Abstract: Strategic and situational management of social processes. Diversity of social processes typology

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Diversity of social processes

Typology

We do not proclaim the absolute value of either the system model or the field model. After all, models are tools of cognition and therefore must be evaluated on their effectiveness, usefulness, and heuristic capabilities. The systems model has proven to be very influential - it underlies most theories of social change, of which there are still a large number. The field model arose from a desire to understand and express the dynamic nature of society more adequately, but it still requires considerable conceptual development and empirical confirmation. It now seems reasonable to accept both and to derive our basic conceptual apparatus for the study of social change from both, for each illuminates a great variety of dynamic phenomena. Raymond Boudon was right when he wrote: “It is hopeless to try to reduce social change to a single model” (52; 133).

The typology of social process we propose is based on four main criteria: 1) the form or outline that the process takes; 2) outcome, result of the process; 3) awareness of the population about the social process; 4) its driving forces. We will also briefly consider 5) the level of social reality at which the process operates, as well as 6) the temporal aspect of the process.

Forms of social processes

If you look at processes from a certain distance, from an external perspective, you can discover their various forms and outlines. Thus, processes can be directed or undirected. The former are irreversible and often tend to concentrate and accumulate. Each subsequent stage is different from any earlier and includes its result, while each earlier stage prepares the need for the later. The idea of irreversibility reflects the fact that in human life actions are performed that

cannot be reversed; thoughts that cannot be thought “backward”; feelings that cannot be “felt in reverse”; an experience from which, having acquired it, you can no longer free yourself (4; 169). If all this took place, happened, then the remaining indelible traces will inevitably influence the subsequent stages of the process - be it a personal career, gaining knowledge, falling in love or surviving a war. Examples of directed processes include the socialization of a child, the expansion of cities, the technological development of industry, and population growth. In this broad sense, both individual biography and social history are most directional.

In a narrower sense, we can talk about specific subtypes of a directed process. Some of them may be teleological (in other words, final), that is, they are constantly approaching a certain goal, or final state, from various starting points, as if being attracted to it. Relevant examples can be gleaned from the so-called convergence theory, which shows how different societies with completely different traditions gradually come to the same civilizational or technological achievements in the field of production, democracy, road transport, telecommunications, etc. Similar examples can be found in structural functionalism, which refers to the tendency of social systems to achieve a state of equilibrium through internal mechanisms that compensate for any “disturbances.”

There are directed processes of another form - those that constantly reveal certain internal potencies, as if continuously “squeezing out” them. For example, continuous technological expansion is often explained by a natural tendency towards innovation or creativity in humans, and, say, territorial conquests by an internal thirst for capture. If the final state is assessed positively, then the process is considered progressive (disappearance of diseases, increase in life expectancy, etc.), but if it is directed in the opposite direction, i.e. moves away from a value-positive, preferable final state, then we will call it regressive (ecological destruction, commercialization of art, etc.).

Directed processes can be gradual, bottom-up, or, as is sometimes said, linear. If they follow a single trajectory or pass through a similar one 32

the sequence of necessary stages is called unilinear (unidirectional). For example, most social evolutionists believe that all human cultures, some earlier and others later, must go through a certain set of stages. Those who started earlier or followed this path faster show others who are slower what their future will look like; and those who lag behind show those ahead what their past looked like. Single-line (unidirectional) processes are presented in Fig. 1.1.

If processes follow several alternative trajectories, “skip” some “sections,” linger in others, or add atypical stages in their movement, then they are called multilinear. Thus, when analyzing the origins of capitalism, historians point out different versions of the same process and distinguish Western, Eastern and other models. Researchers of Third World countries describe the different routes that led these countries to industrial-urban civilization. The diagram of the multilinear process is shown in Fig. 1.2.

The opposite of linear are processes that involve qualitative leaps or breakthroughs after long periods of quantitative growth, passing specific thresholds (163) or being influenced by certain “step functions.” These processes are nonlinear. For example, from the point of view of Marxists, socio-economic formations successively pass through revolutionary eras, when the entire society, after long periods of accumulation of contradictions, conflicts, aggravations and tensions, undergoes unexpected, fundamental, radical transformations. Such processes are shown in Fig. 1.3.

