Browsing: 2013, Vol. 18, Issue 2, December

Introduction. The never-ending changing of environment highlighted by the economic crisis revealed the importance of organizational ability to pursue change. While change has become a steady reality of organizational life, organizations have their own evaluation criteria for each transformational endeavor. Typically, the success of organizational changes is assessed considering parameters such as improvement in activities or cost reduction.

Aim of the study. This paper examines organizational change, focusing on the outputs of the implementation process. Through a questionnaire-based survey, we sought after factors that characterize the outputs of organizational changes within Romanian companies. We have shown that among various outputs, a few of them characterize the successful achievement of the change’s goals.
Keywords: organizational change, change effectiveness, output indicators, routines, skills improvement
JEL Classification: L29

Introduction. Today is obvious that a business means to be able to deliver what a client needs any time anywhere. To be online today is not anymore a utopy but certainty. The concept of being online applies also to individuals and to companies.

Aim of the study. The main purpose of the paper is to illustrate the importance of a reliable service in the meanings of cloud computing. The dynamics of an organization shows us that porting customs applications in cloud can makes the difference to be a successful company and to deliver what the client need just in time. Every employ should be able to access and enter data from everywhere. Remember that the office is moving along with the employ nowadays. But this concept comes with disadvantages of how safe is your data if you cannot control exactly, by your employs, those machines.
Keywords: cloud computing, reliable cloud technology

Introduction. The continuously transformation of the contemporary society and IT environment circumscribed its informational has led to the emergence of the cloud computing technology that provides the access to infrastructure and subscription-based software services, as well.

Aim of the study. In the context of a growing number of service providers with of cloud software, the paper aims to identify the perception of some current or potential users of the cloud solution, selected from among students enrolled in the accounting (professional or research) master programs with the profile organized by the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, in terms of their expectations for cloud services, as well as the extent to which the SaaS providers are responsible for the provided services.
Keywords: Cloud computing, SaaS (Software as a service), Service Level Agreement (SLA), Quality of Service (QoS), Cloud Accounting

Introduction. The term civil society has been perceived by different scholars to be associated by any organized group of people independent from the state and partly self sustaining. The question of civil society organizations being non-profit making to my understanding is still debatable due to the fact that according to some scholars even business entities and trade unions can be categorized as civil society organizations or associations.

Aim of the study. This paper tries to focus/put emphasis on what are Civil Society Organizations are and gives an outline of categories of such Organizations in Europe, it briefly looks at Governance and Democratic Governance concepts. It will then after focus on the major roles of Civil Society Organizations in European democratic Governance drawing other examples also from other countries where possible and try to bring out scholarly arguments on the negative impacts of civil society organizations. The paper ends with conclusions and analysis of SC participation through EU’s multilevel governance.
Keywords: civil society, democracy, governance, european union

Introduction. Nowadays, entrepreneurs, hoping to meet the growing demand, should feel responsible for the methods and results of their operations. To do this, they must in his business concentrate not only on the purely business – the company’s profit, but also to determine the impact of they business on society.

Aim of the study. There is in the paper, the analysis of the Grenelle II act from Corporate Social Responsibility reporting point of view. France has long been an important global champion of corporate sustainability reporting. While this trend has advanced the integration of CSR into business practices, the increasing number of regulations has also made it more complicated and costly for international companies to create reports that fulfill the differing requirements of each foreign law. The Grenelle 2 law adopted in July 2010, implements the Grenelle 1 goals. It sets specific objectives, strategic, incentives and regulations. This Act aims at forcing companies to progress in reporting their environmental and social information: there is no sanction (such as fines), requirements are on a “comply or explain” basis and the implementation is progressive. The main advantage of such an Grenelle II Act is a beginning and will have to be rewritten and improved, taking into account the international movement – is to shift minds regarding CSR. CSR and extra-financial information has nothing to do with communication anymore: it is clearly a strategic and management process, facilitated by the reporting process.
Keywords: CRS, Corporate Social Responsibility reporting, Corporate Social Responsibility indicators, Grenelle

Introduction. Society nowadays, with its rapid changes and unforeseen challenges, needs a(n) (inter)cultural approach. Ethnocentrism, stereotypes, and discrimination have become huge obstacles in a world shaped by technology, communication and social mobility. The world has the aspect of a ‘collage’ in which cultures are juxtaposed, being partially adapted to one another, and still unprepared for a profound dialogue. Multiculturalism presents, interprets and re-evaluates the social experience of diversity and difference.

