The COVID-19 epidemic surprised economic operators around the world. The very existence of many businesses, and thus jobs, was at stake. However, one year after the WHO declared the outbreak a pandemic, contrary to the pessimistic forecasts of business analysts, some industries did not experience the predicted negative effects of the crisis. This article presents the results of a pilot study on micro and small enterprises in the rubber products industry in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the aim of analyzing the phenomenon of sustainable resource management that led not only to the survival of these enterprises but also to a significant increase in their turnover. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to analyze the key success factors of the indicated economic entities, with particular emphasis on the perspective of sustainable resource management and relationship management. On the basis of best research practices, a triangulation of research methods was applied (integrative literature review, computer-assisted telephone interviewing, and individual in-depth interview). A relationship was observed between the sustainable management of resources and the structure of the relationship network and the strength of its connections. In micro and small enterprises in the rubber products sector in Poland, sustainable resource management is related to the structure of the network of relations and the strength of connections in the network (relations/networking), as enterprises form a group of entities with a high level of loyalty, especially between the suppliers and buyers of raw materials. The formulated conclusions will become the basis for further in-depth research that can be conducted (a) in the same group of respondents, but using a representative research group, (b) in the same industry among a group of large enterprises, and (c) in a group of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from other industries.

The purpose of the article is to present an example of a diagnostic tool for identifying the competence gap of representatives of the “Z” generation who want to conduct business in the e-business model. The first part presents the characteristics of the “Z” generation (Gen-Z) based on studies of Polish and foreign literature. Groups of individual professional competences important for e-business owners were also identified, which were developed on the basis of the results of personal research carried out in 2018 by the CAWI method. The methodological part presents the construction and application of the "e_BIS" tool, which can be used to diagnose the current state and development of competences, broken down into competences: business (B), IT (I) and strategic leadership (S). Based on preliminary analyses, it was formulated that the presented tool can be useful both in education (secondary and higher) and on the labour market to properly shape the individual professional competences of representatives of the “Z” generation.

The article presents the results of the study the main purpose of which was to determine the level of social activity in Poland. However, the specific goal was to identify the possibilities of using employees’ social activity in implementing the sustainable development strategy (SDS) in enterprises. As the presented study is part of a larger scientific project (statutory research) entitled Human capital management in the conditions of sustainable development, the conclusions of the analysis are the basis for further work, which will result in the development of a set of good practices for enterprises and other organisations in the field of human capital management in terms of using the potential and competences of employees active in the area of social work. The diagnosed tendency of the Polish population to work for the benefit of the social good allows the author to conclude that enterprises that want to implement the SDS should use the potential existing in socially engaged employees.

W artykule zaprezentowano przykład wykorzystania analizy przepływów wewnątrzorganiza­cyjnych w organizacji przy zastosowaniu autorskiego narzędzia badawczego o nazwie FAN_v.1 (z ang. Flows Analysis of Network-Centric Companies). Narzędzie to powstało na potrzeby konkretnego, między­narodowego przedsiębiorstwa z branży farmaceutycznej, ale z uwagi na swoją uniwersalność, może być użyteczne dla innych firm, zwłaszcza tych o złożonej i rozbudowanej strukturze. Dlatego też w niniejszej pracy przedstawiono podstawy teoretyczne, budowę oraz wskazówki metodyczne posługiwania się ww. narzędziem oraz przykład jego zastosowania.