Concept, essence and main directions

Economic activity is regulated by the norms of both private and public branches of law. Private law and public law regulation have different goals, focus and methods. However, any legal regulation of social relations is subject to the fundamental principles of the rule of law, legality, respect for human rights, equality of all before the law, justice, mutual responsibility of the state and the individual.

Civil legal regulation of economic activity is aimed at streamlining relations in the management of organizations (corporate relations), the conclusion and execution of contracts (obligatory relations), and the use of the results of intellectual activity (for example, brand names, trademarks, commercial designations). At the same time, the law provides significant opportunities for business entities to independently regulate relations among themselves through the conclusion of contracts. In addition, civil legislation allows the conclusion of contracts that are not directly provided for by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, but do not contradict it and the principles of good faith, reasonableness and fairness. Thus, business entities can use the most convenient way to formalize relations among themselves. Civil legislation only establishes boundaries and limits of possible activities that are binding on everyone. Freedom of contract, inviolability of property, prohibition of interference by anyone in private affairs, free movement of goods and financial resources are integral features of a market economy. The Constitution of the Russian Federation in Part 1 of Art. 34 establishes that everyone has the right to freely use their abilities and property for entrepreneurial and other economic activities not prohibited by law.

However, the activities of economic entities are associated with both private law and public law aspects. For the continental (Roman-Germanic) legal system, the foundations of which were formed by Roman law, the division of law into private and public remains traditional. This predetermines the structure of relations, the subjects of which are organizations and individual entrepreneurs. Carrying out economic activity is associated with entering into public legal relations. Therefore, their public legal regulation is required. First of all, the public legal aspect of economic activity consists of relations regarding the payment of taxes and fees, customs duties, and other obligatory payments to the budget; relations related to the implementation of state control of various types (financial, migration, labor, environmental, technical and others); relations related to the movement of goods and things across the customs border and the application of relevant customs procedures; relations regarding licensing of certain types of activities, as well as other relations regulated by public law branches of law - administrative law, financial law, customs law and others.

Public legal regulation pursues the goal of ensuring the interests of the entire society. Public interests have different directions and are determined by collective needs for security, stability of the financial system, social security, efficiency of educational activities, proper quality of goods sold, work performed, services provided and other public goods of a material and intangible nature. In this regard, certain aspects of economic activity are subject to strict legal regulation. Unlike civil law regulation, public law regulation defines in detail the actions of subjects in a certain area, that is, as a rule, the discretion of the parties is not allowed. Public legal regulation limits certain civil rights and freedoms. However, such a restriction is possible only on the basis of federal law. By virtue of Part 3 of Art. 55 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the rights and freedoms of man and citizen can be limited by federal law only to the extent necessary in order to protect the foundations of the constitutional system, morality, health, rights and legitimate interests of other persons, ensuring the defense of the country and the security of the state. For example, the obligation to pay taxes established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is a legal restriction of the constitutional right to private property. It is important that states with a market economy are characterized by strictly limited government intervention in the activities of economic entities. In this regard, the public legal regulation of economic activity is characterized by a desire for a detailed definition of the appropriate (necessary) actions of both organizations and individual entrepreneurs, as well as state and municipal bodies.

The essence of public legal regulation of economic activity is manifested in its main features.

Legislative regulation. Public legal regulation of economic activity represents a restriction of certain rights and freedoms of business entities - property rights, freedom of economic activity, the right to freely own, use and dispose of property. At the same time, it is important that such public law restrictions can only be established by federal law– an act adopted by the highest legislative and representative body of the Russian Federation – the Federal Assembly. Other regulatory legal acts of a public legal nature devoted to the regulation of economic activity may be adopted on the basis of and in pursuance of the relevant federal laws. This means that decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation, regulatory legal acts of federal executive authorities in the field of regulation of economic activity can be adopted in cases directly specified in federal laws. A federal law, as an act of the highest legislative and representative body of the Russian Federation, is adopted through a special procedure - the legislative process, during which the bill is repeatedly discussed and adjusted not only at meetings of the chambers of the Federal Assembly, but also in advance - in the relevant committees of the State Duma. The draft law receives opinions from the Government of the Russian Federation, relevant ministries, federal services and federal agencies; procedures for coordinating the bill with government bodies and public associations, organizations, associations and unions of legal entities are applied; The text of the bill is undergoing legal review.

The legislative process is aimed at ensuring compliance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the balance of private and public interests, the principles of the rule of law, justice, reasonableness and other fundamental legal principles of a private and public nature.

Conditionality by public interests. Public legal regulation of economic relations is carried out, first of all, to ensure the interests of the entire society. This involves, through legal regulation, ensuring the growth of macroeconomic indicators, the stability of the budget system, the effectiveness of social protection, the quality of goods sold to consumers and the achievement of other socially significant material and intangible benefits.

In a market economy and competition, every business entity is primarily interested in increasing profits by increasing the efficiency of its activities, including by ensuring constant growth in labor productivity. This is an area of ​​private interests of business entities, based on their right to freedom of economic activity. However, one should not sharply contrast private and public interests when talking about legal regulation. For example, each business entity, along with increasing profits, is interested in the stability of banking activities (constancy of interest rates on deposits and loans, proper fulfillment by banks of obligations to transfer funds from one account to another), which is also an area of ​​predominantly private law regulation. However, to maintain this situation, stability of the entire banking system is necessary, which is based on the proper implementation of the regulatory function by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia). Establishing the legal status of the Bank of Russia, as well as its functions and powers to manage the banking system is a sphere of public legal regulation. In this regard, legislative regulation of the activities of the Bank of Russia in regulating the banking system, pursuing, first of all, public interests, has indirect significance for business entities.

Thus, public legal regulation of economic activity is determined by public collective interests, but at the same time takes into account the private interests of economic entities.

Imperativeness. Legal regulation is carried out through two main methods - imperative and dispositive. The dispositive method is characteristic of civil law and all other branches of private law and can be characterized by the formula “everything is permitted that is not directly prohibited by law.” However, in public legal regulation, imperativeness prevails.

Imperativeness (from Latin imperativus - imperative, not allowing choice; requiring unconditional submission, execution) is the opposite of dispositivity. In law, the imperative method consists in a detailed definition of the rights and obligations of subjects, which, as a rule, does not provide for freedom of expression. The imperative method of legal regulation prevails in administrative law. The imperative method of regulating economic relations is characterized by the presence of an authorized state (municipal) body on the one hand and an economic entity on the other. Such relations in legal science are called power relations, since their participant is an authority that exercises regulatory, as well as control or supervisory functions in relation to obligated entities. Accordingly, the basis of this method is imperative legal norms - strictly defined rules of behavior. They provide prohibitions(for example, a ban on the abuse by an economic entity of a dominant position in the product market) and name calling(for example, the obligation of everyone to pay legally established taxes and fees).

The imperative nature of public legal regulation of economic activity is aimed at ensuring compliance with the rights and legitimate interests of business entities. Imperativeness makes it possible to establish clear procedures for the relationship between the state (municipal entity) and the economic entity. In addition, this is necessary to monitor the activities of business entities, including the grounds and procedure for appealing actions (inaction) of state (municipal) bodies.

Main directions of public legal regulation of economic activity due to the importance of its certain areas for ensuring public interests. Analysis of legislation allows us to highlight the following areas of public legal regulation of the activities of economic entities in the Russian Federation:

– licensing of certain types of economic activity(establishment of licensed types of activities, licensing requirements, procedure for issuing and re-issuing a license, grounds for suspension and termination of a license);

– antimonopoly legal regulation(establishment of legal signs of unfair competition, the procedure for identifying and suppressing unfair competition and abuse of a dominant position in product markets; legal measures to prevent violations of antimonopoly legislation);

– legal regulation of ensuring proper quality of goods, works, services(establishment of mandatory procedures for technical regulation, certification and standardization; administrative regulation of the provision of state (municipal) services);

– currency regulation(establishment of a monetary and legal regime: the procedure for carrying out transactions with Russian and foreign currency);

– customs legal regulation(establishment of rules for the movement of goods across the customs border of the EurAsEC Customs Union);

– legal regulation of taxation of business entities(establishment and introduction of taxes and fees paid by business entities, as well as the legal regime for their collection);

– legal regulation of the banking system(establishment of norms and requirements for the activities of commercial banks, the legal status of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia) and the rules for the exercise of its regulatory function);

– public legal regulation of insurance activities and compulsory insurance(establishment of mandatory requirements for the activities of insurance organizations, rules on the organization and functioning of compulsory insurance systems).

It is important to know that the mere classification of a law as a branch of public or private law does not indicate that all its norms (rules) are only private or only public. For example, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation is a fundamental act of civil legislation, but it also contains public law norms (for example, on the statute of limitations, on the proper quality of goods). Another counterexample is the Tax Code of the Russian Federation - a fundamental act of public tax legislation, but it also contains private law norms (for example, on an investment tax credit, on ways to ensure the fulfillment of tax obligations). Thus, to determine the public legal nature of a norm, what is important is not its location (in a normative legal act of private or public law), but its content (construction). Public legal norms always oblige and (or) prohibit taking actions or refraining from doing so in order to ensure public interest and, as a rule, do not provide subjects with the opportunity to act at their own discretion.

Public legal regulation of economic activity – This is the legislative regulation of the activities of business entities, determined by public interests, to establish mandatory requirements aimed at ensuring safety and protecting other socially significant relations.

TOPIC 1 LEGAL REGULATION OF ECONOMIC RELATIONS

The concept of entrepreneurial activity

In accordance with Art. 2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, entrepreneurial activity is an independent activity carried out at one’s own risk, aimed at systematically obtaining profit from the use of property, sale of goods, performance of work or provision of services by persons registered in this capacity in the manner prescribed by law.

The signs of entrepreneurial activity are:

Independence;

Focus on systematically generating profit;

Risky nature;

Fact of state registration.

Let's look at these signs in more detail.

1. Independence, which in turn includes the following elements:

a) organizational independence

Unlike an employee who is obliged to obey the established internal labor regulations (observe working hours, comply with labor standards, etc.), an entrepreneur is independent in the sphere of his business. He himself decides what and how to produce, from whom to purchase raw materials and materials, to whom to sell the products and at what prices. No one has the right to dictate or impose their will on him. But at the same time, no one is obliged to assist the entrepreneur in his activities: provide him with work, create working conditions.

b) initiative

Initiative is the flip side of independence. Both of these signs suggest each other. Being independent in his economic activity from anyone, the entrepreneur himself determines its direction and means of implementation.

c) economic independence

Organizational independence and initiative are possible only under the condition of economic independence, which is given to the entrepreneur by the possession of separate property, which he uses in carrying out business activities. Property is not always the property of the entrepreneur. Ownership of property can be based on the right of economic management or the right of operational management. An entrepreneur can also own property on a leasehold basis. In any case, he has the opportunity to independently use such property.

The hired worker does not possess the means of production and therefore, in order to satisfy his material needs, he is hired to work for an entrepreneur. Consequently, hired labor, in contrast to entrepreneurial activity, is dependent labor, subordinate to the will of the owner or other owner of the means of production. In this sense, a hired worker, although he receives wages for his work, does not work for himself, but for the employer.

2. Focus on systematically making a profit- This is perhaps the most significant sign of entrepreneurial activity. Both from the point of view of ordinary consciousness and from the point of view of science, entrepreneurial activity is, first of all, an activity whose purpose is to make a profit. Other signs of entrepreneurial activity are, in a certain sense, secondary, derived from this sign.

It should be borne in mind that from the point of view of the law, in order to qualify an activity as entrepreneurial, it is not necessary that a profit was actually received as a result of its implementation. The only thing that matters is the goal and the focus on achieving it. Whether there will actually be a profit or not is important for resolving other issues, in particular taxation issues.

On the other hand, to be considered entrepreneurial, the activity must be aimed not just at obtaining, but at systematically obtaining profit, i.e. be carried out more or less regularly. Therefore, transactions aimed at one-time profit cannot be considered as entrepreneurial activity.

It would seem that the sign of profit-making does not significantly distinguish entrepreneurial activity from hired labor. An employee, like an entrepreneur, works to earn income and pay for his work, which may exceed the income of the average entrepreneur. However, the salary of an employee cannot be considered as profit. Profit is the difference between income and the costs of obtaining it, or, in other words, surplus value. The employee does not bear any costs and does not make any of his own material expenses. He simply “sells” his labor at the prevailing market price. For this reason, he can have neither profit nor loss.

3. Risky nature entrepreneurial activity is that it does not always give the expected results. Due to a variety of reasons, both subjective (mistakes, miscalculations of the entrepreneur) and objective (changes in market conditions, default, natural disaster), an entrepreneur may not only fail to receive the planned profit, but also go bankrupt and fail. It was the risky nature of entrepreneurial activity that led to the emergence of the institution of insolvency (bankruptcy) in civil law.

The activities of an employee are based on different principles. Provided that he conscientiously fulfills his duties, he has the right to claim payment for labor, even if the products he produced turned out to be unclaimed and were not sold.

Public legal regulation of business activities.

The task of public law is to prevent possible harmful consequences that may occur in conditions of absolute economic freedom: abuses in the commodity market, in the provision of works and services, restrictions on freedom of competition, periodic economic crises, etc.

The main directions of public legal regulation in the field of entrepreneurship are:

Establishment of the procedure for state registration of business entities

Regulation of relations related to licensing of certain types of activities

Antimonopoly regulation

Regulation of relations on standardization, ensuring uniformity of measurements and certification

Establishment of sanctions for offenses in the field of business activities.

A) Licensing

Some types of activities, the list of which is determined by law, business entities can engage in only on the basis of a license. License– this is a special permit to carry out a specific type of activity subject to mandatory compliance with licensing requirements and conditions, issued by a specially authorized government body (licensing body) to a legal entity or individual entrepreneur. Licensing is a management activity and is therefore regulated by administrative law.

The main regulatory act in the field of licensing is the Federal Law “On licensing of certain types of activities” dated 08.08.2001.

The meaning of a license is that licensing authorities have the opportunity to monitor licensees’ compliance with the statutory requirements and conditions for carrying out licensed activities. If violations of licensing requirements and conditions are detected, the licensing authority has the right to suspend the license. In this case, a period of up to six months is established for the licensee to eliminate the violations committed. If the violations are not eliminated within this period, the licensing authority is obliged to apply to the court to cancel the license.

