Goods are material values to receive which. Material good: definition, examples. The division of labor provides
It often happens that in order to obtain economic benefits, the combined action of several material goods is required, and if one of them is missing, then the goal cannot be achieved at all or is achieved only incompletely. These material goods, mutually complementing each other, we call, following the example of Menger, complementary material goods. Thus, for example, paper, a pen and ink, a needle and thread, a cart and a horse, a bow and an arrow, two boots belonging to the same pair, two pairs of gloves, etc., are complementary material goods. Especially often, one might say constantly, the relation of complementarity occurs in the field of productive material goods.
It is quite natural that the close relationship between complementary material goods, which is necessary for them to bring their inherent utility, also finds expression in the formation of their value. Here it gives rise to a whole kind of peculiarities, which, however, all fit into the framework of the general law of marginal utility. In considering these features, we must keep in mind the difference between the value inherent in the whole group and the value of each individual thing that is part of the group.
The total value of a whole group of material goods is determined in most cases by the magnitude of the marginal benefit that all these material goods can bring in joint action. If, for example, three material goods A, B and C constitute a complementary group, and if the smallest, economically beneficial benefit that can be obtained from the joint, combined use of these three material goods is expressed as 100, then the value of all three material goods A , B and C together will also be equal to 100.
That is the general rule. The only exceptions to it are those cases where - according to the general rules already known to us - the value of a thing in general is determined not by the immediate marginal utility of the kind of material goods to which it belongs, but by the marginal utility of another kind of material goods used to replace this thing. . In our special example, this will happen when each individual member of the complementary group can be replaced by a new copy through the purchase, production, or diversion of material goods from other, isolated industries of use, and when at the same time the resulting "substitutional benefit" for all members of the group , taken together, is less than the marginal benefit that they give when used in combination. If, for example, the marginal benefit obtained from combined use is 100, and the "substitutional value" of the three members of the group separately is only 20, 30 and 40 - in total, then only 90 - then from all three material goods, taken together, it will depend not on obtaining a combined marginal benefit of 100, but on obtaining only a smaller benefit of 90. However, since in such cases the influence of complementarity proper on the formation of value is not noticed and the formation of value is carried out according to the general rules that we already know, then deal with here we do not need a special consideration of these cases, and therefore in the following presentation I intend to analyze only the general normal case when the marginal utility obtained from the combined use of complementary material goods is at the same time the marginal utility available, which determines the value of material goods.
The marginal benefit obtained from the combined use of complementary material goods is determined primarily, as we said above, by the total, cumulative value of the entire group. Between the individual members of the group, this common group value is distributed in a completely different way, depending on the casuistic features of the given case.
First, if each of the members of a complementary group can serve to satisfy a human need in no other way than when used together with the rest of the members of this group, and if at the same time it is not possible to replace the lost member with a new copy, then in this case each member of the the composition of the group, the thing taken separately is the bearer of the entire aggregate value of the whole group, while the rest of the things, without the first, have no value. Suppose I have a pair of gloves whose total value is one guilder; if I lose one glove, I lose all the usefulness that a pair of gloves brings, and therefore all the value that a whole pair has, - the second glove left with me will no longer be of any value. It goes without saying that each of the two gloves can play both roles; which one of them will in this case be the bearer of the whole value of the whole pair and which will be a thing that is worthless and worth nothing - this depends entirely on the special conditions of the given case. Cases of this kind are relatively rare in practical life.
It happens much more often, secondly, that individual members of the complementary group, even outside the sphere of their combined use, retain the ability to bring a certain, albeit insignificant, benefit. In such cases, the value of an individual thing belonging to a complementary group no longer fluctuates between "nothing" and "everything", but only between the value of the marginal benefit that this thing can bring when used in isolation, as a minimum, and the value of the combined marginal benefit minus from it the isolated marginal utility of the remaining members, as a maximum. Let us suppose, for example, that the three material goods A, B, and C, when used in combination, can produce a marginal utility of 100, and that A taken separately can produce a marginal utility of 10, B 20, and C 30. In this case, the value of thing A will be as follows: if it is used separately from other things, then only its isolated marginal utility 10 can be obtained from it, and so will its value. If, however, the whole group is taken as a whole and it is supposed to sell thing A, donate, etc., then it turns out that with thing A you can get a total benefit of 100, without thing A - only a smaller isolated benefit of things B and C, expressed in numbers 20 and 30, therefore, only 50, and, therefore, the difference in utility of 50 depends on the possession of thing A or on its loss. Therefore, as the last, decisive member of the group, thing A has a value of 100 - (20 + 30), i.e. e. 50; as an isolated thing - only the value 10 [it goes without saying that here again it depends on the special conditions of the given case which of the members of the group is evaluated as a complementary member of the group, and which are evaluated only as isolated things. If, for example, the owner of a complete group of complementary material goods wants to buy thing A, he will evaluate it as part of the whole group, and things B and C, which remain isolated, as isolated things, i.e., lower. If, on the contrary, they buy item C from him, then he will evaluate it as part of the whole group at 100 - (10 + 20), i.e. at 70, and things A and B as isolated - only at 10 and 20] . We see, therefore, that in the second case the fluctuations in the distribution of the total value of the group among its individual members are not as sharp as in the first case.
But it happens even more often, thirdly, that individual members of the group not only can be used as auxiliary materials for other purposes, but can at the same time be replaced by other specimens of the same kind. For example, to build a house, a piece of land, bricks, logs and labor of workers are needed. If several wagonloads of bricks intended for building a house are lost, or if several people from the workers hired for this purpose leave, then under normal conditions this circumstance will by no means interfere with obtaining a combined benefit, that is, it will not prevent the building of a house, but only lost Construction Materials and the departed workers will be replaced by new ones. Hence the following consequences for the formation of the value of complementary material goods:
1) members of the complementary group, capable of being replaced by other specimens, can never, even in those cases when they are needed precisely as part of the whole group, acquire a value that exceeds their "substitutional value", i.e., the value that is bought at the price of refusing to receive benefit in those branches of the use of material goods, from where funds are taken to replenish the deficiency;
2) due to this, the limits within which the value of an individual thing can be established, evaluated either as a member of a whole complementary group, or as an isolated material good, are narrowed, and, moreover, they are narrowed the more, the more this thing acquires the character of a commonly used thing, widely marketed product. Indeed, the greater the number of specimens at hand and the wider the possibility of their use, the smaller will be the difference between the importance of the branch of use from which the specimens needed to replace the thing are taken (maximum value), and the importance of the branch closest to it, in which it is possible to there would be a use for the extra isolated instance (minimum value). Let us suppose, for example, that of the goods belonging to the genus A, besides the thing A1, which is part of the complementary group, there are only two other instances of A2 and A3, and that the importance of existing branches of use (other than use in the complementary group) is expressed by the numbers 50, 20, 10, etc. In this case, the material goods A2 and A3 will satisfy only those areas of needs, the importance of which is expressed by the numbers 50 and 20, and therefore, if one of these two copies goes to replace the thing A1, then the benefit will be lost. , expressed by the number 20. If, on the contrary, after the destruction of the value of the complementary group, the thing A1 itself has to be given only some isolated use as an auxiliary means, then only a third branch of use will remain open for it, the importance of which is expressed by the number 10. Therefore, in In this case, the value of item A1 will still fluctuate between 10 (isolated use) and 20 (the last, decisive member of the group by virtue of substitution). If instead of three there were a thousand branches of use, then the difference between the thousandth branch, from which, in case of need, one would have to take the copy needed for replacement, and the first thousand, in which one would have to look for a use for the copy made superfluous due to the disintegration of the complementary group, would be reduced to , of course, almost to zero.
