Solving the problems of survival of organizations is facilitated by the law of self-preservation, which states that any organization as a socio-economic system has an inherent desire for self-preservation (survival) through the optimal use of human and material resources.

It should be noted that the desire for self-preservation is inherent not only in large formations, but also in every individual person, and not

large teams, including families - small-sized associative organizations.

The law of self-preservation serves as the basis for assessing an organization's ability to survive in changing conditions of existence. The resulting assessment is used to determine the time of existence of the organization and to predict its further development. When constructing an assessment, it is necessary to create the most complete description of the factors of the internal and external environment that influence the activities of the organization, and to divide these factors into two groups: positive and negative.

Positive factors refer to resources that increase the organization's capabilities in the struggle for survival. An organization is capable of survival and sustainable progressive development if the energy potential of positive (creative) factors exceeds the corresponding indicator of negative (destructive) factors.

The main difficulty in drawing up a balance of creative and destructive potential lies in the fact that, when assessing an organization’s ability to self-preserve, it is necessary to take into account not only internal factors of a materialized nature (availability of funds, state of the material and technical base, work technology, etc.), but also socio-psychological factors. This should include the characteristics of the professional and psychological suitability of the personnel to perform their duties, indicators of the general psychological atmosphere in the team (attitude towards management, conflict tolerance, ability to work in frequently changing or extreme conditions etc.).

It is particularly difficult to determine the organizational potential of the management level, which largely depends on many indicators of the manager’s personality. Among them are initiative, professionalism, general culture, communication skills, organizational skills, the desire to use innovations in management activities, etc. Experience of business organizations in emerging conditions market economy shows that most often the liquidation of organizations is not associated with economic or material reasons, but is a consequence of ineffective management.

It follows from the law of self-preservation that profit cannot be the main goal of an organization, because profit is a purely internal problem. Early Formative Years market relations in Russia they convincingly showed how short-lived organizations are that work only on the principle of achieving maximum profit. The processes of stabilization of market relations, the development of competition, stable division of the market into segments, and price stabilization led to the self-liquidation of such organizations. At present, organizations of this type can only exist sufficiently a short time and only in new market segments.

The basis of the struggle for self-preservation is the ability of a business organization not only to adapt to the external environment, but also to be able to use the changes occurring in it to its advantage. A complete and comprehensive analysis of the external environment allows managers of both newly created and existing business organizations to anticipate potential threats to survival, as well as to anticipate new development opportunities. Competent forecasting allows you to develop a model of the organization’s situational behavior and avoid its destruction.

In the struggle for the self-preservation of the organization, the management of the company must take into account various environmental factors that pose a threat to the life of the organization.

Let us briefly describe the environmental factors listed in the table that influence the activities of the organization.

International factors. These include relationships between states, agreements on tariffs and trade between countries, legislative framework various countries. Large and medium-sized business organizations usually strive to enter the international market. Therefore, they must monitor the policies of other governments to protect or expand the national market. Many measures can be not only prohibitive (establishing high customs duties for certain groups of imported goods), but also of an incentive nature. For example, the French government, in order to encourage the export of products light industry introduced a 15% discount on selling prices for goods exported individuals to other countries with payment of compensation from the state budget. In Finland, when leaving the country, VAT is refunded at the border for goods purchased by foreigners in local stores.

Political factors. This is first of all political system, legislative and regulatory activities of the federal government and local authorities, level legal regulation economic activity, the state of credit policy, protectionism in customs policy.

Economic forces. Among them are the rate of inflation (deflation), tax rates, the ability to manage finances at the state level, the conditions for granting loans, the price level, the solvency of the population and enterprises, and the unemployment rate in the country.

Market factors. Numerous market factors significantly influence the performance of a business organization. Analysis of supply and demand allows management to timely anticipate unfavorable situations, take into account the demographic situation, level of competition, market capacity and security of the organization within the selected market segment. Studying the behavior of competitors allows us to determine their goals and strategy in the market, which enables a business organization to be prepared for potential threats from unfriendly competitors.

