Author: Paul Marinescu

Introduction. People in general, leaders especially, are influenced by the organisational culture and the other way around. Organisational culture represents a determining factor regarding the display of leadership, since these two processes create each other, adding value and consistency to one another. Moreover, organisational culture can be created and developed in a fluctuant business environment, in which the external factors influence its progress. The development of society has incessantly been emphasized by the relationship between the sexes, by their individual evolution, but also by the interdependency between them.

Aim of the study. Considering the fact that, in the current turbulent economic environment, certain qualities such as flexibility, intuition, development of communication networks and motivating the employees represent values that are considered to be “feminine”, one can assert that, in this case, gender is an opportunity. However, if we should take into consideration the impact of culture, of certain mentalities and misconceptions that are still present, regarding the woman’s standing in society, economy and politics, we can state that gender is a discriminating factor, because there is still the tendency to consider men as being better leaders.
Keywords: leadership, leader, organisational culture, opportunity, discrimination
JEL Classification: M12, M14

Introduction. A scientific approach to management was initiated for the first time in America in the late 19th century. Scientific management arose mainly from the need to increase efficiency in America, but other key factors were the spread of big businesses and the expanding application of science in industry. The aims of our paper are to present the emergence of scientific management in America and to emphasize the contribution of some of the most representatives American authors to its development. The methodological approach is literature review.

Aim of the study. Our paper shows that scientific management was essentially an American achievement that provided useful lessons for the whole human society.
Keywords: scientific management, efficiency, Taylor, America
JEL Classification: M10, N61

Introduction. Organizing the manufacturing processes constituted probably the most difficult challenge in the American automotive industry in the 1920s. A. P. Sloan Jr. was one of the greatest captains of industry and shaped General Motors Corporation into the largest automotive manufacturer of the world. His creative approach on how to mix a degree of decentralized responsibility with centralized control remains a useful example for every corporate leader.

Aim of the study. The aim of our paper is to emphasize the contribution of Sloan Jr. to the development of leadership. The methodological approach is literature review.
Keywords: A. P. Sloan Jr., leadership, General Motors Corporation, organization
JEL Classification: M1, L23, L62

Introduction. The analysis of the social-economic systems prove us that the whole is distinct from the sum of the parts. The concurrence of the components forming a system produces cumulated effects whose value exceeds the sum of effects of the components considered individually. Interactions at the level of parts help us understand the causes that sometimes generate spectacular outcomes of the system composing them. As a matter of fact, organizations exist because they mean more than the sum of the parts. Synergy facilitates precisely this pulling together of the members of an organization around a joint vision. From this perspective, we can connect organizational dynamics to the components of organizational culture.

Aim of the study. In this article, we aim at making a summary analysis of how synergy has intensifying effects by cooperation among the departments of CSOL-UB, but also between the latter and other entities: TEAM WORK, AERS, CARO, CAEN, SPHERAA SCHOOL, etc. Synergy analysis at the level of CSOL-UB leads us to the conclusion that cooperation among its departments generates benefits to the partners as well.
Keywords: synergy, network, intensifying, analogy efficacy, systems
JEL Classification: M00, M19

The capital of relationships at the level of an organisation

Leading high performance organisations is the attribute of those leaders capable of using, as motivating argument, the distribution of power at the level of the organisation members or, as attitudinal argument, the efficiency. In fact, it is about the positioning of the organisation manager in relation to people or to particular tasks. The individual power temptation can isolate the leader if this is inadequately distributed, being non-compliant with the people’s merits. We should consider the large range of power components, relating to: position, authority, expertise, resource owner, in general, information owner, in particular etc. In order to allow an equitable distribution of power, it is essential for the monitoring, control and assessment process to be impeccably achieved. We can refer to the double side of processes: quantitative and qualitative.

Leadership between fiction and reality

Often, reality overtakes fiction as the real world always contains the fiction germs, the latter growing and becoming susceptible to provide unpredictable results. The individual and organisational development vectors can generate, in the future, leadership patterns difficult to anticipate at this moment. The social and economic networks, the new technologies will define different ways of communication, collaboration, management and decision-making. The nowadays leadership theories risk to become, very soon, inoperative. Those experiencing reality have the great advantage to feel “on spot” its evolution trajectory. At this time it is not easy to determine which of the dependence forms are dominant: the ways eras create their needed leaders or the ways extraordinary leaders change eras. I rather act and also propose my fellows to act, so that the contexts created by us turn into laboratories allowing for the tomorrow leadership theories to develop. Between meditating and not acting, we should all choose being meditative in action.

Introduction. In the age of uncertainty change represents one of the most important challenges for all types of organizations. Changeability constitutes today a key competitiveness factor for any company.

Aim of the study. The aim of our paper is to show that strategy and change are two related concepts in the business literature. The methodological approach is literature review. As companies around the world are facing hyper-competition in all industries and markets, they often initiate strategic changes in order to improve their competitiveness.
Keywords: strategy, change, strategic change, company, competitiveness
JEL Classification: L1, M1

Introduction. From the perspective of leadership change symbolizes the existence of the organization. Most assuredly, this is not a matter of change at all costs, but rather of increasing organizational performance and training people. As leadership is a creative activity, in this paper, we aim to show that the unconventional is closely connected to creativity.

Aim of the study. From the perspective of interpersonal relationships the leader has to continually create contexts in which people can express themselves. On the one hand, the success of leaders is contingent on the moment the development of their personal career starts. On the other hand, the team is thus given the opportunity to develop. In order for people in an organization to acknowledge a leader’s point of view, it is essential that the latter be compelling. From our point of view, most unconventional leaders possess an informal educational component which allows them to reveal their true potential without any constraints. When we talk about potential we have the native constituent in mind, whence we can adduce a few terms that define realities such as: multiple intelligence, emotional intelligence, social intelligence, adaptive intelligence, spiritual intelligence. The examples that we share in this paper, regarding the development of projects and organizational systems, state the ways in which unconventional leadership can occur. The unconventional leader will be ingenious, innovative, creative, charismatic, a finalizer and an example in the eyes of the team.
Keywords: unconventional, creativity, leadership, innovation, network.
JEL classification: M100

The cause and effect relationship between certainties and uncertainties

We are witnessing a wave of mergers and acquisitions both in terms of business value and alliances concluded globally. The increasing number of mergers and acquisitions is a result of globalization that creates market opportunities, contributes to the reduction in barriers to entry into markets, facilitates networking technologies, and expedites communications restructuring. From this perspective, mergers and acquisitions are now considered corporate strategies causing global changes, influenced therewith by these changes. The combination of these factors and the global trend towards privatization have fostered and sustained the greatest economic expansion and the stock market boom. Companies recur to strategic alliances in order to secure a strategic balance in the market. Merger decisions are often influenced by the potential that is offered by synergies when a variety of skills converge to ensure: the generation of new sets of activities and that of financial economies of scale, an increase in operational efficiency through economies of scale, lower costs of capital by leveling cash flow, and a better link between investment opportunities and internal cash flows.

Introduction. The making of footwear, one of the most ancient crafts, has a long history. The manufacturing of shoes represented a handicraft activity until the mid-nineteen century. In the late 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s, the footwear industry adopted the factory system and became increasingly mechanized. One of the most important footwear companies has been the Bata Company. Its economic success was based on the well-known Bata Management System that constituted the subject of a wide range of discussions and debates in the business literature.

Aim of the study. The aim of our paper is to render in brief the BMS. The methodological approach is literature review. Our paper has shown that BMS represents an effective and efficient management system that includes solid business principles.
Keywords: Bata, management system, footwear industry, company, business
JEL Classification: M1