3) As a result, under the conditions we have just spoken of, the value of the replaceable members of the complementary group, regardless of the specific complementary use, is established at a certain height, at which it remains for them and in the distribution of the total value of the group among individual members. This distribution is carried out in such a way that from the total value of the whole group - the value determined by the marginal utility obtained by combined use - the constant value of the members that can be replaced is distinguished first of all, and the remainder, which fluctuates according to the magnitude of the marginal utility, falls as their isolated value. to the share of those members who cannot be replaced. Suppose that in our example, which we have already used so many times, members A and B have an unchanging "substitutional value", expressed as the number 10 (or 20); then the non-substitutable thing C would have an isolated value of 70 when the combined marginal utility is 100, or an isolated value of 90 when the marginal utility reaches 120 [if thing C could also be substituted at a lower "substitutional value" , then we would have the case discussed above and the marginal utility of combined use could not serve as a basis for determining the value of the complementary group at all].
Since, of all the casuistic cases we have considered, the last one occurs most often in practice, the formation of the value of complementary material goods is carried out predominantly according to the last formula. This formula finds its most important application, especially in the distribution of the incomes of production among the various productive forces, thanks to the combined action of which they are obtained. Indeed, almost every product is the result of the combined action of a whole group of complementary material goods: land, labor, fixed and circulating capital. The vast majority of complementary material goods as commercially available commodities can be substituted in any way; such, for example, are the work of hired laborers, raw materials, fuel, tools, etc. Only a minority of them are not amenable, or at least not easily amenable to substitution; are, for example, land plot, cultivated by a peasant, a mine, Railway, a factory building with all its furnishings, the activity of the entrepreneur himself with its purely individual qualities, etc. Thus, we find here precisely the very casuistic conditions under which the above (under the number 3) formula for the distribution of value between individual members should take effect. complementary group; and indeed, it is applied in practice with the greatest precision. In fact, in practical life, the "costs of production" are deducted first of all from the total amount of income. If you take a closer look, it turns out that in reality this is not the whole mass of costs, since, after all, the plot of land used for production or the activity of the entrepreneur, as things of value, also belong to the number of "production costs" - no, these are only expenses. to replaceable productive means of a given substitutional value: wage labor, raw materials, wear and tear of tools, etc. his land, the miner - at the expense of his mining industry, the manufacturer - at the expense of his factory, the merchant - at the expense of his entrepreneurial activity.
When the profitability of the complementary group rises, it never occurs to anyone to attribute the increase in income to the members who can be replaced; on the contrary, they say that it was "the land plot (or mine) that gave more income." But in the same way, with a decrease in the total profitability, it does not occur to anyone to put "expenses" on the account in a reduced amount - no, the shortfall is explained by the fact that the land plot (or mine, etc.) gave less income. And such reasoning is quite logical and correct: only the constant “substitutional value” really depends on material goods that can be replaced at any time, and the rest of the total amount of benefits obtained from combined use depends on those that cannot be replaced.
The path we have taken so far in our analysis would also lead us to the solution of the problem which has occupied our science for so much and for so long, and which economists usually declare—perhaps too hastily—insoluble, namely the following problem: : to determine the size of the participation that each of several cooperative factors takes in the creation of a common product [cf. Bernhardi. Versuch einer Kritik der Grunde fur grosses und kleines Grundeigentum. Petersburg, 1849. S. 198; Mithoff in Schonberg's "Handbuch der politischen Okonomie". Ed. 2. S. 692, and the authors indicated there. (cf. also Wieser. Ursprung und Hauptgesetze des wirtschaftlichen Werts. S. 170)]. , of course, be expressed in figures, but the question of whether we can not determine the share of value, it seems to me, cannot be decided in an unequivocally negative sense.However, this is not the place to enter into a discussion of this difficult question.
Karl Menger (1840–1921), professor of political economy at the University of Vienna, was the first to develop this position among the representatives of the Austrian school. In 1871, Menger published the book "Fundamentals of Political Economy", the purpose of the study is human needs, which are considered as unsatisfied desires or unpleasant sensations caused by a violation of the physiological balance of a person. He defended the following point of view: price analysis should be reduced to the analysis of individual valuations.
Menger introduced the concept economic and non-economic good. Economic goods are goods for which there is a shortage of supply, and non-economic goods are goods for which there is equality between supply and demand. Trying to resolve the paradox of A. Smith about water and diamond (to explain why diamond is so expensive and water is cheap, without resorting to labor theory cost), Menger formulated principle of diminishing utility:the cost (value) of any good is determined by the smallest utility possessed by the last unit of the stock. At the same time, when determining the value of material goods, not the scale of the types of needs, but the scale of the specific needs of this particular person should be taken as a basis. As supply increases, the value of an additional unit decreases.
To illustrate this provision, it is appropriate to cite a table, which is called the “Menger table” (Table 4), where the vertical rows marked with Roman numerals denote different kinds needs and their importance in descending order: I - the most important type of needs, for example, in food; V - the type of needs of medium importance, for example, the need for alcoholic beverages; X is the least important type of needs. Arabic numerals within each vertical row illustrate the decrease in the need for a given need as it is saturated in descending order from 10 to 1. It can be seen that a specific need of a more important type may be lower than individual specific needs of a less important type. For example, the eighth unit of the first type of needs will be of less value (or lesser significance) for the well-being of the subject than the first unit of the seventh type of needs. The decrease in the value of goods as their number increased, the representatives of the Austrian school associated with deeply rooted human nature when the same kind of sensations, repeating incessantly, begin to give us less and less pleasure, and finally this pleasure even turns into its opposite - into unpleasantness and disgust. Thus, in the theory of value of the Austrian school, utility can also represent a negative value.
Table 4
| I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X |
Menger's table reflects both of Gossen's laws: decreasing numbers in columns means a decrease in marginal utility (the first law), and a unit of good in satisfying each of the actually satisfied needs (I and II) has the same marginal utility.
This formulation of the law of diminishing marginal utility. But how does this provision relate to the concept of pricing? In the most direct way. The value (price) of a thing is measured by the value of the marginal utility of this thing, the utility of the last unit of the stock of the good that satisfies the least important need. It is appropriate to give an example of Robinson, who has five sacks of grain in reserve, of which the first is needed in order not to die of hunger, the second is for maintaining health, the third is for fattening poultry, the fourth is for preparing alcoholic beverages, the fifth is for parrot content. What determines the value of one (any) bag of grain? According to the views of the representatives of the Austrian school, the usefulness of the last bag that satisfies the least urgent need. This marginal unit (utility) determines the actual value of the previous units. Marginal utility, in turn, depends on the amount of goods and the intensity of consumption of the individual. Thus, the value depends on the degree of utility and degree of rarity. The first defines the highest point to which marginal utility can rise in a pinch; the second is to what point marginal utility actually rises in a particular case. In other words, the height of marginal utility is determined by two factors: subjective (needs) and objective (number of goods), which, in the framework of the reasoning of the Austrian school, remains once and for all the same data.
The doctrine of exchange. Differences in the relative subjective value of the same goods for different people is, according to Menger, the cause of the exchange. The exchange of good X for good Y will occur only when individual A values X more than Y, and individual B does the opposite. The exchange will continue until the relative values of goods for both individuals are equalized. Subjective values determine the exchange ratio of goods.
