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The industry remains the most important sector of the national economy, although in the other member states the services have a more important share of GDP. In this context, the level of industrial competitiveness is essential for the national competitiveness. This is a characteristic feature for Romania, where the industry has an important share in the GDP, in comparison with the other member states. The international trade balance is an important indicator for measuring the economic competitiveness, especially the industrial competitiveness. Our country has an obvious deficit regarding the international trade balance and thus the analysis of this subject is very relevant at a sectorial level and at national economy’s branches level, when identifying solutions for raising the competitiveness. This paper is dedicated to studying Romania’s industrial competitiveness analysis throughout the recent values of the imports and exports, generated by the industry and its branches. After identifying this concern utility, this article presents the methodology used, defining and experiencing the indicators proposed for characterising the level of industrial competitiveness and also the level and dynamic of the industrial trade. In the practical part of this paper, we presented the recent evolution of the values of imports and exports for the industrial products, the share of industrial sectors in the international trade balance, particularizing the manufacturing industry – the most important industrial sector – at branch level. In the analysis of the manufacturing industry we proposed a classifying methodology divided in six levels of competitiveness, associating and characterizing the branches. The conclusions present the possible solutions for improving the Romanian international industrial trade balance.

Values are key principles in defining an organizations identity, organizational culture, climate, employee commitment and satisfaction. One of the key aspects in obtaining organizational performance is defining culture and expressing the particular principles that make an organization function at its best. Through direct observation of an organization activating in the manufacturing industry and through the application of an employee satisfaction survey, this paper aims at emphasizing what are the basic principles that make an organization obtain performance in its activities. The study’s focus is on identifying specific elements recognized as values and the way in which they can actively determine personnel to adhere to the culture promoted within the company. The paper also focuses on determining what are the aspects recognized as strengths from the personnel’s perspective and the needs of development in order to improve working conditions and establish a sense of organizational commitment.

The volatility of commodity prices has become once again a matter of profound and controversial debates for both political and academic spheres worldwide in the framework of the global economy severely distressed by the recent economic turbulences. Although commodity markets were already notorious for their price instability, the events the world economy experienced in the years 2000s offered new connotations to this phenomenon. In the first decade of this millennium, the commodity markets have struggled with high volatility, with prices reaching historical peaks just to crash dramatically some months later and very soon to restart their rise. The significant increase in volatility generated many debates about its triggering factors, the implications in terms of risk exposure of economic actors, but also the need for reconfiguring regulatory policy frameworks. The quest for the most appropriate means to deal with commodity price turbulences has known different stages over the years. Decision makers worldwide have sought alternatives, formulated and tested various mechanisms whose central aim was to mitigate price fluctuations. Governments formulate and implement consistent regulatory policies whose international coordination is a ‘sine qua non’ condition for stabilizing these markets. However, the turbulences on commodity markets often generate policy responses that sometimes exacerbate rather than mitigate the price instability. The purpose of this paper is to assess the subject of governance regarding commodity price stabilization, offering a retrospective look at the mechanisms implemented over the years, with a central focus on the International Commodity Agreements – instruments through which in the previous decades the producer and consumer governments worldwide pursued price stabilization for some key commodities like sugar, coffee, cocoa, tin and natural rubber. After analyzing the effectiveness of the International Agreements and debating their reason for failure and the lessons learned, the paper approaches the shift towards a different paradigm imposed by the current context of a globalized world economy where all actions and policies aim for market liberalization. As the price volatility is rarely the outcome of a singular cause, the results of the present paper suggest that combined solutions – public intervention and market-based – must be formulated in order to effectively tackle the problem of price instability.

The aim of the paper is to analyze the competitiveness of the European textile and clothing industry under the influence of globalization and recent economic crisis. The textile and clothing industry is an important part of the European manufacturing industry, playing a vital role in the economy and social welfare in many regions of Europe. The European textile and clothing industry has undergone significant changes in recent decades due to the technological advances, developments in production costs, the emergence major international competitors and the elimination import quotas after 2005. In response to the competitive challenges, this sector of activity has undertaken a lengthy process of restructuring and modernization. Globalization and technological progress have led to rethinking the strategy of the companies in the industry. In a competitive global market, European organizations producing textiles and garments have as main competitive advantage research and continuous innovation. Using methods of qualitative research, this paper analyses the evolution of the main financial indicators concerning this sector of activity in the period 2007 – 2013, including domestic consumption, turnover, number of employees, number of companies, imports and exports. The globalization of markets, international outsourcing and development of the Internet had a major impact on the structure and dynamics of the textile and clothing industry in Europe, and in particular on small and medium enterprises. Also, relocation, subcontracting and outsourcing of large brands in this domain have contributed significantly to the increase of imports from low-cost countries. A growing number of apparel retailers have emerged on the market, organizing supply chains globally. At the same time, producers have transferred part of their activities to low-cost countries in order to maintain market competitiveness. This was determined by the major differences in salaries across the global labour markets and high profits obtained from trade. Based on the results of the analysis undertaken, the paper suggests that in recent years, the competitiveness of the textile and clothing sector fell significantly, causing restructuring and downsizing.

This paper provides a model for using conceptual maps in accounting courses. While this notion is commonly used in natural science education, it is less known inaccounting education. Conceptual maps are tools that raise significant learning in the classroom. As teachers, we are challenged to change our curriculum and teaching methods. We are going to present a literature review of this concept, identifying its basic principles and strategies of development. Reading them in accounting education academic perspective will allow us to evaluate to what extent is a method that is suitable for teaching and learning in this field. Following Trébucq and Noel (2006), the set of selected information will be the basis of a study applied on some students in Romanian space in order to observe the extent to which the use of conceptual maps to help structuring and strengthening specialized concepts. This work seen as a qualitative research shows that by using conceptual maps we both improve what students learn and develop higher-order skill competencies demanded by the accounting profession. This paper brings the following contributions to knowledge. First it adds to a limited number of education papers that puts conceptual maps in an accounting context. Second, it is the first paper in Romanian context that show how concept maps can be used for both the students and the teachers in accounting education field by promoting self-learning and life-long learning skills. The main conclusion of the study conducted consists in the fact that this concept should be integrated into the Romanian accounting curriculum. Hence we outlined a three-dimensional approach on using conceptual maps advantage for students: first is the fact that reflects their own knowledge at the beginning of an accounting course, second show the progress made during the course and finally helps students to synthesize information gained.

The financial crisis showed that banks were not able to face the loss, because there is no framework for a resolution, so that it intervened with money from taxpayers. So, it has been highlighted the need to update the regulations applicable to the banking sector. Creating a single supervisory mechanism in the fall of 2014 was a time reference point to achieve a banking union in Europe. Banking Union is one of the four foundations for a genuine Economic and Monetary Union. The paper’s purpose is to analyze the Banking Union structure, based on three pillars: (i) The Single Supervisory Mechanism - the transfer of the main responsibility regarding banking supervision from national to European level, (ii) The Single Resolution Mechanism - introduction of common provisions to ensure legal support required to manage bank failures problem, (iii) The Deposit Guarantee Schemes - harmonization of deposit guarantee rules. These measures were adopted at European Union level to ensure the stability of the European banking system and to prevent future crises. Because countries that are not part of the euro area are not required to join the Banking Union, the dilemma of these countries lies in the decision to join the Banking Union quickly or to wait. It is the case of Romania, also, so, this paper analyze the opportunity of Romania's accession to the Banking Union before adopting the euro. There are analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of Romania's participation in the Banking Union, showing that, in the context of single currency introduction, Romania's participation is required. So far, there are reduced debates regarding the need, advantages and disadvantages of Romania's participation in the European Banking Union, the top representatives of the National Bank of Romania being among the few who expressed their views in public and published papers on the subject.

Local communities’ needs must be addressed by an effective, loyal and transparent action of local institutions in the direction of ensuring participation of the citizens in undertaking decisions concerning that particular community. It is therefore necessary a good communication with the citizens of the local public institutions, and a proper and adequate information of citizens. After presenting in our previous research the main theoretical contributions in the theory of participatory democracy in local governance institutions, but also some practical considerations, including results and restrictions concerning how they are actually implemented in the Romanian public institutions, this paper focuses on presenting and analysing the results of our own researches. We present the results of the research carried out during 2014 on investigationg relevant concerning the public governance in local administration, and particularly in this paper how local administration facilitates the involvement of citizens in decision-making process and their participation in debating the main community issues.

