288 10 3494 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/98cdb67370137bf2745cf6b9ecae8fd5.pdf 0fb56c4783644cb07e9d6509d046a92a PDF Text Text Journal of Economic and Social Studies The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the Banking Sector of Western Balkans: Cross-country Comparison Analysis Mehmed Ganić Faculty of Economic and Business Administration International University of Sarajevo Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina mganic@iues.edu.ba Abstract: The aim of this paper is to examine the extent and impact of the global financial crises on position of the banking sector of Western Balkans covering both pre-crisis and crisis period as well as to provide an explanation for these trends.This paper deals with cross-country comparison analysis of banking in Western Balkans before and during crises. Altough, depth of the crisis in the banking sector of Western Balkans is not yet fully evident, selected indicators in this paper point to its direction. The research alone has determined the paper’s structure which consist an analysis of the impact of the global financial crisis on recent occurrences in the banking of the region. KEYWORDS: financial crisis, profitability, credit growth, asset quality, liquidity ARTICLE HISTORY Submitted: 20 March 2012 Resubmitted: 21 May 2012 Resubmitted: 05 December 2012 Accepted: 24 December 2012 Impact of global financial crises has been transmitted on the position banking sector selected countries through several sources, especially through: impact profitability, credit growth has dropped significantly and asset quality has deteriorated markedly. Altough the economies of Western Balkan countries in crisis period performed differently the results of the comparison show that theglobal financial crisis has a substantial impact on the banking sector of the region. JEL code: G 21 177 �Mehmed GANIĆ Introduction In the last 15 years, banking of Western Balkans has come a long way from stumbling, radical reforms to healing. Among other things, a high degree of vitality and ability was demonstrated to strengthen the deposit potential of banks and restore lost public confidence. Overall, the continued growth rates in the Western Balkans over last ten years were converged mostly due to similar policies of economic stabilisation and a period of relative political stability.No matter what are the ways of institutional and administrative changes for each country, they are visible almost identical areas in which they made the necessary structural reforms, as in the case of banking markets. This position of the banking sector in Western Balkansis the result of the process of structural reforms implemented in most banks of these countries in 1990s signaling the begining of transformation from socialist ownership to private ownership and market economy. Significant progress has been made in the area of the privatisation of banking sector which is almost completed in most of the selected countries in during 1990s.With its comprehensiveness reforms have changed the whole structure of the banks in terms of the ownership, organizational and business. They emphasized creation of favorable conditions for entry of private capital and eliminating barriers to entry foreign (western) banks. In addition, the low credibility of the Western Balkans, the absence of additional credit ratings was greater complexity for the situation by forcing banks to borrow abroad at much less favorable conditions. The adoption of new laws created a framework dealing with the instruments and institutions of the banking market. Changes that were later made to existing laws by their character were editing market-oriented concept of development and functioning of the banking market in order to strengthen the financial system of Western Balkans with the appropriate parties and different offerings of banking products and services. More or less in all transition countries facing the reality of market economy and risks were something new and they all had to adapt to it quickly. Price paid for getting used to the new reality was not small, given the loss of public confidence. The issue of major reforms in the field of banking imposed an imperative. The implementation of these measures led to significant changes and improvements in almost all transition economies. 178 Journal of Economic and Social Studies �The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the Banking Sector of Western Balkans: Cross-country Comparison Analysis The reforms introduced have not only put the countries of the Western Balkanson the path to growth but also made its economy strong to sustain positive trends in coming years. After the credit boom years between 2003 and 2007, which were characterised by strong credit growth the economy of Western Balkans saw a downward trend in economic growth in the period between 2008-2010 on the back of the unfolding global financial turmoil.A recent survey, conducted by Jiménez and Saurina (2006) was pointed out that there is positive, although quite lagged, relationship between rapid credit growth and future nonperforming loans of banks. In according their finding during lending booms riskier borrowers obtain funds, and collateral requirements are significantly decreased. The same turned out to be time for the Western Balkans. The spill overs from the global crisis fully hit the economies of Western Balkan and led in 2009 to the deepest recession since early transition.The countries of the Western Balkans have faced significant challenges since the latest financial crises began in 2008. However, 2009 has proved to be a difficult year for all economies of the Western Balkan countries. The credit expansion of Western banks caused instability in many transition economies where these banks had operations. Especially if we know that many transition economies are dependent on remittances or on revenues from natural resources, all of which sharply decreased with the downturn. The paper begins by giving an overview of the banking sector in Western Balkans in pre - crisis by describing the development structure of the banking sector. Then, the consequences of the global crisis will be explained and its implications will be highlighted. Objective and Methodology The main objective of the study is to analyze the certain banking variables in order to have a bigger picture about effects of the latest financial crisis on stability and efficiency of banking sector of Western Balkan.This study uses a cross-country comparison methodology and examines the following aspects: Capital adequacy, liquidity position and efficiency of the banking sector of the Western Balkan in pre crisis and crisis period. In our analysis we use annually data series which are sourced from the following IMF databases: International Financial Statistics (IFS), and Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Partners for Financial Stability Program (PFS), from the national central banks, their 179 �Mehmed GANIĆ annual reports. The data covers the period between 2003 - 2010 and included 6 countries of Western Balkan: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia FYR, Montenegro and Serbia. How the crisis started? Improving the institutional framework of the banking sector in the Western Balkans shows that it should be helpful for banks to reduce the credit risk there. The momentum of banking reform began in the 1990s in all transition economies was fully focused on strengthening the safety and soundness of the banking system, improving efficiency and eliminating all distortions expressed in non profit activities of banks in the area where they are concentrated and accumulated losses and outstanding debts from other sectors of the economy. In addition, income growth and growth in production is assumed to be largely stimulated by continued increase in demand for loans. Further, positive results in the economy especially after 2003 reinforced the positive expectations about future incomes and profits, which led to a further increase in demand for loans. Equally important is that in the pre crisis period (2003-2007) the economies of the Western Balkan had enjoyed solid economic growth mainly fuelled by large inflows of bank credits, enabling increased domestic borrowing. In some cases, notably Montenegro, average annual rates of credit growth exceeded 90percent. Over this period, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia, and Albania, average annual rates of credit growth were between 20percentand 30percent. On the other hand, Croatia managed to keep the rate of credit growth within reasonable bounds, averaging 15percentover the period. The latest financial crisis was transmitted to the region of Western Balkans with a delay, so that the first adverse effects are felt at the middle of 2008. Adverse effects of the global financial crisis were hit first by banksand mostly economies of this region began to face a crisis of confidence in the banking sector and a large reduction in inflows from abroad.The consequences of the global crisis were expressed primarily through the rationalization of credit, falling export demand and commodity prices, cut in foreign credit lines and low remittances. 180 Journal of Economic and Social Studies �The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the Banking Sector of Western Balkans: Cross-country Comparison Analysis Table 1. Selected Macroeconomic indicators Bosnia and Herzegovina GDP Growt h Rate CPI (period average ) Unemp loymen t rate (as % of total labor force) Externa l Debt (as % of GDP) Fiscal Balance (as % of GDP) Gross Reserve s (as % of GDP) 2 0 0 7 6. 1 4 1. 5 20 09 2 9 Albania 2 0 1 0 0. 0 1 2. 3 7 20 07 24 .1 4 2. 5 Croatia 2 0 0 9 3. 3 2 0 1 0 3. 5 2 0 0 7 5. 1 2 0 0 9 -6 2. 94 2. 2 2 3. 4 2. 9 2. 4 2 7. 2 13 .5 1 3. 1 1 2. 5 9. 6 46 .6 5 8. 3 14 .4 2 3. 4 2 5. 6 0. 3 4 5. 82 -5 3. 55 7. 4 2 8. 7 19 1 4. 2 19 .7 1 9. 1 -3 0. 4 5. 9 Macedonia FYR 2 0 1 0 1. 2 1 2 0 0 7 6. 1 2 0 0 9 0. 9 0. 8 2 0 1 0 1. 8 9. 1 1 1. 8 3 4. 7 3 3 7 7. 7 9 9. 1 1 0 1 5 2. 5 4. 1 1. 3 -1 3. 6 2 0. 7 2 1. 5 2 2. 7 2 3. 2 Montenegro Serbia 2 0 0 7 1 0. 7 4. 2 2 0 0 9 5. 7 3. 4 2 0 1 0 1. 0 4 0. 5 20 07 3 2 1 1. 9 1 1. 2 1 2. 2 5 8. 8 5 9. 4 7 5. 8 9 6. 9 0. 5 9 2. 6 2. 5 7. 8 2 6. 3 2 2. 2 2 2. 4 1 8. 8 2. 2 8 1. 8 6 2 0 0 9 3. 1 8. 1 1 20 10 18 .8 1 7. 4 18 .2 1 9 8. 9 64 .9 6 5. 5 80 .7 4. 4 2. 8 1. 92 4. 1 4. 76 1 4 1 3. 9 35 .3 3 5. 5 31 .4 8 6. 9 6. 5 1. 76 4. 65 Source:International Financial Statistics (IFS), and Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Partners for Financial Stability Program (PFS) 181 �Mehmed GANIĆ Regardless of the consequences of financial crisis it should be noted that theeconomy of the region suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances. This is the reason why they are reflected primarily in higher budget deficit that generally increase domestic demand for foreign goods causing foreign trade deficitto rise. In particularly, to make matters worse, this crisis has significantly reduced the flow of cash flows to finance these deficits. Another sharp contrast between pre -crisis and crisis period relates to output dynamics and due to lower growth in GDP and export revenues. In the period of crisis the average GDP growth rate of Western Balkan countries has fallen while external debt to GDP in Albania is almost doubled. A detailed breakdown is presented in table 1 to show the results for the change in output and demand growth are presented in Table 1. The economy’s development in selected countries was particularly successful in the period between 2003-2007 when was dynamic growth in all basic sectors. The summary statistics on selected macroeconomic indicators in selected economies suggestus that consequences of the global crises demonstrated the growing unemployment, raise the cost of financing external debt, as well as fall of gross foreign exchange reserves (with the exception ofAlbania). Despite several years of enviable economic performance with annual growth rates averaging 5.5 percent in pre-crisis period difficulties began to emerge in 2009 culminating in recession. In comparison to theperiod of pre crisis (2003-2007) lower growth ratesare mainly recordedin crisis period, rising food prices and energy as well as decline in growth rate of real GDP. The inflation remained low in single digits despite current account imbalance and fiscal deficit increased(the exception was Serbia where inflation in 2008 accountedover 12percent). Except for Albania,all selected countries are surprisingly below their pre-crisis growth path. In addition, the external position of these countries remains weak due to the large foreign trade deficit.Also, in 2009 with the exception of theAlbania all the rest countries of Western Balkan were facing with the recession and itsadverse effects.Althoughmany economieshave demonstrated moderate positive economic recovery and out of the crisis in 2010, something like that cannot be said for theeconomies of the Western Balkan countries.The weakening of economic activity is confirmedby foreign trade activities, reduction of foreign exchange reserves, rising unemployment and increasing fiscal deficit. In 2010, external debt in Croatia has risen since 2007 and exceeded 100percent of GDP. 182 Journal of Economic and Social Studies �The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the Banking Sector of Western Balkans: Cross-country Comparison Analysis Cross-country Comparison Analysis of Banking Systems Establishing a stable and healthy financial system in Western Balkans had fundamental importance for the transition to market-oriented economies. However, time has shown that such a transition was difficult and arduous with many challenges that region has faced. A sound macroeconomic environment is generally seen as a prerequisite for the dynamic development of a banking system in abovementioned region. In that sense, for many years the development of the banking sector in Western Balkans reflected the uncertain and fragile macroeconomic environment. Significant changes in the economic environment on a global scale have been observed in early 2008, particularly during 2009. The latest financial crises considerably altered external economic environment for all six countries. The implications of the global financial crisis have demonstrated specific effects on the economy of the Western Balkans. Due to the reduction of external capital inflows and low accumulative capacity of the domestic economy, there was a shortage of resources for lending by commercial banks. In the foreground are banksbecause they occupying the largest share of the financial system. Commercial banks' share of total financial assets is at over 80%, measured by total assets. In other words, this means that banks are the dominant channel of trade finance and the economy. This indicates the huge importance that banksmaintain a prevailing position in the financial sector’s structure in compared to other financial intermediaries that have on the overall economy of the region. The remaining market share was divided among the other financial intermediaries (investment fund, leasing companies, insurance companies, and pension funds) which market share is almost neglected. In other words, it confirms a fact that financial systems of the Western Balkan countries are bank-centric while the other financial markets in the Western Balkans, are still shallow, narrow and thin. This means that unless of banks there are only a few institutions that are able to adequately fulfill the role of financial intermediaries. The arguments that most important with aspect of this paper of course concerned banking efficiency in crisis period. The impact of the latest financial crises on banking of Western Balkan can be examined in the context of three key aspects: capital adequacy, asset quality and position of liquidity. 183 �Mehmed GANIĆ Capital adequacy Despite the turbulence in financial markets the average capital adequacy ratio in the banking sectorof Western Balkans showed satisfactory results (figure 1). These relate primarily to the fact that the Capital to Risk Weighted Assets ratio during the entire reference period is higher than set by capital requirements. A cross-country comparison of some major capital adequacy indicators (Capital to Risk Weighted Assetsand Regulatory Tier 1 Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets) are presented in figure 1 and figure 2.As can be seem from figure 1 we can distinguish two groups of countries in terms of movement of capital adequacy indicators. Among group of analyzed countries Croatiais the only country showing progress in achieving increase the value of this indicator in the crisis period (2008 - 2010) than it was in late 2007. In the second group it can be included all the other Western Balkan countries that had relatively sharp declines in crises period relate to pre crisisperiod. Conservative prudential policy by the central bank and monetary authority ensured a wellcapitalized, resilient banking system displaying high capital adequacy ratios. It is worth noting that, banks in the Western Balkan countriesheld at the end of 2010 average ratio of capital to risk weighted assets(CAR) at almost 15.6percent (Figure 1), that is significantly higher than set by capital requirements. 1This capital adequacy indicator provided adequate protection against shocks originating in the domestic economy and the banking system. Equally notable, however, it was the fact that recent years have witnessed speed of credit growth was not accompanied by additional appropriations adequate capital from banks and strengthening their capital base.One explanation is that poor asset quality implies the need for a greater degree creation of reserves against potential losses. Nevertheless, poor asset quality has a direct impact on the management of capital and the need for connection of additional funds to cover potential lossesor actual losses.Indicators of capital adequacy continue to gain importancein today's time, since it seeks to improve the banking sector's ability to maintain enough capital in order to absorb sudden loss.At the same time,banks operating in the market of Western Balkan have been stimulated to increase capital, due to the increase in the size of their balance sheet. As a result, the average capital adequacy ratio of the banking sector stood at19.05 percent in pre crises period, and 16.25 percent in crises period (see figure 1). Minimum capital requirements: Albania (12%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (12%), Croatia (10%), Macedonia (8%), Montenegro (10%), Serbia (8%). 