Using the resource approach in the strategic management of an organization. Modern problems of science and education Resource approach to managing the strategic development of enterprises of the military-industrial complex
The personnel management system is a subsystem in the organization's management system; therefore, on the one hand, the goals of the personnel management system must be linked to the goals of its operation. organization development; on the other hand, the goals of the personnel management system must be linked to the needs of the organization's employees.
The process of linking goals in the personnel management system is so complex that it requires a strategic approach and the inclusion of a verified personnel policy in the personnel management system.
Policy in general is the basic rules and principles that determine specific actions.
Personnel policy is the basic rules and principles governing relationships with personnel in an organization, which are a logical and natural continuation of the production, marketing, investment and other policies of the organization.
Until recently, the prevailing approach was to personnel as production costs, and costs, as we know, need to be minimized. Accordingly, personnel management functions were also minimized. Recently, an understanding has emerged that personnel are a valuable resource, a source of wealth for an organization, capital, and it must be increased and invested in in order to obtain added value. Approaching personnel as a resource means:
- 1) its personalization and individual approach to all employees, carried out within the framework of combining the interests of the organization and the employee (in case of divergence of interests, stimulating and motivating levers of influence on the person are activated so that he connects his activities with the interests of the organization);
- 2) awareness of the problem of shortage of qualified and highly qualified personnel, which leads to a specific struggle for knowledge, skills, abilities in the labor market;
- 3) the transition to human resources means a departure from the idea of personnel as “gift capital”, the development of which does not require financial, labor, organizational, time or other costs from management.
The concept of human resources recognizes the need for investment in their formation, use and development based on economic feasibility. The purpose of investment is to attract more professionally qualified workers, train them and maintain them in a state of high working capacity, create conditions for their creative and professional development, which entails the need for a more complete use of the knowledge, skills, and abilities of members of the organization. Hence, the emphasis of work with personnel changes, in particular, efforts are made to develop and reveal the “hidden” capabilities of the employee.
The literature identifies the following concepts of personnel management:
- 1. Labor resources use since the end of the 19th century. until the 60s XX century Instead of a person in production, only his function was considered - labor, measured by the cost of working time and wages. In the West, this concept was reflected in Marxism and Taylorism, and in the USSR - in the exploitation of labor by the state.
- 2. Personnel management. The scientific basis of this concept, which developed since the 30s, was the theory of bureaucratic organizations, when a person was viewed through a formal role - position, and management was carried out through administrative mechanisms (principles, methods, powers, functions).
- 3. Human resource management. A person began to be viewed not as a position (an element of structure), but as a non-renewable resource - an element of social organization in the unity of three main components (labor function, social relations, state of the employee). In Russian practice, this concept has been used in fragments for more than 30 years and during the years of perestroika it became widespread in the “activation of the human factor.”
- 4. Human being management. In accordance with this concept, a person is the main subject of the organization and a special object of management, which cannot be considered as a “resource”. The strategy and structure of the organization should be built based on the desires and abilities of a person. The founders of this concept are considered to be the leaders of Japanese management K. Matsushita and A. Morita. However, it is closely related to the concept of comprehensive development of the individual, created by Russian philosophers.
If, as a result of a comparison of manufactured products and available resources (segment I in Fig. 2), excess capacity is identified, then this may become the subject of a decision regarding the creation of a new division within the enterprise or the allocation of part of it as an independent business unit.
How a tool for linking a product with resources can be used resource-oriented process chain analysis based on the process cost plan. Such a plan, covering many elements of the chain, gives an idea of material and information flows. With it, the entire production process can be decomposed down to the level of individual elements.
The first step of the analysis is to identify the resource need that initiates the process. After establishing the range of services for each process, a specification of resource requirements is given based on the cost-generating factor for each subprocess. This factor must be defined so that it can be used to reflect the overall picture of resource consumption. Finally, a time schedule for the use of resources for this process is drawn up.
Taking into account all partial processes, a general picture of the enterprise's production needs for resources emerges. By bringing individual resources into a common one resource “pool”, the transparency of structural relationships can be increased. If you then estimate the costs for all resource pools, a general picture of the costs of resource provision will appear. Finally, resources are allocated according to the needs of individual subprocesses.
The information value of resource-oriented process chain analysis, on the one hand, lies in ensuring transparency regarding the resource relationship of services. Thanks to this, hasty decisions on disinvestment in areas that are synergistically linked with other economic areas can be avoided or their consequences more thoroughly assessed. On the other hand, equally structured resource pools become comparable in terms of costs. Comparing available resources with demand for them allows us to identify real excess capacity. This may lead to the inclusion of new types of activities in the enterprise or, conversely, become the subject of decisions to outsource part of the capacity.
In general, integration of resource and market approaches improves the analysis of the actual strategic position enterprises. Decisions regarding excess capacity are made at wider information base.
Management of available resources
for future markets
If a resource-oriented analysis of the process chain reveals the presence of unloaded resources, then the question arises about their use (segment II in Fig. 2). They can be applied not only in already developed markets, but also serve as a basis for expanding the enterprise’s activity in other or even currently non-existent markets. A possible diversification strategy may be the subject of numerous studies with widely varying results. Whereas it was previously thought that “connected” diversification (i.e. relying on existing production) versus “unrelated” usually leads to greater success, empirical studies often prove otherwise or confirm that there is no relationship between diversification success and past performance.
