<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> The oil and gas industries remain an important drive for the world economy. On one hand, global demand for fossil fuels is still rising, and on the other hand, companies face complex investment challenges due to the harsh operational environment of exploration and production activities. Workforce regulations aim to provide a safe and secured working environment. However, exploration and production activities still cause local and global environmental risks such as groundwater contamination, or climate change in broader scale. Analyzing and reporting mechanisms are key performance indicators of sustainable development at the level of oil and gas companies. Obtaining and analyzing required data, nevertheless, seem to be a persistent challenge as to what degree these findings can affect the routine and strategic decisions of the oil and gas companies. In order to enable oil and gas companies to measure and control risks and manage incidents, artificial intelligent technologies in extended monitoring and supervising E&amp;P operations is known to be an efficient prevention strategy. Such tools not only aid in profitability of the oil and gas companies, but also increase awareness of environment and climate change to act more responsibly. In this study, the significances of environmental policies were investigated through interviews with executives and stakeholders, revealing that the implementation of environmental protection policies is affected by the financial stability of the companies, and under severe economic situations, companies seem less enthusiastic in strictly implementing those policies. This paper provides a comprehensive review of emerging technologies in addressing existing and foreseen challenges in sustainable development in oil and gas industries, with the aim of suggesting prime solutions for strategic planning attempts.</abstract>

Challenges for sustainable development strategies in oil and gas industries

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) are sources of emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4). Carbon dioxide emissions have a big contribution to climate change. In general they come from burning fossil fuels to generate the electricity necessary for operating the treatment processes. The demand of energy depends on the treatment processes, but also on the quality of water source or wastewater influent. Water companies have to continuously supply safe drinking water to population and to treat and discharge wastewater according to regulations at a cost as low as possible. In Romania reporting of GHGs is not mandatory for water companies. Evaluation of GHG emissions from water industry have become a subject of great interest because of concern regarding climate change. Research and regulation have been conducted by different authors based on a regional basis. This paper proposes to estimate and compare the carbon emissions resulting from power consumption of Constanta South WWTP and PALAS Constanta DWTP. The energy supplier is different for these plants. In order to calculate the carbon emissions the amount of specific CO2 emissions is determined. The contribution of each primary source to produce the amount of electricity which is consumed is taken into account. WWTP has high power consumption in biological processes, because there are the aeration tanks, the sewage pumping station and the equipment for sludge. DWTP has high power consumption because of the pumping equipment used for raw water abstraction from deep wells and those for drinking water distribution to consumers. In order to identify, sort and display possible causes of the high power consumption of WWTP, Ishikawa chart is used. Through its configuration, the diagram allows highlighting and prioritizing the causes which generate this effect. Some management options are presented in order to reduce power consumption in WWTP.</abstract>

Energy use and carbon footprint for potable water and wastewater treatment

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> On a worldwide level, the dimension of tourism has been sustained and amplified by globalisation. This has facilitated not just easier travel, but also the internationalisation of food from the national kitchens. One of the interesting segments of the immaterial regional cultural heritage is the local gastronomic arts. Each destination has its own cultural vision linked to the area, region, and country which generate corresponding gastronomic identities. The link between local cuisine and national identity is deeply rooted in all ethnicities because food has forever been central to the day to day rituals. A distinctive trait of many cultures is given by the type of food and drinks we associate with them. Currently, many of these are available outside the borders, globalisation being largely responsible to the spread of food and drinks beyond the traditional cultural borders: Mexican and Italian food are very popular in the USA, Indian food in Great Britain, Chinese in the whole world. That is why local gastronomy is considered as being a vital part of culture and community and this is the reason for which it must be kept and protected. The gastronomy is an attribute of the identity of a destination: countries are usually characterised by one or two culinary plates, considered to be emblematic for the nation just like the national flag.</abstract>

