Entrepreneurship - what is it? Small and medium enterprises. Theoretical foundations of entrepreneurial activity Definition of the concept of entrepreneur and entrepreneurship in modern scientific literature

Entrepreneurship - what is it? Small and medium enterprises. Theoretical foundations of entrepreneurial activity Definition of the concept of entrepreneur and entrepreneurship in modern scientific literature

06.02.2024 Treatment

creation of economic organizations (firms) using their own or borrowed money for the purpose of producing goods or providing services and generating income on this basis.

Great definition

Incomplete definition ↓

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

a form of manifestation of social relations arising as a result of the initiative activities of individual or collective economic entities in the spheres of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material and spiritual goods, aimed, as a rule, at obtaining profit (income) and carried out on their own behalf, at their own risk and under your own property responsibility.

Recognized researchers of the phenomenon P. - J.S. Mill, A. Marshall, J. Schumpeter, J.B. Say and others believed that the specificity of this phenomenon, in contrast to economic activity as such, lies in the implementation of new combinations of factors of production and circulation. The logically completed version of this approach is reflected by the position of von Hayek, who considered business as the activity of a unique type of business executive - an entrepreneur, for whom the main thing is the analysis and use of various opportunities for the production of new goods, the discovery of alternative sources of raw materials, sales markets, new ways of organizing production, etc. .d. Thus, entrepreneurial behavior appears to be, to one degree or another, the innovative behavior of social actors in the production of a wide range of goods and their subsequent operation.

Depending on the level of the entity through whose activity entrepreneurial activity is carried out, a distinction is made between public and private ownership. The former is a form of government influence on the development of private initiative and also includes the entrepreneurial activities of state-owned economic entities. The second is the amateur activity of individual and collective economic entities of non-state ownership. Both types of production perform special functions in society, and the method of their interaction largely determines the production structure of the macroeconomic system.

Back in the 1920s, A. Pigou came to the conclusion that direct government intervention in the activities of enterprises, targeting them to produce goods that are urgently needed by society, is advisable only in extreme conditions (for example, in a state of war), when the economic costs of gross government intervention are not are taken into account. When society emerges from a crisis situation, the task of maintaining an optimal production structure comes to the fore, which is achieved by limiting state entrepreneurship and strengthening private business activity. The noted pattern of preference for private initiative to maintain an optimal production structure with the general regulatory role of the state remained true by the beginning of the 21st century.

World Bank studies in 76 countries have shown that with the minimum size of state government (if state enterprises produce less than 7% of GDP), the rate of economic growth reaches maximum values, and, on the contrary, with an increase in the scale of state government, the rate of economic growth falls. The essence of this pattern lies in the lower efficiency of state-owned enterprises compared to private ones, which was revealed in a number of international and domestic socio-economic studies.

In the Republic of Belarus, since the second half of the 1980s, pricing has gone through three main stages in its development: 1) cooperative pricing (1988-1991), in which the main source of business income was the use of the difference between state and free prices; 2) P. in conditions of free pricing (1992-1995), when there was a rapid growth in entrepreneurial activity, and entrepreneurs themselves began to recognize themselves as a social stratum with their own economic interests; 3) P. under conditions of centralized state regulation (from 1996 to the present). At this stage, large-scale entrepreneurial activity in Belarus is possible only with the direct paternalistic support of government authorities. However, in the initially market entrepreneurial sphere, the possibilities of using administrative-command management methods are limited, therefore, it is advisable to lay pre-adapted economic management methods as the basis for regulating entrepreneurial behavior. At the same time, the effectiveness of state policy in the field of private equity is determined by the organic coordination of the economic interests of entrepreneurs with national interests.

Great definition

Incomplete definition ↓

2.12.2. The most important features of entrepreneurship
2.12.3. The main content of entrepreneurship in the field of production

2.12.1. Entrepreneurship– an integral part of the economic activities of managers and specialists of enterprises, commercial and financial organizations. Entrepreneurship is one of the most active forms of economic activity. People's behavior goes beyond ordinary patterns when they risk something (property, loss of popularity, money, position, etc.).

Entrepreneurs do not always know whether they will sell all their goods (services) and how profitably. They take risks: after all, similar goods and services come to the market from other manufacturers. This circumstance precisely creates the conditions for the emergence of such activity, which is expressed in the eternal search for improving one’s situation in comparison with the existing one, and always forces one to do something in order to prosper and develop.

Entrepreneurship – is the process of creating something new that has value, and entrepreneur - This is a person who spends all his strength on it, takes all the risks, receiving money and satisfaction with what he has achieved as a reward.

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

2.12.2. To the most important features of entrepreneurship relate:

· autonomy and independence of economic entities. Any entrepreneur is free to make a decision on a particular issue, but within the framework of legal norms;

· economic interest. One of the main goals of entrepreneurship is to obtain the maximum possible profit. Pursuing his purely personal interests of obtaining a high income, the entrepreneur also contributes to the achievement of public interest;

· economic risk and liability. With any, even the most verified, calculations, uncertainty and risk remain.

All of the above signs of entrepreneurship are interconnected and operate simultaneously.

