Business Excellence and Management

5-18

Authors: Prio UTOMO,Florentina KURNIASARI,Ade Kris YUDIONO

The purpose of this article is to review the current state, trend, and direction of Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) behavior research in various disciplines. There are 276 articles bibliography data extracted from Scopus Index Database in between year 2011-2021. Several analytic tools were used to seek key trends and bibliometric cooccurrence analysis. The result indicated that (1) the trend of FOMO-related research only emerged and trending up on the year 2015 despite their early appearance in 2004 (2) there is limited research on this topic with centrality in only several articles and authors. (3) the current research focuses on five clusters of research on the role of social media on FOMO, cause and effect of FOMO behavior, social network engagement on particular social network sites and the topic of social support and self-report on adolescents on FOMO. The study also opens a wide opportunity to other applications related to human and technology dynamic development such as social media fatigue, problematic smartphone use, mobile phone addiction, internet addiction disorder, covid-19, narcissism, decision making and gender.

31-49

Authors: Daniel RUSU

Among the practitioners as well as among the researchers in the field of management, the theme of leadership enjoys a boundless and special interest. Regarding the results of the management within the SMEs, a very important role is played by the management. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between organizational commitment and the leadership dimensions of Bass (1985) (transactional, transformational and laissez faire) but also several outcome variables (leadership efficiency, employee satisfaction with the leader, additional effort employees). According to the methodology and approach, this is a systematic review of the literature. This review describes the Full Range Leadership Model (Bass, 1985) and the conceptual framework, which include laissez-faire leadership, transactional leadership, and transformational leadership. In this section, the characteristics and abilities of transformational leaders were discussed. The leadership section concludes with discussions of previous research on transformational leadership. This review also provides an analysis of the literature on organizational engagement. The various definitions of organizational commitment as well as the three components of the commitment model are set out. The paper presents the results and antecedents of organizational commitment resulting from previous research and concludes with a discussion related to the impact of transformational leadership on the organizational commitment of employees.

64-79

Authors: Johnson Kolawole OLOWOOKERE,Bolarinwa R. FERUKE

This study examined the value relevance of risk management disclosure among listed deposit money banks in Nigeria. The data were collected from 10 listed deposit money banks using purpose sampling and manual content analysis for the period ranging from 2014 to 2018. Descriptive statistics tools of mean, standard deviation together with correlation analysis were used for preliminary analysis while the value relevance of risk management disclosure was estimated using random effect panel regression based on the outcome of the various specification tests. The results were obtained by controlling for book value per share, earning per share, and firm characteristics including the age of the firm, firm size, and leverage. The results obtained revealed that the value of Nigerian listed deposit money banks is positively and significantly affected by the disclosure of risk management. This study, therefore, recommends that managers of the deposit money banks in the country should be concerned with the disclosure of risk management in their annual report to enhance the development of their company’s share price which will, in turn, increase the company’s value

95-111

Authors: Khodor SHATILA

Banking plays a decisive part in civilization in the twenty first century. It enables operations and transactions between persons, businesses, and other institutions in an economy through its functions. The modern banking facilities are a prerequisite to meeting fundamental expectations such as purchasing a house or even earning salaries from employers. A change in the way people deal with money has been inspired by the banking account where people are invited to put their money on a bank account instead of putting it under a mattress. Banks have developed a strong reputation around checking accounts using the protection statement that people are more likely than in a bank to lose their money home. This statement has served to guarantee that the funds are physically protected and stable by taking safety precautions in banks. The research implemented a mixed approach methodology throughout implementing both interviews and questionnaires for collecting data. Any banks do not see and integrate ethics in their whole enterprise as a barrier to their success or activities. The so-called ethical banks are not a single business model since they arise from diverse historical contexts and represent real market conditions. There are banks based on anthroposophy and banks based on a pledge to support societies that have developed them, green banks and banks that combat poverty unbanked by microfinance in emerging economies. All of them place employees first and share ideals of sustainability, openness, tolerance and integration.

5-21

Authors: Nadira Nurul Janna, Christian Wiradendi Wolor, Usep Suhud

This study analyzes the effect of e-training, career development, and employee resilience on employee productivity of State-Owned Enterprises for Survey Services in Indonesia. The sample in this study were employees of one of the State-Owned Enterprises for Survey Services. The sampling technique used is purposive sampling with a valid response of 270 respondents. The research method used is quantitative. Data was collected by distributing questionnaires using a five-point Likert scale. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using Amos 24. The results showed that e-training and career development had a significant positive effect on employee resilience. Career development and employee resilience had a significant positive effect on employee productivity. In contrast, e-training does not affect employee productivity. The results of this study provide useful implications for policymakers to determine company strategies related to e-training, career development, and employee resilience to increase employee productivity.