Gastronomic tourism - stages and evolution

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<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
In recent years, with the remarkable growth of the global digital market, specialists took a new direction of focus in the field of marketing, considering customer experience an important differentiator in today’s digital landscape. In an online setting, in contrast to traditional marketing, the dimensions of customer experience include informativeness, entertainment, social presence and sensory, elements that create customer value. The experience is an increasingly significant component in defining the success of an online company, becoming a source of competitive advantage for any e-business. Yet, to accomplish these favorable results, a business needs to focus on customer loyalty, a concept that is understood from a relational perspective as the consumer’s preferences to sustain a stable relationship with the brand, fact that involves consistent visits of the site, and in consequence, repeat purchases. The research presented in this paper is based on the literature review. Subsequently, a conceptual model was proposed as the intersection of the online customer experience dimensions with the concept of customer loyalty, which, in turn, includes consumer’s attitudes and behaviors toward an online business. The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to offer an outline of opportunities to use customer experience for increasing customer loyalty and (2) to provide managerial implications and guides future research opportunities to empirically measure the impact of online customer experience components on customer loyalty.
</abstract>

Exploring the impact of customer experience on customer loyalty in e-commerce

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> There is a considerable amount of interest in Industry 4.0, the so-called 4fh industrial revolution, however, the concept is not clear in the literature. This research by performing a literature review on Industry 4.0, aims to present an overview of the several industrial revolutions with emphasis on Industry 4.0 and its underlined dimensions. Industry 4.0 is characterized by the advanced digitalization and integration of industrial manufacturing and logistics processes, and the use of internet and “smart” objects (machines and products) and merging the physical and the virtual worlds by the adoption of information and communications technology (ICT). Industry 4.0 fosters novel human and production organization systems and new organizational business models, impacting the overall value chain, society and the environment. Contributions for such new business models that can support Industry 4.0 are proposed with envisioned potential benefits such as shorter operations cycle times, quick delivery times, faster time to market of new products and services, improved quality, and product/service customization, stronger consumer involvement and loyalty. Industry 4.0 can help organizations to address new and emerging markets by a differentiation strategy, or even create new disruptive business models. However, it is still in the early stages for most companies and the digital transformation will require a strong leadership, the right human competences and to overcome several barriers, for its successful implementation. And while this will lead to a significant improvement in job creation, there will be also considerable job losses for Employees with low skill levels. Considering that in 2015, only 14% of Small and Medium Enterprises were using internet channel and 40% of the European Union companies still had not adopted any of the new advanced digital technologies, there is a great need to further research Industry 4.0 drivers and success factors.</abstract>

Industry 4.0 and the digital society: concepts, dimensions and envisioned benefits

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> This research aims to highlight the efficacy of the use of Information and Communication Technology as a didactic teaching, learning and evaluation method for improving the instructionaleducational process within the tourism high school. Our research, which took place in 12 high schools with classes in Tourism and Nutrition in the County of Constanta between 2013 and 2016, was based on two variables: the independent variable - represented by the continuous, systematic use of ICT methods in teaching and learning content at the disciplines included in the curriculum Tourism and Nutrition at different levels of study and the dependent variable - which depends and changes according to the independent variable: the specific skills, the degree of understanding and assimilation of the specialized contents. In this article we will present the experimental phase in which the actual research was carried out on two parallel groups of subjects: an experimental group (where ICT methods were used - the coordinating teachers created virtual classes on the educational platform www.easyclass.com) and a control group (in which classical didactic methods were used) and the postexperimental phase in which tests of knowledge assessment were applied to both the experimental classes and the control classes. The post-experimental step allowed the measurement of the dependent variable in the two samples of subjects, experimental and control, and the comparison of the initial data with the final ones. For this purpose, tests for assessing the knowledge acquired by the pupils in the experimental and control classes as a result of each unit of learning included in the content sample were applied. These tests were created depending on the specific and derived competences of each unit of learning, following the extent of their development at the pupils in the two samples.</abstract>

Experimental research on the effects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the instructive-educational process

