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.

Romania’s integration in the European Union and the absorption of structural funds

Romania’s integration in European Union brought both advantages and disadvantages for local entrepreneurs. The current paper presents the results of a comprehensive study regarding several thousand Romanian SMEs on an important issue: absorption of structural fundsstructural funds, SME, European Union

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

An Exploratory Study on Knowledge Management Process Barriers in the Oil Industry

This paper identify and discuss barriers affecting knowledge management (KM) processes in the oil industry. Based on reviewing the literature on this topic, we used a conceptual model comprising the most important barriers, grouped in three categories–organizational, knowledge and people related–influencing four critical KM processes–creation, storage, share and application. Using factor analysis, we identified which barriers influence the most each of the KM process and what are the practical implications for companies operating in the oil industry. This study provides useful insights regarding knowledge processes barriers, enabling top executives to better cope with factors hindering successful implementation of KM initiatives

ROMANIAN YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS FEATURES: AN EMPIRICAL SURVEY

There are many studies linking entrepreneurship and economic development. For specialists and public decision makers, developing entrepreneurship seems to be an easy policy action, even though actions and results are rather debatable. Unfortunately the relevant literature is not so generous concerning youth entrepreneurship. Youth is one of the most vulnerable groups in society, especially in the current economic and demographic situation in European Union and worldwide. At the same time, youth is the period when most people engage in their first job, are gaining financial independence and are assuming new responsibilities and roles shaping their identity. With respect to this, starting their own business is a natural choice for many young people. When considering entrepreneurial potential of young Romanians, there is almost not any data available. This paper aims to disseminate the results of a survey focused on young entrepreneurs, designed to fill the gap in the literature about Romanian young entrepreneurs’ features. The empirical study was divided in five parts: A. Personality of young entrepreneurs, highlighting the main features of behaviour and personality of young entrepreneurs. B. Professional background, focusing on young entrepreneurs’ background and how it influences their interest and performance improvement. C. Risk and crisis acceptance, highlighting the ability of young entrepreneurs to deal with critical situations. D. Business and business environment, focusing on internal and environmental aspects of the business. E. Social - cultural attitude, highlighting the attitude of society (incentives and disincentives) to entrepreneurial initiatives of young people. This are excerpts of results from the first part, regarding personality of Romanian young entrepreneurs, concerning issues like level of independence, capacity for innovation, self-confidence, decision making process, level of persistence flexibility of young entrepreneurs, opportunities, energetic capability, social goals, entrepreneurial incentives or entrepreneurial determinants. In the end, we highlight the main characteristic of young entrepreneurs, as they occurred according to survey

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