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The economics of the firm. Lecture notes: briefly, the most important

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Table of contents

1. Market system of management (General characteristics of the market economy, prerequisites for the emergence and conditions for development. Functions and structure of the market)
2. State regulation of the market economy (Necessity and possibility of state regulation of the market economy. Objects of state regulation of the economy. Forms and methods of state regulation of the economy)
3. Goals, objectives, organizational structure of the company (The concept and general characteristics of the company. Goals and objectives of the company, its organizational structure. Classification of firms)
4. The production structure of the enterprise (Enterprise and property. Organizational types of building the production structure of the enterprise. Ways to improve the efficiency of the production structure of the enterprise)
5. Organizational and legal forms of enterprises (firms) (Commercial organization and non-commercial organization. General partnership. Limited partnership. Limited liability company. Joint-stock company)
6. Personnel and labor productivity (Production personnel and their classification. Professional and qualification characteristics of labor. Formation of personnel potential)
7. Unemployment and its impact on the economy (The concept of unemployment. Unemployment in Russia. The fight against unemployment)
8. Fixed assets and intangible assets (Economic essence of fixed assets (funds) and intangible assets. Classification and valuation of fixed assets and intangible assets)
9. Working capital of the enterprise (Essence of working capital. Rationing of working capital)
10. Scientific and technological progress and intensification of production (The essence of scientific and technological progress and its role in the development of social production. Planning the technical development of an enterprise (firm))
11. Rent, franchising (Rental mechanisms in business. Franchising form of business organization)
12. Leasing (Leasing as a special form of rental relations. Leasing is an effective form of marketing finished products)
13. Credit and its role in a market economy
14. Marketing activity at the enterprise (Essence and content of marketing. Marketing tasks and some ways to solve them. Marketing functions. Types of marketing. Strategy and tactics of marketing activity. Organization of marketing activities at the enterprise)

1. General characteristics of the market economy, prerequisites for the emergence and conditions for development

The economy is all kinds of activities of people (human society as a whole) that allow them (and society) to supply themselves with material resources for existence.

All living beings receive food from nature, from the environment, however, only a person, carrying out various economic, economic activities, along with nature, creates the conditions for existence and development for himself. It is the work of a person to ensure his life (with increasing needs) that constitutes the subject of study of economic sciences in general. At the same time, the totality of human needs is extremely wide, numerous, constantly growing, and becoming more complex. Thus, there is an indisputable fact - the infinity and constancy of the growth of human needs.

On the other hand, the resources to satisfy these needs are ultimately exhaustible, i.e., their availability in nature is limited. Under these conditions, the problem arises of the best, optimal, more efficient use of limited (often rare) resources of economic activity and management of this process in order to achieve the goal of maximum satisfaction of the growing and unlimited needs of man and society.

The discrepancy between needs and possibilities for their satisfaction accompanies humanity throughout its entire (or almost entire) history.

In wildlife, this contradiction is resolved in a rather cruel way: that part of the animal world (and this is, as a rule, its less protected part), which lacks natural resources (food) for existence, dies. The decline in numbers continues until a natural balance is reached between the available natural food sources and the number of corresponding objects of the animal world that use them. This way of resolving the eternal contradiction is unacceptable for a person as a rational being, therefore, he is constantly looking for and finding ways to reduce the sharpness of this contradiction.

It should be noted that the problem of limited resources is typical for the entire economic system as a whole and at any of its levels separately: the shortage of production resources is typical both for the economy of the country (and the planet) as a whole, and for individual economic entities, since the resources of production in the form of land , its natural resources, buildings and equipment, stocks of living labor are always limited, have their limits. Moreover, at all times, as already noted, the desires of people, the growth of their needs had no visible limit. An elementary increase in the amount of consumed good of any one target orientation (for example, in clothes) brings to life the need to increase the range of these goods; more complete satisfaction of these needs also gives rise to a desire to satisfy others more (for example, in housing), etc.

Thus, if all members of society had the opportunity to purchase all the goods and services that they desire, there simply would not be left in society, and there would not be enough for all these goods and services.

Therefore, the problem of limited resources can be characterized as an imbalance between the needs for services and goods and the means to meet these needs.

The existence of the problem of a gap between human needs and the ability to satisfy them requires society to find ways to increase these opportunities, which is the first and most significant stimulus for the development of man and his intellectual capabilities. On this basis, the process of growth of human knowledge, experience, skills, the progress of science and technology arises and accelerates. Such a process makes it possible to increase a person's ability to satisfy his needs, and with the same amount of available resources to achieve greater satisfaction of the needs of man and society. However, this process does not make it possible (at least not yet) to eliminate the indicated gap between needs and the degree of their satisfaction, although it significantly reduces it, "softens the tension." The fact is that human knowledge, skills, experience, despite their constant growth, at each moment of time are limited by the level of development of science and technology, the intellect of mankind, which has developed at the moment.

Despite certain mitigating factors, the problem of limited primary natural and other resources remains.

So, limited resources require the refusal to satisfy some needs. This constancy of the problem makes the problem of choice equally eternal. This problem lies in the fact that, due to the limited production resources, one constantly has to choose what to direct, how to use the available resources, that is, what exactly and in what quantity of them to produce.

Thus, to choose means to decide what to give up and what to give preference to in satisfying needs.

However, the problem of choice has another aspect, different from the dilemma of preference for one good (good) over others. The fact is that one and the same human need can be satisfied by a fairly large number of a wide variety of ways and methods. Therefore, the choice also lies in which of the known ways of satisfying a given human need (methods of producing a given good) to give preference.

Society as a whole, its economic system is constantly solving the problem of choice, since the resources of production within the country, region are also limited. In this case, society is faced with the task of distributing a limited amount of resources between individual spheres of production, the service sector, and market infrastructure. In such a situation, an increase in the production of goods in one direction limits, accordingly, the production of goods and services in another direction.

The problem of choice in conditions of limited resources requires an answer to the main questions that arise in the process of economic, including production, activity:

1) what (what types of goods, benefits) to produce;

2) how to produce the selected types of goods;

3) how to distribute what is produced;

4) what part of the resources to use for current consumption and what part - for accumulation.

Answers to all of the above questions involve the search for benefits, the greatest benefit for the entity making economic decisions. This desire is the driving motive of any economic activity.

One of the founders of economic science - the famous Scot A. Smith - described the origins of the market mechanism as follows: "The same for all people, the constant and not disappearing desire to improve their situation is the beginning, from which both public and national, and private wealth flow" .

So, the desire for profit pushes the manufacturer to produce more products in order to get more income or to produce exactly the product that brings the most income. However, the very process of increasing the production of homogeneous products, on the one hand, and the accumulation of knowledge, skills, and habits, on the other, makes production narrower and narrower, specializing in a certain range of homogeneous or identical goods. Such a process is called the process of division (within the framework of the whole society - the process of social division) of labor.

The increase in the production of products specific to each producer and their natural need for other products, which, in turn, are produced by other specialized producers, make the process of exchange of goods produced inevitable. A. Smith, the great thinker of his time, first showed that the exchange of goods or benefits occurs only when such an exchange is beneficial to both parties. This conclusion was revolutionary for that time, since it was previously believed that in every transaction there is a winning and losing side.

In fact, as follows from the essence of the process of social division of labor, in each transaction, as a rule, there should be a mutual benefit, expressed in saving the participants in the transaction of their own labor. In other words, a person produces much more than he needs for his own consumption, the quantity of the product in which he specializes, in the production of which he has succeeded much more, and then he is ready to exchange it with sellers of other products that he himself does not produce, but which he also needs. The rationality of the exchange in this case lies in the fact that the producer (seller) agrees to an exchange only when he believes that he uses less time to manufacture the product he is giving away than he would have to spend on the production of the product that he wants to exchange. The main choice that a person makes in this case is to provide for himself, but at the same time preserve the available resources (property, capital, labor abilities) as much as possible.

The use of natural production resources is sold by their owner for money to generate income; the sale of labor abilities and skills brings the employee a salary; the accumulation of capital and its investment in production bring income in the form of participation in the profits of the producer, rent, etc.

However, the volume and quality of goods and services that a person can buy depend to a large extent on the income received by him as an owner, employee, investor, i.e., depend on the production resources he owns, the desire to sell the right to use them in full or in a certain part of them. Consequently, it is the desire of people for profit and the objective regularity of the exchange of results of activity that underlie the formation of a market mechanism.

There are a huge number of definitions of the market, its essence, many of which can be reduced to the following.

The market is a set of forms of connections, relationships between individual independent decision-making economic entities, the interaction of which as sellers and buyers allows for an exchange, i.e. sellers to sell, and buyers to buy the necessary goods.

The market economy, the modern economic system itself, is impossible without the establishment of a certain value, the value of each commodity. In this situation, the most important price function is to solve the problem of a reasonable choice, on the one hand, of the consumer, who answers the question of what is better to purchase, and, on the other hand, of the manufacturer, who answers the question of what is more profitable to produce, what part of the resources to direct to one or another production. That is why the price function, which consists in the distribution of goods, services, other goods, as well as natural and industrial resources among alternative options for their use, is the central problem of the functioning of the market.

In market conditions, the consumer, focusing on the lowest possible prices, motivates the manufacturer to produce goods and offer services at a lower possible cost. This is the strength of the market economy, in which the producer and the consumer strive to achieve the efficiency of the entire economy.

2. Functions and structure of the market

The definition of the market given in the previous chapter requires an approach to characterizing it as a complex object, consisting of a wide range of separate parts, elements. Such a variety of components and the specifics of the functioning of each element predetermine the main functions performed by the market.

The market is a means of communication, communication between sellers of goods and buyers. Sellers include:

1) commodity producers, i.e. enterprises selling their goods and services; workers selling their ability to work, labor power;

2) owners of all types of production resources who sell or concede the use of these resources for a certain time.

Buyers include consumers who use the goods and services offered, as well as certain consumers or firms that acquire those resources (live labor, raw materials, capital) with which they produce their goods and services; most often the same entity acts on the market as both a seller and a buyer.

As a result of the interaction between the seller and the buyer, the market sets mutually acceptable prices for goods (services), thereby stimulating their production and sale.

The market is a means of interconnection between sellers and buyers, disseminating information about what exactly sellers want to sell (and at what price), as well as what exactly buyers would buy or buy in the near future. At the same time, the market does not have to be a specific geographical location. Any source of dissemination of information about the sale and purchase of goods and services forms a market for these goods.

By providing the exchange of new information about changing situations (changes in demand, supply, etc.), the market enables its participants to respond quickly enough to these changes, as well as to modify prices in time. First of all, prices act as a signal to sellers and buyers, informing them of information about the shortage of goods, services, resources or their excess.

The market as a whole is characterized by a complex and branched structure. It can be classified according to various criteria:

1) by elements of market infrastructure;

2) according to the economic purpose of objects of market relations;

3) by geographical location and characterizing its boundaries and scales;

4) by the degree of restriction of competition;

5) by branches of production and services;

6) by the nature and size of sales.

The first sign of market classification highlights three more main elements:

1) the market for goods and services;

2) the market for factors of production;

3) financial (or money) market.

The market for goods and services includes a large number of special markets for the purchase and sale of relevant goods (there are quite a lot of them), and also implies the existence and functioning of such structures as commodity exchanges (centers for the purchase and sale, registration of these transactions) for the relevant goods, retail organizations and wholesale, marketing and intermediary organizations.

The market for factors of production covers the processes of buying and selling factors of production - land, labor, capital, entrepreneurial abilities. At the same time, such a special factor of production as land includes not only directly certain plots of land used for a particular production, but also natural raw materials extracted from the bowels of the earth or obtained as a result of its use (for example, crop products).

The factor of production in the form of living labor involves the use of the services of all workers (workers, employees, management personnel, individual entrepreneurs). The labor market also presupposes the existence of such an important instrument of this market as the labor exchange, where the demand for labor force of various types and qualifications is directly formed, and the supply of this labor force. In addition, the important functions of the labor exchange are: the formation of a labor reserve, the training and retraining of personnel (primarily the unemployed), the organization of public works to ensure employment.

Such a factor of production as capital includes all means of production in the form of buildings, structures, machinery, equipment, vehicles, as well as the money that can be used to obtain these means of production.

Sometimes, as a separate factor of production, they show the entrepreneurial ability (talent) that a person has who organizes any production of goods and services, makes decisions on its functioning, management, and determines its market behavior.

The financial (money) market covers the processes of buying and selling, transferring financial resources for temporary use - money, bonds, shares, treasury and bank obligations, etc. The only commodity in such a market is money, represented either in direct monetary form, or in one of types of securities. The universal nature of this commodity lies in the fact that, if necessary, it turns into any of the factors of production. Most often, the financial market involves the functioning of the stock and currency exchanges.

All listed elements of the market infrastructure are organically interconnected and, accordingly, influence each other. If they form an equilibrium, then the general macroeconomic equilibrium also occurs in the economy.

The second sign of the classification of market elements - according to the economic purpose of objects of market relations - involves the allocation of smaller market segments in the form of:

1) the market of consumer goods and services;

2) the market for industrial goods;

3) market of new ideas, technologies, projects (know-how);

4) commodity market;

5) labor market;

6) the securities market;

7) secondary raw materials market, etc.

By geographical location and distribution boundaries, the market is divided into the following types:

1) local (regional) market;

2) national (within the country) market;

3) world market.

According to the degree of restriction of competition, there are:

1) free market;

2) the market of monopolistic competition;

3) oligopolistic market;

4) pure monopoly.

This kind of classification covers numerous aspects of the market for any product (for example, the number of enterprises, production technology, types of goods sold, etc.) that affect the behavior and activities of firms.

The degree of restriction of competition is determined by the limits within which individual firms are able to influence the market, that is, to influence the conditions for the sale of their products, primarily prices. The highest degree of competitiveness is characteristic of a free market (market of free competition). Each successive type of market structure represents an increasingly significant degree of restriction of competition.

Features of market types depending on the degree of development of competition on them are considered in a special section of the course.

By sectors of production and services, a huge number of submarkets can be distinguished that characterize the corresponding sectors of the economy:

1) fuel market (coal, oil, gas, etc.);

2) automotive market (market of trucks, cars, buses, etc.);

3) computer market;

4) the market for bakery products, etc.

According to the nature and size of sales, there are:

1) wholesale market;

2) retail market.

It is easy to see from the above classification of types and elements of the market that within the directed framework, activities are carried out for the production and exchange (sale and purchase) of goods or services on the market. If any goods, benefits, services are provided free of charge, without setting a price for them, and purchase and sale transactions are not carried out, then such activity is called non-market. Typical examples of non-market activities are solving issues of national defense, internal and external security agencies, nature conservation, social security, and pension services. The sources of such activities are: budgets (state and local) through appropriate tax deductions; donations; charitable activities, etc.

The most important condition of any market is the possibility of obtaining ownership of the goods for which the seller pays or barters another goods. This applies to buyers. The right of ownership implies the existence of the right to own, dispose of and use this product. To acquire these rights, the buyer makes a purchase and sale transaction. The same applies to sellers: they produce their product only because they hope, intend to transfer their ownership of it in exchange for money or another product.

Therefore, any market can function only on goods. Property rights can be easily established, exercised and transferred to another owner. The absence of these conditions is not conducive to stimulating the production of this product, as well as its purchase and sale.

A certain influence on market relations (in particular, on the formation of the price of goods) is exerted by the so-called transaction costs, which include the cost of resources necessary to find partners, information about the terms of sale, drawing up relevant contracts and registration of ownership of the purchased goods , mediation fees, advertising, transportation costs, etc. If the listed costs exceed the expected revenue, then, of course, there is no point in making this transaction.

LECTURE No. 2. State regulation of the market economy

1. Necessity and possibility of state regulation of the market economy

In accordance with the constant growth in the scale of production within society, the degree of impact of its results on the quality of life, with the complication of the tasks facing society both in the economic and other spheres, the need for state regulation of economic activity, the functioning of the entire economic system, its individual blocks and elements.

By itself, the principle of state intervention in the economy has long been beyond doubt. The need for such state influence is predetermined by the very course of development of the economy and society as a whole. With the development of production and economic activity, many economic and social problems arose and became more acute, which cannot be solved automatically or cannot be solved to the extent that would suit the whole society. The market economy has outgrown its original capacity for complete self-regulation. And the new problems that arise before society as it develops make the question of state participation in market management practically resolved. Therefore, disputes between specialists are only about the degree of this participation.

Initially, the state impact on the economy in market conditions can be represented by a targeted system of measures of a legislative, executive and supervisory nature, implemented by the relevant state bodies in order to ensure the best results of the economic and social development of society and prevent (reduce the risk) the negative consequences of the activities of individual economic entities or blocks of economic activity. systems.

As follows from the description of the essence of state intervention in the economy and the reasons explaining its necessity, the presence of this intervention is desirable and even necessary to ensure economic and social stability in society and adapt the existing socio-economic system to the constantly changing conditions of its functioning.

The solution of each of the problems of the development of the socio-economic system listed at the first level of the proposed scheme is impossible without the participation of national, regional, local authorities. Consequently, there is an objective need to apply a system of targeted state measures to address them, and this need is growing.

However, as economic and social development progresses, there is also an objective opportunity to implement measures of state regulation of the economy. This regulation is made possible primarily by the ever-increasing concentration of production and capital, vertical and horizontal integration in the economy.

The economic objects of state intervention, its scale and depth, forms of influence on the market are dictated by the degree of socio-political and economic development of the country, region, the severity of the economic and social contradictions that are observed in a given period of time. Therefore, the degree of development of the system of state participation and market regulation varies in individual countries. Traditionally strong, for example, are the positions of the state in the economy of some Western European countries (France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands), in Japan; the role of the state in the economic growth of many Asian and Latin American countries is being actively strengthened. The very historical conditions of development, national traditions, features of the state structure and place in global economic integration have made the state in these countries the most important participant in economic relations and the main regulator of the market and the consequences of changes in it. The role of state regulation in countries with an undeveloped market structure is fundamentally important, which includes countries with a historically determined low level and one-sided economic development, as well as countries that have carried out (or are carrying out) the transition from a directive economy based on the comprehensive nature of state ownership to a market economy based on on the diversity of the economy, the diversity and equality of all forms of ownership.

2. Objects of state regulation of the economy

As follows from the characteristics of the prerequisites for state impact on the economy, its objects should be spheres, industries, regions, as well as situations, phenomena and conditions of the socio-economic life of the country where the above difficulties have arisen or may arise, problems that cannot be resolved automatically at all, resolved partially or in the distant future, while the solution of these problems is necessary for the normal functioning of the economy and maintaining social stability in society.

The variety of reasons for state regulation gives rise to an even greater variety of objects that fall under it. The main ones among them are the following:

1) the economic cycle and its individual phases;

2) sectoral, branch and regional market structures;

3) conditions for the accumulation of capital;

4) employment;

5) money circulation;

6) balance of payments;

7) prices;

8) research, development work;

9) conditions of competition;

10) social relations, including relations between employers and employees, as well as social security;

11) training and retraining of personnel;

12) environment;

13) foreign economic relations.

Of course, the degree of state participation in the regulation of these objects is completely different: one direction of regulation covers macroeconomic processes - the business cycle, capital accumulation throughout the country, individual industries, territorial complexes; the other is the relationship between individual economic entities (for example, the conditions of competition), between state and regulatory bodies and enterprises; the third is social relations. The characteristic of the listed objects is presented in the economic literature as follows.

The state policy to overcome the negative consequences of the cyclical development of the economy is to regulate the economic environment in order to stimulate demand for services and goods, employment and investment during crises and depressions. For this, additional financial benefits are provided to non-state capital, and government spending and investment are increased. In the conditions of a long and furious recovery in the country's economy, dangerous phenomena may arise - the absorption of commodity stocks, the growth of imports and the deterioration of the balance of payments, the excess of demand for labor over supply, and hence - an unreasonable increase in wages and prices. In such a situation, the task of the state as a market regulator is to slow down the growth of demand, investment and production in order to reduce the overproduction of goods and the overaccumulation of capital as much as possible, since after the end of such an upsurge this will help reduce the duration and depth of a possible decline in production, employment and investment.

Regulation of the sectoral and territorial structure is also carried out with the help of financial incentives and public investment. Thus, privileged development conditions are provided for individual industries and regions. At the same time, sometimes such support is provided to industries and territorial units that are in a state of protracted crisis. The development of new industries and types of industries is encouraged - carriers of scientific and technological progress, capable of leading to progressive structural changes within industries, between industries and in the entire national economy as a whole, to increase its efficiency and competitiveness. It also directly supports industries that are initially unprofitable by nature, but socially important. At the same time, measures can be taken to curb excessive concentration of production.

The most important object of state regulation is the accumulation of capital. The production, appropriation and capitalization of profits have always served as the main goal of economic activity in a market economy, so the state is interested in encouraging accumulation. This primarily corresponds to the economic interests of economic entities. At the same time, state regulation of accumulation indirectly serves other objects of state regulation. It, by creating additional incentives and potential at different times for all investors or their individual groups in industries and territories, affects the economic cycle and the structure of production.

Regulation of employment of the population is understood as maintaining a normal, from the point of view of a market economy, ratio between the demand and supply of labor. This ratio should satisfy the needs of the economy in skilled and disciplined workers, whose wages serve as sufficient motivation for them to work. At the same time, it is fundamentally important that the relationship between supply and demand does not lead to an excessive increase in wages, which can negatively affect national competitiveness. A sharp decline in employment is also undesirable, which leads to an increase in the number of unemployed, a decrease in consumer demand, decrease in tax revenues, an increase in spending on benefits and serious social consequences.

3. Forms and methods of state regulation of the economy

According to the way the state influences the interests of participants in economic relations, all instruments of state intervention in the market economy can be divided into administrative and economic.

The ratio of these regulatory instruments, which are fundamentally different in terms of their impact, as well as the degree of state regulation of the economy itself, varies significantly in individual countries and in different periods of economic development.

Where the level of economic development is high, the necessary degree of market regulation can only be achieved by economic means and, above all, by indirect forms of regulation. And vice versa: where the degree of development of the economic system is low, where there are distortions in the market system, it is impossible to do without the administrative intervention of the state in market relations.

The general list of possible areas of state intervention in the economy can look quite detailed:

1) development of "rules of the game" for the subjects of a market economy;

2) creation of the public sector and its management;

3) redistribution of income;

4) development and implementation of economic development programs;

5) fight against artificial monopoly and regulation of natural monopolies;

6) control over prices and wages;

7) regulation of the discount rate;

8) establishment of terms, norms and methods of depreciation;

9) regulation of taxes;

10) issue activity;

11) stimulation of foreign economic activity of firms and companies;

12) protecting the interests of national capital (customs policy, benefits, guarantees).

The main forms of state regulation of the economy can be considered in one of the aspects of such an impact - in the formation of prices for goods.

Thus, the state, being the most important economic subject of market relations, also plays a fundamental role as a regulator of the functioning of the economic system, allowing the entire system to respond in a timely manner to emerging contradictions in socio-economic development. This gives the market system additional stability, makes it socially safer, and often more efficient.

LECTURE No. 3. Goals, objectives, organizational structure of the company

1. The concept and general characteristics of the company

In countries with developed market economies, the firm is the main organizational link in the economy. A clear organization of intra-company management has allowed the developed capitalist countries to win strong positions in the domestic and foreign markets.