Technological factors. Changes in the technological external environment can put an organization in a competitive situation in a hopeless position. When analyzing the technological external environment, it is important not to miss the moment when innovations appear in it. For the current stage of development business relations Russia is characterized by rapid changes in the field of work technologies. This is mainly due to the fact that in last years the possibilities of using the latest achievements of the advanced countries of the world have expanded. These are not only technical innovations, but also modern information Technology, new technologies for managing organizations, financial flows, etc.

Social factors. These factors are closely related to what large groups of the population prefer. In conditions of economic instability, they can pose a significant threat to the survival of the organization. Currently, Russia is characterized by a noticeable influence of such factors as heightened national feelings (buy only domestic goods, do not buy goods from people of certain nationalities, etc.), an ambiguous attitude towards entrepreneurship, changes in social values, the development of a movement to protect consumer rights etc. Compiling a list of potential threats to the organization’s existence, analyzing these threats and preliminary development of behavior scenarios extreme situations significantly increase the chances of survival of a business organization striving for self-preservation in conditions of intense competition, which, as the experience of reputable business organizations shows, is quite feasible.

Depending on the influence of uncertainty various factors external environment (3), company management can use various adaptation strategies, the four main types of which are given below:

Observer “diplomats”.

The company may create special departments or employees playing the role of observers-“diplomats”. Their task is to link and coordinate the organization's interaction with key elements of the external environment. First, they search for and process information about changes occurring outside the organization. Secondly, they represent the interests of the organization in the external environment, overcoming existing boundaries. Marketing and purchasing employees, for example, do this through contacts with customers and suppliers. As practice shows, such observation of external environment, as competitive intelligence, which is often called simply espionage.

Forecasting and planning.

In many corporations, the functions of forecasting and planning changes in the external environment are considered one of the the most important species activities.

As a rule, additional planning departments are created in cases where the uncertainty of the external environment is at a critically high level. Forecasting is an attempt to identify tendencies (trends) in the development of the external environment and, on their basis, predict its future conditions and possible events. Planning also helps mitigate the impact of sudden changes in the external environment;

Flexible structure. The structure of the organization must allow it to respond effectively and quickly enough to changes occurring in the external environment. Research shows that a flexible (organic) structure allows an organization to most effectively adapt to both external changes, and carry out internal transformations. On the contrary, rigid (mechanistic) organizational structure most adequate to the external environment with low level uncertainty

Mergers and creation of joint ventures.

A merger is understood as the combination of two or more organizations into one organization, as a result of which it is possible to achieve a reduction in the level of uncertainty. A joint venture is a strategic alliance or program involving two or more organizations. As a rule, such organizations are created to implement complex projects involving significant investments, when one of the companies does not have sufficient experience to conduct independent operations. A major partner can provide qualified sales personnel, product distribution channels, financial resources, research base, etc. Mergers, consolidations, creation of strategic alliances on this moment are a common occurrence both in Russia and throughout the world:

2. Impact on the environment - the second option of the strategy, within the framework of which the organization seeks to influence the factors of an uncertain external environment.

Basic influence strategies include advertising and public relations, membership in trade associations, political activity (political lobby). Analysis of the external environment requires constant attention on the part of managers, therefore it is carried out on the basis of studying a large amount of information and requires specification in order to make correct and timely decisions.

Perspective natural selection: the concept of organizational population.

Ecological approach. Populations of organizations are aggregates\groups of organizations that are similar in some respect (universities, newspapers). At this level, theories of natural selection apply. The diversity of organizations is explained by the fact that organizations change their characteristics all the time, adapting to specific conditions; ecologists devote attention mainly to the selection process - changing the composition of the organization by replacing some forms with others. O. die and are born constantly, this change has its own regularity and its own patterns. The central thesis is that the environment differentially selects organizations for survival based on the correspondence of organizational forms and environmental characteristics. The concept is closely related to the approach open systems - important role media for selecting forms.

Organizational populations - specific examples of time- and space-bound organizational forms - Example - universities different types– these are different structural forms of populations operating in one general sector higher education

Determination of organizational populations - several approaches.1. categories common sense– newspapers, universities, hospitals; 2. more abstract theoretical categorizations, for example based on Parsons' approach. More empirical ones rely on statistical systems of indicators, similar characteristics

Another approach is that the boundaries of organizational forms change all the time and are dynamic. Some populations separate themselves more clearly from others, others less so.

