of each one to take place and the damage it can cost to the company. This step is also different when applied to an emerging market, due to the lack of available and reliable data. After that, the company has to manage risks, by setting a coherent strategy and an effective risk management framework, which it implements robustly but with flexibility (Olsson, 2002). Lassar et al. (2010) hypothesize that a company s risk management strategy consists of three factors, the resources it uses, network systems and performance criteria. Lassar et al. conducted 24 interviews with IT firms, and the results reassured the importance of performance evaluation as a critical success factor in supply chain management. The findings also show that the above factors can give the company a competitive advantage. Anil and Cakir (2010) suggest that when companies know better the similarities between the business styles and the local culture of the host country, they choose joint ventures. Moreover, uncertainty can affect the selection of the entry mode. Wholly-owned Subsidiaries are preferred when uncertainty makes contracts ineffective and leads the partners to delays (Brouthers & Hennart, 2007). Another aspect is the company s previous experiences in the host country or internationalization, as companies with significant international experiences would prefer wholly owned subsidiaries because they are less in need of local partners (Dikova & Wittelloostuijn, 2007). Meyer et. al., (2009) note that firms which enter emerging markets prefer to use joint venture when the institutional conditions are weak. Accordingly, when the institutional environment is stronger, they prefer acquisition strategy. Several researchers (Wright et al., 2005; Meyer & Peng, 2005; Brouthers & Hennart, 2007) note that there are many factors that affect companies decisions, especially in the emerging markets, so it is difficult to explain the strategies of international companies with the use of only one theory. Dunning s Eclectic Approach can be useful, as it covers many theories (Brouthers & Hennart, 2007). Risk management has become more intense and necessary for global companies since the 2008 financial crisis. Harvard Business Review Analytic Services (2011) conducted a survey of 1419 business executives, and more than two-third of them said that risk management is now more important than it was three years ago. Most managers, though, still believe that their companies do not have an effective risk culture. Since the financial crisis, companies are creating risk management processes or improving the existing ones (42% of companies say they have a chief risk officer, compared with 11% three years ago). The risk management capabilities that are considered to be critical for organizational performance are the following:1) For effective risk identification, companies should have a risk-aware culture at all levels and proactively identifying current and possible future risks, 2) Referring to risk assessment, companies have to get enough information to predict losses from risks and to ensure that all decisions remain within the organization s risk tolerance, 3) For a successful risk management and decision-making, companies should link risk information to strategic decision making, use risk management practices and responsibilities within strategy and operations and drive risk mitigation activities. So, the determination of a strategy for an emerging market and risk management should be interrelated. Companies have to set a coherent strategy related to the external environment, in order to exploit its opportunities, but the riskier the strategy the more it should focus on risk management. Accordingly, they have to design an effective risk management framework that fits the strategy. The strategy and risk management framework need to be constantly adapted to fit the changes, while more resources have to be invested in their function (Olsson, 2002). Global activities can cause many benefits to organizations, but it can also expose them to a number of risks. Martin et al. (2011), find that most companies do not have a structured risk management system, but instead they use a number of informal approaches to cope with risk. So, there should be a multidisciplinary approach when dealing with global sourcing risks. In that case, risks are divided in four categories: supply risk, process and control risks, environmental and sustainability risks, and demand risks. After the recent financial crisis in Eurozone, Risk Management became a corporate imperative. The growing regulatory and governance requirements, made many companies form risk committees in order to give a formal role to risk management. 4.1 The influence of crisis Crises are time periods during which output decreases (Grewal & Tansuhaj, 2001) and unexpected, rapidly occurring, high risk events threaten the organizations viability (Singh & Yip, 2000). In such times of crises, organizations have to adjust their strategy quickly, so as to regain control and improve their position in the market, as changes may be unexpected and rapid (Tripsas & Gavetti, 2000). However, some firms 111

112 manage to sustain competitive advantage even during crises (March, 1981). Gaining access to foreign markets is sometimes necessary for a firm s strategy to get strategic competitiveness (Lee et al., 2009). Economic crises have different consequences for organizations. Some of them are obliged to close or reduce their production, due to the reduction of the consumer demand for their products. At the same time, input prices may raise, a fact that leads to increases of the product prices, thus reducing their competitiveness. Companies may also have to reduce their human resources or their wages (Zehir & Savi, 2004), while for investment it is often for companies to delay or abandon their projects. Foreign companies tend to react better when the market they entered is in crisis, as they have an untouched international reputation, while local companies face difficulties getting credit, or negotiate with foreign suppliers. Companies can better manage crises through market orientation and strategic flexibility (Grewal & Tansuhaj, 2001). These changes require quick actions by the organizations, which have to take some suitable measures in order to adjust their behavior, accordingly to the consumers behavior. Some of these measures are cost reduction, production cutting, investment delay or abandonment, expansion to foreign markets, efficiency improvement, debt re-structuring and many more (Zehir, 2005; Laitinen, 2000). So, crisis management includes changes in marketing strategies, while in terms of general strategy, organizations have to leave or diminish their presence is some markets in which they are not viable and concentrate on others, where they are strong (Ang et al., 2000). Companies were affected by the financial crisis so they have developed crisis strategies and looked for new, in order to understand the consumers and their changing attitudes and behaviors (Kirtis & Karahan, 2011). The financial crisis is one of the most crucial environmental threats for a company s viability and profitability (Pearce & Michael, 2006). Companies are also affected in different ways by economic crises, as companies may be obliged to close down or decrease their production due to insufficient consumer demand. Furthermore, input prices are possible to increase, causing higher costs for companies, which would have to increase their prices (Koksal & Ozgul, 2007). So, they have to make changes, such as reducing costs, production capacity and investments, as they would have to use equity capital and improve efficiency (Zehir, 2005). Similarly, international strategies can increase strategic flexibility, as well (Tang & Tikoo, 1999). Exports allow companies to respond rapidly to unexpected changes in demand in the domestic and international markets. This can be achieved by proceeding to sales from more beneficial markets. Companies can use their international investments, such as foreign direct investments and exporting investments, to adjust their operations to crises (Lee & Makhija, 2009). Companies with FDIs located in many countries can benefit from their ability to change production locations to face adverse changes, such as increases in labor costs or exchange rate volatility (Reuer & Leiblein, 2000), and increased political risks. With FDIs, multinational companies can face country-specific threats by shifting production across national borders (Lee & Makhija, 2009). Referring to the emerging markets, the economic crisis of 2008 changed the distribution of global growth. When most developed economies tried to recover from the financial crisis, the larger emerging countries, such as China, India, Brazil etc, account for a great percentage of the growth in global gross domestic product. These companies are now the basis for revenues for multinational companies, and not just a way to reduce costs (Deloitte, 2011). So, after the recent crisis, emerging markets lead world growth, and the crisis was an opportunity for them. 5. CONCLUSION Many multinational companies cannot develop successful strategies in emerging markets, as they attempt to implement their previous strategy (Khanna et al., 2005). But, emerging markets have significantly different prevailing conditions. Multinational companies cannot avoid emerging markets, as they have more positive prospects (Deloitte, 2014). So, companies have to implement effective global strategies for emerging markets engaging with local communities for recruitment and collaboration (Deloitte, 2014),examining both macro-environmental factors and market factors (Khanna et al., 2005), developing external partnerships and alliances (Deloitte, 2014; UK Trade & Investment, 2010), addressing social impact issues (Deloitte, 2014), managing supply chain challenges (Deloitte, 2014), and generally companies have to adapt to the local environment (Johansen, 2014; Khanna et al., 2005; Deloitte Consulting, 2011; Boston Consulting Group, 2013). Companies have to understand the preferences of customers in each market, to establish company-owned production, service, distribution, R&D, and other 112

113 operations (Deloitte Consulting, 2011), providing top management support (BCG, 2013), recruiting local talents (BCG, 2013), having a broad range of capabilities (BCG, 2013), applying glocal strategy (Taneja et al., 2012). From the above, it is clear that companies that aim to succeed in emerging markets; have to understand the local preferences and culture, by conducting a detailed environmental analysis (Rahman, 2003; Johnson et al., 2008; O Farrel & Wood, 1994). After they have a clear view of the opportunities and challenges they have to face, they have to form their strategy for the market entry and adapt their operations and strategy to fit their new environment (Sarkar & Cavusgil, 1996; Hill, 2007). Additonally, they must adapt their risk practices. They have to predict new risks, the possibility of each risk to happen and to schedule new ways to face them. Companies have to invest money and time to improve constantly their risk management systems, so as to avoid losses for unexpected risks that may have a negative impact to their reputation as well, apart from an economic impact. Global companies seem to realize the increased need for risk management, (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2006), but the majority of companies do not yet have an effective risk management framework (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2006; Ernst & Young, 2007; Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, 2011; KPMG, 2011). The practices used by many companies when expanding abroad are: 1) Use of a glocal strategy that fits the emerging market, but keeps the main characteristics of the global brand, 2) Different pricing, as the macro-economic environment is different and wages are lower in the emerging market, 3) Manufacture the products and infrastructure in the emerging market, 4)Advertisements that fit the local attitudes, 5) Different product mix, with new products, more suitable for the new market. These results may seem obvious for most of the companies trying to expand their activities abroad, but some of the largest brands in the world would expect to be more welcome in new countries, without any significant changes in the way they function.. However, very large and successful companies may sometimes be blinded by their ego and not realize the extensive changes they have to make, in order to be accepted in a country with a different environment. REFERENCES Ang, S.H., Leong, S.M. and Kotler, P The Asian apocalypse: crisis marketing for consumer and businesses, Long Range Planning, 33: Anıl, I., Cakir, O., and Canel, C., A comparison of inward and outward foreign direct investment determinants in Turkey. Southeast Decision Sciences Institute Fortieth Annual Conference Proceedings , Wilmington, NC. Bailey, W. and Chung, P. Y., Exchange rate fluctuations, political risk and stock returns: Some evidence from an emerging market, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 30 (4): Ball, D. A., McCulloch, W. H. Jr., Frantz, P. L., Geringer, J. M., and Minor, M. S International Business: The Challenge of Global Competition, New York: McGraw-Hill. Bartlett, C. and Beamish, P., Transnational management: Text, cases & readings in cross-border management. New York: McGraw-Hill. Bowman, C. and Faulkner, D The Essence of Competitive Strategy, London: Prentice Hall. Brouthers, K. D. and Hennart, J. F., Boundaries of the firms: Insights from international entry mode research. Journal of Management. 33 (3): Buckley, P. J., and Casson, M. C., Analyzing Foreign market entry strategies: Extending the internalization approach. Journal of International Business Studies, 29 (3): Burt, S., Johansson, U. and Thelander, A., Standardized marketing strategies in retailing? IKEA s marketing strategies in China, Sweden and the UK. In proceedings of 1 st Nordic Retail and Wholesale Conference, November 6-7, 2008, Stockholm, Sweden. Deloitte, Deloitte s globalization survey: Preparing for the next wave of globalization, Deloitte University Press. Denzin, N. K. and Lincoln, Y. S Handbook of Qualitative Research. 2nd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Dikova, D. and van Witteloostuijn, A., Foreign direct investment mode choice: Entry and establishment modes in transition economies. Journal of International Business Studies, 38 (6):

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119 STUDY ON EXPRESSWAY MARKETIZATION IN CHINA HONGQIAN FENG, Hebei University of Economics and Business XIAOJUN GUO, Hebei University of Economics and Business Abstract: Expressway is the national traffic artery and one of the monopoly basic industries, promoted the development of the economy. However, with the development and accomplishment of Market Economy, many new forms continue to emerge: Expressway and Bridge toll, Sino foreign joint ventures, paid transfer, joint ventures, BOT model etc. But the operation of the expressway is still state-owned in China. Government-oriented operating mode have its advantages, but more disadvantages as well such as high operation cost, low efficiency, rent-seeking and expansion issues also can not be ignored. Therefore, through the analysis of expressway history and its present situation, comparing the advantages and disadvantages between the state-owned expressway operating mode and that of the marketization, we conclude that expressway in China is facing operation mechanism reform and its marketization is imperative. Key words:expressway, Marketization, Operation mode 1.Introduction Expressway network in China is the basic industry with the features of national monopoly, externality and public welfare. The appearance of expressway is the inevitable outcome of the economy development. The world expressway develops rapidly Since the 1960s and the earliest expressway in China appeared in 1988 named shanghai-hujia expressway. From then on, Chinese expressway construction continued increasing, toll stations, traffic police, service area, management office, expressways, maintenance and other departments sprung up across the country, which all their building and operating are solely invested and managed by the government. With the rapid development of the market economy, many new forms continue to emerge: Expressway and Bridge toll, Sino foreign joint ventures, paid transfer, joint ventures, BOT model etc. However, the operation of the expressway is still dominated by the government. Government-oriented operating mode have its advantages, but high operation cost, low efficiency, rent-seeking and expansion issues also can not be ignored. Now reforms in China has come to the deep water period, the expressway operation mechanism reform is imperative. 2. Current Expressway Study Past study on the expressway has tried various angles, hoping to find a operation mode that can reduce the operation costs and improve the operation efficiency. There are three views about the forms of expressway toll system. One is to break the monopoly, the implementation of franchising, deepen market reforms. Second, government invest in its building and operated by institutions, as state-owned enterprises. Third is the government operation mode of the loan repayment toll road to implement the unified credit system and operational toll roads is franchise mode. Market in a sense is privatization, industrialization. So in the expressway industrialization scope, there are three types: first refers to the expressway management of industrialization. The second is along the turnpike and service facilities industrialization. The third refers to the integration of the expressway construction, management, operation, maintenance, green and other integration of industrialization. There are also three types of management mode: Quasi enterprise management, such as Sichuan. Full government management, such as Liaoning. Semi enterprise management, such as Shandong. 3.Analysis Hebei Province Shi-Huang Expressway Hengshui section is a good example of Government-oriented mode. Expressway administration is managed by the Department of transportation, expressway management bureau is responsible for the management of all the high-speed road network in Hebei province. Each line is divided into several sections and each section is divided into expressways, service area, maintenance work area, management, monitoring, auditing, electromechanical, toll stations and other 119

120 different departments. Each department has its own system, different departments need to cooperate with one another. In addition, also need to be linked to the high-speed traffic police, rescue companies, 120, 119 and other agencies to carry out all kinds of guidance and rescue. Obviously, the government-oriented mode have many disadvantages, such as excessive management levels, cross departments, miscellaneous personnel, imperfect relevant laws, imperfect system and management difficulties. Relatively speaking, the market-oriented operation mode is more focus on efficiency, and could be far better to solve the above problems. Table 1 shows the superiority of the expressway market-oriented mode in contrast with that of Government-oriented. Table 1 The Difference Between the Expressway mode of market-oriented and Government-oriented Government-oriented mode Market-oriented mode Pay more attention to social benefits Industry leading to monopoly Low operational efficiency Money depends on the government Pay more attention to enterprise benefit Free competition in the industry Higher operating efficiency Cash to revitalize Through comparative analysis and case study, the government-oriented expressway operation mode has low efficiency, capital dependence, industry monopoly and other issues, while the market-oriented expressway operation mode can make an inventory of capital, free competition, and high efficiency. Therefore, the market-oriented reform is the right direction of the development of the expressway operation. Expressway construction and development must be advanced, economic development need the marketoriented expressway operation. The core of the industrialization of China's expressway operations should be the marketization of construction, operation, maintenance and management. The market needs the diversified investment subject, the decentralized management main body, the diverse Main body of property rights so as to stimulate the vitality of the operating mechanism. The government must increase investment and policy support, so that private capital can intervene and format the scale efficiency. First treat franchise differently, and then co-ordinate overall to promote the quasi business management of the expressway, and finally to achieve the integration and industrialization of the expressway construction, management, maintenance, green and so on. 4. Conclusion At the present stage of economic development, the problem of expressway operation is obvious, and the way to solve this problem is to take the road of marketization. Let "invisible hand" intervene in the expressway operation, and let the market plays a decisive role in the allocation of resources. The market of free competition can not only allow the government to withdraw the position and play the real role of supervisors, but also improve the efficiency, and make an inventory of resources, and truly promote the construction and management of expressway road network. References [1] Liu Shan(2009) Research on the market operation mechanism of China's expressway.chang'an University [2] Shi Yongmin, Li Haibin(2002). Chinese Journal of expressway market. Journal of Chang'an University (NATURAL SCIENCE EDITION), 2002,04: [3] Xu Haicheng(2002). The industrial attribute and development of the expressway. Journal of transportation engineering, 2002,03: [4] Liu Hongyu, Zheng Jiefen(2003). China's toll roads of private. expressway traffic technology, 2003,02:

121 [5] Fan Jianqiang(2009). Research on the reform of the system of industrial regulation and regulation of the toll road. Chang'an University. [6] Lu Zheng, Xu Li, Dai Dongchang, Lv Tie, Zhu Tong, Li Yutao, Zhou Weifu, Lu Xiaohua, Li, Xiaohua, song(2008), China's expressway management research. economic research, 2008,37: [7] Yang Junqing(1999). Reflections on Adam Smith's "invisible hand" of the. Journal of Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, 1999,02:8-9. [8] Zhao Kang(2012). Adam Smith's theory of "ethics and the invisible hand" exploring the value. of the Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics. [9] Xin Sheng(2003). Research on the management mode of expressway. Chang'an University. [10] Wang Haili(2006). Research on the management mode of the expressway. Northwestern University. [11] Zhang Bang. Research in China [D]. expressway management system of Chang'an University, 2005 [12] Feng Lei. Research on the management mode of the expressway [D]. Tianjin University, 2003 [13] Xu Jie. Research on the management system of Expressway in China, Chang'an University, 2010 [14] jinqili. Contemporary China expressway management system present situation and countermeasure research to improve [D]. Jilin University, 2004 [15] is an auspicious. Based on the integration of investment diversification of expressway management [D]. Wuhan University of Technology, 2009 [16] Liu Rong. Problems and Countermeasures of China's expressway management system, [J]. industry and Technology Forum, 2010,01: [17] Zhao Bo. Research on the management mode of expressway operation in China [D]. Chongqing Jiaotong University, 2013 [18] what is grand. The Chinese and foreign expressway management system research [J]. transportation technology, 2006,05: [19] Guo Chao, Fan Jian Qiang. The expressway management system present situation and reform of [J]. Journal of Chang'an University (SOCIAL SCIENCE EDITION), 2006,03: [20] Li Baohua, the reflection and construction of the expressway management system in our country [J]. Beijing automobile, 2011,03:

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123 STUDY ON THE SUPERVISION MECHANISM OF PUBLIC POLICY IMPLEMENTATION IN CHINA WANG XIN, Hebei University of Economics and Business XIAOJUN GUO, Hebei University of Economics and Business Abstract: The analysis of public policy is a dynamic process, which includes public policy constituting, implementing and so on. Before the mid 1970s, the majority of experts and scholars were more concerned about the public policy formulation, but in practice, people gradually found the effect of public policy implementation. The latest study on public policy implementation turns to the supervision mechanism in order to strengthen the healthy, high efficient public policy implementation and combating corruption. Therefore, by reviewing the past literature on the supervision mechanism of public policy implementation and analyzing the dilemmas that China is facing, conclusions and countermeasures are discussed. Keywords: Public policy implementation; supervision mechanism; Policy analysis. 5.Introduction In the past, We have paid much attention to the formulation of public policy, however, in practice we find that the phenomenon of Comply in appearance but oppose in heart, " occurs from time to time. In this sense the most important aspects of a policy is whether it can be truly implemented. The shift of the focus on policy implementation supervision started from the beginning of 1970s, due to the Johnson administration, the development of the "big society" is not fully realized, and the problem lies in the policy implementation. This has caused the attention of policy researchers. As a result, in the middle of the 1970s, the majority of experts and scholars turned their attention from policy formulation to the implementation of the public policy, and developed some valuable theories, such as the action theory of policy implementation, the organization theory of policy implementation and the game theory of policy implementation. Therefore, the theoretical significance for the study of policy implementation supervision lies in three aspects (1) To make up for the lack of previous policy supervision study; (2) To Deepen the relevant theoretical research and (3)Further improve the scope of supervision research. 2. Literature Review Scholars at home and abroad have defined the concept of public policy implementation from different perspectives. The author believes that policy implementation is a dynamic process, which the policy makers adopt various policy resources and actions such as explanation, propaganda, experiment, implementation, coordination and monitoring. Policy implementation supervision mechanism could be the organic unity of the subject, object, social environment, assessment system, responsibility system and so on. The western scholars have put forward many policies to implement the theory of public policy implementation, which mainly has three kinds of representative views: firstly, the action theory of policy implementation. Action theory is the theory of policy implementation and the course of action. In this theory, policy implementation is a kind of practical activity, and it is the center of the research on the implementation of the action. Secondly, theorganization theory of policy implementation. Organizational theory is the theory of the implementation of the organization in the role and characteristics of the policy implementation. The theory demonstrates that the implementation of the policy is implemented through the implementation of the organization, the organization's settings, characteristics, operation, communication and internal structure and so on, which affects the effective operation of the policy. Therefore, the organization is the key factor for the formulation of policy. The game theory is that policy implementation is a kind of interest trading behaviors of different interest groups, mutual compromise between mutual bargaining, and ultimately achieves a win-win result. 3. The Policy Implementation Supervision in China 123

124 As for the policy implementation supervision, China is facing some dilemmas: (1) The characteristics of administrative system determines the policy implementation faced the dilemma between highly centralized administrative system, regardless of party, and the trend of decentralization and democracy, which brought about the lack of the policy implementation and the difficulty of supervision; (2) The administrative culture of bureaucracy and the black box of the operation for administrative affairs, preferring the rule of man to the rule of law culture is not conducive to the effective supervision of the implementation of modern expansion policy; (3) The main body of public policy implementation supervision itself lacks of legislation and the main authority is limited by a lack of coordination between the policy supervision and the lack of strong support and supervision rights. Therefore, to solve the supervision problem, we must do a comprehensive consideration, the specimen and the treatment. 4. Suggestions for China supervision mechanism reform 4.1 Complete the policy implementation supervision mechanism Through the analysis of China's policy implementation supervision mechanism, we conclude that the implementation of public policy supervision is a complex dynamic process, to establish a sound public policy implementation of the supervision mechanism; we must strengthen the implementation of public policy supervision and construction. The key measure is to improve the supervision of architecture construction, namely "supervision framework of five in one", including the subject of public policy, supervision and oversight of the implementation of public policy implementation and supervision object, social environment, public evaluation of the implementation of the responsibility system of public policy, public policy implementation system. Professor Chen Zhenming believes that increasing the intensity and depth of policy monitoring is an important prerequisite for strengthening the supervision of public policy implementation. To strengthen policy supervision is to ensure that the policy of the main body in the policy process, in particular the policy implementation, to ensure the authority, legitimacy and policy effective implementation, to achieve a specific policy objectives and the implementation of the process of the deviation of the process of discovery and correct behavior". Professor Chen Zhenming mainly from the policy monitoring process to analyze how to strengthen the supervision of the implementation of the policy, so that the supervision of the program into a more important position. This is in accordance with the law of China's administrative procedures for the administration of law. 4.2 Referencing the experience of the international public policy implementation supervision The western developed countries in the policy monitoring undergone hundreds of years of construction and has formed a relatively complete operating system. To construct and perfect the supervision mechanism of public policy implementation in accordance with the national conditions of China, we can draw lessons from the beneficial experience of the western developed countries in the aspect of policy supervision, so as to speed up the construction of China's policy supervision mechanism, such as the implementation of the supervision system, the compliance with the national policy evaluation system, the policy implemented by the legislative, administrative, judicial, nongovernmental independent assessment agencies as well as the reconstruction of the administrative system, the basic the principle of separation of powers and checks and balances are all good references. Although China socialist country, but in the administrative system of internal appropriate attempt to balance the system design, to monitor the implementation of the policy, is a useful attempt. What s more, improving the social supervision system gives a greater power, which is called the fourth Western powers of public opinion and the supervision responsibility system from the source to ensure that the policy implementation of the autonomy can also be used as reference. 5. Conclusion It is a new topic in China for the study on supervision mechanism of public policy implementation. We have traditionally attached great importance to the comprehensive supervision of public policy research, and less on the issue of policy implementation. The process of public policy includes five aspects: policy formulation, policy implementation, policy evaluation, policy termination and policy supervision. Although this division involves policy supervision, but more emphasis is on the policy of the 124

125 comprehensive supervision, rather than for the supervision of policy implementation. Along with the acceleration of the process of socialist modernization construction, the introduction of public policy and the renewal of our country are becoming more and more frequent. In practice, we often encounter the policy implementation is not accurate, how to curb the situation, which is the focus of the problem, that is, how to build a scientific policy implementation of the supervision mechanism to ensure the scientific, effective and orderly implementation of the policy. Reference Chen Zhenming. Public policy analysis. Renmin University of China press, 2002 Chen Qingyun. Public policy analysis. China Economic Publishing house. Two thousand Yu Keping. Governance and good governance, social science literature press, 2000 Rousseau. Social contract theory. He Zhaowu, the Commercial Press, 2003 Montesquieu. On the spirit of law. Zhang Yanshen, the Commercial Press,

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127 THE INTERNET THINKING INFLUENCE ON THE PUBLIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REASERCH - BASED ON THE PERSPECTIVE OF CHAORD THEORY NIE XIAOGUANG, Hebei University of Economics and Business MA BIN, Hebei University of Economics and Business Abstract:With the acceleration of the economics,the development of social, and the emerging of the Internet +,the traditional public human resource management have appeared in the new trend and new changes.this paper focus on the the traditional problems of public human resources management, and analyses the influence of "Internet +" and its profound influence to the public human resources management,combining the Dee Hawke s chaord theory from the emotional interaction to analyze how to strengthen the public human resource management and the innovation of public human resources management incentive mechanism, try to find out the reality of our public human resource management and the special reasons for this situation, the further to get the new methods and new measures for strengthening it.in addition,the respect such as large data analysis put forward effective countermeasures,to intrduce the "Internet +" on public human resource management on the individual and the overall harmony, so as to improve the efficiency of modern public human resource s management and benefit. Key words: Internet Thinking; Public human resource; Internet+; incentive mechanism; public human resources innovation; Big data Introduction Actually the Internet's influence on the public human resource management are various,and it has reflected its open-end and democracy.at the same time, the Internet has already made some newer and higher requirements. Requires more stereoscopic thinking, the Internet further change human resources market, existing public organization structure, more reasonable treatment can make public organization personnel to do relevant human resource management issues, to promote the management of human resources change, make the management more scientific and informationized. 1.Conception about the Internet thinking 1.1 source of the Internet thinking When it comes to the Internet thinking, it is link to the background of mobile client or big data processing.it is a new way to makes rethink about the whole social model. Yanhong Li,the baidu founder, put forward the concept of thinking in the Internet firstly. It is not required to transform traditional industries, as the Internet industry, but can use the Internet mode of thinking, the pattern and concept in the process of gradual development, has been accepted by more and more entrepreneurs, it have been used in different areas. "Internet thinking" is directly related to the produce and labour.it have a big influence on the development of public institutions.for public institutions,they should pay more attention to the Internet thinking so that to keep pace with the Times,and to implement the continuous development Internet thinking in public human resource To keep up with the Internet equality, open-end, interactive and iterative the overall trend, using the Internet thought form implementation of human resource management innovation. Due to Internet decentralized characteristics significantly, it is given new human resource characteristics, the role of the existing human resources managers, working method and policy mechanism has brought a certain degree of innovation, compared with the traditional human resources management to produce the bigger difference The Dee Hawke s chaord theroy 4 Jimmy Law.The Internet under the thinking of human resource management innovation[j].professional,2015(10): Peny Jianfeng.Hu lian wang shi dai de ren li zi yuan guan li xin si wei [J].ZHONG GUO REN LI ZI YUAN KAI FA,2014(12):

128 Dee Hawke said: For any self-organization, self-management, social-adaption, nonlinear complex organisms, or community organization, all combining chaos and order the two proper system, whether physical, biological, or social behavior, it can exist in harmony.so a sound organization should be openend, one is the "chaos" and the other is "order" between "orderly" organization. If the organization can't keep the open-end of the entirty, it will follow the principle of entropy increase then gradually decay to a stable state, become a "dead" structure. The order of the organization's central idea is clearly on the interpersonal relationship, it can make a person sincerely for the hope, vision, value, significance and freedom and the pursuit of common dedication. Such organizations will be induced and motivate people's enthusiasm and constructive. The chaord s principles are as follows. Principle 1: The powers and functions must be down on Subordinate departments to the most extent. For any function, if it can be shared by multiple departments,then it does not focus on any sector; For any power, if you can by more departments at the grass-roots level to exercise, do not control at the top. Principle 2 : self-organizing. For somewhat reason, any member should have the right at any time, in any size for self organization or management, and also have inviolable rights to participate in higher level and the management right of the organization. Priciple 3: Management must be spread. For any individual or organization, or alliance, between each other managers, in particular, shall not control or dominate any level of any decision or conclusion. It will be the perfect combination of competition and cooperation. Every part of the organization can be able to in a unique way unfettered free competition, but to contact each other again, in order to understand the demand of the other members, and as a whole when you want an integral part to work together. Any related party has the right to participate in business and management, and enjoy the ownership. Dee Hawke believes that Industrial revolution formed the organization form of "command - control" is outdated, it goes against the human nature, has formed the destruction of the biosphere and the harm to society, therefore, dee hawke hope to establish a new type of organization with the help of the concept of the biosphere, a kind of like the human body, the brain or biosphere, can self organizing, self management, self development organization, this is order a prototype of the organization. "Order" at the same time has a dual characteristic chaord, but no one feature can overwhelm the other side, is a kind of state between the two. "Order" concept is complexity, organization and management is one of the most important achievements 6. In summary, refers to any order with a self-organizing, adaptive, nonlinear complex systems, Their behavior showed the characteristics of order and chaos. The Characteristics of chaord 1 Based on clear of target and principle; 2 The whole and the parts are self organization and the management; 3 ensure the consistent s exitense in a realization way; 4 getting power from peripheral and subjecting to the core; 5 target and principle is sustainable,the form and function is variable; 6 evenly distributed power, rights, responsibilities and rewards; 7 the harmonious combination of cooperation and competition; 8 learn, adapt in circulating forever extension and innovation; 9 compatible with the human spirit and the ecosystem; 10 liberation, and multiply resourceful, creative and judgment; 11 compatible and plant diversity, complexity and change. 12 constructively use and conflicts and coordination; 13 try to suppress but the proper use of command and control means. 3. Problems of traditional public sector human resource Although the traditional human resource management achieve the change from personnel management to human management, but for the development of public institutions, there are still some restrict factors. The universality of traditional human resource management, outstanding problems summarized as follows. 6 Fu Xiang.Wu jie zhi ye sheng ya fa zhan yu qi ye ren li zi yuan guan li[j].xiang TAN GONG XUE YUAN XUE BAO(SHE HUI KE XUE BAN),2012(3). 128

129 3.1 Lack organizational centripetal force Traditional public human resource always pay more attention to the side of management, but give too little care to the influence of organization s structure, it's easy to have a separate internal personnel,who is not willing to collaborate, "each person should sweep the snow from his own doorstep" conditions. Between different departments, different with department staff, lack of sense of team spirit and cooperation between relatively cold working environment also dampened enthusiasm and potential of the play, team cohesion and centripetal force is weak Affected by a bureaucratic culture of patrimonial individualism The Chinese bureaucratic culture of patrimonial individualism, including favouritism, nepotism, localism, and factionalism prevailing within Chinese officialdom as the ethos, value, psychological disposition, and behavioural orientation of civil servants, has undermined the development in China of a modern meritocracy-based civil service system 8. the Chinese civil service institutions, derived from an opposite culture of hierarchical collectivism, failed to address the cultural constraints over the implementation of the meritocracy principle. 3.3 No reasonable human strategic planning. There is almost fews measures have been taken in the talent, education and talents utilization and so on,each link is lack awareness of strategic planning.looking at the macro picture,talent demand can't combine the long-term development of the enterprise, distribution and circulation. When hiring needs Talent shortage of effective positioning does not have enough professional knowledge and skills as a support, the lack of a comprehensive investigation personnel overall quality means. Personnel distribution more just to fill the job vacancy, did not do, proper people owning suitable and effective talent potential into full play. Because there is no unit strategic planning, human resources management is relatively disorder, high staff turnover rate, unable to provide strong support for the enterprise strategic Lack of staff career planning. Although the establishment of a perfect organizational system and organizational structure, but still more severe bureaucracy within the organization, power is relatively concentrated in the upper structure of individual leadership, human resources department of voice and the decision is very limited. Organizational structure and the rigidity of the power system failed to provide talents with comprehensive career planning, employee's expectations of personal vision, easy and organization produce centrifugal force. 3.5 The lackness of effective incentive. In the traditional public human resources management, widespread the problem of insufficient incentive. On the one hand, the use of incentive means is relatively single, that give employees a raise can effectively arouse their work potential and work enthusiasm, and ignored the spiritual needs of employees and to pursue higher level; Traditional human resource management, on the other hand, rely too much on application and system constraints for employees, often prolonged labor and ignore the additional incentives, even deep cuts in vacation time, cause depression, underpowered, enthusiasm is alway in a low state. 4. Internet thinking s revolution in public human resources management With the continuous development of society and progress, network tools also in the process of gradually, People's daily life and work has been inseparated from the Internet, Internet thinking s makes profound revolution in public human resources management,such as the decentralized,the new normal of evaluation and incentive,so as to the transition of the staff and the leader.last but not least the Internet can promote sharing of human force resource An independent operation and management, decentralization and employees 7 Fu Hongmei.Chuang xin zhan lue dao xiang xia de ren li zi yuan guan li nei han tan xi[j].min YING KE JI,2013(12): Zhibin Zhang.Crowding Out Meritocracy? Cultural Constraints in Chinese Public Human Resource Management[J].Australian Journal of Public Administration, 2015, Vol.74 (3) 9 Li Zhaoqi.Hu lian wang shi dai dui chuan tong ren li zi yuan guan li de dian fu [J].ZHONG GUO REN LI ZI YUAN GUAN LI,(1)164 一 Chen Rui.Dui hu lian wang shi dai xia de qi ye ren li zi yuan guan li xin mo shi de si kao [J].CHANG CHUN SHI FAN DA XUE XUE BAO,2015 (2):

130 According the chaord principle 1, The powers and functions must be down to the most extent.for any function, if it can be shared by multiple departments,then do not focus on one sector; For any power, if you can by more departments at the grass-roots level to exercise, do not control at the top.in the Internet age, the public sector should also present the mesh and parallel connection of ecological organic system. Organization is no longer defined the core employees, every employee can play a key role in their jobs.at the same time, the authority of the organization and voice become scattered. The past organization say is top-down, the single resource allocation system. But in the Internet age, who is the most close to the customer, who is the most close to the department of the value chain to liquidate the terminal, who is the most have a say, most likely to become the core of the organization 11. An organization is likely to change direction toward organization non-core, this is also a feature of the Internet era. A worm, big contribution The age of the Internet is actually a revolution, the revolution is a person's ability to revolution, the revolution of value creation. As the organization flattening, custom and routing, value creation ability of its people and benefit to enlarge. As long as the shot point can be found, the individual can help organization of digital platform to enlarge their effect of human resources. 4.2 Evaluation and incentive in a new normal The age of the Internet makes human communication distance and cost tends to zero, the information symmetry and information transparency can make employees more free to express their own emotional change and value pursuit, and in the community consensus and opinion leaders. So enterprise in research and development design and provide product library human resources, to pay more attention to the emotional needs of the employees and the value realization of appeal, the value of the products and services and increase talents in human resources experience. In the Internet times, the staff problem and requirement can be completed timely feedback communication; For any valuable employee behavior, the recognition and encouragement to anywhere at any time; Let the evaluation and incentive ever-present, everywhere. Especially under the condition of the premise of total wages don't rise, if you want to arouse the enthusiasm of employees at the grass-roots level, to improve their experience value, improve the quality of products and services of human resources, establishment of a comprehensive recognition of incentive system, such as loyalty, love, acceptance, performance acceptance, behavior recognition, growth, recognition, and so on. Human resource in the future will be like army, fans is a circle of value creation, rather than the individual. So the public sector to build "fans", create the value of human resources to create circles, and improve the viscosity of value creation circle and loyalty. 4.3 Employees shift from "economic man" to "knowledge",leaders shift from the "commander" into "collaborators" As the traditional human resources management theory, human resource usage should maximize revenue and cost savings. Admitted that the theory is the important resources in the enterprise, while now the think should adhere to the minimum investment in human capital and the lowest reward maximize revenues.as the early economics principle, it always pay attention to human resource development requirements at the same time, saving the cost of human resources as far as possible. Therefore in the human resources management, always try to use third-rate salary keep second-rate talent, and then encourage their first-class contribution to the human resources. In essence, such human resources management of enterprise, equating employees to economics in the sense of "person", think that the essence of human resources is measurable economic units. As the Internet penetration of information technology and information transfer,china's demographic dividend gradually weakened, corporate profits rely more on employees' mental work, instead of cheap Labour, machinery operation skills and knowledge employees. While the leaders shift from the "commander" into "collaborators". According to the chaord principle 3, the anagement must be spread. For any individual or organization, or alliance, between each other managers, in particular, shall not control or dominate any level of any decision or conclusion. Traditional human resource management thought, the leader should be the power and ability in the midrange, nothing is not, omnipotent. Leaders need to know the big picture and think long-term, formulate strategic planning design, the management level, and through the implementation of various management system to supervise staff to carry out; Leaders based on their own understanding and ideas, through collective activities and 11 Bai Yu.Hu lian wang shi dai xia de ren li zi yuan guan li yu chuang xin[j].xian DAI JING JI XIN XI,2015 (3):

131 encourage employees to constantly into; Leader according to employee performance rewards and punishment, encouragement, and make the employees improve work efficiency and effectiveness. Through advanced thinking, long-term perspective, rational system and the strong great ability of condensation, leader is able to effectively manage enterprise. However, with the advent of the era of Internet, the staff common their own individual thinking and independent values deeply rooted in the original enterprise and organization role, interpersonal relationship, work process, system, could be questioned, and subversion. 4.4 The Internet to promote human force resource sharing In the future, a department within the shortage of talent flow is the inevitable trend in the development.in order to adapt to the current, it is necessary to increase the strength of human resource management, in addition to the need to look normal human flow, also need to realize the sharing of human resources, to be able to solve the problem of high level talent scarcity, not just rely on the mobility of the enterprise, also need to ensure the sharing of social resources, to avoid the reality by time or space, ensure the effect of resource sharing, and promote the development of the Internet HeJinYan HR long all open positions on its web site information, for example, by certified HR recommend candidates again, give full play to both HR's abundant human resources, and ensure that the quality of the recommended personnel. Registered HR through successful candidates recommended candidates, help on suitable post to work for a long time, generous commission on a monthly basis. HR will no longer need to be busy in the talent market to find a resume, but to help candidates more long-term cooperation work on better jobs, help candidates combing career development plans. 5. The countermeasures of the background of the Internet thinking 5.1 To Establish talents interactive channels, improve the value experience of employees The "Internet +" has showed a stronger interaction interactivity. Affected by the positive mesh type enterprise organization structure transformation, the network economic effect. In the parallel structure of the mesh type, the more close to the customer, the more can be created value and realize the products and services the new. Therefore, the traditional enterprise upper has power and discourse.rights situation will greatly change, every level of employees Can be the center of the enterprise operation. Therefore, modern Human resource management should be improved step by step around the upper and nuclear Heart work talent management train of thought, forms the enterprise Interact with all levels of employees channel, makes people all share the organization value system find existence move and inspire points, thus further enlarge enterprise human resource management effectment. The flattening management, KPI drivers, etc.are in the manifestation of self-independence of heart and staff management. In order to achieve this goal, "Internet +" human resource management control should pay attention to the means to pay attention to the product and the service transition, the real enterprise staff will as a product And the experience of the designer and service, make employees enterprise human resources management of real customers. On the other side, the human resources management should pay more attention to the price of the employees and make all kinds of platform Value experience, let employees use platform to participate in enterprise decision-making To develop and product research and development, the design and the experience of service. 5.2 To establish a new talent incentive mechanism The sense of honor and sense of mission. Traditional organizational incentive mechanism generally based on the contract commitments, and the relationship of constraints for the enterprise and employees to obey,therefore enterprise's salary, benefits and other hr policies based on the logic of rewards and punishments. But as the "Internet+ " attached to organization and staff have the stronger and stronger since the drive and self-discipline force, so as to the greater sovereignty, change the position of ever bound, become the enterprise centripetal force and ascension.i n order to adapt to Internet+ trend, human resource management also need to build trust the cornerstone of building improve employees sense of honor, sense of mission, career are long-term incentive mechanism. In recent years, haier said that without boundary, management without leadership, supply chain enterprise Scale-free, staff independent,the new strategy is just the embodiment of both accords with the trend of the "Internet +". In completion of strategic decision, human resource managers should be cut real peace will motivate focus on employee career development platform to build, build let employees setting goals, to promote make employees self driven development platform, the realization of individual and enterprise win-win, arouse the creativity of employees, the sense of responsibility and initiative. 131

132 5.3 To establish a quantitative analysis of talent management In the public human resources management, the rational sense can be said to be two nagement, in addition to performance appraisal, compensation statistics such as part of the quantitative analysis,the same as recruitment, culture and training is not fully programmed decisions. However, in the "Internet + ", under the influence of employees and managers, staff and guests families, and many of the staff and the staff interaction of the Big data, summary, analysis and comparison of large data, it provides a quantitative analysis and process for human resources managers on the basis of ordering decisions. The usage of big data can assist public hr management from small samples to predict big trend potential and future evolution, forecast for staff salary expectations value, for human resource post system Settings, labor disputes resolve disputes, predicting recruitment training needs, etc. 5.4 Enhance knowledge management As to the government departments, a knowledge management can help enhance administrative efficiency and promote the effective use of human resources 12. Traditional government personnel administration functions have been unable to adapt to the time s needs. In the future, we should stand in a development view of human resource, lined up the talent who is good at learning and thinking. Put a way to motivate the production of public knowledge of human resources, and the will of creation and sharing. In order to avoid the depreciation of knowledge, we need to invest a lot of resources in existing manpower training and reeducation. Reference [1] Jimmy Law.The Internet under the thinking of human resource management innovation[j].professional,2015(10): [2]Peny Jian feng.hu lian wang shi dai de ren li zi yuan guan li xin si wei [J].ZHONG GUO REN LI ZI YUAN KAI FA,2014(12):6-9. [3] Fu Xiang.Wu jie zhi ye sheng ya fa zhan yu qi ye ren li zi yuan guan li[j].xiang TAN GONG XUE YUAN XUE BAO(SHE HUI KE XUE BAN),2012(3). [4] Fu Hongmei.Chuang xin zhan lue dao xiang xia de ren li zi yuan guan li nei han tan xi[j].min YING KE JI,2013(12):183. [5]Zhibin Zhang.Crowding Out Meritocracy? Cultural Constraints in Chinese Public Human Resource Management[J].Australian Journal of Public Administration, 2015, Vol.74 (3) [6]Li Zhaoqi.Hu lian wang shi dai dui chuan tong ren li zi yuan guan li de dian fu [J].ZHONG GUO REN LI ZI YUAN GUAN LI,(1)164 一 165. [7] Chen Rui.Dui hu lian wang shi dai xia de qi ye ren li zi yuan guan li xin mo shi de si kao [J].CHANG CHUN SHI FAN DA XUE XUE BAO,2015 (2): [8] Bai Yu.Hu lian wang shi dai xia de ren li zi yuan guan li yu chuang xin[j].xian DAI JING JI XIN XI,2015 (3): [9]LIU Xin, NUO Min.The New Initiatives for Strengthening Public Human Resource Management[J].Management Science and Engineering.2014(4) 12 LIU Xin, NUO Min.The New Initiatives for Strengthening Public Human Resource Management[J].Management Science and Engineering.2014(4) 132

133 ANALYSIS OF SUPERVISION MEASURES IN LOCAL NETWORK MARKET ZIXING MO, Hebei University of Economics and Business XIAOJUN GUO, Hebei University of Economics and Business Abstract: With the arrival of the Network economy era, the whole social and economic life has undergone tremendous changes. Network economy changes the traditional way of business activities; Regional economy produced a significant and far-reaching influence. And The economic development of China's Internet is swift and violent, in the past decade, rapid development has become the world's largest network retail market, by the end of 2014, our country network commodity transaction size has reached 10.2 trillion yuan. With the rapid development of network economy, network offense also to ten times or even nonlinear growth. Sustained and healthy development of the network market, Urgently need to meet the needs of economic development, the Government in formulating a new economic system to maintain a fair and just order of network transactions. Based on case, this paper has introduced network market status, analyzed the network market problems, then economic regulation for the current network problems and challenge, verify that the network operator market, building business credit monitoring system, and to strengthen the construction of supervision team to put forward some countermeasures. Keywords: Network market Supervision Measures Market order 1. Introduction Case introduced: In July, market supervision administration of Xinle received an inform against report from a consumer of other city. Consumers from Xinle network operators to buy $twenty thousand worth of furniture. Late the consumer found what the website claimed that the products such as green environmental protection is unsubstantiated, believed the network operator is suspected of fraudulent advertising, then turn to market supervision administration, asked for investigation and disposal. 2. Disposal Received a consumer reports, our law enforcement officers investigated the matter immediately, found out the furniture company belongs to two areas. Law enforcement officers found that the company s address shown on the website is in a store of Xinle, but it was empty, no workers were found. By examining the enterprise registration information, law enforcement officers found the company s address is false as well. By phone, the legal representative of the company said he was only a nominal legal person, not privy to day-to-day operations of the company, told law enforcement officers Mr. Liu is the real legal person. Law enforcement officials informed and order Mr. Liu to come to Xinle market supervision administration to cooperate with the investigation. Till now, Mr. Liu still could not be reached, cases cannot be settled. Xinle market supervision administration listed the furniture company in the abnormal operation list. 3. Analysis With the development of the Internet, online shopping has become one of the most important forms of consumption. At the same time in the network economy booming, the illegal behavior of network commodity transaction also go hand in hand, emerge in an endless stream. Regardless of the individual network business, or third party network trading platforms, there are problems including infringing of trademark rights, unqualified commodity, fraudulent advertising, releasing illegal advertising and other illegal behaviors. All these seriously affected the normal order of the network market, hindered the healthy development of the network economy. In order to ensure the sustainable and healthy development of the network economy, must establish the good network market order, which depends on the relevant departments of the network commodities trading supervision. For each relevant functional departments, belongs to a new thing of network commodity transaction, the network commodity transaction regulation is a new field, compared with the traditional supervision, network commodity trading regulation network in the method of division of responsibilities, supervision way are obviously different. 133

134 4. Problem 4.1. The illegal behavior of network commodity transaction hard to investigate Network commodity transaction happens in a virtual market, web page information or transaction data and other evidence are quite easy to be destroyed. After the consumer disputes, some businesses adopt the strategy of delaying, hiding, acting shamelessly, even modify, destroy, or delete the transaction data. Transaction data often controlled by the enterprise or its authorized third party, market supervision administration s investigating needs the enterprise s cooperation, and limited by the equipment and means of obtaining evidence in local market supervision administration, increases the difficulty of forensics work Online commodity trading violations punished hard With super time, super regional characteristics of the Internet, the activities of network operators is very subtle, unable to take a common regulatory approach to addressing complaints, investigation and handling of cases. In practice, some complaints reporting maybe across the jurisdictions, some even involve overseas operators, it s difficult to sanction parties, even though the law enforcement official handled a complete evidence, as a direct result of cases not solved completely Network commodity transaction supervision effect is poor Network commodity transaction involves e-commerce, computer networks, and much other areas of science and technology knowledge, regulators have to master proficiency in Internet-related knowledge and network knowledge, as well as in transaction management and business law. Current law enforcement personnel is unable to meet this requirement, regulatory means still stay on by searching the web, door-todoor to collect information, which is heavy in workload and low efficiency. It is still unable to build an network commodity transaction supervision method to detect illegal behavior effectively on the Internet. 5. Countermeasures 5.1. To strengthen the supervision of market access The enterprises or individuals which will trade commodities through the network, should be required to register the communications department or Internet trading platform(taobao, dangdang, etc.), check the companies or personal real information, then the communications department or Internet trading platform open e-commerce platform for legal affairs, and allows the query information Speeding up the construction of the network credit system and the supervision platform To strengthen the construction of credit warning platform of network commodities transaction. The platform would exposure the illegal behavior that seriously violated consumers legitimate rights realtimely, regularly published online shopping consumer alert to remind consumers trading risks.. Transaction data, web site, detailed address and contact telephone number, payment vouchers and other information must be saved to ensure the safety of trading To strengthen the construction of supervisor team. According to the age and responsibility division of labor, reasonable determination of the content of study and training, adjust and improve the daily duties. Law enforcement officials should contact theory and practice, through real work and real time to resolve outstanding issues. To strengthen the construction of supervisor team, including enhancing network monitoring of staffing, training and management, network supervision, strengthening the fiber network monitoring platform search material equipped with network support, professional supervision, and so on. Obviously, if only by constantly explore new means and methods of supervision, we will make our government more reasonable and scientific. 134

135 References [1] Cao Jie. Regulation research of online transactions. East China University of Political Science and Law, [2] Liu Donghong. Regulation of network commodities trading research in China. Shandong University of Finance and Economics, [3] Yang Yue. Regulation of online transactions. China business press, [4] Liu hongliang. Strengthening network market supervision and boost healthy development of the Internet market. Study on China Administration for Industry & Commerce,2013 (11). [5] Zhang zhiqiang.the current situation and countermeasures of the network commodity trading regulation in China. Shandong University,2015. [6] Tthe China Internet network information center. 35th China statistical report on Internet development in [7] David Coen,Chris Doyle,Designing economic regulatory institutions for european network industries,october

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137 A SURVEY ON THE PUBLIC S SMOKING AND SMOKING CONTROL IN HANDAN CITY YANG MENGJIE, Hebei University of Economics and Business FENGQI LIN, Hebei University of Economics and Business Abstract Smoke control is a worldwide trend, but China is the country with big tobacco production and consumption, so that smoke control is a very difficult task yet. Smoking prohibition in public places has aroused widespread attention. The author through to observe the smoking in bus stop, high-speed rail, some hospitals and restaurants, analyses the reason of smoking effect is not obvious, and puts forward the corresponding countermeasures and suggestions. This is helpful to promote and protect the public health. Key words Public places; Smoking; Smoking prohibition; Measures 1.Introduction Tobacco is a very special items. On the one hand, in any country in the world, the production of tobacco are bring huge economic benefits, and provides huge tax revenue for the government; On the other hand, the consumption of tobacco and thereby causes the loss of the people's health, productivity, life, and even cause the increase of medical expense. According to the medical study, cigarette smoke, 92% for gas, such as carbon monoxide, dimethyl phosphite ammonium nitrate, hydrocyanic acid, 8% for tar, it contains nicotine, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, arsenic and some radioactive paperless. It is proved that have more than 40 kinds of carcinogens. Smoking not only harmful to smokers himself, also for non-smokers passive inhalation of environmental tobacco smoke harm to their health. To reduce non-smokers received the dangers of tobacco, universal restricting smoking areas of government controls. The world health organization's framework convention on tobacco control came into effect on February 27, 2005, one of its guiding principle is develping the law of banning smoking in public to protect nonsmokers from the dangers of tobacco smoke. Framework convention on tobacco control formulated by the world health organization, was full implemented in China,2011. It means that for China we must realize the promise of a ban on smoking in indoor public places, indoor workplaces and public transport in 3 years. On May 1, 2011,the ministry of health started the Public health management regulation rules. The provisions is smoking is forbidden in indoor public places and corresponding control measures should be taken. The state council legislative affairs office released Regulations On Control Of Smoking In Public Places on November 24, 2014, and seek public opinion on it. This is the first time in our country to formulate administrative regulations to control smoke in our country. June 1, 2015, Known as the most severe smoking prohibition in the history,the Regulations On Control Of Smoking In Beijing is released, has attracted wide attention in society. Tobacco is one of the most serious factors endangering human health, smoking in public places has become an important public health problem. Analyses the reason of smoking effect is not obvious and puts forward the corresponding countermeasures and Suggestions, which is beneficial to promote and protect the public health. 2.Review The international community study of tobacco hazard has quite mature. With the development of medicine, scientists have confirmed that smoking not only harmful to smokers, but also non-smokers by "passive smoking". "Smoking and health" began to become a global topic, people begin to pay more attention to the harm of smoking on health. Richard,"Tobacco causes cancer discovery" and the "father of epidemiological pointed out that smoking increases the risk of death, can lead to 40 kinds of diseases, each kind of deadly. On October 19, 2015, the world health organization, the international tobacco control policy evaluation project project (ITC) and the Chinese center for disease control and prevention jointly issued "China smoke-free policies - effect evaluation and policy recommendations. According to the report, tobacco use has brought great harm to China's public health. If you do not take effective measures to ban smoking in public places, China's illness and death caused by secondhand smoke will continue to rise, 137

138 thereby more aggravating about the dangers of tobacco use. From the perspective of public health and people health, the government control policy is beyond doubt. 3.Methods Observation method 4.Results This investigation through to observe the smoking in bus stop, high-speed rail, some hospitals and restaurants in Handan city, and found that more than half of the phenomenon of smoking in public places have occurred, restaurant indoor smoking prohibition were in poor condition, bus station indoor smoking situation is good, hospitals, high-speed rail indoor smoking situation is best, smoking rates are low. 5.Discussion The survey found that the main cause of smoking effect is not obvious as follows: First, the Handan city not issued relevant laws, regulations and rules on smoking in public places. Means people often gather in public places for public use and/or services in the public places. Smoking in public places will affect other people, namely has the externality, and lead to efficiency loss. Coase theorem has tell us profoundly, clearly defining propriety rights is more important than who has the right. This provides theory basis for smoke control policy for the government. Second, different of literacy has a significant association with smoking effect. The literacy is higher,the will of control smoking and discourage others from smoking in public places is stronger. The higher literacy may be pay more attention to health, more aware of the dangers of secondhand smoke, so they against smoking in public places. Third, the part of public places have no "no smoking" signs, mainly for the restaurant. Smoking identification is one of the smoke control measures. Most of restaurants are operated by a private owner, lack of corresponding control regulator. And restaurant manager don't want to post "no smoking" signs and discourage customer smoking,because they may worry that it may affect operating revenue and meet with customers opposition. 6.Conclusion At present, secondhand smoke has become an important cause of disease and early death, so control smoking in public places, the decrease of secondhand smoke is the important measures to protect every citizen public health right.for improving the efficiency of smoking in public places, we should be make improvement: First, perfect the laws and regulations, clear scope of smoking, law enforcement main body, legal responsibility and punishment procedures, punishment rules, provide system guarantee for control smoking in public places. Second, strengthen advocation of CCDC in public places, especially to people with lower literacy, which is easy to understand, easy to obtain with illustrations. Third, promote Smoking prohibition in public places, especially should strengthen the supervision and management of the private restaurant. References No. 80 of the People's Republic of China health ministry,public health management regulation rules. Wang Jian, Zeng Zhaofang, Wu Chengbin, etc. The analysis of the situation and countermeasures study in Chongqing city[j]. Journal of laser, 2011, 32 (2) : Gu D,Wu X,Reynolds K,et al.cigarette Smoking and Exposure to Environmental Tobaccao Smoke in China:The International Collaborative Study of Cardiovacular Disease in Asia[J].American Journal of Public Health,2004,94: Gruber J,Koszegi B.A Modern Economic View of Tobacco Taxation[R].Paris:International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease,2008. Hu Dewei, Mao Zhengzhong. The economic research of tobacco control in China [C]. Beijing: economic science press,

139 Mons U,Nagelhout GE,Guignard R,et al.comprehensive smoke-free policies attract more support from smokers in Europe than partial policies[j].eur J Public Health,2012,22(Suppl 1):

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141 THE GUIDING OF LOW-CARBON LIFE YINGDONG ZHANG, Hebei University of Economics and Business JINGLIU, Hebei University of Economics and Business Abstract: Under the background of the human environment deteriorating and the growing shortage of energy, low-carbon economy becomes a new type of economics to seek ways to reduce carbon emissions in order to solve global warming and other issues arising. In addition to relying on advanced technology to adjust the structure of enterprises, we should also rely on consumers to take a low-carbon living patterns to achieve this goal. A survey of 100 questionnaires indicates that around 96% respondents are familiar to low-carbon life and 85% of them have higher awareness of low carbon lifestyle but unfortunately only 70% hold it in practice. This conclusion shows that low carbon lifestyle has become increasingly popular in China. Keywords: guiding; low-carbon life; low-carbon economy; low-carbon consumption 1. Introduction With the growing global population and economic scale, in order to meet people's pursuit of material wealth, the high energy-consuming consumer products pour into people's lives, such as refrigerator, TV, computer, air conditioner, washing machine, car, housing and so on. However, in order to meet the production and use of these products, the energy extraction of coal, oil, gas, forest, has reached an unprecedented level. High level of economic activities by over-exploitation and energy consumption results in limited resources reserved on Earth. Energy crisis overlaps constantly. Mankind would have been deposited in the high-carbon consumption resulting in the formation of "carbon pool" to compare fast flow of the atmosphere, leading to global warming, so the human environment increasingly worse. Development of the concept of low-carbon economy emerges. Under the background of the human environment deteriorating, the growing shortage of large energy, low-carbon economy is a new type of economics to seek ways to reduce carbon emissions in order to solve global warming and other issues arising. In the pattern of low-carbon economy, people's life can gradually move away from the irrational use of energy and adverse effects, and people will enjoy the economic energy and green energy as the theme of a lowcarbon life. As the name suggests, it is a low-carbon life to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, also it is to lower energy consumption, lifestyle characterized by low expenditure. It is a process of human and social development of the fundamental requirements to deal with climate warming, and people aspire to achieve ecological civilization, to protect the environment, so that consumption behavior and consumption structure of human beings are becoming more and more scientific. 2. Literature review Experts study showed that low carbon life is not only the inevitable outcome of the low carbon economy development, but also the inherent requirement of their own development and the harmony of body and mind. TaoMan of Hunan university of technology thought that exploring a low-carbon life path needed to start with the social system, policy environment, low carbon consumption culture atmosphere, the guiding role of theory of science and technology and ecological moral culture of subjective and objective (Try to talk about the path of the low carbon lifestyle, journal of nanhua university, April 2011) ; Xue Hongyan of Daqing petroleum institute of economic management institute thought that the development of low carbon life needed various efforts,such as government, enterprise, public media, consumers and others(new perspective, March 2013); Ren Zhifen of The law school of shaoxing liberal art &science thought that low carbon life is the key to grasp the essence of low-carbon life, put into effect to popularize low carbon consciousness, shape the future life, improve the policies and regulations, perfect life order, insist on scientific development and return to natural life (Economic view, April 2011). 141

142 3. Methodology In order to guide consumers to implement low carbon life by exploring the correct method, a questionnaire survey to 100 people has been done, and input "low-carbon economy", "low-carbon life", "green consumption" keywords to Chinese Hownet to retrieve the recent research results. 4. Results 4.1People have a high recognition about "low-carbon " The results of the survey shows that 96% of respondents have heard of "low carbon economy" or "low-carbon life", and "low-carbon life" has been highly recognized. Not heard of low carbon is only 4%. 4.2 "low-carbon life" - diet At the cognitive level, the awareness of low carbon diet is about 70%, basic cognitive level is higher. On a practical level, the ratio of avoiding fried, eating more vegetables and less meat diet keeping in good health is about 85%, the practice rate is higher. 4.3"low-carbon life" - the household life Household life has higher awareness of low carbon lifestyle, such as turning off lights when leaving rooms, opening window ventilated frequently, reducing the use of air conditioning, choosing energyefficient appliances, planned shopping, moderate consumption, taking reusable shopping bags, using less disposable utensils, unplugging water dispenser power when not in use, flushing toilet with washing water and so on. More cognitive levels is at 85% or more. But practice rate is about 70%, relatively low handwash clothes, cook rice earlier, especially the use of cloth handkerchiefs with lowest rates is only 43%.The biggest recognition rate is 42% higher than practice. 4.4 "low-carbon life" - the transportation In terms of transportation of low carbon, cognitive level is higher, the rate of awareness in an average is 82%, the rate of walking and riding a bike to travel is as high as 88%. In many kinds of low-carbon ways to travel there is a big difference in practice, driving less as far as possible, choosing the practice of public transport, the rate is as high as 86.9%, choosing the train as far as possible while on a business trip, less choice aircraft rate is less than 60%, the practice and the cognition practice gap, matching degree is bigger. 4.5 "low-carbon life" - work office The recognition of the low-carbon lifestyle of office daily work is about 80%, cognitive level is higher. On a practical level, the rate of the office air purification plant is 73%, the practice of recognition is less than 8%, macmillan deviation is bigger. Printing double-sided each paper, turning off the computer when not in use, the rate is above 80%, the practice of other ways including practical situation is better. 5. Discussion Through the results of the survey, we can see that people have high cognition of low-carbon life generally, but the rate of practice still needs to be further enhanced. To implement low carbon life, in large, is to develop low carbon economy on the basis of low energy consumption, low emissions and low pollution. Its essence is to improve the energy efficiency and new innovative clean energy structure, and the core is the change of technology innovation, system innovation and development. In small, to implement low carbon life is to raise public awareness and public participation enthusiasm, With food, clothing, shelter, transportation and other details to implement low carbon life, such as China's urban residents life with energy accounts for about a year, account for 26% of the national energy consumption, but carbon dioxide emissions by 30% of the residents living behavior and meeting the needs of these behaviors. According to statistics, discarded plastic bags a year in China is equal to the consumes 10 million barrels of gasoline; Printing each paper double-sided, equivalent to half of the forest will not be cut; After washing clothes without washing machine to dry, but to choose natural air can reduce 2 kg of carbon dioxide emissions; Turn off the computer and display when you don t use it, these appliances for 142

143 carbon dioxide emissions reduce a third. As long as everyone has a good habit, low carbon consumption, low carbon travel, low carbon life will become a reality. 6. Conclusion As a simple and frugal lifestyle, low carbon life requires people to form the good habit of saving energy in our daily life, so it will improve people's quality of life, and build a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly society. Low-carbon life is not only a way of life, but also a kind of environmental responsibility of sustainable development. Low-carbon life requires people to set up the brand-new life view and attitude, to reduce carbon emissions and promote the harmonious development of man and nature. It is an important way to coordinate the economic and social development to protect the environment. Global warming is not only the responsibility of the government and enterprises, also is not only the environmentalists or experts and scholars have to worry about, but is closely related to everyone s life. Low carbon life is a kind of brand-new concept, only to seize the opportunity of low carbon, master the future development, choose low carbon life will be able to enjoy a better future. Reference [1]Zhang,Y.P. (2009). Low-carbon economy and low carbon life (in Chinese).Chinese and foreign energy,2009(3): [2]Sun,L.N.(2010).Discussion of low-carbon lifestyle(in Chinese). Technology wind,2010(10): [3]Tian,C.(2008). Low-carbon life is a better way of life, World Environment, 2008(2): [4]Chen,X.F.(2008). Simple life(in Chinese).Friends of Nature Communication,2008(3): [5]Huang,X.L.,Lu,Z.N.,&Wang,L.(2011).The overview of residents of low carbon life behavior research, Science and Technology Management Research,2011(18). [6]Zhang,J.(2010). Thinking about urban residents enjoy low carbon life, Society, 2010(09). [7]Feng,X. (2014). The education thinking of Urban residents' awareness of low carbon life, 2014(8). [8]Fan,X.X. (2010). The moral appeals of Low-carbon living environment, Social sciences in qingh, 2010(5). [9]Qiang,J.(2015).The research of life science and technology practice about Green energy efficiency power low carbon, Tianjin Science & Technology,2015(5). [10]Yao,X.N.(2011). Low carbon life: environmental ethics construction of our daily life, Study & Exploration,2011(01). [11]Toshihiko NAKATA,Mikhail RODIONOV,Diego SILVA.,Joni JUPESTA(2010).Shift to a low carbon society through energy systems design. Science China(Technological Sciences),2010(1). 143

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145 A PERSPECTIVE ON THE ANTI-CORRUPTION ACCUMULATED FUND SYSTEM---- AN EXAMPLE OF JIANGMEN CITY IN CHINA NUAN LU, Hebei University of Economics and Business JIANGUO SHEN, Hebei University of Economics and Business Abstract: Anti-corruption accumulated fund system is an innovative system to prevent corruption and which is our local governments actively explore to effectively control and govern corruption. This fund system has played an important role in the prevention of corruption, it reduces the motivation and behavior of corruption of public officials, so it is an anti-corruption mode worth learning. The fund system not only has a positive meaning for the anti - corruption, but also encourage civil servants honest political behavior. So from the beginning of 2000, China began the exploration of the anti-corruption accumulated fund system, especially in Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province, the trail of the fund system caused great impact in china. But due to various reasons, the trial of the fund system failed ultimately. It is pointed out questions about the fund system of Jiangmen from all sectors, such us fairness, impartiality, rationality and effectiveness, and finally basing on these questions, constructive solutions about anti-corruption accumulated fund system was given. Key word: anti-corruption accumulated fund system, Jiangmen city, anti-corruption 对我国廉政公积金制度的思考 以江门市廉政公积金制度为例 摘要 廉政公积金制度是我国地方政府为了有效地控制和治理腐败 而积极探索的一种创新性的预防腐败 的制度 廉政公积金制度在预防腐败上发挥了重要的作用 它降低了公职人员的腐败动机 减少了公职人 员的腐败行为 这是一种值得借鉴的反腐模式 廉政公积金制度不仅对防腐治腐有积极意义 而且对公务 员廉政行为具有激励作用 所以从 2000 年开始 我国开始了对廉政公积金制度的探索 尤其是广东省江门 市对廉政公积金制度的试行在全国引起了不小的影响 但是由于各种原因使廉政公积金制度的试行最终走 向失败 文章通过指出各界对江门市廉政公积金制度的公平性 公正性 合理性和有效性方面的质疑 最 后就这些质疑提出对我国廉政公积金制度的建构策略 关键词 廉政公积金制度 江门市 反腐 受中国香港 新加坡的经济反腐经验启迪 2000 年后 我国一些地方开始了廉政公积金的制度探索 不可否认 廉政公积金在反腐实践中具有积极的意义 它通过制度设计把经济学中的激励相容原理融入公 务员薪酬制度 使我国廉政制度建设走向经济学思维 2010 年 7 月 1 日 广东省江门市试行廉政公积金制 度 这一做法引起人们的热议 究竟是什么将江门市的廉政公积金制度推向失败 我国的廉政公积金制度 应该走向何处 值得讨论和研究 本文指出了各界对江门市廉政公积金制度在试行期的质疑 并就这些质 疑提出对我国廉政公积金制度的建构策略 1.廉政公积金制度概述 1.1 概念 在我国推行廉政金的地区 各地对其有不同的称呼 比如 廉政保证金 廉洁从警退休金 廉政公积金 等等 但因为性质特点大致相同 所以本文将之统称为廉政公积金 廉政公积金制度是一种期权制度 公积金由政府和公务员双方按照规定的比例按月存缴 如果公务员 在退休以前没有任何腐败记录 退休以后就可以一次获得廉政公积金 是高薪养廉的形式之一 13我国的廉 政公积金制度是借鉴了新加坡 中央公积金 的做法 以期达到与新加坡相似的防腐效果 1.2 推行廉政公积金制度的意义 13 毛昭辉.监察学[M].北京:中央广播电视大学出版社,

146 1.2.1 防腐治腐 廉政公积金是政府与公务员按规定比例按月存缴的资金 公务员需要在退休时以廉洁从政为条件才能 获得这笔公积金 所以廉政公积金就成为了公务员的腐败成本 而且廉政公积金的金额逐年累计 使公务 员的腐败成本也逐年递增 这在一定程度上起到了防止腐败的作用 我国治理腐败一般都是事后治理 廉 政公积金制度是一种事前防腐 防患于未然的做法可以大大减小治腐成本 激励廉政行为 现行的公务员激励机制中多为负激励 体现为对腐败行为的行政处分和刑事处罚 这种负激励的结果 是让公务员产生对职业的倦怠感 虽然这种负激励也可以在一定程度上防止腐败行为的发生 但是却缺少 了人文关怀 廉政公积金的尝试为解决这个问题提供了思路 公务员只要廉洁从政 不仅可以获得廉政考 核奖金 而且退休时可以获得大额的廉政公积金 这不仅使他们退休后的生活有了丰裕的物质保障 还能 使他们获得清廉的名誉 可见 廉政公积金制度在促进公务员廉洁从政方面发挥了物质激励和精神激励的 两种功效 2.江门市廉政公积金制度的试行内容 2010 年 7 月 1 日 江门市委专门下发了 江门市市直廉政公积金试行办法 对 廉政公积金 的缴 存 支付 管理等内容进行了明确 按照江门市的试行办法 廉政公积金针对江门市直机关的公务员 采 取自愿加入的方式 市财政资金列入年度预算安排 并且根据责任越大 风险越大的管理原则 廉政公积金的缴存标准按 现任职务拉开档次 其中 个人和市财政的出资比例釆用各占 50%的办法 当个人职务发生升降时 从任职 通知时间的次月起 廉政公积金缴存标准随职务变化作相应的调整 单位在办理工资变动时 同时办理缴 存标准变动手续 凡遵守党风廉政纪律规定 未受到处分的公务员 5 年可兑现累积全额的 70% 余款为长 期基金存至退休时一并领取 如个人发生违纪违法情况 则要按一定比例(50%-100%)扣除账户资金并上缴 国库 3.对江门市廉政公积金制度的质疑 3.1 公平性质疑 廉政公积金其实是一种变相的加薪行为 事实上 公务员已经享受到了应有的工资福利待遇 在公众 眼中公务员是稳定 体面的代表 其待遇总体上高于多数的社会阶层 从大多数人的择业行为中就可以看 出公务员还是公众普遍认为较好的工作 现在如果对公务员群体再增加一笔不小的工资来换取其廉政服务 而且廉政公积金制度实质是用纳税人的钱做担保 这必然会引起新的分配不公问题 这就是对江门市廉 政公积金制度公平性的质疑 3.2 公正性质疑 一项制度的公正性应在参与者的多样性和民主性中体现 制度的制定者 执行者和监督者必须分属不 同群体才能显示其公正性 必须互相监督才能防止以权谋私等行为的发生 但是廉政公积金制度的制定者 执行者和受益者均为公务员群体 这样该制度运行起来就很难令人信服了 3.3 合理性质疑 廉政公积金制度的实行意味着国家对公务员履行应尽的义务还要给予奖励 这种做法不仅没有法律上 的根据 于情于理也是行不通的 如果公务员的公职行为退化为一种十足的经济行为 那么 法律和道德 的权威也会因金钱奖励而异化 人们原本应有的自律行为也将变为金钱诱惑之下的他律行为 14在江门市廉 政公积金制度试行以来 部分专家学者也提出了廉政公积金存在的合理性问题 3.4 有效性质疑 廉政公积金全额领取的条件有两个 一个是退休后 一个是在职期间没有腐败行为 退休这个时间点 很容易核验 但是在职期间有没有腐败行为是需要有科学的廉政考核体系以及完善的监管制度作为支持的 但事实上 目前还没有一个科学的让人信服的廉政考核体系 这就不容易判断公务员在职期间是否有腐 败行为 而且现行的监管体系并不完善 官官相护以及层层庇护使有些腐败行为即便发生了 也不一定会 被查处 所以没有违规行为以及违规行为没有被查处的公务员就算廉洁的公务员 退休后就可以获得全额 14 丁寅. 重奖不闯红灯 是对 廉政基金 的回应?[EB/OL]. 146

147 的廉政公积金 可见虽然廉政公积金制度的设想是好的 但现实中还没有使该制度发挥防腐和激励廉政行 为作用的客观条件 4.我国廉政公积金制度建设的建构策略 近十五年来我国各地有多次廉政公积金制度或者类似制度进行试点 但大多没有建立起长期的制度架 构 通过讨论各界对我国江门市廉政公积金制度存在的质疑 下文对我国廉政公积金制度提出以下建构策 略 4.1 引导公众正视廉政公积金制度 政府应该积极引导公众正视廉政公积金制度 因为公务员的廉政行为是对社会有贡献的 公务员廉洁 的从政是对社会和公众的一种服务行为 可以促进我国经济的发展 公务员本身也应该享受到这种经济发 展的结果 廉政公积金制度给了他们享受由于廉政行为带来的经济发展成果的机会 所以是一种正常的制 度设计 当然在引导公众正视廉政公积金制度的同时 政府机构内部必须进行相应的制度变革 必须设计相应 的机制来约束公务员的行为 严整 吃拿卡要 的不正作风 让人民群众能够感受到公务员确实在廉洁地 工作 无私地为人民群众服务 从而认为给予他们奖励是应该的 这样才能从根本上让公众接受并且正视 廉政公积金制度 从而弱化公众对廉政公积金制度公平性以及合理性的质疑 4.2 公众参与廉政公积金制度 正如文章第三部分对制度公正性问题的描述 廉政公积金制度的制定者 执行者和受益者均为公务员 群体 这很难让公众相信制度是有效的 所以廉政公积金制度的展开必须加入公众的参与 政府机构应积 极听从公众对于廉政公积金制度建立的意见 并严格按制度执行 最后公众的参与在监督方面尤为重要 因为公务员是服务于社会大众的 所以对于公务员有没有廉洁从政 公众很有发言权 所以如果要想让廉 政公积金制度起到其应有的防腐治腐以及激励廉政行为的作用 就必须引入公众的监督 积极听取公众的 建议 让廉政公积金制度的运行处于阳光之下 让公众切实感受到公共服务质量的提高 才能社会各界信 服该制度的合理之处 回应社会各界的公正性质疑 4.3 完善相关配套措施 廉政公积金制度作为推进廉政建设的一种创新是无可厚非的 但是 它只是反腐体系的一个环节 若 缺乏其他相关环节的配套 廉政公积金就很难发挥预期的作用 首先 要建立科学的绩效考核体系 从文章第三部分中对制度有效性的质疑可以看出 如果公务员没 有违纪违法行为就可以在退休时拿到全额廉政公积金 但是没有违纪违法并不代表其在职时廉洁从政 比 如在职时的不作为不能归结为违纪违法 但是不作为会严重影响社会经济的发展 这跟违法违纪行为造成 的后果是一样严重的 所以建立一个科学的绩效考核体系是排除违法违纪以及不作为人群的基本保证 其次 必须建立完善的监督机制 廉政公积金要发挥较好的作用 必须依赖于严明的监管体系 法网 越是严密 腐败行为就越容易被发现和查处 从而保证廉政公积金制度的有效性 比如加强政务公开 包 括政策制度公开 政务信息公开 公务员收入公开等 以减少腐败行为 暗箱操作 增强社会舆论的监 督 引入公众的参与 用社会力量促进反腐倡廉 最后 要建立终身追责制 终身追责制的意思是公务员无论其在职与否 无论其是否领到全额廉政公 积金 一旦其违法违纪行为被查处 依然要完全没收其全额廉政公积金并且接受相应的处罚 这种终身追 责制给公务员在物质和精神上强大的震慑作用 从而使其廉政行为始终如一 保证廉政公积金制度的有效 性 结语 我国广东省江门市的廉政公积金制度最终走向失败有着具体的问题与原因 找到这些根本的问题是建 立符合中国国情的廉政公积金制度的前提和基础 这些问题不是一朝一夕能够解决的 建立符合中国国情 的廉政公积金制度的土壤需要慢慢培养 我们期待各项反腐制度的建立与完善 期待祖国越来越好 参考文献 [1]刘现宏. 江门市廉政公积金制度研究[D].辽宁大学,2011. [2]于学强. 深化廉政公积金制度改革辨析 基于江门市试行廉政公积金制度争议的思考[J]. 广州大学学报( 社会科学版),2011,02: [3]林学飞. 廉政公积金改革的理性透视 由江门试行廉政公积金引发的思考[J]. 中共浙江省委党校学报,2010,05:

148 [4] 林东海. 经济反腐新思维 : 从廉政保证金到廉政年金 [J]. 领导科学,2015,05: [5] 记者张有义秦夕雅. 廉政公积金十年地方试验路 [N]. 第一财经日报, A05. [6] 李传军, 符丽丽. 廉政公积金制度及其在我国的适用性分析 [J]. 学习论坛,2012,03:

149 THE PROVISIONS ON MIGRANTS SMUGGLING IN THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME AND IN THE HELLENIC LEGAL ORDER. THE MANAGEMENT OF THE HELLENIC SEA BORDER BETWEEN HELLAS AND TURKEY IN THE PERIOD TRYFON KORONTZIS Abstract Organized crime has a global character and is one of the most serious threats to modern societies for decades. This phenomenon because of the characteristics that govern modern societies and economies, namely globalization, transnational flows, reduction of distances due to the technology evolution has taken international dimensions. These evolutions help the development of international profitable illegal activities. Organized criminal groups are operating simultaneously in more than one countries internationalizing with that way crime, making difficult and painful its effective and comprehensive combat. Besides the international character of modern organized crime, an additional problem is the modernization of mode and methods of action that are used by criminal groups. In criminal phenomena that characterize our time is included illegal immigration. A social political, and economic phenomenon that leads people to search better quality living in various places different of their origin place. Consequently the hope of these people was and is a profitable business for others. ΟΙ ΠΡΟΝΟΙΕΣ ΓΙΑ ΤΗ ΛΑΘΡΑΙΑ ΔΙΑΚΙΝΗΣΗ ΜΕΤΑΝΑΣΤΩΝ ΣΤΗ ΣΥΜΒΑΣΗ ΤΩΝ Η.Ε. ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΑΝΤΙΜΕΤΩΠΙΣΗ ΤΟΥ ΔΙΕΘΝΟΥΣ ΟΡΓΑΝΩΜΕΝΟΥ ΕΓΚΛΗΜΑΤΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΣΤΗΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΕΝΝΟΜΗ ΤΑΞΗ. Η ΔΙΑΧΕΙΡΙΣΗ ΤΩΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΩΝ ΘΑΛΑΣΣΙΩΝ ΣΥΝΟΡΩΝ ΜΕΤΑΞΥ ΕΛΛΑΔΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥΡΚΙΑΣ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΗΝ ΠΕΡΙΟΔΟ Τρύφωνας Χαρ. ΚΟΡΟΝΤΖΗΣ Περίληψη Το οργανωμένο έγκλημα 15 έχει παγκόσμιο χαρακτήρα και είναι μία από τις σοβαρότερες απειλές για τις σύγχρονες κοινωνίες εδώ και δεκαετίες. Το συγκεκριμένο φαινόμενο λόγω των χαρακτηριστικών που διέπουν τις σύγχρονες κοινωνίες και οικονομίες, ήτοι παγκοσμιοποίηση, διακρατικές ροές, περιορισμός των αποστάσεων λόγω της εξέλιξης της τεχνολογίας έχει λάβει διεθνείς διαστάσεις. Οι εξελίξεις αυτές βοηθούν την ανάπτυξη διεθνών κερδοφόρων παράνομων δραστηριοτήτων. Οργανωμένες εγκληματικές ομάδες δραστηριοποιούνται ταυτόχρονα σε περισσότερες από μία χώρες, διεθνοποιώντας με αυτόν τον τρόπο το έγκλημα, καθιστώντας δύσκολη και επίπονη την αποτελεσματική και συνολική αντιμετώπιση του. Εκτός όμως του διεθνούς χαρακτήρα που έχει το σύγχρονο οργανωμένο έγκλημα, επιπρόσθετο πρόβλημα αποτελεί ο εκσυγχρονισμός του τρόπου και των μεθόδων δράσης που χρησιμοποιούν οι εγκληματικές ομάδες. Στα εγκληματικά φαινόμενα που χαρακτηρίζουν την εποχή μας, περιλαμβάνεται και η παράνομη μετανάστευση. Ένα φαινόμενο κοινωνικό πολιτικό και οικονομικό που οδηγεί τους ανθρώπους στην αναζήτηση καλύτερων ποιοτικά συνθηκών διαβίωσης σε μέρη διάφορα από τον τόπο καταγωγής τους. Συνακόλουθα η ελπίδα των ανθρώπων αυτών αποτέλεσε και αποτελεί κερδοφόρα επιχείρηση για άλλους. Λέξεις-κλειδιά: Μετανάστες, Σύμβαση Η.Ε., Διακίνηση, Οργανωμένο έγκλημα, Ελλάδα, Τουρκία Εισαγωγή Η μετανάστευση αποτελεί ένα φαινόμενο με συγκεκριμένες αιτίες, όπως η διεύρυνση των κοινωνικών και οικονομικών ανισοτήτων, οι εμφύλιοι πόλεμοι, οι κλιματολογικές αλλαγές, οι περιβαλλοντικές καταστροφές κ.λπ.. Λαμβάνοντας υπόψη το γεγονός ότι η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση (Ε.Ε.) σε γενικές γραμμές 15 Τ. Κοροντζής, «Η έννοια του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος στην εθνική και διεθνή έννομη τάξη», Λιμενική Ρότα, τχ 10, Ιούλιος Αύγουστος Σεπτέμβριος 2012, σ

150 αποτελείται από Κράτη Μέλη (Κ-Μ) τα οποία στην πλειοψηφία τους χαρακτηρίζονται από οικονομική ευημερία αλλά και πολιτική σταθερότητα, γίνονται κατανοητοί οι λόγοι για τον οποίους η Ε.Ε. αποτελεί έναν κύριο προορισμό για κάθε άνθρωπο που επιθυμεί να βελτιώσει την ποιότητα της ζωής του, προσβλέποντας σε ένα καλύτερο μέλλον. Σημαντικό ρόλο στην επιλογή της Ε.Ε. ως τελικού προορισμού των μεταναστών διαδραματίζει επίσης η εγγύτητα της στην Ασία και την Αφρική. Χάρτης 1: Μοντέλα μεταναστευτικών ροών στη Μεσόγειο Πηγή: Γραφείο Αξιωματικών Συνδέσμων Ελλάδος Europol, 11/2013 Η Ελλάδα από τις αρχές της δεκαετίας του 1990, έχει μετατραπεί σε χώρα υποδοχής μεταναστών και μάλιστα εμφανίζεται να έχει τον μεγαλύτερο αναλογικά αριθμό μεταναστών στην Ε.Ε.. Οι αιτίες για την μετατροπή της Ελλάδας σε χώρα υποδοχής μεταναστών εδράζονται αφενός στην οικονομική ανάπτυξη της Χώρας που είχε επιτευχθεί τα προηγούμενα χρόνια και αφετέρου στις γενικότερες πολιτικές και κοινωνικές εξελίξεις που επήλθαν στην Ευρώπη και στο χώρο της Βαλκανικής Χερσονήσου τα προηγούμενα χρόνια. Για την αντιμετώπιση του εν λόγω φαινομένου έχει προβεί στην λήψη πολλών νομοθετικών πρωτοβουλιών σε εθνικό επίπεδο αλλά και σε διεθνές, συμμετέχοντας στην κατάρτιση και υπογραφή διεθνών κειμένων, τα οποία ακολούθως ενσωματώνει στην εθνική έννομη τάξη. Για να τεθεί τέλος στην λαθραία μεταφορά μεταναστών διά ξηράς, αέρος και θαλάσσης ο Ο.Η.Ε., αποφάσισε να προωθήσει την συνεργασία και την ανταλλαγή πληροφοριών μεταξύ των Κρατών και να θέσει τις προϋποθέσεις ώστε να ληφθούν τα κατάλληλα μέτρα σε περιφερειακό, εθνικό και διεθνές επίπεδο, μέσω ενός πρωτοκόλλου, το οποίο συμπληρώνει την σύμβαση των Ηνωμένων Εθνών κατά του Διεθνικού Οργανωμένου Εγκλήματος και ερμηνεύεται από κοινού με αυτήν. Με το Ν. 3875/2010 (Α 158) με τίτλο «Κύρωση και Εφαρμογή της Σύμβασης των Ηνωμένων Εθνών κατά του Διεθνικού Οργανωμένου Εγκλήματος και των τριών Πρωτοκόλλων αυτής και συναφείς διατάξεις», το Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο κύρωσε την Σύμβαση κατά του Διεθνικού Οργανωμένου Εγκλήματος, που υπεγράφη στο Παλέρμο της Ιταλίας στις Δεκεμβρίου το 2000 και τα τρία Πρωτόκολλα αυτής, μεταξύ των οποίων και το Πρωτόκολλο κατά της Λαθραίας Διακίνησης Μεταναστών από τη Γη, την Θάλασσα και τον Αέρα. Η Σύμβαση προβλέπει τα εξής: Πρόληψη και καταπολέμηση του λαθρεμπορίου μεταναστών καθώς και προώθηση της συνεργασίας μεταξύ των κρατών μερών, με ταυτόχρονη προστασία των δικαιωμάτων των μεταναστών. Κάθε κράτος υιοθετεί νομοθετικά μέτρα για να καθιερώσει ως ποινικά αδικήματα όταν τελούνται εκ προθέσεως και με σκοπό την απόκτηση άμεσα ή έμμεσα, οικονομικού ή άλλου υλικού οφέλους την μεταφορά μεταναστών, την παραγωγή, προμήθεια ή κατοχή παρανόμων ταξιδιωτικών εγγράφων, την 150

151 συμμετοχή και την συνέργεια σε αδικήματα λαθραίας μεταφορά μεταναστών. Επίσης οφείλει να ανταποκρίνεται ταχέως σ ένα αίτημα συμβαλλόμενης Χώρας. Ορίζει μία αρχή για να δέχεται και ν απαντά στα αιτήματα παροχής συνδρομής, ενώ λαμβάνει τα κατάλληλα μέτρα που παρέχουν στους μετανάστες κατάλληλη προστασία κατά της βίας που μπορεί ν ασκηθεί εναντίον τους είτε από μεμονωμένα άτομα ή από ομάδες. Παράλληλα κάθε κράτος συμφωνεί να διευκολύνει και αποδέχεται, χωρίς αδικαιολόγητη καθυστέρηση, την επιστροφή προσώπου, το οποίο είναι υπήκοός του ή έχει το δικαίωμα μόνιμης διαμονής στο έδαφός του κατά την στιγμή της επιστροφής. Η Σύμβαση έχει επικυρωθεί από την πλειοψηφία των χωρών μελών των Ηνωμένων Εθνών και στα πλαίσια αυτής λειτουργούν συνεργασίες για την αντιμετώπιση του προβλήματος. Σκοπός της παρούσας συνοπτικής μελέτης είναι η εξέταση χρονολογικά και κριτικά των διατάξεων που καταρτίστηκαν από την Ελληνική έννομη τάξη από το 2000, οπότε η Ελληνική πολιτεία υπέγραψε τη Σύμβαση του Παλέρμο έως το 2010 οπότε και εντάχθηκε στην εθνική έννομη τάξη, προκειμένου να αντιμετωπιστεί το φαινόμενο της παράνομης διακίνησης μεταναστών. Παράλληλα θα εξεταστεί η κατάσταση στα θαλάσσια σύνορα Ελλάδας Τουρκίας την περίοδο , περίοδο όπου παρατηρούνται μετακινήσεις μεταναστευτικών ροών από τα θαλάσσια σύνορα στα χερσαία σύνορα για συγκεκριμένους λόγους οι οποίοι και θα εξεταστούν. Χάρτης 2: Μεταναστευτικές ροές στην Ελλάδα Πηγή: Πηγή: Γραφείο Αξιωματικών Συνδέσμων Ελλάδος Europol, 11/2013 Για την ανάπτυξη της παρούσας συνοπτικής μελέτης θα αξιοποιηθεί το υφιστάμενο νομοθετικό πλαίσιο, ήτοι νόμοι, οι εισηγητικές εκθέσεις αυτών, πρακτικά της αρμόδιας Διαρκούς Επιτροπής Δημόσιας Διοίκησης, Δημόσιας Τάξης και Δικαιοσύνης, οι Εκθέσεις επί των Νομοσχεδίων της Α Διεύθυνσης Επιστημονικών Μελετών του Ελληνικού Kοινοβουλίου καθώς και στατιστικά στοιχεία από την αρμόδια διεύθυνση του Αρχηγείου Λιμενικού Σώματος. Τέλος η παρούσα συνοπτική μελέτη θα ολοκληρωθεί με την παράθεση συμπερασμάτων που προέκυψαν από την ανάπτυξη της. 1. Προβλέψεις για την αντιμετώπιση της παράνομης μετανάστευσης στην Ελληνική έννομη τάξη Ο Ν. 1975/1991 (Α 184), υπήρξε το πρώτο νομοθέτημα που περιείχε διατάξεις για την είσοδο και παραμονή των αλλοδαπών στην Ελλάδα. Ο νόμος αυτός δεν ανταποκρίθηκε στην πραγματικότητα που κλήθηκε να ρυθμίσει, με αποτέλεσμα η πρακτική των οργάνων της Ελληνικής δημόσιας διοίκησης να αποκλίνει από τις διατάξεις του. Ταυτόχρονα ενώ κατά το χρόνο σύνταξης του ήταν ορατές οι εξ ανατολών κυρίως μεταναστευτικές πιέσεις στην Ε.Ε. δεν είχε προβλεφθεί από την Ελληνική Πολιτεία ότι 151

152 η Ελλάδα θα μετατρεπόταν πολύ σύντομα από παραδοσιακή Χώρα αποστολής μεταναστών σε Χώρα υποδοχής αθρόων μεταναστευτικών ροών. Η αδυναμία αποτελεσματικής φύλαξης των συνόρων, η ανελαστικότητα και το παρωχημένο των νομοθετικών διατάξεων, οδήγησαν στη δημιουργία ενός διαρκώς αυξανόμενου πληθυσμού παρανόμως διαμενόντων και εργαζομένων στην Ελλάδα. Παρά την συνεισφορά τους στην εθνική οικονομία, πολλά από τα πρόσωπα αυτά παρέμεναν στο περιθώριο της Ελληνικής κοινωνίας σε συνθήκες κατώτερες που υπαγόρευε η ανθρώπινη αξιοπρέπεια, με αποτέλεσμα πολλές φορές να οδηγούνται σε συμπεριφορές παραβατικές. Το 1997 θεσμοθετήθηκε η πρωτοβουλία καθιέρωσης ενός συστήματος καταγραφής και ενσωμάτωσης του πληθυσμού των παράνομων αλλοδαπών μέσω των Π.Δ. 358 και 359/1997 (Α 240), με τα οποία καθιερώθηκε ένας παράλληλος με τους προβλεπόμενους στο Ν. 1975/1991 τίτλος νόμιμης παραμονής και εργασίας αλλοδαπού στην Ελλάδα, η γνωστή ως «πράσινη κάρτα». Προβλήματα όμως στην Ελληνική δημόσια διοίκηση, στον συντονισμό των υπηρεσιών και στην ασάφεια σχετικά με τις ευχέρειες που απέρρεαν από την κατοχή της, οδήγησε σε αποκλεισμό μεγάλου αριθμού αλλοδαπών από τη διαδικασία χορήγησης. Με το Ν. 2910/2001 (Α 91), επιχειρήθηκε να αντιμετωπιστούν τα κενά του Ν. 1975/1991. Ο νόμος όμως αυτός απέτυχε. Ο αρχικός του στόχος για καταγραφή και νομιμοποίηση των αλλοδαπών μέσω της χορήγησης προσωρινής άδειας δεν ολοκληρώθηκε, καθώς η όλη διαδικασία ήταν εξαιρετικά γραφειοκρατική. Η πολύπλοκη και γραφειοκρατική δομή του νόμου, η έλλειψη σαφούς στόχου και κυρίως η ελλειμματική αντιμετώπιση μεγάλου αριθμού ειδικών περιπτώσεων αλλοδαπών, δημιούργησε την ανάγκη αλλεπάλληλων νομοθετικών παρεμβάσεων σε επίπεδο τροποποιήσεων και συμπληρώσεων, που όμως δεν έφεραν τα επιθυμητά αποτελέσματα στην επίλυση των προβλημάτων εφαρμογής του Ν. 3386/2005 (Α 212), «Είσοδος, διαμονή και κοινωνική ένταξη υπηκόων τρίτων χωρών στην Ελληνική Επικράτειας». Με το Ν. 3386/ καταβλήθηκε προσπάθεια να καλυφθούν κενά και παραλείψεις που εντοπίστηκαν την προηγούμενη δεκαετία, αλλά παράλληλα να αναληφθεί μία στρατηγική πρωτοβουλία σχετικά με τη διαχείριση των μεταναστευτικών ροών, λαμβάνοντας υπόψη και τις εξελίξεις στην Ε.Ε. 17 και αξιοποιώντας και την εμπειρία που είχε αποκτηθεί από την εφαρμογή του Ν. 2910/2001, θεσμοθετώντας για πρώτη φορά διατάξεις για την ένταξη των μεταναστών στην Ελληνική κοινωνία. Οι βασικοί άξονες του νόμου, για την καθιέρωση μίας σύγχρονης, μακροπρόθεσμης και κοινωνικά δίκαιης μεταναστευτικής πολιτικής, ήταν και είναι οι ακόλουθοι: Α.- Ο ορθολογικός προγραμματισμός της εισόδου των μεταναστών στην Ελληνική Επικράτεια, με βάση συγκεκριμένες ιδιότητες και λαμβάνοντας υπόψη τα δεδομένα και τις ανάγκες της οικονομικής και κοινωνικής ζωής της Ελλάδας. Β.- Η αποφυγή περιστασιακών και ανεξέλεγκτων αλλαγών του καθεστώτος, με το οποίο εγκαθίσταται νομίμως ο αλλοδαπός στην Ελλάδα. Γ.- Η διασφάλιση των όρων εργασίας των αλλοδαπών που έρχονται στην Ελλάδα, προκειμένου να εργασθούν υπό συνθήκες που αρμόζουν σε ένα σύγχρονο κράτος δικαίου. Δ.- Η εισαγωγή ενός σύγχρονου καθεστώτος κοινωνικής ένταξης των μεταναστών. Ε.- Η θεσμοθέτηση των κατάλληλων εγγυήσεων για την αποτελεσματική εφαρμογή των κανόνων της Ελληνικής έννομης τάξης, ώστε να αποφευχθούν τα φαινόμενα ανεξέλεγκτης εισόδου και εξόδου αλλοδαπών στη Χώρα. ΣΤ.-Η διασφάλιση, πρόσφορων συνθηκών για την ακώλυτη άσκηση των κάθε είδους δικαιωμάτων των αλλοδαπών και κυρίως εκείνων που αφορούν την ελεύθερη ανάπτυξη της προσωπικότητας τους, την 16 Για τον εν λόγω νόμο βλέπε σχετική Έκθεση του Συνηγόρου του Πολίτη «Παρατηρήσεις ΣτΠ προς τον Υπουργό Εσωτερικών επί του υπό επεξεργασία σχεδίου νόμου περί εισόδου, διαμονής και κοινωνικής ένταξης υπηκόων τρίτων χωρών στην Ελληνική Επικράτεια» διαθέσιμα στις ιστοσελίδες και 17 Τ. Κοροντζής, «Επιτήρηση θαλασσίων συνόρων - Νέες Ευρωπαϊκές πρακτικές». Περίληψη της προαναφερόμενης Ατομικής Διατριβής που εκπονήθηκε στη Σχολή Εθνικής Άμυνας (Σ.ΕΘ.Α.) την Ακαδημαϊκή Περίοδο , αναρτήθηκε στο δικτυακό τόπο της εν λόγω Σχολής την 28/04/

153 ελεύθερη συμμετοχή τους στην οικονομική και κοινωνική ζωή της Ελλάδας, υπό καθεστώς κοινωνικής δικαιοσύνης και το σεβασμό των ιδιαιτεροτήτων τους, πρωτίστως δε αυτών που απορρέουν από την καταγωγή τους. Παράλληλα με τον συγκεκριμένο νόμο καταβλήθηκε προσπάθεια θέσπισης ενός συστήματος διαχείρισης όσο το δυνατόν λιγότερο γραφειοκρατικό, λειτουργικό, επωφελές για την οικονομία της Ελλάδας, και κύρια ασφαλές για τα δικαιώματα των οικονομικών μεταναστών στην Ελλάδα, εισάγοντας μία σειρά από καινοτομίες σε σχέση με το υφιστάμενο νομοθετικό πλαίσιο, οι σπουδαιότερες των οποίων είναι: Α.- Δημιουργία Διυπουργικού Οργάνου για το συντονισμό της μεταναστευτικής πολιτικής. Β.-Ενοποίηση της άδειας διαμονής και εργασίας σε μία πράξη, η οποία εκδίδεται από τον Γενικό Γραμματέα της Περιφέρειας. Γ.-Εξορθολογισμός του συστήματος μετακλήσεων αλλοδαπών για εργασία στην Ελλάδα, με την ενδυνάμωση και ουσιαστική ενεργοποίηση των Περιφερειακών Επιτροπών Μετανάστευσης, που θα καθορίζουν τις ανάγκες του εργατικού δυναμικού σε επίπεδο Περιφέρειας και αναλυτικά για κάθε νομό της Ελλάδας, σε συνάρτηση με την προσφορά και ζήτηση της εργασίας ανά κατηγορίες ειδικοτήτων και πάντοτε σε συνάρτηση με το υπάρχον αντίστοιχο ημεδαπό εργατικό δυναμικό. Δ.- Εξορθολογισμός των χορηγούμενων τύπων αδειών διαμονής και μείωση των αντίστοιχων κατηγοριών. Πλήρης οριοθέτηση των περιπτώσεων στις οποίες χορηγείται άδεια διαμονής για ανθρωπιστικούς λόγους ώστε να αποφευχθεί η κατάχρηση. Ε.- Πρόβλεψη βασικών αρχών για την απόκτηση του καθεστώτος του επί μακρόν διαμένοντος υπηκόου τρίτης χώρας στην Ελλάδα και καθορισμός κριτηρίων για την χορήγηση του. ΣΤ.- Πρόβλεψη βασικών αρχών για την κοινωνική ένταξη των αλλοδαπών στην Ελληνική κοινωνία, με τη συνδρομή συγκεκριμένων κριτηρίων. Ζ.- Καθιέρωση σαφών προϋποθέσεων για τη διευκόλυνση της οικογενειακής επανένωσης. Η.- Διευκόλυνση της άσκησης ανεξάρτητης οικονομικής δραστηριότητας και πραγματοποίησης μεγάλων επενδύσεων από πλευράς χορήγησης άδειας διαμονής. Θ.- Εντατικοποίηση των ελέγχων προς την κατεύθυνση του περιορισμού της εισόδου και διαμονής παράνομων αλλοδαπών στην Ελλάδα. Ι.- Πλήρης και έγκαιρη εναρμόνιση της εθνικής νομοθεσίας με το ισχύον ευρωπαϊκό θεσμικό πλαίσιο και τις τάσεις που αναπτύσσονται εντός της Ε.Ε.. Η ταχύτερη διαδικασία έκδοσης των σχετικών πράξεων και της έγκυρης πληροφόρησης κάθε ενδιαφερομένου επρόκειτο να επιτευχθεί μέσω της τροποποίησης των οργανισμών των Περιφερειών, της ηλεκτρονικής διασύνδεσης των εμπλεκόμενων φορέων, για τη οργανωτική αναδιάρθρωση των περιφερειών και την οργάνωση υπηρεσιών υποδοχής και παροχής πληροφοριών αναφορικά με τις αιτήσεις για τη χορήγηση αδειών διαμονής. Ο νόμος αποτελείται από 20 κεφάλαια και 98 άρθρα. Το κεφάλαιο Α αφορά τους ορισμούς και το πεδίο εφαρμογής του νόμου. Το κεφάλαιο Β περιέχει ρυθμίσεις για τον αστυνομικό έλεγχο των μεθοριακών διαβάσεων. Το κεφάλαιο Γ προβλέπει τις γενικές προϋποθέσεις εισόδου και διαμονής υπηκόων τρίτων χωρών. Το κεφάλαιο Δ περιλαμβάνει τις οριζόντιες διατάξεις που αναφέρονται στις γενικές προϋποθέσεις χορήγησης αδειών διαμονής. Το κεφάλαιο Ε αναφέρεται σε όλους τους τύπους της άδειας διαμονής για εργασία. Το κεφάλαιο ΣΤ αναφέρεται στις άδειες διαμονής για άσκηση ανεξάρτητης οικονομικής δραστηριότητας και επενδυτικούς σκοπούς. Το κεφάλαιο Ζ αφορά στη χορήγηση και ανανέωση όλων των τύπων αδειών διαμονής που χορηγούνται για ειδικούς λόγους. Το κεφάλαιο Η αναφέρεται στις άδειες διαμονής για εξαιρετικούς λόγους. Το κεφάλαιο Θ περιλαμβάνει δέσμη ρυθμίσεων σχετικά με τη χορήγηση και ανανέωση αδειών διαμονής σε θύματα εμπορίας ανθρώπων. Τα κεφάλαια Ι και ΙΑ αφορούν στις άδειες διαμονής για οικογενειακή επανένωση καθώς και το δικαίωμα διαμονής υπηκόων τρίτων χωρών που είναι μέλη οικογένειας Έλληνα ή πολίτη της Ε.Ε.. Με το κεφάλαιο ΙΒ εισήχθησαν για πρώτη φορά στην Ελληνική νομοθεσία διατάξεις για την κοινωνική ένταξη των υπηκόων τρίτων χωρών στην Ελληνική κοινωνία. 153

