Information systems for international business management

International business has been growing constantly lately and the number of enterprises that are classified in some sense as intenational is now very large. International managers must deal with the added risks of expropriation, discrimination, and foreign exchange rate fluctuations. Computer models have been developed to aid in exchange rate forecasting, but unfortunately none is a perfect forecaster. I think a good manager invests in IT to increase productivity. Besides reducing costs, computers can increase the quality of products and services provided to consumers. The company’s real challenge is to optimize its strategy. This paper presents several advantages and disadvantages of information systems used in international business management.Decision Support System (DSS), expert systems, genetic algorithms.

ANALYSIS OF E-LEARNING STRATEGIES USED TO DELIVERED KNOWLEDGE IN THE DIGITAL AGE

This article presents a comparative analysis of e-Learning systems and strategies used to delivered knowledge in the digital age. The acquisition of new knowledge must be done with a purpose and this purpose is to add value to the individual, team or organization. Very few delivery processes will draw upon just a single knowledge currency. Any human activity will generally draw upon all knowledge currencies. For example, trainers have to use their bodies to teach, their minds to map the learning process and their affection to engage the audience. For any action where knowledge is being delivered, we might need to understand what currency is being used, what knowledge has a greater priority and which of the three currencies (head, hand or heart) needs to be improved. Building an e-Learning strategy requires two fundamental things: enough knowledge about what you want to accomplish, and a willingness to articulate your plan in a way that is meaningful to all your stakeholders.

INNOVATION VERSUS INCOME CONVERGENCE IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE. IS THERE A CORRELATION?

The heterogeneity of response of the different economies facing the world economic crisis has brought into attention once again the issue of convergence inside the European Union. The high growth rates experienced by CEEC during the last decade created an optimistic view of rapid convergence towards Western Europe. But the crisis showed that the sources of economic growth in the region were not appropriate for a long run growth. Innovation is a key source of competitiveness and a contributor to a sustainable growth path. Even though CEEC lag behind other European countries in terms of R&D investment, a certain progress can be observed. The objective of the present paper is to establish if there is a correlation between the convergence in terms of GDP and the convergence in terms of innovation for the CEEC. Based on yearly Eurostat data for the period 1998-2008, we quantify the progress of each of the 10 CEEC both in closing the income gap and the innovation gap. We then rank the countries according to their speed of convergence and perform a Spearman rank correlation analysis. The results show that, on average, convergence in R&D is not correlated with convergence in GDP. The Czech Republic is the only country with a positive correlation between R&D intensity and GDP growth. Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia show a negative relationship between investment in R&D and economic growth. This implies that for most of the countries in Central and Eastern Europe, economic growth during the period 1998-2008 was mostly driven by non-innovation factors.convergence, growth, innovation, R&D

Evaluation of E-learning Platforms: a Case Study

In the recent past, a great number of e-learning platforms have been introduced on the market showing different characteristics and services. These platforms can be evaluated using multiple criteria and methods. This paper proposes a list of selected quality criteria for describing, characterizing and selecting e-learning platform. These criteria were designed based on e-learning standards. I also propose a mathematical model to determine the probability that a student uses an e-learning platform based on the factors (criteria) that determine the quality of the platform and the socio-demographic variables of the student. The case study presented is an application of the model and the input data, intermediate calculations and final results were processed using SAS (Statistical Analysis Software)

PARTICULARITIES OF THE MARKETING ACTIVITY IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY

In the insurance industry there is a new way of thinking which determined the passage from transactional marketing to a holistic marketing concept. In this paper five key elements of holistic marketing are presented: relationship marketing, integrated marholistic marketing in insurance, relationship marketing, integrated marketing, internal marketing, social responsibility marketing, international marketing, trust, customer loyalty, crisis

Romanian Hotel Groups Listed at Bucharest Stock Exchange a Survey

Hotel industry is an important component of travel and tourism (T&T) sector. However, less studies are dedicated to hotel industry than to the T&T sector as a hole. Even less studies are available on hotel companies or groups listed on stock exchanges around the world. The present study will focus on Romanian hotel groups listed at Bucharest Stock Exchange, compared with the situation in Europe.hotel industry,travel and tourism,stock exchanges,hotel groups.

THE FUTURE PERSPECTIVES OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT FUNCTION

The aim of the paper is to provide an overview over the challenges and opportunities thatinternal auditors are going to face with, in the context of current economic and financial worldwide crisis.Using fundamental type of research, but also combining inductive with deductive type of research, we haveidentified several key trends that will certainly influence next perspectives of internal audit function in thecoming period. Our findings show us that next future will give some important challenges for the internalauditors, consisting in developing skills in assessment the effectiveness of risk management which will helpto increase the added value provided by the internal audit, and most importantly, will increase internalaudit’s accountability. Even more the international professional bodies that coordinate internal auditactivity will have to make all necessary efforts for the development of practical guidelines for assessing theeffectiveness of risk management so internal auditors to be equipped with the necessary skills to face with thehigher and higher expectations that will characterize the future perspectives of the internal auditing.internal audit function, risk management, internal auditor, added value, internal audit standards

ANALYSIS OF THE STAGES NECESSARY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN OBJECTIVE TAKEN OVER IN CONCESSION, FROM A TOPO-CADASTRAL POINT OF VIEW

Within the present work, a study was carried out regarding the concession of a building belonging to the Municipality of Cluj-Napoca, in order to dismantle it resulting in 32 plots and the access road to them, in order to authorize the construction works of 32 dwellings for young people. The notion of drawing represents the application on the field of the topographical elements known or extracted by calculation from the construction projects, elements that define a projected construction to be transposed or executed in the field. The field application of construction projects is aimed at ensuring compliance with the design and size of constructions and their components, as well as their absolute position, in a coordinate system. From the succession of constructive stages necessary for the construction of an objective, the materialization on the ground of the basic, main, and secondary axes of the construction and the materialization of the ±0.00 m elevation are detached. The law provides that the execution of construction works is allowed only on the basis of a building permit that is issued following a project called a Topographic Plan for obtaining the building permit