Survival of the organization.

The basic principle of the functioning of the organization is postulated its survival, which is considered as a condition for goal achievement and the result of its fulfillment of a certain set of social functions . O. is described, on the one hand, as equilibrium system, consisting of many subsystems and differently oriented elements, which entails the need for their integration, and on the other hand, as a subsystem of a broader social system, which places a requirement on it to ensure balance with the external environment. Much attention is paid to the problem of ensuring cooperation, the nature of positional conflict, and relieving social tensions when an employee is included in the organization. . Can be considered as one of two possible rational strategies for the management of an organization.

The idea that the desire for a person to search and realize the meaning of his life is an innate motivational tendency inherent in all people and is the main driver of behavior and personal development belongs to Viktor Frankl, the creator of logotherapy, a prisoner of the Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps. Motivation is viewed by psychologist Gordon Allport as a state of tension that, with passive adaptation, leads us to seek balance, peace and satisfaction, with active personal striving we're talking about not about removing, but about creating tension to resist equilibrium.

Values ​​are semantic universals, unique to each individual, obtained by generalizing typical situations that society or humanity has had to face in history. The meaningful characteristics and the possibility of positive comprehension lie in the plane of answers to three questions: what we give to life, or the value of creativity, what we take from the world, or the value of experience, and the value of attitude through the position we take in relation to what we do not able to change . In a study of the reasons for the decline in the competitiveness of American industrial companies in world markets, conducted in the mid-80s by representatives of the Harvard Business School under the leadership of Bruce Scott, it was recommended: “to fully understand the importance of the ideological factor for economic efficiency national economy". It is ideology in any company, as well as in any other organization, that answers main question: “Why are we all doing this?” - giving organizational activities meaning.

At the firm or company level there are four important functions ideologies:

• it defines the goal towards which everyone needs to strive;
• mobilizes staff;
• sets a clear criterion for belonging to a given team;
• forms a system of values ​​that allows you to choose acceptable methods to achieve your goal.

A consequence of the fact that de-ideologized organizations are unable not only to develop effectively, but also to exist for a long time in general, is a kind of “demand for ideology”, including the services of consultants, scientific institutes, such as the Republican State Enterprise Institute of Economic Research of the Ministry of Economy and Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan , as well as qualified managers.

The collapse of an organization follows a chain:

ideology – psychology – social relations – technological level.

What must happen to an organization for it to have a clear need for ideology? Firstly, the organization must enter a crisis, and secondly, it must turn into a complex structure. My practical experience overcoming crises in the activities of AlPari magazine confirms the radical conclusion that a company is generally able to find a new worthy meaning for its existence only in a situation of crisis that threatens organizational and economic death. An ideology that has not been hard-earned in a critical situation remains a set of formulated platitudes that do not have a positive impact. With a lack of resources, time and instability in the external environment, the formalized decision-making procedure fails; it is at this moment that the ideology shared by everyone and devotion to the idea of ​​the organization unites all its members. The organization changed by the crisis experiences psychological and economic recovery.

The growth and structural complexity of companies actualizes the organization's need for ideology. When a certain level of production concentration is reached, only ideology can ensure success in global competition. The experience of the Toyota Corporation, which implemented the famous “kanban” system for organizing flexible production developed by Taiichi Ohno, is interesting. Today, in Toyota factories, where every worker has the right to stop the conveyor, production output is 100 percent; on the contrary, in mass production factories, where only management can stop the conveyor, assembly lines are constantly stopped, and not to eliminate defects (they are fixed at the end of the conveyor) , but due to coordination failures, such as untimely deliveries of components, etc. As a result, 90 percent completion of the plan is considered an indicator of good production organization. Perhaps one of the main differences between mass and flexible manufacturing was their end goals. Mass manufacturers had the limited goal of producing a “good enough product.” The ideology was that more could only be achieved by exceeding cost or human capabilities.

“Flexible” manufacturers have set themselves the goal of continuous improvement: constant cost reduction, zero defects, endless variety. Naturally, no one fully achieved these goals, but the desire for excellence was the basis for the next stages of development.