1 184 Journal of Economic and Social Studies �The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the Banking Sector of Western Balkans: Cross-country Comparison Analysis Figure 1. Annual change of regulatory Capital to Risk Weighted Assets, 2003-2010 average regulatory Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Risk (pre crises period) average annual Growth of Credit (pre crises period) average regulatory Capital to Risk Weighted Assets (crises period) 109,22 32,15 20,60 28,36 18,3216,18 16,73 12,42 6,8 18,46 15,48 16,8 6,5 Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia 23,55 21,0816,23 14,55 FYROM 35,95 24,38 15,56 1,66 Montenegro 30,86 25,9421,03 Serbia Source: The authors’ elaborations on data: Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), Partners for Financial Stability Program (PFS), Central bank annual reports. In the pre-crisis period, annual average growth rate of credit of Western Balkan countries expanded at 41.28 percent while their post-crisis credit growth slowed down to 12.3 percent. In the period of crisis creditgrowth slowed down sharply in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, and Montenegro.By contrast, Serbiais managed to maintain extremely high rates of credit growth in the crisis period (average rate of credit growth was 30.86percent). As shown in Figure 1, the ratio of average growth rate of creditand Regulatory Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets indicates that, in pre crisis period of high credit growth rates have not been adequately followed by increasing of capital ratios. Higher rates of credit growth should be followed and higher capital adequacy ratio, which was not the case in the Western Balkan.In particular, it was indicative at the end of the pre crisis period (2007), where average annual growth of credit was 52.24 percent. It was accompanied by a decrease of capital adequacy ratio (18.72 percent). The same explanation can be used to analyze trends in 2008, when the average growth rate was 23.74 percent (capital adequacy ratio of 17.1 percent), which ultimately increased the vulnerability of the banking sector. 185 �Mehmed GANIĆ Asset quality in the pre- crisis and crisis period One of the most important problems of developing banks in the Western Balkans, which dates from the late 1990's, is the poor quality of bank assets, (i.e. high credit risk). Due to lack the rapid developmentof new financial instruments, banks are relying more on the traditional banking activities. At the same time, the quality of assets as a whole depended on the degree of credit risk involved in their business. The latest financial global crisis has left an indelible mark on the banking of Western Balkans. As shown in Figure 3, the average ratio of NPL (non-performing loans) to totalloans for the 6 countries of Western Balkan increased from 7.23percent in 2007 to 14.5percent in 2010. This is the first significant increase in NPL ratio after more than ten years and period of banking reform began in the 1990s. In the pre-crisis period, the average rate of NPL in region of Western Balkan was significantly lower to 2001 with exception of the Serbia, which in over the period between 2003 to 2007 had NPL ratio of 22.92 percent. This means that in Serbia nearly of one fifth approved loans was uncollectible.These very high levels of NPLs have shown significant deterioration of loan quality. When we compare the results from figure 1 with the ones from figure 3 we see that in the years preceding the latest financial crisis were characterized by strong credit growth. In pre crisis period, NPLs ratios kept on falling substantially in all countries of Western Balkan. Recorded data on the movement of NPLs show that the banking system in the crisis period is facing major challenges in the process of preserving the stability of their banking system as a wholeand the stability of the entire economic system. Figure 2has shown how the ratio of NPLs in banks of region changed over time in comparison to pre crisis period. The important point to take away from Figure 2 is that at the end of2010average ratio of NPLs for all six countries reached 10.45 percent of total loans.How uncollectible loans typically with a delay indicates problems in the banking system, it is evident that there was a decline of capital adequacy and increase credit risk. In addition, strong growth in bank loans is limited by the ability of banks and banking supervisors to adequately assess the risks. This is particularly true for Serbia and Montenegro, and no less that there was no problem in Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia and Albania. 186 Journal of Economic and Social Studies �The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the Banking Sector of Western Balkans: Cross-country Comparison Analysis Figure 2. Non-Performing Loans to Total Loans (in %) of banks in Western Balkan Countries, 2003-2010 Albania 24,1 22,1 Bosnia & Herzegovina 17 8,9 8,4 4,6 2003 23,8 22,2 23,1 Croatia 21,4 15 11,2 7,5 6,1 5,2 4,2 2004 6,2 5,3 5,3 2,3 2005 5,2 5,9 3,14 2006 7,5 4,9 3,4 3,02 3,2 2007 21 15,7 13,5 13,9 11,4 11,3 10,5 11,2 9 8,9 7,8 7,2 6,6 6,7 5,87 4,9 3,09 2008 2009 17,8 2010 Source:the authors’ elaborations on data:Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), Partners for Financial Stability Program (PFS), Central bank annual reports. There are several reasons that may explain these unfavorable trends. First, since the crisis began until the present lenders offered more loans to higher-risk borrowers, or customers with poor credit history.Secondly with a financial crisis there was a negative selection relation between asset allocation ability and selectivity of customers with poor credit history.Instead of quality projects, the funds are then channeled to the illiquid and even insolvent companies, making the economic crisis deepens and ultimately prevents the reduction of risks to financial stability. Since provisions are a deduction from profits, increases in loan-loss provisions appeared to have a substantial impact on banks’ profitability indicators (ROA and ROE). The increasing level of provisions reflects also the declining asset quality. Thanks to the increasing participation of NPLs and there was a significant increase in allocation of reserves to cover potential loan losses that had significant effect on earnings and regulatory capital. 187 �Mehmed GANIĆ Also from illustrateddata it can be noticed that pre crises period was mainly characterized by strong credit growth and low level of NPLs and specific provisions.However, with the change in general economic conditions ratio of Nonperforming Loans Net of Provisions to Capitalalso deteriorated over the crisis period, from increased very rapidly (figure 3). Namely, the average ratio of non-performing loans (net of provisions) to capital for all selected countries increased to 8.93 percent in pre crisis period to a level around 27.87percent in crisis period indicating that banking sector recognizes poor asset quality. Figure 3. Average value of Non-performing Loans Net of Provisions to Capital of banks in Western Balkan Countries, 2003-2010 Non-performing Loans Net of Provisions to Capital (pre crisis) ROA (pre crisis) 62,43 Non-performing Loans Net of Provisions to Capital (since the starts crisis) 29,97 23,20 18,6728,64 16,36 6,64 1,61 1,37 0,71 0,68 1,3 -0,01 Albania Bosnia & Croatia Herzegovina 2,281,2 0,93 -1,03 FYROM 5,28 0,78 -1,33 Montenegro 24,00 4,40,6 1,5 Serbia Source: the authors’ elaborations on data: Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), Partners for Financial Stability Program (PFS), Central bank annual reports. Efficiency of the banking sector of the Western Balkan Profitability of the bank is a key indicator of its business practices and efficiency. On the basis of profitability indicators it can be evaluated a significant improvement or deterioration in the efficiency of the banking sector. Larger share of net interest income in gross income of banks is an important indicator when evaluating the quality improvement and earnings stability. In the pre-crisis period, the rate of return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) in the Western Balkan countries recorded positive growth. As a confirmation it can be concluded in the pre-crisis period, the average rate of ROA was 1 percent and the rate of ROE of 9.67 percent.Figure 4 and 5 show that in Western Balkan countries earning indicators continue to weaken, as ROA and ROE worsened since the start crises. Thus, in the 188 Journal of Economic and Social Studies �The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the Banking Sector of Western Balkans: Cross-country Comparison Analysis crisis period the average rate of ROA in the banking sector of the Western Balkans was 0.51 percent and the average rate of ROE of 3.05 percent. Figure 4. Return on equity - of banks in Western Balkan Countries, 2003-2010 19,5 14,1 6,5 3,4 2,3 21,1 16,1 2003-1,4 5,8 3,1 22,24 20,74 20,17 12,5 15,2 15,11 12,3 14 4,6 7,3 12,41 11,35 10,9 8,1 10,64 9,7 11,64 9,3 7,81 7 6,82 6,4 6,17 4,58 4,16 7,58 5,9 0,8 5,6 8,5 5,22 6,5 -1,4 2004 -5,3 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 -6,9 Albania -7,77 2010 -5,5 -27 Bosnia & Herzegovina Source: the authors’ elaborations on data: Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), Partners for Financial Stability Program (PFS), Central bank annual reports. Decline in the profitability of the banking sector in the Western Balkan countries could be explained first with worsening of asset quality and increased banks' exposure to credit risk as well as increasing the allocation of provisions for credit losses. A significant deterioration in the quality of assets and directly affect the profitability of the banking sector, because there has been a reduction in bearing assets to total assets. Figure 5. Return on assets of banks in Western Balkan Countries, 2003-2010 Albania Bosnia & Herzegovina 2,1 1,2 1,6 0,4 0,50 2003-0,3 1,3 1,7 0,7 0,6 -0,3 2004 -1,2 1,4 1,3 1,1 1,8 1,7 1,571,6 1,8 1,7 1,6 1,41,65 1,361,5 1,3 1,2 1,1 0,6 0,86 1,07 0,85 0,72 0,91 0,72 0,81 0,72 0,42 1,1 0,8 0,1 0,36 -0,62 -0,5 -0,68 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 -2,7 Source: the authors’ elaborations on data: Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), Partners for Financial Stability Program (PFS), Central bank annual reports. Excluding the banking sector of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro which in time of crisis remain unprofitable for other countries in the region a slight recovery 189 �Mehmed GANIĆ had occurred in 2010 where indicators of profitability has been rising since the beginning of the global financial crisis.This conclusion can be drawn observing the movement of profitability indicators in Figure 4 and 5. Net interest margin remains the main source of banks’ profits, and has been almost stable with respect to total loans. The share of interest margin to gross income in the period before the crisis was of over 50percent except Serbia where the value of this ratio was 32.68 percent (figure 6 and figure 7). The below trends also may indicate that thebanks are mainly engaged in credit transactions, as part of the off-balance sheet operations, while business from other services have becomeless profitable. Figure 6. Average Interest margin to gross income, 2003-2007Figure 7. Average Interest margin to gross income, 2008-2010 70 58,31 52,6 57,7852,7451,03 60 50 32,68 40 30 20 10 0 80 60,7359,33 61,1 71,17 61,9 60 37,37 40 20 0 Source: The authors’ elaborations on data: Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), Partners for Financial Stability Program (PFS), Central bank annual reports. Adecline of growth in interest-earning assets was mainly caused by absence of highquality resources of the banks. The adverse movement in interest rates in financial market contributed to the decline in profitability of the banking sector in the crisis period, while another reason lies in the fact of continued deterioration in the indicators of cost efficiency. In addition, a positive trend in profitability in the precrisis period and the movement of general business performance of the banking sector led to the reduction of risk and the attracting new capital into the banking sector.The sharp decline in key indicators of the profitability of the banking sector in the Western Balkan began since 2008 is the result of adverse recent trends: (i) a 190 Journal of Economic and Social Studies �The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the Banking Sector of Western Balkans: Cross-country Comparison Analysis slowdown in credit growth, (ii) deterioration in the quality of loans and (iii) increase the risk premium. As a result, banks found it difficult to raise funds in the interbank market at higher interest rate than in past. Position of Liquidity Position of liquidity is one of the most obvious signals in terms of possible financial disorder and (in) stability of the banking sector. Bank's liquidity policy is the direct result of the overall policy formation in the balance of the financial resources of the bank. As the transmission of signals from the global crisis on local financial markets first manifested through a crisis of liquidity, an important impression on the stability of the banking sector is its liquidity position. As it can be seen from Figure 8 the average share of liquid assets in total assets of banking sector in the Western Balkans in pre-crisis period was 32.64percent and in crisis period was 26.74percent. Although the banking sector experienced a drop in liquidity in crisis period things should not be generated. Thus, for example, the banking sector in Albania and Serbia is managed to maintain banking sector liquidity (average share of liquid assets to total assets is over 40percent), while banking sector in Croatia and Montenegro had very little participation share of liquid assets in total assets, 11.63percent and respectable 15.2percent (average). Under the influence of withdrawal deposits from banks and adverse effects from the financial markets, economy has become increasingly vulnerablein these two countries. 191 �Mehmed GANIĆ Figure 8. Liquid Assets to Total Assets of banks in Western Balkan Countries, 20032010 Albania Croatia 73,6 Bosnia & Herzegovina FYROM 71,1 62,62 57,61 49,8 38,7 35,1 35,737,8 36,1 38,4 37,67 43,341,44 30,01 24,2 21 18,7 35,94 35,8 46,7 42,83 19,8 16,1 15 11,5 2004 2005 18 12,6 22,9 43,54 40,7 30,94 20,9 18,1 11,1 16,9 11,711,2 20,6 15,3 11,7 2007 2008 2009 36,4 28,99 25,3 19,1 11,5 00 2003 2006 2010 Source: the authors’ elaborations on data: Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), Partners for Financial Stability Program (PFS), Central bank annual reports. Similar to the previous indicator, in the same reference period, a positive trend was recorded with coverage of short-term liabilities by liquid assets. The liquidity of the banking sectors of countries of the region remains good, with sufficient coverage of short-term liabilities by liquid assets (figure 9).Although, generally speaking, the average value of this indicator for selected countries in the region declined in the crisis period to 44.96 percent (in pre crisis period ratio of Liquid Assets to short term Liabilities was 50.6 percent) it could be concluded that banks are not excessively exposed to liquidity risk. The exception of this is Montenegro where is value of this indicatorin the crisis period almost halved compared to the end of 2007. Another notable exception is Albania, where is the ratio decreased in the same period, with 73.96 percent to 42.68 percent. 192 Journal of Economic and Social Studies �The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the Banking Sector of Western Balkans: Cross-country Comparison Analysis Figure 9. Liquid Assets to short term Liabilities of banks in Western Balkan Countries, 2003-2010 Albania 70,5 75,2 61,9 58,7 60,77 63 47 42,1 30,6 Bosnia & Herzegovina 73,96 21,7 25,2 2005 2006 38,8 73,7 61,28 43,9 28,232 2007 68,6 64,86 51,9 51,8 2420,9 2008 62,6 53,5 52,89 32,6 30,1 25,8 2009 57,4 58,1 49,71 38,5 32,9 30,6 2010 Source: the authors’ elaborations on data: Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), Partners for Financial Stability Program (PFS), Central bank annual reports. It may be concluded from these results and developments of this ratio that in spite of a challenging environment prevailing during crisis period, the banking sector cannot be considered endangered. Conclusion At the end of this comparative analysis the question is: what such an analysis can provide? That was done several years ago it would show that the banking sector of the Western Balkans is stable and resistant to sudden disturbances. But done today it shows how the banking sector in the region is vulnerable. It also showed that the rate of credit growth accelerated wear a serious threat to macroeconomic and financial stability. The latest financial crisis although not in the same measure has affected all banking sectors in Western Balkans. This is proven by the fact that excluding the banking sector of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro which in time of crisis remain unprofitable for other countries in the region a slight recovery had occurred in 2010. 193 �Mehmed GANIĆ If we consider the trends manifested in times of crisis it may be noted the following: • It is noted the deterioration in asset quality of banks and rising NPLs as a result of an extremely high rate of credit expansion inpre-crisis period. Analyses made for 2010 show that average ratio of NPLs for all six countries reached 10.45 percent of total loans. • Despite the turbulence in financial markets the average capital adequacy ratio in the banking sector of Western Balkanis higher than set by capital requirements. Although speed of credit growth in previous years has not been accompanied by additional appropriations adequate capital from banks and strengthening their capital base where it is ultimately increased the vulnerability the banking sector of Western Balkan. Current changes in the transition process lay the foundation for the acceleration of reforms as well as in implementing key structural and governance reforms in the medium term. Significant presence and accumulation of bad loans in the bank's balance-sheets was the most striking example of the adverse effects of the global financial crisis. In recent years, the quality of loan portfolios has deteriorated significantly due to weak management's ability to control credit risk and collection of loans. It has also resulted in a deterioration of financial discipline and accountability to shareholders and the public.Since that implementation of Basel 2 has been already in the initial stage in these countries it should begin immediately with its implementation inthe near future. Looking at the conditions and operation of the banking sector in the Western Balkans it can be concluded that banks must continue to adapt stronger capital and other prudential standards, while it is expected from the government to create a better market environment. The most important features of such market environment that is necessary in the near future are: maintaining macroeconomic and financial stability, consistent with the protection of depositors, need for strengthen the capital base of banks in terms of capital adequacy requirements and establishing an effective system of supervision of management. In order to get a clear picture of the resistance of the banking of Western Balkans and asses its exposure to credit risk it would be useful in the future studies to make a simulation of profits and losses of selected banks in selected countries under stressful conditions.Regards to that I would recommend anyone who is interested in researching to prepare studies that included stressful conditions and adverse macroeconomic scenarios to indicate which particular bank can pose potential threats to the stability of the banking sector of Western Balkan 194 Journal of Economic and Social Studies �The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the Banking Sector of Western Balkans: Cross-country Comparison Analysis References Annual reports of national central banks (2011).Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Croatia, Macedonia FYR, Montenegro, Serbia. Boissay F.,O. and Calvo-Gonzalez, T. Kozluk (2005). Is Lending in Central and Eastern Europe developing too fast? Preliminary draft, European Central Bank European Central Bank, (2008). Challenges in Candidate Countries Managing the Transitions to Deeper and More Market-Oriented Financial systems, Occasional Paper Series N0 95/September 2008. European Economy (2009). The Western Balkans in Transition, Occasional Papers No 46, European Commission Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs. Ganić, M., (2011). Institutional Aspects of Prudential Supervision of Banks in Bosnia And Herzegovina With Special Emphasis on Banking Risk Management, 9th International Conference On Knowledge, Economy & Management Proceedings, Jun 23-25, 2011 Sarajevo-Bosnia & Herzegovina Haselmann, R., Wachtel P., (2006).Institutions and bank behavior, New York University, Stern School of Business, Working Paper EC06-16, taken from: Berglof E. Institutions, Markets and Economic Performance What drives growth in the transition countries? EBRD Transition Report, London, (2006.), pp. 30-31. IMF (2011). Working Paper European Department Determinants of Bank Credit in Emerging Market Economies Prepared by Kai Guo and VahramStepanyan Authorized for distribution by Albert Jaeger, WP/11/51, March 2011 IMF, Global Financial Stability Report, different issues. JIMÉNEZ, G., & J. SAURINA (2006).Credit Cycles, Credit Risk, and Prudential Regulation, International Journal of Central Banking 2 (2).65-98. Stubos G., & Tsikripis T. (2005). Regional integration Chalanges in South East Europe-banking sector trends, Bank of Greece, Working Paper No. 24, pp. 14-16. 195 �Mehmed GANIĆ Sirtaine S. & Skamnelos I. (2007). Credit Growth in Emerging Europe A Cause for Stability Concerns? Policy Research Working Paper 4281, The World Bank Europe and Central Asia Region Finance and Private Sector Development Unit July 2007. Sorsa P., Bakker B., Duenwal C., Maecheler A., Tiffin D. (2007). Vulnerabilities in Emerging Southeastern Europe – How much cause for concern’, IMF Working Paper, 2007. Tang, H., Zoli E., Klytchmkova I. (2000).Banking Crises in Transition Economies – Fiscal Costs and Related Issues, Policy Research Working Paper 2484, The World Bank, Washington, November (2000.), p.23. The Western Balkans, (2010).Between the economic crisis and European perspective, Institute for Regional and International Studies, September 2010, SOFIA. USAID- Partners for Financial Stability Program, Financial Sector Benchmarking Studies Database, (more information: http://www.pfsprogram.org/fsbs-database) 196 Journal of Economic and Social Studies � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1393 Title A name given to the resource The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the Banking Sector of Western Balkans: Cross-country Comparison Analysis Author Author Mehmed, Ganić Abstract A summary of the resource. The aim of this paper is to examine the extent and impact of the global financial crises on position of the banking sector of Western Balkans covering both pre-crisis and crisis period as well as to provide an explanation for these trends.This paper deals with cross-country comparison analysis of banking in Western Balkans before and during crises. Altough, depth of the crisis in the banking sector of Western Balkans is not yet fully evident, selected indicators in this paper point to its direction. The research alone has determined the paper’s structure which consist an analysis of the impact of the global financial crisis on recent occurrences in the banking of the region. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed H Social Sciences (General),HB Economic Theory,HG Finance https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/6107d8eb42be260c31754ff053981337.pdf cefbca442e2e900d1ac4d37f1bdffec1 PDF Text Text International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo The Impact of Tourism on Economic Growth İsmail Şahin Sakarya University, Sakarya, Türkiye ismails@sakarya.edu.tr Hüseyin Üner Sakarya University, Sakarya, Türkiye huner@sakarya.edu.tr This study examines the impact of tourism revenues which is one of the main factors on economic growth. It is accepted that generally among countries conversion of merchandise refers as a means of growth. The impact of tourism also effects economic growth as traditional exports. Changing on long-term tourism revenues with some features has become important for each country. Especially in recent years, the role of the rate of tourism income has increased the economic growth. It is important for developing countries that governments promote international tourism. Negotiation is a different matter if public promoting is necessary in order to achieve long-run economic growth for tourism sector of countries. Until recently, many of the arguments focused on basic and processed exports goods and each category has a different impact on growth. However, for international tourism earning brings consumption of resources with, should be considered as untraditional exports. The study in this paper has a huge significance when we considered that tourism industry contributes to country growth. Especially the main purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between long-term tourism and economic growth and to explore the supporting empirical hypothesis. In national and regional analysis including any sort of tourism, it gives significant information to determine policy and plan strategy for government and businessman working in tourism-based job. The main purpose of this paper is to obtain an empirical language named growth mechanism intended for tourism income by overcoming the noticed deficiency in existent literature. Keywords: Tourism Earning, Public Promoting, Economic Growth, Tourism Sector. 178 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1653 Title A name given to the resource The Impact of Tourism on Economic Growth Author Author SAHIN, Ismail UNER, Huseyin Abstract A summary of the resource. This study examines the impact of tourism revenues which is one of the main factors on economic growth. It is accepted that generally among countries conversion of merchandise refers as a means of growth. The impact of tourism also effects economic growth as traditional exports. Changing on long-term tourism revenues with some features has become important for each country. Especially in recent years, the role of the rate of tourism income has increased the economic growth. It is important for developing countries that governments promote international tourism. Negotiation is a different matter if public promoting is necessary in order to achieve long-run economic growth for tourism sector of countries. Until recently, many of the arguments focused on basic and processed exports goods and each category has a different impact on growth. However, for international tourism earning brings consumption of resources with, should be considered as untraditional exports. The study in this paper has a huge significance when we considered that tourism industry contributes to country growth. Especially the main purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between long-term tourism and economic growth and to explore the supporting empirical hypothesis. In national and regional analysis including any sort of tourism, it gives significant information to determine policy and plan strategy for government and businessman working in tourism-based job. The main purpose of this paper is to obtain an empirical language named growth mechanism intended for tourism income by overcoming the noticed deficiency in existent literature. Keywords: Tourism Earning, Public Promoting, Economic Growth, Tourism Sector. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-10 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ISSN 2303-4564 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/cede0fd0cb485b13c0e57468b9e9f551.pdf 15c86ed95d562d92ea84a8379b19bc2e PDF Text Text International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo The Impact of Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Factors on Tourism Performance: The Case of Silk Road Countries Kemal Kantarcı Akdeniz University, Alanya Faculty of Business, Alanya-Antalya / TURKEY kantarci@akdeniz.edu.tr Kazim Develioğlu Akdeniz University, Alanya Faculty of Business, Alanya-Antalya / TURKEY kdevelioglu@akdeniz.edu.tr Nowadays, tourism industry has gained a momentum in balancing countries’ balance of payments, contributing to GDP, and employment. These contributions of the industry to local economies made it a critical sector and a source of foreign currency in many countries of the World. As a result, obtaining and sustaining competition factors become critically important. By the similar vein, it can be indicated that tourism performance of countries will be greatly influenced by competition factors. In certain studies different models had been used to classify competitive factors in tourism industry (Hassan, 2000; Dwyer and Kim, 2003). In this study, we use World Economic Forum’s (WEF) classification of Travel and Tourism Competitiveness factors to examine resources that are expected to influence Silk Road countries’ tourism performance. We conceptualized the tourism performance by two variables: international tourist arrivals and tourism receipts. WEF’s classification of competitive factors consists of three sub-indexes and 14 factors that measure these sub-indexes, which are reported below:  T&T regulatory framework (Policy rules and regulations, Environmental sustainability, Safety and security, Health and hygiene, Prioritization of Travel & Tourism)  T&T business environment and infrastructure (Air transport infrastructure, Ground transport infrastructure, Tourism infrastructure, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, Price competitiveness in the T&T industry) 185 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo  T&T human, cultural, and natural resources (Human resources, Education and training, Availability of qualified labour, Affinity for Travel & Tourism, Natural resources, Cultural Resources) Methodology In this study, we aim to investigate the impact of Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Factors on the tourism performance of Silk Road Countries. As a promising project, the Silk Road project is gaining a critical importance for countries in the region. The list of Silk Road Countries consists of 28 countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China,Croatia, DPR Korea, Egypt, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyztan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. We used the data for 23 countries and excluded 5 countries because of lack of data. Countries that are excluded from the list are DPR Korea, Iran, Iraq, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. In order to perform multiple regression analyses to investigate the relationship between competitive factors and country performances, we used the data of The World Economic Forum’s “The Travel and Tourism (T&T) Competitiveness Index” for the years between 2008 - 2011. Findings Performance of two-separate multiple regression analyses postulated for the first analysis that The Silk Road Countries’ tourist arrivals as a performance variable is influenced by three competitive factors, namely, air transport infrastructure, ground transport infrastructure, and cultural resources. For the second analysis, findings revealed that tourism receipts of the Silk Road Countries are influenced by five competitive factors: Air transport infrastructure, ground transport infrastructure, environmental sustainability, health-hygiene, and cultural resources. Keywords: Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index, Strategic Marketing, Silk Road Countries, Tourism Performance. 186 � https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/b8a71fbc04a725c4807fdc59858e8565.docx 1e336234a4c64a872813db50b259e6a6 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/f85a1e2b9d9aa6b8ff23429d5832856a.pdf 966e2b6f1dc5b742899924d138f5836f PDF Text Text International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo The Impact of Travel&Tourism Competitiveness Factors on Tourism Performance: The Case of Silk Road Countries Kemal Kantarci Akdeniz University, Alanya – Antalya, Turkey kantarci@akdeniz.edu.tr Kazim Develioglu Akdeniz University, Alanya – Antalya, Turkey kdevelioglu@akdeniz.edu.tr Abstract The Silk Road project is a tourism-based project that aims to increase welfare and performance of member societies. In order to explore potential determining factors of the Silk Road countries’ performance, we used Travel and Tourism Competitiveness pillars as independent and international tourist arrivals and tourism receipts dependent variables. Multiple regression analyses results revealed that air transport infrastructure is the most influential factor in explaining variance in performance variables. Other independent variables to be mentioned are ground transport infrastructure, cultural resources, environmental sustainability, and health and hygience. Key words: Travel&Tourism Competitiveness Index, Strategic Management, The Silk Road Project, Tourism Performance Introduction Importance of competition factors on performance of countries has long been recognized. As the globalization increases, it becomes more difficult to sustain competitive advantages, which results to performance of countries. This difficulty also has been felt in tourism industry by policy makers at national and firm level, because of current global crisis that increased competition among nations. As the result, policy makers develop competitive strategies to increase performance of their countries. Obtaining a sustainable competitive advantage and increasing tourism performance have been a central concern for strategy makers and necessitate discovery of potential causes for a successful performance. In order to develop an answer for this concern, authors of this study use Travel and Tourism Competitiveness pillars as potential causes of tourism performance for the Silk Road countries. Literature Review Nowadays, tourism industry has gained a momentum in balancing countries’ balance of payments, contributing to GDP and employment. These contributions of the industry to local economies made it a critical sector and a source of foreign currency in many countries of the World. As a result, obtaining and sustaining competitive advantage become critically important. The long term economic performance of countries mainly depends on their success in creating and sustaining sectors that produce revenue and employment. In order to obtain long-term sustainable economic performance, countries try 1 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo to develop competitive advantages over other countries. As Onsel et al. (2008) indicate “in order to provide firms the necessary opportunities to survive and realize global competitive advantage, it is essential to define the relative competitive position of their home country…A nation’s competitiveness can be viewed as its position in the international marketplace compared to other nations of similar economic development” (pp. 222). At the industrial level, “the potential for any country’s tourism industry to develop will depend substantially on its ability to maintain competitive advantage in its delivery of goods and services to visitors (Dwyer, et al., 2000: 9). Discussions regarding competitive advantage at the regional level fueled fire of theories of new economic geography and regional economy (Vukovic, et al., 2012). Establishment of European Union can be appraised as the major regional economic movement. One the biggest contribution has been made by Porter (2004) by explaining sources of innovativeness and competitiveness in the framework of regional clusters of related sectors. Regional competitiveness described as “the ability of a region to generate income and sustain the employment level with the aim of domestic and international competition” (DTI, 2002: 3). Economic Forum (2011) defines competitivenessas the set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country. The level of productivity, in turn, sets the level of prosperity that can be earned by an economy. The productivity level also determines the rates of return obtained by investments in an economy, which in turn are the fundamental drivers of its growth rates. In other words, a more competitive economy is one that is likely to grow faster over time and exhibit a superior performance. As Reed and DeFillippi (1990) indicate “superior performance is correlated with competitive advantage, and achieving an advantage will automatically result in higher performance” (pp. 90). Early studies of competitiveness stated that competitiveness resulted from certain key driving factors, such as capital, trade, investment, government spending, foreign direct investment, etc. New trade theory accentuates on factors like skilled labor, specialized infrastructure, networks of suppliers, and localized technologies. In addition to macro-economic approaches cited above, some micro-economic perspectives are also available. One of the most influential perspectives is Porter’s cluster theory, which posits that geographical clusters encourage both operational effectiveness and distinctive strategic positions (Porter 1990). Another perspective is the Shumpeterian’s theory of entrepreneurship, which focuses on the role of technology and entrepreneurs in creating innovation and learning. In order to create a competitive position, there are three broad groups of factors [(European Commission, 2003: Martin (edt)]:    Infrastructure and accessibility Human capital R&D and innovation, demography. In certain studies different models were used to classify competitive factors in tourism industry (Hassan, 2000; Dwyer and Kim, 2003). In this study, we use World Economic Forum’s (WEF) classification of Travel and Tourism Competitiveness factors to examine resources that are expected to influence Silk Road countries’ tourism performance. Leadership of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) played the key role to organize 28 countries from Asia, Europe, and Africa and formed the Silk Road Project. The Member States currently involved in the Silk Road Program include: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, DPR Korea, Rep. Korea, Egypt, Georgia, 2 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan (UNWTO, 2012: 4). The Silk Road Countries are aware of the importance of the tourism industry in order to develop and be competitive. In order to