ENVIRONMENT BENCHMARKING- A MODERN MANAGEMENT TOOL APPLIED TO PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN WORLD ECONOMIC CRISIS

This paper is an attempt to clarify and present the many definitions of benchmarking. It also attempts to explain the basic steps of benchmarking, to show how this tool can be applied by local authorities as well as to discuss its potential benefits and limitations providing a series of examples it illustrates the effective use of this management tool, and its requirements for comparable data and information.benchmarking, local authorities, sustainable development, innovation.

Knowledge Creation / Conversion Process

Capturing and / or creating knowledge is a central part of the implementation of knowledge management and is the first stage of the cycle knowledge management. There are several approaches, techniques and tools that can be used to "extract" explicit knowledge to create new ones and to organize all knowledge in a systematic manner. Translation of knowledge into a form explicit or understandable called encoding, facilitates other knowledge management processes, such as storage or dissemination of knowledge. Multidisciplinary nature of knowledge management is highlighted by the fact that techniques used to capture knowledge from several fields such as sociology, economics, mathematical analysis etc.knowledge; model; conversion; creation.

THE INFLUENCE OF CONFLICTING STATE DYNAMICS IN ROMANIAN ORGANISATIONS OVER THE CAUSES OF NATIONAL ECONOMIC CRISIS

The paperwork presents the evolution of the conflicting states in Romanian organizations between 1992-2008 and presents data regarding the causes of the conflicts from a economic, social and political point of view. There are presented data regarding the number of conflicts recorded in the period of years analyzed, the evolution of conflicts divided by the branches of the national economy, the number of participants at the conflicts and strikes and their claims.conflicts, conflicting rights, conflicts of interest, conflict dynamics.

How to deal with crisis knowing change management principles

International crisis, market transparency, labor mobility, global capital flows, and instantaneous communications have blown scenario that senior executives in large companies had a simple goal for themselves and their organizations: stability. Shareholders wanted little more than predictable earnings growth In most industries — and in almost all companies— heightened global competition has concentrated management’s collective mind on something that, in the past, it happily avoided: change. Management of change represents an important responsibility for the managers and specialists, for those who have not only to assure the survival of the organization, but to assure the fundamentals for future development and competitiveness.change; management; competition; crisis; principles of change.

Romanian Banks – Romanian SMEs: A Mutual Business Relationship

This paper analyzes the bank-SMEs partnership in terms of ICT collaboration. The data about ICT projects developed in the Romanian banks having SMEs as a technology provider is collected by web content mining. Then, the paper addresses two main perspectives. At first, we identify the features that characterize the successful SMEs that managed to develop business relationships with the Romanian Banks and we build an econometric model to express this dependency. On the other hand, the paper analyzes the problem from the Romanian banks’ perspective, identifying patterns in their IT investment decisions.SMEs; banking industry; IT investments; clustering; decision patterns.

Women Entrepreneurship in Romania: the Case of North East Development Region

Women entrepreneurship benefit from a process of expansion all over the world. Business established and developed by women are an important source of wealth and improved living standards in many countries. Even though women represent 46% of Europe's working population, which means in theory that trend of this type entrepreneurship can only go upward, however entrepreneurship is still considered an activity for men. Entrepreneurship has an active role in employment, economic development and quality of life, constituting a dynamic part of any developed economy. Supporting women in their involvement in setting up new start-ups and small business and unlock their potential is an important part of government actions to foster entrepreneurial activities. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) study found out that economies of Eastern European countries are in poor condition in terms of women's participation in entrepreneurial activity. Romania is no exception. This paper analyze women entrepreneurship in the poorest region of Romania, North East region, through an empirical survey but provide also some insights on overall Romanian situation based on National Trade Register Office data

HOW TO ENHANCE ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN UNIVERSITIES. BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES CASE STUDY

Entrepreneurship has been an area of interest among academics across the world. It is admitted as a booster for market innovation, product and technological growth. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are considered an important factor for health of the economy. It is seen as the force that revitalizes the economy and leads to economic progress, job creation for the community. Higher education institutions play a vital role in providing society with skilled human resources, owning specific skills accordingly to economy needs. The aim of this study is to investigate ways in which the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (BUES) could amplify the entrepreneurial potential of their students. Results showed that cooperation of universities with entrepreneur NGO’s and other local institutions and organizations, apprenticeship courses, innovative educational content and use of creativity- centred methods of teaching were the most effective improving entrepreneurial skills of students. Detecting the challenges and competencies of entrepreneurial students could help professor to consider these challenges in developing the student’s capabilities that allow them to successfully conduct entrepreneurial activities. Thus, we propose three major implications for actors involved in enhancing entrepreneurial engagement at higher education institutions. First, differences between universities organizational structures (i.e. faculties and departments) regarding organizational norms and cultures should be taking account when encouraging entrepreneurial engagement. Second, all levels of the university hierarchy should be considered when developing the support system for academic entrepreneurship. Third, despite their subordinate position, today’s students will soon have influential positions in the university. Hence, any attempt to create a more entrepreneurial university should pay particular attention to this group of academics. Whilst senior academics may be difficult to influence, our study shows that students seem to be receptive to communication about the commercialization of research results. Our findings indicate that initiatives and research about the creation of entrepreneurial universities should put students in a central position

NEW PERSPECTIVES REGARDING CHANGE AND INNOVATION INTO ROMANIAN SMES

Innovation is one of the major factor to contribute to success and competitiveness on an SMES, as these enterprises are vital for a healthy and sustainable economy. Literature consider innovativeness as one of the most important agent through which such businesses contribute to economic development. This is an even more important issue for country such Romania, where SMEs are often faced with inadequate business infrastructure and lack of support for entrepreneurs. We also consider that last years have been characterized by an increasingly dynamic, complex and unpredictable environment for businesses. Intense competition in the global market is compelling SMEs to leverage their capabilities and competencies in order to differentiate themselves in the marketplace, and improve their performance. In this paper, we explore factors that drive innovation activities and change in SMEs in Romania, and compare it with findings from other studies. We also consider that implementing changes has positive impact on products/services innovation while applying into specific organizational structures, peculiar on SMEs. In this research four types of product innovation are studied: product, process, line extension and radical radical product innovation. We also consider factors regarding percentage of highly skilled employees (T managers, knowledge oriented white collars), implementation of changed strategy, new/improved managerial techniques , SMEs age, region of developement, company dimension and legal type of organization. To generate additional insight in innovation, we also explore problems and obstacle to innovation and change. Literature considers that it is necessary to continuous change and improve SMES in order to be more sustainable and provide innovative products and services to the market If SMEs account for over 90% of businesses all over the world, and there is a growing need to create sustainable SMEs, then developing and implementing change is highest in making progress towards sustainability. This study is based on a research conducted on over 800 entrepreneurs from Romanian economy. We try to demonstrate the usability of the presented findings in practice in order to contribute to the development of SMEs in Romania

Impact of Competitive Capabilities on Sustainable Manufacturing Applications in Romanian SMEs from the Textile Industry

This paper examines the impact of competitive capabilities on sustainable manufacturing practices in Romanian small and medium-sized enterprises from the textile industry. We developed an econometric model based on previous research conducted by prestigious specialists and validated on a survey data from 221 Romanian small and medium enterprises from the textile industry. Our article proposes a number of implications to encourage entrepreneurs and managers from textile industry to engage in pro-environmental behaviour