Archive of articles - October 2000, page 5

KDH bids Earnogurský adieu

Ján Earnogurský, one of Slovakia's most storied politicians, gave up his decade-long chairmanship of the ruling coalition Christian Democrats last weekend. The man who replaced him, deputy speaker of parliament Pavol Hrušovský, promised to return the party "to the ring" and its policies to their conservative, Christian roots."You aren't beaten if you get knocked to the mat," Hrušovský told the 430 Christian Democrat delegates at the party's October 21 conference, shortly after beating rival candidate Ján Fige3 by 249 votes to 179. "You're beaten if you stay down. I don't want the Christian Democrats to stay down. Today we have to stop looking at each other like losers. Today we have to start looking at each other like winners."

Community Corner

Month Of PhotographyOpen concert of regional musiciansGoethe Institute exhibitionFrench fashion photographyBratislava Zen CentreBaptist WorshipBahá'í CommunityDutch Embassy MuseumNovember Hash Run

HR Policy: The trouble with motivation...

It is a widely held assumption that motivating people belongs among managers' core competencies and that there is a direct, positive link between employee motivation and performance.These are just two of the myths about the concept of motivation - and I am not going to disprove them. On the one hand, it is true that motivating employees is considered a vital skill and managers are expected do that, but if you ask managers to define motivation they have trouble finding an answer.Motivation is thus often understood as something that makes people happy, satisfied, and positively related to performance at work. However, there is another common misinterpretation of motivation, one which occurs when people link it directly to higher performance.

Slovakia may become a UMTS 'gap filler'

Combined with the uncertainty that reigns over the future development of the global mobile phone network, Slovakia's role as 'regional portfolio gap-filler' may ultimately decide who takes up the offer of a third UMTS licence alongside existing operators Globtel and EuroTel."The telecoms market here is not that attractive, but the thing is that Slovakia is a central European regional gap for any telecoms firm [in a regional company strategy], and a company will look at it and say 'Why not take advantage of this?'" said Boris Kostík, telecoms analyst at Slávia Capital brokerage house in Bratislava.The Slovak market, which is relatively small in comparison to its central and eastern European neighbours (Slovakia has 5 million inhabitants as opposed to the Czech Republic and Hungary's 10 million and Poland's nearly 50 million) has been left at the bottom of many telecoms giants' one-off shopping lists. However, this seemingly unattractive low-volume customer base has not detracted from one of the country's selling points to potential telecoms investors - its strategic position in any company's eastward expansion scheme.

Why the Internet? Moving away from the client/server model

Regular readers of this column will have noticed the emphasis that it places on the Internet as the ideal engine for business in the modern, connected world. While many companies across Europe are already using the Internet to power their businesses, a great many more are still struggling along with outdated client/server models. This column outlines three good reasons for moving away from the client/server model and embracing the Internet at every level in enterprise.

IT crime: Talentless criminals against primitive securities

The high-profile American law case involving web-based firm Napster, which has been charged with violating US copyright laws in facilitating the exchange of music over the Internet, has raised questions all over the world as to how Internet crime can be defined and handled.In Slovakia, where Internet penetration is only a fraction of that in western countries, issues involving regulation of Internet crime are only beginning to be confronted, and poor legislation is hindering police from tackling a potentially costly problem for many companies."There are no specific laws on IT and Internet crimes," said Bratislava criminal police lieutenant Mikuláš Husťák, who confirmed that IT crime was on the rise. "For example, a hacker would be violating only commercial law. We need to continue to improve laws, especially to combat crimes arising from new technologies," he said.

INA investment applauded

Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda was so impressed with the investment of the German bearings manufacturer INA in the northern Slovak town of Kysucké Nové Mesto that he was moved to call it a "miracle of Slovak-German co-operation" at the factory's opening ceremony on September 14.Dzurinda has not been alone in his assessment. Analysts and government representatives agree that INA's presence demonstrates how smoothly the much-criticised investment process can go in Slovakia, and provides a model for other foreign firms to follow."This has been very successful for the German investor, who appears to be very satisfied with the site, workers and environment," said Alan Sitár, advisor to the prime minister for foreign investments for Slovakia.

Community Calendar

Austrian EmbassyPro Helvetia

News Briefs

Police arrest two male suspects in Balážová murderReferendum on early elections gaining supportThree Slovak parties invited to observe Yugoslav electionsNorway reports another influx of Slovak Roma

Business Briefs

Shareholders welcome Monopoly Office rulingSchmögnerová awarded coveted Euromoney prize

Market Analysis: Is the Slovak capital market working to a genuine revival?

The mood on the Slovak capital market has been showing signs of a possible revival since the beginning of the summer. The main Slovak share index, SAX, has recovered from all time low levels, remaining stable at 90 points. Such mild optimism on the market is based mainly on the following:1. The Bratislava Stock Exchange introduced trading in NPF SR (National Property Fund of the Slovak Republic) bonds at the end of July, which in the first entire month of their trading accounted for 22% of the total trading volume in August. The NPF SR, currently the most attractive security on the Slovak capital market, is expected to contribute to the development of genuine trading and a rise in trading volumes.At present, some investors feel a slight degree of uncertainty compared to a couple of months ago, caused by the up-coming referendum on early parliamentary elections.