succeed this result, the Silk Road countries should increase their capabilities and develop a competitive position to attract more tourists from around the world. In this sense, tourism performance can be evaluated as a result of using competition tools effectively in order to create a sustainable macroeconomic environment. In the study, we conceptualized the tourism performance by two variables: international tourist arrivals and tourism receipts. WEF’s classification of competitive factors consists of three sub-indexes and 14 factors that measure these sub-indexes, which are reported below:  T&T regulatory framework (Policy rules and regulations, environmental sustainability, safety and security, health and hygiene, prioritization of travel and tourism)  T&T business environment and infrastructure (Air transport infrastructure, Ground transport infrastructure, Tourism infrastructure, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, Price competitiveness in the T&T industry)  T&T human, cultural, and natural resources (Human resources, Education and training, Availability of qualified labor, Affinity for Travel & Tourism, Natural resources, Cultural Resources) Methodology In this study, we aim to investigate the impact of Travel&Tourism Competitiveness Factors on the tourism performance of Silk Road Countries. As a promising project, the Silk Road project is gaining a critical importance for countries in the region. The list of Silk Road Countriesconsists of 28 countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China,Croatia, DPR Korea, Egypt, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyztan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. We used the data for 23 countries and excluded 5 countries because of lack of data. Countries that are excluded from the list are DPR Korea, Iran, Iraq, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. In order to perform multiple regression analyses to investigate the relationship between competitive factors and country performances, we used the data of The World Economic Forum’s “The Travel and Tourism (T&T) Competitiveness Index” for the years between 2008-2011, excluded 2010 because of lack of data. Findings We performed two-separate multiple regression analyses and results postulated for the first analysis that the Silk Road Countries’ tourist arrivals as a performance variable is influenced by three competition pillars, which are air transport infrastructure, ground transport infrastructure, and cultural resources. For the second analysis, findings revealed that tourism receipts of the Silk Road Countries are influenced by five competitive pillars: 3 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Air transport infrastructure, ground transport infrastructure, environmental sustainability, cultural resources, and health-hygiene. Table 1: Regression Analysis Results for Competitiveness Pillars and International Tourist Arrivals Independent Variables Beta Constant Significance of t -10510.379 Air transport infrastructure 0.695 0.000 Ground transport infrastructure -0.476 0.000 Cultural resources 0.347 0.001 R2 F Significance of F 0.50 28.673 0.000 *Dependent variable: International tourist arrivals Table 1 portrays the results for the first regression analysis results for competitiveness pillars and international tourist arrivals. The regression model obtained is significant at 95% significance level and explains 50% of variance in dependent variable (F= 28.673; p= 0.000; R2= 0.50). As it can be seen from Table 1, out of 14 competition pillars, only 3 of them have statistically significant impact on the number of international tourist arrivals, as dependent variable. Scores imply that the most significant variable to influence tourist arrivals is air transport infrastructure, which accounts 37% variance in dependent variable. Other independent variables to influence international tourist arrivals are found to be ground transport infrastructure (Beta= -0.476; p= 0.000) and cultural resources (Beta= 0.347; p= 0.001). Table 2: Regression Analysis Results for Competitiveness Pillars and International Tourism Receipts Independent Variables Beta Constant Significance of t -19681.719 Air transport infrastructure 0.609 0.000 Cultural resources 0.531 0.000 Ground transport infrastructure -0.540 0.000 Environmental sustainability 0.318 0.001 Health and Hygiene -0.250 0.001 R F Significance of F 0.66 33.050 0.000 2 *Dependent variable: International tourism receipts The impact of competition pillars on international tourism receipts has been summarized at Table 2. The regression model is statistically significant at 95% significance level and explains 66% variance in dependent variable, international tourism receipts (F= 33.050; p= 0.000; R2= 0.66). There are five independent variables that have explanatory power to explain the variance in dependent variable are air transport infrastructure (Beta= 0609; p= 4 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo 0.000), cultural resources (Beta= 0.531; p= 0.000), ground transport infrastructure (Beta= 0.540; p= 0.000), environmental sustainability (Beta= 0.318; p= 0.00), and health and hygiene (Beta= -0.250; p= 0.001). Discussion Based on the findings reported in findings part of this study, we can postulate that the most significant variable to have impact on tourism performance is air transport infrastructure. In or two separate multiple regression analyses, air transport infrastructure is found to have impact on our tourism performance variables, international tourist arrivals and international tourism receipts. Because conditions of air transport infrastructure is easily observed and evaluated by tourists and provides easy accessibility to destinations for them; it is capable to influence the choice of destinations. Cultural resources and environmental sustainability are other two independent variables that have impact on dependent variable, tourism performance. Cultural resources variable has capability to explain the variance in tourist arrivals and tourism receipts variables. The result is not surprising because many tourists choose a destination not only for sun and sea but also some events like international fairs and exhibitions, cultural sites, and sport events. Environmental sustainability is also important to influence tourism performance because this pillar includes variables such as, environmental regulations, sustainability of travel and tourism industry development and threatened species, which are directly related to attractiveness of a destination. Health and hygiene and ground transport infrastructure have been found to influence tourism performance negatively. Potential explanation for this result could be destructive impact of global economic crisis which necessitated many governments in applying budget cuts in infrastructure investments and health care system to balance national budget deficits. Our suggestion is that owners, managers and associations in tourism sector should lobby national governments about preventing cut in the budget. References DTI (Department of Trade and Industry). (2002). A Modern Regional Policy for the United Kingdom. London. Dwyer, L., Forsyth, P. and Rao, P. (2000). The price competitiveness of Travel and Tourism: A Comparison of 19 Destinations. Tourism Management, 21, 9-22. Dwyer, L. and Kim, C. (2003). Destination Competitiveness: Determinants and Indicators, Current Issues in Tourism, 6, 369-414 European Commission. (2003). Ronald L. Martin (edt). A Study on the Factors of Regional Competitiveness. Draft Final Report for the European Commission DirectorateGeneral Regional policy. Hassan, S. (2000). Determinants of Market Competitiveness in an Environmentally Sustainable Tourism Industry, Journal of Travel Research, 38, 239-245. 5 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Onsel, S, Ulengin, F., Ulusoy, G., Aktas, E., Kabak, O. and Topcu, Y. I. (2008). A New Perspective on the Competitiveness of Nations, Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 42, 221-246. Porter, M. (1990). Competitive Advantage of Nations, Free Press, New York. Porter, M. (2004). Competitive Advantage, Free Press, New York. Reed, R. and DeFillippi, R. J. (1990). Causal Ambiguity, Barriers to Imitation, and Sustainable, Competitive Advantage. Academy of Management Review, 15:1, 88102. UNWTO. (2012-2013). The Silk Road Action Plan. Vukovic, D., Jovanovic, A. and Dukic, M. (2012). Defining Competitiveness through the Theories of new Economic Geography and Regional Economy, J. Geogr. Inst. Cvijic., 62(3), 49-64). World Economic Forum. The Travel&Tourism Competitiveness Report, 2007. World Economic Forum. The Travel&Tourism Competitiveness Report, 2008. World Economic Forum. The Travel&Tourism Competitiveness Report, 2009. World Economic Forum. The Travel&Tourism Competitiveness Report, 2011. 6 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1654 Title A name given to the resource The Impact of Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Factors on Tourism Performance: The Case of Silk Road Countries Author Author KANTARCI, Kemal DEVELIOGLU, Kazim Abstract A summary of the resource. Nowadays, tourism industry has gained a momentum in balancing countries’ balance of payments, contributing to GDP, and employment. These contributions of the industry to local economies made it a critical sector and a source of foreign currency in many countries of the World. As a result, obtaining and sustaining competition factors become critically important. By the similar vein, it can be indicated that tourism performance of countries will be greatly influenced by competition factors. In certain studies different models had been used to classify competitive factors in tourism industry (Hassan, 2000; Dwyer and Kim, 2003). In this study, we use World Economic Forum’s (WEF) classification of Travel and Tourism Competitiveness factors to examine resources that are expected to influence Silk Road countries’ tourism performance. We conceptualized the tourism performance by two variables: international tourist arrivals and tourism receipts. WEF’s classification of competitive factors consists of three sub-indexes and 14 factors that measure these sub-indexes, which are reported below:  T&T regulatory framework (Policy rules and regulations, Environmental sustainability, Safety and security, Health and hygiene, Prioritization of Travel & Tourism)  T&T business environment and infrastructure (Air transport infrastructure, Ground transport infrastructure, Tourism infrastructure, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, Price competitiveness in the T&T industry)  T&T human, cultural, and natural resources (Human resources, Education and training, Availability of qualified labour, Affinity for Travel & Tourism, Natural resources, Cultural Resources) Methodology In this study, we aim to investigate the impact of Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Factors on the tourism performance of Silk Road Countries. As a promising project, the Silk Road project is gaining a critical importance for countries in the region. The list of Silk Road Countries consists of 28 countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China,Croatia, DPR Korea, Egypt, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyztan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. We used the data for 23 countries and excluded 5 countries because of lack of data. Countries that are excluded from the list are DPR Korea, Iran, Iraq, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. In order to perform multiple regression analyses to investigate the relationship between competitive factors and country performances, we used the data of The World Economic Forum’s “The Travel and Tourism (T&T) Competitiveness Index” for the years between 2008 - 2011. Findings Performance of two-separate multiple regression analyses postulated for the first analysis that The Silk Road Countries’ tourist arrivals as a performance variable is influenced by three competitive factors, namely, air transport infrastructure, ground transport infrastructure, and cultural resources. For the second analysis, findings revealed that tourism receipts of the Silk Road Countries are influenced by five competitive factors: Air transport infrastructure, ground transport infrastructure, environmental sustainability, health-hygiene, and cultural resources. Keywords: Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index, Strategic Marketing, Silk Road Countries, Tourism Performance. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-10 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ISSN 978-9958-834-23-3 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/3f1a4247e20d7ada41023c532b53c56b.docx fff6aa5c5d7f55448bcfb8f836404e64 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/c3e4d49c0995f44ac9b7d628375baa27.pdf c881f0e271820410acbe06a83d50da50 PDF Text Text The Impact of Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Factors on Tourism and Economic Performance of Balkan Countries KazimDevelioglu Akdeniz University Turkey kdevelioglu@akdeniz.edu.tr Kemal Kantarci Akdeniz University Turkey kantarci@akdeniz.edu.tr Pasa Mustafa Ozyurt Akdeniz University Turkey ozyurt@akdeniz.edu.tr Abstract: This study aims to unravel causes that have the potential to explain variation in performance of tourism industry and Balkan economies, in terms of GDP and employment variables. Authors used Travel and Tourism Competitiveness pillars as potential causes of this variation in tourism and country economic performance of Balkan countries. Tourism performance and country economic performance has been measured by using World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) data on tourism industry.In this study, we used the data of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) “The Travel and Tourism (T&T) Competitiveness Index Factors (T&T regulatory framework, T&T business environment and infrastructure, and T&T human, cultural and natural resources)” as independent variables for the years between 2008-2013 (2010 is missing), which are the only available data published by WEF for tourism and travel competitiveness. We also used World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) data for the same years in order to form tourism arrivals, tourism receipts, T&T industry and economy employment and GDP ad dependent variables. By using the secondary data, we aimed to analyze, first, the relationship between T&T Competitiveness factors and tourism performance as tourist arrivals and receipts. Second, we examined the impact of T&T competitiveness index factors on T&T and economy employment and T&T and economy GDP. To analyze aforementioned relationships we employed correlation analysis because of the lack of enough data provided by WEF and WTTC to perform multivariate tests. Analyses results postulated that T&T competitiveness factors, in most of the relationship, have an impact on both tourism and economic performance of Balkan countries. The only exceptions of these results can be reported are the lack of relationship between T&T regulatory framework and T&T industry employment, T&T economy GDP, T&T economy employment, and tourist arrivals. Keywords: Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Factors, Gross Domestic Product, Tourism Performance, Employment, Balkan Countries 33 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 2463 Title A name given to the resource The Impact of Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Factors on Tourism and Economic Performance of Balkan Countries Author Author DEVELIOGLU, Kazim KANTARCI, Kemal MUSTAFA OZYURT, Pasa Abstract A summary of the resource. This study aims to unravel causes that have the potential to explain variation in performance of tourism industry and Balkan economies, in terms of GDP and employment variables. Authors used Travel and Tourism Competitiveness pillars as potential causes of this variation in tourism and country economic performance of Balkan countries. Tourism performance and country economic performance has been measured by using World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) data on tourism industry.In this study, we used the data of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) “The Travel and Tourism (T&T) Competitiveness Index Factors (T&T regulatory framework, T&T business environment and infrastructure, and T&T human, cultural and natural resources)” as independent variables for the years between 2008-2013 (2010 is missing), which are the only available data published by WEF for tourism and travel competitiveness. We also used World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) data for the same years in order to form tourism arrivals, tourism receipts, T&T industry and economy employment and GDP ad dependent variables. By using the secondary data, we aimed to analyze, first, the relationship between T&T Competitiveness factors and tourism performance as tourist arrivals and receipts. Second, we examined the impact of T&T competitiveness index factors on T&T and economy employment and T&T and economy GDP. To analyze aforementioned relationships we employed correlation analysis because of the lack of enough data provided by WEF and WTTC to perform multivariate tests. Analyses results postulated that T&T competitiveness factors, in most of the relationship, have an impact on both tourism and economic performance of Balkan countries. The only exceptions of these results can be reported are the lack of relationship between T&T regulatory framework and T&T industry employment, T&T economy GDP, T&T economy employment, and tourist arrivals. Keywords: Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Factors, Gross Domestic Product, Tourism Performance, Employment, Balkan Countries Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-04-24 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ISSN 2303-4564 H Social Sciences (General) https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/f9ac7ee3548c446b6c68d313dbfdb4ee.pdf 08c67a8b0eb902c2cb1cc98887f0be8f PDF Text Text THE IMPACT OF VIRTUALIZATION AND CLOUD COMPUTING TO MODERN BUSINESS Aida Habul School of Economics and Business in Sarajevo, University of Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina aida.habul@efsa.unsa.ba Merdžana Obralić International Burch University Bosnia and Herzegovina Merdzana.obralic@ibu.edu.ba Miza Habul The Audit Office for Institutions of FbiH Bosnia and Herzegovina Dario Frimel School of Economics and Business in Sarajevo, University of Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina Abstract: Nowdays, the increasing application of information technology in modern business and life in general, virtualization and cloud computing are new solutions designed to increase the level of system abstraction and degree of utilization of computer performance. New technologies offer the flexibility, the ability to adapt workloads resources and to realize cost savings of IT infrastructure in terms of administration and support costs. The period when the big companies had a monopoly and control over resources and information are far behind us and the only companies to survive