154 Με το κεφάλαιο ΙΓ εισήχθη για πρώτη φορά πλέγμα ρυθμίσεων που αφορά τις διαδικασίες απόκτησης της ιδιότητας του επί μακρόν διαμένοντος. Το κεφάλαιο ΙΔ αναφέρεται στην ολιγοήμερη διαμονή. Το κεφάλαιο ΙΕ περιγράφονται τα δικαιώματα και οι υποχρεώσεις των υπηκόων τρίτων χωρών. Το κεφάλαιο ΙΣΤ αφορά σε ειδικούς περιορισμούς, την ανάκληση της άδειας διαμονής και τις απελάσεις. Το κεφάλαιο ΙΖ αναφέρεται σε γενικές υποχρεώσεις και τις αντίστοιχες κυρώσεις σε περίπτωση παράβασης αυτών. Το κεφάλαιο ΙΗ αφορά λειτουργικά θέματα. Τα κεφάλαια ΙΘ και Κ αφορούν στις μεταβατικές και τελικές διατάξεις Ν. 3772/2009 (Α 112), «Μεταρρυθμίσεις στην οργάνωση της Ιατροδικαστικής Υπηρεσίας, στη θεραπευτική μεταχείριση χρηστών ναρκωτικών ουσιών και άλλες διατάξεις». Με το άρθρο 48 του Ν. 3772/2009 επήλθαν τροποποιήσεις συμπληρώσεις στα άρθρο 76, 87, 88 του Ν. 3386/2005 καθιστώντας τις ποινές για όσους διευκολύνουν την είσοδο στο Ελληνικό έδαφος ή την έξοδο από αυτό υπηκόου τρίτης χώρας χωρίς να υποβληθεί στον έλεγχο που προβλέπεται πιο αυστηρότερες. Επίσης έγιναν αυστηρότερες οι κυρώσεις σε πλοιάρχους ή κυβερνήτες πλοίου ή πλωτών μέσων ή αεροπλάνου και σε οδηγούς κάθε είδους μεταφορικού μέσου που μεταφέρουν από το εξωτερικό στην Ελλάδα υπηκόους τρίτων χωρών που δεν έχουν δικαίωμα εισόδου στο Ελληνικό έδαφος ή στους οποίους έχει απαγορευθεί η είσοδος για οποιαδήποτε αιτία, καθώς και αυτοί που τους παραλαμβάνουν από τα σημεία εισόδου, τα εξωτερικά ή εσωτερικά σύνορα, για να τους προωθήσουν στο εσωτερικό της Χώρας ή στο έδαφος Κ-Μ της Ε.Ε. ή τρίτης χώρας ή διευκολύνουν τη μεταφορά τους ή εξασφαλίζουν σε αυτούς κατάλυμα για απόκρυψη. Επίσης στο ίδιο άρθρο προβλέφθηκε ότι περιουσία που αποτελεί προϊόν της εγκληματικής δραστηριότητας του παρόντος άρθρου, καθώς και των παραγράφων 5, 6 και 8 του άρθρου 87 του Ν. 3386/2005 ή που αποκτήθηκε με οποιονδήποτε τρόπο από προϊόν τέτοιας εγκληματικής δραστηριότητας ή περιουσία που χρησιμοποιήθηκε, εν όλω ή εν μέρει, για την ως άνω εγκληματική δραστηριότητα κατάσχεται και, εφόσον δεν συντρέχει περίπτωση αποδόσεώς της στον ιδιοκτήτη, κατά τα άρθρα 310 παράγραφος 2, «Απόφανση ότι δεν πρέπει να γίνει κατηγορία κ.τ.λ.» και 373 του Κώδικα Ποινικής Δικονομίας (Κ.Π.Δ.) «Έξοδα. Τύχη των πραγμάτων που κατασχέθηκαν», δημεύεται υποχρεωτικά με την καταδικαστική απόφαση. Η δήμευση επιβάλλεται ακόμη και αν η περιουσία ανήκει σε τρίτο, εφόσον αυτός τελούσε εν γνώσει της εγκληματικής δραστηριότητας κατά το χρόνο κτήσεως της περιουσίας. Σε περίπτωση που η περιουσία ή το προϊόν κατά το προηγούμενο εδάφιο υπερβαίνει τις τέσσερις χιλιάδες (4.000) ευρώ και δεν είναι δυνατόν να κατασχεθεί, κατάσχονται και δημεύονται υπό τους όρους του προηγούμενου εδαφίου περιουσιακά στοιχεία ίσης αξίας προς εκείνη της προαναφερθείσας περιουσίας ή του προϊόντος. Τέλος σημαντική πρόβλεψη συνιστά και η πρόβλεψη ότι οι διατάξεις του συγκεκριμένου άρθρου και των παραγράφων 5, 6 και 8 του άρθρου 87 εφαρμόζονται και όταν οι προβλεπόμενες σε αυτά αξιόποινες πράξεις τελέσθηκαν στην αλλοδαπή από ημεδαπό ή αλλοδαπό ακόμη και αν αυτές δεν είναι αξιόποινες κατά τους νόμους της χώρας στην οποία τελέσθηκαν. 2.Προβλέψεις στη Σύμβαση των Η.Ε. για τη αντιμετώπιση του Διεθνούς Οργανωμένου Εγκλήματος Ν. 3875/2010 (Α 158), «Η Σύμβαση των Η.Ε. για τη αντιμετώπιση του Διεθνούς Οργανωμένου Εγκλήματος και η ενσωμάτωση της στην Ελληνική έννομη τάξη». Σκοπός της Σύμβασης των Ηνωμένων Εθνών κατά του Διασυνοριακού Οργανωμένου Εγκλήματος όπως αναφέρεται και στο άρθρο 1 είναι η προαγωγή της συνεργασίας για την πιο αποτελεσματική πρόληψη και καταπολέμηση του διεθνικού οργανωμένου εγκλήματος και ειδικότερα σε ότι αφορά την παρούσα μελέτη η αντιμετώπιση της λαθραίας διακίνησης μεταναστών. Στην Ελληνική έννομη τάξη έχει ποινικοποιηθεί η συμμετοχή σε οργανωμένη εγκληματική ομάδα με τον Ν. 2928/2001 (Α 141), έχοντας λάβει υπόψη του κατά την κατάρτιση του τις επιταγές της Σύμβασης του Παλέρμο. Η Σύμβαση έχει περιχαρακώσει το πεδίο εφαρμογής της στο Διεθνικό Οργανωμένο Έγκλημα, σε κάθε περίπτωση ωστόσο σύμφωνα με τα άρθρα 3 παράγραφος 1 εδ. α και 34 παράγραφος 2 τα αδικήματα που θεσπίζονται σύμφωνα με τα άρθρα 5, 6, 8 και 23 της Σύμβασης (συμμετοχή σε οργανωμένη εγκληματική ομάδα, νομιμοποίηση προϊόντων εγκλήματος, διαφθορά και παρακώλυση της δικαιοσύνης), πρέπει να 154

155 θεσπιστούν στο εσωτερικό δίκαιο κάθε κράτους μέρους ανεξάρτητα από τη διασυνοριακή φύση τους ή την εμπλοκή οργανωμένης εγκληματικής ομάδας, με εξαίρεση το άρθρο 5 (συμμετοχή σε οργανωμένη εγκληματική ομάδα) στο μέτρο που αυτό απαιτεί την εμπλοκή οργανωμένης εγκληματικής ομάδας. Με τον τρόπο αυτό η Σύμβαση του Παλέρμο αποτελεί μια ολοκληρωμένη νομική βάση για την προαγωγή της συνεργασίας των κρατών μερών για την πρόληψη και καταπολέμηση του διεθνικού οργανωμένου εγκλήματος. Σκοπός του Πρωτοκόλλου που φέρει τίτλο «Πρωτόκολλο κατά της Λαθραίας Διακίνησης μεταναστών από τη Γη, τη Θάλασσα και τον Αέρα που συμπληρώνει τη Σύμβαση των Ηνωμένων Εθνών κατά του Διεθνικού Οργανωμένου Εγκλήματος», είναι η πρόληψη και καταπολέμηση της λαθραίας διακίνησης μεταναστών όταν εμπλέκεται οργανωμένη εγκληματική ομάδα και η προαγωγή της συνεργασίας μεταξύ των κρατών μερών για την εκπλήρωση αυτών των σκοπών, ενώ προστατεύονται και τα δικαιώματα των λαθραία μεταφερόμενων μεταναστών. Πιο συγκεκριμένα: Στο άρθρο 1ορίζεται ότι το Πρωτόκολλο συμπληρώνει τη Σύμβαση των Ηνωμένων Εθνών κατά του διεθνικού οργανωμένου εγκλήματος και ερμηνεύεται μαζί με τη Σύμβαση, οι διατάξεις της οποίας εφαρμόζονται mutatis mutandis στο Πρωτόκολλο, αν δεν προβλέπεται διαφορετικά σ' αυτό. Στο άρθρο 2 ορίζεται ως σκοπός του Πρωτοκόλλου η πρόληψη και καταπολέμηση της λαθραίας διακίνησης μεταναστών και η προαγωγή της συνεργασίας μεταξύ των κρατών μερών για την εκπλήρωση αυτών των σκοπών, όπως και η προστασία των δικαιωμάτων των λαθραία μεταφερόμενων μεταναστών. Για τους σκοπούς του Πρωτοκόλλου προσδιορίζεται στο άρθρο 3 το περιεχόμενο επιμέρους όρων, όπως η "λαθραία διακίνηση μεταναστών", που ταυτίζεται με την επίτευξη της παράνομης εισόδου ενός προσώπου σε ένα κράτος μέρος του οποίου το πρόσωπο αυτό δεν είναι υπήκοος ή μόνιμος κάτοικος, εφόσον υπάρχει σκοπός οικονομικού ή άλλου υλικού οφέλους, η "παράνομη είσοδος", το "ψευδές ταξιδιωτικό έγγραφο ή δελτίο ταυτότητας" και το "πλοίο". Σχετικά με την έννοια «πλοίο», θα πρέπει να αναφερθεί ότι το άρθρο 1 του Κώδικα Ιδιωτικού Ναυτικού Δικαίου (Κ.Ι.Ν.Δ.) [Ν. 3816/1958 (Α 32] και το άρθρο 3 του Κώδικα Δημοσίου Ναυτικού Δικαίου (Κ.Δ.Ν.Δ.) [Ν.Δ. 187/1973 (Α 2761)] οριοθετούν τη έννοια. Το άρθρο 88 του Ν. 3386/2005 (Α 212), αναφέρεται στους πλοιάρχους ή κυβερνήτες πλοίου, πλωτού μέσου ή αεροπλάνου και στους οδηγούς κάθε είδους μεταφορικού μέσου. Το Πρωτόκολλο περιλαμβάνει στην έννοια του πλοίου και τα υδροπλάνα. Η ελληνική νομοθεσία απαιτεί για την έννοια του πλοίου προορισμό και όχι μόνο ικανότητα κίνησης στη θάλασσα, γι αυτό και τα υδροπλάνα δεν θεωρούνται πλοία, αφού ναι μεν έχουν την ικανότητα να πλέουν στη θάλασσα κατά την αποθαλάσσωση και την προσθαλάσσωση, είναι όμως προορισμένα να κινούνται στον αέρα. Γι αυτά η κίνηση στη θάλασσα είναι επιβοηθητική μόνο για την πτήση 18. Για το σκοπό του Πρωτοκόλλου και σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 4 αυτού (πεδίο εφαρμογής) στις περιπτώσεις λαθραίας διακίνησης μεταναστών, εφόσον τα εγκλήματα είναι διασυνοριακά από τη φύση τους και εμπλέκεται οργανωμένη εγκληματική ομάδα, στην έννοια του πλοίου υπάγονται και τα υδροπλάνα. Στο άρθρο 4 ορίζεται το πεδίο εφαρμογής του Πρωτοκόλλου, το οποίο εφαρμόζεται, εκτός αν ορίζεται διαφορετικά σε αυτό, για την πρόληψη, διερεύνηση και δίωξη των αδικημάτων που θεσπίζονται σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 6 αυτού, εφόσον τα εν λόγω αδικήματα είναι διεθνικά. Στο άρθρο 5 διευκρινίζεται ότι οι μετανάστες δεν υπόκεινται σε ποινική δίωξη, δυνάμει του Πρωτοκόλλου, για μόνο το γεγονός ότι αποτέλεσαν αντικείμενο των πράξεων που αναφέρονται στο άρθρο 6. Στο άρθρο 6 προσδιορίζεται η υποχρέωση κάθε κράτους Μέρους να υιοθετήσει τα αναγκαία νομοθετικά και άλλα μέτρα για να θεσπισθούν ως ποινικά αδικήματα, όταν τελούνται με πρόθεση και για να αποκτηθεί άμεσο ή έμμεσο οικονομικό ή άλλο υλικό όφελος, η λαθραία διακίνηση μεταναστών, η κατάρτιση, προμήθεια, παροχή ή κατοχή ψευδούς ταξιδιωτικού εγγράφου ή δελτίου ταυτότητας όταν διαπράττονται με σκοπό τη διευκόλυνση της λαθραίας διακίνησης μεταναστών, και η διευκόλυνση προσώπου που δεν είναι υπήκοος ή μόνιμος κάτοικος να παραμείνει στο ενδιαφερόμενο κράτος χωρίς να συντρέχουν οι απαραίτητες προϋποθέσεις για νόμιμη παραμονή στο κράτος. Ως ποινικά αδικήματα ζητείται επίσης να αντιμετωπισθούν η απόπειρα των πιο πάνω εγκλημάτων και η συμμετοχή σε αυτά, όπως και η οργάνωση και καθοδήγηση για τη διάπραξή τους. Στο ίδιο άρθρο διευκρινίζεται ότι θα πρέπει να αντιμετωπιστούν ως επιβαρυντικές περιστάσεις των αδικημάτων συμπεριφορές που: 18 Α. Κιάντου - Παμπούκη, «Ναυτικό δίκαιο», Σάκκουλας, Θεσσαλονίκη, 1989, σελ

156 α) θέτουν σε κίνδυνο ή μπορεί να θέσουν σε κίνδυνο τη ζωή ή την ασφάλεια των μεταναστών ή β) συνεπάγονται απάνθρωπη ή ταπεινωτική μεταχείριση των μεταναστών, στην οποία περιλαμβάνεται και αυτή που έχει σκοπό την εκμετάλλευσή τους. Στο ελληνικό ποινικό δίκαιο όλες αυτές οι συμπεριφορές είναι ήδη ποινικά αδικήματα και αντιμετωπίζονται με αυστηρές κυρώσεις. Ειδικότερα, η λαθραία διακίνηση μεταναστών όπως αυτή προβλέπεται στο Πρωτόκολλο (άρθρο 6 παρ. 1 εδ. α ρυθμίζεται στην ελληνική νομοθεσία από το κεφάλαιο ΙΖ «Γενικές Υποχρεώσεις Κυρώσεις» του Ν. 3386/2005. Οι παράνομες συμπεριφορές που αναφέρονται στην παράγραφο 1 εδ. β (i και ii) καλύπτονται από τα άρθρα 216 του Ποινικού Κώδικα (Π.Κ.) (πλαστογραφία), 220 Π.Κ. (υφαρπαγή ψευδούς βεβαίωσης), 242 Π.Κ. (ψευδής βεβαίωση, νόθευση κ.λπ.), σε συνδυασμό με το άρθρο 187 παρ.1 Π.Κ.. Επίσης, εάν το ψευδές ταξιδιωτικό έγγραφο ή ταυτότητα εκδόθηκε με δωροδοκία ή εξαναγκασμό, εφαρμόζονται οι σχετικές διατάξεις του Π.Κ., όπως τα άρθρα 235, 236 Π.Κ. και 333, 385, 372, 374 Π.Κ.. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, το άρθρο 216 παρ.1 Π.Κ. (πλαστογραφία) τιμωρεί την κατάρτιση πλαστού και τη νόθευση του εγγράφου. Με το β εδάφιο της παραγράφου 1 η χρήση του εγγράφου από το ίδιο άτομο θεωρείται επιβαρυντική περίπτωση. Με την παράγραφο 2 τιμωρείται και όποιος εν γνώσει του κάνει χρήση πλαστού ή νοθευμένου εγγράφου. Επιπλέον, με το εδάφιο β της παραγράφου 3, με αυξημένη ποινή τιμωρείται ο υπαίτιος που διαπράττει πλαστογραφίες κατ επάγγελμα ή κατά συνήθεια και το συνολικό όφελος ή η συνολική ζημία υπερβαίνουν τα ευρώ. Με το άρθρο 242 Π.Κ. τιμωρείται ο υπαίτιος εάν είναι δημόσιος υπάλληλος και αρμόδιος για την έκδοση του πιστοποιητικού και σε αυτό βεβαιώνει ψευδή γεγονότα. Επίσης, τιμωρείται βαρύτερα εάν επιδιώκει τη διάπραξη των παραπάνω εγκλημάτων σε βαθμό κακουργήματος (216, 242) και συγκροτεί ή εντάσσεται ως μέλος σε εγκληματική οργάνωση, σύμφωνα με τις προϋποθέσεις του άρθρου 187 Π.Κ. Επιπλέον, στην ελληνική νομοθεσία και ειδικότερα στα άρθρα 87 παρ. 7 και 87 παρ. 8 του Ν. 3386/2005 τιμωρείται όποιος παράνομα κατέχει ή χρησιμοποιεί γνήσιο διαβατήριο ή άλλο ταξιδιωτικό έγγραφο άλλου προσώπου, επίσης όποιος παρακρατεί διαβατήριο ή άλλο ταξιδιωτικό έγγραφο άλλου προσώπου ή αρνείται να παραδώσει τούτο στην αρμόδια υπηρεσία, καθώς και όποιος κατέχει ή χρησιμοποιεί πλαστό διαβατήριο ή άλλο ταξιδιωτικό έγγραφο (άρθρο 87 παρ. 7). Τιμωρείται, επίσης, ο υπεύθυνος γραφείου ταξιδιών ή μετανάστευσης ή οποιοσδήποτε άλλος υποβάλλει για λογαριασμό τρίτου στην αρμόδια αρχή δικαιολογητικά έκδοσης ταξιδιωτικού εγγράφου με στοιχεία που δεν ανταποκρίνονται στην ταυτότητα του προσώπου αυτού, καθώς και εκείνος για λογαριασμό του οποίου υποβάλλονται τα δικαιολογητικά. Σχετικά με την ποινικοποίηση των συμπεριφορών που προβλέπονται στο άρθρο 6 παρ. 1 εδ. γ, η ελληνική νομοθεσία τιμωρεί επίσης τις άδικες αυτές πράξεις. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, η παροχή διευκόλυνσης παραμονής σε άτομο που έχει εισέλθει παράνομα στη χώρα αντιμετωπίζεται με τα άρθρα του Ν. 3386/2005, στα οποία: α) καθορίζονται οι περιπτώσεις κατά τις οποίες οι δημόσιες υπηρεσίες, τα Ν.Π.Δ.Δ., οι Ο.Τ.Α. και οι υπηρεσίες του ευρύτερου δημόσιου τομέα υποχρεούνται να μην παρέχουν τις υπηρεσίες τους σε υπηκόους τρίτης χώρας, καθώς και οι κυρώσεις που επιβάλλονται σε περίπτωση παράβασης, β) προβλέπονται οι υποχρεώσεις των συμβολαιογράφων κατά την κατάρτιση συμβολαιογραφικών πράξεων όταν συμβαλλόμενοι ή συμμετέχοντες καθ οιονδήποτε τρόπο σε αυτές είναι υπήκοοι τρίτων χωρών και οι σχετικές κυρώσεις σε περίπτωση παράβασης, γ) προβλέπονται οι υποχρεώσεις των εργοδοτών που απασχολούν υπηκόους τρίτων χωρών και οι σχετικές κυρώσεις σε περίπτωση παράβασης και δ) προβλέπονται οι υποχρεώσεις υπαλλήλων και λοιπών ιδιωτών και οι σχετικές κυρώσεις σε περίπτωση παράβασης, ενώ υπάρχει ρητή πρόβλεψη ποινής φυλάκισης τουλάχιστον 1 μηνός και χρηματικής ποινής τουλάχιστον ευρώ για όποιον διευκολύνει την παράνομη διαμονή υπηκόου τρίτης χώρας (άρθρο 87 παρ. 6) ή ποινής φυλάκισης τουλάχιστον 2 ετών, αν ο δράστης ενήργησε από κερδοσκοπία. Σχετικά με την ποινικοποίηση των συμπεριφορών που προβλέπονται στο άρθρο 6 παρ. 2 εδ. α (απόπειρα), η ελληνική νομοθεσία τιμωρεί τις άδικες αυτές πράξεις με τις γενικές διατάξεις του Π.Κ. περί απόπειρας και ειδικότερα το άρθρο 42 Π.Κ. Σχετικά με την ποινικοποίηση των συμπεριφορών που προβλέπονται στο άρθρο 6 παρ. 2 εδ. β (συμμετοχή), η ελληνική νομοθεσία τιμωρεί τις άδικες αυτές πράξεις με τις γενικές διατάξεις του Π.Κ. περί συμμετοχής και ειδικότερα τα άρθρα 45, 46, 47 Π.Κ. 156

157 Σχετικά με την ποινικοποίηση των συμπεριφορών που προβλέπονται στο άρθρο 6 παρ. 2 εδ. γ (οργάνωση ή καθοδήγηση), το Πρωτόκολλο, όπως αναφέρεται και στο άρθρο 4 αυτού, εφαρμόζεται όταν εμπλέκεται οργανωμένη εγκληματική ομάδα. Πέρα από τις γενικές διατάξεις του Π.Κ. περί συμμετοχής, οι έννοιες της οργάνωσης και διεύθυνσης (directing - κατά το αγγλικό κείμενο), τιμωρούνται σύμφωνα με όσα προβλέπονται στο παρόν νομοσχέδιο από το άρθρο 187 Π.Κ., όταν αφορούν στη διάπραξη κακουργημάτων. Με το άρθρο 87 παρ. 5 του Ν. 3386/2005καλύπτεται το άρθρο 6 παρ. 2γ του Πρωτοκόλλου για τα σχετικά κακουργήματα. Σχετικά με την ποινικοποίηση των συμπεριφορών που προβλέπονται στο άρθρο 6 παρ. 3 εδ. α του Πρωτοκόλλου για τις επιβαρυντικές περιστάσεις των αδικημάτων που προβλέπονται στις παραγράφους 1 και 2 του άρθρου 6 του Πρωτοκόλλου και ειδικότερα τις περιστάσεις εκείνες που θέτουν σε κίνδυνο ή μπορεί να θέσουν σε κίνδυνο τη ζωή ή την ασφάλεια των μεταναστών, ισχύει η πρόβλεψη του άρθρου 88 παρ. 1 εδ. γ και δ Ν. 3386/2005 που αφορούν στις περιπτώσεις που προέκυψε κίνδυνος για άνθρωπο ή επήλθε θάνατος κατά τη μεταφορά μεταναστών. Ισχύουν επίσης και οι σχετικές διατάξεις του ειδικού μέρους του Π.Κ. όπως π.χ. το άρθρο 306 (έκθεση). Σχετικά με την ποινικοποίηση των συμπεριφορών που προβλέπονται στο άρθρο 6 παρ. 3 εδ. β για τις επιβαρυντικές περιστάσεις των αδικημάτων που προβλέπονται στις παραγράφους 1 και 2 του άρθρου 6 του Πρωτοκόλλου και ειδικότερα τις περιστάσεις εκείνες που συνεπάγονται απάνθρωπη ή ταπεινωτική μεταχείριση των μεταναστών, στην οποία περιλαμβάνεται και αυτή που έχει σκοπό την εκμετάλλευσή τους, ισχύουν οι διατάξεις των άρθρων 323Α παρ. 1 Π.Κ. («εμπορία ανθρώπων», η βαριά σωματική βλάβη του παθόντος αποτελεί επιβαρυντική περίπτωση σύμφωνα με την παράγραφο 4 εδ. δ, το άρθρο 351 παρ. 4 εδ. γ Π.Κ. («σωματεμπορία», όπου ισχύει επιβαρυντική περίπτωση εάν η πράξη συνδέεται με την παράνομη είσοδο, παραμονή ή έξοδο του παθόντος από τη χώρα, σε περίπτωση θανάτου επιβάλλεται ισόβια κάθειρξη κατά την παράγραφο 5 του παραπάνω άρθρου). Με βάση τα παραπάνω δεν είναι αναγκαία η πρόβλεψη νέων ποινικών κυρώσεων για την αντιμετώπιση των συμπεριφορών που περιγράφονται στο άρθρο 6 του Πρωτοκόλλου. Τα άρθρα 7, 8 και 9 του Πρωτοκόλλου αφορούν στη συνεργασία και στη λήψη μέτρων κατά της λαθραίας διακίνησης μεταναστών από τη θάλασσα. Στο άρθρο 8 καθορίζονται τα μέτρα κατά της λαθραίας διακίνησης μεταναστών από τη θάλασσα και ειδικότερα η έγκριση ελέγχου πλοίων με ελληνική σημαία, όταν υπάρχουν υποψίες ότι μεταφέρει λαθρομετανάστες και η δυνατότητα ελέγχου από τις ελληνικές αρχές πλοίων ύποπτων για μεταφορά λαθρομεταναστών. Σχετικά με όσα ορίζονται στο άρθρο 8 παράγραφος 6 του Πρωτοκόλλου: «Ορισμός αρχής ή αρχών αρμόδιων να δέχονται και να ανταποκρίνονται σε αιτήσεις συνδρομής, επιβεβαίωσης νηολογίου ή του δικαιώματος ενός πλοίου να υψώνει τη σημαία του, καθώς και για την παροχή άδειας προς λήψη των κατάλληλων μέτρων και γνωστοποίηση του ορισμού αυτού μέσω του Γ.Γ. του Ο.Η.Ε. σε όλα τα Κράτη Μέρη εντός μηνός», στην πράξη επιλαμβάνονται οι αρμόδιες υπηρεσίες του Υπουργείου Ναυτιλίας και Αιγαίου και ειδικότερα οι αρμόδιες Διευθύνσεις του Λιμενικού Σώματος, όπως η Διεύθυνση Προστασίας Θαλασσίων Συνόρων. Επίσης με τον Κανονισμό (ΕΚ) 2007/2004 του Συμβουλίου ( , ΕΕ L 349/ ) έχει συσταθεί ο Ευρωπαϊκός Οργανισμός για τη διαχείριση της επιχειρησιακής συνεργασίας στα εξωτερικά σύνορα (FRONTEX) 19. Ο Ευρωπαϊκός Οργανισμός για τη διαχείριση της επιχειρησιακής συνεργασίας στα εξωτερικά σύνορα (FRONTEX) συντονίζει την επιχειρησιακή συνεργασία μεταξύ των κρατών - μελών στον τομέα της διαχείρισης των εξωτερικών συνόρων, επικουρεί τα κράτη - μέλη σε περιπτώσεις που απαιτείται αυξημένη τεχνική και επιχειρησιακή συνδρομή στα εξωτερικά σύνορα και ενισχύει την ασφάλεια των συνόρων εξασφαλίζοντας το συντονισμό των ενεργειών των κρατών μελών κατά την εφαρμογή των κοινοτικών μέτρων που αφορούν τη διαχείριση των εξωτερικών συνόρων. Παράλληλα στην 19 Τ. Korontzis, «The European policies for illegal immigration via EUROPOL and FRONTEX in Hellas». Εισήγηση που πραγματοποιήθηκε στο Διεθνές Επιστημονικό Συνέδριο με θέμα «Comparing and contrasting Europeanization : concepts and experiences» την Μαίου 2012 και διοργανώθηκε από το Ινστιτούτο Διεθνών Οικονομικών Σχέσεων (ΙΔΙΟΣ) [Institute of International Economic Relations (IIER/IDOS)] αναρτήθηκε στο δικτυακό τόπο 157

158 αντιμετώπιση της παράνομης μετανάστευσης συμβάλει και η Ευρωπαϊκή Αστυνομική Υπηρεσία (Europol) 20. Η Ελλάδα έχει κοινά εξωτερικά σύνορα, χερσαία και θαλάσσια με την Ε.Ε.. Στο άρθρο 9 του Πρωτοκόλλου καθορίζονται οι ρήτρες προστασίας σε περίπτωση που οι αρμόδιες ελληνικές αρχές λαμβάνουν μέτρα σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 8 του Πρωτοκόλλου αυτού. Το άρθρο 10 αναφέρεται στη συνεργασία των κρατών μερών για την ανταλλαγή πληροφοριών σε θέματα μετανάστευσης. Αρμόδια αρχή για την συλλογή και ανάλυση των πληροφοριών που προβλέπονται στο άρθρο 10 του Πρωτοκόλλου είναι το Τμήμα Ανάλυσης Εγκληματικότητας της Διεύθυνσης Δημόσιας Ασφάλειας του Αρχηγείου της Ελληνικής Αστυνομίας (Α.Ε.Α.), το οποίο είναι αρμόδιο για την εκπόνηση της έκθεσης για την κατάσταση του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος στην Ελλάδα. Στην παραπάνω αρχή (Διεύθυνση Δημόσιας Ασφάλειας) και με βάση όσα αναφέρονται στο άρθρο 13 του Πρωτοκόλλου ανατίθεται και ο έλεγχος της εγκυρότητας των ταξιδιωτικών εγγράφων. Τα όσα προβλέπονται στο άρθρο 11 παράγραφοι 1, 2, 3 και 4 του Πρωτοκόλλου καλύπτονται επαρκώς από τη νομοθεσία και ειδικότερα τον Ν. 3386/2005 και δη το άρθρο 88, το οποίο αφορά στις υποχρεώσεις των μεταφορέων. Σχετικά με τη λήψη μέτρων που προβλέπονται στην παράγραφο 5 του άρθρου 11 του Πρωτοκόλλου, το άρθρο 8 παρ. 2 του ν. 3386/2005 συμπληρώνεται με το εδάφιο στο οποίο προβλέπει την άρνηση εισόδου ή την ανάκληση της θεώρησης εισόδου σε πρόσωπο που εμπλέκεται με οιονδήποτε τρόπο σε παράνομη διακίνηση μεταναστών από οργανωμένα κυκλώματα, σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 6 του Πρωτοκόλλου (μέρος του εν λόγω άρθρου έχει τροποποιηθεί με το άρθρο 48 του Ν. 3772/2009). Στο άρθρο 76 παρ. 1 εδ. α του Ν. 3386/2005 προβλέπεται ήδη η διοικητική απέλαση αλλοδαπού που έχει καταδικαστεί τελεσίδικα, ανεξαρτήτως ποινής, για εγκλήματα που αφορούν μεταξύ άλλων προώθηση μεταναστών, διευκόλυνση μεταφοράς ή προώθησης ή εξασφάλισης καταλύματος και στο εδάφιο β και αν «έχει παραβιάσει τις διατάξεις του νόμου αυτού». Στα άρθρα προβλέπεται η υποχρέωση των κρατών μερών να λαμβάνουν τα αναγκαία μέτρα για την ασφάλεια, τον έλεγχο και την εγκυρότητα των ταξιδιωτικών εγγράφων και των ταυτοτήτων, για τα οποία ισχύουν όσα αναφέρθηκαν και στο προηγούμενο Πρωτόκολλο. Σχετικά με το άρθρο 14 του Πρωτοκόλλου, η Ελλάδα έχει αναλάβει πρωτοβουλίες για την εκπαίδευση των στελεχών των αρμόδιων υπηρεσιών δίωξης της λαθρομετανάστευσης, κυρίως των στελεχών του Υπουργείου Δημοσίας Τάξης και Προστασίας του Πολίτη (ΕΛ.ΑΣ.) και Ναυτιλίας και Αιγαίου (Λιμενικό Σώμα Λ.Σ.) για θέματα παράνομης μετανάστευσης με εκπαιδεύσεις στο Πολυεθνικό Κέντρο Εκπαιδεύσεων Επιχειρήσεων της Ειρήνης (Π.Κ.Ε.Ε.Υ.Ε.) στο Κιλκίς, με την διοργάνωση σεμιναρίων εκπαιδεύσεων στην Ελλάδα μέσω της Ευρωπαϊκής Ακαδημίας (CEPOL) για μεταφορά εμπειρίας και τεχνογνωσίας. Σχετικά με όσα προβλέπονται στο άρθρο 15 του Πρωτοκόλλου, στο άρθρο 66 του Ν. 3386/2005 και γενικότερα στο κεφάλαιο ΙΒ που αφορά στην κοινωνική ένταξη των μεταναστών, στο ολοκληρωμένο πρόγραμμα δράσης, στα υποπρογράμματα που προβλέπονται στην παράγραφο 3 του άρθρου 66 και αφορούν στην ευαισθητοποίηση της κοινής γνώμης, προβλέπεται η ενημέρωση της κοινής γνώμης και για τους κινδύνους από την παράνομη μετανάστευση από οργανωμένες εγκληματικές ομάδες. Επίσης στο άρθρο 2 του Π.Δ. 188/2002 (Α 175), «Σύσταση Ινστιτούτου Μεταναστευτικής Πολιτικής», που αφορά στους σκοπούς του Ινστιτούτου Μεταναστευτικής Πολιτικής, στο εδ. γ, αναφέρεται ως σκοπός και «ο σχεδιασμός και υλοποίηση επικοινωνιακής πολιτικής για την ευαισθητοποίηση της κοινωνίας των πολιτών σε θέματα μετανάστευσης». Το άρθρο 16 προβλέπει υποχρέωση των κρατών μερών για την υιοθέτηση μέτρων προστασίας των ατόμων που είναι θύματα λαθραίας διακίνησης μεταναστών, σύμφωνα με όσα ορίζει το άρθρο 6 του Πρωτοκόλλου. Η Ελλάδα, με το Ν. 3386/2005 αξιοποιώντας την προηγούμενη νομοθετική εμπειρία και πρακτική και θεσμοθετώντας για πρώτη φορά ρυθμίσεις για την κοινωνική ένταξη των μεταναστών στην ελληνική κοινωνία, έχει θεσπίσει ένα σύστημα διαχείρισης της μεταναστευτικής πολιτικής, το οποίο όμως φαίνεται ότι μπορεί πάντως να συμπληρωθεί, επεκτείνοντας την εφαρμογή των προστατευτικών διατάξεων που 20 Τ. Κοροντζής, «Ευρωπαϊκή Αστυνομική Υπηρεσία: EUROPOL», Εθνικές Επάλξεις, τχ 97, Ιούλιος Αύγουστος Σεπτέμβριος 2011, σ.σ

159 ισχύουν για τα θύματα εμπορίας και στα πρόσωπα που κατέστησαν αντικείμενο παράνομης διακίνησης μεταναστών. Για το σκοπό αυτό επαναπροσδιορίζεται ο τίτλος του πιο πάνω νόμου, η νομική έννοια του όρου «θύμα εμπορίας ανθρώπων», (άρθρο 1ι), και «θύμα παράνομης διακίνησης μεταναστών» (άρθρο 1κ) και θεσπίζονται πολύ σημαντικά μέτρα για τη παραμονή και τη νόμιμη εργασία στη χώρα προσώπων που έχουν χαρακτηρισθεί με βάση τις πιο πάνω έννοιες. Συγκεκριμένα, αναβαθμίζεται η ήδη προβλεπόμενη χορήγηση και ανανέωση αδειών παραμονής σε αλλοδαπούς, υπηκόους τρίτων χωρών, που εισήλθαν παράνομα στη χώρα σύμφωνα και με τις προβλέψεις του άρθρου 14 της Σύμβασης του Συμβουλίου της Ευρώπης για τη Δράση κατά της Διακίνησης και Εμπορίας Ανθρώπων, εάν υπήρξαν θύματα εμπορίας ή παράνομης διακίνησης μεταναστών (άρθρα Ν. 3386/2005), εφόσον η διαμονή τους κρίνεται απαραίτητη είτε εξαιτίας της προσωπικής τους κατάστασης είτε για σκοπούς συνεργασίας με τις αρμόδιες διωκτικές αρχές (άρθρα Ν. 3386/2005), παρέχεται η δυνατότητα χορήγησης άδειας διαμονής περιορισμένης ισχύος, λαμβάνεται ιδιαίτερη μέριμνα για τους ασυνόδευτους ανηλίκους, χορηγείται προθεσμία περίσκεψης τριών μηνών με δυνατότητα παράτασης για τους ανηλίκους στη διάρκεια της οποίας δεν εκδίδονται και δεν εκτελούνται αποφάσεις απέλασης και παρέχεται προστασία και αρωγή, ενώ τέλος υπάρχει ήδη και η γενική δυνατότητα χορήγησης και ανανέωσης άδειας παραμονής για ανθρωπιστικούς λόγους κατά το άρθρο 44 παρ. 1 εδ. βγ και 4 Ν. 3386/2005). Σχετικά με τα άρθρα 17 και 18 του Πρωτοκόλλου, η Ελλάδα και οι αρμόδιες υπηρεσίες της έχουν συνάψει πλήθος συμφωνιών για την αντιμετώπιση της παράνομης μετανάστευσης. Η Ελλάδα δεν αποτελεί τόπο προέλευσης, αλλά τόπο προορισμού ή διέλευσης μεταναστών, γι αυτό και έχει υπογράψει σχετικές συμβάσεις και συνεργάζεται με διάφορες χώρες, κυρίως γειτονικές, σε θέματα επανεισδοχής και επαναπροώθησης 21. Τα θέματα επιστροφής των μεταναστών ρυθμίζονται από ειδικές συμβάσεις, με την επιφύλαξη των σχετικών ρυθμίσεων για τους πρόσφυγες και τη χορήγηση πολιτικού ασύλου. Εν προκειμένω ισχύουν, με την επιφύλαξη των διατάξεων που αφορούν την προστασία και αρωγή των θυμάτων, οι διατάξεις για την απέλαση αλλοδαπών που παραβίασαν τις διατάξεις του νόμου (άρθρα 76 επ. Ν. 3386/2005) και εισήλθαν παράνομα στην Ελλάδα. Με τα άρθρα επίσημες γλώσσες, τις προϋποθέσεις καταγγελίας και τη διατύπωση επιφυλάξεων. Σχετικά με τη διατύπωση επιφύλαξης που προβλέπεται στο άρθρο 20 παράγραφος 3 του Πρωτοκόλλου (επίλυση διαφορών), η διατύπωση επιφύλαξης ως προς την επίλυση των διαφορών που αφορούν στην ερμηνεία ή στην εφαρμογή του Πρωτοκόλλου με διαπραγματεύσεις και σε περίπτωση μη επίλυσης, την υποβολή αίτησης για διαιτησία και περαιτέρω σε περίπτωση αδυναμίας για την οργάνωση της διαιτησίας την παραπομπή της διαφοράς σε διεθνές δικαστήριο, δεν αποτελούν γνωστή διαδικασία στην ελληνική έννομη τάξη. Η ελληνική πολιτεία κάνει χρήση της παραγράφου 3 του άρθρου 20 και δηλώνει ότι δεν δεσμεύεται από την παράγραφο 2 του άρθρου αυτού. 3.Η κατάσταση στα θαλάσσια σύνορα Ελλάδας Τουρκίας την περίοδο Το φαινόμενο της παράνομης μετανάστευσης που αποτελεί πρόβλημα για τα περισσότερα Κ-Μ της Ε.Ε., παρατηρείται έντονα και στη χώρα μας, δεδομένης της γεωγραφικής της θέσης, της ιδιομορφίας των συνόρων της και της εγγύτητας της με την Τουρκία 22 καθιστώντας την κομβικό σημείο για την παράνομη διακίνηση μεταναστών. Κατά συνέπεια είναι επιβεβλημένη ανάγκη η αποτελεσματική επιτήρηση των θαλασσίων συνόρων. Τον πλέον σημαντικό ρόλο για την φύλαξη των ελληνικών αλλά ταυτόχρονα και ευρωπαϊκών θαλασσίων συνόρων διαδραματίζει το Λ.Σ. 23, ο κατεξοχήν αρμόδιος θεσμικά φορέας αστυνόμευσης του θαλάσσιου χώρου στον ελληνικό χώρο. Το Λ.Σ καλείται με τα στελέχη του, τον εξοπλισμό και τα μέσα που διαθέτει να υλοποιήσει τόσο τις εθνικές όσο και τις ευρωπαϊκές πολιτικές που έχουν αναπτυχθεί αλλά και 21 Ν. 2926/2001 (Α 139), Ν. 3030/2002 (Α 163), Ν. 3540/2007 (Α 46), Ν. 3543/2007 (Α 60) 22 Για την μεθοδολογία (Modus Operandi) βλ. Τ. Korontzis, «The contribution of EUROPOL and FRONTEX in combating the phenomenon of illegal immigration in Hellas». Review of European Studies, Vol. 4, issue 1, March. 2012, p.p , (doi: /res.v4n1p188) (in Hellenic). 23 Τ. Korontzis, «The role of the Hellenic Coast Guard in the Hellenic internal security and in combating the phenomenon of organized crime», International Review of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. 3, issue 1, April 2012, p.p

160 αναπτύσσονται. Το έργο όμως που καλείται να υλοποιήσει είναι δύσκολο, λόγω των χαρακτηριστικών της ελληνική γεωπολιτικής πραγματικότητας 24. Χάρτης 3: Ευρωπαϊκή Επιχείρηση «Ποσειδών Θαλάσσια Σύνορα» Πηγή: Αρχηγείο Λιμενικού Σώματος/ Διεύθυνση Προστασίας Θαλασσίων Συνόρων, 01/ Τ. Korontzis, «The contribution of EUROPOL and FRONTEX in combating the phenomenon of illegal immigration in Hellas». ο.π. 160

161 Χάρτης 4: Ροές Μεταναστών Πηγή: Αρχηγείο Λιμενικού Σώματος/ Διεύθυνση Προστασίας Θαλασσίων Συνόρων, 01/2013 Λόγω της στρατηγικής θέσης της Ελλάδας, οι αστυνομικές αρχές και δη το Λ.Σ. και η ΕΛ.ΑΣ. αντιμετωπίζουν σε καθημερινή βάση δεκάδες περιστατικά διακίνησης παράνομων μεταναστών, κυρίως από τα νότια και ανατολικά θαλάσσια σύνορα της. Πολλά από τα περιστατικά αυτά εξελίσσονται σε επιχειρήσεις έρευνας και διάσωσης καθώς οι περισσότεροι εκ των παράνομων μεταναστών κατόπιν και συμβουλών που παρέχουν οι διακινητές όταν αντιληφθούν Πλωτά Περιπολικά Σκάφη του Λ.Σ.-ΕΛ.ΑΚΤ., βουλιάζουν συνήθως τις φουσκωτές λέμβους που τους μεταφέρουν, ή πέφτουν στη θάλασσα από άλλα σκάφη προκειμένου να αντιμετωπιστούν ως άτομα που χρειάζονται διάσωση. Κατά συνέπεια από ένα σημείο και πέρα οι επιχειρήσεις χαρακτηρίζονται όχι ως αποτροπής αλλά ως έρευνας και διάσωσης. Κατά το χρονικό διάστημα 2010 έως τον Ιούλιο του 2012 παρατηρήθηκε μετατόπιση ροών προς τα χερσαία Ελληνοτουρκικά σύνορα. Η μετατόπιση αυτών των ροών οφείλεται: Α.- Στη συστηματική επιτήρηση των θαλασσίων συνόρων στο πλαίσιο της επιχείρησης «Ποσειδών». Β.- Στην αυστηροποίηση των ποινών που επιβάλλονται στους διακινητές παράνομων μεταναστών σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 48 του Ν. 3772/2009. Γ.- Στον ορισμό του λιμένα Δικελίου στην Τουρκία ως λιμένα επανεισδοχής. Δ.- Στη φιλελεύθερη πολιτική που ακολούθησε η Τουρκία (Visa) και την επέκταση των Τουρκικών αερογραμμών στην Αφρική. Ε.- Στην προσβασιμότητα των χερσαίων συνόρων σε σχέση με τα θαλάσσια σύνορα. Από τον Αύγουστο του 2012 έως σήμερα παρατηρείται μετατόπιση των μεταναστευτικών ροών από τα χερσαία Ελληνοτουρκικά σύνορα στα θαλάσσια. Αυτό οφείλεται στους εξής λόγους: Α.- Στην ενίσχυση των μέτρων επιτήρησης στα χερσαία Ελληνοτουρκικά σύνορα με τη συνδρομή δυνάμεων που έχει διαθέσει η FRONTEX αλλά και την κατασκευή του φράχτη 25. Β.- Στον αποτρεπτικό ρόλο που διαδραματίζει η λειτουργία κέντρων υποδοχής μεταναστών στην παραμεθόριο. Γ.- Η επιδείνωση της κατάστασης που παρατηρείται στη Συρία. Δ.- Η συνεχής εισροή αλλοδαπών στην Τουρκία. Ε.- Η αδυναμία παραμονής των αλλοδαπών για μεγάλο χρονικό διάστημα στα νησιά του Ανατολικού αιγαίου. ΣΤ- Η μη εφαρμογή του πρωτοκόλλου με την Τουρκία για την επανεισδοχή μεταναστών. Οι συνέπειες των ανωτέρω είναι: 25 Τ. Korontzis, «The European policies for illegal immigration via EUROPOL and FRONTEX in Hellas», ο.π. 161

162 Α.- Μεγάλη συγκέντρωση αριθμού μεταναστών στα παράλια της Τουρκίας. Β.- Η επαναδραστηριοποίηση των δικτύων για προώθηση μεταναστών στα νησιά που βρίσκονται πλησιέστερα στην Τουρκική ακτογραμμή, ήτοι Σύμη, Φαρμακονήσι, Αγαθονήσι, Σάμο και Λέσβο. Γ.- Κλιμάκωση περιστατικών εισόδου, η πλειοψηφία των οποίων μετατρέπεται σε περιστατικά έρευνας και διάσωσης. Τα μέτρα αντιμετώπισης που λαμβάνονται από το Λ.Σ. για να αντιμετωπιστούν οι κλιμακούμενες ροές στα νησιά του Ανατολικού Αιγαίου είναι: Α.- Εντατικοποίηση επιτήρησης περιπολιών θαλάσσιων περιοχών και ακτογραμμής. Β.- Ενίσχυση των Λιμενικών Αρχών στην παραμεθόριο με σκάφη και με ελικόπτερα. Γ.- Εντατικοποίηση της συνεργασίας με την ΕΛ..ΑΣ. για ταυτοποίηση αφενημέρωση των αλλοδαπών. Δ.- Αποστολή αιτήματος για συνδρομή από την FRONTEX. Ε.-Παράταση της επιχείρησης «Ποσειδών- Θαλάσσια σύνορα» από την FRONTEX και ενίσχυση με επιπρόσθετα επιχειρησιακά μέσα και εμπειρογνώμονες των Κ-Μ της Ε.Ε.. ΣΤ.- Ενέργειες προς την Τουρκική Ακτοφυλακή για να αποτραπεί η παράνομη είσοδος από την Τουρκία μεταναστών. Ζ.- Σύσταση συντονιστικής ομάδας διακλαδικής συνεργασίας Λ.Σ., ΕΛ.ΑΣ., Γ.Ε.ΕΘ.Α, Ε.Σ., Π.Ν., Ε.Υ.Π.. Οι εκτιμήσεις για την εξέλιξη του εν λόγω φαινομένου είναι οι ακόλουθες: Α.- Παράταση αστάθειας σε χώρες της Μέσης Ανατολής, Πακιστάν, Ιράκ, Αφγανιστάν και Βόρειο Αφρική. Β.- Διατήρηση υψηλών μεταναστευτικών πιέσεων στα ανατολικά θαλάσσια και χερσαία σύνορα της Χώρας. Γ.- Αύξηση περιστατικών παράνομης εξόδου από ακτές της Δυτικής Ελλάδας και της Πελοποννήσου. Χάρτης 5: Συλλήψεις αλλοδαπών Πηγή: Αρχηγείο Λιμενικού Σώματος/ Διεύθυνση Προστασίας Θαλασσίων Συνόρων, 01/

163 Χάρτης 6: Συλλήψεις διακινητών Πηγή: Αρχηγείο Λιμενικού Σώματος/ Διεύθυνση Προστασίας Θαλασσίων Συνόρων, 01/2013 Χάρτης 7: Μετατόπιση ροών Πηγή: Αρχηγείο Λιμενικού Σώματος/ Διεύθυνση Προστασίας Θαλασσίων Συνόρων, 01/

164 Χάρτης 8: Εθνικότητες εισερχομένων Πηγή: Αρχηγείο Λιμενικού Σώματος/ Διεύθυνση Προστασίας Θαλασσίων Συνόρων, 01/2013 Συμπεράσματα Το οργανωμένο έγκλημα και δη η διάσταση της παράνομης μετανάστευσης, απασχόλησε και απασχολεί ολόκληρη τη διεθνή κοινότητα, αφού αποτελεί μία από τις σοβαρότερες απειλές που έχουν να αντιμετωπίσουν τα σύγχρονα κράτη, τόσο σε εθνικό επίπεδο όσο και σε διεθνές επίπεδο ως μέλη της διεθνούς κοινότητας. Από την ανάλυση προέκυψε ότι τα περισσότερα από τα ζητήματα που είχε θέτει η Σύμβαση για την λαθραία διακίνηση μεταναστών, έχουν καλυφθεί από τα ελληνικά νομικά κείμενα. Αναμφίβολα η διεθνής αστυνομική συνεργασία αποτελεί τον σημαντικότερο παράγοντα αντιμετώπισης της παράνομης μετανάστευσης η οποία αποτελεί μία από τις πλέον σοβαρές μορφές εγκληματικής δραστηριότητας, εμπορευόμενη τις ελπίδες των ανθρώπων για ένα καλύτερο μέλλον. Για την αντιμετώπιση της έχουν εκπονηθεί διμερείς και πολυμερείς συμφωνίες των κρατών, νέες μέθοδοι έρευνας και διεθνούς αστυνομικής συνεργασίας. Η τελευταία είχε προβεί στη λήψη όλων των αναγκαίων νομικών μέτρων για την αντιμετώπιση της παράνομης μετανάστευσης, ενώ παράλληλα η συμμετοχή των Διωκτικών της Αρχών με στελέχη τους σε διεθνείς και ευρωπαϊκούς οργανισμούς αρμόδιους για την καταπολέμηση της δείχνει τη βούληση της να την αντιμετωπίσει στο μέγιστο δυνατό βαθμό. Η Ελλάδα θα πρέπει μέσω της κατάλληλης εξωτερικής πολιτικής, να επιδιώξει την αντιμετώπιση του γενικότερου προβλήματος της παράνομης μετανάστευσης είτε σε διμερές-διακρατικό επίπεδο, είτε κυρίως σε επίπεδο διεθνών οργανισμών (Ο.Η.Ε., Ε.Ε., Ο.Α.Σ.Ε.). Είναι ευνόητο ότι μεγάλη σημασία για την αντιμετώπιση του συγκεκριμένου φαινομένου διαδραματίζει η άσκηση πιέσεων στην Τουρκία μέσω κυρίως της Ε.Ε. ώστε να εφαρμοστεί η συμφωνία που έχει υπογραφεί μεταξύ της Ελλάδας και της Τουρκίας για την επανεισδοχή των παράνομων μεταναστών που εισέρχονται στην Ε.Ε. μέσω της Ελλάδας. Σε Ευρωπαϊκό επίπεδο η Ελλάδα θα πρέπει να συνεχίσει, όπως και πράττει να μετέχει ενεργά στους ευρωπαϊκούς οργανισμούς και πρωτοβουλίες (Frontex, Europol κ.λπ.) ούτως ώστε να αξιοποιήσει κατά τον καλύτερο τρόπο τις δυνατότητες που της παρέχονται για αποτελεσματικότερη φύλαξη και επιτήρηση των θαλάσσιων συνόρων της με την βοήθεια και των Ευρωπαίων εταίρων της, είτε με την απορρόφηση κοινοτικών πόρων, είτε επιδιώκοντας να καταστήσει τα Κ-Μ της Ε.Ε. κοινωνούς και συνδιαχειριστές του προβλήματος που αντιμετωπίζει στα ανατολικά θαλάσσια σύνορα με την παράνομη διακίνηση μεταναστών, κάτι το οποίο επιτυγχάνεται με την παρουσία συνοριοφυλάκων από άλλα Κ-Μ στην Ελλάδα μέσω της FRONTEX, τα οποία γίνονται κοινωνοί της κατάστασης που επικρατεί κυρίως στα Ελληνοτουρκικά σύνορα, μεταφέροντας τις εμπειρίες στη Χώρα τους. Επιπρόσθετα η παρουσία τους 164

165 κατοχυρώνει τα Ελληνικά σύνορα ως σύνορα της Ε.Ε., με ευνόητες συνέπειες έναντι των σχέσεων μας με την Τουρκία. Παράλληλα θα πρέπει να συνεχιστεί η προσπάθεια θωράκισης των θαλάσσιων συνόρων της σε εθνικό επίπεδο, στο πλαίσιο μιας σφαιρικότερης αντιμετώπισης του φαινομένου αυτού όσο και της πάταξης του λαθρεμπορίου και των λοιπών έκνομων ενεργειών και δραστηριοτήτων σε στενή συνεργασία με Ε.Δ. και ΕΛ.ΑΣ.. Η φύλαξη των θαλασσίων συνόρων αφορά πέρα από την παράνομη διακίνηση των μεταναστών, θαλάσσια τρομοκρατία, προστασία κρίσιμων υποδομών, όπλα μαζικής καταστροφής, οργανωμένο έγκλημα κ.λπ.. δηλαδή παράνομες δραστηριότητες που επηρεάζουν την εθνική ασφάλεια. Ο αποτελεσματικός έλεγχος των θαλασσίων συνόρων είναι μια πρόκληση και απαιτεί μια πολυεπίπεδη προσπάθεια τόσο σε Ευρωπαϊκό επίπεδο όσο και σε εθνικό επίπεδο καθώς οι δύο πολιτικές πρέπει να δρουν συμπληρωματικά. Τα Κ-Μ δεν μπορούν από μόνα τους να δώσουν λύσεις σε αυτό το παγκόσμιο φαινόμενο. Χρειάζονται διεθνείς πρωτοβουλίες οι οποίες σε κάθε περίπτωση θα λαμβάνουν υπόψη τους τα νομικά κείμενα για προστασία των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων. Η σχεδίαση αποτελεσματικών μεταναστευτικών πολιτικών σε βάθος χρόνου σε συνδυασμό με την ασφαλή φύλαξη επιτήρηση των συνόρων ενδεχομένως θα βοηθήσει στον περιορισμό του αριθμού των παρανόμως εισερχομένων μεταναστών στην Ε.Ε. αλλά καθώς το φαινόμενο οφείλεται σε κοινωνικοοικονομικά αίτια, τα οποία η Ε.Ε. θα πρέπει πρωτίστως να τα αντιμετωπίσει στον τόπο που δημιουργούνται. Οικονομική ενίσχυση, δημιουργία υποδομών, παροχή τεχνογνωσίας, σύναψη συμβάσεων οικονομικού χαρακτήρα κ.λπ., ή αλλιώς η ενεργής οικονομική εξωτερική πολιτική της Ε.Ε. ενδεχόμενα να αποφέρει περισσότερα αποτελέσματα σε αντίθεση με την ένταση των μέτρων επιτήρησης και φύλαξης των θαλασσίων συνόρων που σε τελικά ανάλυση αποτελούν αστυνομικά μέτρα. Προτεινόμενες δράσεις για επιτυχή αντιμετώπιση της παράνομης μετανάστευσης: Α.- Διατήρηση επιτήρησης και επιχειρησιακής ετοιμότητας σε υψηλό επίπεδο. Β.-Αποτελεσματική προστασία νοτιοανατολικών συνόρων της Ε.Ε. από κοινού και σε συνεργασία με τα υπόλοιπα Κ-Μ της Ε.Ε. και τους αρμόδιους Ευρωπαϊκούς Οργανισμούς. Γ.-Λειτουργία κέντρων υποδοχής και διαμονής σε νησιά του Ανατολικού Αιγαίου. Δ.- εφαρμογή πρωτοκόλλου επανεισδοχής με την Τουρκία. Ε.-Περαιτέρω ενίσχυση διακλαδικής συνεργασίας ιδιαίτερα ως προς τον εντοπισμό μικρών σκαφών και την εξάρθρωση οργανωμένων εγκληματικών δικτύων διακίνησης αλλοδαπών. ΣΤ.-Υλοποίηση Εθνικού Συντονιστικού Κέντρου προκειμένου να συντονίζεται η συνεργασία των αρμοδίων εθνικών αρχών επιτήρησης εξωτερικών συνόρων και της αναβάθμισης της επιχειρησιακής συνεργασίας με τα υπόλοιπα Κ-Μ της Ε.Ε. και τον FRONTEX. ΒΙΒΛΙΟΓΡΑΦΙΑ-ΑΡΘΡΟΓΡΑΦΙΑ Η αναφερόμενη στις παραπομπές 165

166

167 STUDY ON THE BRAIN DRAIN OF GRASS-ROOTS CIVIL SERVANTS IN CHINA YIN LIANG, Hebei University of Economics and Business MIAORAN LI, Hebei University of Economics and Business Abstract: Civil servants are the implementers of the national will. Their overall quality level is directly related to the administrative efficiency and effect of the grass-roots government. Nowadays, the brain drain phenomenon of grass-roots civil servants in China has become increasingly serious. The loss of talent not only produces a large number of human resources cost, but also has a huge impact to the stability of the grass-roots civil servants in China. Therefore, it is an important task to attract, develop and use excellent talents, and establish a talents work mechanism full of vigor and vitality in the building of grass-roots civil servants. Characteristics of brain drain, reasons and solutions toward the loss of civil servants at the grassroots level are also discussed. Key words: grass-roots; civil servants; brain drain; characteristics; reasons; solutions 我国基层公务员人才流失问题研究梁尹李万县摘要 : 公务员队伍是国家意志的具体实施者, 他们整体素质的高低直接关系到基层政府行政效率的高低和行政效果的好坏 目前, 我国基层公务员人才流失现象日趋严重, 人才的流失除了产生大量的人力资源费用, 还对我国基层组织公务员的稳定性造成了巨大的影响 因此, 吸引 培养 用好优秀人才, 建立充满生机和活力的人才工作机制是我国基层公务员队伍建设的一项重要任务 本文通过阐述基层公务员人才流失的特点, 分析人才流失的原因, 探讨了针对基层公务员人才流失的对策 关键词 : 基层 ; 公务员 ; 人才流失 ; 特点 ; 原因 ; 对策 1. 引言基层公务员, 是指我国县 镇 乡科局级单位政府部门属于非领导地位的公务员 基层政府的工作效率和工作效果与基层公务员的整体素质息息相关 随着我国市场经济的发展, 基层公务员队伍建设存在着许多阻碍因素 基层公务员人才的流失给政府带来了很大的损失, 虽然目前我国对基层公务员素质的提高与人才的保留采取了一定的措施, 但仍有待改善 2. 基层公务员人才流失的特点随着市场经济体制的不断完善, 我国基层公务员队伍中相继出现的人才流失现象, 呈现出了一定的特点 2.1 人才流失年轻化从马斯洛需求理论来分析, 当今社会形势下, 年轻的人才大多不仅倾向于薪酬福利的保障, 更多的还是追求自我价值的实现 但是, 有志青年经过层层选拔考入基层行政组织, 现实中枯燥重复的工作, 并没有与他们的理想对接, 因此许多青年感到自我价值难以实现, 并想要追求更有意义的工作, 于是年轻公务员的辞职成了一种普遍的现象 2.2 人才流失男性多基层公务员人才流失的绝大部分是男性 因为男性作为家庭经济的顶梁柱, 生活压力比女性高出很多, 男性找工作较女性更容易, 如果基层公务员的薪酬福利及晋升长期不能达到自我的期望, 男性更易产生跳槽念头, 通过另谋职位来实现自我, 充分发挥自己的价值 另外, 在基层公务员中, 男女比例明显失衡, 这也是促使男性青年人才流失的因素之一 2.3 业务骨干流失多基层公务员人才流失比较多的还有业务骨干人群 作为基层组织的业务骨干, 他们都对组织环境及工作内容相当熟悉, 再经过基层工作的锻炼, 更提高了自己的工作水平和业务能力, 于是 167

168 他们更容易凭借自己的高业务水平和能力寻找机会脱离基层环境, 如去更高的行政组织或去更好的企业 有的基层组织还会给基层公务员提供外出脱产学习的机会, 然而当他们学成之后, 会产生在基层组织继续工作的抵触心理 因此造成业务骨干的流失, 这不仅不利于基层公务员队伍的稳定性, 还对基层组织的正常工作产生了影响 2.4 高学历人才流失多基层公务员人才流失的另外一个特点就是高学历的人才流失较多 一个公务员的学历高了, 对自我的需求与要求就会相应的提高 低学历的基层公务员追求的是稳定的工作, 而高学历的人才更追求自我价值的实现和自我发展, 更注重的是职业成就感 高学历的人才到基层参加工作, 会产生大材小用的想法, 更会接受不了基层的艰苦环境, 如此会导致高学历的公务员人才大量流失 这样便会拉低基层公务员队伍的整体文化素质, 不利于基层组织的长远发展 3. 基层公务员人才流失的原因我国基层公务员人才的流失会直接影响基层公务员队伍的综合素质 对基层公务员人才流失的原因进行分析是缓解人才流失现象过程中的一项重要工作 3.1 多种因素使基层公务员失去对工作的认同感与归属感在我国政府部门的工作的基层公务员, 被公认是具有稳定的收入和工作的人员, 是很多人所梦寐以求的职位 然而十八大召开以来, 各种规章制度的建立 整顿风气工作的落实以及违法乱纪的整顿等, 使公务员的职位变得不再稳定, 更使得报考公务员职位的人员越来越少 另外, 各种上级行政部门文件的下放 精神的贯彻落实等, 加大了基层公务员的工作压力, 更使基层公务员对工作失去了积极性 有限的人员, 无限增大的工作量, 多种因素促使基层公务员失去了对工作的认同感与归属感 3.2 薪资福利不合理基层公务员人才流失的重要原因就是薪资福利发放的不合理 一方面由于我国的公务员实行的是职级工资制, 即以职务和级别为主 基本工资都一样, 奖金 津贴 补贴等大部分都不是可以随工作的具体内容而进行调整的 而处于低级别的基层公务员, 职务和级别都低, 因此工资不高, 待遇也差强人意, 公务员为追求更高的薪酬待遇会选择跳槽等从而造成人才的流失 另一方面有些工作管理人员与专业技术人员的分类管理不清晰, 使得有些专业技术人员不能拿到与自己能力相匹配的薪资待遇, 自己的专业技术能力难以施展, 因而不易留住专业技术人员 3.3 不科学的考核 晋升机制使基层人员丧失工作积极性我国基层公务员的考核晋升机制存在着许多不足之处 一是考核的机制不健全, 考核过程的不公平, 考核的内容和标准不具体, 考核方法的不灵活以及考核的结果与激励机制结合不到位, 使得考核机制缺乏科学性 二是基层公务员的晋升制度匮乏, 晋升的依据不明确, 方法和程序缺乏系统性, 晋升有时会依赖上级的主观判断, 有失公平 因此基层公务员工作丧失了积极性, 造成了人才的流失 3.4 基层人才的个性发展被限制我国基层行政组织的工作单调 环境艰苦 工作内容比较杂, 在这样的工作条件下, 基层公务员只能按部就班的工作, 不能发挥自己的长处, 如此便限制了基层人才的个性发展 此外, 基层工作中复杂的人际关系, 使得上级与下级 同级之间缺乏真实的了解, 给基层人员造成了压力, 不仅影响了行政组织的工作质量, 人才的流失也成了不可避免的现象 3.5 基层公务员培训机制不完善基层公务员的培训是大力开发人力资源, 提高基层人员整体素质, 确保政府工作顺利进行的重要途径 而我国基层公务员的培训机制面临很多问题 : 公务员培训制度的不健全, 对培训的认识不足, 培训机构达不到培训的要求, 培训的内容 方针 方式不完善, 在培训中不能够将培训效果与激励机制相结合, 达不到应有的培训效果等 此外, 我国对基层人才培训的实施还存在着资金投入不到位的情况, 培训的设施及教学设备不先进等, 不能保证公务员进行全面的培训而常常流于形式 168

169 4. 基层公务员人才流失的对策探讨根据基层公务员人才流失的特点及原因的分析, 需要从多方面来探讨能够留住基层人才的对策 4.1 健全基层公务员的薪资福利体系我国基层公务员人才流失的相继增多最主要的原因之一, 就是薪资福利体系的不健全, 现今的薪酬制度与福利待遇并不能够满足基层公务员的需求, 对基层人才的激励作用甚微, 激励效果不明显 因此, 首先, 政府应该建立一套完善的薪资福利发放体系, 适当提高偏远贫困地区基层公务员的基本工资, 保障基层人才对生活的基本需求 并有力地发展地方经济, 减少地区之间的贫富差距 其次, 可以为基层公务员提供必要的福利, 在杜绝奢侈浪费的原则上, 为公务员发放生活所需的福利 津贴和补贴 再次, 根据基层人才所掌握的技能 专业水平及对工作贡献的大小, 将福利奖金等与绩效水平相结合, 绩效好的奖金福利就高, 绩效差的奖金福利相应就低, 这样不仅能够体现政府的公平性, 还能有效激励公务员工作的积极性, 从而广纳人才, 留住现有人才 4.2 完善基层公务员的考核 晋升 奖励机制在基层公务员的考核方面, 政府应该从上级 下级 同级等多方面进行考核, 明确分工, 分清职责, 遵循公平公正的原则, 建立一套完善的绩效考核指标体系 公务员的晋升应秉承公平 公开 竞争 择优的原则, 要任人唯贤, 杜绝任人唯亲, 不仅要注重基层公务员的品德修养 学识水平和工作经验等, 还要重视工作的实际业绩 工作能力以及做出的实际贡献 完善基层公务员的晋升机制, 提高竞争意识, 充分发挥个人的优势与才能, 健全监督保障机制, 确保公务员的公平合理晋升 奖励对提高公务员的工作积极性及工作效率具有重要的作用, 它保障基层人才对工作反馈的需求, 调动了公务员的主动性与创新能力 奖励要进行物质奖励与精神奖励相结合的方式, 物质奖励能满足公务员的物质需求, 而精神奖励是留住人才的一剂良药, 它是对公务员工作能力和结果的肯定, 会给公务员以组织归属感, 从而减少人才的流失 4.3 坚持以人为本, 营造和谐的工作氛围以人为本, 就是把人作为社会主体, 充分肯定人在社会中的地位和作用, 把人作为思考的出发点和落脚点, 实现组织目标和个人职业生涯规划的高度统一, 实现人的全面发展 政府要坚持 以人为本 的公务员管理制度, 充分发挥基层公务员的个人优势, 重视他们的个人发展, 满足他们的需求, 实现他们的自我价值 并营造良好和谐的工作环境, 为公务员创造和谐的上下级与同级之间的人际关系, 减少人际方面的压力, 使基层人才能专心将全部精力放在工作上, 全身心的投入工作 4.4 健全基层公务员的培训制度要健全基层公务员培训制度, 需要改善政府培养人才的观念, 对不同的基层人才进行有针对性的培训, 准确快速地提高公务员的技术知识水平和业务能力 政府还要增加培训人才的经费支持, 强化基层人才培训的软硬件条件 此外, 对参加培训的基层人员进行相应的考评, 以检验其培训效果, 杜绝形式化的培训, 对培训成果显著的人员进行一定的奖励激励, 如与绩效与晋升相联系, 激发基层人员的学习欲望, 这样不仅能保证培训的效果, 还能够降低人才流失的比例 4.5 提高基层公务员的敬业精神现实中, 基层公务员在工作中的服务态度与组织要求相差甚远, 这是由于工作人员缺乏责任心与敬业精神 因此提高基层人员的敬业精神对于保证政府在公众中的良好形象有着重要作用 要提高敬业精神, 就需要政府进行思想政治教育活动, 提高基层人员的职业道德与个人品德修养, 增强基层公务员的服务意识与责任意识, 并接受群众与社会的监督, 为其树立先进工作者榜样, 激发他们为工作做出贡献的精神, 培养其对组织的忠诚度, 从根本上减少人才流失现象的发生 5. 结语 169

170 我国基层公务员人才的流失是一个十分复杂的社会现象, 不仅受公共部门机制的影响, 也符合了市场经济发展的客观规律 基层公务员人才流失的特点是多方面的, 分析人才流失的原因, 探索人才流失的有效途径和方法是一个长期的动态的过程 在缓解人才流失问题的过程中要不断的联系实际进行改进, 不断地进行分层次的深入研究, 更有针对性地分析和解决问题, 并提出相应的对策建议 系统 合理地对基层公务员人才流失问题进行管理, 有利于提高基层公务员的积极性和创新能力, 同时有效降低人才流失率, 提升基层公职人员队伍的整体素质和形象, 提高基层公务员的工作效率和质量, 进而提高政府公信力 参考文献 [1] 黄兴, 浅谈基层公务员人才流失问题, 中外企业家,2015(5). [2] 王少雄, 基层公务员流失之痛, 人力资源,2008(5). [3] 刘卫军, 基层公务员非正常流失的原因与对策研究, 柳州职业技术学院学报,2015(4). [4] 余健, 公务员流失 与 公务员报考热 矛盾现象分析, 求实,2009(2). [5] 安迎春, 张甲甲, 甘肃省基层乡镇公务员队伍人才流失问题研究, 才智,2012(32). [6] 张玉, 公务员制度下我国政府人才流失的问题与思考, 学理论,2012(22). [7] 赵晨, 蒋浩, 我国公务员队伍人才流失现状及对策研究 [J]. 甘肃行政学院学报,2005,(01). [8] 王峰, 基层公务员流失原因分析与对策研究 [D]. 北京 : 中国政法大学,2007. [9] 李松媛, 浅析人力资源的流动 [J]. 中国高新技术企业,2008(17). 170

171 STUDY ON JOB BURNOUT PROBLEM OF PRIMARY CIVIL SERVANT DURING THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD-AN EXAMPLE OF HEBEI PROVINCE, CHINA MINGXING AN, Hebei University of Economics and Business XUGUANG SHEN, Hebei University of Economics and Business ABSTRACT:In the period of social transformation, the occupational groups are facing unprecedented work stress in the current increasing competitive society and job burnout become a common phenomenon, especially the primary civil servants working in the front line of public affairs and suffer a higher pressure of working environment. This not only harms their health, but also affect job burnout problem in order to effectively guarantee the healthy development of civil servants at the grass-roots level. Basing past literature on job burnout, we chose three dimensions as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low achievement Orientation to analyze the burnout or grass-roots civil servants and finally the reasons, situations and countermeasures were discussed from the three aspects of personal factors, organizational factors and social factors Key words: grass-roots civil servants job burnout problems countermeasures 我国转型期基层公务员职业倦怠问题研究 以河北省为例安明星李万县摘要 : 社会转型时期, 面对日益激烈的社会竞争, 职业群体的工作压力达到了前所未有的程度, 职业倦怠日益发展成为一种普遍存在的社会现象 基层公务员作为我国公共事务的管理者, 然而他们却面临着高压力的工作环境, 为此心力憔悴, 这样既不利于个人健康, 又影响组织效率 因此, 为了有效保障基层公务员的健康发展, 推动基层公共管理事业的健康发展, 加强对这一群体产生职业倦怠问题的研究尤为重要 本论文以对国内外职业倦怠相关研究进行梳理为基础, 选取河北省基层政府机关的公务员为代表, 从职业倦怠情绪变化 人性化剔除与低成就感三个维度进行分析, 最后探究基层公务员产生职业倦怠的状况及其成因 最后本论文从个人因素 组织因素以及社会因素三个方面剖析基层公务员职业倦怠的原因, 并据此给出合理的对策建议 关键词 : 基层公务员职业倦怠对策建议 1 前言 1.1 研究背景我国正处于社会转型期, 经济结构发生重大变化, 社会利益纠纷 社会矛盾冲突日益激烈, 公共危机事件屡屡频发, 增加了我国基层公务员的公共管理和服务的难度, 加大了我国政府的社会压力 ; 同时由于基层公务员是公共权力的直接行使者和社会公共事务的直接承担者, 社会公众必然增加对他们的职业期望, 再加上自身职业心理素质和组织环境的制约, 基层公务员极易产生职业倦怠, 所以对此问题进行研究非常必要 基层公务员不仅是国家各项重大路线 方针 政策的直接贯彻执行者, 而且是与人民群众联系的桥梁和纽带, 他们的身心健康不但使政府效能受到直接影响, 也影响国家的发展和改革的成败 因此, 面对我国职业倦怠问题的严峻形势, 面对我国基层公务员产生职业倦怠带来的不利影响, 剖析基层公务员产生职业倦怠的影响因素及解决路径, 并据此提出合理可行的对策建议, 显得十分紧迫, 这同时也是学术界和政府不可回避且亟待解决的现实问题 1.2 研究意义 (1) 理论意义 回顾过去, 我国主要从教育 医疗等社会服务行业的从业者这几方面对职业倦怠进行研究 2006 年以后对公务员职业倦怠问题的研究开始逐渐增多, 本文通过借鉴学习相关学 171

172 者的基本理念, 了解基层公务员产生职业倦怠的具体实情, 以便全方位了解基层公务员产生职业倦相关理论, 然后分别从个人 组织 社会这三个方面剖析基层公务员产生职业倦怠的深层次原因, 最后通过发放问卷 实际调查访问加强对这一问题的探究, 因此具有较强的理论意义 (2) 实践意义 目前我国正处于深刻的社会转型时期, 我国的基层公务员, 既是社会经济活动的直接管理者, 又是公共产品和公共服务的直接提供者 政府政策是否有效实现都会受到基层公务员职业倦怠的影响 通过分析基层公务员职业倦怠形成机理, 调查研究基层公务员产生职业倦怠的实际情况, 把理论研究与实际状况紧密结合在一起, 以期最终能够为更好地解决基层公务员职业倦怠提供可靠的借鉴 从这点来看, 本文对这一问题的研究具有较强的实践意义 1.3 国内外文献综述 国外研究综述 a. 关于职业倦怠的基本涵义 1974 年学术界对职业倦怠这一概念的界定主要有两种路径 : 静态界定和动态界定 静态界定的职业倦怠重在结果 如学者 Pines 和 Aronson 将职业倦怠定义为 个体长期过度的对其自身的情绪进行索取, 进而产生的一种身心疲惫 情绪倦怠的状态 26 动态界定的职业倦怠, 如 Cheriss( 1980) 指出职业倦怠是指个体对其职业态度和以及工作方式以消极的形式发展与改变的的活动 27 b. 关于职业倦怠的研究视角从不同的研究视角看, 对职业倦怠会有不同的见解 (1) 临床方向研究 Freuden Berger 认为 对于从事服务行业的职员来说, 面对服务群体永无止境的需求, 他们会感到耗尽心力, 最终导致 28 倦怠的出现 Hans(1997) 指出, 公务员冠心病发病率之所以增高是由于他们对工作的低控制性 (2) 社会心理方向研究 Maslach 和 Pines 认为职业倦怠就是人们在进行长期人际交往时过度应用情绪而做出的应激反应, 他们认为职业倦怠从社会心理学的角度来说有三个特征 : 倦怠情绪变化 人性化剔除与低成就感, 其中职业倦怠的核心是情绪衰竭 (3) 组织方向研究 Cherniss 指出工作者经常变动角色 职员与主管部门机构的矛盾是导致其心理压力的主要来源 Janet 和 Cary 认为公务员的压力主要来源于低薪酬 差环境 缺乏工作和组织方面的控制 国内研究综述我国职业倦怠相对于国外来说虽起步较晚, 但发展十分迅速 a. 对专业人员的研究陈华 (2002) 认为中学老师的压力来源于较大的工作量 较复杂的人际交往环境 30 ; 徐富明 ( 2007) 认为, 能够有效预测职业倦怠的各个维度其中教师的工作压力 31 田洁红通过研究相关地区人力资源经理的职业倦怠现实情况, 认为人力资源经理的职业倦怠与工作满意度和工作绩效呈负相关关系 32 b. 对公务员倦怠的研究朱燕 (2007) 通过研究昆明市的公务员实际情况发现 : 工作效率 自我效能感与倦怠现象呈相关关系 以某区的公务员为例, 李景平等 (2012) 调查了工作压力与职业倦怠的关系, 研究表明职业倦怠是负态度的发展, 是工作负性压力长期积累的产物 研究现状评述 26 Pines & Aronson.A model of burnout and life satisfaction among nurses[j].journal of Advanced Nursing,2000, 32(2):( ). 27 Cherniess C.Staff burnout:job stress in the human service[m]. Beverly Hills,1980:(( ). 28 Hans B,Marmot M G,Harry H,et al.low job control and risk of coronary heart disease in Whitehall ll (Prospectivecohort )study[j].bmj,1997:( ). 29 Janet B,Cary C.Job Satisfaction,mental health,and occupational stress [J]. Human Relations,1995,48(3):( ). 30 陈华. 中学教师的生活事件及工作压力调查 [J]. 中国心理卫生杂志,2002,16 (8):( ). 31 刘华, 曹荣. 国内工作倦怠研究述评 [N]. 郑州航空工业管理学院学报 : 社会科学版,2007(4):( ). 32 田洁红, 孔寅平, 陈毅文. 人力资源经理 T. 作倦总现状及相关 W 素研究 [J]. 管埋评论,2011, 6 (23): (94-98). 172

173 纵观国内外职业倦怠研究概况, 不难发现, 国内对公务员职业倦怠的研究起步较晚, 其研究的广度和深度都是比较欠缺的 虽然从研究方法来说, 国内对公务员职业倦怠的研究, 既有理论层面的分析研究, 也有实际调查的实证研究 但总体来看实证方法研究占主流 ; 因此, 本文通过以借鉴国内外职业倦怠研究优秀成果为基础, 综合运用多种方法对基层公务员这一细分群体的职业倦怠情况进行深入研究, 期望在以往研究的基础上有所创新, 并为预防和缓解基层公务员职业倦怠问题提出合理可行的对策建议 2 概念界定与理论基础 2.1 概念界定 基层公务员大多数学者对基层公务员的界定有以下两个共同点, 一是在政府机关中从事最基层的工作 ; 二是在地方政府最低级别的工作地点工作 本文界定的基层公务员有四种类型, 一是在街道办事的基层公务员, 二是在乡镇府办事的基层公务员, 三是在执法部门办事的基层公务员, 四是接触人民大众的各级机关公务员 基层公务员职业惓怠在职业倦怠研究领域, 关于职业倦怠的定义 Maslach 和 Jackson 认同度最高, 应用最广泛, 本文所界定的基层公务员职业倦怠也以借鉴该定义为前提 基层公务员职业倦怠就是指基层公务员在基层工作中表现的倦怠情绪变化 人性化剔除与低成就感三者的综合 2.2 理论基础 双因素理论弗雷德里克 赫茨伯格, 是当时美国著名的心理学家 行为科学家 他提出的双因素理论也可称为激励保健理论 在一次企业调查中赫茨伯格发现, 保健因素和激励因素是激发人的动机的两个因素 激励因素重在让人从不满意或没有满意到最终的满意, 而保健因素则重于将原来的不满意变为没有不满意 对于提高人的积极性而言二者都发挥了作用, 只是在影响程度上有所不同 赫茨伯格认为只有激励因素才可以促使员工发挥更高的工作绩效, 因此他强调领导者对保健因素应当持慎重态度 资源保存理论最早对资源保存理论进行了系统定义的人是 Hobfon, 资源保存理论认为, 倦怠产生于花费大量的资源来完成工作, 而只获得很少回报 该理论认为, 每一种倦怠的出现都有其特定原因, 我们必须找出其正确的原因通过改正后方能最终缓解职业倦怠 当人们在工作中付出的多而回报很少时, 就会有职业倦怠感 据此我们知道资源对个体的影响是通过减少稀有资源的流失这一途径实现的, 因此缓和倦怠问题需提升对资源的获取 3 基层公务员职业倦怠原因分析对于基层公务员群体来说, 多种因素影响着职业倦怠的形成过程, 在职业倦怠的形成过程中这些因素还可能发生复杂的交互作用, 因此应该从多个角度出发分析基层公务员倦怠的成因, 并综合考虑可能存在的各种影响因素 3.1 基层公务员职业倦怠的个体因素对职业倦怠的产生具有重要影响作用的为个体因素, 很多时候就是由个体的某些因素引起职业倦怠的形成 (1) 自我人性特质与基层公务员职业倦怠 基层公务员在相对艰苦的工作条件下需要处理的事务纷繁复杂, 针对这些特征, 一般来说身体素质较好 心理素质较强的基层公务员不容易产生职业倦怠, 而身体素质较差 心理素质较弱的基层公务员则容易产生职业倦怠 (2) 低自我效能感与基层公务员职业倦怠 著名的美国心理学家班杜拉认为自我效能感指个体很自信的利用已有的知识去完成一项工作行为时表现出的一种的自信 33 宏观基层公务员的工作 33 Duane Brown. Career choice and development [M].San Francisco,2002:

174 特征, 我们知道基层公务员不易产生职业倦怠是因为具备了高自我效能感, 基层公务员易产生职业倦怠是因为具有低自我效能感 (3) 自我期望与基层公务员职业倦怠 大多数民众认为做官就代表着拥有无尽的财力和无尚的权力 但是基层公务员在我国, 由于我国政府的特定的机制, 决定了大部分基层科员只能一直停留在基层的岗位上, 得到晋升机会的公务员只是相当少的人才, 这样会使起初的基层公务员们由信心满满, 胸怀大志到最后的丧失信心 玩世不恭, 倦怠现象也油然而生, 甚至会形成心理疾病 3.2 基层公务员职业倦怠的组织因素 (1) 制度层面仍需完善 从升迁渠道来看, 一些公务员进入机关后, 由于没有升迁的职位, 致使在科员岗位上一干就是几十年, 晋升机会渺茫 同时由于我国基层公务员不够透明的奖励制度, 表面文章做的好, 而实际奖罚不明, 导致基层公务员产生职业倦怠 (2) 工作方式和内容有待改进 公务员的参与范围受到工作的专业化和程序化的限制, 公务员对工作的控制力下降 缺乏控制的工作方式以及重复单一的工作内容极易产生倦怠 (3) 缺乏必要的组织支持 组织内部工作人员容易产生倦怠是由于组织支持不充分导致的 3.3 基层公务员职业倦怠的社会因素从社会方面来说, 我国正处于深刻的社会转型期, 此时职业倦怠对基层公务员的社会影响集中表现在以下三个方面,(1) 过高期望于基层公务员, 导致心理压力大 ;(2) 社会缺乏对基层公务员有力的支持 ;(3) 社会偏见压力逐渐加大 4 有效缓解基层公务员职业倦怠对策建议目前我国对公务员群体职业倦怠问题的重视程度与研究力度都明显滞后, 很多基层公务员产生职业倦怠症状后表现出不知所措 任其发展或评主观经验进行自行调试的情况 因此, 应对职业倦怠问题多角度全方面探讨, 并提出有效的对策建议, 帮助他们摆脱心理误区 走出心理困境, 使他们增强对本职工作的热情度和自信心 4.1 个体层面的干预 (1) 树立正确的价值观 由于基层公务员的工作大多直接面对人民群众, 并为大众提供公共服务, 应坚持全心全意为人民服务的宗旨, 从人民群众的实际出发, 创造和谐的工作环境 ; 同时应对工作负责, 认真学习专业知识, 注重培养自身的创造性, 加强对自我的肯定 (2) 客观认识自己 调查表明, 个体对自身的期望与职业倦怠呈正相关关系, 个体对自我期望值较高出现职业倦怠现象的概率也偏高 所以基层公务员要在一个客观合理的范围内对自我进行客观评价 (3) 科学的心理调节 长时间处于压力和紧张之下, 而个体无法进行适当的调节是引发基层公务员产生职业倦怠现象的主要原因, 此时基层公务员自身需要进行及时的心理调适 应培养基层公务员积极健康的心态, 在面对压力时做出正确的心理调试 4.2 组织层面的干预 (1) 明确岗位职责, 扩展工作内涵 基层政府机关应当制定出详细的工作说明书和岗位责任书, 加大对各个岗位的工作分析, 明确基层公务员的任务和职责, 另外, 为了让更多的基层公务员体会到工作的乐趣, 避免职业倦怠, 通过工作丰富化 扩大化等手段对工作进行再设计, 减少由于长期简单重复工作而造成的心理压力, 以使工作具有挑战性和刺激性, 充满活力 (2) 加强基层公务员体制机制建设 首先, 构建多阶梯晋升机制 其次, 完善激励机制 最后, 建立人际协调机制 (3) 改善基层公务员流动机制 组织为了满足基层公务员到不同工作岗位体验不同工作内容的愿望, 以此实行工作轮换制, 以保证工作环境和内容丰富多彩, 有效降低职业倦怠现象产生的概率 4.3 社会层面的干预 174

175 (1) 给予基层公务员合理期望 在社会中直接面对人民大众的基层公务员, 是人民的公仆, 然而人民群众对他们的过高期望使他们背负了沉重的心理包袱 所以社会大众应当为公务员, 尤其是基层公务员营造一种理解 尊重 宽容 包容的社会氛围, 建立对基层公务员的合理期望, 使他们在巨大的工作压力下得到心理上的慰藉 (2) 加大对基层公务员的社会支持 加强对基层公务员的关注程度和帮扶力度是全社会应该一起努力的目标, 为了使他们能够及时化解心理矛盾, 必要时釆用有针对性的社会救助措施至关重要 基层公务员的工作应得到人民大众的支持 学术需加强对基层公务员心理健康问题的研究与探讨, 同时我国政府机关要积极开展基层公务员情绪疏导工作, 以期能够有效缓解我国基层公务员职业倦怠的心理现象 结论基于转型时期社会群体面临职业压力而产生的职业倦怠问题, 本论文阐述了国家基层公务员体系内出现这一现象的原因及对策建议 基层公务员对职业产生倦怠并不是一蹴而就的, 而是由于长期工作在较为压抑的工作环境中, 在这种状态下而产生的一种消极倦态情绪, 职业倦怠, 使基层公务员对自身丧失信心, 自我效能感下降, 缺乏对组织的尊重感, 对上级交代的任务懈怠 不负责任, 对人民大众来说, 更是抱着应付的态度, 为公众服务无法真心实意 然而, 基层公务员从个人 政府组织以及社会大众三方面来说, 要多方面多角度考虑产生工作倦怠问题的负面影响, 从而提出相应的解决措施, 以保证基层公务员以其认真热情的态度来完成他们应该完成的任务 因此, 对于研究基层公务员职业倦怠问题并未停止, 在今后的生活当中希望能够找到更加行之有效的解决方法来缓解倦怠问题的蔓延 通过本文论述, 旨在加强重视基层公务员工作倦怠问题, 同时找到应对策略 参考文献 [1] 陈华. 中学教师的生活事件及工作压力调查 [J]. 中国心理卫生杂志,2002,16 (8):( ). [2] 刘华, 曹荣. 国内工作倦怠研究述评 [N]. 郑州航空工业管理学院学报 : 社会科学版,2007(4):( ). [3] 田洁红, 孔寅平, 陈毅文. 人力资源经理 T. 作倦总现状及相关 W 素研究 [J]. 管埋评论,2011,6(23):(94-98). [4] 宋闽萍, 汗默. 职 Ik 健康心理学 [M]. 南京 : 东鹵大学出版社,2010. [5] 江珊珊, 焦永纪层公务作川力 W 职业倦怠研究 [J]. 市场周刊,2010,(2). [6] 文启, 张鹏, 基层公务员职业倦怠的成因及对策研究 [J], 云南行政学院学报,2013(3). [7] 繆国书, 许慧慧, 公务员职业倦怠现象探析 基于双因素理论的视角 [J], 中国行政管理,2012(5). [8] 陈丽君, 王钰, 浅析公务员职业倦怠 [J], 人力资源管理,2012(9). [9] 徐全忠. 政府组织行为学 [M]. 北京 : 对外经济贸易大学出版社,2010. [10]ElloyD.F,Terpening W,Kohls J.A causal model of burnout among self- managedwork team members[j].the Journal of Psychology,2001,(3). 175

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177 THE PROVISIONS AGAINST CORRUPTION AND OF TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME IN THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME AND IN THE HELLENIC LEGAL ORDER TRYFON KORONTZIS Abstract: Addressing the phenomenon of organized crime employs modern societies with an intensity proportional to that which is being found to address issues such as terrorism, corruption and drugs trafficking. This phenomenon today because of economy globalization and of increasing transnational flows in economic and social fields has become more international. The proliferation of international contacts due to the overcoming of technology distances has played a key role in the expansion of organized crime internationally, developing profitable activities. In internationalization have contributed and the changes that have taken place in the political and economic field in the Eastern European region, coupled with the economic crisis that dominates the world in recent years. Result of economic, social and political developments is the expatiation of the criminal phenomenon, the demands of its addressing internationally to be increased with consequent greater penetration of international law in national jurisdictions. ΟΙ ΠΡΟΝΟΙΕΣ ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΑΝΤΙΜΕΤΩΠΙΣΗ ΤΗΣ ΔΙΑΦΘΟΡΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥ ΔΙΕΘΝΟΥΣ ΟΡΓΑΝΩΜΕΝΟΥ ΕΓΚΛΗΜΑΤΟΣ ΣΤΗ ΣΥΜΒΑΣΗ ΤΩΝ Η.Ε. ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΑΝΤΙΜΕΤΩΠΙΣΗ ΤΟΥ ΔΙΕΘΝΟΥΣ ΟΡΓΑΝΩΜΕΝΟΥ ΕΓΚΛΗΜΑΤΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΣΤΗΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΕΝΝΟΜΗ ΤΑΞΗ Τρύφων Χαρ. Κοροντζής Περίληψη Η αντιμετώπιση του φαινομένου του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος απασχολεί τις σύγχρονες κοινωνίες με ένταση ανάλογη αυτής που συναντάται για την αντιμετώπιση φαινομένων όπως η τρομοκρατία, η διαφθορά και η διακίνηση ναρκωτικών ουσιών. Το εν λόγω φαινόμενο σήμερα λόγω της παγκοσμιοποίησης της οικονομίας και την αύξηση των διακρατικών ροών σε τομείς οικονομικούς και κοινωνικούς έχει προσλάβει διεθνείς διαστάσεις. Ο πολλαπλασιασμός των διεθνών επαφών λόγω της υπερνίκησης των αποστάσεων που οφείλεται στην τεχνολογία, έχει διαδραματίσει καθοριστικό ρόλο στην επέκταση του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος στο διεθνή χώρο, αναπτύσσοντας κερδοφόρες δραστηριότητες. Στην διεθνοποίηση του έχουν συντελέσει και οι αλλαγές που έχουν πραγματοποιηθεί σε πολιτικό και οικονομικό πεδίο στο χώρο της Ανατολικής Ευρώπης, σε συνδυασμό με την οικονομική κρίση που κυριαρχεί παγκοσμίως τα τελευταία χρόνια. Αποτέλεσμα των οικονομικών, κοινωνικών και πολιτικών εξελίξεων, είναι η εξάπλωση του εγκληματικού φαινομένου, οι απαιτήσεις για την αντιμετώπιση του διεθνώς να μεγαλώνουν, με επακόλουθο την μεγαλύτερη διείσδυση του διεθνούς δικαίου στις εθνικές έννομες τάξεις. Λέξεις - Κλειδιά: Σύμβαση Η.Ε., Διεθνές Οργανωμένο Εγκλημα, Ε.Ε., οργανωμένο έγκλημα, διαφθορά, διεθνές δίκαιο, ελληνική έννομη τάξη, δυνάμεις εφαρμογής του νόμου, εγκληματικότητα Εισαγωγή Η δραστηριοποίηση ομάδων οργανωμένου εγκλήματος (Κοροντζής, T β ) τόσο στην Ελλάδα όσο και διεθνώς τα τελευταία χρόνια έχει αυξηθεί. Συνακόλουθα έχουν μεταβληθεί και τα ποιοτικά χαρακτηριστικά της εγκληματικότητας. Η παραδοσιακή εικόνα του δράστη του κοινού ποινικού δικαίου έχει αντικατασταθεί από τον οργανωμένο δράστη, τον εγκληματία επιχειρηματία, ενώ το έγκλημα παράλληλα από ατομική συμπεριφορά έχει εξελιχθεί σε επιχειρηματική δραστηριότητα, σε κερδοφόρα επιχείρηση με οργανωμένη υποδομή, με περισσότερα πρόσωπα να δραστηριοποιούνται σε αυτήν, τα οποία έχουν διακριτούς ρόλους και καθήκοντα. Οι εγκληματικές οργανώσεις χρησιμοποιούν συνεχώς νέες τεχνολογικές μεθόδους για την ανάπτυξη των δραστηριοτήτων τους. Οι εγκληματικές αυτές οργανώσεις δεν περιορίζουν τη δράση τους στα εθνικά σύνορα, αλλά υπερβαίνουν αυτά και λειτουργούν ως υπερεθνικές επιχειρήσεις (transnational) 177

178 (Μαραγκοπούλου Γιωτοπούλου Α. 2008). Το οργανωμένο έγκλημα εκτός των θυμάτων που προκαλεί, υπονομεύει την κοινωνική συμβίωση, διαβρώνει τους θεσμούς και δημιουργεί στους πολίτες αμφιβολίες σε ότι αφορά την ισχύ και επιβολή της έννομης τάξης. Η αντιμετώπιση του λόγω των αναφερομένων χαρακτηριστικών, απασχολούσε και απασχολεί τη διεθνή κοινότητα η οποία αναζητεί τρόπους επιτυχούς αντιμετώπισης του, ενθαρρύνοντας τη συνεργασία μεταξύ των κρατών και προωθώντας συμβάσεις διμερούς η πολυμερούς χαρακτήρα. Μία από τις καλύτερες στιγμές της διεθνούς κοινότητας στον τομέα αυτόν ήταν η υπογραφή από περισσότερα από 120 κράτη, υπό την αιγίδα του ΟΗΕ στο Παλέρμο της Ιταλίας τον Δεκέμβριο του 2000, της Σύμβασης κατά του Οργανωμένου Υπερεθνικού Εγκλήματος. Η Ελλάδα την εν λόγω Σύμβαση την ενσωμάτωσε στην εθνική έννομη τάξη με το Ν. 3875/2010 (Α 158), «Κύρωση και εφαρμογή της Σύμβασης των Ηνωμένων Εθνών κατά του Διεθνικού Οργανωμένου Εγκλήματος και των τριών Πρωτοκόλλων αυτής και συναφείς διατάξεις». Μέχρι την ενσωμάτωση της στην εθνική έννομη τάξη με το Ν. 2928/2001 (Α 141), «Τροποποίηση διατάξεων του Ποινικού Κώδικα και των Κώδικα Ποινικής Δικονομίας και άλλες διατάξεις για την προστασία του πολίτη από αξιόποινες πράξεις εγκληματικών οργανώσεων», η Ελλάδα ενέταξε στην εσωτερική της νομοθεσία μέτρα που προβλέπονταν σε αυτήν. Στη σύνταξη του εν λόγω νόμου λήφθηκαν υπόψη επίσης σχέδια κοινής δράσης της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης για την αντιμετώπιση του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος. Οι ρυθμίσεις του επεκτάθηκαν σε κάθε είδους οργανωμένη εγκληματικότητα, ενώ παράλληλα προβλέφθηκαν και αυξημένες δικαστικές εγγυήσεις, σε περιπτώσεις που διαπιστώθηκε ότι δεν μπορεί να παρασχεθεί αποτελεσματικότερη προστασία στους πολίτες παρά μόνο μέσα από τον περιορισμό των ατομικών τους ελευθεριών. Σκοπός της παρούσας συνοπτικής μελέτης είναι η εξέταση χρονολογικά και κριτικά των διατάξεων που καταρτίστηκαν από την Ελληνική έννομη τάξη από το 2000, οπότε η Ελληνική πολιτεία υπέγραψε τη Σύμβαση του Παλέρμο έως το 2010και εντάχθηκε στην εθνική έννομη τάξη, προκειμένου να αντιμετωπιστεί το φαινόμενο του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος και ειδικότερα το φαινόμενο της διαφθοράς (Γκντάμπι - Καϊάφα Μ. 2008). Παράλληλα θα αναπτυχθούν συνοπτικά ρόλοι και αρμοδιότητες διεθνών και ευρωπαϊκών οργανισμών, που έχουν ιδρυθεί και αποσκοπούν στην πληρέστερη αντιμετώπιση του εν λόγω φαινομένου, καθώς και οι προβλέψεις της εν λόγω Σύμβασης για συνεργασία των Διωκτικών Αρχών προς αντιμετώπιση της και οι πρωτοβουλίες που έχουν αναπτυχθεί από την Ελλάδα στον τομέα αυτό. Επίσης θα παρουσιαστούν οι παρατηρήσεις της Ομάδας Κρατών κατά της διαφθοράς (GRECO), που σχετίζονται με την Ελλάδα και που καταδεικνύουν την ανεπάρκεια των ήδη ληφθέντων μέτρων από την Ελληνική Πολιτεία στο συγκεκριμένο τομέα, καθώς και την έλλειψη βούλησης για την προώθηση των υπόλοιπων απαραίτητων θεσμικών μέτρων για την αποτελεσματική αντιμετώπιση της. Η εν λόγω αναφορά για την διαφθορά στην παρούσα μελέτη κρίνεται επιβεβλημένη καθώς είναι γνωστό πως αυτή επηρεάζεται συνδέεται με το οργανωμένο έγκλημα. Για την ανάπτυξη της παρούσας συνοπτικής μελέτης θα αξιοποιηθεί το υφιστάμενο νομοθετικό πλαίσιο, ήτοι νόμοι, οι εισηγητικές εκθέσεις αυτών, πρακτικά της αρμόδιας Διαρκούς Επιτροπής Δημόσιας Διοίκησης, Δημόσιας Τάξης και Δικαιοσύνης καθώς και η Έκθεση επί του Νομοσχεδίου της Α Διεύθυνσης Επιστημονικών Μελετών του Ελληνικού Kοινοβουλίου. Τέλος η παρούσα συνοπτική μελέτη θα ολοκληρωθεί με την παράθεση συμπερασμάτων που προέκυψαν από την ανάπτυξη της. 1. Νομικό πλαίσιο 1.1. Ν. 2829/2001(Α 141), «Τροποποίηση διατάξεων του Ελληνικού Ποινικού Κώδικα και του Ελληνικού Κώδικα Ποινικής Δικονομίας για την προστασία του πολίτη από αξιόποινες πράξεις». Όπως ήδη αναφέρθηκε με τον εν λόγω νόμο, η Ελληνική Πολιτεία ένταξε στην εσωτερική νομοθεσία μέτρα που προβλέπονταν στη Σύμβαση του Παλέρμο που είχε υπογράψει τον Δεκέμβριο του Οι ρυθμίσεις του επεκτάθηκαν σε κάθε είδους οργανωμένη εγκληματικότητα, ενώ παράλληλα προβλέφθηκαν και αυξημένες δικαστικές εγγυήσεις, σε περιπτώσεις που διαπιστώθηκε ότι δεν μπορεί να παρασχεθεί αποτελεσματικότερη προστασία στους πολίτες, παρά μόνο μέσα από τον περιορισμό των ατομικών τους ελευθεριών. Με την εξαίρεση πάντως της ρητής μνείας της εξέτασης του DNA, όλοι οι τεθέντες περιορισμοί δικαιωμάτων προβλέπονταν ήδη στο ισχύον δίκαιο, αφ ενός σε διατάξεις ειδικών ποινικών νόμων για την αντιμετώπιση εγκλημάτων, όπως παραβάσεις της νομοθεσίας για τα ναρκωτικά, όπλα, πυρομαχικά, 178

