The Challenge of Ensuring Business Security in Information Age

Every day, thousands of businesses rely on the services and information ensured by information and communication networks. As the dependence on information systems grows, so the security of information networks becomes ever more critical to any entity, no matter if it is a company or a public institution. The asymmetrical threat posed by cyber attacks and the inherent vulnerabilities of cyberspace constitute a serious security risk confronting all nations. For this reason, the cyber threats need to be addressed at the global level. Given the gravity of the threat and of the interests at stake, it is imperative that the comprehensive use of information technology solutions be supported by a high level of security measures and be embedded also in a broad and sophisticated cyber security culture. This paper provides arguments regarding the need to implement coherent information security policies at national level, based on cooperation between public and private sectors and in coordination with international initiatives in the field. Since information security is vital for developing and running an efficient business, this study may constitute a strategic approach to improve the information security posture of Romanian organizations.information security; information security risk management; security threats; confidentiality; integrity; availability.

Modelling a Trusted Mechanism for Knowledge Sharing

Knowledge sharing has been identified as a major focus area for knowledge management. Efforts are made with a view to identify the most effective ways to share knowledge, as a step towards improving organizational performance. In this striving, various factors have been identified as impediments for knowledge sharing, including inadequate organizational structures, sharing unfriendly organizational cultures, and denominational segregation. Related problems may occur when information systems, such as intranets, distributed libraries, document management systems, or groupware applications, are introduced to support knowledge sharing. The extensive use of the IT&C has only added new questions on how to address issues of trust within the present knowledge -rich environment. This paper proposes a new way of approaching knowledge sharing in the context of information and communication technology development. The study provides an overview of the manner and extent in which information assurance concepts of integrity, authenticity, availability, non-repudiation and access-control may be employed to ensure a trusted and effective knowledge sharing process.knowledge sharing; sharing policy; access control; trusted knowledge sharing; barriers in knowledge sharing.

MANAGEMENT OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATION AND REDUCING SCHOOL POPULATION IN THE PRAHOVA COUNTY – DYNAMIC SYSTEM

The continuous decrease of the school population, and especially the number of high school graduates and promotion rate of baccalaureate exam putting significant pressures on development strategies for higher education institutions. To these are added the optional range expanding of the potential students. Based on these observations, the paper examines some aspects of the relationship university (educational offer) - high school graduates, with baccalaureate degree, concretized at the Accounting and Management Information Systems specialization of the Faculty of Economic Sciences from a university in the Prahova county

A multidisciplinary approach of communication

Each form of communication has its specific feature which helps, in turn in creating unique designs. There are also designs which go beyond a certain format and that can be adapted to all situations, for any of the types of communication. The use of models allows the interpretation of phenomena using certain structures that link the elements and relationships that can exist between these elements. The roles that can be performed by a certain model are heuristic (to explain), organizational (to order) and forecasting (to make assumptions). Mc Quail D. and S. Windahl (Mc Quail and Windahl, 2004) state that a model is valid only to its degree of probability: it remains valid as long as it is not refuted by experience. As Yves C. shows, we must emphasize the fact that the use of a model can sometimes stop the development of a science, through the lack of feed-back or even by not considering the context that may influence the communication process modeling. The twentieth century was the promoter of new theoretical models of the communication process inspired by the various schools (the process school, the semiotic school, the Palo Alto school, the Oxford school, etc.) or sciences (mathematics, informatics, cybernetics, linguistics, semiotics, psychology, physics, sociology, etc.). In order to propose a universal model of communication, we highlight a few models that have influenced researchers for decades. Next, we will proceed in analyzing these general models based on an evolutionary principle, from the simplest to the most complex

ROMANIAN HIGHER EDUCATION - STRUCTURAL CHANGES AND UNBALANCING RESOURCES

An advanced economy needs an advanced society, economy is the product of the society in which it is embedded and on whose institutions it depends. In the process of structural reforms there are phenomena and assemblies of actions that are established as social processes in which everything changes. In this process developing human capital is wanted on the one hand, training of human resources available and on the other hand, adaptation of human resources at change. Institutions incorporated in the common framework of society are interdependent, regulatory framework and the links between them must be constantly reshaped by influences and interests of society in general. Higher education found at the intersection of external challenges and internal economic and social dynamics, was faced with structural changes, the activities undertaken, being dependent on the level and sources of funding

The Project Team Features Effectiveness and Leadership

The project team that is responsible for providing flexibility and innovation to this structure in order to enable organizations to remain successful (1). The very nature of the project team's work underpins a collective task much more complex than that assumed by other types of work teams. The aim of this paper is to explore the main factors that determine the project team effectiveness. The research methodology was the literature review. The main finding reveals that the organizational structure of projects and the project team should not be considered as a panacea for all problems of organizational effectiveness

Online Company Reputation—A Thorny Problem for Optimizing Corporate Sustainability

The new economic environment, characterized as volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, has been generated through the evolution of a world in which online reputation and corporate social responsibility have become closely interconnected. In this study, we assessed whether corporate social responsibility is a goal with multiple implications for the image of the organization and its financial results, which present a model for measuring online reputation in the context of optimizing corporate sustainability. We used an econometric approach that showed that the main purpose of the model is to determine the best value of the dependent variable by providing a number of new sets of explanatory variables on the exact quantification of the company’s online reputation. The main results can support the decision-making process in building and maintaining online reputation in the short or long term, and the information provided is useful for implementing online reputation management programs. We provide a rather nuanced picture of the relationship between the credibility of corporate sustainability claims, financial security, and the chance of preserving the online reputation built. The research shows that online reputation risk management is no longer optional; online reputation must become a strategic resource for sustainable business

Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Financial Performance

In the past few decades, business performance has been approached from a multidimensional perspective, because a pro-active corporate sustainability reporting system for assessing the financial performance of an organization should at least address impacts at the organization and community levels, as well as the resulting associated social impacts. The purpose of this research was to identify the accessibility of corporate sustainability reporting instruments for Romanian managers and their role in increasing the financial performance of organizations. This study concludes that corporate social reporting indicators can be integrated into the reporting of the financial performance of a company and can transform sustainability into tangible value for all interested parties. In addition, the empirical results contribute to the understanding of corporate social responsibility practices; although being non-financial, these seem to be financially meaningful at a certain level after other financial factors are controlled for

The Role of Environmental, Social, and Governance Disclosure in Financial Transparency

In today’s business environment, corporate governance and financial transparency have an impact on the performance of firms. These changes are important for understanding the widespread accessibility of relevant and reliable information regarding an entity’s financial and nonfinancial aspects. The purpose of this study was to show how the environmental, social, and governance disclosure performance of companies has gained a reputation of having a fundamental role in financial transparency and how it varies by stakeholder orientation and economic sector. In this regard, we developed a new model based on stakeholders’ perceptions to analyze the impact of environmental, social, and governance disclosure on financial transparency using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method and select the economic sector that ensures transparency in sustainable and financial reporting. This model was applied over the 2008–2018 period to 143 companies from eight countries in the most representative economic sectors: finance, energy, and telecommunication services. Our results portray that environmental, social, and governance reporting are a company’s means of communication with stakeholders, as part of their accountability and stewardship obligations, and at the same time, they are a tool for achieving transparency regarding the financial performance of a firm. Furthermore, our findings also showed whether environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures act as a vector of financial communication for enterprises, and this relationship will also be evident in their role in financial transparency