2.12.3. The main content of entrepreneurship in the field of production is concluded It involves finding and creating demand for products (work performed, services provided) and satisfying it by manufacturing (creating) and selling products (work performed, services provided) as goods.

Business entities There can be either individual individuals or associations of partners. Individuals, as business entities, act in this capacity by organizing a sole or family enterprise. Thus, in accordance with Article 23 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a citizen has the right to engage in entrepreneurial activity without forming a legal entity from the moment of state registration as an individual entrepreneur. The rules that regulate the activities of legal entities that are commercial organizations are accordingly applied to entrepreneurial activities of citizens carried out without forming a legal entity. Such entrepreneurs may limit themselves to spending their own labor or use hired labor.

2.13. Entrepreneurial activity, forms of implementation, entrepreneurship formula and entrepreneur’s capital

Terms and definitions of entrepreneurship.

LECTURE NOTES

Energy

The chemical industry is one of the most energy-intensive industries.

The chemical industry uses various types of energy: electrical, thermal, nuclear, chemical and light energy.

Electric is used to drive electric motors. It is produced by hydroelectric power plants, thermal and nuclear power plants.

Thermal energy is used to carry out diverse physical processes that are not accompanied by chemical reactions (melting, drying, evaporation). A variety of fuels serve as a source of thermal energy; when burned, fuel gases are formed.

Nuclear energy is used to produce electrical energy in nuclear power plants.

Chemical energy is used in the production of large-scale chemical products. Chemical energy is usually released in the form of heat during various exothermic reactions.

Light energy is used to carry out a variety of photochemical reactions.

Let's consider the comparative characteristics of various energy sources in kWh/kg:

Hard coal – 8.0

Peat – 4.0

Natural gas – 10.6

Uranium – 22.5∙10 6

Thermal energy, the source of which is a variety of fuels, occupies a large place in the energy balance of chemical processes.

At the same time, fuel or fuel components in most cases serve as raw materials for the chemical industry.

Topic 1. CONTENT OF BUSINESS ACTIVITY

Entrepreneurship as one of the specific forms of manifestation of social relations contributes not only to increasing the material and spiritual potential of society, not only creates favorable soil for the practical implementation of the abilities and talents of each individual, but also leads to the unity of the nation, the preservation of its national spirit and national pride.

Behind the word “entrepreneurship” there is a “business”, an enterprise, the production of a product (useful thing) or service (intangible product). Entrepreneurial activity is often called business.

The word “business” is spread all over the world. Modern economic theory distinguishes two concepts: “business” and “entrepreneurial activity”. "Business" in English means business. Dictionaries clarify what kind of business we are talking about: this means economic activity, an activity that produces profit. “Businessman”, accordingly, is a businessman, a person seeking profit. It is easy to see that the words “business” and “businessman” are very close in meaning to the concepts of “entrepreneurship” and “entrepreneur”. In Russian practice, they can be considered synonyms, especially since the words “business” and “businessman” are absent in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

The business formula is simple: D - D 1 - a businessman invests money D in the business and upon completion of the business receives D 1, money with an increase, ᴛ.ᴇ. with profit.

The general scheme of entrepreneurship is shown in Figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1 – Business scheme

F – factors-resources of entrepreneurship;

D F – payment for the use of factors;

T – the final result of entrepreneurial activity;

D T – revenue from the sale of the result.

However, a number of economists make the following distinctions between these concepts. The difference lies in the motives for doing business and the motives for doing business.

In the first place among the motives for doing business, personal enrichment is given, and in the first place among the motives for doing business is human self-realization. The second place among the motives for doing business is the desire to take risks and play in the market; the second place among the motives for doing business is personal enrichment.

Based on the above, business is an economic activity that produces profit, and this profit goes only for personal enrichment. Entrepreneurial activity also ultimately gives profit to a person, but he divides this profit into two parts: the first goes to personal enrichment, and the second (often large) goes to the development of the business. That is, entrepreneurial activity is an activity related to the search for new markets, new technologies, new areas of capital investment.

Innovative ideas are at the heart of entrepreneurial activity. An innovative type of thinking distinguishes an entrepreneur from a businessman. An equally important difference between an entrepreneur and a businessman is the focus on the consumer, on meeting the needs of the market, and not on one’s own enrichment. By satisfying the growing needs of the population for this or that product, for this or that service, constantly improving and modifying the product, the entrepreneur realizes self-realization and, as a result, makes a profit for himself.

Since ultimately an entrepreneur expects to receive profit or income, any type of activity that generates income can be called entrepreneurial.

Today there is no generally accepted definition of entrepreneurship in the world. There will be great difficulties in defining the concept of “entrepreneurship”, since this will require studying its content from a historical perspective, from a sociocultural aspect, from the point of view of motivation and influence on social development.

Today there is quite a significant number of scientific works and special literature devoted to the problems of entrepreneurship. It is studied in economics and law, sociology and psychology, history and philosophy, ethics and cultural studies, as well as a number of other scientific disciplines.