This paper seeks to underline the main problems faced in implementing and using European Union (EU) funds in Romania within the Sectoral Operational Programme Human Resources Development (SOP HRD) during the first programing period 2007-2013. The problems and barriers revealed were identified during a focus-group for the second interim evaluation of SOPHRD, organized by the Management Authority of this program in Nord-Vest region, in November 2014. The focus-group represents a small part of the entire process of evaluating the programme for the development of human resources during its implementation, with the purpose of finding beneficiaries opinions about the efficiency, effectiveness and relevance of interventions financed through SOP HRD. Beliefs, personal recommendations from the participants are presented in order to improve the use of European funds for development of human resources (in particular) and the use of structural instruments (in general). These results and solutions can be efficiently used during the next financial period 2014-2020 to create the framework for every priority axis and key areas of intervention, during the implementation of new projects and within the entire process that these funds require in order to successfully use the structural instruments to catch up with developed countries. Moreover, some of the problems identified can be found in other operational programmes and therefore, this research can be useful for every one that wants to use this kind of financing or has a project of this kind in implementation, without taking into account the European funding source. Besides the qualitative approach given by focus-group research method, this paper is going to present a general approach over SOP HRD in Romania during 2007-2013, from a quantitative perspective (number of projects submitted, approved, contracted, payment rate, absorption rate). Moreover solutions linked to knowledge management practices will be proposed to overcome identified problems in using structural and cohesion funds. We choose to focus our attention on knowledge management solutions due to the fact that we can say that we are now living in a knowledge age. This research is important by connecting knowledge management/knowledge sharing practices with the management of European funds.

This paper investigates the social responsibility expenditures of small and medium enterprises (SME) in Bihor County. In line with the literature we consider donations and sponsorship the expression of philanthropic behavior of companies. Positioned at the top of the CSR pyramid such actions are some of the few on which there is consensus in considering forms of CSR. Explaining the factors that drive such expenditures at the level of small and medium enterprises fills in a gap in the scientific knowledge both at international and national level. Particularly in Romania, the CSR processes are less studied and seem developed mimetically by large companies from the example of multinational companies. However the data provided in this paper reveals that a significant number of small and medium enterprises are engaged in CSR actions, as almost 20% of SME with registered profit donate money. The factors explaining this orientation are in line with the literature as the size of the enterprise influences both the decision to donate and the amounts donated. The larger a company in terms of profit, turnover and number of employees the bigger the chances it donates money and the amounts donated are larger. The data was extracted from the National Agency of Fiscal Administration regarding expenditures of small and medium enterprises in 2013. Future studies should include information regarding the destination of these expenditures. More, in order to fully explain CSR at SMEs level qualitative data is needed regarding the motivations of managers for such actions and the reasons behind the choice for a specific area or action.

By 2020, intermittent renewable small scale energy sources (e.g. wind and solar energy) are expected to represent about 17% of the EU’s total electricity consumption. All national overriding energy policy objectives are to ensure competitive, secure and sustainable energy for the economy and for society. Renewable energy, allied with energy efficiency, is often found crucial to meet these goals of secure sustainable and competitive energy supplies reducing dependency on expensive fossil imports and underpinning the move towards a low carbon economy while delivering green jobs to the economy. This all contributes to national competitiveness and the jobs and economic growth agenda. However, a straight forward implementation of renewable energy options is not easy, due to various barriers and obstacles. For most SMEs, the concept of generating their own renewable energy is still more of academic than genuine interest. In general, several barriers are experienced, such as high capital investments, slow return on investment, and the lack of knowledge of the benefits. There is a need for education on the benefits and drawbacks of sustainable energy, as well as a greater contribution to costs for this to work. In this paper we describe the intermediate outcomes of a European Partnership under the name of GREAT (Growing Renewable Energy Applications and Technologies), funded under the INTERREG IVB NWE Programme. GREAT aims to encourage communities and small to medium size enterprises (SMEs) in Ireland, the United Kingdon, Belgium and The Netherlands to develop technological solutions for Smart Grid, Renewable Energy and Distributive Generation; research and develop policy issues for regulatory authorities and provide structured co-operation opportunities between SMEs and research institutes / technology developers. We developed GREAT spreadsheets to facilitate SMEs in each country to calculate the return-on-investment of renewable energy sources, such as solar panel installation, heat pumps and wind energy, generating electricity. We have a two-track approach: development of a tool to support SMEs in their decision making process about suitable and appropriate technologies and solutions, and research to understand the barriers and obstacles that hinder adoption and implementation of sustainable energy solutions. In this paper we introduce a tool which aims to support SMEs in their decision making process on renewable energy applications in the expectation that this will accelerate that process.

As practice shows us, at the present time ecosystem services are recognized by humanity, but unfortunately are undervalued compared to their full potential. Most of planet's ecosystems are degradated by anthropic activity of humankind. It is almost impossible to say that there are no areas affected by human activity, however, the Protected Areas are a good opportunity, so the assessing of ecosystem services in Protected Areas can be a solution to the problem of economic growth. At present, there are few consistent informations on economic value of ecosystem services in Romania, on the basis of which can be adopted some sustainable financing policies of activities in Protected Areas. The premise from which we start is that a proper management of natural capital will allow biodiversity conservation and human well-being if it find appropriate economic instruments. For this reason, studies of economic research on the contribution of those ecosystem services to the communities welfare may constitute credible means for decision-makers, demonstrating the Protected Areas importance. This paper, based on the study of international and national literature, examines the state of knowledge on the economic and environmental valences of ecosystem services. The growing interest of researchers regarding the economic valuation of ecosystem services related to Protected Areas is visible through the many studies carried out at international level. Although national scientific research relating to ecosystem services is at the beginning, concerns researchers economists and ecologists have been directed toward this recess, of ecosystem services. The reason for we should assign an economic value to ecosystem services is to ensure that their value is included actively in decision-making and is not ignored because "is still available". Briefly, the paper start with an overview of the main definition of ecosystem services. From the point of economic value view, the paper include a theory of value review, and after this was elucidated aspects as Total Economic Value, direct use value, indirect use value, non-use value, bequest and exchange value. The value theory is presented in terms of labor, utility or entropy. In conclusion was carried out a briefly overview of reason to research ecosystem services within Protected Areas.

The present paper starts from the assumption that there is a tendency, especially among practitioners, to largely overlap concepts of online marketing and online advertising, thus considering that most online marketing tools aim at the aspect of value communication and promotion. This observation prompted us to try to delineate the categories of online marketing tools according to the traditional areas of marketing activity. Therefore, the paper aims to present the online marketing tools based on a different vision than the literature identified so far. Thus, it was intended to group the online marketing tools on the key components of the marketing activity and the presentation, for each, of certain software tools that support that. The way in which the analysis of online marketing tools was addressed is new and could be useful for defining a structured vision on the field. The paper aims both to analyze concepts specific to online marketing, and especially to carry out a delineation of categories of online marketing tools based on the key areas of marketing such as value creation, value delivery, value communication / promotion, customer relationship management and marketing research. To achieve the goal set for this paper we considered useful to address the issue from a dual perspective: from the perspective of the academic literature - books, studies found in scientific databases - which deal with the topic of online marketing and online marketing tools; and from the perspective of practitioners - studies posted on the Internet by the specialists in the field, respectively the analysis of websites of companies providing online marketing services. The intention was to combine the vision specific to theorists to that of practitioners in tackling the field specific to online marketing and online marketing tools. In order to synthesize the information presented in this paper, we also conducted a visual representation of the categories of online marketing tools.

Extant research have for long identified that corporate governance has the potential to affect both financial performance and the opportunistic behavior of managers. Studies on the influence of corporate governance mechanisms on firm performance do not often assess the possibility that reported earnings can be misrepresented by managers with the scope of achieving various objectives. This paper examines the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management practices. According to prior empirical studies in the field, corporate governance can reduce the extent of manipulative practices and increase the quality of financial reporting. As stated above, this study examined prior research investigating different corporate governance mechanisms that can have negative impact on earnings management practices. In this regard the legal system and the effects of takeover were examined as external mechanisms of corporate governance on manipulative behavior of managers. Internal mechanisms of corporate governance were also assessed. Board independence was found to enhance certain monitoring behaviors of managers while an audit committee can oversee the internal control for financial reporting and the quality of financial information. This paper contributes to corporate governance literature by providing detailed reviews of different corporate governance mechanisms on the most documented practice of creative accounting: earnings management. Limits of the current research are explored as well as the scope for future research.

