The Human Capital Dimension within the Organizational Equation. Gliding Between Virtual and Traditional Teams

There is a body of literature on virtual teams that is growing faster and faster; however, the knowledge about the benefits and the challenges faced by the virtual teams are still not very well outlined or thoroughly discussed. The purpose of this paper is to fill a part of the gap by reviewing specialized literature about the effectiveness of the virtual teams versus the traditional teams. Moreover, the study underlines the challenges faced by the virtual teams from different standpoints (i.e., identity, culture and diversity, leadership, communication and motivation, decision-making and conflicts, technology, creativity) and highlights the best ways/tools to cope with them. By performing this theoretical overview, the study aims to advance an articulate perspective on the organizational landscape and processes in line with today’s challenges in terms of human capital, in particular and of intellectual capital, in general. As the depicted research directions indicated, people are not ready yet to totally move to the virtual world and to give up face-to-face communication, feeling more comfortable to work within a traditional team. This situation is illustrative of the fact that there is still much to explore about the virtual teams and about how they can reach their best potential in order to be effective

Romanian SMEs Internationalization in the Light of Internal Capabilities and External Conditions. A Secondary Data Analysis

The topic of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the framework of the internationalization phenomena has often hewed the paths for many conceptual and empirical analyses all the more so as the global environment has pushed smaller actors out of their regular habitat. Issues such as the support of SMEs innovative capabilities, of knowledge sharing mechanisms and collaborative networks via cross-border operations or as the thorough adjustment to the new market conditions have sprung as pivotal concerns for both academics and practitioners interested in business development, performance, innovation and effectiveness from a myriad of perspectives. Giving credit to these research and real-life priorities, the current paper aims to discuss different facets of the SMEs internationalization process, laying emphasis on their internal capabilities and external conditions. The empirical undertaking relies on a secondary data analysis which covers the facts and figures comprised by European official reports. The focus is on the Romanian SMEs internationalization variables which are descriptive of the current state of cross-border dynamics. The findings advance that Romanian entrepreneurs and SMEs have been supported in the recent years by a series of European and national governmental initiatives, yet many additional measures and facilitation instruments are needed to properly improve their overall performance on international markets

Facebook Self-(re)presentation and the Employers’ Practice of Using it as a Recruitment Tool

The online social networks allow individuals to continuously create and model their self-presentations and representations. Facebook stands for a relevant example as people are given the uncensored opportunity to unfold their online selves according to their interests, preferences, goals and expectations. The current research aims at investigating the way students (re)present themselves on Facebook social networks and their readiness to consider the implications of Facebook usage as a recruitment tool by the current employers. As more and more people use figurative photos to present themselves on Facebook, it becomes important to understand whether the users are aware of the consequences derived from uninspired choices when it comes to future employment. Neither the virtual, nor the physical self can ever truly be liberated from the other and the association between them may become an advantage and a disadvantage at the same time. The investigation is concentrated on the person’s perception, taking into consideration the reasons for profile pictures and album photos selection, for the generated content and its effects on the online identity. The analysis relies on a sociological survey based on self-administered questionnaires – 89 undergraduate students from the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration in Bucharest participated to the research we conducted during two weeks in April 2013. The data analysis validates the main hypothesis is that students’ self-presentation through their Facebook profiles follows the offline personal data and is not influenced by potential employers’ assessments

Facebook Usage as Social Screening. Exploring the Approach of Admissions Officers from Management Colleges

The online social networks allow individuals to continuously create and model their self-presentations and representations. Facebook stands for a relevant example as people are given the uncensored opportunity to unfold their online selves according to their interests, preferences, goals and expectations. As a social networking site, Facebook is particularly used for reasons related to social documentation (social searching) and maintaining preexisting close relationships (bonding social capital) that imply knowledge of new information about persons met offline, and less for social exploration (social browsing) that refers to using Facebook to initiate new contacts. The extant recent literature often approach the usage of Facebook as a pre-employment screening tool with a view to select the fittest candidates for the job. Still, there are few studies which address the professors’ endeavor to use social media, in general and Facebook, in particular, as a complementary criterion when selecting future students. At this level, Facebook profiles are liable to stand for cogent indicators for the prospects’ personalities and potential, for their predispositions and professional perspectives. Starting from this point, the current research aims at investigating the approaches on the aforementioned issue of several professors from Management colleges in Romania who are in charge of settling the evaluation reference points of the college admissions procedure. The research is the more relevant so as the future graduate managers should possess some key characteristics which may be anticipated or pre-assessed based on their Facebook profile cues. In order to test the subjects’ openness to consider the implications of Facebook usage as a thorough social documentation tool, nineteen in-depth interviews were conducted. The findings show that there is a high degree of skepticism towards using Facebook as a source of reliable information

