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Knowledge is an infinite resource of hotel enterprises and society as a whole. In hotel enterprises, it serves as a platform for practising sustainable development and gaining competitive advantages. Knowledge-based economic development provides the best opportunities for dealing with a global environment in which rapid and dynamic changes are taking place. Seen as a precondition to success, Knowledge Management (KM) will result in generating value-added in tourism. A survey was conducted in large and mid-sized hotel enterprises to demonstrate their KM level and the contribution of KM in gaining competitive advantages in the Croatian hotel industry. Empirical research was used to establish the level of KM development in the Croatian hotel industry, and to determine the importance of KM in gaining competitive advantages in the hotel industry. In addition to knowledge, quality is a vital factor in gaining competitive advantages in hotel enterprises. Globalized markets and increasingly discerning customers, demanding more and more for their money, are compelling product and service providers to ground their business systems on customer needs. Total Quality Management (TQM)—a new management philosophy—enables the systematic application of these ideas. This chapter looks at several TQM approaches that define the basic elements essential to successful TQM implementation, in particular, the element pertaining to employees. The application of these elements in the Croatian hotel industry is presented through the results of empirical research on a sample of mid-sized and large hotel enterprises.

Rezultate istraživanja treba shvatiti kao doprinos formiranju naše nove suvremene ekonomske terminologije iz područja upravljanja, konkretno upravljanja poslovnim rezultatom, kao i iniciranje promjena u upravljanju i organizaciji poduzeća. Controlling kao instrument upravljanja ima veliko značenje za uspješnost poslovanja hotelskih poduzeća i zavređuje posebnu pažnju.

This paper focuses on labour productivity as an indicator of both labour efficiency, and the material prosperity o f a country and its people. In the introductory section, we explain the importance of studying labour productivity. We then define the elements of labour productivity, its impact on the economy, and productivity as the source of poverty and prosperity. In the third section, we examine labour productivity in the hotel industry of Croatia. We will explore the factors of productivity, and the causes of the present situation, and we will propose some measures for eliminating these weaknesses.

Quality today is a fundamental factor for market survival, competitiveness and profitability. Strategic business planning is based on a TQM system. Quality is not produced, it is a management tool. Development of quality in developed economic countries has shown that quality is something which is built, developed and constantly enhanced. The system TQM is totally market oriented, buyer-led, as the process starts with the buyer (what he wants) and finishes with the buyer (a satisfied buyer). This is a cycle consisting of five basic activities: planning quality, realising quality, evaluating quality, achieving quality and improving quality, which is being constantly repeated. The advantages of introducing TQM for the service sector, tourism and hotel industry are big, both economically and socially. Poor business productivity and unsatisfactory quality of the product and service are weaknesses of Croatia's economy. Ahead lies the process of learning and introducing TQM for our economy, as this is a condition and necessity for inclusion into world business trends and world markets.

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The paper aims at pointing out the necessity of incorporating Croatian hotel industry in the standard system of monitoring business results in the world hotel trade since it is a precondition of acknowledging and accepting our tourism and hotel industry as a part of the world tourist supply. The following are the needs and advantages of being incorporated in the world hotel industry's system of monitoring business results: • enables comparison of a specific country's hotel industry results with the world industry average, with European industry and hotel industry of specific countries as well as the assessment of the position on the tourist market, • increases the competitiveness of the country's hotel industry as it results in the higher level of services, customers satisfaction and quality of tourism as a whole, • creates and enhances the partnership of the participants in the world tourist market as it enables the exchange of the most important information on hotel operation in specific countries and participation in the international flow of capital, • creates the basis for efficient hotel management as a prerequisite of the hotels successful business and its increased profitability.