Even though everyone defines diplomacy in some form, all recognize its special place that bears its political and legal mechanisms and structures, changes over the centuries in foreign policies enhancing its importance in the new context of globalization, thus acquiring new meanings and ways and embracing new features. As we will see later in the paper, diplomacy exists even in ancient times, though not necessarily under this name. Nowadays we can say that diplomats, through their efforts they reconcile conflicting situations and even avoid negative consequences for states, such as embargoes or even wars. It is therefore necessary for diplomats to master the art of negotiations and to be specialized and skilled people. The present study will make an incursion into history until present time to highlight the evolution and importance of diplomacy in international relations. The paper is addressed to those who wish to learn a brief history of diplomacy in a couple of minutes, from El-Amarna until today. The impact of diplomacy on how the state is seen in relationship with others is even more powerful considering the ability to reflect how conflicts are settled or resolved before they escalate. The aim of the paper is to provide a broader vision of what diplomacy means, through the chronology from appearance and its development to the final conclusion: is it a science or an art? The intention is that this work will be useful to all who wish to know more about this subject still considered relatively new. It is worth to mention that it has led to the emergence of a new job – the diplomat, an official, whose mission is to maintain relations with officials of other states or to deal on behalf of his country, who knows how to behave in a situation in order to achieve his goals. Briefly, a shift from art itself to a policy of the art of diplomacy.

This paper focuses on the main tools and techniques of firm valuation. One of the objectives in this paper is to present the reasons for such differences in value across different models, and to help in choosing the right model for a specific task. In today's management literature there are a lot of evaluation models, which based on the different approaches. The most important dimensions in the evaluation are the past performance analysis, the current value of the firm based on the forecast period and the appraisal of future opportunities. Nowadays it is quite problematic that these concepts regarding the valuation methods used in practice are not homogeneous. In view of the major principles is equal, but the details are different. In this paper my goal is to categorize the methods in the right section and to demonstrate the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages as well. This study proceeds as follow. The first section classifies and categorizes the different valuation approaches, which are the ratios based on accounting data, the asset-based approach, the income-based approach within the discounted cash flow models and the value added methods, the relative valuation, at last the real options. The second part presents the main features and implementation of the methods. Finally, the third section concludes what might be learned from this study. Based on the related literature reviewed and my previous researches I conclude that, in the evaluation, the problem is not that there are not enough models to complete the task but on the contrary, the selection of the appropriate model is the first challenge in the work. The different approaches lead to significantly different values. The other main finding of this work that, professionals involved in the assessment task explained the reason for the differences, and selection the correct model which is the best fit for the job. Considering the models described below a best model cannot be identified. This study also concludes that selecting the applicable model depends on the current situation and characteristics of the company or assets.

The purpose of this paper is to present the psychological profile of the professional accountant in an ethical context through the speciality literature. The starting point of this paper was Carl Gustav Jung’s book, Psychological Types. In the book, Jung presented the idea of personality type. As methodology, relevant articles of speciality literature from international databases have been used. According to literature, the most used methods for realizing a psychological profile are the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test (MBTI test) and the Keirsey Temperament Sorter II (KTS test). The MBTI test focuses on way of thinking and perception while focuses on behaviour. Through this article we propose the improvement of the speciality literature regarding the multidisciplinary aspect or research in Accounting-Psychology. We also highlight the need to improve ethical behaviour in the Accounting profession. Currently the general public perceives a lack of transparency regarding the professional accountants’ activity worldwide.

The balance of payments stands for both good and bad impact on the economy as a whole. If the country registers a current account deficit, than the result will highlight more imports than exports. If the country runs a current account surplus, than it exports more than it imports. Both cases are unfavourable for that countries economy, because it creates headaches for all the decision makers. This current paper analyses only the first part of the balance of payments, and that is the problem of a current account deficit. For a better understanding of the analyzed phenomenon, the paper will carry out a comparative analysis of the results achieved by Romania and other member countries of the European Union. For this analysis the next countries were chosen: Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary. This was done for a parallel analysis of data recorded in the current account. Representative data was taken from the Eurostat and the annual reports of the central banks of each analyzed country. After this, based on the data above, the paper highlights Roubini (1998) elements in calculating the current account sustainability. It takes into account several elements that lead to a sustainable balance of the current account deficit. Among them the author lists: foreign reserves calculated in months of imports; the share of exports in GDP, expressed as a percentage; openness degree of the economy expressed as a percentage; public external debt relative to exports; the ability to attract foreign direct investment. All this research is needed in order to express as accurately as it can be done, the sustainability degree of current account deficit. Based on this, the paper will asses which country has the most sustainable current account, and what measures are suited if not. The conclusions will be made strictly regarding sustainability points, and some potential future measures will be highlighted in order to improve the current status.

The goal of the paper named “The impact of the externalities generated by Competitive Intelligence” is to describe and understand how this activity works and behaves in a competitive environment, and what are the real cost of obtaining durable competitive advantages through a process such as Competitive Intelligence. This activity creates high added value on the market and the proper use of it can have a strong influence on increasing the competitiveness on the global economic environment and, therefore, increasing the efficiency inside those environments. On the other hand, externalities play a significant part in the economic welfare and, currently, in a globalized world, must be taken into consideration in order to obtain sustainable growth of the economy. As any other economic activity, Competitive Intelligence is also causing both positive and negative externalities. A thorough analysis of those externalities effects has to be made in order to understand how this process really works, and this paper aims to be the starting point of that analysis. Of course, further studies have to deepen each impact and obtain relevant results that will add up and draw more specific conclusions. This study’s conclusions, however, will reveal if this activity can work properly in every type of economy, regardless of its state of development. Since it represents a way to improve global competitiveness and, therefore, the market’s performance, the impact Competitive Intelligence is making on the whole economic system is a main parameter for establishing its real use. All in one, by being one of the most innovative ways to obtain competitive advantages through qualitative methods of analysis, the implementation of this process into the organizational culture of firms might change the way competitors choose to respond to one another’s actions. This research has taken into consideration both the macroeconomic and the microeconomic environment, using both empirical and theoretical items. Also, it was conducted in a qualitative manner, since the Competitive Intelligence process is made exclusively through qualitative analysis methods.

In this study we present an econometric analysis of the number of arrivals in rural touristic pensions based on several indicators that we believe may affect in a positive or negative fluctuations of tourists. The analysis we perform for the period January 2006 - December 2013 with a quarterly frequency. We ordered and monthly values of most of the indicators selected, but we tried from start a reduction effect of seasonality.Given the emerging crisis in the second half of 2008, we expect basically after 2008 appear a decrease arrivals in rural touristic pensions, and after 2010, the year a slight recovery from the crisis appear improved this activity.For analysis we selected eight indicators: The average national unemployment; The average national inflation; The volume index of turnover for services provided to the population (hotels and restaurants); The volume index of turnover for services provided to the population (tourist assistance activities); Net use index of accommodation in rural guesthouses nationwide; Net use index of accommodation places in the region Crişana; Average gross salary at national level; GDP. So, in this study we have tried to analyze the influence of macroeconomic factors on rural touristic pensions arrivals in Romania Crisana region. This analysis will help owners of pensions in the management.In this paper we try to find the difficulties, limitations of rural tourism development in Crisana region from perspective of local government. In this paper we try to show as well the main factors of the emergence and development of rural tourism in order to establish priorities in the joint action of local people, entrepreneurs, tourists and local and national administrations. In many countries, the tourism industry fall within government priority. Tourism has been identified as one of the primary industries with potential to support local communities in developing economic diversity.