Preliminary Insights into SMEs Opportunities and Vulnerabilities in the European Context. A Qualitative Approach

The current study aims to theoretically investigate the opportunities and vulnerabilities apposite for the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), insisting on the internationalization conditions, and to empirically explore the European initiatives meant to support the SMEs in their various endeavors, from accessing relevant knowledge to deploying successful operations in foreign markets. To this end, a qualitative research was conducted through the case study method. Over 10 European initiatives were described and more than 20 relevant documents available on official European websites were analyzed. The underlying assumption for conducting this study resided in the fact that a better understanding of the European context describing SMEs performance would provide valuable insights to the actors interested in their future business activity, specifically in their cross-border projects and operations. Moreover, a refined outlook would enlarge their vision of the existing opportunities and thus catalyze the process of converting current challenges into positive results

M-commerce – Facts and Forecasts. A Comparative Analysis within a Triad Framework: India, Romania, and the United States

The present article aims to advance a comparative analysis among three countries - India, Romania and the United States - placing mobile devices, internet infrastructure and m-commerce at the core of the investigation. The scope of the study simultaneously covers the landscape and dynamics of m-commerce and of related objective indicators, bringing to the fore figures, facts and forecasts corroborated from the latest reports, statistics and articles. In this respect, it adds up to the extant literature by systematizing report outputs in a unitary comparative framework and by generating inputs for further research endeavours on the subjected factors associated with m-commerce evolution

A Managerial Perspective on Common Identity-based and Common Bond-based Groups in Non-governmental Organizations. Patterns of Interaction, Attachment and Social Network Configuration

The paper approaches the common identity and common bond theories in analyzing the group patterns of interaction, their causes, processes and outcomes from a managerial perspective. The distinction between identity and bond referred to people’s different reasons for being in a group, stressing out whether they like the group as a whole — identity-based attachment, or they like individuals in the group — bond-based attachment.  While members of the common identity groups reported feeling more attached to their group as a whole than to their fellow group members and tended to perceive others in the group as interchangeable, in bond-based attachment, people felt connected to each other and less to the group as a whole, loyalty or attraction to the group stemming from their attraction primarily to certain members in the group. At this level, the main question concerned with the particularities of common identity-based or common bond-based groups regarding social interaction, the participatory architecture of the group, the levels of personal and work engagement in acting like a cohesive group. In order to address pertinently this issue, the current work was focused on a qualitative research which comprised in-depth (semi-structured) interviews with several project coordinators from non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Also, to make the investigation more complex and clear, the research relied on the social network analysis which was indicative of the group dynamics and configuration, highlighting the differences between common identity-based and common bond-based groups

Millennials at Work: Investigating the Specificity of Generation Y versus Other Generations

The present study intends to discuss the psychological profile of Generation Y versus other generations.The differences between Millennials and other generations are addressed in terms of values, personality characteristics, and reactions under stress. The topicality and relevance of the research theme are supported by the fact that most of the people who are currently employed in companies all over the world are members of the Generation Y. This situation requires a proper investigation of the characteristics and specificity of the so-called Millennials with a view to provide organizations with pertinent inputs for designing well-informed policies and for smoothly integrating Millennials in the workplace. To this end, Hogan Assessments personality inventories were applied online to more than 1000 persons from Generation Y (up to 29 years old) and more than 3000 persons from other generations (above 29 years old). Among others, the findings show that Millennials are motivated by recognition, public acknowledgment, instant and frequent positive feedback and gratification. As they need balance between personal and professional life, as well as a comfortable environment, they require a flexible work schedule, resent staying after hours. Being motivated to become part of various social networks, work in various teams, Millennials are able to easily find satisfaction in missions that involve interactions with new persons coming from different cultures and geographical areas. They are motivated by work in a nonconformist environment without strict rules and traditional work approaches, they tend to challenge the status quo and they will not be patient to keep the same job many year

An Insight into Romanian Business Consulting Organizations from an Ethical Standpoint

Recent decades have strongly commanded in the public conscience the importance of considering the ethical dimension in organizations. Business ethics exceeds the ordinary compliance with the law or the choice between right and wrong. There are situations when actions are clearly right or wrong and the decision about what should be done is relatively simple, but often managers have to distinguish between shades of gray and the decision is enforced by different degrees of righteousness. Moreover, when fulfilling ethical responsibilities, businesses should consider simultaneously the economic and competitiveness pressures. Starting from these premise, the present study intends to investigate the standpoints of managers in the Romanian business consulting firms about the double rationality of their endeavors: profit versus ethics. Accordingly, twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted to assess the ethical dilemma. As most of the answers underline, there is a myriad of ethical issues posed by the business consultancy, especially when big contracts are scarce and the competition for clients is high