Before deciding to choose a diversification alternative, resources that provide competitive advantages are usually broken down into a number of categories - tangible, intangible, financial. The starting criterion is the assumption that the specific use of the resource is the decisive factor in determining the type of diversification and ensuring its success.
Material resources, such as special machines, are considered inflexible and their operation is more appropriate in areas related to previous activities. The same can be said about some intangible resources, such as patents. Other types of intangible resources (personnel know-how, innovation dynamics) and internal financial resources are applicable in unrelated areas.
The peculiarity of the resource approach is that here the type of diversification depends on the flexibility of resources. In addition, an a priori classification of resources allows us to make estimates profitable directions for further diversification. If the resource and market approaches are brought together, then the opportunity opens up to link the extremes - specificity and wide presence in the market. Concentrating on its strengths allows the company to operate in many markets at once and thus insure itself against cyclical fluctuations in individual markets.
Managing newly developed resources in non-existent markets
When existing resources are insufficient to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage, the enterprise must determine which resources need to be created again. Regarding non-existent markets (segment IV in Fig. 2), the resource approach does not have interpretive capabilities. If we assume that the value of a resource in relation to competition is determined by the nature or requirements of markets, then it becomes clear why the resource approach can only be used fruitfully if integrated with the market approach.
Managing newly developed resources in existing markets
When entering the market, an enterprise has the opportunity to assess whether its available resources will allow it to withstand competition. A typical example here is attempts to draw conclusions regarding the characteristics of resources and requirements for them based on a detailed analysis of key products of competitors. If enterprise managers recognize the need to create a new resource that was not previously at their disposal, then the question arises about the form of its development.
First you can try to expand your internal resources. P. Rubin proposed a model that allows one to determine what proportion of existing resources should be used for the development of new resources 1 . With its help, over the entire life cycle of an enterprise, you can not only track the development trends of individual resources, but also get an idea of the benefits of preserving or disinvesting the entire set of available resources (resource pools). The model also helps management assess whether the enterprise has the necessary internal resources at all and for how long.
If the availability of resources does not meet the identified needs, then the enterprise is forced to resort to external sources of resource supply. This strategic move should also be kept in mind when the analysis of the position of competitors, due to a lack of transparency, does not allow us to determine the resources that provide them with advantages.
The most common form that allows one to overcome the imperfections of the factor market through organizational learning and internalize vital competencies in the enterprise is cooperation. From the point of view of the resource approach, the success of cooperation is determined by three components.
Firstly, this direct focus on learning, when the enterprise sets a clear and constantly pursued goal to expand its own capabilities, and not just use the knowledge of the cooperation partner. Secondly, it is assumed that the partner's knowledge should be, as far as possible, transparent, since both parties usually weigh the extent to which they can share or withhold their knowledge. If they consider that the exchange process is equivalent for them, medium- and long-term cooperative agreements are possible. Thirdly, the enterprise must take care of giving learning abilities specific forms so that acquired knowledge can be disseminated within the enterprise.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the integration of market and resource approaches should be perceived only as the first step towards creating a complete theory of strategic management. A significant advantage of integration lies in bringing together separate knowledge in relation to decisions made repeatedly and independently of each other. Thus, a comparison of excess resources and the needs for them allows a more accurate analysis of the real strategic position of the enterprise. With an integrated approach, strategic recommendations can be justified from multiple perspectives.
The condition for the integration of market and resource approaches is a favorable ratio of costs and benefits from planning. Developing an easy-to-use integrated approach is a subject for further research. Which criteria for the relationship between internal and external orientation will be decisive can only be determined in each specific case and depending on the situation outside and inside the enterprise.
The article is published with the kind permission of the Swiss publishing house Paul Haupt.
1 Rubin P. H. The Expansion of Firms // Journal of Political Economics. – 1973. – Vol. 81. – P. 936 – 949.
One of the directions for searching for the foundations of an enterprise’s strategic success is the resource approach to strategy formation, which is considered as an alternative to the market-oriented strategy development scheme.
According to supporters of the resource approach (E. Rühli, R. Hall), a clear orientation towards sales markets is not in itself a guarantee of success and the best long-term position of an enterprise in the market. The market-oriented approach does not sufficiently take into account the organizational, scientific, psychological and social factors of the enterprise’s strategic behavior. For example, the intra-company structure, social aspects of management, resource provision and behavior of personnel who are directly involved in the implementation of the strategy.
In contrast to the market approach, which involves determining the need for resources depending on the position of the enterprise in the market, the resource approach is based on the assertion that the market position of the enterprise is based on its resource potential, that is, the basis for choosing a strategy is the enterprise's resources and their management. Accordingly, within the framework of this approach it is determined that the competitiveness of an enterprise in the long term depends on the correct choice of resources and the ability to combine resources better, more original and faster than its competitors. In this case, special attention is paid to the time factor, which can play a decisive role in achieving competitive success, especially in high-tech industries.
The resource approach to strategy formation is based on the fact that each company has a variety of resources acquired in the factor markets and “accumulated” in the process of its activities, as well as the ability to combine them with its capabilities (qualified personnel, technical means, etc.) and goals.