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and state building process for Belarusian newly formed government till the elections held in August 2020, ensuring the continuity of one of the last autocracies in the world, circumstances have altered cases. It is the kind of challenge the European Union never expected to deal with, especially following the Minsk signing of the Memorandum of Understanding to create the OSCE-led Advisory Monitory Group in 1997. This paper will examine and explore the different stages in the rise of a repressive regime, the buffering role that Belarus plays in the stage of sanctions, as well as the economic implications that a partnership between the EU and Belarus might have had in the case of a successful OSCE mission and European External Action Services (EEAS) to six Eastern Europe States, including Belarus. The potential outcomes would indicate improved quality of life, more business opportunities, liberalization of economic activity and financial assistance.
</abstract>

Challenging Sanctions: What Price Is Belarus Willing to Pay to Maintain the Autocratic Regime?

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The European Nation EU is a promoter of the idea of sustainable development. Projects developed and implemented with the help of European funds can contribute significantly to the transition towards sustainability, as they facilitate innovation, development and knowledge transfer. Mainstreaming sustainability in the EU projects goes hand in hand with the development indicators set by the United Nations and, beyond that, affects regional and local development. The identification of sustainable activities requires from the beneficiaries of EU funds a good knowledge of the sustainability indicators present in the guidelines and funding applications. Even if sustainability does not have a method to be measured, it can be shown through examples of good practice in EU-funded projects. This article tries to fill this gap, contributing to a better understanding of the initiation of project activities related to sustainability by: presenting the sustainability aspects mentioned in the funding guidelines, proposing a framework for describing sustainable activities: With the help of the 5 good practice -examples of projects related to axis 4.1 Reducing carbon emissions in county municipalities through investments based on sustainable urban mobility plans we indicate examples of activities and projects aiming at sustainable urban development. In a critical discussion, we analyzed the need to build a tool to measure sustainability in projects. Finally, we draw conclusions on the potential for growth and development towards sustainability in EU-funded projects, as these projects contribute to local and therefore regional, development.
</abstract>

Sustainability Study of Projects Financed by European Funds in Romania, the South-Muntenia Development Region

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Studying education from an econometric perspective provides an understanding of how economic and social factors influence educational process. From this perspective, it is possible to understand how different groups of people are affected by the educational system and find solutions to create a more equitable environment. Regarding this research area, the specialized literature is very vast. However, few schools recognize the interdependence and contributions that school infrastructure (buildings and furniture) can make to the improvement of academic activities in the school. This paperwork thus aims to study the public educational field in Romania from a managerial, as well as a spatial econometric perspective, in order to provide possible solutions for the improvement of the quality of the educational act in schools. The research hypothesis of this work is that certain infrastructure factors, such as the number of teaching staff, classrooms, IT equipment, gymnasiums, school laboratories, school workshops, and sports fields, have an impact on the number of graduates in each county of Romania. Conducting a spatial econometric analysis, the results validate the research hypothesis. The number of graduates from a county is influenced by the number of teaching staff, the number of IT equipment, school laboratories or sports fields existing in the respective county. Thus, Romania should allocate more financial resources to education, especially to motivate teachers, but also to transform the teaching career into an attractive one for passionate and well-prepared young people.
</abstract>

Analysis of the Educational System - An Econometric and Managerial Perspective

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<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Employees’ motivation is, probably, the biggest and most profound concern of managers today. Considering the constant changes of the marketplace, along with the attrition rates nowadays, we can easily understand why this matter is of high importance. But how did the study of motivation evolve throughout time and what stage has it reached today? From Maslow and the Pyramid of Needs to Herzberg and the Two-Factor Theory, McGregor and the X and Y Theories or McClelland and his Need for Achievement Theory, the matter of motivation has long been debated and researched. The present scientific paper aims to analyze how today’s employees in knowledge-based organizations find job satisfaction, what helps them feel motivated and the way in which the management and the organizations can influence the level of job satisfaction and motivation for the employees working in the IT industry. Generations evolve and so do their expectations of what a workplace should look like. For the employees working in the IT industry, the autonomy, and the learning opportunities they could have while doing their job are at least as important, or perhaps more important than their level of satisfaction with the financial benefits offered by companies. The research methodology of the present paper is based on literature review, and the objectives are related to describing the knowledge-based organizations and how they differ from other types of organizations, analyze the evolution of motivation theories over time, presenting the IT industry and its specifics for the motivation of employees in this field.
</abstract>

