Archive of articles - January 2000, page 2

Maximizing Performance: Take careful aim before you fire

A recent lunch meeting with a frustrated general manager made me realize once again how important it is to have an objective view of the status quo at a firm before trying to improve staff performance.This particular GM wanted to consult with me about a series of training workshops he wanted to arrange to improve the work of his staff. He said no matter how many times he explained his vision of new work procedures, the staff did not seem to 'get it'. He understood the problem, but was far less sure of its causes and possible solutions.

EU "more important than sex"

European Commission boss Romano Prodi appeared deeply impressed by Slovakia's committment to EU entry during his visit to Bratislava on January 20. So impressed, in fact, that he compared Slovakia's interest in the number of EU acquis communautaire chapters it would be allowed to begin negotiating to a primal urge. "It seems as if the number of chapters is for Slovaks more important than sex," Prodi joked at a January 20 press conference.If the tone of Prodi's comments was light, the substance of his message was far more sober. Following the decision of the EU Helsinki summit last December to begin entry negotiations with Slovakia, the Bratislava government had begun to suggest that the EU might begin negotiating as many as 15 chapters in the acquis, an 80,000-page document setting out the changes candidate countries must make before EU entry.

Top Pick: Slovak ballet dancers thrill audiences in February

The Slovak National Theatre (SND) and its ballet productions begin the second part of the 1999/2000 season with nearly 15 performances featuring some of the best Slovak ballet dancers. To mark the occasion, the SND held a gala on January 21 to present their annual awards for the best classical and neo-classical ballet dancers.The award for best ballet artist went to Ingrid Kačiaková. She can be seen at the SND in various ballets this season, including Worthless Caution, Líza, Snow White and the Seven Racers, Queen, Spartacus, Egina, Don Quixote, Ouiterie, Scherezade, Zobeida, Swan Lake, Odilia and Requiem Life.

Around Slovakia

Sme loses court battle against Mečiar governmentBus accident claims four livesFormer minister's daughter commits suicideSiamese twins born by caesarean sectionHalf-frozen father and son rescued in mountains141 murders in Slovakia last year

Review: Play captures confused Slovak identity

The first scene of Gunagu Theatre director Viktor Klimáček's new play Genius Loci ('The Soul of the Place' in Latin) shows a 'lonely young man' - a young Slovak alone in his flat, listening to opera while masturbating. Although he is unnamed, as are all the nine characters, the audience recognizes him.Genius Loci is Klimáček's view of life in modern Slovakia; the whirlwind changes, trials and tribulations of a country just 10 years removed from its communist past.Different life stories are shown of nine characters, each somehow intertwined with the others: a lonely young man, a young actor, an actress/call girl, an insurance company employee, a mentally disturbed professor, a divorced father, a priest, a father living at home with his baby, and a drug addict.

Review: Magic Nutcracker beautifully performed

It's just before 11 a.m. on Saturday, January 15, and the Slovak National Theatre is a-swarm with children waiting for the legendary Nutcracker performance to begin. Dressed in their best clothes, shoes polished and eyes glittering with excitement, the young ballet-goers are about to witness a beautiful rendition of a classic fairytale.Tchaikovsky's imaginative ballet takes us back to a children's realm of dream and fantasy. The show begins with little Máša (danced by 14 year-old Veronika Szabová) falling asleep and dreaming that one of her Christmas gifts, a nutcracker, defeats the king of mice in a battle. The humble nutcracker is suddenly transformed into a prince who will take Máša with him on wonderful adventures in strange lands.

Cabinet defends cautious tax policy

It's a blustery Friday in early January, and the owner of a small Slovak business is visiting a tax office in the Bratislava district of Petržalka to inquire about a new special tax cut for self-employed people. His initial enthusiasm, sparked by the prospect of a 1.5% tax rate, ebbs as he looks around the empty room.His misgivings are confirmed by the tax official on duty, who reports that only 500 people nationwide have so far been in to apply for the new license scheme. Neither he nor almost any of Slovakia's 350,000 self-employed qualify for the tax cuts, the businessman is told. "Who qualifies? Nobody does," the official says.

Around Slovakia

Lexa lodges complaint in Strasbourg CourtTwo Chinese nationals murdered at warehouseTeenagers charged with double murderNew Year's explosives claim casualtiesGirl refusing drunken sexual advances murderedPolice arrest nine mafia members for Stojka murderTeenagers steal 3.5 million Slovak crowns

VSŽ reverses further Rezeš-era mistakes

After a busy summer and a wild autumn in 1999, eastern Slovak steel-maker VSŽ has passed a relatively calm winter in negotiations on a stand still agreement with creditors and on the entrance of a future strategic partner. Threats that former management would mount a coup to wrest control of the company from its current management have given way to a steady process of recovery and restructuring.Consolidation has continued apace, capped by the recent merger of daughter companies VSŽ Export-Import and VSŽ Ferroenergy under the wings of VSŽ Oceĺ. The new Oceľ was turned into a joint stock company on January 1, leading the drive in VSŽ's once 120-plus company empire towards more transparent control of financial and information channels, something unknown under the management of former VSŽ czar Alexander Rezeš.