However, all reasoning about subjective value cannot explain the mechanism market pricing where, despite all the variety of subjective assessments, there is a single price for the goods.
Consider Menger's pricing theory, he is presented in Table. 5, where the rows determine the value of the (newly received) additional unit of the good, and the columns determine the value of the unit of goods (first, second, etc.) for each consumer (B1, B2, ... B8).
Table 5
| I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | |
| IN 1 | ||||||||
| IN 2 | ||||||||
| IN 3 | ||||||||
| AT 4 | ||||||||
| AT 5 | ||||||||
| AT 6 | ||||||||
| AT 7 | ||||||||
| AT 8 |
Landowner B1 does not have a horse, but there is plenty of bread, so for him the value of the first horse is 80 measures of bread, landowner B2 estimates the value of the first horse at 70 measures of bread.
An attempt to resolve this contradiction was also made by E. Böhm-Bawerk (1851 - 1919), introducing the concept objective value by which he understands exchange proportions (prices), which are formed in the course of competition in the market.
The pricing process is carried out when performing following conditions: the volume of supply in the market is fixed; the market price is established precisely in this act of competition, and does not depend on previously existing prices; the price is set in accordance with the ratio of the maximum prices of buyers and the minimum prices of sellers; the minimum prices of buyers and the maximum prices of sellers are derived from the ratio of subjective utility; transactions should be beneficial for both buyers and sellers. Therefore, none of them will buy (or sell) a horse at a price equal to his own assessment; equilibrium in the market is achieved when demand equals supply (the number of buyers is equal to the number of sellers).
How, under these conditions, will the price of a horse be determined? The Böhm-Bawerk pricing process is best explained using his already textbook example of the horse market. So, buyers and sellers collide in the market, having subjective assessments of how useful a horse is to him (Table 6).
Table 6
| Buyers | Sellers | Subjective assessment, florins | |
| 1=th | 1=th | ||
| 2=th | 2=th | ||
| 3=th | 3=th | ||
| 4=th | 4=th | ||
| 5=th | 5=th | ||
| 6=th | 6=th | ||
| 7=th | 7=th | ||
| 8=th | 8=th | ||
| 9=th | |||
| 10=th |
Let's assume that the auction will begin with the announcement of its price by buyers - 130 florins. This price is beneficial to all buyers. But she obviously does not suit the sellers - only the first two are ready to sell horses at this price. There is an imbalance between supply and demand, so buyers flare up competition to increase prices, which will inevitably lead to the elimination of individual buyers from the market and the return of sellers.
As a result of this process (suppose) the price settles at just over 200 florins, leaving the market with six buyers and five sellers. The circle has narrowed, but demand is still greater than supply. The price rises further and at the price of 210 florins the sixth buyer will leave the market.
Demand equals supply. But sellers, in their natural desire to get more profit, increase the price by holding the horses. The price rises, but as soon as it exceeds 215 florins, a sixth seller enters the market and the equilibrium is again disturbed.
So the price is known. She settled ranging from 210 to 215 florins inclusive. At this price, the demand for horses and their supply are balanced. Consequently, according to Böhm-Bawerk, the market price will fluctuate between the maximum and minimum prices as a result of a collision in the markets of subjective assessments of sellers and buyers. At the same time, the level of the market price cannot be higher than the estimate of the first excluded seller (upper price limit) and lower than the estimate of the first excluded buyer (lower price limit), since otherwise the achieved equilibrium is violated.
This pricing scheme ignores: the role of labor; production costs, the consumer becomes the only figure in the economic system. The theory of marginal utility, proposed by representatives of the Austrian school, has the following disadvantages: absolute inelasticity of supply. Since supply is a fixed value, the value of a particular good (good) depends solely on demand, which changes depending on the marginal utility of this good. Consequently, the principle of marginal utility, developed by representatives of the Austrian school, is applicable only to the analysis of individual consumption in kind, since the seller, the owner of the goods and its producer, is guided in determining the price by the principle of marginal utility, selling on the market only surplus benefits: the mechanism for equalizing the marginal utility in the process of exchange occurs under the assumption of the available price and the given incomes of the consumer. This means that the subjective valuations themselves are conditioned by the price level and the amount of income, and there is no quantitative definition of utility outside the price system.
According to the ideas of the Austrian school, the only factor that determines the proportions of the exchange of goods and, accordingly, the price, is their marginal utility. Consequently, productive (capital) goods have no value, since they do not directly satisfy human needs, i.e., they do not have direct utility. In a real economy, productive goods have a value, and their prices form the cost of production. How is the problem of production costs solved within the framework of the ideas of the Austrian school?
In economics, the theory of production costs, like the theory of value, exists in two versions: the theory of objective costs; theory of subjective costs.
Recognition of the objective nature of costs is characteristic of the classical school, where the prices of factors of production were derived from natural norms rewards, and their levels were determined by separate theories. Ground rent was defined as a differential surplus over the marginal cost of cultivating the land, wage- the long-term cost of the worker's livelihood, and the profit was a residual value. Within the framework of the classical school, the reality of production costs was not questioned. Representatives of the Austrian school announced that real costs are nothing more than an ancient delusion, and one of the representatives of the Austrian school, F. Wieser (1851–1926), developed a subjective theory of costs. The initial assumptions of this theory are two provisions.
First position says that productive goods are future, potential goods, their value is derivative and depends on the value of the final product that brings immediate satisfaction. Consequently, it is not the costs of production that give value to the products, but, on the contrary, the costs of production acquire value from their products. Consumption goods themselves give value to those productive resources or factors involved in their production.
Second position boils down to the assertion that the offer is reverse side demand - the demand of those who possess the goods. When enough low prices manufacturers themselves will show demand for their products.
In our example about the horse market, if the market price is below the value of the horse's usefulness by a particular seller, he will take it away from the market, since he estimates its usefulness in his household higher. Costs are nothing more than the necessary payment for the diversion of resources from other uses, as prices offered for the services of factors used for its production by other competing producers.
In this theory, costs are nothing more than a form in which an individual is informed of the "desirability" of the possession of a thing by some other person. But what is the mechanism of formation of the value of productive goods? Having singled out the smallest marginal utility from the sum of consumer goods that are created by a certain production good, Wieser called it the marginal product. Using this concept, Wieser formulated the law: the marginal utility of the marginal product determines the price of the productive good that went into its production, and the corresponding part of the production costs, which determine the marginal utilities of other, non-marginal consumer products produced from the specified good (the so-called Wieser's law).
4.3. Anglo–American School of Economics
In the theory of production costs of the Austrian school, within the framework of the concept of opportunity costs, the value of productive goods was equated with the value of the goods sacrificed to them, bringing immediate satisfaction. However, the question remained open as to how much of their value should be attributed to this or that factor of production.
Recall that the representatives of the classical school believed that all factors of production (labor, capital, land) participate equally in the process of value creation and receive their share of the created product.
The problem was solved by the American economist J.B. Clark (1847-1938) in The Distribution of Wealth (1899). He formulated the law of "decreasing ultimate performance". The law says that in conditions where at least one factor of production remains unchanged, the additional increment of other factors gives a smaller and smaller increase in production. In other words, marginal product variable factor is constantly decreasing.