However, in the economic literature, both foreign and domestic, there is no unambiguous definition of the concept of "firm". Moreover, in the fundamental Russian regulatory documents (for example, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) only the concept of "organization" appears.

If for K. R. Maconnelly and S. L. Brew "a firm is an organization that uses resources to produce goods or services for profit, owns and manages one or more enterprises", then for V. E. Adamov, a firm is understood as an enterprise (organization) carrying out commercial activities for the purpose of making a profit, endowed with the rights of a legal entity, having its own name and having passed the registration procedure required by law with state-authorized bodies. Thus, in the first case, a fairly clear definition of the concept of "firm" is seen, and in the second, an attempt is made to differentiate the concepts of "organization", "enterprise", "firm". It is believed that in the conditions of the Russian economy, the second definition is more acceptable, especially in such a sector as industry.

Thus, in the scientific and educational literature, not one, but two similar concepts are widely used - "enterprise" and "firm". Both terms refer to the same entity, mainly an industrial or commercial organization. Nevertheless, a firm in Russia is more often understood as an economic organization of a production and non-production profile, as a rule, large and diversified, with many separate enterprises, branches, and institutions included in it. However, in accordance with Russian law, each organization recognized as a legal entity receives a company name upon registration. In this case, "firm" is a general concept of a commercial organization.

It is generally accepted that an enterprise without a corporate name cannot have other legal entities in its structure. On the contrary, firms may include legal entities subordinate to it, including branches, subsidiaries and other commercial and non-commercial structures. Often they have an independent authorized capital, bank account, the right to dispose of the property entrusted to them and are responsible for the results of their activities. As a rule, branches, representative offices and departments of the company are located in various remote areas.

At the same time, it should be noted that the concept of "firm" is often used as a synonym for the concept of "enterprise", which contradicts its semantic purpose. So, if an enterprise plays the role of a direct commodity producer, then the firm is called upon to play the role of an entrepreneur creating or transforming enterprises that provide financing for their activities. The very name of the company, its trademark, used when concluding economic contracts for goods, their packaging, allows you to individualize a particular enterprise and the activity of the company, unlike other manufacturers of homogeneous products.

2. Goals and objectives of the company, its organizational structure

The aims of the company's activities are to satisfy social needs and make a profit. Civilized market relations presuppose a reasonable combination of both goals, because, while working for himself, the entrepreneur also works for society.

Business is the economic activity of entrepreneurs, their art and ability to get more and more profit, to ensure a relatively high level of profitability. At the same time, the development of business in an open economy contributes to the saturation of the consumer market with goods and services, reveals the restructuring of the economy, stimulates the introduction of scientific and technological achievements, and contributes to an all-round increase in production efficiency. All this is an important goal of entrepreneurship - the satisfaction of social needs.

Firms cannot successfully start and exist in the future without referring to long-term perspectives and goals. Starting the creation of a company, enterprise, an entrepreneur or a group of entrepreneurs have a clear and precise goal. This goal must be reinforced by a system of continuous acquisition of orders for their products or services. The planned output of products or the provision of services must be provided with appropriate capital, all necessary material resources, and qualified personnel. All these issues must be reflected in sufficient detail in the main document of the company - the business plan. A clearly formulated goal is as necessary as the basis for developing a criterion for assessing the current state of affairs. Having a goal allows you to build a base of comparison and consider the value of current contracts and commitments, investment and innovation decisions in terms of their relevance to long-term prospects.

An essential quality of a modern enterprise, firm is the ability to respond flexibly to changes in the economic situation. The position of the firm in conditions of uncertainty will be the more stable, the more accurately it will be possible to adapt the upcoming changes to these goals. To do this, managers and specialists need to be competent in their chosen field of activity, possess the necessary character traits: purposefulness, perseverance, readiness for failure, the ability to constantly learn and draw conclusions from their own mistakes. It is necessary to select faithful partners and associates and be ready for competition.

The importance of having a goal for the company is also due to the need to give meaning to work, and therefore, to create motivation and maintain interest in the work of the company's personnel and, first of all, hired managers.

The overall goal of the company forms the basis for the development of strategies for the most important functional areas of the company - marketing, production, finance, research and development, personnel management. Accordingly, each of the areas realizes its own goals.

An important task of the enterprise, firm is to ensure stable economic growth. On this path, one has to overcome various negative factors: changes and falling demand for products and services; reduction in the flow of material resources; decrease in their quality; shortage of qualified labor force; problems in the system of settlements and payments, etc. The direct private task of the company's enterprise is to transform the factors of production, their processing and release of finished products or the provision of certain services.

The efficiency of the company's activities is greatly influenced by its organizational structure, which can be represented as two substructures - the organizational structure of production and the organizational structure of management and service.

The organizational structure of production is an intracompany composition of specialized production units that directly perform the functions of producing products and services of a consumer or industrial-technical nature. The main workshops and production sites play a leading role in the composition of production units. Between them, in one case, there may exist, and in the other - no, connections built on the principles of technological relations. If there are any, then their implementation is carried out by coordinating economic relations.

Production units designed to serve the main workshops and sections with their products and services are called auxiliary. These include units for the provision of thermal and electrical energy, for the repair of equipment, the manufacture of tools, technological equipment, etc. The units that ensure the normal functioning of all main and auxiliary shops and sections are called service units. These include warehousing, intercompany transport, communications. The production structure of a firm depends on the type and volume of products produced, the forms of specialization and the nature of interfirm cooperation, the forms of labor organization in the firm, and other factors.

The organizational structure of management and service is the composition of the company's management bodies, between which managerial and service functions are distributed, and methods for their implementation are established. The connections here are built on the principles of coordination or subordination and are implemented as a vertical system of decision-making rules.

The organizational structure of the company is an integrated set of real conditions for achieving the set goals, and therefore its scheme should reflect the direction of economic activity, and the composition of technical capital, and personnel, and the distribution of production between the enterprises of the company, and the target orientation of product sales, and much more. The organizational structure of the company should reflect the conditions that ensure not only the economic mission, but also the development of a long-term strategy for achieving the goals of the company, as well as the formation of management mechanisms for implementing this strategy through a system of plans.

The effectiveness of the current organizational structure of the company is determined by the result of its work, i.e., the profit received from the sale of goods and services. At the stage of designing a new or reorganizing an old structure, one has to resort to second-order criteria, which can be divided into four groups.

The first group is the criteria for statistical efficiency, i.e. indicators of production efficiency. At the same time, the organizational structure is considered in conditions of relatively stable demand from a permanent circle of consumers for products that change little over time. As a rule, the effect of such a structure is the higher, the more the desire to obtain economies of scale is realized. The convenience of using statistical efficiency as the main criterion characterizing the quality of the organizational structure lies in the possibility of using quantitative methods of analysis and optimization of the organizational structure.

The criteria of the second group measure the organizational structure from the standpoint of production agility. Therefore, they evaluate the firm's ability to quickly and efficiently change production parameters within the chosen line of business. The organizational structure is considered in terms of changes in the level of demand or the actions of competitors, which have a number of consequences for the firm: a decrease in product prices, a decrease in market share, and a decrease in the return on capital due to this decline. Obviously, the desire to have more flexible production is in conflict with the conditions for increasing statistical efficiency. So, if maneuverability implies the creation of a reserve of production capacities, then statistical efficiency requires their reduction (reserves) to a minimum.

The criteria of the third group make it possible to judge the flexibility of the firm in resolving issues of strategy or its ability to respond to changes in the nature of activity, and not its size. Scope - those areas of business activity in which there is a rapid obsolescence of products, changes in technology, new opportunities appear associated with entering international markets, but there is also a strong susceptibility to the influence of legal restrictions. A typical reaction to these circumstances is manifested in a change in the range of products and markets, the organization of branches, subsidiaries, or even the termination of certain activities.

The fourth group is the criteria for the dynamics of the structure, which also make it possible to assess the ability of a company to change its organizational forms, to adapt the organizational structure to existing conditions. Ideally, the ability to change should be inherent in the very nature of the structure. In this case, the adaptation will be quick and will take place without reducing the efficiency of the firm. As practice shows, the most dynamic are organizational structures in which decision-making is decentralized to the maximum extent according to the principle "each executor is given the right to independently organize his activities."

From the list of possible options, according to one or another criterion, the structure that is most suitable for the projected organization and its economic mission is selected.

3. Classification of firms

The historical experience of managing has given rise to many types of firms, reflecting various forms and methods of attracting and using capital. All this diversity is usually classified according to a number of criteria: type of economic activity, type of subject and ownership, nationality of capital, scale of activity and quantitative criteria.

By the type of economic activity and the nature of the operations performed, they recognize industrial, trading, insurance, engineering, consulting, auditing, specializing in the field of transport, communications, as well as conducting operations with cash, real estate, securities, etc.

In all industrial countries with a developed market economy, the largest in terms of total sales are industrial firms, and the most numerous are groups of firms operating in the field of research, information, consulting and other types of services. Among them, there is a significant proportion of engineering firms that provide various engineering and technical services related to the design, construction and commissioning of technically complex facilities, the development of new technologies and the improvement of previously mastered technologies, etc.

All countries with a market economy are characterized by a large number of firms engaged in trade (domestic and foreign). These can be wholesale and retail trade firms, trading and intermediary, export-import, etc. Trading firms can enter the sales mode of large industrial companies or act as independent entities. The profit of such firms is formed due to the difference between the prices of purchased and sold goods, as well as remuneration for the services of promoting goods to the markets. Large trading firms are characterized by a combination of commercial activities with finalization operations (sorting, packaging, packaging), transportation, insurance of purchased and sold goods.

Transport companies transport goods and passengers. Usually they specialize in certain types of transportation, in connection with which shipping, road, rail and aviation firms differ.

Firms can be classified not only by a specific type, but also by the degree of coverage of types of economic activity. It is possible to differentiate firms into mono-industry and diversified (diversified).

There are two types of diversified firms. Relating to the first type, with all the variety of fields of activity, they retain a fairly pronounced profiling production (main specialization). According to the organizational structure, such firms, as a rule, are concerns.

The second type of diversified firms are the so-called conglomerate firms. Unlike firms of the first type, they do not have a dominant industry core, i.e., core production. Here are concentrated types of economic activity that do not have any production or functional ties. The goals of conglomerates are not aimed at increasing efficiency, they are often speculative (for example, obtaining additional profit by playing on stock prices). Conglomerates live only as long as they manage to generate a high rate of return on capital through the acquisition of fast-growing firms, as well as the elimination of low-margin subsidiaries and branches. Otherwise, they either disintegrate or change their strategy. The latter means the concentration of efforts on the production of any one product and the transformation of a previously conglomerate structure into a diversified firm of the first type.

On the basis of the subject of ownership, all firms, or rather, the property assigned to them, may be owned by citizens, legal entities, as well as the Russian Federation, constituent entities of the Russian Federation and municipalities. At the same time, the exclusion of the decisive participation of the state in the implementation of property rights brings the company closer to being called private. Within the framework of private entrepreneurship, there are individual and group forms of ownership and, accordingly, three main types of firms:

1) sole proprietorships, characterized by a direct combination of the functions of ownership and management;

2) partnerships owned on shares by two or more persons, the features of which are the specialization of management functions and unlimited liability of co-owners for the activities of partners;

3) companies where there is a separation of management functions from the functions of ownership, but already with limited liability for the activities of the company.

From the point of view of the national ownership of capital and the scale of activity, all firms can be classified as national or transnational. Transnational corporations (TNCs) are, as a rule, large concerns, which are characterized by international diversification of activities.

According to the quantitative criterion, firms are usually divided into large, medium and small enterprises or the so-called small business. The criteria for this can be: sales volume, the value of the equity capital of the company, the number of employees. The use of these criteria in combination allows you to get a more reliable assessment of the "size" of the company than when using one of them. At the same time, due to the special position of small business in a market economy and the system of state measures that provide support for it, which exists not only in Russia, but also in other countries, it is customary to establish the number of employees as a criterion limiting a group of enterprises. In modern conditions, the combination of large, medium and small enterprises determines not only the structural diversity of the market economy, but also the prerequisites and conditions for its development.

LECTURE No. 4. The production structure of the enterprise

1. Enterprise and property

An enterprise is an independent economic entity established in accordance with the current legislation for the production of products, the provision of services, the performance of work in order to meet public needs and make a profit. The enterprise independently carries out its activities, disposes of the products produced, the profit received, remaining at its disposal after paying taxes and other obligatory payments. It turns out that the company is an independent commodity producer. The concept of "superior body" disappeared from the legislative circulation. The owner of state property is not entitled to interfere in the activities of the enterprise after the conclusion of an agreement with him and the approval of the charter.

Under the conditions of the command-administrative system, the charter of the enterprise, although it determined its significant independence, was of a formal nature. The owner, represented by the ministry, constantly intervened in the operational management of the enterprise. Under the conditions of the commodity market, no one can command an independent commodity producer, it is controlled by the market. Enterprises can voluntarily merge on a contractual basis, but there are no higher administrative bodies over them.

The characteristic features of the enterprise are, firstly, production and technical unity, expressed in the commonality of production processes, secondly, organizational unity, expressed in the presence of a single leadership, plan, thirdly, economic integrity, expressed in the unity of material, financial and technical resources , as well as economic performance.

An enterprise may consist of homogeneous workshops or sections, of technologically different workshops, as a result of the joint activity of which products are produced, work is performed, and services are provided. Important features that unite the enterprise into a single whole are a common auxiliary economy and a single territory.

The basis of the activity of each enterprise is the production process, which is a set of interrelated main, service and auxiliary labor processes aimed at manufacturing products, performing work.

The main process usually consists of procurement, processing and assembly stages.

At the procurement stage, blanks are created (packaging, castings, stampings from a sheet of metal), which, as a rule, are subjected to further processing at the same enterprise.

At the processing stage of the blank, the materials are processed, as a result of which they turn into finished parts. This stage of the production process takes place in mechanical, thermal shops.

The assembly stage is the process of assembling parts into units of a product, and then assembling finished products.

Auxiliary processes (for example, in mechanical engineering) are understood as the following processes: repair of equipment, buildings, structures; production and repair of technical equipment; production and transmission of all types of energy (electrical, thermal, compressed air). Some auxiliary processes may consist of three stages: procurement, processing and assembly (for example, the process of manufacturing tooling).

Service processes include those that are associated with the maintenance of the main and auxiliary processes, for example, warehouse work, control work.

The entire production process is divided into separate processes, the main structural unit of which is the operation. An operation is a part of the production process performed at one workplace without equipment readjustment, as a rule, by one worker. Operations are divided into main and auxiliary.

The workplace is a part of the production area, equipped with the necessary equipment and devices, where workers carry out certain operations of the production process.

In the conditions of market relations, the issue of ownership becomes important. The concept of property is defined as a system of economic relations for the use, possession and disposal of property. The labor collective is, as a rule, the user of the property; the administration exercises the right to own the property. Issues of purchase and sale of property are resolved by its owner - the manager of property.

Only the owner of the property has the right to create enterprises. Previously, ministries, departments, various main departments used this right. With the beginning of the economic reform, instead of ministries, concerns, associations, associations were formed, to which the Council of Ministers of the Russian Federation also granted the right to create enterprises, rent them out, and reorganize them. All of these are now cancelled. Concerns, unions, associations can only create enterprises based on the common property of the participants, that is, on the basis of non-state property, as a rule, through corporatization.

And state-owned enterprises themselves have no right to create state-owned enterprises. Russian legislation does not encourage the development of state property, it is focused on the development of a system of enterprises based on private property. On the basis of divisions of state enterprises, joint-stock companies, limited liability companies, i.e., enterprises with a non-state form of ownership, can be created. In order to create a state-owned enterprise by separating it from an existing state-owned enterprise, it is necessary to obtain permission from the state property management committee. An application for separation may be filed by the labor collective of the separating unit.

A joint-stock company can create any number of independent enterprises, endow them with property, approve their charter, and determine the mode of operation.

All enterprises are divided into owners and non-owners. The first group is those enterprises whose property is in their ownership, and they can do with their property everything that is not prohibited by law. The second group - enterprises that use the property provided to them by the owner. Such enterprises are limited in their activities by the framework that is established for them not only by law, but also by the owner of the property through a charter or contract.

2. Organizational types of building the production structure of the enterprise

For the implementation of production processes at the enterprises, main and auxiliary workshops and service facilities are created.

The division of the enterprise into production units (workshops, sections, services), the principles of their construction, interconnection and placement are commonly called the production structure of the enterprise. The production structure of the enterprise determines the division of labor between its individual parts, i.e. intra-factory specialization and co-production.

Preparation of enterprises for work in a market economy necessarily includes the improvement of the production structure of the enterprise, which must: firstly, be flexible, dynamic and constantly correspond to the changing private goals of the enterprise, for example, provide the possibility of expanding the enterprise without significant disruption of the current course of production; secondly, to quickly adapt to unexpected changes in external conditions (for example, changes in market conditions); thirdly, to have the ability for effective self-organization of production units as the tasks facing the enterprise change.

Each large enterprise is divided into large subdivisions - workshops, services, farms - and subdivisions of a lower order - sections, departments, jobs.

The division into large divisions involves the division of the enterprise into workshops: main, auxiliary, service and secondary.

A workshop is an administratively separate, but closely related in the production process, subdivision of an enterprise in which products or parts of a product are manufactured or a certain stage of the technological process is performed.

In the main workshops, processes are concentrated for a qualitative change in the state or shape of the processed object of labor in order to turn it into a finished product.

Auxiliary shops are not directly involved in the production of products, but only contribute to this, provide the conditions necessary for the normal operation of the main shops (for example, repair shops).

Service facilities and services perform maintenance work on the main and auxiliary workshops (for example, storage facilities, energy facilities, transport workshops). Side workshops are engaged in the use and processing of waste from the main production (for example, consumer goods workshops).

An important economic issue related to the production structure of the enterprise is the ratio between the main workshops and auxiliary and service workshops (sections). The process of manufacturing products takes place in the main production shops, so they should occupy a predominant place not only in their role in the work of the enterprise, but also in the number of workers employed in them, in terms of the production area occupied. Meanwhile, even at large enterprises, the number of workers in auxiliary shops often exceeds the number of production workers. This ratio is the result of a higher level of mechanization and automation of the main production, which leads to a decrease in the labor intensity of work in the main shops, and, consequently, to a reduction in the number of main workers. At the same time, the volume of work on the care of equipment and its repair is increasing. The resulting unfavorable ratio in numbers can be eliminated by extensive mechanization of auxiliary work.

The production structure of the enterprise is not constant. It should be improved in connection with changes in the range, range and quantity of products produced, under the influence of improvements in technology, technology and organization of production.

The production structure of an enterprise is very diverse and depends on the following three interrelated factors: the level of specialization of the enterprise and its cooperation with other enterprises; on the scale of production, i.e., the size of output and its labor intensity; on the nature, features of the technological process.

The level of specialization of an enterprise directly determines the degree of division of the production process between shops and the forms of cooperation within the enterprise and with other enterprises. The more specialized the enterprise, the more grounds and opportunities there are for creating highly specialized workshops.

The scale of production directly determines the quantitative composition of the workshops of the enterprise, the size and level of specialization. The larger the scale of production, the more workshops at the enterprise and the larger each workshop in terms of size and production volume.

At large enterprises, it is possible to create several technologically similar workshops - mechanical, machine-assembly, foundries. On the contrary, in small enterprises it is possible to create a workshopless production structure.

The nature of the technological process directly determines the composition of the enterprise's workshops and is reflected in their specialization. The more parts are made from castings, stampings, the more reason (taking into account the scale of production) for the organization of independent foundry and stamping shops.

Enterprises of various industries have different production structures. Even within the same industry, the production structure of enterprises is very diverse.

The question of the production structure of an enterprise is decided during the construction of new enterprises, their reconstruction, in the course of redevelopment of equipment, mechanization of sections and workshops.

The organization of workshops can be based on a technological, subject or mixed form of their specialization, therefore, three types of the production structure of an enterprise are distinguished.

The first type of construction of the production structure of the enterprise is technological. The creation of workshops of such enterprises is based on the technological principle, when the workshops perform a complex of homogeneous technological operations for the manufacture or processing of a wide variety of parts for all products of the plant.

Most of the procurement workshops belong to this type of construction of the production structure. So, the press shop performs technologically homogeneous operations for processing objects of labor by the pressure method, producing the most diverse weight and shape of workpieces for all products of the enterprise.

The disadvantages of the technological type of construction of the production structure are that the shop management is responsible only for a certain part of the production process, not being responsible for the quality of the part, assembly, product as a whole. It is difficult to arrange the equipment along the technological process, since a wide variety of blank parts are made in the workshop. Therefore, it is necessary to arrange equipment according to homogeneous types, groups, and thereby increase the length of intrashop transportation. So, in the press shops, sections of small, medium and large machine tools are created.

Technological specialization of workshops increases the duration of the production cycle. The organization of the main workshops on a technological basis is typical for enterprises of single and small-scale production, producing a diverse and unstable range of products.

The second type of construction of the production structure of the enterprise is subject. The creation of workshops of such enterprises is based on an objective feature, when workshops specialize in the manufacture of a certain limited range of products, assemblies or parts, while applying the most technologically diverse processes and operations, using a wide variety of equipment. The subject type of building the production structure of an enterprise is the most progressive, since subject specialization allows organizing subject-closed areas in mass production and production lines in mass production.

As the scale of production increases, the technological specialization of workshops deepens, taking into account the dimensions of equipment or products, the metal used, or other features. In mechanical engineering, the subject-technological, or mixed, type of building the production structure of an enterprise has become widespread.

3. Ways to improve the efficiency of the production structure of the enterprise

Each stage of industrial development corresponds to a certain production structure of the enterprise, which largely contributes to improving the efficiency of its work.

At the initial stage of industrial development, universal enterprises arose that had a complex production structure, since they had a complete set of procurement, processing and assembly shops (iron foundries, non-ferrous foundries, forging and pressing, mechanical and metalwork and assembly, etc.). Such a production structure made it possible to fulfill any production order, provided the enterprise with high competitiveness, independence from external conditions, primarily from the underdevelopment of vehicles. At this stage of industrial development, the technological type of construction of the production structure reigned supreme, which was also predetermined by the existing level of technological development, which made it possible to have only a group transmission drive, when units of only the same power received energy from one camshaft. This level of development of technology made it necessary to arrange equipment in groups of homogeneous machines. The undivided dominance of the technological type of the production structure was also due to the fact that the enterprises were dominated by single and serial types of production.

The industrialization and reconstruction of the entire national economy created a huge need for machines, and consequently, for large specialized machine-building plants. Scientific and technological progress has led to the creation of an individual drive that allows you to install units with a wide variety of production capacities in one line. Therefore, factories began to appear with the subject construction of processing shops. However, the procurement stage of the production process is still an integral part of almost every (even medium and small) enterprise, and the procurement workshops remained technologically specialized.

Further progress in engineering and production technology led to the creation of end-to-end subject-closed workshops and sections that combined procurement and processing operations.

The efficiency of subject-closed areas is achieved as a result of reducing and simplifying intra-factory cooperation by reducing the number of areas where each part, assembly, product is processed; reducing the number, variety of routes and the range of processed products on the site; reduction of time losses for equipment readjustment; reduction of inter-sectional and inter-operational time of parts soaking.