Due to the structural complication of the organization, the so-called effect of synergistic connections is achieved, which, with the cooperative (joint) actions of independent elements of the system, ensure an increase in the overall effect to a value greater than the sum of the effects of the same, but independently acting elements. It should be noted that the effect of synergistic relationships can be both positive and negative.

The crisis and the complication of the structure lead to the need to change the principles of functioning of organizations. The majority choose the path of self-developing (self-learning) organizations. American consultant Peter Senge has the following definition: “A self-learning organization is a place where people constantly discover that they create the reality in which they live and act. Here they learn how to change this reality. It is not enough for such an organization to simply survive, as it constantly expands its ability to create its own future. But a creative attitude towards one’s future is impossible without ideology.”

This view of the organization as a self-developing system leads to a change in the type of leadership. At first glance, in conditions when a company must be guided by principles or corporate interests, the leader ceases to be, of course, the main participant in the process, but in fact his role is strengthened. It’s just that now the object of his management is not so much employees and structures, but rather the ideas and values ​​of the organization, i.e. its ideology.

These conclusions are true for any organization, including entire states. Chief Editor American magazine “Forbes”, Steve Forbes, the author of a number of reform initiatives of the administration of President Bush, sees the success of the United States in global competition precisely in ideology. Among the main values ​​of Americans are personal freedom, the opportunity, thanks to personal imagination and enterprise, to achieve what you can, relying on your own strength.

The conclusion that ideology is a tool successful implementation economic tasks, requires close attention and study. In conditions of competition and the lack of advantages in other resources, such as money, technology, etc., ideology seems to be the main resource of Kazakhstani enterprises and organizations. IN modern conditions achieving economic success rests on the ability to operate with a liberated intellect, ready to create fundamentally new solutions and technologies.

Bibliography

1. V. Frankl / Man in search of meaning. M.: Progress, 1990.

2. Expert/ No. 39./ 2000. p. 31 – 35.

3. I. Urmanov. Synergistic connections like new model organization of production / World economy and international relationships. / No. 3. 2000. p. 19 – 26.

4. Expert. / No. 20./ 2001. p. 29 – 35.

American sociologist T. Parsons identified four main conditions for the survival of an organization in the external environment, which are closely related to the functions of its individual subsystems. This theory of Parsons is reflected in Fig. 8, where the four survival subsystems form a rectangle, on the top side of which the subsystems oriented to the external environment are shown.

1. Adaptation subsystem. This subsystem manages the flow of necessary resources from the external environment into the organization and organizes sales and profit making, should orient the organization in relation to the external environment and promote active positive exchange between individual units of the external environment and the organization. Parsons believes that the adaptation subsystem is an economic subsystem, since the basis of the function it performs are economic contacts, actions and interactions. If the subsystem does not perform its function, the organization cannot exist due to an imbalance between the input and output of resources from the system.

2. The goal achievement subsystem is the most important system unit of the organization, since it mobilizes organizational resources, actively influences various parts of the external environment, orienting them towards achieving the main organizational goals, and through coordinating influence connects all parts of the organization into a single whole.

This subsystem operates in the process of entry into the organization made by external environment, and transfers the influence to the outputs. Here, inputs are understood as external requirements (for the distribution of goods, services, for regulating the behavior of system units) and support (if the external environment benefits from the organization’s activities). To prevent defects and conflicts in requirements from leading to the collapse of the organization due to the resulting overload, cultural norms (codes, rules, etc.) and a system of guards (regulators) are introduced in the organization's departments. Supports focus on two aspects of the subsystem's activities: 1) supporting the integrity of the organization; 2) support for the authoritative power of management within the organization. In accordance with Parsons' theory, the goal achievement subsystem is a political, or power, subsystem, the main function of which within an organization is the authoritative (i.e. generally accepted or legal) distribution of values, which are understood as all goods and resources that are important to members of the organization or elements of the external environment associated with it.

The subsystems on the bottom side of the Parsons rectangle (Fig. 8) are oriented towards internal activities organizations.