Economic Briefs

Government to pay 33 billion crowns for Mečiar bondsFinance Ministry against rapid interest rate fallEngineering sector predicts loss of one billion Sk for 1999Slovak sugar mills produce 193,950 metric tons of sugarMore emphasis needed on Slovak agriculture

MP suggests Roma 'solution'

Róbert Fico, one of Slovakia's most popular politicians, has promised to submit to parliament a draft amendment to the Social Benefits Law which would potentially deny Slovak Romanies their legal right to collect benefits.Speaking at a January 15 press conference to introduce the bill, Fico proposed that "citizens who travel for speculative reasons to a foreign country with the aim of demanding political asylum there would, on their return to Slovakia, have their social benefits payments stopped for 12 months." The amendment, Fico said, aimed to reduce the number of Slovak Roma who demand asylum in foreign countries.Following the migration of over 360 Slovak Roma to Helsinki in early January to demand political asylum, the Finnish government decided on January 13 to re-impose a visa requirement on Slovak nationals.

HZDS starts early election petition drive

Following a January 16 meeting of top officials from the HZDS opposition party in Nitra, western Slovakia, the party announced it was launching a petition drive to have a referendum on early parliamentary elections called."The Movement for a Democratic Slovakia [HZDS] won't allow state structures to be destroyed [by the current government], and thus in the near future will prepare a petition on early elections in Slovakia" HZDS Deputy Chairman Rudolf Žiak told media after the meeting.Although Žiak said that January 16 could be taken as the start of the petition, HZDS spokesman Marian Kardoš explained three days later that it would take a while longer for the effort to begin in earnest.

Bidders still drawn to delayed ST sale

The sale of a 51% stake in the state-run telecom monopoly Slovenské Telekomunikácie (ST) remains blocked by a protracted legal battle between ST and Austrian CDI Radio. But although the conflict threatens to further delay the date on which ST will finally be sold, investment professionals remain calm, and say the Slovak government is doing a good job of shepherding the process along.Stanislav Vanek, the director of the Telecom Ministry's Regulatory Section, explained that the legal dispute had its roots in an agreement signed 10 years ago by CDI with the state-run Slovak Radio channel. The deal gave CDI the right to broadcast via frequencies covering all of western Slovakia, but was later disallowed by ST because "the conditions were not consistent with legislation of the Slovak broadcasting act."

Letters to the editor

Painter Robert Hromec: Messenger from time past

High above the roofs of Bratislava, in painter Robert Hromec's airy studio, bleeding torsos and ancient Venus figures come alive. Many of the colours Hromec uses - blood red, terra cotta, ochre - are earthy and evoke a sense of the past in viewers. Indeed, the theme of human history dominates most of Hromec's work."Time and history is a circle," Hromec muses. "In a way, everything has already happened, and by looking back in time we may be able not only to understand ourselves but perhaps also to predict events and try to avoid mistakes."Back in Bratislava from a seven-year sojourn in New York, Hromec is excited about a forthcoming exhibition of his work, called 'Messengers of Time,' which was set to open on January 21 at Pálffy Palace in Bratislava.

Dzurinda pulls rug out from under SDK

Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda touched off a risky political offensive on January 17 with the announcement that he would form a new political party. The move was interpreted as a dramatic bid by Slovakia's leader to end bitter feuding within his SDK party and secure a political future for himself.The new party will be known as the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), and according to Dzurinda will not be registered at the Interior Ministry until some time close to the 2002 parliamentary elections. Until then, the Prime Minister said, the SDK caucus would remain united, and would honour all of the promises it had made to voters and the other three parties of Slovakia's coalition government.

HR management fosters positive responses to corporate leadership

Human relations in business are governed by the principle of reciprocity. If a firm or a manager shows trust and confidence in their employees, employees will have faith in their managers. If managers create reliable and fair systems, employees will behave in a reliable way. If companies work to build lasting relationships with their people, they in turn will respond with loyalty and commitment.As simple as this relationship may sound, firms often work differently in reality. Trying to cope with business downturns or competition, companies may cut training budgets, introduce pay freezes, slash employee benefits or even lay off workers on a large scale.

Corporate Briefs

Antitrust Bureau to decide on Heineken brewery purchaseSE utility plans Eurobond issue in early 2000Rieker shoemaker sells 1.2 billion Sk in 1999SES Tlmače makes 55.9 million Sk gross profit in 1999Cable maker Leoni Slowakia doubles turnover in 1999Hoechst-Biotika profits soar ten-fold in 1999Matador to supply 400,000 tires for Škoda in 2000

Y2K disaster scenarios never materialised as predicted

My name is Peter Krošlák, and I work for PosAm Bratislava, a company that sells hardware solutions for information systems. Once a month in this space I will be bringing you hot topics from the field of information systems technical infrastructure, such as "Unix, Windows or NetWare?" or "Do You Need a Highly Reliable and Accessible System?" and so on. I intend to examine each problem from various points of view, and then invite your opinions and questions. Are you ready? Let's start.