Specific Issues of the Structure and Relations between Executive and Legislature at Local Level in Romania

Public management and civil servant's performance, productivity and quality of public service, flexibility and responsiveness to challenges of change in administration, autonomy and decentralising, the reduced costs of reform represent only a part of the characteristics and requirement of administration. Administration as structure is approached from organisational perspective.The principles of public administration are the following: local autonomy, decentralising civil services of local interest, electing local government authorities, legality, consulting the citizens on local problems of special interestLocal legislature, the role of political parties, specific issues

Corruption in the public organizations. Towards a model of cost-benefit analysis for the anticorruption strategies

The paper aims to evaluate how the anticorruption strategies lead to minimizing the corruption phenomenon in the public organizations, with special reference to those from public administration and health system in Romania. Based on some essential features, stated by Banfield (1975) about the capacity of the public organizations to minimize corruption inside the organizations, the authors achieved two parallel sociological researches in the public administration system and the health system in Romania. Thus, the researches reveal a paradox in the finality of the mentioned public organizations between the exclusive preoccupation for an ethical behaviour and the other objectives of the organizations: effectiveness, flexibility, dynamics etc. In the context of very interesting studies, such as those by Rose-Ackerman (1975, 2005), the premises of research are based on the idea that “the anticorruption strategies should orient, firstly towards improvement of the economic, technical and operational efficiency” of the public organization. Therefore, we may speak about “optimal” level of corruption rather than “zero” level. We justify this fact through the costs of supporting the anticorruption strategies, their direct impact on organizational effectiveness and performance.corruption; cost-benefit analysis

Europeanisation of Higher Education in the Area of Administrative Sciences in Romania

The paper aims to reveal some relevant issues about Europeanisation of higher education in the area of administrative sciences in Romania. Europeanisation as global process in the European space is supported and promoted through a specific legislative framework as well as relevant institutional mechanisms. Since 2005, by applying the provisions of Bologna Declaration, the whole configuration of the Romanian higher education has significantly changed. Based on comprehensive empirical researches, the paper approaches and describes both "the Europeanism degree" for the content of the educational process in bachelor, master, doctoral studies in administrative sciences and the social perception of the phenomena and processes deriving from and influencing the Romanian public administration reform, training needs for each academic cycle, graduates' insertion in the labour market. The data and interpretations provide the basis of a comparative analysis of higher education in the area of administrative sciences in NISPAcee members as well as the opportunity for further development of researches and regional debates on this topicEuropeanisation, administrative sciences, higher education

Globalization and Europeanization - A Projection on a European Model of Public Administration

The specialized studies and literature present moreover and insistently the connection between globalization and Europeanization, more precisely between globalization and a European model of integration, whose features aim to set up a global-type European society. The development of the European model of integration starts with economic elements, it reveals nowadays the Economic and Monetary Union and in perspective it will be structured within a sui generis system of transnational governance. The values of the European model of integration become fundamental values of a social process, with powerful economic and political determinations, aiming the multi-causal interference between individual, community and European construction. This process, remarked increasingly in the specialized literature, being assigned with the name of Europeanization has got original, functional features in the spectrum of significations of the globalization paradigm. As essential global-type formula, within Europeanization, we shall find models with economic, political or social finality, integrating also a model of administration among the latter ones. When we say administration, we refer to its up dated and adequate contents to the new European developments. This assertion derives from a less economic modality to conceptualize the relationship between globalization and Europeanization, presenting Europeanization more as a political adaptation to globalization and even a political expression of globalization. In this context, the development of a system for European governance on several levels (local, regional, national, intergovernmental and supranational) suggests its evolution towards globalization. In fact, the literature specific for Europeanization asserts the fact that the European model has also features with integrative nature related to the supranational and trans-governmental dimensions, as well as features with normative nature in view of harmonization, also by standards. These assertions, to which we can add also others, are leading to a new model of public administration, whose area overlaps with the space of European Union, incorporating the effects of globalization under its European expression, Europeanization. Consequently, the proposed model, emphasizing the process of European Union construction will comprise transparency, accountability and participation of the interested parties to public decision. The new public administration aims to use efficiently the resources in order to create favourable conditions for its citizens to become more competitive on the world market and to reduce the gap between the poorest and the richest inhabitants of the world. The current paper aims to conceptualize and to describe a model of public administration. The architecture of this model will be that of a complex system, with a mixed architecture, emphasizing connections with different intensities among its various levels: European, regional, national etc. The feedback mechanisms will be different and specific for each level and they will be ensured by different institutions on compatible normative grounds

Compatibility of the Content of Bachelor Programs in Public Administration with the Needs of Good Governance - A Comparison: EU-US

Higher education in most European states is subject to a complex process of adaptation to the requirements formulated by Bologna process. For some states, such as Romania, this process assumes core restructuring of the content, aimed to its compatibility with that from prestigious European universities. For education in public administration, the developments have a specific character, benefiting of European mechanisms of evaluation, aimed to describe the degree of compatibility. One of the mechanisms is provided by the European Association for Public Administration Accreditation, taking into consideration complex evaluation standards and criteria in view of accreditation. Multidisciplinarity represents one of the important standards. Based on the general context of developing the programs in public administration, we may speak about Europeanization of their content; Europeanization reveals exactly the degree of absorption of the European values specific for the area of public administration in national higher education institutions. The Europeanization process represents a complex process that can cover several years and means step by step approaches by which the structure and content of the above programs should be convergent. In this context, the current paper aims a comparative analysis, based on statistic methods, providing an image about the current level of Europeanization of the content of programs in public administration between various universities in Romania, states in Central and Eastern Europe recently accessed into the European Union and developed countries in the European Union. Based the research methodology and using NASPA standards, our analysis will include American universities that are developing programs in public administration. Thus, the structure of the paper will comprise: -General framework for developing the European higher education after signing Bologna Declaration. -Research methodology based on EAPAA standards. -Presenting the results of the statistic analysis for 10 universities in Romania, 4 universities in Central and Eastern Europe and 4 universities in European developed states. -Comparing the results with those from 3-4 American universities and describing the relevant conclusions from the perspective of the content specific for governance issue. The paper uses information and reports of European and American universities about the content and development of programs in public administration as well as own studies of the authorshigher education, curricular compatibility, good governance