Interest in the study of entrepreneurship in our country has grown significantly today. And this is largely due to the development of market relations, the building of civil society and corresponding changes in the system of social relations. And no matter how large the amount of published literature is, there are just as many different interpretations of this phenomenon. The palette of definitions of the concept of “entrepreneurship” is quite wide: from an everyday designation, where anyone working in the non-state sector of the economy can be considered an entrepreneur, to a more complex one, where entrepreneurship is defined as “a type of activity that successfully combines science, art, poetry, the rise of creative thought, a degree of moderate risk, sports and the lifestyle of a business person.”

To identify the essence of the concept of “entrepreneurship,” we present a number of its definitions (Table 1.1).

Table 1.1 – Diversity of opinions in the definition of the term “entrepreneurship”

Entrepreneurship concept	Literary source

Entrepreneurship is an independent activity carried out at one’s own risk, aimed at systematically obtaining profit from the use of property, sale of goods, performance of work or provision of services by persons registered in this capacity in the manner prescribed by law.	Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Article 2)
Entrepreneurship is usually understood as a special kind of production and economic activity, which includes elements of risk (R. Catillon)
Entrepreneurial activity - ϶ᴛᴏ “connection, combination of three classical factors of production - land, labor, capital” (J. B. Say “Treatise of Political Economy”, 1803 ᴦ.)
Entrepreneurship in a market economy is “a self-initiating and self-regulating activity, which, in the presence of basic factors of production, arises spontaneously” (A. Smith)	Semenov V.P. Management of the innovation and investment process in entrepreneurship: theory and methodology. – St. Petersburg: SPbGTEU, 2003. – 184 p.
Entrepreneurial activity is the connection, combination of four factors of production - land, labor, capital, organization (A. Marshall)	Entrepreneurship: Textbook for universities / Ed. prof. V. Ya. Gorfinkel, prof. G. B. Polyaka, prof. V. A. Shvandara. – 3rd ed., revised. and additional – M.: UNITY-DANA, 2001. – 581 p.
“Entrepreneurship is primarily associated with personal freedom, which gives a person the opportunity to freely manage his abilities, knowledge, information and income.” The essence of entrepreneurship is “the search and study of new opportunities, a characteristic of behavior, not a type of activity” (F. Hayek)
“It’s the process of creating something new that has value.” An entrepreneur is “a person who spends all the extremely important time and effort on this, takes on all the financial, psychological and social risks, receiving money and satisfaction with what has been achieved as a reward”	Khizrich R., Peters M. Entrepreneurship, or How to start your own business and achieve success: Issue 1. Entrepreneur and entrepreneurship: Trans. from English – M.: Progress, 1990, p.20
“Entrepreneurship is associated with innovation, and the entrepreneur himself is a courageous person with original thinking who achieves the successful implementation of new ideas” (P. Samuelson)	Mocherny S.V., Nekrasova V.V. Fundamentals of organizing entrepreneurial activity: Textbook for universities / Ed. ed. prof. S. V. Mocherny. – M.: Priorizdat, 2004. – 224 p.
Entrepreneurship is “a form of business activity based on risk and an innovative approach to the system of existing economic (economic) relations, in which the production and supply of goods to the market is focused on generating business income (profit)” (A. V. Busygin)	Busygin A.V. Entrepreneurship: Textbook. – M.: Delo, 1999. – 640 p.
“Entrepreneurship is an independent activity of citizens, carried out on their own initiative and aimed at making a profit” (A. A. Krupanin)	Krupanin A. A. Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship: Educational and Practical Guide. – St. Petersburg: SPbGTEU, 1992
“Entrepreneurship is “production and commercial activity organized on the basis of economic, legally legalized freedom, private initiative and entrepreneurship” (A. I. Semenenko)	Semenenko A. I. Entrepreneurial logistics. – St. Petersburg: Politekhnika, 1997
Entrepreneurship is “innovation and economic enterprise, denying complacency, stagnation, complacency, wastefulness. Entrepreneurial activity, by its nature, is always associated with a certain risk and financial responsibility for possible failures and failures, ᴛ.ᴇ. for the results of their or other economic decisions"	Kabakov V. S., Mizaylushkin A. I., Shimko P. D. Entrepreneurship and management in the small sphere. – St. Petersburg: SPbGTEA, 1998
The meaning of the term entrepreneurship is revealed through the four functions of an entrepreneur: 1. An entrepreneur takes the initiative to combine the resources of land, capital and labor into a single process of producing a product or service. 2. The entrepreneur takes on the difficult task of making basic decisions in the process of running a business. 3. An entrepreneur is an innovator, a person seeking to introduce new products, new production technologies, or even new forms of business organization on a commercial basis. 4. An entrepreneur is a person who takes risks.	Campbell R. McConnell, Stanley L. Brew. Economics. – S., 1996

The variety of definitions of entrepreneurship is due to the peculiarities of this phenomenon, which consists in the high dynamics of variability of its content and forms. All these definitions in one way or another demonstrate the distinctive features of the phenomenon of entrepreneurship itself, entrepreneurial behavior, and are characteristics of the social portrait of an entrepreneur and the motivations for his activities.

Some authors point to the lack of a clear definition of this term, interpretation of its content, point to the vagueness of its definition, which makes it possible to identify an entrepreneur with a manager, businessman, etc.

Other researchers consider it important to note that entrepreneurship is a developing phenomenon, and in it there is also a division of labor and the formation of corresponding specific groups.