Thus, in the mechanism of legal regulation of social relations related to business activities, private and public law interact with each other and, fulfilling their own tasks, pursue a common goal - to create conditions for the normal functioning of the market mechanism.

Legal entities

Creation of a legal entity

A legal entity can be created on the basis of a decision of the founder (founders) to establish a legal entity. The decision on the establishment of a legal entity shall indicate: information about the establishment of the legal entity, approval of its charter, the procedure, size, methods and timing of the formation of the legal entity’s property. On the election (appointment) of bodies of a legal entity.

Stages in the process of creating a legal entity:

1) the founders of a legal entity must decide on its organizational and legal form.

2) development of constituent documents.

3) formation of authorized capital.

In accordance with the law, by the time the organization is created, at least half of its authorized (share) capital must be formed.

In some cases, for example, when creating a unitary enterprise, the authorized capital must be paid in full before state registration.

4) state registration.

State registration serves several purposes. The most important among them are securing the scope of legal capacity of a legal entity, implementing its taxation and ensuring the safety of citizens by establishing control over the procedure for carrying out certain types of activities.

State registration of a legal entity is carried out at the location of its permanent executive body, within a period of no more than five working days from the date of submission of documents to the registration authority. The moment of state registration of a legal entity is the entry by the registering authority of the corresponding entry into the register of legal entities. A legal entity is considered created, and it acquires civil rights and legal capacity.

Liquidation of legal entities

Liquidation is a method of terminating a legal entity in which legal succession does not arise. Liquidation can also be carried out voluntarily or compulsorily. Civil legislation contains an approximate list of grounds for liquidation of legal entities. These include: expiration of the period for which the organization was created; achieving the goals set in the constituent documents; invalidation of registration of a legal entity.

Forced liquidation is carried out in court at the request of authorized state bodies, on the basis of violation of the provisions of the constituent documents, carrying out activities without a license, gross violation of the law, insolvency (bankruptcy) of a legal entity, etc.

The liquidation procedure includes several stages.

Initially, the person who made the decision to liquidate notifies the registration authority about this. An entry is made in the state register of legal entities that the organization is in the process of liquidation. From this moment on, any changes to the constituent documents cease. Similar notices are sent to tax authorities and extra-budgetary funds (pension, insurance).

At the next stage, the body that made the decision on liquidation creates a liquidation commission (liquidator). The composition of the commission members is sent to the registration authority for approval. Until the end of liquidation, all powers to manage the organization are transferred to the liquidation commission, whose responsibilities include publishing an announcement about the upcoming liquidation in the media. The publication must contain information about the body that made the decision on liquidation, information about the location of the liquidation commission and the procedure and timing for filing claims by creditors of the liquidated entity (at least two months from the date of publication).

After the end of the period allotted for creditors to file claims, an interim liquidation balance sheet is drawn up, which is approved by the founders or the body that made the decision on liquidation and agreed with the registration authority, after which the entity has the right to apply to the tax authorities and extra-budgetary funds for deregistration.

Payment of sums of money to creditors of a liquidated legal entity is made by the liquidation commission in the order of priority established by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

The property of a legal entity remaining after satisfaction of the creditors' claims is transferred to its founders (participants) who have proprietary rights to this property or rights of obligation in relation to this legal entity.

The liquidation of a legal entity is considered completed, and the legal entity is considered to have ceased to exist after making an entry to this effect in the unified state register of legal entities.

Ownership

The right of ownership is a set of legal norms regulating social relations regarding the ownership, use and disposal by the owner of a thing belonging to him (see recognize the right of ownership, the right of ownership by inheritance). The owner exercises all of the above powers at his own discretion and in his own interests, in accordance with current legislation.

The right of ownership means the ability, based on the law, to have certain property, to maintain this property, i.e. possess it. Use is the ability to use property by extracting useful properties from it, incl. its consumption. The power of disposal means the ability to determine the legal fate of property, for example, alienation by agreement, transfer by inheritance (see right of ownership by inheritance) and others. When property is owned by two or more persons, we are talking about the right of common ownership (see also the right of common shared ownership).

Common property is characterized by the fact that several subjects participate in it in relation to one object. Common ownership can be with the definition of shares (see the right of common shared ownership) and without the definition of shares (joint ownership) of the participants. The right of common shared ownership may arise on the basis of various legal facts. For example, when several persons conclude civil transactions (the most common is a purchase and sale agreement), the production or creation by citizens of a new indivisible thing, the inheritance of an indivisible thing by several persons (see the right of ownership by inheritance).

Due to the fact that property owned by citizens and legal entities is included in the subject of civil circulation, therefore, in practice, controversial situations often arise in relation to this property. The most acute issue is with real estate, for example, with the question of how to recognize ownership (see also recognition of ownership of a house). Civil legislation, as one of the means of protecting a violated right, provides for the possibility of its recognition, and the right of ownership is one of the types of rights that can be recognized procedurally, for example, recognition of ownership of a house. Also noteworthy are cases where recognition of ownership can be achieved based on the established norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. These cases, for example, include: recognition of ownership of an unauthorized building, recognition of ownership of an (ownerless) house by municipal authorities, etc.

The grounds for the emergence of property rights are those legal acts in the presence of which the right of ownership or title ownership of property arises. Title ownership is ownership of a thing based on any right (legal basis) arising from the corresponding legal fact - title (for example, ownership based on a purchase and sale agreement for a thing or a gift agreement).

The legislator identifies the following initial methods of acquiring property rights:
1. Acquisition of ownership of a newly manufactured item (clause 1 of Article 218 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The right of ownership here arises for a thing that did not exist before, and the owner becomes the one who manufactured it or created it for himself in compliance with the law and other legal acts. A newly manufactured thing can be either movable or immovable. Real estate is subject to state registration, and ownership of it arises from the moment of such registration (Articles 131, 218 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

2. Processing or specification (Article 220 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The right of ownership here arises in a thing that is made by one person from the material of another person, and the right of ownership in this thing is acquired by the owner of the material, unless otherwise provided by the contract. The contract may provide that the owner may become the person who manufactured the thing - the processor or specifier, if the specifier uses someone else's material in the absence of an agreement with the owner of the material. A specifier can become the owner of a new thing only if three conditions are simultaneously met: the cost of his labor significantly exceeds the cost of the material; the specifier did not know and could not know that he was using someone else’s material; the specifier carried out the processing for himself and not for commercial purposes. In the absence of an agreement, the owner of the material, who has become the owner of the thing, is obliged to reimburse the specifier for the cost of processing, and the specifier, who has become the owner of the thing, is obliged to reimburse the owner for the cost of the materials.

3. Taking ownership of things that are generally available for collecting (picking berries, fishing, etc.) (Article 221 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). In this case, the ownership of these things is acquired by the person who collected or extracted them, provided that this collection is permitted in accordance with the law, the general permission of the owner or local custom. The person who collected or extracted acquires ownership of these things, which at the time of collection and extraction constitute someone else's property (for example, the state or municipality).

4. Acquisition of ownership rights to ownerless property (clause 3 of Article 218; Articles 225 and 226; clause 1 of Article 235, Article 236 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), a find (Article 227-229 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), stray animals ( Art. 230-232 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), treasure (Art. 233 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Property as an object of law does not always have a subject to whom it belongs, and due to certain legal facts it may become ownerless. An ownerless thing is a thing that does not have an owner or the owner of which is unknown, or a thing to which the owner has renounced the right. Abandonment of a thing does not entail the termination of the rights and obligations of the owner until the ownership right is acquired by another person.

Ownerless real estate, at the request of a local government body, is registered by the body that registers the right to real estate at its location. After one year after registration, the municipal property management body may apply to the court with a demand to recognize the real estate as municipal property, and if a refusal is received, it may be reaccepted by the owner who abandoned it or acquired ownership by prescription.
Ownerless movable property can be converted into ownership by other persons in the manner prescribed by clause 2 of Article 226 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. If the cost of a thing is below the minimum established by law (5 minimum wages), then a person, by starting to use the thing or taking other actions to turn it into property, can become the owner of the thing. Other things become the property of the person who took possession of them if, upon his application to the court, they are recognized as ownerless.

5. Acquisition of ownership rights by prescription (Article 234 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). It should be noted that if the opportunity arises to become the owner of property due to prescription and at the same time as ownerless, preference is given to the second method of acquiring ownership. Acquisitive prescription refers to the initial methods of acquiring property rights, no matter what criterion (will or succession) is used as the basis for distinguishing the original and derivative methods.
By prescription, ownership can be acquired of property belonging to any form of ownership, except for those withdrawn from civil circulation or which cannot be owned by the person who owns it.

To acquire ownership rights by prescription, the following conditions provided by law are necessary.

Firstly, the statutory limitation period for possession must expire, which differs depending on what kind of property we are talking about - real estate or movable. For real estate this period is 15 years, and for movable property - 5 years. The period of acquisitive limitation cannot begin until the statute of limitations on the claim for the recovery of property from the illegal possession of the person in whose possession it is has expired.
Real estate acquired by virtue of acquisitive prescription must undergo state registration after establishing this legal fact in the manner prescribed by law.

The legislator identifies the following derivative methods of acquiring property rights.
1. Nationalization - turning the property of citizens and legal entities into state property. Nationalization, as a rule, is gratuitous in nature, which can be characterized as deprivation of property rights without the possibility of protecting this right and interests of the owner. Currently, the approach to possible cases of forced seizure of property of citizens and legal entities into state ownership has undergone fundamental changes in our country.

2. Privatization is a process as a result of which property that was part of state and municipal property becomes the property of business companies and partnerships, individual citizens, and other individuals and legal entities. Termination of the right to state (municipal) property and the acquisition of ownership by another person - an individual or a legal entity - occurs in accordance with the procedure of legal succession
property.
3. Transfer of property that belonged to one subject of civil law into the ownership of another. For example, the property of a republic that is part of the Russian Federation becomes the property of the Russian Federation. There is no denationalization or privatization in the strict sense of the word here, the property was state property and remained so, however, due to the multi-level nature of property, the subject of property rights is changing here.

4. Acquisition of ownership of the property of a legal entity during its reorganization or liquidation. In case of reorganization of a legal entity, the ownership of the property belonging to it passes to legal entities - legal successors of the reorganized legal entity in accordance with the transfer deed or separation balance sheet (clause 2 of Article 218, Articles 58 and 59 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

5. Forced foreclosure on the property of the owner for his obligations. The ownership right to the property that is being foreclosed on is terminated by the owner only from the moment the right to this property arises in another person. An important guarantee for the owner is that forced collection of his property is permitted by court decision, unless a different procedure is provided for by law or agreement. When foreclosure, one should take into account the list of property of citizens and legal entities that cannot be foreclosed on, the order of satisfaction of claims and other rules established in both civil and civil procedural legislation.

6. Requisition and confiscation. Requisition is the seizure in the interests of society by decision of state bodies of property from the owner in the manner and under the conditions established by law, with payment to him of the value of the property. The assessment, according to which the owner is reimbursed for the value of the requisitioned property, can be challenged by him in court. If the circumstances in connection with which the requisition was made cease, the person has the right to demand in court the return of the remaining property.

7. Redemption (sale at public auction) of real estate in connection with the seizure of the land plot on which it is located. In cases where the seizure of a land plot for state or municipal needs or due to improper use of the land is impossible without termination of ownership of the real estate located on the site, it can be seized from the owner through redemption by the state or sale at public auction.

8. Termination of a person’s right of ownership to property that cannot belong to him. For example, the legal regime has changed or the status of a legal entity endowed with special legal capacity has changed, as a result of which the grounds for this property to be in its ownership no longer exist.

The grounds for termination of ownership rights are enshrined in Article 235 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation:

Foreclosure of property under obligations (Article 237 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);

Alienation of property that by force of law cannot belong to a given person (Article 238 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);

Alienation of real estate in connection with the seizure of a land plot due to its improper use (Article 239 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);

Alienation of an unfinished construction project in connection with the termination of a lease agreement for a land plot in state or municipal ownership (Article 239.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);

Alienation of real estate in connection with the forced alienation of a land plot for state or municipal needs (withdrawal of a land plot for state or municipal needs (Article 239.2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);

Redemption of mismanaged cultural property and domestic animals (Articles 240 and 241 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);

Requisition (Article 242 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);

Confiscation (Article 243 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);

Alienation of property in cases provided for in Article 239.2, paragraph 4 of Article 252, paragraph 2 of Article 272, Articles 282, 285, 293, paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 1252 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation;

Appeal by a court decision to the income of the Russian Federation of property in respect of which, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on anti-corruption, evidence of its acquisition with legal income has not been provided;

Application by a court decision to the income of the Russian Federation of money, valuables, other property and income from them, in respect of which, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on countering terrorism, a person has not provided information confirming the legality of their acquisition. By decision of the owner, in the manner prescribed by privatization laws, property in state or municipal ownership is alienated into the ownership of citizens and legal entities.

Judicial and extrajudicial protection of the rights of business entities. General provisions on judicial and extrajudicial protection of the rights of business entities. Arbitration and arbitration courts.

The right to judicial protection of rights and interests protected by law is a constitutional right of citizens and organizations. Everyone is guaranteed judicial protection from any unlawful decisions and actions of government bodies, organizations, officials and other persons that infringe or limit rights, freedoms and legitimate interests.

Forms of protecting the rights of entrepreneurs are divided into judicial and extrajudicial.

Judicial forms of protecting the rights of entrepreneurs require a certain type of activity on the part of such bodies as:

Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation;

Arbitration courts;

Courts of general jurisdiction.

Forms of extrajudicial protection of the rights and interests of entrepreneurs include:

Notarial protection;

Arbitration proceedings;

Pre-trial (claims) procedure for resolving disputes.

The vast majority of disputes are considered by district, city, regional and other courts of general jurisdiction. An arbitration court is a court elected by the parties to resolve disputes between them, and administers justice based on mutual consent and goodwill of the parties, and its highest goal is the conclusion of a settlement agreement by the parties. Arbitration courts are created on a permanent basis and on a temporary basis. Administrative procedure provides for the possibility of protecting a violated right by a government or administrative body. Appealing to these authorities allows the person to subsequently go to court to protect their rights, if desired. The exceptional procedure involves self-defense of violated rights by the subject of law in exceptional cases without recourse to the relevant authorities. Self-defense of a right is the unilateral actions of an interested party, permitted by law, aimed at ensuring the inviolability of the right, its implementation, restoration in case of violation and elimination of the consequences of the violation. Filing a claim in court requires a lot of official and personal time, material and moral costs, so sometimes a pre-trial dispute resolution procedure is preferable, allowing one to reach a mutually beneficial compromise. One of the types of pre-trial procedure is a claim procedure, when the creditor, by filing a claim against the debtor, resolves a dispute about the payment of a debt, compensation for losses, payment of a fine, elimination of deficiencies in products supplied, items sold, or work performed. The main methods and methods of pre-trial dispute resolution include: unilateral recognition of the debt and the obligation to pay it in the prescribed manner, a settlement agreement on the recognition of the debt, its reduction or refusal, an agreement on compensation, assignment of the right to claim the debt or transfer of execution of the contract to a third party, offset, debt forgiveness in exchange for the prospect of further cooperation.

