Preface by Editor-in-Chief

prof. dr hab. Maciej Urbaniak

The current issue of our Quarterly concerns several contemporary topics such as: relational capital of clusters, interpersonal conflicts in workplace and work engagement, personal branding, functional flexibility in organizations as well as robotization of business processes.

In the first article Beata Chmielewiec analyzes the importance of cluster relational capital as a factor increasing its competitiveness and then formulates guidelines for the creation of a relationship management strategy in a cluster organization. The article defines a cluster, presents the essence of relational capital concept and its impact on the competitive position of cluster participants. The author also proposes a procedure for creating a comprehensive strategy for building the relational capital in the cluster.

Tomasz Gigol presents in his paper results of quantitative questionnaire study on conflict management in the workplace and work engagement. Research results reinforce skepticism about the frequent conflict management style through avoiding or yielding. If employee engagement is a desirable state in an organization, active conflict management should not be disregarded. A postulated practical conclusion from the study is that active conflict management should be taught in training programs for managers and academic courses for future managers.

The article of Małgorzata Sidor-Rządkowska provides analysis of the inter-relationships between the notions of “employer branding’’ and “personal branding’’. It is argued that the contemporarily observed changes in the approach to building professional career require undertaking actions both in the area of employer branding and personal branding.

The article by Anna Biłyk is an attempt to answer the question how functional flexibility is implemented in organizations where self-organization is functioning. To answer this question, the author conducted qualitative research in the form of a case study. The results of this study indicate the presence of functional flexibility elements that manifest themselves in such forms as enriching or expanding the scope of work;
however, they are located in a specific organizational context.

The next paper in this issue written by Piotr Sliż is concerned with problem of robotization of business processes. The article presents the results of the analysis of the popularity of the robotic process automation related entries using the Google Trends tool. Research shows a growing interest in the issues of the robotic process automation in the field of management and quality sciences, as well as business practice.

Katarzyna Klimkiewicz and Ewa Beck-Krala in their paper conducted an analysis of how HR managers perceive the role of rewards systems in relation to the principles of corporate social responsibility and the process of creating a sustainable organization. The results of this analysis showed that employers use incentive programs supporting CSR goals and activities, such as: paid time for employee voluntary activities, financing
employee charity initiatives outside the working time e.g., employee participation in charity football/volleyball games, encouraging employees to initiate events directed towards local community, encouraging employees’ participation in implementation of CSR goals and activities, offering incentive programs related to pro-ecological goals.

Enjoy your reading,
Maciej Urbaniak