Reasons for competition in the vocational education market. The influence of the development of competition in the educational services market on the formation of competitive advantages of additional professional education

Competition in the market educational services: theoretical and practical aspects

IN AND. Sukhochev, rector, A.M. Sukhocheva, vice-rector,

Kumertau Institute of Economics and Law

It is known from the fundamentals of economic theory that competition is one of the conditions contributing to the effective functioning of business entities in the market. This provision also applies to the educational services market. An analysis of works in the field of economics of education shows that this issue was studied by a group of scientists from Samara State Economic University using the example of their

areas. Their research is presented in a collection of scientific papers edited by Professor A.P. Zhabin. . Chen-tsov A.O. also paid attention to the problem. in his article “On the business of educational services”. However, these works primarily examine the problems of increasing the competitiveness of higher educational institutions, creating a rating system for universities, and methodological support for the process of self-assessment of a university, but the theoretical and practical aspects of the state of competition in the market of educational services are not sufficiently analyzed.

Borisov E.F. defines competition as “rivalry between participants in a market economy for Better conditions production, purchase and sale of goods." Raizbert B.A., Lozovsky L.Sh., Starodubtseva E.B. understand competition as “a competition between producers (sellers) of goods, and in the general case between any economic, market entities; the struggle for markets for goods in order to obtain higher incomes, profits, and other benefits.” N.L. Zaitsev formulates competition as “economic conditions for the sale of goods under which competition for sales markets arises in order to obtain profit and other benefits.”

According to S.S. Nosova, “competition is confrontation, rivalry between producers of goods and services for the right to receive maximum profit, the existence of many producers and buyers on the market and the possibility of their free exit from the market and entry into it.”

Projecting these definitions onto the educational services market, we propose the following definition of competition in the educational services market.

Competition in the educational services market is competition between market entities for the best conditions for the sale and consumption of educational services.

By examining competition in the educational services market, it can be revealed that modern conditions it is developing in three directions. The first direction is competition between educational institutions themselves. The second is competition between potential consumers of educational services (applicants). Third, competition between educational institutions and applicants. Let's analyze these directions. First, let us formulate a definition of competition between educational institutions.

Competition between educational institutions is competition between them for the best conditions for the implementation of educational services.

The best conditions include:

The demand for educational services provided by the educational institution exceeds their supply (the presence of competition among applicants);

There is a tendency to increase the standards for financing educational institutions from budgets of various levels;

The solvency of the population of nearby areas increases, which allows the educational institution to increase tuition fees;

There are no competitive educational institutions in nearby areas;

The demographic situation in the region where the educational institution is located is developing positively.

The ideal conditions for the sale of educational services for any educational institution is a market condition in which the demand for educational services sold by this educational institution exceeds their supply. This is also true on modern stage condition and development Russian society, and in the future. In the coming years, a real struggle will unfold between educational institutions for each applicant, and not only between professional ones, but also general education ones. This is due to the ongoing demographic decline and the introduction of the principle of normative per capita financing of public educational institutions under the slogan “money follows the students.”

Competition between educational institutions at the present stage of development of the Russian educational system, in our opinion, can be classified according to various criteria:

1. According to the level of education being implemented. Let's call it intra-level competition. Intra-level competition is competition between educational institutions implementing educational programs of the same level and belonging to the same type of educational institutions. This competition can also be called intratype competition. On this basis, competition takes place between:

Children's preschool institutions;

General education schools;

Primary institutions vocational education;

Institutions of secondary vocational education;

Institutions of higher professional education.

2. By industry specialization of educational institutions. Let's call it intra-industry competition. Intra-industry competition is competition between educational institutions in the same industry of specialization. federal Service state statistics(Rosstat) identifies 7 groups of industries for which specialists are trained by professional educational institutions in Russia. Based on industry specialization, competition takes place between educational institutions:

Industry and construction;

Agriculture;

Transport and communications;

Economics and Law;

Healthcare, physical culture and sports;

Education;

Art and cinematography.