The efficiency of subject-closed workshops is expressed in increasing the productivity of workers and reducing the cost of production due to the fact that the responsibility of the heads of production departments for the release of products assigned to the workshop, on time, in a given quantity and of the appropriate quality, increases. Favorable conditions are being created for the introduction of in-line methods of organizing production, complex mechanization and automation of production processes, and the duration of the production cycle for manufacturing products is being reduced.

An important way to improve the production structure of enterprises is to reduce the share of auxiliary and service shops and services without prejudice to the normal operation of the main production. This is possible due to the expansion of cooperation between production service enterprises on the basis of the creation of specialized repair and tool factories. The transfer of major and partially minor repairs of equipment, the manufacture of tools to specialized factories will either eliminate a number of service and support units, or significantly reduce the number of employees in them.

Currently, many blanks for parts are obtained using imperfect manufacturing methods. As a result, they are significantly different in size and configuration from the finished parts of the product. Machining allowances are very large, which leads to the need to create powerful machine shops at the enterprises involved in the processing of workpieces by cutting. Consequently, machining is basically unproductive work, and the high proportion of machine shops in the production structure of an enterprise is an indicator of the backwardness of the equipment and production technology used at the procurement stage of the production process. Reducing the share of machine shops in the production structure of enterprises through the introduction of advanced methods for producing blanks (precision casting, welding, precision stamping) provides a significant economic effect based on reducing the labor intensity of processing blanks and reducing the consumption of raw materials, materials for each detail of the product.

An integral part of the production process at enterprises is the procurement stage. Now procurement workshops in their production structure have not only medium and large, but even small enterprises. The equipment of blank shops at medium and small enterprises has a low load factor, the blank shops themselves occupy significant production areas.

Transferring the production of blanks to specialized plants, where as a result conditions are created for serial and mass production, will allow each individual enterprise not to have press, welding, and foundry sections in its production structure.

Thus, the analysis of ways to improve the production structure shows that in the future, firms should come to such a production structure, where there are no procurement and tool shops, where the number of repair and machine shops has been cut. All this will significantly reduce the number of people employed in auxiliary and service processes of production, at the procurement stage of the production process, at the processing stage, and, consequently, reduce the cost of production, increase the profitability and profitability of production.

LECTURE No. 5. Organizational and legal forms of enterprises (firms)

1. Commercial organization and non-profit organization

The diversity of enterprises in the country's economy is great. They differ from each other, firstly, in size. As indicators of the size of the enterprise are usually used: the number of people working on it, the number of products or services provided, the amount of capital. Secondly, enterprises differ in the variety of products they produce or services they provide. Third, businesses differ in the way they own property. However, the most important feature of the classification of an economic entity in a market economy is the division of this entity on the basis of organizational and legal forms of enterprises.

The ongoing economic reform in the country is impossible without the appropriate organizational and legal structures, which are regulated by the state through the Civil Code and special laws.

The Civil Code introduces the concepts of "commercial organization" and "non-commercial organization". The main goal of a commercial organization is to make a profit. A non-profit organization does not pursue profit as the main goal of its activities, and if it makes a profit, then it is not distributed among the participants of the organization.

The leading place in the market economy belongs to commercial organizations, which are created in the form of:

1) business partnerships;

2) economic companies;

3) production cooperatives;

4) state and municipal unitary enterprises.

Organizational and legal forms presuppose a difference between enterprises according to the forms of ownership, but at the same time they also differ according to the status of the owner of the capital used; according to the method of distribution of profits and losses; the number of participants in this business entity; limits of property liability; sources of property; forms of management.

2. General partnership

Business partnerships are recognized as commercial organizations with the authorized capital divided into shares (contributions) of the founders or participants. Property created at the expense of contributions of founders or participants, as well as subsequently produced or acquired, is the property of the partnership itself. The participants in the partnership retain, in relation to this property, the right to acquire a share of the income from the activities of the partnership.

Business partnerships under the Civil Code of the Russian Federation can be formed in the form of a general partnership and limited partnerships (limited partnerships). These two organizational and legal forms have many common features. A contribution to the property of a business partnership may be money, securities, other things or property rights, as well as other rights having a monetary value.

Monetary assessment of the contribution of a participant in a business partnership occurs by agreement between the participants (founders) of the partnership. Business partnerships are not entitled to issue shares.

Members of a business partnership have the right to participate in managing the affairs of the partnership, to receive information about the activities of the partnership, to participate in the distribution of profits, and in the event of the liquidation of the partnership, to receive part of the property remaining after settlements with creditors. Participants in a business partnership may also have other rights, which are provided for by the founding documents of the partnership.

Participants of a business partnership are obliged to make contributions in the manner, amount, methods and within the time limits provided for by the founders or participants; not disclose the trade secret of the partnership. They may also bear other obligations stipulated by the founding documents of the partnership.

A general partnership may be transformed into a limited partnership or a production cooperative by decision of the general meeting of participants.

The main document that defines the principles of the activity of a business partnership, the relationship of participants and its status, is the memorandum of association, which is signed by all participants in the partnership.

The founding document of a business partnership must define the name of the legal entity, its location, and the procedure for managing the activities of the business partnership.

The memorandum of association must contain provisions on the conduct of business of the partnership; transfer of property to his ownership; distribution of profits and losses; change in the composition of participants; conditions and procedure for joint activities; the rights, duties and responsibilities of the participants in the partnership; consequences of the withdrawal of participants from the partnership.

The design of a business partnership is designed for a small number of participants, although the Civil Code of the Russian Federation does not establish any restrictions on the composition and number of participants.

A partnership is recognized as full, the participants of which take part in entrepreneurial activities on behalf of the partnership and are liable for its obligations with their property.

In accordance with Russian laws, only commercial legal entities and individual entrepreneurs can be general partnerships.

A person may be a participant in only one full partnership. The business name of a general partnership must contain either the names of all its participants and the words "general partnership", or the name of one or more participants with the addition of the words "and company" and the phrase "general partnership".

The management of the activities of a full partnership is carried out by common agreement of all participants or by a decision of a majority of votes, if this is provided for by the memorandum of association. Each participant in a general partnership has one vote and is entitled to get acquainted with all the documents relating to the conduct of an incomplete partnership.

Each participant in a full partnership has the right to act on behalf of the partnership, provided that the foundation agreement does not establish the conduct of business jointly or the conduct of business is entrusted to an individual participant (director). In this case, each transaction requires the consent of all participants in the partnership or the director of the partnership. The rights to conduct business of the partnership, which are granted to one or several participants, may be interrupted by the court at the request of one or several other participants if there are serious grounds (for example, violation by the authorized person of his duties).

Profits and losses of a general partnership are distributed among its participants, usually in proportion to their shares in the authorized capital. If, as a result of losses incurred by the partnership, the value of its net assets becomes less than the size of its authorized capital, the profit received by the partnership is not divided among the participants until the value of net assets exceeds the amount of the authorized capital. Participants in a full partnership shall jointly and severally bear subsidiary liability with their property for the obligations of the partnership.

Liability (subsidiary) means the additional liability of all participants in a general partnership in proportion to their contribution to the authorized capital. For example, if the property of the partnership is insufficient to pay off debts, the founders (participants) of the partnership are liable with their personal property in proportion to the contributions made to the general partnership. A participant in a full partnership who is not its founder is liable on an equal footing with other founders for obligations that arise before he joins the partnership. A participant who has withdrawn from the partnership shall be liable for the obligations of the partnership that arose before the moment of his withdrawal within 2 years from the date of approval of the report on the activities of the partnership for the year in which he withdrew from the partnership.

A participant who has withdrawn from a general partnership is usually paid the value of a part of the partnership's property or is given in kind (only by agreement with the remaining participants). At the same time, the shares of the remaining participants in the authorized capital of the partnership increase accordingly.

The founder of a general partnership has the right (but only with the consent of the remaining participants) to transfer his share in the authorized capital or part of it to another participant or a third party.

Foreclosure on a participant's share in the authorized capital of a full partnership for the participant's own debts is allowed only if his property is insufficient to cover the debts. The creditors of such a participant shall have the right to demand from the general partnership the apportionment of a part of the partnership's property (corresponding to the debtor's share in the charter capital) in order to foreclose on this property. In this case, the participation of the debtor in the partnership is terminated, however, he continues to be liable for the obligations of the general partnership that arose before the moment of his termination of participation in the activities of the general partnership.

A general partnership may be liquidated:

1) by decision of its founders (participants);

2) by a court decision;

3) in the case when the only participant remained in the general partnership, while he has the right to transform such a partnership into a business company within 6 months.

A general partnership may also be liquidated in a number of other cases, if the constituent agreement or agreement of the remaining participants does not provide that the business partnership continues its activities, namely in the following cases:

1) exit or death of any of the participants;

2) recognition of one of the participants as missing or insolvent (bankrupt);

3) discoveries in relation to one of the participants in the reorganization procedures by a court decision;

4) appeals of the creditor of one of the participants foreclosure on a part of the property corresponding to its share in the authorized capital.

Such an organizational and legal form of an economic entity as a general partnership is almost never found in the practice of Russian entrepreneurship. It is unpopular with entrepreneurs because it does not define the limits of their liability for partnership debts.

Meanwhile, throughout the world, general partnerships are widespread and successfully operate mainly in the field of small and medium-sized businesses. For example, they are organized by doctors, lawyers and other persons providing paid services.

3. Limited partnership

A limited partnership (limited partnership) is a partnership in which, along with the participants who carry out entrepreneurial activities on behalf of the partnership and are liable for the obligations of the partnership with their property (general partners), there are one or more participants-contributors (limited partners) who bear the risk of losses, associated with the activities of the partnership within the limits of the amounts of contributions made by them, and do not take part in the implementation of entrepreneurial activities by the partnership. Limited partners can make a contribution not only in cash, but also in the form of premises, vehicles, etc. funds and material resources, allows you to accumulate funds for major business activities. However, contributors must have confidence in those to whom they transfer their funds in order to avoid losses from bad business practices. Therefore, this organizational and legal form is called a limited partnership.

The position of general partners participating in a limited partnership and their liability for the obligations of the partnership are determined by the same rules as for participants in a general partnership. A person may become a general partner in only one limited partnership. The business name of a limited partnership, as well as a general partnership, must contain the names of all general partners and the phrase "limited partnership". If the business name of a limited partnership includes the name of a contributor, such contributor becomes a general partner. The rules established by the Civil Code for a general partnership apply to a limited partnership.

A limited partnership is created and operates on the basis of a founding agreement, which is signed only by general partners and must contain the same information as the founding agreement of a general partnership. At the same time, participants in a limited partnership should remember that upon the liquidation of all investors, the partnership is destroyed or transformed into a general partnership. However, a limited partnership is preserved if only one general partner and a contributor remain in the partnership. This situation is not regulated by the Civil Code: the question remains - with whom will the founding agreement of a limited partnership be concluded if the general partner remains in the singular, and the investor is not a party to the agreement?

Obviously, an amendment should be made to the Civil Code and indicate that in such cases the founding document of a limited partnership is the charter approved by the remaining general partner.

The management of the activities of the partnership is carried out by the general partners. Investors are not entitled to participate in the management and conduct of affairs of a limited partnership, to act on its behalf, if there is no appropriate power of attorney. They cannot challenge the actions of general partners in the management and conduct of the affairs of the partnership.

The contributor of a limited partnership is obliged to make a contribution to the authorized capital. The contribution by the investor of a property contribution to the authorized capital of the partnership is certified by a certificate of participation issued to the investor by a limited partnership.

The Civil Code defines the following rights of a depositor:

1) receive a part of the profit of a limited partnership, which constitutes its share in the authorized capital;

2) get acquainted with the annual reports and balance sheets of the partnership;

3) at the end of the financial year, withdraw from the limited partnership and receive their contribution;

4) transfer his share in the authorized capital or part of it to another contributor or a third party.

The founding agreement of a limited partnership may also provide for other rights of the contributor.

A limited partnership is liquidated upon the liquidation of all the investors participating in it, as well as under the same conditions under which a general partnership is liquidated. The property remaining after the liquidation of a limited partnership shall be distributed among general partners and investors in proportion to their shares in the charter capital of the partnership.

A limited partnership, where a commercial legal entity is a general partner, and any person is a contributor, has a certain attractiveness for entrepreneurs.

The law on income tax of enterprises and organizations determines that funds credited to the authorized capital of an enterprise by its founders in the prescribed manner are not subject to withdrawal. But the contributor of a limited partnership has the right to withdraw his contribution from the property of the partnership.

A limited partnership is very convenient for those who wish to provide a commercial loan at minimal cost, that is, for investors.

However, for the same reasons as general partnerships, limited partnerships have not become widespread in Russia.

4. Limited Liability Company

Business companies are recognized as commercial organizations with authorized (pooled) capital divided into contributions of the founders. The property created thanks to the contributions of the founders, as well as the property produced and purchased by the farm in the course of its activity, belongs to the founder by the right of ownership.

The Civil Code provides that a business company may also be created by one member, who becomes its sole participant.

Business companies can be created in the form of a joint-stock company, a limited liability company, an additional liability company. State bodies and local self-government bodies have the right to act as participants in economic companies.

Business companies may be founders (participants) of other business companies. Business companies of one type may be transformed into business companies of another type or into production cooperatives.

In accordance with the Civil Code, a contribution to the property of a business company of any organizational and legal form may be money, securities, other things or property rights or other rights having a monetary value. Thus, a contribution to the authorized capital (for example, of a joint-stock company) can also be exclusive rights to the results of intellectual activity, which have received the general name "intellectual property" in the legislation.

A participant's contribution to the charter capital of the company may be: property right to use the object of copyright or "know-how" transferred under an agreement that does not require any registration; things that are a copy of an author's work (pictures, books, computer programs, films, etc.), transferred to the ownership of a business company or partnership. Property rights are reflected in the accounting records of the recipient organization as intangible assets.

The authorized capital of a limited liability company is collected from the value of the contributions of its participants, its amount cannot be less than the amount determined by law. It is not allowed to make a contribution to the authorized capital of the company by offsetting claims against the company. The authorized capital of a limited liability company must be at least half contributed by its participants at the time of registration of the company, otherwise the company will be obliged to reduce its authorized capital. If, after the end of the second year or each subsequent financial year, the value of the net assets of a limited liability company becomes less than the minimum amount of authorized capital determined by law, the company is subject to liquidation. An increase in the authorized capital of a limited liability company is allowed after all its participants have made contributions in full.

The issues of company management are provided and regulated in detail by the Law "On Limited Liability Companies": general meeting, board of directors (supervisory board), executive body (board, directorate, general director, president, etc.), audit commission.

The supreme body of an LLC is the general meeting of its participants, which elects the executive body (collegiate or sole), which carries out the current management of the company. The sole management body of a limited liability company may be preferred and not from among its participants.

There are different options for the procedure for convening and holding a general meeting of a limited liability company. For example, regular general meetings of participants are held once a year, as a rule, after the submission of reports to the tax authorities and summing up the results of activities for the past year. The place of the general meeting is usually the legal address of the company. The General Meeting is valid if it is attended by participants with at least 50% of the votes.

Extraordinary general meetings may be held at the initiative of the director or any of the founders in cases where urgent resolution of issues of significant importance to the company is required. Some issues determined by the charter of a limited liability company are resolved by a 2/3 majority vote of the participants present at the general meeting; other issues are resolved by a simple majority vote of the participants present at the meeting. The exclusive competence of the general meeting of participants in a limited liability company includes:

1) modification of the charter of the company;

2) change in the size of its authorized capital;

3) organization of the executive bodies of the company;

4) acceptance of annual reports and balance sheets;

5) distribution of profits and losses;

6) a conclusion on the reorganization or liquidation of the company;

7) selection of the audit commission (auditor) of the company.

Federal Law No. 08.02.1998-FZ of 14 "On Limited Liability Companies" specifically emphasizes the additional rights of the general meeting in comparison with the rights of assembly, which are provided for by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. It now has the right to determine the main areas of activity of a limited liability company, make decisions on participation in various associations, and appoint audits. However, the general meeting of the company does not have the right to decide on the exclusion of a participant from the company. It can only be excluded by a court order. The participants in the company, whose shares in the aggregate amount to at least 10% of the authorized capital of the company, have the right to apply to the court with a claim for the exclusion from the company of a participant who does not fulfill his duties or by his actions interferes or makes it impossible for the normal activity of the company. Such a special procedure for exclusion of a participant is due to the fact that a limited liability company is a legal entity based on the combination of capital (property) first of all, and not labor efforts, as is customary in a cooperative. With regard to the admission of new members, no one can be admitted to the society without the consent of all its members. Such a limitation makes a limited liability company inflexible: it is rather difficult to introduce a new member into its composition. Even the heir or successor of a member enters the society only with the consent of all its members. At the same time, society is able to protect itself from the need to accept undesirable members into its membership.

A limited liability company has become widespread, as it has a number of advantages.

1. From 1 to 50 individuals or legal entities, both commercial and non-commercial, may participate in the activities of the company.

2. The organizational and legal form of the company is very attractive for entrepreneurs just because the participants are not liable for the debts of the company.

3. Although a limited liability company is prohibited from issuing shares, it is allowed to issue bonds to raise additional funds in an amount not exceeding the amount of the authorized capital or the amount of security provided to the company for these purposes by third parties.

4. Each participant may at any time withdraw from the membership of the society. At the same time, the participant leaving the company must be paid: the share of profit due to him based on the results of the company's work; the value of his contribution to the statutory fund of the company and the value of a part of the company's property proportional to this contribution, i.e., the payment of the value of his contribution and increment.

5. With the consent of the company, the heir (legal successor) of the participant also becomes a participant in the company. In case of disagreement of the participants, he is paid monetary compensation in the amount of payments due to the deceased participant.

6. The creditor of one of the participants in the company, if other property of the participant is insufficient to cover his debts, has the right to levy execution on his share in a limited liability company.

7. A participant may be expelled from a limited liability company only by a court decision, which protects him from the administrative arbitrariness of the company's management.

8. Admission of new members is carried out only with the consent of all members of a limited liability company, which prevents the emergence of unwanted participants in the company.

An additional liability company is a company established by one or more persons. The authorized capital, as in a limited liability company, is divided into shares of certain sizes. However, the liability of the participants in such a company has been expanded to the level of liability of a full partnership - the participants jointly and severally bear subsidiary liability for the obligations of the company with their property in an amount equal to the value of their investments. When one of the participants goes bankrupt, his responsibility for the promises of the company is divided among the other participants in proportion to their contributions.

The trade name of a company with additional liability must necessarily include the words "with additional liability" and the name of the company.

The rules of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and the Law "On Limited Liability Companies" apply to an additional liability company.

5. Joint stock company

A joint stock company (JSC) is a commercial organization whose authorized capital is divided into a certain number of shares. Members of a joint-stock company (shareholders) bear the risk of losses associated with the activities of the company, to the extent of the value of their contributions and are not liable for its obligations.

The legal status of joint-stock companies during the period of their creation was regulated mainly by the Regulations on joint-stock companies (approved by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR dated December 25.12.1990, 601 No. 1) and a series of decrees of the President of the Russian Federation and other by-laws that were in force to the extent that did not contradict the provisions of Part XNUMX Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Federal Law No. 26.12.1995-FZ of December 208, 1 "On Joint-Stock Companies", which came into effect on January 1996, 721, has significantly changed the entire legal field in the field of corporate relations. After that, a difficult situation arose from the point of view of the interaction of the norms of various legal acts. The regulation of corporate relations for joint-stock companies created in the process of privatization is especially difficult. For such joint-stock companies, the norms of the Model Articles of Association approved by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 01.07.1992 dated July XNUMX, XNUMX continue to apply. However, those provisions of the JSC charters that contradict the provisions of the Law "On Joint-Stock Companies" have ceased to be valid.

A joint stock company is considered established as a legal entity from the moment of its registration. A company is created without a time limit, unless otherwise provided by its charter.

The Company is liable for its obligations with all its property, but is not liable for the obligations of its shareholders.

The company has its own company name, which must contain an indication of its organizational and legal form (closed joint stock company or open joint stock company). The Company has the right to have a full and abbreviated name in Russian, foreign languages ​​and languages ​​of the peoples of the Russian Federation.

A joint-stock company may be open or closed, which is reflected in its charter. Shareholders of an open company may alienate their shares without the consent of other shareholders of this company. Such a company has the right to conduct an open subscription for the shares it issues and to carry out their free sale. An open company has the right to carry out a closed subscription for shares issued by it. The number of shareholders of an open company is not limited.

A joint stock company whose shares are distributed only among its founders or other predetermined circle of persons is recognized as a closed company. Such a company is not entitled to conduct an open subscription for shares issued by it or otherwise offer them for purchase to an unlimited number of persons.

In accordance with the Law, the number of shareholders of a closed joint stock company should not exceed 50 people. This rule does not apply to closed joint stock companies established before 01.01.1996/XNUMX/XNUMX.

Shareholders of a closed company have a pre-emptive right to acquire shares sold by other shareholders of this company. The charter of a closed joint-stock company may provide for the company's pre-emptive right to acquire shares sold by shareholders. The term for exercising the pre-emptive right cannot be less than 30 and more than 60 days.

The Law "On Joint Stock Companies" establishes that all joint-stock companies created with the participation of the state or a municipality can only be open.

A joint-stock company may be created by means of a new establishment or by reorganization of an operating legal entity (merger, accession, division, spin-off, transformation). The decision to establish a company is made by the constituent assembly. The number of founders of an open society is not limited. Society can be created and one person.

The founders of the company conclude a written agreement between themselves, which establishes the size of the authorized capital of the company, the categories and types of shares to be placed among the founders, the amount and procedure for their payment, the rights and obligations of the founders to create the company.

The charter of any joint stock company must contain the following information: company name, location and type of company (open or closed); the number, par value, categories (preferred, ordinary) shares and types of preferred shares placed by the company; the rights of shareholders, the size of the authorized capital, the structure and competence of the company's management bodies; the procedure for preparing and holding a general meeting of shareholders with a list of issues, the decision on which is made by the management bodies of the company by a qualified majority of votes or unanimously; information about branches; other provisions provided for by the Law "On Joint Stock Companies" (for example, restrictions on the number of shares owned by one shareholder and their total nominal value or the maximum number of votes granted to one shareholder).

A joint stock company may be transformed into a limited liability company or a production cooperative.

A joint-stock company may be liquidated voluntarily or by a court decision on the grounds provided for by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

The authorized capital of the company is made up of the nominal value of the shares of the company. The Company has the right to place ordinary shares, as well as one or more types of preferred shares. The par value of the placed preferred shares must not exceed 25% of the authorized capital. When establishing a company, both closed and open, shares must be placed only among the founders. At the same time, all shares of the company are registered.

The minimum authorized capital of an open company is at least a thousand times the minimum wage as of the date of registration of the company, and a closed company is at least a hundred times the minimum wage determined by federal law.

Companies have the right to dispose in addition to the placed shares (these are the so-called announced shares) the assigned number of shares. At the same time, the rights granted by the shares of the company of each category (type) that it places must be determined.

The general meeting of shareholders may decide to increase the authorized capital of the company, firstly, by increasing the nominal value of shares; secondly, by placing additional shares.

Additional shares may be distributed by the company only within the limits of the number of authorized shares determined by the company's charter.

Owners of different shares have different rights. Ordinary shares give the shareholder the right to participate in the general meeting of shareholders with the right to vote, as well as the right to receive dividends, and in the event of liquidation, the right to receive part of the company's property.