An original and effective combination of resources in comparison with competitors in foreign economic literature has received the definition of key competencies of an enterprise (competencies - translated from English means competencies, skills, abilities).
Key competence, in turn, is based on tangible and intangible competencies. The technical and technological capabilities of the enterprise (unique technology, highly specialized equipment, etc.) are considered as material competence, which serve as the basis for the development of key competencies in the strategic aspect.
While the effect of possessing tangible core competencies is obvious, intangible competencies, which include functional competencies and organizational culture, are difficult to perceive, since they do not have a tangible form in the usual sense and, therefore, their role and significance are not always clearly visible. in achieving enterprise success.
An enterprise's ability to develop key competencies is characterized by the concept of meta-competence, which includes social interactions, in particular the response to criticism, the ability to respond to challenges from rivals, the ability to learn and communicate. The presence of technical competence determines the basis for the effective development of the enterprise, the formation, use and preservation of key material and intangible competencies.
The process of forming a resource-based competitive strategy includes: a reasonable assessment of resources, the enterprise’s capabilities in the formation of key competencies; means of protecting key competencies, as well as a multidimensional approach to the formation, development and use of key competencies.
The methodology for developing a competitive strategy focused on the resource potential of the enterprise should include answers to the following questions:
- 1. What key competencies, including technical competencies, does the enterprise currently have, and how long do they remain in force?
- 2. How can these competencies be protected, developed and used as part of a company-wide strategy?
- 3. How to provide sustainable means of protecting them?
- 4. Can an enterprise, based on existing resources, create new, original combinations of resources that in the future can be transformed into key competencies?
- 5. Does the enterprise need new material and intangible resources to achieve stable competitiveness in the future, and what investments are required for this?
- 6. How should new key competencies be created - based on imperfections in the resource market, on our own original solutions or connections with partners?
- 7. Are there imperfect factor markets that the firm can better exploit?
- 8. What are the key competencies of the company’s competitors, which of them can it use or neutralize, and which cannot be imitated?
- 9. What potential capabilities should a company have to create new key competencies?
Ensuring the protection of key competencies is carried out through various means, such as, for example, limiting access to certain resources, ensuring the impossibility of their replacement and limited ability to use the original combination of resources.
The effectiveness of such measures is achieved due to the imperfection of the resource market, in conditions of limited access to necessary resources and the preferential position of individual firms in resource provision, which ensures their competitiveness.
In addition, protection of key competencies can also be provided by:
- - complexity and long period of core competencies (for example, complex technologies, public communication networks, enterprise culture is not so easily imitated by competitors);
- - secrecy or secrecy of resources;
- - size of the enterprise (for example, small and medium-sized enterprises may be subject to financial, political and market sanctions from larger enterprises);
- - high costs due to the transition of a competitor from one supplier to another;
- - the time factor in relation to the speed of research and development and promotion of the product to the market.
The protection of key competencies should be carried out using all available measures and taking into account the specific market situation, determined by the severity of competition in the industry, its specifics, the ability to overcome industry barriers, the situation in the resource markets, the position and abilities of competitors.
A resource-based approach to justifying the choice of a competitive strategy should not be considered as an alternative to a market approach, since it cannot be separated from other structural components of competitive advantage, including scale of activity, specialization, optimal degree of integration, etc.
The value of resources appears only in the context of carrying out certain types of activities in order to achieve competitive advantages. The competitive value of resources can rise and fall through changes in technology, competitor behavior, or customer demands. Thus, the value of a resource is related to the structure of the industry and the market situation.
The relationship between resources and activities is more fundamental, but resources occupy an inherent intermediate position in the chain of causation that explains the strategic success of an enterprise.
Thus, the resource concept of the enterprise should be present in all strategic developments, while the role and importance of intangible key competencies in achieving stable competitiveness of the enterprise should not be ignored.
The considered methodological approaches to strategy formation are united by the stage-by-stage strategy development: determining the goals and directions of development of the enterprise, analyzing the external environment for the enterprise, as well as analyzing internal capabilities, advantages and weaknesses.
Since 1993, the consulting company Bain & Company has been conducting a large-scale, multi-year information collection project, “Management Tools and Trends.” This study gives us a global picture of management tools being used and trends around the world, based on a survey of more than 12 thousand respondents from around the world. The results of this study show that modern trends in the field of organizational management in recent years lie in the field of strategic management. The business community of different countries identifies four areas of management that should be given close attention in the management of organizations: 1) clients (customer relationship management system CRM, segmentation, customer research); 2) employees (staff engagement (motivation) research, corporate code of ethics, performance-based payment, knowledge management); 3) suppliers (supply chain management); 4) internal business processes (outsourcing, business process reengineering, scenario planning, benchmarking, strategic planning, mission and vision, change management programs, balanced scorecard).
These trends convince us that the focus needs to be on building and protecting core competencies and capabilities. The main key strategic assets of an organization are, first of all, its employees, unique products and services, internal business technologies and the ability to establish mutually beneficial relationships with key stakeholders (customers and suppliers). It is these key resources and competencies that are capable of creating additional profit (rent). The search for competitive advantage today is the achievement of high competence of an organization in any area that provides the best opportunity to overcome competition, attract consumers and maintain their commitment to the company.