Undirected (or flowing) processes are of two types: some are purely random, chaotic in nature, and are not based on any pattern. Such are, for example, the processes of excitement that engulf a revolutionary crowd, mobilization and demobilization in social movements or in children's games; others represent a kind of curve on the oscilloscope screen - their flow follows certain repeating or at least similar patterns, with each subsequent stage either identical or qualitatively similar

previous ones. If there is a possibility of repetition, then we consider such a process as a circular, or closed, cycle. Such processes include, for example, a typical working day for a secretary, the seasonal work of a farmer, or - in a longer time frame - the routine activity of a scientist who has begun to write his next work. On the macro scale, economic cycles of expansion and recession, boom and stagnation, and bulls and bears in the market often follow this pattern; their graphical representation resembles a sinusoid, as in Fig. 1.4.

If there is a similarity between the processes, but at the same time they differ in the level of complexity, then we can say that the process proceeds in a spiral or according to an open cycle model. This is, for example, the sequential advancement of a schoolchild from class to class or a student from course to course at a university, when classes, lectures, vacations, exams take place at each stage, but each time at an increasingly higher level of education. Similarly, although on a different scale, certain economic cycles go through in conditions of general growth (as in the proverb: two steps forward, one step back). Or in the widest time range - a tendency that Arnold Toynbee attributed to all human beings 35

ical history: the gradual improvement of religion and, in general, the spiritual life of mankind through numerous cycles of challenges and responses, growth and decline (426; 61); or how Karl Marx saw the liberation of humanity through “rivers of tears,” through successive cycles of deepening exploitation, alienation, poverty and their overcoming through revolution (280). If after each cycle a higher level is reached, then we can talk about a developing (even progressive) cycle; if the level after each turn turns out to be lower on the corresponding scale, then the process should be qualified as a regressive cycle (Fig. 1.5).

A special case of processes when no changes occur in the state of the system for some time is defined as stagnation (Fig. 1.6).

Another special case of processes where changes do not follow any known pattern can be called a random process (Figure 1.7).

The final results of the social process

The second important criterion of our typology is the final result of the process. Some truly creative processes lead to fundamental innovations - the emergence of completely new social conditions, states of society, social structures, etc. Processes of this type are designated by the term “morphogenesis” (62; 58-66). These include, for example, the mobilization of social movements; formation of new groups, associations, organizations, parties; founding of new cities; adoption of the constitution of the new state; the spread of a new lifestyle or technological invention with all its far-reaching consequences. Morphogenetic processes have played a decisive role in the origin of all civilizations, in the technological, cultural and social achievements of mankind from early primitive societies to the modern industrial era.

These processes should be distinguished from simple transmutation, which leads to less radical results and entails only modification, reformation or revision of existing social attitudes. Among this type of processes, one can distinguish the so-called simple reproduction, i.e. compensatory, adaptive, homeostatic, balancing or supporting processes, which ultimately 37

allow you to adapt to environmental conditions, maintaining the status quo, that is, the existence of society in an unchanged form. The mentioned processes are the focus of the structural-functional school, which proceeds primarily from such prerequisites as stability, social order, harmony, consensus and balance (322). It is not surprising that structuralists widely study simple reproduction, in particular socialization, during which the cultural heritage of a society (values, beliefs, knowledge, etc.) is transmitted from one generation to the next; social control, which reduces the threat to the stable functioning of society due to deviations or disturbances; adaptation and adaptation, allowing social structures to work stably, despite changes in external conditions; uneven distribution of social privileges and benefits that protect problem-free recruitment to pre-existing statuses and roles (the latter are also studied by the functional theory of stratification) (95). Finally, there are restraining and sanctioning systems of rules of relationships and behavior, etiquette, etc.

If simple reproduction keeps everything unchanged, then expanded means a quantitative increase without fundamental qualitative changes. Such processes include, for example, demographic growth; expansion of the suburban area; increasing the number of students enrolled at the university; accumulation of capital through saving. The opposite quantitative movement, i.e., a decrease, but again without qualitative changes, can be called contracting reproduction. Typical examples of this type of process are the use of financial reserves without any savings; “negative growth” (decline) of population; predatory use of natural resources, etc.

