Although the strategies of increasing the competiveness, based on costs analysis, represent a subject which is frequently approachable by economists over different complexity levels...strategies, competiveness, cost

Coriolan PAUNESCU

English

Research Papers in Economics

 
E u r o E c o n o m ica 
Issue 1(22)/2009                                                                                                ISSN: 1582-8859 
 
96 
 
CARMEN GABRIELA SIRBU: 
 
,,STRATEGIES OF INCRESING THE COMPETITIVENESS  BASED ON COSTS ANALYSIS” 
 
Although  the  strategies  of  increasing  the 
competiveness,  based  on  costs  analysis, 
represent  a  subject  which  is  frequently 
approachable  by  economists  over  different 
complexity  levels;  in  the  present  application, 
we detect, despite the title given, an absolute 
novelty,  precisely  the  strategies  established 
within  the  content  of  this  book,  refer  to  a 
domain, not easily accessible to each and every 
specialist  in  economical  analysis  field.  It  is 
about fluvial transport on Danube, subject that 
with  no  doubt  implies  certain  specificity,  in 
report  with  the  maritime  transport.  And  the 
difficulty does not refer strictly to the method 
itself,  but,  most  often  to  the  almost  total 
absence of a specialized bibliography, without 
which,  the  researcher  is  forced  to  perform, 
from  the  very  beginning  a  true  pioneering 
mission.  Nevertheless,  achieving  the  paper 
implied a high degree of difficulty due to the 
absence, from within the fluvial units of a strict 
accounting  management,  compatible  with  the 
respective field as well as with the challenge 
assumed by the author. 
 
Her  experienced  training,  covering  multiple  sectors  of  economy,  study  of  recording  documents 
afferent to the fluvial transport services, performed by different operators of the moment, consulting 
different pre existent works, having a certain similitude in terms of approaching manner, but especially 
the  technical-professional  intuition,  which  the  author  seems  to  never  lack,  if  we  judge  upon  the 
previously published works, but also derived from her scientific interpretations, proved during the 
communication sessions sustained in international conferences, symposiums and other such reference 
manifestations, made that the final part of this investigative-interpretative exertion, to be a positive 
one, highly appreciated by notorious specialists, well known within the academic environment which 
characterizes the post Decembrist stage, registered in the social economic development of the country.  
We can asses, above all, that the author, in her scientific demarche, proved, in the first place to be 
extremely  tenacious,  courageous  and  having  a  high  amount  of  imagination  in  choosing  and 
interpreting facts, as activating for more than two years for a fluvial transport service performer, until 
the subtleties of the field from terms to technologies, clearly revealed, becoming even familiar through 
their reasoning.  
Structured  on  six  chapters,  the  piece  of  work  starts  obviously  with  a  short  historical  preamble 
regarding the fluvial transports and harbour services performing activities, explicitly underlying their 
importance  over  the  periods  of  time.  Therefore,  the  author  has  the  possibility  of  correlating  the 
evolution of the two components of the naval activity with the development of the manufacturing 
within the area. It is highlighted in the first place on one hand, that the fluvial transports, as well as 
harbour service performing, represent the means of purchasing raw materials and materials, of the 
riparian cities, and on the other hand, the means by which, finite products, especially those assigned 
for export, reach the consumers and users segment. There are also underlined indeed a number of 
consequences derived from the progress of the harbour and transport activities, as those related to 
pollution and consumption of the limited resources.  
E u r o E c o n o m ica 
Issue 1(22)/2009                                                                                                ISSN: 1582-8859 
 