Within the resource-based approach, organizations are viewed as a collection of different sets of tangible and intangible assets and capabilities. No two organizations are the same because no two companies have the same experience, the same acquired assets and skills, or create the same organizational culture. These assets and capabilities determine how effectively and efficiently a company carries out its functional operations. According to this logic, a company has a chance of success if it has the best and most adequate knowledge base for its business and strategy.
Key to the resource-based approach to strategy formulation is understanding the relationships among resources, capabilities, competitive advantage, and profitability—in particular, understanding the mechanisms by which competitive advantage can be sustained over time.
In the literature, there are different points of view on the designation of the concepts “resources, competencies, abilities”, and also different terms are used equally to designate similar concepts - strengths, skills, competencies, abilities, organizational knowledge, invisible assets. All these terms are similar in that they refer to the unique capabilities, knowledge, and established behavioral patterns of an organization that are a potential source of its competitive advantage.
Let's look at some definitions and understand the relationship between these concepts: Resources:
R. Grant - financial, physical, human, technological, organizational and reputational.
V. Meyer – tangible: land, buildings, raw materials and supplies, cash) and intangible:
organizational capabilities, knowledge (in the form of patents), reputation (brand strength), relations with external contractors, organizational culture.
I. Gurkov - natural resources (land plots or rights to deposits), material resources (equipment, raw materials and supplies), financial resources, intangible resources (intangible assets: trademarks, patents, databases).
D.J. Teece, G. Pisano, E. Shuen: 1) factors of production: “undifferentiated” input resources available in non-aggregated form in factor markets, these input resources are not specific to a particular company (land, unskilled labor and capital); 2) resources: firm-specific assets that are difficult to imitate (trade secrets, certain specialized production facilities and engineering experience).
The more unique the resources that a firm possesses, the greater the benefit (rent) it can receive from their use. Based on this assumption, the resource theory of the firm was developed.
Capabilities:
Capabilities are what an organization can do by putting together specific sets of resources. Capabilities are business processes. A business process can be represented as a certain procedure, the organization and management of which, with the involvement of the necessary resources, allows us to obtain a certain result from the initial resources.
Resources represent the source of a firm's capabilities; capabilities are the main source of its competitive advantage.
Abilities have an organizational nature (emphasized role of managers). Abilities cannot be purchased or sold.
Competencies
Competence is a special information resource containing experience, knowledge and skills about the way of organizing and managing resources and business processes to achieve set goals, the carrier of which is individually or collectively employees.
Competence is a special algorithm for a company’s activities in using its resources and abilities. Competence is a combination of abilities, or abilities are a mechanism for reconfiguring competencies. Competencies can be some of the firm's capabilities, combined with its other capabilities and resources.
So, the theoretical analysis carried out allows us to draw the following conclusions: Resources are associated with the availability of assets, and competencies are associated with the implementation of actions.
Competencies develop during use. The more competencies are used, the more complex and difficult they become to imitate.
Key competence, unlike resources and means of production, does not wear out with use, but, on the contrary, increases.
Resources are factors in the production process, the basic unit of analysis. Abilities are the potential of a resource group to carry out activities.
Resources are the source of abilities, abilities are the main source of competitive advantage.
Thus, competence is the basic unit of analysis in strategic management, as it includes both resources and abilities.
The term “core competency of the firm” was introduced into the strategic management lexicon in the early 1990s. after the publication of the work of G. Hamel and K. Prahalad.
In their opinion, a core competency has three main properties: it provides potential access to a wide range of markets, it adds significant customer value to the final product, and it requires great expense and effort to copy the core competency. A key competency is a competency of the highest order that is involved in creating the greatest consumer value, which is collective knowledge that allows you to organize and manage the use of other competencies and abilities, thereby creating additional consumer value. The main sources of key competencies are: organizational structure, reputation (brand), innovation, strategic assets, unique technologies.
According to I. Gurkov, key competencies include:
1) Know-how - knowledge and skills used by a company in a particular production process and unknown to its competitors (know-how (methods of obtaining and properly using knowledge), know-how (features of selecting unique personnel).
2) Systems that support the reliability of production and sales processes - a method of organization that ensures the reproducibility and sustainability of the most important processes.
3) Special external contacts and connections - determine the extent to which certain partners of the company allow it to violate the standards of relationships accepted by these partners.
To identify key resources, abilities and competencies, it is proposed to use the following practical scheme by R. Grant:
1) Resources: Identify and classify the firm's resources. Assess its strengths and weaknesses compared to its competitors. Identify opportunities for better use of resources.
2) Capabilities: Identify the firm's capabilities: what can the firm do more efficiently than its competitors? Determine the resource contribution to each capability and the complexity of each capability.
3) Competitive Advantage: Assess the rent-generating potential of resources and capabilities in terms of: a) their potential to create sustainable competitive advantage; b) the possibility of appropriating economic benefits from their use.
4) Strategy: Select the strategy that best utilizes the firm's resources and capabilities relative to external opportunities.
5) Identify resource gaps that need to be eliminated. Invest in replenishing, strengthening and improving your resource base.
The practical application of the resource approach to identifying and analyzing the resources and abilities of the pharmaceutical business organization under study made it possible to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the organization in terms of the use of resources and abilities.