In the matter of corporate governance reforms, an important aspect is whether the implementation of corporate governance principles and codes has a positive impact on firm performance. The literature testing the relationship between different corporate governance mechanisms and firm performance is extensive. Over time, a lot of corporate governances mechanisms were studied in relation to firm performance and the most used are: CEO duality, board size, proportion of non- executive directors, board committees, ownership structure and concentration, managers’ compensation and incentives schemes. With time, different authors began to use more comprehensive measures for corporate governance rather than a single variable or a single governance mechanism, the so called corporate governance indexes. Regarding performance there are three main approaches to firm performance in social science research: research based on market prices, accounting ratios and total factor profitability.The most used performance measures are: Tobin’s Q, return on equity, return on asset and economic value added. In our paper, we present the studies undertaken since the 1990’s regarding the relationship between different mechanisms of corporate governance and firm performance and between corporate governance index and performance for both developed and developing countries around the world. Regarding the working tools used in this theoretical research we can mention the longitudinal method, by presenting the evolution in time of empirical studies on the research topic and the comparative method used in presenting the resulys of different studies mentioned in our paper. The results of the studies are inconclusive, some studies founded a strog positive relation, others founded a negative correlation between corporate governance and firm performance, while a third category of studies didn’t found any relationship at all. We used participative observation method by issuing conclusions on the potential causes of the inconclusive results on the existence and nature of the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance.

If we were to consider that Romania was formed by the unification of provinces that experienced a strong unity through culture, language, religion, as well as through the intense trade relations existing between them over time, we may say that our country has an important historical experience regarding regionalisation. After 1989, Romania underwent a radical change of economic and political organisation (from a centralised economy to a free, market economy) and the approximation to the Western economic structures, the European Union (EU). Under these conditions the national authorities had to take into account the principles and the organisation and functioning of the European capitalist economies. During the communist period, Romania had an administrative-territorial and economic organisation that favoured centralised decision making. In the case of market economies, organisation allows and encourages the decentralisation of decision making. In the mid '90s, the economic and social realities of Romania lead to the achieving of the regionalisation of the national territory in accordance with the subsidiarity principle of the EU. Regionalisation sought to identify the most appropriate spatial and territorial framework for guiding the economic development processes, by facilitating the use of tools and resources provided by the European Union. The regional development policy is a continuation of the policies of national economic growth and development, both aiming at improving the economic and social life of the national communities. The final aim of this paper is to identify the economic and social situation of the development regions in Romania. The study provides insight into Romania's relations with the European Union, with regard to the access and use of the pre-accession European funds. Furthermore, the paper achieves a qualitative analysis, through a positive approach, but also a quantitative one of the economic and social situation of each development region in Romania, taking into account the final aim of the regional development policy. The time period considered for the analysis starts in the year when negotiations for EU membership officially began and goes on for as long as possible, depending on the availability of official statistics. A heuristic presentation of the evolution of regional development in Romania is targeted through the analysis of certain economic indicators representative for the situation of the human communities in each development region.

Despite the proclaimed revival of the industrial policy, state aid granted by the EU still remain at a concerning low level. This may be explained by EU’s unique institutional achitecture, that allows the European Commission to monitor and restrict state aid related activities in the member states. Relying on 2007 –2013 statistical data published by Eurostat, AMECO and OCDE data bases, the main purpose of this paper refers to determining the corelation between state aid authorised by the European Comission for Romania and some selected member states and their competitiveness level, in the period 2007 – 2013. Even if the member states government would know which industry of company should br supported, the actual allocation of the public fund is strongly influenced by legitime interests. Therefor, state aid allocation is usualy dependent on political considerations and on the negotiation power of the involved parties, rather than on economic objectives. The main purose of this paper is the following: firstly to determine the relation State Ais – Competitiveness, analysing the cases of Romania, Germany, France, Austria and Poland between 2007 and 2013; and secondly t determine if there is a measurable impact at national level, and to identify new growth possibilities of state aid efficiency. Our main hypothesys is analysed with the help of an original system consisting in competitiveness agregated indicators and their corespondents from the state aid field, and the results obtained are graphicaly presented. This paper is based on the research for the PhD thesis entitled Competition versus competitineness. State aid impact in Romania in the context of EU integration context

Corrupted professional accountants are vital for planning, creating and hiding financial fraud. No financial fraud can be made without help from an expert in Accounting. Through this paper we try to raise awareness of the necessity of having ethical professional accountants and we promote rigorous psychological testing for candidates to the Accounting profession. The purpose of this paper is to present a psychological profile of a fraudster in the field of Accounting and recommended profiles for the candidates to the profession. We presented the fraud triangle of opportunity, motivation and rationalization so we can begin to enter the mind of the accountant fraudster. Then we presented the profile of the character prone to financial fraud as shown in Accounting literature. Further, we presented psychological tests backed by specialty literature that could be useful to select candidates fit for the Accounting profession. The literature presents us with recommended psychological profiles for the professional accountants. A great psychological test used for hiring in the Accounting profession is the Keirsey Temperament Sorter II, used by the government, military, universities, non profit organizations and religious organizations in the USA. The recommended personality types for Accounting are the supervisors and inspectors from the guardians branch for low ranking accountants and the fieldmarshals and masterminds from the rationals branch for high ranking accountants.

The evaluation is the way through which the universities demonstrate their own value, but also that of their graduates. Our present paper suggests a debate regarding the evaluation of students in economics in a web 2.0 world. More precisely, we are trying to offer an answer to the question: Do the students of economics have the necessary computer science abilities to learn and to be evaluated in a 2.0 web environment? The paper starts off with the presentation of fundamental principles of assessment and teaching done with Web 2.0 means and methods. The exemplifications are added to this structure as they had been presented in the specialized works of this domain. The paper then goes on to present the results of our prospective study. Through this prospective study we wanted to identify the attributes based on which we could create the next phases of our research into elaborating the behavior of the students as it is observed during the process of evaluation. This evaluation takes place in a world that is bombarded with synchronic and a-synchronic means of communication called according to acronyms such as web 2.0, 3.0 and maybe even 4.0. It is in this context that we consider that the main purpose of the present paper is to determine the state of being prepared/ unprepared characterizing the student in the use (acceptance) of the evaluation and assessment of certain softs for socialization. In order to achieve our purpose, we have carried out a survey based on which we were intending to obtain the students’ level of perception regarding the evaluation system they are subjected to through web 2.0 means as well as their reaction to the web type of evaluation. The result we obtained demonstrated that the students are willing to participate at a declarative level, but they are not actually willing to be evaluated through web 2.0 means when it comes to practice. The end of the study is where we identified the need for a better means of informing and counseling both the students and the professors or other teaching staff in order to take full advantage of the Web 2.0 evaluation potential.

The current paper deals with an issue of absolute importance for the shareholders, managers and creditors of the Romanian companies: the analysis of profitability indicators. The study concentrated over 10 companies which are registered in the Bucharest Stock Market and which are operating in the field of leisure and tourism. These companies can be considered the most significant in the field based on both their history: founded before 1990, previously state owned and later transformed into private company, and on their financial sustainability. The profitability indicators were selected to be analyzed in the current paper since they are considered to be the most significant indicators which guide the financial decisions of managers, investors and creditors alike. While addressing the issues of performance indicators most of the authors concentrate on the profitability indicators. These indicators provide first-hand information regarding the company’s bottom line and its return of value towards the investors. While the other ratios from the managerial finance provide some information about the way the firm is operating, the profitability indicators are considered to combine the effects of liquidity management, asset management and debt management on operation results. The paper is organized in three chapters. In its first chapter the paper deals with the theoretical and practical concept of profitability for Romanian companies and defines several profitability indicators. In the second chapter a case study is realized and three profitability indicators are tested and interpreted. Later aggregate results are calculated and analyzed. The last chapter draws the conclusions of the current paper and is analyzing the results both on individual and also on aggregate level.