179 εμπορία αρχαιοτήτων, διαφθορά στο εσωτερικό της ΕΛ.ΑΣ., και αφετέρου σε διατάξεις της νομοθεσίας για την άρση του απόρρητου προς διακρίβωση πολλών κατηγοριών κακουργημάτων και της νομοθεσίας για την προστασία του ατόμου από την επεξεργασία δεδομένων προσωπικού χαρακτήρα. Ειδικότερα: Με το άρθρο 1 με τίτλο «Εγκληματική οργάνωση» αντικαταστάθηκε το άρθρο 187 του Ποινικού Κώδικα, με το οποίο προβλέπεται ως βασικό έγκλημα η συγκρότηση και συμμετοχή σε οργάνωση με σκοπό τη συστηματική διάπραξη κακουργημάτων. Επίσης περιγράφεται η έννοια της εγκληματικής οργάνωσης όπου «δεν αρκεί απλή ένωση προσώπων για τη διάπραξη αξιοποίνων πράξεων, αλλά αντίθετα απαιτείται δομημένη και με διαρκή δράση ομάδα από τρία ή περισσότερα πρόσωπα (οργάνωση), που πρέπει να προβαίνουν με σκοπό στη διάπραξη επιλεγμένων κακουργημάτων». Επίσης στο ίδιο άρθρο αντιμετωπίζεται η λεγόμενη «νομιμοποίηση προϊόντων ή εσόδων» που προέρχονται από το οργανωμένο έγκλημα. Στο άρθρο 4 προβλέπεται ότι τα κακουργήματα του άρθρου 187 του Ποινικού Κώδικα υπάγονται στα Εφετεία Κακουργημάτων, αποκλείοντας πλήρως και ορθά τα μεικτά ορκωτά δικαστήρια, με το επιχείρημα ότι τα μέλη των εφετείων διακρίνονται για την εμπειρία τους και τη νομική τους κατάρτιση. Με το τρόπο αυτό εκδηλώνεται δυσπιστία στους ενόρκους. Με το άρθρο 5 προστέθηκε το άρθρο 200Α στον Κώδικα Ποινικής Δικονομίας, με το οποίο εισήχθη ρητά η εξέταση DNA ως ένα είδος πραγματογνωμοσύνης. Η ρύθμιση στηρίχτηκε κατά βάση στη γνωμοδότηση αριθ. 1 της Αρχής Προστασίας Προσωπικών Δεδομένων την οποία είχε αιτηθεί το υπουργείο Δικαιοσύνης. Η νέα αυτή εξέταση είναι υποχρεωτική όπως και η πραγματογνωμοσύνη που ορίζεται στο άρθρο 183 του Κώδικα Ποινικής Δικονομίας. Στο ίδιο άρθρο ορίζεται πότε θα πραγματοποιείται η συγκεκριμένη εξέταση καθώς επίσης και ποια είναι η διαδικασία καταστροφής του δείγματος. Με το άρθρο 6 προστέθηκε στον Κώδικα Ποινικής Δικονομίας το άρθρο 253Α, κατά το οποίο η έρευνα για τις αξιόποινες πράξεις των παρ. 1 και 2 του άρθρου 187 του Ποινικού Κώδικα μπορεί να συμπεριλάβει και την ανακριτική διείσδυση, τις ελεγχόμενες μεταφορές, την άρση του απορρήτου των επιστολών και των τηλεπικοινωνιών, την καταγραφή με συσκευές ήχου ή εικόνας ή με άλλα ειδικά τεχνικά μέσα την επεξεργασία δεδομένων προσωπικού χαρακτήρα και τον έλεγχο της κίνησης λογαριασμών (Κοροντζής, T γ, Κοροντζής, T δ, Κοροντζής, T ε ) σε χρηματοπιστωτικά ιδρύματα, δηλαδή ανακριτικές πράξεις όπως προβλέπονται σε ειδικά νομοθετήματα (αντίστοιχα το άρθρο 20 της Σύμβασης του Παλέρμο). Η διενέργεια των ανωτέρω ανακριτικών πράξεων δεν επιτρέπεται σε κάθε περίπτωση, αλλά μόνο εφόσον υπάρχουν σοβαρές ενδείξεις ότι έχουν τελεστεί αξιόποινες πράξεις και μόνο αν κρίνεται ότι η εξάρθρωση της εγκληματικής οργάνωσης θα είναι με άλλο τρόπο αδύνατη ή ουσιωδώς δυσχερής. Επίσης δικαιολογημένα απαιτείται ειδικό αιτιολογημένο βούλευμα του αρμόδιου δικαστικού συμβουλίου ύστερα από πρόταση του εισαγγελέα, και μόνο σε εξαιρετικά επείγουσες περιπτώσεις είναι δυνατό να διατάξει τη διεξαγωγή της έρευνας και ο εισαγγελέας και ο ανακριτής. Εδώ από την διατύπωση του άρθρου 6, προβάλει η σύγκρουση μεταξύ της δράσης των οργάνων του κράτους για την ανεύρεση και τιμωρία των δραστών των τελούμενων εγκλημάτων και της αξίωσης των ατόμων όπως κατά την άσκηση της δραστηριότητας αυτής, να προστατεύεται η ανθρώπινη αξιοπρέπεια τους (άρθρο 2 παρ. 1 του Συντάγματος). Με το άρθρο 7 ρυθμίζεται ο τρόπος περάτωσης της κύριας ανάκρισης για τα κακουργήματα του άρθρου 187 και των συναφών με αυτά πράξεων. Με το άρθρο 8 ρυθμίζεται η ποινική ευθύνη νομικών προσώπων που εμπλέκονται σε επιχειρήσεις οργανωμένου εγκλήματος, που συνήθως πρόκειται για οικονομικό οργανωμένο έγκλημα όπως ξέπλυμα βρώμικου χρήματος κ.λπ., ενώ το άρθρο 9 αναφέρεται στη προστασία των μαρτύρων που εξετάζονται κατά τη ποινική διαδικασία για εγκλήματα που τελούνται από εγκληματικές οργανώσεις (Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, 2012). 1.2 Ν. 3875/2010 (Α 158), «Η Σύμβαση των Η.Ε. για τη αντιμετώπιση του Διεθνούς Οργανωμένου Εγκλήματος και η ενσωμάτωση της στην Ελληνική έννομη τάξη». Αντικείμενο του εν λόγω νόμου είναι η βελτίωση του θεσμικού πλαισίου που διέπει την πρόληψη και καταπολέμηση του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος, και των σχετικών με αυτόν αδικημάτων σε εκπλήρωση διεθνών υποχρεώσεων της Ελλάδας, από την κύρωση των συμβατικών κειμένων της λεγόμενης Σύμβασης 179

180 του Παλέρμο και των συμπληρωματικών αυτής Πρωτοκόλλων κατά της εμπορίας ανθρώπων, λαθραίας διακίνησης μεταναστών και της παράνομης διακίνησης όπλων. Όπως αναφέρεται και στο άρθρο 1 της Σύμβασης των Ηνωμένων Εθνών κατά του Διασυνοριακού Οργανωμένου Εγκλήματος, αντικείμενο της Σύμβασης είναι η προαγωγή της συνεργασίας για την πιο αποτελεσματική πρόληψη και καταπολέμηση του διεθνικού οργανωμένου εγκλήματος. Όπως θα δειχθεί κατωτέρω η ελληνική έννομη τάξη έχει καλύψει τα περισσότερα από τα ζητήματα που θέτει η Σύμβαση. Ειδικότερα, έχει ποινικοποιηθεί η συμμετοχή σε οργανωμένη εγκληματική ομάδα σύμφωνα με το Ν. 2928/2001, ο οποίος όπως αναπτύχθηκε προηγούμενα είχε λάβει υπόψη του διατάξεις της Σύμβασης του Παλέρμο σε ότι αφορά στη νομιμοποίηση προϊόντων εγκλήματος, τη διαφθορά και την παρακώλυση της δικαιοσύνης (άρθρα 5, 6, 8 και 23 της Σύμβασης σε συνδυασμό με το άρθρο 3 «πεδίο εφαρμογής»). Η Σύμβαση έχει περιχαρακώσει το πεδίο εφαρμογής της στο Διεθνικό Οργανωμένο Έγκλημα, σε κάθε περίπτωση ωστόσο σύμφωνα με τα άρθρα 3 παράγραφος 1 εδ. α και 34 παράγραφος 2 τα αδικήματα που θεσπίζονται σύμφωνα με τα άρθρα 5, 6, 8 και 23 της Σύμβασης (συμμετοχή σε οργανωμένη εγκληματική ομάδα, νομιμοποίηση προϊόντων εγκλήματος, διαφθορά και παρακώλυση της δικαιοσύνης) πρέπει να θεσπιστούν στο εσωτερικό δίκαιο κάθε κράτους μέρους ανεξάρτητα από τη διασυνοριακή φύση τους ή την εμπλοκή οργανωμένης εγκληματικής ομάδας, με εξαίρεση το άρθρο 5 (συμμετοχή σε οργανωμένη εγκληματική ομάδα) στο μέτρο που αυτό απαιτεί την εμπλοκή οργανωμένης εγκληματικής ομάδας. Με τον τρόπο αυτό η Σύμβαση του Παλέρμο αποτελεί μια ολοκληρωμένη νομική βάση για την προαγωγή της συνεργασίας των κρατών μερών σε ότι αφορά την πρόληψη και καταπολέμηση του διεθνικού οργανωμένου εγκλήματος. [Στο άρθρο 2 της Σύμβασης, στην έννοια της οργανωμένης εγκληματικής ομάδας, ο πορισμός άμεσου ή έμμεσου οικονομικού ή άλλου υλικού οφέλους αποτελεί ουσιώδες στοιχείο της έννοιας αυτής, όπως επαναλαμβάνεται και στο άρθρο 5 παράγραφος 1 (α) i. Στην ελληνική έννομη τάξη αντίστοιχα η επιδίωξη οικονομικού ή άλλου υλικού οφέλους συνιστά επιβαρυντική περίπτωση σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 187 παρ. 4 εδ. Α του Ν. 2928/2001). Ο Έλληνας νομοθέτης κατά τη σύνταξη του ν. 2928/2001 έλαβε υπόψη του και το αναφέρει ρητά, τα όσα σχετικά προβλέπει η Σύμβαση του Παλέρμο για την ποινικοποίηση της συμμετοχής σε εγκληματική οργάνωση και όπως αναφέρει ειδικά:«οι προτεινόμενες ρυθμίσεις επεκτάθηκαν σε κάθε είδους οργανωμένη εγκληματικότητα, εγκληματικότητα δηλαδή προερχόμενη από εγκληματικές οργανώσεις, με όποιο όνομα και αν είναι αυτές γνωστές και ανεξάρτητα από τους ποικίλους στόχους που μπορεί να προωθούν. Κοινωνική απαξία έχουν οι εγκληματικές πράξεις τους, όχι κατ ανάγκη οι στόχοι». Επίσης, το άρθρο 2 (α) της Σύμβασης αναφέρεται σε ομάδα που ενεργεί με κοινό σκοπό τέλεσης ενός ή περισσότερων σοβαρών εγκλημάτων, δηλαδή ο σκοπός της τέλεσης θα πρέπει να αποδίδεται στη δράση των προσώπων που απαρτίζουν την οργάνωση και όχι μόνο στο πρόσωπο που εντάσσεται ως μέλος της (βλ. και το άρθρο 5 παράγραφος 1 (α) (ii) της Σύμβασης που αναφέρεται στη γνώση του δράστη ως προς τους σκοπούς και την εγκληματική δράση της οργάνωσης) (Συμεωνίδου Καστανίδου Ε. 2001) Στο δεύτερο εδάφιο συναντάται η έννοια «σοβαρό έγκλημα» με την οποία, όπως αναφέρεται στη Σύμβαση (άρθρο 2), νοείται συμπεριφορά η οποία συνιστά αδίκημα που τιμωρείται με το ανώτατο όριο της στερητικής της ελευθερίας ποινής που δεν μπορεί να είναι μικρότερο από τέσσερα έτη ή με αυστηρότερη ποινή. Η έννοια αυτή είναι ξένη στην ελληνική έννομη τάξη η οποία προϋποθέτει τη διάπραξη κακουργημάτων για την τιμωρία κάποιου ως μέλους εγκληματικής οργάνωσης. Τα κακουργήματα ωστόσο με ελάχιστο όριο ποινής ανώτερο των τεσσάρων ετών που προβλέπει η Σύμβαση, δηλαδή με αυστηρότερη ποινή, εντάσσονται σαφώς στην έννοια των «σοβαρών εγκλημάτων» της σύμβασης, εγκλημάτων δηλαδή που ενέχουν μιαν υψηλή απαξία. Τα άρθρα 8 και 9 της Σύμβασης αναφέρονται στην υποχρέωση ποινικοποίησης της διαφθοράς και στη λήψη των κατάλληλων μέτρων για την αντιμετώπισή της. Η Ελληνική Πολιτεία έχει προβεί στην κατάρτιση νομοθετικών, διοικητικών και άλλων μέτρων για την αντιμετώπιση της διαφθοράς. Συγκεκριμένα, η ποινική αντιμετώπιση της διαφθοράς στην ελληνική έννομη τάξη ρυθμίζεται από τα άρθρα 235,236 και 237 του Ποινικού Κώδικα που προβλέπουν το αξιόποινο της ενεργητικής και παθητικής δωροδοκίας ημεδαπών δημοσίων υπαλλήλων, δικαστών και διαιτητών. Στις περιπτώσεις εφαρμογής των εν λόγω άρθρων σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 238 του Π.Κ. δημεύονται τα δώρα ή η αξία τους. Επιπρόσθετα σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 159 Π.Κ. τιμωρείται, επίσης η ενεργητική και παθητική δωροδοκία βουλευτών, νομαρχιακών, δημοτικών ή κοινοτικών συμβούλων. Ακόμη στο άρθρο 180

181 187 παράγραφος 2 Π.Κ. ορίζεται ότι: «Όποιος με απειλή ή χρήση βίας κατά δικαστικών λειτουργών, ανακριτικών ή δικαστικών υπαλλήλων, μαρτύρων, πραγματογνωμόνων και διερμηνέων ή με δωροδοκία των ίδιων προσώπων επιχειρεί να ματαιώσει την αποκάλυψη ή δίωξη και τιμωρία των πράξεων της προηγούμενης παραγράφου τιμωρείται με φυλάκιση τουλάχιστον ενός έτους». Η Ελληνική νομοθεσία σε ότι αφορά το άρθρο 8 παράγραφος 2 της Συμβάσεως σχετικά με τη διαφθορά αλλοδαπών δημόσιων υπαλλήλων ή υπαλλήλων διεθνών οργανισμών προβλέπει τα εξής: Με το Ν. 2656/1998 (Α 265) η Ελλάδα έχει κυρώσει τη «Σύμβαση για την καταπολέμηση της δωροδοκίας αλλοδαπών δημόσιων λειτουργών» του Ο.Ο.Σ.Α.. Στο άρθρο δεύτερο του νόμου προβλέπεται το αξιόποινο της ενεργητικής δωροδοκίας αλλοδαπών δημόσιων λειτουργών κατά την άσκηση διεθνών επιχειρηματικών δραστηριοτήτων. Με το Ν. 2802/2000 (Α 47) η Ελλάδα έχει κυρώσει τη «Σύμβαση περί καταπολεμήσεως της δωροδοκίας στην οποία ενέχονται υπάλληλοι των Ευρωπαϊκών Κοινοτήτων ή των κρατών - μελών της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης». Στα άρθρα τρίτο και τέταρτο του νόμου εξομοιώνονται οι ανωτέρω υπάλληλοι με τους εγχώριους υπαλλήλους και λειτουργούς για τα αδικήματα της παθητικής και ενεργητικής δωροδοκίας. Με το Ν. 2803/2000 (Α 48) η Ελλάδα έχει κυρώσει τη «Σύμβαση σχετικά με την προστασία των οικονομικών συμφερόντων των Ευρωπαϊκών Κοινοτήτων» και τα συναφή με αυτήν Πρωτόκολλα. Στο άρθρο τρίτο του νόμου τυποποιείται και πάλι το αδίκημα της ενεργητικής και παθητικής δωροδοκίας υπαλλήλων των ΕΚ ή άλλου κράτους - μέλους, όταν ζημιώνονται τα οικονομικά συμφέροντα της Κοινότητας. Με το Ν. 3560/2007 (Α 103) η Ελλάδα έχει κυρώσει την «Σύμβαση ποινικού δικαίου για τη διαφθορά» και το πρόσθετο σε αυτήν Πρωτόκολλο του Συμβουλίου της Ευρώπης. Στα άρθρα τρίτο και τέταρτο του νόμου προβλέπεται η εξομοίωση όλων των υπαλλήλων, λειτουργών και βουλευτών των συμβαλλόμενων κρατών και των διεθνών οργανισμών στους οποίους η Ελλάδα είναι μέλος με τους εγχώριους υπαλλήλους, λειτουργούς και βουλευτές για την εφαρμογή των διατάξεων όπου τυποποιούνται τα αδικήματα της ενεργητικής και παθητικής δωροδοκίας. Εξάλλου στο άρθρο πέμπτο εισάγεται το αξιόποινο των πράξεων διαφθοράς στον ιδιωτικό τομέα και στο άρθρο έκτο το αδίκημα της προσφοράς για άσκηση επιρροής σε ιδιωτικούς ή ξένους υπαλλήλους. Με το Ν. 3666/2008 (Α 105) η Ελλάδα έχει κυρώσει τη Σύμβαση του Ο.Η.Ε. κατά της διαφθοράς. Στα άρθρα τέταρτο και πέμπτο του νόμου προβλέπεται η εξομοίωση όλων των υπαλλήλων, λειτουργών και βουλευτών των συμβαλλόμενων κρατών και των διεθνών οργανισμών, στους οποίους η Ελλάδα είναι μέλος, με τους εγχώριους υπαλλήλους, λειτουργούς και βουλευτές, για την εφαρμογή των διατάξεων όπου τυποποιούνται οι πράξεις των αδικημάτων της ενεργητικής και παθητικής δωροδοκίας Η θέσπιση ποινικών αδικημάτων «άλλων μορφών διαφθοράς» πλην των όσων προβλέπει η παράγραφος 1 του άρθρου 8 της Σύμβασης καλύπτεται από τα παραπάνω, καθώς και από τα άρθρα του Ν. 5227/1931 (Α 292) «Περί Μεσαζόντων», σύμφωνα με τα οποία τιμωρείται σε βαθμό πλημμελήματος, μεταξύ άλλων, και η άσκηση επιρροής προκειμένου να συναφθεί με συγκεκριμένο αντισυμβαλλόμενο οποιαδήποτε σύμβαση με το Δημόσιο, Ν.Π.Δ.Δ. ή Ο.Τ.Α.. Σχετικά με όσα προβλέπονται στο άρθρο 8 παρ. 3 της Σύμβασης αναφορικά με τη συμμετοχή, η ελληνική νομοθεσία τιμωρεί τις άδικες αυτές πράξεις με τις γενικές διατάξεις του Π.Κ. περί συμμετοχής και ειδικότερα τα άρθρα 45, 46, 47 Π.Κ.. Σχετικά, τέλος, με όσα αναφέρονται στο άρθρο 8 παράγραφος 4 της Σύμβασης, η έννοια του υπαλλήλου προβλέπεται στο άρθρο 13 εδ. α του Γενικού Μέρους του Π.Κ., σύμφωνα με το οποίο «υπάλληλος είναι εκείνος στον οποίο νόμιμα έχει ανατεθεί, έστω και προσωρινά, η άσκηση υπηρεσίας δημόσιας, δημοτικής ή κοινοτικής ή άλλου νομικού προσώπου δημοσίου δικαίου». Επίσης, στο άρθρο 263Α Π.Κ. και αναφορικά με τα εγκλήματα σχετικά με την υπηρεσία (εν προκειμένω την παθητική και ενεργητική δωροδοκία υπαλλήλου), στην έννοια του υπαλλήλου εμπίπτουν και άλλες κατηγορίες προσώπων. Όπως προκύπτει από τα προαναφερθέντα, η Ελλάδα διαθέτει ένα επαρκές νομοθετικό οπλοστάσιο για την αντιμετώπιση των συγκεκριμένων εγκληματικών Πράξεων στην ελληνική έννομη τάξη, πλην των όσων αναφέρθηκαν προηγουμένως, υπάρχει και πλήθος άλλων νομοθετικών κειμένων που διασφαλίζουν την πρόληψη και αποτελεσματική καταστολή της διαφθοράς. Ειδικότερα, ισχύουν οι εξής διατάξεις: Ν. 2605/1998 (Α 88) «Κύρωση της Σύμβασης για την ίδρυση Ευρωπαϊκής Αστυνομικής Υπηρεσίας (Σύμβαση EUROPOL) δυνάμει του άρθρου Κ.3 της Συνθήκης για την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση», παράρτημα 181

182 άρθρου 2 όπου εντάσσει στις μορφές της βαριάς εγκληματικότητας και τη δωροδοκία και Ν. 3294/2004 (Α 243) και Ν. 3002/2002 (Α 74) «Κύρωση του Πρωτοκόλλου που καταρτίστηκε βάσει του άρθρου 43 παράγραφος 1 της Σύμβασης για την ίδρυση Ευρωπαϊκής Αστυνομικής Υπηρεσίας για την τροποποίηση του άρθρου 2 και του Παραρτήματος της εν λόγω σύμβασης» (Κοροντζής, T δ ). Ν. 2713/1999 (Α 89) «Υπηρεσία Εσωτερικών Υποθέσεων Αστυνομίας, Αλλοδαποί κ.λπ.» άρθρο 1, όπως τροποποιήθηκε με το Ν. 3103/2003 (Α 23). Στο άρθρο 1 «σύσταση και αποστολή», προβλέπεται ότι η υπηρεσία επιλαμβάνεται και των περιπτώσεων των άρθρων 235 και 236 Π.Κ. (ενεργητική και παθητική δωροδοκία). Ν. 2925/2001 (Α 138) «Οικονομική Συνεργασία Ευξείνου Πόντου: Καταπολέμηση του εγκλήματος». Στο άρθρο 1 αναφέρεται ότι τα συμβαλλόμενα μέρη θα συνεργάζονται για την πρόληψη, καταστολή, διερεύνηση, αποκάλυψη εγκλημάτων και τη διεξαγωγή των σχετικών ανακρίσεων, όπου μεταξύ των διαφόρων εγκληματικών δράσεων αναφέρεται και αυτή της διαφθοράς. Ν. 2935/2001 (Α 162) «Προσωπικό Λιμενικού Σώματος και άλλες διατάξεις», άρθρα 49 έως 54 με τον οποίο συστήθηκε γραφείο εσωτερικών υποθέσεων Υ.Ε.Ν. που επιλαμβάνεται και υποθέσεων διαφθοράς του προσωπικού του Λιμενικού Σώματος όλων των βαθμών, των πολιτικών υπαλλήλων του Υ.Ε.Ν. και των εποπτευόμενων νομικών προσώπων δημοσίου δικαίου. Ν. 2957/2001 (Α 260) «Κύρωση της Σύμβασης του Συμβουλίου της Ευρώπης για θέματα Αστικού Δικαίου περί Διαφθοράς». Αποτελεί νομοθετικό μέτρο για την τιμωρία της διαφθοράς στο πλαίσιο που θέτει η σχετική πρωτοβουλία. Στο άρθρο 5 προβλέπεται ευθύνη του κράτους, βάσει της οποίας επιτρέπεται στα πρόσωπα που έχουν υποστεί ζημία εξαιτίας πράξης διαφθοράς δημοσίων λειτουργών κατά την άσκηση των καθηκόντων τους να αξιώσουν αποζημίωση από το κράτος ή τις αρμόδιες αρχές. Ν. 3023/2002 (Α 146) «Χρηματοδότηση κομμάτων βουλευτών: Έσοδα, δαπάνες, έλεγχος», με το άρθρο 21 του οποίου θεσμοθετείται Επιτροπή Ελέγχου [Σχετικές υπουργικές αποφάσεις: (α) 5587/1996 «Επιτροπή Ελέγχου των οικονομικών των Κομμάτων, βουλευτών» (Η απόφαση διατηρήθηκε σε ισχύ με το άρθρο 157 της 1737/1997 Απ. Ολ. Βουλής ΦΕΚ 51 Α ), (β) 1429/2003 «Οργάνωση και λειτουργία της Επιτροπής Ελέγχου του άρθρου 21 του ν. 3023/2002]. Η Επιτροπή του άρθρου 21 προβαίνει στον έλεγχο των οικονομικών των κομμάτων και των υποψήφιων βουλευτών και μπορεί να αναθέτει λογιστική ή οικονομική πραγματογνωμοσύνη ή άλλες ελεγκτικές πράξεις σε ορκωτούς λογιστές. Στο εδάφιο 5 του άρθρου 21 προβλέπεται η τιμωρία με ποινή φυλάκισης τουλάχιστον έξι μηνών εκείνου που παρεμποδίζει με οποιονδήποτε τρόπο το ελεγκτικό έργο και ιδίως αρνείται την παροχή στοιχείων στην Επιτροπή. Ν. 3074/2002 (Α 296) «Γενικός Επιθεωρητής Δημόσιας Διοίκησης. Αναβάθμιση του Σώματος Επιθεωρητών Ελεγκτών Δημόσιας Διοίκησης και του Συντονιστικού Οργάνου Επιθεώρησης και Ελέγχου και άλλες διατάξεις»: Με το άρθρο 6 «ίδρυση συγκρότηση», προβλέπεται ότι στις αρμοδιότητες του Σώματος Επιθεωρητών Ελεγκτών Δημόσιας Διοίκησης είναι, μεταξύ άλλων και η διενέργεια επιθεωρήσεων, έκτακτων ελέγχων και ερευνών για την επισήμανση αδιαφανών διαδικασιών. Ν. 3090/2002 (Α 329) «Σύσταση Σώματος Επιθεώρησης και Ελέγχου των Καταστημάτων Κράτησης». Στο άρθρο 2 εδ. β στην αποστολή του Σώματος Επιθεώρησης προβλέπεται και η διερεύνηση και διακρίβωση των εγκλημάτων που διώκονται αυτεπαγγέλτως και διαπράττονται στους χώρους κράτησης. Εν προκειμένω μπορεί να υπαχθεί και η περίπτωση της διαφθοράς. Ν. 3213/2003 «Δήλωση και έλεγχος περιουσιακής κατάστασης βουλευτών, δημοσίων λειτουργών και υπαλλήλων, ιδιοκτητών μέσων μαζικής ενημέρωσης και άλλων κατηγοριών προσώπων», όπως πρόσφατα τροποποιήθηκε. Ν. 3320/2005 (Α 309) «Ρυθμίσεις θεμάτων για το προσωπικό του Δημοσίου και των νομικών προσώπων του ευρύτερου δημόσιου τομέα και για τους Ο.Τ.Α.», με το άρθρο 12 παρ. 1, 2 και 3 εδ. γ του οποίου προβλέπεται η ενημέρωση από τις αρμόδιες δικαστικές αρχές για τις δικαστικές αποφάσεις και τα βουλεύματα που εκδίδονται σε κάθε βαθμό δικαιοδοσίας και για τις ποινικές διώξεις που ασκούνται με κάθε μορφή συμμετοχής κατά υπαλλήλου, λειτουργού ή οργάνου των φορέων της παρ. 2α του άρθρου 1 Ν. 3074/2002 (Α 296) για εγκλήματα περί την υπηρεσία, περί τα υπομνήματα, κατά της ιδιοκτησίας και κατά περιουσιακών δικαιωμάτων που στρέφονται κατά του δημοσίου και των άνω φορέων. Επίσης ο Γενικός Επιθεωρητής έχει δικαίωμα να ζητήσει από το δημόσιο να παρίσταται ως πολιτική αγωγή και να ασκεί όλα τα σχετικά δικαιώματα. Επίσης, ο Γενικός Επιθεωρητής, μετά από έγκριση του Υπουργού Εσωτερικών, Δημόσιας Διοίκησης και Αποκέντρωσης μπορεί να συνεργάζεται με τις αρμόδιες υπηρεσίες της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης και των Διεθνών Οργανισμών, όπως του Ο.Ο.Σ.Α., του Συμβουλίου της 182

183 Ευρώπης, των Ηνωμένων Εθνών και άλλων, με σκοπό τη μεταφορά τεχνογνωσίας και τη συμμετοχή σε δράσεις και προγράμματα ελέγχου της κακοδιοίκησης και περιορισμού της διαφθοράς. Ν. 3345/2005 (Α 138) «Οικονομικά θέματα Νομαρχιακών Αυτοδιοικήσεων και ρύθμιση διοικητικών θεμάτων», με το άρθρο 14 παρ. 3 και 4 του οποίου προβλέπεται η δυνατότητα άρσης του τραπεζικού, χρηματιστηριακού και φορολογικού απορρήτου στο πλαίσιο των ελέγχων που διενεργούνται από τον Γενικό Επιθεωρητή, ή κατόπιν εντολής του από το Σώμα Επιθεωρητών - Ελεγκτών Δημόσιας Διοίκησης και από τα ιδιαίτερα σώματα και υπηρεσίες επιθεώρησης και ελέγχου. Η άρση του απορρήτου είναι δυνατή και στο πλαίσιο του ελέγχου από τον Γενικό Επιθεωρητή των ετήσιων δηλώσεων οικονομικής κατάστασης των μελών των ιδιαίτερων σωμάτων επιθεώρησης και ελέγχου. Ν. 3528/2007 (Α 26) «Κύρωση του Κώδικα Κατάστασης Δημοσίων Πολιτικών Διοικητικών Υπαλλήλων και Υπαλλήλων Ν.Π.Δ.Δ.», άρθρα 8, 28 και 107. Ειδικότερα στο άρθρο 8 παρ. α η καταδίκη προσώπου σε δωροδοκία αποτελεί κώλυμα για το διορισμό του ως υπαλλήλου, στο άρθρο 28 ελέγχεται διαρκώς η περιουσιακή κατάσταση του υπαλλήλου, της συζύγου και των τέκνων τους και κάθε ουσιώδης μεταγενέστερη μεταβολή. Εφόσον προκύψουν σοβαρές ενδείξεις ότι η περιουσία του υπαλλήλου αποκτήθηκε κατά τρόπο που συνιστά ποινικό αδίκημα ο αρμόδιος υπουργός προβαίνει στις απαραίτητες ενέργειες για την ποινική ή πειθαρχική δίωξη. Στο άρθρο 107 εδ. ιζ προβλέπεται ως πειθαρχικό παράπτωμα και η αποδοχή οποιασδήποτε υλικής εύνοιας ή ανταλλάγματος που προέρχεται από πρόσωπο του οποίου τις υποθέσεις χειρίζεται ή πρόκειται να χειριστεί κατά την άσκηση των υπηρεσιακών του καθηκόντων ο υπάλληλος. Απόφαση 2682/1987/7-106 Κώδικας Κανονισμού Εργασιών Βουλής, άρθρο 43Α «Ειδικές Μόνιμες Επιτροπές», στην παράγραφο 1β προβλέπεται η σύσταση «Μόνιμης Επιτροπής θεσμών και διαφάνειας» αντικείμενο της οποίας είναι ο κοινοβουλευτικός έλεγχος των ανεξάρτητων διοικητικών αρχών, καθώς και η έρευνα και αξιολόγηση κάθε στοιχείου χρήσιμου για τη μελέτη και επεξεργασία προτάσεων που συμβάλλουν στη διαφάνεια της πολιτικής και γενικότερα δημόσιας ζωής και άρθρο 138Α «Έλεγχος επί των ανεξάρτητων αρχών» το οποίο αφορά στην υποβολή των ετήσιων εκθέσεων της κάθε ανεξάρτητης αρχής. Η διασφάλιση της αποτελεσματικής δράσης των αρχών στην πρόληψη, εντοπισμό και τιμωρία της διαφθοράς των δημοσίων λειτουργών, όπως επιβάλλεται από το άρθρο 9 παράγραφος 2 της Σύμβασης, καλύπτεται από τις νομοθετικές πρωτοβουλίες που έχουν εκτεθεί παραπάνω, όπως αυτές αναλύονται. Ενδεικτικά αναφέρεται, ότι στις υπηρεσίες εσωτερικών υποθέσεων της Ελληνικής Αστυνομίας και του Υ.Ε.Ν. [Ν. 2713/1999 (Α 89) και Ν. 2935/2001(Α 162)] η αποτελεσματικότητα της δράσης τους ενισχύεται και από τα αυξημένα προσόντα και τις πολλές προϋποθέσεις που απαιτούνται για την επιλογή του προσωπικού. Επίσης και στις δύο περιπτώσεις προβλέπεται προστασία των μαρτύρων και των πληροφοριοδοτών, άρση του απορρήτου, δέσμευση περιουσιακών στοιχείων, καταγραφή των σχετικών πράξεων με συσκευές ήχου και εικόνας και χρήση τους ως αποδεικτικών στοιχείων ενώπιον δικαστηρίου, ανακριτικής ή άλλης αρχής. Τέλος, στο άρθρο 54 Ν. 2935/2001 το προσωπικό του Λιμενικού Σώματος και το πολιτικό προσωπικό του Υ.Ε.Ν. και των εποπτευόμενων νομικών προσώπων δημοσίου δικαίου, οι σύζυγοι και τα ανήλικα τέκνα υποχρεούνται να υποβάλουν στον Αντεισαγγελέα του Αρείου Πάγου δήλωση της περιουσιακής τους κατάστασης [Σχετικά τυγχάνουν το άρθρο 32 του Π.Δ. 67/2011 (Α 149) και άρθρο 21 του Ν. 4058/2012 (Α 63)]. Η υπηρεσία εσωτερικών υποθέσεων της Ελληνικής Αστυνομίας υπάγεται απ ευθείας στον Αρχηγό της Ελληνικής Αστυνομίας (άρθρο 1), τόσο λόγω της σημασίας του έργου της, όσο και για την αποφυγή παρεμβάσεων για συγκάλυψη περιπτώσεων που ενδεχομένως να αφορούν και ανώτερα στελέχη. Η παροχή επαρκούς ανεξαρτησίας στις αρχές αυτές πηγάζει από το ίδιο το Σύνταγμα και ειδικότερα από τα άρθρα:8 με το οποίο προβλέπεται η συνταγματική κατοχύρωση της δικαστικής προστασίας.55, 56, 57 όπου αναφέρονται τα κωλύματα και ασυμβίβαστα των βουλευτών.87 «Δικαστικοί λειτουργοί και υπάλληλοι», όπου κατοχυρώνεται συνταγματικά η προσωπική και λειτουργική ανεξαρτησία των δικαστών.101α «Ανεξάρτητες διοικητικές αρχές» όπου κατοχυρώνεται συνταγματικά η προσωπική και λειτουργική ανεξαρτησία των μελών των ανεξάρτητων διοικητικών αρχών. Σχετικά με το άρθρο 10 της Σύμβασης, που αφορά στην ευθύνη των νομικών προσώπων για τα αδικήματα που προβλέπονται στη Σύμβαση, το άρθρο 51 του Ν. 3691/2008 προβλέπει οικονομικές και διοικητικές κυρώσεις για τα νομικά πρόσωπα προς όφελος των οποίων τελούνται τέτοιας βαρύτητας αδικήματα. Η εν 183

184 λόγω διάταξη έχει, ωστόσο, ανάγκη αναμόρφωσης, προκειμένου να αποκλεισθούν οι αλληλεπικαλύψεις με άλλες διατάξεις και η σύγχυση αρμοδιοτήτων ως προς τα όργανα επιβολής των κυρώσεων. Ειδικά καθόσον αφορά στα αδικήματα διαφθοράς, προβλέψεις σχετικά με την ευθύνη των νομικών προσώπων που εμπλέκονται σε αυτά, υπάρχουν στο άρθρο πέμπτο του Ν. 2656/2008 (Α 265) [όπως τροποποιήθηκε με το άρθρο 9 του Ν. 3090/2002 (Α 329)], με τον οποίο κυρώθηκε η Σύμβαση του Ο.Ο.Σ.Α. για την καταπολέμηση της διαφθοράς αλλοδαπών δημόσιων λειτουργών στις διεθνείς επιχειρηματικές συναλλαγές, στο άρθρο όγδοο του Ν. 2803/2000 (Α 48), με τον οποίο κυρώθηκε η Σύμβαση για την προστασία των οικονομικών συμφερόντων των Ευρωπαϊκών Κοινοτήτων και των συναφών με αυτήν Πρωτοκόλλων, και στα άρθρα δέκατο του Ν. 3560/2007 και όγδοο του Ν. 3666/2008 (Α 105). Αντίστοιχη ειδική ρύθμιση δεν υπάρχει για τα νομικά πρόσωπα που, σύμφωνα με όσα ορίζει η Σύμβαση, συμμετέχουν σε σοβαρά εγκλήματα στα οποία εμπλέκεται εγκληματική οργάνωση και για το λόγο αυτό θα πρέπει να διαμορφωθεί σχετική διάταξη που θα επεκτείνει την ισχύ του άρθρου 41 Ν. 3251/2004 (Α 127) το οποίο αφορά την ευθύνη νομικών προσώπων για την εμπλοκή τους σε τρομοκρατικές πράξεις και στα εγκλήματα τα οποία τελούνται από εγκληματικές οργανώσεις. Σχετικά με το άρθρο 11 της Σύμβασης που αφορά στην επιβολή κυρώσεων για τα αδικήματα στα οποία αναφέρεται η Σύμβαση, η ελληνική έννομη τάξη αντιμετωπίζει επαρκώς τα αδικήματα αυτά. Σε ό,τι αφορά την παρουσία του κατηγορουμένου που προβλέπεται στο άρθρο 11 παράγραφος 3 της Σύμβασης, κατά κανόνα στην ελληνική έννομη τάξη η εκδίκαση των κακουργημάτων (σοβαρά εγκλήματα) στα οποία αναφέρεται η Σύμβαση γίνεται είτε παρουσία του ίδιου του κατηγορουμένου, είτε δια συνηγόρου τον οποίο αυτός έχει ορίσει για το σκοπό αυτό (άρθρο 340 παρ. 1 και 2 Κ.Π.Δ.). Η εκδίκαση των παραπάνω πράξεων διεξάγεται ερήμην του κατηγορουμένου μόνο σε εξαιρετικές περιπτώσεις αποκλειστικά προσδιοριζόμενες στον Κ.Π.Δ. και ειδικότερα στα άρθρα 432 και 435 Κ.Π.Δ.. Στις ρυθμίσεις, εξάλλου, που αφορούν την προσωρινή ή υφ όρο απόλυση (άρθρο 11 παρ. 4), συνυπολογίζεται πάντα η βαρύτητα των εγκλημάτων που έχουν τη μορφή κακουργημάτων, όπως εν προκειμένω, και επομένως παρέλκει η θέσπιση νέων διατάξεων. Σχετικά με την παράγραφο 5 του άρθρου 11, η οποία αφορά στη θέσπιση μακράς περιόδου παραγραφής για τα αδικήματα της Σύμβασης, θα πρέπει να παρατηρηθεί ότι κατά το ισχύον δίκαιο προβλέπεται πράγματι μακρύς χρόνος παραγραφής για όλα τα κακουργήματα, ενώ όταν ο φερόμενος ως δράστης φυγοδικεί, υπάρχει πρόβλεψη για αναστολή του χρόνου παραγραφής, σύμφωνα και με όσα ορίζονται στο άρθρο 432 παράγραφος 2 Κ.Π.Δ.. Παράλληλα, σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 113 Π.Κ. προβλέπεται αναστολή της προθεσμίας παραγραφής για όσο χρόνο με διάταξη νόμου δε μπορεί να αρχίσει ή να εξακολουθήσει η ποινική δίωξη, αλλά και για το χρονικό διάστημα κατά το οποίο διαρκεί η κύρια διαδικασία και μέχρι να γίνει αμετάκλητη η καταδικαστική απόφαση. Παρέλκει, λοιπόν, οποιαδήποτε νέα ρύθμιση και για τα θέματα αυτά. Σχετικά με τα μέτρα για την κατάσχεση και τη δήμευση που προβλέπονται στο άρθρο 12 της Σύμβασης, η δήμευση και η κατάσχεση προϊόντων εγκλήματος, περιουσίας, εξοπλισμού ή άλλων μέσων που χρησιμοποιούνται ή προορίζονται να χρησιμοποιηθούν και για τα εγκλήματα που αφορά η σύμβαση, προβλέπεται στο άρθρο 76 του Ποινικού Κώδικα. Στο άρθρο 76 Π.Κ. στα προϊόντα εγκλήματος ανήκουν και το τίμημά τους και όσα αντικείμενα αποκτήθηκαν με αυτά. Στα άρθρα 260 έως 269 του Κώδικα Ποινικής Δικονομίας ρυθμίζονται θέματα κατάσχεσης. Σχετικά με τη διεθνή συνεργασία για τη δήμευση που προβλέπεται στο άρθρο 13 της Σύμβασης και τη συνεργασία για τη διάθεση προϊόντων εγκλήματος που προβλέπεται στο άρθρο 14, η ίδια η σύμβαση αφού κυρωθεί, σε συνδυασμό με τις νομοθετικές διατάξεις για τη δικαστική συνδρομή (άρθρα 436 επ. Κ.Π.Δ.) και τις σχετικές διμερείς ή πολυμερείς συμβάσεις, αποτελούν τη νομική βάση για τη συνεργασία αυτή. Σχετικά με το άρθρο 14 παράγραφος 1 πέραν των όσων αναφέρονται παραπάνω για τη δήμευση, η αποδοχή και διάθεση των προϊόντων εγκλήματος ρυθμίζεται στο άρθρο 394 Π.Κ.. Έτσι με την κύρωση της Σύμβασης και την υπάρχουσα εσωτερική νομοθεσία που τυποποιεί τα συγκεκριμένα εγκλήματα υφίσταται ένα ολοκληρωμένο νομοθετικό πλαίσιο για την αντιμετώπιση των εγκλημάτων αυτών και τη διεθνή συνεργασία. Σχετικά με τη θεμελίωση δικαιοδοσίας για τα αδικήματα των άρθρων 5, 6, 8 και 23 της Σύμβασης έχουν εφαρμογή οι γενικές διατάξεις των άρθρων 5-8 Π.Κ.. Ήδη άλλωστε, σε ότι αφορά τα εγκλήματα που σχετίζονται με εγκληματική οργάνωση η δικαιοδοσία αυτή έχει διευρυνθεί με το άρθρο 187 παρ. 5 Π.Κ., ενώ σε ότι αφορά πράξεις διαφθοράς, με τα άρθρα έκτο του Ν. 2802/2000, ένατο του Ν. 3560/2007 και δέκατο του Ν. 3666/2008. Με τις διατάξεις αυτές καλύπτονται πλήρως οι απαιτήσεις της Σύμβασης. 184

185 Το άρθρο 18 της Σύμβασης αφορά στην αμοιβαία δικαστική συνδρομή και με την κύρωσή του μπορεί να λειτουργήσει συμπληρωματικά και για τα αδικήματα που αντιμετωπίζει η Σύμβαση, με τα σχετικά άρθρα του Κ.Π.Δ. (457 επ.) και κυρίως τις διμερείς και πολυμερείς συμβάσεις δικαστικής συνδρομής που έχει υπογράψει η Ελλάδα, όπως η Σύμβαση αμοιβαίας δικαστικής συνδρομής επί ποινικών υποθέσεων [Ν.Δ. 4218/1961 (Α 171)] και οι σχετικές συμβάσεις της Ε.Ε. για την έκδοση και τη δικαστική συνδρομή (Ν. 2718/1999, 2787/2000, 2655/1999, 2772/1999). Στην παράγραφο 6 του άρθρου 18 προβλέπεται ότι οι διατάξεις του άρθρου αυτού της Σύμβασης δεν επηρεάζουν τις υποχρεώσεις που απορρέουν από οποιαδήποτε άλλη συνθήκη, διμερή ή πολυμερή, η οποία διέπει ή θα διέπει εν όλω ή εν μέρει την αμοιβαία δικαστική συνδρομή. Τα κράτη μπορούν, εάν δεσμεύονται από συνθήκες αμοιβαίας δικαστικής συνδρομής, να συμφωνήσουν στην εφαρμογή του άρθρου 18 παράγραφος 9 έως 29 της Σύμβασης (παράγραφος 7). Το άρθρο 19 αφορά στις κοινές έρευνες παροτρύνοντας τα κράτη μέρη να ενισχύσουν τη συνεργασία τους σε αυτό τον τομέα διασφαλίζοντας τον απόλυτο σεβασμό της κυριαρχίας του κράτους μέρους στο έδαφος του οποίου διεξάγεται η έρευνα. Οι επιχειρησιακές ενέργειες κοινών ομάδων με τη συμμετοχή αντιπροσώπων της Europol προς υποστήριξη αυτών, προβλέπεται και στο άρθρο 88 παρ. 2β της Συνθήκης της Λισαβόνας (Korontzis, T α ). Το άρθρο 20 της Σύμβασης αναφέρεται στις ειδικές ανακριτικές τεχνικές. Ειδικές ανακριτικές τεχνικές, μεταξύ αυτών και οι ελεγχόμενες παραδόσεις, προβλέπονται στο άρθρο 253Α του Κώδικα Ποινικής Δικονομίας το οποίο προστέθηκε με το άρθρο 6 του ν. 2928/2001. Σχετικά με την προστασία μαρτύρων που αναφέρεται στο άρθρο 24 της Σύμβασης, υπάρχει σχετική πρόβλεψη στο άρθρο 9 Ν. 2928/2001, ενώ σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 10 του αυτού νόμου μέτρα προστασίας λαμβάνονται για τον εισαγγελέα, τον ανακριτή και τους δικαστές της υπόθεσης, καθώς και για τους κρατουμένους που προβαίνουν σε σημαντικές αποκαλύψεις ως προς τη δράση της εγκληματικής οργάνωσης, ως αναφέρονται στο νόμο. Σχετικές είναι και οι διατάξεις του ν. 2713/1999 (άρθρο 5 παρ.5). Επίσης, εφόσον υπογραφούν σχετικές διμερείς ή πολυμερείς συμβάσεις, η ελληνική πολιτεία μπορεί να αποστέλλει μάρτυρες για διαβίωση σε τρίτες χώρες. Αντίστοιχα, η ελληνική πολιτεία μπορεί να δέχεται από τρίτες χώρες, υπό τον όρο της αμοιβαιότητας και με σκοπό την προστασία τους, μάρτυρες οι οποίοι θα κατοικούν και θα εργάζονται στο έδαφός της, με δαπάνες της χώρας αποστολής τους. Έτσι, λοιπόν, στο άρθρο 9 παράγραφος 2 του Ν. 2928/2001 θα πρέπει να προστεθεί και η περίπτωση αποστολής μαρτύρων σε χώρες του εξωτερικού Οι ρυθμίσεις του άρθρου 9 Ν. 2928/2001 έχουν ήδη επεκταθεί στις πράξεις διαφθοράς (άρθρα δωδέκατο του Ν. 3560/2007 και έβδομο του Ν. 3666/2008), ενώ και για τους υπαλλήλους που αποκαλύπτουν πράξεις νομιμοποίησης παράνομων εσόδων, υπάρχει σχετική ρύθμιση στο άρθρο 30 Ν. 3691/2008. Σχετικά με το άρθρο 26 της Σύμβασης για τη λήψη μέτρων βελτίωσης της συνεργασίας των διωκτικών αρχών, στο άρθρο 187Β του Ποινικού Κώδικα ως ισχύει, προβλέπονται μέτρα επιείκειας για όσους συνεργάζονται με τις αρχές για την πρόληψη διάπραξης εγκλημάτων ή συμβάλλουν ουσιωδώς στην εξάρθρωση της εγκληματικής οργάνωσης. Αντίστοιχα μέτρα έχουν προσφάτως υιοθετηθεί και για τις περιπτώσεις εγκλημάτων διαφθοράς (βλ. σχέδιο νόμου «Τροποποίηση του Ν. 3213/2003, διατάξεων του Ποινικού Κώδικα που αφορούν εγκλήματα σχετικά με την Υπηρεσία και άλλες διατάξεις»). Νέες ρυθμίσεις δε φαίνονται επομένως αναγκαίες. Στο άρθρο 31, η Σύμβαση ενθαρρύνει τα κράτη μέρη να λάβουν πρωτοβουλίες για την πρόληψη του διεθνικού οργανωμένου εγκλήματος, δίνοντας τις βασικές κατευθύνσεις. Η Ελλάδα έχει να δείξει σημαντικές σχετικές νομοθετικές πρωτοβουλίες, ιδιαίτερα για τις περιπτώσεις της πρόληψης της διαφθοράς έχοντας υιοθετήσει τόσο τη Σύμβαση Ποινικού Δικαίου για τη διαφθορά (Ν. 3560/2007), όσο και τη Σύμβαση των Ηνωμένων Εθνών κατά της διαφθοράς (Ν. 3666/2008) και της νομιμοποίησης εσόδων από εγκληματικές δραστηριότητες (άρθρα 6-40 Ν. 3691/2008), ενώ συμμετέχει και στις σχετικές πρωτοβουλίες των οργάνων της Ε.Ε.. Τα άρθρα αναφέρονται σε θέματα εφαρμογής της Σύμβασης. Σχετικά με το άρθρο 35 (επίλυση διαφορών), θα πρέπει να παρατηρηθεί ότι η διαδικασία που προβλέπεται στην παράγραφο 2 δεν αποτελεί γνωστή διαδικασία στην ελληνική έννομη τάξη και για το λόγο αυτό η Ελληνική Πολιτεία κάνει χρήση της παραγράφου 3 του άρθρου 35 και δηλώνει ότι δεν δεσμεύεται από την παράγραφο 2 του άρθρου αυτού]. 185

186 Από την παραπάνω εξέταση των άρθρων της Σύμβασης προκύπτει ότι το ελληνικό νομοθετικό πλαίσιο για την αντιμετώπιση της οργανωμένης εγκληματικής δράσης και συναφών αυτής δράσεων (νομιμοποίηση εσόδων, διαφθορά, συμμετοχή σε εγκληματική οργάνωση, παρακώλυση δικαιοσύνης, συνεργασία), όπως τροποποιήθηκε κατ επανάληψη τα τελευταία χρόνια προκειμένου να ενσωματωθούν Διεθνείς Συμβάσεις, Οδηγίες ή Αποφάσεις Πλαίσια, είναι κατά βάση επαρκές και οι τροποποιήσεις που απαιτούνται είναι περιορισμένες. Με την κύρωση, εξάλλου, της Σύμβασης βάσει του άρθρου 28 του Σ. με επιφυλάξεις και τις σχετικές τροποποιήσεις της ελληνικής νομοθεσίας επιτυγχάνεται η αποτελεσματική αντιμετώπιση του Διεθνικού Οργανωμένου Εγκλήματος με τις υψηλές απαιτήσεις που θέτει η Σύμβαση, χωρίς να υπάρχουν θεμελιώδεις αλλαγές και συγκρούσεις με ένα λειτουργικό σύστημα ποινικής δικαιοσύνης, όπως το ελληνικό» (Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, 2010). 2. GRECO. Ομάδα Κρατών κατά της διαφθοράς. Όπως ζητήθηκε στο πρόγραμμα της Στοκχόλμης (ΕΕ C 115 της , σ. 1.), η Επιτροπή υπέβαλε στο Συμβούλιο έκθεση [(COM (2011) 307 τελικό] σχετικά με τις πρακτικές λεπτομέρειες για την ένταξη της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης στην ομάδα κρατών του Συμβουλίου της Ευρώπης κατά της διαφθοράς (GRECO). Η GRECO είναι σήμερα ο πληρέστερος μηχανισμός παρακολούθησης για την καταπολέμηση της διαφθοράς σε ευρωπαϊκή κλίμακα, στον οποίο συμμετέχουν όλα τα κράτη μέλη της Ε.Ε.. Η GRECO έχει διαδραματίσει σημαντικό ρόλο στην καθιέρωση ορισμένων ελάχιστων ευρωπαϊκών προτύπων για τη δημιουργία ενός νομικού και θεσμικού πλαισίου με σκοπό την καταπολέμηση της διαφθοράς. Εντούτοις, η διαφθορά εξακολουθεί να δημιουργεί σοβαρά προβλήματα σε ορισμένα κράτη μέλη και δεν έχουν επιτευχθεί ικανοποιητικά αποτελέσματα σε ολόκληρη την Ε.Ε.. Τούτο ενισχύει την πεποίθηση της Επιτροπής ότι οι πολιτικές δεσμεύσεις για την καταπολέμηση της διαφθοράς εξακολουθούν να παρουσιάζουν διαφορές εντός της Ε.Ε.. Η ανακοίνωση σχετικά με την πολιτική της Ε.Ε. για την καταπολέμηση της διαφθοράς [COM (2011) 308] συνιστά τη συμμετοχή της Ε.Ε. στην GRECO, καθώς και τη δημιουργία ενός μηχανισμού υποβολής εκθέσεων για την καταπολέμηση της διαφθοράς στην Ε.Ε.. Τούτο θα παράσχει τη δυνατότητα να τονωθεί η πολιτική βούληση στα κράτη μέλη και να καταστεί αποτελεσματικότερο το υφιστάμενο νομικό και θεσμικό πλαίσιο. Η GRECO δημιουργήθηκε το 1999 από το Συμβούλιο της Ευρώπης με σκοπό τη «βελτίωση της ικανότητας των μελών της να καταπολεμήσουν τη διαφθορά, μεριμνώντας για την υλοποίηση των δεσμεύσεων που έχουν αναλάβει στον τομέα αυτό, μέσω μιας δυναμικής διαδικασίας αμοιβαίας αξιολόγησης και άσκησης πίεσης από ομότιμους» [Ψήφισμα (9) 5 της Επιτροπής]. Σήμερα αριθμεί 49 μέλη (48 ευρωπαϊκά κράτη και οι Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες της Αμερικής). Οι εργασίες της διέπονται από το καταστατικό της [Προσάρτημα στο ψήφισμα (99)5 της Επιτροπής] και τον εσωτερικό κανονισμό της [ο οποίος εγκρίθηκε από την GRECO στις 4-6/10/1999]. Κάθε μέλος της ορίζει δύο αντιπροσώπους κατ ανώτατο όριο, οι οποίοι συμμετέχουν στις συνόδους ολομέλειας και έχουν δικαίωμα ψήφου. Τα μέλη παρέχουν επίσης στη GRECO κατάλογο των διαθέσιμων εμπειρογνωμόνων για τις αξιολογήσεις. Οι αξιολογήσεις των μελών της GRECO χωρίζονται σε φάσεις και πραγματοποιούνται βάσει των προτύπων που έχουν καθοριστεί στις 20 «κατευθυντήριες αρχές» για την καταπολέμηση της δωροδοκίας [Ψήφισμα (97) 24 της Επιτροπής υπουργών του Συμβουλίου της Ευρώπης], στη σύμβαση αστικού δικαίου περί δωροδοκίας (εγκρίθηκε την 4/11/1999 και τέθηκε σε εφαρμογή τη 1/7/2002) και στη σύμβαση ποινικού δικαίου περί δωροδοκίας (Note 19) και το πρόσθετο πρωτόκολλό της (εγκρίθηκε την 15/5/2003 και τέθηκε σε ισχύ την 1/2/2005). Ο πρώτος γύρος διαπραγματεύσεων της GRECO πραγματοποιήθηκε κατά την περίοδο και κάλυπτε την ανεξαρτησία, την εξειδίκευση και τα μέσα των εθνικών φορέων που συμμετείχαν στην πρόληψη και την καταπολέμηση της διαφθοράς, καθώς και τις ασυλίες των δημόσιων υπαλλήλων. Ο δεύτερος γύρος αξιολόγησης, που πραγματοποιήθηκε κατά την περίοδο , επικεντρώθηκε στην κατάσχεση και τη δήμευση των προϊόντων διαφθοράς, στην πρόληψη και τον εντοπισμό περιπτώσεων διαφθοράς στη δημόσια διοίκηση, καθώς και στην πρόληψη και την καταπολέμηση της διαφθοράς στον ιδιωτικό τομέα. 186

187 Ο τρίτος γύρος αξιολόγησης, που ξεκίνησε τον Ιανουάριο του 2007, βρίσκεται ήδη σε εξέλιξη. Καλύπτει την ποινικοποίηση των αδικημάτων, σύμφωνα με τη σύμβαση ποινικού δικαίου περί δωροδοκίας και τη χρηματοδότηση των πολιτικών κομμάτων. Οι εκθέσεις αξιολόγησης συντάσσονται κατόπιν συζήτησης με το αξιολογούμενο κράτος και στη συνέχεια συζητούνται και εγκρίνονται σε συνεδρίαση ολομέλειας. Είναι κατά κανόνα εμπιστευτικές, αλλά ενδέχεται να δημοσιευτούν με σύμφωνη γνώμη του αξιολογούμενου κράτους. Κάθε έκθεση περιλαμβάνει συστάσεις με τις οποίες η εν λόγω χώρα θα πρέπει να συμμορφώνεται εντός ορισμένης χρονικής περιόδου (π.χ. 18 μηνών). Για τον έλεγχο της συνέχειας που δίδεται στις συστάσεις εφαρμόζεται μια διαδικασία συμμόρφωσης, η οποία περατώνεται με τη δημοσίευση εκθέσεων συμμόρφωσης και των ενδεχομένων προσαρτημάτων. 2.1Τρίτος Γύρος Αξιολόγησης. Έκθεση Συμμόρφωσης για την Ελλάδα «Ποινικοποιήσεις (ETS 173 και 191, GPC 2)» 1.-Η Έκθεση Συμμόρφωσης (GRECO, Ομάδα Κρατών κατά της Διαφθοράς, ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟ ΤΗΣ ΕΥΡΩΠΗΣ, Στρασβούργο, 22 Ιουνίου 2012) αξιολογεί τα μέτρα που έχουν ληφθεί από τις Ελληνικές αρχές για την υλοποίηση των 27 συστάσεων που εκδόθηκαν στο πλαίσιο της Έκθεσης του Τρίτου Γύρου Αξιολόγησης για την Ελλάδα (βλέπε κατωτέρω παράγραφο 2), η οποία κάλυψε δύο χωριστούς θεματικούς τομείς, και συγκεκριμένα: τη Θεματική Ενότητα Ι - Ποινικοποιήσεις: Άρθρα 1α και 1 β, 2-12, 15-17, 19 παρ. 1 της Συνθήκης Ποινικού Δικαίου για την Καταπολέμηση της Διαφθοράς (ETS 173), Άρθρα 1-6 του Πρόσθετου Πρωτοκόλλου της (ETS 191) και Κατευθυντήρια Αρχή 2 (ποινικοποίηση της διαφθοράς) και τη Θεματική Ενότητα ΙΙ - Διαφάνεια της χρηματοδότησης των πολιτικών κομμάτων: Άρθρα 8, 11, 12, 13β, 14 και 16 της Σύστασης Rec (2003) 4, σε σχέση με τους Κοινούς Κανόνες για την Καταπολέμηση της Διαφθοράς ως προς τη Χρηματοδότηση των Πολιτικών Κομμάτων και των Εκλογικών Εκστρατειών, και - γενικότερα - Κατευθυντήρια Αρχή 15 (χρηματοδότηση των πολιτικών κομμάτων και των προεκλογικών εκστρατειών). 2.-Η Έκθεση του Τρίτου Γύρου Αξιολόγησης εγκρίθηκε κατά την 47 η Σύνοδο της Ολομέλειας της GRECO (7-11 Ιουνίου 2010) και δημοσιοποιήθηκε στις 7 Ιουλίου 2010, κατόπιν εξουσιοδότησης από την Ελλάδα [Greco Eval ΙΙΙ Rep (2009) 9E, Θεματική Ενότητα I (ποινικοποιήσεις) και Θεματική Ενότητα II (Διαφάνεια της χρηματοδότησης των πολιτικών κομμάτων)]. 3.- Η Έκθεση Συμμόρφωσης αξιολογεί την υλοποίηση κάθε επιμέρους σύστασης που περιέχεται στην Έκθεση Αξιολόγησης και καθιερώνει μια συνολική αξιολόγηση του βαθμού συμμόρφωσης των μελών με τις συστάσεις αυτές. Η υλοποίηση οποιασδήποτε εκκρεμούσας σύστασης (μερικώς υλοποιηθείσας ή μη υλοποιηθείσας) θα αξιολογηθεί με βάση μια περαιτέρω Έκθεση Προόδου, η οποία πρέπει να υποβληθεί από τις αρχές 18 μήνες μετά την έγκριση της προαναφερόμενης Έκθεσης Συμμόρφωσης. ΣΥΣΤΑΣΕΙΣ Σύσταση i. Η GRECO πρότεινε την ενοποίηση όλων των σχετικών διατάξεων για τη δωροδοκία και την προσφορά για άσκηση επιρροής, κατά προτίμηση εντός του Ποινικού Κώδικα (η σύσταση i έχει υλοποιηθεί εν μέρει). Σύσταση ii. Η GRECO πρότεινε να διασφαλιστεί ότι τα αδικήματα της ενεργητικής και παθητικής δωροδοκίας στο δημόσιο τομέα θα καλύπτουν όλες τις πράξεις / παραλείψεις κατά την άσκηση των καθηκόντων ενός δημοσίου υπαλλήλου, είτε αυτές εμπίπτουν στο πεδίο των αρμοδιοτήτων του δημοσίου υπαλλήλου είτε όχι (η σύσταση ii δεν έχει υλοποιηθεί). Σύσταση iii. Η GRECO πρότεινε να ληφθούν κατάλληλα μέτρα, όπως εγκύκλιοι ή εκπαίδευση, προκειμένου να καταστεί σαφές ή να υπενθυμιστεί στους ενδιαφερόμενους ότι οι αδικήματα της ενεργητικής και παθητικής δωροδοκίας είναι αυτόνομα και δεν απαιτούν, απαραίτητα, μια συμφωνία μεταξύ των μερών ( η σύσταση iii δεν έχει υλοποιηθεί). 187

188 Σύσταση iv. Η GRECO πρότεινε να ποινικοποιηθεί ευρύτερα η δωροδοκία ημεδαπών, αλλοδαπών και διεθνών δικαστών, διαιτητών και ενόρκων, σύμφωνα με τα Άρθρα 2, 3, 5, 11 της Συνθήκης Ποινικού Δικαίου (ETS 173), καθώς και τα Άρθρα 2 έως 6 του Πρόσθετου Πρωτόκολλου της (ETS 191), ιδίως όσον αφορά στους μεσάζοντες, τους τρίτους δικαιούχους και το αντικείμενο των ενεργειών / παραλείψεων του λήπτη του δώρου (η σύσταση iv έχει υλοποιηθεί εν μέρει). Σύσταση v. Η GRECO πρότεινε να ποινικοποιηθεί ευρύτερα η δωροδοκία ημεδαπών, αλλοδαπών και διεθνών μελών δημοσίων συνελεύσεων, σύμφωνα με τα Άρθρα 4, 6 και 10 της Συνθήκης Ποινικού Δικαίου (ETS 173), ιδίως όσον αφορά στην «παροχή» και τη «λήψη» αθέμιτων ωφελημάτων, στους μεσάζοντες, τους τρίτους δικαιούχους και το εύρος των πράξεων / παραλείψεων του δωρολήπτη (η σύσταση v έχει υλοποιηθεί εν μέρει). Σύσταση vi. Η GRECO πρότεινε να διενεργηθεί ορθή αξιολόγηση της αποτελεσματικότητας των διατάξεων που αφορούν στη δωροδοκία και την προσφορά για άσκηση επιρροής (η σύσταση vi δεν έχει υλοποιηθεί). Σύσταση vii. Η GRECO πρότεινε να διασφαλιστεί ότι η δωροδοκία αλλοδαπών δημοσίων υπαλλήλων, δικαστών, μελών δημοσίων συνελεύσεων, διαιτητών και ενόρκων θα ποινικοποιηθεί, όσον αφορά στους δωρολήπτες από οποιοδήποτε τρίτο Κράτος, σύμφωνα με τα Άρθρα 5 και 6 της Συνθήκης Ποινικού Δικαίου (ETS 173) και τα Άρθρα 4 και 6 του Πρόσθετου Πρωτοκόλλου της (ETS 191) ( η σύσταση vii έχει υλοποιηθεί εν μέρει). Σύσταση viii. Η GRECO πρότεινε να ποινικοποιηθεί η προσφορά για άσκηση επιρροής με ενοποιημένο τρόπο, διασφαλίζοντας ότι πληρούνται όλες οι απαιτήσεις του Άρθρου 12 της Συνθήκης Ποινικού Δικαίου για την Καταπολέμηση της Διαφθοράς (ETS 173), ιδίως όσον αφορά στα στοιχεία της ανάρμοστης επιρροής, της ενεργητικής πλευράς της προσφοράς για άσκηση επιρροής, της ζήτησης αθέμιτων ωφελημάτων, άυλων ωφελημάτων, τους διαμεσολαβητές και τους τρίτους δικαιούχους (η σύσταση viii έχει υλοποιηθεί εν μέρει). Σύσταση ix. Η GRECO πρότεινε (i) να παραμείνει υπό εξέταση η εφαρμογή των διατάξεων σχετικά με τον ειδικό υπερασπιστικό ισχυρισμό της ειλικρινούς μεταμέλειας, προκειμένου να διαπιστωθεί η ενδεχόμενη χρήση και κατάχρηση αυτού του ισχυρισμού, κατά την έρευνα και τη δίωξη της διαφθοράς και, ενδεχομένως, να ληφθούν κατάλληλα μέτρα, (ii) να καταργηθούν οι διατάξεις σχετικά με την αυτόματη επιστροφή των δώρων στο δωροδοκούντα (η σύσταση ix έχει υλοποιηθεί ικανοποιητικά). Σύσταση x. Η GRECO πρότεινε να καταργηθεί η ειδική παραγραφή για τη δίωξη των μελών της κυβέρνησης και των πρώην μελών της κυβέρνησης (η σύσταση x δεν έχει υλοποιηθεί). Σύσταση xi. Η GRECO πρότεινε να τροποποιηθεί η ισχύουσα νομοθεσία ώστε να αποκλείει ρητά την εφαρμογή του Άρθρου 30 (2) του Κώδικα Ποινικής Δικονομίας, σχετικά με την αναβολή ή την αναστολή της δίωξης «πολιτικών πράξεων» και «αδικημάτων μέσω των οποίων μπορούν να διαταραχθούν οι διεθνείς σχέσεις του Κράτους», για όλα τα αδικήματα δωροδοκίας ημεδαπών και αλλοδαπών (η σύσταση xi δεν έχει υλοποιηθεί). Συστάσεις i-xvi. 188

189 Η GRECO πρότεινε να επεκταθεί η περίοδος οικονομικών αναφορών η οποία ισχύει για τις προεκλογικές εκστρατείες, έτσι ώστε η οικονομική δραστηριότητα κατά τη διάρκεια της περιόδου αυτής να καταγράφεται με ακρίβεια και πληρότητα (σύσταση i), (i) να καταργηθεί η δυνατότητα χρήσης ανώνυμων κουπονιών για δωρεές σε πολιτικά κόμματα, συνασπισμούς και υποψηφίους και (ii) να θεσπιστεί απαίτηση όλες οι δωρεές, οι οποίες υπερβαίνουν ένα ορισμένο όριο, προς πολιτικά κόμματα και συνασπισμούς και, ενδεχομένως, υποψηφίους στις εκλογές, να πραγματοποιούνται μέσω τραπεζικού εμβάσματος (σύσταση ii), -να ληφθούν κατάλληλα μέτρα προκειμένου να διασφαλιστεί ότι τα δάνεια που χορηγούνται σε πολιτικά κόμματα, συνασπισμούς και υποψηφίους δεν θα χρησιμοποιούνται για την παράκαμψη των κανονισμών πολιτικής χρηματοδότησης, ιδίως διαπιστώνοντας αν τα δάνεια εξοφλούνται σύμφωνα με τους όρους με τους οποίους χορηγήθηκαν (σύσταση iii), -να διασφαλιστεί ότι όλα τα αγαθά και οι υπηρεσίες που παρέχονται σε είδος προς πολιτικά κόμματα, συνασπισμούς, μέλη του ελληνικού και του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου και προς υποψηφίους σε εκλογές (πλην της εθελοντικής εργασίας από μη-επαγγελματίες) θα προσδιορίζονται σωστά και θα καταγράφονται πλήρως, στην αγοραία αξία τους, τόσο ως όσον αφορά στις λειτουργικές δραστηριότητες των κομμάτων και συνασπισμών, όσο και όσον αφορά στις προεκλογικές εκστρατείες (σύσταση iv), -να απεικονίζεται σωστά στους κομματικούς λογαριασμούς η αξία των υπηρεσιών που παρέχονται από δημόσιους υπαλλήλους οι οποίοι αποσπώνται για την παροχή συνδρομής προς μέλη του ελληνικού ή του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου και να βεβαιώνεται ότι οι πληροφορίες αυτές είναι άμεσα διαθέσιμες στο κοινό (σύσταση v), -να αυξηθεί η διαφάνεια των λογαριασμών και των δραστηριοτήτων των οντοτήτων που σχετίζονται, άμεσα ή έμμεσα, με πολιτικά κόμματα, ή είναι, με άλλο τρόπο, υπό τον έλεγχό τους (σύσταση vi), -να θεσπιστούν απαιτήσεις για την έγκαιρη δημοσίευση των ιδιωτικών δωρεών προς πολιτικά κόμματα, συνασπισμούς και υποψηφίους, πάνω από ένα ορισμένο όριο (σύσταση vii), -να αυξηθεί σημαντικά η διαφάνεια της χρηματοδότησης των προεκλογικών εκστρατειών, ιδίως (i) καθιστώντας εμφανή την οικονομική υποστήριξη από πολιτικά κόμματα και συνασπισμούς προς υποψηφίους σε δημοτικές και περιφερειακές εκλογές και (ii) θεσπίζοντας απαιτήσεις υποβολής εκθέσεων και δημοσίευσης για όλους τους υποψηφίους των εκλογών ή τους καταλόγους των υποψηφίων, σε όλα τα επίπεδα (σύσταση viii), -να διευκολυνθεί η εύκολη πρόσβαση του κοινού σε δημοσιευμένες πληροφορίες σχετικά με τη χρηματοδότηση των πολιτικών κομμάτων και των προεκλογικών εκστρατειών (σύσταση ix), -να διασφαλιστεί ο ανεξάρτητος έλεγχος όσον αφορά στα πολιτικά κόμματα που υποχρεούνται να τηρούν βιβλία και λογαριασμούς (σύσταση x), -να ενισχυθεί σημαντικά η ανεξαρτησία της Επιτροπής Ελέγχου έναντι των πολιτικών κομμάτων και συνασπισμών (σύσταση xi), -να διασφαλιστεί μια ουσιαστικότερη και συνεχής παρακολούθηση των οικονομικών εγγράφων των πολιτικών κομμάτων, συνασπισμών και υποψηφίων (σύσταση xii), -(i) να διασφαλιστεί η δημοσίευση και η εύκολη πρόσβαση του κοινού στις εκθέσεις της Επιτροπής Ελέγχου, συμπεριλαμβανομένων και των προσαρτημάτων που περιέχουν τις εκθέσεις των ορκωτών ελεγκτών, και (ii) να θεσπιστεί η δυνατότητα, για τα μέλη της Επιτροπής Ελέγχου, να εκφράζουν και να δημοσιεύουν διιστάμενες ή μειοψηφικές απόψεις σχετικά με την έκθεση της Επιτροπής (σύσταση xiii), -να διασφαλιστεί ότι οι φάκελοι θα μπορούν να ανοίγουν εκ νέου, όταν έρχονται στο φως νέες πληροφορίες και να τροποποιηθούν οι κανόνες σχετικά με την τήρηση των οικονομικών εγγράφων από κόμματα, συνασπισμούς, υποψήφιους, καθώς και από την ίδια την Επιτροπή Ελέγχου, κατά περίπτωση (σύσταση xiv), -να διασφαλιστεί ότι η πολιτική χρηματοδότηση σε υπο-εθνικό επίπεδο θα αποτελεί αντικείμενο ελέγχου από ανεξάρτητο και αποτελεσματικό μηχανισμό ελέγχου, κατά προτίμηση υπό την επίβλεψη της Επιτροπής Ελέγχου (σύσταση xv), -(i) να θεσπιστεί απαίτηση, έναντι της Επιτροπής Ελέγχου και των ελεγκτών, να αναφέρουν εικαζόμενες παραβιάσεις των κανόνων σχετικά με την πολιτική χρηματοδότηση προς τις αρχές επιβολής του νόμου και (ii) να διασφαλιστεί ότι ο μηχανισμός, με τον οποίο επιβάλλονται κυρώσεις για παραβιάσεις των κανόνων 189

190 πολιτικής χρηματοδότησης, λειτουργεί αποτελεσματικά στην πράξη (σύσταση xvi) (οι συστάσεις i-xvi δεν έχουν υλοποιηθεί). Η GRECO κατέληξε στο συμπέρασμα ότι η Ελλάδα έχει εφαρμόσει ικανοποιητικά ή αντιμετωπίσει με ικανοποιητικό τρόπο μόνο μία από τις είκοσι επτά συστάσεις που περιέχονται στην Έκθεση του Τρίτου Γύρου Αξιολόγησης. Όσον αφορά στη Θεματική Ενότητα Ι - Ποινικοποιήσεις, η σύσταση ix έχει υλοποιηθεί ικανοποιητικά, οι συστάσεις i, iv, v, vii και viii έχουν υλοποιηθεί εν μέρει και οι συστάσεις ii, iii, vi, x και xi δεν έχουν υλοποιηθεί. Όσον αφορά στο Θεματική Ενότητα II - Διαφάνεια της Χρηματοδότησης των Πολιτικών Κομμάτων, καμία από τις συστάσεις (i-xvi) δεν έχει υλοποιηθεί. Ακόμη και αν αυτή η σχεδόν παντελής έλλειψη συγκεκριμένων αποτελεσμάτων μπορεί να είναι κατανοητή, δεδομένης της δύσκολης κατάστασης στην Ελλάδα και του γεγονότος ότι η προηγούμενη κυβέρνηση είχε περιορισμένη μόνο εντολή, είναι εντυπωσιακό το γεγονός ότι δεν έχει καταγραφεί καμία πρόοδος, ούτε όσον αφορά στις λίγες προτάσεις που δεν απαιτούν, κατ' ανάγκη, αλλαγή του νόμου. Η GRECO προτρέπει τις αρχές να καταβάλουν κάθε δυνατή προσπάθεια ώστε να δώσουν ιδιαίτερη προσοχή σε κάθε μία από τις συστάσεις και στην τρέχουσα έκθεση, προκειμένου να βελτιωθεί, στο μέτρο του δυνατού στην παρούσα κατάσταση, το επίπεδο συμμόρφωσής τους. Σημειώνεται ότι παρόλο το νομοθετικό πλαίσιο που έχει καταρτιστεί από την Ελλάδα σύμφωνα με όσα έχουν αναφερθεί παραπάνω είναι όπως φαίνεται επαρκές, σε καμιά άλλη χώρα της Ευρώπης το φαινόμενο της διαφθοράς δεν είναι τόσο διαδεδομένο όσο στην Ελλάδα. Αυτό κατέδειξε έρευνα για το 2012 της οργάνωσης Διεθνής Διαφάνεια (Transparency International) που δημοσιοποιήθηκε στο Βερολίνο τον Δεκέμβριο του Πρόκειται για τον δείκτη αντίληψης της διαφθοράς που βασίζεται σε άτομα που διαμορφώνουν την κοινή γνώμη. Με καλύτερη βαθμολογία το 100 η Ελλάδα παίρνει μόλις 36 βαθμούς, καταλαμβάνει την πρωτιά στη διαφθορά στη γηραιά ήπειρο, την 94η θέση παγκοσμίως (80η το 2011) ανάμεσα σε 174 χώρες, μοιράζεται δηλαδή την ίδια θέση με χώρες όπως η Κολομβία ή το Τζιμπουτί (Καλλίρη Φ., 2012), (Διεθνής Διαφάνεια Ελλάς, 2012). Συνακόλουθα προκύπτει το συμπέρασμα ότι το υφιστάμενο θεσμικό πλαίσιο για την αντιμετώπιση της διαφθοράς δεν εφαρμόζεται, ή εφαρμόζεται αναποτελεσματικά ή επιλεκτικά. 3.Οι σημαντικότεροι διεθνείς και ευρωπαϊκοί οργανισμοί για την αντιμετώπιση του Διεθνούς Οργανωμένου Εγκλήματος 3.1Interpol Το Καταστατικό του Οργανισμού εγκρίθηκε κατά την 25η σύνοδο της Γενικής Συνέλευσης (Ιούνιος 1956, Βιέννη) και τέθηκε σε ισχύ στις 13 Ιουνίου 1956 [Ν. 3640/1956 (Α 303)]. Το Καταστατικό περιγράφει τους στόχους της Ιντερπόλ, ήτοι τον τρόπο αποτελεσματικής διεθνούς αστυνομικής συνεργασίας. Οι στόχοι του Οργανισμού που περιγράφονται στο άρθρο 2 και είναι η εξασφάλιση της ευρύτερης δυνατής συνεργασίας μεταξύ όλων των αστυνομικών αρχών και δεύτερον η ανάπτυξη θεσμών για την αντιμετώπιση της εγκληματικότητας. Το άρθρο 2 ορίζει περαιτέρω ότι η διεθνής αστυνομική συνεργασία πρόκειται να διεξαχθεί στο πλαίσιο της «πνεύμα της Οικουμενικής Διακήρυξης των Δικαιωμάτων του Ανθρώπου», θέτοντας έτσι τα θεμέλια για την υποχρέωση του Οργανισμού να σέβεται τα θεμελιώδη δικαιώματα και τις ελευθερίες των ατόμων κατά τη διάρκεια των ενεργειών του. Το εν λόγω άρθρο συμπληρώνεται από το άρθρο 3 του Συντάγματος, το οποίο μερικές φορές αναφέρεται ως "η ρήτρα ουδετερότητας". Το υπόψη άρθρο αναφέρει ότι, προκειμένου να εξασφαλιστεί η ευρύτερη δυνατή συνεργασία μεταξύ των αστυνομικών αρχών των κρατών μελών της απαγορεύεται αυστηρά οποιαδήποτε παρέμβαση ή δραστηριότητα πολιτικού, στρατιωτικού, θρησκευτικού ή φυλετικού χαρακτήρα. Κάθε δράση που αναλαμβάνει ο Οργανισμός θα πρέπει να είναι σύμφωνη με το Καταστατικό του το οποίο ορίζει τη νομική βάση για τη διεθνή αστυνομική συνεργασία που ανέλαβε η INTERPOL. Το Σύνταγμα δίνει μια νομική προσωπικότητα στον Οργανισμό, παραχωρώντας του το δικαίωμα να εισέλθουν σε συνεργασία με άλλους οργανισμούς ή να αποφασίσει για το δικό του προϋπολογισμό, και έτσι καθιστά δυνατή τη διευκόλυνση της συνεργασίας, χωρίς εξωτερική παρέμβαση(interpol, 2012). 190

191 3.2Europol Η Ευρωπόλ ιδρύθηκε με την ΑΠΟΦΑΣΗ ΤΟΥ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟΥ της 6ης Απριλίου 2009 για την ίδρυση Ευρωπαϊκής Αστυνομικής Υπηρεσίας (Ευρωπόλ) [(2009/371/ΔΕΥ), L 121/37]. Σκοπός της Ευρωπόλ σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 3 της εν λόγω Απόφασης είναι: «είναι η υποστήριξη και η ενίσχυση της δράσης των αρμόδιων αρχών των κρατών μελών και της αμοιβαίας συνεργασίας τους για την πρόληψη και την καταπολέμηση του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος, της τρομοκρατίας και άλλων μορφών σοβαρού εγκλήματος που επηρεάζουν δύο ή περισσότερα κράτη μέλη». Στην αρμοδιότητα της Ευρωπόλ σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 4 εμπίπτουν: 1... το οργανωμένο έγκλημα, η τρομοκρατία και άλλες μορφές σοβαρού εγκλήματος όπως απαριθμούνται στο παράρτημα, οι οποίες επηρεάζουν δύο ή περισσότερα κράτη μέλη κατά τρόπο που απαιτεί κοινή προσέγγιση από τα κράτη μέλη, λαμβανομένων υπόψη του εύρους, της σημασίας και των συνεπειών των αξιόποινων πράξεων. 2. Κατόπιν συστάσεως του διοικητικού συμβουλίου, το Συμβούλιο καθορίζει τις προτεραιότητές του για την Ευρωπόλ, λαμβάνοντας ιδίως υπόψη στρατηγικές αναλύσεις και αξιολογήσεις απειλών που εκπονεί η Ευρωπόλ. 3. Στην αρμοδιότητα της Ευρωπόλ εμπίπτουν επίσης οι συναφείς αξιόποινες πράξεις. Ως συναφείς αξιόποινες πράξεις νοούνται οι εξής: α) αξιόποινες πράξεις που διαπράττονται με σκοπό την απόκτηση των μέσων για την τέλεση πράξεων που εμπίπτουν στο πεδίο αρμοδιότητας της Ευρωπόλ β) αξιόποινες πράξεις που διαπράττονται με σκοπό τη διευκόλυνση ή την τέλεση πράξεων που εμπίπτουν στο πεδίο αρμοδιότητας της Ευρωπόλ γ) αξιόποινες πράξεις που διαπράττονται με σκοπό την εξασφάλιση της ατιμωρησίας για πράξεις που εμπίπτουν στο πεδίο αρμοδιότητας της Ευρωπόλ. Στα καθήκοντα της Ευρωπόλ σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 5 της εν λόγω Απόφασης περιλαμβάνονται: α) η συλλογή, αποθήκευση, επεξεργασία, ανάλυση και ανταλλαγή πληροφοριών και στοιχείων β) η άμεση ενημέρωση των αρμόδιων αρχών των κρατών μελών, μέσω της εθνικής μονάδας που αναφέρεται στο άρθρο 8 για πληροφορίες που τις αφορούν και για τη συνάφεια που ενδεχομένως διαπιστώνεται μεταξύ αξιόποινων πράξεων γ) η διευκόλυνση ερευνών που διεξάγονται στα κράτη μέλη, ιδίως, με τη διαβίβαση όλων των συναφών πληροφοριών στις εθνικές μονάδες δ) η υποβολή αιτήματος στις αρμόδιες αρχές των οικείων κρατών μελών για την έναρξη, διεξαγωγή ή τον συντονισμό ερευνών, και η πρόταση σύστασης κοινών ομάδων έρευνας σε συγκεκριμένες υποθέσεις ε) η παροχή στοιχείων και αναλυτικής υποστήριξης στα κράτη μέλη σε σχέση με μείζονος σημασίας διεθνή συμβάντα στ) η εκπόνηση αξιολόγησης απειλών, στρατηγικών αναλύσεων και γενικών εκθέσεων για την πρόοδο των εργασιών σχετικά με την εκπλήρωση του στόχου της, περιλαμβανομένης της αξιολόγησης απειλών όσον αφορά το οργανωμένο έγκλημα Η Ευρωπόλ επιφορτίζεται με τα εξής πρόσθετα καθήκοντα: α) την ανάπτυξη ειδικών γνώσεων για τις διαδικασίες έρευνας των αρμόδιων αρχών των κρατών μελών και την παροχή συμβουλών σε σχέση με διεξαγόμενες έρευνες β) την παροχή στρατηγικής σημασίας στοιχείων, προκειμένου να διευκολύνει και να προάγει την αποτελεσματική και αποδοτική χρήση των πόρων που είναι διαθέσιμοι σε εθνικό επίπεδο και σε επίπεδο Ένωσης για επιχειρησιακές δραστηριότητες και για την υποστήριξη των δραστηριοτήτων αυτών. Επιπλέον, στο πλαίσιο του στόχου της βάσει του άρθρου 3, η Ευρωπόλ δύναται, ανάλογα με το δυναμικό προσωπικού και τις δημοσιονομικές της δυνατότητες, καθώς και εντός των ορίων που θέτει το διοικητικό συμβούλιο, να επικουρεί τα κράτη μέλη μέσω υποστήριξης, παροχής συμβουλών και διεξαγωγής ερευνών στους ακόλουθους τομείς: α) την εκπαίδευση των μελών των αρμόδιων αρχών τους, οσάκις ενδείκνυται σε συνεργασία με την Ευρωπαϊκή Αστυνομική Ακαδημία β) την οργάνωση και τον εξοπλισμό των εν λόγω αρχών, μέσω της διευκόλυνσης της παροχής τεχνικής υποστήριξης μεταξύ των κρατών μελών γ) τις μεθόδους πρόληψης της εγκληματικότητας 191

192 δ) τις τεχνικές και εγκληματολογικές μεθόδους και τη σχετική ανάλυση, καθώς και διαδικασίες διεξαγωγής ερευνών Η Ευρωπόλ ενεργεί επίσης ως Κεντρική Υπηρεσία για την καταπολέμηση της παραχάραξης και κιβδηλείας του ευρώ σύμφωνα με την απόφαση 2005/511/ΔΕΥ του Συμβουλίου, της 12ης Ιουλίου 2005, σχετικά με την προστασία του ευρώ από την παραχάραξη και κιβδηλεία μέσω του ορισμού της Ευρωπόλ ως κεντρικής υπηρεσίας για την καταπολέμηση της παραχάραξης και κιβδηλείας του ευρώ (ΕΕ L 185 της , σ. 35). Η Ευρωπόλ μπορεί επίσης να ενθαρρύνει τον συντονισμό των μέτρων που εφαρμόζουν οι αρμόδιες αρχές των κρατών μελών για την καταπολέμηση της παραχάραξης και κιβδηλείας του ευρώ ή στα πλαίσια κοινών ομάδων έρευνας, ενδεχομένως σε συνεννόηση με φορείς της Ένωσης ή τρίτων χωρών. Κατόπιν αιτήματος, η Ευρωπόλ μπορεί να στηρίξει οικονομικά έρευνες κατά της παραχάραξης του ευρώ (Κοροντζής, T., 2012 α ). 3.3Eurojust Η Eurojust ιδρύθηκε με την ΑΠΟΦΑΣΗ ΤΟΥ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟΥ της 28ης Φεβρουαρίου 2002 σχετικά με τη σύσταση της Eurojust προκειμένου να ενισχυθεί η καταπολέμηση των σοβαρών μορφών εγκλήματος [2002/187/ΔΕΥ), L 63/27]. Οι στόχοι της Eurojust σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 3 της εν λόγω Απόφασης είναι: 1. Στο πλαίσιο ερευνών και διώξεων εγκληματικών πράξεων, που αναφέρονται στο άρθρο 4 στον τομέα του σοβαρού εγκλήματος, ιδίως του οργανωμένου, οι οποίες αφορούν δύο ή περισσότερα κράτη μέλη, η Eurojust έχει ως στόχους: α) να προωθεί και να βελτιώνει τον συντονισμό μεταξύ των αρμοδίων αρχών των κρατών μελών, όσον αφορά τις έρευνες και τις διώξεις εντός των κρατών μελών, λαμβάνοντας υπόψη κάθε αίτηση προερχόμενη από αρμόδια αρχή κράτους μέλους και κάθε πληροφορία παρεχόμενη από αρμόδιο όργανο δυνάμει διατάξεων που έχουν θεσπισθεί στο πλαίσιο των συνθηκών, β) να βελτιώνει τη συνεργασία μεταξύ των αρμοδίων αρχών των κρατών μελών, διευκολύνοντας ιδίως την υλοποίηση της διεθνούς δικαστικής συνδρομής και την εκτέλεση αιτήσεων έκδοσης, γ) να υποστηρίζει, κατ άλλους τρόπους, τις αρμόδιες αρχές των κρατών μελών ώστε να ενισχύεται η αποτελεσματικότητα των ερευνών και των διώξεών τους. 2. Σύμφωνα με τις διαδικασίες που προβλέπονται στην παρούσα απόφαση και κατόπιν αιτήσεως μιας αρμόδιας αρχής κράτους μέλους, η Eurojust μπορεί επίσης να παρέχει την υποστήριξή της σε έρευνες ή διώξεις που αφορούν μόνο το συγκεκριμένο κράτος μέλος και ένα τρίτο κράτος, εφόσον έχει συναφθεί με το εν λόγω κράτος συμφωνία συνεργασίας δυνάμει του άρθρου 27παράγραφος 3, ή εφόσον, σε ειδική περίπτωση, υπάρχει ουσιώδες συμφέρον που επιβάλλει την παροχή της υποστήριξης αυτής. 3. Σύμφωνα με τις διαδικασίες που προβλέπονται στην παρούσα απόφαση και κατόπιν αιτήσεως είτε μιας αρμόδιας αρχής κράτους μέλους είτε της Επιτροπής, η Eurojust μπορεί επίσης να παρέχει την υποστήριξή της σε έρευνες ή διώξεις που αφορούν μόνο το συγκεκριμένο κράτος μέλος και την Κοινότητα. Οι αρμοδιότητες της Eurojust σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 4 είναι: 1. Το πεδίο γενικής αρμοδιότητας της Eurojust καλύπτει: α) τις μορφές εγκληματικότητας και τις αξιόποινες πράξεις για τις οποίες η Ευρωπόλ έχει, ανά πάσα στιγμή, αρμοδιότητα δράσης κατ εφαρμογή του άρθρου 2 της Σύμβασης Ευρωπόλ της 26 ης Ιουλίου 1995 β) τις ακόλουθες μορφές εγκληματικότητας: τα εγκλήματα στον τομέα της πληροφορικής, την απάτη και τη δωροδοκία, καθώς και οποιοδήποτε ποινικό αδίκημα εις βάρος των οικονομικών συμφερόντων της Ευρωπαϊκής Κοινότητας, το ξέπλυμα των προϊόντων του εγκλήματος, τα εγκλήματα κατά του περιβάλλοντος, τη συμμετοχή σε εγκληματική οργάνωση κατά την έννοια της κοινής δράσης 98/733/ΔΕΥ του Συμβουλίου, της 21 ης Δεκεμβρίου 1998, σχετικά με το αξιόποινο της συμμετοχής σε εγκληματική οργάνωση, στα κράτη μέλη της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης (ΕΕ L 351 της , σ. 1.) γ) άλλες αξιόποινες πράξεις οι οποίες τελέσθηκαν σε συνάρτηση με τις μορφές εγκληματικότητας και τις αξιόποινες πράξεις που αναφέρονται στα στοιχεία α) και β). 192

193 2. Για άλλες μορφές αξιόποινων πράξεων, πέραν αυτών που μνημονεύονται στην παράγραφο 1, η Eurojust δύναται συμπληρωματικά, σύμφωνα με τους στόχους της, και κατόπιν αιτήσεως αρμόδιας αρχής κράτους μέλους, να συμπράττει σε έρευνες ή διώξεις. Τα καθήκοντα της Eurojust σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 5 είναι: 1. Για την επίτευξη των στόχων της, η Eurojust εκτελεί τα καθήκοντά της: α) μέσω ενός ή περισσοτέρων από τα οικεία εθνικά μέλη, σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 6, ή β) ως συλλογικό όργανο, σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 7, όταν: i) το ζητούν ένα ή περισσότερα εκ των οικείων εθνικών μελών, τα οποία αφορά μία υπόθεση που χειρίζεται η Eurojust, ή ii) η υπόθεση συνεπάγεται τη διενέργεια ερευνών ή διώξεων που έχουν επιπτώσεις στο επίπεδο της Ένωσης ή που μπορεί να αφορούν και άλλα κράτη μέλη εκτός των άμεσα ενεχομένων, ή iii) τίθεται ένα γενικό ζήτημα που αφορά την επίτευξη των στόχων της, ή iv) προβλέπεται από άλλες διατάξεις της παρούσας απόφασης. 2. Η Eurojust, όταν εκτελεί τα καθήκοντά της, δηλώνει εάν ενεργεί μέσω ενός ή περισσοτέρων εθνικών μελών κατά την έννοια του άρθρου 6 ή ως συλλογικό όργανο κατά την έννοια του άρθρου 7. Επίσης η Eurojust μπορεί να αιτηθεί τη σύσταση κοινής ομάδας έρευνας όπως επίσης μέλη της να συμμετάσχουν σε αυτή (Korontzis, T α ). 3.4 Ειδική Ομάδα Αρχηγών Ευρωπαϊκών Αστυνομιών- European Police Chiefs Task Force (EPCTF) Η ίδρυση της Ομάδας Αρχηγών Αστυνομιών της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης γνωστή και ως «Police Chiefs Task Forse» ήταν απόρροια του Συμβουλίου του Τάμπερε που πραγματοποιήθηκε την 15-16/10/1999, προκειμένου να συμπληρωθούν κενά και να ενισχυθεί η συνολική δομή και λειτουργικότητα των μηχανισμών της εσωτερικής ασφάλειας της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης, Ειδικότερα στην παράγραφο 44 των συμπερασμάτων του εν λόγω Συμβουλίου προβλεπόταν: «Το Ευρωπαϊκό Συμβούλιο ζητεί τη σύσταση επιχειρησιακής ομάδας εργασίας των Ευρωπαίων Αρχηγών Αστυνομίας με σκοπό αφενός την ανταλλαγή, σε συνεργασία με την Ευρωπόλ, εμπειριών, κατευθυντήριων γραμμών και πληροφοριών για τις τρέχουσες τάσεις του διασυνοριακού εγκλήματος και αφετέρου τη συμβολή στην κατάστρωση σχεδίων δράσης» και αποβλέπει κυρίως στη βελτίωση της επιχειρησιακής συνεργασίας, στην καταπολέμηση του διασυνοριακού εγκλήματος, μεταξύ των αστυνομιών των κρατών μελών μέσα από την κοινή εμπειρία και τις οδηγίες των αρχηγών τους και σε άμεση συνεργασία με την Europol. Η νέα αυτή δομή στο χώρο της εσωτερικής ασφάλειας της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης, είναι άτυπη, δηλαδή έχει ενταχθεί στην υφιστάμενη συνολική δομή του Συμβουλίου της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης, με αποτέλεσμα οι αποφάσεις της να μην είναι δεσμευτικές για τα Κ-Μ, αλλά παραμένει στην απόλυτη διακριτική τους ευχέρεια η εφαρμογή των ληφθέντων αποφάσεων βάσει της εθνικής τους νομοθεσίας. Σημειώνεται όμως πως οι ομόφωνες αποφάσεις της σε ζητήματα επιχειρησιακής φύσεως, προσδίδουν ιδιαίτερη δυναμική και ώθηση στο έργο των Ευρωπαϊκών διωκτικών Αρχών για την αντιμετώπιση του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος. Αλλά οι διαφορετικές νομοθεσίες και αστυνομικές πρακτικές των Κ-Μ, δημιουργούν δυσκολίες στη λήψη ομοφώνων αποφάσεων όσο και στην υλοποίηση κοινών μέτρων και δράσεων (Bunyan, T. 2006). 3.5 Κέντρο Επιβολής του Νόμου στη Νοτιοανατολική Ευρώπη - Southeast European Law Enforcement Center (SELEC) Ο σκοπός του SELEC, στο πλαίσιο της συνεργασίας μεταξύ των Αρμόδιων Αρχών, είναι η παροχή στήριξης προς τα Κράτη Μέλη και η βελτίωση του συντονισμού για την πρόληψη και την καταπολέμηση του εγκλήματος, συμπεριλαμβανόμενου και του σοβαρού και του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος, στις περιπτώσεις που η εγκληματικότητα συνεπάγεται ή φαίνεται να εμπεριέχει ένα στοιχείο διασυνοριακής δραστηριότητας. Η νέα Σύμβαση που κυρώθηκε με το Ν. 4054/2012 (Α 45) προβλέπει τα εξής καθήκοντα για το SELEC σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 3: (α) να υποστηρίζει τις έρευνες και τις δραστηριότητες πρόληψης του εγκλήματος στα Κράτη Μέλη και σύμφωνα με την παρούσα Σύμβαση, 193

