Volume 10 (2018): Edizione 3 (September 2018)

The change of the political regime in Romania determined a real revolution in the activity of the trade unions which suddenly had to change their objectives and their working methods. These organisations were in a position to struggle for the status of universities and their professors in a society that considered that 3% of GDP for education is too much. Is possible to understand that trade unions acting instead of universities managers, but immediately after 1989, the rectors and their teams depended by the politicians in a way that they cannot ask more for the needs of universities, and these situations are comparable with ones manifested in other countries, like Peru, Bolivia or Ecuador (Haggard and Kaufmann, 1995). The social and professional involvement of university unions is now much more significant, and their role in the life of higher education institutions is becoming more and more imperative. Not only do they struggle for financial resources and real autonomy, but they also support the didactic and research activities of their members. They also try to prevent and stop the abuse of university leaders. This work aims to present the activity of the union of UniversitasTimisiensis (West University of Timisoara), the role it plays to increase the cohesion between its members and the cooperation with other university unions of Romania. We will also present some current and future solutions that can develop the competitiveness of our institution to make it more attractive not only for professors and researchers but also for students.

Methodology: In almost two decades we have observed that the role of education is treated differently in political declarations and public budgetary allocation. We tried to understand what the causes of these differences are, and we noticed that the formal voice of different union federations (there are four in the education field in Romania) is quite the same, but also there are some informal arrangements with governmental officials. Even in the higher education area, there are different aspects related to the goals of groups of universities (comprehensive, technical, medical) so the cohesion of different unions can be only apparent. We tried to investigate these aspects using quantitative research based on data supplied by Eurostat and National Institute of Statistics and about 15 interviews with different persons involved in the management of union organisations to see the characteristics of common patterns and also the specific differences.

Findings: We discovered that in the field of education there is a paradox of functionality of a system. All political parties sustain the idea of a consistent allocation of resources for education (there is a National Pact for Education signed by all parties in 2008 and assumed by all other parties that appeared after 2008), but in ten years the allocation was around 3% of GDP that represents only half of the agreement. The unions were forced to adopt different strategies in an unfriendly environment: they cooperated in most of the cases but, due to the lack of resources, they had to rally to the positions of the management of universities and that sometimes determined the dissent with other unions.

Value Added: It can be assumed that the unions can have an important role in education environment, even if they act in cohesion (most of the cases) and dissent (especially in case of improvement the position of the home university). The cohedissent (we try to underline the combination between the terms cohesion and dissent because it is almost impossible to have only cohesion in educational area) behaviour can represent a key factor to understanding the specificity of the role of university unions in improving the educational environment and insending more suggestive messages to the political parties.

Recommendations: The scientific research in universities is an essential aspect of higher education and the specific research within and between university unions can potentiate the activities of teachers and researchers. The cooperation between unions must be improved and the dissent must be used constructively.

Objective: The transformation of many jobs within companies should give rise to a necessary evolution of skills used by individuals. Whether it is to improve the relevance of decisions or to preserve people’s health, the development of emotional skills for the last ten years has often been presented as a necessity. Buyers, who are more and more seen as managers of external resources, are particularly concerned by this need. By strongly evolving, the purchasing function has become strategic and essential for achieving organizations’ performances. The development of soft skills like the emotional skills of the buyers implies a significant evolution of the training intended for them. It is true if we consider initial training at the University or Business School, as well as in the field of in-company training. Based on a presentation of new needs, we propose possible changes and additions that could be brought to current training.

Methodology: The research was based on the analysis of literature review and real situations observed in companies (especially during training sessions).

Findings: Because of the evolutions of their job, buyers who become more and more managers of external resources should develop their emotional skills. These skills can be developed using adapted training sessions.

Value Added: The importance of emotional skills is pointed out and several ideas aimed at enabling the development of emotional skills are given.

Recommendations: It is recommended to use the TSP chain (Task, Skill, Pedagogy) in order to define adapted pedagogy for the development of emotional skills.

Objective: The paper aims at showing how the Knowledge Economy asks new and inter-active methodologies for training entrepreneurs and managers. In fact, the most important skills of modern entrepreneurs and managers are based on relational feeling and flexibility.

Methodology: The described methodologies and their limits and advantages are coming by the direct experience of the Authors.

Findings: The source is specific to the case studied in a participative way by the authors

Value Added: The value of the paper can be seen from the illustration and comment on the main didactic methodologies adopted by commercial schools and faculties of Economics for training students in entrepreneurship and management. Any methodology is synthetically described in order to evidence the constrains.

Recommendations: The described new methodologies clearly evidence their effectiveness. Nevertheless, are necessary additional tests and adaptations in order to adopt them in schools and universities in definitive way.

Objective: This contribution attempts to highlight the convergences and divergences of the strategies and modes of governance put in place in the current context of European universities (knowledge economy, budget restrictions, changing demand of students and employers).

Methodology: A study of three universities from three different countries, two public and one private, is proposed from the analysis of the internal official documents (strategic projects) of the structures and interviews with the leaders.

Findings: Elements of convergences and divergences are highlighted, which makes it possible to make hypotheses to verify in other researches.