Employees’ Motivation in Knowledge-Based Organizations in the IT Industry

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
A good health system is essential for any country to achieve its social, economic, and political goals and to ensure that all citizens have the opportunity to lead healthy and productive lives. A country’s healthcare system can also have an impact on its reputation and competitiveness on the global stage. Several research studies have examined the healthcare system in Romania from a comprehensive perspective. Recently, the topics most studied include healthcare workers and the impact of the pandemic on the healthcare system. This study aims to analyze the level of resources and the quality of the health system in the 42 counties of Romania. Data was collected from national statistics and several indicators were examined in relation to the resources and quality of the healthcare system. The primary indicators for healthcare resources that we used focused on the average number of doctors and hospitals, among others. While, for quality, we evaluated metrics such as the average of natality, mortality, and others. To analyze the data collected on health resources, we used a two-step cluster grouping method in SPSS, and to assess quality indicators, we performed a one-way ANOVA analysis to determine whether there were significant differences in health care quality between areas with fewer resources and areas with more resources. The findings of our research divided the country into four clusters based on the availability of medical resources per one thousand inhabitants, where medical resources are limited and where resources are high. Furthermore, we discovered that there is a statistically significant difference between medical resources and the mortality rate.
</abstract>

The Level of Resources and Quality of the Health System in the Romanian Country

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
In the context of globalization, the advantages and disadvantages of the taxation strategies of multinational companies include the scope of taxes collected at the state budget, as well as foreign direct investment inflows, both having the possibility to influence economic growth directly or indirectly. In this paper, we tested with unifactorial linear model the theory that direct investment inflows have an insignificant impact on economic growth as well as the impact of collected taxes on economic growth. The research was carried out on four member states of the European Union, namely Germany, France, Romania and Bulgaria, and the data collected covered the period 2012-2021. The research results highlighted that a developed country that has a lower tax rate generated more foreign direct investment inflows and less corporate taxes collected at the state budget than a developed country that has a much higher tax rate, but taxes had a larger contribution to GDP growth when we consider only this variable. On the other hand, a developing country with an average tax rate but a larger economy generated more foreign direct investment inflows and more taxes collected at the state budget than a country with a lower rate and a smaller economy.
</abstract>

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Taxation Strategies Applied on MNEs in the European Union

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Forced to provide results consistent results to shareholders the organizations turned to Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in order to tackle the following typical challenges they face: (1) Cost reduction, (2) Quality increase and (3) Faster processes. RPA is now considered the next big thing for the Shared Services Centers (SSC) and Business Process Outsourced (BPO) around the world, and especially in Central and Eastern Europe. In SSCs and BPOs the activities with the highest potential for automation are in finance, supply chain and in human resource departments. This means that the problems these business are facing are mostly related to high data entry volumes, high error rates, significant rework, numerous manual processes, multiple not-integrated legacy systems and high turnover due to repetitive/low value added activities. One advantage of RPA is that it can be trained by the users to undertake structured repeatable, computer based tasks interacting in the same time with multiple systems while performing complex decisions based on algorithms. By doing this, the robot can identify the exceptions for manual processing, remove idle times and keep logs of actions performed. Another advantage is that the automated solutions can work 24/7, it can be implemented fast, work with the existing architecture, cut data entry costs by up to 70% and perform at 30% of the cost of a full time employee, thus providing a quick and tangible return to organizations. For Romania, a key destination for SSCs and BPOs, this technology will make them more competitive, but also will lead to a creation of a series of high-paid jobs while eliminating the low-input jobs. The paper will analyze also the most important vendor providers of RPA solutions on the market and will provide specific case studies from different industries, thus helping future leaders and organizations taking better decisions.</abstract>