194 (β) να διευκολύνει την ανταλλαγή πληροφοριών και στοιχείων για την εγκληματικότητα και τα αιτήματα για επιχειρησιακή συνδρομή, (γ) να ενημερώνει και να πληροφορεί τα Εθνικά Κομβικά Σημεία των Κρατών Μελών για διασυνδέσεις μεταξύ υπόπτων, εγκληματιών ή εγκλημάτων που σχετίζονται με την εντολή του SELEC, (δ) να συλλέγει, αντιπαραβάλλει, αναλύει, επεξεργάζεται και διαδίδει πληροφορίες και στοιχεία για την εγκληματικότητα, (ε) να παρέχει στρατηγική ανάλυση και να παράγει εκτιμήσεις για απειλές που σχετίζονται με το σκοπό του SELEC, (στ) να δημιουργήσει, λειτουργεί και συντηρεί ένα μηχανογραφημένο σύστημα πληροφοριών, (ζ) να ενεργεί ως θεματοφύλακας της ορθής πρακτικής σε μεθόδους και τεχνικές επιβολής του νόμου και να τις προάγει, μέσω πολυεθνικής εκπαίδευσης και συνεδρίων, προς όφελος των Κρατών Μελών, (η) να αναλαμβάνει άλλα καθήκοντα που συνάδουν με το στόχο της παρούσας Σύμβασης, μετά από απόφαση του Συμβουλίου. Το SELEC φιλοδοξεί να συνεχίσει να είναι ο θεματοφύλακας των ορθών πρακτικών στην επιβολή του νόμου και την παροχή ενημέρωσης μέσω πολυεθνικών συναντήσεων και συνεδρίων με τη συμμετοχή των εκπροσώπων των κρατών μελών, καθώς και των εταίρων του. Την 7η Οκτωβρίου του 2011 το Κέντρο SECI έγινε SELEC, ενώ οι λειτουργικές και στρατηγικές δυνατότητες διατηρήθηκαν και μεταφέρθηκαν στο νέο SELEC. Το SELEC κληρονόμησε τις επιχειρησιακές δραστηριότητες, κοινές έρευνες, συναντήσεις, εργαστήρια και στρατηγική ανάλυση που καλύπτει τα πιο ευαίσθητα διασυνοριακά ποινικά πεδία στην περιοχή της Νοτιοανατολικής Ευρώπης. Κατά τη διάρκεια αυτής της περιόδου, η εντατική ανταλλαγή πληροφοριών μέσω των αξιωματικών-συνδέσμων και των διαύλων επικοινωνίας του Κέντρου υποστήριξε με επιτυχία τις προσπάθειες των αρχών επιβολής του νόμου των κρατών μελών. Από επιχειρησιακή άποψη, το SELEC διατηρεί την ευελιξία και την επιχειρησιακή αποτελεσματικότητα, με παράλληλη ενίσχυση της ικανότητας ανάλυσης με ένα ευρύτερο σύστημα πληροφοριών και ένα επαρκές επίπεδο προστασίας των προσωπικών δεδομένων, σύμφωνα με τα ευρωπαϊκά πρότυπα. Η νέα σύμβαση που αντικατέστησε το SECI δεν ορίζει μια διεθνή νομική προσωπικότητα στο Κέντρο και επίσης καθορίζει και διατηρεί συνεργασία με άλλους σημαντικούς διεθνείς οργανισμούς επιβολής του νόμου. Κ-Μ του SELEC είναι η Αλβανία, η Βοσνία Ερζεγοβίνη, η Βουλγαρία, η Κροατία, η πγδμ, η Ελλάδα, η Ουγγαρία, η Μολδαβία, η Σερβία, η Σλοβενία και η Τουρκία. 3.6 Ευρωπαϊκή Υπηρεσία για την Καταπολέμηση της Απάτης- European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) Η Ευρωπαϊκή Υπηρεσία για την Καταπολέμηση της Απάτης ιδρύθηκε με τη Απόφαση της Επιτροπής της 28 ης Απριλίου 1999 (OLAF), (κοινοποιηθείσα με τον αριθμό SEC(1999) 802, (1999/352/EC, ECSC, Euratom). Τα καθήκοντα της εν λόγω Υπηρεσίας σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 2 είναι τα ακόλουθα: 1. Η Υπηρεσία ασκεί τις αρμοδιότητες της Επιτροπής σε θέματα εξωτερικών διοικητικών ερευνών προκειμένου να ενισχύσει την καταπολέμηση της απάτης, της δωροδοκίας και οποιασδήποτε άλλης παράνομης δραστηριότητας που είναι επιζήμια για τα οικονομικά συμφέροντα των Κοινοτήτων καθώς και την καταπολέμηση της απάτης που αφορά κάθε άλλο περιστατικό ή δραστηριότητα φορέων που συνιστούν παράβαση των κοινοτικών διατάξεων Η Υπηρεσία είναι επιφορτισμένη με τη διεξαγωγή εσωτερικών διοικητικών ερευνών που αποσκοπούν: α)στην καταπολέμηση της απάτης, της δωροδοκίας και κάθε άλλης παράνομης δραστηριότητας που είναι επιζήμια για τα οικονομικά συμφέροντα των Κοινοτήτων, η οποία μπορεί να επισύρει πειθαρχική και, ενδεχομένως ποινική δίωξη ή παράλειψη των αναλόγων υποχρεώσεων των μελών των θεσμικών οργάνων και οργάνων, των διευθυντικών στελεχών των οργανισμών ή των μελών του προσωπικού των θεσμικών οργάνων, οργάνων και οργανισμών που δεν υπόκειται στον κανονισμό υπηρεσιακής κατάστασης που εφαρμόζεται στους υπαλλήλους και το λοιπό προσωπικό των Ευρωπαϊκών Κοινοτήτων. β) στον εντοπισμό των σοβαρών περιπτώσεων που συνδέονται με την άσκηση επαγγελματικών δραστηριοτήτων που συνιστούν ενδεχομένως παράλειψη των υποχρεώσεων των υπαλλήλων και του λοιπού προσωπικού των Κοινοτήτων, η οποία 2. Η Υπηρεσία είναι επιφορτισμένη να παράσχει τη συνδρομή της Επιτροπής στη συνεργασία με τα κράτη μέλη στον τομέα της καταπολέμησης της απάτης. 194

195 3. Η Υπηρεσία αναλαμβάνει δραστηριότητες σχεδιασμού στον τομέα της καταπολέμησης της απάτης όπως αναφέρονται στην παράγραφο Η Υπηρεσία αναλαμβάνει την προετοιμασία των νομοθετικών και κανονιστικών πρωτοβουλιών της Επιτροπής για την επίτευξη των στόχων της καταπολέμησης της απάτης όπως αναφέρονται στην παράγραφο 1. 5.Η Υπηρεσία αναλαμβάνει κάθε άλλη επιχειρησιακή δραστηριότητα της Επιτροπής σε θέματα καταπολέμησης της απάτης, όπως αναφέρονται στην παράγραφο 1 και συγκεκριμένα: Α) την ανάπτυξη των αναγκαίων υποδομών, Β)τη συλλογή και εκμετάλλευση των πληροφοριών, Γ)την παροχή τεχνικής συνδρομής της, ιδίως σε θέματα κατάρτισης, στα λοιπά θεσμικά ή άλλα όργανα και οργανισμούς και στις αρμόδιες εθνικές αρχές. 6.Η Υπηρεσία έχει άμεση επαφή με τις αστυνομικές και δικαστικές αρχές. 7. Η Υπηρεσία εκπροσωπεί την Επιτροπή, σε επίπεδο υπηρεσιών, στα σχετικά for a, για τους τομείς που αναφέρθησαν στο παρόν άρθρο. [Βλ. ακόμη Καν. 1073/1999 (25/5/1999), 1074/1999 (25/5/1999), 2988/1995 (18/12/1995), 2185/1996 (11/11/1996)]. 3.7 Ευρωπαϊκός Οργανισμός για τη διαχείριση της επιχειρησιακής συνεργασίας στα εξωτερικά σύνορα των κρατών μελών της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης (FRONTEX) Στόχος της κοινοτικής πολιτικής για τα εξωτερικά σύνορα της ΕΕ είναι η ολοκληρωμένη διαχείρισή τους, ώστε να εξασφαλίζεται ομοιόμορφος και υψηλού επιπέδου έλεγχος και επιτήρηση, τα οποία αποτελούν αναγκαία συνέπεια της ελεύθερης κυκλοφορίας των προσώπων στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση και θεμελιώδη συστατικά χώρου ελευθερίας, ασφάλειας και δικαιοσύνης. Για το σκοπό αυτό, προβλέπεται η θέσπιση κοινών κανόνων για τις προδιαγραφές και τις διαδικασίες ελέγχου των εξωτερικών συνόρων. Λαμβάνοντας υπόψη την εμπειρία της κοινής ομάδας για τα εξωτερικά σύνορα, που λειτουργεί στο πλαίσιο του Συμβουλίου, συστήθηκε ειδικός φορέας με την κατάλληλη τεχνογνωσία, ο οποίος επιφορτίστηκε με τη βελτίωση του συντονισμού της επιχειρησιακής συνεργασίας μεταξύ των κρατών μελών στον τομέα της διαχείρισης των εξωτερικών συνόρων, υπό τη μορφή ευρωπαϊκού οργανισμού για τη διαχείριση της επιχειρησιακής συνεργασίας στα εξωτερικά σύνορα των κρατών μελών της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης (εφεξής «οργανισμός») [ΚΑΝΟΝΙΣΜΟΣ (ΕΚ) αριθ. 2007/2004 ΤΟΥ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟΥ της 26ης Οκτωβρίου 2004]. Για την εκπλήρωση της αποστολής του, και κατά το βαθμό που απαιτείται για την εκπλήρωση των καθηκόντων του, ο οργανισμός μπορεί να συνεργάζεται με την Ευρωπόλ, τις αρμόδιες αρχές τρίτων χωρών και διεθνείς οργανισμούς που είναι αρμόδιοι για θέματα που διέπει ο παρών κανονισμός, στο πλαίσιο συμφωνιών συνεργασίας που συνάπτονται με τους οργανισμούς αυτούς, σύμφωνα με τις σχετικές διατάξεις της συνθήκης. Ο οργανισμός θα πρέπει να διευκολύνει την επιχειρησιακή συνεργασία μεταξύ κρατών μελών και τρίτων χωρών στο πλαίσιο της πολιτικής εξωτερικών σχέσεων της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης. Ο Οργανισμός εδρεύει στη Βαρσοβία (Πολωνία) [Απόφαση Συμβουλίου 2005/358 (26/4/2005)], and the main duties which are operational as opposed to the supported nature of the tasks of Europol, consist ([Καν. 2007/2004 (26/10/2004)]. 1. Ο οργανισμός ασκεί τα ακόλουθα καθήκοντα: α) συντονίζει την επιχειρησιακή συνεργασία μεταξύ των κρατών μελών στον τομέα της διαχείρισης των εξωτερικών συνόρων β) επικουρεί τα κράτη μέλη στην εκπαίδευση των εθνικών συνοριακών φυλάκων, μεταξύ άλλων με την καθιέρωση κοινών προδιαγραφών εκπαίδευσης γ) πραγματοποιεί αναλύσεις κινδύνου δ) παρακολουθεί τις εξελίξεις των ερευνών σχετικά με τον έλεγχο και την επιτήρηση των εξωτερικών συνόρων ε) επικουρεί τα κράτη μέλη σε περιπτώσεις που απαιτείται αυξημένη τεχνική και επιχειρησιακή συνδρομή στα εξωτερικά σύνορα στ) παρέχει στα κράτη μέλη την αναγκαία στήριξη για την οργάνωση κοινών επιχειρήσεων επαναπατρισμού 195

196 Αποστολή ομάδων ταχείας επέμβασης στα Κ-Μ [Rapid Border Intervention Team (RABIT)] σε σχέση με τον Καν. 863/2007. Θα πρέπει να σημειωθεί ότι από την αρχή μέχρι σήμερα ο οργανισμός έχει αναλάβει μια σειρά από σημαντικές δράσεις και πρωτοβουλίες όπως: Η πραγματοποίηση κοινών ευρωπαϊκών δραστηριοτήτων στα θαλάσσια σύνορα. Δημιουργία ενός ευρωπαϊκού δικτύου περιπολιών. Η δημιουργία ενός κεντρικού μητρώου του διαθέσιμου εξοπλισμού. Ανάπτυξη της ομάδας ταχείας επέμβασης στα σύνορα. Εκπαίδευση των συνοριοφυλάκων - διατήρηση κοινών προδιαγραφών εκπαίδευσης. Η EUROPOL και ο FRONTEX έχουν υπογράψει συμφωνία για να ενδυναμώσουν τη συνεργασία μεταξύ τους ιδιαίτερα μέσω της ανταλλαγής στρατηγικών και τεχνικών πληροφοριών, η οποία όμως δεν επιτρέπει την μεταφορά δεδομένων για την αναγνώριση ατόμων. 4. Συνεργασία υπηρεσιών έρευνας και καταστολής σύμφωνα τη Σύμβαση των ΗΕ κατά του Διεθνικού Οργανωμένου Εγκλήματος και Ελληνικές Διωκτικές Αρχές Στο άρθρο 27 της Σύμβασης αναφέρονται οι τομείς στους οποίους πρέπει να ληφθούν αποτελεσματικά μέτρα για την ενίσχυση της συνεργασίας των υπηρεσιών έρευνας και καταστολής. Ειδικότερα η παράγραφος 1 του εν λόγω άρθρου αναφέρεται στη συνεργασία των αρμόδιων εθνικών υπηρεσιών για την ενίσχυση της αποτελεσματικότητας της έρευνας και της καταστολής των αδικημάτων, τα οποία αντιμετωπίζονται από τη Σύμβαση. Στο πλαίσιο αυτό η Ελλάδα συνεργάζεται με άλλα κράτη μέλη στο πλαίσιο διακρατικών συμφωνιών, μέσω της Interpol και με τα κράτη - μέλη της Europol (Korontzis, T ζ, Korontzis, T κ, Korontzis, T. 2010) Με βάση διακρατικές συμφωνίες, αλλά και στο πλαίσιο της αστυνομικής συνεργασίας μέσω της Interpol και Europol, καθώς και της πρωτοβουλίας για τη συνεργασία στη Νοτιοανατολική Ευρώπη (SECI-SELEC), μέσω της Διεύθυνσης Διεθνούς Αστυνομικής Συνεργασίας του Υπουργείου Δημοσίας Τάξης και Προστασίας του Πολίτη ανταλλάσει προσωπικό και αποσπά αξιωματικούς συνδέσμους, ανταλλάσσει και αναλύει τις σχετικές πληροφορίες για τα μέσα και τις μεθόδους των εγκληματικών οργανώσεων. Η υπηρεσία που συγκεντρώνει και αναλύει τις σχετικές πληροφορίες είναι το Τμήμα Ανάλυσης Εγκληματικότητας της Διεύθυνσης Δημόσιας Ασφάλειας του Αρχηγείου Ελληνικής Αστυνομίας. Σχετικά με την παράγραφο 2 του άρθρου 27 η Ελλάδα έχει συνάψει πληθώρα διμερών και πολυμερών συμφωνιών για συνεργασία των υπηρεσιών έρευνας και καταστολής και σε κάθε περίπτωση η Σύμβαση με την κύρωσή της θα αποτελέσει το πλαίσιο για την ενίσχυση της συνεργασίας των υπηρεσιών έρευνας και καταστολής των κρατών - μελών. Σχετικά με την παράγραφο 3 του άρθρου 27, στις αρχές του 2004 συστάθηκαν στην Αθήνα και τη Θεσσαλονίκη τμήματα δίωξης ηλεκτρονικού εγκλήματος, η δραστηριότητα των οποίων έχει συμβάλλει σημαντικά στην αποτελεσματική εξάρθρωση εγκληματικών οργανώσεων. Σε κάθε περίπτωση τη σχετική έρευνα βοηθά η Δ/νση Εγκληματολογικών Ερευνών και ειδικότερα το εργαστήριο γραφολογίας στο οποίο υπάγεται ο Τομέας Εξέτασης Ψηφιακών Δεδομένων. Αξιόλογη είναι επίσης, και η δράση της Europol με τις σχετικές πρωτοβουλίες της, στην οποία συμμετέχει και η Ελλάδα, η οποία έχει υπογράψει και τη Σύμβαση του Συμβουλίου της Ευρώπης για την καταπολέμηση του εγκλήματος στον Κυβερνοχώρο. Η εθνική νομοθεσία ανταποκρίνεται πλήρως και στις απαιτήσεις του άρθρου 27 της Σύμβασης. Οι απαιτήσεις του άρθρου 28 παράγραφος 1 της Σύμβασης καλύπτονται από τις ετήσιες εκθέσεις για το οργανωμένο έγκλημα στην Ελλάδα (Korontzis, T η ) οι οποίες εκπονούνταν μέχρι το 2005 από το Τμήμα Ανάλυσης Εγκληματικότητας της Διεύθυνσης Δημόσιας Ασφάλειας του Αρχηγείου της Ελληνικής Αστυνομίας. Για την εξασφάλιση της συνέχειας της προσπάθειας αυτής, είναι σημαντικό να τεθεί ειδική πρόβλεψη και να ορισθεί ότι στο δυναμικό της αρμόδιας υπηρεσίας, ειδικά για τη σύνταξη της ετήσιας έκθεσης, θα συμμετέχουν και δύο επιστήμονες, μέλη του διδακτικού προσωπικού πανεπιστημιακών ιδρυμάτων, καθώς και ο αρμόδιος για τη δίωξη του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος εισαγγελέας (Korontzis, T ι ). Οι απαιτήσεις του άρθρου 28 παράγραφος 2 της Σύμβασης καλύπτονται τόσο, μέσω της Interpol όσο, κυρίως μέσω της Europol. Η κατάταξη των εγκληματικών συμπεριφορών στην κατηγορία του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος, γίνεται για όλες τις χώρες της Ε.Ε. με βάση τα έντεκα κριτήρια που 196

197 περιγράφονται στο έγγραφο του Συμβουλίου της Ε.Ε. (ENFOPOL 35, REV. 2 (6204/2/97), σε συνδυασμό, για την Ελλάδα, με τα κριτήρια που απαιτεί η ελληνική νομοθεσία (άρθρο 187 παρ. 1 Π.Κ.). Η ακολουθούμενη μεθοδολογία είναι κοινή στα κράτη - μέλη της Ε.Ε. βάσει των κριτηρίων του Συμβουλίου της Ε.Ε., των κατευθύνσεων της μονάδας ανάλυσης της Europol και των συναντήσεων του προσωπικού του Τμήματος Ανάλυσης της Διεύθυνσης Δημόσιας Ασφάλειας του Αρχηγείου της Ελληνικής Αστυνομίας με την Ομάδα για την Έκθεση του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος, πρώην Δίκτυο Επαφής και Υποστήριξης για το Οργανωμένο Έγκλημα (CSN). Συμπεράσματα Το οργανωμένο έγκλημα απασχόλησε και απασχολεί ολόκληρη τη διεθνή κοινότητα, αφού αποτελεί τη σοβαρότερη απειλή που έχουν να αντιμετωπίσουν τα σύγχρονα κράτη, τόσο σε εθνικό επίπεδο όσο και ως μέλη της διεθνούς κοινότητας. Η απελευθέρωση των αγορών, η ελεύθερη κυκλοφορία κεφαλαίων, υπηρεσιών, προσώπων και εμπορευμάτων, αλλά και οι ηλεκτρονικές τραπεζικές υπηρεσίες αποτελούν πρόσφορο έδαφος για την τέλεση οργανωμένων αξιόποινων πράξεων. Από την ανάλυση προέκυψε ότι τα περισσότερα από τα ζητήματα που θέτει η Σύμβαση έχουν καλυφθεί από ελληνικά νομικά κείμενα. Ειδικότερα έχει ποινικοποιηθεί η συμμετοχή σε οργανωμένη εγκληματική ομάδα, η νομιμοποίηση προϊόντων εγκλήματος, η διαφθορά (η οποία και θα αναλυθεί κατωτέρω) και η παρακώλυση της δικαιοσύνης στο πλαίσιο του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος. Ο νόμος αρκείται σε περιορισμένες παρεμβάσεις στο άρθρο 187 του Ποινικού Κώδικα περί εγκληματικών οργανώσεων όπου πλέον απαιτείται σκοπός της οργάνωσης για τη διάπραξη κακουργημάτων, καθίστανται αξιόποινες η παροχή πληροφοριών ή υλικών μέσων με σκοπό να διευκολυνθεί ή να υποβοηθηθεί η εγκληματική οργάνωση καθώς και η διεύθυνση της εγκληματικής οργάνωσης καθώς στις διατάξεις του άρθρου 187Α του Ποινικού Κώδικα περί τρομοκρατικών οργανώσεων. Επιπρόσθετα με την κύρωση της Σύμβασης, ενισχύθηκε το πλαίσιο των διαδικασιών έκδοσης και αμοιβαίας δικαστικής συνδρομής στο πεδίο του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος, ενώ με το άρθρο 10 του νόμου εισήχθηκε ειδική ρύθμιση για την επιβολή διοικητικών κυρώσεων σε νομικά πρόσωπα που εμπλέκονται στη δραστηριότητα εγκληματικών οργανώσεων, με την ταυτόχρονη αναμόρφωση των άρθρων 41 του Ν. 3251/2004 και 51 του Ν. 3691/2008. Σε ότι αφορά την κύρωση των Πρωτοκόλλων που συμπληρώνουν τη Σύμβαση, σε ότι αφορά το Πρωτόκολλο για την Παράνομη Διακίνηση Όπλων η Ελληνική νομοθεσία κρίνεται επαρκής, ενώ ως προς τα άλλα δύο πρωτόκολλα η ισχύουσα νομοθεσία καλύπτει τα περισσότερα ζητήματα πρόληψης και καταπολέμησης της διακίνησης προσώπων και προστασίας και αρωγής των θυμάτων αυτής. Οι σημαντικότερες αλλαγές αφορούν: Α. Στην τροποποίηση του άρθρου 323 Α του Ποινικού Κώδικα περί εμπορίας ανθρώπων, Β.- στην επέκταση των ρυθμίσεων του Ν. 3386/2005 σε όλους τους αλλοδαπούς θύματα εμπορίας ανθρώπων Γ.- στη διασφάλιση της παροχής προστασίας ανεξάρτητα της συνεργασίας ή μη των θυμάτων με τις αρμόδιες αρχές Δ.-στην επέκταση της εφαρμογής των προστατευτικών διατάξεων της Ελληνικής νομοθεσίας για τα θύματα εμπορίας και στα πρόσωπα που χαρακτηρίζονται ως θύματα παράνομης διακίνησης μεταναστών και Ε.- στη θέσπιση μέτρων προστασίας μαρτύρων επί αξιόποινων πράξεων εμπορίας ανθρώπων και παράνομης διακίνησης μεταναστών. Αναμφίβολα η διεθνής αστυνομική συνεργασία αποτελεί τον σημαντικότερο παράγοντα αντιμετώπισης του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος. Για την επίτευξη αυτού του σκοπού έχουν εκπονηθεί διμερείς και πολυμερείς συμφωνίες των κρατών, νέες μέθοδοι έρευνας και διεθνούς αστυνομικής συνεργασίας. Η αντιμετώπιση του αποτελεί προτεραιότητα όλων των κρατών καθώς η δημοκρατία, οι ατομικές και κοινωνικές ελευθερίες βρίσκονται σε συνεχή αντιπαράθεση με το οργανωμένο έγκλημα, το οποίο απειλεί τη συνοχή των κοινωνιών. Οι δραστηριότητες των οργανωμένων εγκληματικών δικτύων αποσκοπούν σε συνεχώς μεγαλύτερα κέρδη, με αποτέλεσμα να αναπτύσσονται σε όλα τα μέρη του κόσμου. Αναπόφευκτα χρειάζονται διεθνείς συνεργασίες και νομικά κείμενα που να βοηθούν στη δίωξη του. Αυτό το σκοπό 197

198 εκπληρώνει και η Διεθνής Σύμβαση των Η.Ε. για τη αντιμετώπιση του Διεθνούς Οργανωμένου Εγκλήματος την οποία έχουν υπογράψει δεκάδες κράτη, μεταξύ των οποίων και η Ελλάδα. Η τελευταία είχε προβεί στη λήψη όλων των αναγκαίων νομικών μέτρων για την αντιμετώπιση του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος, ενώ παράλληλα η συμμετοχή των Διωκτικών της Αρχών με στελέχη τους σε διεθνείς και ευρωπαϊκούς οργανισμούς αρμόδιους για την καταπολέμηση του διεθνούς οργανωμένου εγκλήματος, δείχνει τη βούληση της να το αντιμετωπίσει στο μέγιστο δυνατό βαθμό. Στην κατεύθυνση αυτή επιβάλλεται η ενεργότερη συμμετοχή της στη σύσταση των Κοινών Ομάδων Έρευνας και στην υλοποίηση των συστάσεων της Ομάδας GRECO για την αντιμετώπιση της διαφθοράς και του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος. Βιβλιογραφία Bunyan, T., 2006, Statewatch analysis,the EU s Police Chief Task Force (PCTF) and Police Chiefs Committee, διαθέσιμο στην ιστοσελίδα και Γκντάμπι - Καϊάφα Μ, 2008, Ποινική καταστολή της διαφθοράς στο δημόσιο και στον ιδιωτικό τομέα: Το νομοθετικό πλαίσιο της Ε.Ε. στην ευρύτερη διεθνή σκηνή και το εθνικό μας δίκαιο, Η σύγχρονη εγκληματικότητα, η αντιμετώπιση της και η Επιστήμη της Εγκληματολογίας, Επιμέλεια Αναστασία Ευθ. Χαλικά, Νομική Βιβλιοθήκη, Αθήνα, σ.σ Διεθνής Διαφάνεια Ελλάς 2012, Έρευνες, εκθέσεις, διαθέσιμες στην ιστοσελίδα GRECO, Ομάδα Κρατών κατά της Διαφθοράς, ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟ ΤΗΣ ΕΥΡΩΠΗΣ, Στρασβούργο, 22 Ιουνίου 2012, Δημόσιας χρήσης, Greco-RC ΙΙΙ (2012) 10E, Τρίτος Γύρος Αξιολόγησης, Έκθεση Συμμόρφωσης για την Ελλάδα, «Ποινικοποιήσεις (ETS 173 και 191, GPC 2)», «Διαφάνεια της Χρηματοδότησης των Πολιτικών Κομμάτων». Εγκρίθηκε από τη GRECO κατά την 56η Σύνοδο της Ολομέλειας (Στρασβούργο, Ιουνίου 2012) ΕΚΘΕΣΗ ΤΗΣ ΕΠΙΤΡΟΠΗΣ ΠΡΟΣ ΤΟ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟ, Βρυξέλλες, COM (2011) 307 τελικό. Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο 2012, Για τις τοποθετήσεις των πολιτικών κομμάτων επί του συγκεκριμένου σχεδίου νόμου βλ. Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Περίοδος Ι Σύνοδος Α, Διαρκής Επιτροπή Δημόσιας Διοίκησης, Δημόσιας Τάξης και Δικαιοσύνης, διαθέσιμο στην ιστοσελίδα Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο 2010, Για τις εισηγητικές εκθέσεις του Ν.3875/2010 (Α 158), πρακτικά της αρμόδιας Διαρκούς Επιτροπής Δημόσιας Διοίκησης, Δημόσιας Τάξης και Δικαιοσύνης και η Έκθεση επί του Νομοσχεδίου της Α Διεύθυνσης Επιστημονικών Μελετών του Ελληνικού Kοινοβουλίου βλ. Interpol 2012, διαθέσιμη στην ιστοσελίδα Καλλίρη, Φ., 2012, Η διαφορά διογκώνεται στην Ελλάδα, Εφημερίδα Καθημερινή, Korontzis, T., 2012, α, European Union criminal policy and Joint Investigation Teams. The case of Hellas, International Journal of Asian Social Science, Vol. 2, issue 12, December 2012, p.p Κοροντζής, Τ., 2012, β, Η έννοια του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος στην εθνική και διεθνή έννομη τάξη, Λιμενική Ρότα, τεύχος 10, Ιούλιος Αύγουστος Σεπτέμβριος 2012, σ.σ Κοροντζής, Τ., 2012, γ, Η δίωξη του οικονομικού εγκλήματος στην Ελλάδα, Λιμενικά Χρονικά, τεύχος, Ιούλιος Αύγουστος Σεπτέμβριος 2012, σ.σ Korontzis, T., (2012) δ, Ευρωπαϊκή Αστυνομική Υπηρεσία: EUROPOL, Εθνικές Επάλξεις, τεύχος 97, Ιούλιος Αύγουστος Σεπτέμβριος 2012 σ.σ Korontzis, T., 2012, ε, Δικαστική αστυνομία, Εθνικές Επάλξεις, τεύχος 96, Απρίλιος- Μάϊος Ιούνιος 2012, σ.σ Korontzis, T., 2012, ζ, The European policies for illegal immigration via EUROPOL and FRONTEX in Hellas, Εισήγηση που πραγματοποιήθηκε στο Διεθνές Επιστημονικό Συνέδριο με θέμα «Comparing and contrasting Europeanization : concepts and experiences» την Μαίου 2012 και διοργανώθηκε από το Ινστιτούτο Διεθνών Οικονομικών Σχέσεων (ΙΔΙΟΣ) [Institute of International Economic Relations 198

199 (IIER/IDOS)] αναρτήθηκε στο δικτυακό τόπο Korontzis, T., 2012, η,. The role of the Hellenic Coast Guard in the Hellenic internal security and in combating the phenomenon of organized crime, International Review of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. 3, issue 1, April 2012, p.p Korontzis, T., 2012, θ, The prosecution of economic crime in Hellas, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, Vol. 2, No. 5, March 2012, p.p Κοροντζής, Τ., 2012, ι, Η συγκρότηση δικαστικής αστυνομίας ως διοικητική μεταρρύθμιση. Αξιολογική προσέγγιση, Διοικητική Ενημέρωση (τριμηνιαία επιθεώρηση διοικητικής επιστήμης), τ.57, Ιανουάριος Φεβρουάριος - Μάρτιος 2012,σ.σ Korontzis, T., 2012, κ, The contribution of EUROPOL and FRONTEX in combating the phenomenon of illegal immigration in Hellas, Review of European Studies, Vol. 4, issue 1, March. 2012, p.p , (doi: /res.v4n1p188). Κοροντζής, Τ., 2010, Επιτήρηση θαλασσίων συνόρων - Νέες Ευρωπαϊκές πρακτικές, Περίληψη της προαναφερόμενης Ατομικής Διατριβής που εκπονήθηκε στη Σχολή Εθνικής Άμυνας (Σ.ΕΘ.Α.) την Ακαδημαϊκή Περίοδο , διαθέσιμο στην ιστοσελίδα Μαραγκοπούλου Γιωτοπούλου Α, 2008, Η διεθνοποίηση του εγκληματικού φαινομένου και του ελέγχου του, Η σύγχρονη εγκληματικότητα, η αντιμετώπιση της και η Επιστήμη της Εγκληματολογίας, Επιμέλεια Αναστασία Ευθ. Χαλικά, Νομική Βιβλιοθήκη, Αθήνα, σ.σ Προσάρτημα στο ψήφισμα (99) 5 της επιτροπής υπουργών του Συμβουλίου της Ευρώπης σχετικά με τη σύσταση της «ομάδας κρατών κατά της διαφθοράς GRECO» Συμεωνίδου Καστανίδου Ε. 2001, Ο ν. 2928/2001 για την προστασία του πολίτη από αξιόποινες πράξεις εγκληματικών οργανώσεων, Ποιν. Δικ. 7/2001, σ Ψήφισμα (99) 5 της επιτροπής υπουργών του Συμβουλίου της Ευρώπης σχετικά με τη σύσταση της «ομάδας κρατών κατά της διαφθοράς GRECO». 199

200

201 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION OF GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE IN PDCA CYCLE ZHIFANG ZHANG, Hebei University of Economics and Business JIANQIANG ZHAO, Hebei University of Economics and Business Abstract: Government departmental performance management is a cyclical system composed of many links, while it is most easily to be overlooked in the management practice in China. In fact, continuous and dynamic communication is the necessary condition to achieve performance management goal. The application of PDCA cycle in government departmental performance management not only can help government departments effectively improve their performance level, but also helps to find the new breakthrough on the management mode. Therefore, it is likely to realize the effective communication in the whole process of the government departmental performance management by combining the performance plan communication, implementation and guidance communication, performance examination and performance feedback communication into a constant rising ring so as to make further probe to the ascension of performance management. Keywords: Performance Communication; PDCA Cyclic; Government departmental performance;plan;check;feedback 运用 PDCA 循环实现政府部门绩效的有效沟通 张智芳 李万县 摘要 政府部门绩效管理是一个由许多环节组成的循环往复的系统,但在我国的政府绩效管理实践 中,政府绩效沟通往往成为最容易被忽视的一个环节,这是一种本末倒置的作法 而持续动态的沟 通是达到绩效管理真正目标的必要条件 将 PDCA 循环管理模式,应用于政府部门绩效沟通过程中 不仅仅能够帮助政府部门有效改善绩效水平 而且能够在管理模式上找到新的突破 本文指出 了绩效计划沟通 绩效实施与指导沟通 绩效检查沟通以及绩效反馈沟通四个环节的具体操作 形成一个由大换套小环 不断循环上升的管理沟通模式 实现政府部门绩效管理全过程的有效沟 通 为绩效管理的提升做出进一步方式探索 关键词 绩效沟通 PDCA 循环模式 政府部门 计划 检查 反馈 1.政府部门绩效沟通和 PDCA 循环管理模式内涵 1.1 政府绩效沟通 沟通是指人与人之间 人与组织之间 组织与组织之间的思想与信息的交换以及情感的共享 34 与交流的过程 著名的管理学家巴纳德 法约尔和明茨伯格都认为没有沟通就没有管理,一定意 义上来说,沟通就是管理的本质 绩效沟通就是有关绩效信息的交流,将绩效信息传递给相关的客 体和对象,以期得到客体的反应和评价,在这种互动过程中,更好地贯彻绩效计划并促进绩效提高 对于政府绩效沟通,应有狭义和广义之分 狭义的政府绩效沟通就是政府绩效评价的最终结果在政 府绩效评价管理者 组织者 评价者和被评价对象之间交流和传递,它属于政府绩效评价的反馈环 节 广义的政府绩效沟通是指为了政府绩效的改善和提高所进行的所有的沟通活动 1.2 PDCA 循环 34 包国宪,论政府绩效管理中的绩效沟通,经济体制改革 201

202 PDCA 循环管理法起源于全面质量管理中的戴明循环原理,PDCA 循环模式将绩效管理过程设计为一个由计划 (plan) 实施 (do) 检查 (check) 反馈 (action) 四个环节构成的 周而复始的封闭环状系统 [1] 这种管理模式的优势在于每完成一个周期的循环, 就实现一次绩效的提升 绩效沟通是绩效管理的核心, 将 PDCA 循环模式应用到绩效沟通之中, 将沟通分为 PDCA 四个环节, 并且在每个环节中又将沟通分为 PDCA 四个步骤去具体实施, 这样在每个环节结束之后实现一次小的 PDCA 循环模式, 保证该环节绩效沟通的顺利进行, 当四个环节都循环结束以后则实现了整个绩效沟通的 PDCA 循环, 使得政府每一次的绩效沟通都能够有的放矢, 起到关键作用, 更使得政府部门的工作向着预定的目标不断发展 2.PDCA 循环模式应用于政府绩效沟通中的意义 2.1 理论意义在政府绩效管理实施过程中, 绩效沟通是最容易被忽略的一个环节, 虽然随着政府职能和角色的转变, 尤其是高效型和服务型政府的不断建立, 政府对于 顾客 服务 的观念也不断确立, 同时组织内部以及与社会公众的互动也随之加强, 交流沟通渐渐得到重视, 但是对于沟通模式 沟通方法与技巧的运用很少, 只是强调要进行双向沟通, 单纯机械式为了完成任务而实施绩效沟通 将 PDCA 循环模式运用到政府绩效沟通之中弥补了在这方面的不足, 进一步完善了沟通方法与理论 2.2 现实意义 PDCA 循环模式应用于政府绩效沟通之中, 在实施绩效沟通的每个环节中都具有重要作用 首先, 绩效计划环节沟通有助于改进绩效决策 绩效计划是指组织对员工的绩效期望并得到员工认可的环节, 在这一阶段, 政府部门要根据组织目标, 随着内外部环境变化, 对于绩效管理来做出未来一段时间的具体计划, 这一过程离不开政府与内外部的双向沟通 只有在一开始进行有效沟通, 掌握大量的信心和客观依据, 才能够在计划制定过程中增强判断能力, 保证绩效目标制定的科学性 依靠这种上下级和内外部的双向沟通, 使建立在达成共识基础上的绩效期望, 更容易赢得员工对保证目标实现做出的承诺 [2] 也是因为在制定计划过程中进行充分沟通, 才能杜绝一些不和谐现象, 例如主管硬派任务 员工只能被动接受现象 滥用私权现象等等 其次, 绩效实施与辅导沟通有利于促使员工协调有效地工作 政府工作繁琐复杂, 这就为绩效管理中达到协调提出了更高的要求 此时便需要沟通来作为协调的最佳帮手, 沟通的进行效率决定着协调的效率 管理的效率 只有在绩效管理过程中通过有效的沟通, 才能实现组织内部人与人之间 部门与部门之间 上下级之间的理解和认同, 并依靠高效的协调完成工作目标 一方面政府部门领导与基层工作人员进行沟通有助于帮助他们解决工作中存在的困难, 并且及时提供工作中所需要的培训和支持, 帮助他们在业绩上不断提升 另一方面, 政府部门通过与社会公众进行服务工作上的全面沟通, 使公务人员能实时 动态地把握社会公众的诉求和工作的效果, 有效解决公务员和服务对象之间的矛盾, 及时改进不足, 更加高效地服务群众, 做好本职工作, 使得他们在服务绩效上更加增分 再次, 绩效评估沟通有利于主管激励下属, 提高员工素质和士气 绩效评估沟通质量的好坏对业绩改进有直接影响 要想达到好的绩效管理水平, 仅仅制定好目标是远远不够的, 要适时 不断地对组织中员工的表现进行评估, 在评估过程中, 沟通不可或缺 绩效评估沟通可以为公务人员的工作表现作出全面评价, 不一味地只是领导或者一张表格的一面之词, 而是全方位的沟通, 对于员工的优缺点均评估到位 一方面肯定员工的优点和成功, 使得他们产生认同感和成就感, 以此提高其对工作的投入程度 ; 另一方面通过沟通发现员工在实现工作目标过程中遇到的困难和工作技能上的差距来制定有针对性的员工职业规划和培训计划, 激发他们不断学习的动力, 进一步提高他们的素质 最后, 在绩效反馈环节更加要注重沟通 前期的工作成果如何都要通过反馈来发现, 此时沟通的作用越发明显, 组织内部进行反馈沟通有利于发现这一阶段绩效实施不足, 与工作目标的偏离程度, 根据实际情况为下一阶段改善工作目标和工作计划作出有力指导 组织内员工之间也通过反馈阶段进行感情和思想上的交流沟通, 不仅仅有利于工作上相互帮助, 还可以增进彼此了解, 消除不必要的误解, 建立和谐的组织氛围, 形成良好的绩效伙伴关系, 共同协作高效实现政府工作目标 3. 利用 PDCA 循环实现政府有效沟通机制的对策 202

203 3.1 P(plan) 绩效计划沟通绩效计划是整个绩效管理系统的第一个, 同时也是实现政府目标的最重要环节 在绩效管理计划阶段, 要时时观察组织内外部环境的变化, 与上级组织和内部员工保持沟通, 根据本阶段制定的目标进行绩效管理计划的指定, 通过此阶段内部的 PDCA 小环提高计划的质量 具体措施为 :P 阶段 : 采取双向交流, 结合上一阶段绩效管理的经验与教训, 双方就政府组织的组织结构和各岗位任职说明书 员工工作环境与状况等进行充分沟通, 制订出切实可行的沟通方案 D 阶段 : 当计划制定出来后, 通过双向沟通对实施的措施以及绩效沟通执行中关键和细节问题具体讨论 ;C 阶段 : 制定出具体细节问题之后要对绩效实施方案计划的合理性进一步分析, 评价所选择沟通时间 方式以及特定具体沟通内容是否能保证和提高计划沟通的质量和水平 ;A 阶段 : 分析 总结在绩效计划沟通阶段的经验与教训, 以帮助改进和提高绩效实施与辅导阶段沟通质量 3.2 D(Do) 绩效实施与指导沟通通过 PDCA 管理制定出绩效计划之后, 要根据该计划具体操作, 开展实施绩效管理与日常指导沟通工作 在这一阶段同样需要利用 PDCA 循环模式实现沟通 P 阶段 : 政府部门领导与员工根据工作目标拟定绩效工作实施与指导计划, 明确在工作中的沟通程序和重点, 尤其是要指出员工实现绩效的关键点 员工上一阶段存在的问题和进一步改进完成目标的手段 D 阶段 : 执行沟通计划 领导按照沟通计划的要求, 与员工就完成绩效目标的进度及取得的阶段性成果进行沟通 ; 帮助分析 解决员工在目标完成中可能出现的问题和困难, 对员工改进工作效率和质量进行培训和指导, 给予支持 同时, 政府部门的工作人员应该加强与外部服务群众的沟通, 了解工作的重难点内容以及自己工作的成效 C 阶段 : 检查沟通计划执行中存在的问题, 并且分析出具体原因 例如, 在绩效实施中, 经常会出现由于员工隐瞒进度或工作中的问题而直接影响绩效目标实现的沟通问题 对此, 领导和员工双方应具体分析产生问题的原因 : 沟通的不及时 员工责任心不够 出于私利的考虑, 还是员工担心吐露实情会遭惩罚等 [4] A 阶段 : 通过组织内部员工和外部群众对于工作的反馈情况, 及时寻找解决沟通障碍的措施, 将未解决的问题进入新一轮循环再进行沟通解决 3.3 C(Check) 绩效评估沟通评估对于绩效管理的实施至关重要, 而只有在评估过程中听取各方面的意见和建议才能得到有效的评估结果 在这一环节, 采用 PDCA 循环模式的具体内容是 :P 阶段 : 制定评估沟通计划 内容包括 : 绩效评估沟通的流程 沟通的主要内容和沟通方式 [5] 在本阶段, 沟通的主要内容是 : 工作计划完成情况及效果 目标实现情况 ; 个人发展计划落实情况 过去一段时间的工作表现 ; 工作现状与工作环境以及工作中存在的问题和不足 D 和 C 阶段 : 运用恰当的沟通方式和技巧, 与内外部进行沟通, 特别是要广泛搜集政府人员服务对象对于员工工作的意见, 双方共同在内外部寻找影响绩效达成的原因 存在的问题, 解决的方法, 在必要时形成书面材料 ;A 阶段 : 回顾评估沟通中遇到的问题与困难, 提出改进措施 为了达到激励作用应该让评估结果直接与工作人员利益相关, 因此此阶段的沟通更加重要而又更加困难, 必须重点分析评估过程中沟通方面的重难点问题, 不断学习和引进新的沟通形式与技巧 3.4 A(Action) 绩效反馈沟通绩效反馈沟通的目的是让组织员工了解自己绩效管理中的优势和弱点, 改进不足之处, 提高自己的绩效, 同时也为下个循环做好准备 本阶段应围绕着绩效改进措施 员工培训 员工工作和个人发展计划 员工对上级工作的建议和意见等重点内容展开有效沟通 同样地, 本阶段也应按照 PDCA 循环对绩效反馈沟通进行有效管理, 并落实下一次绩效管理的 PDCA 循环方案 通过 PDCA 循环模式利用计划 实施 检查监督和反馈在绩效沟通环节的各方面应用, 可以确保政府部门在绩效管理上的有效性, 从而提高政府办事效率并且为整个公共部门绩效考核提供了新思路 参考文献 [1] 郑文力. 论绩效评估中的全面质量管理 [J]. 中国质量,2003,(7):9-11. [2] 刘军跃, 李远志. 运用 PDCA 循环实现绩效管理系统的有效沟通 [J]. 商业研究,2006(23) 203

204 [3] 陈小林, 钱德春. 绩效沟通 : 政府绩效管理中的重要环节 [J]. 西南民族大学学报 ( 人文社科版 ),2005,(01). [4] 付亚和. 绩效管理 [M]. 上海 : 复旦大学出版社, [5] 包国宪, 曹西安. 论政府绩效管理中的绩效沟通 [J]. 经济体制改革,2007(1) 204

205 STUDY ON CAREER DEVELOPMENT OF FEMALE CIVIL SERVANT IN CHINA YU YANG, Hebei University of Economics and Business JINGUO YE, Hebei University of Economics and Business Abstract: With the improvement of the civil servants system, more and more women join the ranks of the civil servants, which plays a positive role in improving women social status, promoting equality between men and women and promoting social comprehensive development. However, due to the traditional view of gender, there s still some problems on career development of female civil servants, such as unreasonable structure or ceiling effect of career development, intense job burnout in spirit, pregnancy leads to the interval interruption on their career development, role conflicts of the females and so on. Corresponding measures to the career problems are also discussed from the aspects of the society, the government and the female themselves, including institution accomplishment, organizational and social environment building on gender equality, and promoting the women ability of self-regulation in both working and mental conflicts. Key words: female, civil servant, career development, civil servant system, professional woman, glass ceiling 女性公务员职业生涯发展研究 于洋 李万县 摘要 我国公务员制度的不断完善 使得越来越多的女性加入到了公务员队伍当中 这在提高女 性社会地位 促进男女平等和推动社会全面发展等方面起到了积极的作用 本文将女性公务员和 职业生涯发展结合进行研究,发现我国女性公务员的职业生涯发展中存在着发展结构不合理 强烈 的职业倦怠感 职业生涯发展存在中断期和多种角色冲突等问题 因此 从社会 政府和女性自 身方面提出了相应的解决措施 包括构建有利于女性公务员职业生涯发展的制度 营造良好的社 会环境和女性心理的自我调节 关键词 女性 公务员 职业生涯发展 公务员制度 职业女性 玻璃天花板 女性公务员职业生涯发展研究 随着我国社会经济的不断发展以及妇女地位的逐渐提升 女性的自我意识和独立意识也日趋 增强 越来越多的女性从家庭走向社会 在职场中充分地发挥其聪明才智 逐渐成为社会发展过 程中不可或缺的推动力量 公务员作为我国高水平人才的重要聚集地 也是我国女性展现其职业 生涯的重要途径 近年来我国女性公务员的比例不断上升 这说明我国女性的价值和能力得到了 社会的重视和认可 在社会上产生了重要的影响 但由于自身和社会外部的原因 女性公务员在 职业生涯发展中也存在诸多问题 因此 科学合理的规划女性公务员职业生涯发展具有重要的现 实意义 1 女性公务员职业生涯发展的概念界定 1.1 职业生涯 关于职业生涯的定义学术界尚未得出统一的结论 但是不同学者从不同角度对其进行了研究 从时间长度上划分 职业生涯分为广义论和狭义论 狭义论是指 一个人从职业学习伊始 至 职业劳动最后结束 整个人生职业工作历程 其上限起始于任职前的职业学习和培训 广义论 则是 从取得职业技能 发展职业爱好 选择工作 到职 直到最终整个脱离职业工作 考察这 205

206 样一个完整而全面的职业发展过程, 其上限从 0 岁人生起点开始 35 按职业生涯包含的内容, 又可分成主客观论 主观论包括个人心智成熟程度 职业选择动机 价值观的成长等内容 ; 而客观论包括岗位的变动 职业技能的增加 职业高度的变化等内容 从职业生涯关联者划分, 职业生涯又可分为内职业生涯和外职业生涯 外职业生涯是指 职业者经历一种职业的通路, 包括招聘 培训 晋升 解雇 退休等各个阶段 ; 内职业生涯主要指 侧重于对个体的研究, 更关注个体成就 实现个体情感需求 家庭与工作平衡 个体获得休息的需要等 36 本文认为职业生涯是个人在某一职业上所经历完整过程, 其中包括职位的变更和个人观念的变化等 1.2 职业生涯发展职业生涯发展又称 职业发展, 包含多个层次的含义 吴贵明认为 : 职业生涯发展是指个人首先设立目标 然后逐步实现这些目标, 并在实践中不断持续的订立新目标然后实施新目标的整个过程 主要包括职业选择 发展过程 发展管理等三大部分 37 张再生认为 : 职业生涯发展的定义与主体有关 对个人来说, 职业生涯发展是指一般指个体在工作中为了获得或改进相关知识 技能而产生的动机 态度以及行为等, 其目的是为了提高工作绩效 对组织来说, 职业生涯发展是组织为提高员工的学识 技能 职业价值观和工作绩效, 推动职业生涯发展而实施的各种各样有计划 成系统的教育训练活动 38 本文认为职业生涯发展是个人或组织依据自身需要, 通过策划或规划, 不断提升自身的技能 能力 知识, 改进工作心态等, 使个体的职业生涯目标与组织的目标相结合的过程 1.3 女性公务员职业生涯发展根据我国公务员法的规定, 公务员是指依法履行公职, 其职位纳入国家的行政编制, 并由国家从财政上负担期一切工资福利的公家机关工作人员 本文所指的女性公务员就是指具有国家行政编制 由国家财政负担工资福利的国家行政机关女性公务人员 综上所述, 女性公务员职业生涯发展, 一般是指具有国家行政编制享受国家财政负担福利待遇的行政机关女性公务员人员在其进入公务员系统之后, 她们在职业生涯发展中遇到和经历的各种经验, 并且在实践中不断发展与进步的过程 在这个过程中, 女性公务员根据在不同的职业生涯发展阶段的不同需求, 通过组织和自身的规划, 不断的提升自身的知识 技能 能力等, 使自身的职业发展目标结合组织目标, 实现自身职业生涯发展的成功 2 当前我国女性公务员职业生涯发展中存在的问题近年来我国出台了一系列保障女性职业生涯发展的法律法规, 同时不断完善公务员制度, 使得女性公务员所占比例逐年上升 女性公务员在工作上取得了一定的成绩, 但由于社会传统和女性自身角色的影响, 我国女性公务员的职业生涯发展还存在一定的问题 2.1 女性公务员职业发展结构不合理女性公务员的职业生涯发展结构, 既包括女性公务员组织结构的角色, 又包括女性公务员权利结构的地位 目前我国公务员队伍中, 尽管女性公务员的比例超过了 40%, 但其在职业生涯发展中还是受到一定范围的成见和偏见, 男女平等还是一个有待实现的目标 由于性别歧视导致女性一般在科教文卫 计划生育 群众社团等部门从事工作, 而党政主干线和综合部门的任职较少 此外, 女性公务员担任副县级以上职务人数少, 比例小 ; 担任正职的人数小, 比例小 ; 职位上虚职多, 实职少 在组织中无论女性公务员的水平与能力有多高, 她们在达到一定的管理层上, 就很难再获得更进一步的发展了, 在她们的职业发展路径中, 存在着一种看似存在事实上并不存在的发展途径, 这也就是 玻璃天花板 39 效应 2.2 女性公务员职业生涯发展中存在强烈的职业倦怠 35 吴国存. 企业职业管理与雇员发展 [M]. 北京 : 经济管理出版社, 2000: 张再生. 职业生涯管理 [M]. 北京 : 经济管理出版社, 2002: 吴贵明. 中国女性职业生涯发展研究 [M]. 北京 : 中国社会科学出版社,2004: 张再生. 职业生涯开发与管理 [M]. 天津 : 南开大学出版社,2003: 玻璃天花板是指为女性或是少数族群没办法晋升到企业或组织高层并非是因为他们的能力或经验不够, 或是不想要其职位, 而是一些针对女性和少数族群在升迁方面, 组织似乎设下一层障碍, 这层障碍甚至有时看不到其存在 206

207 职业倦怠又称职业枯竭, 它是 一种由工作引发的心理枯竭现象, 是上班族在工作的重压之下所体验到的身心俱疲 能量被耗尽的感觉, 职业倦怠产生的原因主要有工作压力过低 缺乏挑战性的工作, 个人能力得不到发挥, 无法获取成就感, 而产生职业倦怠 40 产生职业倦怠的根本原因在于工作的内容的枯燥和工作人员的兴趣缺乏 而公务员这项工作本身内容繁枯燥 缺乏竞争且待遇稳定, 女性在这样的环境中工作更易产生依赖性和惰性 且随着年龄的增长, 愿意去基层学习和锻炼自身的人也越少, 职业倦怠感也会越来越严重, 使女性公务员的职业生涯彻底丧失继续发展的可能 2.3 女性公务员职业生涯发展中断期的困境女性公务员职业生涯中将不可避免的遇到生育问题, 这将使女性公务员的职业生涯暂时中断, 而中断的职业生涯将导致女性公务员难以晋升到高层职位 大多数女性公务员 30 岁左右就到了考虑是否生育的阶段, 而这个阶段也正是女性为自己的目标奋斗的关键期, 即晋升的关键期 但大部分女性公务员为了家庭和孩子考虑会牺牲自己的事业而回家生育, 放弃晋升的机会 虽然女性公务员的福利制度相当完善, 行政部门也会严格按要求执行 然而, 在怀孕和哺乳期内, 法律法规却无法保证女性公务员是否会被重用, 能否得到晋升 这个现象无论在企业还是行政 事业单位都是客观存在的, 女性公务员晋升的机会会因为中断的职业生涯消失在无形中 2.4 女性公务员职业生涯发展中存在角色冲突当代女性在生活中扮演了多重角色, 这些角色概括起来可分为两类 : 家庭角色和社会角色 这二类角色表现出矛盾冲突, 使女性长时间地陷入角色的困惑之中 主要表现在 : 社会角色要女性公务员有很强的事业心, 要胜任工作 精通业务, 充分发挥自己的综合才能 为了生存与发展, 她们需要通过不断学习新知识, 获得新技能, 提高工作绩效 在家庭角色上, 女性公务员需要照顾家庭, 尽到作为母亲 妻子 女儿的责任 在人口老龄化严重的当代, 一对夫妻要照顾四个老人的现象普遍, 而女性作为照顾老人的主要人员, 家庭压力增大 为了平衡工作与家庭的角色, 女性公务员不仅要不断提高自身素质应对激烈竞争, 同样需要更多的智慧经营家庭, 有限的时间与精力使女性公务员在家庭与工作之间疲于奔波 3 促进女性公务员职业生涯顺利发展的建议 3.1 构建有利于女性公务员职业生涯发展的制度第一, 建立健全相关的法律法规 要完善保障女性参政的立法和配套政策, 建立有效的监督机制, 及时纠正含有性别歧视或阻碍女性参与决策的政策条款 同时还要加强法律的可操作性, 将相关的法律法规具体化, 减少因语言表述的模糊性造成女性公务员合法权益受到侵害的情况 第二, 制定公平合理的干部选拔制度, 调整以男性为中心的干部选拔任用标准, 在选拔任用领导干部的具体条件上, 领导干部应充分考虑女性在生理方面的特殊性, 对她们区别对待 同时, 拓宽女性干部的职业发展模式, 打破部门界限, 加强人才流动, 促进女性公务员的职业生涯发展 3.2 营造有利于女性公务员职业生涯发展的社会环境第一, 在组织中坚持公平竞争和男女平等的思想, 公平客观地评价女性公务员, 保证女性公务员和男性公务员享有同等的竞争机会 同时, 领导干部要根据男女自身不同的特点, 合理安排工作 ; 敢于打破传统思维定式, 创新用人理念, 给予女性公务员更多的支持与鼓励 第二, 针对男女两性在家务分工中不均衡状况, 应积极提倡家务劳动社会化, 鼓励家政服务业的发展 分一半家务给男性, 还一半权利给女性, 这样可以有效缓解女性公务员家庭与事业之间角色冲突造成的巨大心理压力 第三, 优化社会舆论环境, 反对宣扬封建传统道德 扭曲女性形象和诱导女性形成依附人格的倾向的影视作品 建议新闻媒体广泛宣传女性参政消息, 公正 客观的宣传报道成功女性公务员事例, 为广大女性树立榜样, 消除她们的成功顾虑和担忧 3.3 女性公务员要努力提高自身综合素质第一, 正确认识自我, 全面客观地评价自我对于个人职业的发展至关重要 女性公务员在制定个人职业发展目标时, 要从自身的实际出发, 对自己进行合理的定位, 误免让过高的要求来增 40 崔碧霞. 女性公务员职业生涯的困境与解决 [D]. 陕西 : 陕西师范大学,

208 加自身的负担 第二, 保持积极向上的心态 女性公务员在遇到问题时要学会及时调整心态和合理释放压力, 保持积极乐观的态度, 树立敢闯敢干 百折不挠的信念, 对自己充满信心, 这样才能取得事业上的成功 第三, 平衡好家庭与事业的关系 女性公务员要提高处理家庭与事业矛盾 家庭内部矛盾的能力, 采取积极措施平衡家庭与事业的冲突, 同时学会疏导自身心理压力, 不要让过大的压力影响自己的健康 女性公务员要学会及时进行角色转换, 设定工作和生活的边界, 做好事业管理和时间管理, 平衡好家庭和事业的关系 总之, 女性公务员作为一个特定群体既有职业女性的普遍性, 又有公务员的特殊性 女性公务员职业生涯发展的状况不但与女性公务员自身的发展有关系, 而且与政府组织整体效能的提升密切相关 但是, 当前我国公务员职业发展研究尚处于起步阶段, 关于女性公务员职业生涯发展现状和规律的研究尤为匮乏, 希望本文能给相关研究提供一些借鉴 参考文献 [1] 宁本荣, 赵晓康. 女性公务员职业发展模式 : 基于内容分析法的研究 [J]. 上海行政学院学报,2014(03): [2] 马秀玲. 中国党政部门女性省部级公务员的成长路径及职业发展研究 [J]. 国家行政学院学报,2009(06): [3] 宁本荣. 女性公务员职业发展困境及完善 [J]. 人才开发,2007(03): [4] 黄秋梅, 苏穗. 女性职业生涯发展的制约因素与建议 [J]. 创新,2009(10): [5] 王军华. 女性职业生涯发展的影响因素与对策分析 [J]. 今日科苑,2008(14):228. [6] 宁本荣. 女性公务员领导力提升 : 职业发展领域的促进 [J]. 领导科学,2014(15): [7] 王富祥. 女性公务员 玻璃天花板 障碍及其对策 [J]. 全国商情 ( 理论研究 ),2009(23): [8] 李永康, 赵海燕. 女性公务员职务晋升存在的问题及对策 [J]. 中国人力资源开发,2012(10): [9] 苏津津, 李婕. 生育对职业女性职业生涯发展的影响及对策 [J]. 中国人力资源开发,2015(05):

209 LITERATURE REVIEW ON THE STUDY OF PRESCHOOL EDUCATION IN CHINA XIONGNA CAO, Hebei University of Economics and Business LIYING LI, Hebei University of Economics and Business ABSTRACT: Preschool education is the essence and the cornerstone of national education in a country.it plays a very important role in the development of national education.this paper mainly discusses the the past research achievements on the topic of financial investment in early childhood in Chinaboth domestic and abroard. It demonstrates that domestic scholars mainly focus on the current situation of educational funds, financial investment system of early childhood education and financial investment performance evaluation theory While foreign scholars are more interested in the importance of early childhood education, the supply model and present situation of childhood education. And further summarizes the advantages and limitations of the research. At last, combined the research of domestic with that of abroard we put forward a performance evaluation model of financial investment in early childhood education. Key words: preschool education; finance; supply; achievements; evaluate; pattern 中国幼儿教育财政投入问题研究述评 幼儿教育对于个人乃至整个社会的发展都起着重要的 基础性的作用 有着不可或缺的重大意义 幼 儿教育财政投入的优化问题 不仅是公共财政管理体制下的紧迫问题 也是提高幼儿教育财政投 入效率 合理配置幼儿教育资源 保障幼儿教育目标实现的有效途径 1.当前研究现状 1.1国内学者对幼儿教育财政投入问题的研究 1.1.1我国幼儿教育经费现状的研究 王红 沈慧洁 王彬在文章 对广州市幼儿园教育成本及收费制度改革的调查分析 中 针对 幼儿园的基本情况 幼儿园各项收费及支出情况等问题对广州市 10个行政区的62 所不同体制的幼儿园进 行调查 发现在广州市赞助费或捐资助学费是保教费之外的最重要的经费来源 存在不合理的收 费项目且收费项目过细 幼儿园收费标准大多在幼儿园成本的 50%以下 收费标准偏低 王化敏 周亚君在 幼儿教育经费的十年回顾及改革建议 中指出 我国预算内财政性幼儿教育 经费的城乡分配差距有不断拉大的趋势 占幼儿教育总数 30%的城市和县镇中教育部门和政府机构 举办的幼儿园占用了 70%的幼儿教育财政拨款 而剩余的 30%的幼儿教育财政拨款要被分配到占幼儿教 育总数 70%的集体办 企业办以及农村乡 村级幼儿园中 1.1.2我国幼儿教育财政投入体制的研究 蔡迎旗 冯晓霞在 论中国幼儿教育财政投资体制的重构 中指出 我国各级财政部门对教育 部门的幼儿教育财政经费划拨以及相关政策制定 构成了我国幼儿教育财政投资体制的主体部分 而我国其他非教育部门的各级财政部门对幼儿教育的财政性拨款和政策制定 构成了我国幼儿 教育财政投入机制的辅助部分 我国现行的主辅两条线的幼儿教育财政投入机制 不利于幼儿教 育资金的自由流动 同时分散的财政资金不利于实现幼儿教育资源的有效整合 曾晓东在 建机构还是买服务 对我国农村幼儿教育供给方式的思考 中提出 政府应该为农村 儿童提供幼儿教育服务 在农村地区可以尝试由政府制定服务菜单 由现有的县 乡幼教机构按 照菜单为农村儿童提供流动性服务 从而建构起 电影放映队式 农村幼儿教育服务模式 财政投入绩效评价理论研究 马国贤教授在 政府绩效管理 中认为 绩效管理首先是设立绩效目标 其次进行绩效预算 再次对实施结果进行绩效评价的一种公共管理制度 在 政府绩效管理原理 中马国贤教授提 出了 一观三论 花钱买效果 的预算观 目标 结果导向管理论 公共委托 代理论和顾客服务论 王敏在 政府财政教育支出绩效评价研究 中提到 教育产出是在一定条件下通过教育资源的投 入经过教育的过程而产生的效应 可以分为直接效应和间接效应 直接效应是指受教育者的身体 素质得到增强 思想品德发生变化 劳动能力得到提高 综合素质得到提升 间接效应是指教育 209

210 会使国民收入提高, 国内生产总值提升, 使社会更加文明和谐 对教育的绩效评价, 就是看财政投入后是否收到了应有的效应 卢千里在 财政支出绩效评价的原理和方法 中提到, 财政支出绩效评价的三原则, 经济性, 以最低的费用取得一定的资源 ; 效率性, 以最小的投入取得一定的产出 ; 有效性, 达到预定的目标 绩效预算应该采取定量和定性相结合, 渐进方式和规范管理相结合, 统一性和差别性相结合的原则 1.2 国外学者对幼儿教育财政投入问题的研究 幼儿教育的重要性研究 J.M. 布坎南在 公共财政 中提出 任何教育的直接受益者都是那些得到教育的儿童及其家庭 在这一方面, 教育是可以分割的, 而且类似于在市场经济中生产的普通服务, 但是教育除了其可分割的私人利益外, 还具有重要的社会利益 社会集团的全体成员, 至少其中大部分人, 通过使社会中的儿童得到良好的教育而间接地得到好处, 教育是一种准公共性的服务 芝加哥大学教授 诺贝尔经济学奖获得者赫克曼对关于儿童发展的研究证据总结, 在人生的不同阶段的教育投入对其不同能力的形成至关重要 在儿童阶段获得的能力不仅影响到该阶段的总体发展, 更会影响到下一阶段的学习和发展 如果错过了在儿童阶段学习某一特定技能或发展某一特定能力的机会, 以后补救的代价会相当昂贵 幼儿教育供给模式研究南希 M 罗宾逊 (Nancy M Robison) 作为世界上著名的幼儿教育学家, 提出了幼儿教育机构的四种基本类型 第一种是根据年龄将幼儿教育分为两个阶段的拉丁 - 欧洲模式 第二种是主要在荷兰 瑞典 德国 挪威等国家实行的斯堪的纳维亚模式 第三种是与拉丁 欧洲模式相同的, 根据年龄把幼儿教育分成两个阶段, 由两个不同的部门管理的社会主义国家模式 第四种是在美国 英国 加拿大 以色列和中国的台湾省等国家和地区实行的盎格鲁 萨克逊模式 幼儿教育供给现状研究戴维. 布劳在 The Child Care Problem : An Economic Analysis 一书中对美国幼儿教育市场进行了比较全面的分析并指出, 美国幼儿教育的一个重要问题是市场的失败 美国的幼儿教育市场分散零乱, 缺乏有效的财政支持, 幼儿教育供给的质量在过去十年中一直呈下降趋势, 尤其是部分私立的 非正规的幼儿教育机构质量非常低劣, 而高质的幼儿教育一般价格昂贵, 且开放时间短, 让很多幼儿家长望而却步, 幼儿教育的私人提供者相互孤立, 并没有把国家的幼儿教育目标融入其中, 孩子的父母面对混乱的幼儿教育市场无所适从 约翰. 爱德华兹选择美国的 100 个区作为样本, 着重分析了幼儿教育价格对美国幼儿教育供给所造成的影响 其研究显示, 价格对幼儿教育供给的小时数有消极影响, 供给取决于价格 在黑人单亲居住区和人口迅速增长的比较贫穷的地区, 他们对幼儿教育需求更旺, 但供给不足 ; 与之相反, 比较富裕地区的幼儿教育供给更充足一些, 形成了幼儿教育供给与需求之间的错位与矛盾 1.3 现有国内外研究的特点 国内研究的特点国内研究大多是相关文献做实证材料, 很多建议已经通过实践证明是可行的 但是这些研究以统计分析 调研为主, 很多研究设计不够缜密, 方法比较单一, 经验的成分多于理论分析, 研究深度和科学性多有欠缺 国外研究的特点国外研究幼儿教育财政政策的信息, 以资料为多, 研究性的文献比较少 而且这些研究性文献中, 项目研究和个案研究比较多, 对某个国家的幼儿教育财政政策的整体分析尚不多见 2. 对已有研究的评价 2.1 优点 具有较强的理论意义本研究从财政学的角度, 对我国幼儿教育财政投入和政策的历史和制度基础进行了深入的剖析 ; 基于我国国情和改革趋势, 对我国当前幼儿教育财政性经费的合理配置提出了比较客观务实的建议 ; 为了借鉴和吸收国内外已经有经验, 对国内外各种幼儿教育财政投入方案 形式 路径等也进行了利弊分析, 并提出了这些财政相互整合的设想 210

211 2.1.2 具有较强的实践意义对我国幼儿教育财政产生了积极影响 为我国各级政府 各部门单位和各类幼儿园筹集经费提供合理建议 ; 对我国各种幼儿教育资源的配置情况进行客观分析, 并提出参考意见 ; 对强化我国各类幼教机构资金运动的监督管理提出针对性建议 2.2 局限性 我国目前针对幼儿教育的经济学研究还较少, 资料不多 在义务教育和高等教育方面的这方面研究较多 国外对幼儿教育事业的研究开展的比我国要早, 而且研究的程度也比较深入, 涉及到幼儿教育发展的各个方面, 各种相关数据也比较全面, 而我国对幼儿教育财政投入的统计数字较少, 很难找到客观的 全国性的统计资料 国内外学者对幼儿教育重要性 幼儿教育的外部效益 幼儿教育市场的缺陷都进行了充分论证 但将幼儿教育发展与教育公平结合起来从而确定财政负担的研究很少, 几乎没有 3. 本文拟研究的问题和创新点通过对国内外幼儿教育财政投入的分析, 有许多的借鉴意义 我国幼儿教育领域出现了很多问题, 引起了人们的广泛关注, 也提出了很多解决方案, 但大多都倾向于要求政府提高认识 明确责任 增加投入, 而从具体的 全面的角度研究财政幼儿教育财政投入的还很少 我的创新点即是幼儿教育应当在政府加强投入的基础上重点发展, 从而为人民提供更有效率和更加公平的幼儿教育 在对如何进行幼儿教育财政投入的绩效评价目标 体系建立需要的指标等方面进行分析的基础上, 建立幼儿教育财政投入绩效评价模型 4. 小结国内外学者从不同方面不同视角对幼儿教育财政投和政策入进行了研究与探索 对我国的幼儿教财政投入有很大的实践意义 我国应该吸取发达国家的做法, 不能一味的照搬国外的方法, 应该根据中国特色社会主义的国情, 制定适合一个我国现状的幼儿教育财政投入与政策的战略 5. 参考文献 [1] 蔡迎旗.(2007)( 6) 幼儿教育财政投入与政策 [M]. 教育科学出版社. [2] 王华敏.2003) 周亚君. 幼儿教育经费的十年回顾及思考 [J]((4). [3] 桂磊.(2004) 关于财政性学前教育经费在幼儿园之间的分配问题 [J]. 学前教育研究 ( 3). [4] 段茹宏. (2013), 学前教育财政投入问题研究述评 [J]. 河南教育学院学报 ( 哲学社会科学版 )05: [5] 冯晓霞, 蔡迎旗,(2007), 严冷. 世界幼教事业发展趋势 : 国家财政支持幼儿教育 [J]. 学前教育研究 05:3-6. [6] 王华敏.(2000) 关于幼儿教育事业发展状况的调查报告 [J]. 早期教育 ( 5) [7] 郭巧丽.(2009 ) 幼儿教育发展中的政府财政投入问题研究 [D]. 东北师范大学. [8] 陈桔红. (2011) 我国幼儿教育财政投入问题研究 [D]. 西南交通大学,. [9] 丁大勇. (2013) 我国学前教育投资体制问题研究 [D]. 哈尔滨师范大学. [10] 王心蕊. (2013) 我国幼儿教育中的政府职能承担研究 [D]. 中国地质大学 ( 北京 ). [11] 卢美贵, 谢美慧.(2002) 幼儿教育券 - 理论与实践 [M]. 师大书苑有限公司. [12] 崔惠玉, 周伟. (2015) 学前教育政府提供的国际比较与借鉴 [J]. 地方财政研究,11: [13] 曾晓东.(2006) 幼儿教育的财政投入体制改革亟需理性设计 [J]. 幼儿教育 ( 教育科学版 ),10: [14] 蔡迎旗, 冯晓霞. (2006) 论中国幼儿教育财政投资体制的重构 [J]. 教育研究与实验,02: [15] 民进辽宁省委员会. 学前教育不是 托儿所 [N]. 友报, [16] 记者王继亮束临燕静安. 学前教育应纳入公共财政投入范畴 [N]. 中国经济时报, [17] 张雪. 1998~2008 年中国学前教育财政状况及其对幼儿入园率的影响 [A]. 中国教育学会教育经济学分会.2010 年中国教育经济学学术年会论文集 [C]. 中国教育学会教育经济学分会 :,2010:8. [18] 蔡迎旗, 冯晓霞. 政府财政投入公办幼儿园方式的选择 [J]. 教育与经济,2008,01: [19]David M.Blau.The Child Care Problem:An Economic Analysis[M].New York:Russell Sage Fundation.2001:4-13 [20]Joe Richardson,Donna V. Porter,Jean Yavis Jones.Child Nutrition and WIC Programs:Background and Funding[M].New York:Nova Science Publishers,Inc.,

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213 SEARCH AND RESCUE AT THE EAST MEDITERRANEAN SEA. THE CASE OF CYPRUS TRYFON KORONTZIS Abstract The enormous and rapid growth of shipping and air transport which took place and is still taking place because of the technology development starting by the second half of the last century onwards, led automatically and the need of developing search and rescue services (Search and Rescue-SAR). The last organized appropriately staffed with specialized personnel and using appropriate means aim to the disposal of efficient search and rescue services to all air and sea regions. During the implementing of operational procedures regarding search and rescue in order to be implemented plans by the authorities of Cyprus to locate and rescue people in the South Mediterranean area can occurs risk event or crisis. The purpose of this summary study is to examine the development of providing search and rescue services in the south-eastern Mediterranean countries, namely Cyprus. This development is considered critical because of the occupation of Cyprus part by Turkey, possession among other influences and search and rescue issues in the Nicosia FIR. Η ΕΡΕΥΝΑ ΚΑΙ ΔΙΑΣΩΣΗ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΝΑΤΟΛΙΚΗ ΜΕΣΟΓΕΙΟ. H ΠΕΡΙΠΤΩΣΗ ΤΗΣ ΚΥΠΡΟΥ Τρύφων Χαρ. Κοροντζής Περίληψη Η τεράστια και ταχύτατη ανάπτυξη των ναυτιλιακών αλλά και αεροπορικών μεταφορών που πραγματοποιήθηκε αλλά και πραγματοποιείται λόγω της εξέλιξης της τεχνολογίας από το δεύτερο μισό του περασμένου αιώνα και εντεύθεν, οδήγησε αυτόματα και στην ανάγκη ανάπτυξης υπηρεσιών έρευνας και διάσωσης (Search and Rescue-SAR). Οι τελευταίες οργανωμένες κατάλληλα, στελεχωμένες με εξειδικευμένα στελέχη και διαθέτοντας κατάλληλα μέσα, αποσκοπούν στη διάθεση αποτελεσματικών υπηρεσιών έρευνας και διάσωσης σε όλες τις εναέριες και θαλάσσιες περιοχές του κόσμου. Κατά την εφαρμογή επιχειρησιακών διαδικασιών στη διάρκεια έρευνας και διάσωσης ώστε να υλοποιηθούν σχεδιασμοί των αρμοδίων Αρχών της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας για εντοπισμό και διάσωση ανθρώπων στο χώρο της Νοτιοανατολικής Μεσογείου μπορεί να προκύψει συμβάν υψηλού κινδύνου ή και κρίση. Σκοπός της παρούσας συνοπτικής μελέτης είναι να εξετάσει την ανάπτυξη παροχής υπηρεσιών έρευνας και διάσωσης σε χώρες της νοτιοανατολικής Μεσογείου και συγκεκριμένα στην Κύπρο. Η ανάπτυξη αυτή κρίνεται κρίσιμη λόγω της κατοχής μέρους της Κύπρου από την Τουρκία, κατοχή που μεταξύ των άλλων επηρεάζει και θέματα έρευνας και διάσωσης στο FIR Λευκωσίας. Λέξεις-κλειδιά: Έρευνα, διάσωση, FIR, Κύπρος, Τουρκία, Ανατολική Μεσόγειος 1.Οριοθέτηση FIR Λευκωσίας Στην Τρίτη Περιοχική Διάσκεψη Αεροναυτιλίας 41 που πραγματοποιήθηκε στο Παρίσι το 1952, το Η.Β. επεδίωξε και τελικά τα κατάφερε να δοθεί διευρυμένη ζώνη Περιοχής FIR (Flight Information Region) πέραν της αιγιαλίτιδας ζώνης στη Μάλτα (FIR Malta), αλλά και στην Κύπρο (FIR Nicosia) που ήταν υπό την επικυριαρχία της, με δεδομένη τη στρατηγική θέση των νησιών στο χώρο της Μεσογείου. H διευρυμένη ζώνη του FIR γύρω από την Κύπρο 42, έφερε σε μειονεκτική θέση τα γειτονικά κράτη της περιοχής, ήτοι τη Συρία, Λίβανο και Ισραήλ. 41 Βλ. Κοροντζής Τ., Έρευνα και διάσωση. Ρυθμιστικό πλαίσιο και προβλήματα εφαρμογής στο Αιγαίο και τη Νοτιοανατολική Μεσόγειο, Δ.Δ., Βιβλιοθήκη Παντείου Πανεπιστημίου Κοινωνικών και Πολιτικών Επιστημών. 42 Βλ. Γιόκαρης Α., Οι δικαιοδοσίες του παράκτιου κράτους στον εναέριο χώρο, εθνικό και διεθνή, Α. Σάκκουλας, Αθήνα Κομοτηνή 1991,σ.σ

214 Στα όρια ευθύνης του FIR Λευκωσίας (FIR Nicosia) 43, περιλαμβάνεται ολόκληρη η εδαφική επικράτεια του νησιού αλλά και τμήμα διεθνούς εναέριου χώρου γύρω από την Κύπρο, που συνορεύει βόρεια με το FIR Άγκυρας και δυτικά με το FIR Αθηνών 44. Η ναυτική περιοχή Έρευνας και Διάσωσης Κύπρου (Cyprus Search and Rescue Region - SRR), όπως αυτή δηλώθηκε στο Διεθνή Ναυτιλιακό Οργανισμό (international Maritime Organization-ΙΜΟ), ταυτίζεται με την αντίστοιχη αεροναυτική, η οποία με βάση το περιοχικό Σχέδιο Αεροναυτιλίας Ευρώπης (Air Navigation Plan, European Region, Doc 7754), καθορίστηκε κατά τρόπο που συμπίπτει με τα όρια του αντίστοιχου FIR Λευκωσίας Mε την αναθεώρηση της Σύμβασης SAR, υιοθετήθηκε ταυτόχρονα από τον ΙΜΟ και τον International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), το Διεθνές Εγχειρίδιο Αεροναυτικής και Θαλάσσιας Έρευνας και Διάσωσης [International Aeronautical Maritime Search And Rescue (IAMSAR Mannual)], που αποβλέπει στην εναρμόνιση των κανόνων σχετικά με την παροχή υπηρεσιών σε περιπτώσεις αεροπορικών και ναυτικών ατυχημάτων 45. Σημειώνεται ότι με βάση τις συστάσεις του ΙΜΟ και του ICAO που αποτυπώνονται στο Διεθνές Εγχειρίδιο αλλά και τη γενική διεθνή πρακτική, η υιοθέτηση ταυτόσημων περιοχών για την αεροπορική και ναυτική έρευνα και διάσωση προκρίνεται, ώστε οι περιοχές αυτές να συμπίπτουν με τα FIRs.Χαρακτηριστικό παράδειγμα αυτής της πρακτικής είναι η Κύπρος της οποίας τα όρια των περιοχών για θαλάσσια και αεροπορική έρευνα συμπίπτουν απόλυτα με τα όρια του FIR Βλ. «Final Report of the rules of the air and air Traffic Control Committee, Second Middle East Regional Air Navigation Meeting», Istanbul, ICAO, Doc 7055, MID/2-RAO, October November 1950, σ «..Boundary between Ankara- Nicosia FIRs/UIRs, runs from N3605 E03000 to Ν3558 Ε03230 to N3555 E03333 to N3555E ». Βλ. NICOSIA FIR/UIR, IATA Communications/Control Procedures, IATA Information Bulletin, 25/8/2006, JEP 06-01, Jeppesen Sanderson, Inc., 2006, (τελευταία επίσκεψη την 12/1/2013). Ακόμη βλ. «ICAO issues reminder on procedures in the Nicosia and Ankara FIRs», IFALPA, Safety Bulletin, 2/8/2006, Ankara%20and%20Nicosia%20FIR%20proceedures.pdf (τελευταία επίσκεψη την 12/1/2016). Επίσης βλ. κατωτέρω «FIR Λευκωσίας (Nicosia FIR). 45 Βλ. spx (τελευταία επίσκεψη την 19/1/2016). Το εγχειρίδιο αυτό αντικατέστησε τα δύο εγχειρίδια του ΙΜΟ για την Έρευνα και Διάσωση των Εμπορικών Πλοίων (IMOSAR Manual) του 1971 και για την Έρευνα και την Διάσωση (IMOSAR Manual) του Η συγκεκριμένη διάταξη έχει ως εξής: «Taking into account the views expressed by the Republic of Cyprus in the "Instrument of Accession" to the SAR Convention and in Valencia 1997 Conference Report, the maritime SRR of Cyprus coincides with the aeronautical one. The Maritime Search and Rescue Region (SRR) of Cyprus is identical to the Aeronautical SRR (Nicosia FIR), bounded by straight lines joining the following geographical positions: 1) 35º 55'.00 N 035º 40'.00 E 2) 35º 45'.64 N 035º 32'.91 E 3) 35º 35'.18 N 035º 28'.29 E 4) 35º 06'.25 N 035º 40'.00 E 5) 34º 33'.07 N 035º 37'.00 E (45 nm radius) 6) 33º 13'.51 N 034º 56'.00 E 7) 33º 04'.00 N 034º 52'.00 E 8) 33º 03'.00 N 034º 43'.50 E 9) 32º 51'.00 N 034º 38'.00 E 10) 32º 45'.00 N 034º 39'.50 E 10) 32º 45'.00 N 034º 39'.50 E (47 nm radius) 11) 31º 50'.00 N 033º 59'.00 E 12) 33º 30'.00 N 030º 00'.00 E 13) 36º 05'.00 N 030º 00'.00 E 214

215 Επίσης πρέπει να σημειωθεί ότι ο τομέας έρευνας και διάσωσης από το 1960, ήτοι την ίδρυση της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας είχε εκχωρηθεί στις Βρετανικές Βάσεις 47. Από την 1 η Μαρτίου 2002, τις υπηρεσίες έρευνας και διάσωσης με έδρα το αεροδρόμιο της Λάρνακας (JRCC Larnaca) 48 αντί της Επισκοπής, ενώ η εξυπηρέτηση του προγράμματος [COsmicheskaya Sistema Poiska Avariynyh Sudov - Search And Rescue Satellite - Aided Tracking (COSPAS-SARSAT)] για την Κύπρο επιτυγχάνεται μέσω του επίγειου σταθμού στην Ιταλία 49. Χάρτης 1: FIR Λευκωσίας (Nicosia FIR) Πηγή: C22578CD001B4CC6/%24file/FIR1.jpg%3Fopenelement&imgrefurl= C.nsf/cjrcc11_en/cjrcc11_en?OpenDocument&h=802&w=1128&sz=111&tbnid=8pGrESZVP8VBEM:&t bnh=90&tbnw=127&zoom=1&usg= 3saKHgQ6XIZJ7l- _6pdAJs1GLk=&docid=AbT1iAgN7XEQQM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xEpQUsP6JsyV0QXKpIDgDw&ved=0 CEkQ9QEwBA 14) 35º 55'.00 N 033º 33'.00 E 15) 35º 55'.00 N 035º 40'.00 E And then to geographical position A along the lines separating ICAO SRRs of Nicosia with Tel Aviv, Beirut and Damascus respectively». Βλ. SAR.8/Circ.1,ANNEX 2, p.p (τελευταία επίσκεψη την 12/1/2013). 47 Βλ. Συνθήκη Εγκαθιδρύσεως της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας σύμφωνα με την οποία «οι βρετανικές αρχές των βάσεων θα παρέχουν υπηρεσίες έρευνας και διάσωσης στα όρια του FIR Nicosia» (Annex B, Part V, Section 9). 48 Βλ. SAR.8/Circ.1,ANNEX 2,Page 14 (τελευταία επίσκεψη την 12/1/2016). 49 Βλ. (τελευταία επίσκεψη την 12/1/2016). 215

216 Χάρτης 2: Περιοχή Έρευνας και Διάσωσης σύμφωνα με τις Τουρκικές Αρχές Πηγή: Ετήσια Αναφορά Δραστηριοτήτων έτους 2009 τουρκικής Διοίκησης Ασφάλειας Ακτών 2. Διεθνές και εθνικό νομικό πλαίσιο Η οργάνωση και υποχρεώσεις της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας σε ότι αφορά στην αεροναυτική έρευνα και διάσωση καθορίζονται από τους νόμους της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας, τα θεσμικά κείμενα και τους κανονισμούς των διεθνών οργανισμών. Πιο συγκεκριμένα: 3.1. Τη σύμβαση του Σικάγου 1944 (Διεθνούς Οργανισμού Πολιτικής Αεροπορίας-ICAO Παράρτημα 12) και του Αμβούργου 1979 (Διεθνούς Ναυτιλιακού Οργανισμού - IMO), τις οποίες η Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία έχει υπογράψει και κυρώσει με τους Νόμους 213 του 1988 και 5 (ΙΙΙ) του 1994 αντίστοιχα. 3.2 Το Νόμο 5 (ΙΙΙ) /94, άρθρο 6 με βάση τον οποίο συνεστήθη το κέντρο Συντονισμού Έρευνας και Διάσωσης (Κ.Σ.Ε.Δ.). Στο ίδιο επίσης άρθρο καθορίζεται ότι το Κ.Σ.Ε.Δ. είναι ενιαίο και καλύπτει τόσο τα ναυτικά όσο και τα αεροπορικά ατυχήματα Την απόφαση του Υπουργικού Συμβουλίου της 1ης Μαρτίου 2002, με την οποία το Κ.Σ.Ε.Δ. Λάρνακας ανέλαβε επίσημα και αποκλειστικά την ευθύνη για την οργάνωση, συντονισμό και έλεγχο επιχειρήσεων των επιχειρήσεων έρευνας και διάσωσης, με σκοπό τον εντοπισμό και την διάσωση ατόμων των οποίων η ζωή βρίσκεται σε κίνδυνο συνεπεία αεροπορικών ή/και ναυτικών ατυχημάτων μέσα στην περιοχή ευθύνης του που ταυτίζεται με το FIR Λευκωσίας Το διάταγμα του Υπουργικού Συμβουλίου (ΚΔΠ 302/2011), στο οποίο καθορίζονται τα μέσα για κάλυψη των διεθνών υποχρεώσεων έρευνας διάσωσης στην περιοχή ευθύνης της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας. Το διάταγμα δύναται να αναθεωρηθεί όποτε και όταν απαιτηθεί Το Εθνικό Σχέδιο Έρευνας Διάσωσης που εκδίδεται από το Κ.Σ.Ε.Δ., και με το οποίο καθορίζονται όλα τα θέματα οργάνωσης του συστήματος έρευνας διάσωσης σε Εθνικό Επίπεδο Τις Διεθνείς Συμβάσεις του IMO, (Safety on Life at Sea)SOLAS-60 και SOLAS-74, τις οποίες η Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία έχει επικυρώσει Την εγκεκριμένη «Οργάνωση Λειτουργία» του Κ.Σ.Ε.Δ.. 216

217 3. Τομείς επιχειρήσεων Λόγω του μεγέθους της SRR και προκειμένου να υπάρχει πλήρης συντονισμός, εργονομική κατανομή των μέσων 50 και επίτευξη του βέλτιστου αποτελέσματος, η SRR Κύπρου χωρίζεται σε τομείς δράσης, όπως φαίνονται με λεπτομέρεια στο Παράρτημα «Α» του Εθνικού Σχεδίου Έρευνας και Διάσωσης ΝΕΑΡΧΟΣ. Σε κάθε τομέα καθορίζονται οι κύριες βάσεις των μέσων έρευνας και διάσωσης όπως παρακάτω: 4.1Ανατολικός Τομέας (Τομέας ALPHA) Καλύπτεται από τα πλωτά μέσα της Λιμενικής και Ναυτικής Αστυνομίας (Λ&ΝΑ) που εδρεύουν στα αλιευτικά καταφύγια στο Παραλίμνι, Αγ. Νάπα και στο λιμάνι της Λάρνακας, καθώς επίσης από τα πτητικά μέσα της Μονάδας Αεροπορικών Επιχειρήσεων (Μ.Α.Ε.Π.) στο Α/Δ της Λάρνακας. Σε περίπτωση σοβαρού περιστατικού είναι δυνατόν να συνδράμουν πλωτά και πτητικά μέσα από άλλους τομείς εφόσον κριθεί αναγκαίο από το Κ.Σ.Ε.Δ Νότιος Τομέας (Τομέας BRAVO) Καλύπτεται από τα πλωτά μέσα του Γενικού Επιτελείο Εθνικής Φρουράς/Διοίκηση Ναυτικού (ΓΕΕΦ)/ΔΝ και της Λ&ΝΑ Λεμεσού καθώς επίσης και από τα πτητικά μέσα της Μ.Α.Ε.Π. από το Α/Δ Λάρνακας. Σε περίπτωση σοβαρού περιστατικού είναι δυνατόν να συνδράμουν πλωτά και πτητικά μέσα από άλλους τομείς εφόσον κριθεί αναγκαίο από το Κ.Σ.Ε.Δ Δυτικός Τομέας (Τομέας CHARLIE ) Καλύπτεται κυρίως από τα μέσα της Λ&ΝΑ που εδρεύουν στο Σταθμό Πάφου και Λατσίου καθώς και τα πτητικά μέσα του Γ.Ε.Ε.Φ./ (Διοίκηση Αεροπορίας Δ.Α.) στην 55 ΣΜ (Σμηναρχία). Σε περίπτωση σοβαρού περιστατικού είναι δυνατόν να συνδράμουν πλωτά και πτητικά μέσα από άλλους τομείς εφόσον κριθεί αναγκαίο από το Κ.Σ.Ε.Δ Βόρειος τομέας (Τομέας DELTA ) Καλύπτεται κυρίως από τα μέσα της Λ&ΝΑ που εδρεύουν στο Σταθμό Λατσίου.και Παραλιμίου καθώς και από τα πτητικά μέσα τόσο της Μ.Α.Ε.Π. από το Α/Δ Λάρνακας και του Γ.Ε.Ε.Φ./Δ.Α. από το Α/Δ Πάφου. Σε περίπτωση σοβαρού περιστατικού είναι δυνατόν να συνδράμουν πλωτά και πτητικά μέσα από άλλους τομείς εφόσον κριθεί αναγκαίο από το Κ.Σ.Ε.Δ Το Κ.Σ.Ε.Δ., έχοντας τον επιχειρησιακό έλεγχο όλων των μέσων τω ελικοδρομίων (Ε-Δ) που βρίσκονται σε ετοιμότητα, δύναται ανά πάσα στιγμή να διατάξει τη δράση ενός αεροναυαγοσωστικού (Α/Ν) μέσου σε οποιοδήποτε τομέα κρίνει απαραίτητο, έχοντας εξασφαλίσει, εφόσον απαιτείται και τη σύμφωνη γνώμη της πολιτικής ηγεσίας. 4.6 Όταν απαιτείται η εκτέλεση επιχείρησης εκτός SRR της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας (Κ.Δ.), τότε για την εξυπηρέτηση των μέσων και των πληρωμάτων τους αναλαμβάνονται ενέργειες με τη βοήθεια του ΥΠ.ΕΞ. με βάση τις ισχύουσες διεθνείς συμφωνίες που έχουν συναφθεί 51. Σημειώνεται ότι σε περίπτωση όπου απαιτείται η διεξαγωγή επιχείρησης Ε-Δ με τη συμμετοχή Α/Ν Μέσων, υπό τον συντονισμό του ΚΣΕΔ, σε Θαλάσσιες ή Χερσαίες περιοχές της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας που τελούν υπό την παράνομη Τουρκική κατοχή ή/και στρατιωτική απειλή, τότε η Διαταγή Επιχειρήσεων 50 Για την συγκρότηση των μέσων που χρησιμοποιούνται στην έρευνα και διάσωση, ενέργειες, επικοινωνίες κ.λπ., βλ. Εθνικό Σχέδιο Έρευνας Διάσωσης ΝΕΑΡΧΟΣ, Λάρνακα, Ιούνιος 2012, διαθέσιμο στην ιστοσελίδα (τελευταία επίσκεψη την 12/1/2016). 51 Την 9/9/2013 ο Αρχηγός του Λ.Σ.-ΕΛ.ΑΚΤ. Αντιναύαρχος Λ.Σ. ΜΠΑΝΤΙΑΣ Δημήτριος δέχθηκε στο Αρχηγείο Λιμενικού Σώματος τον Διοικητή του Κ.Σ.Ε.Δ. Λάρνακας Πλοίαρχο ΦΥΤΙΡΗ Κωνσταντίνο. Η επίσκεψη πραγματοποιήθηκε στο πλαίσιο της 2 ης συνεδρίασης της Κοινής Επιτροπής Ε.Κ.Σ.Ε.Δ. Πειραιά Κ.Σ.Ε.Δ. Λάρνακας για το έτος 2013 επί θεμάτων έρευνας και διάσωσης. Μεταξύ των θεμάτων που συζητήθηκαν ήταν και η επικείμενη υπογραφή διακρατικής Συμφωνίας/Συνεργασίας μεταξύ των δύο χωρών σε θέματα έρευνας και διάσωσης, η οποία θα ενισχύσει την ήδη υπάρχουσα σε επιχειρησιακό επίπεδο συνεργασία των δύο Κέντρων. Συζητήθηκαν προγράμματα που βρίσκονται σε λειτουργία εξέλιξη σχετικά με την έρευνα και διάσωση. Από Κυπριακής πλευράς παρουσιάστηκε το στάδιο υλοποίησης του προγράμματος MEOLUT-MCC στο πλαίσιο του Ευρωπαϊκού Προγράμματος SAR/GALLEO. Βλ. (τελευταία επίσκεψη την 12/1/2016). Η εν λόγω συμφωνία υπεγράφη στην Αθήνα στις 13/10/2014, αλλά το συγκεκριμένο κείμενο δεν έχει ενσωματωθεί στην εθνική νομοθεσία, δεδομένου ότι δεν έχει ολοκληρωθεί η σχετική κυρωτική διαδικασία και ως εκ τούτου δεν έχει τεθεί σε ισχύ (Α.Π. Φ. 0544/Μ.6739/ΑΣ 251 από 22/09/2015 έγγραφο ΥΠ.ΕΞ./Ε.Ν.Υ./Γραφείο Διεθνών Συμβάσεων). 217

218 θα υποβάλλεται για έγκριση στο Υπουργικό Συμβούλιο (βλ. Σχέδιο «ΝΕΑΡΧΟΣ» 12. ΤΕΛΙΚΕΣ ΔΙΑΤΑΞΕΙΣ, παρ. 12.2, σ.5). 4.Τουρκικές αμφισβητήσεις στο FIR Λευκωσίας Η Τουρκία μετά την εισβολή στην Κύπρο τον Ιούλιο του 1974, άρχισε αυθαίρετα και παράνομα να παρεμβαίνει στην περιοχή ευθύνης της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας 52. Συγκεκριμένα με τη ΝΟΤΑΜ 714/1974, η Τουρκία απαίτησε τα αεροσκάφη τα οποία διέρχονταν από το βόρειο τμήμα του FIR Nicosia να επικοινωνούν με το Κέντρο Ελέγχου της Τουρκίας, σε σημεία αναφοράς που η ίδια είχε δημιουργήσει για το σκοπό αυτό. Επίσης με τη ΝΟΤΑΜ 01/1977 ίδρυσε το FIR Ercan, ενώ με τη NOTAM 13/1980, οι παράνομες Τουρκοκυπριακές Αρχές καλούσαν τα αεροσκάφη τα οποία πετούσαν πάνω από το βόρειο τμήμα του FIR Nicosia, να επικοινωνούν με τον παράνομο σταθμό Ercan. Σε αυτές τις παράνομες ενέργειες η Κύπρος αντέδρασε με τις NOTAMs 038/1974 και 014/1977, με τις οποίες ενημέρωσε όλους τους ενδιαφερομένους ότι τα όρια και τα σημεία αναφοράς στο FIR Nicosia παρέμεναν αυτά που είχαν οριστεί στο Περιφερειακό Σχέδιο του ICAO (αρ. 7754), και ότι η παροχή υπηρεσιών ελέγχου μέσα στην περιοχή του FIR Nicosia εξακολουθούσε να αποτελεί ευθύνη της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας και του Κέντρου Ελέγχου Περιοχής Λευκωσίας. Ο Πρόεδρος του Συμβουλίου του ICAO Assad Kotaite δήλωσε ότι «ICAO has been aware of the intended unilateral take over on the 21 March 1977 from Nicosia ACC of the provision of Air traffic Services in the Northern part of the Nicosia FIR through the creation of what is described as ercan Advisory Airspace. ICAO has urged the withdrawal of such intended measures and continues to work for this purpose.» 53. Η Τουρκία ακολούθως με τη ΝΟΤΑΜ 211 απέσυρε τη ΝΟΤΑΜ 714/1974, ενώ η Κύπρος εξέδωσε τις ΝΟΤΑΜs Α026/1980 και Α028/1980, με τις οποίες επαναλειτούργησε κανονικά όλους τους αεροδιαδρόμους της περιοχής του FIR Λευκωσίας και τροποποίησε ελαφρώς τους αεροδιαδρόμους R-19 και Α-28 ώστε να περνούν πάνω από την Λάρνακα, η οποία και εξοπλίστηκε με τα αναγκαία ραδιοβοηθήματα. Σημειώνεται ότι στις 21/3/1977 η Τουρκία εξήγγειλε τη δημιουργία FIR «Βόρειας Kύπρου», γνωστό και ως «FIR Ercan (Ercan Advisory Airspace)» στην κατεχόμενη περιοχή της Τύμπου 54, υπαγόμενο στην ευθύνη της «Τουρκικής Δημοκρατίας της Βόρειας Κύπρου» το οποίο οποίο επρόκειτο να καλύπτει το βόρειο τμήμα του FIR Λευκωσίας, με Κέντρο ελέγχου το «Ercan Control». Ταυτόχρονα προχώρησε και στη δημιουργία δύο αεροδρομίων στα κατεχόμενα, το αεροδρόμιο στο Λευκόνοικο (με την ονομασία Gesitkale) το οποίο χρησιμοποιείται για στρατιωτικούς σκοπούς, και το αεροδρόμιο στην Τύμπο (με την ονομασία Εrcan) το οποίο χρησιμοποιείται για την πολιτική αεροπορία 55. Τα εν λόγω αεροδρόμια χρησιμοποιούνται μόνο από τις Τουρκικές και Τουρκοκυπριακές αερογραμμές που είναι νηολογημένες στην Τουρκία 56. Τόσο ο ICAO όσο και η IATA 57 δεν αναγνωρίζουν το «FIR Ercan» και το «Ercan Control» και καλούν τους πιλότους να συμμορφώνονται με τις οδηγίες του πύργου ελέγχου της Λευκωσίας. 52 Η Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία σύμφωνα με τη Απόφαση Γ.Σ. Η.Ε. 37/253 της 13/5/1983, δεν έχει απολέσει την κυριαρχία επί του κατεχόμενου στρατιωτικά βορείου τμήματος. Αυτό τεκμηριώνεται και από τη Συνθήκη των Αθηνών περί προσχωρήσεως των 10 νέων Κ-Μ και της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας στην Ε.Ε..Η Κύπρος σύμφωνα με τη Συνθήκη Προσχωρήσεως έγινε μέλος της Ε.Ε. με το σύνολο του εδαφικού της καθεστώτος και με την πρόνοια, βάσει του Πρωτοκόλλου Νο 10, αναστολής του Κοινοτικού κεκτημένου για το τμήμα της επικράτειας επί του οποίου προσωρινά οι Αρχές της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας δεν ασκούν πραγματικό έλεγχο. Βλ. Γιόκαρης Α., Κυριακόπουλος Γ., Διεθνές Δίκαιο Εναερίου Χώρου, Νομική Βιβλιοθήκη, Αθήνα, 2013, σ CTR 146, AOH 163, Βλ. Γιόκαρης Α., Κυριακόπουλος Γ., ό.π., σ Για τον έλεγχο της αεροπορικής διακίνησης από τις Αρχές της Δημοκρατίας της Κύπρου, βλ. Γιόκαρης Α., Κυριακόπουλος Γ., ό.π., σ και σ.σ Βλ. Συρίγος Α., Σχέδιο Ανάν. Οι κληρονομιές του παρελθόντος και οι προοπτικές του μέλλοντος, Πατάκης, Αθήνα, 2005, σ Βλ. NICOSIA FIR/UIR, IATA Communications/Control Procedures, IATA Information Bulletin, , JEP 06-01, Jeppesen Sanderson, Inc