Value Added: The approach is exploratory and complementary to the analyses in terms of the structure and strategy model of higher education institutions

Recommendations: The implementation of the Bologna Process is still often instrumentalized or rejected (defence of local specificities or fears of excessive standardization), but the current evolution of constraints and environments seems to go far beyond this non-normative project. It should therefore be considered as an opportunity for a positive and effective response to the present stakes.

Objective: The objective of the paper is to present the chosen innovative pedagogical approaches of teaching in the area of management science and their practical application in the educational process at the Lodz University of Technology, as well as to discuss the opinions of students and managers concerning the innovative pedagogical approaches of teaching.

Methodology: The first stage of research was conducted among 200 young respondents (19-24 years old), students of Lodz University of Technology (Poland) in the second and third quarters of 2018. During the research, the indirect method of gathering information, i.e. using a survey technique was applied. The survey was conducted among the students with the application of the techniques of personal survey, electronic survey and paper survey. The second stage of research was conducted among 50 managers of medium and large companies in Poland in the second and third quarters of 2018. The choice of companies to be studied was a deliberate one. During this stage of research, the indirect method of gathering information – using a survey technique was applied. The survey was conducted among the managers with the application of the techniques of personal survey, electronic survey and paper survey. The Likert scale was used for evaluation.

Findings: The situation on the labour market, as well as the development of the market of educational services and the development of new technologies cause changes in both the offer and the quality of teaching. In order to increase the quality of the educational offer and the degree of satisfaction of students and employers, universities introduce new teaching methods and new didactic tools based on the creative pedagogical approaches. The research results confirm the positive evaluation of Problem-based learning and Design Thinking approaches by students and companies representatives. However, closer cooperation between university and companies is expected both by students and managers.

Value Added: In this paper, apart from presenting the theoretical and practical possibilities of using Problem-based learning and Design Thinking approaches of teaching in the area of management science, the opinions of students and companies’ representatives were also presented.

Recommendations: Effective teaching in the field of management at the universities is a difficult and complex process. Management is − by its character − closely related to business practice. Therefore, a management graduate should, in addition to having theoretical knowledge, be prepared to solve real problems in the enterprise.

Objective: Over and above being widespread in various sectors of the economy and fi-nance, the uncontrollable expansion of digital technology is also conquering areas reserved for education and training, going beyond the traditional models of demand / supply, frontal and long distance lectures. The article aims to analyse the phenomenon of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and how, together with new trends in the context of digital teaching, they can represent an incentive for universities to reflect on the changes that are taking place in educational policies and in academic culture, possibly re-evaluating their mission with the aim of improving the quality of content and learning experiences.

Methodology: Through the study of various experiences and publications.

Findings: Since their appearance, MOOCs have generated a huge interest in the field of higher education, establishing themselves more and more worldwide as an important online training system, aimed at a large number of users.

Value Added: The MOOCs can represent valid support for training in companies and lastly they can represent a valid means of allowing access to education in developing countries.

Recommendations: The article suggests how the development of MOOCs, through distance learning, flexible and open, is a great opportunity both for mature knowledge-based societies and for developing countries.

Objective: The purpose of the following study is to examine the approach to social media of European and North American higher education institutions ranked in the Top100 on the 2017 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). Data regarding the number of publications and the number of followers of each social media were analysed.

Methodology: The present study is quantitative in nature. The sample consisted of the European and North American universities and colleges listed in the Top 100 of the ARWU 2017: in total, 48 institutions in the United States and 35 in Europe were identified. To analyse the official social media sites used by each higher education institution, the links presented on the Homepage of the universities’ website were followed. Data was collected between the 27nd of August and the 2nd of September 2018. Two different types of variable groups were defined: 1) the number and type of Universities’ publications, and 2) the number of followers on each social media. For benefit of the research the authors considered Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Weibo and VKontakte as social networking sites; Instagram, Pinterest, Flickr and Snapchat, as photo sharing platforms; Youtube, and Vimeo as video sharing platforms, and finally Twitter and Tumblr as microblogs.

Findings: European and North American universities and colleges invest in marketing activities in social media. Regarding the number of social networking sites, content sharing and microblogging platforms no significant differences were found between means of the two independent samples. The most popular social media used are Facebook and Twitter ex-aequo, followed by Youtube, Instagram and LinkedIn. Concerning the number of publications on these media, significant differences by region are present for the variable number of photos and videos on Facebook, number of Instagram posts, and tweets. Furthermore, on all the prominent social media, North American universities and colleges benefit from a substantial higher number of followers than their counterpart. European users favour Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and only then Instagram. Participation in G+ is marginal. In the United States the preferred social media are Facebook, LinkedIn, G+, Twitter, and Instagram. Regarding user engagement, measured by the number of followers, equality of means between the two independent samples were found for Facebook, Pinterest, Flickr and Youtube. Differences exist for the social media: LinkedIn, G+, Instagram, and Twitter. G+ is quite popular in the United States, but not in Europe, and Twitter attracts visibly more followers too.