Generalised uncertainty, a phenomenon that today’s managers are facing as part of their professional experience, makes it impossible to anticipate the way the business environment will evolve or what will be the consequences of the decisions they plan to implement. Any decision making process within the company entails the simultaneous presence of a number of economic, technical, juridical, human and managerial variables. The development and the approval of a decision is the result of decision making activities developed by the decision maker and sometimes by a decision support team or/and a decision support system (DSS). These aspects related to specific applications of decision support systems in risk management will be approached in this research paper. Decisions in general and management decisions in particular are associated with numerous risks, due to their complexity and increasing contextual orientation. In each business entity, there are concerns with the implementation of risk management in order to improve the likelihood of meeting objectives, the trust of the parties involved, increase the operational safety and security as well as the protection of the environment, minimise losses, improve organisational resilience in order to diminish the negative impact on the organisation and provide a solid foundation for decision making. Since any business entity is considered to be a wealth generator, the analysis of their performance should not be restricted to financial efficiency alone, but will also encompass their economic efficiency as well. The type of research developed in this paper entails different dimensions: conceptual, methodological, as well as empirical testing. Subsequently, the conducted research entails a methodological side, since the conducted activities have resulted in the presentation of a simulation model that is useful in decision making processes on the capital market. The research conducted in the present paper also entails an empirical testing phase, involving the hypotheses directed at the impact of adopting risk management in decision making processes under efficient corporate governance.

This paper comprises an assessment of the Romanian health financing policy and a detailed analysis of income and expenditure trends over the past seven years. The current situation of the health system is evaluated by reviewing the existing health legislation and documents on public health policies from Romania and from abroad, by analyzing the official statistics (the Romanian Yearbook of Health Statistics, Who database) and by performing a healthcare system financial analysis. Although the financial efforts of the Romanian state to support the health system have increased, almost all the incomes and expenditures of the health care system having recorded significant increases, the population perception on health services worsened. Financing the health system continues to be inadequate and used in an ineffective way. Health is an essential component of well-being with major socio-economic implications. The organization and functioning of the health system depends on ensuring adequate funding. Romania must develop its health strategy in the context of European Union policies. These policies are based on values and principles such as promoting universal protection against financial risk, promoting a more equitable distribution of the financing burden, promoting equitable provision and use of services relative to need, improving the transparency and accountability of the system to the public, promoting quality and efficiency in service delivery, improving administrative efficiency, while ensuring the financial sustainability of the health system. In this context, in order to support a financially sustainable and high performing health system, the paper includes recommendations for increasing the public incomes in the health insurance system and options to streamline the healthcare services and expenses in the future.

For a long time, people have felt the need for a common language in order to communicate faster and better and English has become the global language, spreading across the world. Nowadays, more and more people learn and speak English for different reasons. The effect of it is that English started influencing the native languages of the speakers who use a great variety of words and expressions from English while speaking their respective languages. The aim of this paper is to analyze the influence of Anglicisms on the Romanian vocabulary, especially on the business vocabulary. Our paper focuses on English for Business and Economics, as we have been teaching business English to students from the Department of International Business for several years. The research undertaken in this paper is a theoretical research, concentrating on the controversies that surrounded this highly debated subject by the linguists: should Anglicisms be used in Romanian or not? In this regard, there are two sides: on one hand those who are rather supportive of the trend and those (and here we mention highly reputed Romanian linguists like George Pruteanu or Eugen Simion) who were categorically against it. The paper provides the results of a survey conducted by “Special Eurobarometer 243” showing that English is the most widely spoken language in Europe with a score of 51%. The concept of “romgleza” tends to replace the Romanian language in large corporations and not only and this is a natural trend, considering the “invasion” of the English language. A conversation in “romgleza” combines Romanian and English elements, thus resulting a technical jargon, the English words being used especially in areas like IT, marketing, management. This is due to the fact that in these areas the daily exposure to English is higher because everything people in these fields do is connected to English. Romgleza appeared because in Romanian there are no words to express the same meaning as the English words and that is why the majority of people prefer to use the English word. Yet, the purpose of this paper is not to mourn the fate of the Romanian language. Anglicisms have not determined an “alteration” of the Romanian language, but, on the contrary, they have contributed to its permanent renewal and development, modernizing its vocabulary.

Following the transformations through which national economies have been going through recently, we note that there has been a change in the type of economic development. Basically, the shift is made from the traditional economy to the "new economy" that focuses on long-term sustainable economic development. This economy pursues human and technological development. In this context, the contribution of the human capital to economic development should be analysed in terms of its qualitative side. Considering that Europe is heading towards a new type of economic development based on the quality of the human factor, the main factors (education, research - development, health, but also labour-related incentives) determining a certain level of quality of the human capital should be subject to analysis. In order to identify and understand the current state of affairs, the trends in the evolution of Romanian economy, in the context of European development strategies, a broad approach perspective is needed, to combine the historical approach with the economic and sociological ones. For Romania, this process is all the more important and difficult to carry out the longer the period of time (the communist period) was, during which the human resource was seen as a production potential, not as a beneficiary of the economic activities. Practically, man lived to work, and not the other way around. Romania had a lot to catch up with, important structural changes needed to be made in order to achieve a sustainable economic development. Given all this, the paper brings forward all the issues related to the training of the human capital during communist times, in order to understand the difficulties in the approach of the Romanian economy seeking to transform itself as required by the European Union Strategy.Sustainable economic growth cannot be achieved without certain skills and without certain social and professional standards. This paper aims to produce a qualitative, as well as a quantitative analysis, based on the comparison between the dynamics of indicators representative for the situation of important influence factors of the efficiency and current and potential quality of the human capital in Romania. The period considered for our study refers to the period following Romania's accession to the EU.

Using a fixed effects panel data estimation model in order to account for individual firm heterogeneity, the paper investigates the determinants of corporate tax payments for Romanian non-financial companies listed at Bucharest Stock Exchange over twelve years period (2000 – 2011), adopting a new approach, the natural logarithms of corporate income taxes actually paid as dependent variable. This removes the inherent flaws of firm specific effective tax rates, while establishing a more comparable field for subsequent similar research. All the determinants investigated were found as having an impact, albeit at different level of significance. Capital intensity, leverage and labour intensity were found as having a negative effect, while profitability and size have a positive impact. The findings correspond in general to conventional theory. Moreover, the paper produces evidence concerning the impact of loss carry-forward provisions on firm tax payments.

This paper is part of a larger research that aims to analyze the deviation between the Real Exchange Rate and the Equilibrium Exchange Rate in Romania (EUR/RON currency) and to come up with conclusions regarding this deviation and with solutions to minimize it, if the case. Because this is the most important discussion after having the empirical results: what do emergent markets like Romania need to do to keep up with the EU trend? Which are the concessions they have to make in order to maintain a sustainable growth? Do these concessions include breaking the present equilibrium for a future BETTER? Starting with the most well-known methods to calculate the Equilibrium Exchange Rate, this article`s purpose is to create an accurate overview on the UIP model in Romania (the interest rate differential), to verify, using the latest data if the economic environment has brought any changes on the results of this model in the latest years. Is the UIP model a trustworthy equation to establish the Equilibrium Exchange Rate? In order to verify if the UIP model was more reliable in returning a value for the Equilibrium Exchange rate in the latest years on the Romanian market, this paper presents an empirical study containing recent compiled data from the last 10 years, analyzing the 2005 – 2014 period. The NEW in this article is that the used data is very fresh, currently, most probably the only study that verifies the UIP model in Romania for this specific period of time. Why is it useful? Why is it important? Because it doesn`t only bring a confirmation of weather the UIP works for Romania or not but comes up with hints and conclusions regarding the current economic situation of Romania. We can see what has been changed in the local market in the last ten years in terms of monetary policy and what has this change brought with it – if the results are those expected or not and also, what would be the direction for the next years – to most suitable direction to be adopted.

Internationally, services represent the most important sector of the economy both in terms of economic performance and labor utilization. Becoming essential part of today society, they are considered the basis of a healthy economy, fact that has increased the importance of services and the research in the field.T hrough this work we intend to address a number of issues that require clarification and are relevant to this sector. Increased competition and customers higher demands lead to difficulties in service delivery, so managers of service organizations must work hard towards developing appropiate strategies that can lead to improved customers satisfaction and to increased efficiency. Because it is inevitably for service providers to face situations in which service failure occurs and their customers are not satisfied, understanding the nature of service failures and the ways in which an organization can recover after a failure are considered key factors for achieving customer satisfaction. Since the data suggests that over 50% of customers who are facing problems are not satisfied with the way they were resolved, we consider appropriate to approach this topic. We intend to draw attention to service providers to the importance of proper management of service failure. They can find ways to recover from these failures and even to turn them into some very pleasant situations that can contribute to customer loyalty. This paper begins by highlighting the various features specific to services which contribute to the increased chances of failure, it continues by presenting the concepts of service failure and service recovery and then it presents some links that exist between service recovery and other aspects of providing services that are demonstrated in the literature. We hope that this paper will significantly contribute to the knowledge and development of the sector under analysis and will highlight some practices that will lead to improved customer satisfaction and organizational performance.

