Best chance--an educational system oriented toward the development of business competencies.

Ciobanu, Romeo Mihai

Abstract: The Best Chance is a proposal for a project based on an original idea. It aims to intensify the pro-active measures in order to develop the entreprenorial and managerial competencies. The students who belong from families with difficulties from the social and economic point of view define the target group. The project can contribute to the stabilization of the Romanian high-educated human resource and development of business environment. The research directions, training components, and working methodology define the innovative feature of the project.

Key words: entrepreneur, students, practice firms/simulated companies, learning-by-doing, learning-by-interacting.

1. INTRODUCTION

The fast globalization, increasing of the clients exacting, progress in the IT field, and diversity of the offer are just a few of the specific transformation that define the actually technological, social and economical environment. The genesis of the over-industrial society enforces a mentality change at the both individual and community level, as an essential element to transform the passive attitude into active attitude.

Therefore, the key of success of the young persons in a hard environment,

in a real economical-spasm, depends on two essential factors such as to be a good entrepreneur and/or a good manager. What should be done?

2. PROBLEM STATEMENT

Today, the Romanian market of higher educated workforce is characterized by a lot of fluctuations and anomalies. Some graduates want to leave Romania in order to find better jobs and dreaming to prosperity, some of them don't have jobs, and others have difficulties in the social and professional integration process because of the lack of education.

Many young people are thinking to run a business, but they wait for an opportunity. Others are planning their business and search for the opportunity to begin. To run a business means more than other job, because it represents other lifestyle, sometimes totally different, and it is a big challenge and endeavour. Each young person who want to run a business must start with the next question: Am I prepared to do this? Even that person searches for a partnership, the last one should answer to the same question.

Alfred Herrhausen, from Deutsche Bank, characterizes the young generation of managers as a little bit of Harvard, a little bit of Hollywood and a little bit of Prussian prince. The education and the experience are parts of the preparatory elements necessary to run a business. What could be done?

The Best Chance is a proposal for a project based on a personal idea and it could be a novelty in the Romanian social and economical area. The project target is to develop a complex system of education and research in order to form the future young entrepreneurs and managers that could come from the students of poor families.

3. STATE OF THE ART

The necessity of education in the same conditions as those from the real economy and the requirement of the fast adaptation to the concrete conditions of a firm have determined the foundation of the practice firms/simulated companies. The first simulated companies have been founded in western European countries, and later in many others countries around the world. The practice firm represents an educational system in which the students have the opportunity to work according the procedures, documents and legislation as in the real firms. The only difference consists in two simulated elements: the money and products/services. ROMSIM Iasi was founded in 1999 and it is a component of RISROM (the Romanian simulated firms network), and it is also included in EUROPEN (the international simulated firms network.). The professors' experience during the last years and the endowment (computers, software, handbooks, manuals, and magazines) offer the possibility for a managerial and entrepreneurial education at a high level (Condurache et al., 2002).

4. RESEARCH COURSE

The project Best Chance aims to intensify the pro-active measures to provide a scientifically managerial base for the students that have a social and economic disadvantages, in order to a deeply understanding of the challenges generated by the European Union integration.

The project objectives are the following:

* To identify the fundamental premises in order to grow the quality life of students that have any social and economic disadvantages.

* To stimulate the initiation, development, and promotion of the entrepreneurial and managerial behaviors.

* To get knowledge, skills, and entrepreneurial and managerial competencies for the business environment.

The innovative feature of the Best Chance project comes from the following research directions:

* Quantitative and qualitative researches regarding on the identification of the necessary entrepreneurial and managerial skills (the best skills).

* Quantitative and qualitative researches regarding on the ralationships between the personal skills and requirements of business environment.

* Quantitative and qualitative researches regarding on the identification of training needs in order to form and develop the entrepreneurial and managerial skills.

* Quantitative and qualitative researches regarding on the establishment of entrepreneurial and managerial training methodology (the best practices).

The project will be developed on the following coordinates:

a) Educational and professional coordinate

The project will allow to develop the specific entrepreneurial and managerial skills and knowledge that will complete the base education (Ciobanu, 2006).

b) Social and economic coordinate

The young graduates will have the possibility to integrate faster and more efficient in the society and can reach an adequate status based on a reputation and image founded on the real values. These kinds of individual will action with more courage, in the spirit of competition and with more wishes of fulfillment (Tripa et al., 2007).

c) Ethical and moral coordinate

The young graduate will have more chances to use his high education for benefits of his family, society and himself. He/she will show his gratitude to those that had supported him. The future entrepreneurs and managers will promote a correct attitude based on the business ethics knowledge, and they will contribute to a healthy business environment (Chryssides & Kaler, 1997).

