Search

Taylor (1993) proposed a rule for central banks, which links the monetary policy rate to the deviation of the inflation from its target (inflation gap) and the deviation of the GDP from its potential (output gap). We will study, estimating a linear and a non-linear Taylor-type rule, that this rule is applicable in Romania in case of actual macroeconomic environment, therefore we will demonstrate that the Taylor rule can be seen as a reality or a myth of the monetary policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total Quality Management is an attractive philosophy and its implementation involves many difficulties. Implementation of total quality management requires a profound transformation of the organization so that the appearance of strong resistance is inevitable. For this reason, it is necessary to consider the huge effort that is required to resolve difficulties that appear in this process. Total quality management is based on knowing the stage of organization and its environment and through continuous improvement for it to try to reach excellence. It is well known that the implementation of quality management systems depends on the specifics of each organization. Functions performed, defining features, characteristics of public administration systems, rigidity given by the multitude of laws make it difficult to implement quality management systems, on the one hand and on the other hand, these difficulties are given from the specific service. The introduction of total quality management in public administration cannot and should not present a radical reform of it. Public administration, like any other public or private organization, can be improved. In essence, the practice of recent years shows that the model Total Quality Management in public administration allows improvements, but it only with an appropriate organizational culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Quality - Access to Success is the property of Romanian Society for Quality Assurance (SRAC) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Our article reviews the major questions raised by the psychological research of spirituality and religion, as well as the historical background of this research area. In our view the scientific exploration of spirituality and religion constitutes a process that allows for both empirical and hermeneutical approaches and as such it is open for a dialogue with other branches of social sciences. The most important topics addressed by the article include: 1. possible conceptualizations of the terms spirituality and religion; the connection between the two; similarities and differences; 2. the interpretation of spirituality as a dimension of the personality; 3. the question of measurement of spirituality and tools of its measurement; 4. the effects of spirituality; and 5. the culture relatedness of research data. Finally we demonstrate how the ASPIRES scale recently developed by R. Piedmont, its theoretical approach, development process, and empirical results try to answer these key questions.