The role of the entrepreneur in the world in the historical aspect is undoubtedly changing, as well as the idea of him and the content of this concept is changing. In particular, in each country it can have its own content, reflecting the specific socio-cultural characteristics of the development of a given society. The literature indicates the origin of the term “entrepreneur” from the famous English economist Richard Cantillon, who developed one of the first concepts of entrepreneurship. In his understanding, an entrepreneur is, first of all, “a person operating under conditions of risk,” since all categories of workers that he classifies as entrepreneurs: traders, farmers, artisans, act under conditions of risk - they buy at a known price. price, but are sold at an unknown price.

The end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries can be characterized by the fact that the concept of “entrepreneur” was identical to the concept of “manager”. At this time, the greatest emphasis is placed on the economic aspect of entrepreneurial activity: an entrepreneur is considered to be one who organizes and manages an enterprise for personal gain, and at the same time bears responsibility for any losses, including those that occur through no fault of his own. And only by the middle of the twentieth century there was a distinction between these concepts. An entrepreneur works in an unstructured environment characterized by rapid change, while a manager operates within an established management hierarchy. A manager is characterized by goal-orientation in actions, dictated by the strict logic of development and preservation of existing organizational and economic structures, and an entrepreneur has the possibility of unique goal-setting and designing activity goals.

If the entrepreneur is focused on finding new opportunities for the development of the enterprise, then the manager is focused on the implementation of the plan and the efficient use of available resources. The success of entrepreneurial activity is determined by his ability to quickly navigate and act, and the activity of a manager is determined by his commitment to the established order. An entrepreneur strives for flexible use of funds, looking for opportunities to temporarily attract them, while a manager is interested in accumulating and inflating funds. The organizational structure of a managerial enterprise is, as a rule, characterized by a hierarchy with strict observance of subordination, while in an entrepreneurial organization, on the contrary, horizontal connections, including predominantly informal ones, are more developed.

It can be said that since the mid-twentieth century, the concept of an entrepreneur generally corresponds to its main today's interpretation. This is an innovator. Innovation, the ability to invent, is characteristic of any person, which distinguishes him from the animal world, and yet this trait is considered as an integral characteristic of entrepreneurial activity.

In Western literature, entrepreneurship is often associated with the capitalist mode of production and the desire to maximize profits; it is generally of an economic nature. Entrepreneurship can be interpreted as everything new that is not prohibited by law and brings profit. In this understanding, it can be considered synonymous with the concept of “business” - making money from money through useful productive activities.

The specifics of the Russian state can be determined by the fact that by the beginning of the revolution, capitalist relations could not be called developed in comparison with the West. At present, they have only just begun to develop after a long period of denial of their positive impact on social development. Russia has been weaned off entrepreneurship for 70 years. In this regard, the concept of entrepreneurship may already have a significant difference from its foreign understanding.

Until the recent past, ordinary people could describe an entrepreneur as a “mafia”, “a businessman who came out of the underground”, “an element associated with the criminal world” who is “cruel to strangers, but generous to his own”, he is “integrated into the structures of power”, “poorly educated and prone to liking women and alcohol.” To date, the concept of “entrepreneurship” has been legalized and used in legislative acts (the Law of the Russian Federation “On Enterprises and Entrepreneurial Activities”, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, etc.).

“Entrepreneurship” is a key category in the development of modern society, state and economy. The term “entrepreneurship” was first used in economic publications in the 18th century in the works of the French economist R. Cantillon. Fundamental provisions on entrepreneurship were formulated in the works of classical economists of the 18th-19th centuries and reflect a wide range of theoretical approaches to the definition of entrepreneurship, an entrepreneur as an economic entity, carrying out quite risky activities that connect various factors of production and types of activities and involve a variety of methods to achieve assigned tasks.

In modern economic literature, there are various interpretations of this complex category, however, it should be taken into account that most of the interpretations proposed in the literature are of a subjective-semantic nature and are almost the same in terms of content. In this regard, we can propose the following (fairly general) interpretation of this category: entrepreneurship is an initiative independent activity of citizens aimed at generating profit or personal income, carried out under personal property responsibility or on behalf and under the legal responsibility of a legal entity. As a rule, the term “entrepreneurship” is interpreted as a specific form of combining various factors of production by a business entity.

The concept of “entrepreneurial activity” is defined in regulatory documents and is contradictory from both an economic and legal point of view. Their interpretation does not reveal what kind of activity can be considered entrepreneurial. In particular, the legal aspects of relations between entrepreneurs (mutual benefit) in the process of doing business are not fixed. The emphasis is on making a profit without an economic justification for the origin of costs, which causes discrepancies in the legal acts that define and regulate the conduct of business activities.

Based on the definition of entrepreneurship contained in the Civil Code and the semantic content of this discipline ensuing from this definition, as well as taking into account the specific economic conditions in our country during the transition to a market economy, we can form the following ordered idea of entrepreneurship as an object of study. Analysis of the definitions of entrepreneurship, which are given in works on this topic, allows us to identify its most general features (Figure 1.2).

Figure 1.2 – Main features of entrepreneurial activity

These include:

– presence of personal initiative;

– creating your own business for the purpose of making a profit;

– responsibility, primarily financial, for the results of activities.