The owners of the company's preferred shares do not have the right to vote at the general meeting of shareholders, but they have a specific amount of dividend determined in the charter. However, when resolving certain issues, they have the right to vote (for example, when deciding to change the charter of the company or when changing the size of the dividend).

In May 1998, the Government of the Russian Federation adopted Decree No. 487 "On approval of the Regulations on the sale at a specialized auction of state and municipally owned shares of open joint-stock companies created in the process of privatization." This Regulation determines the procedure for holding a specialized auction, the conditions for participation in it, the form for submitting applications, the procedure for determining the winners, as well as the procedure for paying for purchased shares.

A joint-stock company has the right to issue bonds, which give its owner the right to demand the redemption of the bond within a specified period.

Payment for the company's shares may be made in money, securities, other things or property rights having a monetary value.

The company creates a reserve fund in the amount provided for by the charter of the company, but not less than 15% of its authorized capital. This fund is formed by mandatory annual deductions until it reaches the amount established by the charter of the company. The amount of annual deductions is determined by the charter, but it must be at least 5% of net profit. The reserve fund of the company is intended to cover its losses, as well as to issue shares and bonds of the company.

It is allowed to form a special fund for corporatization of the company's employees from the net profit. Its funds are spent exclusively on the acquisition of shares of the company sold by the shareholders of this company.

The agreement on the creation of a people's enterprise, in addition to the information specified in the Federal Law "On Joint-Stock Companies", must contain the following:

1) information on the number of shares of the people's enterprise that he may own at the time of the creation of the people's enterprise:

a) every employee who decides to become a shareholder of a people's enterprise;

b) each participant of the transformed commercial organization who is not its employee;

c) each individual who is not a member of the commercial organization being transformed, and (or) a legal entity;

2) monetary value of shares (shares, units) of the commercial organization being transformed;

3) the conditions, terms and procedure for the repurchase by the people's enterprise of the shares of the people's enterprise from its shareholders;

4) an indication of the form of payment for the shares of the people's enterprise or the procedure for the exchange of shares (interests, shares) of the commercial organization being transformed for the shares of the people's enterprise by each shareholder at the time of the creation of the people's enterprise.

The people's enterprise has the right to issue only ordinary shares. The nominal value of one share of a people's enterprise is determined by the general meeting of shareholders of a people's enterprise, but not more than 20% of the minimum wage established by federal law.

Thus, a people's enterprise (NP) is a kind of closed joint stock company in which employees must always own more than 75% of the authorized capital, and non-shareholder employees can be no more than 10% of the payroll of all employees. At the same time, one employee-shareholder cannot own more than 5% of the total number of shares.

In connection with these restrictions, an employee-shareholder, upon his dismissal, is obliged to sell, and the enterprise is obliged to buy shares belonging to him. An employee-shareholder may, within a year, sell no more than 20% of his shares only to employees of a people's enterprise.

The People's Enterprise Law expands the rights of an employee-shareholder in the field of real participation in management, granting the right to vote in resolving a large number of issues at general meetings of shareholders, regardless of the number of shares he owns. When deciding on such particularly important issues as determining priority areas of activity, the redemption value of shares, liquidating a people's enterprise, they vote on the principle of "one share - one vote."

The allocation of shares to certain categories of employees of the people's enterprise occurs as follows:

1) newly hired employees are granted shares free of charge no earlier than 3 months and no later than 24 months after the date of employment; have the opportunity to buy shares from the people's enterprise and (or) its shareholders;

2) employees-shareholders are endowed with shares free of charge in accordance with the personal labor contribution to the results of the activities of the people's enterprise for the past financial year; have the opportunity to buy shares from the NP and (or) its shareholders;

3) the general director, his deputies and assistants, members of the supervisory board and the control commission, if they are employees of the NP, are endowed with shares free of charge in accordance with their personal labor contribution to the results of the NP's activities for the past financial year; it is not allowed to purchase shares from the shareholders of the NP and from the NP itself.

The creation of people's enterprises fully corresponds to the interests of hired workers, since in addition to wages, they also receive shares in the NP free of charge. For a similar reason, the creation of an IR is also beneficial for employees who own a small number of shares of the reorganized joint-stock company.

LECTURE No. 6. Personnel and labor productivity

1. Production personnel and their classification

In ensuring the efficiency of the functioning of a manufacturing enterprise, no matter what type of property it belongs to, the key role belongs to the human factor - the people working on it. Accordingly, the importance of their correct acquisition is great.

The main (staff) composition of permanent employees of an enterprise (institution, organization) is called production personnel. Abroad, to refer to this concept, another term is more common - "staff". Now it is officially adopted in Russia, although a slightly different semantic connotation remains: it still characterizes the employee's belonging to a certain professional group - technical personnel, maintenance personnel, etc.

Information about the state of production personnel is used for many purposes: solving taxation issues; classifying the organization as a small business; identifying the most effective structure; rationalization of personnel; providing the necessary training both in terms of volume and qualifications and for many others.

The most important parameter characterizing the state of production personnel is the number of employees of the enterprise (organization). In accordance with the Decree of the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation of December 07.12.1998, 121 No. XNUMX "On approval of the Instructions for filling in information on the number of employees and the use of working time by organizations in the forms of federal state statistical observation," a distinction is made between the number of employees on the payroll and the average payroll.

The payroll, which includes employees working under an agreement (contract) for one or more days, as well as the owners of the organization receiving wages in it, is fixed daily, as well as on a certain date (for example, on the first or last day of the month). It takes into account both those who actually work on a given day, and those who are absent from work for any reason. Employees admitted to the organization on an external part-time basis are not taken into account in the payroll. They are accounted for separately. Internal part-time workers (receiving two, one and a half or less than one tariff rate) are counted only once.

The average number is calculated for any period: month, quarter, from the beginning of the year, year. For a month, for example, this is done by summing the payroll for each day, including holidays (non-working) and weekends, and dividing the amount received by the number of calendar days. The average number of employees at enterprises and organizations that worked for an incomplete month (newly created or having a seasonal nature of production) is determined by dividing the amount of the payroll for all days of the organization's work in the reporting month, including holidays (non-working) and weekends, by the total number of calendar days this month.

For larger periods of time (quarter, year), instead of data on days worked, data on the average headcount per month are used. The main unified forms of primary documentation for accounting for the number are orders and instructions for hiring, transferring to another job, granting leave, termination of an employment contract (contract); employee's personal card; time sheet and other documents.

The structure of available personnel plays an important role in ensuring the efficiency of production. To distribute the entire population into various categories, they use the All-Russian Classifier of Occupations of Workers, Positions of Employees and Wage Levels (OKPDTR), put into effect by Decree of the State Standard of the Russian Federation dated December 26.12.1994, 367 No. 1 from January 1996, XNUMX.

In accordance with OKPDTR, all production personnel are divided into workers, managers, specialists and other employees.

Workers include people directly involved in the production of material assets, as well as those engaged in servicing this production and providing material services.

Managers are employees who hold the positions of heads of organizations and their structural divisions. The positions of heads in OKPDTR have a category code 1. Heads of administrations of territories, ministers, presidents, chairmen, as well as their deputies, chief specialists, state inspectors are also referred to as heads.

The group of specialists includes workers performing engineering, economic and other similar work (administrators, accountants, dispatchers, inspectors, agronomists, artists, economists, teachers, etc.). The positions of specialists in OKPDTR have a category code of 2.

Other employees are considered to be employees involved in the preparation and execution of documentation, accounting and control, and economic services. An example of other specialists can be archivists, clerks, secretaries-typists, timekeepers, accountants, stenographers, draftsmen, copyists of technical documentation, etc. They have category 3 code in OKPDTR.

In addition to the considered division of personnel, in statistical practice they develop information on the main and non-core activities of an enterprise (organization). Depending on the profile of the organization's activities, assignment to a particular group is carried out according to appropriate methods. In particular, at industrial enterprises, industrial and production personnel include employees of all structural divisions involved in the preparation, implementation and maintenance of the entire cycle of manufacturing and selling products, including administrative and technical personnel.

Personnel engaged in non-core activities are employees of such structural units that are completely unrelated to the core activities of the enterprise. The number of such units is quite significant. Their full list is given in the aforementioned "Instructions for filling in organizations of information on the number of employees and the use of working time in the forms of federal state statistical observation." For example, the number of non-core units includes health care and recreation institutions (health centers, sanatoriums, dispensaries, etc.), physical culture, housing and collective facilities, consumer services enterprises, editorial offices of factory large-circulation newspapers and radio broadcasting, trade and public catering, institutions culture, education, auxiliary agricultural structures, etc.

In the analytical work of the economic services of enterprises and organizational and production activities, the data required by the statistical authorities are often insufficient. Therefore, depending on the goals set in this case, other varieties of structural division of production personnel can also be distinguished. In particular, the division of personnel according to functional, vocational, age, gender, educational characteristics, length of service, etc. is widely used. Each of these structures characterizes the composition and quantitative ratios of the identified classification groups of categories of workers.

When considering the structure of production personnel on a functional basis, the following groups of workers are distinguished: engineering and technical workers (ITR), employees, main and auxiliary workers, junior service personnel, security and students.

In accordance with this structure, statistical information was collected for a long time, a huge array of which will serve as a source of various data needed in various studies for a long time to come.

The group of engineering and technical workers includes specialists who organize the production process and manage it. According to the nomenclature, they include directors of enterprises, their deputies for production and technical issues, chief engineers, heads of production, buildings and shops, general factory, shop departments and bureaus, engineers, technicians, craftsmen, etc.

Employees include employees who carry out financial and settlement, economic, supply, accounting and office functions.

Employees intended to keep office premises clean and tidy, engaged in housekeeping, are referred to as junior service personnel. The personnel of the paramilitary, armed guard, guard, fire protection are included in the security group.

Apprentices are considered to be persons trained at enterprises during the production process in the order of individual and team training and paid at the rates of apprentices.

The structuring of personnel according to functional characteristics practically does not take into account their quality. Therefore, earlier it was not uncommon to appoint people without special education to the positions of engineers, who, naturally, could not perform the functions assigned to them at the required level and limited their activities to only certain components of the necessary work. In order to raise the wages of the "necessary" workers, "engineers", "senior engineers", "chiefs" of far-fetched departments were artificially multiplied.

The unreasonable allocation of an employee to one or another classification group means assigning him an unusual legal status and socially recognized significance. This, in turn, inevitably leads to a deformation in the structure of personnel and their payment, and, consequently, to a deterioration in their use.

The development of production and the need to ensure its efficiency require an increase in the educational and general cultural level of workers of all levels and categories. Largely for this reason, even during the All-Union Population Census in 1989, a structural scheme for the classification of personnel was provided, which was based on a qualification and job attribute. In accordance with this scheme, the entire personnel structure of enterprises was divided into two large groups: workers engaged in mental labor and manual workers.

The first group includes managers, top-level specialists, middle-level specialists and auxiliary workers. Especially high demands are placed on leaders. Their immediate duty is to make production and economic decisions, which often determine the fate of the enterprise. Therefore, for inclusion in this group, specialists are selected who have solid production and life experience, who are fluent in modern methods of organizing production, labor and management, capable of ensuring high economic efficiency of decisions made. Naturally, this requires, in addition to technology, engineering and economics, a fairly deep knowledge of psychology, sociology, conflictology, computer science, credit and financial policy, etc. Leaders should be distinguished by a high intellectual and general culture. This applies to a large extent to senior and middle-level specialists as well. They do not make cardinal decisions, but prepare these decisions, comprehensively substantiating them, conducting the necessary research, calculations and production experiments. Therefore, as an obligatory feature necessary for classifying a particular employee to these qualification groups, in addition to employment mainly with mental work, at present there is a special education that allows the applicant to perform managerial functions, prepare and make production decisions.

Workers assigned to the group, the main content of which is physical work, are divided according to the degree of complexity of their work. Allocate simple, medium complexity and complex work.

As the results of the Russian population census in 2002 show, the vast majority of the personnel potential is concentrated in the sphere of industrial labor - 56,6% of those employed in the national economy. This is a very large proportion. In industrialized countries, it usually does not exceed 40%. The vast majority of industrial personnel (80,3%) are manual workers. Among them, workers of medium qualification dominate (52%), followed by workers of unskilled manual labor (17%).

2. Professional and qualification characteristics of labor

The effectiveness of the use of personnel significantly depends on their professional and qualification structure. At the same time, the term "profession" denotes a type of labor activity that requires a combination of special knowledge, practical skills and psychophysiological properties of the carriers of the profession. But it is they who dominate the quality of labor and make it possible to carry out the actions that make up the profession. The profession characterizes a specific area of ​​application of labor and a relatively constant type of occupation associated with the performance of a limited set of works and the impact on the object of labor in a certain way. For example, the professions of a turner, miller, locksmith, etc. are widely known. A kind of profession that specifies and limits labor activity to a narrower range of jobs is called a specialty. So, in the profession of a turner, there are specialties of a universal turner, a borer, a carousel, etc.

The degree of a person's mastery of any profession is established by assigning him the appropriate qualification. It expresses the ability of an employee to perform work of a certain complexity and characterizes the level of his general theoretical training, possession of professional skills and his personal abilities. High qualification, fixed by the assignment of qualification grades or categories, allows not only to perform work of increased complexity with higher productivity, but also to obtain a product of higher quality and with additional consumer properties. Highly qualified employees have always been valued. Even in ancient times, every ruler tried with all his might to get experienced artisans and craftsmen, wise and knowledgeable people.

The list of professions, specialties and qualification requirements for them is fixed in OKPDTR and tariff and qualification reference books, which are usually developed in relation to specific industries.

For the purpose of greater differentiation of personnel according to their qualifications, an 18-digit tariff system is currently used.

The structure of personnel according to other classification criteria (sex, age, etc.) serves as the basis for solving production problems directly related to these categories. For example, when developing work and rest regimes, the needs of nursing mothers, young students, etc. are taken into account. The staff is structured accordingly.

Mechanization, automation and computerization of production, the growth of its power supply, increased requirements for sanitary, aesthetic and socio-psycho-physiological factors inevitably lead to a systematic complication of labor and the need to improve the skills of workers at all levels.

Under these conditions, issues of forming human resources, ensuring its reproduction and stability are put in place of priority.

3. Formation of human resources

The formation of personnel potential is understood as a set of interrelated measures aimed at the timely and complete provision of the enterprise with employees of the required specialties and skill levels, capable of effectively solving the production tasks assigned to them. In this case, an important role is played by the correct selection and placement of personnel, which create the prerequisites for the most complete application of their qualifications and its further improvement.

Selection of personnel is the process of determining the suitability of personnel for the effective performance of their functions. The main requirements in this case in the interests of uninterrupted production are the professional and qualification qualities of employees, the correspondence of personal and business qualities of personnel to the nature of their activities.

There are currently about 10 professions in industry. The population knows about only about 2 thousand. Meanwhile, they say that a person is born twice: the first time when he is born, the second time when he acquires a profession. Therefore, a conscious choice by a person for himself of the sphere of professional activity is so important. To solve this problem, career guidance is used, the main links of which are professional information, professional diagnostics and professional consultation.

Professional information consists in the preparation and dissemination of information about various professions. Research has shown that only 16 out of 100 high school graduates know what they want to be. Information materials about various professions, excursions to industrial enterprises, visits to exhibitions and others are the main components of professional information.

Occupational diagnostics is engaged in determining the individual inclinations of people to specific professions or types of activity. A set of techniques and tests allows a specialist to identify physical and psychological endurance, the level of visual and auditory perception, and other personal qualities necessary for a particular profession. For a assembler on a conveyor, for example, or a driller, perseverance is necessary. Turners are tested for the perception of volume. Candidates for other professions are tested for the ability to think logically, etc. Based on the results of professional diagnostics, they give recommendations on choosing a profession in accordance with the capabilities and abilities of a person.

Vocational consultation is usually carried out already when applying for a job at a particular enterprise, taking into account the possibilities of satisfying the professional needs of applicants for vacant jobs.

During professional selection, the abilities of the candidate are examined. Only those who ensure the successful completion of professional tasks are taken to the appropriate position.

An important condition for increasing the efficiency of production is the correct placement and use of personnel. These terms designate the process of socially justified and economically feasible distribution of employees to jobs and positions in accordance with the level and profile of their training, work experience, business and personal qualities in order to effectively perform production tasks. The main principle for the placement of workers is their profession and qualifications. The degree of compliance of the qualifications of workers with the work they perform is assessed by the utilization rate of personnel, which is calculated as the ratio of the qualification category of the employee to the average category of the work performed by him. Full compliance, therefore, is evaluated by a coefficient equal to one. A significantly lower value indicates an unsatisfactory selection of personnel and the need for serious work to improve their skills. Exceeding the coefficient of unity indicates a lag in the technical level of products and indicates the need to take urgent measures to improve it. These deviations are highly undesirable, as they can be the cause of an increase in staff turnover.

Expressing the ratio of those dismissed of their own free will (as well as for absenteeism and other violations of labor discipline) to the average number of employees of the enterprise for a certain period, staff turnover, if increased, is a serious signal of trouble in the organization of labor and production. It is possible to relate differently to the definition of damage to the enterprise from staff turnover. However, this damage to society as a whole is undeniable. It consists of losses in the form of under-produced products due to non-participation in the labor process of resigning workers during the period of looking for a new job. Approximately 2/5 of employees who leave of their own free will radically change their profession.

Losses from turnover arise due to a decrease in the output of employees before dismissal and for the first time after entering a new job. Studies by the Research Institute of Labor showed that in the first month of work at a new place, the worker fulfills the norms by an average of 70-75%, in the second - by 90%, in the third - 95-97%.

Economic damage is also caused by unskilled operation of machines and tools during the period of mastering a new profession, increased losses from marriage and reduced product quality. Workers with a work experience of up to one year, as shown by survey materials from a number of machine-building plants, account for 60 to 76% of all equipment breakdowns and 53 to 67% of all defects. In addition, the change of workers as a result of staff turnover disrupts the system of relationships that has developed at the enterprise, complicates the social development of teams.

Thus, reducing staff turnover is becoming quite an urgent task for enterprises. It is impossible to resolve it in modern conditions by administrative and legal methods. The stabilization of production teams is possible and effective, mainly due to a noticeable improvement in working conditions at the workplace, including wages, increasing the content of work, creating a favorable moral and psychological climate, taking care of the life and leisure of workers, and providing opportunities for their qualification growth.

LECTURE No. 7. Unemployment and its impact on the economy

1. The concept of unemployment

An important indicator of the rational use of labor resources throughout the world is not only social labor productivity, but also the level of unemployment. The unemployment rate is understood as the share of the country's population over 16 years old, people who have not yet reached retirement age and who have lost their jobs for reasons beyond their control, who are actively looking for it and not finding it. At the same time, only those citizens who were not provided with work by the relevant authorities within the period specified by law are taken into account. Economic theory believes that the lower the unemployment rate, the higher the level of activity of the population, the better its human resources are used.

Unemployed people can be for various reasons, depending on which types of unemployment are distinguished: frictional, structural and cyclical. Frictional unemployment is associated with the voluntary change of jobs by people and their corresponding temporary unemployment.

Until the moment when a person finds a new job and starts working, he is officially considered unemployed. Those who are looking for a job for the first time, seasonal workers, etc. are considered the same. Frictional unemployment is classified as an inevitable phenomenon, since there are always many people who want to change jobs for various reasons. Moreover, it is considered to some extent desirable, because it provides a higher degree of satisfaction of a person with his work.

Structural unemployment causes scientific and technological progress. Technical and mainly technological changes lead to job cuts or make certain professions unnecessary and others in short supply. For example, at the beginning of computerization, a whole army of computer operators was needed to service this bulky equipment. With the transition to personal computers, they were all forced to change their place of work and profession.

However, technological innovation is far from the only cause of structural unemployment. It can also be caused by changes in consumer demand for certain types of goods, population migration, etc.

Structural unemployment increases the demand for new, including previously non-existent, professions, moreover, as a rule, requiring higher qualifications. In this regard, there is a need for retraining of workers. Thus, the fundamental difference between the frictional unemployed and the structural unemployed is that the former already has a profession and can sell himself as labor force, while the latter must undergo retraining before that.

Cyclical unemployment is caused by a decrease in jobs due to changes in the economic activity cycle. At any moment in the economy, periods of slowdown in production and economic activity are inevitable, when the demand for goods and services decreases significantly and, accordingly, their production volumes decrease. Strictly speaking, cyclical unemployment is a consequence of insufficient volumes of aggregate spending by the population.

The growth of cyclical unemployment is facilitated, in particular, by the establishment by the state of laws on minimum wages. Such a legislative increase in the cost of labor makes it unprofitable for producers to keep low-paid workers. Therefore, they are fired, although in other conditions they could continue to work.

The antipode of unemployment is full employment of the able-bodied population. It is understood as the performance by the population of certain actions or other functions that allow them to receive funds to meet their needs.

From a theoretical point of view, full employment is simply impossible. After all, the elimination of frictional and structural unemployment is tantamount to the cessation of development and the cessation of life in general. Therefore, the total level of these types of unemployment is considered the natural background of unemployment. On this basis, practical statistics exclude frictional and structural unemployment from the definition of general employment.

In fact, all over the world employment is considered full if no more than 4-5% of the total working-age population are unemployed.

2. Unemployment in Russia

It may seem to many that unemployment in Russia is an absolutely new phenomenon, previously unknown. Of course it isn't. The inevitable types of unemployment - frictional and structural - could not but be represented in Russia in previous years. Specialists have been monitoring the situation on the labor market for a long time. For example, the number of frictional unemployed at the end of 1990 was estimated at 500 thousand people. The overall assessment of the scale of real unemployment in recent years is calculated according to the methodology of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

Domestic studies of unemployment are somewhat different from the generally accepted conceptual apparatus in the world. First of all, this concerns the classification of types of unemployment. In Russia, it is customary to distinguish between official, real and hidden unemployment.

Official (registered) unemployment is calculated according to the methodology of the International Labor Organization, which is fully consistent with the above theoretical provisions. By the beginning of 2002, it amounted to 1,6% of the economically active division.

The real unemployment rate is determined taking into account the unregistered unemployed, the number of which is determined by periodically conducted surveys of the population. It turned out to be much higher - 9%.

Hidden (latent) unemployment includes officially employed, but actually unemployed citizens. Typically, hidden unemployment is 3-5 times higher than officially registered. In Russia in 2001, there were about 6810 people nominally employed but actually unemployed - 9,6%.

The command-administrative economy, which did not take much into account the costs of production, caused an unlimited demand for labor and a special kind of unemployment - "on the other side of the factory gates." Then the main thing was to get into the territory of the enterprise, and then you could do whatever you want or mess around as much as you like. Thus, unemployment turned out to be a well-known phenomenon for Russia; not only individuals, but also entire regions managed to adapt to it.

The economic development and demographic situation of many regions of Russia are very uneven.

The republics of the North Caucasus were traditionally surplus in terms of labor resources, in which hidden unemployment was formed over several decades. Here, many groups of the population have not been involved in the formal sector of production for a long time. They have gone into the shadow economy, as they used to say, now - into commerce, less often - into small business. Therefore, in these areas, even today, there is no increase in social tension due to the appearance of officially registered unemployment. This is despite the fact that the recorded unemployment rate here is much higher than the average for Russia.

At the same time, many territories of the Federation have faced unemployment problems relatively recently. A particularly tense situation arose in central Russia, which is characterized by a narrow industrial specialization with a significant share of the military-industrial complex, textile and light industry, special engineering, etc.