Aim of the study. This paper will analyse the reception of the Human Body exhibition of 2013 in Romania, from a managerial point of view. The research is based on the exhibition visitors’ book, to which a content analysis was applied. The main aim of the paper is to investigate how the ‘Grigore Antipa’ Museum (Romania) constructed the cultural context in which the scientific arguments prevailed over the religious ones, turning the exhibition of plastinated human bodies into an accepted public event, with a strong emphasis on education and science (medicine). At the same time, ethical concerns and religious criticism were downplayed by maintaining the focus on the ‘education for health’ frame.
Keywords: plastination, management, museum, visitors’ book, The Human Body exhibition, Romania

Introduction. The main hypothesis of the experiment is that the pressure of the public and academic discourse generates an organizational context in the public institutions [PI] in Romania, which allows the strategies of participative management [PM] to be valued. In the same socio-discursive context, we find the assumption of the concepts of effective communication [EC] and emotional intelligence [EI], and also the components of the leadership participative management in [PI]. Another hypothesis is that a new system of values of the organizational culture is created when the participative management principles are applied; these values are assumed to the extent to which the leadership implements the [PM] strategies and all that it entails.

Aim of the study. The present study aims to emphasize the extent to which modern management principles are known and applied in the Romanian public institutions. We also aim to identify a system of values that set a pattern of the organizational culture in the system of public institutions. The investigation technique we used is the questionnaire and the method we chose is the sociological survey. According to the standards of research methodology and in order to obtain accurate results, we have pre-tested the research tools in conditions similar to those of the study itself. In this respect, the present study will test the validity of the questionnaire on a group of 41 subjects, master’s students in a specialized program at the University of Bucharest, with the purpose of undertaking the sociological survey. The pilot study conclusions will allow the methodological framework of the sociological survey to refine and adapt the models of international analysis to the actual Romanian context.
Keywords: effective communication, public discourse, emotional intelligence, participative management.

Introduction. The defining with profound implications on the economy and society is represented by the globalization. In this context, we have noticed the increasing influence of the financial markets on the economy, the tendency to remove the finances from the real economy requirements, the growing role of external financing using more volatile capital goods, increased competition regarding the access to financing, the significant increase of power of the international capital markets whose characteristic is represented by the increased instability, the implications of the investors’ obsession with an excessive profitableness of their own funds and the expansion of using sophisticated financial products.

Aim of the study. This paper aims to highlight that realities of today’s financial markets, which are the subject of numerous studies and analysis, have contributed to the association of the arguments that are contesting the thesis on the virtues of self-regulation markets and promoting a new paradigm, within which finances should subordinate the requirements of a balanced and sustained economic growth.
Keywords: cognitive capitalism, the financialization of the economy, financial innovations, volatile capital, institutional investors, derivative products.

Introduction. The evolution of Romanian advertising is also deeply connected to its identity on the European market, especially to being recognized as a re-born industry after the Communist Era. From another viewpoint, the present study attempts to reveal whether the departmental organization of advertising agencies visibly changed in order to more effectively meet clients’ demands.

Aim of the study. This paper aims to present the opinions of Romanian advertisers on the local industry from two viewpoints: the evolution of advertising after 1990 with regards to brand development, and the attempt of advertising agencies to balance change and stability during the economic crisis. Regarding the first aspect, the study emphasizes the way the Romanian market has developed in terms of local and global brands, revealing the most successful brands and campaigns delivered by the local industry and the significance of local brands to advertising professionals.The evolution of Romanian advertising is also deeply connected to its identity on the European market, especially to being recognized as a re-born industry after the Communist Era. Regarding the second issue of the present research, the study attempts to uncover whether the internal organization of advertising agencies progressively changed in order to more effectively cater to client needs.
Keywords: advertising agency, consumer, communism, democracy, identity

Introduction. Analysis of income inequality is a general and constant concern of both the public and researchers and politicians. This subject, though, and has been widely debated, never becomes obsolete and does not lose its importance or valence mobilizing the more as he becomes more present with the onset of the recent economic crisis. This interest framework, on the one hand and the difficult context generated by the economic crisis, on the other hand, bring forward decisions and policy choices implemented or required to restore economic balance and well-being of citizens. Causes (factors of influence) of income inequality differ from country to country, there is dispute among economists on the preponderance of cases compared to the others.

Aim of the study. In this paper I will analyze two of these factors: education and socioeconomic status of their parents.
Keywords: education, level of education, skills, abilities, opportunities, social mobility.