At the present stage of economic development in Russia, the demand for the pharmacy business exceeds supply. The pharmacy works mostly with the end consumer. Consumers go to the pharmacy no less often than to the grocery store. Therefore, like in no other type of activity, it is important to establish relationships with customers and ensure their long-term loyalty.
The consumption of medicines and other related products has its own distinctive characteristics. According to the portal “investtalk.ru”:
In this consumption there is practically no status, or demonstrative consumption, in relation to most goods;
In many cases, purchasing medications or other basic pharmacy items requires a doctor's recommendation. Consumers who come to the pharmacy are not prone to impulse purchases. Even if the buyer himself “prescribes” this or that drug, he still usually consults at least with a pharmacist. After all, experiments in such matters are usually fraught with quite unpleasant consequences.
There is low awareness of most “umbrella” brands and, accordingly, low consumer loyalty to the companies. At the same time, recognition of food brands is quite high. Hence, there is a high level of customer trust and loyalty to certain medicines.
Buyers are very picky about the location of the pharmacy. Factors such as proximity to bus stops, large residential complexes, and shopping centers play a decisive role.
All this leads us to the conclusion that the main directions of developing a strategy for the development of a pharmacy business organization within the framework of the resource approach should be aimed at increasing the loyalty of employees and clients:
1) Increasing employee loyalty is associated with improving the work of staff to increase efficiency, efficiency, and responsibility when working with clients (creating a code of corporate social responsibility, creating customer service regulations, conducting employee training, a system of employee motivation aimed at stimulating active work with clients.
2) Increasing customer loyalty can be achieved through the introduction of “ethical” sales, an individual approach to each client, improving pharmacy marketing, and organizing special promotions for customers.
References
1. Global report of Bain & Company “Management tools and trends – 2015” // Access mode: http://www.bain.com/publications/business-insights/management-tools-and-trends.aspx (date of access: 30.04 .2016).
2. Grant R.M. Resource theory of competitive advantage: practical conclusions for strategy formulation // Bulletin of St. Petersburg State University. Ser. 8. Management. – 2003. – Issue 3 (No. 24). – P.47-75.
3. Gurkov I.B. Strategy and structure of the corporation: textbook. allowance. – M.: Delo, 2008. – P.97-115.
4. Kovaleva T.V. On the issue of using modern innovative strategies of organizations as a factor in the development of the innovative economy of Russia. / Improving the mechanisms for the development of the innovative economy of Russia and its Far Eastern territories: a collection of articles based on the materials of the international scientific and practical correspondence conference, November 21, 2014 - Khabarovsk: RIC KhSAEP, 2014. - pp. 23-27.
5. Collies D.J., Montgomery S.A. Resource-Based Competition: Strategy in the 1990s. // Bulletin of St. Petersburg State University. Ser. 8. Management. – 2003. – Issue 4 (No. 32) – P. 186-207.
6. Features of pharmacy marketing // Access mode: http://investtalk.ru/marketing/osobennosti-aptechnogo-marketinga (date of access: 04/30/2016).
7. Prahalad K., Hamel G. Competing for the future. Creating the markets of tomorrow. – M.: ZAO Olimp-Business, 2002. – 288 p.
8. Thies D., Pisano G., Shuen E. Dynamic capabilities of the company and strategic management // Bulletin of St. Petersburg State University. Ser. 8. Management. – 2003. Issue 4 (No. 32). – pp. 133–185.
Sociology and social work Bulletin of Nizheg®r®dsk®g® University named after. N.I. Lobachevsky. Series Social Sciences, 2010, No. 3 (19), p. 56-62
RESOURCE APPROACH TO SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS MANAGEMENT
© 2010 A.V. Rusheea
Nizhny Novgorod State University named after. N.I. Lobachevsky AVR0201 @ yandex.ru
Received by the editor June 23, 2010
The problems of managing social institutions in conditions of market relations and the possibility of using a resource approach to the management of social institutions are considered. The emphasis is on the financial aspect of their functioning and personnel management as a key factor in increasing the competitiveness of social institutions.
Key words: resource provision, sources of financing, personnel, competitiveness, human resources, social work, labor potential.
Significant changes in the socio-economic life of the country have led to serious changes in approaches to managing modern organizations.
Market relations dictate strict conditions for the survival and functioning of modern organizations. Social institutions are no exception. Despite the fact that the state still remains the main provider of social services, a market for social services has gradually begun to take shape in Russia. In order for an organization to successfully carry out its activities in the market, it is necessary to fulfill a key condition: to own the mechanism of competition, i.e. be competitive.
Competitiveness is an aggregated characteristic of competitive advantages, i.e. those assets and parameters of the subject of market relations that form its positive differences from rivals in competition. It is the process of formation and use of competitive advantages by market entities that is the main source of functioning of the competition mechanism, characterized and accompanied by constant changes in all its constituent elements. Various formulations of competitiveness refer to the properties due to which the subject of market competition can “withstand competition.” All other differences in the definition of competitiveness are related to what properties an enterprise can use to achieve this.
“Keep your finger on the pulse” is the motto of a modern leader. What does this mean? First of all: constant analysis of the macro- and microenvironment
organization with the subsequent adoption of measures adequate to the situation; analysis of organizational potential, which implies not only the availability of the necessary resources, but also the possibility of their development. To the above, one more important factor should be added, associated with the analysis of those resources and capabilities through which an organization can maintain and strengthen its competitiveness.
