Archive of articles - February 2000, page 3
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Getting value from IT a 'hot topic'
The importance of IT in the sense of IT costs disbursed and the value gained from such an investment is again becoming a 'hot issue'. The answer is simple - getting value from IT depends on the manner in which IT is used. However, another problem is emerging - other parts of the same organisation who put escalating demands on IT resources often show dissatisfaction with the value the organisation gets from IT.In the first place, the costs of services provided by most IT departments are usually poorly identified, which consequently creates the suspicion that IT is too expensive and frequently out of control. Such an attitude may leave managers unable to define priorities for reducing IT costs and increasing value, instead of adopting new techniques for the improvement of IT costing.
Nabucco - a feast for eyes and ears
The epic tale of Nabucco, set in Jerusalem and Babylon in 586 B.C., unfolded on the stage of the Slovak National Opera House on February 18. Judging by the rousing reaction of the predominantly Austrian crowd, the ancient tale will draw more opera enthusiasts (and novices) to future performances.Nabucco is an extremely well choreographed and beautifully performed performance. The collective voice of the choir is stunning, the soloists reach seemingly impossible notes and the stage-arrangements and costumes are outstanding.Yet, as grandiose as the historic tale is, the stage-arrangements are diminutive in proportion. The contrast is quite effective in its simplicity as the backdrop does not distract the viewer from the musical drama.
Doorkeepers a relic of the past
In their communist heyday, Slovak doorkeepers enjoyed an authority far beyond their humble occupations. Elderly, aggressive and suspicious, the typical vrátnik (doorkeeper) inhabited a small glass booth at the entrance of every public building, challenging visitors to produce identification and explain their business.Ten years after the fall of the regime that gave doorkeepers their authority, vrátniks remain a feature of many Slovak companies. Their wings, however, are being steadily clipped. At many private and some state-owned companies, the average age of vratníks has fallen while their qualifications and pay have risen. And in an attempt to brighten their public 'faces', many companies have tightened the vrátnik's job description to prevent abuses of power.
Corporate restructuring: Painful whatever you call it
The phrase 'corporate restructuring' is not likely ever to enter common parlance, because it's too vague to fire the popular imagination. It gives no hint of the factory closures, the management upheavals and desperate search for cash that will sweep Slovak industry as the government's plans to transform companies into profit makers gathers speed this summer.There are two reasons, however, why the government might not want a more accurate phrase ('instant industrial Darwinsim'? 'open-heart corporate surgery'?) to be coined: no one in Bratislava really has any idea what it will involve, and they don't want anyone else to know how painful it will be.
Law firm turf war may result in suits
A legal squabble between Slovak and international attorneys heated up on February 7 when Štefan Detvai, the chairman of the Slovak Chamber of Advocates (or 'bar'), appeared on TV Markíza to accuse the New York-based law firm White & Case of operating without a license in Slovakia. Calling the American firm's activities "totally illegal", Detvai said that the Slovak bar would lay criminal charges against White & Case and all other international law firms operating in a similar way.
International Cuisine
Al Amir Arabic Food Pizzeria Saranda-RistoranteSpaghetti & CompanyJasminChez David
Review: Dynamic but cluttered Rite of Spring
Like his contemporary Pablo Picasso who reinvented the rules of painting, Russian-born Igor Stravinskij represented a revolution in musical creation. Unchaining himself from romantic traditions, Stravinskij created modern classical music that was both innovative and compelling.Stravinskij's talents were showcased February 1 at the Slovak National Theatre when his most famous ballet, Rite of Spring, was performed by the Slovak National Ballet alongside two other short modern ballets.The first of the three, Wish, had a promising and powerful beginning but lost much of its intensity later on in the performance.
Business Briefs
Cabinet advances sale of VÚB and SLSPElectro-tech industry in the black for 1999Slovak Rail lost 55 million Sk from Hungarian strikeVW Slovakia plans to produce 150,000 cars in 2000EIB to put more cash into Slovak private sectorCore inflation hits 6.7% in January
Slovakia should get adjustment loan
The World Bank, an international financial group which is advising Slovakia on its crucial bank restructuring process, sent a mission to Bratislava from January 24 to February 4. The Slovak Spectator spoke with Roberto Rocha, a leading analyst with the World Bank Office for Central Europe in Budapest, about the results of the mission and bank privatisation on February 14.The Slovak Spectator (TSS): What overall impression did the World Bank get of the restructuring process in Slovak banks?
Are your systems reliable, available?