Significantly changed economic conditions here have caused crisis phenomena and a high level of real unemployment. Also, the level of employment and unemployment is supplemented by foreign workers who came to Russia to work. In 2002, more than 300 people arrived for this purpose from 119 countries of the world, including the CIS states. According to some estimates, the number of Chinese citizens living in Siberia and the Far East reaches 1,5 million people.

At the same time, about 142 people left Russia to work in foreign countries. Thus, a single Russian labor market practically does not yet exist.

3. Fighting unemployment

The negative impact of unemployment on the economy and social well-being of the population is recognized by all. Therefore, special, as a rule, state bodies function all over the world, the task of which is to reduce such an impact. In different countries, such bodies are called differently. The term "labor exchange" is most often used, there are recruitment assistance services. In Russia, such bodies are called the employment service.

In 1991, the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation adopted the first legal act regulating the behavior of economic entities in the labor market - Law of the Russian Federation of April 19.04.1991, 1032 No. 1-XNUMX "On Employment in the Russian Federation." With this Law, the state renounced the monopoly rights that existed earlier on the use of labor resources. For the first time, it was determined that employment is not only work at state enterprises, collective farms, public organizations, but also work in any other types of farms, including farms; this includes raising children, caring for the sick, the disabled, the elderly; after all, it's a right not to work at all.

At the same time, in order to solve the problems associated with unemployment, the mentioned Law provides for a single employment service for Russia. Its responsibilities include the performance of all functions that are typical for similar bodies in other economically developed countries.

Employment services are one of the important structures of the market economic mechanism. They are usually intermediary institutions that work under the direction of ministries of labor or similar structures and carry out the following functions: registration of the unemployed and vacancies; employment of the unemployed and other persons wishing to get a job or change their place of work; studying the demand and supply of labor and providing information on the relevant conjuncture; vocational guidance and vocational training for the unemployed; payment of benefits.

Computer technologies play an important role in the effective implementation of the functions of the employment service. With their help, banks of jobs are created, where information about vacancies is collected and updated, applicants are selected about labor offers.

The Law on Employment, supplemented somewhat later by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of 02.07.1992 No. 723 "On measures for the social support of citizens who have lost their jobs and earnings (income) and are duly recognized as unemployed", establishes the basic conditions for receiving unemployment benefits.

The minimum work experience required to receive benefits is 12 weeks for the previous year. The amount of unemployment benefit is guaranteed not lower than the minimum wage. The time during which the unemployed received benefits is included in the total length of service.

The situation with the use of labor resources, as estimated forecasts show, will continue to become more complicated in the near future. Most enterprises, in an effort to improve their own situation, will inevitably become engaged in increasing the efficiency of production and, consequently, the release of labor. Already, Russian society is facing a difficult choice: either to keep jobs in an inefficient economy, or to increase the profitability of production, experiencing the oppression of social tension due to rising unemployment. Experts predict real unemployment in the near future at the level of 9,5-11%. For reference: in economically developed European countries, the average unemployment rate fluctuates between 14 and 16%.

Prevention of unemployment and mitigation of its consequences can be achieved through a combination of various measures of an economic and organizational nature - creating conditions for a quantitative and qualitative increase in production volumes, reducing the length of the working week, creating an effective system of training and retraining of personnel, anticipating the need to change jobs.

LECTURE No. 8. Fixed assets and intangible assets

1. Economic essence of fixed assets (funds) and intangible assets

The production process is carried out with the participation of three elements: means of labor, objects of labor and human labor activity.

In accordance with the Accounting Regulation "Accounting for fixed assets" (PBU 6/01) (approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation of March 30.03.2001, 26 No. 12n), fixed assets include a part of the property used as means of labor in the production of products, works or services or to manage the organization for a period exceeding 12 months, or the normal operating cycle, if it exceeds 10 months, and costing more than XNUMX thousand rubles.

Thus, the criteria for classifying property as fixed assets are their useful life and cost. Property that does not meet this criterion is not classified as fixed assets and is accounted for as working capital.

If production facilities as an element of the labor process either directly participate in the manufacture of products (machines, equipment, etc.), or create conditions for the labor process (buildings, structures, etc.), or serve to store, move objects of labor (warehouses, vehicles etc.), then the main non-productive means have a social purpose. They do not participate in the production process, but satisfy the social needs of a person (residential buildings, premises and equipment in the sphere of culture, education, healthcare, sports, etc.). Compensation for the cost of non-productive fixed assets, which are under the control of labor collectives, is carried out from the profit remaining at the disposal of the enterprise. Fixed assets are mainly concentrated in industry, which decisively determines the economic potential of the Russian Federation.

The share of industry in the main production assets of Russia is about 30%. At the same time, the growth rates of fixed production assets of industry exceeded the growth rates of similar assets in the national economy as a whole by approximately 1,4 times.

According to the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation, the level of use of production capacities by industry is characterized by the following data at the beginning of 2006:

1) in the fuel industry - 77%;

2) in metallurgical industry - 64%;

3) in the chemical and petrochemical industry (on average) - 55%;

4) in mechanical engineering - about 43%;

5) in food - about 48%.

In industry, the rate of renewal of machinery and equipment is very low. If between 1985 and 1990 the coefficient of renewal of the active part of fixed production assets was in the range of 3,2-4,0% per year, then in 1995-2006 this figure dropped to 1,3%.

A problem that is extremely acute for our economy is the depreciation of fixed production assets. Suffice it to say that as of January 01.01.2006, 67, the active part of funds in industry as a whole was depreciated by 75%, and in mechanical engineering, chemistry and petrochemistry, the level of depreciation exceeds XNUMX%. With this approach to the modernization of production, talk about the competitiveness of domestic products is nothing more than beautiful and unrealistic dreams.

The average age of equipment in 1990 was 10,8 years, in 2006 - 19. In developed countries, this figure does not exceed 6-6,5 years.

In connection with the reform of the Russian economy, the attraction and use of intangible assets, which include intellectual property assets, has significantly increased.

Intangible assets used for a long period of time (more than 1 year) in economic activity and generating income include rights arising from:

1) from copyright and other contracts for works of science, literature, art and objects of related rights, for computer programs, databases, etc.;

2) from patents for inventions, industrial designs, selection achievements, from certificates for utility models, trademarks and service marks and license agreements for their use;

3) from know-how rights, etc.

In addition, intangible assets include the rights to use land plots and natural resources.

Fixed assets and intangible assets wear out (lose their relevance) in the process of use, and their value is repaid by accruing depreciation (amortization cost) and writing off to production costs during their standard useful life at depreciation rates.

2. Classification and valuation of fixed assets and intangible assets

In accordance with the purpose in the production process and accounting rules, individual elements of fixed assets (funds) are grouped into relatively homogeneous groups using physical indicators. This grouping of fixed assets according to certain criteria is called classification.

According to PBU 6/01, the determination of the initial, replacement, residual value of fixed assets, the amount of accrued depreciation in accounting is carried out using the following classification:

1) buildings;

2) structures;

3) working and power machines and equipment;

4) measuring and control instruments and devices;

5) vehicles;

6) computer technology of all types and classes;

7) tools, fixtures, equipment;

8) production and household inventory and accessories;

9) land plots, perennial plantings;

10) working, productive and breeding livestock and other fixed assets.

Fixed assets also include capital investments for radical land improvement (drainage, irrigation and other land reclamation works) and investments in leased fixed assets.

Fixed assets include land plots and objects of natural resources (water, subsoil and other natural resources) owned by the organization.

Depending on the role performed by fixed assets in the production process, they are divided into active and passive. Machinery and equipment, vehicles, computers, tools are directly involved in technological processes and therefore belong to the active part of fixed assets. Other groups of fixed assets contribute to the performance of production functions and belong to the passive part. These are buildings, structures, transmission devices and inventory.

Accounting and planning for the reproduction of fixed assets (funds) are carried out both in value and in physical terms, since fixed assets in the production process act both as carriers of value and as a set of certain means of labor.

Cost (monetary) valuation of fixed assets is necessary to analyze their dynamics, determine the amount of depreciation, renovation charges, calculate the cost of products or services, determine the degree of efficiency of use (level of profitability) and, ultimately, the functioning of economic accounting.

Evaluation of fixed assets in physical terms is necessary to calculate production capacity, determine the technological and age composition of fixed assets, as well as to plan preventive maintenance and modernization.

The initial cost of fixed assets is the cost of their acquisition, transportation and installation or construction at prevailing prices for that period.

From the initial cost, the amount of depreciation for renovation (full restoration) is calculated.

The replacement cost of fixed assets should be understood as the cost of their reproduction in modern conditions, i.e., in the prices of their acquisition at the time of revaluation.

The residual value is understood as the initial or replacement cost minus the cost of depreciation of fixed assets and intangible assets.

For the transition from the initial assessment to the restoration in the USSR and the Russian Federation, revaluations of fixed assets were carried out - as of October 1, 1926, as of January 1, 1960, as of January 1, 1972, as of July 1, 1992, as of January 1 1994, January 1, 1995, January 1, 1996, January 1, 1997, January 1, 1998 (optional).

Prior to 1998, the revaluation of fixed assets was carried out by organizations (enterprises, firms) exclusively in accordance with the resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation. According to Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of June 24, 1998 No. 627 "On clarifying the procedure for calculating depreciation deductions and revaluing fixed assets", revaluation as of January 1, 1998 and subsequent years became optional: in 2002, the Decree was declared invalid. Each organization has the right not more than once a year (at the beginning of the reporting year) to revaluate fixed assets at their restored cost by indexing or directly recalculating at documented market prices and attributing the resulting differences to the added capital of the organization.

The first revaluation of fixed assets at replacement cost in the Russian Federation was carried out in order to bring the initial (book) value in line with current prices and the conditions for their reproduction as of July 1, 1992, when the cost of fixed assets was indexed 18,7 times on average.

The objectives of the revaluation of fixed assets by all enterprises in Russia, regardless of the types of activities and forms of ownership, were:

1) creation for enterprises of the necessary conditions for the formation of reasonable accumulations of funds for the renewal of fixed assets;

2) creation of an economically justified initial cost base for valuation of property during the period of its privatization;

3) indexation of depreciation rates for full recovery.

The initial data for the revaluation were the full balance sheet value of fixed assets, determined by the results of the inventory, and the coefficients for converting the book value into replacement value by groups of fixed assets.

The replacement cost of fixed assets during the first Russian revaluation was determined by multiplying the book value by the appropriate conversion factor, economically justified for each group of fixed assets acquired before 1991 and in 1991. At the same time, for the first time, the grouping of fixed assets was carried out with the calculation of the grouping correspondence adopted during normalization depreciation deductions for full recovery.

During the subsequent revaluation of funds as of January 1, 1994, their value was indexed by an average of 20,1 times.

As a result of the revaluation as of January 1, 1995, the average coefficient for converting the book value of fixed assets into replacement value was 4,0.

According to the revaluation data, as of January 1, 1997, the value of fixed assets in industry at current prices amounted to 5535,1 trillion non-denominated rubles and increased by 31 times compared to the book value as of January 1996, 1,25. As a result of the last four revaluations, the value of fixed assets in the Russian Federation increased by an average of 4,3 thousand times, including those for production purposes - by 4,0 thousand times.

The largest increase in prices occurred in the manufacturing sector (by an average of 5,7 thousand times in the range from 4,3 thousand times to 8,9 thousand times), a significantly lower increase in prices was noted in the group of machinery and equipment. In industry, prices for this group increased by 2,9 thousand times.

For the revaluation of fixed assets, market prices as of January 1, 1995, 1996 and 1997 were used. Market prices were confirmed using the following methods:

1) receipt in writing of data on prices for similar products from manufacturers;

2) information about the price level published in the mass media and specialized literature;

3) expert opinions on the market value of fixed assets, confirmed by a consulting and other specialized organization.

In the process of revaluation of fixed assets, the issues of establishing the replacement cost of intangible assets were not touched upon, although their share in the economic turnover is increasing. According to expert calculations, when registering the value of only intellectual property used by enterprises, depreciation funds could increase in Russia by 18 billion rubles. in 1998 prices. This amount is about 10% of the amount of depreciation deductions for fixed production assets.

Currently, the rules for valuation and accounting for most types of intangible assets have not yet been established by law, although enterprises use temporary rules for normalizing depreciation and amortization of intangible assets.

Lecture number 9. Working capital of the enterprise

1. The essence of working capital

To carry out the production process, industrial enterprises need not only basic, but also circulating production assets and circulation funds. The totality of funds invested in working capital and circulation funds in order to ensure the continuity of the production process and the sale of products is working capital (funds in circulation).

Revolving production assets, which operate in the sphere of production and in the structure of working capital, account for about 80%. The circulation funds account for about 20%. However, the ratio between these two elements in various industries is not the same and depends on the duration of the production cycle, the value of inventories, the level of specialization, and a number of other factors.

Working capital of enterprises is in constant motion. They go through three stages in succession and take three forms, making a complete circuit. At the first stage, the monetary form is transformed into a material form in the form of production reserves; at the second stage, these reserves are converted into completed production, and upon its completion, they take the form of finished products. The third (final) stage of the circulation is represented by the sale of finished products and the transformation of working capital into a monetary form (circulation fund).

The continuity of the circulation of funds is achieved due to the fact that they, being simultaneously in all three forms, are successively transformed from one form to another.

Revolving funds, in addition to monetary value, have a material content and are objects of labor consumed in each production cycle. They fully transfer their value to the finished product and in the process of production change their natural-material form or lose it (when consuming electricity, burning fuel, etc.).

Working capital includes:

1) production stocks, raw materials, materials, fuel, fuel, purchased semi-finished products, spare parts for repairs, packaging and packaging materials, overalls, as well as labor tools worth less than 10 thousand rubles. per unit or service life of not more than 1 year, i.e., not attributable to fixed assets;

2) work in progress - unprocessed raw materials, materials, semi-finished products of own production, as well as low-value tools and inventory that have entered the production process;

3) expenses associated with the immediate and future preparation for the production of new types of products and their development (deferred expenses);

4) other working capital in the form of work in progress on subsidiary farms of the enterprise.

The structure of working capital, that is, the ratio between the listed four elements, depends on the sectoral affiliation of enterprises. In the light and food industries, the share of inventories prevails, with the share of work in progress in the range of 5-20%. There are no unfinished products at all in the electric power industry. In mechanical engineering, due to the significant duration of the production cycle, up to half of the volume of working capital falls on unfinished products.

For industry as a whole, the share of inventories is about 70%, and work in progress - about 25% in the value of working capital assets. Funds of circulation operate in the sphere of circulation and as part of working capital are in a constantly renewing movement - circulation.

The circulation fund includes:

1) finished products in stock;

2) products on their way to the consumer;

3) funds in bank accounts, letters of credit, securities;

4) cash in the cash desk of the enterprise;

5) receivables and payables.

2. Rationing of working capital

Rationing of working capital consists in the development of norms for the types of inventory items and costs, as well as measures that contribute to improving the efficiency of the use of working capital.

To ensure an uninterrupted process of production and sale of products, enterprises use standard or their own norms of working capital by type of inventory and costs, expressed in relative terms (days, percentages, etc.), and norms of working capital in monetary terms.

According to the sources of education, the working capital of enterprises is divided into:

1) own and equated to them;

2) borrowed;

3) involved.

Own working capital is formed at the expense of the authorized capital and profits of the enterprise by rationing.

The source of working capital, equated to own, is a stable accounts payable of the enterprise (for example, arrears in wages, insurance payments and other stable liabilities).

Since the need for working capital of enterprises during the year is not always the same, it is inexpedient and economically unprofitable to form them only from their own sources. In this regard, the additional need for working capital, due to temporary needs, is provided at the expense of borrowed funds in the form of short-term bank loans or attracted funds from associations, concerns, holding, investment and other companies.

When normalizing working capital, it is necessary to take into account the dependence of the norms on the following factors:

1) the duration of the production cycle of manufacturing products;

2) consistency and clarity in the work of procurement, processing and producing shops;

3) supply conditions (duration of delivery intervals, sizes of delivered lots);

4) remoteness of suppliers from consumers;

5) the speed of transportation, the type and uninterrupted operation of transport;

6) the time of preparation of materials for launching them into production;

7) the frequency of launching materials into production;

8) conditions for the sale of products;

9) systems and forms of payment, the speed of workflow, the possibility of using factoring.

The norms developed at the enterprise for each element of working capital are valid for a number of years. However, in the event of significant changes in the technology and organization of production, the range and volume of products, the addresses of cooperative enterprises, demand prices and credit policy, the norms of working capital are specified taking into account the relevant reagents.

The following elements of working capital are normalized:

1) production stocks;

2) work in progress;

3) deferred expenses;

4) finished products in the warehouse of the enterprise;

5) cash in cash in storage.

Production stocks are called material resources located at the enterprise, but not entered into the production process.

The need for stocks of material resources is due to the social division of labor and production, that is, the gap in time and space between the production and consumption of most types of industrial products.

The total standard of working capital in inventories (NZ) related to working capital is determined by multiplying the average daily consumption of material resources in value terms by the stock rate in days:

where MP is the amount of expenses of a certain group of material resources for the planning period;

TP - the number of days in the planning period;

H - the established stock rate for this type of resource (in days).

Depending on the purpose of the stock and the need to prepare material resources for use in production, transport, preparatory, current, insurance (or warranty) and technological stock are distinguished.

The transport stock is created at the enterprises for those deliveries for which there is a gap between the deadlines for receipt of payment documents and materials. In general, for the industry, it should be 1-2 days.

The preparatory stock consists of the time required for acceptance, storage and laboratory analysis of the quality of incoming materials. It is determined by calculation or by actual time for the reporting period, adjusted for changing conditions (mechanization of loading and unloading operations, improvement of control methods, etc.).

The current stock is the main type of stock, which is necessary for the uninterrupted supply of production in the period between two successive deliveries.

The value of the current stock in days is usually determined within half the average interval between deliveries.

In natural or conditionally natural measurement, the current stock (Ztek) is determined by the formula:

where Ip - delivery interval in days;

Msut - average daily requirement of material resources;

Kzap - coefficient of delay of resources in stock.

where Пп is the frequency of consumption of material resources in days;

D - calendar time - the number of days in the planning period.

The rationing of the insurance (guarantee) stock in days is carried out in two ways:

1) by the average deviation of the actual delivery times from the planned ones;

2) by the time required for urgent ordering and delivery of material resources from the supplier to the consumer.

Technological reserve (Ztech) is necessary for the time of preparation of the arrived material resources for production consumption. If this does not require special operations for the preliminary technological processing of materials, the technological margin is assumed to be 1 day.

If technological preparation is necessary, the stock of material resources is established provided that the delivery interval is less than 90 days, and is calculated by the formula:

where Pm is the time period for preparing materials for production in days.

In addition, in a number of cases, seasonal stocks are created, the formation of which is due either to the seasonal nature of the harvesting of resources (for example, the harvesting of sugar beets) or the conditions of delivery (for example, delivery by water).

The production stock rate for seasonal deliveries is determined by the number of days from the date of the start of accumulation of material resources at the point of dispatch to the date of receipt of its first batch by the consumer.

The enterprise should calculate the values ​​of the maximum allowable and average stocks of material assets.

The maximum stock (Zmax) is determined by the formula:

where G3 is the safety margin in days.

Average inventory (Aav) is calculated as follows:

where Ko - coefficient of simultaneity of consumption of resources, is generally taken equal to 0,66.

The calculation of the standards of some working capital in stock can be recommended based on:

1) the cost of the stock of containers for 1 rub. commercial products;

2) the cost of the stock of spare parts for 10 rubles. book value of machines and equipment being repaired decentralized (not at the bases of central repair);

3) the cost of the stock of inventory, overalls, general-purpose tools per 1 working industrial and production personnel.

The working capital ratio for work in progress (Nnp) is determined by the formula:

where Vp - the planned volume of marketable products at the production cost;

Tp is the duration of the product manufacturing cycle;

Knz - the coefficient of increase in costs, which is the ratio of the cost of production in work in progress to its planned cost:

where For - initial costs (for raw materials, materials, purchased semi-finished products and components);

Zo - all other costs;

0,5 - coefficient characterizing the uniformity of the increase in subsequent costs.

Working capital ratio for deferred expenses (Nbp) is calculated by the expression:

where Rbp - the amount of funds invested in deferred expenses at the beginning of the planning year;

Рп - expenses for the given planning period according to the estimate;

Рв - expenses included in the cost of production of the planned period according to the estimate of production costs.

The standard for finished products in stock (Ngot) is determined by the formula:

where Sk - the established standard for the stay of finished products in the warehouse (in days).

In all the above norms of working capital, one should take into account the need of the enterprise for funds not only for their core activities, but also for the production infrastructure.

LECTURE No. 10. Scientific and technological progress and intensification of production

1. The essence of scientific and technological progress and its role in the development of social production

Scientific and technological progress (STP) should be understood as a continuous process of quantitative growth and qualitative improvement of all elements of social production - both material and material, objective (means of labor and objects of labor), and subjective (production workers), as well as improving the methods of their connection in the production process based on the latest achievements of science and technology.

This process finds its expression in the creation of new and improvement of existing equipment and technology; the growth of mechanization and automation of production; creation and use of new types of raw materials, fuel, energy and materials; mastering new and improving previously manufactured products, improving their quality; scientific organization of labor and production management; an increase in the qualification and educational level of those employed in the national economy, a change in the qualification and sectoral structure of production and employment, etc.

The basis of scientific and technical progress is scientific knowledge - fundamental and applied research and development aimed at understanding the laws of nature and society and underlying the creation of new and improvement of existing technology. The current stage of scientific and technical progress has been called the scientific and technological revolution (NTR). Its distinctive features are the following:

1) Scientific and technological revolution is based on a qualitatively new level of development of science. It is based on the fundamental discoveries of modern natural science related to physics, chemistry, biology, cybernetics, cosmology, which open up new horizons in the knowledge of matter and the forms of its movement, they determine the development of nuclear energy, laser technology, microbiology and cybernetic control;

2) the transformation of science into a direct productive force, and material production itself into the technical application of scientific achievements. During the period of the scientific and technological revolution, the period for the implementation of scientific achievements was sharply reduced, and the production itself began to rely directly on the achievements of science. Scientific and technological revolution is being actively introduced into the technical, economic and social life of society;

3) the role of technology has changed radically. It began to intrude into the sphere of human mental activity. Cybernetic electronic machines have become a symbol of scientific and technological revolution, freeing production from the restrictions generated by the ideological and physiological abilities of a person. They allow a number of mental and logical functions to be transferred to the machine.

Scientific and technological revolution as a revolution in general is characterized by fundamental changes, spasmodic transitions from one qualitative state to another. Scientific and technological revolution is also characterized by progressive development, i.e. any change for the better, advanced, more perfect. Thus, in terms of the content of ongoing processes, scientific and technological progress should be interpreted as a broader concept than scientific and technological revolution. It includes both evolutionary and revolutionary transformations in technology.

Scientific and technical progress is the basis for the intensification of production. It has a decisive influence on all factors of economic development, makes it possible to use labor resources more rationally and achieve high-quality output.

The progress of science and technology ensures the solution of such an important socio-economic task as facilitating labor, facilitating its creative content.

The real economy of labor is determined by the use in social production of scientific and technological achievements, embodied in new means of production, new forms of combining personal and material factors.

