Issue 4, 2013

The current study dwells upon Edgar Schein’s original framework for exploring organizational culture by classifying its elements to three levels. Important directions of model’s elaboration are identified and analyzed. The last have been undertaken by different researchers in the last three decades, based on individual’s necessities, involvement and experience with the application in practice of this model. Viewing Schein’s model as a hologram is recommended as a way to dissolve subjectively identified by different authors issues or ambiguities in this framework. Thus, a contemporary, useful and richer “snapshot” of this model is proposed for use in the organizations during these turbulent times when cultural intelligence capabilities come of greater importance for their successful market performance.
JEL: M14; L20; D03

The paper is dedicated to the answer of the unresolved question since the turning 1989 whether the popular for their advantages joint ventures manifest in Bulgaria one of their most important disadvantages, namely the realization of the two main types of infringements of competition – behavioral and structural. The starting point in the study is the overview of the legal regulation of joint ventures under European Communitarian competition law as a source of the correspondent Bulgarian legislation. Тhe Bulgarian legal norms on competition relating to joint ventures in the three lawson protection of competition successively passed in Bulgaria in 1991, 1998 and 2008 and the extent of adoption in them of the joint ventures’ regulatory norms of the supranational competition law of the European Union are reflected. The biggest attention is given to the internationally comparable results from the analysis of the identified by the author decisions of the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) relating to the presence or the lack of behavioral and structural infringements of competition by joint ventures for a sufficiently long period that has been fixed here at 20 years, or this is the period from the creation of the national authority for the protection of competition in 1991 to 2010. In this regard, data are presented for: year in which the CPC’s decision is promulgated; grounds for initiating proceedings before the CPC; domestic or international variety of the joint ventures in the CPC’s decisions; industries of the joint ventures according to three industrial classifications; pecuniary sanctions imposed by the CPC to the joint ventures.
JEL: L24; K21; L40; L10; D40

The paper studies the nature and role of the key indicators of the financial health of banks, banking concentration and guidance on a comprehensive assessment of banking. It is an attempt to systematize and present general criteria and guidelines for finding important (strong) financial ratios and relationships. We propose and implement a methodology of quantitative analysis of the efficiency of the banking system. The problem of evaluation is selecting new, more complex and appropriate methods to build on and improve arguing modern and important functions of financial analysis.
JEL: G20; G21; G32

Communication policies of farms in Bulgaria: The development of marketing communications at the Bulgarian agricultural enterprises faces serious difficulties. Therefore the main objective of this study is to discover the appropriate forms for the implementation of successful marketing communications of the farms with customers and the public. The main tools for communicating with individuals, groups and organizations: public relations (PR), advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, direct marketing (DM) are analyzed in details. The wide-ranging role of agricultural policies in the field of communications activity of agricultural enterprises is explored. The possibilities of application of the communication policies of agricultural enterprises at micro, meso, macro and mega level are analyzed. It is estimated that in perspective the areas of application, tools and budgets for communication policies of agricultural enterprises should increase steadily at all levels. As the most appropriate in terms of opportunities for utilization and outcomes emerge PR and DM in combination with the Internet and the new information technologies and devices.
JEL: М37; М38; Q18

This paper analyzes the need for harmonizing the standards for accounting reporting by fully applying the principle of Accrual Based Accounting in the public sector in the EU member states. It also examines the discrepancy between the accountancy in the public sector, based on the cash flow principle (cash basis) and the Accrual Based principle applied in the process of budget monitoring in the EU (ESA 95, 2011). The emphasis is laid on the strong dependency of the statistical information at the European level on the quality of the accounting and information basis of public finances and on Eurostat’s willingness to create a system of harmonized accounting standards, based on the Accrual Based accounting, which are in compliance with ЕSA and applicable to all agents in the State Governance sector. This paper further analyzes the standardization of the accounting in the public sector of the EU member states and globally and presents some trends of its development. The International Accounting Standards in the public sector based on the Accrual Based accounting have been characterized. Furthermore, the paper examines the standardization of accounting in the public sector in Bulgaria and the opportunities for its implementation. The paper holds the view that the standardization of accounting and the strict adherence to the principles of Accrual Based accounting in Bulgaria will bring significant benefits to the public fund management.
JEL: M41

Bulgarian economy faces one of the worst crises in recent years. It is associated with a deep consumption and production recession in most industrial sectors of the economy.
One of the industrial sectors which have good development prospects is the sector of manufacture of chemical products. Most recent studies suggest that this is the most dynamically developing sectors of Bulgarian industry, which not loses, but wins in a crisis.
Main reasons for this sector growth are as the consumer oriented products as well as a high degree of innovation and continuous developing of these products.
The basic aim of the article is to identify such appropriate practices that could be used for enforcing the business growth in sloping markets.
According to the basic aim the next tasks are identified:

• Analyzing common condition of one industry resp. Cosmetic industry;
• Identifying some basic conditions for business growth within the analyzed industrial sector;
• Exploring good business practices within Bulgarian Cosmetic industry.

The next research questions have arisen from the defined tasks:

• What is typical for the Bulgarian cosmetic industry in a crisis?
• Are there good practices of the Bulgarian cosmetics companies?
• What are the growth prospects of the cosmetics companies in the upcoming years?

Answers of the questions above are given in the next article. These findings are limited by different restrictions as follows: the access to corporate information and the absence of sufficient information on the export of Bulgarian cosmetics products abroad.
According to the above, the object of the article is Bulgarian cosmetic and specifically its individual representatives. The subject of research is set as follows: growth of the Bulgarian cosmetics by implementing good management practices.
JEL: F10; L25; L66