Protection of the rights of entrepreneurs and consumers. The state guarantees freedom of entrepreneurial activity and ensures its protection and support. The rights of entrepreneurs carrying out activities not prohibited by law are protected:

1) the opportunity to carry out business activities without obtaining anyone’s permissions, except for licensed types of activities;

2) the simplest possible procedure for registering all types of business in all spheres of the economy in one registration authority;

3) restriction by legislative acts of inspections of business activities carried out by government bodies;

4) forced termination of business activity only by a court decision made on the grounds provided for by a legislative act;

5) establishment by legislative acts of a list of works, types of goods and services that are prohibited for private entrepreneurship, prohibited or limited for export or import;

6) bringing state bodies, officials, as well as other persons and organizations to property liability established by law to entrepreneurs for unlawfully obstructing their activities.

An important measure to protect the interests of entrepreneurs is the legislative provision of maintaining their trade secrets. A trade secret is understood as information that is not a state secret, related to production, technological information, financial management and other activities of an economic entity, the disclosure of which may harm its interests. A very important principle of the civilized functioning of market relations is the protection of consumer rights, i.e. buyers, customers, passengers and other persons enjoying the fruits of entrepreneurial activity on a reimbursable basis. The main lever for protecting the interests of consumers in the market is the fight against the monopoly of producers, the maximum development of competition, in which it is not the consumer who is forced to look for a manufacturer, but the producer who must look for a consumer. To more fully and effectively protect their rights, consumers can create public associations and consumer organizations.

TOPIC 4 ECONOMIC DISPUTES

No one has the right to interfere with the financial and economic activities of an entrepreneur carried out in accordance with the law, or to give mandatory instructions regarding the areas of financial and economic activities.

The law strictly regulates the activities of bodies exercising control and supervision of business activities, outlines the scope of their powers and establishes a ban on abuse of power. Any actions and decisions of government officials that restrict or infringe on the rights of entrepreneurs can be appealed by them administratively (to a higher authority) or in court.

In general, appealing to the judicial authorities is an extreme, although often used, measure to protect violated or disputed rights. An entrepreneur has the right to use other, in particular extrajudicial, methods of protecting his interests. Thus, in relationships between entrepreneurs, the claim procedure for resolving conflicts is widespread.

Economic disputes– these are disagreements that arise between participants in economic activity, which are legal entities and citizens registered as individual entrepreneurs.

Types of economic disputes that most often occur in arbitration practice:

1) pre-contractual disputes. They arise at the very beginning of contractual relations, when the contract has not yet been signed. The parties argue about contractual terms. The economic efficiency of the contract depends on how these conditions are determined;

2) contractual disputes. As a rule, these are disputes about non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of contractual obligations. In these cases, the law gives the right to recover all losses caused by the failure of contractual obligations, or to fulfill the obligation in kind, or to collect the debt with interest, or to apply other measures of civil liability.

Much less often, parties argue about changing or terminating contractual obligations. However, here the party who wishes to change or terminate the contract must prove that the circumstances have changed significantly and could not have been foreseen at the time the contract was concluded. You can demand termination of the contract if the counterparty violates the contract;

3) disputes about violation of the rights of the owner (legal owner). In these disputes, the plaintiff can demand either the removal of obstacles to the use of the property belonging to him or to recover his property from someone who in some way took possession of it illegally;

4) disputes related to causing losses. Losses can be caused both as a result of non-fulfillment of contracts, and in cases where no contract was concluded between the parties to the dispute;

5) disputes with government agencies. Disputes with tax authorities often occur. You can return excessively collected sums from the company’s current account through an arbitration court;

6) disputes about business reputation, trademarks.

There are judicial and extrajudicial methods for resolving disputes arising from business activities.

For some categories of disputes, the interested party, before going to court, must take measures to resolve disagreements through direct negotiations with the other party, or in other words, follow the pre-trial procedure for resolving the dispute.

“MICROECONOMICS: A PRACTICAL APPROACH (Managerial Economics) Edited by A.G. Gryaznova and A.Yu, Yudanova Second edition, corrected Admitted...”

-- [ Page 1 ] --

FINANCIAL ACADEMY

UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF THE RUSSIAN FED ERA SHI

MICROECONOMICS:

PRACTICAL APPROACH

(Managerial Economics)

Edited by

A.G. Gryaznova and A.Yu, Yudanova

Second edition, corrected

Approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation as a textbook for students of higher educational institutions studying in specialties 0 6 0 4 0 0 “Finance and credit”, 0 6 0 5 0 0 “Accounting, analysis and audit”, 060600 “World economy”, 3 5 1 2 0 0 “Taxes and taxation”

FOR INFORMATION ONLY

MOSCOW

www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com UDC 338(100)+338.24+658*658.3 BBK 65.5:65.050:65.29:65.24 M59 Microeconomics: a practical approach (Managerial Economics): textbook. - 2nd ed..

459 nsp. / ed. A.G. Gryaznova and L. Yu. Yudanov. - M.: KNORUS, 2005. - 672 p.

ISBN 5-85971-160-3 The book is the first textbook of microeconomics, specifically designed for the preparation of highly qualified economists and practitioners and corresponding to the internationally accepted structure of teaching the discipline for this category of students and listeners (the first Russian textbook of microeconomics of the “managerial economics” class) . Fully satisfying all the requirements of the state educational standard in microeconomics, the textbook complements the theoretical course with consideration of the use of theory in the practical activities of a company.

For economic practitioners receiving a first-class education, whose future profession involves acting as managers and leading specialists in private and public enterprises (finance, credit, management, production organization, marketing, accounting, etc.). Designed for economics students, npoipami MBA students, graduate students and teachers.

UDC 338(100)+338.24+658+658.3 BBK 65.5:65.050:65.29:65.24 © Team of authors, 2004,2005 fSBN 5-85971-160-3 © KNORUS, 2004.2005 Textbook "Mikr" "Economics: a practical approach (Managerial Economics)" is a very necessary book that allows connect economic theory with real historical experience. It is very important not only to prepare highly qualified managers

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CHAPTER 6 GENERAL FEATURES OF BEHAVIOR OF A FIRM

IN MARKETS IMPERFECTIVE CONTACT 230

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OPTIMIZING RESOURCE USE 375

CHAPTER 10 LABOR AS ECONOMICAL R E S U R S 377

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SECTION IV MANAGER IN A WORLD OF UNCERTAINTY:

BUSINESS OPTIMIZATION LIMITED 479

CHAPTER 13 TRANSACTION COSTS 481

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CHAPTER 14 I N F O R M A T I O N K A K E K O N O M I C H E S RESOURCE,

RISKS AND UNCERTAINTY 508

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CHAPTER 16 METHODOLOGY OF ECONOMIC THEORY

AND PRACTICE 607

CONTROL

QUESTIONS 618 GLOSSARY 623 FOR REFERENCE ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com

INSTEAD OF A FOREWORD:

GENERAL MICROECONOMY AND MICROECONOMY

BARKING MANAGERS

According to statistics in 2003, almost 200 thousand students studied economics in Russia. Approximately 90% of them will subsequently become managers at various levels at private and government enterprises. At the same time, special literature that takes into account the special interests of future managers - i.e.

the prevailing mass of students today is almost non-existent. In particular, teaching the theory of economics in universities of our country is carried out according to textbooks of a general orientation. Economic courses are taught theory, microeconomics and macroeconomics - something that in other countries is usually united by the concept of “general economics” or simply “economics”. The market is literally overflowing with textbooks and teaching aids of this type. The number of courses published by different universities and independent authors has long exceeded several hundred. At the same time, in Russia there is not a single domestic textbook on managerial economics and only a few translated books on this topic have been published. This situation is strikingly different from international practice, and in accordance with which the theoretical and economic training of managers is built taking into account their future specialization (managerial economics or executive economics courses).

The textbook brought to the attention of readers is intended to close (or at least reduce) this gap in the domestic literature. And I would like to start the textbook with a clear explanation of what the authors understand by an economics course for managers.

First of all, the book is addressed to all practicing economists.

The title “Microeconomy: a practical approach (M a n a g e r i a l Economics))) is simply a tribute to the world tradition, in according to which almost every practitioner is called a manager.

This is the world tradition. Microeconomics is a part of economic theory that studies the behavior of individual economic entities.

And since the practical activity of a manager takes place precisely at the micro level - the level of an individual company, at most separate from the industry, an economics course for managers is always built on the basis of microeconomic theory with only small k u r s a m i v s f e r u m a k r o econom y (descriptions of the functioning of the national economy in Yerevan).

It is significant that in Russia the title of the corresponding course has not even been generally accepted. It is sometimes called “managerial economics”, sometimes “managerial economics”, sometimes “business economics”.

Not all of them are textbooks. Thus, the most famous work of Sh. Maital “Economy for Managers” (M.: Aelo, 1996) is a brilliant collection of essays on the topic of what is interesting for oneself as a manager This is not something that can be learned from the microeconomics course. But it is realistically impossible to teach students using this book JUST for REFERENCE.

www.moimirknig.com9 for www.mirknig.com The choice of a “full-format” volume of presentation of microeconomics that meets the requirements of economic universities is associated with both pragmatic and theoretical considerations. The pragmatic reason is that that the modern state standard does not imply the right of universities to replace the microeconomics course (or the microeconomic section of the economic theory course) with an economics course for managers or for students studying in a special education m practical orientation To avoid difficulties, on the basis of our textbook you can read a full-fledged course in microeconomics, but read it in a form that is suitable for future managers This is exactly how, in particular, we enroll in the Financial Academy under the Government F The academic discipline is called “Economic Theory” here, but this course has been adopted as the basic textbook for the “Microeconomics” section in those institutes of the Academy that train future managers. Theoretical reason more more important We strongly urge practitioners (as well as students just preparing for practical work) to take the study of theoretical principles very seriously.

Every manager is required to know economic theory. For the sake of his own future, he has no right to treat it as an abstraction far from reality. Twenty-five centuries of development of this science in the literal sense have shaped modern economic thinking. Specialists of any applied economic discipline - accountants, marketers, tax specialists and others - build their work on the foundation laid by economic theory, although they themselves are often unaware of it.

In principle, there is nothing wrong with such “unconscious” use of economic theory. When performing routine operations, it is more important to know the technique than the philosophy of your business. But in all cases when the standard procedure is violated (and in our country this happens especially often), it is the economic worldview that comes to the fore. Knowing why and why certain actions should be taken (and whether they should actually be taken) becomes much more important than being fluent in the technique of operations.

The authors of this textbook had to observe for themselves how helplessly, for example, even experienced accountants who did not have modern microeconomic training met the transition to an international accounting system. The new system seemed absurd to them - it was not only impossible to apply, but also simply difficult to remember. And the whole point is that they did not understand the internal logic, so to speak, the “micro-economic ideology” of change.

Let us note another important point. In recent years, the process of adopting foreign business technologies has been extremely active in our country. “Management by objectives” and “controlling”, “reengineering” and “product positioning”, “branding”, “outsourcing”

etc. - the sheer abundance of outlandish foreign terms literally makes your head spin. Nevertheless, all these technologies are being actively developed. Firms spend a lot of money on familiarizing themselves with the essence of these management technologies, and then on introducing ordinary employees into practical activities. And here a most unpleasant circumstance usually comes to light: directly these technologies, honed and seemingly brought to complete perfection ONLY for Familiarization purposes, often do not work in Russia.

www.moimirknig.com 10 www.mirknig.com for Does this mean that we need to abandon international experience in our country? Not at all. On the contrary, it must be able to be applied to the real conditions of Russian business. And for this, again, you need knowledge of theory. What is required is not mechanical execution of instructions, but an understanding of why they were compiled in a certain way and how they should be modified so that they begin to work in our country, in a particular industry, in the environment in which a given company operates.

In view of all that has been said, we presented the theory in the most thorough manner. In the textbook, without any discounts on the applied nature of the work, the graphical apparatus of microeconomics is given. Moreover, we consider it our duty to warn the reader that this textbook is more complex than the average microeconomics course for economic universities. This is understandable - to explain, say, the principle of action The internal combustion engine can be taught to schoolchildren, that is, at the level of general ideas, relatively simply. For example, in this presentation it is quite acceptable to ignore the force of friction. But if the audience is future designers of the same engines, then even general principles should be described much more accurately, in more detail and, most importantly, closer to practice.

Ensuring accessibility of the presentation was a priority for the authors of the book. We avoided rigorous proof of those provisions that are understandable on an intuitive level. Mathematics was reduced to a minimum (mostly school level). Where possible without significant loss of content, the matter was explained using examples rather than general reasoning.

The second feature of our book is that the microeconomics course is taught from the point of view of practical interests/managers. We constantly asked ourselves the question: what benefit does knowledge of this or that section of the theory bring to a manager; how can he put it into practice?

Let's give a simple example. Achieving a firm's maximum level of profitability is modeled in microeconomic theory based on a comparison of the firm's demand and cost curves. This would seem to be a case of the closest connection between theory and practice! There is hardly any need to prove how important the goal of increasing profits is for any manager.

However, in theory (in the form in which it is presented in microeconomics textbooks) the question of where the information about both curves comes from is completely ignored. With costs, everything is more or less clear. Data about them is provided by the company's accounting department (although not always in the required form). The demand curve for a firm's products is always the “great unknown.”

And the manager must know the answer to the questions:

How to transform accounting data into the form needed to make effective management decisions?

How to obtain information about the demand curve for products from your company?

What to do if such information is not available?

The situation of discrepancy between “should” and “real” is also typical for economics. Where complete clarity reigns in theory, in practice there is often uncertainty. But a manager acts precisely in the real world and cannot organize his activities in accordance with what should be, and not with what actually is. So, in any basic microeconomics course, one of the varieties of oligopoly is considered - a cartel. The description of a number of negative features of cartels usually ends with information about their legal prohibition in most countries, including Russia. There is no dispute; this is quite enough for a theoretical acquaintance with cartels. But in the real economy, cartels exist, despite the prohibitions.

