The Logistics Performance Index (LPI) performed by the World Bank is an indicator of the logistics environment quality of a country in which logistics operators act. The LPI is an interactive tool designed to help countries identify challenges, innovative solutions, and opportunities they face in their work in the field of trade and logistics. The aim of this paper is to conduct a comparative analysis and ranking of the LPI of the countries in the Western Balkans (Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Montenegro), calculated by the World Bank for 2018, using an integrated Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC)-Measurement Alternatives and Ranking according to Compromise Solution (MARCOS) model and thus show the real picture of the logistics environment. In order to determine the performance of countries and show the overall logistics performance, six key dimensions are used: customs, infrastructure, international transport, logistics capability, tracking and tracing of goods and shipment delivery within scheduled or expected times. Using the CRITIC method, the weight values of the previously mentioned six criteria were calculated, whereby the criterion related to shipment delivery within scheduled times was singled out as the most significant criterion. Then, by applying the MARCOS method, the countries of the Western Balkans were ranked on the basis of the six defined criteria. Based on the results obtained, the best-ranked country is Serbia. The analysis of the sensitivity of the results to changes in the significance of the criteria does not show significant changes in the ranking.

COVID-19 had undoubtedly speeded up adoption of digital technologies. Most of the theoreticians agree that changes that happened in the pandemic period would not happen in the next several years or even decades. There is almost no business operation that has not been affected by the pandemic, from customer relation and sales to supply chain. It influenced different business sectors leaving permanent change and making a significant proportion of organizations working in at least hybrid mode: combining digital and traditional pre-pandemic ways of working. COVID-19 had significantly changed the workplace and way of working. Workplace has shifted to digital or at least hybrid and employees and companies have adopted new ways of working, including usage of digital technologies but also accepting more agile and flexible procedures and rules. The research community has followed this phenomenon and tried to provide best possible recommendation to it accordance to recognized research methods. The paper provides a systematic literature review of the most significant scientific and industry publication in the years after the pandemic start. It is based on Kitchenham methodology of the systematic review with selected publication from recognized bibliographic databases. First part provides general effects of the pandemic to digital transformation of businesses all over the globe, mostly connected to analysis of the employees’ workplace preference. The second part is focused on digital workplace transformation and presents key theoretical and professional findings in the post-pandemic workplace. This part is consisted of the preview of benefits of the digital workplace transformation, identification of critical success factors and the most significant challenges of the process.

The subject of this research are the demographic trends and the educational system of the Republic of Srpska. The aim of the research is to define the concepts required to comprehend the demographic trends and to explore their implications for the educational system of the Republic of Srpska. In order to establish sustainable development in the Republic of Srpska, education being a key component therein, it is necessary to perceive its demographic resources in order to create an educational system. By means of empirical research with a presentation of results through factor and cluster analysis, generated quantitative and qualitative indices of demographic resources, particularly in the educational system. The Republic of Srpska as a whole belongs to type D, featuring poor demographic resources and characteristics, as well as prominent demographic disparities regarding spatial development. However, in order to increase the coverage, relevance and efficiency of completion of the education process, it is necessary to determine the strategic commitments to be accomplished together with certain quantitative demographic indicators of the achievement level (educational coverage of different generations). Demographic changes will pose a major challenge for policy makers and to the society in general across the upcoming decades and will require shaping new economic, tax, health, pension, educational, social, family and other policies that affect demographic changes. The research endeavour in this paper focuses on that very aspect, together with the respective applicative capabilities.

Target research in this paper is the assessment and analysis of content of digital progress and its impact on modern business. Business digitization has been introducing increasingly dynamic changes across the entire global economic sphere, whereas its content increasingly maintains to affect the competitiveness of national economies. At the microeconomic level, digital technologies lead to a change of economic structure and quality of production factors, based on knowledge and innovations. This paper should provide specific answers on how to apply new technologies and digital techniques in a quality manner within the knowledge economy. This is not the only answer provided in this paper. On the contrary, the paper shall respond to question how to minimize the risks of all kinds, in order to increase labour productivity. The immediate objective of this paper is to adequately locate and understand the problem of economy digitization and the changes it brings, as well as to provide specific ideas and practical solutions for better and more efficient business operations. The new information, i.e. digital economy fundamentally differs from the traditional ones. This very synergy of workforce, its emergence in such manner, as well as increase in its presence, will be the biggest challenge to what we now call the digital economy. The IT revolution and communication technology affect the development of the new economy on a global scale, which significantly contributes to the modern business. The impact of digital growth on modern business should be reflected in increased productivity, knowing that the increase in productivity is a key issue in any economy, including the digital economy. Increasing productivity implies an increase in the results achieved with the same consumption of resources or achieving the same results with less consumption of resources. Numerous studies have been performed on this subject at the global level, demonstrating that there are serious analyses and research that show exactly how much the investment in IT does actually increase productivity. It is believed that the majority of the growth in productivity since 1995 to date is to be primarily credited to investments in information technology and business process automation. Increasing productivity is evident almost anywhere: in individual companies, industries and economies, which actually represents the essence of modern business activities.

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