Search results

Strategies of embedding into the local environment are considered critical for multinational companies (MNCs) operating in Central and Eastern Europe. The purpose of this paper is to analyze such strategies in Romania.

The theoretical framework draws on social network theory to investigate the extent, structure, and features of embedding in the context of four case studies.

The results suggest a shift in how MNCs respond to a changing competitive landscape in Romania. The findings indicate that, contrasting proficient strategies of establishing numerous connections at entry, the most valuable approaches are currently aimed at building a diverse but non‐redundant network of relationships that gives the company access to information and flexibility to react quickly to changes. Direct relationships with the government are found to be potentially detrimental, even if they may have been important at market entry.

The limitations of the research relate to the subjective nature of the testimony‐based material.

The findings suggest that the local subsidiary management should stay connected with organizations that allow access to information about their industries, applicable legislation and future competitive pressures, while corporate headquarters need to give local management enough decision‐making freedom for the subsidiary to evolve with the environment.

The paper enhances knowledge of a strategic approach used extensively in transition and emerging markets, and adds to the understanding of MNCs' strategies in Romania.

The paper explores strategies of adaptation to the environment as employed by multinational corporations in Central and Eastern Europe. Organizations are treated as adaptive systems that have to match the complexity of their environments. The justification of the research lies in the complex nature of the market institutions emerging from transition that emphasizes the need for new managerial frameworks. Adaptive approaches such as vertical integration and/or value-chain development, leveraging autonomy and integration, local knowledge acquisition, and embedding in the social and political environment are explored in their relationship to success in the region.

In a fundamental sense, creation of value is the purpose of a firm. Values – measured by profits, cash flows, stock prices, or some strategic objectives – are the ultimate reasons why a firm exists. The ongoing and ever-expanding discussion of globalization, whether based on trade flows or financial flows, draws attention to the value of multinational enterprise. Existing empirical work on the impact of multinational firms, however, is inconclusive. Some observers point to the valuation discount with international operations due to the costs of agency and control and the difficulty of coordinating complex organizations and cultures. Others emphasize the value of a multinational network and the operational efficiency of a multinational enterprise (MNE). Thus, issues related to value creation are important and lively areas of business and finance. In fact, value creation is now at the frontier between the functional areas of finance and strategy. In international finance, the topic also interacts with economics in the areas of strategic trade policy and exchange rate behavior, as well as business strategy, as it relates to the management of an MNE. The role of government policy is also part of the debate, because the importance of public policy and the behavior of policymakers are elevated when finance and business become international, as evidenced by consistent attention to political risk.

This paper aims to explore the effect of storytelling in helping children read and comprehend English in primary schools.

The study includes 44 eight-year-old students, being divided into two equal groups. They are Catalan/Spanish native speakers, and their English level is pre-A1 (CEFR). The two groups studied the same topic with similar vocabulary and grammatical structures; however, only the experimental group learnt with storytelling. A pre-test, a post-test and exercises were implemented and analyzed by using the Mann–Whitney test, the Wilcoxon signed rank test and the general linear model to verify the effect of storytelling, the impact of time and the interaction between time and storytelling.

The findings show that storytelling helps children remember, understand and use the vocabulary of a certain topic and a specific grammatical structure, which are compatible with the vocabulary and the structure in a given story. It also supports students in forming the habit of using particular pairs of words correctly, such as “snake-hiss,” “zebra-bray.” Storytelling proved to be as effective as other teaching methods, such as games and exercises to make a contribution in helping students improve their reading-comprehending of separate sentences. However, time and continued language exposure played a pivotal role in students’ progress of decoding a gapped paragraph and filling in the gaps with appropriate words, no matter what teaching methods were used (storytelling or others).

The findings of the effect of storytelling on fostering students’ reading comprehension have implications for storytelling investigators in the field of teaching ESL. Investigators such as Wright (1995), Ellis and Brewster (1991, 2002, 2014), Cameron (2001), etc., strongly recommend the use of storytelling when teaching a foreign language. Then the findings of this paper contribute to confirm storytelling’s benefits in improving children’s reading abilities, especially in reading-comprehending separate sentences.

