Denis Jelačić

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are main generators of employment and economic development in European Union. In Croatia and Slovenia, SMEs in wood processing (C16) and furniture manufacturing (C31) also play an important role in social cohesion and development of rural areas. The aim of this research was to investigate the current situation in SMEs in wood processing and furniture manufacturing regarding driving parameters of business and production management system in the time of a disturbed market situation caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Two different questionnaires in an e-mail survey were used to collect data for this research from companies and from experts in the field of management, production and marketing. Various statistical tests were used using seven driving parameters on data collected from 212 SMEs. Also, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used on the data collected from 20 experts. Results showed that companies in the time of pandemic crisis and during the time of major disturbances in supply chain pay the most attention to their production program and quality of their products, and then to marketing activities and situation on the market. According to the results presented in this research, the management model can help SMEs managers, micro and small enterprises in particular, to improve their decision-making process, make the necessary innovations easier and faster, and maintain the sustainable business and production management system of their companies.

Investment decision-makings should be regarded in each business entity as the crucial factor for its long-term prosperity. An acquired decision affects the performance of the company as well as its competitiveness in long time. If a competent investor has an interest to make a qualified investment decision, it means that he must primarily determine the time and risk factor. In the capital-intensive investment projects, attention must be paid to the risks that the preparation, realization and use of investment bring. The aim of this paper is to identify critical factors that affect the expected profit and cash flow in the implementation of investment projects by applying the most advanced models used to quantify the risks of investing. Research was conducted in a wood processing and furniture manufacturing company. The results given by cash flow indicatiors show that the investment project is feasible and effective. By changing some parameters, sensitivity analysis shows that the main risk factors for the project in question are the selling price, volume of production, material costs and labor costs.Donošenje odluka o investicijama u svakom bi se poslovnom sustavu trebalo smatrati ključnim čimbenikom za njegovu dugoročnu uspješnost. Donesena odluka utječe na djelovanje kompanije, kao i na njezinu dugoročnu konkurentnost. Kako bi kompetentni investitor donosio kvalitetne investicijske odluke, potrebno je da prije svega donese odluku o vremenu i riziku investicije. U većim investicijskim projektima veću pozornost potrebno je pridati rizicima što ih donose priprema, realizacija i korištenje investicije. Cilj ovog rada jest identificirati kritične čimbenike koji utječu na očekivani profit i tijek novca pri primjeni investicijskih projekata korištenjem poboljšanih modela kojima se kvanitificiraju rizici u investiranju. Istraživanje je provedeno u jednom poduzeću za preradu drva i proizvodnju namještaja. Rezultati ispitivanja tijeka novca pokazuju da je investicijski projekt provediv i učinkovit. Analizom osjetljivosti promjenom pojedinih parametara vidljivo je da su osnovni rizici istraživanog projekta prodajna cijena, opseg proizvodnje, materijalni troškovi i troškovi rada