219 Στις 7/1/1988 όπως έχει αναφερθεί και προγενέστερα δημοσιεύτηκε ο «Τουρκικός Κανονισμός Έρευνας και Διάσωσης», 88/13559/ όπως τροποποιήθηκε το 2001, με τον οποίο οριοθετήθηκε αυθαίρετα ως ζώνη ευθύνης για παροχή υπηρεσιών έρευνας και διάσωσης σε αεροπορικά και ναυτικά ατυχήματα, μέρος της Μαύρης Θάλασσας, το μισό Αιγαίο (ανατολικά του 25 ου Μεσημβρινού) που περιλαμβάνει μέρος του FIR Αθηνών, καθώς και μέρος της Ανατολικής Μεσογείου με το κατεχόμενο τμήμα της Βόρειας Κύπρου και τμήμα του FIR Nicosia 59. Ο ICAO διαβεβαίωσε Ελλάδα και Κύπρο, στις ανησυχίες που εξέφρασαν στον διεθνή οργανισμό για την απόπειρα εκ μέρους της Τουρκίας για επέκταση των αρμοδιοτήτων της σε θέματα έρευνας και διάσωσης σε περιοχές ευθύνης τους, που συμπίπτουν με τα όρια των FIRs τους, ότι είναι οι μόνες αρμόδιες για παροχή υπηρεσιών έρευνας και διάσωσης 60. Η επιβεβαίωση των διεθνών δικαιοδοσιών στο FIR Nicosia δίνεται από την αναθεωρημένη Σύμβαση EUROCONTROL της 27/6/1997, η οποία στο Παράρτημα ΙΙ περιλαμβάνει τα FIRs των Κ-Μ όπως αυτά έχουν οριοθετηθεί με τις Περιοχικές Συμφωνίες Αεροναυτιλίας του 1952 και Σε ότι αφορά τους Κανονισμούς της Ε.Ε. για τον Ενιαίο Ευρωπαϊκό Ουρανό που είναι σε ισχύ από την , ο Κανονισμός για την Οργάνωση και τη Χρήση του Εναέριου Χώρου (Airspace Regulation), προβλέπει στο άρθρο 3 παράγραφος 4 ότι τα Κ-Μ θα διατηρήσουν τις ευθύνες τους έναντι του ICAO εντός των υπό την δικαιοδοσία των FIRs 61. Η αποχή από την άσκηση νομίμων δικαιωμάτων στερεί από την Τουρκία τη δυνατότητα να προβάλει μέσω της προσφυγής στη θεωρητική κατασκευή του estoppel, ισχυρισμούς από την Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία de facto καταστάσεων 62. ΒΙΒΛΙΟΓΡΑΦΙΑ-ΑΡΘΡΟΓΡΑΦΙΑ Η αναφερόμενη στις παραπομπές 58 Βλ. Γιόκαρης Α., Διεθνές Δίκαιο Εναέριου Χώρου Διαστήματος, Αντ. Σάκκουλας, Αθήνα, 1996, σ.σ , Σπηλιωτόπουλος Σ., Γιόκαρης Α., Ο Τουρκικός Κανονισμός για έρευνα και διάσωση και η αμφισβήτηση των ελληνικών αρμοδιοτήτων εντός του FIR Αθηνών, ΙΠΟΜΕ, Αθήνα, Βλ. χάρτη Βλ. Γιόκαρης Α., Διεθνές Δίκαιο...ό.π., σ. 72, Κλάδη Ευσταθοπούλου Μ., Θέματα Δικαίου του Εναέριου Χώρου, Ι. Σίδερης, Αθήνα, 2007, σ.σ , σ.σ και σ.σ Βλ. Γιόκαρης Α., Κυριακόπουλος Γ., ό.π., σ Βλ. Γιόκαρης Α., Κυριακόπουλος Γ., ό.π., σ.σ

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221 LITERATURE REVIEW ON SELF-GOVERNANCE OF VILLAGERS IN CHINA JIHUA WU, Hebei University of Economics and Business SHIJING JIA, Hebei University of Economics and Business ABSTRACT:Villagers ' autonomy is an important system that is the special form of Socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics. It can improve the villagers ' participation in rural management and promote the village democracy. There are many different academic views on villager's autonomy in the past literature. However, we can still find a lot of problems in the practice of villagers ' autonomy. This paper reviews the research at home and abroad and focus on the meaning and difficulties of self-governance of villagers in the process of villagers ' autonomy. We can find that the election is one of the important problems in villagers ' autonomy. Though the methods of the villager interview and literature review, This paper summarized and analyzed the current problems of villagers ' autonomy and provided suggestions for further development of villager's autonomy. Keywords:Villagers ' Autonomy; Election; Legal system; Meaning; Review; Limitation 当代中国村民自治问题研究述评 摘 要 村民自治是富有中国特色的社会主义民主形式 是提高村民参与村庄管理 发扬村民的 民主积极性与自身的内部能动性的一项重要制度 学术界对于村民自治的也存在着许多不同的观 点 在村民自治的实践中也产生了许多的问题与治理困境 本文从国内外研究动态入手 着重分 析与研究了村民自治的意义和村民自治过程中的困境 从中可以发现选举问题是村民自治中的重 要问题之一 本文采用了文献研究与实地访谈的方法 总结和分析了当前的村民自治问题 为村 民自治的进一步发展提供参考建议 关键词 村民自治 选举 法律制度 意义 述评 局限性 1.当前研究现状 1.1 国内研究 村民自治意义研究 我国是人民民主专政的社会主义国家 民主是我国一直关注的问题 我国是农业大国 农民 的数量在我国占据了相当大的比重 村民自治也就成为了许多学者关注和研究的对象 并且在理 论实践中产生了许多的成就 但是关于村民自治这个问题学术界仍然有不同的声音 争论也一直 没有停止过 学术界村民自治的意义和作用有着不同的观点与评价 形成了推动作用 否定作用 质疑两者关系三种不同观点 1 推动作用 徐勇 1997 教授是该观点的主要代表 他最早的代表性成果是 中国农村村民自治 一书 在他的这部著作中 徐勇教授指出 村民自治是一种基层民主制度 是农民根据我国的法律法 规来自行管理农村公共事务 有利于调动和激发广大农民自身的积极性 激发他们自身的政治主 动性和自身能动性 能够让村民在长期的实践中不断地提高自身的民主素质 让村民自治观念深 入人心 将自身的民主成为一种生活习惯与生活方式 变成村民自觉的行为 为民主制度打下了 牢固的基础 2 否定作用 该观点主要以沈延生 1998 为代表 他在 村政的兴衰和重建 一文中指出 在现行村政 运行机制下 村民自治的效率低下 村民的自治能力差 村民自治没有解决 政社合一 带来的许多 问题 而且经济发展方面受到国家经济模式的制约 阻碍了我国的现代化进程 3 质疑作用 221

222 持这一观点的学者以党国印 (1999) 为代表 他在 村民自治是民主政治的起点吗? 一文中指出, 村民自治并不必然会引导乡村社会走上民主的道路, 认为 在传统的乡村社会可以有 自治, 但不会有 民主自治, 自治与民主并不必然相联系, 在传统的村民社会不存在民主政治的需求, 乡土民主政治应该是全社会民主政治的有机组成部分但并不是独立于全社会的 自治民主 关于村民自治中的困境研究 (1) 选举问题于建嵘 (2010) 在 村民自治 : 价值和困境 - 兼论 < 中华人民共和国村民委员会组织法 > 的修改 一文中提出自从民主自治制度运行以来, 该民主多数体现在选举中, 但是在实践中我们发现各个地区都会存在各种各样的问题, 尤其是存在贿赂 暴力选举的 乱象 使得民主在一定形式上失去了本身的意义与内涵, 严重影响了民主自治, 形成了一股不良的社会选举风气, 不利于村民自治的实现, 阻碍了村民自治的进一步发展与完善 (2) 自治权问题马万青 (2010) 在 论村民自治权 中指出, 在村民自治权实现过程中存在着多方面的问题, 主要体现在以下几个方面 : (1) 立法的缺失和矛盾 ; (2) 村民自治组织法律地位不明确 ; (3) 基层政府对村民自治权的干预 ; (4) 村民自治权与基层党组织领导权的冲突 ; (5) 村民自治权与集体经组织之间的关系不明确等 马万青提出的主要问题中都涉及到了法律相关内容, 所以应该在实践中不断的完善村民自治相关方面的立法与法律法规的内容, 对村民自治的各个方面有一个明确具体的规定才是解决村民自治权的关键所在 关于村民自治的未来走向研究徐勇 (1997) 在 论中国农村 乡政村治 治理格局的稳定与完善 文章中指出, 实现和完善村民自治的关键任务就是要实现乡镇政府与村民自治之间的衔接, 在乡镇政府的行政管理与村民自治之间建构起一个桥梁, 另外处理好村党支部与村民自治组织之间的关系, 对其双方的权利与职责进行明确的划分 罗大蒙和周建军 (2010) 在 构建精英主导下的 三位一体 村治模式 一文中提出, 用精英来治理乡村社会, 提倡建立村干部 草根志愿性组织以及村民 三位一体 的村治模式, 实现农村经济的发展与稳定, 保障村民自治与农民的自身利益 1.2 国外研究 村民自治法律制度问题德国学者阿魄曼研究了我国村民自治法律制度 重点关注了村民委员会与乡镇政府之间的关系以及与基层党组织的关系 在研究中他发现在我国的村民自治法律制度中镇政府与村委会之间是指导与被指导的关系, 这就对政策的贯彻执行带来了许多的困难与问题 另外村委会和党组织的关系中, 基层党组织是核心, 村民委员会又是村民自治权的行为主体, 在现实的实践中会产生许多问题, 所以想要改善这种关系应当改进与完善法律制度中的不合理的规定 村委会选举问题史天健 (Shi Tianjian)(2000) 在 中国农村经济发展与村民选举 一文中, 重点对村委会选举推行过程进行了研究, 将其分成了六个维度, 即民政部官员 国家领导人 地方官员 村干部 农民以及包括外国研究者 政治家和记者在内的外国行动者, 他认为中国改革成功的关键是采取了渐进式的策略 村庄政治改革问题美国俄亥俄州立大学政治学系的欧博文 (Kevin J.O'Brien) 教授在 正在进行中的中国村庄政治改革 一文中认为, 只有在拥有集体企业并且能够对其进行有效的管理获得良好效益的前提下的村落村民自治比较容易 1.3 现有国内外研究的特点 222

223 1.3.1 研究领域广泛 涉及多个学科 关于村民自治问题的研究已经涉及到涉及到管理学 历史学 政治学等等多个领域 并且从 社会学和政治学学科角度的研究最为突出 在研究方法上 采用理论研究和实证分析相结合的方法 学者们通过对实地的调研与访谈 深入分析了影响村民自治的因素 并且运用了多种相关理 论 探究分析了村民自治中的问题与障碍 并且探究了如何实现村民自治的方法与对策 在研究内容上 从宏观和微观两个层面展开 在研究内容上 学术界主要从宏观与微观两个层面进行了研究 宏观方面主要对法制建设 民主方面进行研究 微观层面上 主要关注村民自治的运行机制上 表现为浓厚的 民主色彩 2.对已有研究的评论 2.1 优点 实践可操作性比较强 村民民主本身就是一个必须从实践中才能发现问题的主体 在众多的研究中也都把侧重点放 到了实践性上 提出问题 分析问题提出了相应的合理化建议 研究角度多元化 在村民自治问题上 学者们从村民自治的意义 选举 两委 自治困境等角度进行了深入的 分析与探讨 研究角度比较全面 2.2 局限性 主要侧重国家建构角度研究 对于如何发挥村民能动性较少 学术界对村民自治问题的研究 多是从国家政权建设的角度来进行 侧重在如何更好的对村 委会以及村党支部进行改革 对于村民自治的内部能动性研究较少 理论研究不足 学术界研究村民自治的重点是对实践中存在的问题方面 而理论性不强 系统性不够 学术界对村民自治问题的研究 基本上都是侧重在某一个方面 各个部分之间缺乏必要的系 统性联系 3.本文拟研究的问题及创新 3.1 拟解决的问题 通过对村民自治问题的了解 我想解决的问题有村民自治中出现的问题与困境 如何发挥村 委会的协调作用 真正的实现村民自治 自己当家做主 如何调动村民自治的积极性 村民治理 的过程中采取什么样的方式保护自己的合法权益等 3.2 创新 在掌握现有研究现状的基础上 运用文献研究 问卷调查与访谈法等多种研究方法综合使用 来研究我国如何走出我国目前村民自治困境 真正实现基层民主 实现村民自治 4.参考文献 [1]徐勇. (1997)中国农村村民自治[M].华中师范大学出版社. [2]徐勇. (1997)论中国农村 乡政村治 治理格局的稳定与完善[J].社会科学研究,05: [3]徐勇.(1998)论村民自治背景下党组织与自治组织的协调[J].学习与探索,01: [4]沈延生. (1998)村政的兴衰与重建[J].战略与管理,06:1-34. [5]党国印. (1999) 村民自治 是民主政治的起点吗?[J].战略与管理,01: [6][美]史天健.(2000)中国农村经济发展与村民选举[J].Journal of Contemporary China,2000:2 [7]阿魄曼. (2001) 中国村民自治的几点法律思考以及后果[M].法律出版社. [8]陈翔. (2005)当代中国村民自治研究[D].武汉大学. [9]郑人豪. (2007)新农村建设与村民自治法律问题研究[D].中国政法大学. [10]刘祥龙. (2007) 新农村建设背景下的村民自治问题研究[D].曲阜师范大学. 223

224 [11] 马万青. (2010) 论村民自治权 [D]. 中央民族大学. [12] 罗大蒙, 任中平.(2010) 村庄次组织的培育与村民自治的成长 [J]. 阅江学刊,04: [13] 罗大蒙, 周建军. (2010) 构建精英主导下的 三位一体 村治模式 [J]. 阅江学刊,02: [14] 于建嵘.(2010) 村民自治 : 价值和困境 - 兼论 中华人民共和国村民委员会组织法 的修改 [J]. 学习与探索,04:74-74 [15] 王海胜. (2011) 当代中国村民自治问题研究 [D]. 吉林大学,2011. [16] 董红. (2012) 当代中国村民自治问题研究 [D]. 西北农林科技大学. [17] 同春芬, 高力. (2013) 中国村民自治问题研究综述 [J]. 商丘师范学院学报,11: [18] 高岩.(2015) 新形势下我国村民自治存在的问题及对策分析 [J]. 佳木斯职业学院学报,11:

225 LITERATURE REVIEW ON URBAN INTEGRATION OF THE RURAL WORKERS IN CHINA YAWEI SONG, Hebei University of Economics and Business LEI LIU, Hebei University of Economics and Business ABSTRACT: Social integration refers to the individual integrated into a social group, and comply with the social groups and social rules and eventually reduced the possibility of alienation. The new generation of rural migrant workers in China are generally born after 1980s, their age above of 16, the young labour force whose household register belongs to rural areas while working in the urban districts. Compared with the traditional ruaral migrant workers, the new generation has both subjective and objective adavantages and are more easier to integrate into the city, With the continuous progress of urbanization in China, the problems of ruaral migrant workers has become the focus of attention. summaries and comments are given toward the past research,and some creative ideas are also discussed. Keywords: urbanization, migrant, rural-worker, labour, integrate, city 关于农民工城市融入问题的述评 摘要 社会融入指个体融入某一社会群体 遵从群体和社会规则 最终减小被该群体疏离的可能性的过 程 新生代农民工一般指出生于 20 世纪 80 年代以后 年龄在 16 周岁以上 户籍属农村 在城市以非 农就业为主的农村青年劳动力 相对于传统农民工 新生代农民工更具备融入城市的主 客观 条件 农民工城市问题已经成为了社会各界关注的焦点 本文是关于农民城市融入问题的现有文献 的评论和总结 并在此基础上提出自己的看法和创新 关键词 城市化 移民 农民工 劳动力 融入 城市 1.当前研究现状 农民工这个群体在 50多年的发展和壮大过程中 无论是国家政策层面还是农民工个体心理层面 都发生了很大的变化 特别是 1958年户口政策的出台 基本限制了城乡之间的人口流动 农民工 即使从事产业工人的工作也无法进人城市 更无法获得身份的认同 改革开放以后 由于经济发 展对于劳动力的需求 才逐步放开农民外出务工的限制 实现农民向城市的自由流动 而随着我 国经济发展水平的提升和城乡发展差距 从农民工个体来看 单一 孔雀东南飞 时代外出的农民工 只是将城市作为增加收人水平的一个暂居地 而现在农民工随着对于城市生活观念 方式的认同 他们的 过客 心理在逐步淡化 更愿意融人城市并成为城市的主人 1.1国内研究现状 学术界普遍认为农民工在融入城市社会的过程中受经济水平 制度 社会排斥 农民工自身因素 的影响 认为通过破除制度性障碍 加强对农民工人力资本和社会资本的培养 改善其融入城市的大 环境 优化社区管理等措施可以促进其融入 1.11 对融入城市障碍的分析 由于农民工的城市融入过程避免不了需要与城市居民有所交往 在这个过程中由于双方的生活方 式 价值理念 成长背景等一系列的不同 在互相磨合的过程中 也会导致双方发生冲突 朱力 在 群体性偏见与歧视 农民工与市民的磨擦性互动 一文得出的结论是由于城乡二元经济体 制的定位使得农村和城市的差距拉大 农民工与城市居民的差异也逐渐扩大 应该通过户籍制度 改革 社会保障制度等的建设逐渐改变农民工遭受歧视的境况 另外有些学者如袁亚愚分析了歧视农民 工的具体原因在于农民工的农民身份 这也是一种新的社会歧视形势 即身份歧视 在周春霞的 农民工与市民冲突的经济社会分析 中着重分析了农民工与城市居民之间发生冲突的具体形式 不仅包括个人的语言争吵 行为抵触以及心理反抗 而且包含群体的聚众闹事 罢工 违法犯 罪等冲突发生在日常生活的方方面面 政治 经济 文化均有涉及 最终导致他们选择自己的同 背景人群进行社会交往 形成一定的社会网络 1.12 对融入城市层面划分的分析 225

226 华中理工大学田凯在他的文章 关于农民工的城市适应性的调查与思考 中首次提出了从经济 社会 文化和心理等三个层面分析农民工的城市适应问题 他通过三个层面的分析 最后得出农 民工在城市的适应过程是一个社会化的过程 在田凯的研究基础上 南京大学的朱力教授进行了 细化研究 在他的文章 论农民工阶层的城市适应 中 他着重分析了农民工在各个层面的具体 特征 包括在经济层面的节俭性 社会层面的主动性和模仿性 而文化和心理适应则是农民工适 应城市的最高层次,是农民工内化城市生活方式 制度规范的体现 也是他们真正融入这个城市的 标志 最终得出农民工融入城市的过程是他们一个继续社会化的过程 并且在这个过程中的最主要 障碍是户籍制度的结论 1.2国外的研究 国外虽然没有出现农民工这个群体 但是也曾经历过认农民到市民的过程 比如早年英国 圈地运动 中失地农民向城市的流动和融入 社会变迁的角度来看 早在 1890年 以美国社会学家帕克为代表的芝加哥学派就开始对从欧洲来到 美国的新移民的工作和生活状况进行研究 整体上看 西方的移民主要针对主流社会和外来社会 的关系问题展开 按照其基本的倾向可以归纳为 同化论 和 多元论 两大流派 主张 同化论 的学者倾向 于强调外来移民对当地主流社会的适应性 抛弃既有的文化传统和观念 以适应现有环境 比如帕克 就将融合与同化认为是个体从其他群体获得记忆 情感 态度 并且共享他们的经历和历史 逐 步融汇成共同的文化生活 与此观点不同的是社会融合的 多元论 有的学者强调 不同种族或社会 集团享有保持 差别 的权力 霍斯则通过对美国韩裔族群的研究提出了 非零和型同化 指出对于一些社 会职业地位较高的群体而言 其较高的社会经济地位不一定能与社会性同化一致 也就是说 虽 然这些韩裔族群在文化上适应了美国社会 但他们不可能在社会方面同化于美国社会结构的所有 重要方面 他们同时还保存着白己的文化内核 2. 对现有研究的评论 目前学术界对新生代农民工问题的考量 文献初具数量 已经取得令人称赞的成绩 学者们大多 认为新生代农民工与第一代农民工相比 对于融入城市有更大的愿望 实现目的的可能性也更大 通过对国内外学者关于社会融人以及农民工城市社会融人问题的研究 我们发现:他们有的侧重于 制度和客观环境 强调外在因素对人的城市融人的制约;有的单纯侧重于个体心理层面的分析 强调 个体对城市的认同 有很强的针对性 但也存在一定的片面性 作为一个系统工程的农民工城市 社会融人问题研究 其研究和发展将呈现以下趋势 心理学视角的 微观 因果层面的实证分析相 当缺乏; 并且 从主观心理倾向角度考察农民工城市融入意愿的几乎没有 3. 本文拟研究的问题及创新 本文从农民工融入城市的障碍以及影响方面 拟研究 合理的引导农民工融入 以更好促进经济发展 新生代农民工融入城市问题的解决 需要以政府为主导 协调整合社会组织和企业的力量 根据 新生代农民工融入过程中的问题 进行社会政策的总体设计 国外的移民探究和城乡剩余劳动力 转移的考察对于我国新生代农民工的城市融入研究大有禅益 但 中国问题 须用 中国的方式 解决 任何外来理论必须经过改造修正以适应中国的乡土实情 4.参考文献 [1]毛哲山.(2011) 我国农民工城市社会融入问题研究述评[J]. 宁夏社会科学, [2]蒋立挺. (2013)农民工城市融入的理论述评[J]. 科技信息, [3]田凯.(1995) 关于农民工的城市适应性的调查分析与思考[J]. 社会科学研究, [4]郑倩,(2013)农民工融入城市社会问题的述评[J]. 中国集体经济, [5]赵萌萌. (2012)新生代农民工城市社会融入问题研究[D].福建农林大学, [6]朱力. (2001)群体性偏见与歧视 农民工与市民的磨擦性互动[J]. 江海学刊, [7]周春霞.(2004) 农民工与市民冲突的经济社会分析[J]. 南京社会科学, [8]朱力. (2002)论农民工阶层的城市适应[J]. 江海学刊,

227 STUDY ON THE MOTIVATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF HELPING BEHAVIOR MORAL MODELS YIN XINGHAN, Hebei University of Economics and Business LI WANXIAN, Hebei University of Economics and Business Abstract A Survey of 1093 helping behavior moral models on China Civilization Network ( ) shows that helping behavior positively related to the motivation of the five types, namely responsibility, belief, reciprocation, compensation, empathy. Demographic analysis indicate that age and profession are significantly related to helping behavior: the older, the stronger helping behavior; Three of professions such as social workers, retired people and private entrepreneurs rank the front of helping behavior; Positions of the top, middle and bottom at the work place showed a U feature toward helping behavior. Besides, the motives of helping behavior positively related to the job post, political status, sex and native place. These conclusions not only disclosed the source power and demographic characteristics of the Current moral model helping behavior, but also provide the useful revelation to the behavior Inheritance and promotion Key Words: helping behavior; motivation; demographic features 1 前言助人为乐即乐善好施之意, 指主动给他人以无私的帮助, 并从中感到幸福愉快的一种道德行为和道德情感 助人为乐作为中华民族的传统美德, 深深扎根于中华民族悠久灿烂的历史长河中 两千年前墨子倡导 : 摩顶放踵, 利天下为之 其意思是说, 对别人有利的事, 即使从头顶到脚跟都受到损伤, 也要干 这种精神发扬到现在, 就是我们所提倡的 毫不利已 专门利人 精神 改革开放以来, 我国社会各项事业迅速发展, 包括助人为乐在内的我国精神文明建设也不断发展 助人为乐的社会公德正越来越多的被人们关注与感知, 善人善事天天都有, 但像 小悦悦事件 送爱心遭遇拒绝 老人摔倒不敢扶 的社会悲剧也时有发生 这些悲剧表明, 当今社会像助人为乐这种社会公德的受重视程度依然不够, 人与人之间仍缺乏足够的信任与关爱 正是基于上述背景, 本文试图通过对当代助人为乐道德模范的研究, 探讨助人行为的动机, 揭示助人行为的动力源泉及其在人口学特征上的表现, 进而结合我国的实际情况提出解决助人为乐困境的建议, 为该行为的传承与弘扬提供可资借鉴的依据 1.1 助人行为研究回顾 助人行为概念助人为乐, 乐善好施的人在国外称为 好撒玛利亚人 (good samaritan) 助人行为是亲社会行为的一种, 和利他行为有密切的关系 通过对亲社会行为和利他行为的研究可以更好的理解助人行为 亲社会行为 : 美国心理学家韦斯伯 1972 年首先使用此概念 俞国良教授 (1991) 详细讨论了亲社会行为中的动机因素, 认为亲社会行为是直接引发行为的动机, 如果是偶然或出于自身利益实施的行为, 称不上是亲社会行为 寇彧教授 (2004) 认为亲社会行为具有高社会称许性 利他性和高代价性的特征, 也具有社交性和低代价性 互惠性 自利性等特征 利他行为 : 利他行为是亲社会行为的一种, 有学者认为利他行为是 : 提供时间 资源 能量以帮助他人的行为 (Franker,1988) 一些心理学家认为当事者应考虑他人从自己行为中得到的积极结果 ; 如果当事者想从其行为中有所收获, 或者其行为是一种回报, 这种行为就不是利他行为 因此, 本文认为, 助人行为是一种亲社会行为, 是一种对他人有利的, 帮助他人的行为, 同时有一定的行为动机, 可能是出于同情而帮助他人, 可能是为了实现人生价值而帮助他人 ; 也可能是出于本能帮助他人 并且助人行为在因个体变量的不同而存在差异 尽管助人者的助人动机和个体变量存在差异, 但其助人行为的结果是有利的 助人行为影响因素研究 (1) 年龄因素 年龄是一个综合因素,Tiedemann 和 Hay 等人发现不同年龄婴儿出现不同的亲社会行为, 儿童一般在二到三岁时表现出利他行为, 且利他行为随着年龄增长而增长 Staub 发现一个年龄曲线 : 幼 227

228 儿园至一年级, 助人行为发生率上升, 二年级至六年级儿童助人为乐行为呈下降趋势, 这是因为儿童在社会化过程中学习了许多规则 (2) 个性特征 Eisenberg 研究表明确实存在利他个性, 这使个体有意识去帮助困境中的他人 另外性格开朗外向的人有较高的助人行为, 而焦虑 神经过敏性格的人助人行为较弱有关 女孩移情助人行为优于男孩 ( 李丹,2001) (3) 心境因素 寇彧和唐玲玲 (2004) 研究表明, 积极心境促进助人行为, 消极心境有时促进助人行为而有时减少助人行为 心境对助人行为的影响是通过激发动机和个体的认知判断来完成, 两种影响既可以独立起作用也可以共同作用 ( 李秀丽,2006) 上述研究为探讨当代社会助人行为提供了思路和方法, 但是学者们主要从定义和影响因素方面对助人行为进行分析, 而对助人行为的动因及其人口学特征的实证研究尚显不足, 故而难以建构助人行为理论, 也难以有效的弘扬和传承助人行为 2 研究方法本研究包括两个方面 : 一是探讨助人行为动因, 即根据助人行为相关理论及我国助人行为相关资料, 列出助人行为可能的动因类型, 进而与模范事迹进行回归分析, 找出助人行为的内在动因 ; 二是通过对助人行为人口学特征的分析, 了解我国助人为乐道德模范在相关人口学特征上的差异情况, 为该行为的发扬与普及提供借鉴 2.1 助人为乐事迹分类为了便于进行统计分析, 我们首先对中国文明网公布的 2010 至 2014 年 1093 名助人为乐 中国好人 事迹进行了分类与赋值, 并进行了描述性统计, 统计结果见表 1: 表 1 助人为乐好人事迹描述性统计序号类型特征人数 1 助老幼残 2 热心公益 3 职业助人 4 慈善捐助 包括助老 扶幼助弱和助残 帮助孤寡老人, 为老年人排忧解难 ; 照顾幼小儿童和生活困难的人, 给他们的生活带来欢乐 帮助和照顾残疾人, 为残疾人寻找二次创业的机会 包括热心于救济贫困 救助灾害, 也包括热心于教育 科学 文化 卫生 体育事业, 社会公共基础设施建设等社会群体和个人的活动 在所从事的工作中就帮助他人, 乐善好施 包括 : 民警给人们排忧解难, 医生救死扶伤, 老师教书育人, 志愿者热心助人等 包括社会团体 企业或个人捐赠现款与实物等帮助有困难的人, 还包括借助传播媒介如广播 电视 报刊等宣传慈善事业, 引起社会公众对慈善事业的关心与支持 5 捐资助学包括个人或社会团体给在学习上有困难的学生学习用品, 捐献财物等帮助他们完成学业 献血器官 7 拾金不昧 包括献血者自愿捐献全血 血浆或血液成分, 捐献器官者自愿捐献完好的器官, 用于帮助他们而不收取任何报酬 指拾到的东西并不隐瞒下来据为己有, 包括出租车司机捡到乘客的钱包归还给乘客, 物业公司的员工拾到小区业主的财物归还给业主等 2.2 助人行为动因的分类本文按照利他行为统计的层次高低, 将助人行为的动因分为责任义务型 观念信仰型 感恩回报型 同情型四种类型, 详见表 2. 表 2 助人行为动因类型介绍 类型 阐述 事例 责任型 即行为者均有一种强烈的助人责任感和义务感, 包括无私帮助老幼病残 出于职业责任感帮助服务对象等, 包括 职业助人 等 刘端元致富后, 用自身行动热心帮助身边困难群众, 承担社会责任, 积极参与社会助残扶贫事业 他和儿子刘建国远赴甘孜炉霍献爱心, 为改变当地落后面貌出钱出力 观念型 指不求回报的助人行为 这种行为源自于行为者高尚的人格 奉献社会的观念和人生信仰, 包括 热心公益 慈善捐助 拾金不昧 等模范事迹 张兴良在部队时向雷锋学习, 被誉为 活着的雷锋 退休后, 他修建了书房, 购买了图书 名人字画 花卉等, 自费创办了全县第一所校外辅导站 回报型 指助人者出于对他人和社会感恩之心, 即过去曾经受到他人 滴水之恩 所采取的 涌泉相报, 包括 捐资助教 和 献血 捐器官 等 李万元饮水思源, 富不忘本, 当在事业上取得成功时, 他感恩社会, 一心行善, 尽力帮助弱势群体, 十多年来一直坚持默默的投身慈善事业 同情型 指对他人的苦难 不幸会产生关怀 理解的情感反应 同情以移情作用为基础 包括 热心公益 助老幼残 等 王世举得知崔家村父母过世的两个女孩, 心里很难过, 和爱人带着大米 香油 食品 文具等来到孩子的姥爷家, 看着这可怜的一家老小, 他决定资助这两个孩子, 帮助两个孩子完成学业 2.3 助人行为人口学特征描述以往的研究表明, 助人行为与性别有关, 当潜在的助人者是男性时, 女性受害者更可能得到帮助 研究认为, 相似性是影响助人行为的重要因素 由于相似性产生喜欢, 而喜欢又产生帮助 人们更愿意帮助与自己相似的人, 人们对与自己的年龄 身份 地位 处境或同一群体的人都容易更多地寄予同情, 而给予帮助 228

229 这些研究表明, 助人行为在人口学特征上存在差异 对我国助人为乐道德模范的人口学特征描述性统计也证明了这一点, 见表 3. 表 3 助人为乐道德模范人口学特征性别年龄学历政治面目职务职业 男 (699 人 ) 女 (360 人 ) 团体 (31 人 ) 18 岁以下 (22 人 ) 岁 (132 人 ) 岁 (221 人 ) 岁 (279 人 ) 60 岁以上 (302 人 ) 小学 (42 人 ) 中学 (140 人 ) 大学 (206 人 ) 研究生 (13 人 ) 博士 (9 人 ) 群众 (510 人 ) 民主党派 (2 人 ) 党员 (555 人 ) 团员 (14 人 ) 员工 (337 人 ) 部门领导 (118 人 ) 单位领导 (148 人 ) 学生 (32 人 ) 农民 (103 人 ) 工人 (131 人 ) 社会工作者 (205 人 ) 军人 (9 人 ) 公务员 (144 人 ) 企业家 (164 人 ) 退休 (200 人 ) 个体 (43 人 ) 志愿者 (59 人 ) 2.4 助人行为事迹与动因和人口学特征的相关分析为了探讨助人为乐道德模范事迹与动因及其相关人口学特征之间的关系, 我们做了如下相关分析, 见表 4. 表 4 助人行为动因及其人口学变量相关特征 性别 Pearson 相关性 1 年龄 Pearson 相关性 ** 1 学历 Pearson 相关性 性别年龄学历职业职务政治面目民族籍贯事迹动因 职业 Pearson 相关性 ** 职务 Pearson 相关性 ** ** 1 政治面目 Pearson 相关性 **.143 **.142 **.247 **.130 ** 1 民族 Pearson 相关性 籍贯 Pearson 相关性 事迹 Pearson 相关性 * 动因 Pearson 相关性 **.082 ** *.093 ** 1 **. 在.01 水平 ( 双侧 ) 上显著相关 ; *. 在 0.05 水平 ( 双侧 ) 上显著相关 由表 4 可以看出, 助人行为事迹与本文列举的行为动因显著相关, 这为进一步探讨助人行为动因提供了依据 在人口学特征上, 年龄与事迹呈显著正相关关系 ; 职业 职务和籍贯与事迹呈负相关关系 ; 动因与政治面目呈显著正相关关系, 与年龄 职业呈负相关关系, 而且与职务和籍贯呈显著负相关关系 因此, 为了揭示助人行为的具体动因及其人口学特征, 还必须作进一步的分析 3 研究结果 3.1 助人行为事迹与动因的回归分析使用 SPSS17.0 对助人为乐道德模范事迹和动因进行回归分析 首先, 方差分析表明,Sig 值为 0.002<0.01, 说明事迹和动因之间总体线性关系显著, 所建模型是可行的 ( 见表 5) 其次, 回归系数 t 检验结果为显著 ( 见表 6), 表明每个解释变量均保留在模型中 表 5 助人为乐事迹与动因回归 ( 方差 ) 分析 Anova b 模型平方和 df 均方 F Sig. 1 回归 a 残差 总计 a. 预测变量 : ( 常量 ), 动因 b. 因变量 : 事迹 表 6 助人为乐事迹与动因回归 (t 检验 ) 分析 非标准化系数标准系数模型 B 标准误差试用版 t Sig. 1 ( 常量 ) 动因

230 3.2 助人行为人口学变量非参数估计分析为了找出助人为乐道德模范事迹在年龄 职业与职位等人口学变量的具体差异, 我们采用了非参数估计中的 Kruskall Wallis 计算方法 因为非参数估计不像参数估计那样对样本的变量特征以及假设具有严格的要求, 所以它比较适合具有不同样本和变量类型的等距数据 (de Vaus,1991) 见表 7 变量 年龄 :18 岁以下 Chi-Square 表 7 助人行为人口变量分析 (Kruskall Wallis-Test) 各维度均值 N value 事迹 ** 动因 *** 职业 : 学生农民工人社会工作者军人公务员企业家退休个体志愿者 Chi-Square value ** ** 职务 : 员工部门领导单位领导 Chi-Square value ** 政治面目 : 群众民主党派党员团员 Chi-Square value ** 由表 7 可知, 助人事迹在年龄和职业上有显著差异 (P<0.01), 其中, 在年龄上,60 岁以上者名列前茅, 其余依次是 18 岁以下 岁 岁和 岁 ; 在职业方面的排序前五名的依次是农民 工人 社会工作者 退休人员 志愿者 动因与职务 职业 政治面目 年龄均存在着显著差异 (P<0.01), 其中, 年龄与职业上, 与助人事迹基本相同 ; 职务上, 排序依次是员工 单位领导 部门领导 ; 政治面目上, 党员和群众较多, 其次是团员, 民主党派最少 4 结论与启示 4.1 结果分析 (1) 回归分析结果表明, 道德模范助人行为可归纳为三种动因类型, 即责任义务型动因 ( 占 56%) 对应于助老幼残和职业助人等行为, 他们具有对事情自觉负责 勇于担当的责任感和义务感, 把助人为乐看作是分内该做的事 ; 观念信仰型动因 ( 占 33%) 对应于热心公益 慈善捐助与拾金不昧等行为, 他们具有坚定的信仰和内在的信念, 正是对信仰的维系和对信念的忠诚推动他们做出了感人事迹 ; 移情回报型动因 ( 占 11%) 对应于捐资助学 献血捐器官等行为, 他们有一颗济世行善的爱心和知恩图报的感恩之心, 珍惜自己所拥有的, 并在饮水思源中找到自我, 尽自己最大的能力帮助需要帮助的人 230

231 该结论再现了我国助人行为更多的源于其责任感和义务感, 而观念信仰型和移情回报型则相对薄弱 该现象道出了我国当代人依然承载着传统的 责任与义务 的人格特征 然而, 相对于责任和义务而言, 高尚的人格与虔诚的信仰会释放更强 更持久的动力 ; 移情与感恩会使助人行为更为普及与弘扬 这也为我们反思我国道德文化建设提供了借鉴 (2) 由人口变量的个体差异分析可以看出不同的助人事迹与年龄显著相关, 即年龄越大, 助人倾向越强 这迎合了一句俗语 不当家不知柴米贵, 不为人母不知报母恩, 人的同情与感恩之心会随着年龄的增长而强化 ; 动因与职务 政治面目 年龄和职业均表现出相关 职务呈现出 U 型特征, 即员工和单位领导比部门领导有更多责任感和义务感, 进而产生更多的助人行为 ; 在政治面目方面, 党员和群众比团员和民主党派有更多的助人倾向 该结论一方面表明了党员的先锋模范作用和群众中的 草根英雄 使他们有更强的责任感和义务感, 因而, 能超越自身角色而实施善举 另一方面, 也与团员和民主党派群体规模较小有关 4.2 启示通过对助人为乐道德模范行为动因及其人口学变量的分析, 我们为这些助人好人引领了社会良好道德风尚而感到骄傲和自豪, 但我国当代道德文化建设中所存在的一些问题, 包括我国道德人格塑造与个体信仰建设的不足 移情与感恩热情与能力的参差不齐, 以及助人行为在性别 年龄 职业与职务上的差距 这些结论给我们道德建设提出了一个重要的启示, 即在当今追求经济目标与个性张扬的时代, 仅靠传统的责任与义务教育是远远不够的, 还必须伴之以高尚人格和个体信仰的弘扬与塑造, 伴之以感恩之心的强化与个体移情能力的培养, 才能使助人行为更为普及, 才能实现助人为乐而乐 参考文献 [1]Hamilton W.D. (1964).The genetical evolution of social behavior.i,ii.theories of Biology,7:1-52. [2]Trivers R.(1971)The evolution of reciprocal altruism.the Quarterly Review of Biology,46:35-56 [3]Sober E,Wi1Son DS. (1999).Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,13-52 [4]Preston SD and Waal FB. (2002). Empathy: Its ultimate and proximate bases.behavioral Brain Seience, 25:1-72 [5]Eisenberg N. (2000).Emotion, regulation, and moral development.annual Review of Psychology, 51: [6]De Vaus,D.A.(1991). Social surveys;social sciences; Research; Methodology. UCL Press(London and North Sydney, NSW, Australia). [7]Mischel W,Shoda Y.A cognitive affective system theory of personality:reconceptualizing situations,dispositions,dynamics,and invariance in personality structure.psychological Review, 1995, 102:246~268. [8]Mischel W, Instruction to Personality. Sixth edition. Fort Worth;Harcourt Brace College Publishers,1999,417~423. [9] Mischel W, Shoda Y, Ro-driguez ML.Delay of gratification in children.science,1989, May, 244: 933~938. [10] Batson CD, Fultz J, Schoenrade P A. Distress and empathy: two qualitatively distinct vicariousemotions with different motivational consequences. In: Puka B ed. Reaching out: caring, altruism,and prosocial behavior. New York London: Garland Publishing, Inc. 1994: 42) 49 [11] N. Eisenberg, G. Carlo, B. Murphy, et al., Pro social development in late adolescence: A longitudinal study, Child Development, 1995, 66: [12] Staub, E. Helping a Distressed Person: Social Personality, and Stimulus Determinants. In L. B.Berkowitz(ED). Advanced-es in Ex2 perimental Social Psy. Vol. 7 New York: Academic Press,1947. [13] Mussen, P. & Eisenberg, N, Root of carrying, sharing, and helping. W. H. Freeman and Company San Francisco, [14]Yu kou,lingling Tang, The influence of mood on prosocialbehavior:the Beijing normal university,2004(5):44 [15]Guoliang Yu,Social cognitive perspective of prosocial behavior: The Beijing normal university,1991(1):20 231

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233 DEMOGRAPHIC STUDY ON TRUST BEHAVIOR OF CHINESE MORAL MODELS TONG ZHAO, Hebei University of Economics and Business WANXIAN LI, Hebei University of Economics and Business Abstract: A survey of 1214 trust behavior moral models on China civilization Network ( ) indicates that trust behavior differs by gender, age, occupation, position, education and dwelling location. Compared with men, women were more likely to implement trust behavior; Age characteristics showed a "U" - shaped trend of two high middle and low, and a " "- shaped trend on job post were also shown on trust behavior, that the age of and years of moral models revealed higher trust behavior than that of other age groups, the departmental managers performed higher trust behavior than did the bottom and top level staffs. The detailed demographic characteristics and their possible reasons are also discussed. Keywords: demographic, trust behavior, Chinese moral models 诚实守信道德模范人口学特征研究 以中国好人 为例[63] 赵曈 李万县 摘要 对中国文明网 年 1214 名诚实守信道德模范人口学变量研究结果表明 1 诚 信行为与性别 年龄 职业 职务 籍贯以及受教育程度等人口学变量呈显著相关关系 2 相 较于男性 女性更容易做出诚信行为 年龄特征则呈两头高中间低的 U 型趋势 相较于其他年 龄段 岁和 岁的道德模范更倾向于履行诚信 职务特征呈 型趋势 一线员工和 中层 部门 领导内化诚信价值观于行为的倾向性显著较高 最后 对诚实守信道德模范人口学 特征及其动因进行了讨论 关键词 中国好人道德模范 诚信行为 人口学研究 1 问题的提出 诚信 即以真诚之心 行信义之事 孔子所倡导的信也含有诚的思想 马克思认为 人在生 活过程中既有出于生存的物质需要 也有情感慰藉的精神需要 精神需要的内容主要包括求情 求乐 求知 求技 求价值以及求超越等六方面 这些精神关系就构成了承诺与践诺的诚信关系 [64] 因而一切以满足上述需求为目的的行为即为诚信行为 反之就是非诚信行为 目前国内对于诚信问题的实证研究通常是包含在对于道德问题建设的探讨中 或者是只涉及 到诚信的某一侧面 杨秀香认为 作为道德范畴的诚信有三种不同的意义 诚实勿欺 相互信任 和信守承诺 任沁新 胡蓓从企业普遍存在员工履行岗位职责时诚信度缺失的实际情况出发 以 中信重工机械股份有限公司为案例 对岗位诚信的内涵 测评指标体系及考评和激励等进行系统 研究 并构建了岗位诚信管理模型 国外诚信测量研究具有较强的实用性 根据其应用目的的不 同可以分成两类 即甄选员工和培养大学生学术诚信 诚实守信是构建社会主义和谐社会的基本要求 同时是社会对公民提出的基本要求 因此 我国自 2008 年起就开始了举国上下评选 诚实守信 道德模范活动 并成为中国道德建设的一大 特色 公民应当深刻认识诚信的价值 自觉将诚信作为自己的行为准则 做到以诚为本 道德模 范的诚信行为既包含受益他人 履行承诺的个人诚信 也包括善心经营 回报社会的企业诚信 还包括爱岗敬业 无私奉献的职业诚信 这些诚信事迹都会影响到广大公民的诚信态度 诚信理 [63] 河北经贸大学重点科研基金项目 2013KYZ02 [64] 冉光芬(2004)诚实守信以德立身 试论诚信文化建设的现实意义及其举措.硕士论文,贵州师范大学,贵阳. 233

234 念以及诚信素质, 进而影响到公民的诚信行为 以往关于诚实守信道德模范的研究大多集中于道德模范事迹及内在精神的宣扬, 虽然涉及对道德模范品质的剖析, 但缺乏对其人口学变量的差异性研究 然而, 宣扬道德模范的实践意义在于引导全社会公民树立起社会主义核心价值观, 最终要落实到具体公民行为中 本文选择具有较强代表性的诚信道德模范为研究对象, 通过对诚信道德模范的人口学统计数据进行分析, 来探讨其在人口学特征上的差异, 以便为如何有效的鼓励广大公民做出诚实守信行为提供可借鉴的依据 2 研究假设以往研究表明, 诚信行为的个体差异主要表现在性别 年龄和职务三个人口学变量上 2.1 性别与诚实守信行为性别社会化过程假设男性与女性天生具有不同的价值观, 并影响其态度和行为 再加上男女在传统文化上有不同的认知, 其诚信行为也会有所差异 Borkowski & Ugras (1998) 运用元分析法分析个人的道德行为, 在研究性别变量时, 他们发现性别与行为选择有很大的关系 ; Gilligan(1977) 提出男性与女性道德推理的本质是不同的, 女性的责任心通常较强, 她们会尽量做出避免伤害其他人的道德判断, 并且会考虑到个人被涉及的后果 ; 而男性通常是基于公正的视角来看待道德问题 [65] 假设 1: 诚信行为在性别上具有显著差异 女性较男性倾向于诚信道德行为的内在价值, 较重视人情互动, 责任感 ; 男性则倾向于诚信道德价值的外在体现, 重视履行诚信行为所获得的名利和社会地位等 2.2. 年龄与诚实守信行为不同年龄段的公民行为具有明显的差异, 这种差异也体现在诚实守信的行为方面 Kegan (1982) 对成人不同发展阶段的研究表明, 员工年龄不同, 其人际交往取向也不同 ( 老员工倾向于以内在的 双向的道德义务标准为交际准则, 而年轻员工则更看重交往的交易价值 [66] 假设 2: 诚信行为在年龄上具有显著差异 不同年龄段, 对于诚信行为的社会意义和价值的体会和认同各有不同 2.3 职务与诚实守信行为 Yammrino(2008) 提出要多层次理解 诚信 的概念, 他通过整理归纳认为诚信至少应该包括三个层次 : 首先, 个人诚信 在企业中应该指向领导者或者是员工的诚信 ; 其次, 领导者与员工互动形式的诚信 即诚信的领导需要诚信的下属才能够带来企业的正向发展 ; 其三, 上升至整个组织乃至社会的诚信 这是在单独个体都表现出诚信的基础上所形成的社会氛围 周蕾蕾 (2010) 通过研究发现诚信领导对组织公民行为影响显著 诚信领导者的 内化道德观 和 领导特质 分别对员工的 自我管理 和 主动行为 有显著正向影响 [67] 章小波 (2005) 也认为改善领导行为能够鼓励员工展现组织公民行为 领导者主动关心和支持部属会对其组织公民行为产生正影响 [68] 假设 3: 诚信行为在职务上具有显著差异 职务层次会对公民的诚信道德观产生较强烈的影响 [65] 熊新正, 胡恩华, 修立军, 单红梅 (2012) 科研诚信行为影响因素研究综述, 科学管理研究, 第 30 卷第 3 期, [66] Kegan, R. (1982).The evolving self problem and process in human development.cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [67] 周蕾蕾 (2010) 企业诚信领导对员工组织公民行为影响研究 以领导 成员交换为中介变量. 博士论文, 武汉大学, 武汉. [68] 章小波 (2005) 关于有效激发员工组织公民行为的思考, 华东经济管理, 第 19 卷第 2 期,

235 3 实证研究本研究选取中国文明网 2010 年 1 月 年 10 月 1214 名诚实守信中国好人道德模范为研究对象, 并对所选样本进行人口学分类, 包括性别 年龄 学历 职业 职务 政治面貌 民族和籍贯 为了解诚实守信道德模范上述人口学特征与其事迹的关系, 我们首先进行了相关性检验, 如表 1 所示 表 1 诚实守信道德模范人口学特征相关性 性别 年龄 学历职业 职务 政治面貌 性别 Person 1 相关性 年龄 学历 职业 * ** 8** * 职务 * * 政 治 - 面貌 0.164* * 民族 ** * 籍贯 事迹 0.111* - - * **. 在 0.01 水平 ( 双侧 ) 上显著相关 *. 在 0.05 水平 ( 双侧 ) 上显著相关 ** ** ** * ** ** ** * ** * 民族籍贯 ** 事迹 1 从表 1 可以看出性别 年龄 学历 职业 职务 政治面貌 民族和籍贯这些人口学变量与道德模范诚信事迹呈显著相关关系, 为进一步分析这些人口变量的具体特征奠定了基础 为进一步分析诚信行为在上述人口学变量上的具体差异, 我们应用了非参数检验中的 Kruskal Wallis Test(K-W Test) 该检验是多个独立样本比较的秩和检验, 既不像参数检验 ( 如 t 检验 ) 对假设准确性的过度依赖, 也不受样本严格服从正态分布的局限, 因而比较适合具有不同数目的调研对象的等距测量 具体操作为对秩均值进行比较, 得出中国好人的诚实守信行为在各人口学变量上的总体显著性水平 然后, 分别对每个人口学变量进行比较, 即得出性别 年龄以及职务三个人口学变量在事迹上水平显著 如表 2 所示 235

236 表 2 诚信道德模范个体差异 (Kruskal Wallis Test) 人口学变量 N 秩均值 Chi- Square 性别 男 女 年龄 职务 员工 部门领导 单位领导 P*** <0.001,P** <0.01 从表 2 可以看出, 在性别特征方面, 男性的秩均值为 , 低于女性的秩均值 , 这表明女性更倾向于表现出诚信行为 ; 在年龄特征方面,19-35 岁年龄段的秩均值为 ,46-60 岁年龄段的秩均值为 , 均高于 年龄段的秩均值 ; 而在职务特征方面, 单位领导的秩均值为 , 显著低于部门领导和员工的秩均值 ( 分别为 和 ), 可见部门领导和普通员工更注重诚信行为的落实 4 结果讨论 非参数估计表明, 诚信行为首先表现出显著的性别差异 (P<0.001), 可以看出性别是中国好人道德模范诚信行为的区分变量 这一结论完全支持假设 1: 诚信行为在性别上具有显著差异 探究其原因可知, 人际交往中, 女性往往比男性占据更多的主动性与空间, 其更有可能做出积极的回应行为 [69] 由于男女性别角色心理差异的存在, 在中国的社会文化中仍然存在基于性别的社会角色建构, 对贤妻良母的社会期望仍在不断塑造着女性的家庭责任意识, 这使许多工作女性需要同时扮演工作者和家庭女主人的双重角色, 需要承担比男性更多的家务和照料责任 [70] 从而使得女性所做家庭以外的道德诚信行为的落实感更加强烈 其次, 诚信行为表现出显著的年龄差异 (P<0.001), 可以看出年龄对于诚信行为的影响比重是很大的 分析不同年龄道德模范的差异, 有助于了解道德模范做出诚信行为的规律性特点 研究结果表明, 其中 岁和 岁的道德模范人数高于其他年龄段, 这一结论支持假设 2: 诚信行为在年龄上具有显著差异 分析其原因, 与道德模范的个人发展状态有关 岁年龄段的公民, 正经历年轻的激进奋斗, 在心理方面具有较强的适应性和接受能力 ; 而 岁年龄段的公民无论心理状态还是事业发展均处于稳定层面, 达到较高水平的成熟发展阶段 且随着工作时 [69] 孙云梅, 倪静 (2005) 非言语交际中的性别差异研究综述, 外语教育,2005, 第 5 卷 [70] 许晓霞, 柴彦威 (2012) 北京居民日常休闲行为的性别差异, 人文地理, 第 1 期,

237 间和阅历的丰富, 在事业管理方面积累了较多经验 心理状态与事业发展具有积极的互相促进作用, 所以, 此两个年龄段的公民诚信道德水平较高, 倾向于也更有能力去做出诚实守信的行为, 这也符合人生道德状态发展曲线 此外, 诚信行为的差异表现在职务上 : 由于不同的公民所在职务层次不同, 其能否做出诚信行为有显著差异 (P<0.001) 研究结果表明 : 中层 ( 部门 ) 领导和一线员工更倾向于做出诚信行为 这一结论完全支持假设 3: 诚信行为在职务上具有显著差异 一方面, 领导者的成功源于个人的不懈努力奋斗, 其能够秉承服务群众的心态, 为百姓谋利益的诚信经营观念, 不仅回馈社会, 更能为自己带来诚信的利益回报 作为单位领导, 为树立优良形象, 作为单位的代表和发言人, 通过社会媒体和舆论推进和宣传诚信经营事迹, 营造广为人知的优秀形象氛围, 这也是领导以外的职务难以把握的新闻资源所在 另一方面, 处于不同职业的社会各界一线劳动者受到工作价值观的影响, 通常职业性较强, 能够充分遵循其爱岗敬业, 无私奉献的职业要求, 不论从事何种职业, 都要热爱本职 忠于职守, 并坚守 岗位诚信 ( 员工履行岗位职责的承诺, 是履行岗位职责的感情 意志 理想 行为和习惯的具体体现, 是履行岗位职责的契约关系和遵守职业道德规范的有机统一 ) [71] 5 研究结论及启示本文依据诚实守信的相关理论, 分析了不同类型的人口变量对于做出诚实守信事迹的影响机理, 提出了本文的研究框架, 收集中国好人诚信事迹的调查数据, 利用 SPSS17.0 的非参数检验方法对数据进行整理分析 研究结果表明 :(1) 诚信行为与性别 年龄 职业 职务 籍贯以及受教育程度等人口变量呈显著相关关系 (2) 相较于男性, 女性更倾向于诚信行为的落实 ; 年龄特征则呈两头高中间低的 U 型趋势, 相较于其他年龄段,19-35 岁和 岁的道德模范更倾向于履行诚信 ; 在职务方面, 呈 型趋势, 一线员工和中层 ( 部门 ) 领导内化诚信价值观于行为的倾向性显著较高 由此进行深入剖析得出, 道德模范做出诚实守信事迹的动因主要包括以下三方面 5.1 性别差异与诚信行为性别的差异会造成诚信行为的差异 然而, 性别对公民诚信行为产生影响更多地来源于性别的社会因素, 即社会对男性和女性的期望是存在差异的 社会期望通常认为男性应该意志坚强 应对各种困难和挫折并能以事业为主, 因而男性一般都注重对事业的追求, 在工作上花费很多的精力和时间, 也更倾向于追求社会地位 在组织中的地位, 从而对诚信行为的外在表现而有所难以顾及 ; 而对女性而言, 在工作中, 女性更注重对人际关系等社会性价值的追求, 对融于团体的社会需求更高 在工作之外, 还要肩负起照顾家庭的责任, 因而女性更关注工作 家庭之间的平衡 [72] 因此女性也更倾向于诚信行为的落实和表现 5.2 年龄差异与诚信行为道德模范诚信行为的 年龄效应 表明 : 随着年龄的增长, 公民的工作阅历和心理成熟度都在逐步提高, 因而诚信心理和诚信道德价值观也日趋成熟 对于 岁的青年人来讲, 而相对于年轻人而言, 中年人更容易体会到诚信行为的价值, 更能认同包括社会声望 成就取向等特征 中年人应该充分发挥其成熟优势, 鼓励他们通过传 帮 带等方式教育 指导年轻人尽快走向行为成熟 这样既能引导年轻人做出诚信行为, 也为中年人增强其自我价值认同, 从而更好地做出诚信行为 5.3 职务差异与诚信行为道德模范诚实守信行为在职务上的差异给予我们的启示包括 : 首先, 作为部门领导的管理人员做出诚信行为, 在于其个人承担相应的部门管理责任, 责任感有助于其履行诚信 其次, 作为一线劳动者的基层员工, 一方面基层工作任务的服务性能深化其工作责任感, 以强化其诚信意识 ; [71] 任沁新, 胡蓓 (2010) 员工诚信行为驱动模式, 管理评论, 第 22 卷第 12 期, [72] 刘凤香 (2011) 员工工作价值观代际差异研究. 博士论文, 南开大学, 天津 237

238 另一方面, 基层员工受到富有责任感和使命感的部门领导言传身教, 以其诚信行为的榜样力量促使自己更加下意识的做出诚信行为 6 研究不足及展望 作为对我国诚实守信道德模范个体差异的尝试性研究, 本文在以下方面尚有不足 : 首先, 是样本的数据采集来源于中国文明网, 部分人口变量数据缺失, 使得部分数据结果不足以涵盖诚实守信道德模范的全体人口学变量 由于诚实守信事迹是各人口变量共同作用的结果, 因此, 在数据基本完整的条件下进行数据分析将会弥补该研究的不足 二是仅采用网络信息采集方法和文献分析方法不足以挖掘做出诚实守信事迹的道德模范的全部人口变量信息 因此, 在今后的研究中, 一方面, 作者考虑能否利用大数据技术, 构建道德模范诚信行为数据库, 详细记录公民诚信行为相关变量信息, 从而对公民诚信行为进行全面深入的数据分析研究工作 ; 另一方面, 增加问卷 访谈等调查方法的配合, 以主客观结合剖析诚信行为的个体差异 从而深入挖掘诚信行为的动因所在, 为强化公民诚信行为探索新路径 参考文献 [1] Brown, Budze,Tamborski. (2009). On the meaning and measure of narcissism. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, [2] Kegan, R. (1982).The evolving self problem and process in human development.cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [3] 熊新正, 胡恩华, 修立军, 单红梅 (2012) 科研诚信行为影响因素研究综述, 科学管理研究, 第 30 卷第 3 期, [4] 冉光芬 (2004) 诚实守信以德立身 试论诚信文化建设的现实意义及其举措. 硕士论文, 贵州师范大学, 贵阳. [5] 周蕾蕾 (2010) 企业诚信领导对员工组织公民行为影响研究 以领导 成员交换为中介变量. 博士论文, 武汉大学, 武汉. [6] 章小波 (2005) 关于有效激发员工组织公民行为的思考, 华东经济管理, 第 19 卷第 2 期, [7] 孙云梅, 倪静 (2005) 非言语交际中的性别差异研究综述, 外语教育,2005, 第 5 卷 [8] 许晓霞, 柴彦威 (2012) 北京居民日常休闲行为的性别差异, 人文地理, 第 1 期, [9] 任沁新, 胡蓓 (2010) 员工诚信行为驱动模式, 管理评论, 第 22 卷第 12 期, [10] 刘凤香 (2011) 员工工作价值观代际差异研究. 博士论文, 南开大学, 天津 [11] 李万县, 李丹 (2009) 基于角色内取向的组织公民行为个体差异研究, 河北经贸大学学报, 第 20 卷第 5 期, [12] 李万县李丹, 工作价值观个体差异实证研究 以证券业为例, 重庆工商大学学报 ( 西部论坛 ),2008 年 1 月, 第 18 卷第 1 期, [13] 蔡禾, 莫家豪 (1997) 企业职工工作价值观浅论, 中山大学学报论丛, 第 6 期, [14] 宋琳 (2011) 员工年龄与学历差异下的心理资本研究, 神华科技, 第 9 卷第 3 期, [15] 陈劲 (2007) 中国人诚信心理结构及其特征. 博士论文, 西南大学, 重庆. 238

239 STUDY ON THE MOTIVATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF SAMARITAN BEHAVIOR ZHANG YIMIN, Hebei University of Economics and Business LI WANXIAN, Hebei University of Economics and Business Abstract A survey of 1094 Samaritan behavior moral models on China Civilization Network shows that Samaritan behavior positively related to the motivation.in this article,there are three types of Samaritan behavior and behavior motivation.about the behavior,they are emergency rescue,catching criminals and protecting the safety of life and property.about the motivation,they are,respectively,the instinct of the sense of responsibility, professional sense of responsibility and social justice.in addition,demographic characteristics analysis showed that Samaritan behavior is negatively correlated with gender, age and ethnic relations,but with record of formal schooling and professional and native,samaritan behavior has significant positive correlation.the conclusion not only reveals the behavior motive and demographic characteristics of the contemporary moral models,also can provide the basis for the inheritance of Samaritan behavior. keywords Words: Motivation; Demographic characteristics;samaritan behavior 1 前言 见义勇为是中华民族的传统美德和民族精神 深深扎根于中华民族悠久灿烂的历史长河中 然而 在 我国社会转型期种种不道德现象频频出现 老人倒了没人扶 见死不救 见义不为 小悦悦事件 英雄 流血又流泪 等等 一桩桩的悲剧拷问着社会公序良俗和良知底线 进而导致自私心理膨胀 社会诚信度 下降 人与人之间缺乏真情与温暖等等 正是基于上述背景 本文试图通过对当代见义勇为道德模范的研 究 探讨见义勇为的行为动机 揭示见义勇为的动力源泉及其在人口学特征上的表现 进而结合我国的实 际情况提出解决见义勇为困境的建议 为该行为的传承与弘扬提供可资借鉴的依据 1.1 见义勇为概念研究 英国生物学家达尔文从生物学角度揭示了见义勇为行为的本能特征 他认为, 社会本能是一切道德得 以产生的源泉 美国心理学家马斯洛指出 一个人能够成为什么,他就必须成为什么,他必忠实于他自 己的本性 他认为 见义勇为是自我实现的需要 自我实现者更能真实地成为他自己 更完善地实现了 他的潜能 更接近于他的存在核心 成了更完善的人 这说明见义勇为不仅是一种自发的本能行为 也是 一种实现高层次目标的义务或责任行为 我国学者也从不同角度给出了定义 方向东 2002 认为 见 义勇为是不负有法定或约定救助义务的公民 为使国家利益 社会公共利益和他人的人身财产利益免受或 少受到不法侵害 自然灾害或意外事故照成的损失 冒着较大的人身危险 挺身而出 积极实施救助的合 法行为 李春斌 2008 将见义勇为定义为 不负有特定义务的自然人为使国家利益 社会公共利益或 他人的人身财产利益免受或少受损失,冒着较大的人身和财产危险而作出的行为 尽管学者们对见义勇为 行为的表述有所不同 但其基本含义大同小异 即见义勇为 第一 是一种超越自身法定责任和义务的利 他行为 第二 指没有法定或约定义务的人为使国家利益 社会公共利益和他人的人身财产利益免受或少 受侵害而实施的一种道德行为 1.2 见义勇为动机研究 关于见义勇为的行为动机 一些学者归因于人的本能责任感 如彭柏林 2006 认为需要是人们行为 活动的初始动因或根据 而这种需要又源于本能 因此 人类的所有行为都是以本能为基础的 本能是人 类一切思想和行为的基本源泉和动力 同样,道德需要是人的道德活动的启动器 关于责任感的含义 谌旻 明 2012 提出 责任感就是一种个体主动地做好分内事的重要积极人格特质和行为倾向,从本质上讲既要 求利己 又要利他人 利事业 利国家 利社会 根据环境和事迹实际类型的不同 也有学者认为见义勇 为行为动机源于其社会正义感 汪家堂 1997 指出,正义感是 对自己行为的检点和规约,是 在他人 遭到不公正对待时为他人鸣不平,并不怀偏见地站出来制止不正义行为的感情冲动,是 我们所说的义愤 而李建华 2001 则认为, 社会正义感应是指社会成员为维护制度公正和分配公平产生的情感体验 可见 本能 责任和正义构成见义勇为行为的动力源泉 239

240 上述研究在一定程度上为探析见义勇为困境提供了思路和方法 但是我国学者主要从法律角度对见义 勇为进行研究 而道德层面的研究较少 尤其是对于见义勇为道德模范行为动因与人口学特征的研究更为 罕见 因此 有必要深入探讨见义勇为的行为动机及其在相关人口学变量上的特征,以便进一步解释该行为 规律 完善其理论体系 2 研究方法 本研究包括两个方面 一是探讨见义勇为行为动机 即根据见义勇为相关理论及我国见义勇为道德模 范相关资料 列出见义勇为行为可能的动机类型 进而与模范事迹进行回归分析 找出见义勇为行为的内 在动因 二是通过对见义勇为人口学特征的分析 了解我国见义勇为道德模范在相关人口学特征上的差异 情况 为该行为的发扬与普及提供借鉴 2.1 见义勇为事迹分类 为了便于统计分析 本文对中国文明网 2010 至 2014 年 1094 个见义勇为 中国好人 模范事迹进行了 分类与赋值 描述性统计结果见表 1 表 1 见义勇为事迹分类 序号 类型 1 危急救人 2 抓捕罪犯 3 保护财产 特征 事例 在危难和紧急情况下给与他 例如 江苏盐城市的汪凤玲跳 人救助 人数 冰河勇救三人等 抓捕或者帮助抓捕对社会已 例如 海口民警李观连勇斗歹 产生危害或正在危害社会的人 徒 甘洒热血保护百姓等 保护群众的生命和财产安全 不受侵犯 例如 河北邢台市的赵占彬舍 身勇斗盗车贼 保护群众财产等 表 1 表明 在见义勇为道德模范中 危急救人 类型名列榜首 占 76.2% 这也体现了该行为不同 于其它道德模范行为如助人为乐等的本质特征 即危急时刻方显英雄本色 抓捕罪犯 名列第二 占 18.9 其中包括不顾自身安危 勇于抓捕或协助抓捕罪犯的英雄行为 保护生命财产安全 占 4.9% 包括警察 保安等职业类型的英雄行为 2.2 见义勇为行为动机分类 按照麦克杜格尔 英雄本能论 观点 见义勇为行为均出于英雄的本能动机 我们对这三类人群的访 谈结果也证明了这一点 当问到 在危机/紧急时刻您是怎么想的 时 他们的回答惊人的一致 即 什 么都没想 因此 见义勇为动机可以归因于英雄的本能责任感 但鉴于英雄身份和事迹的不同 我们 仅将危急救人归为 本能责任感 而诸如民警舍身救人等则归为 职业责任感 而对于与自己的职业无 关 又非危机情景下 的英雄行为 则归为 社会正义感 详细见表 2. 表 2 见义勇为动机分类 序号 类型 特征 事例 指因受到一组特殊刺激而产生的自觉主动地做好分内 1 本能责任感 分外一切有益事情的动机 主要是在紧急情况下 不考虑 自身利益 职位所在以及社会义务等 而是单纯地出于本 能而产生的见义勇为行为 2 3 职业责任感 社会正义感 指因为在一定职业活动中要承担特定的职责而做出利 他人 利事业 利国家 利社会事迹的动机 指由于追求正义 伸张正义的道德意识 为坚持真理 同一切邪恶势力和错误行为作斗争而产生的行为动机 240 人数 例如 江西省宜春市 的王茂才三闯火海救六娃 657 烧成重伤等 例如 安徽合肥市的 准警察 周坤深圳街头勇擒 224 劫匪等 例如 山东济南市的 刘乐成不顾个人安危勇斗 窃贼 维护社会正义等 214

241 2.3 见义勇为道德模范人口学特征描述 以往关于见义勇为的研究都或多或少涉及到人口统计学变量 但多数研究都是对单个变量的分析 尚 缺乏对见义勇为相关人口变量的详细研究 尤其缺乏对见义勇为个体差异的人口学研究 因此 本文结合 见义勇为研究数据的特征 对见义勇为行为的人口学特征进行了描述性统计 统计结果见表 3 表 3 见义勇为道德模范人口学特征 性别 年龄 学历 职业 民族 籍贯 男 978 人 18 岁以下 41 人 小学 18 人 学生 96 人 汉族 1088 籍贯则是国家 农民 193 人 23 个省 5 个 女 100 人 岁 248 人 中学 71 人 工人 281 人 藏族 1 自治区和四个 社会工作者 154 维吾尔族 5 直辖市 团体 17 人 岁 186 人 大学 92 人 人 公务员 200 人 其他 岁 162 人 研究生 5 人 经营者 90 人 自由职业者 7 60 岁以上 51 人 2.4 见义勇为事迹 动机与人口学变量的相关性检验 为了探讨见义勇为事迹与动机及其相关人口学变量之间的关系 我们首先做了相关分析 见表 4. 表 4 见义勇为行为动机及其人口学变量相关特征 性别 年龄 学历 职业 民族 籍贯 性别 Pearson 相关性 1 年龄 Pearson 相关性.083** 学历 Pearson 相关性 ** 职业 Pearson 相关性 **.238** 民族 Pearson 相关性 籍贯 Pearson 相关性 ** 事迹 Pearson 相关性 -.083** **.102** 动因 Pearson 相关性 -.098** -.062*.088**.160** 事迹 动机.428** 注 **. 在.01 水平 双侧 上显著相关 *. 在 0.05 水平 双侧 上显著相关 由表 4 可以看出 见义勇为动机与事迹在 0.01 水平上呈显著的正相关关系 这为进一步探讨见义勇为 行为的动机提供了依据 见义勇为事迹与性别和年龄呈负相关关系 而与职业 籍贯以及动机呈现明显的 正相关关系 那么 为什么会呈现出这样的特征和差异 为了揭示见义勇为道德模范行为的内在动因及其 人口学特征上的具体差异情况 还须作进一步的分析 3 研究结果 3.1 见义勇为事迹与动机的回归分析 使用 SPSS17.0 对见义勇为道德模范事迹和动机进行回归分析 首先 方差分析表明 Sig 值为 0.000<0.01 说明事迹和动机之间总体线性关系显著 所建模型是可行的 见表 5 其次 回归系数 t 检 验结果为显著 见表 6 表明每个解释变量均保留在模型中 这说明本文所列见义勇为动机完全可以成为 其事迹的预测变量 动机与事迹之间具有紧密的因果关系 241

242 表 5 见义勇为动机与事迹回归 方差 分析 模型 1 平方和 df 均方 回归 残差 总计 F Sig a 注 a. 预测变量: (常量), 动机 b. 因变量: 事迹 表 6 见义勇为动机与事迹回归 t 检验 分析 模型 1 非标准化系数 标准系数 B 试用版 标准 误差 (常量) 动机 t Sig 注 a. 因变量: 事迹 3.2 见义勇为人口学变量特征分析 为了找出见义勇为行为在性别 年龄 学历 职位 民族以及籍贯上的具体差异 本文采用了非参数 估计中的 Kruskall Wallis 计算方法 由表 7 以及附件 1 Kruskal Wallis 测试结果可以看出 见义勇为 行为与性别 年龄 学历 职业 以及籍贯有着明显的正相关关系 而与民族和政治面貌无明显相关关系 表 7 见义勇为人口变量分析 Kruskall Wallis-Test 人口学变量 Chi-Square value 性别 年龄 学历 职业 民族 政治面貌 ** ** ** ** 籍贯 * 4 结果讨论 4.1 对见义勇为行为动机分析得出的结论 1 本文所列行为动机有效的揭示了见义勇为事迹 本能责任感 职业责任感和社会正义感行为动机 成为危急救人 抓捕罪犯和保护生命财产安全的见义勇为英雄事迹的有效预测变量 其中 本能责任感揭 示了大多数的见义勇为行为 主要表现在危急救人事迹上 职业责任感预测一些特殊职业 如民警 保安 等抓捕或协助抓捕罪犯的见义勇为事迹 社会正义感动机揭示那些为他人 集体或社会利益挺身而出的英 雄模范事迹 如保护公民财产安全等 2 对于见义勇为动机进行深入分析表明 出于本能责任感动机的见义勇为人数最多 占60% 而 出于职业责任感和社会正义感动机的英雄事迹则分别为20.5%和19.5% 该结论可能有两个原因 首先 这 充分再现了见义勇为道德模范高度的大爱精神和公民责任感 正是在这种精神和责任的驱使下 才使他们 在危急环境下 出于本能反应去实施救助 其次体现了安全保卫职业工作者的敬业精神 民警 保安等职 业的特殊性 赋予了他们勇敢 忘我的英雄精神 同时 这一结论也再现了当代社会正义感的薄弱 因而 才出现社会上一些见义不为和见义不敢为的负面现象 3 该结论再现了我国优秀传统文化在当代人身上的传承 见义勇为行为动因 无论本能责任感 职 业责任感还是社会正义感都突出了人格特征上的 责任 和 义务 相对于西方文化强调个人权利和自 由而言 我国建立在家庭本位基础上的传统文化更强调人的责任和义务 如孔子将 仁义礼 列为道德的 最高标准 其根本在于突出个体对他人的 责任 和 义务 尽管改革开放以来我国深受西方现代文明 诸如民主 科学与法制等的洗礼 但中华传统人格的中的责任感依然传承于当代人身上 才有见义勇为 英雄事迹 4.2 对见义勇为道德模范人口学变量的分析 得出以下结论 1 见义勇为行为与性别密切相关 男人在见义勇为行为上的倾向性比女人更大 首先 男人本身从 体能上和胆量上较女人要有优势 而女人本身就是弱势群体 面对危急情况 男人表现的比女人更为果敢 其次 从社会地位和心理角度来说 我国还是尊崇男主外 女主内 男性应该主动谦让女性 而且从心 理上讲 男性更乐于助人 而女性更乐于求助 所以 在见义勇为事迹中 男人比女人的倾向性更大些 242

243 2 见义勇为行为与年龄密不可分 岁 247 人 以及 岁 186 人 两个年龄段的青年人 和中年人在见义勇为事迹中居多数 而 18 岁以下 41 人 和 60 以上 51 人 的未成年人和老年人则占少 数 这个特征主要是因为青年人和中年人在人生经历和见识上多于未成年人 而与老年人相比又有体能上 的优势 所以青年人和中年人在见义勇为行为上表现了更大的倾向性 上述特征也再次验证了 见义勇为 本身的内涵 即 义 是行为的动因和方向 而 勇 则是行为 的条件 有 义 又有 勇 才会有见义勇为 仅有 义 而无 勇 就只能 见义不为 只有 勇 而无 义 行为就会偏离方向 如同 论语 所说 君子有勇而无义为乱 小人有勇而无义为盗 论语-阳货 3 见义勇为行为与职业密切相关 其中 工人 281 人 公务员 200 人 农民 193 人 和社 会工作者 154 人 在见义勇为行为上表现出更大的倾向性 特别是工人 早在 19 世纪马克思 恩格斯就 发现 工人阶级作为先进生产力的代表者和先进的体现者 以及由此产生的最先进 最有远见 最大公无 私 最守纪律等特点 即使改革开放后工人阶层经历了转岗 甚至下岗等考验 但他们身上所具有的职业 光辉仍然释放于社会 工人见义勇为者名列榜首就是最好的例证 公务员 人民公仆 的职业特性决定了 其本身较高的道德素质和职业责任感 中国农民历来就有纯朴 勤劳与义气等特征 所以他们在见义勇为 中自然也就名列前茅 社会工作者的职业特性决定了他们有更多的爱心 同情心和助人精神 因而其见义 勇为行为就不难解释 所不同的是 经营者和自由职业者在见义勇为上表现出较小的倾向性 这可能与其 职业的盈利本质与自我保护意思较强有关 4 见义勇为行为与籍贯有密切关系 其中安徽省 江苏省 河北省以及河南省四个省份在见义勇为 事迹中分别居于第一 二 三 四位 且远远高于其他省份 可能的原因是这四个省份均具有深厚的文化 底蕴 例如安徽省有徽州文化 江苏省有楚汉文化 河北省有燕赵文化 河南省有中原文化等 优秀的传 统文化底蕴和传统道德的传承 为这些地区奠定了文化基础 另外 这几个省份均注重道德模范建设工作 诸如对于道德模范的表彰表扬与嘉奖等 形成了良好的道德氛围 为见义勇为行为提供了环境和制度保 证 此外 见义勇为行为在政治面貌和民族两个变量上无明显相关关系 综上 本文主要得出了两个结论 第一 危急救人 抓捕罪犯和保护生命财产安全的见义勇英雄事迹 与其本能责任感 职业责任感和社会正义感行为动因呈显著正相关关系,而且 出于本能责任感动机的见义 勇为行为名列首位 该结论给我们如下启示 一方面要弘扬我国优秀的传统文化 将中华传统人格中的责 任感代代传承 为见义勇为行为奠定夯实的道德基础 另一方面要建立健全见义勇为法律保护制度,逐步消 解和减轻人们存在的见义勇为冷漠心理 激发人们见义勇为的本能动机 培养人们见义勇为的能力 为见 义勇为行为提供完善的道德环境 第二 见义勇为行为与性别 年龄 学历 职业 以及籍贯几个人口变 量有明显的相关关系 并且在各个变量上呈现出很大的差异 特别是在职业和籍贯两个变量上 这表明 一方面要加强职业道德建设 提高人们的职业责任感 另一方面不同地区要积极挖掘自己的特色文化 促 进优秀传统为的传承 形成良好的文化氛围 并注重道德模范建设工作 充分发挥道德模范的作用 配合 以相应的鼓励措施和制度保证 激发人们见义勇为动机 为地方道德文明的形成奠定基础 Reference [1]FangXiangdong.Good Samaritan legislation assessment and thinking[j].journal of Heilongjiang Administrative Cadre Institute of Politics and Law.2002 [2]LiChunbin.Security's heroic behavior of another idea, in seeking harmony between law and morality[j]..journal of Leshan Teachers College.2008 [3]ZhangMin."Warm" of the social security system[j]..journal of sichuan institute of technology.2004 [4]YuHua.Crack problem hero - from a two-dimensional perspective of morality and law[j]..journal of Mianyang Normal University.2006 [5]ZhuYong.Some thoughts about hero[j]..journal of yunnan police officer academy.2007 [6]LiXueming.See the righteous when what is? The difficulties - warm and digestion[j].journal of hubei radio and TV university.2010 [7]WanJunren.The ethical discourse of modernity[j]..social science front.2002 [8]Mitsuko Tanaka.Examining kanji learning motivation using self-determination theory.system,

244 [9]Geneviève Taylor,Tomas Jungert,Geneviève A.Mageau,Kaspar Schattke,Helena Dedic,Steven Rosenfield,Richard Koestner.A self-determination theory approach to predicting school achievement over time: the unique role of intrinsic motivation.contemporary Educational Psychology,2014 [10]Irine Vartanova.Motivation, Self-attitude and Control Locus of Senior Schoolchildren.Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2014 [11]Gayle Brewer, Loren Abell.Machiavellianism and Sexual Behavior: Motivations, Deception and Infidelity.Personality and Individual Differences, 2014[12]Riemer Roukema.The Good Samaritan in Ancient Christianity.Vigiliae Christianae, 2004[93]Bird Sara.Good samaritans.australian Family Physician, 2008 [13]Thomas Li-Ping Tang.To Help or Not to Help? The Good Samaritan Effect and the Love of Money on Helping Behavior.November 2008 [14]William O. Howie,Benjamin A.Howie,Patricia C.McMullen.To Assist or Not Assist: Good Samaritan Considerations for Nurse Practitioners.The Journal for Nurse Practitioners [15]Josepa Miquel-Florensa.Dynamic contractual incentives in the face of a Samaritans s dilemma.theory and Decision, 2013 附件 1 见义勇为行为人口变量个体差异 Kruskal Wallis Test 性别年龄学历职业 人口学变量 N 秩均值 Chi-Square value 男 女 团体 岁以下 ~40 岁 ~60 岁 岁以上 未知 小学 中学 大学 研究生 未知 学生 农民 工人 公务员 社会工作者 经营者

245 民族 籍贯 自由职业 未知 普通工人 领导干部 未知 群众 汉族 藏族 维吾尔族 撒哈拉族 山东省 安徽省 北京市 福建省 甘肃省 广东省 广西省 贵州省 海南省 河北省 河南省 黑龙江省 湖北省 湖南省 吉林省 江苏省 江西省 辽宁省 内蒙古自治区 宁夏自治区 山西省 陕西省 上海市 四川省 天津市 西藏自治区 新疆自治区

246 云南省 浙江省 重庆市 未知

247 SUPERVISION OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS REVISITED: THE TRANSITION FROM BASEL I TO BASEL III. A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED REGULATORY FRAMEWORK IN RESPONSE TO THE CREDIT CRUNCH GEORGIOS VOUSINAS Abstract In order to address the weaknesses of the financial system revealed by the recent financial crisis, Basel Committee introduced a series of changes in the international regulatory framework. Basel III is a set of proposed modifications to international rules on capital adequacy and liquidity of banks as well as any other issues relating to banking supervision. This paper is an attempt to identify the provisions of Basel III rules, applicable since 2013 and gradually to a depth of six years. This is probably the most significant initiative of the Commission following the recent credit crunch. In particular, a thorough reference is made to the factors affecting capital adequacy and other regulations of the financial system, as set by the supervising authorities, and also to matters of compliance of all involved institutions. The aim of this paper is to provide a critical evaluation of the new regulatory framework, known as Basel III, with emphasis on the new capital adequacy factors and shed light on its impact on global banking system. Keywords: Basel Committee, financial crisis, regulation, capital adequacy, liquidity, bank 1. Introduction The banks equity is highly volatile due to fluctuations in the prices of financial instruments, which makes it extremely difficult to estimate the required funds so as to be secured against major risks. As a result, the potential failure of a banking institution is very difficult to assess, a fact that mainly explains the significantly large number of banks bankruptcies during the recent financial crisis. The collapse of a financial institution may lead to a chain reaction (domino effect) in the market in which it operates, spreading the economic recession to the whole economy. Therefore, the need for supervision in the banking sector worldwide is mandatory and the implementation of proper prudential rules is more than necessary for the global financial system to operate safely. 1.1 Overview of Basel The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) was established in 1974 by the Central Bank Governors of the "Group of 10» (Group of Ten or G - 10) countries-members (Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Germany and Sweden). Specifically, the above committee, whose members are representatives of the central banks of the member countries and other banking supervisory authorities of the Member States of the G-10 as well as Switzerland, Luxembourg and Spain (since 2001). The European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) participate as observers. The Basel Committee meets regularly four to five times a year. The main task of the Basel Committee is to reinforce the system and to ensure the stability of the international banking system. The main tools for achieving this goal are the cross-border cooperation of banking supervisor authorities, the prudential supervision and above all, the appropriate assessment and management of risks in which banks are exposed. In 1973 the abolition of the Bretton Woods International Monetary System of fixed exchange rates marked a period of intense volatility and fluctuations in both exchange and interest rates. As a result, banks have become vulnerable to hitherto unknown risk of currency and interest rate changes. In 1974 the German bank Bankhaus ID Herstatt caused a huge disruption the international interbank market. Bankrupt due to anomalous activities in forward transactions and caused a domino effect in the financial system. This incident, along with other minor operations, has demonstrated the need for international cooperation in the field of banking supervision. Priority was given to institutionalize cooperation between the monetary and banking supervision in order to prevent systemic crises and to ensure the stability of the international banking system and led to the creation of the well-known Basel Committee. The central banks of the G-10 countries undertook the coordination and implementation of a coherent strategy around risk management, creating the Basel Committee, which is a special committee of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) that deals with banking supervision. Since then the Commission reviews and analyzes the economic 247

248 developments and the banking system so as to create an, as much as possible, effective regulatory framework. The BCBS seeks to improve the quality of banking supervision through: (i) the information exchange on national supervisory arrangements, (ii) the improvement of the efficiency of the techniques used for the supervision of international banking institutions and (iii)the determination of the minimum supervisory levels which are considered desirable. The Commission is not any kind of supranational authority on banking supervision and that s why its recommendations and defined standards do not have the legal power, in the sense that it depends on national authorities to implement them. Thus, the BCBS has neither authority nor can impose its rules on anyone, unless a state chooses to adopt them. Consequently, the Basel Committee began to concentrate on drawing a set of International Rules with the main target been introducing and applying the highest and uniform standards for all banks. These standards were introduced in 1988 as the Basel I Accord. In July 1988 the Basel Committee published the International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards in order to introduce a capital measurement system for the financial sector institutions. The text is known as Basel Capital Accord or Basel I. The timeline of Basel can be seen in the following figure: Figure 1: The history of Basel Due to the rising importance of the commercial activities of banks and their related risks (price risk in the trading portfolio of stocks, bonds, etc., foreign exchange risks), in 1995, the market risk (Market Risk) was proposed, including the use of internal models (Internal Models). The original text of Basel I, then filled with alternative measurement methods of both the above risks and country risk. The integration of the text of Basel II in the European Union took place via the adoption of Directives which related to credit and market risk. 1.2 Literature review At this point, a review of the empirical literature is undertaken so as to highlight the research results concerning bank supervision. Segoviano MA, and Lowe P., (2002), pointed out in their study that the supervisory review process explicitly states that the supervisory authorities must: evaluate whether a bank has adequate capital, taking into account external factors such as the effects of the economic cycle, expect that banks continue to operate with capital adequacy ratio below the institutional minimum and demand from banks to hold capital reserves to ensure their survival in times of economic scarcity. At the same time, banks are enabled to develop internal procedures for assessing capital adequacy (Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process-ICAAP), which will ensure the identification and assessment of risks faced and the creation of risk management systems (risk management). 248

249 Jordan J., Peek J., and Rosengren E., (2002), attempted to show for the period the movement of capital requirements by composing a portfolio that consisted of a large number of loans, which were given from at least three banks. The capital requirements are calculated based on the method proposed by the Basel Committee in January 2001 [(Probability of Defaults (PDs)]. The calculation was made with two different methods: The first method used estimates of the bank for the expected default frequency for each borrower The second method utilized the probability of default that was calculated based on the classification of borrowers by Standard & Poors (S & P). The conclusion drawn from this study is that under the operating framework of the external evaluation, the hypothetical capital requirements increased by a much smaller percentage than with the internal assessment thus, reflecting the greater stability of external evaluations. In another study, conducted by Catarineu - Rabell E., Jackson P., and Tsomocos D. (2002), large variations were also found but smaller than the previous ones, in capital requirements over time. In this study data were used for the actual distribution of loans from all risk groups (at a specific point in time), for a selection of banks among the G-10 countries. Then, they combined these data with transition tables calculated using figures from the beginning of the recession back in The results showed that the capital requirement on unpaid loans for high volume portfolios could rise up to 80% at the start of a recession like the one in the early 90s. Under the proposals of November 2001, the rate is about 50%. Repullo R. and Suarez J. (2008) described the distribution of credit losses in accordance with the one-factor model of Vacinek (2002). According to this model, capital requirements have an interpretation Value-at- Risk. The capital required is such that it can absorb the potential losses of a portfolio of loans for a period of one year with a confidence interval of 99.9%. In addition, they concluded that when the current value of the debt relations is large enough and the cost of equity capital is not very high, then banks choose to hold capital reserves. Kashyap Anil K. and Stein Jeremy C. (2003) simulated the level of cyclical capital charges that occurred during the period , which is characterized by strong economic slowdown both in America and in Europe, and adopted the Internal Ratings-Based Approach (IRB) method of Basel II. Their analysis, which used data from the United States, some European countries and other countries of the world, showed that capital requirements may create cyclicality in capital charges, the size of whom depends on the specifics of the model and the Bank's customers. They argued that banks cannot reduce pro-cyclicality and the problems arising from this, despite the fact that they maintain capital reserves (buffers) in a period of growth. The reason lies in the recession effect, which cannot be determined with precision and is almost always more intense than expected, resulting in the lack of actual bank capital, in relation with the positive borrowing opportunities that occur a given time, to grow significantly in recession periods. Conclusively, the pro-cyclical effect can be mitigated with the use of long-term recovery rates, creating though the problem of poor monitoring of the risks the bank faces, sacrificing stability for accuracy. Aliaga-Diaz R. and Olivero M.P. (2009) created a model for the credit crunch which seeks to isolate the effect of capital requirements on bank lending. Then they noted the accelerating effect of capital requirements in the economy. From the analysis of the general equilibrium concluded that regulatory bank capital requirements cause the credit crisis, acting as a financial accelerator. The conclusion drawn from these studies is the fact that the two main components of the capital base is the balance sheet equity and subordinated debt in conjunction with the hybrid loans for working capital. Hybrids are funds that have some characteristics of both debt and equity, but cannot be discovered by the holders. Due to the reduced demand for deposits and the reduction of equity, bank loans and investments decrease more in an economy without regulatory provisions. More specifically, an unpredictable disorder may reduce the equity to the extent that they become binding. The banks immediately after the onset of the disorder try to restore capital reserves by increasing their equity while reducing lending. Thus, the accelerator of the economy is activated only for a short time. On the other hand, the reduction in demand for credit, while reducing the pressure of the capital stock constraint, is particularly intense. The results show that in order banks to maintain undiminished the credit supply, they hold high capital reserves, too. In conclusion, these studies suggest that capital requirements, either for purposes of the market or for regulatory purposes, are based on risk, thereby enhancing the fluctuation of economic cycles. This 249

250 enhancement is mainly based on the view that capital increase is difficult and costly for banks especially during times of economic recession, increasing by this way financial costs faced by companies that borrow from these banks (in form of higher interest rates etc.). 1.3 Reasons for the transition from Basel I to Basel II The first report of the Basel Committee was the Basel Accord on Capital Adequacy of 1988 (Basel I), which came into force in Basel I provided a minimum level of capital, the amount of which is determined by the various national supervisory principles, which should be held by the banks with international activity. The aim was to ensure the stability of the global banking system and the implementation of the new regulatory framework in different countries, so as not to ensure common competition rules among international banks. The text of Basel I consists of the following three parts: The new institutional framework for the components of capital The new institutional framework for the weights regarding risk The Capital Adequacy Ratio The provisions of Basel I refer to the calculation of capital requirements for the coverage of international banks over their exposure to credit risk. This is defined as the rule of 8%, which is the minimum value of the solvency ratio and covers the risk of non-fulfillment of the obligations of the counterparts in all forms. Namely, a grant of 100 requires the existence of equity amounting to 8. On the other hand, the conventional basic capital adequacy ratio is the ratio of conventional core capital to total risk (credit and market) weighted Assets and should be equal to or greater than 4%. Essentially, the original Basel Accord was the first organized effort towards stabilizing the financial system. The accord basically promotes a single methodology for calculating capital adequacy and introduced the concept of Risk Weighted Assets (weighted to systemic risk). Systemic risk can be defined as the risk or likelihood of serious problems or failures in its extreme form, in the operation of the financial system caused by failures either single, but statistically significant, individual financial institutions or sub-sectors of the financial system and are located worldwide. The problems brought about by the introduction of Basel I, with respect to the foundation of systemic risk, are summarized to the following: a) Non-separation of borrowers in rating classes, creating an incentive to provide credit to businesses with low reliability, resulting in greater risk-taking and the deterioration of loan portfolios. b) Incentive (lower capital requirement) for investment in government securities not classified for their risk (junk). c) Allowing development of internal models for calculating capital adequacy thus, helping credit institutions to conceal their real exposure to credit risk. d) Contribution to the development of creative accounting so as to hide the true picture of the institution. e) Development of incentives for notional reduction of the weight factors of assets (securitization). Based on the complexity of modern financial transactions and the increasing risks, it seemed that the existing framework for calculating capital requirements and risk management was inadequate, while receiving strong criticism from both the supervising authorities and the supervised institutions. The main disadvantages of Basel I are: Some shortcomings appeared, such as the lack of capital requirements for risks other than credit, the mismatch between credit risk weights and the actual level of risk and the limited recognition of the results of risk reduction techniques. These deficiencies have been severely criticized by both the regulators and the supervised banks. The result of these criticism was the amendment of the Accord with the first consultation paper in 1999, the second one in 2001 and the third in The European Union implemented the revised accord gradually and supported it mainly on issues related to the Monetary Union. Particularly, Basel Committee, recognizing that Basel I had become obsolete and insufficient to meet the new challenges in the financial sector internationally, began the process for the revision, with the publication of the first advisory paper in June This was followed by a number of consultative documents, quantitative studies and published research of specialized working groups, which led to the new regulatory framework for the capital deficiency of banks, Basel II. 250

251 Basel II established three interrelated, complementary and mutually reinforcing pillars designed to manage operational risk arising from credit institutions activities. This risk is difficult to identify and treat and is also difficult to calculate the actual bank's exposure to operational risk. First Pillar - Tier I The first pillar (capital requirements) deals with the conservation of the regulatory framework of equity calculated on the risks faced by a bank, such as credit, operational and market risk. Credit risk can be calculated in different ways by different degrees of complexity through the Foundation IRB (Internal Ratings-Based), Advanced IRB and General Restriction IRB. For the calculation of operational risk three methods exist: Basic Indicator Approach Standardized Approach Advanced Measurement Approach As for market risk, the preferred approach is VaR (Value at Risk). Second Pillar - Tier II The second pillar (supervisory review process) deals with the regulatory framework of the first pillar, giving regulators improvements on regulations provided by Basel I. Moreover, it provides regulations and measures to address other risks such as systemic risk, concentration risk, strategic risk, reputation risk, liquidity risk and legal risk. The result of the second pillar of Basel II was the creation of the Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (ICAAP). Third Pillar - Tier III The third pillar (market discipline) aims to raise the minimum capital requirements and the supervisory review process which will allow the market to calculate the capital adequacy of financial institutions. For market discipline to the regulations the exchange of information among banks is required, not only by the banks themselves but also by investors, financial analysts, competitive banks and rating agencies. In this way, it is required from banks to disclose details of their financial exposures, risk assessment processes and capital adequacy ratios. Such disclosures should be made at least twice a year, except from the provision of qualitative disclosures (a summary of the general risk management objectives and policies) that can be made on an annual basis. The three pillars of Basel II are not independent of each other, but on the contrary are very closely linked and mutually reinforcing. The correct application of the rules of the first pillar, regarding minimum capital requirements, requires the ability of the supervisors to carry out inspections of these rules through the potentialities provided by the second pillar. Moreover, the increased requirements for publication of data and information relating to the risk management of financial institutions, which are provided by the third pillar, form the right incentives for improvement of the risk management processes they utilize. In addition, new rules were introduced that relate to the weight coverage of securitized assets as well as current liabilities that are subject to capital requirements. Apart from the changes made to the basic methodology new regulations were introduced that are associated with the prevention and measurement of credit risk. Through these revisions banks are enabled to develop internal systems of credit risk assessment at various levels of complexity so as to achieve more accurate risk weight upon supervisory approval. 1.4 Basel II Shortcomings In the aftermath of the catastrophic effects of the current financial crisis and the consequential global recession, the authorities were motivated to review the international regulatory framework for the banking system, a process that led to the creation of Basel II. The new agreements, developed by the Basel Committee, address the whole range of regulatory and supervisory issues, including liquidity standards, credit risk, operational risk, market risk and the accounting principles. However, the main feature of these regulations is that banks must comply with a minimum required Tier 1 and capital adequacy ratio, on the risk weighted assets, of 4%. The objectives of this capital requirement are to absorb unexpected losses, but the financial crisis showed, in the most harmful way, that the expectations weren t met. The crisis highlighted a number of serious shortcomings of Basel II: The capital adequacy ratio of 4% was insufficient to offset the huge losses that banks suffered 251

252 The responsibility for assessing the risk of the counterparty is assigned to the credit rating agencies (S&P, Fitch, Moody s), which have proved to be vulnerable to potential conflicts of interest. Capital requirement is pro-cyclical: when the global economy is growing and there is a rise in asset prices, then the risks of counterparty and country tend to be reduced, so the capital requirement is respectively lower. However, in case of a recession, we have the opposite effects, as banks capital requirements increase and greater loan retention is needed. Basel II provides incentives for greater use of the process of securitization. This happens when the financial institutions re-package loans into asset-backed securities and then move them off their balance sheets, so as to reduce their assets risk weighting. As a result, this process allowed many banks to reduce their capital requirements and to take risks, while increasing their leverage. 1.5 The liquidity risk factor in Basel II The purpose of Basel II is to provide regulatory improvements in comparison to the requirements of Basel I. One of the improvements is the reference to the term liquidity risk, which is not foreseen in the provisions of the previous supervisory framework. The term liquidity risk means the potential inability of banks to cope with immediate obligations when they become due, without incurring excessive costs. Liquidity risk arises from the very nature of banking activities, as part of their intermediary operation, where banks convert operating current liabilities (e.g. deposits) into long term assets (e.g. loans). Liquidity risk may occur from either the side of the liabilities, as failure to renew maturing liabilities and non-expected deposits withdrawal, or from the side of assets, as failure to liquidate assets and higher than expected use of approved credits from customers. The aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the global credit crisis are two relatively recent examples of times when liquidity risk rose to abnormally high levels. Thus, liquidity risk was banks Achilles heel. 73 Rising liquidity risk often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, since panicky investors try to sell their holdings at any price, causing widening bid-ask spreads and large price declines, which further contribute to market illiquidity and so on. The literature identifies two dimensions of liquidity risk: The Funding Liquidity Risk which refers to the inability of a bank to find sufficient resources to fund its obligations. The Market Liquidity Risk which refers to the impossibility of immediate liquidation of an investment position without significant impact on its market value. The effective liquidity risk management is crucial for ensuring the proper functioning of a bank, as the lack of liquidity may threaten its own viability. For example, the lack of confidence of depositors can lead to sudden withdrawals (Bank Run) and the bank's failure to continue its normal operation. It is noted that liquidity problems can occur even when the banks have sufficient capital adequacy. The main determinants of liquidity risk are as follows: The availability of cash and highly liquid assets, which allows the bank to cover unpredictable cash needs. The maturity mismatch among receivables - liabilities, i.e. how more long term are the requirements of the bank in relation to its obligations and end The structure and the concentration level of the bank's funding sources. The stock of cash and highly liquid assets banks have mitigate liquidity risk they face due to the fact that, if necessary, banks may sell part of this stock to cover short-term cash needs. Instantly liquid assets are usually considered the government and corporate bonds, shares of companies that are traded on regulated markets and exchange-traded funds (Exchange Traded Funds - ETF's). 73 An Achilles heel (metaphor) is a deadly weakness in spite of overall strength, which can actually or potentially lead to downfall. In Greek mythology, when Achilles was a baby, it was foretold that he would die young. To prevent his death, his mother Thetis took Achilles to the River Styx, which was supposed to offer powers of invulnerability, and dipped his body into the water. But as Thetis held Achilles by the heel, his heel was not washed over by the water of the magical river, making it the only vulnerable part of his body. 252