3. According to the geographical location of educational institutions. Let's call it territorial competition. Territorial competition is

competition between educational institutions of different levels and different industry specializations located within the same administrative territory. On this basis, competition for the opportunity to get a future student takes place between educational institutions, usually located in the same city or region.

4. By form of ownership. Let's call it competition of forms of ownership. Competition of forms of ownership is competition between educational institutions of different forms of ownership. On this basis, competition takes place between state, municipal and non-state educational institutions.

5. According to accreditation status. Let's call it status competition. Status competition is competition between educational institutions of the same level, but with different accreditation statuses. On this basis, competition takes place between accredited and non-accredited educational institutions, usually of the same level.

6. According to the specialties (areas) of training of workers or specialists implemented by educational institutions. Let's call it competition of specialties. Competition of specialties is competition between educational institutions of the same level within the framework of the specialty of the same name. On this basis, competition takes place between educational institutions of the same level that provide educational services in the same specialty.

A study of the state of the educational services market allows the authors to conclude that at the present stage the most intense struggle between educational institutions as producers (sellers) of educational services takes place within the framework of territorial competition. The most pronounced competition is between higher educational institutions located in large regional and republican centers and especially in Moscow, where a fairly large part of Russian universities is concentrated. Territorial competition has forced large universities to look for new markets for their educational goods, new markets for the sale of educational services, and a new potential student. This became more evident in the second half of the 90s. XX century and the beginning of the 21st century. It was during these years that the branch network and network of representative offices of universities developed rapidly, and currently the number of university branches exceeds the number of universities themselves. It should be noted that even today there is a struggle between universities to “seize new territories” and to expand the geography of their influence. At the same time, regional educational authorities and councils of rectors of local universities began to oppose the promotion of capital universities and universities in other countries.

of these regions to their territories, using their permitting rights granted to them by regulatory legal acts. Moreover, the process of gradual “squeezing out” branches of universities in other regions by the councils of rectors of universities of the constituent entities has already begun Russian Federation and executive bodies of educational management of the regions, which use their right to participate in the composition expert commissions on certification and accreditation of university branches. In all likelihood, in the near future the process of self-liquidation of peripheral branches of capital universities and branches of universities in other regions will begin in the republics, territories, and regions. This is due to the ongoing process of regionalization of vocational educational institutions, the transfer of some of them from Rosbrazovanie to the jurisdiction of republican and regional education authorities and, accordingly, the replacement of funding from the federal budget with funding from the regional budget. Due to insufficiency budget funds In the regions, funding for state educational institutions run by republican or regional education authorities will apparently be reduced. Thus, in 2005 alone, the number of budget places in state higher educational institutions decreased by 43 thousand. In turn, parent universities will be forced to reduce, or even completely stop, funding for their branches located in other regions. All this will lead to a reduction in budget places for students of university branches, the introduction of tuition fees and, as a consequence, the transfer of university branches to self-financing. This will put the branches on an equal footing with local non-state educational institutions located in this territory. As a result, the competitiveness and attractiveness of local accredited non-state universities will increase. An analysis of tuition fees in a number of regions shows that in branches of capital universities it is higher than in peripheral non-state universities, since the amount of payment is set by the head university, which is guided by prices for educational services existing in the capital or in a large regional center, where, respectively and higher demand for educational services. Therefore, in Lately Due to the unprofitability of university branches, the process of closing them has already begun. In this case, students are offered to transfer to the parent university, which is located far from their place of residence and where the cost of education is much higher. As a result, some students will be forced to stop their studies. The danger that branches may be closed at any moment causes distrust in them among the population, and, as a result, increases

competitiveness of local non-state and state universities that train students on a paid basis. The process of regionalization of the education system, which began in 2004, creates better competitive conditions for local universities and colleges, while at the same time the creation of their own closed regional education systems significantly reduces the ability of regions to use the powerful scientific, methodological, educational and teaching potential of the largest and oldest universities in Russia.