in the future are „smart“ companies. This paper defines the terms virtualization and cloud computing and explains its importance as the challenge of rapid success and growth of the company. Special attention is focused on the savings and its benefits. The advantages of applying virtualization and cloud computing are numerous only in case they are implemented in the right way, although many managers have doubts about this technology. The data is obtained through an online survey which was conducted in the companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as data Forrester Research that determined the current level of application of virtualization and cloud computing in the world and companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Besides, it pointed out the guidelines of the future steps. Keywords: virtualization, virtual organization, cloud computing, smart companies, IT savings. Introduction Virtualization is latest trend in technology solutions that are designed to increase system abstraction level and computers performance capacity use. Virtualization is proven software technology that simply transforms IT environment. We are behind the time where big companies had some kind of monopoly and control over resources and informations. Only „inteligent“ companies will survive in the future, with best and fasstest information flow. ICESoS 2016 - Proceedings Book 343 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’16) In times of global crysis, it’s very important for companies to achieve lower costs compared to competition, without changing product and service quality they offer. Planned investments in information technology is one of the ways for company to achieve such goal. In this research we will show solution known as virtualization or virtual platform, which enables easier management of information system and achieves savings who were not achiveable by other solutions. This paper will show benefits of virtualization because they are primary reason why virtualization has succed in previous years. Server virtualization and desktop computer virtualization are two most common implemented types and therefore we’ll focus on benfits that these types provide. IT infrastructure needs a change and virtualization can be a solution. Virtualization has big influence on arhitecture, infrastructure, processes, operations, people, skills and business in general. Virtual organization enables lowering operational costs and optimal use of resources. Accepting virtualization depends on organization, people need to understand this concept that embraces many questions and solves problems. Being familiar with technology is not enough. Transformation process, from classic to virtual organization, is complex managerial activity. What is virtualization and what impact does it have on modern business Constant inovations in fields of information technology make it most dynamic science of todays age. Virtualization is one of the latest inovations in this field which presents attribute of something that should be in present but it isn’t. Concept of virtualization is based on abstract representation of funcionality and resources. For user (human or application) there is no difference between virtual and real funcionality, but real values and activities in virtual performance are different than those presented to user. Using virtualization it’s possible to achieve lower costs, and this will be most noticable in larger and more complex systems. Todays powerfull PCs based on x86 arhitecture are projected for one operational system and very small number of applications on it, which leads to very low performance capacity use. Virtualization is the one that solved this problem. As an example, real operational system communicates directly with hardware while virtual operational system has for a user all attributes of real system but it is being runned on other real system. Therefore, communication is not being done with hardware but with another system. That other system is taking a role of hardware in communication with virtual system. The work of hardware is being simulated by program language and therefore work we call it virtual system. Virtualization can mean that user through virtual interface is using multiple computers as one. Work of multiple applications and processes on single physical machine, sharing hardware between multiple operative systems on it, is what is considered virtualization. When we talk about shared hardware, we are talking about processor, memory, hard drive space and networking. With todays presence of powerfull machines, we are encountering servers that only for a fragment of their time use resources and are mostly free. That capacity, that is not being used, is something company is not allowed to have because optimization of business is one of the kys to success. Virtualization is allowing us to optimize resources available on servers, so instead buying new machine for operative systems or applications. Through virtual platforms we are able to use existing resources and through that we are lowering costs. This is most noticable in big companies that have large amount of computers. Lowering costs is not only existant in savings through not buying new computers. Costs are being saved through lowering maintance costs, having less machines means less maintance costs and having less computers is also beneficial for companies that are following ecological trends. 344 ICESoS 2016 - Proceedings Book �Regional Economic Development: Entrepreneurship and Innovation One of the biggest advantages of virtualization is that experts in company don’t have to plan new infrastracture procurment, operative system installations and all other prework activities. Instead, they can focus installing applications on existing virtual server unit. Applications can be put to use shortly and the time saved from previous mentioned acitivites can be allocated on improving functionality of information infrastructure and optimization of business processes. To understand how virtualization works it is very important to understand what is virtual machine and virtual infrastructure. Virtual machine acts like a physical machine, it contains virtual processors, RAM, hard drive and netrwork interface. Also, virtual machine (later in text refered as VM) can standalone run operative systems and applications same as if its physical computer/server. For virtual machine it’s characteristic that it is fully made out of the software, which means it doesn’t contain any hardware components. Basic characteristics of virtual machines are: • • • • Isolation – virtual machines are seperated from each other like they are physicaly seperated. Compatibility – virtual machines are compatible with all hardware standards based on x86 processors. Hardware indepedency – virtual machines are run independently from basic hardware. Virtual infrastructure – it enables sharing physical resources of phsyical machines on whole infrastructure. VM allows sharing resources of one computer to many virtual ones so we could reach maximum efficency. Creating virtual infrastructure allows greater flexibility and higher speeds than using commonly using hardware. System resources, that are needed for individual applications, are distributed to virtual machines that are running those applications. That eliminates costs of installation and configuration of new hardware. As a result we are having maximum capacity usage and exceptional ability to manage valuable IT infrastructure. Pros and cons of virtualization There are many virtualization benefits, but we will mention only the most important ones. Cutting down costs: Systems not in use, in present time when optimization of all parts of the business is essential for companies survival, is not something company wants. Virtualization enables optimal use of available resources on servers instead buying new hardware. If we are to do consolidation of servers into one, we are lowering amount of hardware and with that even the physical space it takes. Large companies that have huge systems will have to rent or use less space for hardware and by doing so they are lowering costs. Less physical servers means less electrical energy spent and with that being said, we must take in consideration that fewer servers means less heating in room and less use of cooling systems which ultimately leads to saving costs in long term. ICESoS 2016 - Proceedings Book 345 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’16) Picture 1: Costs overview before and after virtualization1 Simple maintance – if we lower the number of physical servers we have simplified system maintance, therefore we are lowering number of repetitive tasks that take time. Those tasks are control, configuration, upgading and similair tasks. Big advantage of system virtualization is easier system migration in virtual environment. It is certain that virtualization makes job easier when it comes to system administrator tasks and others involved in implementation and maintance of IT equipment, of course additional education is neccessary when it comes to managing virtual enviroments. Productivity – once virtual environment is set-up IT personnel will perform tasks easily instead of taking hours to finish them. For example, migration from one server to another, or after server crashes and gets destabilized, using virtualization tools it takes only couple seconds to get it back in working state. Using virtualization efficently IT personnel will become more productive, and by them becoming more productive, downtime of servers will be lowered which increasese productivity on whole company level. Testing – virtualization enables us simple system restore in previous state which is great feature that you want to have when you are testing new applications that could crash server. Before testing, only thing we have to do is make a backup copy of system in case we face some errors durign the testing that would crash server. It is not uncommon that we want to test applications or systems before putting them to use. It is recommended to test applications in safe environment where downtime of servers wouldn’t hurt business performance or operational functions. When we are talking about cons of virtualization, we must mention all in one place problem. Biggest issue that is troubling virtualization is that everything is in one place. If error happens on one server that is host of virtual machine, all machines are unavailable. Although this sounds terryfing, it is not. Systems can be secured with redundant servers that will take over all functions in case of crash/downtime. We can take additional measure such as backups that will secure our data. Another issue that virtualization comes up with is new servers. 1 D. Đorđević, D. Glavašević and D. Krnjak (n.d) „Ekonomski učinci primjene softvera za virtualizaciju“ 346 ICESoS 2016 - Proceedings Book �Regional Economic Development: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Virtualization demands powerfull servers that support virtualization technology. Although we are lowering number of physicaly needed server units, we can’t rely on using old server for virtualization solutions. This could mean additional costs in IT departments budget, but in long term virtualization pays off. When we are talking about number of servers, there is one issue that must be adressed in virtualization. Once we learn how to install servers easily, amount of servers could increase faster than number of administrators that are needed to maintaine them. It’s is neccesary to limit resources for virtual servers because we might find ourselves in situation of overburdened virtual server. Compliance and skills of IT personnel play biggest role in this situation. If we are creating virtual machines that are going to be unused just like physical ones used to be, than we haven’t optimized our system at all. Education plays major role in virtualization. To virtualize environment we need to have IT personnel capable of understanding technology for virtualization, therefore education is neccesary for IT staff. Adding new layer of complexity, we are adding a possibility of new problems to come. Solving those problems can significantly increase time of fixing other issues at hand. This only applies if we have uneducated personnel. With proper education and benefits of central management that is brought through virtualization, it is almost certain that intervention times will be lower. Virtualization in numbers Virtualization technology use leading world companies, and based on these numbers, we can see how important position virtualization takes:2 • • • • • • • • 100% - companies of top 100 companies use virtualization. 98% - of first top 500 companies use virtualization (491 out of 500) 96 – of first top 1000 companies use virtualization (955 out of 1000) 50 out of top 50 banks use it 5 out of 5 top global aerial companies 9 out of 10 top chemical companies 5 out of 5 top oil companies 10 out of 10 top pharmaceutical companies Development degree of virtual business practice in developing countries Characteristics of new age, that is business in 21st century are: globalization, knowledge and ICT. Characteristics that affect virtual organizations are: characteristics of market, production process and strategic goals of organization. 2 Source: http://www.vmware.com/company/customers/ ICESoS 2016 - Proceedings Book 347 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’16) Chart 1: Teleworkers share in develping european countries As we can see in chart 1, we have presented teleworkers share in total number of employeed in developed countries. Biggest share in total number is measured in Finland (16.8%) while that share is lowest in England (2.8%). Although England is on last place, United Kingdom is on 5th place with 7.6% among European countries, positioning itself in front of EU10 (6.1%). On the next chart we can see data from period of 1999 and 2005. Clearly we can see that with advance in information technology there is advance in share of teleworkers in total number of employeed people. In Finland that had biggest precentage in share, there was a leap from 16.8% to 29.4%. Netherland takes second place with rise from 14.5% to 25.2% while United Kingdom has shown rise as well holding position in front of EU10 with 11.7%. Chart 2: Estimated share of teleworkers in total number of employed in 2005. 348 ICESoS 2016 - Proceedings Book �Regional Economic Development: Entrepreneurship and Innovation We have conducted research in Bosnia and Herzegovina among 100 companies. Research was conducted online through Google Doc questionnaire. Analyzed companies included small businesses (1 to 49 employed), middle businesses (50 do 99 employed), large businesses (100 to 250 employed), very large businesses (250 to 499) and biggest businesses (from 1000 to 4999 employed). Companies were from public and private sector, different industries variating from education, agriculture, media, marketing and other services. Many of the questioned companies have heared of some sort of virtualization (70%) while 10% of them doesn’t even intend to use it. Also, 10% of audience doesn’t even know what virtualization is. Chart 3: Representation of virtualization knowledge and use in Bosnia and Herzegovina Research showed that virtualization lowers costs in 56% of analyzed companies while it increases them in 33% of the anaylzed companies. Increased costs while using virtualization suggests bad managing of virtualization and insufficency of skills and know-how. Chart 4: How does virtualization affect costs in companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina ICESoS 2016 - Proceedings Book 349 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’16) Conclusion It’s a fact that we all are functioning under some organization and they are changing over the time. Business concept in 21st century is very complex and it requires from organizations to respond to modern challenges. Globalization is strenghtening communication and coordination through whole world. It is required minimal respond time on certain changes that are becoming norm and our reality. In that situation, information technology is coming to our aid, offering flexible business structure. Information technology has evolved from being side kick to managaing important processes such as transactions and other important business processes. There is increase in methods of how we store our data, which increased number of servers. Specialized applications for fields like accounting and finance almost always are done on seperate, reliable servers with redundant hardware, ensuring business continuity. This combination of factors has transformed IT environment into a messed mass of isolated, specialized and not enough used servers. Rise of costs is getting bigger because of software complexity and need to manage all the time rising number of data. Virtualization applicativity allows easier managing of information system and enables savings that hasn’t been provided by any other solution. IT infrastructure needs a change and virtualization can present one of the solutions. It has big influence on arhitecture, infrastructure, processes, operations, people and business in general. Therefore, virtual organizations lower costs through optimal use of resources. What virtualization does? First and foremost, it decreases number of servers, lowering costs in many ways through electrical energy, physical space rents and other direct costs related to maintance and work on servers. Lowering number of hardware, we are lowering number of personnel that was needed to manage and maintain hardware, lowering additional total costs. Virtualization can be achieved using free software, saving money on expensive licenses. Constant reduction of budget while keeping expected quality of services is definition of efficent IT according to conducted studies. New technologies promise flexibility, that is, ability to adjust existing resources for operative needs. Most organizations use virtualization and cloud computing, figuring out balance between resource capacity and overload of applications. Research conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina showed that biggest obstacles in virtualization process are transfering from physical to virtual environment, insufficient cooperation with users and problems with servers. In future years it is expected great increase in implementation of virtualization in Bosnia and Herzegovina. That is confirmed by facts that leading companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina have already recoginsed potential of virtualization and implemented it and even small and medium companies are going in that direction because they are having opportunities that they couldn’t access before because of lack of resources. Bibliography • Golden. B (2007). „Virtualization for dummies“, For Dummies 1st Edition, ISBN-10: 0470148314, ISBN-13: 978-0470148310 • Moreno V. and Reddy K. (2006). „Network Virtualization“, Indianopolis: Cisco Press • Portnoy M. (2012). „Virtualization Essentials“, Sybex 1st Edition, ISBN-10: 1118176715, ISBN-13: 978-1118176719 350 ICESoS 2016 - Proceedings Book �Regional Economic Development: Entrepreneurship and Innovation • Sun i AMD (2008). „Virtualization for dummies“, Wiley Publishing Inc., Special Edition • Weinman J. (2012). „Cloudonomics + Website: The business value of cloud computing“, Wiley Publishing Inc. 1st Edition, ISBN-10: 1118229967, ISBN-13: 9781118229965 • Wolf C., Halter M. E. (2005). „Virtualization: From the desktop to enterprise”, Electronic publish, B001FOPW8U ICESoS 2016 - Proceedings Book 351 �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 3309 Title A name given to the resource THE IMPACT OF VIRTUALIZATION AND CLOUD COMPUTING TO MODERN BUSINESS Author Author Habul, Aida Obralic, Merdzana Habul, Mirza Frimel, Dario Abstract A summary of the resource. Abstract: Nowdays, the increasing application of information technology in modern business and life in general, virtualization and cloud computing are new solutions designed to increase the level of system abstraction and degree of utilization of computer performance. New technologies offer the flexibility, the ability to adapt workloads resources and to realize cost savings of IT infrastructure in terms of administration and support costs. The period when the big companies had a monopoly and control over resources and information are far behind us and the only companies to survive in the future are „smart“ companies. This paper defines the terms virtualization and cloud computing and explains its importance as the challenge of rapid success and growth of the company. Special attention is focused on the savings and its benefits. The advantages of applying virtualization and cloud computing are numerous only in case they are implemented in the right way, although many managers have doubts about this technology. The data is obtained through an online survey which was conducted in the companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as data Forrester Research that determined the current level of application of virtualization and cloud computing in the world and companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Besides, it pointed out the guidelines of the future steps. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed H Social Sciences (General) https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/f615efcecde4bcfea73773b882fbadb1.docx 5667f3212cb454a5288871d6c244a0bf https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/546f60326256e8ac91a47c325694cf84.pdf a5c5fd0f887448014a0e73c60ab0a790 PDF Text Text The Impact on Specialization of the Effect of Business Department and Business Enrichment: Mediterranean Region Agencies in Turkey Merve Inel Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Turkey minel@mehmetakif.edu.tr Hüseyin Çiçek Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Turkey hcicek@mehmetakif.edu.tr Abstract: Businesses organize according to environmental conditions and they are structuring according to their country, sector and culture. There are some differences between the sectors like segmentation of jobs, determination of powers, creation of business teams and management levels to design. Therefore, each management organizes with its special structure. According to managements, the most efficient and effective working area is that structure allows to specialize their personals. The structure which, is both compatible with the environment and allowing for development of employees, consolidates position of enterprises in the sector. It is important that compliance with environmental, environmental innovations, transfer to their business processes and specialization of employees in the business unit, adopting innovations and learning study for supremacy in the sector of their business. Businesses must focus on business section for a structure that allows to the specialization of employees. Business structure is divided into two business segmentation for specialization of employees in the literature. When targeting specialization, employees of the business units are divided into very small units, according to some academics, combining of business and specialization of employees aims in the businesses. Simplification of business units as small and narrow or combining of jobs, enrichment of jobs, improving of jobs relate structuring of business. The mechanics of the business structure depends on business units subdivide and detailed descriptions. All these mean that business units show elastic defines organically. For this reason, the possibility of specialization depends on settlement within the business. This study connects specialization and business units. “How does specialization ensure?” “Should business-unit area be large or not?” “Is there any optimum point for the business is of specialization?” “Is there any impact of the business structure on the specialization?” The study seeks answer to the above mentioned questions. This research is done on business in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. Keywords: business department, business enrichment, specialization, organizational structure, mechanic organization, organic organization. 175 �175 �175 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 2663 Title A name given to the resource The Impact on Specialization of the Effect of Business Department and Business Enrichment: Mediterranean Region Agencies in Turkey Author Author INEL, Merve CICEK, Huseyin Abstract A summary of the resource. Businesses organize according to environmental conditions and they are structuring according to their country, sector and culture. There are some differences between the sectors like segmentation of jobs, determination of powers, creation of business teams and management levels to design. Therefore, each management organizes with its special structure. According to managements, the most efficient and effective working area is that structure allows to specialize their personals. The structure which, is both compatible with the environment and allowing for development of employees, consolidates position of enterprises in the sector. It is important that compliance with environmental, environmental innovations, transfer to their business processes and specialization of employees in the business unit, adopting innovations and learning study for supremacy in the sector of their business. Businesses must focus on business section for a structure that allows to the specialization of employees. Business structure is divided into two business segmentation for specialization of employees in the literature. When targeting specialization, employees of the business units are divided into very small units, according to some academics, combining of business and specialization of employees aims in the businesses. Simplification of business units as small and narrow or combining of jobs, enrichment of jobs, improving of jobs relate structuring of business. The mechanics of the business structure depends on business units subdivide and detailed descriptions. All these mean that business units show elastic defines organically. For this reason, the possibility of specialization depends on settlement within the business. This study connects specialization and business units. “How does specialization ensure?” “Should business-unit area be large or not?” “Is there any optimum point for the business is of specialization?” “Is there any impact of the business structure on the specialization?” The study seeks answer to the above mentioned questions. This research is done on business in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. Keywords: business department, business enrichment, specialization, organizational structure, mechanic organization, organic organization. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-04 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ISSN 2303-4564 H Social Sciences (General) https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/1edd54a8b6dcb34e1eb7c7cad9c91855.pdf d81c13be56aa3568ff5b9ee1a5546b22 PDF Text Text International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo The Impacts of European Economic Crisis on European Identity Nihat Aydeniz Batman University, Batman, Turkey nihat.aydeniz@batman.edu.tr Murat Silinir Batman University, Batman, Turkey murat.silinir@batman.edu.tr European identity is a concept that is constructed on the framework of European Union objective. This objective is an inevitable component of union and requires process to achieve its goals. The construction of European identity is considered as a crucial target in pursuing the establishment of a politically, economically and culturally powerful united Europe in the world. European Union is currently facing severe economic crisis. This crisis is not just an economic crisis, it also reflects identity crisis. European values, such as fundamental human rights, democracy, and rule of law, individual freedom and spread of welfare are under threat of economic crisis and higher uncertainty. Solution of economic crisis would be shield for these universal values of European Union and identity. That’s why, it is very important to construct new multi-dimensional paradigm. The construction of new multidimensional paradigm depends on real analysis of economic crisis and its other aspects. In addition, there must be long and short term problem solving approaches. In the short term, economic and political cooperation of members are very vital. Moreover, the end of debt crisis and weakness of competitiveness are staminal. Therefore, member states of union are obliged to leave the old habits of the nation - state. As is known, in the crisis times, nations prefer nationalist tendency to overcome structural problems and receive public support. Whereas, this classic reflex of states just deepen existing instability in regional and global levels. However, in the long term, economic structure of European Union depends on new market liberalization and political reforms. There are three main purpose of this study. First to analyze correlation between economic crisis of European Union and Identity. Secondly, to examine political reflections of EU’s economic crisis in the context of casual factors. Finally, projection will be made about the future of European Union. Keywords: European Union, Economic Crisis, European Identity, Identity Crisis. 229 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1655 Title A name given to the resource The Impacts of European Economic Crisis on European Identity Author Author AYDENIZ, Nihat SILINIR, Murat Abstract A summary of the resource. European identity is a concept that is constructed on the framework of European Union objective. This objective is an inevitable component of union and requires process to achieve its goals. The construction of European identity is considered as a crucial target in pursuing the establishment of a politically, economically and culturally powerful united Europe in the world. European Union is currently facing severe economic crisis. This crisis is not just an economic crisis, it also reflects identity crisis. European values, such as fundamental human rights, democracy, and rule of law, individual freedom and spread of welfare are under threat of economic crisis and higher uncertainty. Solution of economic crisis would be shield for these universal values of European Union and identity. That’s why, it is very important to construct new multi-dimensional paradigm. The construction of new multidimensional paradigm depends on real analysis of economic crisis and its other aspects. In addition, there must be long and short term problem solving approaches. In the short term, economic and political cooperation of members are very vital. Moreover, the end of debt crisis and weakness of competitiveness are staminal. Therefore, member states of union are obliged to leave the old habits of the nation - state. As is known, in the crisis times, nations prefer nationalist tendency to overcome structural problems and receive public support. Whereas, this classic reflex of states just deepen existing instability in regional and global levels. However, in the long term, economic structure of European Union depends on new market liberalization and political reforms. There are three main purpose of this study. First to analyze correlation between economic crisis of European Union and Identity. Secondly, to examine political reflections of EU’s economic crisis in the context of casual factors. Finally, projection will be made about the future of European Union. Keywords: European Union, Economic Crisis, European Identity, Identity Crisis. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-10 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ISSN 2303-4564 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 921 Title A name given to the resource The Impacts of Government Policies on Teacher Education on English Teachers in Primary Schools in Indonesia Author Author Mochamad Subhan , Zein Abstract A summary of the resource. The issuance of government regulations on policies on teacher education displays a serious effort of the Indonesian government on improving the quality of teachers in Indonesia. While the regulations have been influential in determining the content and structure of language teacher education program, it clearly signals an increasing awareness of the government on the vital roles that teachers play on the advancement of education in Indonesia (Saukah, 2009). Yet the policies leave little supports for promoting teacher education for primary school English teachers. The paper has posited that explicit policy directives are lacking especially in embedding specific concentration on English for Young Learners within the current curriculum of pre-service teacher education, the absence of teacher competencies scheme for English teachers in primary schools, and how in-service teacher training programs may reach the bulk of English teachers in primary schools. In addition, it also accentuates the needs for utilizing the expertise of prominent figures in the area of teaching English in primary schools while maintaining linkages and full cooperation with policy actors at the local level to provide consultancy on formulating and conducting professional development programs. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-05 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed P Philology. Linguistics https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/4f9928683de63c1965d1a252889b0522.pdf 9db2429a06783e36a98995ff02607361 PDF Text Text 1. International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 9-10 2009, Sarajevo The Impacts of Religiosity on the Ethical Attitudes of the Prospective Managers Muzaffer AYDEMĐR Assoc. Prof. Dr., Bilecik University, FEAS, Department of Business Administration muzaffer.aydemir@bilecik.edu.tr Ali GÖKSU Assist. Prof. Dr., International Burch University, Faculty of Economics Department of Business Administration goksu@ibu.edu.ba Merdzana OBRALIĆ Research Assistant, International Burch University, Faculty of Economics Department of Business Administration Abstract: In this study, we aimed to explore the relationship between religiosity and business ethics. Two dimensions of religiosity – intrinsic an extrinsic- were studied. We tested mainly one hypothesis: whether ethical attitudes are affected by religiosity. However, we also explored the relationships between ethical attitudes, intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity and various demographic measures of the participants such as age, sex, and nationality. In our study, we surveyed students at two different universities -- one is in Turkey and the other is in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Our sample consisted of first year university students. Our survey instruments have three parts. First part included 24-vignette ethics scale of Barnett and Brown (1994). Second part included 15-item religiosity scale of Allport and Ross (1967) -- adopted version of it by Vitell et al. (2007). Third part contained various demographic measures such as age, sex, and nationality. Key Words: Religiosity, ethical attitudes, business ethics. Introduction Ethics has been one of the principal issues confronting businesses for many years. While they are responsible for maximizing long-term value for the shareholders, they are also expected to adequately monitor their employees’ performance, and to enforce and adhere to certain ethical standards. Business ethics have been the subject of controversy and debate for many years among researchers and practitioners. Not surprisingly, frequent scandals have fostered considerable interest and scholarly work in the business ethics area. Recently, interest in this area was intensified due to widespread media accounts of outbreaks of ethical failing and questionable practices by corporations and corporate executives. Events such as the collapse of Enron, the destruction of documents at Arthur Andersen, questionable CEO compensation packages and other practices at Tyco, and charges of fraud at WorldCom have shaken public confidence in business world. In accordance with these ongoing discussions, scholars and practitioners are wondering what has to be done to assure ethical behaviors in the business environment. Some scholars debate whether religious belief should be an appropriate grounding for business ethics. For example, Fort (1997) claims that rather than excluding religion from business ethics, business ethics ought to consider religion as a healthy ground. He claims that there is no good reason for us to restrict people from relying upon religion in making and justifying economic judgments. This means that theology ought to be a participant in debates about public matters, including business ethics. Theology’s contributions will be as varied as the philosophical alternatives for business ethics. Calkins (2000) also states that business ethic has neglected recently its religious traditions and become construed more narrowly as an applied philosophy and social science. This narrowness has confused business ethics’ role in business education. Therefore, business ethics should become more integrated, interesting, and autonomous as an academic discipline by incorporating its key religious traditions. While the philosophical “world of ideas” is important to business ethics, so is the religious “world of ideals”; and while social science’s deductive analysis is important to business and society, so is religion’s inductive character forming capacity. McMahon (1986) argues that religions make valuable contributions to business ethics. Religions’ values, principles, and practices give sense of responsibility, and guidance to the people of business world. 