CONTEMPORARY ECONOMY JOURNAL

5-27

Authors: Marius GUST

Economic development of a country, but also the living standards of its citizens can be analyses through financial services offered. For over five years the availability of financial services is included in a category called financial inclusion and, in the broadest sense, it would mean access to the use of financial services by households and firms (current account, deposit, loan, investment, insurance, etc.). The relevance of financial inclusion for economic development of a country or its reverse, underdevelopment of a country, made organizations such as World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Bank for International Settlements or forums supranational institutions such as the G20 or simple private initiative but international visibility regard this concept and have the targets in this regard. We have noticed a valence evolutionary concept. Thus, from an understandable initial basic measured only by a few indicators, it was currently a very complex concept, measurable by a large number of indicators that allow assessment multilateral levels (access to financial services, their use, and their quality). Finally, it is important to follow the level of financial inclusion in Romania and its evolution.

34-37

Authors: Ramona BIRĂU

Sustainable development in public administration in Romania prioritizes on temporal level the general interest by satisfying the needs but without harming the chances of future generations. The concept of sustainability is the symbiosis between the natural environment and rational use of natural resources which increase efficiency on medium and long term perspective based on three fundamental pillars : economic sustainability, social sustainability and environmental sustainability. By implementing reform measures at the level of central and local public administration, sustainable development in public administration in Romania will exceed the abstract conceptualization. Thus, sustainable development in public administration pursues the optimization of the social system as a whole by focusing on public interest and ensure quality public services for citizens. Currently, the theory and practice of public administration in Romania must also consider the systemic risk caused by scarcity of natural resources that is required to ensure a balance between the needs of natural systems and social systems, and between the needs of present and future generations. Unequal distribution of natural resources at the global level is a reality so that it is fundamentally necessary to develop sustainable public administration as intrinsic resort which can lead to increased efficiency and effectiveness in promoting public interests.

46-54

Authors: Mihaela DIACONU, Amalia DUȚU

The paper highlights the relationship between vocational training providers and the micro-enterprise community in the context of the Strategy for Education and Vocational Training in Romania for the period 2016-2020 and that of the Europe Strategy 2020 that promotes smart growth through major investments in education. The research underlying this paper was carried out within an European project called ME2ME - Micro-Enterprise Learning Partnerships. The aim of the paper is to identify the current state of collaboration between Romanian VET providers and micro-business owners focusing on the following issues: the continuing availability of training providers to support entrepreneurial training or business development, the current relationship between VET providers and the micro-enterprise community. The main conclusions are: there are some barriers in providing training in the business field; VET representatives consider the following content as important in the training offer: problem solving, performance management, human resource management, communication, and IT; they see as very useful the training sessions, the small group meetings and peer-to-peer learning activities for which VET providers consider that there is great potential in learning among micro-enterprises owners.; there is a certain difference between the perceptions of the two groups regarding the learning methods used.

59-63

Authors: Isabela STANCEA

Public finances are a very important part of economic and social life and political conditions in each country, both in terms of its importance to the national economy and on functions that must meet state required for driving socio-economic and administrative and ensure the independence and sovereignty of the people. Public finances have evolved and diversified the social order to another and even within the same order, from one stage to another, so today we speak of public and private finances, a sizing of public expenditure in depending on their destination.

69-83

Authors: Agbonrha-Oghoye Imas IYOHA, David UMORU

The paper examines the link between capital structure and firm financial performance in Nigeria on basis of panel research design with secondary data spanning 2010-2014 financial year for seventy (75) sampled companies quoted in the Nigerian Stock Exchange was analysed. The data estimation technique was the 2SLS which is suitable in study perceived not be devoid of endogeneity. The result revealed that leverage as proxy by ratio of noncurrent liability to equity (NCLEQ) seems not to exhibit causality with financial performance (RETOA) vice-versa. However, there seems to be the presence of bidirectional causality between current liability expressed as a ratio to equity (CULEQ) and RETOA. Also, there is simultaneous causal link between Equity express as a ratio to overall assets (EQTTA) and RETOA. The study therefore concludes that capital structure (CULEQ and EQTTA) determines financial performance (RETOA) while simultaneously, financial performance determines capital structure in Nigeria. The study recommends that firms should have apposite capital structure mix, specifically ratio of NCLEQ to CULEQ and a good spread of both institutional and insider shareholdings.