43-63

Authors: Charbel EL AMMAR,Wissam EL HAJJ,Abdo KATAYA

In any nation across the world, effective governance involves improving the lives of all, providing value for new generations, consistent allocation of duties and functions, accountable decisions, providing quality of information, transparency and responsibility, good performance, a strong legal system, and above all developing sustainability on all levels. Governance is rooted and established based on the collaboration and coordination among nation’s governments, organizations, and people. The sluggishness in setting such governance goals as well as the incapability of many governments, like the Lebanese one, to develop and execute adequate legislative and institutional initiatives coupled with the absence of corporate governance knowledge, given that organizations remain connected to their elderly conventional method to manage their businesses that are based on nepotism, corruption legislation, and sectarian distribution, represent a crucial challenge for any reform and good governance endeavor. This paper aims to approach the need for Lebanon to reconsider new governance strategy and organizational and institutional reforms, especially, in conjunction with the severe economic crisis facing the country, the explosion of the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, and the awaiting implementation of CEDRE project. The analysis revealed that moving to a new perspective in a complicated social and political environment, like Lebanon, involves multiple aspects. As a result, an in-depth implementation of a New Lebanese Public Governance in Lebanon along with political stabilization must lead to a progressive structural administrative reform and change which will also contribute to boosting confidence with the international community and speed up the international financial donation and support that will help Lebanon to heal its wounds and rise again. The defiance is to figure out if this could be another lost opportunity.

84-102

Authors: Radojko Lukic

Various methods of multicriteria optimization have been developed and have recently been widely applied in trade. With this in mind, this paper investigates the performance of food retailers in Serbia based on the ELECTRE method. The goal and purpose of researching the efficiency problems of leading food retailers using the ELECTRE method is to see as realistically as possible their position on the food market in Serbia in order to improve in the future by more efficient control of critical factors and implementation of relevant measures. In addition to the challenges, topicality, significance and complexity, the reasons for researching the given problem in this paper are reflected in that. In addition, by applying the ELECTRE method, more realistic results are obtained in relation to the ratio analysis, especially in combination with other methods of multicriteria analysis (TOPSIS, AHP, ARAS and others). The results of the research show that Delhaize Serbia is the best company in terms of performance. This is the result of Delhaize Serbia's good position in the retail market in Serbia. It applies new business models (private label, sales of organic products, multi-channel sales - stores and electronic). It applies modern concepts of cost management, sales, assets, capital, customers, product categories and profit. In addition to all that, the digitalization of the entire business is at a high level. These and other factors have positively influenced its good positioning on the retail food market in Serbia.

121-136

Authors: Priyanka Bhaskar, Padmalosani Dayalan

This paper aims to highlight the role of continuing education among the teachers of India. The study identifies factors which influence teachers in Higher education institutions (HEI) for continuing education. The paper also explores the impact of continuing education on career growth and development. A systematic survey was conducted among the teachers in Higher education institutions of Uttarakhand, India. Factor analysis is used to identify the important factors that influence teachers to enrol for continuing education. SPSS and AMOS are used to analyse the data. The findings of the study indicate that factors like time, financial support, job opportunities, knowledge, skills, and abilities play a detrimental role among teachers for continuing education. This study also reveals that continuing education has a positive impact on career growth and development of teachers. Continuing education helps the teachers to explore better career opportunities, provides job security, salary increment, and promotion which contributes to their professional growth and personality development. Continuing education in teachers demonstrates a significant role in the development of interpersonal skills, technical skills and inculcates self-confidence that contributes to their personal growth. The importance of paper increases amidst the COVID19 pandemic and the launch of the National Education Policy in India, as the paper will provide support to the Higher education institutes and Government to frame policies and strategies to imbibe continuing education as an integral part of the education system. The paper by enumerating its benefits, motivates the teachers to enhance their qualifications and enhance their future prospects.