The accelerated development of social production is determined by the fact that:

1) the rate of development of technology exceeds the rate of growth of production;

2) the development of science is ahead of the development of technology.

The development of science must substantially exceed the growth rate of the entire national economy as a whole. This is because:

1) the efficiency of social production directly depends on scientific and technological progress, and scientific and technological progress, first of all, on the development of science;

2) the dynamics of labor productivity, the total social product, increasingly depends on the impact of science on production through new equipment, production organization technology;

3) expanded reproduction in modern conditions is ensured only if science is ahead of the development of technology, and technology develops ahead of the development of all production as a whole.

However, new knowledge, scientific ideas and discoveries by themselves do not ensure the growth of productive forces, even if they are embodied in innovations created and mastered.

Real savings in social labor and an increase in production efficiency arise only in the process of using new means and objects of labor, technological and energy processes, new forms of organization and management of production.

The contribution of science and technology to the growth of national income depends on how well the cycle "science - technology - production - marketing" has been mastered. Science must become the direct productive force of society.

The transformation of science into a direct productive force means:

1) the orientation of science to the needs of society and the conditions of reproduction, ensuring the mutual influence of science and production;

2) materialization of scientific findings in the means of labor and technological processes, publications, as well as a guarantee of the highly efficient functioning of the material and technical business;

3) providing workers with the required knowledge;

4) implementation of production management on a scientific basis.

The transformation of science into a direct productive force is carried out on the basis of interrelations, on the one hand, between scientific labor and labor in the practical application of science in production, and, on the other hand, between labor in material production and labor that applies science.

However, in the years preceding perestroika, there was a tendency to slow down the pace of scientific and technological progress. At present, technological progress is becoming more expensive, as it requires the creation and use of more and more expensive machine tools, lines, robots, computer control tools, and increased environmental protection costs. All this is expressed in an increase in the share of costs for depreciation and maintenance of the fixed assets used in the cost of production.

Starting perestroika, the country's leadership took a course towards accelerating scientific and technical progress in order to increase the efficiency of production through the transition to intensive factors of economic development. However, due to the delay in radical changes in the economic system, the mechanism of its functioning, the weakness of the organization of production, the problems of scientific and technical progress could not be solved. As the situation worsened, they occupied less and less space in the reform agenda. This is due to the diversity and inconsistency of the conditions affecting the development of science and technology within the framework of the general process of reproduction (the risky nature of scientific and technical activities, the discrepancy between the interests of manufacturers and consumers, the inevitability of increasing costs at the stage of mastering innovations, etc.).

The development of various forms of ownership, especially private ownership, freedom of entrepreneurship and competition limit state intervention in the economic activity of an enterprise, and new methods of influencing the acceleration of scientific and technical progress have not been found, which resulted in a decrease in intellectual potential. The search for a modern model of scientific and technological policy, corresponding to the realities of the current stage of transition to a market economy, requires a deep understanding of the ongoing processes in all their completeness and complexity. In this regard, methodically substantiated and reliable statistical information, which comprehensively reflects the trends in the dynamics of scientific potential, acquires great importance. Skillful use of such information, knowledge of terminology and indicators, methods of analysis become necessary for the effective management of the processes of scientific and technological development at all its levels. The main elements of the organizational structure of Russian science are independent organizations that carry out research and development, as well as the relevant departments of higher educational institutions, industrial enterprises, organizations of other sectors of the economy. By the beginning of 2002, there were 4134 scientific organizations in Russia. In general, in 1990 their number decreased by 12,7%, primarily due to a sharp reduction in design and design organizations that carry out research and development (Table 1).

Table 1

Organizations performing research and development

In accordance with the classification adopted in developed industrial countries, there are four main sectors in the structure of Russia's scientific potential: state, business, higher education, and private non-profit.

The trends in the dynamics of Russia's scientific potential since the early 1990s have been characterized by a sharp drop in its main indicators, which, however, is accompanied by certain structural shifts that meet the conditions of a market economy.

Expenditures on research and development for 1990-2001 decreased by almost 3 times in constant prices. As a result, in 2001 they amounted to about 33% of the 1989 level.

2. Planning the technical development of an enterprise (firm)

The task of planning scientific and technical progress is to ensure the development of the national economy, industries and enterprises (firms) on a qualitatively new basis - development based on the intensification of production. To solve it, the planning of scientific and technical progress should be based on the following principles: purposefulness, complexity, continuity and scientific character.

Purposefulness implies the concentration of financial, material and labor resources on solving the most important tasks of the development of science and technology. An indispensable condition is a clear definition of the goal to be achieved in the planning period. At the same time, capital construction, the introduction of new technology, and logistics are not independent planning objects. They become means to an end and are provided for in the planning document.

In planning the development of science and technology, the principle of purposefulness has not found wide application. In most branch research institutes, it was not the goal or result of research that was planned, but their process. The assignment was considered to be the expenditure of the allocated funds for the work.

A similar picture took place in the plans of associations and enterprises to use scientific and technological achievements. Usually the wording of tasks began with the words "development" or "implementation". The indicator of the volume of use of innovations is not the ultimate goal of scientific and technological progress.

The use of the principle of purposefulness provides, with significant savings in funds, a reduction in the time for solving the tasks set.

The complexity of planning is a set of activities that form a single deterministic system. This principle requires taking into account, on the one hand, all the factors influencing the solution of the task, and, on the other hand, all the consequences of the results obtained on the surrounding objects.

The continuity of planning consists in the serial-parallel reflection of tasks throughout the "research - production" cycle. The stages of the cycle "research - production" are planned in different directions. Even in the conditions of associations and enterprises, when solving problems of technical development, tasks for development are provided for in some sections of the financial and technical plan, and for mastering their results - in others. This is one of the main reasons for interruptions in the implementation of work between individual stages.

The essence of scientific planning lies in the fact that in order to achieve the intended goal, the best option is selected from the set of available ones. The scientific nature of planning is primarily oriented towards research and development that meet the promising trends in the development of science and technology, as well as the fastest mastering of domestic and world scientific and technological achievements in production.

One of the features of the programs is their interdepartmental nature. Only on the basis of combining the efforts of various industries, organizations, it is possible to distribute and concentrate resources in the best possible way to achieve a common goal. Combining the efforts of mechanical engineering, industries that produce structural materials and use technology, creates the best opportunities for planning and accounting for the full amount of costs to achieve a given goal and all types of effect.

Under the programs, first of all, state financial, labor and material and technical resources are allocated, as well as investment limits for construction and installation work.

Unified management is another distinguishing feature of the program. Its forms may vary. The program can be managed by a parent organization that has the right to determine the goals of the components of the program, allocate resources among co-executors and finance the work. She gets the right to determine the responsible executors. The basis of the relationship between the developer and the consumer in this case becomes an intersectoral or sectoral work order.

Another way of unified leadership is the creation of a coordinating body or the appointment of a head organization from among highly qualified specialists of a scientific supervisor for the implementation of the program, endowed with broad powers.

A fundamentally new stage in the development of program-targeted management is the creation of a temporary scientific and industrial complex, consortiums for a certain and predetermined period.

Among the advantages of program management is the reduction in the duration of the "research - production" process by reducing the volume of mutual linkages and approvals and the parallel execution of work.

One of the forms of planning scientific and technical progress is a plan for the technical re-equipment of production.

The main objective of the enterprise development plan is to develop a set of measures to improve the technical and organizational level of production based on the wide use of the achievements of science, technology and best practices.

The plan for technical development and organization of production includes the following sections:

1) mastering the production of new types and improving the quality of products;

2) introduction of progressive technology, mechanization and automation of production processes;

3) improvement of management, planning and organization of production;

4) introduction of the scientific organization of labor (NOT);

5) overhaul of fixed assets;

6) research and development work;

7) the main technical and economic indicators of the level of production and output.

The first section provides for measures to create and master the production of new types of products, remove obsolete products from production and improve the quality of manufactured products, their certification.

The second section includes measures to introduce advanced technological processes, new high-performance equipment, comprehensive mechanization and automation of production, and modernization of existing equipment. Improving the management, planning and organization of production provides for a set of measures aimed at increasing the level of specialization and diversification of production, improving organizational structures, mechanization and automation of management and planning based on the use of computers.

The planning and implementation of NOTs include measures to improve the division and cooperation of labor, the organization and maintenance of jobs, the introduction of advanced labor methods and techniques, and the improvement of the system of rationing and remuneration.

Research and development work is planned in connection with the development of new types of products, machines, equipment, effective means of mechanization and automation of production processes, advanced technologies.

The development of a plan for technical development and organization of production should precede the development of all other sections of the enterprise plan, since this section is the rationale for many of its indicators.

For all activities included in the plan, the costs necessary for their implementation are determined, performers and deadlines are appointed, the savings are calculated on a conditional annual basis and until the end of the year, the impact of activities on increasing capacity, increasing labor productivity, reducing product costs, increasing profits, raising the technical and economic level of production.

Linking the technical development plan with its other sections is carried out using indicators characterizing the savings in labor, material and financial resources obtained in connection with the introduction of organizational and technical measures.

LECTURE No. 11. Rent, franchising

1. Lease mechanisms in business

The effective conduct of production and other business activities, regardless of the form of its organization, requires significant start-up capital, significant one-time initial costs. In addition, the very conditions for the functioning of most enterprises, tougher competition require additional investments in the renewal of production, strengthening its material and technical base. It is the need for investment that creates barriers to entry into the market or does not allow many enterprises, especially medium and small ones, to gain a foothold on it.

Under these conditions, perhaps the only way to overcome these obstacles are such specific mechanisms for attracting resources as rent (including its special, most actively developing form - leasing), as well as franchising.

The need to use these mechanisms became most persistent in the post-war period (in the 1950s) under the influence of factors such as:

1) insufficient amount of liquid funds in rapidly developing sectors of the economy;

2) aggravation of competition, including international competition, requiring, on the one hand, the optimization of investments, and, on the other hand, a significant expansion of sales markets and the search for non-traditional channels for selling products;

3) the resulting decrease in the profits of enterprises, which limits their ability to allocate sufficient funds for the desired expansion of production;

4) the objective need to use non-traditional forms of financing capital investments, which allow simultaneously solving the issues of acquisition and financing, without freezing a significant amount of funds for a long period in production assets;

5) the promotion of investment by government and financial bodies at this time in the interests of stimulating economic growth.

The main task of enterprises in these conditions is to achieve an appropriate level of competitiveness of products, including by reducing production costs, which is possible only on the basis of modern technologies, re-equipment of the existing equipment fleet. In this case, it is advisable to resort to rental relations as effective methods of financing investment activities.

According to the encyclopedic dictionary, the word "rent" itself comes from the Polish arenda, which means property lease, the provision of property on a contractual basis for temporary use for a certain fee.

Lease, on the one hand, allows enterprises to involve the necessary property in economic circulation without significant one-time investments associated with its acquisition, on the other hand, it provides an opportunity to receive income by renting out temporarily unused objects, while retaining ownership of them.

Note that in an aggregated form, the right of ownership itself implies that the owners have three basic rights - the right to own, the right to use and the right to dispose of a certain thing, object, their combination, i.e., the object of ownership.

The owner, at his own discretion, owns, uses, disposes of his property, and can also transfer these rights to other persons. According to the principle of the possible differentiation of these powers, the same right of use implies the option of applying this property in order to derive benefit from it. Does not exclude the right to extract this benefit through another subject of the user of the property.

It can be concluded that the emergence and very existence of a lease as a special type of business is based precisely on the possibility of dividing the components of ownership into two most important powers: the right of ownership itself as the legal dominance of a person over an object of ownership and the right to use a thing, i.e., its application in accordance with appointment for the purpose of deriving income and other benefits.

The legal basis for the regulation of lease relations is considered in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Part II, Chapter 34 "Rent").

Both movable and immovable property can be leased. According to Russian law, in the case of a lease of real estate and in some other cases, a lease agreement is subject to state registration.

The leasing of temporarily vacant buildings, structures, equipment, and vehicles by operating enterprises has become widespread.

Property complexes (for example, enterprises as a whole or their subdivisions) can also be the subject of a lease agreement. This creates conditions for the rapid commissioning of production capacities, the use of ready-made infrastructure. Such conditions are necessary, first of all, for small and medium-sized enterprises. In practice, there are contracts for the lease of land and other natural objects in the event that the objects are not subject to special regulations.

According to the law, two parties are involved in a lease agreement:

1) the lessor - the owner of the property, providing it for a fee for temporary use;

2) the lessee - the recipient of the property, using it for his own purposes in accordance with the purpose of the property or in accordance with the conditions specified in the contract.

The advantage of lease relations is to provide the tenant with the opportunity, if the need to use the property disappears, to transfer, with the consent of the lessor, the rights and obligations under the lease agreement to another person. In this case, a sublease agreement is concluded. As a result, the possibilities of enterprises to effectively use the leased objects in accordance with the changing conditions of economic activity are significantly expanding. The term of the sublease agreement may not exceed the period of validity of the lease agreement.

The key parameters of the transaction are the form, the amount of the rent, the terms and conditions for its payment. Depending on the specific conditions, these parameters vary significantly. The most common method of rent is the establishment of a fixed amount of payment, calculated on the basis of the value of the entire leased property or separately for each of its components. Payments are made, as a rule, periodically within the terms established by the contract. In some cases, however, a lump sum payment is also possible. When renting buildings and structures, the rent is usually set per unit area based on the actual size of the transferred object.

The lessee is the owner of the products and income received as a result of the use of the leased property. Therefore, often the rent can be paid by transferring part of the production to the lessor or through the provision of certain services. With a lack of funds at the initial stages of the formation of a business, this method is the most respectful for the tenant.

As a payment for the use of the property, the tenant may incur expenses for the improvement of the leased objects. Thus, the rent is determined in cash or in kind. Various combinations of these forms of payment are also used.

When setting the amount of rent, as a rule, it is recommended to take into account:

1) the amount of depreciation deductions accrued on the cost of the leased property;

2) income that could be received from the direct use of the transferred property;

3) expenses for insurance of the leased property;

4) the cost of repairing facilities after the end of the lease period;

5) the cost of additional services provided by the lessor;

6) the average level of rent prevailing in the given region for similar objects.

When renting buildings and structures, the rent must include the cost of using the land on which they are located.

The scale of the use of leasing relations in the world is quite large, primarily because they allow circumventing or temporarily solving the above problem of the lack or absence of productive assets (machinery, equipment, transport, etc.) or funds for their acquisition.

2. Franchise form of business organization

From the point of view of the processes of change in the general economic structure of production, the processes of integration and cooperation, such a form of business organization as franchising has become widespread in it.

Franchising as a form of economic integration of small and large businesses got its name from the French word "franchise" - "benefit, privilege". The main content of this form of relationship lies in the fact that a small independent company (operator, franchisee) operates primarily through a long-term agreement with a large enterprise (franchisor), according to which the franchisor grants the operator the exclusive right to develop, manufacture and sell under the franchisor's trademark on a certain market for a particular product, work, service.

The salient features of this form of business organization are as follows:

1) ownership of a trademark, branded service, idea, technological process, patent, special equipment, business connections, know-how and other remains with the franchisor;

2) a license ("franchise"), giving the right to use the above elements of economic activity, is sold to a small franchisee;

3) the contract for the sale of a license includes the rights of the franchisor to control the activities of the franchisee, as well as the obligations of the franchisor to provide qualified assistance to the partner in staff training, selection of premises, marketing research, etc.;

4) in the process of fulfilling the contract, it is envisaged that the franchisor will receive from the franchisee:

a) a one-time payment for a license and the necessary equipment;

b) periodic payments as a percentage of sales (or profits);

c) constant contributions to a centralized advertising fund.

The main types of franchising have developed according to the boundaries of integration of large and small firms in this process. Based on this, franchising is commodity, industrial and business (full-format).

In the first form of franchising - commodity - the franchisor is usually a large manufacturer, from which the franchisee dealer acquires the right to sell and service goods of the corresponding brand. At the same time, the sale of products to end consumers is carried out exclusively on behalf of the franchisor. Often the franchisee receives the right to sell and service customers in a certain territory, in any region. Examples here are dealer networks for the sale of equipment (for example, cars), as well as systems of branded gas stations.

In the case of manufacturing franchising, there is a sale to franchisees of technologies, patents for them and raw materials for the manufacture of a specific product. Most often, the right to use technologies, patents, know-how and the right to sell products is granted within a specific product. A classic example of this type of franchising is the production of soft drinks from concentrates and according to the technology of Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, etc.

The third type - business franchising - involves the acquisition of a license for the so-called business format, covering almost all elements of the production and business cycle of a large enterprise: from raw materials and technologies to organizational charts and reporting methods involved. This type of franchising is most widespread in trade, consumer services, hotel business, and catering. This is how the world famous McDonald's operates. In many cases, in order to limit competing enterprises, the parent company stipulates in the contract deliberately tough conditions for the cooperation of a small company only with this parent company. In case of violation by the operator of the terms of the contract, the franchisor may at any convenient time terminate the contract even without prior warning. From an organizational point of view, the forms of interaction between small enterprises and large enterprises described above can be built on one of two principles. The first principle used in commercial and industrial franchising is that small enterprises trade in the products of the parent company or perform work, services on its behalf, receiving a certain share of the sales volume for this, but at the same time taking on all the risk associated with implementation.

The second principle of interaction between small and large enterprises is corporate, which manifests itself in business (and therefore full-scale) franchising, when the operating company is fully connected to the full cycle of the parent company. At the same time, small enterprises, of course, are completely subordinate to the development strategy of the corporation, its planning system, accounting, management organization, technical conditions, standards, personnel training programs, information system, etc.

The history of the development of franchising is not as rich as the history of rental relations. As noted, franchising originated in the United States. Car dealers began their franchise business in 1911, and refiners began to organize branded gas stations in the 1920s and 1930s. This form of business, like leasing, grew steadily from the late 1950s through the 1960s: nine out of ten modern franchising firms went into business after 1954. During that period, the system of cooperative ties in question spread to new industries. retail trade, ensuring a high rate of development of a network of fast food establishments, as well as branded stores. The US retail contracting system now covers approximately 400 stores, gas stations, car service centers, restaurants, and eateries. These enterprises employ (including working owners) over 3 million people, or 20% of all workers in the industry.

More than 500 thousand American enterprises operate in the franchising system today.

Compared to entrepreneurs who open their own business on their own, franchisees have a number of significant advantages, including:

1) ready-made "food" of the market, which makes it possible to expand the business as soon as possible;

2) a complete package of clear instructions containing information on materials, raw materials, equipment, supplies, marketing system, methods and methods of work;

3) work under a well-known and respected brand;

4) obtaining relatively cheap and high-quality advertising of various scales - from local to international;

5) information on the best territorial location of business;

6) the possibility of purchasing the necessary equipment and materials from the franchisor at a discount;

7) acquisition of skills to work according to high quality standards.

Thus, franchising helps the company using it to quickly take its rightful place in the market and expand existing markets, provide an advanced business organization in the industry and ensure the implementation of these tasks without investing significant amounts of material and financial resources.

Equally significant are the benefits that large firms derive from this form of integration with small businesses. Industrial corporations, using the system under consideration, establish control over the market with minimal risk and cost, since franchisees invest their own capital in the business. The means and efforts of the corporation, thus, can be concentrated on the main production activity. Thanks to the franchising system, large industrial capital is able, at relatively low cost, to control territorially fragmented markets and to expand its power over them. The expansion of a controlled distribution network is faster than the establishment of own sales branches, since the process is largely based on the modernization of small enterprises that have already established themselves in the markets.

Noteworthy, however, are the internal specific contradictions associated with the objectively determined discrepancy between the interests of the participants in this form of entrepreneurial activity. First of all, it is necessary to highlight the contradiction between the rigidity of uniform standards, criteria and principles centrally established by the franchisor, and the specifics of the specific working conditions of the franchisee operator.

In special studies on this form of business organization, the contradiction between the long term of the franchise agreement and the unpredictability of the dynamics of many parameters of managing a small firm is also considered. Often, agreements are concluded for 10-15 years, and it is obvious that the franchisee is not able to predict the economic situation, dynamics and structure of demand for such a long term.

In addition, there is a contradiction between the high fee for inclusion in franchising relations and the insufficient, as a rule, starting potential of new franchisees. Thus, in the US, the initial costs range from 15 thousand to 100 thousand dollars, and in England - from 5000 thousand to 50 thousand pounds.

It is also very important to resolve the conflict in the interests of the franchisor and the franchisee in a particular region. The first is aimed at maximizing sales and, in case of favorable market conditions, seeks to increase the number of partner enterprises operating in this regional market.

The experience of developed countries shows that improving the practice of drawing up and concluding relevant agreements is becoming an important means of solving problems. In them, at the insistence of small firms, more and more often they fix: features of economic conditions in a particular region; acceptable duration of agreements (3-5 years) with the possibility of their prolongation; forms of financial assistance from the franchisor; its obligations to comply with the exclusive rights of the franchisee in this territory, for consulting audit support, etc.

The key role in resolving the analyzed contradictions inherent in franchising belongs to the state, which usually actively supports franchising relations between large and small businesses. The main forms of such support may look as follows. Firstly, the state creates an external environment favorable for the development of these relations: legal, tax, customs, etc. Secondly, it provides targeted assistance (financial, information retrieval, consulting) to specific firms - subjects of franchising relations. Thirdly, power structures create (initiate the creation, support) institutions and organizational structures aimed at stimulating franchising (as is known, chambers of commerce and industry, various associations, business centers, data banks, etc.) . Partial implementation of the above tasks and the high attractiveness of franchising affected its development in Russian conditions. Today, in Russian practice, the development of franchising relations in the sphere of commodity circulation and in the service sector is most intensive. Moreover, if previously foreign companies worked on the Russian market under the franchising system (see the above examples), now Russian companies are starting to work more and more actively in this direction. Franchising relations are intensively developing in the food system and the computer industry. Franchise relations are also emerging in the sphere of production.

LECTURE No. 12. Leasing

1. Leasing as a special form of rental relations

Leasing is a particularly popular form of implementation of rental mechanisms.

The name of a specific form of lease - leasing - comes from the English lease - "rent, rent".

According to Art. 2 of the Federal Law "On Leasing" leasing is a type of investment activity related to the acquisition of property and its transfer on the basis of an agreement for leasing to individuals or legal entities on certain conditions, for a certain period and for a certain fee with the possibility of transferring ownership of the subject of leasing to lessee.

Leasing is closely related to the rental mechanism, but in business it has a broader interpretation and contains at the same time the essential properties of a credit transaction, investment and rental activities, which are closely combined and interpenetrate each other.

In particular, leasing is associated with the lease of an optional transfer of ownership of an object to its user, the urgent nature of the transaction, the paid (paid) nature of leasing relations, which is similar to the rental (rent) of equipment, since it involves the amount of depreciation for full restoration, repair costs , maintenance and maintenance of the transferred property in working order, as well as a certain share of the profit in favor of the owner.

However, when renting any material assets, the tenant does not become the owner of these funds and does not acquire legal obligations in relation to this property. The lessee, on the other hand, assumes the obligations arising from the right of ownership, i.e., is directly responsible for the risk of accidental loss and maintenance of the leased object. The lessor, like the lessor, remains the owner of the leasing object. The destruction or impossibility of using the object of leasing does not release the lessee from the obligation to repay the debt.