To realize their goals, managers must first of all realize that the organization is a rather complex system that acquires, connects, consumes, reproduces and distributes various types of resources. Lack of resources does not allow economic entities to successfully develop and implement a corporate strategy and perform institutional functions, sometimes even in the most favorable external conditions. The role of resources is fundamentally important, not only because without them the subject will not achieve the strategic goal, but because resources are the potential of the organization.
The problems of resource provision in modern Russia are largely due to the previous decades of total domination of state ownership, when economic entities exchanged resources (including commodity ones) within the framework and according to the rules of a single owner, and all responsibility for losses fell not on their leaders, but to the state. Such organizations, in principle, could not go bankrupt, therefore managing resource exchange and resource provision as a specific activity
was not considered either in theoretical or practical aspects. Currently, in Russia, economic entities have switched to new conditions for the exchange of resources belonging to them and are forced to be fully responsible for the management decisions made with their assets.
According to one of the modern concepts of strategic management - the resource approach, the main task of a manager is to attract, distribute and control the organization's resources.
The practical significance of the resource-based model is that a company's competitive advantage is created not only by its ability to assemble and use the right combination of resources, but also by constantly developing existing resources and capabilities and creating new ones in response to rapid changes in market conditions.
Traditionally, there are five types of main resources: people; money; raw materials and materials; equipment and other means of production; information and technology.
Each type plays its own special role in the life of the organization, but depending on the field of activity, key resources that determine the basic potential of a particular enterprise can be identified from this list.
Let's try to imagine the management of a social institution through this approach.
Resources in the social service sector include the entire set of material and intangible forces and means from various sources that can be used and are used in their activities by social institutions as economic entities to solve difficult life situations and meet the needs of their clients and/or population groups, for provision of social services.
According to the law “On the Fundamentals of Social Services for the Population in the Russian Federation,” resource support for social services includes: property support for social services (Article 22); financial support for social service institutions (Article 23); entrepreneurial activity of social service institutions (Article 24); staffing of social services (Article 25).
Taking into account the fact that the sphere of activity of any social institution is the sphere of human relations, and its goal is to assist clients in solving difficult problems.
life situations, it is obvious that the key resource in this area will be people - the personnel of social services.
Despite this, it so happens that by its nature social policy as a whole is not independent, since it depends on the financial resources that can be allocated to support the activities carried out within its framework.
The financial resources of a social institution are funds generated during its formation and replenished in the course of production and economic activities through the sale of services, sold property, as well as by attracting external sources of financing.
Social sector managers say that one of the key management problems is insufficient funding, limited
The main sources of financing social policy can be considered:
a) the state budget, which includes funds from the federal and consolidated budgets of the Russian Federation;
b) state off-budget social funds - Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, State Employment Fund, Social Insurance Fund, Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund;
c) employer funds.
To maintain and develop the system of social institutions, the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are regularly provided with financial assistance from other sources: additional funds are allocated from extra-budgetary sources of financing, for example, the budget of federal target programs from target social funds; bank loans and funds from other creditors; income from business and other income-generating activities of social service institutions; funds received as payment for social services; charitable contributions and donations, etc.
It would seem that these sources of additional financing should solve many problems of this nature, but in practice the situation is not so smooth. There are many reasons for this. For example, not all social institutions, be they government or non-profit organizations, can conduct business
activity; only a small percentage of such organizations are participants in federal target programs; The lack of transparency in the distribution and expenditure of financial budget funds also complicates the implementation of planned results.
Thus, in modern conditions there is a need to develop and justify a fundamentally new mechanism for financial regulation of the social sphere. The public sector, commercial and non-profit organizations have the right to use all available and legal financial instruments that contribute to the effective financing of the social sphere.
Currently, the most common methods of financing the current activities of organizations and institutions continue to be: self-financing - provides for the provision of organizations and institutions from their own income; estimated financing - provision of funds from the state budget to cover the costs of social institutions; mixed financing, in which the institution’s expenses are covered from both budget and own sources.
Most social institutions are still on budgetary funding. The estimate of an economic entity in the social sphere is the main tool for calculating its annual need for financial resources, as well as a condition for ensuring the receipt of funds for the current expenses of economic activity. Unfortunately, this method has significant drawbacks: the connection between costs and results is lost or at least significantly weakened, i.e. It is not the volume and quality of work (services) performed that is financed, but the time spent at work. With this approach, wages are directly dependent on education, work experience, position, and time worked. At the same time, the quality of work and service is only implied, but is not directly and specifically taken into account. The method of rationing labor with this option of estimated financing inevitably leads to equalization and, ultimately, to a decrease in incentives for effective activity.
As the social service system develops in certain regions of the Russian Federation (Perm, Nizhny Novgorod (Arzamas, Gorodetsky districts), Vladimir, Kirov regions, Altai Territory (Barnaul), Primorsky Territory (Nakhodka), Birobidzhan and etc.) have already passed
testing innovative management technologies for the provision of social services (cash consumer subsidies, targeted consumer subsidies (social vouchers), orders for social services, performance-oriented social assistance programs, technologies for measuring the effectiveness of the provision of social assistance and social services, administrative technologies). The introduction of these technologies is acquiring new significance for regions and municipalities in connection with the ongoing reforms in the country in the social sphere and, in particular, the division of powers between the regional level of government and local government, the monetization of benefits in kind, and the transition to results-oriented budgeting.