Therefore, the manager inevitably has questions:

How should he build his rule in the market if he feels that his suppliers are united by an unspoken cartel agreement and are pursuing a coordinated policy against him, or how should he react if his company itself receives an offer to join a legal (or semi-legal) cartel agreement?

The authors have made it a rule not to shy away from such questions. In a number of cases, we describe in sufficient detail the practical aspects of the application of the theory. In other situations, we only outline the general direction of solving the problem, referring the reader to special disciplines for details. By the way, we find these references very important for practitioners. Mastering economic theory is to a large extent useful for them precisely because it helps them understand “where and what lies” about the body of economic sciences that has grown to almost immense proportions. Finally, even in those “inconvenient” cases when a beautiful microeconomic theory for some reason is poorly applicable in practice, we do not hush up the difficulties, but explicitly indicate their reasons.

In this regard, we cannot help but thank the team of the Chelyabinsk branch of the Ural Academy of Public Administration for the opportunity to “test” the first version of this course in the fall of 2002 within the framework of the presidential program “Morozov Project”.

Working with a discerning audience of young but experienced entrepreneurs and managers has convinced us that:

A microeconomics course aimed at the needs of managers is in great demand in practice. The usual ice in the relationship between the lecturer, who talks about theory, and the students-managers, who are primarily interested in practice, melted after the first classes in the new program. Once again the old truth was confirmed that there is nothing more practical than a good theory, if, of course, it is taught to practitioners in the form in which they are ready to perceive it;

The “ideology” of the course can be conveyed even with a very compressed curriculum (in reality we had 32 lecture hours). Of course, such a reduction in the exchange rate did not come without losses. But the main goal was nevertheless achieved: the audience formed an attitude towards microeconomics not as an abstract doctrine, but as a general theoretical basis for practical activity in a market economy.

The third feature of the textbook is that, in comparison with standard microeconomics textbooks, the branches of the theory are significantly expanded, allowing a realistic description of the functioning of a company.

In particular:

1) when describing perfect competition, an unrealistic assumption is usually made about the sameness of all those operating in the industry

FOR INFORMATION ONLY

www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com companies. We do not stop at this abstract stage of analysis, but, on the contrary, present a model of pure competition, which takes into account the existence of differences between firms;

2) the process of achieving maximum profit is usually written off in relation to a company that produces Olin forks. But every manager knows that assortment management, i.e., releasing several products and establishing the correct proportions between them, is a good half of success in practical business. Therefore, we could not help but include in the textbook a description of how the theory of profit maximization is generalized for a multi-product company;

3) this also applies to the replacement of the equally traditional consideration of a company’s activities in a single market, with a transition to a more realistic picture of work in several markets at once;

4) it seemed very important to us to take into account the limited nature of markets. The authors of textbooks (including ours), of course, will never refuse to use simple models with coordinate axes extending to infinity, as if we are talking about mathematical abstraction. But in reality, neither the size of the market nor the financial capabilities of the company are ever unlimitedly large. In our book, therefore, we specifically discuss the changes that this circumstance introduces into the theoretical picture;

5) an equally significant point is the limited information. Many sections of the theory in standard microeconomics textbooks are presented in such a way that the firm not only has complete information, but also the gift of vision, i.e. I know very well what surprises await her in the future. Our book constantly discusses the problems of lack of information and the activities of a manager under conditions of uncertainty;

6) in most textbooks, the company is considered as a single entity striving to maximize profits. If this were so in reality, there would hardly be a need to create such a discipline as management. Everyone - from the worker to the director, from the engineer to the owner - would unanimously strive only to increase profits. But a manager can only dream of such an idyll. Therefore, our textbook predominantly looks at the company as an organization within which there are different, and often mutually conflicting, interests.

Finally, the fourth and last but not least important feature of the textbook is our desire to instill in the practical student the general entrepreneurial philosophy of running a business.

In fact, in theory there are no major and minor components. Any of its links is equally important, because without any of them, a single logic falls apart. The situation is different with practice. From the general arsenal of elements of the theory, in different circumstances, first one or another element acquires decisive importance.

Let us allow ourselves a simple comparison. Theoretically, all elements of the periodic table are completely equal. But any biochemist will immediately say that without carbon with its special properties, life in the forms known to us today is impossible. That is, of all the equal elements, from a human point of view, one carbon is clearly “more equally valid” than all the others.

The same is true in economics.

Two of the most important tools of modern economic theory have had the greatest impact on the actual practice of doing business:

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1) the method of comparing marginal revenue and marginal costs as a universal method for achieving maximum profits in the short term and

2) the discounting method as a universal way of maximizing profits when implementing investment projects, i.e. in all cases where investing funds and receiving returns from them are separated by a significant period of time.

Almost any microeconomics course introduces students to both methods. However, this is done, as a rule, in an abstract theoretical manner without reference to the practical needs of managing a company. As a result, it is veiled, and if you call things by their proper names, then their general significance in the formation of a business philosophy is simply hidden from the student.

Comparison of marginal revenue and marginal cost, for example, is used only as a way to determine the optimal volume of production for a firm producing one type of product. If we imagine the “ideal” manager from a microeconomics course, we will see a boring pedant whose only concern is calculating whether to produce 1345 or 1347 units of goods per day.

No practitioner will ever believe that solving this simple (and usually not the most important) problem will provide his company with maximum profit. After all, a real manager himself has to set not only the volume of production, but also prices and the range of goods produced (as we have already said, single-product firms exist only in textbooks). He also needs to decide in which markets to sell the goods, determine the optimal amount of their advertising support, etc. Moreover, this has to be done not under the conditions provided by the textbook of absolutely complete and accurate information about the state of the market.

It is not surprising that practitioners are sometimes not too fond of microeconomic wisdom. And for good reason! Many of them would probably be very surprised to learn that the entire complex of problems listed above (prices, assortment, market coverage, volume of advertising) and much more is actually solved using the method of comparing marginal revenue and marginal costs, i.e. , the very instrument of theory that seemed to them unsuitable for real life.

That is why our textbook pays close attention to both theoretical tools that are most important for practice, and the authors consistently focus on how these tools are used in different situations.

We hope that our textbook will help solve one of the eternal problems of education - bringing theory closer to the needs of practice.

Sometimes it even seems that textbooks deliberately try to obscure the logic of business decisions. For example, two manifestations of the general principle of profit maximization in the short term are presented as different principles (MR «MC and MRP = MRO, depending on whether it is applied to the selection of the optimal production volume or to the optimization of resource purchases.

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com branch of knowledge, the subject of economic theory was considered to be the laws operating in society e about production, distribution and consumption.

At the same time, the famous brief definition of the subject of political economy as the science of the wealth of people appeared. Nowadays, this interpretation of the subject in literature has been preserved by the Marxist school of political economy. Political economy, according to Marx, is the science of industrial relations in their connection with productive forces. Let us note that Marxists consider property relations to be the core of production relations, i.e. the same wealth is at the center of their attention.

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the subject and name of economic theory were again revised. The rapid development of the economy, caused by the industrial revolution and the recent rise of market institutions, caused significant changes.

First, the early market, where the seller ruled, gradually turned into a mature market, in which the sovereign decisions of the buyer play a decisive role. This led to the need to take into account the importance of the consumer and the economy. Secondly, the possibility of additional growth of resources - land, labor, capital - decreased significantly. The question arose about searching for a more rational and efficient use of available funds.

It was at this time that representatives of the so-called marginal school formed a modern approach to microeconomics - the science of the command of economic entities, firstly y about firms and households. ENGLISH ECONOMIST Alfred Marshall in his work (Principles of Economics (1890) gave a scientific The name is “economics.” This word, often quoted in Russian without translation, is closest in meaning to the neutral term “economic theory.” It is characteristic that there is no “state accent”, which was present in the past named.

A little later, within the framework of the Keynesian school, the foundations of modern macroeconomics were laid - the science of the principles of functioning of the national economy in general. The English economist John Maynard Keynes in his work “The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money” (1936) presented his version of government official policy of macroeconomic regulation. This policy was then actively and successfully applied in a number of countries for decades.

The complete dominance of the ideas of state regulation in the economy in the middle of the 20th century was replaced by in the 1970s, a return to the traditions of economic liberalism. For several decades, monetarism gained the main position in world economic theory. The head of the monetarists, American economist Milton Friedman, and other representatives of this scientific school recommended limiting government intervention in the economy, to pursue the so-called policy of deregulation. To a greater extent, this policy was implemented in the cabinet of M. Thatcher in England (policy of “Thatcherism”) and D MINISTRATION OF R. REAGAN IN THE USA (the policy of “Reaganomics”). In Russia, many of the first reform governments—the cabinet of E. Gaidar—were under the strong influence of monetarist concepts.

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com Fig. 1.5.

Increasing the security of bank operations reduces profits

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com In the natural sciences, the empirical method is based on experiments. Under strictly controlled conditions, scientists study a phenomenon. For example, the temperature in the reactor is used in order to understand what its effect on crystal growth is. At the same time, all other conditions (for example, the composition of the solution) are maintained unchanged. If the same result is repeated from experiment to experiment (crystallization begins at a certain temperature), it becomes possible to talk about some regularity Both of these points: control of parameters and repeatability of the outcome are critically important in order to draw any conclusions based on the experiment. In the opposite case, it is easy to obtain an unreliable result.

In economics, for obvious reasons, it is very difficult to conduct experiments, especially on a national scale. It is impossible, say, to repeat the devaluation of the ruble in 1998 several times in order to select the optimal percentage of depreciation for the country. Therefore, in economic science, the empirical method in its observational variety is usually used. That is, economists record events that happened on their own, and not at the will of the experimenter, and then We are trying to understand their meaning.

At the same time, it is extremely difficult for economists to observe both the principle of controllability of conditions (in life, the state of the economic environment is constantly changing), so is the principle of repeatability of the result (twice, not to mention repeated, many economic events simply do not happen). Moreover, the task of interpreting observations becomes more complex. In material that is not entirely homogeneous and distinguishes specific features, the economist needs to be able to identify identical and repeating features.

We come across this problem more than once in this book. When encountering the clause “all other things being equal” in the text, the reader should understand that we are talking specifically about the requirement to comply with the same conditions. For example, the phrase “the rise of the yen, other things being equal, reduces the volume of demand” means that, except for the yen, all other prices The parameters are considered unchanged. That is, the quality of the product does not improve, advertising does not increase, customer income does not grow, etc.

However, as we are about to see, it is managers who, more than any other economists, can rely on for direct experiments. The fact is that a company is able to consciously change the internal organization of its work (for example, introduce new forms remuneration systems, a new management accounting system), and in relations with the outside world (for example, to regulate price klamny policy). In fact, by changing the parameters of the company’s activities (say, by changing the media in which advertising is placed), the experiment manager Mentions the ability to find the optimal scheme for doing business.

However, observations also occupy a significant place in the work of a manager. So, by comparing the sales dynamics that spontaneously developed in his company in different regions, and the methods of product promotion used there, he can establish the reasons for the company's successes and failures, and then disseminate the best experience to all branches of the company.

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com international recognition of the national monetary unit. In this case, recognition should be understood not as some kind of international agreement, but as the real readiness of global economic entities (foreign firms, banks, states) to accept this money as a means of payment.

When using full-fledged money, the functions of world money were performed by the gold they contained (after crossing the border, it was not the denomination of the money that mattered, but the weight of the precious metal contained in it). After the transition of all countries of the world to incomplete money, the functions of world money began to be performed by the so-called freely convertible currencies (this term is used in relation to national monetary units that can be exchanged without any restrictions for the most stable foreign currencies: dollar, Swiss franc , yen, etc.), as well as collective currencies (international units such as the European currency euro). The proportion of the exchange of one currency for another or the yen of one currency expressed in another is called the exchange rate. and the yen of any product in a market economy, the exchange rate depends on the ratio of demand for a given currency and its supply.

If the state does not fix the exchange rate at a certain level (there are a number of countries whose currencies are “tied” to the strongest world currencies - the dollar, euro, yen), then it is subject to constant fluctuations. A distinction is made between a free-floating currency regime, when the change in its exchange rate is not limited by anything, and a currency corridor regime, when the state keeps exchange rate fluctuations within known boundaries. A sharp decrease in the exchange rate of the currency is called devaluation, and an increase is called revaluation.

The modern Russian ruble is a partially convertible currency. This means that its exchange is possible, but is associated with a number of restrictions. In addition, exchanging the ruble for other currencies outside Russia and the CIS is extremely difficult. The ruble is practically not used as world money.

At the same time, the ruble exchange rate has a significant impact on the subjects of our economy, since with its change the value of all cost indicators, one way or another involved in foreign economic activity, also changes.

For example, the devaluation that occurred in 1998:

For consumers, it resulted primarily in an increase in prices for imported goods, and then (and to a lesser extent) for domestic ones;

For domestic producers, it provided an opportunity to expand production at the expense of foreign competitors being forced out of the market;

For debtors who took out loans abroad, it became a difficult ordeal. To cover the debt to foreigners, they had to find many times larger sums in rubles than they expected when taking out a loan.

Accordingly, the strengthening of the ruble in subsequent years caused (but not in such a dramatic form) reverse processes in the economy.

From the point of view of a manager, the monetary economy represents the habitat of his company, to which it must be perfectly adapted. Moreover, one must not only be able to conduct business with ONLY for INFORMATION www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com in the normal circulation of money, but also survive in conditions of its disorder. Thus, many Russian enterprises would not have survived if they had not made barter transactions. With all the shortcomings of barter described above, it was the only salvation in conditions of hyperinflation, when money depreciated by 30-40% every month, or in the resulting situation of a total shortage of money among enterprises. However, after the normalization of money circulation, moving away from barter became an important way to increase the economic efficiency of firms. Problems of money circulation are studied in the discipline “Money circulation and credit.”

THE STATE IN THE MARKET ECONOMY, SOCIAL PROBLEMS OF THE MARKET

The role of the state in a market economy can be partly explained by a number of political and social reasons. However, a more important fact is that the market mechanism cannot independently perform all economic functions.

Let us make a special reservation: in a market system, the role of the state is limited, the state does not assume the functions of managing all economic entities, otherwise the market mechanism of self-regulation is destroyed - the main advantage this system. However, limited does not necessarily mean weak. Using this term, economists mean that the basic economic questions: what, how, for whom to produce? - The market economy is mainly responsible for itself.