Exploring the state competition between state and non-state educational institutions, we can conclude that the situation in the educational services market complicates the process of creating and further functioning of non-state universities and colleges. The fact is that the market for educational services at the present stage is monopolized by the state represented by the executive bodies of education management and state educational institutions. The process of licensing educational institutions is entirely in the hands of the state. This allows executive bodies states that have their own educational institutions should not allow future potential competitors into the educational services market. To open a non-state university, Rosobrnadzor, in violation of existing legislation, requires written consent from the education management body and the council of rectors of universities in the region, obtaining which is associated with great difficulties. This explains the slowdown in the growth rate of the number of non-state universities and colleges in the regions recently. Under such unequal conditions, non-state, non-accredited educational institutions cannot provide any serious competition to a state educational institution.

The second direction in which competition is developing in the educational services market is competition between potential consumers of educational services (applicants). Let us formulate the definition of this competition as follows.

Competition between consumers of educational services is competition between potential consumers (applicants) for the best conditions for consuming educational services.

Experience practical work authors with applicants shows that the best conditions for consuming educational services at the present stage, in conditions of low mobility and low solvency, are considered by applicants and their parents to be:

Studying at the expense of the state budget at a nearby educational institution;

Training in specialties in demand in the labor market;

Training in specialties for which work in the future will provide big income (good salary);

Study in an educational institution that provides the highest quality training for specialists.

During entrance examinations, applicants fight for the right to be enrolled as students at prestigious specialty for training on a budget basis at a nearby university. As a rule, those who have deeper knowledge win. At the same time, there are exceptions to the rules, and the student may not be the best applicant. This is due to the negative trends that have developed in the Russian educational system in recent years and are especially evident now.

It is well known that in the competition among buyers of goods, the winner is the one who offers a higher price for the goods. Is it possible to apply this statement of classical economists to such a specific service as education? In principle, it is possible, especially when the number of people wishing to study at a given educational institution on a paid basis exceeds the number of places in the educational institution, that is, when demand exceeds supply. In these cases, can the sale of available educational places be carried out at an open auction or through a closed tender? At least, there are no prohibitions on the sale of educational places at auction or through a closed tender in the existing legislation. The starting price of an educational service is determined by the calculation method. Persons who have an appropriate basic education in accordance with the admission rules and have successfully passed the entrance examination are allowed to participate in the competition. The relevant documents are submitted to the admissions (competition) committee. Based on the analysis of documents, the commission appoints either an open auction or closed tender. The winner is the one who offers the highest price for the educational service (per study place). By making this proposal, the authors foresee an explosion of anger among the Russian school teaching community in defense of “geniuses and nuggets” who do not have sufficient funds to obtain higher education. At the same time, this begs a question for the school teaching community: why are certificates of secondary (complete) general education issued to almost all graduates without exception, even if they have not fully mastered school curriculum? The President of the Republic of Bashkortostan, in his speech at the republican pedagogical meeting in August 2005, noted that “about 20% of graduates

The school curriculum is not being taught in full. But at the same time they receive certificates. This kind of “pull-up” of grades is becoming a vicious practice. Even some of the medalists do not pass the entrance exams to higher and secondary educational institutions.” Any applicant who has received secondary (complete) general education, in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, has the right and can be a university student if he offers a higher price for a place than other applicants. In the end, for especially gifted schoolchildren, it is possible to develop special conditions for entering a university to study on a budgetary basis or plan measures for their state support.

In our opinion, we can identify a third direction in which competition in the educational services market will develop. This is competition between sellers and consumers who are in opposite positions. Competition between producers and consumers of educational services is competition between educational institutions and applicants for the best conditions for the sale and consumption of educational services. Which group of subjects in the educational services market will win the “battle”? Of course, the one that is more united and can ultimately impose its price on the “enemy.” At the present stage of development of the Russian educational system, the most united educational institutions are those that have unifying public structures(associations, unions, boards of directors and rectors) and, therefore, while educational institutions “win the battle” and dictate their price to consumers of educational services.