When, in addition to quantitative ones, basic qualitative changes are also observed, then we can talk about transformation rather than reproduction. True, it is not always easy to determine where the dividing line lies and what change is considered qualitative. As in the “rule of thumb”: it can mean both a change in structure, accompanied by a significant modification of the entire network of interconnections of its elements in a social system or in a socio-cultural field, and a change in functions with an important modification in the actions of the system or field. Such shifts affect the basis of social reality, since their echoes are usually felt in all spheres (“elements”) of social life, transforming its most important,

essential quality. For example, the emergence of leadership and hierarchy of power in the troupe, the bureaucratization of the social movement, the replacement of autocratic rule with democratic rule, and the widening of the gap between levels of social inequality due to tax reforms inevitably lead to structural changes. And, say, the introduction of self-government at an enterprise along with a council of employers that takes upon itself the prerogatives of decision-making; direct inclusion of the church in politics; transition of educational functions from family to school, etc. entail functional changes. “Transformation” is a synonym for what we previously referred to as “change in something,” and “reproduction” refers mainly to “changes within something.”

Processes in social consciousness

When studying the changes taking place in the human world, it is important to take into account how they are perceived by the people involved in them, in particular, how the results that accompany these processes are perceived (385; 386). By introducing a subjective factor into our typology, we thereby identify three additional types of changes that can be considered as subcategories, or even as morphogenesis, or reproduction of transformation.

Processes that can be recognized, predicted, and whose purpose can be identified. To paraphrase Robert K. Merton (287; 73), it would be more accurate to call them “explicit.” For example, traffic law reform reduces accidents; legalization of foreign exchange destroys the black market; Privatization of retail trade expands the supply of consumer goods.

Processes that cannot be recognized, perceived as positive or negative, or determined whether they are desirable or undesirable. Following again Merton's instructions, we will call them “latent” (“hidden”). In them, changes and their results arise unexpectedly and, depending on the circumstances, are welcomed or not. For example, most people did not realize for a long time that industrialization was damaging the environment. The so-called environmental consciousness is a relatively recent phenomenon.

People may recognize a process, perceive its flow, and hope that it will produce a certain effect, and yet be completely mistaken in their expectations. The process proceeds contrary to their calculations and leads to different, and sometimes directly opposite, results. Using the term adopted by Merton and Kendall (296), we will then speak of a “boomerang process.” For example, a propaganda campaign may reinforce the very attitudes it was intended to destroy, mobilizing defense mechanisms and provoking negative reactions; fiscal reforms undertaken to curb inflation may cause recession and increased inflation; due to increased competition caused by the desire to increase profits, its level may fall.

Place of causality

The next important criterion by which types of social processes differ is related to the driving forces hiding behind them, the causal factors that set them in motion. The main question is whether they are located within the process itself or act from the outside. In the first case we are talking about an “endogenous” process (with an immanent, i.e. internal cause), in the second - about an “exogenous” process (with an external cause). Endogenous processes reveal potential capabilities, properties or trends contained within a changing reality; exogenous - reactive and adaptive and are a response to a challenge (stimulus, pressure) from the outside.

The main problem of distinguishing between endogenous and exogenous processes is to draw a line of demarcation between what belongs to the internal and what to the external side of the social sphere. Since nature is a factor external to society, all social processes that are a reaction to environmental influences should be considered exogenous. The same can be said about the changes in medieval societies of Europe as a result of the Black Death - a plague epidemic in the 14th century. (420; 60-79); in sexual behavior patterns in California after the AIDS virus was discovered; in lifestyles due to climate change; in the reactions of human communities to natural disasters.

However, it is possible to narrow the scale of analysis and draw a dividing line not between society and nature, but between various subsystems, segments or dimensions of society. The introduction of this element of correlation allows us to consider, for example, changes in the political regime that you 41

called economic deficits, exogenous, although they occur within society. Likewise, the secularization of life caused by an autocratic political regime. should also be considered exogenous. Consequently, the divide between exogenous and endogenous processes is determined by the level of analysis, but much also depends on the time frame in which a particular process is studied.