And yet, there are problems in society that the market cannot solve due to its inherent limitations. In the economic literature, failures in the operation of the market mechanism are called differently: shortcomings, imperfections, fiasco, limitations, etc.

Most scientists agree that the main limitations of self-regulation of the market system are:

Inability to solve non-commercial problems (i.e., to produce public goods - from justice and national defense to solving environmental problems);

v failure to distribute income among different sections of the population in accordance with the goals of a democratic society;

Elements of inefficiency due to market imperfections;

Elements of instability of the macroeconomic system, expressed in the lack of full employment of the population and instability of the level of yen.

Let's consider these restrictions one by one.

A good is public if it is consumed collectively by all citizens - on a non-commercial basis (i.e., regardless of payment). National defense, public safety, environmental protection, and the installation of beacons are public goods.

Public goods are characterized by non-competitiveness of consumption - this means that its consumption by one person does not reduce the possibilities of consumption by other people. For example, when the army protects the country from an external threat, maintaining the personal safety of one person in no way interferes with maintaining the safety of his family, relatives, neighbors, or complete strangers. Even if a foreign tourist comes to this country, the army will automatically ensure his safety. Night street lighting will also not become less for a given person if other people go out into the street (and, therefore, use the light).

Another feature of public goods is their inaccessibility: if such goods exist, then it is impossible to exclude anyone from the number of consumers. In both examples given, it is impossible, for some reason, to limit a person’s access to public goods. So, even if a citizen has not paid taxes, the army physically cannot stop his personal protection, as long as it continues to provide protection for the entire country. In the same way, it is impossible to prohibit visiting foreigners from using the night lighting of the city, although they do not pay for it in any way.

The properties of non-competitiveness and public availability of consumption lead to the fact that public goods and services, unlike most other goods (the latter are called private goods), cannot be provided to consumers through the market system, by concluding transactions between individual consumers and producers. The market system allows taking into account only individual needs, and not the majority of social, collective needs. In some cases, the market does not cope with such tasks at all, in others it functions ineffectively.

If we assume, for example, that a market was formed for the organization of national defense, it is not difficult to predict that citizens would not have adequate incentives to acquire “their share of defense potential.” Everyone would be very tempted to wait until someone else pays for national defense. After all, protection from an external threat, due to the general availability of this good, would extend to the defaulter. And since the desire to enjoy freely the results of the efforts of others would become universal under these conditions, no one would pay for national defense. And it would eventually fall apart. The only way out in this and similar situations is the “non-market” state provision of public goods.

Another broad field of government activity is the social sphere. Competition serves as a counterbalance to the individualism of a market economy in the sense that it forces entrepreneurs to direct their efforts not to realizing their fantasies, but to satisfying the real needs of society. But competition in no way prevents the successful capitalist from becoming rich, sometimes even super-rich, if he correctly grasps the demands of the market. This creates the strongest motivation for entrepreneurial activity and serves the progress of the economy. But at the same time, the market system also encourages the social polarization of society.

Economic power is concentrated in the hands of resource owners and entrepreneurs. A significant part of the population is for INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com deprived of ownership rights to production resources (land, capital), which creates economic dependence of this part of the population. It is no coincidence that owners and entrepreneurs act as employers, and the majority of the population act as hired workers (many European languages ​​even have the words “employee”, “employee”). Income differentiation and property stratification are taking place. In other words, automatically, by itself, the market system does not ensure social justice; on the contrary, many of its mechanisms act in the opposite direction south side.

That is why the problems of social inequality have played and are playing a huge role in the fate of countries developing in market conditions. Once a certain critical measure of social inequality is exceeded, mass strikes, unrest, and, in the most extreme cases, revolutions begin.

It is no coincidence that it was precisely under the conditions of the dominance of market forces that such a scientific and ideological movement as Marxism arose, viewing the history of mankind through the prism of the struggle of classes defending their material interests in an irreconcilable battle. Historical experience shows: the stronger the social injustice in a country, the stronger the position of Marxism and related teachings in it. In a market economy, where material success is one of the highest values, the protest of the disadvantaged sections inevitably takes radical forms.

Because of this, in modern developed market societies a number of institutions have been formed that limit the degree of social inequality. The role of the state is especially great in the social sphere. 1 Thus, in most countries (except Russia) there is a system of progressive taxation, which forces the rich to pay significantly more than the poor pay. State expenditures largely benefit socially vulnerable segments of the population.

In the implementation of various social programs existing in developed countries, budget financing plays a major role. Pension provision, health insurance, unemployment benefits, basic free education and much more guarantee the minimum consumption that ensures a decent existence even for the poor.

There are dozens of such programs in the USA, Germany, Great Britain and France. Germany was a pioneer in the matter of social protection in the 19th century, which was explained by the existence in this country at that time powerful social democratic movement. Then, also under the influence of the experience of the USSR, social protection systems became widespread in most developed countries.

Currently, they have become a permanent social security mechanism that protects people from cradle to grave.

In addition to the state, trade unions, consumer societies, and charitable foundations play a large role in smoothing out social problems.

FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com the product melts. The government also borrows from financial markets by selling its bonds and then repays the debt by buying them back with interest.

In addition, as part of its social functions, the state makes a number of social payments. Farmers receive pensions, scholarships, various types of subsidies from the state (for example, for rent), and public sector employees receive wages. All these payments are called transfers.

Enterprises whose activities deserve to be stimulated from the point of view of the interests of the entire society also receive transfers from the state in the form of subsidies and tax breaks.

Let us draw attention to an important feature of the state’s participation in the circular circulation of product and capital. A significant part of its actions is non-economic in nature. Thus, taxes, as is known, are collected in a forced manner, regardless of the desire of the taxpayer. Public goods, subsidies, and other transfers are provided by the state free of charge. In order to solve the problem of the production of public goods and its financing, the country must find a certain way of mutually acceptable solution to how much to spend, for example, on defense, what benefits to provide to pensioners and how much for all this o g o collect taxes. The economic side of democracy (the organization of elections, the work of parliament, etc.) consists, first of all, in creating mechanisms for making this kind of collective decisions.

BUSINESS PROBLEM: RUSSIAN ECONOMY IN TRANSITION AND MANAGER

Transitional economy of the traditional type In addition to the three main types of economic systems (traditional, socialist and market), there are intermediate forms. Thus, in the process of establishing a market economic system, a so-called transitional economy arises. In this economy, the main signs of a market are taking shape, the general patterns of functioning of a market economy are already manifested in it, but there is incomplete development of market institutions.

The process of forming a market economy usually proceeds through the gradual transformation of traditional society. The institutions of the patriarchal economy (elements of feudal, slave-owning) coexist with the institutions of the market economy during the transition period. or tribal system).

Accordingly, those countries that are moving toward a traditional market civilization are classified as transitional economies of the traditional type.

Modern developed countries of Europe went through the stage of economic transition and the traditional type in the 16th-18th centuries, the USA and Japan - in the 19th century. A relatively small group of developing countries (South Korea, Taiwan, Mexico, Chile and other so-called newly industrialized countries) turned into developed countries FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com night states in the last decades of the 20th century . Most countries of the “third world” in Asia, Africa and Latin America are still continuing the transition to a market economy in a relatively slow, mainly evolutionary way.

New New transitional or post-socialist economy and perekholnaya economy is usually called the economy of countries that are moving towards a market economic economic system not from the traditional, but from socialist.

Russia also belongs to the post-socialist type of country, which differs in many respects from the usual transition economy. In recent years, two main reforms have been carried out in our country, causing the transformation of the socialist economy into a market economy. Firstly, privatization was carried out. Vatization is the process of transferring or selling state property to private individuals. As a result, state ownership that dominated under socialism was replaced by private ownership typical of a market economy. Secondly, the reforms led to the dismantling of central planning institutions and their replacement by free market forces.

Two main features of the post-socialist economy can be distinguished: 1) a relatively high level of economic development and 2) the immature nature of market institutions.

Potential Indeed, in the transitional economy of a new type, even in the post-Children era, many elements of the high-level economy of the twisted economy were laid down. M&: we mean the existence of large enterprises with high technologies, a highly qualified workforce, powerful scientific potential, high standards in the social sphere and much more. Such a high basic, fundamental potential does not exist either in a traditional economy or in a transitional economy of the old type until they achieve great success in market transformations. We can say that the resource base of post-Socialist countries is very strong. In Russia, the powerful man-made potential is further strengthened by the wealth of natural resources. Therefore, after the completion of the painful transition to the market, post-socialist countries can most likely expect an economic miracle, a rapid rise to the ranks of world leaders. By the way, without putting on rose-colored glasses, every manager should be psychologically prepared for this future breakthrough. International experience shows that companies that quickly responded to the onset of an economic miracle and radically expanded their business during this favorable time can lay the foundations for their prosperity for many decades.

Institutions Unlike countries with developed market economies, post-transition socialist countries have not yet created many market economy institutions. More often, a situation occurs when market institutions in a transition economy exist, but are very different from their counterparts in a developed market.

Table 2.2 briefly summarizes the manifestations of the incomplete maturity of market institutions in the Russian economy.

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com the effect is protected by law. This is especially clear in the example of privatized enterprises. Ownership rights in them are “blurred” among three main groups of subjects: 1) employees of enterprises; 2) management of the same enterprises; 3) the so-called external owners (shareholders), which most often include private firms and banks. Between this and the subjects there is often a struggle for possession of the entire bundle of rights or the main ones.

In the language of economic categories, it can be said that in Russia a general transfer of property rights into private hands has occurred, and their specification is still in the process of becoming e n i i. To this is added the fact that only by way of exception, the property was transferred to its current owners without any violations or illegal actions. That is, the legitimacy of property rights in many cases can be challenged.

For a manager, this situation means the need to take into account the constant danger of redistribution of property or individual components of rights to it.

The experience of the most scandalous transfers of property from hand to hand shows that the other side almost always used an unclear method SPECIFICATIONS OF PROPERTY RIGHTS:

Directors or external managers (during the bankruptcy procedure) “diverted” assets to the side, usurping the owners’ right to dispose of them;

Large owners (the so-called major shareholders) deprived small owners of the right to income (business was done in such a way that there were no officially declared profits, and hidden profits were distributed only among “their own”) and (or) deprived them of the very right to a share in the property of the company r m s;

Smaller owners (or minority shareholders) on occasion usurped the right of large owners to manage the company (special the provisions on the meeting of shareholders to seize power in the company);

Creditors, with the help of directors, deprived the owners of the company of their property through the procedure of artificial bankruptcy, etc.

With the development of market relations in Russia, specification should enter a new phase, when, as a result of the redistribution of a bundle of property rights (resales, partial x mutual assignments, bankruptcies of poorly managed firms and they will be consolidated and transferred to the most efficient owners We are capable of using these rights rationally and at the same time protecting ourselves from usurpers. One of the most important ways to achieve this state of affairs is to increase the degree of transparency as a structure r s and its financial statements. A company that is open to external control is more protected from fraud in property rights, “Blurriness” of proprietary rights The absence of genuine control over the implementation of legislation leads to the flourishing of the shadow economy in post-socialist countries. In essence, it is informal and based on the violation of legal property rights, and therefore violates the rules of the market game farms.

FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com

It is possible to distinguish at least two fields of its existence:

1) gray, or illegal, market, i.e. in principle, permitted but not officially recorded economic transactions;

2) black, or criminal, market, i.e. types of activities prohibited by law.

Gray operations are most often carried out for tax or other similar reasons. Enterprises produce products and provide services, but do not document their activities, thereby avoiding paying taxes.

And by using gray schemes when delivering products, paying wages, importing foreign goods and in other situations, the manager significantly increases the profit of his company. Moreover, in a number of cases, a company in a transition economy can only survive with the help of the gray market. But by taking this path, the manager comes into conflict with the law. This is one reason why well-performing firms usually have very strong legal departments: by exploiting loopholes and officially sanctioned benefits, lawyers are often able to achieve the goals set by the manager, but in violation of the law.

Clearly criminal types of business such as racketeering, drug trafficking or pimping thrive on the black market. Both shadow markets touch and intertwine. Very often, it is gray business that falls under the control of criminal groups, since its owners themselves operate illegally and therefore do not decide to resort to the protection of the law.

The extent of the shadow economy in Russia is completely unknown. According to the State Statistics Committee of Russia, the shadow sector produces 25% of goods and services produced in the country. According to indirect data, the shadow economy is even larger (usually the figure is 40%).

In all cases, it is large enough to seriously disrupt market mechanisms.

Subjects The main subjects of the transition economy are the same as the subjects of the transition economy: enterprises (firms), households of the economy and the state. But their behavior has not yet acquired a market character. For example, most of the former state-owned factories have not yet learned to live according to the laws of the market and have not turned into real companies. Therefore, there is the release of uncompetitive products, wasteful use of resources, and poor knowledge of the market. And what is perhaps worst of all is the incomplete awareness of these problems.

A special problem is that contractual discipline is low at Russian enterprises. Obligations assumed (contracts concluded) are often fulfilled untimely, with violation of quality parameters and other delivery conditions, and delays in payments. At the same time, it has been in force since March 1998.

The insolvency (bankruptcy) law was so strict that it created the possibility of initiating bankruptcy proceedings against most domestic enterprises. Only at the end of 2002 did a new Law on Insolvency (Bankruptcy) appear, which prevents the use of the bankruptcy procedure for the purpose of illegal transfer of property.

FOR REFERENCE ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com First of all, let us pay attention to the fact that according to tradition in economic theory (unlike other sciences), the value of the independent variable is usually plotted along the vertical axis, and the value of the dependent variable is along the horizontal axis.

Line D in Fig. 3.1 is called the demand curve.

It shows how much of a product (Q) buyers are willing to buy:

1) at each given level of yen (P);

2) in a specific period of time;

3) with other factors remaining constant.

In other words, movement along the demand curve (from one point to another) reflects a change in the demand for a product that occurs as a result of one and only one reason - a change in the yen of the product. The inverse relationship between the level of yen and the quantity of purchased products in a graphical interpretation is manifested in a decrease in the demand curve with an increase in Q.