Based on the law of diminishing marginal productivity, Clark concludes that with the same amount of capital, each additional worker produces less output than the previously accepted one. The productivity of the last worker is called the marginal productivity of labor. According to Clarke, only the product that is created by the marginal worker can be considered a product of labor, while the rest of the product, that is, the difference between the "product of industry" and the "product of labor", is a product of capital.
Fundamental to Clarke's theory is the assertion that marginal product in monetary form determines the fair, natural level of income paid to each factor of production. The natural, fair level of wages of the workers in our example will coincide with the price of the marginal product produced by the last worker, that is, with the price of eight units of output. If we accept Clarke's assumption that wages are determined by the marginal productivity of labor (the marginal productivity of the last worker), then it is easy to explain the extremely low wages in developing countries, because in conditions of an excess supply of labor in relation to the total capital of society, the marginal product of the last unit of social labor will tend to to a minimum. However, Clark extends the statement about the reward of a factor in accordance with the value of its marginal product to other factors of production. In particular, in his theory, the value of interest as a product of capital is determined by the unit of capital that gives the smallest increase in production. Other things being equal, diminishing marginal productivity, the greater the value of the total capital of the company, the lower the interest rate. According to Clarke, if there are no barriers to competition, wages, interest, and rent will be the prices of factors of production that are equal in magnitude to their marginal product, or to their marginal productivity.
Note that in Clark's model of pricing for factors of production, for the first time after the classics of political economy, the process of production and distribution have a single basis - the marginal product of factors.
Tests with answers personnel management.
1 Test. Which managerial action is not related to the functions of personnel management?
a) planning;
b) forecasting;
c) motivation;
d) reporting;
e) organization.
2. Management personnel includes:
a) support workers;
b) seasonal workers;
c) junior service personnel;
d) managers, specialists;
e) main workers.
Test 3. Japanese personnel management does not apply:
a) lifetime employment;
b) principles of seniority in payment and appointment;
c) collective responsibility;
d) informal control;
e) advancement in the career hierarchy depends on professionalism and successfully completed tasks, and not on the age of the worker or length of service.
4. What disciplines are not associated with the system of labor and personnel sciences?
a) "Economics of labor";
b) "Transport systems";
c) "Psychology";
d) "Physiology of labor";
e) "Sociology of Labor".
5 Test. Job description the company is developing with the aim of:
a) definition of certain qualification requirements, duties, rights and responsibilities of the personnel of the enterprise;
b) hiring workers for the enterprise;
c) selection of personnel for a certain position;
d) according to the current legislation;
e) achievement of the strategic goals of the enterprise.
6. Study personnel policy enterprises-competitors directed:
a) to develop new types of products;
b) to determine the strategic course of development of the enterprise;
c) to create additional jobs;
d) for re-profiling the activities of the enterprise;
e) to develop an effective personnel policy of your enterprise.
7. What does investing in human capital include?
a) investment in production;
b) investing in new technologies;
c) expenses for staff development;
d) investing in the construction of new facilities.
e) investing in improving the organizational structure of the enterprise.
8. Human capital is:
a) the form of investment in a person, i.e. the cost of general and special education, the accumulation of a sum of health from birth and through the education system to working age, as well as economically significant mobility.
b) investing in the means of production;
c) intangible assets of the enterprise.
d) tangible assets of the enterprise;
e) this is a set of forms and methods of work of the administration that provide an effective result.
9. The functions of personnel management are:
a) a set of directions and approaches to work with personnel, focused on meeting the production and social needs of the enterprise;
b) a set of directions and approaches to improve the efficiency of the enterprise;
c) a set of directions and approaches to increase the authorized capital of the organization;
d) a set of directions and approaches to improve the strategy of the enterprise;
e) a set of directions and measures to reduce the cost of production.
10. The potential of a specialist is:
a) a set of capabilities, knowledge, experience, aspirations and needs;
b) human health;
c) the ability to adapt to new conditions;
d) the ability to improve skills on the job;
e) the ability of a person to produce products
11. The horizontal movement of the worker provides for the following situation:
a) transfer from one job to another with a change in salary or level of responsibility;
b) transferring from one job to another without changing wages or level of responsibility;
c) release of the worker;
d) demotion of a worker;
e) promotion of a worker in a position.
12. Professiogram is:
a) a list of rights and obligations of employees;
b) description of general labor and special skills of each employee at the enterprise;
c) this is a description of the features of a particular profession, revealing the content professional labor, as well as the requirements for a person.
d) a list of professions that an employee can master within his competence;
e) a list of all professions.
13. What section does the job description not contain?
a) "General provisions";
b) "Main tasks";
c) "Responsibilities";
d) "Management powers";
e) Conclusions.
14. Intellectual conflicts are based on:
a) on a collision of approximately equal in strength, but oppositely directed needs, motives, interests and hobbies in one and the same person;
b) clash of armed groups of people;
c) on the struggle of ideas in science, the unity and clash of such opposites as true and erroneous;
d) on the opposition of good and evil, duties and conscience;
e) on the opposition of justice and injustice.
15. A conflict situation is:
a) clash of interests of different people with aggressive actions;
b) objects, people, phenomena, events, relationships that need to be brought to a certain balance to ensure a comfortable state of individuals who are in the field of this situation;
c) the state of negotiations during the conflict;
d) definition of the stages of the conflict;
e) conflicting positions of the parties regarding the solution of any issues.
16. At what stage of the conflict does a clear (visual) manifestation of sharp disagreements appear, achieved in the process of conflict:
a) start;
b) development;
c) culmination;
d) ending;
e) . post-conflict syndrome as a psychological experience.
17. The latent period of the conflict is characterized by the following feature:
a) the parties have not yet declared their claims against each other;
b) one of the parties admits defeat or a truce is reached;
c) public exposure of antagonism both for the parties to the conflict themselves and for outside observers;
d) extreme aggressive discontent, blocking of aspirations, prolonged negative emotional experience that disorganizes consciousness and activity;
e) there are no external aggressive actions between the conflicting parties, but indirect methods of influence are used.
18. The style of behavior in a conflict situation, characterized by the active struggle of an individual for his interests, the use of all means available to him to achieve his goals, is:
a) adaptation, compliance;
b) evasion;
c) confrontation, competition;
d) cooperation;
e) compromise.
19. A comprehensive assessment of work is:
a) assessment of professional knowledge and skills with the help of control questions;
b) determination of a set of estimated indicators of quality, complexity and efficiency of work and comparison with previous periods using weighting factors;
c) assessment of professional knowledge, habits and intelligence level with the help of control questions;
d) determination of professional knowledge and habits with the help of special tests with their further decoding.
e) assessment of professional knowledge, habits and intelligence level with the help of sociological surveys.
20. Collegiality in management is a situation when:
a) the personnel of a certain unit are colleagues in relation to each other;
b) only the head of the organization can manage the staff, but he can delegate some powers to his subordinates;
c) there is a decentralization of management of the organization;
d) employers work in close contact with each other and are connected by ties of cooperation and interdependence, make up the management staff.
e) there is a centralization of the management of the organization.
21. What subsystem of personnel management is aimed at developing a promising personnel policy:
a) functional;
b) tactical;
c) manager;
d) providing;
e) strategic.
22. The purpose of which school was the creation of universal principles of management:
a) school of scientific management;
d) school of behavioral science;
23. The personnel potential of an enterprise is:
a) a set of working specialists who get a job, study and improve their qualifications off the job;
b) the totality of working specialists;
c) the totality of those applying for a job;
d) the totality of students and raising their qualifications with a break from work;
e) the totality of those moving up the career ladder.