Consider an environmental disaster that changes the consumption patterns of the daily lives of an entire population. This change in consumption patterns is an obvious response to the deterioration of natural environmental factors and is therefore an exogenous process. However, in its origin, the destruction of ecology is a product of human actions, and in this sense, a change in lifestyle can be considered as an endogenous process that was introduced indirectly and, of course, was not intended by people themselves. Or let's take another example: a maniac kills children, to which society reacts by mobilizing its defense mechanisms - classes in schools are stopped, mothers and children remain at home. Are these processes exogenous? - Yes, to the extent that their cause is associated with the human psyche, that is, it is ultimately psychological, natural, like a disease. But psychopathy could be caused by defects in socialization or by the fact that a person was rejected by the community (“stigmatization”), and then the cause should be recognized as social. From this point of view, the processes occurring in an anxiety-ridden society are endogenous, since they are caused by the neglect of its members at an earlier stage. Consequently, if we trace the processes over a longer period of time, then most of them can be called “exogenous-endogenous”: as they develop, they lead to results that affect not only the rules of functioning of the system where these processes take place, but also its environment, which also causes a corresponding reaction (54; 329). Let us emphasize once again: the attitude towards a process as exogenous or endogenous always depends on the framework of analysis adopted by the scientist.

Qualitatively, the reasons for changes can vary significantly - these are natural, demographic, political, economic, technological, cultural, religious and many other reasons. Sociologists have always sought to discover the most important factors causing change, or that. what can be called the “prime movers” of social processes. Among the many versions of “social

determinisms” that put forward various factors to the role of the main ones, two main ones stand out: supporters of one focus on “material processes” generated by “hard” technological, economic, environmental or biological pressure; representatives of the second believed that ideology, religion, ethics, etc. play an independent causal role. i.e. "ideal processes". Now there is a tendency to avoid such a division and consider causality as an interaction (specific, limited, involving in a single flow of movement) of numerous forces and factors - material, ideal or some other. None of these factors now qualifies as the final cause of social processes. Modern sociology tends to question the idea that there is a dominant cause of social change (54; 326).

Nowadays, sociology not only rejects the absolutization of the “single”, “dominant” factors causing changes, but also redefines them. There is now a widespread belief that talking about economic, technological or cultural causes of change as dominant is wrong and means simplifying the situation, since behind all these categories there are real causal forces, namely, exclusively and only human activity.

This problem, central to modern sociology, will be discussed in detail later (see: Chapter 13), but for now it is important to isolate two types of processes depending on the location of influence. Some arise as unintentional and often unrecognized (hidden) aggregates of many individual actions taken for various private reasons and motives that have nothing to do with the processes that they caused. They can be called spontaneous, or arising “from below”. A typical example is the incalculable actions of consumers and producers, buyers and sellers, employers and workers, which lead to inflation, recession or other macroeconomic processes.

However, there are also opposite situations when the process is deliberately released from control in order to achieve certain goals. In such cases, it is initiated, constructed and managed by power structures. Such processes can be called planned, or coming “from above” (383). Most often they are implemented using legislative means. Examples include the growth of indigenous 43

large population; increased production efficiency due to the privatization policy after the anti-communist revolutions of 1989, etc.

Levels of social processes

Before completing our typology, we make one important note. As already indicated and as the examples given clearly confirm, social processes occur at three levels of social reality: macro-, meso- and micro-. Accordingly, we will consider them as macro-, meso- and microprocesses.

Macro processes are carried out at the level of the world community, national states, regions, ethnic groups; in terms of time they are the longest, or, in the words of Braudel, last in bad infinity (57). The processes of globalization, worldwide economic decline, environmental destruction, waves of social movements, democratization of political systems, educational leaps, increasing cultural uniformity and secularization are all examples of macro processes. Mesoprocesses cover large groups, communities, associations, political parties, armies, and bureaucracies. Microprocesses occur in the everyday life of human individuals: in small groups, families, schools, occupational associations, and friendly circles.

Process time range

The processes are equally varied in terms of their duration. We'll talk more about this in Chap. 3, let us now note that their time range is quite large, from extremely short, instantaneous, fast-flowing processes to long-term ones, stretching over entire historical epochs, during which trends that develop over centuries and millennia operate. Next, we will try to show that the concept of social process is an extremely general theory, therefore, before it can be usefully applied to the study of real historical societies, it is necessary to more precisely define and specify many of its concepts.

2. CLASSIFICATION OF TYPES OF SOCIAL MANAGEMENT

From a scientific point of view, management is the directed coordination and organization of a controlled object. This field of activity arose during the division of labor. With its help, a person influences technological, economic and social processes to achieve certain goals.

Management is diverse. Characterizing the world around us, researchers distinguish three components - inanimate nature, living nature and human society. This allows us to give a consolidated classification of management processes according to its main classes:

Control processes in inanimate nature (in technical systems) are called the control of things, which is an area of study primarily in technical sciences;

Control processes in living organisms relate to the control of biological systems and are the subject of study in the natural sciences;

Management processes in society (in social systems) are called people management or social management, which relates primarily to the field of social sciences.