5-18

Authors: Matthew Adekunle Abioro, Samuel Abimbola Odunlami

Product branding is said to be a veritable tool that can be adopted in achieving customer patronage in the highly competitive market. Hence, this study assesses the implication of product branding on customer’s patronage. The specific objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of brand perception, service quality and customer relationship management on customer’s patronage. A survey research design was used for the study, with a structured questionnaire administered to collect data from the firms’ customers. The inferential statistical tool of regression analysis was adopted to analyze the formulated hypotheses. Findings revealed that brand perception has a significant effect on customer patronage (R2 = 0.308, P=0.000), it also shows a significant effect of service quality (R2 =0.623, P=0.000) on customer patronage, and a significant effect of customer relationship management (R2 = 0.585, P=0.000) on customer patronage. The study concluded that product branding if properly managed can influence customers patronage, and also having the ability to increase the customers base and profitability of the firm. It was therefore recommended that firms should give proper consideration to issues of customer relationship management; as well as enhancing the product service experience of customers so as to improve the perception of the brand in the mind of customers to foster brand loyalty.

36-51

Authors: Heuk Yosef Fernando Coopertino, Aryani Dwi Nita, Munfaqiroh Siti

The purpose of this research is to determine the causal relationship between organisational citizenship behaviour, organisational commitment, and psychological empowerment at the employees of Hartono Electronics Company Malang. The sample taken from the population is 89 people. Model testing was carried out by using Partial Least Square (PLS) analysis. Hypotheses testing used path analysis, r test, and t-test. The results proved that the relationship between organisational commitment, and psychological empowerment organisational citizenship behaviour towards employees had a positive significant effect. The Organisational Commitment is the intervening variable in the relationship between Psychological Empowerment on Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB). The adjusted R square is 53.5% means that OCB is explained by organisational variables namely Psychological Empowerment and Organisational Commitment, and the rest may support by other variables.

69-86

Authors: Mabika Shingirirayi, Tengeh K. Robertson

As many are effectively excluded from availing themselves of the services of financial institutions in the formal sector, they often form stokvels, an informal method of saving which is commonly practised in their home country. The research study was conducted to investigate the dynamics of Zimbabwean grocery stokvels in Cape Town and the factors which have encouraged their formation. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, and both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to collect the data. The quantitative data was obtained through the administration of a survey questionnaire. In contrast, the qualitative data was obtained by conducting one-on-one semi-structured interviews with leaders of Zimbabwean grocery stokvels, their spouses, and members of their families who did not belong to their stokvels. The qualitative data was augmented through the taking of field notes during the interviews. The results indicate that Zimbabweans in Cape Town form grocery stokvels due to severe shortages of basic necessities in Zimbabwe. Their participation in stokvels enables them to accumulate funds to purchase the groceries which they need to sustain themselves and their families in the absence of assistance from financial institutions in the formal sector and also to assist their families and relatives in Zimbabwe to cope with their dire economic circumstances by sending groceries to them.

95-107

Authors: Nicolae Pintilie

More and more public and private organizations are trying to integrate the concept of circular economy into their daily operations. Given the existing pressures related to climate change, there are various debates in the literature on how to reduce the impact, and one of these debates is the use of renewable energy to the detriment of fossil fuels. This paper aims to create an image of the link between circular economy and the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy through specialized papers published between 2000 and 2020 and through statistics published by International Agencies such as Eurostat. In this way, this paper is based on the study and analysis of the updated databases regarding the mentioned indicators. Moreover, the paper also discusses different possibilities of circular economy use and how they can be integrated into the European body, with a positive effect on the society and environment. The study found that European Union energy supply is increasingly based on renewable resources, the use of fossil fuels being limited from one year to another. At the same time, even if in the last decades the European Union has been characterized by industrialization and urbanization, there can be seen a growing efficiency of the energy system in the conditions in which the GDP per capita had a fulminant growth of over 50%. Moving forward, one of the most interesting result of the paper is related to a massive concentration of works in the last two years of the period considered in the analysis. In other words, there is a great opportunity for more scientific research in the field. Despite this, researchers agree that the principles of the circular economy contribute to the conversion of the energy system, with positive effects on society, ensuring sustainability, productivity and efficient waste management. At the end, in order to support the energy transition, a number of institutions such as the European Investment Bank are supporting initiatives that aim to invest in objectives such as new technologies which could adopt circular economy. The paper also presents possible limits of the research, but also future directions of its development.