24. What position does the theory of acquired needs of D McClleland provide for:
b) the distribution of all workers into those who want to work and those who do not want to work;
c) the need for the worker to achieve, to participate in, to be in power;
d) the human need to be fairly rewarded;
e) all human needs located in a certain hierarchy.
25. What theory of motivation refers to process theories?
a) A. Maslow's theory of needs;
b) W. Vroom's theory of expectation;
c) D. McClelland's theory of acquired needs;
d) K. Alderfer's theory of existence, connection and growth;
e) F. Getzberg's theory of two factors.
26. Valence according to the theory of V. Vroom is:
a) a measure of remuneration;
b) a measure of expectation;
in expectation certain remuneration in response to achieving results;
d) measure of value or priority;
e) expectation of the desired result from the expended additional efforts.
27. The main provision of which theory is that people subjectively determine the ratio of the reward received to the effort expended and correlate it with the reward of other people?
a) A. Maslow's theory of needs;
b) W. Vroom's theory of expectation;
c) the extended Porter-Lawler expectation model;
d) D. McClleland's theory of acquired needs;
e) the theory of equality by S. Adams.
Test - 28. BF Skinner's amplification theory based on this position:
a) highlighting hygienic and motivating factors;
b) people's behavior is determined by the consequences of their activities in a similar situation in the past;
c) all human needs located in a certain hierarchy;
d) human need is based on fair remuneration;
e) the need for the worker to achieve, in complicity, in power;
a) B. F. Skinner;
b) S. Adams;
c) V. Vroom;
d) Porter-Lawler model;
e) F. Herzberg.
30. What position applies to the theory of motivation of Porter-Lawler:
a) productive work leads to employee satisfaction;
b) a responsible person;
c) people's behavior is determined by the consequences of their activities in a similar situation in the past;
d) a person seeks to delegate authority;
e) a person is satisfied only with economic incentives.
31. What needs in the theory of A. Maslow are basic (located on the lower level of the hierarchy of needs)?
a) physiological;
b) security and safety;
c) affiliation and involvement;
d) recognition and respect;
e) self-expression.
32. Which provision does not apply to the theory of motivation of F. Herzberg:
a) lack of hygiene factors leads to job dissatisfaction;
b) the presence of motivators can only partially and incompletely compensate for the absence of hygiene factors;
c) under normal conditions, the presence of hygienic factors is perceived as natural and does not have a motivational effect;
d) the maximum positive motivational impact is achieved with the help of motivators in the presence of hygiene factors;
e) the maximum positive motivational impact is achieved with the help of motivators in the absence of hygiene factors;
33. How many groups of needs are distinguished by the theoretical model of motivation of K. Alderfer:
at four;
34. The average salary of one employee is calculated:
a) as the ratio of quality products to the total volume of marketable products;
b) as the ratio of profit to the cost of production;
c) as the ratio of cost to the cost of marketable products;
d) as the ratio of the volume of manufactured products to total strength workers;
e) as the ratio of the total wage fund to the total number of personnel.
35. What leadership style does not include the model that describes the dependence of leadership style on the situation proposed by T. Mitchell and R. House?
a) "support style";
b) "instrumental" style;
c) style focused "on achievement";
d) leadership style, focused on the participation of subordinates in decision-making;
e) style "offer".
36. What leadership style does not include theory life cycle P. Hersey and C. Blanchard?
a) the style of "giving instructions";
b) "sell instructions";
c) inform.
d) "participate";
e) "delegate";
37. Test. How many leadership options are identified by the Vroom-Yetton leadership style model:
b) four;
38. Which of the five main leadership styles, according to the two-dimensional model of leader behavior (Blake and Mouton's management grid), is the most effective?
a) "fear of poverty";
b) "Team" (group management);
c) "Holiday home - country club";
d) "Power - subordination - task";
e) "In the middle of the road";
39. What type of power implies the belief of the performer that the influencer has the ability to satisfy his needs:
c) expert power;
d) reference power;
d) legal authority.
40. .What kind of power implies the belief of the performer that the influencer has the ability to force and the full right to punish:
a) power based on coercion;
b) power based on reward;
c) expert power;
d) reference power;
d) legal authority.
41. What type of power implies the belief of the performer that the leader has special knowledge and competence that will satisfy his needs:
a) power based on coercion;
b) power based on reward;
c) expert power;
d) reference power;
d) legal authority.
42. What kind of authority implies the belief of the executor that the influencer has the right to give orders and that it is his duty to obey them:
a) power based on coercion;
b) power based on reward;
c) expert power;
d) reference power;
d) legal authority.
43 Under what kind of power are the characteristics and properties of the influencer so attractive to the performer that he wants to be the same as the influencer:
a) power based on coercion;
b) power based on reward;
c) expert power;
d) reference power;
d) legal authority.
44 Determining the qualifications of a specialist, the level of knowledge or a review of his abilities, business and other qualities:
a) certification;
d) job description;
e) approbation.
45 A leader who has sufficient power to impose his will on executors.
a) an autocratic leader;
b) a democratic leader;
c) a liberal leader;
d) advisory leader;
e) instrumental leader.
46 Conflicts, depending on the method of resolution, are divided into:
a) social, national, ethnic, international, organizational, emotional;
b) antagonistic, compromise;
c) vertical, horizontal;
d) open, hidden, potential;
e) intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, intergroup.
47 Expenses for health care, education, physical education, intellectual development, obtaining general education, the acquisition of a specialty is:
a) investments in the construction of sports complexes;
b) investment in human capital;
c) investment in new technologies;
d) investment in production;
e) investments in educational and health-improving complexes.
48 The indicator is characterized by changes in price indices for goods and services that are included in the consumer baskets of the minimum consumer budget:
a) price indices;
b) cost of living index;
c) indices of agricultural production;
d) indices of livestock production;
e) indices of crop production.
49 Intangible personal property: a product of intellectual activity, which manifests itself in the effect of use in various spheres of society:
a) intangible property;
b) intellectual property;
c) radio frequency resource;
d) material property;
e) aerospace developments.
50 Regulates the relationship between employers, i.e. buyers of products of intellectual labor and the subjects of intellectual activity themselves regarding the formation of the price of intellectual labor:
a) financial market infrastructure;
b) agricultural exchanges;
c) the infrastructure of the intellectual labor market;
d) entrepreneurship promotion funds;
e) owners of intellectual labor.
51 What is not included in the infrastructure of the knowledge labor market:
a) labor exchanges;
b) agricultural exchanges;
c) funds and employment centers;
d) centers, institutes for retraining and advanced training of specialists;
e) electronic markets labor (automated data banks);
52 Skills needed to properly understand other people and communicate effectively with them:
a) semantic;
b) communicative;
c) non-verbal;
d) verbal;
e) professional.
53 Which feature is typical for a formal group (team) in an organization:
a) an association of interests and goals;
b) there is no clear role structure - division of labor and management;
c) a sign of social community (for example, according to national characteristics, signs of social origin);
d) groups have different social significance in society, at the enterprise - positive or negative orientation;
e) the structure of teams and groups is determined by the relevant official documents that provide for the scope of duties and rights of both the entire team and individual employees included in it.