Social management includes two main subclasses - management of individual human activities and management of collective activities of people. The most important types of social management are administrative-state (political) management, management of the socio-cultural sphere (spiritual production), management of material production. The classification (typology) of management is presented in Figure 1.

Administrative-state (political) management occupies a special place in the system of legal regulation, since it acts as a necessary and important tool for managing social processes in society. It has corresponding regulatory boundaries - the activities of state executive power of all ranks, public relations of a managerial nature that develop in this area, the internal organizational activities of other government bodies related to the management function, as well as external organizational relations of non-governmental organizations, institutions and enterprises.

Administrative public administration covers a wide range of social relations that arise in connection with the implementation of management functions in the process of activities of executive authorities. Administrative public administration has the closest connection with state law, which forms the basis of all branches of law, including administrative, and occupies a leading place.

Spiritual production is a special form of spiritual activity, separated into an independent sphere, a “branch” of production in the process of social division of labor and stratification of society; This is an activity that is organized in a specific way, institutionalized and professionally assigned to a special group of people (ideologists, scientists, artists, etc.). Spiritual production appears as a result of the “dissection” of human activity into material and spiritual labor, receiving the status and appearance of a special sphere of social production along with material production.

In modern conditions, spiritual production is a complex system of spiritual activity, covering the sphere of spiritual creativity (scientific, artistic, ideological, etc.) and the sphere of distribution and development of the products of this creativity on the scale of the entire society. The latter sphere includes the education of the population, its moral and aesthetic education, and various forms of its introduction to spiritual culture.

The management of spiritual production concerns primarily the relationships into which producers of a spiritual product enter, since the technology of its production also has a management part. In a more complex form, the management of spiritual production can be carried out with the help of certain knowledge, in particular ideological, in the form of manipulation of public and personal consciousness, including through the media system, by introducing various programs into public behavior through educational systems and other forms of influence. The object of influence in such systems becomes a spiritual product, which is created with the help of another spiritual product.

The object of management in spiritual production is the relationships into which workers of this production enter, and the subject of management consists of direct administrative institutions in the field of spiritual production (for example, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Press, etc.) and the consumer of the spiritual product, who ultimately is the decisive factor in regulating spiritual production in a particular society.

State administration of the socio-cultural sphere (spiritual production) consists of administrative institutions, functionally organized in accordance with the industry or type of spiritual production (relevant ministries and departments, their local bodies), as well as public self-governing structures: writers, composers, architects, scientists, artists, etc.

Management of material production is a systematic, specific, practical activity for the conscious organization of the entire national economy at all its stages and levels. This is a mechanism for implementing the requirements of the entire system of objective economic laws through organizational and executive production activities, as well as a mechanism that implements the entire system of interests of all participants in production - public, collective and personal.

Material production covers four stages: production, distribution, exchange and consumption. In accordance with this, the management of material production involves the management of production itself, material and technical supply and sales, finance, and circulation.

Within the framework of the management of social production, branches of material production (industry, agriculture, construction, etc.) are distinguished as objects, and in the latter - their constituent sub-sectors.

In material production, not only a certain sectoral structure is objectively taking shape, but also a regional structure. Therefore, the object of management is also the territorial units of material production: industrial, agro-industrial, transport and other complexes, economic regions, etc. In the management of material production, the object of management is also the economy of various administrative-territorial units: city, district, region.

A special place among the objects of material production management is occupied by the main production links of the economy: an enterprise (firm), a production association (corporation), as well as the constituent parts of these links. Thus, the object of material production management covers all links of the economy, all stages and components of production, and all participants in labor activity.

The subjects of material production management are the state, public (non-state) organizations, and workers themselves. The state, as a subject of management, has authorities (representative bodies), whose activities consist mainly in the development and establishment of the most general rules for managing the economic sphere of the organization of society. Public organizations and workers directly also participate in the management of material production, influence it, control and develop it. In some cases, they are the main bearers of management functions.

The material production management system consists of the following main components: management mechanism, management structure and management process. The mechanism for managing material production includes such fundamental links as general principles, functions, goals and methods. General principles of management are the fundamental principles inherent in all components of the management system at all stages of its development in material production. Management functions are relatively independent, specialized areas that are isolated in management in the process of its specialization. The goals set for management by its object - the economy - are the next link in the material production management system. Management methods are ways to achieve management goals.