253 As noted above, the liquidity risk is part of the intermediary operation of banks and cannot be erased. The higher the level of the maturity mismatch among accounts receivable-liabilities, the greater the liquidity risk, while the possibility of the inflow of resources not to be sufficient to cover the outflows in the future increases. Factors closely related to banks liquidity risk are also the structure and the concentration level of funding sources. In the traditional banking model, customer deposits are the primary source of funding for the banks activities while the interbank market, as well as the financial markets (capital and money), have usually a subsidiary role. This synthesis of funding sources has the advantage that deposits are a relatively stable and low cost source of capital however, the relatively long period of low interest rates in the recent year before the burst of the financial crisis, prompted investors to focus on the search for higher yields through alternative investments, a development that made it more difficult for banks to maintain its deposit base. Furthermore, the big increase in demand for loans by the private sector encouraged the development of alternative sources of funding beyond deposits, such as the interbank market and the issuance of securities (e.g. senior debt and subordinated debt). But the key factor that opened the Pandora s Box for banks was the wide application of the practice of credit claims creation and then securitization and distribution of them to the market. Essentially, there was a major shift from the traditional originate and hold to the originate and distribute banking model. So, as became clear during the recent crisis, the over-reliance of credit and other financial institutions for liquidity on the money markets, and through loans securitization, resulted in the dramatic rise of liquidity risk with all the known consequences. 1.6 Liquidity Risk Management under Basel II framework From all the above it is more than obvious that an active and effective management of liquidity risk is required. Policies that help to reduce liquidity risk are: Holding liquidity reserves in the form of readily marketable assets. Diversification of liquidity sources, i.e. avoiding dependence on a particular market or product. Balanced Structure of Financing as to maturity (long short term), currencies (domestic, foreign) and sources (retail deposits, interbank, credit titles, etc.) depending on the institutions needs. Setting of internal boundaries in order to restrict and control liquidity risk. The recent global financial crisis was and remains till now one of the most hot issues. Much of the criticism was directed at Basel II for not being able to prevent and properly handle the whole situation. The main reasons were: a) It promoted the use of complex financial products (derivatives etc) and guarantees as part of decreasing credit risk, but simultaneously brought the dealing with investment vehicles that were characterized by lack of transparency, with the most representative example been securitization. b) The minimum regulatory capital proved insufficient to deal with losses due to high leverage and reduced ability to absorb losses. c) It promoted excessive competition between credit institutions where the return on investment was evaluated regarding the pledging funds (use of RAROC-Risk Adjusted Return on Capital). d) amplified the usage of creative accounting and techniques of covering up credit risk (Risk Weighted Assets). e) didn t require from credit institutions to improve their minimum capital adequacy ratios by increasing capital and reducing risk-weighted assets, where in economic recession times leads to selling under pressure (fire sales), intensifying the pro-cyclical nature of the system. f) didn t take into account the intrinsic process of risk foundation. Internal models used by credit institutions based on the assumption that credit and operational risk are an exogenous process that can be quantified. This finding does not take into consideration the influence on risk development by those making the prediction. Something that applies to periods of stability where the heterogeneous reactions and predictions of economic factors cancel out. In contrast, during turbulent periods, emergent predictions and reactions show a high degree of homogeneity. This assumption implies that the risk assessment process is endogenous and therefore it becomes very difficult to be quantified. 1.7 The actions of the supervising authorities in response to the recent credit crunch 253

254 The current crisis of the international financial system proves that the prudential rules and the implemented policies to date were apparently insufficient to prevent the collapse of large financial groups that led to a deep economic recession. Therefore, new improved mechanisms were required to ensure financial stability and efficiency. It was actually an urgent call for a new strategy to support and radically reform the (not only) European financial system. So in order Basel Committee to be able to address system weaknesses revealed by the recent recession introduced a series of changes in the international regulatory framework. The Basel III treaty includes a set of proposed changes to international rules on banks capital adequacy and liquidity as well as certain matters relating to banking supervision. These changes move in micro prudential level (leverage ratio, liquidity ratios) that is aimed at strengthening the resilience (capital requirements) of individual banks in times of tension. It should be noted that a higher amount of capital implies greater ability to absorb losses, which automatically means that banks can withstand deeper recession periods. At the same time move in macro prudential level (prophylaxis from systemic risk) and focus on addressing systemic risk and also pro-cyclicality, as these risks occur usually over time. It is obvious that these two approaches, namely the micro and macro-prudential, are interconnected, as higher elasticity of capital adequacy ratio at bank level reduces the risk of a probable systemic crisis and strengthens the risk coverage of the capital requirements. 2. BASEL III & CAPITAL ADEQUACY The application of Basel III framework from early 2013 and gradually over six years period, aims at a significant increase in the content of the provisions of the previously existing regulatory framework of Basel II, and the strengthening of the international banking system s stability. This is probably the most important initiative of the Commission following the recent financial crisis. 2.1 The Institutional Framework of Basel III Since 2009, BCBS has issued a series of advisory documents to revise the existing guidelines on the banking sector. The proposed regulations have been the subject of extensive debate among central bankers and various experts, helping to create a new set of rules that shall address the shortcomings of Basel II. In November 2010, at the summit of the G-20 in Seoul, the final text of Basel III was approved. Briefly, the proposed new rules contain the following: The capital ratio Tier 1 increases from 4% to 6%. The required analogy of equity to risk weighted assets increases from 2% to 4.5%. Upon Basel III, the excess capital by risk-weighted assets (RWA) is considered as a reference point, substituting capital ratio Tier 1. The new rules introduce a new threshold for the capital reserve (buffer) which should be more than 2.5% and must consist of common stock. In stress periods (when the capital adequacy ratio of banks falls below 7%), financial institutions are authorized to use that excess capital by cutting the distribution of dividends or bonuses. These measures are expected to solve the problems of Basel II, according to which capital requirements were insufficient to cover large amounts of losses. The Basel Committee also proposes the establishment of a countercyclical capital surplus, which will be between 0% and 2.5% and will apply only to periods of excessive credit growth (based on the discretion of the national regulatory authorities). The purpose of this rule is to correct the pro-cyclicality of Basel II, particularly in periods of economic growth. The main changes are depicted in the next figure: 254

255 Figure 2: BASEL III compared to BASEL II Additionally, the proposed regulations aim to strengthen this system by introducing a leverage ratio of 3%, that in each case, the ratio of capital to total assets should be above this minimum limit. Finally, the big banks will have to comply with higher capital requirements, which have not yet been determined. All these settings for capital requirements shall help strengthening the stability of the financial sector. Nevertheless, from this reform certain risks arise. Firstly, the timing of the application of these regulations is relatively loose, so as to avoid any negative impact on credit conditions. Most regulations will be implemented gradually between the period , leaving enough time for national regulatory authorities and more financial institutions to prepare for higher capital requirements, without significantly affecting the level of borrowing. Thus, the proposed final structure of the enhanced regulatory capital as a percentage of risk-weighted assets, provided by the Basel III accord, is as follows: TABLE 1: Capital requirements COMMON EQUITY CAPITAL Basel II Basel III Minimum 2% 4,50% Stabilizing 0% 2,50% Total Required 2% 7% TIER I CAPITAL Minimum 4% 6% Total Required 8,50% TOTAL CAPITAL Minimum 8% 8% Total Required 10,50% The rates of the above categories of funds should always exceed some minimum standards arising from the risk-weighted assets. However, there is a risk that the implementation of Basel III would require some overleveraged and small banks to restrict credit supply, at least temporarily. In particular, this is likely to create tighter credit conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as for start-ups. 255

256 2.2 Basel III Capital Requirements After a long period of favorable economic conditions, the international financial system had to deal with two shocks, which occurred in rapid succession, the crisis of mortgage loans to borrowers of low credit (subprimes) and a significant increase in commodity prices. The two events, although disconnected, created pressures in the international financial system, in terms of financial stability and inflation. Central banks reacted by draining liquidity into the system and by reducing interest rates at unusually low levels. The global financial crisis occurred at the beginning of the implementation of a major effort to amend the prudential framework for capital requirements of Basel II. In this sense, Basel II couldn t be tested for its ability to mitigate the effects of crisis. At the same time, however, the lessons from the crisis highlighted some obvious weaknesses of Basel II and in international forums the debate on the future shape of banking supervision had already started, concerning the necessary modifications to the Basel II. It is clear that Basel II underestimated some significant risks and generally overestimated the ability of banks to manage their risks effectively. Whatever form the supervision takes in the foreseeable future, it is certain that the large and complex banking organizations (the so called systemically important ) will have stricter prudential requirements, restrictions on forms of risk taking, better corporate governance and more (and of better quality) funds. The latter was the subject of a notice of the Basel Committee on 12/9/2010 related to the new capital adequacy framework. Figure 3: New minimum capital requirements proposals As seen in the above Figure, the new framework introduces a new level (minimum 4.5%) of capital, with high absorbing capacity. The Tier I ratio also increases to 6% while the capital adequacy ratio remains at 8%. Further, it was agreed a conversation buffer, above the minimum of 2.5%, to be covered by common equity. The purpose of the conversation buffer is to ensure that banks maintain a capital "cushion" that can be used to absorb losses during periods of financial crisis. It also provided a counter-cyclical buffer between 0% - 2.5% of the share capital to be implemented at national level. The objective of the additional "cushion" funds is to achieve the broader macro-prudential goal of creating a safety net against risk concentration at systemic level. Finally, it should be noted that a transitional period of eight years exists and the above recommendations will be implemented fully on Proposals of the Basel III Framework concerning liquidity risk The new banking regulatory framework established for the first time at international level the two following liquidity ratios: 256

257 Table 3: Liquidity ratios according to Basel III regulatory framework 1. LCR is designed to ensure that financial institutions have the necessary assets on hand to ride out short-term liquidity disruptions. Banks are required to hold an amount of highly-liquid assets, such as cash or Treasury bonds, equal to or greater than their net cash over a 30 day period (having at least 100% coverage). The liquidity coverage ratio started to be regulated and measured in 2011, but the full 100% minimum won't be enforced until NSFR compares the amount of a firm s available stable funding (ASF, the ratio s numerator) to its required stable funding (RSF, the ratio s denominator) to measure how the firm s asset base is funded. This indicator aims to encourage the use of longer-term financing from banks. The reason behind this is the fact that during the financial crisis of , several banks, including the U.S. investment banks Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, suffered a liquidity crisis, due to their overreliance on short-term wholesale funding from the interbank lending market. Apart from these indicators, a new index is introduced, Leverage Ratio, which won t be adjusted to the risk (Non-Risk Based Leverage Ratio). The index is calculated as follows: Leverage Ratio= Tier I Capital 3% Total Assets The introduction and use of the leverage ratio aimed at two objectives, namely to establish a lower lending limit in the banking sector and to introduce additional security features used in the already used models for measuring risk and errors. Leverage is used in a way that is comparable among the various national legislations with adjustments of accounting standards for normalization of existing disputes. In the above context, the leverage ratio is the fraction of equity to total non-weighted assets. The main disadvantage is that as much capital is required as a guarantee for a bond of the US government (considered risk free) is equally required for a high risk loan. The main regulatory initiatives of Basel III are based in modifications to the provisions of the current framework governing the capital adequacy of international banks (Basel II) that were one of the main causes of the crisis. The leverage of the banking system was the product of the current regulatory framework, as banks in order to reduce the cost of its implementation, resorted widely to "regulatory capital arbitrage techniques, mainly with the use of excessive securitization. Consequently, new provisions were imposed concerning minimum bank equity and banks coverage over their exposure to credit risk. Moreover, new rules of micro-prudential regulatory intervention were introduced, due to the fact that the majority of the banks didn t have any liquidity reserves: a) Enforcement of leverage ratio. b) Imposition of liquidity ratios (Short-term LCR & Long NSFR). 257

258 c) Tools for monitoring liquidity risk by the supervising authorities. Additionally, as there were no tools for the prevention of systemic risk in the financial system, new rules of macro-prudential regulatory intervention were imposed such as: Capital Conversation Buffer for maintenance purposes Countercyclical Capital Buffer in exceptional cases. It is expected that the aforementioned new rules will affect the functioning of banks, but also the overall economic activity due to the associated costs of implementation. From all the above we come to the conclusion that the three key elements of the new regulatory framework are the slightly higher capital ratios, better capital quality and stricter liquidity requirements. It is clear that banks capital requirements will increase dramatically (especially in times of economic growth), while the application of the provisions on liquidity ratios will lead in some cases to a whole redefinition of their business model. Therefore, it is obvious that the profit margins of banks in the new environment will be reduced significantly, as well as their return on equity. And this can t be avoided whatever is the ability to pass on the cost to the recipients of services and whatever the capability to cut operating costs. In general, regarding the regulation of liquidity, the economic activity will also be affected by an increase in the cost of banking intermediation. In addition, if the required return on equity and the cost of bank lending are not adjusted to the new framework, then the banks will increase lending spreads in order to offset for the higher cost of financing. 2.4 New provisions concerning banking capital adequacy The main changes that the new regulatory framework brought about are summarized to the following: Provisions on minimum banking capital equity As mentioned in the previous sections, the most important amendment to the current regulatory framework of the Basel Committee is related to the capital adequacy of banks and the definition of their regulatory equity capital. Provisions for the protection of banks towards their exposure to credit risk During the recent crisis some banks suffered significant losses from exposures for which no capital adequacy rules were established. For this reason, the new framework seeks to enhance the coverage of banks towards their exposure to credit risk from elements of their portfolio (on and off-balance sheet) such as OTC derivatives, sale and repurchase agreements, loans for the purchase of securities and positions in derivatives etc. Furthermore, new provisions were introduced regarding the following: - When calculating the capital requirements to cover against credit risk, under the standardized approach, banks are required to assess the credit risk of their exposures, regardless of whether there exists or not a credit assessment by the Credit Rating Agencies (CRA) and also to check whether the weights applied to such exposures are adequate or not. - In order to identify as "eligible" a Credit Rating Agency, national supervisory authorities should monitor on an ongoing basis if it meets the relevant criteria, taking as a reference the revised Code of IOSCO (International Organization of Securities Commissions) of 2008 for Credit Rating Agencies. 2.5 Underlying risks by the implementation of the new rules As perceived, the new banking environment will be strongly altered by the implementation of the Basel III rules. And this is supported by the fact that Basel III is just one of the measures of regulatory intervention in the functioning of banks that are currently underway, in accordance with the above. This is of course the price of the necessity of equipping the stability of the banking system at global level, against the possibility of the occurrence of a major new financial crisis like the recent one. Even if it is correct the assertion that the new environment is characterized by trends of overregulation, the experience of the recent recession makes the new measures necessary and politically justifiable. In this context, however, the following major risks arise, the importance of which should not be underestimated: a) First of all, the application of the new rules might, at least in some cases, lead to a reduction in the credit supply provided by banks, with negative effects on the real sector of the economy and growth. Therefore, it is critical to have accurate and reliable estimates regarding the anticipated impact of the 258

259 above factors on the lending activity of banks (particularly the smaller ones and those specialized in mortgage and consumer loans), both in times of economic growth and recession. b) Additionally, since the whole of the banking system will have to draw from the markets huge amounts of capital (even at a six year period), predominantly by the issuance of common shares, the expected lower returns on equity of banks will bring them in a competitive disadvantage compared to companies in other sectors of the economy, the capital return of which will remain constant or will tend to increase. At this point, it should be noted that the systemically important banks may be imposed to one additional (beyond the above) capital requirement of 2% of risk-weighted assets and of off-balance sheet data, which should also be covered by their own equity. This implies that the share capital of the large international banks may (in extremis) octuple during the next few years. Consequently, many banks which won t be able to make the necessary capital raising from the markets, will be forced to comply with the requirements of the new regulatory framework by taking the following actions: Deleveraging, shrinking in this case their lending activity, and/or Restructuring that will lead to greater concentration in the banking sector, without being obvious what will be the positive synergies of it. Finally, the need for cost reduction, provoked by the new regulatory framework, may lead to: a) A new round of "regulatory arbitrage", mainly by shifting activities in parts of the financial system that will continue to not operate under regulatory oversight and intervention (the so-called «Shadow Banking System», which as mentioned above was one of the major causes of the crisis), or in countries with loose regulatory and supervisory framework and b) Financial innovations which may expose banks to risks that haven t yet been identified. This makes it necessary for the role of the supervisory authorities to be upgraded so as to be able to monitor the ongoing developments taking place and submit their proposals for appropriate adjustment of the regulatory framework in time. 3. Concluding remarks & future implications Unlike Basel I and Basel II recommendations, Basel III prudential rules are mainly issued in response to the recent global financial crisis that was even worse compared to the previous similar ones. A number of enhancements have been proposed to strengthen the Basel accord. New capital, leverage and liquidity requirements have been proposed by the BCBS to enhance regulation, supervision and risk management of the banking sector. Basel III, the modified accord, strengthens the three pillars of Basel II, particularly Pillar 1 with enhanced minimum capital and liquidity requirements. The key changes are summarized to the following: The modified capital standards and the new capital buffers will require banks to hold more capital and higher quality of capital. Moreover, the new leverage and liquidity ratios propose a non-risk based measure to supplement the risk-based minimum capital requirements to ensure that adequate funding is maintained during stress periods. Additionally, the capital required in respect of counterparty credit risk and market. The main focus of the Basel accord modifications is to improve the loss-absorption capacity of banking institutions through stronger capital. Funding and liquidity requirements are intended to further enhance the short- and long-term stability of the financial system. To enhance the capital quality of banks, the modified rules require that common equity form a larger core component of bank s capital. The minimum ratio of common equity to risk-weighted assets will go up to 4.5 percent in 2015 from the currently requirement of 2 percent. The qualifying elements within Tier 1 capital are the common shares, minority interests, and retained earnings and, from January 2013, other instruments not meeting the criteria for inclusion in common equity will be excluded and will be phased out over a 10-year horizon. Two types of capital buffers will be required under Basel III: the Capital Conservation Buffer and the Countercyclical Capital Buffer. Both will be added on top of common equity requirements. Capital Conservation Buffer will be phased in, starting at 0.6 percent of RWAs in 2016 and reaching 2.5 percent of RWAs in It will need to be met entirely with common equity. The purpose of this additional capital is to avoid breaching the minimum capital requirements, particularly in periods 259

260 of stress. Local supervisors will decide whether and, if so, for how long local institutions can operate within the buffer range. Similarly, the countercyclical capital buffer will be added on top of the common equity requirements. However, it can be met with both common equity and other fullyabsorbing capital. It could be as low as zero, but it could reach up to 2.5 percent of RWAs in periods of excessive growth. Together with the capital conservation buffer, the required amount of fullyabsorbing capital could reach up to 9.5 percent of RWAs. Additional Tier 1 capital of 1.5 percent of RWAs and Tier 2 capital of 2 percent of RWAs are required under Basel III, which increase the total capital requirements to 10.5 percent by Both of these requirements can be met using either common equity or financial instruments with loss-absorption features and without any incentive to redeem. However, under Basel III minimum requirements, capital instruments that do not meet the requirements for inclusion in Tier 1 common equity capital will be excluded as from January 1, 2013, unless certain conditions are met, in which case they are proposed to be phased out over the following 10 years. Only instruments issued before 12 September 2010 would qualify for the proposed transition arrangements. Other existing public sector capital injections would be grandfathered until January 1, Under Basel III, a leverage ratio will be reported to supervisors starting in 2013, with disclosure after 2015 and with an objective of making it part of Pillar 1 capital requirements in It is calculated as the ratio of Tier 1 capital to the total unweighted assets, including some off-balance sheet assets. Banks would be required to maintain a leverage ratio of 3 percent or more. The unweighted assets include provisions, loans, off-balance sheet items with full conversion, and all derivatives. The main purpose of this ratio is to constrain leverage in the banking sector, while also helping to safeguard against model risk and measurement errors. In order to reduce liquidity risk, Basel III rules introduce two new measures, which are the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) and the Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR). So after the full implementation of the regulatory framework set by Basel III the banking system shall be well shielded against any kind of risk and prepared properly to face any threat. On the contrary, as analyzed before, a series of major risks arise by the application of the new rules with the major ones been the economic impact on real economy and the existence of the shadow banking system, which is a constant threat to the global financial system. As a result, a number of serious questions come to light: What future holds for the global banking system under the newly established regulatory framework? Can the bank stability also bring financial stability? What is the economic cost provoked by the new regulations? In what level is real economy affected? Which are the hidden requirements that lie beneath these rules? Will the prudential rules affect bank credit policies? What will be the interaction between regulated and unregulated sectors of the economy? Can financial innovations pass by the regulations? It is clear that the broad application of the new rules of Basel III will produce a more stable banking system by the implementation of stricter capital adequacy ratios that aim to ensure liquidity in times of financial distress. So it s in the authorities hands to monitor the financial and banking conditions and intervene to the extent that every time is needed so as to ensure the regulatory rules are followed and guarantee the required capital structure avoiding liquidity traps (Vousinas G. 2013). In conclusion, it is of critical importance for the global financial system to confront to the same rules through common target policies of the central banks from one side and the regulators from the other. The top economies of the world currently have different policies regarding the objectives of their regulation systems due to many reasons, but the financial crisis of our times has underlined the chain effects of shocks and proved that combined actions should be undertaken to prevent such situations. Thus, for the economic system to work properly and with the minimum risks, the newly established rules must be strictly followed in such a way that doesn t affect real economy s financing channels as well as flexibility of banking 260

261 business plans. And to do justice with the truth, if Basel III succeeds in this tough task it will be Heracles 13 th labour. References Albertazzi U., Eramo G., Gambacorta L., and Salleo C., (2011): «Securitization is not that evil after all bis». Working Papers March, No 341 Aliaga-Díaz Roger and Olivero María Pía (2012). Do Bank Capital requirements amplify business cycles? The gap between theory and empirics, Macroeconomic Dynamics, 16, pp Angelini P., Clerc L., Cúrdia V., Gambacorta L., Gerali A., Locarno A., Motto R., Roeger W., Heuvel Van den S., Vlček J., (2011): «BASEL III: Long-Term Impact on Economic Performance and Fluctuations». Staff Report February, no. 485 Atkinson P., Blundell-Wignall A. (2010), Thinking beyond Basel III Necessary solutions for capital and liquidity, OECD Market Trends No. 98 Volume 2010/1 Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (December 2010): «Basel III: A global regulatory framework for more resilient banks and banking systems» BCBS (2010), Basel III: A global regulatory framework for more resilient banks and banking systems, December (rev. June 2011) Catarineu-Rabell E., Jackson P., and Tsomocos D., (2002): «Procyclicality and the New Basel Accord - banks choice of loan rating system», paper presented at a conference on the impact of economic slowdowns on financial institutions and their regulators, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, April Caruana J., (2010): «Basel III: towards a safer financial system» speech by Mr. Jaime Caruana, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements, at the 3rd Santander International Banking Conference, Madrid, 15 September International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), Technical Committee (2008): Code of Conduct Fundamentals for Credit Rating Jordan J., Peek J., and Rosengren E., (2002): «Credit risk modeling and the cyclicality of Capital», Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, paper prepared for a conference on hanges in risk through time: measurement and policy options, BIS, Basel, March Kashyap Anil K., and Stein Jeremy C.,(2003) «Cyclical Implications of the Basel -II Capital Standards» Tingting Gu, (2011) Procyclicality of the Basel II Credit Risk Measurements and the Improvements in Basel III, Aarhus School of Business, Aarhus University Repullo R., and Suarez J., (2008): «The Procyclical Effects of Basel II» Siegfried Utzig, (2010): The financial crisis and the regulation of credit rating agencies: A European banking perspective, ADBI working paper series, No. 188 Sorensen C.K., & Gutierrez J.M., (2006): «Euro area banking sector integration: Using hierarchical cluster analysis techniques». ECB working paper no. 627 Segoviano M. A., and Lowe P., (2002): «Internal ratings, the business cycle and capital requirements: some evidence from an emerging market economy», paper presented at a conference on The impact of economic slowdowns on financial institutions and their regulators, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, April. Vousinas G., "The Transmission Channels between Financial Sector and Real Economy in Light of the Current Financial Crisis: a Critical Survey of the Literature," Modern Economy, Vol. 4 No. 4, 2013, pp

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263 DIVIDEND PAYOUT AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ACROSS THE GREEK LISTED FIRMS IRAKLIS APERGIS, Athens School of Economics and Business, SOFIA ELEFTHERIOU, University of Piraeus ABSTRACT This paper seeks to test the outcome and substitution agency models of dividends at different stages of the corporate life-cycle. In a sample of Greek listed firms, the empirical analysis shows that the outcome model of dividends, which predicts that dividend payout increases in the strength of shareholder rights, prevails along the corporate life-cycle, but only where creditor rights are strong. Therefore, the agency cost of equity and debt versions of the outcome model of dividends holds. The findings document no evidence in support of the substitution model of dividends. Moreover, the results serve to highlight the profound influence that creditors exert on corporate payout policies. When shareholders enjoy considerable legal rights, but not so creditors, creditors demand, and firms consent to lower dividends. Keywords: Dividend payout, corporate governance, Greek listed firms 1. INTRODUCTION The fundamental goal of financial management is to maximize the current value per share of the stock market. One substantial financial decision affecting this value maximization goal is the dividend policy. In an early paper, Black (1976) coins the term the dividends puzzle to illustrate the poor understanding of dividend payment policy: The harder we look at the dividend picture, the more it seems like a puzzle, with pieces that just don t fit together. Over the years, dozens of theories have attempted to explain the dividends phenomenon with no consensus reached. Many of the theories view agents as rational and dividends either serve as an efficient way to resolve agency problems or as a signaling device to mitigate information asymmetry problems. According to La Porta et al. (2000), and Brockman and Unlu (2009), the strength of the legal rights afforded to the providers of capital to corporations influence the corporate dividend policy. Moreover, the former relate shareholder rights, measure the corporate dividend payout, and test two competing agency models of dividends, such as the outcome and substitution models. Furthermore, the creditor rights influence dividend policies around the world by establishing the balance of power between debt and equity claimants. Creditors demand and managers consent to a more restrictive payout policy as a substitute for weak creditor rights in an effort to minimize the firm's agency costs of debt. 2. LITRATURE ON DIVIDEND POLICIES AND CORPORATE COVERMENCE According to Linter (1956), Linter (1962), Bhattacharya (1979), Miller and Rock (1985), the corporate dividend policy is designed to reveal profit-earning prospects of a firm to their investors. Many empirical studies provide evidence in favor of this model. Fama and Babiak (1968) argue that the firms set their target dividend level and attempt to stick to it. Furthermore, based on the signaling approach, there may be interrelations between dividend payout policy and agency costs of the firm (Jensen and Meckling, 1976; Easterbrook, 1984). Dividend payout policy is an effect of the conflict between the insiders and the outsiders. Jensen and Meckling (1976), Rozeff (1982), and Easterbrook (1984) favor agency cost explanations for changes in dividends payout, while decomposing whether dividends can act as a method to align manager s interests with those of investors. Accordingly, the firm pays dividends in order to reduce agency costs, as payment of dividends reduce the discretionary funds available to managers. Jensen (1986) documents that in the presence of free cash flows, the firm pays dividends or retires its debts to restrict the agency cost of free cash flow. Kalay (1982) explores a large sample of bond indentures focusing on collision between shareholders and bondholders on the dividend decision. The empirical observation by Lintner s (1956) shows that firms gradually adjust dividends in response to changes in earnings, that have acquired the status of a stylized fact on corporate dividend policy. Initially, his work suggests that managers change dividends in response to unanticipated and nontransitory changes in their firm s earnings, and they have reasonably defined policies in terms of the speed with which they adjust dividends towards a long-run target payout ratio. Empirical studies, such as Lintner s (1956), have confirmed Fama and Babiak (1968) original findings. 263

264 Another strand in the literature compares dividend payout to firms life cycle. Especially, a great number of papers observe that the firms that pay dividends, tend to be more mature and unpredictable. Grullon et al. (2002) argue that firms increase or decrease dividends experience a future decline or increase in their profitability. The authors argue that firms exhaust their investment opportunities, increase their dividends, and hence dividends display firm maturity rather than signalling future profitability. Several papers highlight the link between dividends and idiosyncratic risk. In particular, Venkatesh (1989) shows that idiosyncratic risk and the informational content of earnings fall, following dividends initiation. Moreover, Fink et al. (2006) document that dividend-paying firms have lower idiosyncratic volatility. Furthermore, Bradley et al. (1998) and Chay and Suh (2008) explain the association between dividends and volatility. Only firms with low cash-flow uncertainty feel comfortable in committing to paying dividends, an attitude consistent with the conservative managerial views by Lintner (1956) and Brav et al. (2005). According to Hoberg and Prabhala (2009), the disappearance of dividends (Fama and French, 2001) is associated with an increase in the idiosyncratic risk. 3. DATA In this study we examine the relationship between the strength of corporate governance and corporate dividend policy for manufacturing listed firms in Greece along their corporate life-cycle. To measure the strength of corporate governance, we follow Mitton (2004) and use the corporate governance scores analysis, developed by Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia (CLSA, 2001). The CLSA governance ratings range from 0 to 100 with higher values suggesting better corporate governance. We also employ the dividend payout yield, as dividends per earning measured as cash dividends paid to common and preferred shareholders. The firm size is measured as their total assets and the profitability is measured as earnings per share. Moreover, the firms growth is measured through the capitalization metric of the listed firms, firms cash is their cash flows, and total equity is measured as total shareholders equity, scaled by book assets. Size and profitability are expected to impact positively on dividend policy. By contrast, high growth firms typically pay smaller dividends. Finally, the expected relationship between cash and dividend payout is ambiguous. All data are on a daily basis and are sourced from DataStream, spanning the time range from 2004 to 2014, with the total sample consisting of 15 listed firms from the Athens Stock Exchange. 4. EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS The empirical model is well described by the following equation: it it 1 it 2 it 3 it 4 it 5 it 6 EQ I t + ε it (1) where: it is dividends to yield, it is the corporate governance score for each firm i, itis total assets, it is displays the capitalization of the firm, it is earnings per share, itis cash flows per share, and EQ it is equity. α it denotes the presence of fixed effects. We resort to the following first generation unit root tests: the MW test (Maddala and Wu, 1999), the Choi test (Choi, 2001), the LLC test (Levin et al., 2002) and the IPS test (Im et al., 2003), that are all based on the assumption of independent cross-section units. The results for the panel unit root tests are provided in Table 1. They recommend that for all variables except for the score variable, we can reject the null hypothesis of unit root at the 1% significance level. 264

265 Table 1. Panel unit root tests Variable MW test Choi test LLC test IPS test DIVY ΔDIVY SCORE ASSET ΔASSET MARV ΔMARV EPS ΔEPS CFPS ΔCFPS EQ ΔEQ Critical values at the 1%, 5% and 10% significance levels are respectively: MW [7.57, 6.41, 5.41], Choi [2.33, 1.64, 1.28], LLC [-2.33, -1.64, -1.28], IPS [-2.33, -1.64, -1.28]. Given the panel unit root results in Table 1, the empirical analysis proceeds by estimating equation (1) through a fixed effect OLS regression. The presence of specific factors in each listed firm can be tested by the hypothesis that there exist significant individual effects in the estimated regression through a joint restrictions F test. If the value of the F statistic exceeds the critical value, there is evidence that specific corporate effects are present in the estimated model. The F test (H 0 : fixed effects = 0) results suggest that using the panel data methodology provides relevant information gains, and in this case, the OLS estimation may generate biased results. As the panel data methodology is the most appropriate, the issue now is to choose the estimation method for fixed effects (FE) or random effects (RE). In the case, in which the used data are not random extractions from a larger sample, the fixed effects model is the most appropriate estimation methodology. Furthermore, in the fixed effects model, the estimator is robust to the omission of relevant explanatory variables that do not vary over time, and even when the random effects approach is valid, the estimator of fixed effects is consistent, only less efficient. Therefore, the estimation by fixed effects appears to be the most appropriate for our empirical purposes. Table 2 reported the fixed effects findings. Table 2. Fixed effects estimates Variable Coefficient p-value Intercept [0.38] SCORE 0.928*** [0.00] ΔASSET 0.672* [0.07] ΔMARV -2.85** [0.04] ΔEPS 0.455** [0.05] ΔCFPS 1.247*** [0.01] ΔEQ 2.108** [0.02] Diagnostics R 2 -adjusted 0.64 Hausman test [0.00] No. of firms

266 Figures in parentheses denote p-values. *, ** and *** denote statistical significance at the 10%, 5% and 1% level, respectively. The findings presented in Table 2 are in line with Mitton (2004) and provide support in favor of the outcome model of dividends. The coefficient estimate on the corporate governance variable (SCORE) is positive and statistically different to zero. Its value turns to be (p<.01). This coefficient estimate implies that a one percent change in corporate governance, changes dividend payout by 0.93 percentage points. The firm-level control variables are of the correct sign. Large (ΔASSET) and profitable (ΔCFPS) firms pay higher dividends. Growth (ΔMARV) firms tend to pay lower dividends. Furthermore, and consistent with the life-cycle model of dividends, dividend payout increases with corporate maturity i.e. when earnings per share (ΔEPS) increases. Overall, the findings are consistent with Mitton (2004) and provide support for the outcome model of dividends. Shareholders use their legal rights, in this instance measured at the firm-level, to extract large dividends from firms. All else equal, dividend payouts are greater in better governed firms. The reported Hausman specification test has been used to determine which one of the alternative panel analysis methods (fixed effects model and random effects model). With respect to the test, The null H 0 hypothesis claims that random effects exist, while the alternative H 1 hypothesis claims that random effects do not exist. The results in Table 2 illustrate that the H 0 hypothesis is rejected at the 1% significance level, thus, not all of the individual effects in the dividend yield model are random, but are fixed. In other words, the H 1 hypothesis is valid according to which the fixed effects model is more effective than its random effects counterpart. 5. CONCLUSION This paper tested the outcome and substitution model of dividends, recommended by La Porta et al. (2000) along the corporate life-cycle. In particular, it tested the hypothesis that the outcome model of dividends can explains the ability of firms to pay higher dividends, either as an outcome of strong governance, or a substitute for weak governance, is contingent on strong creditor rights. Using a sample of 15 firms from the Greek stock market, the analysis provide supportive evidence on that the outcome model holds along the corporate life-cycle. In other words, at all stages along the corporate life-cycle, better-governed firms pay larger dividends than their poorly-governed counterparts. It also showed that they can only do so where creditor rights are strong. These findings are in line with those of Brockman and Unlu (2009), Shao et al. (2009) and Byrne and O Connor (2012) which show that the agency cost of equity and debt version of the outcome model of dividends holds, i.e. dividend payouts are largest where shareholder and creditor rights are strong. REFERENCES Black, F. (1976) The Dividend Puzzle, Journal of Portfolio Management, 2, 5-8. Bradley, M., D.R. Capozza, P.J. Seguin Dividend policy and cash-flow uncertainty. Real Estate Economics 26, Brav, A., J.R. Graham, C.R. Harvey, R. Michaely Payout policy in the 21st century. Journal of Financial Economics 77, Brockman P, E. Unlu Dividend policy, creditor rights, and the agency costs of debt. Journal of Financial Economics 92, Brockman P, E. Unlu Earned/contributed capital, dividend policy, and disclosure quality: an international study. Journal of Banking & Finance 35, Byrne, J., T. O Connor Creditor rights and the outcome model of dividends. The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance 52, Chay, J.B., J. Suh Payout policy and cash-flow uncertainty. Journal of Financial Economics 93, Easterbrook, F Two agency cost explanations of dividends. American Economic Review 74,

267 Grullon, G., R. Michaely, B. Swaminathan Are dividend changes a sign of firm maturity? Journal of Business 75, Fama, E., H. Babiak Dividend policy: an empirical analysis. American Statistical Association Journal 63, Fama, E.F., K.R. French Disappearing dividends: Changing firm characteristics or lower propensity to pay? Journal of Financial Economics 60, Fink, J., K.E. Fink, G. Grullon, J.P. Weston Firm age and fluctuations in idiosyncratic risk. Working Paper, James Madison University and Rice University. Hoberg, G., N.R. Prabhala Disappearing dividends, catering, and risk. Review of Financial Studies 22, La Porta, R., F. Lopez-de-Silanes, A. Shleifer, R. Vishny Investor protection and corporate governance. Journal of Financial Economics 58, Lintner, J Distribution of income of corporations among dividends, retained earnings and taxes. American Economic Review 46, Mitton, T Corporate governance and dividend policy in emerging markets. Emerging Markets Review 5, Shao, L., C. Kwok, O. Guedhami Dividend policy: balancing interests between shareholders and creditors. Working Paper, University of South California. Venkatesh, P.C The impact of dividend initiation on the information content of earnings announcements and returns volatility. Journal of Business 62,

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269 A STATISTICAL STUDY ON THE EQUITY MUTUAL FUNDS IN GREECE MARIA PANTA Abstract The present paper deals with the evaluation of the Greek equity mutual funds market performance. The data on which the empirical study is based are monthly and cover the period 03/01/2008 to 31/12/2014. The paper examines the mutual funds selectivity and market timing abilities, in accordance with the standard Capital Asset Pricing Model. By further specializing our analysis, we will evaluate their performance in order to get to useful conclusions. 1. Introduction The Capital Asset Pricing Model consists of an extension of the portfolio theory as it has originally been expounded by Markowitz [7]. It describes the relationship between a capital asset s expected performance and its level of risk (beta coefficient); it has been developed by W. Sharpe [10] and Jon Mossin [8]. Several studies have historically been conducted on the mutual funds performance [1], [2], [4], [5], [9]. In 1966, Sharpe [10], author of one of those studies, examined the risk-adjusted performance of 34 mutual funds over the period and showed that 19 out of 34 mutual funds delivered a higher performance than the market portfolio. Sharpe s study sustains that the market is efficient and that competent funds managers are able to diversify their portfolios accordingly, while assessing risks properly, ensuring in that way a good performance. Following Sharpe s line of thought, Jensen [4] studied 115 mutual funds between 1945 and Taking into consideration the transactions cost, he found that only 43 out of 115 portfolios outperformed the market index. Friend, Blume and Crockett [3] measured 136 mutual funds for the period from 1960 to 1968 and concluded that mutual funds did not outperform uniformly-distributed random portfolios. 2. Methodology The implementation of the method was derived from the monthly data of 13 Greek domestic mutual funds in the period from 03/01/2008 to 31/12/2014. The monthly performances of both the mutual funds and the General Index of the Athens Stock Exchange have been taken into account in order to calculate the Pi, t formula Y i, t log, where P i,t is the value of the equity mutual fund i at the end of the time period Pi, t 1 (month) t and P i,t-1 the value at the end of the time period t-1. Let us consider the model of the market for a mutual fund: Yt a b X t ut, for each t=1,2,,n where: Y t : the excess return of the equity mutual fund, X t : the excess return of the market, : the expected (average) excess return of the mutual fund when the net (average) return of the General Index is zero, b : the systematic risk of the equity mutual fund i, u t : the disruptive condition. If α>0, then the mutual fund has achieved a higher return than the General Index and, as a result, is more manageable than a mutual fund with a zero α ratio. In that case, we say that the mutual fund entails selectivity, meaning that its manager has succeeded in combining shares into a portfolio in such a way that he achieves a higher performance than the market. A good mutual fund is one which not only exhibits selectivity, but has also what we call market timing ability. It is well known that when the market is bullish, i.e. when X t >0, most stock prices are going up. It is expected in such a case that the mutual fund manager will tend to be more exposed to risk and will buy stocks. When the market is bearish, then most stock prices are falling and it should be logical to expect a 269

270 minor exposure to risk on part of the fund manager, who is more likely to buy CDs or to keep some of his money in cash. Consequently, one should expect a positive relationship to occur between risks assessment, as it is expressed by β, and the market situation. It means, to begin with, that β cannot remain unaltered through time, in other words we should have this kind of model: Y t a X u. t t t If we assume that the relationship between β and the market situation is linear, then we shall have this equation:, με k 0 t kx t and the model above shall take the form of a second-degree polynomial: Y t t 2 t a X kx u. t So, what we come to is a second-degree equation. The assessment of this equation with the least squares method allows us to examine both the selectivity, i.e. α>0, and the market timing ability, i.e. k>0. In Table 1, one can see the ratio assessments for each mutual fund, shown in columns, the t values (t-statistic), 2 presented between brackets, as well as the values of the coefficient of determination R and the values of the Durbin-Watson ratio (autocorrelation test). 3. Results We can notice in the table below (Table 1) that no equity mutual fund do entail selectivity, because the absolute value of the t-statistics do not exceed 1,96 at 0.05 level of significance. In addition, the fund manager has achieved market timing only for two mutual funds (Α7,A9), since the absolute value of the t- statistics exceed 1,96 at 0.05 level of significance. The timing ratio is hardly 20%. We also notice that the 2 R coefficient is quite high, which means that the model interprets the data to a great extent. Moreover, the Durbin-Watson ratio is near the value of 2, which implies that we do not have any autocorrelation in the residuals. Table 1 Mutual fund A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 Selectivity Test (α) -0, (1,11) 0, (1,38) -0, (0,92) -0, (0,49) -0, (0,59) -0, (0,35) 0, (0,22) Market Timing Test (k) 0,28229 (1,5) -0,0597 (0,75) 0,4929 (1,8) 0,2567 (0,56) -0,081 (0,46) -0,33 (1,03) 0,2588 (2,78) Durbin- Watson R 2 1,91 0,91 2,17 0,98 1,74 0,88 1,78 0,84 1,85 0,95 2,08 0,82 1,99 0,97 270

271 A8 A9 A10 A11 A12 A13-0, (3,06) 0, (1,21) 0, (0,84) -0, (1,23) 0, (0,53) -0, (1,51) 0,3544 (0,57) 0,677 (4,8) -0,0553 (0,19) -0,27 (2,07) -0,18 (1,62) 0,27 (1,92) 2,45 0,66 2,08 0,95 1,88 0,79 2,07 0,95 1,95 0,96 2,07 0,92 We notice that the General Index of the Athens Stock Exchange rates second according to the Sharpe and Treynor indexes. It means that the mutual funds (except Α2) have a lower rate of return in relation to the risk, in comparison with to the market portfolio represented by the General Index. 4. Conclusions Based on the results, it is safe to say that the evaluation of mutual funds is a quite complex procedure and depends on many variables. In this paper, we have observed that mutual funds did not entail selectivity, while presenting a rather low market timing ability, during the time period from 03/01/2008 to 31/12/2014. We have also used simple methods that are easily perceived and assessed by investors. Far more elaborated methods have been developed in the international literature, which make use of more variables and tend to achieve more precise results. It is therefore necessary for the mutual funds assets management to become more substantial, in order to provide a more attractive portfolio performance than the standard market return, with the ultimate aim to draw new domestic and foreign investors. Bibliography [1] Edelen Rorer M. and Warner Jerold B., (2001), Aggregate Price Effects of Institutional Trading: A study of Mutual Fund Flow and Market Returns, Journal of Financial Economics, 59(2), pp [2] Dahlquist Magnus, Engstrom Stefan and Soderlind Paul, (2000), Performance and Characteristics of Swedish Mutual Funds, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 35(3), pp [3] Friend, M. Blume and J. Crockett, Mutual Funds and Other Institutional Investors: A New Perspective, McGraw-Hill Book Co, New York, [4] Jensen, Michael C., (1968), The performance of mutual funds in the period , Journal of Finance 23, [5] Kaimakamis, George. "A note on the performance of Mutual Equity Funds." Communications in Mathematical Finance 3.1 (2014): [6] Koulis, Alexandros, et al. "An Assessment of the Performance of Greek Mutual Equity Funds Selectivity and Market Timing." Applied Mathematical Sciences 5.4 (2011): [7] Markowitz, H., Portfolio Selection, The Journal of Finance, 7(1), (1952), [8] J. Mossin, Equilibrium in a Capital Market, Econometrica, 34 (1966), [9] N. Philippas and C. Psoma, Equity Mutual Fund Managers Performance in Greece, Journal of Managerial Finance, 27(6), (2001), [10] Sharpe, William F., (1966). Mutual Fund Performance. Journal of Business 39, Part 2: pp

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273 CREATING A PARTIAL SUPPLY CHAIN REFERENCE MODEL FOR THE ENERGY INDUSTRY SOTIRIS P. GAYIALIS, National Technical University of Athens DIMITRIOS-ROBERT I. STAMATIOU, National Technical University of Athens STAVROS T. PONIS, National Technical University of Athens NIKOLAOS A. PANAYIOTOU, National Technical University of Athens ABSTRACT Contemporary supply chains are undoubtedly very complex and involve many autonomous organisations with a variety of business processes and a series of decisions and risk which affect the variability of demand. The energy supply chain is no different, even though it presents much dissimilarity to manufacturing supply chains. In this paper, the methodology of creating a process reference model for the energy supply chain is described. The generic reference model SC REMEDY (Supply Chain Reference Model for Managing Demand Variability), has been created through the research project ODYSSEUS. A hybrid top-down and bottom-up methodology was followed, through which the partial reference model was created. The generic SC REMEDY model was adopted for the top-down approach. Three case studies of companies participating in different tiers of the energy supply chain were examined and their specific supply chain processes were analysed. Bearing in mind the literature on energy supply chain management and through the collation of the REMEDY processes and company specific processes, a partial reference model was created for the energy industry. This partial reference model focusses on demand variability management, benefits from the use of the decision, knowledge, IT and risk views of the generic reference model and its new characteristics and particularities are described in detail. The outcome of this study is both the validation of the SC REMEDY generic reference model through its instantiation to a partial model and the creation of a reference model which can be applied in particular energy supply chains. KEYWORDS Energy, Process reference model, Process modelling, REMEDY model, Supply chain INTRODUCTION Supply chain management (SCM) is recognized as the integration of key business processes across the supply chain (Croxton et al. 2001). The supply chain is not just a chain of businesses with one-to-one, business-to-business relationships, but a network of businesses and relationships. SCM deals with the synergy of intra- and inter-company integration and eventually refers to total business process excellence and represents a new way of managing the business and relationships between the members of the supply chain (Lambert and Knemeyer 2007). Supply chain performance can be improved through supply chain integration, and to that purpose, reference models provide the necessary standardized processes that can support the construction of links and relationships between companies participating in the network (Ponis et al. 2015). Reference models are generic conceptual models that formalize recommended practices for a certain domain (Rosemann and van der Aalst 2007). Reference models provide extended processes for optimal performance. The main characteristics of these models are their reusability, their adaptation of best practices and their universal applicability. These characteristics are met to the generic reference models as well as the partial reference models. Although there are several research efforts for modeling the supply chain processes, only a few reference models for supply chain identified in the literature (Gayialis et al. 2015a). The supply chain REMEDY model (Reference Model for Managing Demand Variability) introduced in the work of Ponis et al. (2013), as a generic reference model in the form of a business process repository of process models and processrelated information in a dynamic and easy to reuse format. It deals with the management of demand variability in the supply chain. REMEDY model could be used for business process design or redesign and for business process improvement, being a benchmark for best practice analysis. REMEDY model is generic enough in order to be applied in a variety of supply chains. Nevertheless the instantiation of a generic reference model to a set of partial reference models could make easier and more effective the adaptation of a reference model to a specific case. 273

274 The creation of the reference model is based on a hybrid top-down and bottom-up methodological approach presented in the work of Gayialis et al. (2013). According to this approach, reference model creation integrates knowledge both from other well established supply chain reference models, like SCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference Model), GSCF (Global Supply Chain Framework) and SAP business models and supply chain business processes of real-life companies. Reference model instantiation is the final step of the methodological approach in order to validate its outcomes and the reference model itself. In addition, the creation of partial reference models makes REMEDY model more useful and easily applicable in a diversity of supply chains as there are more specific versions of the generic model. So, the generic supply chain reference model for demand management is set up as configurable model that enable rapid instantiation of specific supply chain configurations for various industries. The approach followed for the development of the REMEDY generic reference model, as well as the development of partial reference models, using the knowledge transferred from specific supply chain processes of a diversity of case studies, is presented in Figure 2. This paper presents the development of a partial reference model for the supply chain of the energy sector which is achieved through the specialization of the REMEDY generic reference model. After this introductory section, a short literature review of the energy supply chain and its characteristics follows. Then, a short description of the REMEDY model is outlined and the methodological approach for the development of the partial reference model for the energy sector is defined. Finally, the conclusions and further research issues are summarized. ENERGY SUPPLY CHAIN The energy supply chain is considered of great importance in global economy, while the continuous flow of oil and gas are important to the economic health of both developing and developed economies (Enyinda et al. 2011). The energy industry can be described as a typical supply chain where strategic, tactical, and operational decisions may arise in it. Management of the energy supply chain is a complex task due to the large size of the physical supply network which dispersed over vast geography, complex production operations, and inherent uncertainty (Saad et al. 2014). More specifically Shah et al. (2011) stated that uncertainty in petroleum supply chain arises in realistic decision making processes and has a huge impact on the refinery planning activities. Three major uncertainties that should be considered in refinery production planning include: market demand for products; prices of crude oil and the saleable products; and product or production yields of crude oil from chemical reactions in the primary crude distillation unit. The oil and gas industries, producing and distributing petroleum and natural gas products, are the most significant in energy supply chain. Oil and gas supply chain is also known to be a very complex chain compared to other industries (Hussain et al. 2006). This supply chain is divided into upstream and downstream operations (before and after the refining stage). Crude oil has to go through a complex, capital intensive refinery process and the transportation of petroleum products involves various means of transport such as ships, pipelines, rail and road, often leading to high transportation costs (Ribas et al. 2011). Natural gas has differences and similarities in upstream and downstream operations in relation to petroleum products. In upstream stages, exploring and extracting crude oil and natural gas is similar, but there are no refining operations for natural gas. In downstream operations, the transportation of natural gas includes mainly pipelines from its source to the end customers. In addition, ships and trucks are used only for natural gas liquids. A detailed representation of oil and natural gas supply chains is given by the American Petroleum Institute (API 2013a page 3; API 2013b page 5). Oil and gas companies face their supply chain configuration and coordination systems as worthy of improvement. Making necessary improvements over time allows the companies to gain competitive advantages in the marketplace. Any troubles arising in the global supply chain can have remarkable adverse effects in achieving operational efficiency, maintaining quality, profitability, and customer satisfaction (Saad et al. 2014). The adverse events could happen due to uncertainty in supply of crude, demand, transportation, market volatility, and political conditions. Therefore, Shah et al. (2011) identify that in order to effectively model a supply-chain design problem, the dynamics of the supply chain must be considered, while Enyinda et al., 2011 recognize that critical decisions and risks must be modelled and analysed too. 274

275 REMEDY PROCESS REFERENCE MODEL As described in previous publications (Gayialis et al. 2013; Ponis et al. 2013; Ponis et al. 2015), the REMEDY process reference model was created through the research program ODYSSEUS (A Holistic Approach For Managing Variability In Contemporary Global Supply Chain Networks). It aims to provide a reusable process framework for companies in different industries to organize their supply chain processes in an effort to manage demand variability and its effects on their supply chain. The reference model attempts to portray processes and decisions that presuppose the participation of more than one supply chain actors and extends to the interactions with customers and suppliers. It provides a high level of abstraction that allows for the models application, after the required adaptation, in various industries and organisations. It consists of a complex of diagrammatic techniques, mathematical modelling methods and verbal descriptions and takes into consideration the interactions of the selected organisation with its suppliers and customers. The diagrammatic techniques used cover multiple views, namely: process, organisational, risk, decision and IT views. Mathematical modelling supports decision making in makebuy situations and information sharing. Verbal descriptions support the modelling techniques selected based on the latest literature and analyse the produced models in order to provide easy comprehension to all users. The diagrammatic technique portrays nine functions of a supply chain through a value chain. Each element of the value chain is analysed by a collection of its functions, both strategic and operational, through a function tree. All functions are analysed through extended Event-Driven Process Chain (eepc s) that depict high level process flows. These process flows are supported by elements such as related risks, decisions, organisational actors or IT systems and their relationships are described via numerous Function Allocation Diagrams (FAD). Supportive diagrams depict collections of these elements. More specifically, risk trees group the types of risks depicted in the model; decision trees group related decisions; organisational charts depict the organisational structures implicated in the management of the supply chain; IT trees show the hierarchy of supportive systems. In the following table, some statistics on the diagrammatic techniques are presented. Table 1: Generic reference model diagram statistics Modelling technique Number of diagrams Value Chain 1 Function Tree 9 Extended Event-Driven Process Chain 92 Risk Tree 14 Decision Tree 9 Organisational Chart 3 Application System Diagram 1 The relationships of the selected modelling techniques can be seen in the following figure (Figure 1). The modelling techniques selected allow users to implement additional modelling methods, such as knowledge diagrams or decision flow models, in order to depict additional and company specific information. 275

276 Value Chain Diagram Applications Systems Type Diagram Function Tree eepc FAD Organization Chart Figure 1: Integrated modeling methods of the reference model (Gayialis et al. 2015b) The generic REMEDY reference model describes nine value adding functions of contemporary supply chains. These are nine functions that group strategic and operational supply chain processes into corresponding function trees. The functions are: Define Supply Chain Strategies, Customer Relationship and Service Management, Product Development and Commercialisation, Supplier Relationship Management, Develop KPI Framework, Demand Management, Order Fulfilment, Manufacturing Flow Management, and Returns Management (Ponis et al. 2013). The generic reference model has been adapted in three industries thus far, with the use of different methods, and has proven its versatility. The aforementioned industries are discrete manufacturing, construction and energy. The latter is described in this publication. These adaptations have provided corresponding partial reference models. The partial models, while still abstract, are specific to the industries they describe and take into consideration many particularities of these industries. METHODOLOGY In order to develop the partial reference model for the energy industry, the hybrid top-down and bottom-up methodology was selected as described in Gayialis et al. (2013). In a top-down bottom-up methodology, a generic model is selected and contrasted with as many cases as possible from a specific industry. According to this methodology, reference model creation integrates best practices embedded in other well established supply chain reference models, like SCOR, GSCF and SAP business models and the lessonslearned during supply chain business processes modeling efforts in various cases studies (Figure 2). In order to instantiate the generic reference model in a set partial reference models for different industry sectors, the detailed business process models of a specific industry sector where integrated into the REMEDY generic model. 276

277 Figure 2: The methodological approach for generic and partial reference models development The REMEDY generic reference model served for the top-down approach in order to create the partial supply chain reference model of the energy industry sector. Three case studies were performed in order to discover supply chain processes in companies of the energy sector. More specifically, for the bottom-up study, three companies were studied: a natural gas company operating in downstream stages, a petroleum company operating in sales and distribution and an oil refinery operating as a. These companies were selected because of their different positions in the energy supply chain in an attempt to create a model as accurate as possible for the energy sector. These case studies have been performed for past research projects and their complete process documentation was available to the research team. The resulting model was described, through the ARIS methodology (Scheer 1999), using the same diagrammatic techniques used in the generic reference model. The mathematic models were not examined in this study and the verbal descriptions were updated in order to describe the new model. PARTIAL REFERENCE MODEL FOR THE ENERGY SECTOR The partial reference model created through the aforementioned methodology is focused, as expected, on the particularities of the energy sectors supply chain. The differentiation starts from the highest level, the value chain, where two of the entities have been replaced. Compared to the generic reference models value chain, the Returns management group of processes has been replaced by Claims management and the Manufacturing flow management group of processes has been replaced by Supply, inventory and production flow management. The rest of the value chain entities remain unaltered (Figure 3). Figure 3: Partial reference model value chain for energy industry Despite the fact that the value chain entities remain unchanged, significant changes occur at lower levels of modelling, starting with function trees and moving all through the modelling techniques in use (eepc s, FAD s, Organisational charts, etc.). Some of the basic characteristics of the partial reference model are analysed in the remaining passage. As mentioned before, the energy market is a highly fluctuating market. This leads to the need for strategies to adapt to this parameter fast and easy. Selecting the appropriate strategies for all supply chain functions is 277

278 extremely important. The Determine Supply Chain Management Strategies function tree is comprised of eight strategic/long-term functions, each corresponding to one of the other functions in the value chain, and no operational functions. These functions describe the strategy defining and decision making processes for each supply chain function and are very important for the success of the entire supply chain strategy and, in essence, the success of an organisation in the energy market. Customers in the energy sector can be separated in B2B and B2C. It is often the case that B2B customers have different contracts with the company and that quantities are bought in bulk. In both cases, customers and company are bound by highly intricate contracts. In case the contract terms are breached by either part, the other is entitled to claims. The Customer Relationship and Service Management function tree is comprised of five strategic/long-term functions that dictate how customer relationships and customer service will be managed and eleven operational/short-term functions that describe day to day processes and their performance measurement. This group of processes is particularly important since it provides the organisation with a direct window to demand in the next supply chain tier. Although the energy industry is one where products are, in general, specific and unchanged, one must not forget the service as a product trait. New products may not cause disruptions to the supply chain of an energy company but, new services may affect the supply chain just as much as innovative products disrupt manufacturing supply chains. The Product Development and Commercialisation function tree contains five strategic/long-term functions and eight operational/short-term functions. The first group of functions describes the strategies behind how product development ideas are selected, developed and forwarded to the market. The latter group describes the executive side of these strategies and includes performance measurement for all processes in the function. In the energy industry suppliers play an important role in the products final price and availability. This means that relationships with suppliers should be handled skilfully. The Supplier Relationship Management function tree includes four strategic/long-term functions and seven operational/short-term functions. Strategic/long-term functions provide guidelines for supplier selection, contract management and strategic partnerships. The operational/short-term functions describe the day to day processes executed with regard to suppliers and measure performance of all the processes executed in this group of functions. The Develop Framework of Metrics function is more of a supportive function than a strictly strategic one. Despite this, the selected framework of metrics should be selected and constructed carefully since the information it provides to a company is crucial in order to select strategies or investigate cases of low performing processes. Its function tree is comprised of eight strategic/long-term functions, each corresponding to one of the eight entities of the value chain. A good framework of metrics should allow for information flow between functions and between different levels of organisational hierarchy. Demand Management, just as in the generic reference model, is the core function of the partial reference model. It is the first operational function in the value chain and its function tree includes four strategic/long-term functions and five operational/short-term functions. The strategic/long-term functions relate to Information flow planning, forecasting method selection and error management guidelines. The operational/short-term functions relate to the per se forecasting process, collection of data, synchronisation of the forecast to the real demand and measuring performance of all related processes. Good forecasts are important in the energy industry since they dictate contract strategies and claims arrangements. Following Demand Management, the Order Fulfilment function is the second operational function. It acts as a window towards demand since it relates to orders from the point of entry to the collection of feedback after delivery. Three strategic/long-term and six operational/short-term functions comprise its function tree. Strategic/long-term functions relate to evaluating the distribution network capacity, designing order fulfilment processes and analysing order fulfilment requirements. Operational/short-term processes relate to the sequence of actions executed from the moment an order is received to the moment it s delivered and the performance measurement of all related processes. The case studies performed provided information regarding a new function to be introduced, namely Supply, inventory and production flow management. As mentioned above, this function replaces the Manufacturing flow management function of the generic reference model. In essence, it is more of a specialisation of the generic function that has been enriched with new processes and de-cluttered from unrelated processes. It became apparent that energy companies, in some cases, categorise supply and inventory management as embedded or related to manufacturing. The case is that traditional 278

279 manufacturing, as comprehended through the generic reference model (flow of materials and parts towards assembly), simply does not exist in the energy sector. The new function includes seven processes in total: three strategic/long-term and four operational/short-term processes. On one hand, strategic processes aim to define production and inventory management strategies and produce guidelines for their implementation. On the other hand, operational processes deal with the actualisation of the selected strategies and include fields of differentiation between the natural gas and petroleum products. All processes are measured and evaluated through the KPI framework. Figure 4: Function tree of the group of processes: Supply, Inventory and Production Flow Management Through the case studies it became apparent that energy companies do not or cannot, practically, return products they have been supplied with. In the case of the natural gas company, gas runs through international pipelines and is consumed at the point of the end user. In the other two cases, quality control checks indicate whether the products will be sold to primary or secondary markets, but returns are nonexistent. Thus, the returns function was replaced by the claims management function as the new function has a similar impact on the energy supply chain as returns have on a manufacturing supply chain. Claims may occur for numerous reasons, for example: inability of client to meet his side of the contact; financial restrictions; erroneous client forecasting. The claims management function includes a total of six processes: two strategic/long-term and four operational/short-term processes. The strategic processes aim to produce guidelines for the avoidance of claims, in an attempt to minimise the effects of a claim, and to determine policies for debit/credit reimbursement. Operational processes, on the antipode, deal with the whole range of tasks to be performed in order to either go through with the claim management or to reject a claim request and evaluating the processes followed through a carefully designed KPI (Key Performance Indicator) framework. 279

280 Figure 5: Part of the eepc of the process: Determine gas and petroleum strategy boundaries The partial reference model differs to the generic reference model, except from the functions mentioned above, in a large number of processes. From minor tweaks to significant modifications, alterations were performed on a total of forty processes (out of ninety-two processes in the generic reference model). These changes extend from minor verbal alterations that intend to make the model specific to the energy industry to the deletion of whole functions or the insertion of new ones. In some cases, exclusive gateways were added in order to signalise the different process flows followed depending on the energy product being marketed. In addition to the changes in the value chain and functions, the risk, IT and decision views of the generic reference model have been adjusted to follow the results obtained through the case studies. In total, this specific partial model contains one value chain, nine function trees, eighty-six eepcs and a sum of twenty-five diagrams depicting the organisational, decision, risk and IT views. All diagrams are accompanied by detailed verbal descriptions. CONCLUSIONS This paper presents the application of business process modelling in the development of a supply chain reference model for the energy sector. This reference model is based on the instantiation (specialization) of a generic reference model of the supply chain, the REMEDY model, which has been developed in the context of a research project. This reference model is a 3-tier supply chain model (vendor-producercustomer) and it is focused on demand management. It includes a set of business process models that covers different aspects of the processes using the integrated ARIS methods. The instantiation of the REMEDY generic model is based on the insights and knowledge from various case studies of the energy sector, mainly oil and natural gas companies. This industry specific (partial) reference model makes clearer its usefulness as it becomes more easily applied to specific energy businesses. Model instantiation should go beyond the development of the partial reference model for energy industry sector and it should be specialized in particular business models for specific energy supply chains and companies. Doing so, the 280

281 proposed energy reference model will prove its applicability and usefulness to support real-life problems in increasing flexibility and reducing variability in contemporary supply chains. REFERENCES API (2013a) Energy: Understanding Our Oil Supply Chain, American Petroleum Institute, viewed 29March 2016, < API (2013b) Energy: Securing Our Natural Gas Supply Chain, American Petroleum Institute, viewed 29 March 2016, < Croxton K.L., Garcia-Dastugue S.J., Lambert D.M. and Rogers D.S. (2001), The supply chain management processes. The International Journal of Logistics Management, 12: doi: / Enyinda C., Briggs C., Obuah E. and Mbah C. (2011), Petroleum Supply Chain Risk Analysis in a Multinational Oil Firm in Nigeria, Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, 5 (7): Gayialis, S.P., Ponis S.T., Tatsiopoulos I.P., Panayiotou N.A. and Stamatiou D-R.I. (2013), A Knowledgebased Reference Model to Support Demand Management in Contemporary Supply Chains. In B. Janiūnaitė & M. Petraite, eds. Proceedings of the 14th European Conference on Knowledge Management. Kaunas, Lithuania: Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited, pp Gayialis S.P., Ponis S.T., Tatsiopoulos I.P., Panayiotou N.A., Stamatiou D.-R.I., Ntalla A.C. (2015a), Development of a Business Process-enabled Supply Chain Reference Model to Support Demand Uncertainty Management, in Proceedings of The 5th Multidisciplinary Academic Conference in Prague 2015 (The 5th MAC 2015), 16-17/10/2015, Prague. Gayialis S.P., Ponis S.T., Panayiotou N.A., Tatsiopoulos I.P. (2015b) Managing Demand in Supply Chain: The Business Process Modeling Approach, in Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium and 26th National Conference on Operational Research, June 4-6, 2015, Chania, ISBN: , pp Hussain, R., Assavapokee, T. and Khumawala, B. (2006), Supply Chain Management in the Petroleum Industry: Challenges and Opportunities. International Journal of Global Logistics &Supply Chain Management. 1 (2): Lambert D. and Knemeyer M. (2007), Measuring performance: the supply chain management perspective, in Neely A. (ed.) Business Performance Measurement, Unifying Theory and Integrating Practice, Second edition, Cambridge University Press: Ponis, S.T. Gayialis S.P., Tatsiopoulos I.P., Panayiotou N.A., Stamatiou D-R.I. and Ntalla A.C. (2013), Modeling Supply Chain Processes : A Review and Critical Evaluation of Available Reference Models. In Y. Siskos, N. Matsatsinis, & J. Psaras, eds. 2nd International Symposium and 24th National Conference on Operational Research. Athens, Greece: Hellenic Operational Research Society: Ponis S.T., Gayialis S.P., Tatsiopoulos I.P., Panayiotou N.A., Stamatiou D-R.I. and Ntalla A.C. (2015), An Application of AHP in the Development Process of a Supply Chain Reference Model focusing on Demand Variability, Operational Research - An International Journal, 15 (3): , doi: /s Ribas, G., Leiras, A. & Hamacher, S. (2011), Tactical Planning of the Supply Chain: Optimization Under Uncertainty, XLIII Simpasio Brasileiro de Pesquisa Operacional, 15, (18). Rosemann M. and van der Aalst W.M.P. (2007), A Configurable Reference Modelling Language, Information Systems, 32 (1): Saad S., Udin Z.M. and Hasnan N. (2014), Dynamic Supply Chain Capabilities: A Case Study in Oil and Gas Industry, International Journal of Supply Chain Management, 3 (2): Scheer, A.W. (1999), ARIS-business process frameworks, Berlin: Springer Verlag Shah N.K., Li Z. and Ierapetritou M.G. (2011), Petroleum refining operations: Key issues, advances, and opportunities, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 50:

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283 ON A DUOPOLY GAME WITH HOMOGENEOUS PLAYERS AND A QUADRATIC DEMAND FUNCTION GEORGES SARAFOPOULOS, Democritus University of Thrace ABSTRACT In this study we investigate the dynamics of a nonlinear discrete-time duopoly game, where the players have homogeneous expectations. We suppose that the demand is a quadratic function and the cost function is linear. The game is modeled with a system of two difference equations. Existence and stability of equilibria of this system are studied. We show that the model gives more complex chaotic and unpredictable trajectories as a consequence of change in the speed of adjustment of the players. If this parameter is varied, the stability of Nash equilibrium is lost through period doubling bifurcations. The chaotic features are justified numerically via computing Lyapunov numbers and sensitive dependence on initial conditions. KEYWORDS: Cournot duopoly game; Discrete dynamical system; Homogeneous expectations; Stability; Chaotic Behavior. JEL Classification: C62, C72, D INTRODUCTION An Oligopoly is a market structure between monopoly and perfect competition, where there are only a few number of firms in the market producing homogeneous products. The dynamic of an oligopoly game is more complex because firms must consider not only the behaviors of the consumers, but also the reactions of the competitors i.e. they form expectations concerning how their rivals will act. Cournot, in 1838 has introduced the first formal theory of oligopoly. He treated the case with naive expectations, so that in every step each player (firm) assumes the last values that were taken by the competitors without estimation of their future reactions. Expectations play an important role in modelling economic phenomena. A producer can choose his expectations rules of many available techniques to adjust his production outputs. In this paper we study the dynamics of a duopoly model where each firm behaves with homogeneous expectations strategies. We consider a duopoly model where each player forms a strategy in order to compute his expected output. Each player adjusts his outputs towards the profit maximizing amount as target by using his expectations rule. Some authors considered duopolies with homogeneous expectations and found a variety of complex dynamics in their games, such as appearance of strange attractors (Agiza, 1999, Agiza et al., 2002, Agliari et al., 2005, 2006, Bischi, Kopel, 2001, Kopel, 1996, Puu,1998). Also models with heterogeneous agents were studied (Agiza, Elsadany, 2003, 2004, Agiza et al., 2002, Den Haan, 20013, Fanti, Gori, 2012, Tramontana, 2010, Zhang, 2007). In the real market producers do not know the entire demand function, though it is possible that they have a perfect knowledge of technology, represented by the cost function. Hence, it is more likely that firms employ some local estimate of the demand. This issue has been previously analyzed by Baumol and Quandt, 1964, Puu 1995, Naimzada and Ricchiuti, 2008, Askar, 2013, Askar, Efforts have been made to model bounded rationality to different economic areas: oligopoly games (Agiza, Elsadany, 2003, Bischi et al, 2007); financial markets (Hommes, 2006); macroeconomic models such as multiplieraccelerator framework (Westerhoff,2006). In particular, difference equations have been employed extensively to represent these economic phenomenons (Elaydi, 2005; Sedaghat, 2003). Bounded rational players (firms) update their production strategies based on discrete time periods and by using a local estimate of the marginal profit. With such local adjustment mechanism, the players are not requested to have a complete knowledge of the demand and the cost functions (Agiza, Elsadany, 2004, Naimzada, Sbragia, 2006, Zhang et al, 2007, Askar, 2014). All they need to know is if the market responses to small production changes by an estimate of the marginal profit. The paper is organized as follows: In Section 2, the dynamics of the duopoly game with homogeneous expectations, quadratic demand and linear cost 283

284 functions is analyzed. The existence and local stability of the equilibrium points are also analyzed. In Section 3 numerical simulations are used to show complex dynamics via computing Lyapunov numbers, and sensitive dependence on initial conditions. 2. THE GAME In oligopoly game players can choose simple expectation rules such as naïve or complicated as adaptive expectations and bounded rationality. The players can use the same strategy (homogeneous expectations) or can use different strategy (heterogeneous expectations). In this study we consider two boundedly rational players such that each player think with the same strategy to maximize his output. We consider a simple Cournot-type duopoly market where firms (players) produce homogeneous goods which are perfect substitutes and offer them at discrete-time periods t 0,1,2,... on a common market. At each period t, every firm must form an expectation of the rival s output in the next time period in order to determine the corresponding profit-maximizing quantities for period t 1. The inverse demand function of the duopoly market is assumed quadratic and decreasing: and the cost functions are: 2 P a b( x y) (1) C ( x) cx, C ( y) cy (2) 1 2 where Q x y is the industry output and abc,, 0. With these assumptions the profits of the local firms are given by ( x, y) x[ a b( x y) ] cx 1 ( x, y) y[ a b( x y) ] cy (3) Then the marginal profit of the firm at the point ( x, y ) of the strategy space is given by 1 2 a c b( x y) 2 b( x y) x x (4) 2 2 a c b( x y) 2 b( x y) y y We suppose that each first firm decides to increase its level of adaptation if it has a positive marginal profit, or decreases its level if the marginal profit is negative (bounded rational player). If k > 0 the dynamical equations of the players are: x( t 1) x( t) k, y( t 1) y( t) k x y The dynamical system of the players is described by 1 2 (5) 2 x( t 1) x( t) k[ a c b( x y) 2 b( x y) x] 2 y( t 1) y( t) k[ a c b( x y) 2 b( x y) y] (6) We will focus on the dynamics of the system (6) to the parameter k 2.1 The equilibria of the game The equilibria of the dynamical system (6) are obtained as nonnegative solutions of the algebraic system 284

285 2 a c b x y b x y x 2 a c b x y b x y y ( ) 2 ( ) 0 ( ) 2 ( ) 0 (7) which obtained by setting x( t 1) x( t), y( t 1) y( t) in Eq. (6) and we can have one equilibrium * * * E ( x, y ), where 1 2 * * a c x y (8) 8b * The equilibrium E is called Nash equilibrium, provided that a c. The study of the local stability of equilibrium solution is based on the localization on the complex plane of the eigenvalues of the Jacobian matrix of the two dimensional map (Eq. (9)). 2 f ( x, y) x k[ a c b( x y) 2 b( x y) x] (9) 2 g( x, y) y k[ a c b( x y) 2 b( x y) y] In order study the local stability of equilibrium points of the model Eq.(6), we consider the Jacobian matrix along the variable strategy ( x, y) fx( x, y) f y( x, y) 1 2 bk(3x 2 y) 2 bk(2 x y) J( x, y) gx( x, y) gx( x, y) 2 bk( x 2 y) 1 2 bk(2x 3 y) * The Nash equilibrium E is locally stable if the following conditions are hold 1 T D 0 1 T D 0 1 D 0 (10) (11) where * T 2 20kbx is the trace and * 2 * D 64( kbx ) 20kbx 1 is the determinant of the Jacobian matrix * * f * * * x( E ) f y( E ) 1 10kbx 6kbx J( E ) * * * * g x( E ) gx( E ) 6kbx 1 10kbx (12) The first condition * 2 1 T D 0 64( kbx ) 0 (13) is always satisfied The second and third conditions are the conditions for the local stability of Nash equilibrium which becomes: * 2 * 1 T D 0 64( kbx ) 40kbx D 0 * * kbx (20 64 kbx ) 0 (14) From Eq.(14) it follows that the Nash equilibrium is locally stable if 285

286 * kbx k (15) * bx 3. NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS To provide some numerical evidence for the chaotic behavior of the system Eq. (6), as a consequence of change in the parameters k, we present various numerical results here to show the chaoticity, including its bifurcations diagrams, Lyapunov numbers and sensitive dependence on initial conditions (Kulenovic, M., Merino, O., 2002). In order to study the local stability properties of the equilibrium points, it is convenient * to take a 12, b 1, c 2. In this case x Numerical experiments are computed to show the bifurcation diagram with respect to k and the Lyapunov numbers. Fig. 1 show the bifurcation diagrams with respect to the parameter k of the orbit of the point (0.1,0.1). In this figure one observes complex dynamic behavior such as cycles of higher order and chaos. Fig. 3 show the Lyapunov numbers of the same orbit for k From these results when all parameters are fixed and only k is varied the structure of the game becomes complicated through period doubling bifurcations, more complex bounded attractors are created which are aperiodic cycles of higher order or chaotic attractors. To demonstrate the sensitivity to initial conditions of the system Eq.(6), we compute two orbits with initial points (0.1, 0.1) and (0.1, ), respectively. Fig. 2 shows sensitive dependence on initial conditions for y-coordinate of the two orbits, for the system Eq.(6), plotted against the time with the parameters values a 12, b 1, c 2, k At the beginning the time series are indistinguishable; but after a number of iterations, the difference between them builds up rapidly. From Fig. 2 we show that the time series of the system Eq. (6) is sensitive dependence to initial conditions, i.e. complex dynamics behaviors occur in this model. Fig.1. Bifurcation diagrams with respect to the parameter k against variable x or y for a 12, b 1, c 2 with 850 iterations of the map Eq (7). Fig.2. Sensitive dependence on initial conditions, for y coordinate plotted against the time: The two orbits orb.(0.1, 0.1) (left) and orb.(0.1, ) (right), for the system (6), with the parameters values a=12,b=1, c = 2, k=

287 Fig.3. Lyapunov numbers versus the number of iterations of the orbit of the point (0.1, 0.1), for a=12, b=1, c = 2, k= CONCLUSION In this paper, we analyzed through a discrete dynamical system based on the marginal profits of the players, the dynamics of a nonlinear discrete-time duopoly game, where the players have homogeneous expectations. We suppose that the cost function is linear and the demand function is quadratic. The stability of equilibria, bifurcation and chaotic behavior are investigated. We show that a parameter (speed of adjustment) may change the stability of equilibrium and cause a structure to behave chaotically. For low values of this parameter there is a stable Nash equilibrium. Increasing these values, the equilibrium becomes unstable, through period-doubling bifurcation. REFERENCES Agiza HN, (1998), Explicit stability zones for Cournot games with 3 and 4 competitors. Chaos Solitons Fract. 9: Agiza HN. On the stability, bifurcations, chaos and chaos control of Kopel map. Chaos Solitons Fract. 11: Agiza HN, Elsadany AA, (2004) Chaotic dynamics in nonlinear duopoly game with heterogeneous players. Appl. Math. Comput. 149: Agiza HN, Elsadany AA., (2003) Nonlinear dynamics in the Cournot duopoly game with heterogeneous players. Physica A 320: Agiza HN, Hegazi AS, Elsadany AA.m(2002). Complex dynamics and synchronization of duopoly game with bounded rationality. Math. Comput. Simulat. 58: Askar, S.S., (2013). On complex dynamics of monopoly market, Economic Modelling, 31: Askar, S. S., (2014) Complex dynamic properties of Cournot duopoly games with convex and log-concave demand function, Operations Research Letters 42, Baumol, W.J., Quandt, R.E., (1964). Rules of thumb and optimally imperfect decisions, American Economic Review 54 (2): Bischi GI, Kopel M.(2001). Equilibrium selection in a nonlinear duopoly game with adaptive expectations. J. Econom Behav. Org. 46: Bischi GI, Lamantia F, Sbragia L.(2004). Competition and cooperation in natural resources exploitation: an evolutionary game approach. In: Cararro C, Fragnelli V, editors. Game practice and the environment. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar; Bischi GI, Naimzada A.(2000). Global analysis of a dynamic duopoly game with bounded rationality. In: Filar JA, Gaitsgory V, Mizukami K, editors. Advances in dynamic games and applications, vol. 5. Basel: Birkhauser; Bischi, G.I., Naimzada, A.K., Sbragia, L., (2007). Oligopoly games with local monopolistic approximation, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 62 (3): Bischi, G.I., Kopel, M., (2001). Equilibrium selection in a nonlinear duopoly game with adaptive expectations. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 46,

288 Bischi, G.I., Naimzada, A., (1999), Global analysis of a dynamic duopoly game with bounded rationality. In: Filar JA, Gaitsgory V, Mizukami K, (eds). (2000). Advances in dynamic games and applications, vol. 5. Basel: Birkhauser: Cournot A. Researches into the mathematical principles of the theory of wealth. Homewood (IL): Irwin; Day, R., (1994). Complex Economic Dynamics. MIT Press, Cambridge. Dixit, A. K., (1986), Comparative statics for oligopoly, Internat. Econom. Rev. 27, Dixit, A.K., (1979). A model of duopoly suggesting a theory of entry barriers. Bell Journal of Economics 10, Den Haan WJ. (2001).The importance of the number of different agents in a heterogeneous asset-pricing model. J. Econom. Dynam. Control, 25: Elaydi, S., (2005). An Introduction to Difference Equations, third ed., Springer-Verlag, New York. Hommes, C.H., (2006). Heterogeneous agent models in economics and finance, in: L. Tesfatsion, K.L. Judd (Eds.), Handbook of Computational Economics, Agent-Based Computational Economics, vol. 2, Elsevier Science B.V: Gandolfo G.(1997) Economic dynamics. Berlin: Springer Gao Y. (2009).Complex dynamics in a two dimensional noninvertible map. Chaos Solitons Fract. 39: Kopel M. (1996).Simple and complex adjustment dynamics in Cournot duopoly models. Chaos Solitons Fract. 12: Kulenonic, M., Merino, O.,(2002). Discrete Dynamical Systems and Difference Equations with Mathematica, Chapman & Hall/Crc. Medio A, Gallo G. (1995).Chaotic dynamics: theory and applications to economics. Cambridge (MA): Cambridge University Press. Medio A, Lines M. (2005). Introductory notes on the dynamics of linear and linearized systems. In: Lines M, editor. Nonlinear dynamical systems in economics. SpringerWienNewYork: CISM; Medio A, Lines M. (2001).Nonlinear dynamics. A primer. Cambridge (MA): Cambridge University Press. Naimzada, A.K., Ricchiuti G., (2008). Complex dynamics in a monopoly with a rule of thumb, Applied Mathematics and Computation 203: Naimzada, A., Sbragia, L., (2006). Oligopoly games with nonlinear demand and cost functions: two boundedly rational adjustment processes, Chaos Solitons Fractals 29, Puu, T., (1995). The chaotic monopolist, Chaos, Solitons & Fractals 5 (1): Puu T. (1998). The chaotic duopolists revisited. J Econom. Behav. Org. 37: Puu T. (1991). Chaos in duopoly pricing. Chaos Solitons Fract.1: Puu T. (2005). Complex oligopoly dynamics. In: Lines M, editor. Nonlinear dynamical systems in economics. Springer Wien NewYork: CISM; p Sedaghat, H.,(2003). Nonlinear Difference Equations: Theory with Applications to Social Science Models, Kluwer Academic Publishers (now Springer). Singh, N., Vives, X., (1984). Price and quantity competition in a differentiated duopoly. The RAND Journal of Economics 15, Tramontana, F., (2010). Heterogeneous duopoly with isoelastic demand function. Economic Modelling 27, Westerhoff, F.,(2006). Nonlinear expectation formation, endogenous business cycles and stylized facts, Studies in Nonlinear Dynamics and Econometrics 10 (4) (Article 4). Wu, W., Chen, Z., Ip, W.H., (2010). Complex nonlinear dynamics and controlling chaos in a Cournot duopoly economic model. Nonlinear Analysis: Real World Applications 11, Zhang, J., Da, Q.,Wang, Y., (2007). Analysis of nonlinear duopoly game with heterogeneous players. Economic Modelling 24,

289 STRATEGIC COMPETITION ANALYSIS AND GROUP MAPPING: THE CASE OF THE GREEK INSURANCE INDUSTRY YIANNIS YIANNAKOPOULOS, Hellenic Open University ANASTASIOS MAGOUTAS, Hellenic Open University PANOS CHOUNTALAS, Hellenic Open University ABSTRACT This study aims to investigate the use of classic strategic management models for the competition analysis of the Greek insurance industry. In this direction, the application of the macro-environment analysis model, the industry life cycle model and the Porter s five forces model is concisely described. Special focus is put on the application of the strategic group mapping model, in order to examine the comparative positions of rival firms. The aforementioned models are applied to the Greek insurance industry for the decade and conjointly reveal the factors that force and transform the competition environment. In this study, five specific research questions are investigated: (i) What kind of competitive forces are Greek industry members facing, and how strong is each force? (ii) What factors are driving changes in the Greek insurance industry, and what impact will these changes have on competitive intensity? (iii) What market positions do industry rivals hold; who is strongly positioned and who is not? (iv) To what extent can the selected models help an analyst to identify significant features, opportunities and threats that shape the competition in the Greek insurance market? (v) Is it feasible for a strategist to analyze the Greek insurance industry using the selected models with only published information? Results demonstrate that an analyst using classic strategic models can monitor the competitive dynamics and identify opportunities and risks for the Greek insurance companies. Keywords: strategic management models; competition analysis; strategic group mapping; insurance industry. 1. INTRODUCTION Competition in an economic context is a widely studied phenomenon with a significant body of accumulated research and theory. A critical review of the strategic management literature shows that competition analysis is one of the most important aspects in developing strategy. It is well-known that, the formulation of company s strategy starts with the analysis of the factors and forces that shape the competition in the industry in which the firm operates (Hill and Jones, 2012). Understanding the environment in which a company operates, is a vital part of strategic planning. Rivals should be analyzed in-depth and systematically, in order to identify the opportunities and threats firms are facing and formulate strategies that will enable the company to outperform its rivals. On the other hand, the role of insurance is important not only for the economy but also for the society. Insurance manages, diversifies and absorbs the financial risks of individuals and organizations. It allows individuals to recover from sudden misfortune by limiting the financial burden through mitigation of the effects of exogenous events over which man has no control like illness, accident, death, and natural disasters (The Geneva Association, 2014). To evaluate the competition in an insurance industry an insurer can use strategic management models. Through this evaluation, an insurance company obtains information about the competition, uses this information to predict competitor s behavior, and assesses the brand positioning in the market. Additionally, identifying the competition in insurance market can reveal value proposition, competitors strategies, their weaknesses and strengths, as well as the opportunities which arise from timely implementation of appropriate strategies. The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of classic strategic management models for the competition analysis of the Greek insurance industry (i.e. macro-environment analysis model, industry life 289

290 cycle model, Porter s five forces model and strategic group mapping model). Five specific research questions are investigated: 1. What kind of competitive forces are Greek industry members facing, and how strong is each force? 2. What factors are driving changes in the Greek insurance industry, and what impact will these changes have on competition? 3. What market positions do industry rivals hold who is strongly positioned and who is not? 4. To what extent can the selected models help an analyst to identify significant features, opportunities and threats that form competition in the Greek insurance market? 5. Is it feasible for a strategist to analyze the Greek insurance industry using the selected models with only published information? The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents a comprehensive selection of the appropriate related bodies of literature. In Section 3 the methodology of this study is described. Section 4 contains the fundamental strategic analysis of the competition in Greek insurance industry based on macroenvironment analysis model, industry life cycle model and Porter s five forces model. Section 5 contains competition analysis based on the strategic group mapping model. Section 6 summarizes research results and gives several interpretations. Finally, in Section 7 the main conclusions are presented and suggestions for further research are also provided. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW This section provides a strong theoretical basis for the study by analyzing and composing a comprehensive selection of appropriate related bodies of literature. It presents the relevant theory and previous research on the analysis of an organization s external environment in the context of strategic management with particular focus on competition analysis. Michael Porter s study in competition analysis is the reference point in most of the parts of this section. Porter (1980) stated that "strategy can be viewed as building defense against competitive forces or as finding positions in the industry where forces are weakest", and added that "strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; it's about deliberately choosing to be different". An ultimate goal of a strategy is to gain strategic competitiveness. Strategic competitiveness is achieved when a firm successfully formulates and implements a value-creating strategy (Volberda et al. 2011). According to Sirmon et al. (2007), a firm has a competitive advantage when it implements a strategy where competitors are unable to duplicate or find it too costly to try to copy. The following strategic management models for the competition analysis are critically reviewed consequently: Macro-environment analysis model Industry life cycle model Porter s five forces model Strategic group mapping model 2.1 Macro-environment analysis model The company and its rivals operate in a macro-environment of forces, which create opportunities and pose threats (Kotler and Armstrong, 2012). According to Thompson et al. (2013), the macro-environment has seven components: Demographics (outcomes of changes of consumer demographics such as population, gender, age distribution, and race) Socio-cultural forces (outcomes of changes of role and status in society, marital status, education, language, and local origin) Political, legal and regulatory factors Natural environment Technological factors 290

291 Global forces (outcomes of changes in the global market place) General economic conditions Other well-known variations to this model are PESTLE, PEST, STEEP, and STEEPLE. All are macroenvironmental analysis models which focus on important factors of external environment that impact the present and the future of a firm, such as Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental/ Ecological and Ethical. Industry and competitive environment are also part of the company s external environment. According to Hill and Jones (2012), an industry is a group of companies offering products or services which are close substitutes of each other and satisfy similar customer needs. The examination of an industry s competitive environment is the beginning of identifying a company s strategy (Rumelt, 2011) and thus it is essential for strategic management process. Main limitations of macro-environment models are the factors continuous changes, the uncertainty for the future impact to a company, and bias. 2.2 Industry life cycle model A model for assessing the competitive structure of the company s industry is the industry life cycle model. One of the most frequently used models of an industry life cycle was introduced by Porter (1980). This model comprises four stages: Introduction (emergence), Growth, Maturity, and Decline. According to Baum and McGahan (2004), it is important for companies to understand the use of the industry lifecycle because it is a survival tool for businesses to compete in the industry effectively and successfully. The main concerns on the model are based on the continuous changing environment, the unknown boundaries of the four stages and the diversity of an industry which do not allow the application of the model in every industry. 2.3 Porter s five forces model In most industries, there are strong competitive forces which reduce economic profits over time. The most powerful and widely used model for systematically diagnosing these competitive pressures in a market is Porter s five forces model of competition (Porter 1980; 1985). The five competitive forces are: The risk of new entry by potential competitors: Potential competitors are companies that have the capability to enter in an industry but are not there yet (Brickley et al., 2008). These new entrants represent a threat to the profitability of established companies and most of the time they use substantial resources to gain market share (Porter, 1996). Established companies already operating in an industry discourage potential competitors from entering the industry because the more companies that enter, the more difficult it becomes for established companies to protect their market share and their profitability (Hill and Jones, 2012). The risk of entry by potential competitors is a function of the height of barriers to entry. Barriers to entry are all the factors that make it costly for companies to enter an industry. High entry barriers may keep potential competitors out of an industry even when industry profits are high (Hill and Jones, 2012). The extent of rivalry among established firms: The strongest of Porter s five competitive forces is the rivalry among existing firms. It is a continuous and dynamic threat that evolves over time. According to Porter (2008) the intensity of rivalry among established companies depends on the industry and is growing slowly or declining. The bargaining power of buyers: An industry s buyers may be individual customers (end users of a product or service) or companies which distribute an industry s product to end users, such as retailers and wholesalers (Hill and Jones, 2012). Buyers with strong bargaining power can limit industry profitability by demanding price reduction, better payment terms or additional features and services 291

292 that increase industry members costs (Thompson et all, 2013). Therefore, powerful buyers should be viewed as a threat. The bargaining power of suppliers: Suppliers are the organizations, which provide resources to the industry, such as materials, services, and labor (i.e. individuals, organizations such as labor unions, or companies that supply contract labor) (Hill and Jones, 2012). The bargaining power of suppliers refers to the ability of suppliers to raise resources prices, or to increase costs of the industry; thus, powerful suppliers are a threat (Hill and Jones, 2012). The threat of substitute products: Substitute products are goods or services which do not belong to the same industry that perform similar or the same functions as a product that the industry produces (Hitt et all, 2011). The existence of close substitutes is a strong competitive threat because it limits the price that companies of the same industry can charge for their product, and consequently industry profitability (Hill and Jones, 2012). Nevertheless, this well known model has suffered criticism on issues such as the assumptions underlying the five forces, the absence of additional forces like regulation and government, the absence of the role of a citizen and consumer behavior, and the absence to evaluate the company in a continuous changing environment. 2.4 Strategic group mapping model The best technique to use in order to reveal the market positions of industry members is strategic group mapping (Porter, 1980). Hunt (1972) observed differences between groups of firms within industries and named those groups as strategic groups to describe "a group of firms within the industry that are highly symmetric with respect to cost structure, the degree of vertical integration, and the degree of product differentiation, formal organization, control systems, management rewards/punishments, and the personal views and preferences for various possible outcomes" (Hunt, 1972, p.8). Porter (1980) developed further Hunt s concept. There are threats and opportunities within and across strategy groups. For example, an immediate threat can be customers perception that products in the same strategic group are direct substitutes for each other and therefore, company s closest competitors are those in same strategic group. It is important to note that the analysis of strategy groups within an industry gives different result (Hill and Jones, 2012). A strategic group consists of firms with similar competitive approaches and positions in an industry. The major characteristics are defined by Thomas and Venkatraman (1988). Thompson et all (2013) also elaborated into this and refers that organizations in the same strategic group may: have similar or the same products, prices, quality, and distribution channels react similar to a threat or opportunity use the same product attributes to attract similar customer segments use similar strategies depend on identical technological techniques offer similar customer service According to Porter (1980), strategic groups are stable structural features of industries that are bounded by mobility barriers. There are four steps to construct a strategic group map: (i) identify the competitive variables that distinguish companies; (ii) plot firms on a two-variable map with pairs of characteristics; (iii) assign companies to the strategic groups; (iv) draw circles around each strategic group. With strategic group maps, analysts and strategists can reveal the closest rivals for each company within an industry and identify attractive or unattractive positions within the industry. The main criticisms against this model are the limited numbers of variables, the selection of the variables, and the variability of the strategic group within an industry and within a country. 292

293 3. METHODOLOGY Greek insurance market analysis is based on data and reports from the Hellenic association of insurance companies. It is important to note that insurance companies which are reported to Hellenic association of insurance companies represented the 94,6% of total GWP in We should note that INTERSALONIKA doesn t contribute to the Hellenic association of insurance companies report. Moreover, the analysis of the insurance firms that operate in Greece was based on 2013 report of the Hellenic association of Greek insurance companies that had detailed production for each company. Our analysis does not include two insurance companies; EVIMA and DIETHNIS ENOSI that stopped operate in These companies represented 3,1% of total gross written insurance premiums in We should also note that we noticed small differences in the figures from Hellenic association of Greek insurance industries. Some of its reports issued with slightly different results. Furthermore, the last available data for insurance production per company from the association was When we refer to brands we used the top 25 Greek insurance brands that represented more than 98% of the insurance production in Greece for We also need to mention that we didn t distinguish the companies on personal lines (individuals) and commercial lines (groups) for the interpretation of the results. In order to measure the extent of the involvement in Life and Non-Life sector of an insurance company, we created 3 variables: LIFEtoTOTAL = (Life GWP) / (Total GWP) NONLIFEtoTOTAL = (NonLife GWP) / (Total GWP) NONLIFEINVOLV = (NONLIFEtoTOTAL) - (LIFEtoTOTAL) The LIFEtoTOTAL indicator measures the percentage of Life insurance production to the total production of an insurance company. Respectively, NONLIFEtoTOTAL indicator measures the percentage of Non- Life insurance production to the total production. The NONLIFEINVOLV indicator measures the extent of Non-Life involvement for an insurance company. If it is 0 then company s production is split equal in Life and Non-Life insurance sector. If it is 1 then the company has only Non-Life production and if it is -1 then the company has only Life insurance production. If the result is positive then the company has more production in Non-Life sector than in Life, and vice versa if the result is negative. 4. FUNDAMENTAL STRATEGIC ANALYSIS The aim of this section is to apply strategic management models for the competition analysis of the Greek insurance industry. We start with the macro- environment model in order to examine the forces that are shaping and forming the competition in the Greek insurance industry. Next, we examine Greek insurance industry life cycle in order to identify the characteristics that determine the competition. Finally, we use Porter s five forces model of competition. 4.1 Analysis of the Greek insurance industry with the macro-environment model We start the analysis of the Greek insurance industry with the macro-environment model. The macroenvironment consists of components that originate outside of a firm and have the potential to influence the total industry as a whole. Forces that we focus are: demographics, general economic conditions, sociocultural forces, political, legal and regulatory factors, natural environment, technological, and global factors. The most strategically relevant macro-environment factors which formulate the competition of the Greek insurance industry in the examined period are presented to the Figure 1. Some of the factors can be placed in another category without affecting the analysis. Also, some of these factors could be applied into Porter s five forces model of Greek insurance industry competition that follows. 293

294 Figure 1: Macro-environment factors in the Greek insurance industry The analysis of the seven components of the micro-environment is a well-structured method that leads the analysts to identify the rivals which need more attention. Using the macro-environment model, strategists and managers can determine which of the factors are important or have great impact on their companies business model, current business plan, long and short-term strategy moves. For example, a closer look on the dynamics and the penetration of direct distribution channels in Europe could give early warnings to INTERAMERICAN competitors before INTERAMERICAN introduced the first insurance direct channel in Greece (ANYTIME). It is important to note that events in the macro-environment may occur in a sequence or in parallel, slowly or rapidly, simultaneously to all components or to only one, with or without a sign. The role of the management is to analyze it in a regular base to understand and predict competitors strategies or to create new directions and strategies in order to gain the competitive advantage in the industry. 4.2 Analysis of the Greek insurance industry with industry life cycle model According to Porter (1998), as an industry goes through its life cycle, the nature of competition will shift. The Greek insurance industry life cycle seems to be in the maturity stage. Although the number of insurance companies decreased during 2000 to 2013 from 110 to 67 (Hellenic association of insurance companies, 2014), the total insurance spending as percentage of GDP stabilized between 2% to 2,2% for the decade (OECD, 2013). The characteristics of the Greek insurance industry are consistent, at least for the vast majority of the insurance production (Life, Motor, Health, and Property) with Porter s study (1998). Table 1 depicts the characteristics of the Greek insurance industry in the maturity stage. Demand Maturity life cycle stage characteristics Mass market saturation especially in Motor business, Repeat buying, Customers are price sensitive for mandatory insurance products like motor, home and liabilities. 294

295 Technology Products Manufacturing and Distribution Competition Well-diffused technical knowhow: quest for technological improvements Trend to commoditization, Attempts to differentiate by branding, quality, bundling, Less product differentiation, Less rapid product differentiation, Standardization, Market segmentation, Advertising competition especially in Motor business Multi-line of business and multi-distribution exists competitive costs or net combined ratio is a key issue, Price competition increases Key Cost efficiency through capital intensity, Margins, Lower prices success factors Table 1: The industry structure over the Greek insurance lifecycle stage An interesting question that still needs to be answered is: Has the Greek insurance industry reached the top of its industry lifecycle? An answer to this question might give the insurance penetration index which in Greece was 2,1%, when the average European ratio was 7.7% in 2013 (Insurance Europe, 2015). 4.3 Analysis of the Greek insurance industry competition with Porter s five-forces model Porter s five forces model is a powerful and tested model that allows companies to identify and analyze the important forces which determine the characteristics of an industry. This model helps companies assess the nature of an industry s competitiveness and develop corporate strategies accordingly. Any change in one of the forces might mean that the insurer has to re-evaluate its environment and realign its business practices and strategies. In the analysis of macro-environment of Greek insurance industry in a previous section important factors are described that influence the intensity of each Porter s forces. The most strategically relevant factors that formulate the competition of the Greek insurance industry according to Porter s five forces model in the examined period are presented at Figure 2. Using Porter s five forces, strategists and managers can determine which of the forces have the greater impact for companies business model, current business plan, long and short-term strategy moves. 295

296 Figure 2: Porter s five forces (Greek insurance industry) 5. STRATEGIC GROUP MAPPING As Porter claimed (1980), strategic group mapping is the best technique to reveal industry members market positions. It can be used in Greek insurance industry to identify companies or groups of companies with similar characteristics and illustrate how easy it might be to move an insurance company from one strategic group to another, to avoid threats and to exploit opportunities. Fiengebaum and Thomas (1990) used, among other variables, net written premiums and line of business (Life, Non-life) in order to analyze strategic groups and performance in the US insurance industry. Similarly, we used the gross written premiums as the variable which demonstrates the size of the Greek insurance company and the line of business as a diversification variable to distinguish insurance brands. For the study s purposes, we tried four different strategic group mappings: Domestic and foreign insurance strategic groups map Non-Life, Life, and both Non-Life and Life insurance sectors strategic groups map Years in Greek insurance industry strategic groups map Life and Non-Life % production strategic groups map All strategic maps are based on the Gross written premiums of the top 25 Greek insurance brands. The analysis is based on 2012 data. 5.1 Domestic and foreign insurance strategic groups map Figure 3 shows the strategic groups for which the country of origin is used as the main characteristic. Insurance brands were divided to domestic and foreign and compared based on total gross insurance premiums. The most important element for this classification is the potential dynamic that a foreign company might have in terms of investments, international experience, transfers of technological and 296

297 managerial know-how. Someone can argue that foreign insurers might dominate a domestic market if domestic insurers are inadequate and unsophisticated. This classification revealed groups of companies which are very close in terms of insurance production. A point that needs attention is that the domestic market is already well-served by locally owned insurers. ETHNIKI is by far the top brand not only among domestic brands but also from all insurance brands in Greece. In the second position is a Dutch company; INTERAMERICAN that is also the top brand from the foreign companies. ING and METLIFE are in the second and the third position among foreign insurance companies. On the other hand, EUROLIFE is in the second position of domestic brands having less than the half of ETHNIKI s insurance premiums. As Figure 3 depicts, in Greek insurance industry there are many companies with similar insurance production volumes. Considering the above, 8 groups created, 4 for domestic and 4 for foreign companies with similar dynamics in terms of insurance production. Many companies are in group 4 for both domestic and foreign companies with the lower insurance production. Figure 3: Strategic group map: Domestic versus Foreign insurance firms (Greece) 5.2 Lines of insurance business strategic groups map For the strategic groups of Figure 4 the Line of business is used as the main characteristic to group the insurers. Insurance brands were divided into Life, Non- Life and Mixed (Life and Non-Life) and compared with the total gross insurance premiums. The most important element for this classification is the companies expertise in Life and Non-Life insurance sector. This classification revealed groups of companies which are very close in terms of insurance production. Not many firms are among insurance companies which operate both in Life and Non-Life insurance. Most of the leaders in Greek insurance market are in there. We can identify 4 groups. The first group consists of the market leader ETHNIKI. The second group consists of INTERAMERICAN, and EUROLIFE. There was a considerable gap between the first and the two following brands. The difference in insurance production between ETHNIKI and INTERAMERICAN is 204m and the difference with EUROLIFE is 322m. The third group consists of brands below category s average and with an insurance production between 138m GWP and 203m GWP. The leaders in this category are ALLIANZ and AXA with 297