54 A calculated indicator that takes into account logical thinking, the ability to achieve a goal, the objectivity of self-assessment, the ability to formulate sound judgments:
a) intelligence quotient (IQ);
b) coefficient of the tariff scale;
c) labor productivity;
d) annual salary;
e) the value of human capital.
55 Which component does not include the labor potential of a person:
a) human health;
b) education;
c) professionalism;
d) creativity (ability to work, think in a new way);
e) deposit accounts in banks.
56 What is staff adaptation?
a) improving theoretical knowledge and practical skills in order to improve professional excellence workers, their assimilation of advanced equipment, technology, means of production;
b) activities that are carried out consciously to improve the abilities of personnel, which are necessary for the performance of work or for the development of the potential of employees;
c) participation in the recruitment and selection of personnel, taking into account the requirements of specific professions and jobs in order to provide the best career guidance for employees;
d) the relationship between the employee and the organization, which is based on the gradual adaptation of employees to new professional, social, organizational and economic conditions of work;
e) participation of personnel in certification.
57 The division of labor provides:
a) performance by one employee of all functions and actions for the manufacture of a particular product;
b) division of labor according to systematized labor functions;
c) careful calculation of the costs of work for the production of products and services.
d) performance by one employee of all functions and actions for the manufacture of a complex of products;
e) performance by several employees of one function for the manufacture of a complex product.
58 Normalized work time includes:
a) all expenditure of time that is objectively necessary to complete a specific task;
b) total duration work shift during which the employee performs labor functions;
c) the time of preparatory and procurement work to complete the task;
d) the time of service of the workplace;
e) a) all expenditure of time that is objectively necessary to complete all tasks.
59 The production rate is based on:
a) on the establishment of norms for spending time;
b) on determining the quantity of products that must be manufactured by one worker;
c) on the establishment of norms for the expenditure of work;
d) at the time of maintenance of the workplace;
e) on the required number of jobs, the amount of production space and other production facilities assigned for service to one employee or team.
60 The method of personnel assessment, which involves a conversation with the employee in the "question-answer" mode according to a pre-arranged scheme or without it to obtain additional information about a person, is a method:
a) interviews
b) questioning;
c) a sociological survey;
d) testing;
e) observations.
61 The conscious impulse of the individual to certain action- this:
b) needs;
c) claims;
d) expectations;
e) incentives.
62 blessings, material values, which is aimed at receiving labor activity person is:
b) needs;
c) claims;
d) expectations;
e) incentives.
63 Methods involving the transfer of information to employees that allow them to independently organize their behavior and their activities are:
but) various methods stimulation;
b) methods of informing;
c) methods of persuasion;
d) methods of administrative coercion;
e) economic methods.
64 Among the qualitative indicators of the effectiveness of the management system, highlight the quantitative indicator:
a) the level of qualification of employees of the management apparatus;
b) the validity and timeliness of decision-making by management personnel;
c) the level of use of scientific methods, organizational and computer technology;
d) the level of organizational culture;
e) the amount of expenses for the maintenance of the administrative apparatus in the general wage fund of the personnel.
65 The ratio of labor productivity growth to average wage growth is:
a) the level of staff turnover;
b) profitability of production;
c) wage fund;
d) the level of labor discipline;
e) the ratio of the rate of increase in labor productivity to wages.
66 The ratio of the number of dismissed employees to the total number of employees is calculated:
a) the level of labor discipline;
b) the reliability of the work of personnel;
c) staff turnover;
d) socio-psychological climate in the team;
e) coefficient of labor contribution.
67. Test. The ratio of the number of cases of violation of labor and executive discipline to the total number of employees is an indicator of:
a) the reliability of the work of personnel;
b) the level of labor discipline;
c) staff turnover;
d) socio-psychological climate in the team;
e) coefficient of labor contribution.
68 What type of unemployment characterizes the best reserve for the economy work force capable of fairly quickly making intersectoral movements depending on fluctuations in the demand and supply of labor?
a) structural unemployment;
b) technological unemployment;
c) natural unemployment;
d) economic unemployment;
e) involuntary unemployment.
69 The creators of which school of management believed that using observations, measurements, logic and analysis, many operations could be improved manual labor to make them more efficient?
a) a classical school or a school of administration;
b) the school of human relations;
c) school of behavioral science;
d) school of scientific management;
e) school of management science or quantitative methods.
70 What school of management first defined management as “getting work done with the help of others”?
a) school of scientific management;
b) classical school or school of administration;
c) the school of human relations;
d) school of behavioral science;
e) school of management science or quantitative methods.
71 Which school of management researchers recommended the use of human relations management techniques, including more effective action supervisors, consulting with employees and giving them more opportunities to communicate at work?
a) school of scientific management;
b) classical school or school of administration;
c) school of behavioral science;
d) school of human relations;
e) school of management science or quantitative methods.
72 Researchers of which school of management studied various aspects of social interaction, motivation, nature of power and authority, organizational structure, communication in organizations, leadership, change in the content of work and the quality of working life?
a) school of scientific management;
b) classical school or school of administration;
c) the school of human relations;
d) school of behavioral science;
e) school of management science or quantitative methods.
73 Key Feature what school of government is the replacement of verbal reasoning and descriptive analysis with models, symbols and quantitative values?
a) school of scientific management;
b) classical school or school of administration;
c) the school of human relations;
d) school of behavioral science;
e) school of management science or quantitative methods.
74 Which of the 14 principles of management identified by Henri Fayol will allow you to achieve better results with the same amount of effort:
a) autocracy (unity of command);
b) division of labor (specialization);
c) unity of direction and single plan work;
d) scalar control chain;
e) the stability of the workplace for staff.
75 According to what principle, highlighted by Henri Fayol, should a person receive orders from only one superior and obey only him?
a) unity of command;
b) scalar control chain;
in order;
d) initiative;
76 Which of the schools in the theory of development of personnel management formulated the functions of management:
a) school of scientific management;
b) classical school or school of administration;
c) the school of human relations;
d) school of behavioral science;
e) school of management science or quantitative methods.
Test - 77 Which of the approaches helps to integrate the contributions of all schools that at different times dominated the theory and practice of management:
a) situational approach;
b) process approach;
c) a systematic approach?
78 Model "Z" contains the main ideas of American and Japanese management and is regarded by most experts as ideal. It combines a system of individual values and group forms of interaction. Which of the following ideas is characteristic of American management:
a) long-term work at the enterprise;
b) adoption of strategic and management decisions based on the principle of consensus;
c) individual responsibility;
d) slow promotion, which allows you to accurately assess the ability of employees;
e) increased attention to the personality of the employee, his family and domestic concerns.
79 Which of the presented factors of the efficiency of the enterprise's activities most of all contributes to stimulating the activity of employees:
a) strategic goal;
b) information;
c) management methods;
d) motivation system;
e) recruitment.
a) establish meaningful standards perceived by employees;
b) establish two-way communication;
c) avoid excessive control;
d) set rigid but achievable standards;
e) reward for achieving the standard.
81 There are four main types of human behavior, the formation of which occurs on the basis of people's attitudes towards the norms of behavior and values of the enterprise. Which type of behavior is characterized by high reliability:
a) dedicated and disciplined (fully accepts the values and norms of behavior, his actions do not conflict with the interests of the organization);
b) "original" (accepts the values of the enterprise, but does not accept the existing norms of behavior on it, gives rise to many difficulties in relationships with colleagues and management);
c) "opportunist" (does not accept the values of the enterprise, tries to behave, fully following the norms and forms of behavior adopted at the enterprise);
d) "rebel" (does not accept either the norms of behavior or the values of the enterprise, all the time comes into conflict with the environment and creates conflict situations).
