West Pomeranian University of Technology Szczecin, Poland Business managers report the need for modern methods to improve the implementation of organizational strategies. Translating the strategy into activities and monitoring its implementation poses a serious challenge for the management of modern enterprises. The article aims to present proposals for multidimensional performance measurement with the help of Balanced Scorecard (BSC) for selected Polish listed companies in the confectionery industry. The authors’ original solution within the framework of the BSC construction is extending the range of perspectives for assessing performance compared to the card proposed by Kaplan and Norton by the perspective of suppliers and CSR, and the appropriate selection of measures for this assessment. The article is based on literature studies and analysis of information included in business strategies, financial statements and reports on the operations of selected confectionery companies. Research on the use of multidimensional performance measurement using BSC, taking into account the additional perspectives of suppliers and CSR, help to better understand the relationship between economic, social, and environmental aspects of a company’s operations.

Public participation is needed for nongovernmental organisations (NGO) to function and exist, as the public plays the role of investors by supporting the NGOs financially and thereby providing a quorum needed for the organisation to operate and make decisions. NGOs provide services for defending public interests, and the NGOs members carefully assess their gains from involvement or participation continuation in public organisations, just as if choosing a good or service for consumption. The level of society activity in NGOs sector is low in Latvia comparing with the Western world. To increase it, it is required to contribute to the public’s trust and NGOs transparency. Organisational performance analysis is one of the ways how to provide members with information on performance and funding use, as the members of NGOs wish to be sure that their membership fees and other financial support are effectively used to achieve their goals and defend the interests of their members. The research aims to analyse financial analysis methods used in the NGO sector. The research tasks were set: 1) to analyse the substance of financial analysis of NGO, and 2) to identify shortcomings for a comprehensive analysis of NGO. The research has found that as public participation in NGOs increases, it becomes increasingly important to provide financial transparency in the NGO sector in order to contribute to the public’s trust in the NGOs and make it possible to verify the consistency of funding use with the organisation’s goals and performance.

Given the intensive competition between rural businesses, building and managing good corporate reputation of rural businesses is gaining its popularity among business owners, marketers as well as among scholars. Building and managing good corporate reputation is considered to be one of the crucial goals for businesses that lead to successful competition in ever changing business world. The aim of this research is to determine dimensions and attributes for building good corporate reputation in the framework of rural businesses. To reach the aim, this paper adopts analysis and synthesis of scientific and practical literature in the field of corporate reputation management and, focus group discussion. 23 attributes of corporate reputation representing 7 corporate reputation dimensions were generated from scientific and practical literature. Generated attributes were provided for the evaluation and discussion during the focus group discussion to 7 representatives of rural businesses’ stakeholder groups, namely: customer, employee, supplier, business owner, media, local community, and expert. Empirical research proved 7 rural businesses’ corporate reputation dimensions: Products and Services, Innovation, Workplace, Governance, Citizenship, Leadership and Performance, each of the dimensions constituting of 3−4 corporate reputation attributes. For the further research, quantitative research to test corporate reputation dimensions and attributes and calculate its weights in the context rural businesses is necessary.

Mediation process promotes conflict solving, contributes to a higher level of positive solutions and decreases the number of litigation cases. The aim of the study is to outline the usage of constructive approach in mediation process, analyse conflict and its solving models and to find out the opinions of secondary school students on dialogue and conflict, as well as parties’ assessments after the mediation process. The theoretical method of the study is the analysis of conflict, conflict resolution, mediation process and long-standing mediator practice. The investigation of constructivist approach, conflict elements and strategies are outlined in the study. Conflict solving models are analysed in the Methodology part of the study. Empirical methods were a structured group interview of secondary school students and questioning of conflicting parties. The results of the study confirm that knowledge on conflict and mediation should be developed at school and mediation models should be improved on the basis of constructive approach.

Fragmentation of private property (142 thousand private forest owners) cause the challenge for governing forests, because forests are part of wider forest ecosystems, but at the same time narrowly assigned by private borders. Land restitution put the new pressures on path dependent management and new possibilities and responsibilities (that were emergent features of private forest governance). This article is part of doctoral thesis about the common governance of private forests with particular aim to focus on describing knowledge and experience exchange in private forest owners’ networks in this paper. The research question for this article is to help to find out how the translation of experience and knowledge manifest itself in private forest owners’ networks? The best theoretical model to fit this situation is the concept of translation from actor-network theory and emergent norm theory. Case study approach was selected to follow actors in forest owners’ networks. The cases are forest owners’ cooperatives, forest owners NGO’s, as well as other forms, in particular, forest extension services and cases where an emergent process can be seen. The empirical material shows that translation of experience and knowledge manifest itself in few important ways, namely, at first, in a negotiation of needs and agreement on private forest owners’ needs; secondly, in stewardship role of multi-functional actors; thirdly, in emerging and evolving legislative norms. A multi-functional actor is a term offered in order to reveal a wide range of mediation forms in multicultural multi nature of forests as governed property and forests as integral part of ecosystems.