97 
 
The author, considering the growth registered by naval transports, underlines the fact that both, over 
the International as well as on European market, the legislation leads to an optimized access to the 
useful  means  of  developing  trade  in  order  to  convey  through  the  goods  within  the  traditional 
communication routes. In the same time the author determines with a remarkable professional intuition 
the place of the fluvial transport services and harbour services performing actions within the third 
party sector and of the transport unitary system. 
The second chapter is dedicated entirely to the description of the costs informational system within 
company’s  management,  as  well  as  to  detailing  the  role  which  the  financial  and  accounting 
information have in performing an economical-financial analysis as insightful as possible, revealing 
the influence of these indicators upon the managerial decisions from the company. Being governed by 
the principle of a perfect procedural symmetry, Carmen Gabriela Sirbu, analysis at the end of the 
chapter, the costs informational system from the fluvial transport and harbour service performing 
units, determining both the strongest and the weakest points within. By far the most interesting are the 
conclusions of the Nomenclature for the administration accounting, where, in a realistic vision, 
enumerates for each type of performed services, the direct afferent costs, their suppliers and means of 
allotting the indirect costs, respectively, the ratio per each type of indirect costs within the field that 
characterizes the author. 
Nevertheless, focusing upon the importance of the production cost as company’s management tool, the 
author  presents  in the  third  chapter  the  means  used  in  measuring  the  economic  indicator  present 
equally in the fluvial transport as well as in the harbour services of the company. It is prepared thus the 
field for performing a pertinent diagnosis analysis, after which, an entire chapter (the forth within the 
paper)  is  dedicated  to  diagnosis  and  its  role  in  the  scientific  management  of  the  company.  It  is 
therefore underlined the fact that by diagnosis the decisional factors are given a realistic vision upon 
the  economic  situation  within  any  company,  which  is  ensured  a  real  premises  in  formulating  a 
rectification or a business liquidation plan. 
The next chapter, (respectively the fifth) is in fact a case study referring to the diagnosis analysis of 
the costs incurred  by    a  fluvial  transport  company  and  harbour  services  one,  under  a continuous 
degradation  process.  Based  on  the  diagnosis,  an  improvement  strategy  of  the  activities,  which 
constitute the object of that particular company, is drawn. In choosing the working methods, Carmen 
Gabriela  Sirbu  considered  several  factors,  among  which  we  mention:  the  relevance  of  the 
conclusions in drawing up an adequate plan of economical improvement, demonstrating the existent 
deficiencies within the informational level and the limitations of each and every method and technique 
used. Significantly is the fact that the diagnosis was based on company’s financial situation (over the 
last five years), as well as on administration accounting documents. In order to obtain a realistic result, 
dates have been updated considering the inflation rate, and the comparisons were made in terms of 
2005 prices. 
Within the last chapter, number six, the author formulates pertinent conclusions and proposes safe 
improving  strategies  for  the  analysed  company,  revealing  on  clear  demonstration  basis,  both  the 
strongest as the weakest points. As a matter of fact, the unmistakable originality of the paper consists 
in proposals related to the optimization of the activities developed in a fluvial transport and harbour 
services company, by enlarging the working capacities, based on last generation equipments and of 
course, by revamping a berth so as to maximize the volume of handled goods, all above under a global 
contextual prospect, of implicating an optimum  direct production personnel and with respect to a best 
possible investment in direct productive fixed assets. Fact, absolutely notable, the paper finishes under 
the  sign  of  tonic  conclusions,  generated  by  the  new  previsions  under  the  light  of  the  proposal 
vehiculated by Carmen Gabriela Sirbu, on the grounds of the analysis performed with absolute 
confidence in the reliability of the methods applied. In the end, it is worth mentioning the elegance of 
the style, and last but not the least, the logic under which the entire demonstration of the analytical 
demarche of the paper is developed, having all premises to be a supreme success. 
 
                                                                   Assistant Professor PhD Coriolan PAUNESCU 

Book review: STRATEGIES OF INCRESING THE COMPETITIVENESS BASED ON COSTS ANALYSIS

http://www.euroeconomica-danubius.ro/arhiva/euroeconomica%2022/book%20review%2022%202009.pdf

Book review: STRATEGIES OF INCRESING THE COMPETITIVENESS BASED ON COSTS ANALYSIS

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Research Papers in Economics