The management structure consists of the following links: general management structure, a specific system of management bodies, management personnel and technical management tools. The management structure is formed on the basis of a combination of basic management structures - linear and functional. The system of governing bodies covers governing bodies of general competence, intersectoral (functional), sectoral, territorial governing bodies of the primary links of the economy. Management bodies are formed from management personnel, which represent the most important element of management. The next component of the management structure is technical management tools that ensure increased efficiency of managerial work.

The management process includes substantive and organizational characteristics, the organization of decision-making and implementation, technology and management procedures, and the organization of the activities of management employees. The characteristics of the management process in terms of content are determined by the control object. This is a solution to the problems of organizing material production. From an organizational point of view, the management process forms a cycle consisting of preliminary (forecasting and planning) and operational (organization, motivation, coordination) management, as well as control (accounting, analysis, verification). The decision is the core of the management process, consisting of a set of decisions that are at various stages of adoption and implementation. Management technology is the process of obtaining, storing, transforming and transmitting management information, involving the use of general techniques, procedures and operations.

Management in material production organizes social labor activity, that is, the connection of workers with the means of production on the scale of the entire national economy. In this regard, a distinction is made between material and human resource management.

From the point of view of management theory, human resource management is one of the concepts of personnel management that has replaced the long-existing concept of recognizing personnel as a common asset of the company. Analysis of the development of personnel management concepts indicates the displacement of technocratic management models by humanistic ones.

No sooner have managers recognized human resources as the most important and non-renewable resource of the organization, than this thesis is replaced by an understanding of man as the main subject of the organization and a special object of management. The most important function of management is to ensure professional and even personal self-realization of employees - the main condition for consistently high production motivation and constructive creative activity. Creating added business value will increasingly depend on how people's creative and executive abilities can be harnessed. However, there is debate among management researchers about whether there are fundamental differences between the concept of personnel management and the concept of human resource management. Very often these concepts are used as synonyms.

From the point of view of management practice, human resource management is a comprehensive management of the system of interaction of people united by joint activities in a common organizational space. Key terms: integrated management, system of human interaction, organizational space. Complexity of management means that human resources should be managed not as an ordinary company resource, but as a self-developing resource. That is, the technical (professional) and managerial (strategic and administrative), “human” competencies of managers must be implemented in the vectors of coordinated goal setting and balanced impact. Organizing systematic interaction between people is of greater importance for the effective operation of a company than managerial influence on each employee or investment in certain organizational, financial, and technological resources. The configuration and mechanisms for connecting individual competencies into the company's core competencies are the main prerequisites for success. The boundaries of the organizational space tend to expand: not only regular personnel, but also former and future employees, and even suppliers and consumers fall into the field of activity of company managers.

From the point of view of the functional area of management, human resource management is among the functional areas of management (marketing, finance, strategy, etc.), but at the same time it is fundamentally different from any of them. The following features can be highlighted:

– firstly, even the term “management” itself in this area of management is not correct and needs to be clarified, since a person is not the object of management. A person is an object only as a unit of theoretical study and production planning, but in real life he exhibits subjectivity, that is, independent activity, self-control, selective perception and free choice of decisions. Therefore, it is more correct to talk not about managing a person, but about working with a person to effectively use his potential, to ensure the effectiveness of production interaction and production relationships;

– secondly, it is human, and not any other resource, that includes and links together all the company’s business processes and directly supports organizational culture and corporate strategies. The company achieves its efficiency through the proper organization of work flows, ultimately aimed at meeting the needs of stakeholders;

– thirdly, human resource management is carried out by all company managers who have subordinates. At the same time, there is also a specialized department - the personnel management service;

– fourthly, human resources crucially ensure the success and sustainability of any organizational changes and management innovations, harmonizing the main subsystems of organizational behavior – technological, formal, non-formal and informal.

Company leaders should realize the multidimensionality of this concept. This awareness should be based on clear parameters for designating the place and role of human resource management in the management system. The confusion that arises when using the related concepts “personnel management” and “personnel management” most likely means a natural period of honing one’s own – corporate – view of this phenomenon, but not a lack of competence.

Human resource management includes the processes of managing social development, education, employment, labor, social security, etc. These are subtypes of social management.