5. RESULTS

The actually results are concerning the main components of the project general framework, as follows: a) The training directions, regarding on (Ciobanu et al., 2004):

* Learning--by--learning, through the access to the educational materials necessary in order to develop the entrepreneurial spirit and formation of the future managers.

* Learning-by-doing, through a diversity of real cases that will be analyzed as the trading operations, supply, marketing, human resources, etc..

* Learning-by-interacting, through the access to the national and international virtual market. b) The working methodology, regarding on:

* The practical component

The project will follow the achievement of knowledge and abilities that can be applied by the students as the future entrepreneurs and managers in the real firms (the individual knowledge correlated with the work team, and the development of the responsibility through continuous learning will lead to the development of the authority inside the individual).

* The interaction

The project is based on an interactive learning environment that offers for the future entrepreneurs and managers a large variety of doing business.

* The transnational character

The students will have the possibility to operate a lot of business contacts with the practice firms into the EUROPEN international system.

* The understanding of intercultural aspects

The virtual international business environment will allow the formation and development of a new behavioral and organizational culture elements in order to manage the firms in the globalization context.

c) The specific activities that have been established according the project objectives.

d) The identification of project team members. These professionals have been involved in other previous activities of the ROMSIM, RISROM, and EUROPEN.

6. FURTHER RESEARCH

The further research will be oriented on the following directions:

a)To obtain the necessary financial support.

b)To develop every component of the project general framework.

c)To identify the components of the target group based on a social research.

The students that belong from families that have difficulties from social and economic point of view will define the target group. The poor families that are confronted with critical situations compose the community of such students. The children' education becomes a great difficulty for these families (low incomes, orphans bring up by the grandparents so on). The pointed students are part of a special category of young people, namely the vulnerable category. These kind of students are exposed to many risks that push them to a lack of adaptation in different situations with a negative impact to the social changes at the Romanian society level, and it also affects the students' integration in the civilized Europe.

The members of the target group will be selected according to the following criteria:

* The capability and availability to start and lead a business.

* The average between the monthly expenses necessary to maintain a student and student family income.

* The conditions referring to the dispensations from the taxes according to the Romanian laws.

d)To proceed for the quantitative and qualitative researches.

e)To promote and disseminate the project and its results.

7. CONCLUSION

In business world, maybe more than in other area, the performance is achieved hardly and the benefit comes later and sometimes very late. It is the entrepreneur's wreath and the joy of the managerial fulfillment. Sam Walton has started with a small shop of trifles in Arkansas, and later he has founded the Wal-Mart stores network. Bill Gates has left the college to found Microsoft Corp.

The logo of Olympic Games could be the same for the future entrepreneurs and managers: Citius, Altius, Fortius!

At the same time, the project has to promote entrepreneurial behaviors based on the fair-play and business ethics. Thus, I think the Pierre de Coubertin's words have to define the attitude of the young future businessmen: At the Olympic Games, the most important thing is not to win, but to participate; such as in our life the most important thing is the fight, not the victory. The essential is not to win, but to fairly fight! I'm hoping this project can be indeed the best chance for many Romanian students to increase the quality of their life, and to grow the Romanian economic environment.

8. REFERENCES

Chryssides, G. & Kaler, J. (1997). An Introduction to Business Ethics, International Thomson Business Press, ISBN 186152-356-4, London

Ciobanu, R. M.; Condurache, Gh.; Lupu, L. M. & Istrate, C. (2004). The practice firm--a modern approach for training of students, Proceedings of The IV International Conference Business and Education: Development Vector, Tom II, pp. 232-235, ISBN 9965-9250-7-0, Almaty, April 2004, Almaty

Ciobanu, R. M. (2006). Management and Education--Key Success Factors in the Informational Society. Buletinul IP Iasi, Tomul LII(LVI), Fasc. 5, Sectia Stiinte Socio-Umane, October 2006, pp.523-527, ISSN 1224-5860

Condurache, Gh; Ciobanu, R. M.; L upu, L.; Frunza, V.; Istrate, C.; Popa, C. & Rusu, C. M. (2002). Managementul intreprinderii simulate ROMSIM, Casa de Editura Venus, ISBN 973-8174-57-0, Iasi

Jankowicz, A. D. (1994). Business Research Projects for Students, Chapman & Hall, ISBN 0-412-36820-X, London

Tripa, S.; Gherghel, S.; Cuc, S. & Indric, L. (2007). Ways of acquiring professional competencies. Review of Management and Economical Engineering, Vol. 6, Nr. 1(21), 2007, ISSN 1583-624X