100 �1. International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 9-10 2009, Sarajevo This current paper presents the results of a study that investigated the roles that prospective managers’ religiosity play in determining their ethical attitudes regarding questionable business practices. Literature Review Huffman (1988) states that religiosity is one of the strongest determinants of values. Weaver and Agle (2002) say that religiosity is known to have an influence both on human attitudes and behavior. Furthermore, Hunt and Vitell (1993) underline that religion is one of the factors that significantly influences ethical judgments. Allport (1950) perceived religious motivation as differentiated by intrinsic religiosity and extrinsic religiosity. The ‘‘extrinsically motivated person uses his religion whereas the intrinsically motivated person lives his religion’’ (Allport and Ross, 1967: p. 434). Recently, using a student sample, Vitell et al. (2005) found that intrinsic religiosity was a determinant of ethical beliefs. They found that intrinsic religiousness is a significant determinant of ethical attitudes in various situations regarding questionable business practices. Results of Vitell et al. (2006) study indicated again that intrinsic religiousness was significant determinant of most types of ethical beliefs. Vitell et al. (2007) found that an intrinsic religious orientation significantly explains one’s ethical beliefs for the questionable business activities. As expected, the stronger a respondent’s sense of intrinsic religiosity, the more likely he/she was to find various ‘‘questionable’’ business activities as wrong. An intrinsic religious orientation appear to explain ethical beliefs, as expected, with more religiously oriented individuals being more likely to view questionable behaviors as wrong and vice versa. Ibrahim et al. (2008) analyzed the relationship between a person’s degree of religiousness and corporate social responsibility orientation. The statistical analysis showed that religiousness influence students’ orientation toward the economic, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities of business. Kennedy and Lawton (1998) examined the relationship between dimensions of religiousness (fundamentalism, conservatism, and intrinsic religiousness) and their ability to predict students’ willingness to behave unethically. Results of the study show a negative relationship between the dimensions of religiousness and willingness to behave unethically. They also found relatively high positive correlation between intrinsic and extrinsic religiousness. Phau and Kea (2007) found from their cross-cultural research with first-year university students who practiced their religion tend to consider themselves more ethically minded than those who do not. Singhapakdi et al. (2000) examined the influence of religiousness on different components of marketing professionals’ ethical decision making. The results of the study indicated that the religiousness of a marketer can partially explain his or her perception of an ethical problem and behavioral intentions. Results also suggest that the religiousness significantly influences the personal moral philosophies of marketers. Siu et al. (2000) found that the ethical interest and behavior are related to religiousness. They showed that religiousness has positive impact on ethical interest and behavior in general and the ethical philosophy of contractualism in particular. Clark and Dawson (1996) highlighted the importance of the religiousness construct as an influence on ethical judgments and, possibly, on behavioral intentions. Personal religiousness is a potential source of ethical norms, and consequently, an influence in ethical evaluations. Conroy and Emerson (2004) surveyed university students and empirically showed that religiosity is a statistically significant predictor of responses in seven of the eight vignettes for which religiosity is significant, the effect is negative, implying that it reduces the “acceptability” of ethically-charged scenarios. In sum they found that religiosity is significantly correlated with ethical perceptions. As previous researches showed there is a statistically significant relationship between religiosity and business ethics. Based upon the previously cited theoretical and empirical literature, we proposed the following hypotheses involving religiosity to test here: H1: Intrinsic religiosity is a positive determinant of the prospective managers’ ethical attitudes. That is, those with higher intrinsic religiosity will have much higher ethical attitudes. H2: Extrinsic religiosity is a positive determinant of the prospective managers’ ethical attitudes. That is, those with higher extrinsic religiosity will have much higher ethical attitudes. Methodology This article presents the results of a study that investigated the roles that prospective managers’ religiosity play in determining their ethical attitudes regarding questionable business practices. Two dimensions of religiosity – intrinsic and extrinsic religiousness – were studied. 101 �1. International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 9-10 2009, Sarajevo Sample A questionnaire was completed by the students of two universities one in Turkey (public university), and the other one is in Bosnia & Herzegovina (a private university). Students who are participants of this study are likely to be the prospective managers and professional practitioners of their fields in the future. From about 450 first-year students (freshman), 318 students completed the questionnaire correctly. The response rate is 70%. 58.5% of the sample was male and 41.5% of the sample was female. About 88% of the sample was younger than 22 years old and 11% of the sample was older than 22 years old. All the participants were Muslim. 91.8% of the sample was Turkish and 8.2% of the sample was Bosnian. 57.5% of the sample was from university in Turkey, and 42.5% of the sample was from university in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Measures Our survey instruments have three parts. First part included 24-vignette ethics scale of Barnett and Brown (1994). Second part included 15-item religiosity scale of Allport and Ross (1967). We used the adopted version of the scale by Vitell et al. (2007). Third part contained various demographic measures such as age, sex, and nationality. The dependent construct in the analysis was prospective managers’ ethical attitudes as measured by the 24-vignette ethics scale of Barnett and Brown (1994). The respondents were asked to rate each vignette on a 5point scale from – definitely believe that it is unethical (1) to definitely believe that this is ethical (5). It is important for the reader to note that a low score on this scale means that prospective managers find these actions as more unacceptable. Overall reliability score of the ethics scale is 0.827. Extrinsic and intrinsic religiosities were measured using the adopted version of Allport and Ross (1967) religiosity scale and using a 5-point Likert type scale (1 = I completely disagree; 5 = I completely agree). Here, high score means high religiosity. Overall reliability score of religiosity scale is 0.718. The intrinsic dimension has 8 items and is exemplified by items such as, ‘‘I try hard to live my life according to my religious beliefs.’’ This dimension exhibited a reliability of 0.769. The extrinsic dimension includes 6 items and has a reliability of 0.683. It is exemplified by items such as, ‘‘I go to religious services because it helps me make friends.’’ Results Correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to test the hypothesis. In addition, the Independent Samples Test is used to compare participants’ ethical attitudes and religiosity levels in terms of age, sex, nationality etc. There is a statistically significant relationship between intrinsic religiosity and ethical attitudes of the participants. Correlation coefficient is -0,290 (p = 0,000). Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). That means participants who have higher intrinsic religiosity score have more positive ethical attitudes than participants who have lower intrinsic religiosity score. There is no significant relationship between extrinsic religiosity and ethical attitudes of the participants. We could not find any significant relationship between dimensions of the religiosity, either. Multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses. Dimensions of the religiosity, ethnicity, age, types of the university and sex were independent variables and the ethical attitudes of the participants were dependent variable. However, multiple regression analyses showed that, there are only statistically significant relationship between intrinsic religiosity, ethnicity, sex and ethical attitudes. Age, types of the university and extrinsic religiosity have no significant impact on the participants’ ethical attitudes. The results of the regression analyses are below (Table 1). The results clearly illustrates that an intrinsic religious orientation, ethnicity and sex significantly explained the participants ethical attitudes. As expected, the stronger a participant’s sense of intrinsic religiosity the more likely they were to find these various ‘‘questionable’’ business activities as wrong and vice versa. Thus, hypothesis 1 was supported, but hypothesis 2 was not supported. 102 �1. International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 9-10 2009, Sarajevo Table 1: Regression Analyses Model Summary Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate 1 ,422a ,178 ,170 ,45198 a. Predictors: (Constant), Sex, Intrinsic Religiosity, Ethnicity ANOVAb Model 1 Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Regression 13,884 3 4,628 22,655 ,000a Residual 64,146 314 ,204 Total 78,030 317 a. Predictors: (Constant), Sex, Intrinsic Religiosity, Ethnicity b. Dependent Variable: Ethical Attitudes Coefficientsa Unstandardized Coefficients Model 1 Standardized Coefficients t Sig. 11,204 ,000 -,235 -4,511 ,000 ,096 ,208 3,940 ,000 ,053 ,191 3,624 ,000 B Std. Error (Constant) 2,132 ,190 Intrinsic Religiosity -,155 ,034 Ethnicity ,376 Sex ,192 Beta a. Dependent Variable: Ethical Attitudes According to the Independent Samples Test female participants (mean = 2.1120; std. deviation = 0,49880) have more positive ethical attitudes than male participants (mean = 2,3782; std. deviation = 0,45005). This result is statistically significant (F = 0,190; t = -4,880; p = 0,000). Furthermore, female participants (mean = 3.8663; std. deviation = 0,77121) have higher intrinsic religiosity score than male participants have (mean = 3.6761; std. deviation = 0,70575). This result is statistically significant (F = 1,203; t = 2,243; p = 0,026). The Independent Samples Test showed that Turkish participants (mean = 2,1804; std. deviation = ,47967) have more positive ethical attitudes than Bosnian participants (mean = 2,6955; std. deviation = 0,43537). This result is statistically significant (F = 0,254; t = -5,284; p = 0,000). Furthermore, Turkish participants (mean = 3,8215; std. deviation = 0,75874) have higher intrinsic religiosity score than Bosnian participants have (mean = 3,4038; std. deviation = 0,50536). This result is statistically significant (F = 8,330; t = 2,751; p = 0,006) too. In terms of university type, there are no significant differences between ethical attitudes and extrinsic religiosity levels of the participants. However, there is a significant difference between participants of the two universities in terms of intrinsic religiosity. Specifically, participants of the Turkish University have a lower intrinsic religiosity score (mean = 3,6277; std. deviation = 0,71974) than participants of the Bosnian University (mean = 4,0037; std. deviation = 0,73713). This result is statistically significant (F = 0,371; t = -4,557; p = 0,000). Conclusion In summary, hypothesis 1 was generally supported. That is, an intrinsic religious orientation appears to explain, in part, one’s attitude toward questionable business practices. People who have a stronger intrinsic religious orientation tend to be more likely to believe that questionable business activities were wrong or unethical. Hypothesis 2 was not supported. Apparently, extrinsic religiosity is not a factor in determining one’s attitudes toward questionable business practices. However, it is perhaps not surprising that someone who has extrinsic religious orientation might be inclined to support these kinds of activities. Our findings related to the intrinsic religiosity are consisted with the findings of Vitell et al. (2006; 2007). In addition, the finding about the relationship between sex and ethical attitudes is also consisted with the 103 �1. International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 9-10 2009, Sarajevo other studies’ findings. For example, Aydemir and Demirci (2008) found that female participants have more ethical attitudes than male participants have. As with any study, some limitations exist. Bosnian participants’ size is very limited. In addition, there are clearly other variables that were not included in this study which may help to explain the ethical attitudes of the prospective managers. For example, while the age, sex, nationality factors were examined, it might be interesting to examine other demographic variables such as religious affiliation, job experience, etc. Furthermore, the differences between practicing or non-practicing believers’ ethical attitudes are also interesting to be examined. We believe that this study is an important step toward understanding the relationship between religiosity and ethical attitudes of people in the global business environment. Especially, it is very important to understand people’s attitudes in the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-religion environments. In summary, the field of business ethics, religiosity, and the relationship between business ethics and religiosity require further empirical studies. To the extent that current university students are future business leaders, as Conroy and Emerson (2004) suggested that management teams that include more ethnically and sexually diverse, older, and churchgoing (or mosque/synagogue-going) members (holding all else equal) may reduce the probability of future ethics scandals like those involving Enron, Arthur Andersen, WorldCom and others. References Allport, G. W. (1950). The Individual and Religion (Mac Millan, New York). Allport, G. W. and Ross, J. M. (1967). Personal Religious Orientation and Prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5, 432-443. Aydemir, M., and Demirci, M. K. (2008), Ethical Perceptions of the Future Leaders: A Case of a Turkish University. International Journal of Emerging and Transition Economies, Vol. 1, Issue 1, 163-175. Barnett, T. and Brown, G. (1994). The Ethical Judgments of College Students Regarding Business Issues. Journal of Education for Business, 69, 333-339. Calkins, M. (2000). Recovering Religion’s Prophetic Voice for Business Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 23: 339-352. Clark, J. W. and Dawson, L. E. (1996). Personal Religiousness and Ethical Judgements: An Empirical Analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 15: 359-372. Conroy, S. J. and Emerson, T. L. N. (2004). Business Ethics and Religion: Religiosity as a Predictor of Ethical Awareness among Students. Journal of Business Ethics, 50: 383-396. Fort, T. L. (1997). Religion and Business Ethics: The Lessons from Political Morality. Journal of Business Ethics, 16, 3, 263-273. Hunt, S. D. and Vitell, S. J. (1993), The General Theory of Marketing Ethics: A Retrospective and Revision, in N. C. Smith and A. John (eds.). Ethics in Marketing, Quelch (Irwin Inc., Homewood, IL), 775–784. Ibrahim, N. A.; Howard, D. P. and Angelidis, J. P. (2008). The Relationship between Religiousness and Corporate Social Responsibility Orientation: Are there Differences between Business Managers and Students? Journal of Business Ethics, 78: 165-174. Kennedy, E. J. and Lawton, L. (1998). Religiousness and Business Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 17: 163-175. McMahon, T. F. (1986). Creed, Cult, Code and Business Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 5: 453-463. Phau, I. and Kea, G. (2007). Attitudes of University Students toward Business Ethics: A Cross-National Investigation of Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Journal of Business Ethics, 72: 61-75. Singhapakdi, A.; Marta, J. K.; Rallapalli, K. C. and Rao, C. P. (2000). Toward and Understanding of Religiousness and Marketing Ethics: An Empirical Study. Journal of Business Ethics, 27: 305-319. Siu, N. Y. M; Dickinson, J. R. and Lee, B. Y. Y. (2000). Ethical Evaluations of Business Activities and Personal Religiousness. Teaching Business Ethics, 4: 239-256. Vitell, S. J. and Muncy, J. (2005). The Muncy–Vitell Consumer Ethics Scale: A Modification and Application. Journal of Business Ethics 62(3), 267–275. Vitell, S. J.; Paolillo, J. G. P. and Singh, J. J. (2006). The Role of Money and Religiosity in Determining Consumers’ Ethical Beliefs. Journal of Business Ethics, 64: 117-124. Vitell, S. J.; Singh, J. J. and Paolillo, J. (2007). Consumers’ Ethical Beliefs: The Roles of Money, Religiosity and Attitude toward Business. Journal of Business Ethics, 73: 369-379. Weaver, G. R. and Agle, B. R. (2002). Religiosity and Ethical Behavior in Organizations: A Symbolic Interactionist Perspective. Academy of Management Review, 27(1), 77–98. 104 � https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/e646a555e955e7292152675809449a9f.doc 9c4bc60cbcba1b19ebe267fa9f6e246f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 152 Title A name given to the resource The Impacts of Religiosity on the Ethical Attitudes of the Prospective Managers Author Author AYDEMİR, Muzaffer GÖKSU, Ali OBRALIĆ, Merdžana Abstract A summary of the resource. In this study, we aimed to explore the relationship between religiosity and business ethics. Two dimensions of religiosity – intrinsic an extrinsic- were studied. We tested mainly one hypothesis: whether ethical attitudes are affected by religiosity. However, we also explored the relationships between ethical attitudes, intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity and various demographic measures of the participants such as age, sex, and nationality. In our study, we surveyed students at two different universities -- one is in Turkey and the other is in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Our sample consisted of first year university students. Our survey instruments have three parts. First part included 24-vignette ethics scale of Barnett and Brown (1994). Second part included 15-item religiosity scale of Allport and Ross (1967) -- adopted version of it by Vitell et al. (2007). Third part contained various demographic measures such as age, sex, and nationality. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-06 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed HB Economic Theory https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/bc382ff5cc12deaedccc276d63aecc7e.pdf 1b9f99efd70c7bcc606a0a571a55c229 PDF Text Text 3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo The Impacts Of Using Additional Teaching Materials On Students’ Performance In Package Program Education: The Case Of Fidelio And Sejour Hasan Kinay, Abdullah Akgün, Hakan Çetin, Yusuf Yilmaz, Zeki Akinci Akdeniz University E-mails: kinay@akdeniz.edu.tr, akgun@akdeniz.edu.tr, hakanc@akdeniz.edu.tr, yusufyilmaz@akdeniz.edu.tr, zakinci@akdeniz.edu.tr Abstract This study has been carried out to examine the effects of the use of additional teaching materials on student's performances, during educational activities regarding the use of package programs in the tourism sector. The study design called for two separate groups. Students were provided with a laboratory for study outside of course hours. 