Management of material resources is a purposeful activity to synchronize the material flows of a social product in terms of assortment, quality, quantity, timing and location.

The essence of material resource management is revealed by two main provisions.

The first of them is predetermined by the nature of commodity-money relations. Any act of exchange on the market is accompanied by a number of specific phenomena and is objectively connected: firstly, with the need to change the forms of value (money - commodity - money); secondly, with a change in the subjects of ownership of the goods.

The second point that determines the essence of material resource management is the objective need for the physical movement of material resources through commodity circulation channels. This necessity exists due to the spatiotemporal discrepancy between the parameters of production and consumption of material resources. The functions of material resource management that are performed in this case are mainly focused on determining specific parameters of material flows.

It is especially important to note that in the management process the planned material flow must be analyzed not only from the point of view of assortment, quality, quantity, timing and location. It is important to evaluate it according to such parameters as the rationality of the source of obtaining resources, the availability of pre- and after-sales service, the price per unit of goods, taking into account the costs of acquisition.

The functions of material resource management can be summarized into four main groups.

1. Planning of material flow parameters, i.e. planning the need for material resources, in conjunction with the selection of suppliers, forms and channels for promoting goods to the consumer. Here the name of the required material resources, their quality characteristics, quantity in general and for individual items, the size of the consignment, the timing and frequency of receipt at the enterprise are determined.

2. Organization of the acquisition of material resources. Here there is payment for the actual material resources, as well as payment for all services related to the promotion of goods from the seller to the buyer. Thus, the process of commodity circulation is turned on, material resources begin their movement through the channels of commodity circulation.

3. Regulation of material flow parameters by bringing them closer to the actual needs of the enterprise. Here, adjustments are made to delivery times, forms of payment with the seller, etc. Deviations of the specified (planned) parameters of material flows from the actual ones can occur for both objective and subjective reasons.

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LECTURE 2. MANAGEMENT THEORY IN THE SYSTEM OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE - 09/08/2012

1. Necessity, essence, definition of management.

2. Classification and typology of management.

4. Subject, method, goals and functions of management theory.

NECESSITY, ESSENCE, DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT

Terms:

- theory - in a broad sense - a complex of views, ideas, ideas aimed at interpretation and explanation any phenomena; in a narrower and special sense - the highest, most developed form of organization scientific knowledge that gives a holistic idea of the patterns and existing connections of a certain area of reality - the object of this theory;

- management – it is the process of planning, organizing, motivating and controlling necessary to formulate and achieve organizational goals;

- management- this is a system of management methods in a market economy, which involve the company’s orientation to the demand and needs of the market, a constant desire to increase production efficiency at the lowest cost, in order to obtain optimal results;

- manager is a member of the organization who carries out management activities and solves management problems.

- the science- the sphere of human activity, the function of which is the development and theoretical systematization of objective knowledge about reality;

- knowledge - form of existence and systematization of the results of human cognitive activity;

- scientific knowledge- a system of knowledge about the laws of nature, society, and thinking. Scientific knowledge forms the basis of the scientific picture of the world and reflects the laws of its development;

- concept -(from lat. conceptio- understanding, system) - a general plan, a guiding idea, a set of views interconnected and resulting from one another, a system of ways to solve a chosen problem;

- cooperation -(lat. cooperation- cooperation) - a form of labor organization in which a certain number of people jointly participate in one or in different, but interconnected, labor processes

- definition -(lat. definitio - “definition, precise indication, requirement, prescription” from finitio - “limitation, completion”) - a brief definition of any phenomena by listing its main, most essential features, qualities, properties in order to clarify the boundaries and narrowing content concept denoting this phenomenon.

- category -(from the Greek kategoria - statement, accusation, sign) - an extremely general fundamental concept that reflects the most significant, natural connections and relationships between reality and knowledge.

The essence of management is that it is a special function of social labor, which arises from the need to organize joint activities and is generated, on the one hand, by the division of labor, and on the other, by the socio-historical conditions of society that determine the cooperation of labor.

Consequently, just as the joint labor of people forms the basis of any human society, so management is a necessary element, a function of this common labor, the existence and development of society.

The centuries-old development of management predetermined the separation of management activities into a separate function, which, in its purpose and content of the work performed, is fundamentally different from the production function.