Not every small business is entrepreneurial. To be entrepreneurial, an enterprise must have special properties in addition to being small and new. An entrepreneur is characterized by the fact that he tries to create something new and different from what already exists, changes and transforms value systems.

Another characteristic feature of entrepreneurship lies in its belonging to relatively short-term, tactical methods of action. Entrepreneurship in the narrow sense of the word does not directly refer to an economic strategy designed for a long-term period. At the same time, entrepreneurial ideas and individual pockets of entrepreneurship may be present in strategic projects. So, for example, if a long-term project has as its main goal making a profit, involves risk and responsibility, and is not based on trivial ideas, it can rightfully be considered entrepreneurial. Moreover, in most cases, entrepreneurial actions fit into relatively short-term transactions.

As an academic discipline, “entrepreneurship” can be considered as a synthesis of a number of subjects, each of which is an integral part of it and allows us to illuminate a very voluminous and complex problem from different angles. With this approach, the main sources feeding the academic discipline “Organization of Entrepreneurial Activities” naturally include economics, management and marketing.

Business activities are carried out and organized at a certain time (the time of business activity), called the duration of the business operation. The faster the operation occurs, the more the turnover of working capital accelerates, costs are reduced and, consequently, the profitability (profitability) of business activity is higher.

To become an entrepreneur, it is not enough to own a certain amount of money or a set of means of production; you need to properly manage them so that they can bring D, profit.

What should a new entrepreneur know and be able to do? He must know how entrepreneurial activity is carried out, in what order practical actions are carried out, what obstacles await a businessman on his way, what mistakes he can make and what chances of success he has. An entrepreneur must be able to prepare a business, organize production, and sell a product. He must be able to assess specific market situations, make the right choice, be able to make independent decisions, and must rely only on himself.

However, behind the words “entrepreneur” and “entrepreneurship” there is an enterprise, ᴛ.ᴇ. a complex and significant matter.

An enterprise in Russia is usually understood as an independent economic entity created in the manner prescribed by law to produce products, perform work and provide services in order to meet public needs and make a profit. The enterprise independently carries out its activities, manages its products, the profit received, the remainder after paying taxes and other obligatory payments. The main features of the enterprise are:

– a certain isolation;

– legal status;

– name of the enterprise and its organizational and legal form.

The enterprise, therefore, is an independent economic entity with the status of a legal entity and separate property.

The activities of an enterprise (any business) are regulated in Russia by the following set of documents: Civil Code, Law “On Limited Liability Companies”, Law “On Joint-Stock Companies”, Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, Resolution “On Licensing of Certain Types of Activities” , Law “On Production Cooperatives”, Law “On Cooperation”, etc.

The concept of “entrepreneur”, “entrepreneurial activity”, legal relations between entrepreneurs can be studied in chapters 1-4 of the Civil Code.

The history of entrepreneurship dates back to the Middle Ages. Already at that time, merchants, traders, artisans, and missionaries were aspiring entrepreneurs. With the advent of capitalism, the desire for wealth leads to the desire for unlimited profits. Often an entrepreneur, being the owner of the means of production, himself works in his factory, in his plant.

From the middle of the 16th century. share capital appears, joint stock companies are organized. The first joint-stock companies arose in the field of international trade. The very first was founded by an English company to trade with Russia (1554). Later, in 1600, the English East India Trading Company was created, in 1602 - the Dutch East India Company, in 1670 - the Hudson's Bay Company. Subsequently, the joint-stock form of management penetrates into other sectors of the economy.

At the end of the 17th century. The first joint-stock banks emerge. Thus, in 1694, the Bank of England was founded on a joint-stock basis, and in 1695, the Bank of Scotland. At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. The joint-stock form of banking organization is widely developed in many countries. During this period, the property of previously existing large family firms breaks up into hundreds and thousands of shares of investors - shareholders. The gap between small and large businesses is widening. In such conditions, it becomes increasingly difficult for small firms to survive; they are unable to innovate. Medium and large firms are developing widely, and the desire to obtain maximum profits is increasing. During this period, a new profession appeared - manager-supervisor and organizer of large-scale production. Entrepreneurial functions, previously concentrated in one person, are distributed in specialized areas. Financiers, economists, accountants, lawyers, designers, and technologists appear. A manager seems to rise above all of them, freed from many functions and focused on managing and organizing production.

What caused the emergence of “narrow profile” specialist managers?

Entrepreneurship has existed in Russia for a long time. It originated in Kievan Rus in trade form and in the form of crafts. Small traders and merchants can be considered the first Russian entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship began to develop most actively during the reign of Peter I (1689-1725). Manufactories are being created throughout Russia, and industries such as mining, weapons, cloth, and linen are developing widely. A prominent representative of the dynasty of industrial entrepreneurs at that time was the Demidov family, whose founder was a Tula blacksmith.

Further development of entrepreneurship was hampered by serfdom, but after the reform of 1861, the construction of railways began, heavy industry was reorganized, and joint-stock activities were revived. Foreign capital contributes to the development and reconstruction of industry. In the 90s of the XIX century. In Russia, the industrial basis of entrepreneurship is finally taking shape. At the beginning of the 20th century. entrepreneurship is becoming a mass phenomenon in Russia, the entrepreneur is formed as an owner, although the influence of foreign capital and the state remains significant.