The value of these technologies lies in the fact that all of them, despite their innovativeness, are not pure technologies of “tomorrow.” The existing experience of their implementation indicates that they can actually be used in the practice of social protection authorities in Russian regions and municipalities.
Summarizing the consideration of the financial condition of social institutions, we can conclude that with the increase in the scale of social protection and social service institutions, which form an important part of the life support system of the population, the range of sources of their financing is expanding. Despite this, the budget system should still play a predominant role, through which people will receive a guaranteed state minimum of services. In monetary terms, this minimum can be set at the level of minimum current costs in social institutions, i.e. guaranteed amount of financing.
Along with the above additional sources of financing for social sector institutions, the following activities may be aimed at strengthening their financial and economic base:
Development of charity and attraction of individual donations;
Increasing investments from industrial patrons;
Stimulating your own commercial activities;
Development of a mechanism for preferential taxation of free financial resources (concentrated in banks) in the interests of social protection institutions.
It would also be advisable to increase indirect support for the institutions in question, e.g. through the provision of premises, equipment, etc. . Such events will contribute to the maintenance and development of the material and technical base of social institutions, and the creation of healthy and comfortable working conditions.
On the other hand, in order to operate successfully in the market, it is not enough to have material and financial resources. Managers need to pay attention to the internal capabilities of the organization, which are unique and inherent only to it. As a rule, it is through the competent use and expansion of an organization’s internal potential that its competitive advantage is determined.
In the broadest sense of the word, the concept of “potential” is presented as “a source of opportunities, means, reserves that can be put into action, used to solve a problem or achieve a certain goal; capabilities of an individual, society, state in a certain area.”
Currently, the most significant is labor potential, which can be considered both from the perspective of overall organizational efficiency and in relation to the activities of a specific employee.
The labor potential of an employee represents the total ability of the physical and spiritual properties of an individual to achieve certain results of his production activity under given conditions, on the one hand, and the ability to improve in the labor process and solve new problems, on the other. Consequently, the labor potential of an employee is a variable value that is constantly changing. A person’s ability to work and the creative abilities accumulated in the process of work increase as knowledge and skills develop and improve, health improves, and working and living conditions improve. The absence of such favorable conditions has a negative impact on the employee’s well-being, reducing his work capabilities.
The labor potential of an organization is a certain set (set) of able-bodied workers. In addition, the labor potential of the organization is different from the labor potential of employees, because the system is always greater than the sum of its constituent parts - individual/labor potential
cials of employees - due to the emergence of a new quality - a synergistic effect caused by the interaction of the elements that make up the system.
Thus, one of the main tasks of management becomes not just the recruitment of labor of the required quality and quantity, but the formation of the organization’s labor potential. In particular, when managing personnel, it should be remembered that potential is characterized not only by the degree of preparedness of an employee to occupy a particular position, but by his capabilities in the long term - taking into account age, education, practical experience, business qualities, and level of motivation.
According to the authors of the resource-based model, the unique resources and capabilities of the company are the basis of the strategy, which, in turn, should allow the organization to best exploit its core competencies to take advantage of opportunities arising in the external business environment. Since the owners of these characteristics are people, let us note the role of “human resources” in organizations.
The concept of “human resources” has many synonyms: “labor resources”, “labor potential”, “human capital”, “personnel”, which is understood as a certain part of the population that has the necessary education, physical development, health, culture, value system, creativity , abilities, knowledge, intellectual potential and practical experience for work.
According to the concept of “human resources”, which has become widespread in the United States since the mid-1970s, personnel are as important a production resource as financial, material, technological and other resources involved in the production process, and therefore an enterprise in the process of its development can either accumulate or reduce this type of resource depending on the choice of strategy. American scientists and managers believe that this approach to personnel management is more humanistic, because One of the most important functions of personnel management in these conditions is its development (training, motivation, career growth), and not just meeting the need for personnel in accordance with available vacancies. It is no coincidence that the concept of “human resource management” in the United States has replaced the terms “personnel” from everyday use.
"personnel", "personnel management", "personnel management".
A similar trend is already observed in our country. With the development of the economy, the internationalization of the nature of management, and the increasing role of the human factor in the organization, “human resource management services,” “personnel services,” or “BY departments,” often headed by specially trained “HR managers,” appear in many domestic enterprises. In addition, the functions of BU specialists have expanded significantly.
There is a direct relationship between the management of an organization’s human resources and the most important aspects of the effectiveness of its activities: the higher the degree of satisfaction of employees with the results of work, their orientation towards the goals of the organization, the higher the economic and social efficiency of the organization. Consequently, human resources are the main asset of an organization in competition, which must be protected and developed together with other resources.
Considering the above, let's try to understand who and what are the “human resources” of social institutions?
The personnel composition of social services is quite diverse and includes specialists in the field of social work, psychologists, lawyers, economists, teachers, medical personnel, etc., included in the staffing table of social institutions.
Professional and high-quality provision of services is possible only if the organization is provided with appropriately qualified personnel. From a formal point of view, this is intended to be facilitated by the existing norms and standards of social services, regulating the activities of social institutions and containing certain requirements for personnel, for example: “higher education without requirements for work experience and the presence of a certificate of a specialist in social work or secondary specialized education, availability certificate of a specialist in social work and work experience in educational, medical institutions or social protection authorities for at least 5 years.”