This Week

Slovakia's IT Olympians an unlikely educational triumph

Last week, the Slovak national media reported that swimmer Martina Moravcová was the country's first ever Olympic multi-medal winner. Apparently, the media had forgotten about 19 year-old Richard Kráľovič, winner of three medals in 1999 - at the International Informatics Olympiad in Turkey.Lifted by Kráľovič's performance, the Slovak team finished seventh in the competition's medal table, continuing a long tradition of Slovak success at IT competitions. Indeed, the performance of Kráľovič and others before him is in some ways an unlikely tale, one in which IT education seems to be triumphing over financial and technological adversity in Slovakia.

Referendum taken to court: Quo, quo, scelesti ruitis?

So, the referendum plot thickens - a group of ruling coalition MPs has appealed to the Constitutional Court to deliver a ruling on whether or not the November 11 referendum on early elections is in conflict with the law. As the Roman poet Seneca asked so long ago, "Whither are you hastening, fools?"It's become a fad in recent years among Slovak politicians to appeal to the constitution whenever a politically sensitive issue is discussed. This point was made by the Justice Ministry's Daniel Lipšic recently - the recent treaty concluded between Slovakia and the Vatican is 'unconstitutional' for the former communist SDĽ party; the government's intention to recall Supreme Court Chief Justice Štefan Harabin is equally 'unconstitutional' for the political opposition parties which appointed him, while those who have little reason to fight corruption also seek refuge in the constitution against an ambitious law to fight money laundering.

Moric turned over for prosecution

Nationalist MP Víťazoslav Moric was stripped of the immunity from prosecution he enjoys as a member of parliament on September 21, clearing the way for charges of inciting racial hatred to be brought against him and bringing some closure to an episode that has been intensely embarrassing for many Slovaks.A member of the far-right opposition Slovak National Party (SNS), Moric may be charged for statements he made concerning the country's minority Roma population at a party press conference in August when he shocked journalists by calling Roma "idiots" and "mental retards" and recommending some of them be put on reservations.

BA/CA latest to offer e-banking, mutuals

The Slovak retail banking market received a further development impulse this week when Bank Austria Creditanstalt (BA/CA), the Austrian financial house, announced it was offering Slovak customers e-banking services and the chance to invest in mutual funds.Now, for a minimum investment of 100,000 Slovak crowns ($2,000), Slovak citizens will be able to put their money into foreign bonds and blue chip shares through BA/CA daughter company Capital Invest. Under the mutual fund arrangement, people put their individual savings into one of several collective investment vehicles, whereupon fund managers decide how the money should be invested. The funds vary in type from low-risk ventures like money markets, medium risk destinations like bonds, or high-risk high-yield equity markets.

Review: Café Vienna attracts 'MVPs' but few ordinary folk

Open for over a month now on the corner of SNP square and Špitálska Street, Café Vienna is already attracting a bustling crowd with its sleek, modern atmosphere and exhaustive drink menu. And after a drink or two, one can head downstairs and find arguably the most immaculate and inviting bathrooms in the city centre.The attractive tile-work sparkles, a faint, fruity odour wafts lazily through the place, a small speaker supplies elevator music telling a tale of romance. A very nice setting, indeed, for the ceaselessly repeating human ritual, but then - oh my - darkness.A small motion sensor triggers the lights on the way in, but since it's placed on the far side of a semi-wall partitioning off the urinals, it turns them back off before a man of normal capacity has finished his business.This small error is indicative of a bigger problem with Café Vienna, which was constructed in an ugly, flavourless building next to a McDonalds and a bank. The motion sensor is a nice idea, it works in theory, it seems stylish, but (arrrgggh!) the location spoils everything.

Nextra ISP notches another acquisition

Internet service provider Nextra, a daughter company of Norwegian telecoms firm Telenor and a key player on the Slovak market, this past month finalised yet another local ISP acquisition - that of eastern Slovakia's Vadium company.Nextra managing director Dag Ole Storrosten explained that his firm had not bought Vadium outright, but rather the Prešov firm's customer base, paying a fee calculated by multiplying a certain sum by the number of Vadium clients - a fee which he declined to specify. Nextra, he said, would now provide services to these new customers, while Vadium would be a partner company offering marketing, development and hands-on support to Nextra's new clients.The move continues the process of consolidation on the Slovak ISP market, which in the last two years has seen nine purchases by three firms - Nextra, Slovanet and EuroWeb. The latter is a daughter firm of Dutch KPN telecom, while Trenčín-based Slovanet is now controlled by US financial group Advent International Corporation.

Catholic Slovaks open to religious minorities

Limping about her Bratislava Open Society Foundation office ("I threw my back out," she said with a weary grin), 28 year-old Tatiana Rajniaková explained with a mixture of fond recollection and rapt concentration the heady days following the fall of communism."After the revolution we were soul-hungry, we were searching for spirituality," she said. "Many different religions came [to Czechoslovakia] and especially the younger people were very open to their messages."In 1990, Rajniaková came into contact with members of the Bahá'í faith and, attracted to their belief in 'progressive revelations' and their non-institutional structure, she became a member. "It's not like a church, there's no clergy, no one to say whether you're doing enough," she said. "It's an individual search for truth."