Let us make an important methodological clarification that relates not only to the demand curve, but also to other graphs, of which, starting from this chapter, there will be many in our textbook. In most cases, for educational purposes, it is enough to know the general appearance of curves, and not their exact trajectory. Therefore, the reader should not be confused, for example, that the demand curve is often called a line that looks like a straight line on the graph. Or that in some cases a certain value appears as a slightly curved curve, and in others as a straight line. In fact, in almost all cases, real graphs would look like curves, and quite complex irregular shapes. In the textbook, each time such simple lines are depicted, which in this case most clearly convey the essence of the phenomenon (we already said in Chapter 1 that reasonable simplification is a prerequisite for drawing up any model).

What stands out are those cases when, of several theoretically possible forms of graphs in the real economy, one particular one predominates. Moreover, this feature of the curves can be of significant importance for management practice. In such situations, we will definitely make those adjustments to the general theoretical analysis that are dictated by the facts of real business.

Graphic interpretation is very convenient due to its clarity, therefore, for educational purposes, it is most often used. By tracking the dynamics of the curve (and often many curves) with the eye, you can immediately understand what, for example, the main indicators will be activities of the company as sales volumes increase.

But graphs are good not only in textbooks. Trying to understand the relationship between several simultaneously occurring market processes, the manager also usually draws corresponding graphs.

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com Now let's take a closer look at some of the listed non-yen demand factors.

Typically, the richer the population, the greater the demand for goods and services, i.e., the income of the population and the amount of accumulated property are related to with a direct dependence. Let us emphasize, however, that this is the case in most, but not all cases. In economic theory, it is customary to distinguish between normal and abnormal goods.

The latter are usually products that are perceived as a worse alternative in comparison with others, but the above does not apply: as incomes rise, the demand for them falls. And when income falls, it grows.

It is well known, for example, that in the region of low-income people there is a high share of bread, potatoes, pasta and low meat and dairy products and fruits. This does not mean that these are the food habits of the poor, but they simply do not have enough money to eat differently. Therefore, with the growth of population incomes, we should expect a fall in demand for bread, potatoes, pasta and a switch among consumers to other products.

A manager working in the market segment of anomalous goods must take this phenomenon into account when forecasting demand for his company’s products or make efforts to About his finished product moved into the category of normal. Thus, the demand for expensive and high-quality varieties of pasta is not abnormal. The consumer perceives elite pasta as a delicacy and expands, rather than reduces, their consumption with rising income. This fact is already widely used by a number of Russian companies, which are gradually rebuilding their pasta production at an expensive level ment of the market.

FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com It is obvious that, being the sum of individual surveys, the market value is also subject to the law of demand, those. The market demand curve has a negative slope. One cannot expect anything else. After all, let's say, a low yen increases the quantity of goods purchased by each buyer, and therefore by all buyers. Similarly, shifts in the market demand curve are caused by the same factors that affect individual demand, for example, changes in yen for substitute goods, changes in income, etc. u s o v, fashion.

However, unlike individual demand, market demand reflects the pattern of behavior not only of an individual consumer, but also of an aggregate of consumers. Thus, market demand is influenced by autonomous (i.e., not related to changes in yen) fluctuations in the number of consumers. Let's say, the demand for baby strollers directly depends on current birth rates, and for school textbooks - on the birth rate 7-17 years ago (depending on what grade of school they are intended for). In addition, it is in market, and not in individual demand, that the structure of the totality of all consumers manifests itself, for example, the degree of differentiation of income of the population and I. Let’s say that a winter holiday in Mallorca becomes fashionable, then what matters is not only its attractiveness for an individual Russian, but also the appeal of our fellow citizens who can afford it.

Among other things, considering market demand only as the sum of individual demands is permissible only under the condition of independent consumer behavior. However, in real life, the individual demand of each person is also influenced by the behavior of the people around him. This influence is described in economic theory as the result of three effects;

1) the effect of joining the majority;

2) e f f e c t a s n o b a;

3) the effect of demonstrative behavior.

The effect of joining the majority (the effect of craze) appears when consumer behavior is dictated by desire m to keep up with others in consumption. This effect leads to an increase in individual demand after market demand reaches a certain critical point of consumer coverage (all our friends have already been to Antalya, and we we won’t get together!)* The snob effect, on the contrary, occurs in cases where the consumer is driven by the desire to not be like others.

The desire to stand out from the crowd leads to the fact that individual demand for some people falls when market demand increases.

FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com The effect of demonstrative behavior (or, in the name of the American scientist who discovered it, the Veblen effect) occurs when when an individual buys goods that are not available to others at a price, which makes these goods prestigious and emphasizes the social status of their owner.

The listed effects have different significance for different markets and do not always manifest themselves. But skillful accounting of them is the responsibility of the manager. Let's say, with the growth in the popularity of a product, you should be prepared for a sharp jump in demand for it at the moment when this comes into force the effect of joining the majority. Otherwise, a profitable situation may be lost without return. Similarly, knowledge of the implementation of the snob effect requires the reporting manager to keep in the assortment of his company’s offerings 1-2 positions for people who don’t want to look like everyone else, For example, along with a wide selection of fashionable shoes (with some square or, conversely, exaggeratedly elongated noses) it is wise to keep several parka classic styles in the store. And the manufacturer of goods, who are the object of demonstrative behavior, must be very careful when facilitating availability of your product. It is worth reducing the entry fee or simplifying the rules for admission to an elite club, and the best clients will flee from it.

Another important point, from the point of view of a practical manager, is the derivative nature, which in many cases is in demand. Thus, the demand for air tickets to resort destinations (for example, Moscow - Sochi) is not independent, but depends on the demand for summer holidays in a given place . It is very important that not only the demand for some consumer goods is arbitrary, as in the example given, but also the demand for all consumer goods.

If a company produces goods of derivative demand, then in order to plan its behavior in the market it is obligatory to study the factors of demand for final products, h And that is the essence of which are its products. That is, say, a wool yarn manufacturer would act wisely if it regularly monitors the dynamics and trends in demand for knitwear, even if he doesn’t produce them. And sometimes it is useful to analyze not one, but two or three links in the technological chain. The nickel producer should be interested in the situation not only in ferrous metallurgy, where nickel is used as an additive to steel, but also in the automotive industry, which is a large consumer of alloy steel. And having learned, for example, about an increase in customs duties on foreign brands, the manufacturer can safely raise the price of nickel, since the demand for it as a result The growth in the production of domestic cars will inevitably increase.

Analysis of the logic of buyer behavior, which influences the market situation through demand and its changes, needs to be supplemented by consideration of the logic of behavior seller, which is reflected in the patterns inherent in the offer. And since it is possible to sell on a systematic basis only something that is also systematically produced by someone, then in the field The manufacturer (by the way, often acts as a seller) inevitably falls under the spotlight.

FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com Line (5) in fig. 3.3 is called the supply curve. It shows how much goods producers are willing to sell at each given level of yen in a specific period of time.

Movement along the supply curve reflects changes in supply caused only by changes in the yen, that is, while keeping other conditions constant.

In analytical form, a proposal can be presented in General form as a certain function

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com Equations (3.9) and (EVIL) are fulfilled at the equilibrium point simultaneously, i.e. form a system of equations.

FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com The equilibrium yen, formed as a result of market competitive forces, performs the most important functions in the economy:

Tire forma ionic - its value serves as a guideline for all subjects of the market economy;

I normalize - it normalizes the distribution of goods, giving a signal to the consumer about whether this product is available to him and how much he can calculate the volume of consumption of goods at a given level of income. At the same time, it influences the manufacturer, showing whether he can recoup his costs or whether he should hold back profit from production. This normalizes the manufacturer's demand for resources;

Stimulating, because it forces the manufacturer to expand or reduce production, change technology and assortment, so that costs “fit within” the yen and remain still some profit.

It is obvious that selling (actual market) yen does not always coincide with the equal value, i.e. The market is not always in a state of equilibrium. HOWEVER, the economy gravitates toward a state of equilibrium. And or, otherwise, the state of market equilibrium has a tendency to stability. To substantiate this statement, let's look at what happens in the event of a violation of market equilibrium.

FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com In other words, both possible options for the yen’s deviation from the equilibrium are unstable. In this case, internal market forces arise that strive to return the Situation to a state of equilibrium.

The explanation for the establishment of equilibrium due to fluctuations in prices, during which their increase or decrease leads the market to a state of equilibrium, belongs to the Swiss economist L. Walras.

FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com Both approaches reflect market realities, and the action of each of them is better manifested in a very specific time interval. Thus, fluctuations of the yen (the Walrasian mechanism) contribute to the establishment of equilibrium in the short term period. Feeling a shortage of his products, the manager in most cases raises the yen, and, having realized the overstocking (increasing volumes of unsold finished products), reduces them. In fact, when goods have already been produced in a certain quantity, it is possible to adjust the volume of supply to the size of demand only by changing the yen. In other words, production levels are set in the short run, and the variables are the yen.

Changes in the volume of supply (the mechanism for achieving A. Marshall's equilibrium), on the contrary, come to the fore in a long period. After all, given time, it is possible to build production capacity to satisfy any, even the largest volume of demand. The main thing is that it brings profit And under such conditions, it is the yen that becomes the main reference point. Depending on how attractive it is, production is either increased or reduced. In other words, the yen acts as a given value, and the supply of goods as a variable value.

The models of establishing market equilibrium that we have considered are not the only approach to explaining the mechanism of formation of the equilibrium yen

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com An example of elastic demand is the demand for luxury goods: jewelry, furs, black caviar, etc. The same is typical for fairly expensive consumer goods, such as cars, TVs, washing machines, audio and video equipment, personal computers. The demand for essential goods with relatively low yen is inelastic - for bread, potatoes, clothing, shoes, underwear, travel on public transport, etc.

Giving a graphical interpretation of elasticity (Fig. 3.11), let us pay attention to the fact that in a first approximation, the more. In a strict sense, this is true only for graphs presented in the so-called double logarithmic axes. For our purposes, it is enough to understand that if through If two straight lines pass through a certain point, then in the immediate vicinity of it the straight line that looks flatter will be more elastic. Due to the circumstances described, the depiction of more or less elastic demand in the form of curves of different slopes should be considered only as an approximate illustration. Alya For simplification, we will use such graphs in the future.

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com my change is yen. However, to carry out the corresponding calculations, it is necessary that the demand function is known.

Usually this formula is unknown to the manager, just as the demand curve is unknown. Instead, he has empirical material about the magnitude of demand for the company's products at certain discrete price levels. Let's say, as in our examples from the previous paragraph, he knows that with a yen there are 30 rubles. demand is 150 units. goods per week, and at a price of 40 rubles. - only 100 liters

About what the value of demand would be, say, if the yen was 32 rubles.

52 kopecks, one can only guess.

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com Knowledge of cross elasticity is important for a manager for two reasons. First, cross elasticity measures the responsiveness of competing products to changes in yen.

FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com It is important for a producer of a certain type of wine, for example, to know whether (and if so, to what extent) the demand for its product reduces the level of other wines. Or the unique taste and reputation of his wines make him stand out from his competitors. This elasticity exists not only in relation to others, but also in relation to one’s own products.

The latter, for example, is observed when a company produces an entire line of products (for example, televisions of several models) Changing by one model, the manager must understand that this step will affect not only the demand for it, but also the sales volume of other models. It is quite possible, for example, that by lowering the price of an expensive model, the company will achieve not an increase in the overall demand for its products, but a simple redistribution of demand from one product to another.

Secondly, the value of cross elasticity allows us to clearly outline the circle of competing goods. This is not a simple problem at all. The fact is that, when speaking about complementarity, interchangeability and indifference of goods, we mean their economic, and not physical characteristics. For example, an apartment and a car in physical terms are not substitutes and, it seems, should not s to compete. However, having spent money on a car, the consumer quite possibly will not find the means to simultaneously expand his living space. Another consumer, who has saved up money for an apartment, will remain indifferent to any cars, not because he is not interested in them at all, but because at all There won't be enough money right away. That is, in the economic sense, the interchangeability of both goods is obvious: they are clearly “fighting” for the consumer. Accordingly, the indicator of interchangeability will be a positive value on the coefficient about cross elasticity of both products. Let us note that this is not an abstract theory. RUSSIAN sales of foreign cars constantly observe a decrease in demand for their products when lucrative offers appear on REAL ESTATE MARKET.

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com the exchange rates vary sharply in different regions. For example, if different advertising campaigns are carried out in different regions.

However, structural analysis is also not perfect.

The most obvious drawback is the incomparability of data across regions. Indeed, in addition to the variables being compared, regions differ in a host of parameters, including subtle ones. How to take into account, say, the influence on the demand for a particular model of refrigerator of the metropolitan sophistication of Muscovites, the intelligence of the residents of Tomsk, the industrial mentality of Chelyabinsk residents and the seaside spirit of the population of Vladivostok? And this influence cannot be ignored either. It is quite possible that advertising that was effective in Moscow did not work in Tomsk not because it was not intensive enough there (as, for example, the table numbers show), but because it seemed vulgar to Tomsk residents and pushed them away from buying the product.

The theory of data processing and interpretation that underlies passive methods of information collection is studied in detail in the course of economic statistics.

Active methods of collecting information involve special efforts of the company aimed at obtaining the necessary information, for example, companies conduct market research through direct contact with consumers through surveys, observations, and surveys. Most often the following are used: a) laboratory experiment; b) interviews or surveys; c) market experiment.

In a laboratory experiment, an artificial choice situation is created for a certain group of potential consumers of a product. For example, everyone is given a certain amount of money and is allowed to spend it on purchasing the product under study or products competing with it. By changing the price of the product, the amount of money given, the social group of consumers attracted for the experiment and many other parameters, one can track how the demand for the product reacts to these changes.

Interviews, or surveys, involve asking actual or potential consumers of a given product certain questions. For example, you can ask all store customers who purchased a competing brand of beer about the reasons that led to such a choice. And then ask them about the level to which the yen for your company’s beer would need to be reduced in order for them to change their decision. You can ask customers who have already purchased the product under study how much they would increase their consumption if the price were reduced by 10%, etc.

A market experiment involves changing the actual conditions of sale in limited (or better yet, isolated) market segments. For example, you can agree with the director of a store remote from other retail outlets that the yen for the company's goods will be slightly higher or lower than the usual level. You can also start intensive advertising aimed at one group of consumers. Suppose, for the sake of testing, to show it not on national television, but on cable television in an urban area. At the same time, it is necessary to organize the collection of information about changes in the level of demand by the consumers covered by the experiment.

The advantages of active methods of collecting information lie primarily in their experimental nature. The manager is able to repeat the study many times, changing some of its parameters (say, the level of yen); may specify additional conditions (for example, offer goods in different packaging), may focus attention on different customer groups. Therefore, the information obtained by active methods is usually very valuable.

