Senior managers in the forestry and wood-processing sectors in the Slovak Republic were asked to complete questionnaires. The aim of the research was to identify the importance of certain factors that affect the process of their motivation. A total of 493 senior managers were surveyed. The respondents used a five-point rating scale to rate the significance of each motivation factor, where 5 was very important and 1 was unimportant. The importance of 36 motivation factors was studied for senior managers through the use of statistical methods. Based on the study, it was concluded that the base salary is the most important factor of motivation, followed by job security as the second most important motivation factor, and the third most important factor was the fair appraisal system. Keywords INTRODUCTIONOrganizations focus on their employees to gain a competitive edge. Technology, processes, and organizational structure can be copied, but the value that competent and dedicated employees can bring to companies cannot be easily taken away (Ahmad et al. 2012). Managers in companies strive to build a functioning process within their enterprises (Vaňová et al. 2009). This is why companies have to cooperate with their employees. Companies must motivate and stimulate employees to make them feel satisfied with the organization and to prevent them from leaving. Halepota (2005) defines motivation as "a person's active participation and commitment to achieve the prescribed results." Without motivation, employees cannot offer their best performance, resulting in the company's performance being less efficient (Muslim et al. 2016). Motivated employees help businesses to succeed, as they are more productive (Almacik et al. 2012). Hence, motivated employees can contribute to making an organization more valuable and profitable (McKenzie-Mohr and Schultz 2014).To have a comprehensive understanding of employee motivation, one must examine its history, as well as further development, because employee motivation and engagement has long been a major concern for research (Sanyal and Biswas 2014). When Frederick Herzberg researched the sources of employee motivation during the 1950s and 1960s, he discovered a dichotomy: the things that make people satisfied and motivated on the job are different, in kind, from the things that make them dissatisfied. The renowned two-factor theory of established hygiene factors and motivators influenced better employee Fakhrutdinova et al. (2013), there are several means of employee motivation, such as bonuses, career growth, or obtaining the right to purchase shares of the company at a discounted price. During the economic crisis, motivation platforms are focused not only on financial incentives but very often on non-financial incentives, such as rebuilding teams, providing education and training within the company, offering qualifying training courses, language courses, managerial and IT courses, seminars, or using different outsourcing market tools (Wu et al. 2008;Kampf and Ližbetinová 2015). Kamasheva...

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Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered to be a driving force of the economy in the world. Among the most valuable features of SMEs is their flexibility, decision-making accessibility, implementation, innovation and high adaptability to the market environment. SMEs provide for acceleration and economic growth of the country and its regions. Investment in human capital in SMEs, (meaning investment into intangible assets of the company), it is one of the ways to support this sector. In the same manner as SMEs are considered to be a driving force of the economy, human resources can be seen as its driving force, the source of success, competitiveness and added value of businesses. Human capital is one of the most valuable components of any business and that is why investment in human resources becomes a necessary step ensuring that a business prospers in a changing market environment. Current trends also point to the growing importance of investment in human capital. The future will certainly belong to those companies which pay most attention to effective management of human resources, which, in terms of time factor is an important prerequisite for growth and competitiveness of a company.

Teaching is a specific type of profession with a specific mission. In this study, the motivation level of primary school teachers in Slovakia in the period from 2015 to 2020 was analyzed. A total of 1189 Slovak teachers with a stratified selection were addressed. Cronbach’s Alpha, Tukey’s HSD (honest significant difference), and ANOVA were used to analyze the data obtained. The research results confirm that Slovak teachers are motivated most by relationship and financial factors. Other important motivation factors are atmosphere in the workplace, a good work team, a supervisor’s approach, a fair appraisal system, and a basic salary. The research also confirms that, over the duration of the study, there was a significant change in the average level of motivation factors; however, there was no change in their relative proportion and structure. In relation to gender, significant diachronic differences were confirmed. Research results prove that Slovak teachers have stable requirements in terms of motivation. This study’s findings will further help school management create effective motivation programs for primary school teachers. Regarding the fact that no similar research has been conducted in Slovakia in a long time, the research results presented here are original and unique.

In Slovakia, modern Cultural Studies of English-speaking countries have been integrated into university curricula since the 1990s. However, there is a fundamental difference in the role CLIL plays in teaching “realia” (alternatively: cultural studies, country studies and area studies) for philological students and for business students of non-philological faculties. While philological students study realia with primary linguistic and cultural goals (i.e. to learn new words, terminology, context and comparative cultural aspects), non-philological students’ goals are business oriented (i.e. allow a successful graduate to function effectively in a new business environment). That affects the methodology, teaching procedure and assessment of both disciplines in debate.

Human resources refer to a special and unique field as they are the most valuable but also the most costly factor of production. The aim of the research is to analyze the level of motivation of university teachers in Slovakia in terms of time and age, and to define the motivational needs of university teachers. The method of sociological questioning is used. The collected data from 2016 university teachers from Slovak technical universities are analyzed using the Tukey HSD test. Based on the research results, it can be stated that university teachers are the most motivated by relational and financial motivational factors. There is a significant change in the level of average importance of motivational factors across time (years), but there is no change in their structure. In terms of the age factor, significant differences over time are identified. Finally, Slovak teachers display the need for a more respected social status and a better image of their profession. The research findings will help university managers in raising the level of teachers’ motivation and in designing motivation programs.

Based on recent research (Alderson, 2005; Khalifa and Weir, 2009), this study focuses on three areas of reading comprehension necessary for a successful academic career: general L2 EFL reading skills, more specific academic reading skills and critical thinking and reading. The study presents an analysis of quantitative research conducted in 2020, based on a sample of Slovak undergraduate students reading an academic text in English as L2 in EFL CLIL-formatted classes in humanities. The respondents’ general reading skills were analysed in the context of their critical reading skills and academic preparedness. When tested for general reading skills, respondents were asked to identify implicit and explicit information and the gist of the text. Academic abilities were tested via the ability to identify the attributes of an academic text, such as the system of references, rational and logical language and causeeffect type of argumentation, which indicated the author and genre of the text. In order to evaluate participants’ critical skills with a focus on the social aspects of the text, respondents were asked to identify the importance of the text for themselves and for their community and life. The participants’ mean scores and differences in their performances on each task type were compared using descriptive statistics, and multiple analysis of variance. The results suggest that the general reading skills of university undergraduates in Slovakia are adequate, however, more difficulty was encountered with implicit, rather than explicit, tasks. Students also need to improve their critical reading skills and reading for academic purposes. The research outcomes highlight the need to hone the education of future linguists to the new needs of a more text-based society.

This study is an analysis of quantitative research conducted in September 2020, based on a 113-respondent sample unit of adult readers in English (100 Slovak and 13 international respondents). Researchers analysed respondents’ abilities to evaluate a text critically; i.e. to identify its assumed author, genre, organization of the text, and the importance of the text for the reader and his or her community. Research outcomes proved that university undergraduates in Slovakia do not possess a good command of critical reading skills for academic reading in four out of five items. International students outscored Slovak students in two items; the research proves the need to intensify preparation of undergraduates in critical thinking in order to fit the needs of a changing society and reading load.