298 202,4m and 194,7m gross written premiums respectively. Finally, the fourth group includes the rest of the companies with insurance production less than 88m GWP. In Non-Life sector we can identify 3 groups. The first group consists of ETHNIKI and INTERAMERICAN with 295,4m GWP and 225,6m GWP respectively. The second group consists of 8 brands between 108m and 153 mil. GWP. The leader in this group is INTERSALONIKA with 152,8m GWP. The third group includes the rest of the companies that had less than 86 mil GWP. In Life sector, the top companies are close in insurance production. We can divide the sector in 2 groups. The first group consists of ETHNIKI, ING, METLIFE, EUROLIFE, INTERAMERICAN, CREDIT AGRICOLE and the production is between 161m to 336m. The second group consists of the rest of the brands with less than 99m GWP. Figure 4: Strategic group map: Life, Non-Life and both It is interesting to note that ETHNIKI is the leader brand in each category. Nevertheless, in Life the competitors are very close to the leading company. Another point that needs to be made is that leading companies from each category are far away from the rest of companies. 5.3 Years in Greek insurance industry strategic groups map For these strategic groups the number of years that the brand operates in Greek insurance industry (see Figure 5) is used as a criterion. The number of years in Greek insurance industry can be interpreted as experience to Greek insurance market characteristics, better handling on political and tax issues, stronger relationship with sales channels, deeper understanding of Greek consumers. 298

299 For this strategic group the establishment year of the company in Greece is used and not the year that the company was merged or sold to the current brand. Furthermore, insurance brands were divided into 0 to 40 years, 40 to 80 years and 80 and more years in order to have better results. Three companies operate in insurance industry more than 80 years. ETHNIKI, GROUPAMA and GENERALI. ETHNIKI operates since 1891 and had 630,9 gross insurance premiums in GROUPAMA and GENERALI had 167,9m and 143,7 respectively being far less than ETHNIKI. Five companies operate between 40 and 80 years. Top three companies had a significant deviation and we include them in the same group. INTERAMERICAN is a 46 years old company with 427m insurance premiums, METLIFE with 263m GWP, and ERGO with 138m GWP. Only, INTERNATIONAL LIFE and AIG had very close insurance production. Thirteen companies operate less than 40 years. Top 2 companies, EUROLIFE and ING had similar insurance production and formulate a group. The second group consists of ALLIANZ, AXA, ATE, CREDIT AGRICOLE, EUROPEAN RELIANCE, and INTERSALONIKA with insurance production between 122m and 203m. The third group consists of MINETTA, INTERLIFE, NP, and INTERASCO. Figure 5: Strategic group map: Years in Greek insurance industry 5.4 Companies involvement in Life and Non-Life sector strategic group s map For the strategic groups of Figure 6 the NONLIFEINVOLV index is used (see methodology section) to measure the extent of insurance companies involvement in Life and Non-Life sector and the GWP. The groups which were pointed outhave the percentage of Non-Life (or Life) production as the basic characteristic. In Group 1 we have the leaders in Greek insurance industry; ETHNIKI and INTERAMERICAN which have almost a balanced Non-life and Life production. In the second Group EUROLIFE is included with more Life production than Non-Life. The 3rd Group consists of companies with none or almost none Non-Life production. In this group we include ING, METLIFE, CREDIT AGRICOLE, ALPHA LIFE. The fourth Group consists of companies that mainly concentrate in Non-Life sector but also have a significant percentage of their production in Life insurance. Final, the 5th group has companies with Non-life insurance production and none or almost none Life production. 299

300 Figure 6: Involvement in Life and Non-Life sector strategic group maps (2012) 6. SUMMARY OF RESEARCH, RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION Based on our research the summarized results are presented below: Macro-environment analysis model offered a structured way to analyze the Greek insurance industry competition environment. With this model a strategist can understand and identify risks and opportunities associated with external factors that influence an insurance company s competitive position. In addition, this model can be used to forecast movements of its competitors and helps managers make better decisions. Nevertheless, past behavior doesn t always lead to the same future results and the management of an insurance company should analyze the macro-environment regularly and compare the results with rival s movements. However, macro- environmental analysis is complex and difficult, and the most important is that it is subject to individual interpretation and abilities. Industry life cycle is a fundamental analysis based on the different stages of an industry at a given point in time. The analysis of the Greek insurance industry lifecycle didn t offer insights for the competitors which operate in the Greek market. Nevertheless, this analysis can help the process of making investment decisions for companies that want to expand their business through merger or acquisition. Another point that needs to be considered is that the Greek insurance life cycle stage was made through assumptions. Changes in market conditions or consumer behavior cannot predict future movements of the industry. This analysis cannot give a certain insight that the Greek insurance industry will grow or remain stable or even decline and at what pace. Porter s five-forces model can be used to analyze the Greek insurance industry in order to find threats and opportunities. Similar to macro-environment analysis, this model helps us to have a broader view on 300

301 insurance competition but closer to company s environment. This model is also subject to individual interpretation and abilities. Additionally, it requires knowledge about the Greek insurance industry. Factors, such as substitution of insurance products, are difficult to analyze, and possible substitutes can be missed. For example, governance protection for catastrophic events could be seen as a substitute threat. Also it is clear that if we have chosen to analyze Porter s five- forces model only for the Life or for the Non-life insurance industry then we would have different results. Finally, the use of Porter s model must be granular since, the existence and the intense of a factor is not always the same over time. Strategic group mapping is one of the methods for revealing the competitive structure of an industry. It can be used for explaining the performance deviation between firms which follow different strategies. The first difficulty when using this model is when setting the right dimensions for the analysis. At this study we used only public published data. For better analysis we need more information, for instance on brand preferences, claims or combined ratio, number of employees, product characteristics and sales channel traits. Our analysis in Greek insurance industry with the use of the Gross written premiums, the age of the brand, the line of business and the origin of the brand cannot demonstrate a clear relationship or clusters within the insurance industry. We saw many small brands that had similar production but this model could not give any insight of the dynamics, the similarities or the differences between firms which are very close to each other. It is obvious that a large amount of companies which compete in the Greek insurance industry show similar performance and may have similar competencies but it is not easy to identify with few only components to analyze. 7. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS In this section, we examine the level of research questions s reply based on the relevant literature and the findings of the analysis that took place in the previous sections. Moreover, we present the theoretical and practical implications of this study and we suggest further research in areas that might be interesting for someone to explore. The study was set out to explore the concept of competition analysis models in Greek insurance industry and to examine the use of four models: macro-environment analysis, industry life cycle, Porter s five forces model of competition, and strategic group mapping. The theoretical literature on strategic management and specifically in the context of competition analysis has criticisms and restrictions. Thus, the study also examined if these limitations exist for the Greek insurance industry. The study sought to answer five questions: 1. What kind of competitive forces are Greek industry members facing, and how strong is each force? 2. What factors are driving changes in the Greek insurance industry, and what impact will these changes have on competitive intensity? 3. What market positions do industry competitors hold ;who is strongly positioned and who is not? 4. To what extent can the selected models help an analyst to identify significant features, opportunities and threats that form the competition in the Greek insurance market? 5. Is it feasible for a strategist to analyze the Greek insurance industry using the selected models with only published information? The application of Porter s five forces model answers the first question of the study. The competitive forces which Greek insurance industry members are facing arise from the study of the five forces model. First, the study of risk of new entry by potential competitors showed that Global and European insurers might enter in Greek market. Google might be another new entry. In addition, we found that the low barriers of entry of the new freedom of services companies make easier their entrance to the Greek market. Secondly, the study of the extent of competition among established firms shows that there is strong competition in Greek market. Leader Greek, top Global and European firms, and many smaller similar sized companies create an intense competitive environment in a shrinking market. Thirdly, studies of the bargaining power of consumers showed that the power is concentrated on few large companies in Greece, which insure their personnel, property and operation and on big broker s branches. Additionally, the study 301

302 of the power of suppliers showed that talented insurance executives, underwriters, actuaries and account managers are easier to be attracted by a competitor. Moreover, the study of the threat of substitute products identifies that Greek social security and health system, products sold from banks and other financial institutions and medical discount cards are seen as insurance substitutes for the Greek consumers. The study shows that strategic analysts can use Porter s five forces in an insurance industry to identify potential profitable areas, to mitigate risks and to avoid mistakes. The second research question: What factors are driving changes in the Greek insurance industry, and what impact will these changes have on competitive intensity? was answered with the macro-environment model and the industry life time model. The scan of the seven macro-environment factors for the Greek insurance industry leads as to focus on five of them which can been seen as the most important at that period. These five factors are: general economic conditions, demographics, global forces, technological improvements, and political, legal and regulatory conditions. The structured approached of the macroenvironment analysis showed factors that can be opportunities or threats for all or for specific segments of Greek insurance companies and probably will affect directly or indirectly competition in the Greek market. The factors which were identified by this research were: economic crisis and instability, new no-frills products that appeared in the market, increasing demand for lower prices especially in Motor insurance, consumer affordability, improvement of the insurance combined ratio in Motor business, increase in life expectancy, aging of population, insurance industry transformations, power of Global and European insurers, economic integration, entrance of new companies from other industries, new technologies, new ways to reach a customer, multi-channel management, solvency II, and freedom of services companies. Even that many factors were identified; somebody could find more or fewer factors. On the other hand, the analysis of the Greek insurance industry life time model confirmed industry s traits. The characteristics of the Greek market are mass market saturation (especially in Motor business), price sensitive customers, continuous need for technological improvements, trends to commoditization, efforts to differentiate by branding, quality, bundling, slower product differentiation, standardization, market segmentation, advertising competition especially in Motor business, multi-line of business and the multi- distribution, efforts to have competitive costs, and price competition among rivals. Greek insurance industry life cycle is a survival tool not only for businesses to compete in the industry effectively but also for potential new entrants. The third research question: What market positions do industry rivals hold, who is strongly positioned and who is not? was approached with the strategic group mapping model. Strategic group mapping showed market positions of the insurance industry members. Four strategic group maps not only showed the market position of each insurance company in the market but also the relevant position of each company according to characteristics: Origin, years in Greek market and business line of the insurance company. According to our study in Greek insurance industry, there are many companies which, at least in 2012, were very close in terms of gross insurance premiums. Only few companies excelled for their production. For the fourth question: To what extent can the selected models help an analyst to identify significant features, opportunities and threats that form the competition in the Greek insurance market?, we cannot be sure if the analysis brought all the possible options. Although the macro-environment analysis model is a structured methodology to identify threats and opportunities it is complex and difficult, and it is subject to individual interpretation and abilities. This means that different analysts might get different results. Similar to this, Porters five models analysis is based also to individual interpretation and knowledge of the business environment under analysis. An analyst might see more or less threats and opportunities not because of the model but due to his personal interpretation and knowledge on the Greek insurance industry. It is important to note that, if an analyst wants further understand or wishes to predict competitors strategies then the analysis needs to take place regularly. Events in the macro-environment may arise in sequence or in parallel, slowly or rapidly, simultaneously to all factors or to only one. 302

303 For the last question: Is it feasible for a strategist to analyze the Greek insurance industry using the selected models with only published information? the results showed that it is feasible. More than 60 basic industry s key success factors and indexes were used for the analysis. Nevertheless, for the strategic group mapping we would have a better analysis if we could have more available information, particularly on company s key success factor. All models relied on historical, backward looking data to extrapolate future assumptions. For this reason, we found that it is important to be cautious when interpreting strategic analysis results. Otherwise the analysis may be unduly influenced by individual s preconceptions. The topic of the study is, undoubtedly, important; it combines an essential subject from strategic management theory and a major business sector. Insurance has a significant role on the global economy, not only because it is a precondition for sustainable development of economic activities mitigating financial risks for individuals and organizations, but also, because it offers alternative access to credit by providing savings into long-term investment products, supporting capital movement, and in addition, providing further support to the economy due to people connected directly or indirectly with the industry. Similarly, the competition analysis of an insurance industry is crucial and sometimes vital. Timely, identification of the risks may prove critical for an insurance company. Based on the above, it seems that strategic management models which were used were key to ensuring that discipline and consistency was applied to the analysis of the Greek insurance industry. These analytical models improved the focus of our analysis and ensured a methodical, and more balanced approach to the competition analysis of the Greek insurance industry competition. The research presented in this paper is limited for several reasons. At the outset, the observed phenomena were approached from an empirical viewpoint assuming that even though a factual reality exists, it is only imperfectly apprehensible as the observations are distorted by the observer s own understandings. Moreover, the study relied on multiple data sources consisting of both primary and secondary data. Nevertheless, the number of data sources was inevitably limited and due to the scarcity of available academic research on this topic, the study relies mostly on non-academic secondary data. Finally, the limitations of the models also limited the research scope. Concerning future research, several interesting directions could be identified with respect to analysis of the Greek insurance industry. For instance, we suggest using more variables for the strategic group mapping. Particularly, we propose: brand preferences, sales channel preferences, product diversification, price differentiation, geographical criteria, cost efficiency, number of employees, distribution channels characteristics and customer classification. This sophisticated competitor analysis is needed to deeper understand the structure of the Greek insurance industry. Moreover, we suggest a continuous and periodically study of the Greek strategic group maps. If an analyst monitors the strategic groups every 6 months, then he might find more insights and depicts the differences or the similarities of the Greek insurance companies. Relative to competition analysis and insurance industry, the findings of the study raise maybe another interesting topic of a possible future research. Α comparison of macro-environment model and Porter s five forces model with other countries, particularly from South European countries, might reveal interesting correlations. It seems that some strategies come to Greece, with a delay, from other more mature insurance industries. REFERENCES Baum, J. & McGahan, A. (2004) Business strategy over the Industry Lifecycle. JAI Press, Oxford. Brickley, JA., Smith, CW. and Zimmerman, JL. (2008) Managerial Economics and Organizational Architecture, 5th Edition. McGraw Hill Primis Fiegenbaum, A., & Thomas, H. (1990), Strategic groups and performance: the US insurance industry, Strategic Management Journal, 11(3),

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305 EUROPEAN YOUTH GUARANTEE: A NEW PATHWAY FOR THE TRANSITION OF YOUNG PEOPLE TO THE LABOUR MARKET? SOFIA BOUTSIOUKI, University of Macedonia, Greece Abstract In recent years the European Union has undertaken multilevel actions in order to address the economic consequences of the 2008 financial crisis and the rising socio-economic challenges. The European Youth Guarantee Initiative was introduced in an effort to proactively endorse youth transition to the labour market amid unfavourable employment prospects. It articulates the European decisiveness to ensure that all young people under the age of 25 years receive a good quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education. First, the paper explores the determinant circumstances which incited such an initiative. Then, it analyses its aims and focuses on the opportunities, the challenges and the prospects of the Youth Guarantee Initiative on both a symbolic and a realistic basis. Finally, it highlights deficiencies that would potentially hinder its implementation, in order to indicate potential policy interventions. Keywords: Youth Guarantee, European policy, youth, education and training, employment, labour market 1. INTRODUCTION In recent years the European Union (EU) has undertaken multilevel actions in order to address the economic consequences of the 2008 global financial crisis and the rising social confrontations. Strong emphasis has been given to the interactive relation between the fields of learning and employment. Their key position as factors that largely determine the member states and the individuals socioeconomic welfare and their crucial role in every developmental strategy designated them as important elements of EU policies and national practices. This paper attempts a critical approach of the European Youth Guarantee Intiative. Established by the EU in 2013, it constitutes an effort of the European countries to proactivley endorse the transition of young cohorts to the labour market amid unfavourable conditions. The particular initiative articulates the decisiveness of the EU and of national authorities to ensure that all young people under the age of 25 years receive a good quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education. First, the paper describes the determinant circumstances which incited the introduction of the European Youth Guarantee Initiative. Then, it analyses its aims and focuses on the aspired opportunities, the challenges and the prospects of such an initiative for its stakeholders on both a symbolic and a realistic basis. Finally, the paper highlights certain deficiencies that would potentially hinder its effective implementation, in order to designate potential policy interventions. 2. DETERMINANT CIRCUMSTANCES The transformation of economies and the massive technological change have deeply modified the labour market conditions globally. The increase in the demand for better skilled workforce not only depends on the availability of employment positions, but also appears to exercise a strong influential role on the policy interventions which target rising inequality (OECD 2011). In addition, the effects of unemployment on individuals and countries are being constantly highlighted over the years, as they are not confined only to economic consequences; on the contrary, they extend to social implications, thus seriously undermining the socioeconomic prospects of modern states and societies. On one hand, the limited professional opportunities and the gradual erosion of competences constrain people s employment prospects and increase the danger of social exclusion and poverty. On the other hand, individuals often attempt to enter or to remain in the labour market by accepting job positions with unfavourable working conditions, low wages and limited social security (Borjas 2008; ILO 2013a). Furthermore, unemployment results in individuals losing their self-confidence and sense of control, which may lead to a decrease of cognitive abilities in general and may diminish their motivation to undertake initiatives in order to exit unemployment (Sen 1997). Other costs must be added, such as the dramatic effects on health, personal and family life, and social behavior; de-socialisation and loss of networks and opportunities, of self-esteem 305

306 and personal fulfillment not only reduce human capital, but also impair one s ability to augment it (Wisman 2010). The loss or the systematic abuse of valuable human capital results in economic recession and undermines the collective social welfare (Ahn, García and Jimeno 2004). The phenomenon of unemployment has become a serious long-term threat for the EU. Unemployment is 8.9% in average in the EU-28 and 10.3% in the 19 countries of the eurozone area (Eurostat, January 2016). The situation appears more aggravated in countries that have been severely affected by the economic crisis, such as Greece (24.6%), Spain (20.5%), Cyprus (15.3%) and Portugal (12.2%). Nevertheless, the instability of the global economic environment challenges the employment achievements of many other European countries, which experience the consequences of the financial crisis indirectly, such as Croatia (16.4%), Italy (11.5%) and Slovakia (10.3%) (Figure 1). Figure 1. Unemployment rates, seasonally adjusted, January 2016 (%) Source: Eurostat (une_rt_m) Young people usually are the most vulnerable part of the population, when economic transformations take place, and always confront greater difficulty in entering the labour market. They are often recruited under temporary (short-term) contracts and usually accept less favourable working conditions, because they have limited professional experience and run greater danger of losing their jobs (Bussi and Geyer 2013; O Higgins 2010). However, there is no doubt that their employment prospects have been affected by the 2008 financial crisis much more dramatically than those of the rest of the population. In most countries the rates of youth unemployment increased very steeply (Figure 2) and persistently remain very high. The rates of the young unemployed less than 25 years old are double or even triple than those of the total population (Table 1), thus igniting fears for a lost generation and serious concerns regarding the necessary interventions, which would prevent their discouragement and marginalisation. Figure 2. Youth unemployment rates, EU-28 and EA-19 (Jan Jan. 2016) Source: Eurostat (une_rt_m) 306

307 307 Table 1. Unemployment rates in the EU (total population and persons <25 years) (%) Countrie s (<2 5) (<2 5) (<2 5) (<2 5) (<2 5) (<2 5) (<2 5) EU Austria : : Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia : : Finland France Germany Greece : : Hungary Ireland Italy : : Latvia Lithuania Luxembo urg Malta Netherla nds Poland Portugal Romania

308 Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom : : Source: Eurostat (update: ) Special emphasis must be given to NEETs. The term refers to young people years old who are not in employment, education or training (Eurofound 2012a). The particular group experiences very complex challenges regarding their access to employment or to education/training opportunities. Besides their failure to increase their work experience, their exclusion from education and training activities decreases their opportunities to enter (or re-enter) employment. For this reason they confront obstacles which outweigh those experienced by other groups of the population and constitute a matter of serious policy concern in most countries; the NEETs rates actually act as an indicator of exclusion from both the labour market and education/training. The fact that so many young individuals experience intense difficulties in their transition to employment, while at the same time they lack access to educational activities, increases the danger of valuable human potential remaining inactive or becoming involved in the informal economy (OECD 2013). Moreover, such a probability aggravates the long-term individual and societal costs further. The case of NEETs projects an additional interesting dimension; the rates of NEETs who are years old are bigger than those of NEETs who are years old (Table 2). This is probably due to the fact that most young people years old are still involved in education and training activities, whereas the majority of individuals years old are expected to have already finished their studies and to be actively seeking for work, but many of them do not appear to be very successful. Therefore, the high rates of NEETs in this particular age group should be seriously taken into consideration, when interventions for young people are being planned. Table 2. Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEETs) age group Countri es EU Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republi c by 308

309 Denmar k Estonia Finland 9.9 France German y Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuani a Luxemb ourg Malta 9.9 Netherla nds Poland Portugal Romani a Slovakia Slovenia 7.5 Spain Sweden 9.6 United Kingdo m Source: Eurostat (update: ) Beside the social burden caused by the inactivity of so many young people, the economic costs for countries are considerable. In m people years old and 6.5m people years old were not involved in any kind of employment or in education/training activities (Eurofound 2012a). 14m NEETs encumber European economy with a cost of 15bn, which is equivalent to 1.2% of EU GDP (Eurofound 309

310 2012a) and their rates continue to rise in most European countries; NEETs decreased only in four countries (Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and Sweden) (Table 2). Consequently, the countries attempts for economic recovery are hindered. Greece with a 54.7% increase of NEETs has a burden of 7.1bn; in Spain NEETs increased by 34.4% and caused a cost of 15.7bn; in Ireland they increased by 37.5% and caused a cost of 4.3bn, while the cost is 32.6bn for Italy, 2.7bn for Portugal and 0.5bn for Cyprus. Certainly, the impact should not be calculated strictly on economic grounds as a percentage of the GDP, but should be particularly perceived as a factor of serious social unrest. The aforementioned facts are of great importance for the decisions that concern the implementation of the Youth Guarantee Initiative and draw the attention especially but nor eclusively to the rising debate on the eligibility criteria for participants and to the feasibility of provisions for the inclusion of broader groups of young individuals. Table 3. NEETs in the EU: numbers and costs Number of Countries NEETs, aged 15- Total cost % of GDP 29 (2011) (2011) (2011) EU-26 13,941,264 % change in NEET cost ( ) 1,21 28,33 153,013,053,902 Austria 124,894 3,174,088, Belgium 278,610 5,212,677, Bulgaria 316,901 1,272,066, Cyprus 23, ,582, Czech 242,213 1,799,781, Republic Denmark 76,201 1,287,222, Estonia 41, ,028, Finland 98,625 2,020,035, France 1,634,599 22,179,184, Germany 1,350,524 15,464,150, Greece 419,102 7,065,609, Hungary 329,915 2,132,937, Ireland 193,606 4,327,415, Italy 2,157,052 32,613,386, Latvia 90, ,755, Lithuania 102, ,040, Luxembourg 6,163 96,837, Netherlands 166,254 3,957,261, Poland 1,253,504 7,535,945, Portugal 260,392 2,680,128, Romania 849,452 2,102,787, Slovakia 226, ,900, Slovenia 34, ,709, Spain 1,643,928 15,735,159, Sweden 142,918 1,260,246, United Kingdom 1,872,403 18,347,112, Source: Eurofound, 2012a 310

311 3. EUROPEAN YOUTH GUARANTEE INITIATIVE: CONCEPT AND FRAMEWORK 3.1. The tradition of youth guarantee schemes in Europe The concept of youth guarantees has a long tradition in Europe. In the past, such schemes have been successfully implemented in many countries, where the public employment services had the primary role for their implementation. Mechanisms that secured training or employment opportunities for young people were put into effect for the first time by the Nordic countries. Although they were introduced amid many difficulties, these projects served as valuable experiences for future ventures (Hummeluhr 1997). Sweden in 1984, Norway in 1993, Denmark and Finland in 1996 established their youth guarantee programmes in an attempt to confront the existing deficiencies in youth employment in a more innovative and effective way. They were followed by Germany and Austria in 2004, and by Belgium in 2007 (Besamusca, Stanesku and Vauhkonen 2012; Lecerf 2014). In general youth guarantee schemes can include various forms of interventions in the fields of education/training and the labour market. They include provisions for compensation, which not only support the financial status of young persons, but also contribute to the increase of their self-esteem and confidence (ILO 2013b). Depending on the country, they promote measures that operate either independently from each other or in mutual cooperation under the supervision of national or regional services. Three different types of measures can be identified (European Commission 2011; Hummeluhr 1997; ILO 2013b): a) Education/training measures; they include interventions in general education, in vocational education and training (VET) and in labour market training. b) Measures for the improvement of employment services and programmes; such measures target the improvement of employment planning, job-search assistance and subsidies. c) Other active labour market policies (ALMPs); they include various forms of support through public works, community services and business start-up programmes. Furthermore, the youth guarantee eligibility is determined differently by different states. National authorities usually introduce particular criteria that are related to age (up to 24 or to 29 years of age), the educational level (up to tertiary education or other), the duration of interventions and the period of time between one s graduation and the beginning of the programme (ILO 2013b). The paper makes a short reference to the cases of three European countries that are interesting models of youth guarantee schemes. In Denmark youth guarantee schemes are successfully implemented through the Danish Flexicutiy Programme. The country s labour market is characterised by great flexibility and it is not uncommon for individuals to lose their jobs with a week s notice. Nevertheless, a combination of provisions for training opportunities and high unemployment benefits establish a sense of relative security. The particular programme involves passive and active labour market policies. Although all unemployed people are expected to seek for a new job, the programme focuses on establishing effective state policies that can ensure the existence of adequate job positions and proper training for them; if no jobs exist, the government has to provide them. When individuals become unemployed, they qualify for two years benefits. In addition, they are obliged to fill in a resumé within a month and to meet with an employment consultant within three months, in order to receive guidance and job search assistance. Most individuals find a job in a short period of time; if someone is still unemployed two years later, he/she enters a compulsory training programme, which is part of the national ALMPs and is planned according to local needs. In spite of the high overall cost of the initiative, which amounts to 4% of the GDP, the results appear quite successful; there is a continuous reduction of unemployment and a significant GDP growth, while the national economy enjoys many advantages (Wisman 2010). The organisation of youth guarantee schemes in Sweden is similar to that of Denmark, but the time management is much stricter. Young unemployed people must register in the list of unemployed of the public employment services. If they don t secure a job position within ninety days, they are offered a personalised four-month programme, which aims at them either entering the labour market or participating in training. During the first three months they are involved in specific activities, such as assessment, educational and vocational guidance and job search assistance with the help of specialised coaches. When the four-months period ends, the schemes are enriched with provisions that endorse their transition to the labour market, such as opportunities for work experience or education/training, support for business start- 311

312 ups and for employability enhancement. The outcomes of the Swedish youth guarantee have been successful for almost half participants (Eurofound 2012b; European Monitoring Centre on Change 2012; ILO 2012a). In Finland the present youth guarantee schemes started in 2005 and were revised in In the beginning, they targetted young people less than 25 years old, but since 2013 they include all young people less than 30 years old, who are not engaged in employment or education. The aim is to help young unemployed individuals to enter (or to re-enter) the labour market through the implementation of personalised plans within the first three months of unemployment. Each plan includes provisions for job offering, for placement in education/training schemes or other activities that improve employment prospects. The Finnish youth guarantee schemes have very high success rates, as more than four out of five individuals reenter the labour market. However, large part of the success is associated with the significant budget increase for the public employment services, that allowed for more advisors to be allocated and, thus, for larger numbers of young people to be supported within shorter periods of time (Eurofound 2012b; ILO 2012a). The valuable experience from youth guarantee initiatives that were successfully implemented in various national socioeconomic environments ignited the interest of other European countries in introducing similar practices, when other piecemeal measures did not prove successful. Considerable evidence, though, indicates that, over the years, youth guarantee projects proved to be rather successful in improving youth transition to the labour market, but they seem to lose part of their dynamics during an economic crisis (ILO 2013b) Promotion of youth potential in the EU: institutional framework and policy interventions The Youth Guarantee Initiative has been designated as part of the EU youth policies, which have been reinforced by the international debate over the confrontation of employment difficulties and the enhancement of the young individuals role as economic and social actors and as citizens. Youth aspirations are discouraged by the deficiencies in the socioeconomic environment, from which they feel more and more detached. For this reason international organisations and countries have engaged in a more intense effort to intervene with the appropriate policy measures and to improve youth prospects. The International Labour Organization (ILO 2012a; 2012b) promotes the improvement of the labour market environment through a multi-level approach, which involves a basic policy mix that could (and should) be adapted to the particular conditions of each country. Five policy areas are highlighted: a) Introduction of policies that aim at increasing aggregate demand and at improving access to finance. b) Provisions for education/training in order to support the school-to-work transition. c) Introduction of labour market policies especially for young people from disadvantaged groups. d) Enhancement of youth entrepreneurship in order to support job creation for both entrepreneurs and employees. e) Introduction of the necessary legislation in order to secure young individuals equal treatment and working rights in their jobs. The necessity of sustainable policy reforms and practices that would support the employment opportunities of young people has been repeatedly designated by different political entities in the EU. In 2010 the European Parliament appealed for interventions that would facilitate youth access to the labour market. It placed emphasis on the communication between education and the labour market, on mobility and work placements (apprenticeships, traineeships/internships), as well as on the educational and financial support for corporate ventures undertaken by young individuals (European Parliament 2010). The aggravation of the economic conditions and their social implications led to more proactive youth policy interventions by European authorities. The Youth Employment Package that was introduced by the European Commission in December 2012 suggested the establishment of innovative practices as means for smoother transition from education to the labour market (European Commission 2012). The European Parliament repeatedly expressed its support to particular interventions towards this aim; it agreed on the further promotion of the Youth Opportunities Initiative (European Parliament 2012) and urged for a European Commission resolution (European Parliament 2013). Having succeeded a certain consensus, the European authorities gave a concrete character to the implementation of the Youth Employment Package through the establishment of the Youth Employment 312

313 Initiative/YEI in March 2013 (European Commission 2013b). Its actions focus on regions where youth unemployment rates are higher than 25%, as well as on NEETs years old, who are extremely vulnerable to labour market transformations. Member states are expected to undertake actions directly targeting education and employment deficiencies. In addition, they are encouraged to make the appropriate qualitative adjustments in their educational, employment and social services and to enhance the interaction between education and the labour market. The initiative is supplemented by funding provisions for a budget of 6bn for the period , which are to be drawn from two different sources. 3bn will be drawn from a specific EU budget line dedicated to youth employment, which will act as an informal youth unemployment fund and will exploit any margins that will be left available below the Multiannual Financial Framework ceilings for the years ; another 3bn will be drawn from the European Social Fund national allocations that should be used in projects combating youth unemployment. The allocation of funds especially to the YEI has its own symbolic importance. Nevertheless, it must be emphasised that these financial resources do not come from an actual increase in the relevant European funding, but from a further reduction in the cohesion budget, which had already been reduced compared to the previous financing period. Therefore, concerns regarding the financial sustainability of the initiative appear to be completely justified. Besides its aspired contribution to the effectiveness of the Youth Employment Package, the YEI was timely designed in order to exercise a supportive role for future interventions. Consequently, the introduction of the European Youth Guarantee Initiative in April 2013 (Council of the European Union 2013) came at a time when the EU had already gained experience in establishing initiatives that supported youth prospects. Through this initiative the EU and national authorities pledged to ensure that all young people under the age of 25 years receive a good quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education. Youth Guarantee projects should include coordinated actions aiming at broadening the professional opportunities of young people. Such actions should either facilitate youth transition to the labour market or help them develop their learning competences and qualifications further in order to match the labour market demands. Since its aim is to operate as a means of proactively confronting the socioeconomic implications of an unfavourable labour market for the younger cohorts especially, it addresses multiple recipients. A few months later, the European Commission suggested an organised model in order to reinforce young people s efforts to get into work, education or training. Its implementation required the proactive support of stakeholders and of the European authorities to a number of measures. It encouraged immediate actions that would get youth into employment and the adoption of measures supporting apprenticeship schemes and high quality training in order to address skills shortages. For this reason it supported mobility within the EU with the help of EURES, as well as the adoption of measures that increase the creation of jobs, especially by SMEs, and youth recruitment. Furthermore, it called for the acceleration of reforms that in the long-term would lead to an integrated European labour market. It also recognised that, besides the organisational and administrative dimensions, the implementation of Youth Guarantee schemes involves an economic dimension, which can determine the prospects of its success. For this reason the European Structural Funds were designated as funding sources that should be used in coordination with national resources (European Commission 2013a). Shortly after, the European Council enhanced the supportive orientation of the European authorities by explicitly acknowledging the importance of the issue; it characterised the phenomenon of high youth unemployment as unacceptable and placed the priority to confront it first in the agenda (Conclusions of the European Council 2013). It urged the EU member states to take immediate action by adopting their national plans, which were required in order to confront youth unemployment and to implement the Youth Guarantee principles according to their needs. Finally, it gave greater priority to countries with youth unemployment rates higher than 25% by encouraging them to submit their national Youth Guarantee plans by January 2014, when the first funding disbursements would be allocated. However, the primary focus on countries with unemployment higher than 25% raises concerns, as the mid- and long-term consequences for other countries might be equally serious and dangerous, if they are not properly addressed. By April 2014 all EU member states had submitted their national Youth Guarantee plans, but the final outcomes 313

314 require close supervision and careful implementation of the measures that will be put into effect by each one of them. 4. EUROPEAN YOUTH GUARANTEE INITIATIVE: AIMS, CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS As the adverse circumstances challenged the countries social cohesion and economic stability, the pressures on the states decision-making intensified. During the first months of 2014 twenty-eight national Youth Guarantee plans were submitted to the European authorities. For the first time the EU attempts to promote a regulated action at such scale and to achieve some form of homogeneity in confronting youth unemployment, skills mismatches and lack of job opportunities. At the same time, the different dimensions involved in the schemes implementation are being clearly designated as new challenges for the entire EU and for each one of the member states. Four pillars can be identified in the construction of the initiative and the most important challenges can decisively determine its outcomes in the relevant fields. The first pillar includes the institutionalisation of the Youth Guarantee interventions, which applies on both the statutory framework and the collective mindset. There is no doubt that the favourability of the broader socioeconomic environment is the primary prerequisite for the successful implementation of the Youth Guarantee. More analytically, the macroeconomic stability and the prevalence of a positive mindset towards its interventions constitute the necessary foundations for the implementation of the schemes. On one hand, the institutional framework has to provide for the dissemination of good practices. Moreover, the credibility (and therefore the attractiveness) of the institution can be enhanced by the close monitoring and the quality assurance of its processes. The latter would mitigate the serious concerns about the danger of having older workers dismissed in favour of younger individuals, whose placement might be subsidised by financial or other motivational advantages for employers. The initiative s outcomes can be decisively determined by preparatory actions which support job search and creation, by the promotion of training as a means to combat unemployment in the short- and medium-turn, as well as by institutional factors that influence the level and the quality of its organisation (Bussi and Geyer 2013). Furthermore, the institutional framework has to be supplemented by provisions ensuring professional experience opportunities for young people through their involvement in specific projects with alternative actions and tangible results. A well regulated operational framework for work placements and the establishment of more and better quality apprenticeship/traineeship schemes would contribute to shorter periods of inactivity between their graduation from all forms of learning and their entrance in the labour market for the first time. Mobility is an additional instrument for the reinforcement of youth prospects through common youth guarantee projects. It improves the language skills and the cultural interaction between young Europeans, is associated with increased opportunities for first-hand experience in the integrated European working environment and allows for better allocation of human resources in different regions according to their competitive advantage. On the other hand, special emphasis has to be attributed to the ideological preparation of the stakeholders and of the public opinion regarding the content and the importance of the success of the Youth Guarantee. Finally, it must not be overlooked that the collection of data concerning school-to-work transition is valuable for the implementation of the Youth Guarantee Initiative and the monitoring of its needs. The interactive and continuous communication between education and the world of work, and the development of qualifications and specialisations in demand would be enhanced by regular data flow and would ignite growth. The second pillar refers to the establishment of a consistent stakeholders participation. The main challenge is to incite as many potential actors as possible to actually be involved in the schemes, regardless of their position in the initiative s processes. The beneficiaries young people in general and NEETs in particular need special motivation in order to pursue new opportunities through training or work. The longer they tolerate their potential being inactive and their dynamics remaining unexpressed, the more they run the risk of professional and social exclusion. Vocational education and training should become an attractive instrument through which young people can develop skills that match the labour market demands and ultimately restart their professional dynamism. Furthermore, more opportunities for effective professional guidance could be established by public or private employment services and young individuals could be supported to develop the necessary competences and to avoid skills mismatches and erosion. However, such an endeavour requires the proactive cooperation between education and the labour market. The engagement of key stakeholders such as education providers and employers in every stage of 314

315 the planning and the implementation of the Youth Guarantee interventions would enable their particular expertise and recommendations to be properly deployed. The third pillar refers to the inclusiveness of the Youth Guarantee; the challenges are multidimensional and will determine the eligibility of the young individuals who will benefit from the projects. Firstly, the age limitations, which appointed that only young individuals less than 25 years old are eligible in the projects, have not taken into account the worse circumstances experienced by individuals years old. Secondly, space is a parameter that should also be considered. By targeting deficiencies at regional and local level rather than at national, the initiative can actually invest in greater effectiveness and restrain the ongoing brain drain, the unprecedented emigration of valuable human capital from the weaker European economies towards other centres. Thus, through successful Youth Guarantee projects the countries would be able to maintain the specialised human capital they need in order to achieve their economic and social stability. In addition, the commitment of member states to provide work or training opportunities depends upon their ability to provide access to the relevant information and upon the proactive interaction between all stakeholders, such as state authorities, education and training providers, public and private employment services, employers and unions. As projects are usually implemented by many different institutions, the dissemination of information regarding the coordination of and the access to their activities becomes very important. The EU member states are required to assess the socioeconomic conditions carefully, to establish objective monitoring and evaluation processes, to draw useful experience from existing good practices and to improvise, in order to develop inclusive initiatives. The fourth pillar involves the funding prospects of the initiative, which will determine the outcomes of its various interventions at social and economic level. Previous experience has established that the combination of different measures training, career guidance and job search assistance, apprenticeships, subsidised employment and support of self-employment has proven more successful than any intervention based on separate measures (O Higgins 2010). However, high direct and indirect costs cannot be avoided. So, the concerns about the ability of the EU and of member states to support such projects financially not only are justified, but should also be expected to intensify along with the development of projects. Countries with a lot of inactive youth potential will face great difficulty in contributing to Youth Guarantee projects through their budgets and such economic support will certainly aggravate their national financial position, even though EU funds will be used as well. Moreover, the allocation of 6bn by the EU seems insufficient in contrast to the large numbers of young people who should be eligible. Consequently, a different approach becomes necessary; the financial cooperation between the public and the private sector appears more likely to prove successful and cost-effective. Besides the creation of more education/training or employment opportunities for young individuals, the overall system can establish active networks with the entrepreneurial world that will supply organisational expertise, guidance and counseling services and strong role models. In this way broader involvement of benefactors can be incited and youth entrepreneurship can be encouraged. More young people will be able to exit unemployment by undertaking their own entrepreneurial ventures and to achieve their social integration, while at the same time they will probably become active supporters of job creation projects for their peers. 5. CONCLUSIONS The Youth Guarantee Initiative constitutes part of the European youth policies and is developed towards a twofold aim. On one hand, it attempts to coordinate targeted interventions in order to mobilise more stakeholders and resources to support the social integration and the smoother labour market transition of young individuals. On the other hand, it aims at raising awareness with regards to future youth employment prospects, so that broader and actually sustainable commitments can be undertaken. The paper attempted to approach the particular challenges concerning the implementation of the Youth Guarantee Initiative by designating the multiple and often interrelated factors involved. Four different pillars were identified in the Youth Guarantee construction and each one of them confronts different challenges. One of them is related to the institutional dimension of the venture. The tight time frame imposed by the Youth Guarantee Initiative obliges the EU member states to combine its particular actions with structural reforms, in order to allow long-term dynamics and special interventions for youth potential to be established. The proactive implementation of active labour market policies (ALMPs), the quality 315

316 improvement of education/training systems and the establishment of specific institutional frameworks to regulate labour costs and conditions are considered important. Two of the pillars are associated with the supply-side and the demand-side dimension. The focus on the supply-side dimension is related to the definition of the eligibility criteria and requires proactive measures for the enhancement of training opportunities and of job search assistance and guidance for more beneficiaries. However, it is equally important to encourage interventions in favour of the demand-side, which requires the involvement of more stakeholders. The establishment of an effective regulatory framework and of monitoring mechanisms, as well as of apprenticeship/traineeship schemes with benefits for employers and trainees would increase the demand for young employees considerably, while the participation in educational activities would be upgraded. The fourth pillar includes the funding dimension that appears to require additional provisions, in order to secure the projects sustainability and inclusiveness. The allocation of more financial resources, the stability of the funding flow and the engagement of more contributors to actions investing in youth potential are important for the achievement of successful outcomes. Although the European Youth Guarantee Initiative cannot by itself actually guarantee success, it can be argued that it will definitely operate as a highly motivating factor with significant symbolic features. Youth Guarantee projects have to be carefully planned in order to succeed in their objectives. Moreover, they carry a symbolic importance that goes beyond the increase in learning and professional opportunities for young people. As the danger of younger cohorts being socially marginalised and politically excluded from decisions and initiatives regarding their future prospects becomes more apparent, a potential failure will increase their disappointment of the unfavourable socioeconomic environment and augment their frustration. Inclusive interventions and successful outcomes can positively affect the future of the existing youth potential and considerably improve the ability of the EU to manage it more effectively. REFERENCES Ahn, N., García, J.R. and Jimeno, J.F. (2004) The impact of unemployment on individual well-being in the EU, ENEPRI Working Paper No. 29 (7/2004). Besamusca, J., Stanesku, I. and Vauhkonen, J. (2012) The European Youth Guarantee: a reality check, FEPS Young Academics Network, Renner Institute, Brussels. Borjas, G. (2008) Labor economics, 4 th edition, McGraw Hill/Irwin, Boston. Bussi, M. and Geyer, L. (2013) Youth Guarantees and recent developments on measures against youth unemployment. A mapping exercise, Background analysis , European Trade Union Institute-ETUI. Conclusions of the European Council (2013) Brussels 27-28/6/2013, EUCO 104/2/13 REV 2. Council of the European Union (2013) Council recommendation of 22 April 2013 on establishing a Youth Guarantee, OJ 2013/C 120/01 (26/4/2013). Eurofound (2012a) NEETs Young people not in employment, education or training: Characteristics, costs and policy responses in Europe, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Dublin/Luxembourg. Eurofound (2012b) Youth Guarantee: Experiences from Finland and Sweden, Dublin/Luxembourg. European Commission (2011) Peer country papers on youth guarantees, Brussels. European Commission (2012a) Proposal for a Council recommendation on establishing a youth guarantee, 5/12/2012, COM(2012) 729 final. European Commission (2013a) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Working together for Europe s young people. A call to action on youth unemployment, Brussels, 19/6/2013, COM(2013) 447 final. European Commission (2013b) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on Youth Employment Initiative, Strasbourg 12/3.2013, COM(2013) 144 final. European Monitoring Centre on Change (2012) Sweden: Comparative analytical report (ERM) on young people Not in Employment, Education and Training (NEET). 316

317 European Parliament (2010) European Parliament resolution of 6 July 2010 on promoting youth access to the labour market, strengthening trainee, internship and apprenticeship status (2009/2221(INI)) P7_TA(2010)0262. European Parliament (2012) European Parliament resolution of 24 May 2012 on the Youth Opportunities Initiative (2012/2617(RSP)) P7_TA(2012)0224. European Parliament (2013) European Parliament resolution on a Youth Guarantee (2012/2901(RSP)) B7-0007/2013 (16/1/2013) P7_TA(2013)0016. Hummeluhr, N. (1997) Youth guarantees in the Nordic Countries, Paper commissioned by the OECD Secretariat to provide background for the Transition Thematic Review. International Labour Organization (ILO) (2012a) Eurozone job crisis: trends and policy responses, Studies on growth with equity, International Labour Organization (International Institute for Labour Studies). International Labour Organization (ILO) (2012b) Resolution concerning the youth employment crisis: a call for action, Resolution adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 101 st Session (14/6/2012). International Labour Organization (ILO) (2013a) Global employment trends 2013: Recovering from a second jobs dip, International Labour Organization, Geneva. International Labour Organization (ILO) (2013b) Youth guarantees: a response to the youth employment crisis, Employment Policy Brief. Lecerf, M. (2014) Une garantie européenne pour la jeunesse: Favoriser l insertion sur le marché du travail, European Parliamentary Research Service Briefing (27/1/2014). O Higgins, N. (2010) The impact of the economic and financial crisis on youth employment: Measures for labour market recovery in the European Union, Canada and the United States, Employment Sector, Employment Working Paper No. 70, International Labour Organization, Geneva. OECD (2011) Divided we stand: why inequality keeps rising, OECD Publishing, Paris. OECD (2013) Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators, OECD, Paris. Sen, A. (1997) Inequality, unemployment and contemporary Europe, International Labour Review 136 (2): Wisman, J.D. (2010) The moral imperative and social rationality of government-guaranteed employment and reskilling. Review of Social Economy 68 (1):

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319 RESEARCH ON THE REFORM OF THE BROADBAND SALARY SYSTEM OF CHINESE GRASSROOTS CIVIL SERVANTS XING LIANG, Hebei University of Economics and Business CHENGJING NIE, Hebei University of Economics and Business Abstract Civil service pay system is an important part and the internal power and basic guarantee of the civil service system, which is related to the economic interests of civil servants and the efficiency of the public sector. Broadband pay is a new salary structure, accompanied by the new management strategy, such as organization flattening, process reengineering, competency orientation. It has incentive effect, such as correct orientation and flexibility advantages etc. This paper first elaborates the related concepts of civil servants' pay system as well as its advantages and disadvantages of the broadband salary system; then points out the problems of Chinese grass-roots civil servants' pay system; Finally, it puts forward the implementation path of reforming the Civil service Broadband salary pay system from aspects of transforming the civil servants' pay management concept, Promoting the legalization proceedings of the salary system, improving the mechanism of civil servant performance evaluation and Strengthening the grass-roots civil servants' pay budget management. Key words: Civil servant; Broadband salary; Rank salary system; Reform ; Feasibility ;Implement path 我国基层公务员宽带薪酬制度改革研究 梁星 李万县 摘要 公务员薪酬制度是公务员制度的重要组成部分 是公务员制度的内在动力和基本保障 关 系到我国公务员自身的经济利益和公共部门的工作效率 宽带薪酬是伴随着组织扁平化 流程再 造 能力导向等新的管理战略而产生的新的薪酬结构 有着激励效果明显 导向正确 灵活性强 的优点 本文首先对公务员薪酬制度的相关概念理论进行阐述 指出了当前宽带薪酬制度的优势 与缺点 接着结合理论指出我国基层公务员薪酬制度存在的问题 进而从转变公务员薪酬管理理 念 推进公务员薪酬制度的法治化进程 完善公务员绩效评估机制和加强基层公务员薪酬预算管 理这几方面具体指出了我国基层公务员宽带薪酬改革的实施路径 关键词 公务员 薪酬制度 宽带薪酬 改革 可行性 实施路径 公务员薪酬制度是公务员制度的内在动力和基本保障 薪酬制度是否合理 不但影响公务员 队伍的稳定性和工作的积极性 而且关系到公共部门行政管理的效率和公平 甚至还会影响公众 与政府之间的关系 基层公务员薪酬制度的改革 对稳定基层公务员队伍 提升基层公务员行政 效率具有深远的理论和现实意义 1. 宽带薪酬理论概述 1.1 宽带薪酬的涵义 传统的薪酬管理与现代组织在结构匹配上发生失调 为顺应现代薪酬管理思想和现代组织结 构变革 欧美等发达国家开始对其传统的薪酬进行改造 一种在职位薪酬基础上注重能力开发 导向的新型设计模式 宽带薪酬的概念及设计也随之进入人们视野 美国薪酬管理协会定义宽带薪酬是由多个薪酬级别及其相对较窄的薪酬浮动范围重新加以组 合 已形成数量薪酬等级相对较少但是每一薪酬级别的浮动范围相对较宽的薪酬管理体系 它表 示某个工作岗位的薪酬不再是一个定数 而是变成了一个薪酬范围 从 一岗一薪 变成了 一 岗数薪 在宽带薪酬结构中 每个薪酬等级的最高值与最低值之间的区间变化比率可以达到 319

320 100%, 甚至是 100% 以上, 典型的宽带薪酬是薪酬等级不超过 4 个, 但每个薪酬等级的最高值与最低值之间的区间变动比率却可达到 % 宽带薪酬体系的特点及其优势 宽带薪酬层级少, 支持扁平化组织宽带薪酬打破了传统薪酬对于等级的严格要求, 主张简化过于精细的职务分割, 有利于组织提高运作效率和创造学习型的组织文化, 有助于组织保持和提高自身结构的灵活性, 提高组织的竞争力 宽带薪酬体系支持团队文化宽带薪酬使很多个员工在同一薪酬等级中, 员工会因此产生一种平等感, 弱化了员工间不必要的内部间的恶性竞争, 通过不断强调知识的共享 员工间的合作 共同的成长来支持团队的文化, 从而提高整体效率 宽带薪酬结构设计引导员工注重自身能力的提升宽带薪酬的结构设计使得员工的薪酬与员工的绩效相结合, 不晋升的前提下加薪, 有利于员工转变自己的观念, 注重自身技术和能力上的提升, 起到一定的激励作用, 从而提高了组织的绩效 宽带薪酬体系有利于职位轮换宽带薪酬减少了薪酬等级, 大量的职位会集中在一个较宽的薪酬带中, 组织不必因为人员的变动去做频繁的调整, 保持了薪酬制度的稳定性, 具有很强的灵活性 宽带薪酬制度的设计鼓励员工之间进行跨职能的流动, 保证了企业自身组织结构的灵活性 2. 我国公务员薪酬制度现状与存在的问题 2.1 对目前我国公务员薪酬制度的评价我国现行的公务员薪酬制度的优点 :(1) 管理成本低, 操作也比较简单, 有利于按职位进行公务员的薪酬管理 ;(2) 凭借资历或等级制度得到晋升和更高的报酬, 对于提高公务员对公共服务的忠诚度有很好的促进作用 ;(3) 与特定的职位等级对应的工资级别, 是一种真正意义上的按劳分配 ;(4) 晋升和增加薪酬之间的连带性可以增加员工提高自身能力和技术的动力 然而, 人类社会开始迈入后工业化社会, 经济的快速发展使各国政府开始把提高效率, 降低治理成本放在首要的位置, 职级工资制本身的弊端和其不利的影响日益明显 2.2 我国基层公务员薪酬制度存在的问题 薪酬标准的决定机制缺乏目前公务员工资制度水平标准很难与在其工作岗位所承担的职责 工作复杂度及相应的价值贡献相匹配, 公务员薪酬制度不符合按市场效率和贡献应提供的相应报酬, 没有科学合理的薪酬标准决定机制, 薪酬水平标准缺乏市场竞争力, 不利于人才的吸引, 保持基层公务员系统的稳定性 激励效果不明显在现实中不同部门 行业的公务员素质差别比较大, 同是公务员, 各自的含金量不同但工资收入却相同, 工作积极性不能得到很好的发挥 因此, 职级工资制尽管自称可奖励业绩, 实际上却以资历 权力为基础, 并不能真正起到激励的作用 薪酬制度缺乏公平性随着经济体制改革的深化和行政部门机构改革速度的加快, 国家公务人员的薪酬制度与基层公务员管理的基本改革相比滞后了些, 特别是公平性问题已经越来越明显 不利于公务员队伍加强团队合作由于公务员职位的有限和过少的级别设置, 往往容易激发多个同级员工为了获得同一个晋升职位的内部竞争, 这样就会导致个人与群体间缺乏协调与合作, 组织的业绩达不到最优 74 李宝元. 薪酬管理原理 方法 实践 [M]. 北京 : 清华大学 北京交通大学出版社,2013:

321 3. 宽带薪酬理论在我国基层公务员薪酬中应用的必要性与可行性分析 3.1 必要性分析 完善了职级工资制与公务员职位分类管理相配套的薪酬设计通过公务员的绩效和能力对薪酬级别进行宽带薪酬制度的划分, 提高了专业技术类公务员的工作热情, 激励作用十分明显 与此同时, 宽带薪酬制度的设计灵活, 更有利于公务员职位的分类管理 有效地改善了增薪方式单一的问题宽带薪酬制度重点强调对薪酬的等级进行合并和拓宽, 同样宽带下可提供较传统的职级工资制更多的薪酬浮动, 有效缓解了公务员关于职位晋升和薪酬增加间的矛盾, 技术类公务员表现最为明显 有效缓解了职级工资制公平性较低的问题宽带薪酬体系作为动态的 开放的 科学的方法, 能够有效的缓解人员的外部公平感 ; 同时可以更好的平衡内部的不公平感, 从而可避免优秀人才的流失, 留住人才 3.2 可行性分析 扁平化的组织结构组织的职级层次太多, 会导致绩效考核的困难 只有保证了扁平化的组织结构和清晰明了的流程, 才能真正实现薪酬的宽带化 也可以说, 非扁平化的组织相比而言不太适合宽带薪酬的方式 科学完善的绩效评价系统建立一套科学 公正的绩效考核评价系统, 客观 公平公正的考核员工的工作绩效, 是实施宽带薪酬的关键 在实际工作过程中如果出现了对员工不合理的考核措施, 员工心里会产生不公平感, 产生不良的心理情绪, 使得工作效率低下, 因此在政府部门推行宽带薪酬的前提就是要事先运作好一套成熟的绩效评价系统, 保证宽带薪酬制度的实施 易于衡量的岗位绩效如果一个组织实施宽带薪酬, 则需要其工作岗位的绩效便于衡量, 当组织的绩效考量滞后, 薪酬的设定会出现问题 此时绩效考核不能有效实施, 宽带薪酬制度不能顺利地进行 3.3 电子政务的发展为宽带薪酬实施提供了必备条件电子政务的快速发展保证了组织的扁平化管理, 计算机网络信息技术有助于政府及时准确的从外部获取最新的信息, 减少了行政层级, 提高了行政效率, 有利于宽带薪酬的实施 4. 我国基层公务员宽带薪酬改革的实施路径 4.1 转变公务员薪酬管理理念 建立全面薪酬体系的理念我国市场经济快速发展, 政府行政机构改革不断深入, 为了更好地适应市场经济环境, 政府的组织结构 人员构成和职能等均发生变化, 传统的薪酬管理出现种种问题, 需要政府变革现行的薪酬管理, 此时, 应树立全面薪酬体系的理念, 来改变现有薪酬制度的困境 增强以人为本的管理理念有效的薪酬管理符合组织的人力资源发展战略, 能够实现组织的整体经营战略 在设计薪酬管理制度的时候应强化以人为本的理念, 加强能力和绩效的比重, 提高薪酬的公平性, 从而提升组织凝聚力, 实现人力资源战略 树立全员参与的薪酬管理理念薪酬管理关系到组织内部的每一个人, 与每个人的切身利益息息相关, 需要组织的全员参与, 而全体人员参与薪酬的管理确保了薪酬管理有利于组织战略的实施 4.2 推进公务员薪酬制度的法治化进程 完善公务员薪酬制度法规体系首先应修改关于薪酬的有关条款 只有将有关薪酬制度方面的有关规定作相应的修改, 才能保证基层公务员进行宽带薪酬改革有法律的保障 其次要做好 公务员薪酬法 的立法工作 通 321

322 过法律手段统一和规范公务员的薪酬 奖金 津补贴和福利的发放, 对公务员薪酬标准的决定机制 薪酬结构的设计 工作环境和工作时间等做出了具体的规定, 为公务员薪酬的合理分配提供了法律的依据 规范公务员薪酬调整程序每当进行公务员薪酬调整时, 首先应由政府提出薪酬调整的方案和实施办法, 在广泛征求了民众意见的前提下, 提交人大进行审议, 待人大审议通过后, 再由组织实施政府对薪酬的调整, 不仅提高了公务员薪酬水平的公开性透明度, 还可以提高公务员薪酬调整程序的规范性 明确公务员薪酬标准决定机制当薪酬调查比较时, 应该以劳动力市场的各类人员作为参考对象, 每年进行一次薪酬调查比较, 对产品市场的物价指数水平和劳动力价格市场的薪酬水平进行评估, 不仅可以提高公务员薪酬的外部竞争力, 而且可以提高公务员薪酬水平确定的公信力 4.3 完善公务员绩效评估机制 建立公正的评估环境只有创建良好的舆论环境 资源环境 组织环境和制度环境, 才能保证绩效评估的公开 公平 公正 首先, 应该加强宣传引导, 从而提高认识评估的意义 其次, 要完善制度的规定, 切实规范评估的程序 同时, 要保证资源条件有力促进评估的实施 增加必须的评估程序被评估者必须参与评估的全过程, 是最重要的主体 ; 要建立相关的平台, 提升评估的相关性和公平性 ; 同时通过必要的面谈, 减少误解, 增加共鸣, 形成合力保证制度的实施 改进现有的评估体系首先, 要选择合适的评估者, 这是保证评估有效的重要前提 ; 其次, 应进行全方位的评估, 这样能保证评估结果更加真实可靠 ; 同时还要扩大评估面, 将对个人的评估与对团体的评估结合起来 ; 还要更好地杜绝人情化, 避免因为人情 心理因素的影响而导致评估结果的片面化 集中化 4.4 加强基层公务员薪酬预算管理公务员薪酬直接影响着公共财政的支出状况, 是公共组织人工成本的重要组成部分 宽带薪酬虽然可以改变薪酬的分配方式, 但却不能改变所分配薪酬的数量和总量 薪酬的浮动很大, 基层公务员的薪酬控制点不够精准, 如果领导者对于薪酬的决策处理不当, 可能会导致薪酬成本的大幅上升, 增加公共财政的支出 因此, 基层公务员在实施宽带薪酬后, 必须加强薪酬预算管理, 使薪酬管理涉及到的人工成本的结构调整和水平变动符合公共财政计划的要求和目标, 从而尽可能的最大限度满足人力资源管理战略所提出的吸引 保留和激励优秀人才的发展要求和目标 我国基层公务员薪酬制度的改革势在必行, 但需要一个较长时期的渐进过程, 需要时间, 不是一蹴而就的 我们应具有与时俱进的时代精神和创新精神, 推进基层公务员薪酬制度走向完善 宽带薪酬是一种新型的结构模式, 与我国传统的公务员职级制薪酬相比有一定的优势, 我们应在宽带薪酬理念的指导下构建基层公务员的宽带薪酬结构, 对基层公务员职级制薪酬制度进行改革, 并在薪酬的法规体系建设 绩效评估 薪酬成本预算等方面进行配套建设, 从而完善我国基层公务员的薪酬制度 参考文献 [1] 中共中央关于全面深化改革若干重大问题的决定 [R]. 北京 : 人民出版社, [2] 李宝元. 薪酬管理 : 原理 方法 实践 [M]. 北京 : 清华大学出版社,2013: [3] 吴志华. 公共部门人力资源管理 [M]. 北京 : 高等教育出版社,2011: [4] 熊通成. 美国公务员工资水平调整机制及其对我国的启示 [J]. 工资福利,2011 (160): [5] 阎红梅. 我国公务员薪酬制度建设研究 [D] [ 硕士学位论文 ]. 大连 : 大连理工大学行政管理系,

323 [6] 吴春华, 温志强. 中国公务员制度 [M]. 南京 : 南开大学出版社, (67). [7] 刘昕. 美国联邦薪酬政府的宽带薪酬试验其启示 [J]. 公共管理学报,2004 年 01 期. [8] 张培德. 论我国公务员政绩评价指标体系的建立 [J]. 上海师范大学学报 ( 哲学社会科学版 ),2006 年 11 期. [9] 刘军胜. 薪酬管理实务手册 [M]. 北京 : 机械工业出版社, (34). [10] 文跃然. 薪酬管理原理 [M]. 上海 : 复旦大学出版社, (46). [11] 马超. 基于宽带薪酬构建中国公务员薪酬体系研究 [D]. 大连 : 辽宁师范大学,2011. [12] 周洪. 我国公务员宽带薪酬实施与发展趋势探讨 [D]. 上海 : 上海师范大学,2009. [13] 陈振明. 公共部门人力资源管理 [M]. 北京 : 九州出版社,2004: [14] 董可用. 人力资源管理概论 [M]. 北京 : 中国人民大学出版社,2011: [15]Beer M. Human Resource Management [M]. New York,The Free Press [16]Harris M. Human Resource Management [M]. Orlando,Harcourt Brace colloge Publisher

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325 AN INVESTIGATION OF THE FACTORS THAT CAN HINDER THE GROWTH OF LOW COST DIGITAL MARKETING OF INDEPENDENT MUSIC GEORGIOS.P. HELIADES, Technological Institute of Ionian Islands FABRICIO LAZAKIS, Technological Institute of Ionian Islands Abstract As the Internet forms itself towards music distribution, it offers a huge range of services for musicians, most of which fall in the low cost section. This paper investigates the adoption of the Internet as a mean of music distribution by musicians of independent style. It builds up on our previous effort to map the independent music scene across the country, discovering a poor volume of musicians that actually spend significant time to market their music over the time they spend to create it. In this research, employing 300 independent musicians and groups in Athens, we confirm a high expectation out of Internet services by musicians but a relatively low engagement rate. A number of reasons can be blamed for that, relating to the use of technology. However, the most interesting finding was a lack of the right communication instinct, leading to an opportunistic treatment of the social media and related facilities. It is obvious that certain steps will have to be taken if this sort of music is to be grown over the new distribution channels. These steps may include certain technical improvements on services. However, the main issue is the maturity of attitude towards the public, translated into the right marketing steps. Keywords: Independent music, music marketing, music distribution, Internet services, social media, communication. 1. INTRODUCTION There is currently a huge host of Internet-based capabilities for independent musicians to promote their artistic substance, some of which were literally unthinkable 20 years ago. Apart from the obvious option of maintaining a personal web page, musicians have the potential of promotion and communication through social networks as well as the inexpensive display of their material via streaming audio and video services. There is also the possibility of selling physical CDs/vinyl discs or digital releases in every part of the world through independent digital music stores. With a relatively low cost, an independent artist can dispose for sale material in numerous digital music stores. It can also be posted to subscription streaming services making it available at any time for instant playback and to register it in music recognition service. Furthermore, there are independent artist promotion services, advertising placement on websites with high traffic and commercial exploitation of the material (in advertisements, movies, video games, etc.). The Internet also offers the possibility of finding partners of any kind (producer, mastering studio, musical partner from abroad etc.) more easily than in the past. The Internet is now recognized as an essential tool for artists. Our long-term research investigates issues that have to do with independent musicians in Greece and the way they engage with the available Internet services: the degree of engagement, their knowledge of such services, engagement scenarios and so forth. In this paper, we focus on the combinations of services that are chosen and the planning and marketing strategies that are employed on those services. 2. BACKGROUNG 2.1 The digital revolution Given the development of digital technology in the professional audio sector, the recording production costs have fallen significantly over the last 15 to 20 years. Digital technology now provides more and more features. With the right expertise, offers the possibility of creating music productions with respectable sound quality and low budget. Consequently, the quality difference between the production of professional and amateur circulations has been decreased, giving a theoretical opportunity for more artists to compete with the big names on an equal basis. Furthermore, the Internet has significantly reduced the cost of distribution. It is much easier now for independent artists to release their digital material, which moreover does not cause transport or storage costs, given the intangible nature. Moreover, the information storage cost on Internet servers is constantly decreasing. The distribution on a global scale, an unthinkable possibility for an independent artist until the late 20th century, is possible nowadays with minimal cost. Due to the lower cost, the musical productions have grown dramatically in quantity. Only in 2005, the 325

326 albums released in the US were 60,000, 36% more than the previous year, which were (Anderson, 2008). 2.2 Internet music marketing In the digital world, the challenge is always running, so the artist to create large enough audience to be able eventually to profit from their supporters will gather (Kusek and Leonhard, 2005). The marketing of a product describes the overall strategy of transmission from the producer to the consumer, including distribution and promotion thereof. Promoting a product is aimed firstly in view in the widest range of media or communication channels as possible and secondly to persuade the consumer to buy. In the music industry, marketing primary purpose is to promote the music. However, the goal of a successful online marketing campaign of an independent artist is to develop relationships with their listeners, exploiting the opportunity to attract interest and possibly delight with their music, to conquer their supporters. This translates into profits for record companies and independent artists are no longer interested in recorded music sales, but the relationships they have developed with their listeners (Trepy, 2010). The bond between the artists and their listeners becomes even resistant through time in cases where the cultural background of the listeners group has got strong traditional or local origins (Heliades, 2011). It is argued (King, 2012) that the best way forward are tours, arguing that the emotional impact that will have the listener out of an impressive live performance is much stronger than any positive image possibly formed listening to a recording of the same artist. Therefore, he suggests artists to focus on being good at their live performances. This means that the Internet should not be the only promotional activity with the independent artists. Conversely, the presence on the Internet should be complementary to other activities, such as frequent live performances, or if possible tour. King (2012) describes the relationship between the artist and their audience as an erotic encounter. The ultimate goal in this case however is the revenue inflow. But before this happens, listeners should be familiar with the artist's material, preferably via repeated exposure to it. There are many artists e.g. that lead directly visitors from their profile in a social network to a digital music store. However, most often the visitor will not be willing to pay money to get music of an unknown to him (until that moment) artist, even if they have the opportunity to hear the songs before buying. The most effective way of promoting musical material is to divert the public's exposure to it. The radio proves this for decades (Dubber, 2007). Listeners should hear many times a release free, to feel the desire to buy and to obtain, especially for an artist who they do not know. Therefore, the artist must first lead the visitor to a preferably familiar online environment (such as YouTube (TM) ), where the listener is able to enjoy the music. In this environment, one useful strategy could be to provide an incentive (such as free downloading a song high quality), so that the visitor can choose to subscribe to the artist in the service channel. In this way they develop a relationship with more cohesion, the subscriber is informed of the new posts of the artist to the original page on YouTube (TM), which may encourage the user to proceed with such hearings. In the above example, the independent artist will have achieved its purpose, having managed to lure once more the listener towards the material. 2.3 Healthy strategies for independent musicians Therefore, a key objective of an independent artist should be to come across as many platforms and recorded digital content distribution services as well as social media. King (2012) also argues that it makes sense for an artist to have a presence in all digital retail music sales and subscription services available to hearing music for a monthly subscription, as there are users who prefer the environment of the service. For King, it is a good start to place the material in spots already frequented by users who are interested in the kind of music so that the artist is interpreted. The independent artist should use these services and social media to appeal to prospective listeners at home, that is where they frequent. The artist should get to where the listeners are, instead of waiting for them to get close to him. To accomplish this, the artist will have to deliver part of the control held over the material. Moreover, the nature of the Internet significantly hinders the ability to control the flow of information e.g. the holder of the copyright rights of recorded material. For creating successful marketing strategies, Winter (2012) argues that the public should be treated completely differently. The public uses the existing technology (mobile devices, social networks, audiovisual mounting platforms and writing) rather than as a consumer, but as a content creator, which is changing the economy and society. The public is a producer of new connectivity modes. Active Internet users and the artists are developing the music culture and economy to be smarter, to provide more services 326

327 and are economically viable. Benefiting from new relationships and structures to ensure that not only new sources of social and cultural capital for themselves, but also more freedom and choice (Winter, 2012). Internet refers to Web 2.0, which is no longer composed of static pages such as Web 1.0. The pages of Web 2.0 offer guests an environment within which to create their own content, would categorize favorite locations and connect with other users. In this way, the most popular destinations on the Internet at the moment are places that are more like software than with static file and show different material at each visit, and based on the creation of content by users. Data of Internet communication structures, show that marketing strategies have made a shift from mass appeal and are based on the same public which aim to complete the view of the artist in the middle (Wikström, 2009). Therefore, the artists will have to work hard to attract interest around their name and be inventive in how to seek, creating communicative links. Furthermore, they must embrace the notion of the availability of the material at any time. They should also try to encourage their supporters to promote the material through notifications in social networks and other means. 2.4 Necessitation of study As illustrated above, there are many studies on the impact brought about by the digital revolution in the music industry. Most of them, at the beginning of the 2000s, focused on the impact that P2P networks have on the music industry. The use of the Internet, however, continues to evolve and is now under investigation in many ways, even as a social phenomenon. In recent years, there is a lot of research studying the online behavior of the public and its interaction with the music. Similarly, there has been a lot of work on the social behavior of people in digital environments such as itunes (TM) and Spotify (TM). However not much research is found that examines the issue from the perspective of the independent artists and their prospective audience. 3. METHOD OF STUDY In order to lay down the preferable services and the accompanying strategies that independent musicians in Greece employ to promote their pre-recorded music, we conducted a thorough research study that took a six-month period. Initially, we had to form a picture of the available web sites that offer promotion services to our targeted artists and this was done by searching the Internet for such info. As a long list of such sites and services came up, these services were categorized according to the company and type of service in order to have a manageable number, in the end. Following that, we were able to conduct a survey by forming an electronic questionnaire that was designed to extract the views of independent musicians on a host of specific issues relating to their use of their services and aiming to spot in every detail their marketing practices. A separate section aimed at collecting information regarding their attitude and opinion on certain matters such as copyright and unauthorized music processing, free distribution of their music, etc. The questionnaire remained on line for a period of three months and attracted the attention of just over 300 Greek independent artists. Since there is no way to determine even approximately the number of active independent Greek artists who interpret original material, the research was based on a hypothetical estimate. In making this assessment, the independent Greek artists surpass 10,000. Therefore, in order to gather a representative sample we aimed at collecting at least 300 completed questionnaires. To find artists willing to participate in the survey, the questionnaire was posted on Facebook (TM). Beyond the circle of known and their own acquaintances, approached over 1,000 artists who were identified by searching a variety of services (Facebook (TM), Bandcamp (TM), Soundcloud (TM), Reverbnation (TM), Last.fm (TM) ), online databases (Metalarchives.com (TM), Jumping Fish (TM), Rockoverdose.gr) and finally through announcements posted on the Internet, advertising gigs. The approach was made using an identical text which was sent via or through personal messaging system. Ultimately, nearly 300 responses received, which means that about 3 out of 10 artists responded to the call. When the answering period completed, we performed a rough verification of the allegations of the survey sample and in the search of some more data. We visited the official pages of artists in various services and collected data on their activity in some popular services. We searched the official page on Facebook (TM) for every artist who participated in the survey and the number of people who had Liked it. Also searched the official channel to YouTube (TM) of each artist and recorded: the number of "subscriber", the number of videos that are uploaded to the service and the total number of sightings all videos each channel. In 327

328 addition, it confirmed the existence of the official page of each artist on Soundcloud (TM) and the number "following" and songs you have uploaded to the service for each profile. Moreover, the number searched "following" on Twitter (TM) and "contacts" in Myspace (TM). Finally, as there was no location information in our questionnaire, we had to complete their geographical location afterwards. When visiting the pages of the sampled artists to these services, made comments on the presentation of the artist in them. Large enough attention was given to how the artists hosted online links to other web services, and how visible the services of choice were. 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Internet Use In terms of the usage of the most popular Internet services, in figure 1 there is a collective view of the related responses. Figure 1: Percentage of artists that use popular Internet services. 328

329 Out of the participating artists, 30.6% said that they own a website, while the remaining 69.4% have not yet done so. Consequently, 7 out of 10 artists investigation does not possess the appropriate base (website) around which you build the promotion of their material. Many artists seem to use social networks as their web-based, since only 1.6% of the sample said that has no page on Facebook (TM). This suggests that the vast majority of respondents consider it necessary to have a presence in this social network. While few users now visit Myspace (TM) compared to the large percentage of artists that use other social networks (38.8%) still has a profile on it. Much of the profile of those most likely created the time that Myspace (TM) was the most popular social networking medium of the Internet and it is questionable whether is the one used systematically. More than 1 in 3 performers (36.5%) said they use Twitter (TM), and its social network Google (TM) gathered a lower percentage (22.8%). In the field of streaming services, as expected, is the dominant YouTube (TM). Of responding artists, 88.3% said that they have channel on popular video streaming service. More than half of artists (59%) also using Soundcloud (TM). However, the two services in the streaming field (without financial assistance) following the aforementioned popularity gather very low rates: Internet radio without producer Jango (TM) only 2% and ready for listening online discotheque Grooveshark (TM) only 6 2%. Instead, half of respondents (50.2%) said they have a profile and have posted material on the discovery service new ReverbNation Artists (TM). Also, quite a large proportion (29%) collected by local support services and promoting independent artists Jumping Fish (TM). No other service in the emergence of new artists not raised higher than 2%. Lower the participation of research artists in music databases: 27.4% of respondents have presence in Last.fm (TM), however, only 10.4% registered the releases in Discogs service (TM). Finally, quite impressive is the fact that only 3.6% of respondents reported having registered his artistic personality in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia (TM). Regarding the sale of equipment, 42.3% of respondents have chosen to distribute the releases through digital store Bandcamp (TM). Despite the high rate, sample artists who claim to know the service but do not use it (42.7%) are more than those who use (42.3%). The set of artists who say they use online distributor for passing the material to multiple services amounts to 22.8%. The fact that online distributors have an additional cost for artists, unlike eg with Bandcamp (TM), in which there are only deductions from revenue, it may work as a deterrent to their use, despite the advantages they offer. The use of digital music stores and subscription services seems to have no blossom -even at least, in Greece as in other countries such as USA. Because of this behavior, may the independent Greek artists to consider that the use of online distribution is not as essential as for example posting material to YouTube (TM). 4.2 Creating revenue In our research, participants were asked their views on making profit out of the Internet. Their responses are summarized in figure 2. In particular, they were asked to state what they believe to be the best way for an independent artist to find revenue through the Internet. The most popular answer (60.6%) on the sale of products such as clothing, ie products that do not serve the purpose of reproduction of recorded musical material. The fact that this is the most popular answer to this question is surprising, given that in question 15, only 34.5% said they use Facebook (TM) for the promotion of products such as clothing. The collection of revenue from the sale of this type of goods is a popular way for independent artists to have receipts to their live performances or during a tour. The sale of digital files is the second most popular response rate of 55.7%. According to the survey sample, the digital files are a better source of revenue from CD sales (52.8%). High importance seems to give artists and collectible editions as vinyl discs and picture discs or special goods packages, e.g. CD with shirt, as a percentage of 41.7% of the respondents has included the best ways for an independent artist to find revenue through the Internet. The percentage indicates that the sale of concert tickets on the Internet is a good way of earning is 31.6%. Donations and crowdfunding considered by 25.4% of respondents as a good source of revenue from the Internet to an independent artist, while 21.2% said that the collection of copyright is profitable. A small percentage (8.8%) said that there are other ways of earning other than the above, while 5.2% of respondents believe that none of these ways is capable of generating revenues to independent artists. 329

330 Figure 2: Independent artists responses on the best way of creating revenue out of the Internet. During the analysis of the results showed the possibility of confusion on the part of artists between the revenue they can expect from the Internet and revenues from non-web resources. As to our knowledge, only a few independent artists sell tickets for concerts online. Additionally, some inconsistencies found between research findings and personal appraisal of artists. As mentioned above, a portion of the public buys items not recorded material via the Internet, but the artists highlighted in the best way to find revenue through the Internet. One has to consider that often artists express their overall view and do not answer based on their personal experience. In this case, the results do not necessarily indicate confusion or contradiction but merely conjectures product, which are far from reality. 4.3 Marketing options Internet advertising is an affordable way for independent artists to be able to reach a wider audience. As shown in figure 3, a large proportion of respondents (43.3%), the question whether to pay to advertise on the Internet, chose to answer "as the cost." Of the respondents, 30.3% said they have no intention to pay to advertise, while 20.8% stated willingness to advertise online. 330

331 Figure 3: Most popular responses on a list of issues relating to the marketing options of their music. Recall here that the question concerning the use of Facebook (TM), 15.6% of respondents said they have already been advertised through social network. This indicates that respondents prefer to advertise through Facebook (TM), rather than through specialized music company. Of respondents, 4.2% said they have paid to advertise via ReverbNation (TM) and 1.3% that has been advertised through another Internet company, five reported questionnaire. It is fairly safe to assume that most artists are quite sensitive to their materials. This attitude justifies that almost half of them (49.8%), the question concerning the commercial use of their material, they stated that "depends on the purpose for which the songs" will be used. These artists may not be willing eg to sell their songs for use in advertising company whose product does not approve. A large enough percentage of artists (22.1%) said that he has not thought about the possibility, and the smaller the percentage of respondents artists (17.3%) who replied that it intends to place the songs for commercial purpose. Our main target is the financial benefit replied that it would decide on this question 9.1% of the sample, while 331

332 1.6% said that already the material available to another company, more than four juxtaposed to the questionnaire. When asked which artists were asked to state whether they would use collective financing services (crowdfunding), three responses make up the vast majority of the sample with the rates between them are fairly distributed. The most popular answer, chosen by 33.9% of respondents was that they have not thought to use such service. 32.2% of the total said that it would campaign of collective financing, while 30% answered negatively. Only 3.9% said they have used collective financing service. Of these, 2.9% said they chose IndieGoGo (TM) for their campaign, while 1% of respondents said they used another company than nine listed in the questionnaire. Occasionally they appear in Internet competitions, which give rare opportunities to independent artists, such as To open the concert of a great name, to participate in a festival abroad or even to secure a recording contract. Of the respondents, 43.6% said they would be willing to participate in online contests, 28.7% said they have already participated in the online contest, while 27.7% of the sampled artists had a negative attitude to this idea. The way chosen by most artists (71.3%) to promote their material online, it was through music forum and communities (e.g. social networks). Also, 69.7% of respondents said they have approached Internet radio stations for the same purpose. Fewer (59.9%) artists have chosen to appeal to bloggers and online media, while 31.3% of respondents have used and other promotional methods online. As to the question of collective funding, so in case of assignment of the online promotion of the artist in person or company, the most popular answer, chosen by 31.3% of respondents, was that he has not thought of such a possibility. Quite a high percentage (24.4%) said that the promotion will be enlisted person in connection with an online company. Also, a high percentage (22.5%) obtained by the intake of choosing a person who will be paid a percentage of the revenue derived from operations of the same. Fewer (14.3%) are the artists who will not be using any of the two juxtaposed ways to promote them on the Internet. The same percentage (14.3%) favors an individual recruitment option that will be paid by taking a percentage of the sales revenue (CDs etc.). An even smaller percentage of the responding artists (8.8%) trust the online promotion of a company. Quite small (5.5%) is also the percentage of the total that would hire a person without pay, at least not until they scored significant revenues. Only 2.6% of respondents said they would make the step to hire a marketer with fixed monthly salary. Also, 1.6% of the artists surveyed said they have used both ways (individual and company) to promote the Internet. From 11 companies cited the respondents, only one said it has used its services, while 2,9% BandPage (TM) in total reported having cooperated with other online company. 4.4 Concluding remarks The promotion of the recorded material is as important as the quality of the music in the music industry. For this reason, independent artists should make the same effort in the field of promotion made and the music sector, investing in this as much as possible time. The survey found that the sampled artists have great expectations for the course, as almost half (48.9%) stated as their ultimate goal of international recognition. However, few follow the right steps to go through completely amateur stage to a more professional presence on the Internet. It is important to note that through this research and personal findings of the writer, the average independent Greek artist gives the impression that a number of deals with the Internet in an attempt to garner interest around the material. However, it was found that probably spends much or even more time on leisure and services they have to offer much less than some who ignores. However, if you choose to invest the time in primary research, a small search on the Internet will be enough to find most of the services mentioned in this questionnaire. But instead, the artists seem to be consumed in repeating patterns themselves - when the question formulated different; cancel. Each artist is the only one who can know exactly what wants to earn with his music. The aim was to conclude what is knowledge in relation to the possibilities of providing the Internet and act advisory in any gaps that may be discovered. The author's view is that the average Greek freelance artist is fully aware that the promotion of music is online case now, but for now, has not fully understood the ways of using the Internet to enable it to reap substantial benefit. The answers gathered the highest rates, like the overall picture that emerges shows that Greek artists prefer digitized traditional promotion methods. It seems that that both exploit the Internet as a broader platform 332

333 (forum, social networks and communities) to implement advertising through direct dissemination (word of mouth) and other trust more advertising channels that are essentially digital version older structures (electronic Type and blogs) with which they are most familiar. Without being wrong, this is a notion that certainly a constraint. The advent of the Internet not turned the music industry in digital only because of the music files digitization but because globally impacted the way we asked to move to remain relevant in today's digital world. In short, if the independent artists who want to benefit from the new possibilities afforded them by the Internet, you must first realize that there. One of the main findings of this survey is that despite the high contribution made by participants in social networks (only 1.6% of respondents said they did not use them) and streaming video services (2.3% has not posted material in most popular of them), only 3 out of 10 artists have proprietary website, which is the basis to which all other activities of the artist on the Internet should lead. The role of the freehold site of an artist, could be compared to the "house" on the Internet and is one of the most important steps towards a more professional approach of the object. Around it, you can build an interconnected network of pages on various other services. In this way, one can approach listeners in locations frequented by surfing the Internet and try to lead them to the destination desired. Unfortunately, the majority of our sample does not seem to have fully understood how to use the tools at their disposal. It is hoped that this paper serves as an introduction to the indicated ways of using the Internet to promote music. For artists to work on the promotion of their work and get their music to reach their target, the statistics of social networks can be very useful. Rather than considering the limited success, the artists can study and compare other statistics, the most popular independent artists or off-line in order to determine the ways in which they more effectively use social networks and then to adopt similar approach. The aim of the artist should be not only the presence in the maximum number of sites, and the linking of these separate sites together. In this way, the artist creates an interconnected network between pages in various Internet services, with a view to leading the visitor to the private website. Equally important is each page to promote all the rest. This is achieved by ensuring that there are visible web links to all other media in which the artist is present. There is no reason for an artist to create a private site on the Internet if you do not have links to other, popular sites (Facebook page (TM), YouTube channel (TM) and Soundcloud (TM), Twitter profile (TM), etc.) which will lead visitors towards it. Ιn terms of theoretical analysis, some conclusions can be considered almost self explanatory. In practice, however, because independent artists are expected to assume multiple roles beyond the music creator, it is easy to commit a most errors and omissions. Indicative worth mentioning the case of an artist of surveyed whose official website does not have any links to social networks, despite the fact that it had profile enough of them. In fact, few artists were properly registered online links to their pages. In many cases, if a visitor of the page an artist on Facebook (TM) wanted to explore the official channel on YouTube (TM), I could not find a readily available and visible link. Specifically, you should look for a video posted on the artist notifications to visit in the YouTube (TM) environment and from there to find the channel. Chances are that this process will deter the majority of users to explore the artist's channel on YouTube (TM). However, if the artist has placed a link to a characteristic image (the service's logo or a representative icon) in a prominent position on the page, the visitor might click on this even though previously had not even thought to look for the channel artist on YouTube (TM). Equally important are the links provided by the artist to work properly. Among the pages of the sampled artists there have been several cases where the location that directed the visitor was not correct. Another wrong portion of the artists who participated in the survey, is that the material is posted eg on Soundcloud (TM) or YouTube (TM) through the channel of the independent record label with which cooperate. This leads to the opposite effect from what would an independent artist seeks, as he ends up promoting the record company and not that of him. These are some of the simplest examples of incorrect usage. A less obvious but quite common mistake observed on Facebook (TM) pages of the sampled artists. The only link leading to the artist's Bandcamp (TM) page led to a digital store where the material was available for sale in exchange for a fee. Despite the fact that the service offers the possibility to hear the preview of the songs, this environment in which he wishes to the user is not necessary. Moreover, these artists essentially trying to convert visitors to the page to consumers in their material without intermediate steps have occurred leading to this behavior. The listener should be first become familiar with either the artist or the material before you even consider the purchase. 333

334 Initially, independent artists should treat their material as a promotional tool and not as a revenue source. The conversion point of the recorded material to a source of revenue follows, when the artist has achieved is recognizable from quite a large audience. To use the Internet to increase the number of listeners, a good step would be to dispose of the material with the maximum number of ways. As people are willing to spend less money to artists who do not know, freelance artists must earn their audience with their material preferably free whenever possible. This does not mean that the offer, but that exchanging. The consideration may be the ability to communicate with users who upload the material. The artist aims to excite the maximum number of listeners closer. If they succeed, they will promote the material on their own, through social networks and other media (eg blog). However, for this to happen, listeners should have easy access to the artist's material, preferably in the online environment they prefer, or even for upload to the H / PC hard drive if they wish, possibly by a voluntary contribution. Only if listeners have easy access to the materials will be allowed the artist to win more. When an artist sells their music asking for money from the listener before they even had time to become familiar with the material, then that artist certainly needs to rethink of their strategy. One needs to consider that the promotion of the material and its name is even more important than selling, especially in the early stages of the course of an independent artist. 5. FUTURE WORK An interesting future goal would be to analyze in depth how artists use the various online services such as social networks etc. It would be interesting to see whether they have a meaningful structure on their pages, whether they invoke the right links to all other sites of the artist and the degree to which they involve the visitor. It is of high value to determine the musicians communication tactics in various digital social environments and to evaluate as to how they create interest around their own material or whether they seek into maintaining contact with their listeners. An additional element that could be investigated is the time spent by artists on the Internet to promote their artistic existence. If they believe that invest their time productively and whether they evaluate the compensation received. Further research could also be conducted on the attitudes of artists to the free distribution of music and its use as promotional material rather than a finished product. REFERENCES Anderson, C. (2008). The Long Tail: Why the future of business is selling less of more. Hyperion e-books, New York. Dubber, A. (2007). New Music Strategies: The 20 things you must know about music online.ebook. Διαθέσιμο: Heliades G. P., (2011), Recommender Systems: The new fruit of the internationalised music industry and the perspectives of growing on soils of deep cultural roots, Petrakis K. (Ed.), ECONOMIA Publications, Culture-Communication- Internationalization Series, Greece, King, M. (2012). Berklee Online Music Marketing Clinic: Mike King, YouTube interview Viewed 2014, Aυγ. 9, []. Kusek, D., Leonhard, G. (2005). The future of music: Manifesto for the digital music revolution. Berklee Press, Boston. Trepy, G. (2010). Digital music distribution: An analysis into the contemporary consumption patterns of recorded music and their influence over the music marketing implemented on the Internet. Dissertation, SAE Institute, Oxford. Winter, C. (2012), Presentation at the 3rd Vienna Music Business Research Days, University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, June 29-30, Viewed 8/8/14, Wikström, P. (2009). The Music Industry: Music in the Cloud (DMS - Digital Media and Society). Polity Press, Cambridge. 334

335 MUSEUM ATMOSPHERICS : A MARKETING AND AN INTERPRETIVE TOOL KALI TZORTZI, University of Patras ABSTRACT In the competitive leisure marketplace, in which museums play a key role, architecture can add value to their experience and contribute to their differential advantage. Increasingly museum buildings are being addressed in the marketing literature not only as influencing the positive image of visitors and their intention to revisit, but also as affecting their experience of the museum display. This paper aims to further this idea and explore how the building s physical and spatial form can add new dimensions to the meaningmaking of the museum. Literature from different fields is brought together in the first part of the paper and the key concepts of museum atmospherics and the related model of servicescape are discussed as the theoretical background for this exploration. The paper takes as case studies two European museums which present aspects of the city s history and share in common the character of their buildings as landmarks, their innovative spatial design, and the sensory qualities of their architecture. It shows how in both cases the museum s powerful narrative is not in the discursive dimension of the experience of the exhibits, but in the holistic experience of the spatial setting, which visitors are invited to explore, with affective as well as cognitive outcomes. Through the analysis, the paper brings to the surface common paired themes between consumption and museum settings, such as atmosphere and tangible product, spatial layout and functioning, physical environment and distinctiveness, rational and embodied. Keywords: museum architecture; marketing; atmospherics; servicescape; spatial layout 1. INTRODUCTION In the competitive leisure marketplace, in which museums play a key role, architecture can add value to their experience and contribute to their differential advantage. Increasingly museum buildings are being addressed in the marketing literature not only as influencing the positive image of visitors and their intention to revisit, but also as affecting their experience of the museum display. This paper aims to further this idea and explore how the building s physical and spatial form can add new dimensions to the meaningmaking of the museum. Literature from different fields is brought together in the first part of the paper and the key concepts of museum atmospherics and the related model of servicescape are discussed as the theoretical background for this exploration. The paper takes as case studies two European museums which show how the museum s powerful narrative is not in the discursive dimension of the experience of the exhibits, but in the holistic experience of the spatial setting, which visitors are invited to explore, with affective as well as cognitive outcomes. Through the analysis, the paper brings to the surface common paired themes between consumption and museum settings. 2. ATMOSPHERICS AS A MARKETING TOOL In the context of the experience economy (Pine and Gilmore 1999), and in the globalized environment where museums have to compete for audiences, support, and resources (Kotler et al. 2008, xxiii), architecture is seen, in marketing terms, as part of the museum s tangible product (Kotler et al. 2008: 28 29) and an added value to the experience it offers (Kotler et al. 2008: 311). By enhancing the offer in this sense, it can contribute to greater visitor satisfaction and create a competitive advantage, thus leading to increased attendance and so economic benefits. It is commonly argued that buildings designed by major architects have become landmarks of cities, and turned museums to destinations (Kotler et al. 2008: 311). But it is also thought that contemporary museum design has contributed to changing positively the perception of the museum by the public and building diverse audiences (Kotler et al. 2008: 463 4; Sweet 2011: 228). Interestingly, from an architectural point of view, it is recognized that these effects derive not only from the exterior form of the building but also from its interior design (Kotler et al. 2008: 317; also Bradburne 2001; Sweet 2011). For example, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, 335

336 Japan (2004), is discussed as a model in increasing tourism and contributing to the urban renewal by relating its innovative architectural and spatial design with the museum s mission, programmes and community (Kotler et al. 2008: ). The building, designed by SANAA (Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, 2004), has a circular form which eliminates the distinction between the main façade and the other sides, allowing approach equally from any direction. In addition, its transparency and its low volume emphasize the accessibility of the museum and its close relation to the city. In the interior, galleries and spaces that serve a variety of programmes, have been designed as if a downtown area, so as to allow for flexibility in their arrangement, actively discourage a predetermined route, and enhance visitors awareness of each other. Likewise, the extension of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, has been seen as a response to declining attendance and reduced funding (Turi and Brunet 2009). The new building (known as Crystal ), designed by Daniel Libeskind (2007), with its iconic architectural design and its innovative use of space, has contributed to physically engaging the audience, and reinventing the museum experience that, as visitor surveys have shown, have been thought to be outdated and characterized by an inadequate visitor-orientation system. As Libeskind notes, the well-tested presentations of Nature and Culture [the museum collections] are not only updated through interactive technology but are visualized within the true magic and power of physically built space (2002, cited in Turi and Brunet 2009: 80). The ability of the physical environment to influence behaviour and create an image is also discussed, in marketing literature, in relation to the concepts of servicescape (service environments) and atmospherics two terms sometimes used interchangeably (Forrest 2013: 205). The concept of servicescape, first used in service settings and then extended to leisure services, describes the totality of the environment in which a transaction takes place, exclusive of the product (Doering 1999: 93). But there are differences in the dimensions of servicescapes that are taken into account by various marketing researchers. In Bitner s fundamental model (1992), ambient conditions (e.g. noise), space and functionality (e.g. layout) and signs, symbols and artifacts (e.g. decor) are the environmental aspects that constitute the servicescape. Strokes (1995) emphasizes the setting, that is the layout and the ability of visitors to find their way around. Turley and Milliman (2000) add to the environmental variables the human variables such as customer s characteristics. To draw attention to the role of the place in consumption settings, the atmosphere of the place and spatial aesthetics, which can be in some cases more influential that the tangible object or service itself, Kotler (1973) coined the term atmospherics. As he argues, the term describes the conscious planning of atmospheres with the intention to produce specific emotional effects, as opposed to the atmosphere developed casually or organically (1973: 50, 64). Atmospherics can be seen, he notes, as a silent language in communication (1973: 48) and be described in sensory terms (visual, aural, olfactory and tactile). For Kotler, architecture and interior design contribute to the atmosphere realization the atmospherics of the exterior structure of the building and the atmospherics of its interior space respectively. 3. ATMOSPHERICS AS AN INTERPRETATIVE TOOL What is more striking is that in museum marketing literature we also find the idea that the architecture and the atmosphere of the museum can play a role in its key functions of display and interpretation. Kotler et al. (2008: 293) argue that the design and architecture of the building are among the presentational forms and media of the museum, one of the ways visitors encounter information. Biehl-Missal and vom Lehn (2015) introduce the idea of challenging atmospheres in museums. They argue that, unlike marketing environments, museums can also create different, not positive atmospheres so as to achieve an experience of history. For all the above authors, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C., is used as an example to illustrate their arguments. Biehl-Missal and vom Lehn (2015: 247 9) also instance the voids that run vertically through the Jewish Museum, Berlin (see below) as a case where architecture is perceived through the synaesthetic character of the museum space (e.g. absence of warm light or sound, chilly air, walls of bare concrete). In this paper we take this argument about the way museum atmosphere can affect visitors one step further and show the key role that the spatial layout can play in adapting the servicescape to create distinct 336

337 and meaningful atmospheres, so that the powerful narrative for the visitor is at the level of the spatial setting or the museum as a whole. From this perspective we will analyze the Jewish Museum, Berlin, and the Museum aan de Stroom (MAS), Antwerp, two museums that share in common their intention to display aspects of the city s history and relate it to the present (see also Tzortzi 2016). The Museum aan de Stroom (MAS) is a newly built museum (2011) in the port area of Antwerp, and part of a major urban renewal project. It is characterized by innovation both in terms of its architectural and its museological concept. The building, designed by Neutelings Riedijk Architects, has a tower-form like containers stacked on top of each other. It is thus conceptually integrated into its context (an old warehouse area) while making a symbolic reference to the past, as, according to the architect W.J. Neutelings, the tower-form aims to make the weight of history physically visible. The museum was created with the intention to show a synthetic account of Antwerp s history by bringing together collections form three former museums (Ethnographic, Folk, Maritime) and an art collection, and organize them through universal themes such as Metropolis and World Port. The spatial layout of the museum distinguishes spaces of circulation and display spaces. The former shape a continuous route, known as the MAS boulevard, from the entrance to the top, the tenth floor, of the building, characterized by complete transparency and openness to the city. As each floor is rotated by a quarter turn, visitors are offered impressive and constantly changing views overlooking the living city, the port and the river. In contrast, display spaces are designed as black boxes, as enclosed areas linked to the boulevard on each floor, but disconnected from each other. Each display space offers a different experience of an intense theatricality, based on the scenography of B-Architects. The top floor constitutes the exception: devoid of a display space, it is entirely devoted to a panoramic view of the whole city. The highest point of the route, and the space most remote from the entrance, makes the city the exhibit of the museum. It could then be argued that, through its spatial layout, the MAS complements and alternates the display narrative, the stories of objects about the city, with the powerful visual experience of the living city itself, linking the experience of the past with that of the present. Moreover, visitors movement in museum space acquires an additional meaning in relation to the urban context. The museum route designed to represent a vertical exploration of the city through movement is found to work in this way: visitors studies suggest that people use the space as a continuation of external public space for events or walks, so that in % of visitors go through the boulevard and up to the panoramic rooftop (De Caro 2012: 126). The Jewish Museum, the extension to the Berlin Museum by Daniel Libeskind, is known as being the museum that, as seen by some, better communicated its social meaning when it opened in 1999 without its collection, which was displayed three years later. This argument about the meaning of building rests on its symbolic layers its location, its exterior form, its relation to the main building, and its voids (mentioned above) but perhaps it is most clearly expressed in the spatial design of its lower, underground level. It is organized around three intersecting axes: the longest, the Axis of Continuity, which represents the continuation of Berlin s history, and leads to the two exhibition upper floors; and the Axis of the Holocaust and the Axis of Exile at the end of which are located two dead-end spaces. To the symbolic meaning of the axes, the routes in the history of the Jewish Berliners, is added the highly distinctive spatial experience created by each of these spaces which becomes the expression of events which took place over years: the enclosed garden, the E.T.A. Hoffmann Garden or Garden of Exile, with forty-nine tall concrete columns on uneven ground, creating the sense of instability and lack of orientation in exile; and, the Holocaust Tower, a tall empty silo, with different acoustical conditions and light coming from a small slit in its roof (a symbol of hope, according to the architect). They both illustrate what has been described as the emotional narrative (Storrie 2006: 171) of the architecture. As in the MAS, the powerful experience is in these two spaces, which are most remote from the entrance. These two structures externally are physically independent of the main body of the building, and in the interior, though linked spatially through the underground axes, they are accessed through heavy doors. As in MAS as well, bodily movement through space is augmented by an intense local experience: movement is highly localized in the Garden of Exile, and the experience is about stillness in the Holocaust Tower. But, more significantly, instead of offering open views to the city like MAS, the Jewish Museum proposes links to the city which are invisible, and symbolic. As Libeskind explains, the 337

338 underground axes link the upper city of Berlin to the hidden, lower city of the museum, while the Holocaust Tower and the Garden of Exile may be seen to belong to both levels (Hansen-Glucklich 2014: 34). So here the architecture of the museum constructs a space which renders visible the invisible and acts as a substitute for the experience of the city. Moreover, by creating immersive experiences in darkened and enclosed spaces, it makes the past felt as now, and invites visitors to sense the silence and inexistence of what has been lost to the present. 4. LINKING MARKETING CONCEPTS AND MUSEOLOGICAL IDEAS ABOUT SPACE What is clear from this discussion is that the spatial analysis of the museums brings to the surface common preoccupations with the marketing literature, and allows the identification of parallels between museum and consumption settings. Underlying both cases is the idea that museum architecture does not simply provide a physical context for the objects, but organizes meaningful experiences that complement the conceptual narrative of the display. This can be paralleled to the idea that consumers in their purchase decision-making do not respond only to the tangible product, but to the total product, including one of its most significant features, the atmosphere of the place where it is consumed (Kotler 1973: 48). In museums bodily experience of the physical setting shapes meaning-making beyond the explicit messages expressed in the formal communication of information, and can create affective engagement that complements cognitive learning. Likewise, from a marketing perspective, the environment is seen as a form of nonverbal communication imparting meaning, influencing cognition, as well as eliciting affective responses (Bitner 1992: 62 3). Common to both settings is, finally, the importance of the layout as a key variable in the museum serviscape and of the physical environment in creating differential advantage (Kotler 1973: 64). REFERENCES Biehl-Missal, B. and vom Lehn, D. (2015) Aesthetics and Atmosphere in Museums: A Critical Marketing Perspective, in Henning, M. (ed.), The International Handbooks of Museum Studies: Museum Media, vol. 3, Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester: Bitner, M. J. (1992) Servicescapes: The impact of Physical Surroundings on Customers and Employees, Journal of Marketing 56 (2): Bradburne, J. (2001) A New Strategic Approach to the Museum and its Relationship to Society, Museum Management and Curatorship 19 (1): De Caro, L. (2012) Moulding the Museum Medium: Explorations on Embodied and Multisensory Experience in Contemporary Museum Environments, MA thesis, University of Leicester, viewed 1 April 2016, Doering, Z.D. (1999) Strangers, Guests, or Clients? Visitor Experiences in Museums, Curator 42 (2): Forrest, R. (2013) Museum Atmospherics: The Role of the Exhibition Environment in the Visitor Experience, Visitor Studies 16 (2): Hansen-Glucklich, J. (2014) Holocaust Memory Reframed : Museums and the Challenges of Representation, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ: chapter 2. Kotler, Ph. (1973) Atmospherics as a Marketing Tool, Journal of Retailing 49 (4): Kotler, N.G., Kotler, Ph. and Kotler, W.I. (2008) Museum Marketing and Strategy: Designing Missions, Building Audiences, Generating Revenue and Resources, 2nd ed., Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA. Pine, B.J and Gilmore, J.H. (1999) The Experience Economy, Harvard Business Review Press, Boston, Mass. Storrie, C. (2006) The Delirious Museum: A Journey from the Louvre to Las Vegas, I.B.Tauris, London. Stokes, E. (1995) Through the Eyes of the Guest: How Guest Services Can Influence the Visitor Studies Agenda, Visitor Studies: Theory, Research and Practice 7: 3 6. Sweet, J. (2011) Museum Architecture and Visitor Experience, in Rentschler, R. and Hede A.-M. (eds.) 338

