In memoriam: Francisc Schneider (1933-2017)

This is the obituary for Francisc Schneider, who introduced clinical physiology in Romania and mentored generations of scientists

Factors Determining Desirability of Entrepreneurship in Romania

Studies in entrepreneurship have identified that a positive entrepreneurial attitude and willingness to start a business influence future entrepreneurial intention. In the study of entrepreneurial intention, there is a growing interest in understanding the factors that determine desirability of entrepreneurship. Earlier studies have identified that there is a significant correlation between individuals’ perceived desirability of entrepreneurship and their entrepreneurial intention. This study addressed the question of what factors determine the desirability of entrepreneurship and how these different factors affect the desire to become an entrepreneur. We discussed the key determinants of the desirability of entrepreneurship in Romania. Using the Amway Global Entrepreneurship Report (AGER) dataset for 2016, we examined the desirability of entrepreneurship among Romanian respondents by considering multiple factors indicated by the theory as being significant predictors of entrepreneurship: feasibility, social stability, and comfort with acquiring customers, as well as socio-demographic factors such as age, gender, education, income level and working status. The results of our regression analysis demonstrate that social stability and feasibility have the most impact on the desirability of entrepreneurship. In addition, we document that comfort with acquiring customers is perceived as an important factor in increasing the desirability of entrepreneurship. These results suggest that a good understanding of individuals’ social environment and their need for skills and capabilities may lead to greater entrepreneurial efficacy, which is fundamental to sustaining economic growth. Future research should be grounded on testing if level of education, working status and income influence desirability of entrepreneurship as our existing data did not prove that it did

Business impact analysis for business continuity: Evidence from Romanian enterprises on critical functions

Organizations are increasingly subject to hazardous events and threats, which can be critical for their business operations and performance. Any natural, accidental, or deliberate incidents that happen to the organization can cause major disruptions to it. The present paper aims to examine the prerequisites for a sound business impact analysis necessary to build the organization’s business continuity management capability and ensure business resilience. It is meant to discover those critical functions and resources which are vital to business operations in a sample of small and medium-sized enterprises from a certain geographic area in Romania, in order to maintain their core operations and ensure business continuation. The research results rely on the data collected through face-to-face interviews from 119 Romanian companies. The research findings of the multiple linear regression employed indicate that, in undertaking business impact analysis for business continuity, it is vital for enterprises to identify the skills and level of expertise required from staff to carry out organization’s critical activities. Also it is critical for companies to identify alternative premises and systems and means of voice and data communication, as well as the priority suppliers/partners whom they depend on, necessary to undertake their critical activities. The study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the prerequisites of the organization’s business impact analysis that are critical to build a strong business continuity management capability. It also offers new insights to companies meant to generate a better understanding of current practices of undertaking a business impact analysis for business continuation in their organizations

Some Aspects regarding the Basic Index Number Theory

The index number problem can be framed as the problem of decomposing the value of a well-defined set of transactions in a period of time into an aggregate price term times an aggregate quantity term. It turns out that this approach to the index number problem does not lead to any useful solutions. The problem of decomposing a value ratio pertaining to two periods of time into a component that measures the overall change in prices between the two periods (this is the price index) times a term that measures the overall change in quantities between the two periods (this is the quantity index) is considered

Metaphorical Representations of the Consultancy and the Consultant in Romania (2)

The present study was conducted on constructivist analytical frame and it concentrated on the metaphorical representations of the HR specialists about the HR consultants and, generally, about the consultancy process. The study has been developed during January February 2005, by D&D Research, with the participation of HR-Romania. The methodology was mostly quantitative, based on the deployment of 188 questionnaires by face-to-face administration, but, also, by the respondent’s self-evaluation

Metaphorical Representations of the Consultancy and the Consultant in Romania (2)

The present study was conducted on constructivist analytical frame and it concentrated on the metaphorical representations of the HR specialists about the HR consultants and, generally, about the consultancy process. The study has been developed during January February 2005, by D&D Research, with the participation of HR-Romania. The methodology was mostly quantitative, based on the deployment of 188 questionnaires by face-to-face administration, but, also, by the respondent’s self-evaluation