Unfortunately, despite the impressive number of regulatory documents aimed at improving the quality of social services, in 2007, for example, not all workers (approximately 40-50%) have specialized education and are able to apply
adopt modern technologies of social work. The majority were people without special training, which negatively affected both the results of their work and their well-being and motivation. Such workers, while fulfilling their professional duties, can, of course, bring benefits, but the quality and efficiency of their work will be insufficient. In this regard, the problem of professional selection in the field of social work becomes relevant, the purpose of which is to identify professional suitability from the point of view of existing basic personality qualities, taking into account the fact that the necessary professional skills can be acquired or improved directly in the process of practical activity.
As practice shows, it is unacceptable to evaluate a candidate for a vacant position only from a formal point of view, since the success of a social worker’s work activity is greatly influenced by the level of formation of the individual’s professional value system, his personal qualities, and motivation to work. For example, the professional and ethical Code of a social worker prescribes the meaning of such values as humanity, justice, self-determination, confidentiality, non-discrimination, honesty in professional activities, etc.
Thus, in modern conditions, when forming a team of highly qualified and interested workers (who make up the organization’s labor potential!), a comprehensive, integrated system of professional suitability indicators should be used. Such an assessment scheme will make it more objective and effective, since it will contain guidelines not only for formal compliance with the job (the presence of documents confirming the level of professional education and work experience), but also for the presence of professionally significant personal qualities of a specialist.
In some social institutions, for the personnel assessment system when hiring, such forms and assessment methods as interviews, special assessment centers, observation, quantitative and graphological methods, the graphic profile method, testing, etc. are already used. , allowing a more objective determination of the professional suitability of an employee.
Such experience should be disseminated and improved by applying a professional approach to the selection and assessment of personnel in the field of social work.
Another aspect of the formation of an organization’s labor potential is associated with an equally significant problem - the development and implementation of a system for job promotion of employees. Currently, it is important to have a modern, competitive “human capital”, which is achieved through an effective system of advanced training and personnel development, unlocking and rationally using the potential of each employee. The need to solve this management problem is also due to the acceleration of the process of obsolescence of professional knowledge and skills occurring in the external environment.
The lack of basic knowledge and specific skills among social workers leads to the fact that in their work they are guided by their spiritual qualities and everyday experience, which is associated with large resource costs. This, in turn, reduces the professionalism of social workers and hinders the process of professionalization of social work.
On the one hand, today there are various opportunities for training highly qualified social work personnel and additional professional training for existing social service employees: training at special faculties of social work (full-time and part-time courses), participation in thematic seminars and conferences and other events organized state territorial and municipal authorities. On the other hand, the implementation of these opportunities is often difficult due to financial restrictions.
The “sore spot” in personnel management continues to be the motivation of social workers. In some social security institutions, “anti-motives” prevail over motives. Negative factors include low wages; the need to perform work that is not part of the job duties; weak labor organization; undemocratic and incorrect leadership; the problem of psychological relief, “protection of those who protect themselves,” etc.
In this regard, it is not unreasonable to take appropriate measures to increase the motivation of “human re-
resources" of social institutions, since motivation occupies a leading place in the structure of individual behavior. The motivational factor ensures the transformation of knowledge, skills and abilities into means of professional and personal growth, thereby contributing to the achievement of professional excellence.
Despite the large number of unresolved issues in the organization of social services for the population, the motives of current specialists, as well as students who have chosen this line of work, are: “the desire to help people” (98%), “the desire to communicate with people” (75%) . In addition, aspects that allow you to demonstrate your competence in many areas, show creative thinking and concern for saving the organization’s resources are also significant. Specialists who reflect on the results of their activities consider a situation where the efforts spent working with a client met their expectations and led to positive changes as a positive assessment.
From the above it follows that practical social services in our country are provided and “rested” on those workers whose labor potential is represented mainly by the totality of the spiritual qualities of the individual and the desire to perform socially significant work. Such people do significantly more than what is prescribed in their job description. They are characterized by a humanistic orientation, personal and social responsibility, a heightened sense of goodness and justice, self-esteem and respect for the dignity of another person, tolerance, politeness, decency, empathy, willingness to understand others and come to their aid, etc.
Consequently, personnel management of social services should be based on strategic provisions, according to which the attitude towards people engaged in social work is built not as personnel, but as human resources, the value of which is constantly increasing, and the costs associated with them are necessary perceived not as an annoying expense, but as an investment in human capital.
Overcoming the identified difficulties, taking into account the existing potential of the system of social service organizations, is possible only by creating a strong legal and regulatory framework for this system, including
adequate state standards for social services; allocating the necessary financial and material resources for social needs and solving social problems to local and federal authorities; providing social institutions with qualified personnel and specially trained personnel in social work.
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THE RESOURCE APPROACH TO MANAGEMENT OF SOCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS
In this article author analyzes specific of advertising production in Russia. The main problem connected with advertising controversies. This material is based on theoretical and apply study sources, including some results of interview with experts from Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, St. Petersburg.
Keywords: advertising communication, communication barrier, advertiser, advertising controversies.