Analyzing the state of competition between producers (sellers) and consumers (buyers) of educational services, we can conclude that today the market for educational services can be characterized as a “sellers’ market”, since the dominant position here is occupied by producers (sellers) of educational services who “dictate » buyers their price for educational services. This is explained by the fact that the demand for the services of vocational educational institutions of higher and middle management exceeds their supply. At the same time, as an analysis of the demographic situation shows, in 2010 the number of school graduates will be equal to the number of places in educational institutions financed from the state budget and, consequently, the state of the educational services market in the second decade of the 21st century. could be described as a “buyers’ market.” In this case, buyers of educational services will “dictate” their price to educational institutions that sell paid educational services.

Competition in the educational services market is inextricably linked with monopoly, which is manifested in the state monopoly on the production and sale of educational services. So, out of 64800 secondary schools 63,800, or 98%, are state-owned, of 2,809 secondary specialized educational institutions, 2,627, or 94%, are state-owned, of 1,046 higher educational institutions, 654, or 63%, are state-owned. The state monopoly in the educational services market can be characterized as an artificial stable monopoly, in which state educational institutions have concentrated in their hands the production and sale of the bulk of educational services. This artificial stable monopoly makes it difficult for the mechanism of free market competition to function.

One of the main directions of reforming the Russian educational system at the present stage is the regionalization of education, that is, the transfer of the bulk of educational institutions from the jurisdiction of the federal center to the jurisdiction of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and, accordingly, a change in the main source budget financing. Due to insufficient budget funds, the process of reducing the number of budget places in state educational institutions has already begun. An increase in the number of paid places will lead to a gradual equalization of the operating conditions of state and accredited non-state educational institutions. This process will cause the gradual displacement of the artificial stable monopoly of state educational institutions in the educational services market and, as a result, will lead to an improvement in the conditions for the functioning of the market.

Literature

1 Competitiveness of a higher education institution in educational space region. [Text] / under general. ed. A.P. Zhabina. Samara: Publishing house. SGEA Center, 2004. 452 p.

2 Chentsov, A.O. About the business of educational services [Text] / A.O. Chentsov // Higher education in Russia. 1999. No. 2. pp. 120-122.

3 Borisov, E.F. Economic theory: a course of lectures for students of higher educational institutions. [Text] / E.F. Borisov. M.: Society “Knowledge” of Russia. Central Institute of Continuing Education, 1996. 548 p.

4 Reisberg, B.A. Modern economic dictionary. [Text] / B.A. Raizberg, L.Sh. Lozovsky, E.B. Starodubtseva. 4th ed., revised. and additional M.: INFRA-M, 2003. 480 p.

5 Russian statistical yearbook. [Text]. 2004: stat. Sat./Rosstat. M., 2004. 725 p.

6 Mikhanova, N. I’m glad to study - I have nothing to pay. [Text] / N. Mikhanov, E. Timofeeva // Russian newspaper. 08/10/2005. No. 174.

7 The formation of a highly educated, spiritually rich and civically active individual is the main social order of the republic to the education system. [Text] // Republic of Bashkortostan. 2005. No. 155. 08/13/2005.

8 Salo, M. Wise and educated in Japanese. [Text] // M. Salo, D. Misyurov, N. Kulbaka // Paid education. 2003. No. 2. pp. 54-56.

9 Zaitsev, N.L. Concise Dictionary of Economists. [Text] / N.L. Zaitsev. M.: INFRA-M, 2000. 145 p.

10Nosova, S.S. Fundamentals of Economics: textbook. [Text] / S.S. Nosova. 2nd ed., revised. and additional M.: KNORUS, 2006. 312 p.

Journal of Modern Economics No.