It is sometimes believed that the main difference between leasing and renting is only in legal aspects, it depends on the terms of the agreement. But it's not. From the point of view of economic science, the lessee, unlike the lessee, pays the lessor not a monthly fee for the right to use the leased object (rent), but the full amount of depreciation. This implies a fundamentally new distribution of the risks of the operation. The lessor acquires any material assets in the interests and at the request of the lessee, while in the case of a lease, the parties enter into an agreement in accordance with the counter coincident interests. Payment of the full amount of depreciation guarantees good maintenance of the leasing object.

When calculating the rent, the amount of payments largely depends on market conditions (supply and demand). In contrast to renting, in leasing, there is a practice of obtaining the object at the end of the term of the contract in the ownership of the lessee at a pre-agreed purchase price.

The first leasing companies emerged in the United States in the 1950s. Financial leasing companies appeared on the European market in the late 1950s and early 1960s. However, at first their development was carried out with difficulty. The rapid growth of leasing operations was hampered by the uncertainty of their status in terms of civil, economic and tax laws. After the early 1970s. the tax legislation of some countries reflected the legal consolidation of the status of leasing agreements, the importance of this factor in the field of investment planning and financing in the European economy has increased dramatically.

How quickly this sector of the market has developed can be judged at least by the fact that, according to currently existing estimates in countries with developed economies, up to 30% of all investments go through various types of leasing operations.

The first leasing companies in post-perestroika Russia arose in the late 1980s and early 1990s. According to some estimates, the history of the formation of leasing in Russia is even shorter - more than 4 years. Rosagrosnab, specializing in the leasing of domestic agricultural machinery, was one of the first registered (Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated June 16.06.1994, 686 No. 1980 "On organizing the provision of the agro-industrial complex with machine-building products on the basis of long-term lease (leasing)", and "Aeroleasing" - on aircraft leasing. At the turn of the 1990-XNUMXs, leasing institutions were established in other regions of Russia - the Rossiya trade and leasing association in Nizhny Novgorod, the Garant leasing company in Rostov-on-Don. Many leasing companies were created by banks " Baltlize (Promstroybank), Leasingbusiness (Mosbusinessbank Inkomleasing (Inkombank), RK-Leasing (Bank Rossiyskiy Kredit), etc. The Moscow Government established the Likostroy company, which specializes in leasing construction and road equipment A number of specialized branch companies appeared (Leasingugol, Rosstankoinstrument).

At the beginning of 1996, about 37 leasing companies were already operating in Russia. All of them are different in their specialization - from universal, like Baltliz, to highly specialized, like the Garant leasing company. The volume of such operations is still small - several billion rubles. About 60% of the leased property was industrial equipment; about 17% - road equipment; 10% - computers and office equipment; 10% - transport. At the beginning of 1998, about 200 companies received licenses to carry out leasing activities in Russia, but only 25-30 of them were classified as actively working by specialists.

The tendency of activation of leasing activity is obvious. By 2002, about 2100 companies had a license for leasing activities, of which about 500 actually work.

The first normative document devoted to the legal regulation of leasing relations was Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 17, 1994 No. 1929 "On the development of financial leasing in investment activities." This Decree determined the priorities for the development of leasing in our country until 1999.

At the present time, Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 27.06.1996 dated June 752, XNUMX "On State Support for the Development of Leasing Activities in the Russian Federation" is in force.

The value of the use of leasing can be represented by its main functions: internal and external. Among the internal - production, resource-saving, financial and marketing functions.

The production function of leasing is the prompt and flexible solution of the lessee's production tasks through temporary use, rather than the acquisition of machinery and equipment in the property. Therefore, leasing is most effective in relation to especially expensive equipment, with the greatest risk of obsolescence, as well as in relation to enterprises with a seasonal nature of production.

It is fair to consider the role of leasing in the rational determination of resources in the enterprise. The lessor solves the dilemma: either use the property offered for leasing by the lessor himself, which is not so effective for a wide range of reasons, or lease it to the user - the lessee, who will be able to use it with greater returns, and, therefore, in the form of only rent will bring the owner more income than the one that the owner could receive using this equipment on his own. In this sense, the most important resource-saving function of leasing in an enterprise is the rationing of a scarce resource of productive assets.

The financial function is most clearly expressed, since leasing, according to its definitions, is a form of investment in fixed assets. With the development of technological progress, the investment needs of the national economy can no longer be fully satisfied only through traditional financing channels, which are budgetary funds, own funds of enterprises and organizations, long-term bank loans and other sources. At the same time, there is a shift in priorities in sources, but there is also a need for fundamentally new funding channels. Under these conditions, leasing becomes an addition to the traditional sources of funds to meet the investment needs of enterprises.

There is no doubt about the importance of the sales function of leasing. However, it has yet to be fully realized. Limitation of the role of leasing as an additional channel for the sale of manufactured products is determined by the general decline in the level of production and the imbalance in the market for technical products. The marketing function of leasing matters, of course, only if it is resorted to in order to expand the circle of consumers and conquer new markets. With the help of leasing, those enterprises are involved in the number of consumers that either do not have the financial ability to purchase equipment as property, or, due to the nature of the production cycle, do not need to constantly own it. In some cases, the leasing of a single piece of equipment is addressed before purchasing its batches in order to test samples in specific production conditions.

No less indicative are the external functions of leasing - financial and reproductive. It is important to emphasize here that the financial function among the external functions of leasing is not a repetition of its internal production function. From this point of view, leasing as a special form of investment, which makes this process attractive to all its owners, certainly stimulates investment activity not only at the micro level.

The reproductive function of leasing is not always noted in the specialized literature, despite the fact that the significance of this function seems to be quite significant. This function can be characterized from the point of view of the process of reproduction on a non-economic scale: as a result of the use of leasing in the entire chain of relationships between participants in the leasing business, new relationships in property relations are formed and an effective combination of economic interests of various spheres of economic turnover is ensured at various stages of reproduction of all economic entities involved in the general cycle of production, use, reproduction in general and the reproduction of this product (leasing object) in particular.

The characteristic of the preferred nature of leasing can be detailed in the economic benefits that it provides to each of the parties - participants in the leasing relationship.

For sellers of leasing objects, its advantages are as follows:

1) opportunities through leasing to expand distribution channels and sales volumes;

2) a decrease in stocks of finished products, the possibility of accelerating the turnover of capital;

3) support of solvent demand for equipment and machinery.

This is one of the ways to ensure victory in the fierce competition for the buyer, the consumer. Leasing allows suppliers to expand sales also because, as a rule, it provides for further regular supply of spare parts and operating materials, maintenance, repairs, training and retraining of personnel.

No less tangible are the benefits for the parties involved in the leasing business as investors of funds in production through leasing (among such participants are both institutional investors and lessors directly), namely:

1) economic benefits due to tax, depreciation, customs and other benefits. Tax incentives consist in the possibility of exemption in some cases from income tax or a reduction in the amount of taxable profit due to an increase in depreciation. Customs benefits are represented by the opportunity to install customs payments, etc. It has been noted that the lessor can often "share" these benefits with the lessee by reducing the size of lease payments;

2) reducing the risks of lessors, investors, protecting their interests, since investments are made in their specific tangible elements of fixed assets;

3) in the case of international leasing, it is also very attractive to use cheaper financial resources of financial and credit institutions from abroad or funds of foreign countries interested in increasing exports to Russia;

4) attraction of domestic budgetary funds in case of state support for the relevant industries or industries.

Benefits for lessees should be the most sensitive, otherwise the whole leasing process loses its attractiveness, among such benefits:

1) economic benefits for tenants in the form of a reduction in taxable profit due to the attribution to the cost of lease payments, exemption from property tax in terms of leased property remaining on the balance sheet of the lessor;

2) reducing the initial financial burden, since leasing does not require an immediate and significant amount of payments, and this allows you to update production assets without peak situations for production, to purchase expensive technically advanced equipment;

3) non-deadening of own capital during the renewal, reorganization and re-equipment of production;

4) maintaining liquidity for the tenant during the entire investment period, since the funds at the disposal of the tenant are not "frozen" in that part of the capital that is embodied in the leased means of production. At the same time, unrelated funds also make it possible to achieve an increase in working capital;

5) efficiency in solving production problems, especially for seasonal and irregular production processes;

6) a solid basis for financial calculations, since a predetermined amount of rent provides a clear basis for analysis;

7) flexibility of settlements due to the choice of the method, size, frequency of payment of lease payments; reducing the risk of the lessee, since in the event of insufficient sales of products on the market, the lessee has the opportunity to return the leased property to the lessor;

8) there is a choice: to buy out the leasing object, extend the contract or attract new equipment;

9) balance advantages of the tenant (if the property is not listed on its balance sheet), which exempts from property tax;

10) the benefits of securing a transaction, since it is often easier for an enterprise to obtain property under leasing than a loan for its acquisition, since the leased property acts as collateral;

11) for the lessee, the risk of moral and physical depreciation of the property is reduced; there is a transfer of this risk to the lessor, since the property is not acquired into ownership, but is taken for temporary use;

12) the tenant's savings on transactions, i.e., the reduction of administrative costs for labor-intensive operations for the selection, acquisition and sale of property.

For the state, leasing is important as a means of:

1) accelerating the process of reproduction, the introduction of scientific and technical progress;

2) creation of new jobs;

3) attraction of foreign public and private investments in the country;

4) increase in tax revenues to the budget due to the activation of production and entrepreneurship in general; raising the technical level of production in all sectors of the economy and accelerating the technical and technological re-equipment in them;

5) development and diversification of the market of means of production.

Leasing as a special, rather complex form of investment through a rental mechanism has a number of varieties, the study of which requires special attention. Therefore, within the framework of this manual, we will consider only its main scheme.

Classical leasing is characterized by a tripartite relationship: lessor - lessee - seller (supplier) of property. The leasing operation is carried out according to the following scheme.

The future lessee needs some property, for the acquisition of which he does not have free financial resources. Then he finds a leasing company that has sufficient financial resources, and turns to her with a business proposal to conclude a leasing deal. According to this transaction, the lessee chooses the seller who has the required property, and the lessor acquires it and transfers it to the lessee for temporary use for a fee specified in the leasing agreement. At the end of the contract, depending on its terms, the property is returned to the lessor or becomes the property of the lessee.

The composition of the participants in the transaction is reduced to two if the seller and the lessor or the seller and the lessee are one and the same person. In the case of the implementation of an expensive project, the number of participants in the transaction increases. This, as a rule, occurs due to the attraction by the lessor to the transaction of new sources of financial resources (banks, insurance companies, investment funds, etc.).

Note that in Russian civil law only a financial lease agreement is considered separately. In this case, the transaction is recognized as a financial lease (leasing) agreement if:

1) the lessor specifically undertakes to acquire property into ownership for its subsequent delivery to the use of the lessee, i.e. the object of financial lease is new property. Therefore, if the lessor leases used property, then it cannot be the subject of a financial leasing agreement;

2) the lessor acquires ownership of the property indicated by the lessee and from the seller specified by him. In this case, the lessor is not responsible for the choice of the subject of the lease and the seller. If the choice of the seller and the acquired property is carried out by the lessor, then this provision should be provided for and specifically noted in the financial lease agreement;

3) the tenant receives property for temporary possession and use for a fee;

4) the lessor must notify the seller that the property is being acquired for the purpose of leasing it to a certain person.

Thus, a financial lease agreement reflects all the requirements generally recognized by world practice that a leasing agreement must satisfy.

Despite the fact that the aforementioned Presidential Decree formulated the legislative framework for leasing in Russia, its advantages have not yet been realized to a large extent. According to experts, the share of leasing by 2000 was only about 2,5% of total investments, while in the West, as already noted, 25-30% of all investments are made using leasing.

In 2001, these ratios were as follows: the share of capital investments through leasing in the OECD countries was 20-30%, in developing countries - 3-30%, in Russia - 3%. Nevertheless, we can talk about positive changes in the activation of the leasing business in Russia. In 2000-2001, the number of applications for equipment leasing doubled. In general, the picture of the development of leasing in Russia can be supplemented by a table (see p. 2).

The main obstacles to the development of leasing in Russia are:

1) high rates and short-term nature of lending;

2) the high level of taxes and the complexity of the taxation system;

3) significant, and in some periods of time, simply disastrous inflation rates that prevent long-term investment in production;

4) the absence of significant start-up capital for the leasing company, since it purchases equipment at full cost, which, in the context of inflation, makes it difficult to expand its activities;

5) lack of liquid resources from the leasing company for collateral;

6) the underdevelopment of the infrastructure of the leasing market, which could provide proper maintenance of leasing objects, solve a number of issues in the leasing business;

7) lack of a system of information support about offers of leasing services.

Table 2

The volume of the Russian market of leasing services

A significant step in overcoming the noted obstacles can be the Federal Law "On Amendments and Additions to the Federal Law" On Leasing "", which entered into force on February 02.02.2002, 1998, which eliminated numerous legal conflicts of the XNUMX Law, and also added new ones to it. civil law norms designed to promote the development of leasing.

2. Leasing is an effective form of marketing finished products

Leasing is a type of lease relationship and is the main type of business activity aimed at investing temporarily free or attracted financial resources in property transferred under a lease agreement to legal entities or individuals for a certain fee for temporary use.

Banks and credit institutions are exempt from paying tax on income received from granting loans for a period of 3 years or more, subject to the implementation of financial leasing operations to fulfill leasing agreements. Currently, leasing is considered as a type of investment and entrepreneurial activity related to the acquisition of property and its transfer for use under an agreement to the state represented by its authorized bodies, an individual or legal entity for a certain period in order to make a profit (income) or achieve a social effect, taking into account depreciation of the subject of leasing with the participation of the lessor, supplier, lessee and other participants in the leasing project.

Leasing activities can be classified according to a number of criteria:

1) for items (objects) - for movables and real estate;

2) by participants (subjects) - direct, multilateral (internal), interstate;

3) on the market - on internal, external, interstate;

4) for payments - for financial, compensation, barter;

5) in terms of payback and depreciation - with full and incomplete;

6) for services - on a clean, with a full set, with a partial set.

In the present conditions, economic leasing as a form of commercial relations is beginning to be actively used in Russian practice in the form of an additional source of financing and material support for participants in the leasing turnover. There are all objective conditions for the formation of the leasing industry. First of all, this is the variety of forms of ownership that has appeared, which is the basis for the formation of various types of rental relations, as well as the gradual expansion of methodological and regulatory support for the main types of leasing activities.

Leasing is a complex of property and economic relations for the acquisition of property and its subsequent lease for temporary use for a certain fee.

Leasing has, as a rule, a tripartite nature of interaction between counterparties: the lessor, the lessee and the seller (supplier) of property. The future lessee, if necessary, finds a leasing company with sufficient financial resources and applies to it with a business proposal to conclude a leasing transaction. According to this transaction, the lessee chooses the seller who has the required property, and the lessor acquires it and transfers it to the lessee for temporary use for a fee specified in the contract. At the end of the contract, depending on its terms, the property is either returned to the lessor or becomes the property of the lessee.

At the first stage of the implementation of leasing interaction, the equipment manufacturer and the lessor, concluding a sale and purchase agreement, act as a seller and a buyer. At the same time, all issues related to the coordination of specific types of equipment, their quality, technological characteristics are resolved between the equipment manufacturer and the lessee, although the latter is not the legal side of this transaction. The lessor performs mainly the financial security of the transaction.

At the second stage, the lessor, already as the owner of the equipment, leases it to the lessee for temporary use. At the same time, the seller of the property, although he fulfilled the terms of the sale and purchase transaction, is responsible for the quality of the equipment.

The main content of leasing relations is operations for the transfer of property for rent for temporary use on the terms of leasing. Sales relationships play a secondary role.

Leasing has much in common with credit relations, which are based on three main principles:

1) urgency (the loan is given for a certain period);

2) repayment (must be returned on time);

3) payment (a certain loan interest is paid).

In leasing, the owner of the property, transferring it for a certain period and for temporary use, receives the property back within the prescribed period, and receives payment from the lessee for the services provided in the amount of an agreed percentage of the cost of the leased equipment. There are elements of credit relations, only in this case the participants in the leasing transaction operate not with cash, but with property.

The specifics of leasing interaction is manifested in the following:

1) the seller of property, as a rule, knows that it is being acquired for the purpose of leasing it;

2) when property is leased out under leasing conditions, the lessor remains the owner of the leased property;

3) the owner of property always receives remuneration for its transfer for temporary use;

4) the user of the property, in case of detection of defects, sends his claims either to the owner or directly to the seller of the equipment, with whom he is not associated with any contractual relations;

5) the user of property under the terms of financial leasing has the right to acquire it into ownership ahead of schedule or after the expiration of the contract, which is formalized by a contract of sale.

The subjects of leasing are:

1) property owner (lessor) - a legal or natural person engaged in leasing activities, i.e. leasing property specially acquired for this purpose;

2) user of property (lessee) - a person receiving property for temporary use;

3) seller (supplier) of property - a person who sells property to a lessor.

The object of leasing may be movable and immovable property that, according to the current classification, is classified as fixed assets, except for property prohibited for free circulation on the market.

According to the classifier, put into effect since January 1996, movable property includes:

1) power machines and equipment (technological, turbine equipment, electric motors, etc.);

2) working machines and equipment for various industries (printing equipment, construction equipment, machine tools, etc.);

3) computer and office equipment;

4) vehicles (railway rolling stock, sea and river vessels, cars, aircraft, etc.);

5) other machinery and equipment.

Real estate includes industrial buildings and structures (oil and gas wells, hydraulic engineering, transport facilities, etc.).

The implementation of leasing operations includes a set of economic, legal and organizational relationships between participants in the leasing turnover.

Documents:

1) application of the lessee;

2) conclusion on the solvency of the lessee;

3) order-order;

4) bank loan;

5) contract for the sale of the subject of leasing;

6) act of acceptance of equipment into operation;

7) payment for delivery;

8) leasing agreement;

9) an agreement on insurance of the subject of leasing;

10) lease payments;

11) return of the object of leasing;

12) loan repayment and interest payment.

Any leasing operation, as a rule, is formalized by a leasing agreement. Depending on the form of leasing, contracts are drawn up in various versions: either as an “Equipment Leasing Agreement with the Right to Purchase” or a “Purchase and Sale Agreement for Leased Property”. As a rule, the following are used as the main sections of the contract:

1) conditions of leasing;

2) the amount of rent;

3) supply of equipment;

4) rights and obligations of the lessor and the lessee;

5) termination of the contract;

6) actions after closing the transaction;

7) obligations associated with the return of equipment;

8) legal addresses and bank details of the parties.

Types of leasing are formed taking into account the main features, such as:

1) the period of use and related depreciation of property;

2) the scope of duties in the field of equipment maintenance;

3) the number of participants in the transaction;

4) type of property;

5) the nature of lease payments and forms of payment;

6) the level of payback of the leased equipment.

In international practice, there are three main types of lease:

1) long-term (financial) - with the provision of equipment for a period of 3-5 years or more (for some types up to 15-20 years), called "leasing";

2) medium-term, involving the lease of equipment for a period of 1 to 3 years, referred to as "hairing";

3) short-term - lasting from several hours, days, months to 1 year, which in most countries has received the name "rating".

Forms of medium-term and short-term lease found expression in operational leasing.

Operating leasing as a form of lease with incomplete payback is characterized by the fact that the costs of the lessor associated with the acquisition of the leased property are not paid back in full during the initial lease term. Operating leases are typically used when the tenant is willing to pay higher rents rather than bear the full risk of owning the property. This type of leasing is usually used in cases where the expected period of use of the leased property is less than the period of physical wear and tear (for example, seasonal work or one-time, targeted use), as well as when using equipment that requires special maintenance. In an operating lease, the tenant is not sure that he will be able to pay the rent over the long term, since the expected income from business activities is not large enough to cover the initial cost of the leased equipment.

Operational leasing does not involve full reimbursement of the cost of the leased equipment and imposes on the lessor the entire responsibility for the maintenance, repair and insurance of machines, equipment and instruments.

Operational leasing is used primarily in relation to equipment with a high rate of obsolescence (for example, electronic computers, instruments and equipment for scientific research, copiers, cars and other means of transport).

In Russia, for a long time, under the conditions of operational leasing, rental points for technical equipment functioned. Today, the logistics system has accumulated rich experience in the rental of instrumentation and so-called complex equipment, construction and road machines, equipment, construction tools. A large number of rental points have been created, which, studying the conjuncture of supply and demand, have established commercial relations with scientific enterprises, construction organizations and other users of technology.

At present, rental rating is becoming an important method of providing consumers with material and technical resources on a lease basis, a method of effectively satisfying consumer demand for material and technical resources.

The most widespread in international trade is financial leasing as a form of long-term lease.

Financial leasing, as a rule, is a tripartite interaction through the mediation of a leasing company with full payment of the value of the property and is characterized by the fact that the period for which the property is transferred for temporary use approaches in duration the operating life and depreciation of all or most of the value of the property. During the term of the contract, the lessor recovers the entire cost of the property through lease payments and receives the intended profit from leasing. In other words, financial leasing is a form of long-term lease with the tenant's right to purchase it.

With financial leasing, the responsibility for maintenance and insurance lies with the lessee.

If the equipment manufacturer independently leases it without the mediation of a leasing company, then this type of financial leasing takes the form of direct leasing. However, bilateral leasing has not become widespread, since with an increase in leasing operations, the manufacturer is still forced to create his own leasing company.

Therefore, in most cases, leasing is not carried out directly, but through an intermediary, usually represented by a specialized leasing company. At the same time, the agreement provides that in the event of temporary insolvency or bankruptcy of the intermediary, lease payments must go to the main lessor. Such forms of leasing agreement are called "subleasing". This form is especially widely used when the main parties to the agreement are located far away, when it is most appropriate to use an intermediary who monitors the correct use of equipment, the timeliness of receipt of rental payments and the effectiveness of solving many issues related to the operational management of the leasing agreement.

Returnable leasing, being a kind of bilateral transaction, has found a fairly wide application. The enterprise (future lessee) has equipment, but it lacks funds for production activities. Then it finds a leasing company and sells its equipment to it, and the latter, in turn, leases it to the same enterprise. Thus, the enterprise has funds that it can direct at its own discretion (for example, to replenish working capital).

A special form of leasing relations is the so-called leverage leasing. This form of financial leasing, in which a large share of the value of the leased equipment is borrowed from a third party (investor), and in the first half of the lease, depreciation is made for the leased equipment and interest is paid on the loan taken to purchase the equipment. Such a transaction reduces the investor's taxable income and creates a tax deferral effect. This effect is presented by the investor to the leasing company, which, in turn, sets a lower rent in favor of the client and receives a steady profit. A typical example of such leasing is aircraft leasing.

Of practical interest is also such a form of leasing as compensatory leasing. It is characterized by the fact that, on account of leasing deductions, the lessee supplies the lessor with products manufactured on the leased equipment in the agreed amounts. Compensatory leasing has recently been increasingly used in the practice of international leasing operations, as it solves the problem of finding free currency to pay rent.

The types of financial leasing are net leasing and serviced leasing.

Pure leasing is a relationship in which the lessee undertakes all the maintenance of the property, and the lease payments received by the lessor are "clean". Therefore, in this case, the cost of equipment maintenance is not included in the lease payments. This form is the most common.

Serviced leasing involves mandatory maintenance of equipment (its repair, insurance and other operations by the lessor), which is included in the rent. As a rule, this type of leasing is used to rent complex and expensive equipment. In addition to these services, at the request of the lessee, the lessor can take on the responsibilities for staff training, marketing and advertising of finished products, etc. The costs of these additional types of services will also be included in the rent.