During this period, the labor market was formed, the joint-stock form of entrepreneurship was developing, private joint-stock banks were opening: commercial, land, etc. By the beginning of the 20th century. In the Russian economy, 2/3 of all industrial output was produced in joint-stock, share and other collective forms of entrepreneurial activity and only 1/3 was in individual forms. Investments in cotton production, trade and lending were especially profitable. The process of monopolization of firms began. Among the large companies are Prodamet, Prodvagon, Produgol, the Russian-American Manufactory Partnership, the Nobil Brothers, and others.

After the end of the First World War and the completion of two revolutions - the February and October - in Russia a course was taken to eliminate market economic relations, all large enterprises were nationalized, the means of production and property of all private entrepreneurs were expropriated.

The years of the new economic policy - NEP (1921-1926) brought some revival to entrepreneurial activity. However, since the late 20s. entrepreneurship was curtailed again and only in the 90s. its revival begins. In October 1990, the RSFSR Law “On Property in the RSFSR” was adopted, and in December 1990, the RSFSR Law “On Enterprises and Entrepreneurial Activities”. Since that time, private property and entrepreneurial activity have been restored, and the development of joint stock companies, partnerships, and other forms of enterprise activity begins.

Currently in Russia there are about 10,000 joint-stock enterprises, over 2,000 joint-stock commercial banks, and other business structures are also represented. Further development of market relations in Russia involves the creation of favorable socio-economic conditions for entrepreneurship.

What stage of the development of society in Russia do you consider the most significant for the development of entrepreneurial activity?

The concepts of "entrepreneur" and "entrepreneurship"

The concepts of “entrepreneur” and “entrepreneurship” in the modern sense were first used by an English economist of the late 17th - early 18th centuries. Richard Cantillon. He expressed the opinion that an entrepreneur is a person operating under risk conditions.

A number of functions, such as decision-making and responsibility, connect entrepreneurship with management activities. At the same time, an entrepreneur should not be identified with a manager. The functional essence of both is different. On the one hand, entrepreneurship is broader than management activities, on the other hand, effective management - management - is not within the capabilities of every entrepreneur. Characteristics such as personal risk-taking, responsiveness to financial opportunity, and the desire to work long hours without rest, which are traditionally considered traits of a good entrepreneur, are not necessarily indicative of that same person's ability to effectively manage an organization.

The main quality of a manager - the ability to bring organization into an unstructured organization - is not always characteristic of even a successful entrepreneur. That is why often in a new enterprise, especially a large one, an innovative entrepreneur is replaced by a good manager - a manager.

To summarize, we can say that in modern conditions the concepts of “entrepreneur” and “manager” often coincide, although one of them is the owner and the other is the manager. In fact, many owners perform the functions of managers, and many managers have become owners of the means of production they manage.

What character traits do you think are characteristic of a successful manager?

The formula for entrepreneurship is maximizing profits with minimal risk. However, its implementation occurs in conditions of a high level of uncertainty in the success of the business, determined by market relations and the dynamics of changes in supply and demand. It follows that the most important features of entrepreneurship include:

autonomy and independence of economic entities. Any entrepreneur is free to make a decision on this or that issue, naturally, within the framework of legal norms;
economic interest. The main goal of entrepreneurship is to obtain the maximum possible profit. At the same time, by pursuing his purely personal interests of obtaining high income, an entrepreneur benefits society;
economic risk and liability. Even with the most accurate calculations, uncertainty and risk remain;
mobility and dynamism of entrepreneurial actions. The entrepreneur’s actions are aimed at catching changing demand in time, guessing market development trends and acting proactively.

In order to withstand competition, the entrepreneur continuously improves his production technology, adjusts the price of the product, its quality and volume of output in accordance with changes occurring in the environment of its use. In other words, an entrepreneur is always in search of something new - new technologies, new equipment, new people, exploring new financial opportunities and possibilities for organizing production. Any new idea is considered by the entrepreneur from the point of view of application in business.

The listed most important features of entrepreneurship are interconnected. Almost all definitions of an entrepreneur refer to such qualities as initiative, the ability to profitably use available resources and a specific situation, and the willingness to take responsibility for possible failure.

From an economist's point of view, an entrepreneur is one who combines funds, labor, materials and more in such a way that their total value increases. At the same time, he makes changes, innovates and transforms the established order.

From the point of view of a psychologist, an entrepreneur is a person who is driven by certain motives, for example: the desire to achieve something in life, try something new, assert oneself or gain independence. In this case, entrepreneurship is a special internal property associated with the ability to take risks, take responsibility and manage rationally and profitably on the basis of a constant search for new ideas. It should be noted that not all people are endowed with this property. According to research by the consulting firm Business Consulting Group (Boston, USA), 5-6% of people are endowed with entrepreneurial abilities. Without such innate abilities, entrepreneurial activity is unlikely to be successful. At the same time, any abilities need to be developed.

From the point of view of the entrepreneurs themselves, an entrepreneur can pose a threat, be a dangerous rival, or, conversely, a partner, supplier, buyer, or simply a person with interesting ideas in whom it is not a pity to invest money.