UDC 330.322.5

INFLUENCE OF DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETITION IN THE MARKET OF EDUCATIONAL SERVICES ON THE FORMATION OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES OF ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

Natalya Vyacheslavovna Mashkova,

candidate economic sciences, Associate Professor, Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Ural Federal University named after the first President Yeltsin, (343), *****@

Anton Yuryevich Bayranshin,

applicant at the Ural Federal University named after the first President Yeltsin, *****@***ru

Yana Andreevna Matveeva,

Student of the Ural Federal University named after the first President Yeltsin, (343), *****@

N. V. Mashkova,

Cand. Econ. Sci., the senior lecturer of faculty of Business and innovations of the Ural federal university of a name of the first Russian president B. N. Eltsina, (, *****@

A. U. Bairanshin,

The post-graduate student of the Ural federal university of a name of the first Russian president B. N. Eltsina, *****@***ru

J. A. Matveeva

Student of the Ural Federal University of a name of the first Russian president B. N. Eltsina, (343), *****@

The article examines the impact of the development of competition in the educational services market on the formation competitive advantages additional professional education, and also presents a model of a competitiveness management system implemented by the UrFU Business School.

The paper considers the effect of competition on the market of educational services on the formation of the competitive advantages of additional professional education, as well as a model of competitiveness management, implemented by business school UrfU.

Keywords: competitiveness, additional professional education, labor market, competitive advantages, quality of educational services.

Key words: competitiveness, further professional education, labor market, competitive advantages, the quality of educational services.

The transitional nature of the Russian economy has affected many areas, including the area of ​​additional vocational education (DPO). Institutions of higher and additional professional education were faced with a fact: to act in market conditions. However, most of these organizations were not ready for this. It should be noted that the education system is one of the most conservative systems that is difficult to reform. The reasons for this are varied.

Firstly, the education system serves to reproduce a certain way of thinking, mentality, traditions and values, and therefore is a kind of “repository” and protector of these values, and for this reason cannot but be conservative.

Secondly, the education system in Russia is still under strong state influence.

Thirdly, in Russia in general, including in the field of education, conditions for effective competition have not yet been created. Factors inhibiting the development of competition educational institutions may include such as a high level of government regulation, low solvency of the population, low level of population mobility and others.

As mentioned above, competition is an objective relationship that arises between market entities in conditions of limited resources. And, first of all, what should be considered here as resources is not so much material resources, as much as the market itself, i.e. a group of people with a certain need. The competition is waged precisely for this resource, since in its absence all other resources lose their meaning. And the reason that competition is a dynamic and continuous phenomenon is that although the number of consumers is limited, their needs, on the contrary, are unlimited. The goal of business entities trying to conquer the market is to discover new needs and offer their solution to a consumer problem. The above fully applies to DPO facilities.

The competitive strategy of a further education facility is the logic of its interaction with the market environment against the background of competition, forming ways to achieve its goals by meeting the needs of stakeholders. Therefore, when building a competitive strategy, the DPO object should be guided by the following principles (Fig. 1):

Fig.1.9. Interaction of the DPO object with the environment against the backdrop of competition

According to Fig. 1, the duration and sustainability of the competitive advantages of a further education facility will depend on both external factors and the actions of competitors. In this regard, the implementation of the competitive strategy of a further education facility is largely determined by the development of competition in the educational services market. The competitive advantage of a DPO facility is those distinctive competencies that make the services provided by the DPO facility least preferable to the client. Hence, the formation of competitive strategies is a process of forming and maintaining competitive advantages. However, distinctive competencies are always based on the basic competencies that the subject of further education must have, and which are “guaranteed” to them through their external assessment through licensing, certification and accreditation of the university. In this case, it makes sense to talk about two levels of formation of competitive advantages and competitiveness of a further education facility:

Basic, defining a standard set of qualities of an educational service, mandatory. Otherwise, the very existence of the educational program is impossible;

Additional, within the framework of which it becomes important to take into account as much as possible the synergistic properties of the resource potential of the DPO object, resulting from its ability to operate in different markets and, accordingly, satisfy the different needs of potential clients.

Analysis of domestic and foreign experience on the problem of managing the competitiveness of educational institutions allowed us to identify several of its main aspects:

· assessment of the level of competitiveness (determination of competitiveness indicators);

· bringing existing characteristics to the required competitive level;

· maintaining a competitive level based on monitoring, analysis and regulation.