Robotic Automation Process - The next major revolution in terms of back office operations improvement

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is going into a “maturity market”. The main vendor providers surpassed USD 1 billion in evaluation and the research they are launching these days on the market will change again radically the business landscape. It can be seen already what is coming next to RPA: intelligent optical character recognition (IOCR), chat-bots, machine learning, big data analytics, cognitive platforms, anomaly detection, pattern analysis, voice recognition, data classification and many more. As a result the top vendors developed partnerships with the main leading artificial intelligence providers, such as: IBM Watson, Microsoft Artificial Intelligence, Microsoft Cognitive services, blockchain, Google etc. On the business part, the consulting companies who are implementing the RPA solution are moving from developing Proof-of-Concepts (POCs) and Pilots to helping clients with RAP global roll-outs and developing Centre of Excellences (CoE). As a result, the experiences gathered so far by the author on this kind of projects will be tackled also in this paper. In this article will we will present also some data related to automation for different business areas (eg. Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable etc) and how an assessment can be done correctly in order to decide if a process can be automatized and, if yes, up to which extent (ie. percent). Moreover, through the case studies we will provide (1) how now the RPA is integrated with Artificial Intelligence and Cloud, (2) how can be scaled in order to face hypes, (3) how can interpret data and (4) what savings these technologies can bring to the organizations. All the aforementioned services made Robotics Process Automation a very powerful tool since a year ago when the author did the last research. A process that was mainly not recommended for automation or was partially automated can be now fully automated with more advantages, such as: money, non-FTE savings and fulfillment time.</abstract>

Robotic Automation Process – The operating system for the digital enterprise

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> One of the biggest challenges that organizations are facing today is finding the proper way to shape competitive advantages in the age of Industry 4.0. This digital revolution forces companies to face specific challenges. The main purpose of this paper is to identify key requirements for the creation of a competitive advantage in the age of Industry 4.0 [CA. 4.0] The second purpose is to evaluate the level of organizations' preparedness for Digital Transformation [DX]. Studies based on a literature review describe requirements for organizations functioning in the age of Industry 4.0, especially in the area of DX and exploitation of Virtualization [V&amp;DX].</abstract>

Preparedness of companies for digital transformation and creating a competitive advantage in the age of Industry 4.0

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> IoT, or the Internet of Things, has been in use since circa 1999. It defines a next chapter in the evolution of the Internet where computing devices embedded in everyday objects are able to send and receive data themselves. In recent years miniaturization and economies of scale brought a boon of new devices to the consumer and enterprise market, prompting Gartner to predict over 20bln live IoT devices by 2020. However, the definition of IoT is loose and, for the purpose of predicting trends or discussing security, formulating a clear understanding of the term is crucial. In fact, Internet of Things is a term only mostly used by the media, academia and the industry. Customers in the consumer space refer to the technologies by their benefit describing term of “Smart Home”. A quick analysis of this gap shows how it’s entirely possible no knowledge permeates the business and market worlds because of the incompatible terms used. As more devices, OSes and heterogeneous platforms entrench the concept of a new digital lifestyle, the new “Digital Kingdom” opens its doors to radical disruption, such as the latest massive Mirai and Reaper attacks. Our ability to correctly define the IoT, it’s platforms and components, should lead to better market dynamics and better preparedness, as one can’t secure something that can’t be defined. This paper proposes to further understand the IoT by exploring available definitions, reiterating misuse and equivocal perception, concluding with a more suiting, contemporary definition.</abstract>

Defining the IoT

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Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence

 Business excellence is about achieving superior business results in relation to the competitors by means of developing and strengthening the management systems and processes of an...

 Business excellence is about achieving superior business results in relation to the competitors by means of developing and strengthening...