This paper examines the univariate models for predicting bankruptcy and the multivariate models of the best known researcher in this field, the Altman models, models that use the multivariate discriminant analysis. This paper is mainly focused on the application of two of the Altman models (the revised model of 1983 and the revised model of 1993) to firms that operate in Albania, to see how its models can predict the future of Albanian firms. To assess the accuracy and the possibility of applying these models in the case of Albania, the study includes 80 firms (large firms) that operate in the service sector. To classify bankrupt and non-bankrupt firms, this study is based on the Albanian legislation on bankruptcy (Law no. 8901), according to which bankruptcy proceedings may be opened in case of a state of insolvency, when the firm is overburdened with debts or when the earnings after tax of the firm is negative for a period of 3 years. According to the Albanian legislation on bankruptcy, 24 (from 80) firms involved in the study result legally bankrupt. The first revised model (The 1983 model) of Altman predicts accurately these firms by 75%. Regarding the non-bankrupt firms (according to Albanian legislation on bankruptcy) inaccuracy in the forecast is even higher than in the case of bankrupt firms. From 56 non-bankrupt firms involved in the study, 23 are classified as insolvent company under the first revised model of Altman, while these firms are not bankrupt. In case of application of the second revised model of Altman (The 1993 model) the results are consistent with the results of the first model in terms of bankrupt firms. Meanwhile, what is striking is the significant reduction in the percentage of Type II error (from 41% to 23%).

The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the sustainability of public finance in Romania and to explore the fiscal threats Romania might face in the future. A sound fiscal policy implies avoiding excessive liabilities of the government, but at the same time delivering the proper public goods and services, including the necessary safety net in times of crisis. An unsustainable fiscal position negatively impacts on macroeconomic stability; moreover, if public finances are perceived to be unsustainable in the long run, the reaction of the international financial markets could generate a fiscal crisis, which might surprise the fiscal planners. The main findings of the paper are the following: i) according to the multidimensional approach of the European Commission, in the short run, it seems that Romania is free from fiscal stress, there is a low risk in the medium term, and in the long run the risk becomes medium; ii) a potential medium-term fiscal sustainability risk derives from the accumulation of losses and arrears in the business and companies sectors in which the state is a majority shareholder; iii) Romania records one of the lowest budget revenues to GDP ratios in EU, while the Romanian tax system is characterized by a poor tax collection, inefficient administration and excessive bureaucracy; iv) the structure of public spending in Romania is characterized by the predominance of wage spending and social assistance, while the poor state of the public pension system is an important vulnerability of the public finance position; v) overall, the degree of tax compliance in Romania was only 55.8% in 2013, and according to the calculations made by the Fiscal Council, tax evasion represented 16.2% of GDP in 2013. All these aspects make up a grim picture of sustainability of public finances, which has to be considered by the public decision makers regarding future fiscal policy actions.

In this paper we analyzed the requirements for Romania deriving from the principles and European directives made regarding the selective collection of recyclable waste to implement the concept of sustainable development. The integrated waste management system is not fully functional in Romania which can cause much of the recyclable waste not to take the road of recycling but that of final disposal generating pollution. I believe that the rigorous application of European directives transposed into national legislation, national strategies on waste management but also making people aware and educating them are the factors that lead to the major desideratum of full processing and recovery of all recyclable waste. The most important way to recovery is the selective collection of recyclable waste. Most cities in Romania have implemented selective waste collection systems complying both with the national and county strategies in which waste management is concerned. This paper shows how the selective collection system is implemented in Oradea and in Bihor county and all the challenges that result from it.

Business English is commonly understood language, yet Harvard Business Review called business jargon “The Silent Killer of Big Companies”. As we all have been taught in school, we are aware of the fact that in communication we must comply with linguistic rules so that our message gets across succinctly. Yet, there is one place where all these rules can be omitted (at least in the recent decades): the corporate office. Here, one can use euphemisms and clichés, can capitalize any word that is considered important, the passive voice is used wherever possible and abbreviations occur in every sentence. The worst part is that all of these linguistic enormities are carried out deliberately. The purpose of this paper is to analyse to what extent business jargon and abbreviations have affected business communication (which most of the time, it is filled with opaque language to mask different activities and operations) and the reasons for which these linguistic phenomena have become so successful in the present. One of the reasons for the research is that in business English, jargon can be annoying because it overcomplicates. It is frequently unnecessary and it can transform a simple idea or instruction into something very confusing. It is true that every field has its jargon. Education, journalism, law, politics, medicine, urban planning – no filed is immune. Yet, it seems that business jargon has been described as “the most annoying”. Another reason is that jargon tends to be elitist. Those who do not understand the terms feel confused and uncertain. The paper starts with defining these two concepts, business jargon and abbreviations, and then it attempts to explain the “unusual” pervasion of these, both in business communication and in everyday communication. For this, the paper includes a list with the most common business jargon and abbreviations. In this view, the authors have accessed different economic blogs and specialty journals. Then, it continues with the presentation of the results of a survey which was applied to Economics students regarding the extent to which communication, with emphasis on business communication, is affected by the use of business jargon and abbreviations.

The issue of public budgeting is an important issue for public policy of the state, for the simple reason that no money from the state budget can not promote public policy. Budgetary policy is official government Doctrine vision mirror and also represents a starting point for other public policies, which in turn are financed by the public budget. Fiscal policy instruments at its disposal handles the public sector in its structure, and the private sector. Tools such as grant, budgetary allocation, tax, welfare under various forms, direct investments and not least the state aid is used by the state through their budgetary policies to directly and indirectly infuence sector, and the private. Fiscal policies can be grouped according to the structure of the public sector in these components, namely fiscal policy, budgeting and resource allocation policies for financing the budget deficit. An important issue is the financing of the budget deficit budgetary policies. There are two funding possibilities, namely, the higher taxes or more axles site and enter the second call to public loans. Both options involve extra effort from taxpayers in the current fiscal year when they pay higher taxes or a future period when public loans will be repaid. We know that by virtue of "fiscal pact" structural deficits of the member countries of the EU are limited by the European Commission, according to the macro structural stability and budget of each Member State. This problem tempers to some extent the governments of the Member States budgetary appetite, but does not solve the problem of chronic budget deficits. Another issue addressed in this paper is related to the public debt, the absolute amount of its relative level of public datoriri, about the size of GDP, public debt financing and its repayment sources. Sources of public debt issuance and monetary impact on the budget and monetary stability are variables that must underpin the justification of budgetary policy official. Volume and structure of public debt will strike in the future state finances and income citizens who in turn will pay these debts. Regarding payment of public debt in the future, in literature often put morality issue grevarii income of future generations of rulers moment. Another issue addressed in this paper is that of public debt issuance conditions in international financial markets, the international financial institutions or domestic. Substantiating the link between the amount borrowed and realizing their destination in credit is needed to determine the economic and social effects on the budget and on income taxpayers will bear the burden of public debt.

One of the effects of globalization is the faster pace of our lives. This rhythm can be noticed in all aspects of life: travel, work, shopping, etc. and it has serious negative effects. It has become common knowledge that stress and speed generate serious medical issues. Food and eating habits in the modern world have taken their toll on our health. However, some people took a stand and argued for a new kind of lifestyle. It all started in the field of gastronomy, where a new movement emerged – Slow Food, based on the ideas and philosophy of Carlo Petrini. Slow Food represents an important adversary to the concept of fast food, and is promoting local products, enjoyable meals and healthy food. The philosophy of the Slow Food movement developed in several directions: Cittaslow, slow travel and tourism, slow religion and slow money etc. The present paper will account the evolution of the concept and its development during the most recent years. We will present how the philosophy of slow food was applied in all the other fields it reached and some critical points of view. Also we will focus on the presence of the slow movement in Romania, although it is in a very early stage of development. The main objectives of the present paper are: to present the chronological and ideological evolution of the slow movement; to establish a clear separation of slow travel and slow tourism, as many mistake on for the other; to review the presence of the slow movement in Romania. Regarding the research methodology, information was gathered from relevant academic papers and books and also from interviews and discussions with local entrepreneurs. The research is mostly theoretical and empirical, as slow food and slow tourism are emerging research themes in academic circles.

