MODERN INSTRUMENTS FOR MEASURING ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

Any significant management action can be assessed both in terms of success of immediate goals and as effect of the organization ability to embrace change. Market competition intensifies with the development of Romanian society and its needs. Companies that offer different products and services need to impose certain advantages and to increase their performances. The paper will present modern tools for measuring and evaluating organizational performance, namely: Balanced Scorecard, Deming model and Baldrige model. We also present an example for Balance Scorecard, of an organizations belonging to the cosmetics industry.management, performance, balance scorecard, performance measurement

Methods and Conditions for Achieving Continuous Improvement of Processes

In the early twentieth century, the Taylor model improved, in a spectacular maner the efficiency of the production processes. This allowed obtaining high productivity by low-skilled workers, but used in large number in the execution of production. Currently this model is questioned by experts and was replaced by the concept of "continuous improvement". The first signs of change date from the '80s, with the apparition of quality circles and groups of operators on quality issues, principles which are also found in other continuous improvement strategies like: TQM (Total Quality Management), TPM (Total Production Maintenance), Kaizen and Six-Sigma. All these strategies are based on an active participation of the workers. Within this framework, many companies organize autonomous teams of workers responsible for organizing their work and improve economic performances.continuous improvement; segment improvement; Kaizen; TQM; TPM; autonomous teams; Six Sigma.

THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONS' POTENTIAL OF COMPETITIVENESS ON THEIR CURRENT STRATEGIC AND TACTICAL MOVEMENTS

Organizations' competitiveness is an effect of their current strategic and tactical movements and also a cause, a driver of future performance. This paper aims to analyze competitiveness in dynamics, by taking into account the impact of organizations' potential of competitiveness on their current actions, which of course will lead to a higher or lower level of competitiveness in future.organizations, potential of competitiveness, sustained competitive advantage, strategy, management, dynamics

Approaches on the Operational Performance of Production Systems

The performance concept originated from the concept of firm management. The performance management of the firm involves improving its value-cost relationship, which means that the firm will be able to build a product or service, in terms of achieving cost and profitability targets, and compare the results with strategic forecasts. In addition, performance management also requires the firm's ability to develop a dynamic and continuous progress. In such conditions, its performance evaluation is not an objective in itself, but a means used by the organization to achieve progress. The paper will address issues which relate to improving performance and all the instruments used for this purpose.management, competitiveness, operational performance, performance management, production systems.

United in Diversity, Divided in Adversity? Support for Right-Wing Eurosceptic Parties in the Face of Threat Differs Across Nations

This is the final version. Available on open access from Frontiers Media via the DOI in this recordThis article investigates whether the perceived threat of terrorism explains the support for right-wing Eurosceptic parties and Euroscepticism above and beyond other relevant variables, including perceived economic and immigration threats. We first examined the entire Eurobarometer samples of 2014 and 2015, and then conducted survey experiments in four EU countries, that is, UK (N=197), France (N=164), Italy (N=312), and Romania (N=144). Our findings suggest that the perceived threat of terrorism has a small effect on the negative attitudes towards the EU above and beyond the effect of immigration and economic threats and other basic control variables. The relationship between these variables varies across countries and it is less linear than we might expect

Diversity of maize pests and their damaging effect in an agroecosystem from the Western side of the country

Maize is one of the most important plants in the western side of Romania. During 2002-2005, the research carried out in untreated culture, in the Experimental Field from Jimbolia (Timiş County) pointed out the presence of many damaging species. The most important damaging species concerning the attacked percentage were: Tanymechus dillaticolis (47-69.5%), adults of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (34.6- 40.33%), Oulema melanopa (27.9 - 32.5%), Opatrum sabulosum (17.5- 31.0%), Ostrinia nubilalis (18.87-25.5%) and Aphis maidis (7.13-16.6%). Larvae of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera caused characteristically stalk bending in 4.42-11.08% plants from all the investigated plants. The presence of these pests caused significantly yield decrease

Novel asymmetric benzylidenecyclohexanone photochromic compound as food dye with antioxidant properties

