Role of marketing in improving didactic activity quality in higher education

Increasing the competence level in teaching services has to be based on a thorough knowledge of both customer needs and the way they are willing to receive the information contents.Applying rigorous scientific marketing principles to the organization and operation of education services offers the fundaments of such a development.The present article outlines the results of a qualitative research – focus group – conducted on a sample of Spiru Haret University students, which had as a main goal identifying the most effective ways of communication in the student-professor relationship in order to design creative teaching materials, perfectly adapted to present educational needs.The conclusions of the research emphasized both the perception of the students regarding the definition of their own position during the education process, and the willingness to actively take part in developing the informational support suitable for educational services. The study also revealed aspects regarding the perception of scientific research, of the willingness to be involved in such a systematic and complex effort

Book reviews: Christopher A. Sims, Macroeconomics and Reality

 Two main ideas derive from a careful reading of the Macroeconomics and Reality study. The former one targets the appropriate nature of the methods used in macroeconomics and how they report to the economic reality. In this direction, Sims’ opinion looks radical. The mentions of the macroeconomic models (variables and equations) should rely on a set of data (empirical approach) or an analytical relation among different variables (theoretical approach). Sims explicitly excludes the mentions derived from purely statistical and econometric restrictions or other simplifying presumptions...