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The production structure of farms has a great importance in the context of Romania where there are many mixed farms and most of them have problems of economic viability. Optimization of the production structure is essential in ensuring the viability of farms therefore our study focuses on applying the model of linear programming for the optimization of the production structure. The model was applied to a case study where the optimization was performed from different perspectives by using various economic indicators such as the standard output, gross margin, profit per hectare and production costs. The results have shown that the optimal structure differs depending on the farms' medium and long-term objectives. As a result of the analysis for the proposed scenarios, to increase the efficiency, the use of the category of youth under 1 year old must be abandoned and the cattle for meat category should be developed. Gross margin was found to be the most suitable indicator depending on which the optimal production structure should be modeled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decisions are a result of choices made between several alternatives and will affect all participants in the decision-making process. In this paper we analyze the Monte Carlo simulation as an important management tool in evaluating decisions under risk. The method is particularly useful in simulating decision problems. For example, the profit that could be achieved if a company launches a new product may depend on a number of factors (market share, advertising, production costs, launch costs, the lifetime of the product, etc. The company manager should identify all factors that could affect profit and then to consider the large number of ways in which these factors may interrelate. In such situations it is recommended company manager to divide the problem into smaller parts, asking him to estimate the probability distribution for market share, for advertising, for the cost of launch. Once they were obtained it can be determined their combined effect in order to obtain the probability distribution of profit. Through computer can generate a large number of possible combinations of situations where you choose a particular course of action. Upon completion of the simulation possible combination will be generated mostly while the least possible combination will be generated less frequently. For exemplification we selected a company producing shoes in Cluj market who wants to launch a new model for autumn-winter 2013-2014. In the current period the company has limited production capacity, has a number of additional contracts honored and general economic crisis situation makes money availability to be extremely limited. Accordingly, the company will have to choose a single product to be launched next season. The company will have to decide which of the two new products to be launched on the market: a model of boots for men in business class or a new model of women\'s boots of the same class business. The company is not sure either production costs or sales level. Profit estimate involves going through several phases, and the first of these relates to the identification of factors that may or may influence the profit for both products.

This paper analyses the extent to which aspects contributing to sustainable development are integrated at family farms level. The present research aims to inventory the state of family farms from the Nord Vest development region from Romania, to see how they can contribute to the sustainable development of the area. Another objective is to investigate the availability of the family farm to develop and to identify the variables that can influence this desire, given its role in the existence of the Romanian village. As it was noted from the literature review, family farms have different characteristics from one country to another and even from one area to another, thus requiring different approaches. The characteristics revealed at the level of family farms from the Nord Vest Region outline a low economic viability, which indicates a low probability of economic development in the absence of coherent policies to support them directly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper we have chosen to make an analysis of the performance of the SME sector during the period 2008-2013, under the impact of economic crisis and taking into consideration three core indicators: number of SME, number of persons employed and gross added value. Due to the fact that rural sustainable development become at present a strategic priority for European Union, the research aims to bring into attention the divers potential of SMEs sector in the rural area of Romania, in order to identify solutions that contribute to economic recovery for the next period in concordance with the Europe 2020 strategy. We conclude that the future for developing rural enterprises and diversifying the rural economy will depend very much on integrating both agricultural and non-agricultural activities by attracting government and community funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to highlight the importance of performance evaluation from the perspective of work motivation. The research is based on the expectancy theory developed by Victor Vroom and is meant to show that performance evaluation influences one of the factors from the VIE model, the expectancy. The empirical part of the research aims to show the above mentioned in the context of local public administration, namely in the case of the Romanian civil servants from the North-West Region. We have presented the particularities of civil servants performance evaluation in the Romanian local public administration, and its connection to their expectancy and work motivation. The results have shown that civil servants performance appraisal influences civil servants expectancy and this in its turn influences their work motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to highlight the impact of agricultural activities on the environment and also the challenges agriculture must respond to. Through an inventory of literature, the environment laws and databases of international organizations (FAO) the authors have tried to demonstrate the complexity of the agriculture-environment relationship and the need to assess the environmental farms' performance. At the same time, we have also tried to highlight the difficulty of choosing a system of indicators suitable to the generated environmental issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is part of a broader research on work motivation in the Romanian local public administration, based on Vroom's motivational model. The research has tried to diagnose Romanian local public institutions (city halls in particular) regarding the work motivation level of their civil servants. Since the research was too broad to be presented entirely in this article, the authors will show only the findings obtained in one city hall from a city, county residence. Due to the same reason, this paper refers to just one of the Vroom's model elements (the expectancy) and to one of the aspects that could influence it: the probation period for the debutant civil servants. The probation period is critical in preparing civil servants for their future job and career within the local public administration. That is why it can influence the expectancy of civil servants, which in its turn, (from Vroom's' model perspective) influences work motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research aims to analyze the difficulty of achieving a career in the Romanian local public administration (LPA). This study is part of a broader research on career and working in LPA. Based on questionnaires applied to public servants working in a city hall, county residence, and through statistical analysis that have been pursued, the study focused on the difficulty of having difficulty of achieving a career in LPA, the feeling of capability the public servants have to achieve a career in LPA and the satisfaction felt by its achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Times are moving fast, especially if political changes are coming up. Romania's accession to the European Union is followed by several changes in the field of human resource management. Employees are moving beyond borders to work abroad and need to be caught and integrated in the new working environment. The purpose of the article is to present the challenges and consequences arising from globalization and affecting human resource management practices and strategies in the 21st century, in some selected companies from Romania, using a longitudinal perspective. The aim of this paper is to gain a better understanding of the expatriate selection process. To satisfy the research purpose we addressed some questions: which are the reasons for sending managers abroad as expatriates, which are advantages and disadvantages of using expatriates and which are the roles of expatriates. Various challenges that expatriate managers and their families confront overseas are also discussed, such as the problem of adjusting to a new culture, the feeling of the culture shock. This paper also addresses the issue of whether over time there is an increasing "Europeanization" (convergence) of human resource management practices in the companies. The issue of convergence in human resource practices has important implications for human resource managers in multinationals who operate in Europe and the transferability of human resource practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper refers to one of the greatest threatens our environment is facing, namely deforestation. Through an inventory of the reports at the global, European and national level, the study aims to emphasize the main four problems deforestation causes: the atmosphere problems, the hydrographic ones, soil problems and the environmental problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communication process plays an important role in everyday life and much more in organizations, in general and in banking organizations, in particular. Because of the dynamic of banking environment, any change raises suspicions in customer perceptions, so, there is needed a special attention to the communication process considered in terms of internal and external perspective. This paper aims to analyze internal and external communication of three banking institutions and their impact on quality of services provided, viewed from the perspective of customers. From the research conducted a series of internal communication problems were noticed, namely the horizontal communication, which, once resolved, could positively influence service quality. Also there was found an awareness of the importance of communication between employees and customers, aspect noted by both investigated categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]