From the point of view of a political economist, an entrepreneur is a person who increases not only his own, but also the national wealth, who finds ways to better use resources, reduce losses, and who creates new jobs.

Each of these definitions looks at the entrepreneur from a different angle, but they all include concepts such as innovation, organizational talent, creativity, wealth creation and risk-taking. Yet each of these definitions limits the scope of entrepreneurship in some way, when in fact entrepreneurs can be found in all fields - education, medicine, science, law, architecture, manufacturing, social and distribution.

Therefore, the following definition can be given, which covers all types of entrepreneurial behavior.

Entrepreneurship is the process of creating something new that has value; a process that consumes time and effort, involving the assumption of financial, moral and social responsibility; resulting in monetary income and personal satisfaction from what has been achieved.

From all points of view considered, entrepreneurship is a dynamic process of wealth creation. Wealth is created by those who take the most risks with their money, property, career, spare no time to create their own business, or offer customers a new product or service.

Article 2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) provides the following definition of entrepreneurial activity: “Entrepreneurial activity is independent, carried out at one’s own peril and risk, activity aimed at systematically obtaining profit from the use of property, sale of goods, performance of work or provision of services by persons registered in this capacity in the manner prescribed by law."

What character traits do you think are characteristic of a successful entrepreneur? What are the similarities and differences in the personal qualities of an entrepreneur and a manager?

To understand what entrepreneurship is, you should know what social and economic conditions are necessary for its development. Thus, the key pillar for its successful existence in the country is the recognition of private property. The state is also obliged to support small and medium-sized businesses so that their economy develops and the funds raised by representatives of these structures regularly flow into the treasury.

Entrepreneurship concept

Entrepreneurship is its own business, a private enterprise that produces certain goods and provides certain services to the population. It is the key to the successful development of a market economy, in particular its small and medium forms.

Entrepreneurship, regardless of its form, represents a certain activity of the subject (entrepreneur) and is in one way or another associated with economic risks for him. The main task of an entrepreneur is not only to be able to produce goods or provide this or that service, but also to understand whether there is a demand for them and to ensure supply. From this point of view, entrepreneurship is always a certain risk.

This type of activity is universal; it can be carried out in different areas that are closer to the owner. Among them:

industrial sector;
scientific;
informational;
consumer;
service and others.

What conditions are most comfortable for the development of entrepreneurship?

It is worth understanding that entrepreneurship is a concept entirely dependent on the state system. At the same time, the most successful system for the normal development of entrepreneurial activity on the territory of the state is capitalism, where, first of all, private property dominates and there is no state hegemony, as was the case in the Soviet Union.

As you know, in Soviet times in our country, private property and own business were not only not encouraged, but were also criminally punishable, as a result of which business went into the shadows, and the economy still declined. Successful entrepreneurship is impossible without decent competition, as well as without the recognition of private property as its basis.

Among other conditions that are necessary for the normal development of entrepreneurial activity in the state, the following can be mentioned:

stability of the economic situation in the country;
preferential tax treatment;
developed support for entrepreneurship from the state;
an effective system to protect intellectual property;
access to foreign markets for entrepreneurs;
affordable lending to small and medium-sized businesses.

What is a small business

A small business or small entrepreneurship is an enterprise that does not claim to be a leader in its field and is limited to a small staff and a sole manager. However, in some cases there may be two owners, or the business may be a family business, where the manager is a figurehead.

Small businesses do not require significant financial investments, technical equipment and other needs are kept to a minimum, but the ability to create demand for their products and regularly pay taxes to the state treasury make small businesses key in shaping the state’s economy.

Many small companies have social significance and make it possible to unite socially vulnerable groups of citizens, providing them with jobs, which is very important both for unemployment rates and for the social protection of citizens.

Features of medium-sized businesses and significance for the country’s economy

A medium-sized business differs from a small business, first of all, in that its owner is not also the main investor, but is under the control of the company's investor-shareholders, performing exclusively managerial functions. In addition, the manager can simultaneously be one of the shareholders of the company. Naturally, in a medium-sized business we are talking about larger investments than in a small one, so efforts are combined and a joint-stock company is created.

Enterprises of this type are very important for the successful development of the country, because the economy and entrepreneurship are always interconnected, regardless of what features of its operation exist on the territory of a particular state.

Naturally, the development of small and medium-sized businesses in different countries has its own mental characteristics and forms, and they are also influenced by the industrial level of the state, social conditions and other factors.

The undoubted advantages of working in small companies are:

flexibility in making business decisions;
rapid adoption of market innovations and implementation of global trends;
operational turnover of funds;
high level of production and labor productivity.

Types of small and medium-sized businesses

The choice of field of activity depends on many factors, in particular on the location, on the social and economic characteristics of the region, standard of living, infrastructure and other factors.

Thus, the most common areas in which small and medium-sized businesses in Russia are represented are the following:

retail and wholesale trade in food and general non-food products;
real estate transactions;
transport services (private and corporate transportation, cargo transportation);
communication services (for example, Internet);
utility and personal services (apartment renovation and household repair services);
construction (private and multi-apartment);
catering;
services;
childcare services (private kindergartens, early development centers, nanny and babysitter exchanges);
leisure sector (amusement parks);
health and beauty sector;
mini-production (clothing, food, consumer goods);
social business.