Each of the above aspects is associated with numerous problems that can be solved different ways. Some of them affect only the technology of performing work and can be applied regardless of environmental factors. They do not require significant restructuring in the organization and management of the additional education system. Others affect not only internal, but also external relations of the organization, requiring significant changes in the content of activities, the composition and number of divisions, their functions, etc.

Among the tasks of the first group related to finding indicators of the competitiveness of the additional education system, the following come to the fore:

· measuring the market share of educational services;

· measurement of costs for educational products (services) at all stages life cycle;

· determination of innovative provision of educational services;

· determining the timeliness of the provision of educational services.

The tasks of the second group include:

· analysis of demand for services (in different markets, among different consumers);

· comprehensive analysis own educational product (parameters, functions, structure, internal organization, areas of application, etc.);

· comprehensive analysis of educational substitute services;

· analysis of competitors' services;

· determination of the stage of the life cycle of educational services.

The main role among aspects of managing the competitiveness of the further education system belongs to the third group of tasks:

· optimization of the quality of services provided and costs;

· creation of fundamentally new types of services and updating of existing ones;

· improvement of the training system;

· introduction of a motivationally based incentive system;

· providing necessary and reliable information.

The concept of competitiveness of the further education system is based on the need to quickly meet the requirements of the educational market, saturate it with services of primary (increased) demand and sustainable development DPO facility in a competitive environment.

The competitiveness indicator allows you to assess how well an educational program or further education facility meets the needs of the market. Financial stability is an indicator of usage financial resources in a developing environment. The interaction of these two components allows us to assess the ability to maintain a stable position of the DPO object during external environment. However, we should not forget that the educational institution pursues the social effect as the main result of its activities, therefore profit is an auxiliary element that ensures progress towards the goal.

Taking into account the wide range of issues of additional professional education when entering the consumer market, and then while maintaining its positions in different markets, the system for ensuring competitiveness should include subsystems such as preparatory work, so analysis and diagnostics. Moreover, the second category includes: analysis of the consumer product and educational technology; analysis of demand and identification of customer needs; research of educational services markets; analysis of the operating environment; competition; differentiation of services, strategic planning functioning of the DPO facility.

Today, the sphere of additional professional education and the sector of paid business educational services are already quite widely developed, although the demand, even solvent demand, as surveys show, is far from saturated. And at the same time, the consumer (an organization or an individual with certain funds) is quite cautious and wants to receive an educational project that is complete from the point of view of the “cost-effectiveness” criterion. In turn, an educational institution, starting certain programs, wants to receive real effect, both economic and social. It should be recognized that, when deciding to begin educational activities according to one or another model, it is necessary to consciously take into account the presence of factors that can create favorable conditions and competitive advantages for an educational institution. As can be seen from Table 1, these types of factors are very different for different models of education and an error in their assessment can be quite expensive both from the point of view of guaranteeing the quality of education and from the point of view of achieving sustainable competitive advantages by the educational institution.

Currently, there is a wide variety of forms and methods of paid training, designed for different levels of student requirements, basic education, income. To what extent do the services offered meet consumer requirements? The answer to this question determines the demand for educational services, and, consequently, financial success DPO facilities.

The educational services market largely depends on demand, on the preferences of end consumers and is subject to factors such as:

Kudos;

Demand in the labor market;

Mobility;

Acquiring a certain social status;

Possible profitability of the profession;

Possibility of self-realization.

Table 1

Competitive advantages in the higher education system

and additional professional education (according to data)

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Competition in the educational services market

