Professional Mobility and the Human Resources Flexibility - Premises of the Employment Improvement of Labor Force in Industry

During the transition years, the most striking and at the same time alarming process in matters of employment has been the severe decrease of the employed population. The causes that determine a process or another in the field of workforce employment can be grouped into: economic causes, institutional causes, educational and training causes, social causes, the management of the labour market. In this paper we have approached mainly the educational and training causes, taking into account the mass privatization process of the Romanian enterprises which led to the apparition/disappearance of qualifications, associated with big changes in the content of jobs and qualifications. In order to know the structural or circumstantial changes concerning the qualifications required on the labour market it is necessary to have an information inquiry about the qualifications and the qualification needs, which means investigations at the firms from the town/area. To this purpose we have made a research (to be seen in a questionnaire-based survey) at the level of Cluj county on a statistical population of 2736 enterprises. As a result of the research, we have elaborated the classification of the most wanted and most vulnerable jobs specific to industry on the labour market from Cluj and we have identified the main employment difficulties. Under the actual conditions of restructuring economy in general and industry in particular we consider that the flexibility of human resources represents a decisive factor for improving employment in economy in general and in industry in particular.employment; unemployment; jobs/qualifications; professional mobility; flexibility.

The role of work-life balance practices in order to improve organizational performance

Well known in the literature as work life balance, the quality relationship between paid work and unpaid responsibilities is critical for success in today’s competitive business world. The issue of work-life balance has been developed in response to demographic, economic and cultural changes. The purpose of this paper is to establish whether work-life balance initiatives and practices can be considered as strategic human resource management decisions that can translate into improved individual and organizational performance. The results of a number of studies reviewed in this paper show the outcomes and the benefits of implementing worklife balance practices not only for employees themselves, but also for their families, organizations and society. Despite the fact that work-life conflict has significant business costs associated with lack of engagement, absenteeism, turnover rates, low productivity and creativity or poor retention levels, there are some factors of organizational work-life culture that may compromise availability and use of these practices What are the challenges for research and practice in the future? In the end of the article we propose several suggestions (guidelines) in order to improve our understanding, choice, implementation and effectiveness of work-life practices.peer-reviewe

If You’re Going Through Hell, Keep Going: Nonlinear Effects of Financial Liberalization in Transition Economies

Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Did increasing the level and pace of financial liberalization during transition expose countries to crises? And if a crisis did strike, did liberalization do more harm or good? Using a database of 28 transition economies over 22 years, this article examines these questions across a host of economic outcomes, including savings and the size of the private sector. The results provide evidence that, while liberalization may initially increase the probability of a crisis, the prospect of a crisis drops dramatically at higher levels of financial openness. Moreover, the benefits of liberalization across several metrics outweigh the risks of these intermediate stages

Recruitment for Competencies in Public and Private Sectors

<p>The capacity to attract highly skilled human resources is dependent on the employee recruitment process implemented by organizations, which plays an important role for their competitiveness on the market. As the concern for the success of the recruitment process in public sectors is becoming more salient, the present study compares the use of recruitment practices in public and private sectors through a survey applied to 97 organizations. It also explores the outcomes in terms of quantity and quality of applications received when using various recruitment methods. Common points and differences were identified. Internal recruitment methods and e-recruitment based on job posting on the website of the organization are favored regardless of the type of organization (private or public). The differences weight mostly against public sector as public institutions use less often the recommendations received from acquaintances and networks, post fewer job adds on specialized online job boards, get fewer direct applications from candidates, and participate less often in job fairs. The largest number of applications is received through the use of online job boards, job posting on the website of the hiring organization and job advertising in written press. On the other hand, internal recruitment is perceived to result in attracting the highest quality applications.  </p

Does Ownership Matter? Employee Selection Practices in Private and Public Sectors

<p>The continuous need to adapt to the dynamics of the environment requires employers from both public and private sectors to select qualified human resources. It is people who lead the organization towards performance, and selecting competent employees is critical for competitive success. The paper is focused on the job selection practices implemented by hiring organizations in a developing country. Due to the differences that exist regarding the employee selection policy between public and private organizations, the paper aims to understand the characteristics of the job selection process according to the ownership of the employer agent. Based on a quantitative survey applied on 64 companies, the results analyze the main selection stages implemented in private vs. public sector employers in a developing country. While in private companies the most frequently used selection stages are the job selection interview, CVs screening and trial period, in public institutions the hiring process is based on the job selection interview, written knowledge tests, and practical tests. Compared to private companies, in public institutions the written knowledge tests rank a higher position in the selection stages hierarchy, but the private employers rely more on CVs screening stage than public institutions. Emphasis is laid on understanding the reasons leading to variations in job selection practices according to the ownership of the employing agent. The predictive validity of the job selection stages implemented by the companies is also discussed.</p

Diagnoza nevoilor de dezvoltare profesională a personalului din instituțiile publice

The micro approach of the human resource management requires the focus upon the employees’ individual development within the institution. This process includes the identification of the human resources’ development needs, the establishment of the methods and strategies necessary for developing the employees, and the implementation of the training program. The present study focuses on the identification of the individual development needs, which includes three phases: the identification of the knowledge and further on, the competences required for a high level performance, and the evaluation of the highly performing employees. Starting from the distinction between development needs and development wants, the purpose of this paper is to develop and propose a set of instruments which to facilitate the identification of the employees’ professional development needs (needs that are both present on the individual and organizational level).</p

The Role of Work-Life Balance Practices in Order to Improve Organizational Performance

Well known in the literature as work life balance, the quality relationship between paid work and unpaid responsibilities is critical for success in today’s competitive business world. The issue of work-life balance has been developed in response to demographic, economic and cultural changes. The purpose of this paper is to establish whether work-life balance initiatives and practices can be considered as strategic human resource management decisions that can translate into improved individual and organizational performance. The results of a number of studies reviewed in this paper show the outcomes and the benefits of implementing worklife balance practices not only for employees themselves, but also for their families, organizations and society. Despite the fact that work-life conflict has significant business costs associated with lack of engagement, absenteeism, turnover rates, low productivity and creativity or poor retention levels, there are some factors of organizational work-life culture that may compromise availability and use of these practices. What are the challenges for research and practice in the future? In the end of the article we propose several suggestions (guidelines) in order to improve our understanding, choice, implementation and effectiveness of work-life practices.Work-life balance, integration, performance, flexible working time, work-place culture