73 students took part in practice sessions outside of course hours, while a total of 145 students took the examinations. While researching the effects of using course books, 93 students took classes having been provided course books, while a further 97 students took the classes without course books. A post test controlled experimental design was used to compare the two groups. The study was carried out with third year students of the Akdeniz University, School of Tourism and Hotel Management in the fall term of the 2011 – 2012 educational year. To gather data on the effectiveness of usage of course books, the Fidelio program instructors applied a test with 10 open ended questions, prepared by employees working in the sector and using the program and the researchers. For the laboratory effectiveness study, a post test consisting of 10 questions was prepared by the researchers together with sector employees and applied to the students. The results of the study were evaluated using the SPSS 15.0 statistical software package. Based on the findings, the researchers have made recommendations on the use of course books and laboratory study outside of class hours in applied courses such as package program instruction. Keywords: Additional Teaching Materials, Package Program Education, Package Program Usage 1.INTRODUCTION We are living in an age where global competition pressures are increasing, information is produced rapidly and the information produced is consumed even faster than it is being created; the information age. This age is characterized by an increased flow of information between organizations, individuals and institutions, where the effectiveness of this interaction is high. The increase of the amount of information, triggered by computer use, has affected all sectors, including the tourism and hotel sector. The tourism sector bases activities on the production of services, requiring an active workforce, while some positions, such as customer service and reception, necessitate a face to 95 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo face relationship with customers, meaning that there is a need for qualified personnel. In the constantly changing and developing society, it is clear that individuals who can use information technologies in an efficient way will be considered to be highly qualified and will be more successful (Kurbanoğlu and Akkoyunlu, 2002). For this reason, those wishing to find employment in the tourism sector must be skilled in the use of at least one of the automated systems that are widely used, in order to find employment more easily. The effective use of information technologies in the tourism industry, in hotels, catering establishments, travel companies and sub-units of these organizations, facilitates the management of human resources and increases the efficiency of employees. If human resources can benefit from information technologies, the quality and global competitiveness of the tourism industry will increase (Alkaya, 2006). A study performed in 2004 shows that the greatest issue encountered in computer use in hotels stems for the users, but more specifically, the training of users. The same study concludes that “problems caused by the training of users must be decreased” (Kınay and Kınay, 2004). An examination of curricula of schools providing tourism education shows that the vast majority include courses on automated systems used in the sector. The most encountered problem in automation education is that students are not able to repeat and practice what the learn in class. Even if the student is able to perform all of the tasks as described by the instructor, as the students are not able to repeat these tasks outside of the classroom, they usually come to the next session having forgotten all they have learned. However, being “informed” in the information age means to develop learning capacities, use information, obtain new skills and turn this into a consistent form of behaviour (Yıldırım, 2001). Failure to utilise skills learned in class outside of the classroom means that learning has not really taken place. In information technologies education, whether a student owns a computer, how effectively the student uses computers in daily life, and the social environment all affect the quality of the learning process. A study performed on “information technology education in primary schools shows that gender, the educational status of the parents, whether the family owns a computer, whether the parents assist the child with homework, the student's perceptions and attitudes towards studying all have a statistically significant effect (Demir, 2008). In the transition from an industrial society to information society, educational models also exhibit significant changes. In transitioning to an information society, the teacher's role as a guide, the student learning through teamwork, management based on educationaladministrative leadership, learning based on personal initiative, variable educations programs, organizational learning and multi-faceted conceptional learning criteria become important. In this context, learning through computer laboratory activities, with peers, through debate and consulting other resources and by joint activities that allow students to complement each other, is considered to have the potential to be high quality and sustainable. Many studies show that the use of additional teaching materials has a positive effect on student success. The effect of computer assisted instruction has been shown to have a positive effect in science classes (Altunay and Şeker, 2008), English classes (Akdağ and Tok, 2008), and education with autistic children (Bayram, 2006). 2. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND PACKAGE PROGRAMS 96 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo All technology used in gathering, processing, storing, transmitting through networks and presenting information to users, including communication and computing technologies, may be referred to as “information technologies” (Tonta,1999). Developments in information technology have also affected the field of software. Two important developments have taken place in the field of software for end users in an organizational context. Firstly, instead of specific programs with a single aim developed by in house software experts or end users, organizations are using package programs developed by software companies. This trend began with the emergence of affordable and easy to use software packages designed for micro computers. Today, package programs are available for almost every sector and are developed and marketed by software companies. 3. USAGE OF PACKAGE PROGRAMS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR Considering that electronic trade is becoming widespread and will take up an important share in the total trade volume of all countries, information technology has become an important issue (Gölönü, 2006). Computer based automation systems have become an important infrastructural element in the tourism sector. To address this need, many software companies have developed automation software systems specifically for hotels. Tourism companies are required to gather information regularly, store this information and recall it when necessary. Travel agents are required to fill in forms regarding the products or services that they market as intermediaries, such as accommodation, independent catering services from restaurants, cafes and bars etc., yacht and boat rental companies, other travel agencies organizing city tours, airlines, car or limousine rental companies, railways, maritime transportation companies, and those providing guidance services in museums and places of interest in order to achieve continuity in their services and therefore achieve efficiency and customer satisfaction. Therefore, travel agencies are marketing information in a sense. In this context, travel agencies depend on correct and timely information in their operations, and information technologies are a vital aspect in management. As the tourism sector is based on the production and development of information, information technologies are highly significant. For this reason, there is a multitude of package programs for tourism operators on the market and it is almost impossible to find a tourism agency that does not use package programs. Most of the software developed for the tourism sector targets travel agencies and organizations providing accommodation. 4. PACKAGE INSTITUTIONS PROGRAM EDUCATION IN TOURISM EDUCATION Software companies marketing to the tourism sector provide most of their automation software to education institutions providing tourism education for free or a modest fee. For example, PROTEL, a company representing the Fidelio program provides free education to instructors giving reception courses in universities, in the scope of the Tourism Education and Employment Support Project. If the instructor achieves a score of 70 or higher in the examination at the end of the training, the Fidelio program is provided to the educational institution free of charge. SAN Bilgisayar, the producer of the Sejour program, used in travel agency automation, provided the program to schools free of charge, but now is struggling to 97 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo cope with the demand and charges a modest fee. Some other programs such as Newage and Tourkuaz are free to try or have demo versions. 5. METHODOLOGY 5.1. Aim of the Study The aim of the study is to identify whether the use of course books and laboratory sessions outside of class hours, constituting additional teaching materials, has an effect on student success in applied vocational information technology courses. Furthermore, this study aims to identify if schools and administrators providing IT systems education should facilitate the provision of resources and space for students to study outside of class hours, to achieve higher quality and permanency in learning processes. 5.2. Research Methods The study consisted of two parts. 73 students took part in laboratory application sessions outside of class hours, and took the examination which was taken by a total of 145 students. To examine the effectiveness of the use of course books, 93 students were provided with course books, while 97 students were not. The study used a post test controlled experimental design. The population for the study was all students receiving package program education, while the sample selected consisted of third year students at the Akdeniz University, School of Tourism and Hotel Management, department of travel and accommodation management. The data was gathered based on the results of the test that was performed. All data was analyzed using the SPSS 15.0 program. 5.3.Hypothesis Assuming that practice on the computer is necessary for students to be successful in package program education, our hypothesis was as follows H1: Practice with the package program in the computer laboratory outside of class hours, together with peers, has a positive effect on academic success. Assuming that students required course books as well as computer practice to be successful in package program education, our hypothesis was as follows: H2: Apart from computer practice in package program education, the distribution of course books has a positive effect on academic success. 6. FINDINGS In this section, we will examine the hypothesis formulated above. Table 1 displays the correlation between students practice in computer laboratories outside of class hours and course success. 98 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo Table 1: Students activities outside of class hours and Success Rates Correlation Success Success Study Outside of Class 1 .423** .000 Study Outside of Class 146 146 .423** 1 .000 146 146 As shown in Table 1, there is a correlation between the exam results and the time spent by students in study outside of class hours. The correlation coefficient was found to be .423. As a result, we can conclude that study in computer laboratories outside of class hours has a moderate positive effect on academic success (Büyüköztürk et al., 2010a). Based on this data, we can accept hypothesis H1. Table 2 shows the results of a t-test analysis performed on independent groups to identify the effect of the provision of course books apart from computer practice, on academic success in package program education. Table 2: The effect of course books Course Books N X S Control Group 93 24.3434 44.2151 9 Experimental Group 93 21.8996 64.1935 0 df t p 92 -5.7684 0,000 According to the results of the t-test, shown in Table 2, t(92) = -5.7684, p<0.05, and Cohen’s d = 0.598. Therefore, we can say that the provision of course books has a statistically significant effect on student success and this effect (Cohen’s d = 0.598) is moderate (Büyüköztürk et al., 2010b). The experimental group was observed to have a higher rate of success. Therefore, we can accept our hypothesis H2. 99 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo 7. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS It has been shown that practice with programs outside of class hours and the provision of a resource book increases the academic success of students receiving applied package program education. Therefore, organizations providing package program education should consider acquiring package program demos, course books and other additional teaching materials for the use of students in order to increase student learning levels and success rates. It is clear that the use of additional teaching materials increases the quality of instruction. A high quality learning process will doubtlessly lead to a higher level of success. Educational institutions may also consider the possibility of allowing students to log on to the campus services from their home computers, in order to practice using package programs. Providing the demo versions of package programs for students to install on their home computers may also be an effective way to facilitate the learning process. This study has examined the effects of the usage of course books and laboratory package program use outside of class hours. Similar studies may be performed on the usage of other teaching materials. In this study, we have not performed research regarding the permanency of learning and this may be addressed by other researchers. REFERENCES Alkaya, Y. (2006). Turizm Endüstrisinde Bilgi Sistemleri Uygulamasında İnsan Kaynaklarının Yönetimi, http://ab.org.tr/ab06/bildiri/99.doc, Accessed 10.04.2012. Akdağ, M., & Tok, H. (2008). Geleneksel Öğretim ile PowerPoint Sunum Destekli Öğretimin Öğrenci Erişisine Etkisi. Eğitim ve Bilim Dergisi, 33(147), 26-34. Bayram, S. (2006). Bilgisayar Destekli Özel www.servetbayram.com/otizmce/http/kongre_makale.doc, Accessed 10.04.2012. Eğitim. Altunay, A.Y. & Şeker, R. (2008). Bilgisayar Ortamında Hazırlanan Kavram Haritalarının Bir Öğretim Materyali Olarak Fen Bilgisi Dersinde Kullanılmasının İlköğretim Öğrencilerinin Başarılarına Etkisi. TSA Dergisi, 12(3): 19-32. Öğüt, A., Güleş, H.K. & Çetinkaya, A.Ş. (2003). Bilişim Teknolojileri Işığında Turizm Işletmelerinde Yönetim: Enformatik Bir Bakış. 1. Basım, Ankara: Nobel Yayıncılık. Yılmaz, M.P. (2007). Chermik: Otel Otomasyon Sistemi. Elektrik-Elektronik Bölümü Dergisi, . Akova, O., Sarıışık, M. & Akbaba, A. (2007). Seyahat Acentalarında İşgören Bulma ve İşgören Seçme Yöntemlerine Yönelik Bir Araştırma. Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 15: 275-296. Altınöz, M. (2008). Ofis Otomasyon Sistemlerinin Bireysel Performans Üzerine Etkisi. Selçuk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 20: 51-63 . Kınay, F. & Kınay H., (2004), Konaklama Işletmelerinde Kullanılan Önbüro Paket Programları Üzerine Antalya Yöresinde Bir Araştırma. TSE Standart dergisi, 43(510): 70-79. Kurbanoglu, S. & Akkoyunlu, B. (2002). Bilgi Okuryazarlığı: Bir İlkögretim Okulunda Yürütülen Uygulama Çalışması. Türk Kütüphaneciliği, 16(1): 20 - 41. Yıldırım, R. (2001). Öğrenmeyi Öğrenmek. İstanbul: Sistem Yayıncılık. 100 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo Balay, R. (2004). Küreselleşme, Bilgi Toplumu ve Eğitim. Ankara Üniversitesi Eğitim Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi, 37(2): 61-82. Gölönü, S. (2006). Gelişen Teknolojiler, Öğrenen Örgütler ve Halkla İlişkiler. Selçuk Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Dergisi, 4(3): 73-81. Düşükcan, M. & Kaya, E.Ü. (2003). İşletmelerde Bilgi Teknolojilerinin Kullanılma Yerleri. web.firat.edu.tr/daum/docs/13/08düşükcan.doc, Accessed 10.04.2012. Tonta Y. (1999). Bilgi Toplumu ve Bilgi Teknolojisi, Türk Kütüphaneciliği, 13(4): 363-375 Büyüköztürk, Ş., Çakmak, E., Akgün, Ö., Karadeniz, Ş. & Demirel, F. (2010a). Bilimsel Araştırma Yöntemleri, Ankara:Pegem Yayınları. Büyüköztürk, Ş., Çokluk, Ö. & Köklü, N. (2010b). İstatistik, Ankara:Pegem Yayınları. 101 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1156 Title A name given to the resource The Impacts Of Using Additional Teaching Materials On Students’ Performance In Package Program Education: The Case Of Fidelio And Sejour Author Author Hasan , Kinay Abstract A summary of the resource. This study has been carried out to examine the effects of the use of additional teaching materials on student's performances, during educational activities regarding the use of package programs in the tourism sector. The study design called for two separate groups. Students were provided with a laboratory for study outside of course hours. 73 students took part in practice sessions outside of course hours, while a total of 145 students took the examinations. While researching the effects of using course books, 93 students took classes having been provided course books, while a further 97 students took the classes without course books. A post test controlled experimental design was used to compare the two groups. The study was carried out with third year students of the Akdeniz University, School of Tourism and Hotel Management in the fall term of the 2011 – 2012 educational year. To gather data on the effectiveness of usage of course books, the Fidelio program instructors applied a test with 10 open ended questions, prepared by employees working in the sector and using the program and the researchers. For the laboratory effectiveness study, a post test consisting of 10 questions was prepared by the researchers together with sector employees and applied to the students. The results of the study were evaluated using the SPSS 15.0 statistical software package. Based on the findings, the researchers have made recommendations on the use of course books and laboratory study outside of class hours in applied courses such as package program instruction. Keywords: Additional Teaching Materials, Package Program Education, Package Program Usage Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-05-31 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed H Social Sciences (General)