The management of the organization has always been interested to improve the human resource (HR) policies in order to have a better performance of the organization. One of the multiple ways to meet this objective was using "best practice" and "best fit" approaches. The main idea is if there is "one best way" of HR policies or there are "many best ways" in order to have a better organizational performance. The two concepts have been applied in the context of developing the role of the HR department into a strategic department so that the HR policies have become "strategic." Analyzing the two approaches, the article will emphasis the need to have both horizontal and vertical fit inside the organization. HR practices, be it an import of "best practices" or a "fit" to the internal and external context of the organization, need to take into consideration the culture of the organization since it can have an significant influence on motivation, satisfaction and membership of employees, thus ensuring a positive impact on performance.

Intrinsic motivation is widely considered by public administration scholars as fundamental for the Public Service Motivation (PSM). In apparently contradiction with the theory of PSM, the extrinsic motivation techniques, such as financial incentives, function better in Romanian public organizations, the reason being in general connected with the payment level for the public servants and their expectations for the work performed. In the context of new legal obligations arisen in the period of joining the European Union, Romanian public authorities recruited more employees. After 2008, influenced by lower budgets and political changes, this dynamic of human resources was inverted, in some places with very significant personnel fluctuations, leading to major misbalances of public service. Public servants cannot be motivated if they do not have the intrinsic motivation specific for the work in public service as defined by PSM theory. Thus, we consider that the actual recruiting system of public servants in Romania need to be reformed to introduce in public sector well equipped individuals. Although intrinsic, PSM is not immutable and can be lost. Public servants can loose PSM because of different extrinsic motivational factors (low salary, lack of promotion, permanent structural changes of the organization, manager's disregard for procedures/law).

The current volume represents the outcome of the international conference “National and European Values of Public Administration in the Balkans,” organised in Bucharest on 15-16 July 2011. The conference has been organised by Jean Monnet research network dedicated to “South-Eastern European developments on the administrative convergence and enlargement of the European Administrative Space in Balkan states,” representing the third edition of the events organised under the above aegis. The research network, comprising the National School of Political Studies and Public Administration (NSPSPA), Bucharest, Romania, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, Greece, New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria, University of Rijeka, Croatia and the European Public Law Organization (EPLO) with headquarters in Athens, Greece has developed and continues to develop studies and researches specific for the development of public administration in the Balkan states. The keynote speakers of the conference included Mw. Dr. Helena Raulus, EU Law Docent, Faculteit der Rechtsgeleerdheid, Erasmus Universiteit, Netherlands, Prof. Dr. Spyridon Flogaitis, Director, President of the BoD, European Public Law Organization, Greece and Prof. Dr. Lucica Matei, Dean, Faculty of Public Administration, National School of Politica Studies and Public Administration, Romania. The contents of the papers presented have been focused on the following topics: EU normative support for sustaining the process of administrative convergence; European Administrative Space principles - pillars for the mechanisms of evaluation of public administration reforms; Balkan priorities for European Administrative Space enlargement Other two sub adjacent topics have been added, aiming especially the doctoral students, emphasising the following themes: The process of administrative convergence at EU level; Efficiency, effectiveness and responsibility in the European Administrative Space; European Administrative Space. Priorities of the future. For the international conference, 88 abstracts were received, of which due to the first selection achieved by the Conference Scientific Committee, 56 papers were accepted After presentation, the papers have been improved and subjected to double review, so that there were accepted for publication 36 papers, having 46 authors from nine countries: Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Albania, France, Croatia, Italy and USA and two European organisations: EPLO and EIPA. The general conclusion expected for the final of our conference could refer to the existence of a Balkan Administrative Space as part of the European Administrative Space. Even if the area of the Balkan Administrative Space is confined, we have to highlight the unity in diversity as a fundamental feature. The unity derives from the ideals of European integration of the Balkan states and the diversity derives from the national histories, cultural diversity and their national identity. The connections of the Balkan Administrative Space become day by day more powerful related to the European Administrative Space. They are determined by the development of the processes of convergence and administrative dynamics as well as by the internal developments induced by the administrative reforms in the mentioned states. In this context, we could assert that by means of the research proposed and achieved, our project has open new agendas of research, that partially have been expressed in our research reports, publications etc. At the same time, as remarked from the contents of this conference, the national and European values of the Balkan Administrative Space are substantiated on the regulatory framework of the European Union, the processes of convergence and administrative dynamics, as well as on the principles of the European Administrative Space. In fact, as it is well known, the latter becomes a non-formalised acquis of the European Public Administration, representing a standard for assessing the progress in the reforms of the national public administrations. Our conference has taken place under the auspices of this generous perspective.