M. LUKASHENKO, professor

Moscow Financial and Industrial Academy

The spring activity of the academic community was marked, among many others, by two events that, at first glance, had no direct relationship to each other. First, on February 14, a methodological seminar was held at the Center for Bio- and Ecophilosophy of the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences. And then, on May 17, the First Analytical Conference “Competition: Strategy, Tactics, Models, Training” was held at the National Hotel (organized by the Moscow Financial and Industrial Academy and the Public Council for Promoting the Quality of Higher Education). It would seem, what is the connection between such different events? It turned out to be quite significant. The fact is that the emotional scientific discussion that took place at the seminar was devoted to a discussion of the book by V.I. Nazarov “Evolution is not according to Darwin. Changing the evolutionary model." Criticizing the theory of Charles Darwin, the author of the book emphasizes that “modern biology has not confirmed the existence in nature of either intraspecific competition or the cumulative action of natural selection.” It is obvious that the very fact of an “encroachment on the foundations” can excite not only world-class scientists studying this issue (which was clearly demonstrated in the materials of the round table), but also specialists developing completely different scientific directions. And this was formulated very precisely by L.V. Fesenkova: “The central concept of Darwinism - “natural selection” - has acquired the status of the most important component of modern mentality. It is invisibly present in our culture and creates self-evidence of general ideas about nature. We do not notice that not only our methodology in various fields of knowledge is built on the principles of Darwinism, but also the axiomatics of many fundamental concepts are nothing more than a paraphrase of Darwinian ideas about evolutionary processes in the living world. Today, with the help of the concepts of adaptation and selection, even the emergence of religion, art, and morality is interpreted. They are viewed through the prism of their selective value in the general processes of competitive struggle, which seem to be the essence of anthropogenesis and cultural genesis... Thus, Darwinism is not only a science, it is also a worldview.”

Without delving further into the discussion between “Darwinists” and “anti-Darwinists,” let’s turn to another event - the conference “Competition: Strategy, Tactics, Models, Training.” As the name suggests, the conference organizers attempted to systematically address issues of competition and competitiveness. Thus, the first group of questions was devoted to models of competitive behavior as the most important vector for the development of the competitiveness of subjects Russian business. The second group centered around state competition policy and antimonopoly regulation of markets, providing the appropriate infrastructure for the development of the Russian economy. The third was key for the educational community, since it focused on the formation professional competencies in the field of competitive behavior. Without aiming to analyze all the speeches made at the conference, we will only note their diversity, versatility and constructiveness, which made it possible not only to make significant progress in the study of the stated issues, but also to outline further steps for such research.

Now let us dwell on one of the speeches, which, in fact, prompted us to draw a parallel between the problems of competitiveness of Russian business and the development of “anti-Darwinism”. We are talking about the speech of Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Economics, Professor, Deputy Director of the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute G.B. Kleiner. Speaking in this speech about the knowledge economy as an upcoming stage economic development society, the author identifies the following features:

Product customization;

Individualization of transactions;

Variety of knowledge functions;

Personalization of knowledge;

The need for a professional environment for knowledge producers;

A combination of competition and cooperation between agents in the knowledge market. If in economics material goods The competitiveness of producers is important, then in the knowledge economy - the ability to cooperate, i.e. concord ability;

Instead of enterprise competition and corporate conflicts, there is “co-competition” and “co-operation”*.

Explaining these features, G.B. Kleiner focuses on the fact that “in the knowledge economy, we will no longer be able to consider competition as the dominant way of relationships between enterprises. The combination of competition and cooperation, the combination of cooperation and rivalry is a fundamentally new point to which I would like to draw the attention of those gathered. Competition is only one side of the coin. Yes, competition is important, but it is not all-encompassing. Without cooperation, as well as without competition, the existence of a modern economy in general, and a knowledge economy even more so, is impossible.” Developing this idea, the author notes significant shifts in the theoretical basis of economic science: “In new economic paradigms, environmental social formations play a significant role: institutions, knowledge, beliefs, systems of trust and cooperation, various kinds of integration clubs and networks. Let us note that the latter unite not only agents - consumers and producers, but also various levels of the economy, including the state and enterprises." Let us record this idea, since it is extremely important for our subsequent analysis of the situation in the educational services market.

As one of the arguments, the author notes a change in the modern marketing paradigm - from victory over competitors to the creation of a value system together with the consumer, which from his point of view means a new ideology of the economy as an integral organism. And here again the need arises to return to the mentioned round table and turn to the statement of Academician G.A. Zavarzin that “the goal is to achieve harmony as a necessary condition for sustainability.” Isn't it true that the parallel is seen quite clearly?