82 According to Theory "X", the manager should:
a) force subordinates;
b) threaten subordinates;
c) understand them and stimulate their work;
d) respect subordinates;
e) do the work for them.
83 From the point of view of theory "Y" a manager must believe in the potential of a person and treat subordinates as responsible people striving for full self-realization. According to this theory:
a) work is not contrary to human nature;
b) work gives people satisfaction;
c) employees try to get everything they can from the company;
d) the person does not like to work;
e) a person is ready to work only for high material remuneration.
84. In order to effectively use money as a motivator and avoid its effect as a demotivator, one should:
a) pay competitive wages to attract and retain specialists;
b) pay wages that reflect the value of the work to the enterprise on a fair basis;
c) link the pay to the quality of the performance or the result so that the reward is commensurate with the efforts of the employee;
d) assure the employee that his efforts will be rewarded with an appropriate reward;
e) pay wages not less than the subsistence minimum.
85. According to what principle, pointed out by Henri Fayol, in order to ensure the loyalty and support of workers, they should receive payment for their service?
a) unity of command;
b) scalar chain;
in order;
d) staff remuneration;
e) authority and responsibility.
86. What type of power affects people through culturally instilled values:
a) power based on coercion;
b) power based on reward;
c) traditional or legal authority;
d) expert power;
e) the power of charisma (influence by the power of example).
87. The main socio-psychological factor affecting the effectiveness of the group's activities is:
b) structure (the order of organization of the group - the distribution of the roles of its members);
c) culture (basic assumptions developed by the group about how thoughts and feelings are perceived during the task);
d) process (the way employees interact when performing a specific task, for example, a decision-making procedure in a group).
88. Strengthening authority, the manager must ensure that he does not suppress, does not fetter the initiative of subordinates. Which of the following varieties of pseudo-authority (false authority) deprives people of confidence, initiative, gives rise to reinsurance and even dishonesty:
89. What type of role in an informal group is assigned to a person who develops new approaches to old problems, proposes new ideas and strategies?
a) coordinator;
b) a creative person;
c) a critic;
d) performer;
e) administrator.
90. What information does not apply to the information transmitted through the channels of informal communications:
a) upcoming layoffs of production workers;
b) upcoming moves and promotions;
c) a detailed account of the dispute between two managers at the last sales meeting;
d) rumors about upcoming changes in the structure of the organization;
e) orders and directives of the General Director.
91. Highlight the main type of behavior characteristic of a charismatic leader (charisma - personal charm):
a) focusing on issues of particular importance, focusing communications on major issues in order to involve others in analysis, problem solving and action planning;
b) the ability to take risks, but only based on careful calculations of the chances of success, and in such a way as to create opportunities for others to participate;
c) skillful interaction with understanding and empathy, confidence that such effective two-way interaction is obtained only through active listening and feedback;
d) expressing active concern for people, including oneself, modeling, self-respect and strengthening self-esteem in others, involving people in making important decisions;
e) demonstration of consistency and reliability in their behavior, open expression of their views and following them in practical affairs.
92. Which of the presented leadership styles should be applied in extreme (emergency) situations:
c) liberal;
d) anarchist;
e) neutral .;
93. A leadership style that adheres to the principles of non-interference, team members are encouraged to creative self-expression is:
b) democratic;
c) anarchist;
d) cooperative;
d) permissive.
94. The managerial grid, or the grid of R. Blake and D. Mouton, includes five main management approaches and is a table of 9x9 positions. The vertical (nine values of the matrix code) means caring for a person. Nine horizontal values mean concern for production. Which of the styles is optimal for developing a strategy in conflict situations:
b) socio-psychological (increased attention to human needs creates a friendly atmosphere and an appropriate pace of production - code 1.9);
c) liberal (minimum attention to the results of production and the person - code 1.1);
d) cooperative (high results are obtained by interested employees pursuing a common goal - code 9.9);
e) compromise (satisfactory results, average job satisfaction, a tendency to compromise and traditions hinder the development of an optimistic view - code 5.5).
95. When in progress production activities interests of different people or special groups collide, then the main cause of the conflict is:
a) allocation of resources;
b) unsatisfied communications;
c) differences in goals;
d) differences in ideas and values;
e) difference in behavior and life experience.
96. Which of the styles of conflict resolution is aimed at finding a solution through mutual concessions, at developing an intermediate solution that suits both parties, in which no one really wins, but does not lose either.
a) style of competition;
b) evasion style;
d) style of adaptation;
e) compromise style.
97. Communication networks show:
a) the degree of division of labor in the enterprise;
b) the level of centralization of powers;
c) a diagram of the structure of the enterprise;
d) the entire set of links between the elements of the enterprise;
e) horizontal communications.
98. The price of labor power is:
a) it is an expedient activity of a person (people) aimed at changing and transforming reality to meet their needs, creating material goods and services (or) spiritual values;
b) wages and benefits actually paid by the employer, taking into account state regulation in this region;
c) a measure of the ability to generate income embodied in a person. Includes innate ability and talent, as well as education and acquired qualifications.
d) supply and demand for intellectual labor;
e) the totality of his possibilities for creative work.
99. What is not the task of the personnel management system?
a) socio-psychological diagnostics of personnel;
b) planning the need for personnel;
c) analysis and regulation of group and personal relationships between the leader and subordinates;
d) personnel marketing;
e) all of the above is included in the tasks of the personnel management system.
100. What is not a function of personnel management?
a) forecasting and planning the needs and staffing, motivation and staffing;
b) registration and accounting of personnel; creation of optimal working conditions; training and movement of personnel;
c) labor rationing; analysis and development of ways to stimulate labor;
d) evaluation, coordination and control of performance results;
e) all of the above are functions of personnel management.
Page 11 of 36
Tangible and intangible goods and services.
In all developed countries The economy consists of two interrelated and complementary spheres of production aimed at obtaining benefits:
material, where a product is created in a tangible form, for example, shoes, machine tools, cement, coal;
intangible, where spiritual, moral and other values are created - works of culture, art, science, etc.
boons means to satisfy people's needs.
There are many criteria on the basis of which different types of goods are distinguished (Fig. 2.2). Benefits can be classified into:
1) material, including the natural gifts of nature (earth, air, water, climate); production products (food, buildings, structures, machines, tools);
2) intangible, having the form of activity useful to people and influencing the development of human abilities. They are created in the non-production sphere: health care, education, culture, etc. These include internal benefits given to man by nature - the ability to science, voice, ear for music, etc., as well as external benefits - what the outside world gives for satisfaction of needs (reputation, business connections, patronage, etc.).
The vital activity of a person in the process of managing is manifested, on the one hand, in the expenditure of energy, resources, etc., and on the other hand, in the corresponding replenishment of living expenses. At the same time, an economic subject (i.e. a person in economic activity) seeks to act rationally - by comparing costs and benefits. This behavior is explained as follows.
An essential feature of human life and activity is dependence on the material world. Some of the material goods are in abundance and therefore they are always available to people (air, sunlight, wind energy). Such goods in economic theory are called free or non-economic. As long as these conditions persist, these benefits and the needs for them are not the concerns and calculations of man, therefore, they are not studied in the economy.
Other material goods are available in limited quantity(various kinds of "rarities"). In order to satisfy the needs in them and to have them in an accessible quantity, human efforts are needed to obtain them, to adapt to the needs.