Value Added: The contribution of this research paper consists in better understanding, from a quantitative point of view, differences between the use of social media as a marketing tool by the European and North American higher education institutions listed in the Top100 of the ARWU 2017. Regional differences exist, even though universities and colleges compete on a worldwide basis.

Recommendations: From an academic perspective, a qualitative study approach is advised to better understand the concurrence of the number of publications and followers on the different social media, since significant Pearson correlations between variables were identified. As practical implications, marketers from the European higher education institutions should invest more in posts, uploads and tweets. For both regions, the social networking site LinkedIn has been neglected, despite the high number of followers.

A research project achieves its utmost utility when it manages to combine the achieved technical-scientific results with the optimization of economic and financial resources adopted. Effective research budget structuring is required as well as focused monitoring of the use of resources on the basis of planned scheduling. When creating the budget, it is essential to optimize the times and ways of use of researchers because resources are fundamental. The monitoring phase should make sure that the controlling body is not related to the scientific director of the project itself. Furthermore, monitoring should ensure prompt notification of budget deviations so that the research director can make the required corrections.

Objective: The paper aims at showing the essential role of economic and financial control in order to achieve optimum effectiveness and efficiency of research. The demonstration was achieved by simply using an in-field experience within a private research organization.

Methodology: The sources for this paper included the ones from a process of participating observation.

Findings: The source is specific to the case studied in a participative way by the authors

Value Added: The value of the paper can be seen from the illustration and comment on an operational situation concerning a private research organization. It is especially important for these organizations to achieve an economic and financial equilibrium in order to survive and to become operationally independent with respect to financing entities.

Recommendations: The achievement of an economic/financial equilibrium is essential for all organizations including research entities. The priority given to effectiveness and efficiency in research projects would be desirable in public and university research organizations as well. Field studies for these organizations may highlight ample margins of recovery of efficiency and effectiveness as well as detecting improvement methodologies.

Objective: The World Commission on the Environment and Development defines as sustainable development that which can satisfy “the needs of the present without compromising the possibility of future generations to satisfy their own”. The attention to the issues of the environment, of the circular economy, of the ageing of the population is becoming a way to attract the curiosity and then the interest of the consumers with more and more awareness. Socially responsible finance is no longer a niche issue, so investing an ethical model must become a standard for both international and territorial realities.

Methodology: The “myth” of low yields would seem debunked, because the companies that introduce Social, Environmental and Governance criteria have an excellent reputation and do not aim to opportunistic gains in the short, but sustainable results in the long run. An undeniable advantage for all the stakeholders and for the planet itself needs to be added; human resources valorization, equal opportunities, efficient exploitation of natural resources and reduction of pollution produced are just some of the positive results deriving from this new business philosophy. For this reason a new obligation on the commitment of the companies regarding the environment is needed, while for all the corporate summits bonuses and compensations must be rethought according to the objectives of environmental and social sustainability. In the past such commitments were considered by large companies as a further cost, and nowadays they are increasingly becoming an opportunity that even the small economic realities on a territorial level cannot afford to lose. Starting a dialogue, not only with the traditional stakeholders (such as customers and suppliers) direct users of the product value, but especially with the territory given the social impacts deriving from the economic activity on people is necessary. In this respect, it would be particularly fruitful, from the point of view of innovation and growth, to create relations with the institution traditionally identified as the depositary of research itself, that is the University.

Findings: ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) is an acronym that indicates the commitment of companies to the environment, sociability and respect for diversity. These criteria are destined to become, in the near future, one of the most important factors of business success, of investments discrimination, of orientation for big funds policies and of reputation for entrepreneurs and managers. Environmental and Social criteria relate to the real consumption of limited natural resources by an economic activity, and to what it then returns in terms of goods and services to the reference communities. The term Governance means the way in which an enterprise is managed, the relationships that are set up with the employees and the methods of remuneration for the top management. Thus, the ESG index is potentially able to reveal whether an economic activity is sustainable in the medium or long term beyond the financial variables. But how is possible to transpose these values on a territory level?

Value Added: We have to look to those who are responsible for the innovation and development of that local reality. Unfortunately, the panorama of business, university and public collaboration is still jagged for a deep lack of relations between these different actors. At the same time, technological evolution imposes increasingly tighter rhythms to innovation, forcing companies to find out the R&D function by drawing on university research or acquiring from innovative start-ups. These new companies, often born as university spin-offs, however, encounter many difficulties of development related to the scarcity of capital and therefore to the impossibility of embedding the value created within a patent. It is therefore appropriate that the two main operators of this market, universities and companies, find a way to communicate and collaborate on a common project, creating value and bringing welfare not only to their respective realities, but also to the whole community of the territory interested in the sign of ESG ethic.

Recommendations: For this reason it is important to take part in the projects in ethical ESG companies that, relating to the university and the territory, can guide innovation towards a horizon of welfare distributable among all stakeholders. A meeting point between all interests in the game could be a shared Hub where, through a contract, the modalities of collaboration will be established and the common objectives pursued; in this way the university will have the funds for the research, the enterprise – a targeted innovation for its purposes and the territory for new employment possibilities for the workers of the sector.