In this paper we try to show the perception of the main stakeholder on the rural tourism field, local government, on the development of this economic activities. We believe that a revision of an important part of approaches that have appeared in the literature in terms of the concept of rural tourism, in terms of methods of analysis of tourism activities and, not least, requiring the use modern techniques for foresight indicators by which to make assessments on these activities.The local public administration is responsible for policy formulation, research and planning, development of basic infrastructure, the development of certain landmarks, establishing and managing service delivery standards, establishing management measures and recovery planning and environmental protection, setting standards for training and improving employment, setting standards for maintaining public health and safety.In this paper we try to show as well the main factors of the emergence and development of rural tourism in order to establish priorities in the joint action of local people, entrepreneurs, tourists and local and national administrations. In many countries, the tourism industry fall within government priority. Tourism has been identified as one of the primary industries with potential to support local communities in developing economic diversity. In this research, it was also used descriptive analysis of the variables and comparative analysis using Kruskal-Wallis H and Mann-Whitney U test.Kruskal-Wallis H test. The Kruskall-Wallis test aims at comparing several independent samples when, as is the case of our research, the dependent variable is ordinal. The test is based on rank and hierarchy of data analysis. Scores are ranked from lowest to highest, ignoring the groups they belong to, and then calculate the sum of ranks for each of the groups. The question refers to how much respondents considered that are due to the development of rural tourism attractions in the region Crişana. Respondents could answer one of the following: a very small extent, small extent, the average measure, largely respected very much

Evolutionary theory study of processes that transform economy for firms, institutions, industries, employment, production, trade and growth within, through the actions of diverse agents from experience and interactions, using evolutionary methodology. Evolutionary theory analyses the unleashing of a process of technological and institutional innovation by generating and testing a diversity of ideas which discover and accumulate more survival value for the costs incurred than competing alternatives.This paper presents study the behavior of the firms on the market used the evolutionary theory.The paper is to present in full the developments that have led to the re-assessment of theories of firms starting from the criticism on Coase's theory based on the lack of testable hypotheses and on non-operative definition of transaction costs. In the literature in the field studies on firms were allotted a secondary place for a long period of time, to date the new theories of the firm hold a dominant place in the firms’ economic analysis. In an article, published in 1937, Ronald H. Coase identified the main sources of the cost of using the market mechanism. The firms theory represent a issue intensively studied in the literature in the field, regarding the survival, competitiveness and innovation of firm on the market. The research of Nelson and Winter, “An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change” (1982) is the starting point for a modern literature in the field which considers the approach of the theory of the firm from an evolutionary perspective. Nelson and Winter have shown that the “orthodox” theory, is objectionable primarily by the fact that the hypothesis regarding profit maximization has a normative character and is not valid in any situation. Nelson and Winter reconsidered their microeconomic analysis showing that excessive attention should not be paid to market equilibrium but rather to dynamic processes resulting from irreversible economic exchanges. This paper is focused on the market competition. In this market the firms must define its behaviour and formulate strategies for future actions affected by risk and uncertainty. The conclusions of the paper reveal that using a theory of the firm as reference framework regarding the representation of the economic agent’s on market structure, opens the way for a new field of investigation.

It’s needless to say that nuclear is a hot subject. It arouses public imagination, suspicion, and fear. It has always animated scientists’ minds and souls and after they discovered how to manipulate the atom, the public conscience has become aware of its dangers and its merits. Present paper aims to present why it is important to regard with optimism and trust the science of atoms, not without loosing our critical view concerning the risks inherently connected to it. Nuclear arms are a reality, but climate change is another. Mankind is facing both. It cannot ignore one of them without assuming greater risks in the future. In this context, nuclear can be regarded with hope and audacity. Its expansion, both in countries where it already is employed, and into newcomers (where it could be implemented), can bring benefits such as: reducing energy dependence on foreign interests placed under the umbrella of oil and gas producers, or transporters; rising energy security in a world where access to cheap and reliable energy would become more problematic; greater success in fighting climate changes and global warming through energy generated in a more environmentally friendly manner. Furthermore, over the energy aspect of peaceful nuclear energy, there is another economic and technological benefit: nuclear researches could be involved simultaneously in electricity generation, heat production, agricultural and industrial rising’s potential, water desalinization and providing in arid areas, and application in medical researches and treatment. But nuclear has its weak points: it is connected to military researches and programs, while offering the needed technical ground for UN Security Council permanent members to have and maintain prestige in international politics; it looms over mankind, as a menace which hunts our conscience after Hiroshima and Nagasaki… Its minuses have to do with international context, too: if we connect the highest level in technology with strongest religious sentiment than we can face a terrifying drama. A nuclear nuke in the hands of a terrorist organization is the worst nightmare mankind could face. Countries with nuclear arms (Russian Federation and Pakistan) were courted by dangerous organizations, which searched to gain access to fissile material. But there is a hope, and the paper presents it in an indirect manner: if public conscience activates in direction of nuclear disarmament, nuclear could become the hope for a better future. Nuclear disarmament would mean a safer world, while peaceful nuclear expansion will mean cleaner energy and greater access to electricity in more areas, all of them creating a better world and a civilization proud of its name.

The paper presents cultural heritage, cultural tourism potential of North-West Region of Romania face to face with restoration and sustainable valorization of cultural heritage as a major domain of intervention of regional policy in Romania. Due to Romanian regionalization form, the Regional Operational Programme (ROP) is currently the only programme of regional policy in Romania in 2007-2013. One of the major domains of intervention of ROP 2007-2013 in Romania was restoration and sustainable valorization of cultural heritage. The first paper specific objective is to explore projects contracted until 31.12.2013 in the field of restoration and sustainable valorization of cultural heritage in North-West Region of Romania and their regional development relevance in the context of existing regional development strategies. The second paper specific objective is to present a model of restoration of cultural heritage in a sustainable way throughout the case study of Revitalization of the Oradea Fortress in order to introduce it in the tourism circuit - that could become an example for other cultural sites around the region and a succes story in the field of cultural tourism based of ROP 2007-2013 experience. Exploring rich cultural heritage of the North-West Region face to face with poor condition of cultural heritage sites and investments required in order to introduce them in touristic circuit, the paper concludes that all contracted projects are relevant for sustainable valorization of regional cultural heritage and cultural tourism potential in the context of existing regional development strategies, but they contributed only partially to regional specific needs. Also, the paper concludes that number of ROP 2007-2013 projects implemented in the field of cultural heritage is surprisingly small, area of interest of these projects is rather narrow and analyzes the most important causes for these gaps. Based on the case study presented, the paper suggests that a combination between devoting substantial own resources, perseverance and innovativeness in implementing and promoting projects could be an important condition for success for highly expensive, long lasting and highly innovative cultural heritage projects.

Terms of trade are meant to show the ratio by which a country is different in the level and dynamics of revenues from the exchange made by different categories of products on the external markets. The level of recorded revenues from the commercialization of products and services varies from country to country, and there is rarely a mutually beneficial exchange situation from these operations. Trade efficiency analysis lies in the determination of the terms of trade. In the current paper, international developments are analyzed based on net terms of trade index used by UNCTAD. Statistical data are provided by the World Bank, where export and import price index and the volume of imports and exports by countries were considered. The classification of the countries has been done according to the geographical orientation and based on the purchasing power parity, thus creating two tables, the first table highlighting seven regions, and the second table with seven categories of states including OPEC and non-OPEC members. The terms of trade evolution are influenced by certain important factors in the production process of goods and services. Some of these factors are mentioned: labour productivity; changes in commodity prices; yet, only the last factor is examined in this paper. Based on World Bank commodity price data, the evolution of major energy inputs such as crude oil, gas, coal, and major industrial raw materials such as aluminium, copper, lead, nickel, tin, zinc, silver, gold, platinum and iron was analysed and interpreted. For Romania, the data on terms of trade evolution shows a dramatic situation. If terms of trade development presented a cyclical evolution, the economy as a whole would send an optimistic message. In contrast, the data presented in the following paper will show that our country has registered continuous depreciation of the terms of trade ratio, with a direct impact on external trade balance deficits, a rising external debt and a declining purchasing power for the population. The conclusions address some of the remedies that our country needs in order to improve.

