Romania: untapped intellectual and spiritual capital

Citation

Ramey, G.W. (2006), "Romania: untapped intellectual and spiritual capital", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 19 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/jocm.2006.02319faa.001

Romania: untapped intellectual and spiritual capital

About the Guest Editor

Gerald W. Ramey Phd is currently working in the College of Business at Eastern Oregon University, La Grande, Oregon, USA. He worked 25 years previously at Lewis-Clark State College. He is a Fulbright Scholar to Romania at Al.I.Cuza University in Iasi, Romania, and also a Fulbright Senior Specialist

Romania: untapped intellectual and spiritual capital

How can we begin to weave the tapestry that is Romania? “I do not crush the miracles” (eu nu strivesc corolla de minumi a lumii). Lucian Blaga, a great Romanian poet and philosopher evolved to a place in life that he wanted simply to accept the mystery. “I do not crush the miracles, the corolla of the world, and I do not kill, with my mind, the secrets, that I met in the way” Perhaps this is Romania. Since, 1999, Gerry has been in a love affair with this country, discovering the hidden talent that for so long, under a brutal oppressive regime was kept from the rest of the world. This journal issue is such a minimal effort to explore the excitement of Romania moving into the future.

Despite the futility of daily living that constant oppression creates, there are so many Romanians from several generations that have the faith, the creativity and skills to move forward. Romania has been a country, constantly in the middle (mijloc) that has somehow been able to sustain an identity that is powerful. Her ability to create opportunity for a more effective and efficient global interaction is almost unbelievable. What some would consider a weakness, should be considered strength: that is the complex weaving of state, private and NGO. These interactions are actually a current reality that will not go away and Romania does them well.

This issue of the Journal of Organizational Change Management whose philosophy so well fits the changes evolving in Romania, starts with a marvelous piece on Romanian history primarily written by a renowned management historian, George Iacob, from Al.I. Cuza University. The essay, assisted by Ovidiu Gavrilovici, does so much more than place Romania in the middle (mijloc).

The second piece was actually a master's degree thesis from an ELITEC student. This paper does a wonderful job of matching current leadership thinking with both a past and future orientation for Romanian leadership. Ingrid Aioanei really does a brilliant job of creating a model that could well be duplicated in other business and public administration environments.

Sorina Chiper, in yet another ELITEC master's thesis does an excellent job of exploring the Romanian university system as it integrates with the world and most certainly with the rest of Europe. The timeliness of this paper is almost breathtaking, as the “Bologna” conferences are again supposed to be on target this summer. Higher education is but one aspect of a nation's successful dialogue and interaction in a global community and Sorina discusses well how this is done.

At the time of the first call for papers, Mihai Niculescu, was a faculty member at Cuza University. He is currently working on a second doctorate at the University of Cincinnati. His article on the strategic positioning of a specific university within the market place is one of the more quantitative pieces in this issue, however, it is so very applicable to the management of all operational units in higher education all over the world. We thought, all through the final editing, of numerous higher administrators who should have this report and ask their research officers to replicate the study for their own schools.

Dan Chiaburu, currently a management consultant out of Washington, DC, does a remarkable job of discussing a very complicated issue: the successful movement through the chaos and turbulence of a transition economy. While not an attempt to over-simplify, maybe the paper is about the haves and have-nots, about unequal access to powerful political and economic decision making bodies. Maybe.

In an analysis of a specific Romania firm, Maria Grigoruta, explores the sometimes trying efforts to overcome and excessively rigid culture and move forward with organizational improvement efforts.

Sorin Burnete, a faculty member from Lucian Blaga University in Sibiu, Romania, continues movement from the rigidity of previous times with his extremely well done paper on economic policy. It will not be surprising to see expansions of this paper in future economic publications.

Ticu Constantin, Daniela Pop and Ana Constantin do a tremendous job applying a very sophisticated psychological analysis to Human Resource Management in Romania.

Continuing with an application of theory to practice, Adriana Prodan and Irina Manolescu do a brilliant job of discussing the very real issue of gender discrimination in Romania. This paper has application in all areas of discrimination, especially with Romania's projected entry into the European Union (EU) in 2007. Not only specific to their country, this paper should be embraced world wide.

Moving into a more personal realm, the short essay on teaching English by Andrei Luminata is yet another look at the transition from excessively rigid conditions to a more open environment. One wonders if the complacency, or the acceptance, or the identity of Miorita comes through in this paper.

Still making this very personal, is the essay by Olesiu Lupu and Simona Mitocaru about moving from only skills training to the more open liberal education required for survival in our more and more turbulent world.

On a very personal level, but surprisingly pedagogically sound, is the article by Adriana Zait. She uses a very solid model of stages of relationships between students and teachers and discusses, once again, this necessary movement away from excessive and oppressive upper level decision making behavior.

And finishing on a typical Romanian poetic note, Ariadna Iftimi inspires us with her walk down the administrative halls of Cuza University. Underneath the murals of Sabin Balasa (see first, www.racai.ro/EUROLAN-2001/page/resources/goodies/balasa/index.html, and then, www.dindragoste.ro/arta-si-dragoste.php), we feel the history and the importance of our past, we feel our hearts connect with the students we have today and wonder how we continue.

Overall, this issue has a plan of moving from history to change to impact. We believe these articles only, a small drop in Romania's ocean of intellectual and spiritual capital.

Gerald W. Ramey and Shari Carpenter

Thank you

Certainly I thank my family for tolerating my always turbulent schedule: my wife, Marsha; -my adult children- my daughter Jen, her husband Bruce, and two granddaughters, Tabby and McCamy (what joys); my son, Bill, his wife Marin; and Andy, Marin's brother. Family is important. Habitat for Humanity brought Marsha and I to Romania for a blitz build in Beius in the summer of 1999. Thank you, we fell in love with Romania. The Fulbright program miraculously awarded me a Fulbright Scholarship! Thank you. I could not have been as involved with Romania with citizens and students were it not for Rector Dimitru Oprea of Cuza University. This man is a marvel. I wish I could work for him all the time. The Administrative Assistant, Cati Targhir, who runs everything for the ELITEC graduate program has time and time again pulled me out of difficulty, thank you so much. My first company workshop included a live translator, Andreea Rosu. She has been a translator for me; both spoken and written so many times I have lost count. She and I have a love of both American and Romanian literature that has fueled a deep friendship. My dear friend (tu prieten al meu) and colleague, Ovidiu Gavrilovici has stimulated my professional and personal life beyond measure. Adriana Prodan, a wonderful faculty member at Cuza University has also blessed me with friendship. At several extended lunch sessions, knowledge and awareness of Romania moving into the future was greatly enhanced by Vasile Isan. And I most certainly could not have completed this project without the assistance of Shari Carpenter, our newest faculty in the College of Business at Eastern Oregon University. Thank you all, it is time to lie this to rest and let the people discuss themselves into the future.

Gerald W. Ramey