5-18

Authors: Aderonke Agnes Oyeniy, Kanyinsola Helen Cole University of Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeri

The broad objective of the study is to examine the impact of Nigeria Fadama National development project on Agropreneur’s business development in Osun state, Nigeria. The sample size selected was Two hundred and seventy (270). Multi-stage sampling was adopted, and Simple random sampling design was used. Data collection method was a close-ended questionnaire. Linear Regression, Multiple Regression and Anova were used to test the Hypotheses of the study. The study shows that rural infrastructure variables used in the selected study area significantly predicted the level of Business Development, F (1,268) = 30.413, p < 0.05 F – statistical indicates that the overall regression model is highly statistically significant in terms of its goodness of fit since the value of Ftab (1,268) >Fcal (30.413). It also shows the magnitude of the difference, since the sig level is greater than 0.05 i.e 0.811, 0.985. The study reveals that only 0.9 per cent variance exists between the selected genders. In conclusion capacity building has really assisted farmers in adopting new technology in farming which led to an increase and expansion of their business outlets. The study recommends: Regular training for farmers to discover their skills in diversifying into various businesses within the agricultural sector using new technology should be encouraged by all stakeholders in business of food security and provision of grants to enable them expand their business desires.

36-48

Authors: Aderemi Olalere Adebayo, Wasiu Adebayo Lamidi

Alignment of accounting with information technology aims to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of an organisation. This study's main objective is to investigate the influence of accounting with information technology on an organisation's effective performance, such as Cost Reduction, Improving Quality, and Effective Decision Making. Using the population of all Small and Medium Enterprises in Lagos State, Nigeria, 101 valid responses were received from the survey conducted. Based on the analysis results, the study found that accounting and information technology alignment has a positively significant relationship with Cost Reduction and Effective Decision Making. However, accounting and information technology alignment is negatively related to Improve quality. The study then recommends that Small and Medium Enterprises should focus more on investing in the alignment of accounting and information technology to bring about optimum organisation's performance

68-79

Authors: Vlad Daniel Savin

Digital Revolution has forced previously isolated networks of critical infrastructures to become more digitally integrated. Recent cyber-attacks, including Stuxnet and Wiper, have exposed a new set of cybersecurity vulnerabilities in this field. This new environment has forced previously isolated networks of critical infrastructures like utilities or power plants to become more digitally integrated. This paper offers a view into the most efficient current defense solutions. It also offers a glimpse into the need for the further development of new protection mechanisms developed on the emerging new technologies. The risks posed by the integration of Information Technology solutions with Operational Technology systems have been a key topic also at the latest World Economic Forum conference, where cyber-attacks of critical infrastructures were discussed in the context of the most significant risks for the upcoming decade. The findings of this paper are applicable to other industries. The paper aims to highlight that by initially understanding the vulnerabilities of the IT components and by taking the right cybersecurity preventive measures, critical infrastructure can be protected against these kinds of threats. The research framework behind this paper was directed towards analysing the cyber risks associated with the convergence between the Information Technology solutions with the Operational Technology systems of critical infrastructure.

94-105

Authors: Benita Rachmania, Hanif Mauludin

Knowledge sharing has become an important part of organizations in increasing their competitiveness. However, the antecedent variable for the practice of knowledge sharing behavior is still very limited. This study aims to examine the influence of trust among organizational members and job involvement on the intensity of knowledge sharing behavior. The study involved 250 lecturers from various universities in the city of Malang, Indonesia. The research data were collected through a questionnaire and processed using SEM Partial Least Square. The results showed that trust among organizational members influenced job involvement and knowledge sharing practices. Furthermore, job involvement is proven to be a variable that mediates the effect of trust on knowledge sharing behavior.

5-21

Authors: Mohammed Meri

The world of work and the status of the human being is constantly changing by the influence of new technologies and the contributions of scientists and practitioners of HRM; therefore, the human being is currently considered as a wealth and its value is maximized. Economists have called it (human capital), accountants (human assets), while contemporary managers have called it (knowledge capital). This change has occurred in the perception of HR due to the transformations that affected the work process began with the TIC revolution of the 21st century, which is concentrated on creativity, innovation based on Competencies to achieve total quality and well-being. But globalization, by for-profit companies, has prioritized profit and the values added to the detriment of which weakened the existence of medical organizations and their personnel as revealed by the Covid-19. Currently, political leaders in the democratic world are turning their eyes and considering human strategies that protect human and open the doors of health protection. Strategic and innovative leadership move on to the development of preventive management which concentrates its priority investments on the KM. New HRM trends, knowledge management (KM) and transformational organizations have become a “strategic” investment as an option in institution building and in health organizations. This new approach adopts the method of KM, competency management in HRM in order to achieve a high-level performance of merit characteristics, efficiency and effectiveness, which combine (motivation, constant incentive, qualities of excellence, clear self-orientation, indepth and up-to-date knowledge and competencies, ...). This paper presents the subject of new trends in HRM and KM in the health sector as well as the principles of these trends, European, Canadian and American application models, it offers a practical model aimed at improving the health system after Covid-19, in close relation with the improvement of HRM