Entrepreneurship in Russia

Many people, out of ignorance, believe that entrepreneurship is a relatively new phenomenon for our country, and before the collapse of the USSR, this simply did not exist in our country, but this is not so.

The development of entrepreneurial activity in Russia dates back to the merchant class, when merchants were engaged in the sale of certain overseas goods back in tsarist times. In addition, the beginnings of private property and business in the Soviet Union were noted in the late 1920s during the NEP. However, from the 30s until the 80s, private enterprise was prohibited and punished by law, sometimes even capital punishment was used as punishment.

And only during “perestroika”, already in 1987, was a law regulating individual labor activity adopted, which marked the beginning of the modern development of entrepreneurship in our country. It was then that the foundations of entrepreneurship were born in the Soviet Union, which later allowed private business to develop in Russia.

State and business

It is quite natural for a market economy when the state is considered a full-fledged subject and owns enterprises that are not profitable for private structures from an economic point of view, but have one or another strategic importance for the country. This type of activity is state entrepreneurship, which involves full financing of certain enterprises.

Among the areas that most often fall into this sphere of influence are the following:

science and technology;
energy;
defense;
connection;
roads;
transport;
ecology and much more.

It is worth adding that even if a particular enterprise is under the full control of the state, it can still have its own shareholders; the state has a controlling stake in the company. In addition, there are often cases when such enterprises operate on a concession basis and lease out natural and industrial resources owned by the country on a commercial basis.

How the state promotes entrepreneurship development

In Russia, there are a number of laws and programs according to which state support for entrepreneurship is provided. These include subsidies and loans, as well as various regional programs to support young businessmen.

Business support programs include the following:

subsidies for loan funds that were taken out for the purchase of equipment for a business;
compensation for the participation of young entrepreneurs in industry exhibitions;
subsidies for opening innovative business projects;
social entrepreneurship subsidies;
subsidizing projects in the field of folk crafts and handicrafts;
other programs.

Concept for the development of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia

The Industry Ministry has developed a special concept for the development of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia, which will accelerate the development of entrepreneurship in the country and its state of the economy. So, according to this concept, by 2020 the Russian Federation will have the following indicators in this area:

the total share of small and medium-sized businesses will be about 50% of the country's GDP;
their share in the number of existing business entities will increase to 90%;
the share of small enterprises that operate in the trade sector will decrease, and the share in such areas as social entrepreneurship, healthcare, information technology, science, etc. will increase.

State plans for the development of business entities

As mentioned earlier, successful entrepreneurship is a concept that is inextricably linked with the conditions that the state creates for it, and the key to the development of the country’s economy.

The plans of the Russian government on the way to the development of entrepreneurial activity of small and medium-sized businesses include the following measures:

assistance in the creation of facilities that will provide assistance to entities engaged in such activities;
special programs to support entrepreneurship focused on the export of goods;
microfinance;
development of a lending system for small and medium-sized businesses;
a more advanced regulatory framework, which provides for a reduction in administrative restrictions when opening a small business;
creation of a developed network of business incubators and much more.

Features of doing business in the social sphere

Social entrepreneurship in Russia is one of the most developing areas of business. According to representatives of the Social Business Development Fund, such an area appeared in our country less than ten years ago, and now there is already a developed infrastructure of entities and there are many who want to invest in this area of activity, the main task of which is mutual assistance.

However, for most Russians this concept is still unclear. What is this, let's figure it out.

Thus, a social business is one that not only provides profit to its owner, but is also capable of solving certain problems of a social nature. Social work can be carried out by representatives of any form of activity, including small and medium-sized businesses.

The following points can be called signs of this direction of entrepreneurial activity:

solving certain social problems, for example, employing people with disabilities or providing them with certain services;
application of unique solutions to solve public problems;
ability to study the market and ensure the return on investment of the project.

Examples of social business in Russia and in the world are:

private clinic for the poor;
enterprise for the collection and processing of hazardous waste;
travel company for people with disabilities;
other projects that allow the owner to make a profit and at the same time solve certain social problems, in particular waste disposal and help the poor and people with disabilities.

Prospects for business development in crisis conditions

We learned what entrepreneurship is and how it interacts with the government apparatus, and also found out what small and medium-sized businesses are.

However, it is worth noting that the classical approach to doing business in times of crisis may turn out to be completely ineffective, as well as the selection of the area in which the entrepreneur plans to operate.

That is why in times of crisis you should study the market especially carefully, pay attention to the economic and social situation in the state and calculate in advance the possible risks that opening your own business may entail.

Many people mistakenly assume that opening your own business during a crisis is dangerous, but this is not at all true. As at any other time, there will be a high demand for something, and a lower demand for something, and it is important to be able to create it exactly for what, theoretically, can be in demand even in difficult times.

Thrift stores, budget cafeterias, second-hand stores and other things are all products that appeared against the backdrop of crisis situations. They are in demand both during a crisis and in a completely prosperous one. It is only important to find the right time for your implementation in order to make a profit from it, regardless of the economic situation in the country or in the world.