3-4. It is advisable to consider the integration and latency (pattern maintenance) subsystems together, since the processes of formation of these subsystems are similar and at many stages are characterized by inextricable unity. These subsystems must ensure not only the internal integrity of the organization as a system, but, more importantly, the distribution of functions between individual system units, i.e. creation and maintenance of a system of social roles, as well as the interconnection of individual functions. In addition, the sample maintenance subsystem cements the loyalty of organization members in relation to organizational norms and requirements. In Fig. Figure 8 shows the main components of the integration process in the system and the process of forming a sample maintenance subsystem. The most complete integration in an organization, considered as a system, includes: 1) ideological integration, i.e. integration in the system of ideological norms, which constitutes an integral attribute of social order in a particular social group; 2) integration into the system of social roles that express functional requirements in a given organization; 3) integration into the system of cultural norms, legitimized during their application in the process of organizational activity. When implementing full integration, each division and each member of the organization organically enters the system as a system unit to perform a specific function. The result of successful integration is a cohesive, sustainable, efficient organization, where the efforts of each system unit are carried out strictly within the framework of their functions, and each function optimally corresponds to the goals of not only individual system units, but also the organization as a system.

According to modern sociologist D. Easton, the process of integration in the system can occur in three stages, each of which is advisable to present as a separate process.

1. Conformity - the stage of integration - the achievement of such a state of objects included in the system (social groups or individuals), which is characterized by their agreement with system requirements(requirements in relation to members of the organization) as legal.

At this stage, the regulatory framework of the system as a whole is assessed. If this stage is successful, the individual or social group accepts regulatory framework organization (for example, methods of social control and distribution of power in the organization), but at the same time, consent can be purely external, when system roles do not organically merge with specific functional units. A prerequisite for the formation of conformal behavior is the recognition by members of the organization of the relevance of the values ​​of the social system in relation to their main goals and needs, which imposes certain restrictions on their behavior. With this type of integration, the first place remains personal goals and needs. In this regard, conformity should be based on the trust of individuals included in social system, to institutional and corporate cultural norms governing organizational behavior.

2. Mobilization - the stage during which individuals identify with system roles corresponding to the status field of a given system. These roles are recognized as significant and paramount, forming the basis of their activities. This level of integration should be recognized as higher, since members of the organization place the goals of the organization higher than personal goals.

Basic distinctive feature stage of mobilization is that individuals not only agree with their own systemic roles, but can also carry out symbolic interaction at the level of the organization as a whole, i.e. can imagine and master many roles in an organization, although they actually perform only one. In practice, to fulfill the requirements of mobilization, each worker must symbolically play the roles of all workers with whom he comes into role contacts. During symbolic interaction, systemically related role symbols are transmitted to carry out role interaction. Such inclusion of individuals in organizational processes allows them to organically integrate into the system of roles of the organization, imagine all the main types of activities and the significance of their own role. Mobilization as part of the integration process in an organization will be considered successful if the roles are interconnected and can function as a role system as a single whole.

In an organization, mobilization is possible both at the sensory and rational levels. Mobilization at the sensory level consists of the transmission of role and institutional symbols that allow individuals to carry out group interactions to achieve their goals. Rational mobilization amounts to the transfer (mainly through learning) of system-mediated organizational roles. Sensual and rational methods of mobilization mutually complement each other, creating opportunities for identifying members of the organization with their system roles and establishing functional connections within the system.

3. Consolidation - the stage of integration, during which the internalization of norms occurs, including institutional and organizational rewards and punishments, cultural values ​​(constituent features organizational culture), role requirements and expectations. Consolidation involves the identification of individuals in relation to the norms of their social group(organization or its division), the emergence of in-group involvement and in-group favoritism. Like the first two stages of integration, consolidation occurs at both the sensory and rational levels. At the sensory level, all members of the organization assimilate common cultural values ​​that represent the face of the organization, its image. At the rational level, complete assimilation and acceptance of the system of rewards and punishments by members of the organization is achieved, which ensures control over the preservation of organizational culture.

As can be seen from Fig. 8, all subsystems responsible for the survival of the organization are interconnected. Thus, if an organization lacks integration of its members regarding organizational goals, members of the organization lose loyalty to the system of rewards and punishments (maintaining patterns), as a result of which it is impossible effective application power influence (achievement of goals) and ultimately the interaction with the external environment (adaptation) is disrupted.