33-45

Authors: Tsitsi Chirombe, Sharon Benza, Epiphania Munetsi, Herbert Zirima

In response to the outbreak of COVID 19 cases in Zimbabwe, the government declared a twenty-one-day lockdown beginning the 30th of March 2020. This study sought to analyse the coping mechanisms that people adopted to survive the lockdown. Specifically, the study explored the social, psychological, religious and physical coping mechanisms adopted by Zimbabweans. A qualitative approach was taken in doing this study, specifically making use of the document analysis design. Data was then collected from a social media platform which is WhatsApp. Forty WhatsApp messages and status updates were analyzed in this research. The lockdown presented challenges and opportunities; some people were struggling to cope yet some saw this as an opportunity to do things that they had no time for. The study revealed that people resorted to WhatsApp groups to connect with workmates, friends, schoolmates and relatives. Most Zimbabweans resorted to indoor games with their family members, exercise, listening to music and gardening. With the restricted movement imposed as a result of lockdown, people had to engage in prayer and other religious activities in their homes. Students found the lockdown as a good opportunity to engage in research and also made use of platforms such as the Google Classroom to continue learning. The study recommends that Zimbabweans should follow government regulations in order to curb the spread of COVID 19 and similar pandemics in the future.

60-66

Authors: Alexandru Trifu

In this study we are dealing with a new aspect of the problem in discussion that is the pursuing of Happiness, supported by institutions and regulations in the domain, but in moments of disturbances, in moments of crisis. We need to have goals, actions to be accomplished, in order to achieve the desired state of satisfaction or Happiness that anyone can have. We are in the presence of a double determination: the first one is represented by the material, especially money background, influencing the life and activities of households and entities and, the second one is represented by the reverse action that is of Happiness affecting the management and the activities of individuals, households and firms/organizations. The survey of the literature in the field, data from the World Health Organization, from the national authorities, analyses of the specialists in healthcare and economics, reports of the people in difficult health and economic situations are used in order to be able to synthesize the situation at this moment and possible forecasts regarding medical healing and economic recovery of the countries. Nothing is hard to manage, if you have knowledge, required abilities/skills to anticipate challenges or to make fast and right decisions, altogether at Micro and Macro-levels, in the benefit of all parts involved in. The huge interest is to reestablish the economies, mental health of people, i.e. the elements of a functional economic infrastructure.

88-97

Authors: Ana-Madalina Potcovaru

This article shows the impact of organizational stress on the human resources from the health system. The research wants to highlight the main stressors factors among the medical staff, physicians, and assistants from Târgoviște Emergency Hospital from Dâmbovița County and to determine if the organizational stress affects the personal life of the employees. Understanding the sources of stress and reducing them has a great impact on job satisfaction and on the relationship patient-physician. Also, the article presents the impact of the COVID-19 on the health care workers from a psychological point of view. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected global mental health.

112-126

Authors: Iuliana Coman

Art has been present in our life since the beginning of the humanity, participating to the evolution of society and at the same time reflecting the different stages of human evolution. The aim of this paper is to offer a short analysis regarding the art consumption during the Covid-19 crisis presenting several convictions, perceptions and influences which are manifesting in the art consumers behavior. The research analyzed the influences of art upon the feeling of life fulfilment and upon convictions regarding the capacity of art to influence the life of society. The analysis is performed using data obtained from an experimental survey on a sample of 200 persons with higher education in the south of Romania. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel and contain descriptive tables. The analysis took into consideration the comparisons of the results obtained using different statistical methods. Following the analysis, it was concluded that the consumption of art continued during Covid-19 crisis, the frequency of art consume were rather high due to the availability of various Internet platforms: 75% of respondents consume at least weekly movies on Internet platforms like Netflix or HboGo; 34% of respondents consume weekly theater on Internet platforms (online TV stations, plays broadcast online, others); 73% of respondents consume at least weekly music on Internet platforms (online TV stations, music broadcast online, others). Another conclusion of the research is that the presence of art manifests influences upon the sentiment of life fulfilment and upon the convictions regarding the capacity of art to participate to the consolidation of society.