Nature has always been the provider of compounds with unique properties and amazing application within or outside the living organisms [1]. Color is certainly one of the natural features that have always fascinated researchers from almost all fields of knowledge and compounds with such properties have been isolated from raw materials or have been designed and synthesized based thereon [2]. Flavylium derivatives are natural or synthetic compounds responsible for certain color of fruits and flowers and are able to turn from yellow to red and blue depending on the pH of the media [3]. They are also studied for their photochromic behavior when excited with different wavelengths and their network of chemical transformation has been the subject of many research papers [4,5]. We have focused lately on the synthesis of xanthylium derivatives [6], compounds similar in behavior with flavylium ones with symmetrical and asymmetrical substituents on the aromatic rings. The photochromic behavior of the new asymmetric benzylidene cyclohexanone derivative 4-(p-hydroxybenzylidene)-6-hydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroxanthylium chloride (HTX)in aqueous solution at different pH values was studied using UV-Vis, NMR and fluorescence spectroscopy. In strong acid environment HTX exhibits purple color and a broad absorption band at about 516 nm, corresponding to the presence of the xanthylium cation, while in basic conditions the solutions are red, with an absorption band at about 596 nm. At pH ranging from 9 to 12 HTX is bluish and suffers spontaneous transformations between species involved in the network of chemical reactions. HTX shows good fluorescence behavior at all pH values. HTX has a good antioxidant character of 55.15% determined by DPPH method. The features described above and its curcumin origin would highly recommend it for application in the field of food colorants

New carboxysalicylaldehyde schiff base ligand and its copper(II) complexes

Metal-organic frameworks have become a subject of great interest lately because of their interesting features and applications in the field of catalysis, magnetism and biological studies [1]. Coordination polymers are most commonly the creators of such frameworks, and researchers have devoted great effort to the design of metal-generated networks with tailored properties [2,3]. Our group has recently been involved in the development of by-design structures based on 3d metal coordination complexes derived from Schiff based ligands [4]. Salen-based complexes of 3d metals, in which the Schiff base presents the carboxy substituent on the aromatic moiety, generate infinite coordination polymers in the presence of alkaline bases [5]. In this respect, we have obtained new carboxysalicylaldehyde Schiff base ligand, namely N,N'-bis(5-carboxysalicylidene-aminopropyl)piperazine (CBPP), characterized by NMR and FTIR spectroscopy and TG analysis. Copper(II) complexes of CBPP were synthesized by direct or template synthesis, isolated and characterized by FTIR; preliminary results suggest the formation of polymeric structures

Materialist and Post-Materialist Concerns and the Wish for a Strong Leader in 27 Countries

There is evidence that democracies are under threat around the world while the quest for strong leaders is increasing. Although the causes of these developments are complex and multifaceted, here we focus on one factor: the extent to which citizens express materialist and post-materialist concerns. We explore whether objective higher levels of democracy are differentially associated with materialist and post-materialist concerns and, in turn, whether this is related to the wish for a strong leader. Testing this hypothesis across 27 countries (N = 5,741) demonstrated a direct negative effect of democracies' development on the wish for a strong leader. Further, multi-level mediation analysis showed that the relation between the Democracy Index and the wish for a strong leader was mediated by materialist concerns. This pattern of results suggests that lower levels of democracy are associated with enhanced concerns about basic needs and this is linked to greater support for strong leaders.Peer reviewe

Materialist and Post-Materialist Concerns and the Wish for a Strong Leader in 27 Countries

There is evidence that democracies are under threat around the world while the quest for strong leaders is increasing. Although the causes of these developments are complex and multifaceted, here we focus on one factor: the extent to which citizens express materialist and post-materialist concerns. We explore whether objective higher levels of democracy are differentially associated with materialist and post-materialist concerns and, in turn, whether this is related to the wish for a strong leader. Testing this hypothesis across 27 countries (N = 5,741) demonstrated a direct negative effect of democracies' development on the wish for a strong leader. Further, multi-level mediation analysis showed that the relation between the Democracy Index and the wish for a strong leader was mediated by materialist concerns. This pattern of results suggests that lower levels of democracy are associated with enhanced concerns about basic needs and this is linked to greater support for strong leaders.Peer reviewe