99-109

Authors: Cătălin GRĂDINARU, Sorin-George TOMA

Worldwide, there is a consistent increasing tendency of the predominance of services for GDP growth, as they are the main contributor. Thus, one cannot deny the majority of white collars over blue collars. Whilst products have tangible assets on which consumers can judge and decide what is better for them, dealing with services imply the prevalence of soft variables. Combining services with the base of Maslow's pyramid, there is no denying the fact that the art of crafting food and the way an individual feels this basic process, thus, enhanced through the experience of dining, is critical. In an activity where the quality of the services provided play a decisive role in the success of a business, restaurants' management needs to know learn from the best practices examples in the field, track their activity and never quit their desideratum of reaching greatness through client satisfaction. The purposes of this paper are to provide an overview of the situation of the first two of the world's best restaurants and to present the role played by services marketing in their performance. Our research is based on a literature analysis.

117-124

Authors: Tatiana PETROVA, Corina GRIBINCEA

The greatest threat to the financial stability of the Republic of Moldova’s transition economy are considered the shocks in the banking sector which could destabilize fiscal and payment system, leading to higher inflation and demonetization of the economy. This can cause a detrimental impact on the rate of the national currency and exacerbate the political situation within the country. An analysis of the international practice concerning monetary system regulation for financial sustainability has been conducted by the authors. In order to assess financial stability on the money market of the Republic of Moldova the following indicators have been used: monetary aggregates; level of monetization of the economy; the level of ensuring the monetary base level of international reserves (gold & external reserves - GER); level of inflation and exchange rate.

131-140

Authors: Iurie BEȘLIU

The fundamental purpose of business activity is to maximize enterprise value. In conditions of widening the market is constantly seeking the most rational and effective methods of organizing financial activity in order to maximize enterprise value. In the scientific research it has been established that the value of a company is determined to a large extent by changes in domestic financial environment. The article studies existing value management concepts and models, where the financial factor has a significant impact. There are highlighted five principles of enterprise value management: the basic model of Damodaran; model T. Copeland, J. Murrin and T. Koller; Walsh's classic model; Egherev's models and Mordashev. Each of these models allow to change enterprise value from various angles and define appropriate instruments of value creation. We believe that these models can be applied to achieve an express-diagnostic of enterprise value. The principle of maximizing enterprise value can be implemented by regularly monitoring financial indicators, to timely detect negative deviations impact and avoid them.

147-155

Authors: Ioana Crina POP COHUŢ

In an increasingly competitive market, ensuring the quality of tourism and of hospitality industry services is very important for preserving or increasing the number of visitors. This is why companies in this industry are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of quality as a source of competitive advantage. The present paper attempts through a theoretical but pragmatic approach to identify the quantifiable elements taken into account in the tourism competitiveness and hospitality industry and the measurable elements of the quality level in this industry. The paper reviews the ways to quantify the competitiveness of tourism and of the hospitality industry based on the World Economic Forum's tourism competitiveness and hospitality industry index, as well as the main methods of quantifying the quality of services in this industry, with a focus on the SERVQUAL method. The main conclusions of the paper refer to the fact that due to the particularity of the hospitality industry and especially of the subjective factors that determine the qualitative level of the tourists' level, it is still difficult to standardize the quantification of quality in this industry. Also, even if we have identified in the literature a proposal to quantify tourism competitiveness and the hospitality industry including the Satisfaction of Visitors indicator, we have not yet encountered this indicator quantified globally.

163-171

Authors: Iuliana CIOCHINĂ, Carmen IORDACHE

Tourism, through the variety of activities it encompasses, and its relations with other economic sectors, has the features of a branch of interference and synthesis. In this context, promoting Romania as a tourist destination, and increasing the number of tourists are objectives that can be achieved through the implementation of financing policies striving to increase economic competitiveness, in order to attract investors and entrepreneurs in the field of tourism and hospitality. In addition to improvements in the legislative department, funding plays an important role in stimulating and developing SMEs and supporting the business environment. The diversity of activities embedded in the tourism industry's content gives it its complexity.

180-187

Authors: Tatiana MANOLE, Maria CIUMAC

The research made in this article is topical because the cash flow determines the viable activity of the entity. In this article, the authors investigate how to establish a financial balance based on the correlation between real and financial flows as a result of capital movements. The concept of cash flow is investigated, since cash is the most liquid asset of the entity, ensuring its activity continuously. The financial situation of the entity is analyzed on the basis of a system of financial indicators that underpin the financial manager's optimal decisions. The research topic is actual and necessary for any entity, ensuring a viable mechanism for profitable operation.