The aim of the paper is to analyze the Corporate Social Responsibilitys (CSR) influence on employees considering the fact that employees are primary stakeholders who directly contribute to the success of the company. CSR relates to employees helps to motivate the employees themselves. Job quality should be a key objective of any employer because the happy employees can create happy customers, which produce good business results. Research clearly indicates, with the help of statistical data and with the case study methodology, that committing to CSR boosts the morale and commitment of workers in a positive way. Employees who are satisfied with the organization s commitment to social and environmental responsibilities demonstrate more commitment, engagement and productivity. A conceptual framework is proposed based on literature. The author predominantly uses methods of qualitative research. In the research the case study methodology, which has been developed within the social sciences, is used. The paper starts with a concise introduction of CSR. In the first part the potential impact of CSR on employees is explained, considering why CSR may represent a special opportunity to positively influence employees’ and prospective employees’ perceptions of companies. In the second part the research considers three Italian companies that have distinguished themselves for their CSR strategy for employees: Luxottica, Brunello Cucinelli and Ferrero. A growing number of studies have been done regarding the benefits of CSR. However, most are concerned with the external view of shareholders and customer perspective. CSR research on the employee level is not well developed now. In order to better understand its effect on the employees, this study explore the impact of employees' perception of CSR on subsequent work attitudes and behaviors. CSR has a significant effect and it could improve employees' attitudes and behaviors, contribute to corporations' success, and achieve a win-win situation. The main contribution of the research is to explore the impact of an organization s CSR activities internally on employee engagement.

The paper presents some of the most important methods in teaching foreign languages. The first part of the paper places the teaching methods in the historical background, in middle ages peole use to learn leaguages like latin or greek, but this changes radically in the 19th century, when new languages like english or french are introdused, this leads to new methods in teaching foreign languages, to new perspectives in approaching foreign languages. The methods presented in my paper are the translation method, used till the 19th century, the behavioral method, the audiolingual method, the communicative method and learn by teaching method

Although the classical and traditional methods have proven effective in seizing on foreign language skills by pupils and students, new means of communication and dissemination of information - in the virtual world via Internet - are continuous and opportune challenges towards progress. The purpose of this paper is to question the effectiveness of new instruments - namely the blog - for conveying and assimilating the skills necessary for communicating in another language. We live in a world in which a wide range of public figures stemming from diverse environments, such as the academia, mass-media, political and cultural environment, etc. use this tool - the blog - in order to present in a personal manner their knowledge or opinions, to promote a different kind of dialogue with their readers, with the audience, with their constituency or with those interested in the proposed topics. The journalist and the blogger are often tantamount. Great online publications have a blog button on their site. In such conditions, is the blog a practical tool for both the teacher and the economy student learning a new language? A series of pertinent questions are posed: to which extent can the blog be used as an instrument in teaching and learning a foreign language? Is the virtual platform a proper place for designing, displaying and posting both practical and theoretical topics? If preparing such a topic - at an economy student's hands - entails a significant effort as a self-taught, is this effort best assessed when presenting a paper before a professor, in the interaction between the two, which coincides with the evaluation and assessment of the student's work? While the information content is taught the same for all students, regarding one on one assimilation and evaluation, could an individual blog - moderated by the student - or a collective blog in which all students have access be more appropriate? Is the use of a virtual platform more effective than other traditional methods of language acquisition? All these questions are legitimate and we propose to formulate answers highlighting our opinion in the following lines. Together with traditional approaches to teaching and learning, the use of a virtual platform in acquiring linguistic skills secure attractiveness, novelty and a beneficial, peculiar dynamic.

The local source for competitiveness is vital to achieve static and dynamic economies of scale for firms; it is useful to interact with the aim of learning and innovating. The local system can create benefit by opening to international markets and it should be a good source of knowledge and technology. Nowadays, the concept of industrial district, usually characterized by the spatial proximity of the involved firms, may evolve into firms network; this may emphasize the advantages deriving from cooperation, without the need of spatial proximity. Firms networks may represent the evolution of industrial districts, where territoriality is overcome by the dissolution of borders. The importance of firms networks is increased since they intensify information exchange, continuous learning, stimulate economies of scale, allow economic development and give more market opportunities. Firms networks share different aims, resource, common interests and factors, like material and immaterial inputs and outputs. This new form of cooperation may allow to overcome physical distance and replicate knowledge and information. Firms networks may represent a success organizational forms that may give impetus to development in an economy. They are based on mutual trust between partners and are created over time to facilitate information circulation, knowledge dissemination and innovation. Trust reduces uncertainty and transaction cost and limits the opportunistic behaviour by free-rider agents. The aim of the paper is to assess the determinants for firms networks training in the Italian context using regional data. Particularly, the firms networks development needs key factors such as ICTs diffusion, high rate of social security, open capability, RxD activities. These factor constitute the basis for a new kind of capital, the so called “network capital”. It consists of collaborative practices in a network as the result of cooperation in the ICTs era. Network capital may be considered as social capital evolution in a globalized context. The entrance in the knowledge economy era, in which technological advancement runs very quickly and the pace of innovation is intensified, significantly reduces the exploitation of competitive advantages. Industrial districts, therefore, should develop, improve and change their shape in a new competitive environment, where the globalization of markets cancels the boundaries of many firms that collaborate beyond national boundaries. The paper analyzes the firms networks determinant for Italian regions and the role of network capital as pre-condition for their development. The multidimensional scaling analysis it the chosen methodology that allows us to identify the relations among Italian regions in terms of proximity/distance with respect to considered determinants, and to provide a spatial representation of them.

n the economic life of companies, various financial difficulties can appear, regardless of their object of activity, domain, geographical area, or geopolitical context. The economic reality proved that managing individual difficulties one at a time has little chance of succeeding; because of this, there are international concerns in establishing the regulatory framework and identifying instruments to ensure that the firm can overcome the financial difficulty. Concerns in this sense have been explicitly mentioned for the first time by the World Bank when Principles for effective insolvency and creditor/debtor regime were established in 2001. Recently, the European Parliament has elaborated the EU Directive 2019/1023 regarding the framework of preventive restructuring, debt remittance, and forfeiture of law, besides measures to increase the efficiency of restructuring procedures, insolvency, and debt remittance, which modifies the EU Directive 2017/1132 regarding restructuring and insolvency. While implementing the EU Directive of restructuring in national legislation, the paper analyses and synthesizes the measures of reorganizing and recovering companies while also considering the required legislative instruments. From a practical aspect, the authors’ contribution concretizes in a set of economic and financial indicators that warn/reveal the state of financial difficulty of companies. Establishing these indicators represents technical aspects that need to be clarified by the national law and the EU Directive, and it constitutes the challenge of readjusting the companies. The faster the intervention, the bigger the chances of salvaging the company. Interest in this topic is growing, given the temporary suspension of the activities of many companies caused by several factors. In the context of the measures taken to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic and increase the costs of raw materials, gas, and energy, the economic evolution is unpredictable and challenging. Considering that we are in the process of modifying the national legislation, the proposed set of indicators cannot be verified on the level of companies that encounter financial difficulties. Therefore, applying and practically verifying these economic and financial indicators will be the subject of subsequent research.

This paper seeks to analyze the impact of disclosures on managers’ characteristics, business climate information, and key accounting policy variables on financial performance. Data were extracted from the annual reports of the non-financial listed companies on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Fifty-seven companies from eight industries have been investigated over five years. The least-squares method for panel data (Panel Least Squares) was used in estimating eight models that proved to be valid for the Fisher test. The findings showed that a high level of disclosure of information about managers increases performance. In contrast, the increased disclosure of business climate information and the average degree of internal control is leading to lower company performance. From the analysis of key accounting policy variables, the estimated models showed that the overall level of provisions has a significant positive influence on the performance of the companies. In two models also the estimates of decommissioning costs of tangible assets have a significant positive impact on performance. A significant negative impact on performance is exerted by uncertainties in recognition, accounting valuation, or presentation of assets, judgments, and assumptions on contingencies, litigation risks, and R&D innovation costs. The existence of the audit report and the type of auditor do not significantly influence the performance of the examined companies. However, the existence of the corporate governance report is significantly and positively impacting financial performance.