A common disadvantage of all active methods is the high cost of their use. Such research involves hiring special personnel or diverting company employees from their main duties, stimulating clients for agreeing to participate in the experiment, concluding agreements with trade organizations on its conduct, etc. A particular problem for laboratory experiments and interviews is their isolation from reality. The client spends specially issued money completely differently than his own, and the answers to questions do not always correspond to real behavior. Market experiments are conducted in an environment similar to normal business conditions. But such experiments are especially difficult to organize: not every company works with isolated groups of consumers, and most often the market cannot be divided into parts where the experiment is carried out and ordinary commerce takes place. In addition, market experiments usually become known to competitors, which provokes countermeasures.

The principles of active information collection are studied in detail in a marketing course, and the methods of correctly setting up experiments (conducting surveys) and processing the data obtained are studied in economic statistics. Based on the collected data, the manager needs to choose the type of equations to describe the demand curve of interest to the company. This is achieved by an approximate comparison of the values ​​of independent variables and the corresponding demand volumes. If this relationship is approximately linear (say, each doubling of advertising intensity increases the level of demand by 2.5-3 times), then the equation will look like The choice of such a function is justified when the data shows that an increase in, say, advertising intensity leads not just to an increase in the volume of demand, but to its accelerating growth.

Practice shows that modeling demand using linear equations usually produces fairly accurate results and there is no need to resort to more complex nonlinear models. After the model selection stage, the stage of its analysis follows. To construct a demand curve, so-called regression analysis is used, through which the dependence of a certain indicator (in our case, the amount of demand) on several independent variables (regressors) is determined. Most of the regression calculations are for INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com language, such a line is called a trend line). The statistical method used to find the trend line is called the least squares method and is used in the analysis of most regressions, including nonlinear ones, and taking into account not one, but many variables.

The vertical distance between the points presented on the graph and the straight line is called deviations, or scatters. It is obvious that the less accurately the trend line is drawn through the points, the greater the deviations will be. The least squares method assumes that the optimal trend line will be the straight line for which the deviations are minimal. There is a math. Based on the resulting equation, the manager can predict that the sales volume of refrigerators at a yen of 10 thousand rubles.

will be equal to 20 thousand pieces. in a year. This prediction will be quite conditional, since the demand for refrigerators that the manager is interested in depends not only on the yen, but also on other factors. To further refine the forecast, a regression equation is needed that allows one to take into account their influence.

If a certain parameter is influenced by more than one independent variable, then the multiple regression method, which also uses the least squares method, is used to construct the equation. To use multiple linear regression, a set of observations is required for all variables affecting the demand for refrigerators (for example, fully completed tables such as Tables 3.4 and/or 3.5). Suppose that by entering the available data into a computer and using a regression analysis program, we obtain the equation. By substituting the expected values ​​of the independent variables (yen, household income, advertising costs) into this equation, the manager can make a forecast of demand for refrigerators, taking into account the actual the effects of all factors present in the equation. It can “play” against models and different scenarios. For example, to establish how it is more profitable for a company to attract consumers - by reducing yen. More precisely, the coefficients are selected so that the sum of squared deviations is minimal. This, by the way, is where the name of the method comes from. FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com tions, a relatively modest improvement in quality or expansion of the sales network can have a decisive impact on demand.

But it also happens, of course, that the consumer reacts almost only to the level of the yen. The manager must know the elasticity of demand for all controllable variables of his company and use those of them that, at equal costs, give the greatest increase in demand 1.

Uncontrollable variables include variables that describe the behavior of competitors, consumers, the government, and the effects of other external factors. Thus, the firm’s efforts are directly opposed by four strategic variables already familiar to us (yen, product quality, advertising efforts, density and geography of the sales network), but not at its disposal, but subject to the control of competing firms. The influence of this group of factors is similar to the influence of the yen of competing goods (substitute goods) that we have already described in the course of cross-elasticity analysis.

The actions of competitors are deliberately directed against the company.

At the same time, just as the position of a company depends on the behavior of competitors, the well-being of the latter can be destroyed as a result of the actions of this company. This creates a kind of system of checks and balances. For example, a threat on the part of firms to respond to competitors' price reductions even more sharply by reducing their own prices can deter competitors from yen aggression. In the same way, a St. Petersburg milk producer planning an invasion of the Moscow market (expansion of the sales network - O n) must understand that Muscovites may well respond by opening a “second front” in St. Petersburg itself. Therefore, almost all strategic variables at the disposal of competitors (yen, advertising activity, density and geography of the sales network, but not the development of a new product - this is too long and creative a process to be influenced from the outside) are partly Variables that can be influenced by a given firm.

The behavior of consumers, the government, and the influence of other factors (for example, exchange rates or weather) are not specifically directed against a given company. External changes can be both favorable and unfavorable for the company. But almost always these factors cannot be influenced by her 2.

For example, a company is in no way able to influence the level of income of the country's population or the summer drought.

The general principle of demand management is to:

Optimally use four controlled strategic variables to achieve its desired volume;

Instead of elasticity of demand in these terms, one can also use the estimated regression coefficients discussed in the previous paragraph.

The exception is the tastes and preferences of consumers, which can be somewhat influenced with the help of advertising and marketing means.

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Strive to influence partially amenable variables in such a way as to prevent them from changing in a direction undesirable for the company, and if this is impossible, at least anticipate the dynamics of these variables and take appropriate protective measures measures;

Forecast the development of other uncontrollable variables and build the company's policy in accordance with the forecast.

We still have to talk in detail about the manager's use of advertising and product quality characteristics to manage demand (see Chapters 6 and 7) and, of course, repeatedly discuss the impact of pricing policies on the level of demand (see Chapters 6, 9 and 10).

For now, it is important to understand the general principle of managing the yen demand. More precisely, to discuss the problem of the reaction of demand to changes in yen by one company, and not by the entire industry.

The factors that determine the size and price elasticity of industry-wide demand are extremely important for the practical activities of any company, since they characterize the market in which it conducts its business. In other words, the patterns of industry-wide demand make it possible to understand the characteristics of the environment in which both the given firm and its competitors simultaneously exist. Nevertheless, the manager must take into account that industry demand and the demand for the products of a particular company are far from the same thing. Let us consider, as an example, the situation with some well-known product, say, aspirin (acetyl salicylic acid). The overall demand for this well-known analgesic and antipyretic drug is undoubtedly relatively inelastic. To verify this, it is enough to evaluate the previously mentioned elasticity factors for a given product. It is easy to see that all the main factors force the consumer to purchase aspirin, even if the yen for it is high or rising rapidly (many people need this medicine; there is no exact replacement for it; having bought a package, the buyer will not go broke; the disease does not bark to postpone the purchase until later). That is, industry demand for acetylsalicylic acid should indeed be inelastic.

Moving on to the analysis of the elasticity of demand for products produced by a specific manufacturer, we, however, will be faced with a fundamentally different situation. On the Russian pharmaceutical market, for example, there are always at least a dozen domestic variants of acetylsalicylic acid, a number of relatively cheap foreign analogues of the same drug, and a significantly more expensive upsarin (trademark of acetylsalicylic acid from the company “UPSA”). and aspirin itself (this trademark belongs to Bayer). In other words, usually the buyer is faced with the question not of whether to buy acetylsalicylic acid at all, but of which of its varieties to choose.

And here the joint with competitors or, on the contrary, unilateral nature of price changes by the firm comes to the fore.

If all aspirin producers increase the yen for some reason (for example, due to the introduction of a new tax), then each of them will notice only a small change in demand for their products:

will be affected by the low elasticity of demand for common goods ONLY for INFORMATION www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com And only outside the segment AB, when the yen of the second product approaches the yen of the best (or, conversely, the worst) product, Substitution processes will begin actively and cross elasticity will again come to the fore. When approaching the yen P 3, the second product will quickly lose its adherents, who will prefer to choose a higher quality product for the same money. And when the yen decreases to a level close to Ri, the number of buyers of the second product will sharply increase at the expense of those who previously could only afford the N-T product. In addition, “ defectors" and from the group of consumers of the best quality product No. 3. They may be tempted by the unusual cheapness of product No. 2 and for this reason sacrifice their usually increased quality requirements, As a result, the demand curve for a differentiated product with a unilateral change in its yen acquires a characteristic zigzag shape: in the central segment AB, changes in yen cause moderate changes in demand (elasticity is not high ), but at the edges (outside the segment AB) the reaction of demand to a change in yen will be very sharp (high elasticity).

In addition to qualitative (in the narrow sense of the word) and price differences between products, consumer loyalty to a particular product can be ensured by its properties. Thus, many buyers prefer the Lada station wagon (“Quartet”) to other VAZ cars, not because this car is cheaper or better than others, but because it has a more spacious body.

12B FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com namely to sharply raise the yen for basalt fiber and thereby significantly increase your income?

The paradox is resolved if we take into account the predominance at different levels of yen of either general or cross elasticity. Figure 3.24 gives a graphical interpretation of the situation.

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SECTION II

MANAGER

AS A PRODUCER:

PRICE OPTIMIZATION

AND VOLUME OF ISSUE

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com to conduct business in an economical way. That is, the task of minimizing accounting costs comes to the fore.

And yet, we also cannot forget about opportunity costs.

The equipment of the flax mill allows the production of several strands of final products. Which one is more profitable to stop at?

Or in what proportions should several types of goods be produced? When searching for answers to such questions, the problem of economic costs comes up again.

Thus, in the practical activities of a manager, accounting and economic methods constantly change and refine each other, ultimately allowing the most informed commercial decisions to be made .

We especially emphasize that both the concept of accounting costs and the concept of opportunity costs are equally applicable to both transformation (production) and transaction costs. In the examples given earlier, more was said about production costs, but everything said completely applies to transaction costs.

That said, advertising costs (typical transaction costs) can also be estimated by the amount of payments for display commercials on television (accounting approach), and by comparison with the commercial results of another way of using resources. For example, you can estimate the lost income that would have arisen if the money had not been spent on advertising, but had been spent on improving the quality of the product (an alternative approach).

Analysis of the nature of costs gives us the key to determining profit (traditionally denoted by the Greek letter).

In general, profit is the difference between total revenue (TR)1 from sales of products and total costs (TC). If resource costs are estimated using the accounting method, then the difference between revenue and accounting costs is equal to and this is accounting profit:

The letter designation is an abbreviation of the English words “total return*.

The letter designation is an abbreviation of the English words “total costs*.

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At zero production volume, gross total costs are equal to the value of fixed costs. Further, when production volume increases, gross costs increase by the sum of variable costs at the corresponding point.

We see that the TC curve repeats the configuration of the TVC curve, but is located above the latter by the amount of fixed costs (Fig. 4.5).

The actual gross cost schedule is obtained by vertically summing the TFC straight line and the TVC curve. We will subsequently use this method - vertical summation - repeatedly in the graphical interpretation of many economic processes. Vertical combination (data summation) is used whenever certain cost parameters relate to the same units of production.

So, in our case, in order to produce 100 units of goods, it is necessary to incur both fixed and variable costs. It is clear that the total costs will be the sum of their sum.

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com any maintenance or improper operation. This form is not related to the production of products and can be classified as fixed costs.

Physical wear and tear of the first kind is a normal and economically justified phenomenon. In contrast, physical wear and tear of the second type, although absolutely inevitable to some extent, generally represents an example of inefficient use of resources. After all, the costs in this case are not associated with any useful result.

The manager's task, in principle, is to reduce, and even better, to avoid physical wear and tear of the second type. And in cases where it is associated with elementary mismanagement (inappropriate storage, violation of operating rules, etc.), taking measures to prevent it is the direct responsibility of the company’s management. But often preventing wear and tear costs itself requires significant costs. For example, reducing the wear and tear of cars in winter involves spending on the construction (and then maintenance) of a heated garage.

In such cases, the manager has to decide which costs are lower:

for physical wear and tear of the second type or to prevent it.

We will have to talk about how the corresponding quantities are compared in Chapter 11, but for now we will only pay attention to the fact that this is another problem of alternative choice.

A decrease in the value of capital goods may not be associated with the loss of their functional characteristics. In this case, we are dealing with obsolescence. Traditionally, two genera are distinguished. Obsolescence of the first kind is due to an increase in the efficiency of production of capital goods. It is caused by the emergence of similar, but cheaper capital goods. So, if a year ago your company bought computers with a Pentium IV processor, but due to unexpected problems with renting premises, it was unable to install them and kept them in the warehouse completely new, now the yen of computers of this type has still decreased. During this time, I learned how to produce Pentium IV processors more efficiently, and it became possible to buy computers exactly like yours much cheaper.

Obsolescence of the second kind is associated with the emergence of new capital goods that perform similar functions, but are more advanced and productive. As a result, the value of old capital goods decreases. Thus, with the advent of the more productive Pentium V, the yen of other Pentiums fell.

Obsolescence is very widespread in the modern economy. He can comprehend virtually any long-lived economic benefit, including even intangible assets. Intangible assets refer to the company's exclusive rights to intellectual property. These objects include such results of intellectual activity as inventions, industrial designs and models, computer programs and databases, know-how and secret formulas, as well as scientific and commercial experience. It is clear that physical wear and tear of, say, the drug formula is impossible. But it can become outdated and lose value. In most cases, you can even predict ONLY for INFORMATION www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com how many years, for example, one generation of aitibiosics will be replaced by another.

In addition to the results of intellectual activity, the company’s intangible assets own exclusive rights to a trademark, brand names, as well as positive business e p u t a i i a f i r m y. Oddly enough, they are also subject to obsolescence. For example, a certain brand of shoes goes out of fashion and begins to be associated not with high quality, but with the clothing style of the past decade. The rate of deterioration of intangible assets of this kind, however, is very uncertain: one brand lives for decades, another “dies” in a few years.

Ultimately, any obsolescence, no matter how long-term goods it occurs, can be considered as a decrease in their market yen, not caused by the loss of these capital goods themselves of their original consumer properties. Both forms of obsolescence are a consequence of technological progress. From the standpoint of the entire economy, they are justified and even necessary, since as a result of replacing obsolete goods, old equipment, technologies, brands, and so on are replaced with more progressive ones. As a result, the overall production efficiency increases. At the same time, for a particular company, this positive phenomenon also has negative features: it results in an increase in costs.

Obsolescence is not a consequence of changes in production volume, so it should be classified as a fixed cost. Physical wear and tear, as we remember, is partly related to the scale of production (the first form), and partly not (the second form ). Figure 4.6 summarizes the relationship between different forms of wear and tear and the main types of costs.