Local employment policies in the context of the economic crisis:Influences of the European Community structural instruments

For several European states, including Romania, the European integration process has overlapped with the effects of the economic and financial crisis. The consequences of such a situation are apparently contradictory. On one hand, the crisis lowers the European integration process in view of achieving the performance imposed by the Single Market, the economic and administrative convergence etc. On the other hand, the possibility of accessing the European structural funds becomes a welcome financial resource for diminishing or stopping the effects of the crisis. The second alternative establishes new balances or imbalances at the local community level, with effect on the employment policies. The European structural instruments – Structural Funds, Cohesion Fund, EC initiatives – are associated with the effects induced in view to achieve the EU objectives such as: economic, social and territorial cohesion, economic growth, competitiveness, employment, sustainable development etc. The current paper aims to emphasise in a theoretic and empiric manner, the influences of these structural instruments on the employment policies at local level. At the same time, those influences will be correlated statistically with the effects of the financial crisis, obtaining a more comprehensive image concerning the consequences of the mix of national and EC policies for the economic integration and fight against the effects of the financial crisis for some EU states. The authors propose a model of local development based on the theory of the general balance, integrating the resources provided by the structural instruments and emphasizing their compensatory effects related to the financial crisis. The proposed model is empirically exemplified for some development regions in Romania, suggestive for general conclusions, of comparative nature, at European and international levellocal employment policies, economic crisis, structural instruments

European Administration. Normative Fundaments and Systemic Models

Making use of the relevant literature in the area, this paper proposes a systemic approach to the European administration. The difficulty of the research design stems from the inconsistency of the regulations European treaties exhibit, as well as from the sectorial approaches, mostly of legal nature, on the conceptualization of the EU administration. To this we add the complexity of the analyzed process which, under the conditions set by the EU enlargement tends to overcome, both in sphere and content, many of the administrations of the federal states or international organizations. The systemic model we propose is a complex system, of a mixed architecture. It is there that the self-regulatory processes have a unique specificity and make use of both a legal foundation and of complementary processes such are those of Europeanization, convergence and administrative dynamicEuropean administration, European Administrative Space, Cybernetic system, Europeanization, Convergence, Administrative dynamics.

Knowledge marketing and development in the new knowledge-based economy

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and describe the relation between knowledge and development in the new knowledge-based economy and to deduct the socio-economic basics of the public marketing strategies in this context. The particularity of this approach is due to the features of knowledge, seen as production factor, mixed public good or global public good, as well as their developments in the context of relationships between university and industry, the new role of public sector research or the new theory of endogenous growth. The economic and social logic of this paper includes marketing among the tools to promote knowledgebased technology progress, imposing even juxtaposition between private or public marketing strategies. The knowledge market develops in specific directions that are compatible and integrated in the development strategies of contemporary economies. Given this context, the quantitative analysis models are inspired by more general or even classical economic models that integrate technical progress, human capital or knowledge status. The main topics discussed in this paper relate to: knowledge and arguments for knowledge marketing development, knowledge and knowledge market as objects of public marketing in contemporary economy, development models that incorporate the impact of knowledge marketing strategies and relevant empirical analysis in the context of the Romanian economy development. The growth methods are based on relevant bibliographic analysis, quantitative models and statistical evaluations, systemic analyses and summaries.knowledge, knowledge market, global public goods

Anti-corruption strategies in some South-Eastern European states.An empirical study on the impact of the government performance

The preoccupations about conceiving and promoting efficient anti-corruption strategies exist in most states, especially in the developing countries. The opportunity of such strategies derives from the direct link, demonstrated theoretically and empirically, between the effects of the anti-corruption strategies and government performance, translated both in the economic and social results and living standard, welfare etc. In the last decades, the transnational actors – UN, World Bank, OECD, EU etc. - have affirmed as promoters of own anti-corruption strategies, directing the states’ efforts, conferring adequate levels of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency or sustainability. The South-Eastern European states incorporate own anti-corruption strategies in the framework of general strategies, aiming the government reform in the context of the European integration process. Strengthening the public integrity, reducing corruption, developing a genuine climate of economic freedom become important objectives concerning the impact on government performance. The paper incorporates briefly the main characteristics of anti-corruption strategies, developed by transnational actors and it aims to shape theoretical and empirical frameworks for the impact of anti-corruption strategies. The focus on some South-Eastern European states has a demonstrative character, as the presented analyses may be extended to various geo-political areas.anti-corruption strategies, assessment, impact, government performance.

The Romanian Public Administration facing the Challenges of Integration into the European Union

The paper achieves an analysis of some issues concerning the changes in the Romanian public administration in the context of integration into the European Union. The most important processes approach Europeanization and its theoretical and practical mechanisms. Concerning the Romanian public administration, the analysis starts with the reform process, on local and national level. The paper reveals the main laws and rules as well as the principles expressed in the administrative change: actuality and continuity, openness and transparency, accountability, efficiency and effectiveness. The paper also achieves a brief analysis of the reform strategies in view of complying with the European Administrative SpaceEuropeanization, administrative system, reform, anti-corruption strategies