Regarding the practical implications of this case study, the findings of the role of storytelling and the role of time in improving students’ reading-comprehension have important implications for L2 English teachers, especially for the ones teaching English for young learners. Due to the fact that learners need time to become successful language users, who not only understand but also analyze and use language fluently without thinking much about the forms or the rules, teachers should not overanalyze language forms. Instead, they should provide learners with an inductive process of language exposure, including the use of storytelling. Storytelling provides young learners with language exposure and context-the natural environment to acquire language. Therefore, it can create a greater impact on learners for remembering vocabulary and understanding the meaning of a given text, as well as form some habits for foreign language learners, such as the use of some specific pairs of words, which has been shown in the findings of this project. This nurtures learner’s graduation to automaticity in using language and develops their reading-comprehension.

This paper is all originated from a study researching the effect of storytelling in helping students read and comprehend English by carrying out an experiment with two groups, namely, the control and the experimental in a semi private primary school in Tarragona, Spain. This study carries an important value, as it proves the effect of storytelling in improving students' ability of remembering vocabulary and understanding separate sentences, as well as points out the role of time in students' progress of mastering a foreign language.

HR professionals have identified the power of information sharing for employer branding that could be obtained through the rapid growth of social media usage. The growing interest in and power of social media seem to be important for companies that want to make themselves known as interesting employers and to recruit prospective employees, using techniques that are more common to job seekers and recruiters. This study aims to explore the immediate future of employer branding through social media, as envisioned by academics and HR practitioners.

To look into the future of employer branding, we use the Delphi technique for forecasting, planning, issue identification, and framework development (Bobeva & Day, 2002). Two groups of respondents participated in this three-part study: 11 academics and 20 HR professionals. They were selected because of their research into the integration of HRM and IT from the e-HRM Global mailing list. The panelists participated in the research via electronic communication. The data were collected in three rounds from November 2010 to April 2011.

Research has revealed differences in the opinions of academics and HR professionals on the impact of social media on employer branding. The academics see its general effect as the targeting of audience for recruitment, marketing/company brand, and ways of communication/HR competencies. The practitioners see the image of the employer, visibility of the company, and organization responsiveness. The study presents other findings within the boundaries of employer branding value proposition, internal and external marketing, and the role of HR professionals. According to the academics, HR professionals in the future will need to possess knowledge about marketing and communication studies and web-based applications/develop new skills. They think that social media will impact the image of HR in organizations. On the other hand, HR professionals think that the future of their activities will depend on their awareness of recruitment trends, HR innovative thinking, and HR networking skills. Although the object of their activity will remain recruitment, HR professionals will have to be continuously updated on what is new in the social media in terms of recruitment.

This study presents the results of the Delphi technique, which is itself considered an original research method and not widely accepted in the tough “publish or perish” world. The value of the research is its forecast about the future developments of employer branding through social media, as envisioned by academics and HR practitioners.

Firstly, the authors aimed at offering a general perspective on poverty, highlighting important directions of thinking from the theoretical development, including poverty's main causes (like education, health, social protection, economic growth, employment and good governance). Secondly, it was investigated the problem of poverty in Romania after its accession to the European Union (EU), aiming to show (1) Romania's position among the EU member states, nearby (2) the direct and indirect effects of the selected factors particularly in this country.

Based on data from Eurostat and Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), descriptive and path analyses were performed for the period between 2007 and 2020.

The main results emphasized (1) the critical position of Romania among the EU member states in 2020 and the progress recorded since 2007, nearby (2) the direct and indirect effects of the selected factors on poverty in this country. The study highlighted the limited chances for the full participation of the poor people of Romania in the progress of the entire society, especially in terms of education and economic growth.

The major contribution of this study is that it assumes to investigate a profound and persistent societal phenomenon in Romania that is not sufficiently analyzed, discussed and understood. Consequently, this study attained its main objective of showing that the main traditional socio-economic causes of poverty are still pertinent in the actual Romanian society.