In economic literature, the term “depreciation” is used in two meanings. This is also called wear and tear itself (the phrase “the degree of depreciation of equipment at a plant reaches 60%” means that it is worn out by 60%), and the accumulation of funds to compensate for wear and tear about the fund.

The characteristics of wear and tear also predetermine the specific method of reimbursing the costs of capital resources or their reproduction.

Capital goods last for more than one year, their cost is transferred to manufactured products gradually, as they wear out. It is obvious that the costs of rms for the purchase of machinery, equipment, structures, etc. (often millions and even billions

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com depreciation charges determine the size of the taxable income tax base. Wear and tear (especially moral wear and tear) is difficult to account for objectively. In addition, as already noted, the entire service life of a capital good has the nature of internal costs - the company does not need to make any payments for the current period due to incomplete depreciation. In the absence of rules for the implementation of depreciation deductions, nothing prevents a company from overestimating the amount of depreciation on paper. Accordingly, the company's costs will increase, and profits (again on paper; there may not be any left at all). To prevent companies from engaging in such abuses, the state introduces certain rules for calculating depreciation rates.

The principles for establishing depreciation rates are as follows.

1. First of all, the range of depreciation objects is determined. For example, in Russia, in accordance with the current Tax Code, depreciable property includes fixed assets with a useful life of more than 12 months and a cost of more than 10,000 rubles, as well as intangible assets taken into account for tax purposes.

2. Next, the service life of the assets is established. In our country, 10 depreciation groups are distinguished depending on the typical useful life of the relevant assets. At the same time, for each object, the company determines this period independently, but taking into account the Classification of fixed assets included in depreciation groups approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.

3. Finally, formulas for calculating depreciation charges are established by law. In accordance with the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, a company has the right to choose one of two methods for calculating depreciation.

1. Linear method. The essence of this method is to evenly distribute the amount of deductions over the entire service life of equipment or other capital goods. Using

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com, which, in principle, would need to be set aside for the future replacement of a hundred night park, it may well be spent on paying off debts for electricity. However, the fact that when a company's funds are spent on certain needs, depreciation charges are practically indistinguishable from funds of other origins does not mean that their special nature does not matter.

The volume of funds allocated for depreciation should be at least sufficient to renew worn-out equipment and other capital goods. Compliance with this principle is crucial for the successful functioning of a business entity. If the company does not renew capital resources in a timely manner and depreciation funds are used for other purposes, i.e. not for the reproduction of worn-out capital goods (but for example, for paying wages, replenishing stocks of raw materials, repaying accounts payable), then there is a narrowing of the firm’s capital base, or leasing.

This policy affects the long-term aspects of the company's activities. Since there is no money to buy new equipment to replace worn-out equipment, a reduction in the scale of production becomes inevitable. Often there is a deterioration in the current financial condition of the company. Of course, through depreciation deductions it is possible (and even necessary!) to repay a “burning” bank loan or pay taxes on time, thereby avoiding bank debt today. Similar phenomena have been repeatedly observed in Russian practice in recent years. But tomorrow, outdated, frequently breaking equipment will become a production bottleneck. Low quality of products, increased consumption of energy and materials, a high percentage of defects, irregular production due to breakdowns will be the price to pay for the misuse of depreciation funds. In other words, variable resources replenished from depreciation funds, when combined with worn-out (and therefore ineffective!) fixed resources, also do not provide the proper return and are used inefficiently.

The result is an increase in variable costs. Therefore, even having spent depreciation funds for other purposes, the company must subsequently, at the first opportunity, find money to restore depreciation accumulations. Thus, the absence in the accounting system of a separate account called “Depreciation Fund” does not mean that there is no need to accumulate funds for replacement of worn-out capital goods.

We can say that the depreciation background, which is not formed in accounting, must necessarily exist in the manager’s head.

Otherwise, the company will face a bad future.

At the same time, not allocating accumulating depreciation charges to a separate account is not a whim of accountants. The renewal of worn-out equipment is not an end in itself, but part of the company’s overall investment policy. Worn-out machines should be replaced with the same ones, but new ones, or it is better to purchase more productive machines, i.e. not just to compensate for the disposal of equipment, but to create a basis for expanding production? Or maybe it would be better to switch to a new production technology, which will require fundamentally different equipment ONLY for REVIEW www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com? Or, finally, would it be most advisable to take advantage of the breakdown of existing machines to painlessly stop the production of a new product and move to a different assortment and make capital investments for a new product?

To summarize, we can say that in practice, the replacement of worn-out equipment is inseparable from the acquisition of a machine park to expand production, as well as from its technological restructuring. The use of depreciation deductions to compensate for depreciation from this point of view should be considered as an investment project and, as such, compete with other investment projects for the right to be implemented5.

4.4. AVERAGE AND MARGINAL COSTS

A powerful tool for economic analysis is the study of average costs, i.e. level of costs per unit of production.

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com Marginal costs Dynamics The behavior of marginal costs (Fig. 4.10) is similar to the differential costs and average variable costs: graph of the MC function first

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com a year. This position of things is reflected by the short-term average cost curve of ATC], corresponding to a given scale of production (Fig. 4.12). However, what happens when demand increases?

When deciding on an option for expanding a plant, the manager will take into account two main factors: the amount of demand and the value of the costs at which the required volume of products can be produced. It is necessary to select a production scale that will ensure that demand is met at minimum cost per unit of production.

Here, the points and intersections of adjacent short-term average cost curves are of fundamental importance (points A and B in Fig. 4.1 2). A comparison of the production volumes corresponding to these points and the magnitude of demand determines the need to increase the scale of production. In our example, if the demand does not exceed 120 thousand cars per year (i.e. does not reach point A), it is advisable to carry out production on a scale described by the ATC curve, i.e. on existing facilities. In this case, average costs are minimal.

If demand increases more strongly, then there is no point in “holding on” to existing capacities: with large output values, the ATC curve grows very quickly. Moreover, if demand has grown to less than 280 thousand cars per year, the most suitable plant will be with a production scale described by the ATC2 curve. If demand exceeds 280 thousand cars per year, it will be necessary to expand the scale of production to the size described by the ATC3 curve.

8 in the long term there will be enough time to implement any possible investment project. Therefore, in our example, the long-term average cost curve will consist of successive segments of short-term average cost curves up to the points of their intersection with the next such curve (thick wavy line in Fig. 4.12).

Thus, the LATC long-term cost curve determines the dynamics of the minimum achievable unit costs with production growth in the long run (i.e., taking into account the possibility of changing the scale of discretion).

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com costs (AFC). A more monotonic decrease along the hyperbola will be periodically interrupted by abrupt returns to higher levels. Thus, many types of costs, traditionally perceived as constant, in practice often show their variable nature.

At the same time, part of the variable costs in real situations may exhibit pronounced features of constancy. For example, the wages of the personnel of a trading enterprise as a whole should be classified as variable costs, since they change as production (trade turnover) grows. But by hiring one more salesperson in the grocery department, the entrepreneur actually incurs fixed costs. After all, a worker’s salary is fixed, no matter how much pasta or rice he sells per day.

The curves of gross variable and average variable costs (TVC and AVQ, therefore, also become intermittent, as shown in Fig. 4.17. They have the familiar appearance of smooth curves only when viewed in general, so to speak, from a bird’s eye view (in the graph, these generalized trend lines are shown as blurred stripes.) A more detailed structure of gross variable costs (TVQ is a system of “mini-platforms” where they are constant.

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In particular, we will make sure that in a number of cases the correct distribution of costs incurred between jointly produced goods is achieved through optimization of the production of all these goods to a single whole, and not by calculating costs for each product separately.

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1) the intervals between measurements cannot in any way be considered extremely small. In this regard, the resulting MC value should be interpreted as a certain average for the corresponding interval. Here, the manager may be faced with the incomparability of costs related to different periods arising due to changes in yen *. To cope with this difficulty, it is useful to recalculate all of the holdings as if the yen had not changed (say, at the current level all along).

Such approximately estimated marginal costs are usually called gradient, or incremental costs. We still have to actively use the last term (see paragraph 6.3), and therefore we are already introducing the corresponding letter designation into the table - 1C.

FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com (in the table and graph, it is not by chance that we placed the data on the size of MS between the points of real measurements of average costs);

2) measurements are usually extremely unevenly distributed. They are often found in a certain range of capacity utilization (in our example, between 2000 units and 4000 units) and much less often beyond it. Accordingly, rare, fragmentary information is not always reliable.

Nevertheless, the estimates obtained using the described method are quite suitable for practical use. For example, if a company earns 4 rubles from the sale of each unit of production, then it is clear that increasing output beyond 2600-2700 units. (see graph in Fig. 4.18) is clearly impractical. After all, the marginal costs of producing additional goods after exceeding these volumes will be more than 4 rubles. and their production, therefore, will bring nothing but losses to the company (the logic of making such decisions is discussed in more detail in Chapters 5 and 6).

What does the marginal cost curve typically look like for real firms? Numerous statistical studies conducted in developed countries around the world (there is no such information for Russia, but there is no reason for the general pattern in our country to be violated) show that in the operating range of production capacity utilization (i.e. close to to the technological optimum) the value of marginal costs is constant and approximately equal to the value of average variable costs, or for

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FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com Market competition is the struggle for limited consumer demand, waged between firms in the parts (segments) of the market accessible to them. In a market economy, competition performs an important function a counterbalance to the individualism of market subjects and at the same time its complement. It is especially important that competition curbs the selfishness of producers. It forces them to take into account the interests of the consumer, and therefore the interests of society in general.

Indeed, formally, a manufacturer can release an arbitrarily bad product (say, to save on costs). However, the consumer, having compared many competing goods, will select from them only those that are most attractive to him. It is their producers who will be able to sell their products. Other goods will remain unclaimed, and the companies that produced them will receive losses instead of the expected savings.

In other words, if there were no competitive environment in a market economy, an individual (for example, a manufacturer) would be able to satisfy his own interests without regard to others. In a competitive environment, the only way to realize one’s own interests is to take into account the interests of others.

Essentially, the competition between competing firms is carried out for the better satisfaction of other people's needs.

Thus, the essence of competitive relations is closely related to two circumstances.

Firstly, with the competition of economic agents for the possession of some limited resource. Most often, limited effective demand acts as such a resource. And as a means of competition - giving the product attractive characteristics (price and non-price), ensuring the consumer’s choice of this particular product.

Secondly, with the thaw of economic power. When it is absent, the consumer is deprived of choice and is forced to either completely agree to the conditions dictated by the manufacturer, or be completely left without the benefit he needs. On the contrary, when economic power is split and the consumer has to deal with many suppliers of similar goods, he gains the opportunity to choose the one he prefers. which best suits his needs and financial capabilities.

According to the degree of development of competition in economic theory, four main types of markets are distinguished:

1) a perfectly competitive market;

2) market of imperfect competition, in turn subdivided:

a) monopolistic competition;

b) oligopoly;

c) a monopoly.

In a perfectly competitive market, the division of economic power is maximum and the mechanisms of competition work in full force. There are many manufacturers operating here, deprived of any leverage to impose their will on consumers. With imperfect competition, the division of economic power is weakened or completely absent. Therefore, the manufacturer acquires a certain degree of influence on the market.

FOR INFORMATION ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com The degree of imperfection of the runk depends on the type of imperfect competition. In conditions of monopolistic competition, it is small and is associated only with the ability of the manufacturer to produce special varieties of goods that differ from those of competitors. In oligopoly, the imperfection of the market is significant and is dictated by the small number of firms operating on it.

Finally, monopoly means the dominance of only one producer in the market. Four main types of markets can not only be classified as markets of perfect or imperfect competition, but also polypolistic and oligopolistic markets can be distinguished among them. With this approach, the central attention is paid to whether there are many economic entities operating in the market (in this case they are called polypolistic markets) or a limited number of them (in this case they are called oligopolistic markets).

The first type includes perfect and monopolistic competition, as well as “broad” (with a relatively large number of participants) oligopoly. The mechanisms of market functioning under polypoly conditions are decisively determined by the competition of participants, although this competition is not necessarily perfect. The second type - oligopoly in the broad sense - includes most of the varieties of oligopolistic markets themselves, as well as monopoly. Here, what comes to the fore is not so much competition as coordination of the actions of participants up to their complete collusion, or sole decision-making by a single (or dominant in the market) firm.

The described classification is of particular importance for state regulation of the economy. More precisely, the state usually refrains from interfering in the functioning of gender and political markets and necessarily regulates oligopolistic markets in one way or another.

As we see, when classifying markets, the main attention is paid to one side of competition - the degree of splitting of economic power. This is exactly the emphasis that will be placed in the next few chapters of our textbook. This will make it possible to understand the environment in which the company and its management have to operate in each of these markets.

The second side of competition - the competition between participants - will remain in the shadows for the time being. We will return to it when considering the problems of the company. The emphasis in the analysis will shift to the principles of entrepreneurship (and, accordingly, to the activities of managers performing the functions of an entrepreneur).

Now we will consider in detail the situation developing in a perfectly competitive market.

Perfect competition is a theoretical model of a certain ideal market in which numerous economic agents act, strictly rationally pursuing their own selfish interests (theirs and only theirs!) and not having any restrictions in their activities. Essentially, this model explains how in the market, without centralized planning or other form of conscious coordination of the activities of producers and consumers, the main problems of the company are solved, FOR REFERENCE ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com 8 in this form Two fundamental ways to increase profits are especially clearly visible.

This can be achieved:

9 increasing the average profit An, i.e. the amount of profit contained in each product sold, or

By increasing the size of the implementation, i.e. number of goods sold.

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FOR REFERENCE ONLY www.moimirknig.com for www.mirknig.com therefore it is depicted as realistically as possible, exactly as it usually looks in practice: in a certain range of production volumes (from QA to QB) the level of variable costs is kept at almost constant and close to the minimum level. And then, when approaching full capacity utilization, the rate rises sharply 5.

Let us pay attention to the fact that the position of the first critical point depends more on average constant costs, while the second one depends more on average variable costs. Indeed, the graph clearly shows that in the area of ​​the first point the contribution of variable costs to the total value of average total costs is small No. 2, February 2008 Social phenomenon of money: pros and cons from the point of view of cultural economics and sociology 3rd year student Faculty of Sociology, State University - Higher School of Economics Kozhevnikova Evgeniya Social..."

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