Multinational organizations have workforces that involve people from different countries, defined by linguistic, religious, and political backgrounds, in other words, people of different cultural backgrounds. Generally, differences related to culture are more evident and prominent than similarities and homogeneity. For multinational companies, it is a must to take cultural differences into account in their managerial practices. The goal of this research is to determine the managers' perceptions of cultural differences in a multinational company and to explore the strategies at use to handle these differences. In this sense, the interview was used as a research method to collect data, which were further analyzed. The research focuses on an American software company, PTC Inc. operating in Romania, Japan, China, the USA, and Germany. Following the analysis of the interview results obtained new research directions were identified related to the influence of cultural differences and its application in global business.

One of the most important challenges for our society is to keep a properly balanced insight of the relevant triangle of: Quality, functionality, and productivity. Regarding this, the most important challenge for universities now is to understand which are the main global competencies needed in the market, and to put them into practice in the educational process. Our main purpose in this paper is to identify the perception of students of the international competences, the personal competences, theoretical competences, practical competences, and others necessary competences needed for the national and international labor markets. For this purpose, a quantitative study was conducted, based on a survey addressed to 310 bachelor students, coming from two Romanian universities specialized in two domains: In social and in economic fields. The results present common and different views of the two groups of students, regarding specific competencies developed during studies and perceived to be needed on the labor market.

The effectiveness of NGOs, similar to other types of organizations, depends on the quality and implication of their employees and volunteers. The literature highlights the role of learning capabilities, organizational learning, networking and community capacity building in ensuring organizational sustainable development in the NGO sector. In this framework, professional human resources should be an important part of the management strategy. Continuous and personalized training would be also important for NGOs. The present paper presents a qualitative investigation aiming to map the training needs and practices of the NGO sector in Romania, both from the perspective of its representatives and its stakeholders. The findings show a general agreement and concern related to the professionalism of the workers in the sector, as well as related to the lack of explicit responsibility/the feeling of being accountable assumed by the members of the sector. The study also revealed a need for closer cooperation between the members of the Quadruple Helix.

For the last two years the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the main activities in higher education institutions (HEIs), including teaching activities and internationalization activities, activities that are directly involved in the development of student graduates’ competences. The present study analyzes the perceptions of students on the results of a university’s internationalization activities, in terms of competences they develop at two different moments in time: before the pandemic and during the pandemic. The research started in 2019, before the pandemic, having as objective to identify how various types of competences are associated with HEIs’ internationalization activities. Once the pandemic started and given the changes in the activities of HEIs, it was of interest to see what the perceptions of students were of the contribution of different HEIs’ internationalization activities to the development of their competences in the new conditions. Therefore, the present research has the purpose of investigating if the perceptions of students on the types of competences the university develops through its internationalization activities before the pandemic are different from their perceptions on the development of the same competences during the COVID-19 pandemic in the conditions of modified international activities. This can help universities to decide on possible changes needed in their activities (given the fast-changing environment) in order to support the development of competences for their students. Two quantitative studies were organized in Romania. The first was conducted in 2019 with 148 students in the terminal year of bachelor studies at a particular business faculty in Bucharest. In order to see if there were shifts in the opinions of students about how the university contributes to the development of their competences in the new COVID-19 context and the new forms in which higher education took place, the research was replicated at the beginning of 2022 with 179 students in the terminal year at the same business faculty. The results show both different and common opinions of the two analyzed groups of students (before and during the pandemic) regarding the role of the business university’s activities in providing specific, generic and global competencies that are demanded in the national and international labor markets. The paper contributes theoretically by extending the HE literature on the developments of skills and competences for students and graduates and also by extending the literature on changes determined in HE by the COVID-19 crisis. The research also has practical implications for universities willing to offer sustainable education by better adapting their strategies for the development of various competences for their students in the continuously changing environment and uncertain situations determined by the COVID-19 crisis, for example, the need for universities to offer special course content, new courses and events focused on the most recent international events in all spheres of activity.

Purpose The paper aims to develop a microcredit evaluation model (MEM) which could serve as a useful tool for banks and NBFIs when SMEs’ economic and financial risks are evaluated. Design/methodology/approach Based on the literature review, a set of 17 qualitative and quantitative prudential indicators is selected. Further, a calculation system is developed which relies on the multiple criteria analysis model elaborated by Altman (1968); starting from this, a matrix is developed and a rating system is built. The model is tested among six NBFIs which operate on the Romanian market; three of them are labeled by the Romanian Central Bank as the worst performers, while the other ones are qualified as the best performers. Data are collected from companies’ annual reports and also from the Ministry of Finance. Findings It proves that the MEM can serve as a useful tool for the national and international NBFIs’ risk assessment. It can anticipate NBFIs’ success or fall. Furthermore, its results can be guaranteed with a probability of 95 per cent, calculated through the VaR method. Last but not least, it can also be used by the international NBFIs which intend to enter in the Romanian market. Originality/value The present paper proposes an original model based on both quantitative and qualitative indicators organized in an integrative equation. The MEM helps both parties involved in the financial grant awarding process – NBFIs are able to better assess requests from SMEs, enabling them to increase the volume of granting, whereas SMEs are able to access money for development projects more easily.