These benefits are called economic(or business). The well-being of people depends on the possession of these benefits, so they treat them carefully, economically, prudently.
Goods are a specific form of economic good, i.e. products of labor created for exchange (sale).
So far, we have been talking only about goods, but the production process includes the provision of services.
Services- this economic activity a person, the results of which are expressed in the satisfaction of the personal needs of the population and society as a whole.
There are tangible and intangible services. The first type includes transport, storage, utilities, postal and other services, the second - the services of lawyers, policemen, university professors, artists, etc.
The latest ideas about the structure of highly developed production are schematically summarized in fig. 2.3.
A specific form of an economic good is a commodity, i.e. good produced for exchange. A more detailed description of the goods will be given by us in Chapter 5. Now it is important to find out that in the process of human economic activity, goods and services are produced that satisfy certain needs of people. If there is no need for the produced product (service), no one wants to buy it, there will be no market for it and the manufacturer will not receive any benefit from its production. As a result, such a product will not be produced.
In economic theory, the concept of "material good" is poorly developed. It is believed to be clear. In addition, there is an approximate list of benefits, so scientists think little about this. At the same time, the phenomenon has a number of features that are worth dwelling on.
The concept of good
Even the ancient Greek philosophers began to think about what is good for a person. It has always been perceived as something positive for the individual, bringing him pleasure and comfort. But for a long time there was no consensus about what it could be. For Socrates, it was the ability to think, the human mind. The individual can reason and compose correct opinions- this is its main goal, value, purpose.
Plato believed that the good is a cross between rationality and pleasure. In his opinion, the concept cannot be reduced to either one or the other. The good is something mixed, elusive. Aristotle comes to the conclusion that there is no single good for all. He closely links the concept with morality, arguing that only the correspondence of pleasure with ethical principles can be good. Therefore, the state assigned the main role in creating benefits for a person. From here came two traditions to consider them a model of virtue or a source of pleasure.
Indian philosophy singled out four main benefits for a person: pleasure, virtue, benefit and liberation from suffering. At the same time, its component is the presence of a certain benefit from a thing or event. Later, material wealth began to be correlated and even identified with the concept of God. And only the emergence of economic theories translates reflections on the good into practical area. Under them in the very broad sense something that satisfies the requirements and meets the interests of a person.
properties of goods
In order for a material good to become such, it must meet certain conditions and have the following properties:
- the good must be objective, that is, fixed in some material carrier;
- it is universal, as it has significance for many or all people;
- the good must have social significance;
- it is abstract and intelligible, as it reflects in the minds of man and society a certain concrete form, as a result of production and social relations.
At the same time, goods have the main property - this is utility. That is, they should bring real benefits to people. This is where their value lies.
The good and the needs of man
In order for a good to be recognized as such, several conditions must be met:
- it must meet the needs of the person;
- the good must have objective properties and characteristics that allow it to be useful, that is, to be able to improve the life of society;
- a person must understand that the good can satisfy his certain requirements and needs;
- a good person can dispose of it at his own discretion, that is, choose the time and method of satisfying the need.
To understand the essence of goods, you need to remember what needs are. They are understood as internal incentives that are implemented in activities. The need begins with the awareness of need, which is associated with a feeling of lack of something. It creates discomfort of varying degrees of intensity, an unpleasant feeling of lack of something. Makes you take some action, look for a way to satisfy the need.
A person is simultaneously attacked by several needs and he ranks them, choosing the most relevant ones to satisfy first. Traditionally, biological or organic needs are distinguished: in food, sleep, reproduction. There are also social needs: the need to belong to a group, the desire for respect, interaction with other people, the achievement of a certain status. As for spiritual needs, these requirements correspond to the highest order. These include cognitive need, the need for self-affirmation and self-realization, the search for the meaning of existence.
Man is constantly busy satisfying his needs. This process leads to the desired state of pleasure, gives in the final stage positive feelings, to which any individual aspires. The process of emergence and satisfaction of needs is called motivation, as it makes a person carry out activities. He always has a choice of how best to achieve the desired result and he independently selects best ways removing the scarcity. To satisfy needs, the individual uses various objects and it is these that can be called a blessing, since they lead a person to a pleasant feeling of satisfaction and are part of a large economic and social activity.
Economic theory about goods
The science of economics could not ignore such a question of the good. Since the material needs of a person are satisfied with the help of objects produced on the basis of resources, then the theory of economic benefits arises. They are understood as objects and their properties that can meet the requirements and desires of a person. The peculiarity of the process of satisfying material needs is such that the needs of people always exceed production capabilities. Therefore, the benefits are always less than the needs for them. Thus, economic resources always have a special property - rarity. There are always fewer of them on the market than necessary. This creates an increased demand for economic goods and allows you to set a price for them.
Resources are always needed for their production, and they, in turn, are limited. In addition, material goods have another property - utility. They are always associated with profit. There is a concept of marginal utility, that is, the ability of a good to satisfy a need most fully. As consumption increases, marginal demand decreases. So, a hungry person satisfies the need for food with the first 100 grams of food, but he continues to eat, while the benefits decrease. The positive characteristics of different goods may be similar. A person chooses the necessary of them, focusing not only on this indicator, but also on other factors: price, psychological and aesthetic satisfaction, etc.
Classifications of goods
The diverse consumption of material goods leads to the fact that in economic theory there are several ways to divide them into types. First of all, they are classified according to the degree of limitation. There are goods for the production of which resources are spent and they are finite. They are called economic or material. There are also goods that are available in unlimited quantities, such as sunlight or air. They are called non-economic or free.
Depending on the mode of consumption, goods are divided into consumer and production goods. The former are designed to meet the needs of the end user. The latter are necessary for the production of consumer goods (for example, machine tools, technology, land). Material and non-material, private and public goods are also distinguished.
Tangible and intangible goods
Various human needs require specific means of satisfying them. In this regard, there are tangible and intangible benefits. The first includes objects that are comprehended by the senses. A material good is everything that can be touched, smelled, examined. Usually they can accumulate, be used for a long time. Allocate material benefits of one-time, current and long-term use.
The second category is intangible goods. They are usually associated with services. Intangible benefits are created in the non-productive sphere and affect the state and abilities of a person. These include health care, education, trade, service, etc.
Public and private
Depending on the mode of consumption, a material good can be characterized as private or public. The first kind is consumed by one person who has paid for it and owns it. These are means of individual demand: cars, clothes, food. The public good is indivisible, it belongs to a large group of people who jointly pay for it. This type includes security environment, cleanliness and order on the roads and in in public places, protection of law and order and the country's defense capability.
Production and distribution of wealth
Creating wealth is a complex, costly process. Its organization requires the efforts and resources of many people. In fact, the entire sphere of the economy is engaged in the production of material goods. different kind. Depending on the dominant needs, the sphere can independently regulate itself, releasing the necessary goods. The process of distribution of wealth is not so simple. The market is a tool, however, there is also a social sphere. It is in it that the state assumes the functions of distribution in order to reduce social tension.
Service as a blessing
Despite the fact that it is customary to understand material goods as a means of satisfying a need, services are also a means of eliminating need. Economic theory today actively uses this concept. According to her, material services are a kind of economic good. Their peculiarity is that the service is intangible, it cannot be accumulated or evaluated before it is received. At the same time, it also has utility and rarity, like other economic goods.
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