In any organization there are two forms of division of labor: horizontal and vertical:

- horizontal division of labor- this is the division of labor into components that make up parts of the overall activity;

- vertical division of labor separates the work of coordinating actions from the actions themselves.

The activity of coordinating the work of other people is the essence of management.

Under subject of management refers to the natural or legal person from whom the power comes.

Control object, that is, what the power influence of the subject of management is directed at can be individuals and legal entities, as well as social, socio-economic systems and processes.

To give a brief definition of management, we can say that:

management is a specific type of activity to determine the goals of the organization, develop mechanisms for achieving them and coordinating the work of members of the organization to obtain results consistent with the goals.

CLASSIFICATION AND TYPOLOGY OF MANAGEMENT

Management is a set of coordinated measures aimed at achieving a specific goal.

Story management disproportionately older than history management. When two people appeared and they needed to do something that one could not do, the beginnings of management activity arose: the desired goal and the joint actions necessary to achieve it.

As soon as prehistoric people began to live in organized groups, they had a need for control in three spheres of human activity: defensive (protection from wild animals and enemies), political (establishing and maintaining order in the group) and economic (production and distribution of limited resources: food, clothing, tools, weapons, etc.). Note. Prehistory is the history of humanity before the advent of writing. The pre-literate history of mankind is studied from the material remains of the activities of ancient people, while resorting to arbitrary designations

Management can be viewed as a system. In this case, two subsystems can be distinguished: control and controlled. These subsystems are closely interconnected with each other in the management process.

The control subsystem is the subject of management, that is, the manager. A managed subsystem is an object of management, that is, most often an employee. The interconnection of subsystems can be shown with a simple diagram:

Scheme 1. Interrelation of management subsystems

The subject, as shown in the diagram, influences the control object. However, this impact is not strictly one-sided. There is also the opposite effect (feedback).

The nature of management cannot be understood without considering the scope of its implementation. In this regard, three spheres of objective reality are distinguished and management processes are classified in accordance with them:1) management in inanimate nature, 2) management in living nature and 3) management in human society.

1) management in inanimate nature(technical systems, i.e. machines, mechanisms, production and technical processes). This area of management is the subject of engineering science;

2) management in wildlife(biological systems). Studied by natural sciences;

3) management in human society(social systems, i.e. impact on the activities of people with different interests, united in groups, collectives). This area of management is the most difficult, since people are immeasurably more complex than all objects of living and inanimate nature, and is studied by social sciences. It is in socio-economic systems that management activities can be characterized by the term “management”. This is their main, fundamental, but not the only difference.

Management in market conditions is called management. The distinctive features of management are that it focuses firms on meeting the needs of the market, on constantly increasing production efficiency (obtaining optimal results at the lowest cost), on freedom in decision-making, on developing strategic goals and programs and their constant adjustment depending on the situation. market.

Management- type of management activity and system management methods in market conditions ( market economy), which imply the company's orientation towards demand and market needs, the constant desire to improve production efficiency with the least costs in order to obtain optimal results.

In domestic literature and practice, the concept of management instead of management began to be widely used in the 1990s. in connection with the transition from an administrative-command management system to the formation of a management system based on market relations. Using the term “management”, the orientation of commercial organizations and firms towards the market, the consumer and the achievement of the highest efficiency of their activities (profit growth, increase in market share, etc.) was emphasized. Modern principles, methods, means and forms of management are aimed at this.

Enlarged classification of management processes according to its main classes:

1) control processes in inanimate nature(in technical systems) called managing things , which is a field of study predominantly of technical sciences;

2) control processes in living organisms refer to control of biological systems and are the subject of study of natural sciences;

3) management processes in society(in social systems) called people management , or social management , which relates primarily to the field of social sciences.

Social management is isolated from the existing three classes of management and is divided into two main ones subclass: 1) management of individual activities and 2) management of collective activities, and on three types:

- first type of control - administrative-state (political) management;

- second type of control - management of the socio-cultural sphere (spiritual production);

- third type of management - management of the production sector (material production).

In other words, the classification of types of social management corresponds to the classification of the main spheres of social organization:

- political- area of relations between national and interstate, authorities and social groups;

- cultural- the area of spiritual production, distribution and consumption of spiritual goods;

- economic- the area of material production, distribution and consumption of material goods.

Each type of social management includes corresponding levels(organization - region - industry, state) and basic forms (material management and human resource management), and they, in turn, are the corresponding subtypes of management.

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