136-146

Authors: Irina-Miruna RADU

The current social context, where we are facing problems like COVID-19 and climate changes, has created an environment where humans have to be innovative and find new ways to continue their lives showing respect for the rules, for the other people’s lives and for the planet Earth. This paper seeks to advance the understanding of designing a virtual conference through identifying advantages and challenges and to provide a draft plan for organizing a conference, a plan using tools available on the market. The researched problem was approached via a two-step selection process of the most relevant studies in achieving the objectives. As a result, the paper highlights the strengths that can be used to plan a successful virtual conference, only if the challenges are overcome. It also offers a schema for a virtual conference. As a conclusion, this article takes steps in identifying and preparing a universal plan to support the community in keeping events like conferences in the actual context with technologies available on the market.

155-167

Authors: Emmanuel Maziti, Agnes Mujuru

Pandemics have been experienced since the existence of the known world. Their nature of operation has robbed many people the eye to see the bright future ahead. This study focused on how the recently experienced world epidemic namely covid-19 which started in China’s Wuhan province in 2019, affected the levels of hopelessness in the general population in Zimbabwe. The study adopted a quantitative approach using the quasi-experimental design. 103 participants, above 18 years, both males and females were selected using an online Beck Hopelessness scale. Descriptive statistics, Pearson chi-square and ANOVA were computed, and analysis was aided using Microsoft excel and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0. Results revealed that the sample had a moderate level of hopelessness, with no significant differences in different age groups as well as no significant difference in levels of hopelessness between males and females. The study concluded that pandemics are associated with some levels of hopelessness and recommended that as the nations are disseminating Covid-19 facts, statistics and prognosis, it must be accompanied by hopeful messages to kindle hope in the general population.

177-193

Authors: Andreea BARBU

The year 2020 represents a year of balance for both the economic and the social environment. Since March 2020, when the World Health Organization declared a state of pandemic for COVID-19, everything has changed for people's personal or professional lives. Information about the new virus is spread globally, through the authorities, television, specialized websites, or even social networks. Given that social networks were heavily used even before the COVID-19 pandemic, it is interesting to investigate how they were used during the pandemic by users. The goal of this paper is to determine how young people used social networks during this period. In this sense, quantitative research has been developed based on a questionnaire that was addressed to the 4th year students specializing in Engineering and Business Management at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest. The pilot study presented in this paper investigates a sample of young people from Bucharest, Romania, analyzing the reasons why young people use social networks when it comes to the situation of the new virus, but also the reasons why they now use social networks, following their new behavior on these platforms during this period. Also, the paper analyses the time spent by respondents on social networks before the pandemic and after it started. According to this study, Twitter, Skype, and Facebook are the most used social networks during the quarantine days. Young people use the most of social networks for relaxation, while when they use Instagram, they often end up buying things that they see posted there.

214-232

Authors: Layal HAMADE

Face-to-face learning has always been the primary way of education in Middle East. However, some countries such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE and others decided to adopt some learning management platforms to provide dual programs online. On the other hand, Lebanon is still in its early stages as it was adopted by Ministry of Education in mid-2020 due to the spread Covid-19. In addition, utilizing online learning platforms suffer from many challenges such as accreditation, culture, cost, etc. To study students' satisfaction regarding technology use, level of interaction, types of questions, training, and online sessions and recorded voice-over slides, a survey was distributed to 609 Lebanese students attending different universities. It showed that institutions mainly used Moodle, Google Classroom, and Zoom. There was a comparable rate of satisfaction between Google and Moodle platforms; however, a lower rate with Zoom.

243-255

Authors: Sorina Ioana MIȘU

The present paper aims to investigate the complex issue of work engagement during a time of constant change and confusion for the Romanian pre university teachers. Additionally, the research intends to show the way in which this category of employers coped with the teaching methods change during March-June 2020 (i.e. the period of time in which all pre university educational institutions of Romania deployed solely online classes). It is assumed that the feeling of engagement that belonged to a specific set for the professional activities, e.g. meeting physically the students in a classroom, was influenced by the change of the teaching environment and the challenges brought by it. In order to gain a better understanding for the previously mentioned issues, data was gathered through an online questionnaire answered by schoolteachers and later on analyzed according to quantitative research methods. The results of this study could be of importance for any of the educational field’s stakeholders as the challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic are still not over and a coherent human resources strategy should continue to be developed. Hence, this paper also aims to discuss the implications of engaged and disengaged teachers during these changing times and to offer human resources management suggestions.