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In the last decades the corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been a major subject both for universities, civil society and businesses. Although the CSR concept is especially promoted by large multinational and transnational corporations, it has become also a prominent issue for universities. Social responsibility represents more than a challenge for universities. It has to be a purpose of the universities, taking into account that young people formation also means creating a high level of awareness about the need to involve members of society in solving social problems. Our paper contributes for better clarifying the CSR concept and presents as a study case some of initiatives of the University of Bucharest related to the social responsibility.

A new approach, called “business excellence”, has emerged in the business world and scientific literature in the past decades. Facing an increasingly turbulent and chaotic environment, more and more companies have implemented business excellence strategies and made quality a key element of their business philosophy. Modern measurement frameworks were created and developed by national or international bodies such as the excellence business models. These models provide guidelines and criteria for evaluation and are used by companies across the world as groundwork for continuous improvement. The paper aims to present and compare three well-known business excellence models in the world: Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the Australian Business Excellence Framework and the European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model. In this respect, the authors have displayed the key elements of each business excellence model, followed by their comparison. In order to achieve the previous goals, the paper uses two methods: analysis and comparison. The information were obtained from multiple secondary sources of data- books and academic journal articles from the domains of total quality management and production economics found in libraries and electronic databases- through a desk research based on a significant literature review. The paper contributes to a better understanding of the business excellence models and may help managers to design and implement business excellence strategies. The paper shows that business excellence models provide a holistic approach to continuous improvement for any type of organization. These models are based on sound values, concepts and principles and have proved their viability during the time. Consequently, they gave birth to frameworks that allow organizations to benchmark their performances and demonstrate best practices in their field of activity. Also, the research findings indicate that the American model constituted a landmark for other business excellence models around the world.

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Сonsideration of the dynamic changes from the socio-economic environment, social entrepreneurship plays an essential role in the labour market as it creates new jobs, contributes to the improvement of the economic and social position of vulnerable groups in society, and stimulates economic development. The financial crisis from 2008 and the current health crisis, which generated a significant economic crisis and the specific social context existing in each member state, constitute the leading causes that led to a slow convergence rhythm of the labour market at the European Union level. Unemployment and non-employment have a significant impact on the people affected by poverty and the disadvantaged people. A coherent, systematic and sustainable approach to social entrepreneurship is required to generate significant change at the European level. Innovative solutions to current economic, social and environmental challenges are needed since the private or/and public sectors do not fully meet the communities’ existing needs. The aim of the paper is to analyze how social entrepreneurship contributes to the reduction of the unemployment rate, by meeting the objectives set out in the Europe 2020 Strategy, to create a sustainable and inclusive social market economy, and to improve social cohesion. The quantitative method, based on the data found in various international journals, statistical reports and electronic databases, was used by the authors to accomplish the objective of the paper. The paper illustrates that social entrepreneurship is a complex process in which resources are used in an efficiently and effectively way, new skills, competences, and knowledge are accumulated, which turn into social and economic innovation, having a positive impact on productivity and the creation of highly skilled jobs, as well as maximizing the opportunities which lead to social change. Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship, Unemployment, European Union, Education.