The paper covers analysis of pre-commercial thinning performed in private forests over the period of 2007–2017. Since 2007, permanent and considerable European Union subsidies for pre-commercial thinning have been available; resulting in a significant increase in area of thinned young stands in private forests. The aim of this research is ascertain pre-commercial thinning activity depending on the type of forest owner (individuals, legal persons or local municipality), forest stand type (forest stand or plantation) and origin (natural or artificial) as well as the forest owner’s intention to apply for European Union subsidies. Data analysed were obtained from Forest State Register – national data base, managed by state authority State Forest Service and continued analysis comprise two main topics – ascertain amount and type of young stands owned by different type of private forest owners and amount and type of conducted pre-commercial thinning. In comparison with other type of forest owners, legal persons have significantly higher amount (47%) of young plantation forest and forest stands from the total forest stands area. The highest intensity of thinning was conducted in plantation forests of artificial origin owned by legal and physical persons, also forest stands with artificial origin owned by physical persons. The current period for European Union Rural development programme will be over in 2020; therefore, it is important to analyse the existing approach of granting subsidies to forestry and find the improvement necessary for the planning period from the year 2021.

Precision of the forest inventory still is one of the most important problems in the forestry nowadays. The aim of this research was to estimate the results of the combined forest inventory (CFI), using high spatial resolution aerial images in the planned areas of clear-cuts, comparing the results with the calipering and production files of harvesters. Testing of algorithms showed considerable difference in results between the CFI, forest inventory data and harvester production data. CFI results and production data had a close correlation with R2 =0.83. Comparing CFI calculated growing stock with production data, the average relative error amounted to 10.7%, which means the possibility for integration of these results into the forest inventory system. Comparing to CFI, there is a weak correlation between forest inventory and production data with R2 =0.34. The results indicate that LiDAR CFI technology can be used in the forecasting of the forest management, offering precise information about potential amount and economic value of assortments.

The aim of the research is to find out changes in productivity depending on the diameter of the tree to be cut as well as the most important factor influencing the reduction of productivity using small size forest machines in thinning in Latvia. The equipment used in the study – both the harvester and the forwarder is Vimek. The results of the research confirm the appropriateness of the exact technique in thinning if diameter of the harvested trees is 3 to 30 cm. The average productivity of the harvester achieved with a harvester head Keto Forest Eco (option 2) in Norway spruce stands with 8 cm weighted average tree reached 9.59 m**3 hE-1, in deciduous tree stands with 9 cm weighted average was 10.17 m**3 hE-1, but in Scots pine stands with 12 cm average weighted tree diameter reached 10.19 m**3 hE-1. By using the Keto Forest Eco Harvester head according to the thinning productivity figures, no significant difference among the tree species was detected. For the forest owner to predict the theoretical productivity of the harvester, it is possible to apply the equation R = K + KD * D, that is statistically significant, R2 =0.85. This equation is applicable to thinnings when the diameter of thinned trees is between 4 and 25 cm. Forwarder’s average productivity in thinned stands is 8.63 m**3 hE-1.

Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) is economically important tree species, vulnerable to impact of different biotic (cervids, bark beetle etc.) and abiotic (wind, wet snow etc.) factors and their combinations, expected to increase in frequency and/or magnitude in future due to climate changes. The aim of the study was to characterize occurrence damages in Norway spruce stands in Latvia. Data from 635 National forest inventory sample plots were used in the analysis, thus providing the information primarily on the non-lethal damages, since the dead trees in most of the cases would be removed from the stands in sanitary cuts. Damages were reported for 11.6 ± 1.1% of spruces from total basal area of spruces in the assessed pure and mixed stands. Admixture of other tree species or soil (group of forest types) had no significant effect on the proportion of damaged spruces. Also, no statistically significant differences in dimensions were observed between damaged and undamaged trees. The major cause of damages was browsing (three quarter of damaged spruces, in contrast to only one-quarter of the rest of the trees) and the highest proportion of damaged spruces were in stands in the age group 41 – 80 years, significantly differing from that in younger (up to 20 years) stands, demonstrating both the preferences of cervids to a certain dimensions of spruce as well as accumulation of damages over time.

In Latvia, P.abies (L.) H. Karst stands occupy about 18% of the total forest area (3.01 million) forming pure and mixed stands. Regardless of the main goals, productivity of the future forest stands must be preserved; therefore, it is very important for forest management to identify risk factors. P.abies often suffers from various risk factors. The aim of the research was – to assess the sanitary state of Picea abies (L.) H. Karst in Oxalidosa, where the area of forest stands has been restored both anthropogenically and naturally. Selected young stands are located in Limbazi district of Latvia. Empirical data was collected in 5 spruce stands with the total area of 9.2 ha in Oxalidosa. In total, 67 sample plots were installed with radius of 3.99 m, measuring 799 trees. Diameter was measured for all trees in the sample plot. For sanitary state of P.abies young stands characterization damage caused by biotic factors was assessed visually after four-point scale: health tree (0), minor damage to 25% (1), moderately damaged 26 – 50% (2), severely damaged or dried – from 51% (3). Damage caused by P.abietina and browsing was found in several stands, while damage produced by P.abietina larvae was detected only in one pure stand. Occurrence of browsing damage is 10 – 28%, while damage intensity – 7.7 – 21.8%. There are significant differences between occurrence of browsing damage (p=0.001) and also between damaged tree damage intensity (p=0.003). Nature of browsing damage depends on the size of pure and mixed stand area, the location in forest massif and adjoining territory.