Reliability and availability are especially interesting themes at the moment, with the intense proliferation of the Internet and applications like intranet and e-commerce, as well as the introduction of groupware and other critical technologies.Critical technologies vary from company to company, but in the IT industry everything is usually centred on servers and devices which provide connectivity between local or remote users and their respective servers. Failure of one of these elements usually means the inability to provide necessary information on time, leading to failure in conducting business and administrative activities. In practice, this often leads to the loss of important commercial deals, failure to perform necessary service or maintenance activities, interrupted e-mail delivery, inability to issue invoices or place orders through Web pages, and/or loss of Internet banking possibilities.
Around Slovakia
Wheel-chair beggars learn to walkFootballer questioned about drug possesionMečiar elected Man of the Year 2000
Wrong messages can mean disaster
The recruitment process involves addressing and attracting a pool of candidates for an open position in an organization. New candidates can be found either within the organisation or brought in from the outside, each of which option has positive and negative aspects.Filling a job opening with someone currently working in the organization saves time and resources, can motivate other staff by demonstrating avenues for promotion or development, and offers a measure of confidence to both the organization and the employee - they both know what they're getting. On the other hand, the pool and talent of potential candidates is limited if a search is confined to within a company, and if the promotion is improperly managed, it may be perceived as favouritism for friends and supporters. Either way, the organization is left with another opening to fill.
News Briefs
Police: Dubček's sudden death was not a murderSchuster receives representatives of Roma associationsKukan: Slovakia will closely monitor Austrian cabinet
Community Calendar
British Chamber of Commerce and the Burza ClubInternational Women's ClubEnglish-language mass
Call for early elections spooks coalition
When the opposition HZDS party in January first proposed holding a referendum on early elections, the parties of the governing coalition treated it as something of a joke, and said they would never agree to early elections even if citizens demanded them. But with the publication last week of a poll giving the government less than 40% popular support, and the admission of at least one coalition party that it would respect the results of any referendum, the phrase 'early elections' suddenly gained credibility.For the moment, the referendum process is on hold while President Rudolf Schuster waits for legal experts to tell him whether the referendum question is phrased correctly (Schuster left on February 15 for the Vatican, and thus was unable to keep his promise to HZDS leader Vladimír Mečiar to have an answer by mid-month).
Top Pick: Modern dance performance '3 ex'
Before taking off in March to entertain crowds in New York, the Bratislava Dance Theatre will perform the much talked about '3 ex' , a modern dance performance in 3 parts with themes varying from Scottish folklore to Balkan - Gypsy flavour.Now in its third season, the dance company is an independent non-state cultural institution that was founded by Slovak-American Robert Meöko. Speaking of today's younger generation and their close relationship to the Internet, Meöko says he wants to emphasise the unique joy and quality of live performances and the immediate contact between dancer and audience - something a computer screen will never be able to match.
Agency lone crusader for industry survival
Karol Balog's handlebar mustache bristles with indignation when he considers the fate of Slovakia's medium-sized industrial companies. "Many of these companies have good products and viable operations, but no one to help them out of their debt problems," he says, adjusting his large frame in a creaking office chair. "When banks are in bad shape, everyone rallies around and throws good money after bad, but few governments are willing to help failing industrial companies."As the general director of the Bratislava-based Agency for Industrial Development and Revitalisation (AIDR), Balog's job for the last two years has been to throw lifelines to as many medium and large Slovak industrial firms as he can.
Letters to the editor
Many of us still have kinksAren't we able to act independently?New transit number system senseless
Slovak EU entry talks begin
Slovakia on February 15 opened official entry negotiations with the European Union, thus joining five other new applicant countries on an "express train" towards the EU, in the words of Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan. According to Kukan, the Slovak 'train' should pull in to Brussels at the beginning of the year 2004."We have very ambitious goals in Slovakia's integration into the European Union," said Kukan at a February 14 press conference in Bratislava. "We have set our 'reference day' for joining the EU as January 1, 2004. On that day, the Slovak language should become another official language of the EU."
Slovakia less claims-conscious
In the journalistic frenzy which attended the writing of my column last month, it completely slipped my mind that the readers of this column might like to know who I am and what I will be writing about in the coming months.My name is David Arneil and I work for Capita Beard Dove, a company that specialises in providing professional construction cost management and project management services from our office in Bratislava. Each month I will attempt to provide some enlightening insight into the glamorous world of the construction industry from the point of view of an expatriate PQS (Professional Quantity Surveyor) working in the region.
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- Weekend: What to make of Easter in Slovakia
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- US giant pulls plug on Slovak factory, axing 137 jobs
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- Hundreds of people ousted from Bratislava’s Volkswagen
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- He has been disciplined for delays. Now he will lead Slovakia’s top court
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