When registering leasing relations, such a concept as "general leasing" is used. General leasing is a general leasing agreement between the lessor and the lessee, which provides for the right of the lessee to supplement the list of leased equipment without entering into new contracts.

Separate leasing, or leasing with additional attraction of funds, or leasing partially financed by the lessor, is the most difficult type of leasing, as it is closely related to multi-channel financing and is used, as a rule, to pay for expensive projects.

Under this form, the lessor takes out a loan from one or more lenders, while enjoying all the tax benefits that are calculated from the full value of the property. The borrower-lessor is not liable to creditors for the repayment of the loan, it is repaid from the amount of lease payments. Therefore, the lessor issues in favor of creditors a pledge on property until the loan is repaid and cedes to them the right to receive lease payments to repay the loan. Thus, the main risk under the transaction is borne by the creditors, and only lease payments and leased property serve as collateral for repayment of the loan.

Revolving leasing, or leasing with a successive replacement of property, is used in cases where the technology lessee consistently requires different types of equipment. With this form of leasing, the lessee acquires the right to exchange the leased equipment for another type after a certain period of time.

One of the most effective forms of leasing interaction is international leasing operations, involving the provision of leasing goods crossing the border of the country of the lessor.

In the implementation of an international leasing operation, the lessor buys the leased items from a national firm within his country and leases them to a foreign lessee. This type of transaction is considered an export lease transaction.

A lease transaction in which a lessor purchases leased items from a foreign firm and leases them to a domestic lessee is defined as an import lease transaction.

The international also includes leasing operations of foreign subsidiaries of transnational corporations and transnational banks that make transactions in the territory of the host country together with local firms.

On May 28, 1988, the Convention on International Financial Leasing was adopted in Ottawa (Canada), which made it possible to establish uniform rules governing the legal relations of all participants in an international leasing transaction and eliminate existing legal obstacles to its implementation.

The Convention establishes an inextricable link between two contracts: sale and lease. According to Russian legislation, the legal formalization of a leasing transaction fully complies with the requirements of the Convention on International Financial Leasing.

In the practice of processing international leasing transactions, sub-leasing transactions are popular, using a combination of tax benefits in two or more countries. For example, in the 1980s, under such a lease agreement, aircraft were purchased for the United States through the UK. The efficiency of this transaction is due to the fact that the benefits of tax benefits in the UK are greater if the lessor has the right of ownership, and in the US - if the lessor has the right to own. Given these features, the leasing company bought aircraft (ownership) in the UK and leased them to an American leasing company (ownership), which transferred them in the form of subleasing transactions for use by local airlines.

Often leasing companies for tax purposes open their branches in places with preferential taxation, especially in offshore zones.

The practice of rental interaction confirms, as a rule, the higher efficiency of international leasing operations in comparison with domestic leasing operations. The efficiency of a cross-border transaction is usually significantly better if an upfront payment is used and a double taxation agreement is taken into account in calculating the amount of the guarantee. The tax authorities should prove that the taxable income of a foreign leasing company should not include the amount of cancellation of the cost of equipment. However, in each specific case, it is necessary to resort to competent consultation with the tax authorities.

The main advantages of using leasing are:

1) investment in the form of property (unlike a cash loan, it reduces the risk of non-return of money, since the lessor in most cases retains the ownership of the leased property);

2) leasing involves 100% lending and does not require the immediate start of payments, which allows the tenant to renew production assets and purchase expensive equipment without large financial costs. When using a conventional loan, the company must pay part of the purchase price at its own expense;

3) a leasing agreement is more flexible than a loan, as it allows both parties to use a mutually beneficial form of payments - payment rates can be fixed and floating; for the lessee, the risk of moral and physical aging of equipment is reduced, since it is not acquired in ownership, but is taken for temporary use;

4) the leased property is not registered with the lessee on his balance sheet, which does not increase his assets and exempts him from paying property tax;

5) leasing payments are attributed to the production costs (cost) of the lessee and, accordingly, reduce the taxable profit;

6) the equipment manufacturer receives additional opportunities to organize the sale of products and the development of new market segments.

LECTURE No. 13. Credit and its role in a market economy

Credit resolves the contradiction between the need for the free transfer of capital from one branch of production to another and the fixation of production capital in a certain physical form. It also makes it possible to overcome the limitations of individual capital. At the same time, a loan is necessary to maintain the continuity of the circulation of funds of operating enterprises, to service the process of selling industrial goods.

Loan capital is redistributed between industries, rushing, taking into account market guidelines, to those areas that provide higher profits or are given preference in accordance with national programs.

Credit is able to have an active impact on the volume and structure of the money supply, payment turnover, velocity of money. Thanks to the loan, there is a faster process of capitalization of profits, and, consequently, the concentration of production.

Credit stimulates the development of productive forces, accelerates the formation of sources of capital to expand reproduction based on the achievements of scientific and technological progress. Regulating the access of borrowers to the loan capital market, providing government guarantees and benefits, the state orients banks towards preferential lending to those enterprises and industries whose activities correspond to the tasks of implementing national programs of socio-economic development.

Without credit support, it is impossible to ensure the rapid and civilized development of farms, small and medium-sized businesses, the introduction of other types of entrepreneurial activity in the domestic and foreign economic space.

Russia's transition to a market economy, increasing the efficiency of its functioning, and creating the necessary infrastructure cannot be ensured without the use and further development of credit relations.

In a market economy, money must be in constant circulation, make continuous circulation. Temporarily free funds should immediately enter the loan capital market, accumulate in financial institutions, and then be effectively put into business, placed in those sectors of the economy where there is a need for additional investment.

A loan is a movement of loan capital, carried out on the basis of urgency, repayment and payment.

There are the following types of loans:

1) commercial credit. This is a loan provided by enterprises, associations and other economic entities to each other. A commercial loan provided in a commodity form, primarily by deferred payment, is drawn up in most cases by a bill of exchange. A bill of exchange is a security representing an unconditional monetary obligation of the holder of a bill to pay a certain amount of money to the owner of the bill upon maturity. But it is limited by the size of the reserve fund of the creditor enterprise. Being presented in a commodity form, it cannot, for example, be used to pay wages and cannot be presented only by enterprises that produce means of production. This limitation is overcome by the development of bank credit;

2) bank credit - provided by credit and financial institutions (banks, funds, associations) to any economic entities (private entrepreneurs, enterprises, organizations, etc.) in the form of cash loans.

Bank loans are divided into short-term (up to 1 year), medium-term (1-5 years), long-term (over 5 years). These loans can serve not only the circulation of goods, but also the accumulation of capital.

Having overcome the limitations of commercial credit in terms of direction, terms and amounts of transactions, bank credit has become the main and predominant form of credit relations;

3) inter-economic monetary credit is provided by economic entities to each other by, as a rule, issuing shares, bonds, participation credit notes and other types of securities by enterprises and organizations. These operations are called decentralized financing (issue of shares) and lending (issue of bonds, securities) of enterprises;

4) consumer credit is provided to individuals for up to 3 years when buying primarily durable consumer goods. It is implemented either in the form of the sale of goods with deferred payment through retail stores, or in the form of a bank loan for consumer purposes. As a rule, a high percentage is charged for using a consumer loan (up to 30% per annum);

5) a mortgage loan is presented in the form of long-term loans secured by real estate (land, buildings). These loans are represented by mortgage bonds issued by banks and enterprises. A mortgage loan is used to update fixed assets in agriculture. It contributes to the concentration of capital in this area;

6) state credit - a system of credit relations in which the state acts as a borrower, and the population and private business - creditors of funds.

The sources of state credit funds are government bonds, which can be issued not only by central, but also by local authorities. The state uses this form of credit primarily to cover the state budget deficit;

7) international credit - the movement of loan capital in the sphere of international economic relations. It is presented in commodity or monetary (currency) form. Lenders and borrowers are banks, private firms, states, international and regional organizations.

The role of credit in a market economy can hardly be overestimated. Credit ensures the transformation of money capital into loan capital and expresses the relationship between creditors and borrowers. With its help, free money capital and income of enterprises, the private sector and the state are accumulated, converted into loan capital, which is transferred for a fee for temporary use.

Capital physically (in the form of means of production) cannot flow from one industry to another. This process is usually carried out in the form of a movement of money capital. Therefore, credit in a market economy is needed primarily as an elastic mechanism for the transfer of capital from one sector to another and equalization of the rate of profit.

LECTURE No. 14. Marketing activities at the enterprise

1. Essence and content of marketing

One of the main requirements dictated by the market economy is the need to produce products of such a quantity and quality that can be used by consumers. Without its implementation, the main goal of any entrepreneur is practically unattainable - to maximize profits. It provides for the rational use of ever-decreasing resources. Failure to comply with this requirement makes it very problematic to include the Russian economy in the international division of labor.

The set of processes during which the interests of producers and consumers are harmonized is called marketing.

There are many marketing concepts that reflect various specific approaches and methods for achieving the goal, strengthening certain elements. The most famous are five basic concepts on the basis of which modern enterprises build their marketing activities: production, commodity, marketing, consumer, social and ethical. Each of them is most effective in certain market conditions.

In conditions of shortage of goods, the marketing concept that provides for the improvement of production, when efforts are focused on increasing the volume of goods produced, is most justified. The excess of demand over supply makes it possible to ensure high efficiency of production and economic activities. The reduction in the cost of production, achieved with the expansion and improvement of production, further increases its profitability.

The concept of product improvement is alternative to the previous one. It is aimed at continuous improvement of the quality of manufactured goods and expansion of its consumer properties. This product orientation of the manufacturer, which increases the operational characteristics of the product, is more conducive to attracting customers who are able to better satisfy their consumer needs.

The sales concept of marketing is focused on more intensive informing the consumer about the merits of the proposed product and stimulating his purchases. An active advertising campaign can significantly intensify consumer demand, and, being supplemented by a range of low-cost related services (packaging, transportation, etc.), it can significantly increase sales. However, such a sales-stimulating effect cannot be long-term; the positive result of the implementation of such a concept is usually short-lived.

The consumer concept of marketing is the priority satisfaction of consumer needs. Its essence is expressed by the slogan-call: "Love the customer, not the product." It consists in a preliminary study of the interests of the consumer, his desires and preferences, and then in the organization of their satisfaction. Therefore, the production of goods or services in this concept is a means to an end, and not the end itself. Focusing on the needs of the consumer and their satisfaction makes this approach very effective. But at the same time, it also causes inconsistency between production, personal satisfaction of consumer needs, and the long-term well-being of society as a whole. This discrepancy is most clearly manifested in the deterioration of the environment (for example, due to an increase in the concentration of exhaust gases in the atmosphere caused by an increase in the number of cars - the cherished dream of many segments of the population; due to the use of freon in refrigeration units, etc.).

The most generalized and holistic is the concept of social and ethical marketing. It involves achieving a balance of the three main factors that determine the state of society: making a profit by the producer of goods; satisfaction of consumer requests and fulfillment of society's requirements. The implementation of such a concept is possible only with a comprehensively developed civil society, when its formation occurs under the influence and control of public organizations and movements.

2. Marketing tasks and some ways to solve them

Regardless of the concept underlying the organization of marketing activities in an enterprise, it must solve four main tasks:

1) offer the development and production of a product required by the consumer, in the volumes and quality corresponding to the consumers of the market;

2) to justify the range of prices for the product, available to the consumer and providing sufficient profit to the enterprise;

3) organize the promotion of the product to the consumer, influencing him with specific means;

4) develop optimal schemes for delivering the product from the manufacturer to the consumer.

Methods for solving marketing problems are very diverse: from insightful, based on intuition, to scientifically developed ones. The choice of methods depends on the adopted marketing concept.

The reference point in determining the type of product is the needs of customers, which determine the range and range of goods and services. Assessing the reaction of consumers to changes in taste, color, smell, style, ease of use and other consumer properties of pioneer product samples, its design, packaging, etc., the final decision is made.

The most complex element of the market, as you know, is the price of the product. It is she who connects supply and demand. Flexibly responding to changes in market conditions, it is able to influence the volume of sales, helping or hindering sales, and directly influence the amount of profit received. When developing a pricing policy, it must be taken into account that enterprises sell their products not at desirable prices that cover costs, but at prices acceptable to the consumer. In a market economy, marketing uses only the main strategic approaches to pricing, and the prices themselves are set by the elements (demand, supply) and market entities (sellers and buyers).

Determining specific price levels, enterprises are guided mainly by existing prices. Another way of pricing is based on production costs (full, marginal or standard) and a target rate of return.

The task of promoting the product to the consumer is solved by creating a favorable attitude for the consumer towards the product and its manufacturer, which activates demand. The main and most effective means for this since ancient times is advertising, which not only informs the buyer about the existence of a particular product, but also convinces him of the merits of such, forcing him to prefer it over competing ones. Other promotional activities are also effective in terms of promotion - presentations, participation in exhibitions and fairs, as well as the provision of various kinds of trade discounts, etc. The positive effect of advertising and its varieties is so great that in the literature and practical activities the concepts are often confused advertising and marketing, without stopping at the huge costs of advertising events. Incidentally, per capita advertising spending in Russia is ten times lower than in most economically developed countries, and 100 times lower than in the United States.

Options for solving the problem of delivering products from the manufacturer to the consumer can be: direct direct deliveries; through a system of wholesale and retail trade, through distributors who, together with resellers, perform representative functions on the market, through a network of other agents who perform not only sales, but also after-sales service, transportation and storage of goods.

3. Marketing functions

To achieve the main goal of marketing - to harmonize the interests of the manufacturer and solve the many problems that arise in this case - marketing activities perform many controllable functions. Among them, the main ones are analytical, organizing and informational.

The analytical function of marketing is to conduct research:

1) the conjuncture (volumes of demand, supply, average prices, the range of their fluctuation, the level of competition) prevailing in the market of manufactured products;

2) interests and preferences of consumers, their predicted changes;

3) buyers and their requirements for the consumer properties of the manufactured (scheduled for production) products, the nature of their occurrence and prospects for existence;

4) the intended product, its position in the relevant market, competitiveness, compliance with consumer expectations;

5) competitors, their strengths and weaknesses, features of advertising, additional services;

6) the ratio of prices for own and competitive products;

7) the process of dividing consumers into groups that are homogeneous in terms of characteristics (market segmentation);

8) the internal environment of the enterprise;

9) the marketing activities of the enterprise, trends in changes in the volume of consumption of manufactured products, the reasons that determine them.

The main purpose of the implementation of the analytical function is to reduce the uncertainty and risk of the enterprise. Its results are used to prepare recommendations for the adoption and implementation of management decisions.

The organizing function of marketing is:

1) preparation of production and the production of products of market novelty;

2) improving the quality and competitiveness of manufactured products;

3) development and implementation of a targeted product and pricing policy;

4) implementation of an advertising campaign;

5) providing customer service with manufactured products;

6) promotion of sales of products;

7) the development of an innovative policy at the enterprise, contributing to the improvement of products and production itself.

The fulfillment of the organizing function just represents the practical implementation of marketing activities.

The information function of marketing is to provide managers and specialists of the enterprise with the information of a diverse nature necessary for making managerial decisions: economic, demographic, social, political.

Economic information represents data on the main parameters of social production, distribution, exchange and consumption. These usually include: production volumes, the rate of its change, price dynamics, exchange rates, inflation, the state of foreign trade, etc.

Demographic information characterizes the size of the population, its density in different territories, sex, age and racial composition, etc.

Social information contains information about the state of family budgets, the structure of income and expenses, the amount of savings, the prevailing stereotypes of behavior, value systems in the economy.

Political information covers expected changes in the field of legislative regulation of the economy, finance, taxation, etc.

Any information must be true, complete, reliable and timely.

In addition to such information necessary for management, marketing specialists collect and process such a large amount of information necessary to perform their own marketing functions that many enterprises are forced to create special marketing information systems.

4. Types of marketing

A variety of concepts, tasks and functions of marketing activities used in practice in various combinations has given rise to many types of marketing, most of which have already been thoroughly tested and developed by theory, and some are relatively new, but promising.

According to the degree of market coverage, marketing is divided into micromarketing and macromarketing. If the first one operates within the framework of one enterprise (or even for one product group), providing a link between the producer and the consumer, then the second one focuses on the functioning of the economic system of large industries, the country as a whole and on a global scale. It was macromarketing that brought to life such types as macroglobal, social marketing and consumerism.

Global marketing is aimed at solving relevant problems in international trade, tourism and other forms of international cooperation.

Social marketing is associated with the use of marketing technologies for non-commercial purposes, mainly in social and political activities (anti-alcohol, electoral, etc.). Its purpose is to increase the attractiveness of any social idea, certain rules of conduct, programs of action for specific social groups and movements.

Consumerism is aimed at developing, creating and implementing a system for expanding and protecting the rights of consumers of products and their sellers.

The priority type of marketing activity is strategic marketing, which studies the ratio of external factors and internal resources, taken into account when making managerial decisions.

Depending on the type of product, marketing of consumer goods, specific services, means of production is distinguished.

Among the types of marketing activities, merchandising is distinguished - the organization of retail trade, the design of retail premises, shop windows, the presentation of information about the product, and behaviorism - the study of consumer behavior, its response to the impact of the production and marketing activities of enterprises.

Many types of marketing reflect the ratio of actual and desired demand for manufactured goods. In this case, the name of the species characterizes the actions of a particular situation. For example, promotional marketing, used in the absence of demand for the company's products, creates demand by linking consumer properties with the needs of buyers. With a highly fluctuating demand, synchromarketing is applicable, which seeks ways to smooth out the sharpness of fluctuations through the use of flexible prices, a system of discounts on prices, and a stable supply of goods.

Developmental marketing arises when there is a demand for non-existent goods (the so-called latent demand), estimates the magnitude of such potential demand and organizes the production of goods corresponding to it. Anti-marketing, which is characteristic of irrational demand (due to addiction to tobacco, alcohol), is used to compel buyers to give up bad habits through anti-advertising, price increases, and poor service.

All types of marketing consider the sale of manufactured products as a means of communicating with consumers and studying their interests and preferences. If those are not satisfied, then they change the marketing to a more appropriate form for the current situation.

5. Strategy and tactics of marketing activities

The marketing strategy, strictly speaking, does not repeat the strategy of the enterprise, although it is subordinate to it. The strategic goal of the enterprise is to obtain maximum profit from production and economic activities. The strategic goal of marketing is to contribute to this as much as possible by harmonizing the interests of the producer and the consumer.

When forming a marketing strategy, regardless of the concept used, consumer behavior is of paramount importance. The consumer is the main object of the marketing strategy.

The tactics of marketing activities are aimed at actions with goods or services, they are its main objects.

The strategy provides ways to achieve long-term goals, tactics involves the search for and implementation of development opportunities through the development and implementation of short-term (usually called operational) solutions.

The formation of a marketing strategy at an enterprise takes into account the needs of consumers, the available production resources and the current situation in the market for the relevant goods. It comes from the saturation of the market with goods of a certain life cycle and the ability of enterprises to update their production.

The theory divides the markets and the goods sold on them into existing and new ones, the strategies it recommends take into account combinations of these elements.

Maintaining or expanding the company's share in the existing market for existing products (in some sources, the latter are called "cash cows", "dogs") is possible by lowering prices, improving packaging, and sometimes intentionally degrading quality. Often the focus is on cost reduction.

For the same products, but offered in new markets, an increase in income due to increased sales is typical.

Success comes from a strategy based on the development and production of new products, especially those with unique properties for customers. Such products are referred to as promising products (they are sometimes called "star" products), capable of being highly profitable in existing markets. Such a strategy requires a minimum of implementation costs and is the least risky.

The diversification strategy involves the development of new products and the development of new markets at the same time. Products are distinguished by high consumer qualities, and markets - low sensitivity to price. The most expensive and risky strategy is appropriate for enterprises with a well-established brand, intensively working to improve their image and with significant resources. This strategy is very effective in competition.

Other marketing strategies - market positioning, market opportunities, profit optimization for the production program - have basically the same elements and areas of use as discussed above.

A special place in the list of marketing strategies is occupied by the marketing mix strategy, which in various publications is called the strategy of the integrated marketing function or the optimal marketing mix. The main point is the proportional distribution of efforts in marketing activities between its individual components for effective impact on the relevant market at a given time. This strategy was brought to life by the fact that the wrong ratio of individual marketing elements makes it difficult to sell the goods and services that the company offers on the market. Price levels, packaging, labeling and other inconsistencies in the market hinder the exploitation of market opportunities. The marketing mix strategy includes not only elements of direct marketing (state of demand, assortment and quality of goods, prices, services, advertising, delivery system and sales promotion), but also production elements (the level of wages of workers, the qualifications of the latter, the state of material and technical ensuring production, costs and profits, relations with subcontractors, etc.). It involves calculating the cost of the entire set of costs for the production of goods and bringing it to a level that allows you to receive the planned profit.

6. Organization of marketing activities at the enterprise

The implementation of marketing activities in the enterprise requires its organization. Depending on the scale of production, this can be done by the managers themselves (at small enterprises), individual specialists and special services. The organization of their interaction is different: functional commodity, market and commodity-market.

The functional organization is the simplest. It provides for the performance by each specialist or structural unit of specific marketing functions. If this is one person, then it performs all functions, conducting a study of the current market situation and organizing the production of products, its promotion to the consumer, marketing, advertising, delivery. Large enterprises organize a special marketing service, in which each structure performs and is responsible for the results of each marketing function or part of it. The effectiveness of such an organization depends on the scale of production and economic activity. It is high if the range of products is limited and constant, its implementation takes place in the same markets. The unambiguity of the composition of the duties of each structural unit, which do not intersect with others, helps to increase their professional qualifications and responsibility.

However, such a marketing organization is unsuitable for performing fundamentally new tasks arising from the rapid change in the market situation. It generates an interest in improving private results, not in general success.

Enterprises with a wide range of products sold in many markets prefer a commodity marketing organization, in which the entire range of tasks is divided into individual products (product groups). The corresponding structure performs all the marketing functions for this product. Commodity organization is especially effective when the goods produced by one enterprise differ significantly from each other in their purpose, appearance, packaging, and advertising content. However, the volume of sales for each product must be large enough to justify the costs of operating such structures.

The market organization of marketing involves the division of labor in separate markets or their segments, which differ in terms of implementation, including geographical features. It is used by enterprises that produce a limited range of products of the same type, the sale of which takes place in a large number of markets. It provides for the assignment of certain potential consumers to the structural unit of the service, provides better coordination of the various services of the enterprise when it enters the market and a more reliable forecast of the state of the market, taking into account its specifics. At the same time, a low degree of specialization, insufficient knowledge of the product range, and the possibility of duplicating functions significantly reduce the effectiveness of such an organization.

To overcome the limitations of a functional, commodity and market organization, various combinations of their main elements are used: functional-commodity, commodity-market, functional-commodity-market.

Each of the options for organizing marketing in an enterprise has its strengths and weaknesses. The common thing is that the simpler the structure, the more efficient (ceteris paribus) its functioning and better results. The number of functions performed by one structural unit (specialist) is limited. The more products, the fewer functions that can be successfully performed, and vice versa.

Whatever the organization of marketing in an enterprise, it must determine the nature of all business activities. Marketing starts the production cycle, and marketing ends it.

Author: Kotelnikova E.A.

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