339 Museum Marketing, Routledge, Abingdon: Turi, A. and Brunet, J. (2009) The Renaissance of the Royal Ontario Museum: Architecture Meets Experiential Marketing, International Journal of Arts Management 11 (3): Turley, L.W. and Milliman, R.E. (2000) Atmospheric Effects on Shopping Behavior: A Review of the Empirical Evidence, Journal of Business Research 49 (2): Tzortzi, K. (2016) Displaying Cities: Museum Space as a Presentational Device, Interiors: Design, Architecture, Culture 7 (1) (in press)

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341 OFFSHORE SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT: A COMPARATIVE STUDY IN THE OIL INDUSTRY EVANGELIA FRAGOULI, University of Dundee ABSTRACT One of the greatest threat to wildlife and marine animals, health and the environment is the activities of petroleum companies located offshore. Their operations at times results in accidents where million gallons of crude oil find their way into the natural ecology with its attendant damage to the environment. The manner in which this accidents/spills are managed determines the extent of damage these accidents would have on our safety, health and environment at large. The purpose of this paper is to compare the two offshore accidents involving the PAA in the Refugio Oil Spill and the EAPC in the Israeli Oil Spill in relation to how both companies managed their crisis. Secondary data, analysis of documentation from selected journals and critical literature review was applied. This paper concludes that a standard contingency plan, good team co-ordination, and effective communication is needed to effectively manage a crisis situation. Keywords: oil, risk management, risk, environment, offshore companies 1. INTRODUCTION The exploration and production of oil and natural gas involves a huge amount of capital outlays and are subject to natural risks and other uncertainties. The uncertainties are augmented in oil operations located offshore which are inherently riskier than those located onshore. According to International Association Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) (March 2010, ) during the period 1997 to 2007, there are 48 major accidents that resulted in casualties on offshore operation worldwide. Not only cost to human life, the accidents also have adverse impacts to other aspects in human life. As shown by some offshore disasters, such as the Piper Alpha field accident the North Sea, the Macondo accident in the Gulf of Mexico, the potential negative impacts of offshore accidents and spills to safety, health, security and the environment can be catastrophic due to the complications in handling hydrocarbons containment and other factors. Also offshore operations are subject to marine perils, such as extreme storms and other adverse weather conditions and vessel collisions, as well as interruptions or termination by governmental authorities based on safety and environmental considerations. Failure to manage these risks could result in harm or fatality, damage to property, environmental damage, regulatory action, legal liability, loss of revenues and damage to reputation and could have a significant adverse effect on the operations or financial condition of the company. The research paper aims at answering the following questions 1. What are the causes of the offshore accidents in the cases understudy? 2. What should take place but did not take place in the cases understudy? 3. How the operator companies managed the crisis? 4. Which company managed the crisis better? The value of this paper is to contribute to understanding of the need to effectively manage crisis that emanates from offshore oil operations as it negatively impact safety, health of humans, wildlife animals and the environment at large, and also provide recommendations for practitioners in the oil industry and policy makers on the need to supervise and put stringent measures in place to prevent avoidable oil spills which monitoring, maintenance and adequate care could have averted in the cases understudied. The recommendations would help prevent similar avoidable accidents from occurring in the future. Secondary data and evidence from selected journals and articles, news from internet, books, were collected and analyzed from the perspective of the risk and crisis management theory. 341

342 2. OVERVIEW OF THE CONCEPTS OF RISK AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT 2.1. Risk and risk management Risk is a probability or threat of a damage, injury, liability, loss, or other negative occurrence that is caused by external or internal vulnerabilities, and that may be neutralized through pre-emptive action (BusinessDictionary.com, 2016). International Standard Organization (ISO) (2002) defined risk as the effect of uncertainty on objectives. In this definition, uncertainties include any events (which may or may not happen) caused by ambiguity or a lack of information. It also includes both negative and positive impacts on objectives. Although risk and hazard are sometimes used interchangeably, the two terms are different. Sperber (2001) defined hazard as any biological, chemical, mechanical, or physical agent that is likely to cause harm to humans or the environment with sufficient exposure. From this definition, we can draw a conclusion that a hazard is the cause of harm, damage, loss or any detrimental events. Although risk and hazard are two different terms, they are related to each other as stated by Ropeik (2002): Risk = Hazard x Exposure/Vulnerability Risk needs to be well-managed in order to prevent exposure of any hazards. Risk management is the identification, analysis, assessment, control, avoidance, minimization, or elimination of unacceptable risks. An organization may use risk assumption, risk avoidance, risk retention, risk transfer, or any other strategy (or may combine several strategies) in proper management of future events ( Holmes (2004) defined Risk Management as a deliberate set of actions designed to identify, quantify, manage and then monitor events or actions that could lead to loss, which in most cases equates to financial loss. Mark (2011) stated that there is no example of companies who implement risk management strategies without external triggers (economic crisis, change in law and regulations, competitor s actions) or internal triggers (top management decisions, employee s actions). Therefore it is safe to conclude that companies are more likely to take a re-active approach towards risk management, since there has to be a risk in the air (hidden or obvious). An organization needs to have identified the risk involved in their operation in order to develop their risk management policy Crisis and crisis management Understanding and dealing with crisis is becoming more challenging for both researchers and business practitioners because we live in an era of crises (Lerbinger, 1997). Crisis has been defined by so many authors and there is no generally accepted definition. Some definitions focus on the effects of a crisis on the organisation. Coombs (1999) defined crisis as a situation that brings about undesirable or negative outcomes for an organization. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as a difficult or dangerous situation that needs serious attention, this is a general definition that apply to many fields of study (Merriamwebster.com, 2016). It is important for organizations to effectively manage their crisis as failure to do this could have a damaging effect on both current and future operation of an organization. Burnett (1998) defined crisis management as a strategic action designed to avoid or mitigate undesirable developments and bring about a desirable resolution to the problems, he however recognised the fact that crisis management is a strategic issue that is difficult to resolve because of time pressure, limited control and high uncertainty. Crisis management aims to help organizations to manage crisis and minimize its negative impacts. Coombs (2007) states that crisis management is a critical function for an organisation, as failure in managing a crisis can result in great harm to the stakeholders, losses for an organisation, or may even end its very existence. It is therefore imperative that organisations effectively manage its crisis Risks inherent to petroleum offshore operations Petroleum operations located in offshore is promising economic benefits for both companies and government. According to Straessle (2014), offshore petroleum operations contribute more than US$ 70 billion per year to the U.S. economy, and it is expected more than US$ 200 billion in cumulative by 2035 and creates nearly 840,000 jobs for American. The same thing happens in the North-Sea oil industry, that 342

343 vital for the UK energy security and creates jobs for more than 400,000 people. However, this immense benefits comes with its high risk. Yanting and Liyun (2011) categorized risks involved in petroleum sector in to four broad types: Natural-environmental risks There is a great uncertainty involved in conducting petroleum operations offshore as natural forces are involved which cannot be controlled such as great wave or storm (natural risks). Installations are also prone to be burnt when the weather is really hot. Engineering risks Engineering risk encompasses Exploration risk, Development risk and Construction risk. Factors such as, inappropriate mining method, engineering design changes, technical problems in the development process, inaccurate interpretation of seismic data, incorrect understanding of the layer, over-pressure in geological formation, technical insufficiency, incompatible equipment, extended construction period during the process of installation and inaccurate positioning of the exploration wells in the exploration process may cause losses to the petroleum enterprise. Management risks Management risk includes human resource risk that cover areas such as the overall personnel quality, operational level, cultural level, age composition of employees and the overall quality, management ability, leadership and charisma of managers will affect petroleum operations. Management risk also includes organization risk that cover areas such as unreasonable organizational mechanisms, inappropriate staffing, and illogical allocation of responsibilities. Organization risk will occur because of different understanding, attitudes and actions of the sectors of the petroleum operations. Economic risks One type of economic risk is financial risk. Oil and gas operations have a long-time cycle, wide geographical spreading, a large number of employees, and involving a huge amount of money, this implies that petroleum companies will face uncertainty such as financing, capital turnover, interest and exchange rate in the course of petroleum operations. Another type of Economic risk is market risk which covers changes in the external economic situation and the volatile market could lead to a loss of petroleum operations. For example, factors such as rising workover material price and fuel prices will result to higher workover costs, and will lead to decreased effectiveness of petroleum operations. Another aspect of Economic risk is economic policy risk such as tax regulation which is an important means for the state to control oil and gas production, supply and demand, and directly influence the level of profits of petroleum enterprise. For example, China's petroleum enterprise taxes include value added tax, mineral exploration right purchase price, consumption tax, corporate income tax, resource tax, mineral resources compensation fee, business tax, urban construction tax, education surtax, resource tax, the mineral exploration right user's fee, property tax, land use tax, tariff duties and stamp duty and other taxes. In addition, petroleum companies also accept implicit taxes, including the coordination costs of workers, river maintenance costs, road bridge compensation, comprehensive management costs, security guard costs, build projects and direct losses of stolen oil, gas and water. These costs and changes in national economic policy will bring benefits of oil construction operation to the uncertainty. 3. CASE STUDY 1: THE REFUGIO OIL SPILL The Refugio Oil Spill located nearly north of Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County, California, the United States (Figure 1), happened on May 19, 2015.The spill which dropped 142,800 U.S. gallons (3,400 barrels) of crude oil originated from a 2 feet (61 cm) diameter in-depth pipeline named Line 901 owned by the Plains All American Pipeline (PAA). The pipeline which was built in 1987 transports produced oil from ExxonMobil s Las Flores Canyon processing facility near Refugio to the plains-owned Gaviota pumping station. The pipeline route was evaluated through an Environmental Impact Report process and the route was identified as the environmentally preferred route. The pipelines are fitted with pigs which 343

344 perform various maintenance operations on pipeline. There are basically various types of pigs. One scrapes the inside of the pipelines to remove debris and the other applies corrosion inhibitor. A very smart pig inspects the internal walls of a pipeline looking for imperfections that could result in operational failure. Pipeline operators rely on the results of their internal tests-pigging the line-for preliminary information as to where the trouble spots might lie. The PAA had pigged the line on May 5- two weeks before the rupture as an internal inspection and detection process but the report of the inspection was not receive by the company before the accident. Typical under Pipeline Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA) such inspections were done every 5 years. The incident occurred as a result of extensive external corrosion, and metal losses up to 74 percent of the pipe wall s thickness in the area of the break despite the fact that the pipeline was operating below capacity when it ruptured carrying 1,300 barrels per hour below maximum 2,000 per hour. The corroded pipeline was blamed for the spill and the company said the leaked oil reached a culvert, and spilled into the Pacific Ocean. The culvert was later blocked to stop the flow. All pipelines coming from platforms to the shore have automatic shutdown systems as do the main transmission pipelines that carry product form the major processing facilities to refinery destinations. This Pipeline was an exception as it does not have automatic shutdown system (countyofsb.org, 2016). The company had been cited for failing to install equipment to prevent pipe corrosion, failing to prove it had completed repairs recommended by inspectors and failing to maintain adequate fire fighting gear and relying on local volunteer fire departments (Times, 2015) Plains All American Pipeline was among worst violators according to the U.S. PHMSA and surpassed all but 4 of more than 16,000 barrels in spills that have resulted to more than $23 million worth of property damage. For the period from 2004 to 2007 the company had been fined 10 times where about 273,420 gallons of crude oil were discharged into waste or shorelines in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Kansas (Times, 2015). Figure 1: Location of Refugio Oil Spill (Source: Santa Barbara Energy Division) The pipeline company had 175 federal safety and maintenance violations since On top of this more than 1,700 operator s reported safety and maintenance infractions, according to the federal agency said. This is an indication that the company was operationally inefficient. In 2013 the PAA filed application with county energy planners to investigate 82 anomalies. 344

345 The most reported for a single year was 15 in 2008 between Las Flores Canyon and Gaviota, the stretch where the current rupture took place How did the crisis unfold? PHMSA found out that the pipeline had extensive external corrosion, and metal losses up to 74 percent of the pipe wall s thickness in the area of the break and this shows its fragile state. The company failed to install equipment to prevent pipe corrosion and it also failed to prove it had completed repairs recommended by inspectors prior to the accident. The area where the pipe broke had been repaired at least three times since the most recent comprehensive internal inspection, in July It was also discovered that, though the area that failed had lost nearly half of the walls thickness, other areas of the pipe had experienced more extensive losses and this obviously indicates the poor state of the pipe. Line 903 which is connected to the failed pipeline had shown numerous signs of corrosion during three inspections in 2013 and 2014 (Panzar and Cart: 2016). The pipe operated at a high temperature and heated pipe is an obvious risk threat coupled with its history of past concerns. Thus our findings revealed that this pipeline was an accident waiting to occur. Also PHMSA which was in charge of the administration of safety regulations of pipeline activities had been underfunded and the office of the director had been without one for 10 months and this obviously shows lack of commitment on the part of the state agency to adequately monitor and regulate safety operations in pipeline activities What the company did in managing the crisis After the accident had occurred priority was safety for human beings, protection of the environment and containment of the spill. To keep public informed, responders from a myriad agencies held press briefings, and the company days after the spill started releasing updates on daily basis containing number of wildlife affected, equipment and personal active in the response, estimates on the located oil recover, closures and restrictions.in efforts to clean up the affected areas volunteers were mobilized as there were insufficient readily available personnel to handle the extent of the spill. Over 650 people were mobilized to respond to the spill. As a safety measure they were provided with training and protective wear. Five Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) teams worked along the shore from Gaviota Beach to the west side of Ellwood Beach and there were also three helicopters, one vacuum truck and six wildlife recovery teams in operation. According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, oil was removed from the kelp beds by spraying water s surface with a fire monitor (water cannon) to generate artificial current and agitating oil from the kelp. The oil is then "herded" and put together. Clean-up operations were suspended at night for safety reasons to avoid stressing the Grunion with the presence of the lights and equipment (Response.restoration.noaa.gov, 2016). The clean-up was taking so long because much of the deep water clean is by hand and also because of the impact of the wind and tide cycles. To dispose the oil, once its recovered it was assessed and categorized, then handled by an environmental protection agency or an independent contractor, depending on its classification.the pipeline company apologised for the damage that was done to the wildlife and environment. The cost of the clean-up was estimated by the company to be $96 million with overall expenses including expected legal claims and potential settlements to be. Plain All American Pipeline was identified as the responsible party for the spill and were mandated to fund the clean-up What should take place but did not take place? There should be immediate and sound communication of the crisis to the affected stakeholders but this did not take place. The company took a while to provide information about the exact happenings and in order to keep the public informed responders from a myriad agencies held press briefings. This obviously implies that initially the public were fed with numerous conflicting accounts and details of happenings. 345

346 The Pipelines should have an automatic shut-off valve as required of all pipelines coming from platforms to the shore that can shut off an active line in times when there is an anomaly such as breakage, but this was not the case of the line under discussion (Line 901). The Company should have reported the spill to the National Response Corporation as soon as possible but did not do this and it was only the members of the fire Department who reported the matter an hour after it had occurred. 4. CASE STUDY 2: THE ISRAELI OIL SPILL The Israeli Oil Spill happened in December 2014 and it's being considered as one of the largest in the history of Israel, occurred in the vicinity of Eilat, Israel (Figure 2), with an estimated 3-5 million litres of crude oil leaking from a broken pipeline, operated by the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC). Figure 2: Location of Israel oil spill location (Source: AFP-Agence France Presse) As reported by Reuters, on 3 rd December 2014 millions of litres of crude oil spread out of a pipeline owned and operated by EAPC to flood 200 acres of a desert nature reserve in the southern Israel. The EAPC was founded in 1968 as a joint Israeli-Iranian venture to transport Asian oil from Eilat to Europe via a network of pipelines that extended from Eilat to Ashkelon and up the length of Israel to Haifa. As relations between Israel and Iran get worse after 1979 Iranian Revolution, the latter partner dropped out of agreement and the company is now managed only by Israeli Government (Winer, 2014). EAPC s pipelines have suffered a series of polluting leaks over the past eight years. In 2007 about 40 tons of oil leaked from a pipe near Tirat Carmel in the north of the country. In 2011 a tractor working on an EAPC project hit one of the company s pipelines releasing 1.5 million of liters of jet fuel into the Nahal Zin River in the south of the country. Weeks later, another company tractor hit the same pipe barely half a kilometer away causing yet another leak. In 2012 leakage from an EAPC s pipe near the Givati Junction needed the removal of some 2,000 tons of contaminated soil. Other incidents included a burst pipe near Poleg in 2008, and oil leaks into the sea in 1998,1999, and 2002 that eventually saw the company fined NIS 100,000 ($25 million). Eight months ago, another leak occurred at a facility in Eilat (Winer, 2014). The month of December 2014 will long be remembered as the month in which an immense oil spill in the south of Israel threatened human health, endangered water sources, polluted the soil, ravaged a unique nature reserve and posed a major risk to the Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba and its distinctive coral reefs. Due to a breach in the 42 pipeline of the Eilat- Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC), about 5 million litres of crude oil gushed southwards alongside Route 90, Israel s major north-south highway, then cut across the road eastward toward the acacia grove at the edge of the Evrona salt flats, stopping just 400 meters short of the international border with Jordan (Anon, 2016). 346

347 4.1.Reasons of the accident and crisis management in the Israeli Oil Spill case The Jerusalem Post (JPost.com, 2016) reported the breach happened by accident which occurred during maintenance work on Wednesday night on the Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline, some 18 km (12 miles) north of the Red Sea, resort of Eilat. NBC News (2014) also reported the spill in the Eilat region was caused by "the systematic failure" of construction workers who were upgrading the pipeline. It was regarded as an accident caused by human error as there is no available evidence to show that the pipeline was in a poor state or that maintenance was left undone prior to the accident. The Ministry of Environmental Protection reported that the first thing the EAPC did is to report the accident to the Ministry. After receiving the first report of the rupture at 9:00 pm on December 3, 2014, the Nature and Parks Authority and engineers and maintenance teams of the EAPC, firefighters, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, police, immediately reached at the scene. Emergency crews worked day-andnight. Within the first 24 hours, they created embankment dams to halt the flow of oil, pumped the oil from the ground, and began removing heavily polluted soil to the nearby Nimra landfill, which was especially designated to receive the soil. At the same time, sorbents and containment booms were deployed to prepare for a potentially devastating scenario whereby rain would carry the oil to the Gulf of Eilat. More than 90% of the oil had been removed by vacuum pumping within just over a week. The actions taken in the first days following the soil spill can at best be referred to as a race against time. All stakeholders were mobilized to respond to the event, with the Ministry of Environmental Protection responsible for overall coordination, including risk assessment, removal and treatment of the polluted soil, environmental monitoring and preparedness for possible marine pollution. The Nature and Parks Authority on its part was charged with the responsibility to minimize damages to the Evrona Nature Reserve and remove contaminated soil from the reserve. The Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) was also immediately informed and expert advice was sought from Mediterranean Assistance Unit on how to block the flow of oil to the sea and on known ways and techniques to treat the contaminated land. The consultation system worked excellently and also served well in informing neighbouring countries of the event. Concern for human health was foremost in the minds of Ministry of Environmental Protection personnel. All necessary measures were put in place to prevent the crude oil from spreading in order to avoid a health and environmental disaster. Side walls of the dam that have been built in the Arava were raised to prevent flooding and this reduced the risk that the oil will spread. The government also approved a NIS 17 million to treat the soils as well as help restore the wildlife populations that was damaged over the cause of the event. A special team was also to be appointed to evaluate the environmental impact of various Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company activities on both onshore and offshore. Minimizing the damage to the surrounding environment, and especially to the nature reserve, was, of course, a top priority, and actions included pumping the oil from the main pools that was formed as a result of the spill and removing the surface layer in which the oil was absorbed and moving as much of the polluted soil as possible for temporary storage at specially designated cells in the nearby Nimra landfill. In the first 24 hours, surveillance aircraft were sent to assist in identifying the flow veins of oil. This helped in identifying the best locations in which to place sand barriers to collect the storm water mixed with oil, so as to prevent its flow downstream and enable the oil to be pumped out of the water, should it rain. The Nature and Parks Authority undertook similar activities in the Evrona Nature Reserve. Within two days, a sorbent boom and oil traps was deployed to absorb the oil should it flow downstream. In accordance with their contingency plan for large-scale oil spills, the Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Company immediately put its equipment stockpiles out to tackle the spill. A 250 meter open-sea oil boom was spread in the area surrounding the Kinet Canal s opening to the sea to assure that the flow of oil could be contained and skimmed by vessels from the seawater. All the ministries involved, including the EAPC and the Eilat municipality, acted in accordance with the steps outlined in the contingency plan. Everyone was on ground to help, making advice and equipment readily available. Ongoing assessment and preparation of clean-up and rehabilitation plans was initiated. In addition to the clean-up operations, the Green Police of the Ministry of Environmental Protection mobilized to work together with the relevant authorities on investigating the causes of the oil spill and the actions taken to 347

348 prevent and contain it. Most importantly, from the onset, the Ministry of Environmental Protection kept Jordanian authorities, local authorities and international environmental organizations up to date on the spill throughout the course of the event and the actions taken to mitigate its impacts (Anon, 2016). 4.2.What should take place but did not and what conclusions can be drawn? The only noticeable lapse in the Israeli Oil Spill crisis situation is the inadequate human resources to tackle the situation at first hand. The extent of the oil spill was massive and the readily available human personnel could not effectively deal with such magnitude. However, this was later rectified as more people were mobilised to tackle the situation. The incident demonstrated that the Ministry of Environmental Protection, EAPC, and all other relevant authorities involved in the Crisis Management of the Israeli Oil Spill were in a good position when it comes to know-how about the steps to be taken in tackling such emergencies. They were relatively wellprepared in terms of procedures and information. However they were not prepared for such a potentially disastrous, largescale oil spill. Although they have an excellent team of highly professional marine pollution prevention inspectors, they lack the necessary quantity of human resources, the necessary modern equipment, and also the necessary barges and vessels, both in the Gulf of Eilat and in the Mediterranean Sea. 5. COMPARISON OF APPLIED PRACTICES THE CRISES TO BE MANAGED The practices that were applied in both cases are illustrated by Table 1. No Israeli Oil Spill Refugio Oil Spill 1 They had a contingency plan to deal with large-scale oil spill and this allowed for quick response. This enabled them to work round the clock immediately after the spill was reported. 2 They had a good understanding of the necessary steps that needed to be taken in tackling such emergencies 3 They had a coordinated and excellent team of human resources needed to manage the situation i. e The Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nature and Parks Authority, Engineers and Maintenance teams of EAPC. They had no contingency plan in place for such large-scale emergency They did not exhibit a good understanding of necessary steps to be taken in tackling such emergencies There was no coordination in the response to the crisis as different agencies responded at different times based on what they learned of the oil spill incident 4 Faster response to the crisis Their response was not so fast. Table 1: Comparison on how the companies handled the crisis 5.1.What both companies did effectively? Both companies had priority for the safety of the people, protection of wild life and the environment, and containment of the oil spill. They also both had continuous communication with all the important/affected stakeholders and provided constant update throughout the course of the event. 348

349 Based on our analysis of the two cases, the EAPC of the Israeli Oil Spill managed the crisis better than the PAA of the Refugio Oil Spill based on the following reasons; a. They had contingency plans in place to deal with large-scale oil spill which helped them to respond immediately unlike the PAA of Refugio Oil Spill. b. The co-ordination of their response shows that the EAPC of the Israeli Oil Spill had a Risk and Crisis Management Policy in place which was not typical of the PAA. c. They exhibited an excellent communication strategy in their involvement with the affected stakeholders. 6. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Offshore petroleum operations involves a lot of complexities which requires that much more needs to be done by industry practitioners and analyst to identify risk causes, characteristics and nature which to a large extent would help prevent crisis. After a critical analysis of the two cases, we realized that some accidents could be avoided if stakeholders in the oil industry do the following: a. Petroleum enterprise prioritize the implementation of risk identification measures and monitor safety program development. b. Oil companies maintain a good maintenance culture, the Refugio Oil Spill happened as a result of external corrosion which could have been prevented by adhering to a rigorous inspection and monitoring program. c. The regulatory bodies should be more responsible, improve supervisory and inspection of job site safety and put in place strict penalty system to deal with violations of safety regulations. d. Oil companies employ highly qualified personnel to deal with the complexity involved in oil operations and personnel should work carefully to avoid human errors during petroleum operations. REFERENCES Books: Aven T and Vinnem J (2005) Risk management with applications from the offshore petroleum industry. London: Springer-Verlag London Limited. Coombs, W. T. (1999). Ongoing crisis communication: Planning, managing and responding. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Guo B, Song S and Chacko Jacob (2005) Offshore Pipelines, Abingdon, Routledge: Gulf Professional Publishing. Lerbinger, O.(1997). The Crisis Manager: Facing Risk and Responsibility, New Jersey, USA; Lawrence Elbaum Associates Publishers. Ropeik, David (2002). Risk. New York, New York, USA: Houghton Mifflin Company Articles: Burnett, J. J. (1999). A strategic approach to managing crises. Public relations review, 24(4), Sperber, William H. (2001). "Hazard identification: from a quantitative to a qualitative approach". Food Control 12: Elliott, J., & Emmanuel, C. (2000). Yanting, Z. and Liyun, X. (2011). Research on Risk Management of Petroleum Operations. Energy Procedia, 5, pp Internet: Anon, (2016). [online] Available at: Documents/Env%20Bulletin%20-%20Oil%20Spill%20in%20the%20Arava%20- %20Jan.% pdf [Accessed 26 Jan. 2016]. BusinessDictionary.com, (2016). What is risk? definition and meaning. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 26 Jan. 2016]. 349

350 Coombs, (2007). Crisis Management and Communication. Institute for Public Relations. [Online] Available: 26 Jan. 2016]. International Oil and Gas Producers, (2010). [Online] OGP Risk Assessment Data Directory: Report No , March, Available at: [Accessed 26 Jan. 2016]. merriam-webster.com, [last visited on 19th January 2016]. NBC News, (2014). [Online] Available at: gallons-lost-eilat-pipeline-breach-n [Accessed 26 Jan. 2016]. Response.restoration.noaa.gov, (2016). NOAA Continues to Support Response to Pipeline Break Spill near Santa Barbara, California response.restoration.noaa.gov. [online] Available at: [Accessed 25 Jan. 2016]. Panzar,J., and Cart,J., Los Angeles Times online, [online] June 3. Available at [Accessed on 24th January 2014]. Straessle, B., Studies highlight job growth and government revenue potential from oil and gas leasing in the Atlantic, Pacific & Eastern Gulf of Mexico, [online] November 19. Available at [Accessed on 25th January 2015] The Jerusalem Post JPost.com, (2016). Oil spill near Eilat is 'one of the worst environmental accidents in Israel's history'. [online] Available at: [Accessed 26 Jan. 2016]. Winer, S. (2014). Massive oil spill almost twice the size initially thought. [online] The Times of Israel. Available at: [Accessed 26 Jan. 2016]. Regulations: Health and Safety Executive, Offshore Oil and Gas Strategy 2014 to London: HSE. AFP ALARP API ASCADA EAPC HAVS HCRs HSE IOGP ISO PAA PHMSA REMPEC LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Agence France-Presse / French Press Agency As Low As Reasonably Possible American Petroleum Institute Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome Hydro Carbon Releases Healths and Safety Executive International Oil and Gas Producers International Standard Organization Plains All American Pipeline Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea 350

351 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING AND SERVICE ORGANISATION NIKOS D. KARTALIS, TEI of Western Macedonia, Abstract First Aristotelis ( b.c) stated that the human belong to the nature but his action many times creates problems into the nature. Today many researchers try to estimate the price of pollution because they believe that companies should take into account hidden cost and allow the managers to have an accurate information about the total cost. While a lot of research in Environmental Management Accounting focuses on industrial organizations no much research have been done in service organizations. This paper tries to investigate the role of Environment Management Accounting information in service organization using the case study method. Key words: Environmental Management Accounting, Accounting Information, Case study. 1.Introduction Gray, Owen and Adam (1996 p.39) report that social policies and social ethics for the environment should be of concern to businesses due to increased social awareness of environmental issues. Donaldson and Dunfee (2002), Deegan (2002) report that business today have to face multiply problems and probably the most significant one is the environmental which, if not be solved will, in long term, lead to a decrease in viability. Many researchers as Mathews (1997), Bartolomeo (2000), Gale (2006), Burritt (2004), Burritt and Saka (2006), Deegan (2003), Gray and Bebbington (2001), Owen and Adams (1996), report that accounting can offer solutions for the environment. Deegan (2007) states that the accounting practice as we know it cannot provide answers such as to measure the use of natural resources such as soil, air and water. In addition, too many costs that the company emits into the environment are not counted, such as for example climate change (Stern 2006). For this reason, since the traditional accounting can not count the cost, environmental accounting should be applied. Environmental accounting considers environmental costs and delivers accounting informantion better to external and internal users of accounting information relating to the environment. 2. Literature Review During the 1980s the Administrative Environmental Accounting was linked with environmental management as highlighted by Boumal and Van der Veen (2002). At the same time the US published regulations for environmental management (CERCLA). The effect of these regulations gave motivation to other countries to follow such as the UK and Canada. Walley and Whitehead (1994) found that environmental programs, which have been adopted by companies, that they can lead to lower costs and increase profits. However, in order to accomplish all above Environmental Management Accounting should be adopted. At the advent of 1990 the interest of researchers for environmental management by adopting Environmental Audit which gave impetus to the Environmental Management Accounting as noted by the researchers Mathews (1997), Maltby (1995). Moreover, Gray and Bebbington (2001), Bartolomeo et.al (2000), Eppstein (1996), Tuppen Lober (1998) and Lawrence & Cerf (1995), adopted the fact that Environmental Management Accounting can help realize profits. At the same time the US office for environmental protection (USEPA) published a directive which help companies to distinguish and categorize the environmental costs (USEPA 1996b). During the 2000s the Environmental Management Accounting became the center of international organizations like the United Nations, which in 2001 adopted a regulation on the principles and procedure for the practical implementation of the Environmental Management Accounting. Additionally, the 351

352 International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) issued guidelines for the implementation of Environmental Management Accounting (E.M.A) as well as various regulations implementing E.M.A. Despite the publications on environmental management accounting for large enterprises, little attention has been done for small business. 3. Research The purpose of this article is to focus on companies that are based on services which environmental management accounting has not been paying attention. To explore these businesses which rely on services we will need to approach the process with case study method by answering the research s questions such as understanding the accounting practice for the management of environmental costs in Show Caves. The case study is occupied with the investigation of two companies that operate as municipal enterprises. The study was based on face to face interviews, telephone interviews and in archives research. The main advantage of this method is that interviews people, who are responsible for taking decisions, compiled by priority and followed by directors and executive officers. The main question asked was what costs are taken into account for the separation of environmental impacts as noted by Deegan (2003), which states that the environmental costs related to the consumption of water and paper and the use of waste. In contrast, there are disadvantages during this research. There are no similar studies for the management of environmental costs in Show Caves, but there are only a few for the management of environmental costs in education services. Even should overcome the bias in the reporting of accounting data, the adoption of environmental costs in overhead, and the underestimation of environmental costs. Although these disadvantages faced by requiring financial statements which are used in order to crosscheck and with questions that are repeated in a different order.we even tried to investigate the separation of cost by carefully studing accounting data and constantly putting questions to managers business The business environment There are twenty eight Show Caves in Greece which attract at least one million visitors from Greece and abroad, offering jobs opportunities and contribute to local development and the local economy. There is no uniform management system because there is no political will for the organization and the development of tourism. There are tourist caves that are SA, there are others that coordinate the arrangements in utilities, while others are administered by the Ministry of Culture. This leads to uneven development and other nonuniform administration regarding the development of Environmental Management Accounting which occurs only in caves that operate in the form of Primary SA. We choose the businesses that are more organized in this area, namely in the use of Environmental Management Accounting. Consequence of the organization of nature is that it's not subsidized by the state budget or other organization, so we have to manage revenues and expenses in order to profitability. The main attention was paid to the management of electricity mainly used for illumination of the Cave because it represents 15% of the total cost. The cost of using the water used for cleaning the cave path length 1 km, is representing 7%of the cost as well as the management of waste that flows into special tanks. (Chart 1) Chart 1. Electricity cost Cost of water use Cost of Environmenta t Accounting Aggregate business expenses Waste cost 352

353 The design of the questionnaire was based on the theory and on the asking question of the article. Researchers such as Bartolomeo et.al. (1999) who made analysis for eighty European companies on the Environmental Management Accounting. Although the researchers who used questionnaires did not investigate companies that manage tourist Caves however some questions proved useful. Other questions were added during the interview because the freedom of the questions and the answers to them led to new questions additions. 4. Research analysis The questions during the interviews came from both the theory of Environmental Management Accounting and analysis of business archives. Specifically we interviewed the Directors and their business presidents and accountants who monitor the financial process. The design of the questions was such that 1) To prove the role of Management Accounting in business. 2) Identify the factors that influence the Environmental Management Accounting. The investigation was limited down to the two companies because the rest either answered negatively or not adopted the Environmental Management Accounting. The interviews lasted no more than 1.5 hours and took place during November-October 2015, and the interviewees agreed that the content will remain secret. Fifteen people from each company accepted to answer questions while exposure to publicity chosen to separate into groups. The first question which was addressed to the presidents of the two concerned the question whether it was a strategic choice to adopt the Environmental Management Accounting. The President of Alpha company said: "We did not know about the theory of Environmental Management Accounting. It was known to us from the Director and as Municipal company we decided to adopt it first, because it lead to cost reduction on the other hand will lead to a lower power consumption. " The President of Beta company replied that he was not aware of the application of Environmental Management Accounting because he was not an economist and he was informed by the Director of the company and immediately adopted as an application for the reduction of costs. To answer the second question if the company has an environmental policy, the President of Alpha company replied that the Environmental Sensitivity governing public bodies and instructions from the Ministry of Environment, lead to the adoption of environmental solutions. The Director of Alpha Company said that the company since 2007 has implemented an environmental education program on students in order to raise new generations to protect the environment. This application highlights the environmental awareness of the business. In the third question whether there is an update on the outcome of the implementation of Environmental Management Accounting (EMA), the Director of Alpha company stressed that each month the monthly company's Board of Directors presents the results of reducing the cost of implementing the P.D.L. The Director of Beta company stressed that: "During the month the President is informed about the cost savings from the implementation of EMA and then informs the other members of the Board" In the fourth question if separation costs exists and what are the features of EMA the Director of Alpha company responded that "the electricity consumption is closely monitored, the water consumption and its deposition as well as the use of garbage (waste). The same method was used from the Director of Beta Company as well, who also stated that these items are the only ones that exist in his company and cover 30% of its cost. In the fifth question whether stand out especially if costs or charged to profit Overheads Director Company Accounting replied that always monitored in accordance with the requirements of Greek Account Chart of Accounts.(G.A.C.A) 353

354 The Director of the company asks for detailed third degree accounts for the separation of the cost. The Director of the Accounts Department of Beta company answered that the separation takes place by the Director of the company when he/she receives the monthly accounts of the costs. In the 6 th question about the indexes of performance the Director of Alpha company answered that there are various policies of the reduction of the electricity, such as the change of light bulbs, or the reduction of time when the company is lighted. In the 7 th question whether there are some employees who are responsible for the measurement and gathering of information about the environmental of nature resources, eg. electricity or water. The Director of Alpha company answered that usually the measurements are monthly compared by the person in charge of this department with the respective amounts from the previous year and afterwards are being given as a monthly report to the General Director for further analysis. The Manager of Beta company stressed that the differences that stem from the measurements aim at one hard to be compared with the Accounting Data and on the other hand to be crossed with the real data. On the 8 th question which was if there are instructions from the Ministry of Environment and Climate's Change, the General Manager answered that there aren't specific instructions for the reduction of the environmental pollution, but there are direct costs, eg. from the invoice of electricity bill, which have to be taken into account. The General Director of Beta company answered that he wasn't given instructions by the specific Ministry but the costs are always under control in relation to the consumption of electricity. On the 9 th question related to whether there are pressures from enacted external institutions so as safety measures to be taken, the Directors of Alpha and Beta companies emphasized that there isn't any pressure from any environmental organization about the reduction of pollution but only from the responsible Ministry of Culture, that is concerned about the internal state of the microclimate in caves. On the 10 th question whether the conditions for the reduction of environmental pollution are mentioned in their General Assembly, the Managing Consultants of Alpha and Beta companies answered that they don't give unsignificant information to the shareholders because they are generally interested about the reduction of cost. On the 11 th question, in relation to which types of cost must the Directors and sub directors of Alpha and Beta companies be informed, they answered that there aren't many chances or measurement of cost for the environmental pollution, as these companies are mainly offer services and not manufacture ones. On the 12 th question concerning the suggestions and if these are heard by the supervisors the Director of Alpha company mentioned that his indications are always taken into account while the Sub-Director of Beta company mentioned that he sometimes contradicts with his supervisors. 5. Conclusions After analyzing the question naives as well as the interviews we can focus on the point that two companies, which manage caves, don't give absolute priority to the Environmental Management Accounting (EMA). Despite the general picture Alpha company has implemented a scheme for the reduction of cost through the use of the E.M.A While in many cases the attention for the reduction of cost focuses on the reduction of water consumption and the waste usually the accountants don't separate the cost but they integrate into general cost and as a result, sufficient information about the separation of environmental cost isn't given. This problem is partly solved by the Director of Alpha company who was asked by his subordinates to mention in monthly reports the reduction of electricity and water consumption to the Board of Directions. In that way they could discern the benefits from the use of the E.M.A. and could make better decisions. There are cases that there's skepticism about the implementation of the EMA. because there is, no will for its implementation. The scientific background of the members of the Board-especially in Beta company usually brings obstacles to the implementation of E.M.A. The use of employees of the application of E.M.A. will bring finance results in relation to the cost of Personnel and the working - hours. Furthermore, the nature of the enterprises presupposes environmental concerns to be taken into account and directives from the Central Administration (e.g. Department of Caving) to be directly followed. 354

355 However, these directives are in many cases general and don't follow their practical implementation. For instance, Alpha company financed scientists for the adoption of environmental solutions about the reduction of environmental cost while Beta company imitated the methods of Alpha company which is also mentioned by the theory of institutions. Even though all the above was mentioned theory considers that there are three forms of effect obligatory, law - abiding and the imitation in Alpha and Beta companies, all these three factors were in application. The obligatory is set into action especially in Alpha company, where the department of caving gives about the reduction of electricity while the General Assembly of the shareholders wishes reduction of the functional cost. Whereas imitations mentioned in Beta company that imitates Alpha company with the adoption of environmental solutions. One more factor that affects the decisions for the decisions for the implementation of E.M.A. is the lack of a strategic scheme for its future application. The frequent changes in the Municipality's Management that brings changes in the administration of companies immensely affect the adoption of a strategic scheme for the implementation of the Environmental Management Accounting. Frequently the Directors are trying to explain their necessity but due to the fact there's lack of knowledge from the Board of Directors in the field of Administration can't be directly applied with the passage of time. The theory of Institutions can be implemented on the case of the companies which were examined. The imposition of regulations which stem from the department of caving lead to the adoption of E.M.A. Even though the companies don't depend financially on the department of caving, the institution frame is the one that shows total compliance with the regulations that are set like protection and the reduction of lighting. This presupposes the implementation of Institutions theory through the three mechanisms that lead to the homogenization of actions. Both Alpha and Beta company react positively to the regulations, while Beta company imitates Alpha in relation to the implementation of regulations. This occurs because Beta company doesn't necessary have the special knowledge for the implementation of regulations as many of these decisions are proposed by the Beta of Director and not from the Director of the company. In many cases this leads to the non - implementation of the E.M.A. because imitation has as a result the wrong implementation. According to Deegan (2003) the lack of knowledge leads to misinterpretations and to depreciation or revaluation of the environmental cost due to their false insertion in the accountant files: (reports). The adoption of E.M.A. which was made recently as a result of the implementation of the environmental policy directed to the reduction of cost from the reduction of use of electricity, the reduced use of water and waste. According to Deegan (2003) the shareholders could be pleased due to the implementation of E.M.A. because on the one hand they have important economical benefits and on the other hand they satisfy the ecological sensitivity that companies should possess. APPENCIES QUESTIONNAIRES 1) Personal information Α) Name Surname Β) Graduate degrees C) How many years have you been working in the company? D )In what specialty? Ε) In what position? 2) Information about Environmental Managerial Account A) Was a strategy to adopt Environmental Managerial Account? B) Do you know if the company has an environmental policy? C) Are there any updates about the result of the application of the Environmental Managerial Account? 355

356 Bibliography D) Is there any separation of the cost and what are the features of Environmental Managerial Account? E) Is there any separation of the specific costs or any charge the account of general expenses? F) To which indicators of efficiency they are related? G) Are there any employees who are responsible for counting and the collection of information about the environmental use of sources? H) Are there any instructions from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change? I) Are there any pressures from external statutory bodies to adopt protective measures? J) Are the conditions for the reduction of environmental burden mentioned at General Meeting? K) What kind of costs must inform Directors and Assistant Managers of the companies? L) Are your suggestions heard from the heads? M) Do you know if the company has any information system about environmental accounting? N) Do you know if the company separates the environmental costs? If yes, how? O) Who is responsible for the collection and the list of the environmental cost? P) Which does the company consider as environmental costs? Q) How are they separated and distributed? R) Are you obliged to reduce environmental costs? If yes, how? S) Are there pressures about the full adjustment? If yes, by whom? T) Do you consider important for the company to measure the environmental costs? If not why? U) Have you made any important decisions taking the environmental costs into consideration? V) Are there any pressures from external factors for the adoption of the Environmental Managerial Account? W) Do you think that the administration can interpret and make decisions from the adjustment of the Environmental Managerial Account? X) Do you think that the shareholders are interested in applying the Environmental Managerial Account? Y) What do you consider more important, the adoption s cost or the adoption s results? Abernathy, M & Chua, W (1996), 'A Field Study of Control System "Redesign": The Impact of Institutional Processes on Strategic Choice', Contemporary Accounting Research, vol.13, no. 2, pp Bartolomeo, M, Bennett, M, Bouma, JJ, Heydkamp, P, James, P & Wolters, T (2000), 'Environmental Management Accounting in Europe: Current Practice and Future Potential', The European Accounting Review, vol. 9, no. 1, pp Burritt, R & Welch, S (1997), 'Accountability for Environmental Performance of the Australian Commonwealth Public Sector', Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 10, no. 4, pp Deegan, C., 2002, 'Introduction. The Legitimising Effect of Social and Environmental Disclosures - A Theoretical Foundation', Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 15, no. 3, pp Deegan, C 2003, Environmental Management Accounting: An Introduction and Case Studies for Australia, Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, Melbourne. Deegan, C 2007, Australian Financial Accounting, 5th edn, McGraw-Hill, Sydney. DiMaggio, PJ & Powell, WW 1983, 'The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Efficient in Organisational Fields', American Sociological Review, vol. 48,no. 2, pp Donaldson, T & Dunfee, T (2002), 'Ties that Bind in Business Ethics: Social Contracts and Why They Matter', Journal of Banking & Finance, vol. 26, pp Gray, R, Owen, D & Adams, C 1996, Accounting & Accountability: Changes and Challenges in Corporate Social and Environmental Reporting, Prentice Hall, London. Eisenhardt, KM 1989, 'Building theories from case study research', Academy of ManagementReview, vol. 14, no. 4, pp

357 Emmanuel, CR, Otley, DT & Merchant, KA 1990, Accounting for Management Control, 2 nd edn, Chapman and Hall, London. Epstein, M 1996, Measuring Corporate Environmental Performance: Best Practices for Costing and Managing an Effective Environmental Strategy, Irwin Professional Publishing, Chicago. Gray, R, Owen, D & Adams, C 1996, Accounting & Accountability: Changes and Challenges in Corporate Social and Environmental Reporting, Prentice Hall, London. Gray, R & Bebbington, J 2001, Accounting for the Environment, 2nd edn, SAGE Publications,London. Lawrence, JE & Cerf, D 1995, 'Management and Reporting of Environmental Liabilities',Management Accounting, vol. 77, no. 2, pp Lawrence, P & Lorsch, J 1967, Organization and Environment: Managing Differentiation and Integration, Harvard University, Boston. Lober, DJ 1998, 'Pollution Prevention as Corporate Entrepreneurship', Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 11, no. 1, pp Mathews, MR 1997, 'Twenty-Five Years of Social and Environmental Accounting Research: Is There is A Silver Jubilee to Celebrate?' Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 10, no. 4, pp Stern, N 2006, Stern Review: the Economics of Climate Change, < Maltby, J 1995, 'Environmental Audit: Theory and Practices', Managerial Auditing Journal,vol. 10, no. 8, pp Tuppen, C (ed.) 1996, Environmental Accounting in Industry: A Practical Review, British Telecommunications, London. USEPA 1995b, An Introduction to Environmental Accounting as a Business Management Tool:Key Concepts and Terms, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. Walley, N & Whitehead, B 1994, 'It's Not Easy Being Green', Harvard Business Review, vol.may-june, pp Yin, RK 2003a, Applications of Case Study Research, 2nd edn, vol. 34, 49 vols., Applied Social Research Methods Series, SAGE Publications, Thousands Oaks. Yin, RK 2003b, Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 3rd edn, vol. 5, 49 vols., Applied Social Research Methods Series, SAGE Publication 357

358

359 A CRITICAL STUDY: HOW GENDER DETERMINES CONSUMER PREFERENCES ZOI PIRLYMPOU, Hellenic Open University Abstract The present study sought to identify the influence of price, discount and brands on consumer behavior. According to the existing literature, price, discounts and brands have long been associated with consumer behavior. However, clear evidences are not provided about the effect may have on consumer behavior, each of the three aforementioned variable. The goal of the study is to examine the effect of each of the three variables on consumer behavior in a Greek sample, separately for the two genders. Specifically, the consumers preferences have been measured by a self-constructed 13-item questionnaire. All the appropriate procedures, have been conducted in order to construct a valid and reliable questionnaire. Consequently, the 13-item questionnaire was administered to 100 participants, from October to November The participants offered voluntarily and have been informed orally and by the consent form about the aim of the study. The results showed a statistically significant relationship between the gender of the participants and their consumer preferences. Key words: consumer behavior, purchasing decision, gender, brands, discounts, marketing research 1. INTRODUCTION Consumer behavior is the science, that studies why, when, where and how individual customers, buy, select and use goods or services to satisfy their needs. Back in 1967, Myers and Reynolds, pinpointed the need to study consumer behavior separately from the science of Marketing. Nowadays, consumer behavior is regarded as a separate science. The impact assessment of consumer behavior is necessary for the Marketing professionals to predict consumers behaviors more accurately. The initial motivation of studying consumer s behavior, was offered from Marketing professionals, who needed to examine, how social science could contribute and assist in finding specific causes of consumer s actions and purchasing decisions. Consumer behavior help Marketing professionals to evaluate new opportunities in the market and to choose a segment of the market to launch their products. According to Siomkos (2002), the procedure of making a purchasing decision consists of five (5) stages: i. Identification of a need ii. Searching and elaborating information iii. Evaluation of the alternative brands iv. Choice and buy of the product v. After-buy behavior. Kotler (1984) mentioned that the characteristics that affect the purchasing behavior are cultural, social, psychological and personal. The above characteristics help researchers to create a behavioral pattern of the buying procedure. Exadaktilos (2008), based on Kotler s studies, created a three stage model, describing consumer behavior. The first stage consists of the marketing mix (product, price, position and promotion), in relation with the sociocultural, technological and economic consumers stimuli. The second stage of the model is the black box, which includes the characteristics of the buyers and the process of the purchasing decision. The third stage consists of the customers response to products and services provided. For example, the brands and retailer preference. According to Roberts (1998) other factors that affect consumer s behavior are economy, technology, globalization, government, environment, demographics, the soul of the consumer, wellness and retail. Greek studies that examine the association between gender and purchasing decisions are quite limited. Specifically, on the one hand research community recognize the link between gender and consumer preferences, but on the other hand the studies mainly focus on the effect of marketing actions on consumer behavior. Specifically, the present paper will be an effort to present the reasons of buying and the consumers behavior on discount policies, for the two genders, separately. 359

360 At the present study, consumer behavior will be studied through the lens of Marketing and Psychology. The study will allocate valuable information in the Marketing professionals. Psychology s main field is to define, explain and interpret human behaviors, and this is the reason why Psychology is needed to assist current study s goals. The aim of the present study is to fill the gap in the existing literature regarding the possible relationship between gender and consumer preferences in a Greek sample. Specifically, this work will examine the link between gender and brands, price, discount on consuming goods. 2. METHODOLOGY A total of 100 adults were included in the present study (n=100). The data gathered through an anonymous survey that took place in Attica, Greece. The sample comprised 100 individuals, 50 men (50%) and 50 women (50%). The current study used a self-constructed 13-item questionnaire. Also, the current study used a convenient sample. The participants were recruited through the Internet ( ) and with the use of face to face data collection in various areas. All participants were informed about study s goals and were asked to sign an informed consent form. After they provided consent for participation in the study, the questionnaires were administered. The survey remained available for a couple of months until a sufficient size recruited. A data screening process was administered to ensure no violation of the assumption of normality, homogeneity, multicollinearity, homoscedasticity and linearity. The Levene s test was used to determine that variances among different groups were equal. Homogeneity was present in all continuous variables included in the study for the groups of both genders. Subsequently, the gathered data recorded in Microsoft Excel and the statistical analysis was processed with the program SPSS. 3. RESULTS In this section of the paper, the results of the statistical correlations will be presented. Table 1: Men s purchasing preferences Valid Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent price brand quality other Total

361 Men's Purchasing preferences 16% 22% 42% 20% Chart 1: Men s purchasing preferences Table 2: Women s purchasing preferences Price Brand Quality Other Valid Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent price brand quality other Total Women's Purchasing preferences 16% 34% 52% 4% Chart 2: Women s purchasing preferences Price Brand Quality Other The following tables and charts presenting the influence of the discount policies on consuming goods. 361

362 Table 3: The impact discount policies for men Valid Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent not at all a little enough a lot very much Total Bar Graph 1: The impact discount policies for men Table 4: The impact discount policies for women Valid Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent not at all enough a lot very much Total

363 Bar Graph 2: The impact discount policies for women 4. DISCUSION While living in a country with ingrained aspect for gender equality, the goal of the study was to examine the association between gender and the effect of branding and discount policies on consuming goods. Gender differentiation arising from biological, social, economic culture background. For example, in the Middle East is not common (and sometimes forbidden) for a woman to drive a car, but in western countries almost all women are having car license. Psychologists who study consumer behavior, in the lens of gender attribute to the selective theory. Basic principle of this theory is that women holding lower threshold, in the analytical procedure, than men. Which, are involved with different strategies in the information procedure, under certain circumstances. (Moschis & Mathur,2006). At the present research, 50% of the sample was men and 50% was women. At first glance, on tables 1 & 2, seems that most men (42%) are influenced from the quality of the purchasing product. In the same theoretical framework, can be mentioned that women s percentage for the quality of the product is 52%. Considering the aforementioned, there is a 10% difference in their results. But, the data that were thought to be unexpected were that men were influences by product s price in 22%, for women the second higher percentage was also price, in 34%. Only, the 4% of women examined purchase a product according to its brand, while 20% of the men are choosing a product effected by brand. In the field other, for women 10% and for men 16%, seem to agree. Two of the most repetitive answers, was the need and the usefulness of the product. Concluding, it can be easily noticed that men are more affected by the brand name of a product than women. While price affects both genders similarly. In the end, it could be resulted, that gender has unbreakable bond with the purchasing decision, thus it must be studied individually for every product on every company. On bar graphs 1 & 2, could be seen the difference of the behavior between men and women. Specifically, most of men are influenced a lot (28%) from the discount on products. While, most women are affected very much (36%), from discount policies. Also, striking is the fact that not even one woman is affected a little from the discount on products. More than 50% of men are affected a lot or more, from the discounted goods. It has been noticed that men s result is widely dispersed. So women tend to affect more from discounts, than men. Furthermore, the fact that women did not chose a little as an answer, it may be interpreted that if affected, would not be enough, to purchase the discounted good. 5. CONCLUSION The purpose of this study was to provide insights into the effect of gender, in the consumer behavior. In this frame of reference, a research was conducted in order to examine the effects of price, brand and discount of a product on their consumer behavior. The data analysis was based on 100 valid questionnaires. From the research results, multiple conclusions were derived. Also, it was demonstrated that men are more interested about brand than women. Furthermore, the discount in consuming goods, affects women more than in men. 363

364 To conclude, it is quite clear that companies must split their target market, with an extra segment, the one of gender. In other words, for better coverage of the market, the marketing plan, is suggested to be different. Also, concluded that discounts attributes a lot in both genders, but from the market scope that discounts, are suggested to focus on women consumer-candidates. A limitation of the present study that concerns, both researchers and Marketing professionals, is that these results represent consumers preferences, of a region of Greece, Attica. So the conclusions cannot be representative to the general population. A future suggestion for present study is to replicated study s procedures in a larger national scale. REFERENCES Exadaktilos, N. (2008) Consumer behavior, 2 nd edition, Ellin, Athens. Gerrig, R.J. (2012) Psychology and Life, 20 th edition, Pearson, Boston. Kotler, P. & Keller, K.L. (2010) Marketing Management, 12 th edition, Kledarithmos, Athens. Moschis, G.P. & Mathur, A. (2006), Older consumer responses to marketing stimuli: The power of subjective Age, Journal of advertising research, September 2006: Roberts, S. (1998) Harness the future, 1 st edition, John Wiley and sons, Canada. Siomkos, I.G. (2011) Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy, 3 rd edition, Stamoulis, Athens. BIBLIOGRAPHY Cheen. L.K.& Phau, I. (2010), Impact of gender on perceptual fit evaluation for prestige brands, Brand management 17(5): Holbrook, M.B. (1987), what is consumer research?, Journal of consumer research 14: Joireman, J. & Durante, K. (2016) Consumer behavior, Current opinion in Psychology (Elsevier) 10: Siddiqui, K. (2011), Individual differences in consumer Behavior, Institute of interdisciplinary business research 2(11). Siddiqui, W.U. (2016) Study on Buying Behavior of Men and Women, Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research 2(4). 364

365 CULTURE DIFFERENCES OF CHINESE AND AMERICAN TRADITIONAL FESTIVAL JINGNAN GAO, Hebei University of Economics and Business XIAOLI WU, Hebei University of Economics and Business Abstract:The culture between Chinese and American traditional festival are different. This paper is designed to discuss the differences in customs, origins and other aspects of traditional festivals with the similar cultural connotation, then analyze the reasons lying behind the differences and finally reflect the cultural differences between the two nations. The paper also analyzes the mutual fusion in traditional holidays between China and America. Key words: Traditional festivals; Chinese and American culture; cultural differences; causes; mutual fusion. 1. Introduction China is a multi-ethnic nation, people in different nationalities or regions celebrate different traditional festivals of their own, while among all the festivals the most typical ones celebrated by Chinese people in common consist of these ones: the Spring Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, the Dragon-Boat Festival, the Chinese Valentine s Day, Mid-Autumn Day, and the Double-Ninth Festival, etc. Different from China, America is a multi-cultural nation, people from different countries live together and the cultures brought with them melt into the distinct American culture. The festivals in America can be divided into the legal holidays and traditional ones; besides, some states also celebrate a few festivals of their own. In general, the most popular traditional festivals celebrated by American people include the following ones: New Year s Day, Valentine s Day, All Fools Day, Mother s Day, Father s Day, Halloween, Easter, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas, etc. Traditional festivals are the historical products of a nation s development. Whether in China which has a long history of more than five thousand years or in the newborn America, the origination of traditional festivals in the two countries is similar. Most traditional festivals originated from people s expectation for harvest in the agricultural production, the worship towards the gods and the nature, sacrifices to the historical characters etc. After the long-term evolution, traditional festivals have become an indispensable part of the national culture. Through traditional festivals, the distinct cultural characteristics of a people and the national spirits can be observed. 2. Differences between Chinese and American Traditional Festivals Traditional festivals, as an integral part of the national culture, possess rich cultural connotations. It is no wonder that there are traditional festivals in the two cultures with the similar cultural connotations, such as The Spring Festival vs. Thanksgiving Day, The Zhongyuan Festival vs. Halloween. However, The Chinese Valentine s Day vs. Valentine s Day. Behind the similar cultural connotations of traditional festivals, origins and customs of these festivals are greatly differentiated, which illustrate the cultural differences of the two nations. In view of origins, the Spring Festival has close relation to agriculture. Actually, most Chinese traditional festivals are derived from people s conducting the agricultural production. Comparatively speaking, origins of American traditional festivals reflect the influence of religion, mainly Christianity. Thanksgiving Day is related to religion to some extent, although it is originated in the celebration of harvest, the influence of agriculture on this festival has faded away, and it tends to be a festival for family reunion and showing thanks to the God. In fact, among all the American traditional festivals many are originated from Christianity. The biggest festival Christmas is held to observe the birth of Jesus; Easter is to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus; Halloween is also branded by Christianity as a day to memorialize all the saints. Christianity is closely related to American traditional festivals. In contrast to the unique place of Christianity in American traditional festivals, pantheism has great impact on Chinese traditional festivals. There are many gods in China s legends. The Qixi Festival is rooted in the story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl who was the seventh daughter of the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother in the Heaven. And the Kitchen God Festival is obviously related to the Kitchen God, etc. 365

366 In view of customs, etiquette has been greatly emphasized in celebration of Chinese traditional festivals. Take the Spring Festival for example, etiquette can be seen everywhere: the seating arrangement at the family reunion dinner, the elder giving red envelops to the younger, the younger giving gifts to their parents, the descendants offering sacrifices to their ancestors, people saying greetings to each other, paying New Year calls to relatives and friends with gifts. Etiquette has been regarded as a criterion to judge an individual s personality to some degree. Besides, most Chinese traditional festivals attach more importance to harmony and happiness among people. While in America celebrations for traditional festivals are more tending to be for fun and recreation. At the same time, the customs of traditional festivals are somewhat religious, for example, the prayer before the Thanksgiving dinner, people going to the church at the Easter morning. All the differences analyzed above between Chinese and American traditional festivals are formed under the particular historical background and specific cultural features. The following part is devoted to the underlying factors that have caused such differences. 3.Major Factors Causing Differences between Chinese and Western Traditional Festivals 3.1 Factors influencing Chinese traditional festivals China is a country that bears wisdom of generations and a national history of centuries; therefore, it is inevitable for traditional festivals to go through dramatic changes for it is a general law in human history that the various civilizations polarized, syncretized, and affected each other. In history, such factors as religion, literature and arts, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism from the foreign land and politics and others have exerted a significant and positive influence on the culture loaded by Chinese traditional festivals. Agricultural civilization and Confucianism are the primary ones among all the factors that have contributed to distinct characteristics of Chinese traditional festivals. The agricultural civilization is the foundation of most Chinese traditional festivals. The time system of Chinese traditional festivals is born from the system of solar terms because solar terms provide the prerequisite for deciding the time for festivals. Most festivals are celebrated around or on some solar term. Confucianism, with focuses on human morality and right actions, is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. Confucianism is a complex system of moral, social, political, philosophical, and quasi-religious thought that has had tremendous influence on the culture and history of China. 3.2 Major Factors influencing American traditional festivals Different from China, America is a highly industrialized country. With the fast pace of the industrialization in America, agricultural characteristics in the traditional festivals gradually disappear. The Thanksgiving as the festival most closely related to the agricultural production is no longer a festival to celebrate the harvest but a festival for the reunion of the family members and showing their thanks to the God. Furthermore, with the several immigration waves bringing abundant labor force for the industrialization in America, many foreign festivals have also been embedded in the system of traditional festivals in America. Religion is vital to the American people s life. The belief in Christianity is the source of formation of most American traditional festivals. Christmas is celebrated in the memory of Jesus birth; Easter is celebrated in the memory of his resurrection. Other festivals have also been branded by Christianity, such as the Valentine s Day and the Halloween. The Valentine s Day is said to commemorate the saint Valentine, and Halloween, originally as a day to memorialize the dead, has become a day in the memory of all the saints. Based on the analysis above, it is obvious that Christianity has deeply taken root in American culture, and exerted great impact on American traditional festivals. 4. Mutual Fusion Between Chinese and American Traditional Holidays The differences between the Chinese and Western traditional festivals make the world beautiful and interesting, rich and colorful. However, every thing has two sides, when we affirm the differences, paying attention to the similarities is helpful to understand things comprehensively, then deal with problems dialectically. Today, by the global economic integration and China s market economy, people liberated their thought, provided conditions for western culture merge into our society, at that time, learning the West 366

367 seems to be a trend, such as learning English, learning Western technology, learning Western lifestyles and so on. In recent years, the Christmas, Mother s Day, Father s Day, Valentine s Day and the Fool s Day have become the new generation, especially the fashion of the after, they are interested in the freedom, everywhere, unrestrained, personal atmosphere, sometimes are full of swing, and never tired. This acceptance of the western culture and traditional festivals reflect the fusion of the Eastern and Western cultures. Now the current situation continues to evolve, this is a active acceptance. The European acceptances to our traditional festivals mainly are in the Chinese communities. Though the Chinese bring dancing dragon, dancing lion in our new year and stepping ships to the Europe, but they have not created a great impact. 5. Conclusion To sum up, the Chinese traditional festivals reflect the characteristics of agricultural civilization. Expectation for harvest is the origination of most traditional festivals. In the process of the development of traditional festivals, they have been mainly influenced by Confucianism and embodied the essence of Confucianism into the customs and celebrations of themselves. In contrast, the fast development of industrialization in America has crowded out the influence of agriculture in traditional festivals. At the same time, American traditional festivals are closely related to religion. The culture embodied in American traditional festivals reflects the important role of religion, mainly Christianity, in the society. In cross-cultural communication, effective communication relies on mutual understanding, the avoidance of misinterpretation, and positive cultural awareness of individual interlocutors. However, limitations exist in that due to the author s limited range of knowledge, the covered cultural phenomena are not various enough and thus the depth of our analysis is in need of further development. REFERENCES [1] Davis, L. Cross-cultural communication in action. Beijing: Beijing Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press,2001. [2] Ellinwood, F. F. Oriental religions and Christianity. New York: W. W. Norton,2005. [3] Lineal Davis.Cross-Culture Communication,Foreign Language Education and Research,2005. [4] Qi, Xing.Chinese Festival. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press,2007. [5] Samovar,L.A.et al. Communication between cultures. San Francisco: Wadsworth Publishing Company,2008. [6] Zhang, Chongyi. A comparative study of Western and Chinese culture. Haikou: Hainan People press,2001. [7] 陈科峰. 西方节日的文化底蕴与跨文化交际 [J]. 成都大学学报 ( 社会科学版 ),2005(04): [8] 金升霞. 略谈西方节日对中国传统节日的冲击 [J]. 长江大学学报 ( 社会科学版 ),2005(06): [9] 李蜜. 中西方重大节日对比研究 [J]. 岳阳职业技术学院学报,2006(03): [10] 孙瑞梅, 郭小宁等. 中西方节日文化渊源 [M]. 北京 : 中国矿业大学出版社,

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369 COMPARING GREEK ACCOUNTING STANDARDS: OLD VS NEW, WHAT ACTUALLY BELIEVE THE GREEK ACCOUNTANTS SMARAIDOS S. VASSILIS, Eurooikonomiki SA, TEI of Western Greece KAFFETZAKI E. KONSTANTINA, TEI of Western Greece SAMPANI I. KATERINA, TEI of Western Greece By the Law 4308/2014 the Greek State attempt to upgrade the Local Accounting Standards for first time after thirty years. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the opinion of those involved in the general accounting field. In particular, we tried to decipher the opinion of those questioned with reference to changes the new law requires and how they are affected at a professional level. In other words, we tried to obtain an overall view of the Law and primarily the opinion of those called on to apply it and face it on a professional level Our research was mainly based on a questionnaire specifically addressed to accountants, auditors, professors (Greek Accounting Standards & higher education) and economists familiar with accounting techniques. Finally we collect 237 answers (n=237) about their opinion for the new regulations and the new accounting policies and practices. The analysis of the data was a big surprise to see how warm was the audience to implementing the new law. In fact the majority of the audience by a large percentage was of the opinion that the new law will have by large a very positive effect on the accounting profession and also the business environment. However it should be noted that a fairly good percentage of the participants in the survey were negative to changes in practices they ve been accustomed for years and also the fear of the new and the unknown. Εισαγωγή Keywords: Accounting Standards, Accounting regulations, Greece. Το 1980 καθιερώθηκε το Γενικό Λογιστικό Σχέδιο με το ΠΔ1123/1980 το οποίο εφαρμοζόταν για αρκετά χρόνια. Αυτό το προεδρικό διάταγμα από 1 Ιανουαρίου 2015 αρχίζει να καταργείται και αντικαταστάθηκε από τον νέο νόμο Ν.4308/2014 περί Ελληνικών Λογιστικών Προτύπων. Ο νέος νόμος όπως και ό, τι άλλο καινούριο φαίνεται ως και περίπλοκο αφού ακόμη δεν έχει εφαρμοστεί πλήρως. Σίγουρα σε όλους θα είναι πρωτόγνωρο αφού όλες οι επιχειρήσεις θα πρέπει να εναρμονιστούν σε αυτό. Στην παρούσα εργασία θα αναφερθούμε στις καινοτομίες του νέου αυτού νόμου καθώς θέλουμε να εξετάσουμε πως θα επηρεάσει τον τρόπο χειρισμού των χρηματοοικονομικών καταστάσεων από τους λογιστές οικονομολόγους και αν σε αυτό θα μπορέσουν να ανταπεξέλθουν οι λογιστές. Η εφαρμογή των Ελληνικών Λογιστικών Προτύπων άρχισε από 1 Ιανουαρίου του 2015 για όλες τις επιχειρήσεις συμπεριλαμβανομένου και αυτών που ανήκουν στον δημόσιο τομέα ή ελέγχονται από αυτόν, όσον αφορά θέματα τήρησης λογιστικών αρχείων με τον νόμο Ν. 4308/2014, ο οποίος έχει αντλήσει όλα τα απαραίτητα στοιχεία του Ελληνικού Λογιστικού Σχεδίου μετατρέποντας τα όπως ορίζουν οι νόμοι, εγκύκλιοι και οι ελεγκτικές αρχές της Γενικής Γραμματείας Δημοσίων Εσόδων. Οι αλλαγές που θα προέλθουν θα αλλάξουν τον τρόπο χειρισμού όσον αφορά τις λογιστικές και φορολογικές διαδικασίες της τήρησης των λογιστικών αρχείων, της διακίνησης των αγαθών και της έκδοσης των φορολογικών στοιχείων των πωλήσεων (αγαθών ή υπηρεσιών). Πρέπει να τονιστεί, όμως, πως για τον Δημόσιο τομέα τα κλαδικά λογιστικά σχέδια δεν έχουν καταργηθεί. Πιο αναλυτικά, καθορίζονται τα κριτήρια έτσι ώστε να ενταχθούν οι οντότητες σε κατηγορίες, και όταν αναφερόμαστε σε οντότητες εννοούμε όλες τις μορφές των εταιρειών όπου αποκτούν εισόδημα από επιχειρησιακή δραστηριότητα στην Ελλάδα. Τα κριτήρια των κατηγοριών των οντοτήτων είναι τρία και έχουν να κάνουν με τον κύκλο εργασιών, το σύνολο του ενεργητικού και το μέσο όρο του προσωπικού. Στις μικρές οντότητες κατατάσσονται οι επιχειρήσεις, οι οποίες έχουν ενεργητικό έως ευρώ, καθαρό ύψος καθαρού ενεργητικού έως ευρώ και μέσο 369

370 όρο απασχολούμενων έως 50 άτομα. Και τέλος στις μεγάλες και μεσαίες οντότητες υπάγονται οι επιχειρήσεις οι οποίες έχουν σύνολο ενεργητικού έως ευρώ, καθαρό ύψος καθαρού ενεργητικού ευρώ και μέσο όρο απασχολούμενων 250 ατόμων. Επιπρόσθετα, για την ένταξη της κάθε οντότητας στις κατηγορίες θα πρέπει να έχει καλύψει για δύο διαδοχικές χρήσεις τα όρια μεγέθους που αναφέρονται στην συγκεκριμένη πολυγραφημένη υπουργική εγκύκλιο ΠΟΛ 1003/2015 άρθρο 2 παρ Εν συνεχεία, στο άρθρο 3, γίνεται αναφορά στο λογιστικό σύστημα καθώς και στα βασικά αρχεία της κάθε οντότητας. Γίνεται ανάλυση, δηλαδή των διαδικασιών και των μεθόδων που πρέπει να τηρούνται κατά την καταχώρηση των συναλλαγών και γεγονότων όπως και την κατάρτιση των χρηματοοικονομικών καταστάσεων. Τα βιβλία και τα παραστατικά των οντοτήτων καλούνται πλέον λογιστικά αρχεία και δύναται η δυνατότητα να φυλάσσονται πλέον με ηλεκτρονικά ή φυσικά μέσα. Το λογιστικό σύστημα θα πρέπει να τόσο την λογιστική αξία όσο και την φορολογική βάση εφόσον διαφέρουν και οι διαφορές αυτές διακρίνονται σε μόνιμες ή προσωρινές. Ακόμη, γίνεται σαφή αναφορά για το ποιες οντότητες θα εφαρμόζουν απλογραφικό και ποιες διπλογραφικό σύστημα καθώς επίσης ορίζεται πως ανεξαρτήτου κύκλου εργασιών θα συνεχίσουν να τηρούν διπλογραφικά αρχεία οι μετοχικές εταιρείες, οι Α.Ε, οι Ε.Π.Ε καθώς και οι Ι.Κ.Ε. Συνοψίζοντας, λοιπόν, ερμηνεύει όλες τις αλλαγές στο λογιστικό σύστημα των εταιρειών που θα επιφέρουν τα Ελληνικά Λογιστικά Πρότυπα, οι οποίες ίσως κάνουν το λογιστικό σύστημα πιο ευέλικτο και πιο κοντά στην παγκόσμια οικονομία. Βιβλιογραφική Ανασκόπηση Ο χρυσός κανόνας μεταξύ του εγχειρήματος του νόμου των ΔΛΠ και της επιτυχίας του, ήταν η πολύωρη ενασχόληση του εργατικού δυναμικού του κλάδου στα νέα δεδομένα. Πολλά βιβλία δημοσιεύτηκαν, αρκετά σεμινάρια και ημερίδες παρουσιάστηκαν, ενώ ως καινοτόμα ιδέα προσέλκυσε το ενδιαφέρον πολλών νέων και μη επιστημόνων. (Καλαΐτζοπουλος Σεραφείμ, 2012) Η έρευνα της Grant Thornton (2003) σε συνεργασία με το Οικονομικό Πανεπιστήμιο το 2003, δυο χρόνια δηλαδή πριν από την εφαρμογή τους, ανέδειξε τα αρχικά προβλήματα που αναμένονται με την εφαρμογή των ΔΛΠ. Ο σκοπός της ήταν να εντοπίσει και να εστιάσει στο τι αναμένουν οι επιχειρήσεις από τα ΔΛΠ, τα θετικά αλλά και τα αρνητικά τους. Η έρευνα πραγματοποιήθηκε από 1η Σεπτεμβρίου έως 24η Οκτωβρίου 2003, με την μορφή ερωτηματολογίου. Σε αυτήν ανταποκρίθηκαν διοικητικά και διευθυντικά στελέχη, εκατό πέντε επιχειρήσεων εισηγμένων στο Χρηματιστήριο Αξιών της Αθήνας. Τα θετικά φαίνεται να υπερτερούσαν καθώς τα στελέχη θεώρησαν ότι μετά την εφαρμογή τους οι χρηματοοικονομικές πληροφορίες θα ήταν πιο ποιοτικές και πιο αντικειμενικές. Παρόλα αυτά το αρνητικό στοιχείο επισκίαζε και εδώ την εφαρμογή τους. Μεγάλο ποσοστό ερωτηθέντων υποστήριξε ότι δεν υπήρχε η ανάλογη τεχνολογική υποστήριξη και κατά συνέπεια η ομαλή μετάβαση ελλόχευε κινδύνους. (Έρευνα Grant Thornton, 2003). Μια από τις πρώτες έρευνες που ανάδειξε το πρόβλημα που υπήρχε ανάμεσα στην εναρμόνιση των ελληνικών οντοτήτων και των ΔΛΠ, ήταν η επιστημονική προσέγγιση του Φλωρόπουλου. Η έρευνα έλαβε χώρα σε τριάντα εννιά επιχειρήσεις της Βόρειας Ελλάδας, εκ των οποίων οι εννιά ήταν εισηγμένες ενώ οι τριάντα μη. Σκοπός της έρευνας ήταν να προσεγγίσει κατά πόσο οι διαχειριστές λογιστές είχαν τις γνώσεις και τη κρίση ώστε να αντιμετωπίσουν και να εφαρμόσουν ορθά την νέα εφαρμογή. Ωστόσο παρόλο τις προσδοκίες τα αποτελέσματα ήταν αποθαρρυντικά, γεγονός που έδειξε ότι τα στελέχη των επιχειρήσεων αυτών δεν ήταν αξιόλογα προετοιμασμένα. (Φλωρόπουλος,2006). Στα ΔΛΠ εστίασαν όμως και ξένοι αναλυτές εξαιτίας του ότι είναι αποδεκτά από πολλές χώρες. Μια ομάδα ήταν οι Ding (2007), με κύριο στόχο τη συγκρισιμότητα και την αξιοπιστία μεταξύ 30 Ευρωπαϊκών χωρών, μεταξύ αυτών και η Ελλάδα. Βαθύτερος στόχος τους, να εμφυσήσουν σε τοπικές λογιστικές αρχές ανά χώρα, με σκοπό τη σύγκριση αρχικά με τα ΔΛΠ και αργότερα ανάμεσα των υπόλοιπων χωρών του δείγματος. Οι ερωτηθέντες καλούνταν να απαντήσουν στο αν οι τοπικές λογιστικές αρχές τους μπορούσαν να αντιμετωπίσουν εξίσου με τα ΔΛΠ ένα λογιστικό πρόβλημα. Παράλληλα με την ερώτηση αυτή θα έπρεπε να κρίνουν αν τα ΔΛΠ μπορούν να δώσουν μια διαφορετική λύση απ ότι προσφέρει το οικείο τους λογιστικό πρότυπο. Δυστυχώς τα 370

371 αποτελέσματα ήταν απογοητεύτηκα για τη χώρα μας καθώς επιβεβαίωναν ότι οι λογιστές ήταν ικανοί να χειραγωγήσουν τα αποτελέσματα μιας οντότητας, εμφανίζοντας τα σύμφωνα με τη δική τους οπτική γωνία. (Ding et al., 2007). Οι έρευνες που έγιναν και συνεχίζονται να γίνονται είναι πάρα πολλές και ποικίλουν. Αυτές εξάλλου αποτελούν για τους υποστηρικτές την αιχμή του δόρατος, ενάντια των πολέμιων τους. Έτσι καθώς η γνώση και η επιστήμη εμβαθύνει συνεχώς στο αντικείμενο, οι έρευνες κατηγοριοποιούνται ανά κλάδο επιχειρηματικής ιδιότητας. Μελετώντας έτσι κάποιος την εμφάνιση των ΔΛΠ στην Ελλάδα, δεν έχει παρά να συμφωνήσει στο ότι η πορεία τους θα μπορούσε να σχεδιαστεί σαν μια ανεστραμμένη πυραμίδα. Ο λόγος είναι ότι η γνώση πάνω σε αυτά αρχικά ήταν περιορισμένη ενώ με το πέρασμα της δεκαετής πορείας τους στον Ελλαδικό χώρο αποκτούν όλο και περισσότερους οπαδούς ή επικριτές και κατά συνέπεια όλο και μεγαλύτερη εξειδίκευση πάνω στο γνωστικό αντικείμενο τους. Στις αρχές του 2003, λίγο πριν δηλαδή εφαρμοστούν τα ΔΛΠ, ο καθηγητής Φίλιος Βασίλειος και ο συνεργάτης του Τσόλης Κωνσταντίνος (Φίλιος Βασίλειος, Τσόλης Κωνσταντίνος, 2004) πραγματοποιούν μια ουσιαστική έρευνα σχετικά με τα ΔΛΠ. Η έρευνα απευθυνόταν σε ένα τυχαίο δείγμα εξήντα τριών εταιρειών συγκεκριμένου «πληθυσμού», από τις οποίες ανταποκρίθηκαν μόνο οι είκοσι επτά. Οι ερωτώμενοι είχαν να απαντήσουν σε μια σειρά ουσιαστικών ερωτημάτων. Στην ερώτηση αν οι Ελληνικές Εταιρείες είναι έτοιμες για την εφαρμογή των ΔΛΠ, το 81% θεωρεί ότι θα πρέπει να δοθεί μεγαλύτερο χρονικό περιθώριο για την εφαρμογή-προσαρμογή των ΔΛΠ, καθώς αυτές δεν είναι έτοιμες. Πιο αισιόδοξα φαίνεται να απαντούν οι ενδιαφερόμενοι από το άκουσμα μέχρι και την εφαρμογής τους. Έτσι από την 1η Ιανουαρίου 2003, στο άκουσμα της εφαρμογής τους, το 30% των εταιρειών συμφωνεί με τον εκσυγχρονισμό με βάση τα ΔΛΠ. Το ποσοστό φαίνεται ότι μειώνεται την επόμενη χρονιά, καθώς από την 1η Ιανουαρίου 2004, το 26% των εταιρειών βλέπει θετικά τον εκσυγχρονισμό του λογιστικού συστήματος. Ένα χρόνο αργότερα, από την 1η Ιανουαρίου 2005, σχεδόν οι μισές εταιρείες του Ελληνικού Χρηματιστηρίου Αθηνών θεωρούν ότι ο εκσυγχρονισμός πρέπει να ξεκινήσει το 2005 και όχι νωρίτερα. Ενδιαφέρον παρουσιάζει η ερώτηση σχετικά με τον βαθμό με τον οποίο έχουν προετοιμαστεί για την εφαρμογή των ΔΛΠ από το Πιο συγκεκριμένα με τη βοήθεια της κλίμακας από το ένα - καθόλου έως και το 5-πάρα πολύ καλά οι ερωτώμενοι απάντησαν σχετικά θετικά. Έτσι το ποσοστό 7,4% απάντησε το ένα, το 18,5% το δύο, το 33,3% το τρία, το 33,3% το τέσσερα και το 7,4% το πέντε. Ουσιαστικά βλέπουμε ότι ένα μεγάλο ποσοστό θεωρεί ότι έχει προετοιμαστεί ως εταιρεία αρκετά για την εφαρμογή της λογιστικής καινοτομίας των ΔΛΠ. Όσο αφορά την μηχανογραφική υποστήριξη, σύμφωνα με τη κλίματα ένα έως πέντε, το 59,3% των ενδιαφερόμενων επέλεξε το ένα και το 40,7% το τρία. Περισσότερες από τις μισές εταιρείες θεωρούσαν ότι δεν είχαν την ανάλογη μηχανική υποστήριξη ενώ οι υπόλοιπες υποστήριξαν ότι το λογισμικό τους ήταν μέτριας αντιμετώπισης της υποστήριξης των ΔΛΠ. Αξιόλογο είναι ότι καμία εταιρεία δεν θεωρούσε ότι το λογισμικό της ήταν επαρκές για την εφαρμογή των ΔΛΠ. Αισιόδοξες είναι οι απαντήσεις στην ερώτηση αν η εφαρμογή των ΔΛΠ θα ωφελήσει την εταιρεία των ερωτηθέντων. Το 18,5% επέλεξε το δύο από τη κλίμακα, το 14,8% το τρία, το 48,1% το τέσσερα και το 18,5% το πέντε. Οι πιο πάνω απαντήσεις επιβεβαιώνονται και με τις απαντήσεις στην ερώτηση σχετικά με τον βαθμό που το κόστος εφαρμογής των ΔΛΠ από την εταιρεία θα είναι ανάλογο με τα πιθανά οφέλη της. Στην ερώτηση αυτή οι τρείς από τους τέσσερεις θεωρούν ότι το κόστος εφαρμογής των ΔΛΠ δεν θα είναι ισάξιο με τα πιθανά οφέλη της εφαρμογής τους. Συγκεκριμένα το 25,9% επέλεξε το δύο, το 51,9% το 3 και το 22,2% το τέσσερα. Ωστόσο θα πρέπει να τονίσουμε ότι αυτοί που θεωρούν ότι η εταιρεία τους θα αναβαθμιστεί από την εφαρμογή των ΔΛΠ εργάζονται σε οντότητες οι οποίες είναι περισσότερο έτοιμες από τις άλλες και οι εργαζόμενοι σε αυτές θεωρούν ότι θα πρέπει να εφαρμοστούν όσο το δυνατόν γρηγορότερα. Οι ίδιοι θεωρούν ότι η εφαρμογή θα προσελκύσει νέους επενδυτές και ότι τα οφέλη τους θα είναι ισάξια με το κόστος εφαρμογής. Στον αντίποδα, το 70% των εταιρειών που έκανε ήδη χρήση των ΔΛΠ θεωρούν ότι τα οφέλη που εισέπραξαν από αυτά είναι πολύ μεγάλα. Συγκρατημένη αισιοδοξία παρατηρείται στα αποτελέσματα των εταιρειών που πρόκειται να τα εφαρμόσουν, εξαιτίας της αντιμετώπισης των 371

372 δυσκολιών προσαρμογής τους. Ωστόσο το 41% θεωρεί ότι τα οφέλη από τη χρήση τους θα είναι αξιόλογα. Μία παρόμοια έρευνα διεξήχθη από την ελεγκτική εταιρεία Grant Thornton το (Γεωργία, 2010) Αυτή οδήγησε στο συμπέρασμα ότι με βάση τη πρώτη εφαρμογή των ΔΛΠ, τα Ίδια Κεφάλαια παρουσίασαν μια αύξηση της τάξεως του 5%. Παράλληλα με αυτά, τα αποτελέσματα χρήσης επωφελήθηκαν από το νέο τρόπο υπολογισμού των αποσβέσεων και σύμφωνα πάντα με την ωφέλιμη ζωή τους. Ουσιαστική αλλαγή επήλθε και στο περιεχόμενο του Πιστοποιητικού Ελέγχου του Ορκωτού Λογιστή, το οποίο μετά την πρώτη εφαρμογή τους καθιερώθηκε με το τίτλο Έκθεση Ελέγχου. Σε αυτήν υπήρχαν ενσωματωμένες παρατηρήσεις οι οποίες ήταν αντικειμενικές και σε καμία περίπτωση δεν παραποιούσαν τη καθαρή θέση και τα αποτελέσματα της οντότητας. Φυσικά υπήρχε και η δυνατότητα καμίας παρατήρησης, η λεγόμενη Έκθεση Ελέγχου με σύμφωνη γνώμη. Ωστόσο ουσιαστική δυσκολία στη κατανόηση αντιμετώπισαν οι ενδιαφερόμενοι στη προσπάθεια τους να αντιληφθούν τόσο τις νέες οικονομικές καταστάσεις όσο και τις παρατηρήσεις των Ελεγκτών, με αποτέλεσμα να μην αντιλαμβάνονται επαρκώς την οικονομική κατάσταση των οντοτήτων. Αναντίρρητα διαφαίνεται ότι με την εφαρμογή των ΔΛΠ το κοινό των επιχειρήσεων μπορούσε να έχει ουσιαστικές αξιόπιστες πληροφορίες μέσα από τις οικονομικές καταστάσεις. Για πρώτη φορά δύναται η δυνατότητα στις ελληνικές επιχειρήσεις να γίνουν ανταγωνιστικές και να αντιμετωπίσουν ισάξια αντίστοιχες εταιρείες στο κλάδο τους στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση. Επίσης εισπράττουν ένα ακόμη ουσιαστικό πλεονέκτημα, που δεν είναι άλλο από την λήψη τραπεζικών υπηρεσιών από το διεθνή χώρο, χωρίς να απαιτείται η μετατροπή των οικονομικών τους καταστάσεων και των ισολογισμών. Με άλλα λόγια αντιμετωπίζουν ένα αρκετά οικείο περιβάλλον και μπορούν να αποκτήσουν τα ανάλογα οφέλη χωρίς να αναγκάζονται να αναζητούν εξειδικευμένο προσωπικό για να τους καθοδηγήσει. Η έρευνα παρουσίασε ότι εξίσου αποδοτική θα ήταν και μια πιθανή εφαρμογή των ΔΛΠ για τις μικρομεσαίες επιχειρήσεις. Πιο συγκεκριμένα σύμφωνα με αυτήν όσες επιχειρήσεις θα επέλεγαν την υιοθέτηση τους θα ήταν πιο αξιόπιστες και θα υπερίσχυαν έναντι όλων εκείνων που επέλεγαν την συνέχιση των απαρχαιωμένων τότε Ελληνικών Προτύπων. Ωστόσο κανείς δεν μπορεί να αμφισβητήσει ότι οι εταιρείες που έχουν εξαγωγικό χαρακτήρα ή που θέλουν να χρηματοδοτηθούν από χρηματοπιστωτικό ίδρυμα του εξωτερικού επιβάλλεται για τη δική τους διευκόλυνση να ακολουθήσουν την εφαρμογή των ΔΛΠ. Τα οφέλη τους θα είναι τόσο η αύξηση των πωλήσεων όσο και η εύκολη ανέξοδη προσέγγιση, ώστε να έχουν τη δυνατότητα να λάβουν πιθανή χρηματοδότηση δάνειο. Φαντάζει ιδανική η εφαρμογή των ΔΛΠ, δεδομένου ότι πολλές εταιρείες πριν την εφαρμογή τους παρουσίαζαν ουσιαστικές αποκλίσεις σε σχέση με τις δημοσιευμένες καταστάσεις τους. Ο λόγος είναι ότι η εφαρμογή τους απαιτεί ορθολογιστικές-ουσιαστικές παρατηρήσεις από τους ορκωτούς ελεγκτές. Η διαπίστωση αυτή δεν αποτελεί λεκτική υπερβολή καθώς σε περίπτωση που η ΕΛΤΕ διαπιστώσει παρατυπία από τον ελεγκτή, του επιβάλλει τις ανάλογες κυρώσεις. Ωστόσο και το διοικητικό συμβούλιο ευθύνεται εξίσου για τα στοιχεία που θεωρητικά έχει παραθέσει στον ορκωτό και κατά συνέπεια τιμωρείται από την Επιτροπή Κεφαλαιαγοράς. Ουσιαστική αναπροσαρμογή όμως δέχθηκαν και τα ακίνητα μετά από το Έτσι οι ασφαλιστικές, τραπεζικές και οι Ανώνυμες Εταιρείες που ήταν εισηγμένες στο Χρηματιστήριο Αξιών όφειλαν να παρουσιάζουν την αξία των ακινήτων τους σύμφωνα με τις εύλογες αξίες. (ΔΛΠ 16). Την ίδια υποχρέωση είχαν και οι θυγατρικές αυτών που είχαν ελάχιστο ποσοστό 95%. Η ορθολογιστική αξιολόγηση των ακινήτων επιβάλλει την εργασία εκτιμητών με ανάλογη πείρα και απαραίτητα προσόντα, με σκοπό την προστασία τόσο των μετοχών όσο και του Δημοσίου τομέα. Συνοψίζοντας, η έρευνα φανερώνει την σπουδαιότητα της εφαρμογής των ΔΛΠ τόσο για το κοινό όφελος των επιχειρήσεων όσο και για τους επενδυτές. Μια ενδελεχής επιστημονική έρευνα (Καραμάνης Κωνσταντίνος, Παπαδάκης Βασίλειος, 2009) ήταν αυτή του Οικονομικού Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών και συγκεκριμένα του τμήματος Διοίκησης και Οικονομίας. Η εκπόνηση της έρευνας έγινε το Σεπτέμβριο του Σε αυτήν συνέβαλαν αρκετοί μεταπτυχιακοί φοιτητές, μια μεγάλη ομάδα από ορκωτούς ελεγκτές, οικονομικοί διευθυντές και στελέχη εποπτικών αρχών με σκοπό την επεξεργασία και την βελτίωση του ερωτηματολογίου. 372

373 Η έρευνα ήταν λεπτομερής και απευθυνόταν σε 340 ορκωτούς ελεγκτές και οικονομικούς διευθυντές εισηγμένων εταιρειών στο χρηματιστήριο αξιών. Μέσω του ερωτηματολογίου οι ερευνητές φιλοδοξούσαν να ερευνήσουν μεθοδικά μια σειρά προβληματισμών που μέχρι τότε δεν είχαν αναλυθεί. Κάποια από αυτά ήταν τα κόστη και τα προβλήματα εφαρμογής, κατά πόσο το εκπαιδευτικό επίπεδο των εργαζομένων ήταν επαρκής, έλεγχος των εποπτικών και ρυθμιστικών αρχών, τις επιπτώσεις που μπορεί να δέχονταν μια επιχείρηση επηρεάζοντας τη διοίκηση και την οργάνωση της, τυχόν αρνητικές θετικές συνέπειες στα επαγγέλματα του Ελεγκτή και Λογιστή Οικονομικού Διευθυντή. Με δεδομένα τα παραπάνω δεν εκπλήσσει το γεγονός ότι παρουσιάζονται ελλείψεις και αρνητικές γνώμες σε ότι αφορά τις εποπτικές αρχές. Ειδικότερα οι εποπτικές αρχές όφειλαν να δείχνουν το καλό παράδειγμα και να τηρούν όλες εκείνες τις αρχές και τις δικλίδες τις οποίες απαιτούνταν να εφαρμόζουν οι εποπτευόμενοι τους. Ωστόσο διαφαίνονταν μια αρνητική άποψη από τους ερωτώμενους σχετικά με τις αρμόδιες εποπτικές-ρυθμιστικές αρχές. Οι ίδιοι θεωρούσαν ότι το επίπεδο ενημέρωσης αυτών δεν είναι σε ικανοποιητικό επίπεδο και κατά συνέπεια δεν μπορούσαν να παρέχουν επαρκή καθοδήγηση. Παράλληλα οι απαντήσεις τους παρουσίασαν μια εικόνα όπου οι εποπτικές - ρυθμιστικές αρχές δεν εμφάνιζαν αξιοπιστία και ανεξαρτησία από τα οικονομικά και πολιτικά τους κέντρα. Γενικά η εικόνα που απόρρεε από τους ερωτώμενους, ήταν ιδιαιτέρως αρνητική καθώς θεωρούσαν ότι δεν υπήρχε διαφάνεια στην λειτουργία των αρχών. Εκείνο που είχε ιδιαίτερη σημασία είναι ότι η πλειοψηφία των λογιστών ελεγκτών εστίαζε στην ανάγκη ενός αποδοτικού και ανεξάρτητου εποπτικού συστήματος, για την σωστή εφαρμογή των ΔΛΠ. Με αφετηρία τη θέση αυτή, αρκετοί ήταν αυτοί που θεωρούσαν ότι υποβόσκει ένας αθέμιτος ανταγωνισμός σε όλο το εύρος της χρηματοοικονομικής πληροφόρησης, με αποτέλεσμα την παρουσίαση ανακριβών λογιστικών πληροφοριών. Με δεδομένα τα παραπάνω δεν εκπλήσσει το γεγονός ότι η εφαρμογή των ΔΛΠ, είχε θετικές επιδράσεις στα οικονομικά επαγγέλματα με μόνη εξαίρεση όσων έχουν μακροχρόνια εμπειρία στα παλαιά ΕΛΠ. Ωστόσο πέρα από αυτά, εμφανή αρνητική εικόνα μεταξύ των λογιστών και των ελεγκτών παρουσίασε ότι αφορούσε την ακεραιότητα και την απλότητα των εφαρμογών των φορολογικών κανόνων των ΔΛΠ καθώς και με τη δυνατότητα που είχαν τα φορολογικά όργανα να αμφισβητήσουν τις τότε ρυθμίσεις. Αναντίρρητα οι επιπτώσεις που εισέπρατταν οι επιχειρήσεις στο εσωτερικό τους από την υλοποίηση των ΔΛΠ ήταν θετικές. Πιο συγκεκριμένα παρέχονταν χρήσιμη πληροφόρηση, αναδεικνύοντας τη λήψη σωστών αποφάσεων σε προβλήματα τα οποία ανακαλύπτονταν καθώς επίσης και επαρκής δυνατότητα αξιολόγησης των λύσεων αυτών. Η εφαρμογή των ΔΛΠ αποτελεί προτέρημα τόσο για τις ελληνικές επιχειρήσεις όσο και για αυτές που βρίσκονται στην διεθνή αγορά. Πιο συγκεκριμένα τους δίνεται η δυνατότητα να διευρύνουν την επιχειρηματικότητα τους διεθνώς και να αποκτήσουν πρόσβαση σε χρηματοδοτήσεις, καθώς γίνονται πιο αξιόπιστες με την εφαρμογή των ΔΛΠ. Η μεθοδολογία και η ανάλυση της έρευνας. 3.1 Η μεθοδολογία Για την διερεύνηση των απόψεων σχετικά με το θέμα μας ως ερευνητικό εργαλείο επιλέξαμε το ερωτηματολόγιο. Το ερωτηματολόγιο που κατασκευάσαμε για την διερεύνηση του νόμου για τα Ελληνικά Λογιστικά Πρότυπα αποτελείται από 35 ερωτήσεις. Οι 7 πρώτες αφορούν τα δημογραφικά στοιχεία των ερωτηθέντων ενώ οι υπόλοιπες 28 ερωτήσεις επικεντρώνονται στο ζητούμενο μας. Το ερωτηματολόγιο της έρευνας στάλθηκε κυρίως μέσω των μέσων κοινωνικής δικτύωσης και προωθήθηκε μέσα από λογαριασμούς οικονομολόγων, λογιστών, ορκωτών ελεγκτών και καθηγητών ανώτατης εκπαίδευσης. Εδώ θα πρέπει να διευκρινίσουμε ότι η έρευνα μας, έγινε αποδέκτης από τις τοπικές και μη ομάδες λογιστών κοινωνικής δικτύωσης. Η έρευνα πραγματοποιήθηκε μεταξύ 1 ης Απριλίου 2015 και 30 ης Απριλίου 2015 και λάβαμε 237 έγκυρες απαντήσεις (n=237). Το διάστημα αυτό βρίσκεται στο πρώτο τετράμηνο της εφαρμογής του Ν. 4308/2014 και οι ερωτώμενοι έχουν αρχίσει να αναπτύσσουν άποψη. 373

374 3.2 Η Ανάλυση της έρευνας Ανάλυση των Δημογραφικών Στοιχειών της Έρευνας Ως προς το φύλο των ερωτηθέντων: Στα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας παρατηρείται ότι πλειοψηφία και συγκεκριμένα το 60,76% των απαντήσεων αντιστοιχεί σε άντρες, έναντι του 39,4% ανήκει στις γυναίκες. Αριθμητικά αυτό μπορεί να εκφραστεί ως εκατό σαράντα τέσσερεις (144) άντρες ενενήντα τρείς (93) γυναίκες. η που και Ως προς την ηλικία των ερωτηθέντων: Όσο αφορά την ηλικία, το νεανικό κοινό που ανήκει στο ηλικιακό εύρος, μεταξύ είκοσι πέντε και τριάντα τεσσάρων ετών κατακτά την κορυφή, καθώς το 42,19% των απαντήσεων ανήκει σε αυτούς. Με άλλα λόγια το ποσοστό αυτό εκφράζεται αριθμητικά στις εκατό απαντήσεις. Έπεται η ηλικιακή κλίμακα από τριάντα πέντε μέχρι και σαράντα τεσσάρων ετών, που συγκεντρώνει το 29,54% και αντιστοιχεί σε εβδομήντα άτομα, ενώ το 23,21% εκφράζεται από ερωτηθέντες που ανήκουν μεταξύ των σαράντα πέντε και πενήντα τεσσάρων ετών, δηλαδή εκπροσωπείται από πενήντα πέντε άτομα. Τέλος, διαπιστώνουμε ότι καθώς αυξάνεται η ηλικία των 374 Διάγραμμα 2: Δημογραφικά Στοιχεία - Ερώτηση 2 ερωτηθέντων, όλο και μειώνονται οι απαντήσεις των ατόμων αυτών που ανταποκρίνονται στην έρευνα μας. Έτσι, στη τελευταία κλίμακα, από πενήντα πέντε και άνω, μόλις το 5,06% ή δώδεκα άτομα, απάντησαν στο ερωτηματολόγιο μας. Ως προς το μορφωτικό επίπεδο των ερωτηθέντων: Με δεδομένο ότι η θέση του λογιστή/ορκωτού ελεγκτή σε επιχειρήσεις καλύπτεται από άτομα που είναι κάτοχοι πτυχίου, τουλάχιστον τριτοβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης, διαπιστώνουμε με χαρά ότι η πλειοψηφία αυτών που ανταποκρίθηκαν στο ερωτηματολόγιο μας ανήκει σε αυτήν την κατηγορία. Πιο συγκεκριμένα μόλις οκτώ άτομα, δηλαδή το 3,38% είναι κάτοχοι πτυχίου δευτεροβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης και είναι απόφοιτοι Λυκείου. Στη δεύτερη κατηγορία, όπου ανήκουν οι απόφοιτοι Ι.Ε.Κ. και άλλων σχετικών σχολών, που είναι μία βαθμίδα χαμηλότερη από τη τριτοβάθμια εκπαίδευση, διαπιστώνουμε ότι το ποσοστό αυξάνεται σε 7,17%, δηλαδή δεκαεπτά άτομα. Την απόλυτη κορύφωση, δέχεται η στήλη της ανώτατης εκπαίδευσης, καθώς οι εκατό εξήντα τέσσερεις συμμετέχοντες από τους διακόσιους Διάγραμμα 1: Δημογραφικά Στοιχεία - Διάγραμμα 3: Δημογραφικά Στοιχεία Ερώτηση 3 τριάντα επτά απαντούν ότι είναι κάτοχοι πτυχίου ΑΕΙ ή ΤΕΙ. Το ποσοστό της ανώτατης εκπαίδευ σης αντικατοπτρίζεται στο 69,20%, ενώ όσοι είναι κάτοχοι μεταπτυχιακού τίτλου κατέχουν το 18,14% ή αναλογικά σε αυτούς αντιστοιχούν τα 43 άτομα. Τέλος το 2,11% ή μόνο τα πέντε άτομα είναι κάτοχοι διδακτορικού τίτλου. Ως προς την προηγούμενη εμπειρία των ερωτηθέντων από την εφαρμογή των Διεθνών Λογιστικών Προτύπων: Συμπερασματικά, έχει καταστεί σαφές ότι τα ΕΛΠ αποτελούν ένα υποσύνολο των ΔΛΠ. Αβίαστα, λοιπόν, συνάγεται το συμπέρασμα ότι η ερώτηση σχετικά με την προηγούμενη εμπειρία από την εφαρμογή των Διεθνών Λογιστικών Προτύπων,