Does the above mean that competition ceases to play a key role in the market position of an enterprise? Let us turn again to the speech of G.B. Kleiner: “The main part of competitive advantages should be potential in nature, i.e. allow use if necessary. Just as the achievement of nuclear parity between countries contributed to the preservation of peace both between them and throughout the world, the presence of competitive advantages at an enterprise should prevent the outbreak of a competitive war with it.” Concluding such an abundant quotation, we will only note the author’s unusual view on the problem of competitiveness: “An enterprise, as is known, is called competitive if it has the ability to occupy a worthy place in the competition with other enterprises for a sufficiently long period. Accordingly, an enterprise is uncompetitive if it does not have such capabilities. However, it seems more important for an objective assessment of the enterprise that it has opportunities for long-term development outside of competition! At the same time, by development we understand the functioning of an enterprise in a market environment, accompanied by active innovative reproduction processes. It is natural to call such an enterprise non-competitive, i.e. capable of functioning and developing as if “without the help” of competitors, regardless of them, i.e. out of competition. A good runner, by precise definition, is not the one who defeats his opponents, but the one who develops high speed without any opponents!”

Now let us turn to the current situation in the educational services market. It seems most correct to analyze this situation from the perspective of the system of lifelong education, understanding by it not only the concept of “lifelong learning”, but also the relationships between different levels of education. So, let's look at the school education system and, first of all, the burning problem of schools transitioning to specialized education. It should immediately be noted that theoretically, schools, as is known, are included in the non-market model of economic relations in education, and therefore should not be subjects of the educational services market. Nevertheless, almost every school offers a set of paid educational services, which means it acts as a market entity interested in attracting as many consumers of these services as possible. Consequently, the school, just like other educational institutions, is involved in competition and also uses certain models of competitive behavior. Moreover, in the conditions of the “demographic hole”, the struggle for the consumer of services no longer means additional, but basic income, since the amount of budget funds allocated to an educational institution is directly dependent on the student population.

At the regional and municipal level, the concept of specialized education involves the development of models and mechanisms for its implementation based on the principle of ensuring the variability of education. As you know, three such models are offered:

Single-profile educational institution;

Multidisciplinary educational institution;

Network organization (this model is implemented in two versions - “Resource Center” and “School - Institution additional education- university").

So, the child studies at school, not yet realizing that it is a single-profile school and this “one profile” does not coincide with his future choice. As soon as this understanding comes, the child is faced with a choice: move to another school or “step on the throat of his own song” and change his profile. Isn't it a depressing picture? The school is also having a hard time: “our own” students, who prefer a different profile, are forced to transfer to another school, and in order to ensure that classes are full, it is necessary to specially recruit “foreign” children who will transfer from other schools. Thus, in our opinion, the single-profile training model does not stand up to criticism.

The advantages of a multidisciplinary educational institution are obvious, but ensuring versatility is economically feasible only in new buildings, where more than two parallel high school students study, or in entrepreneurial-oriented educational institutions, where there is a functioning board of trustees and there is additional extra-budgetary funding for the school. In the conditions of the emerging “demographic hole”, few schools will be able to provide variability in education with a minimum number of students. The disadvantage of multi-discipline, in our opinion, is the difficulty of ensuring the educational process in specialized classes of one school necessary resources, including personnel. Hence the decline in the quality of specialized training. Nevertheless, based on the results of the distribution of experimental schools in the Southern Educational District of Moscow according to models for implementing specialized education, 56% of schools chose the model of a multidisciplinary educational institution (Fig.).

Rice. Distribution of experimental schools of the Southern UUO according to models for the implementation of specialized education (according to the department of strategy for the development of educational institutions of the Southern UUO)

The most effective, in our opinion, is the network organization model. It should be noted that the idea of ​​a resource center has been studied by specialists from the perspective of its application in the pre-university education system since 1993. Thus, it was during this period of time that two Moscow schools in the South-Western educational district of Moscow, located next door, tried to combine efforts to prepare students to universities. The first school provided preparation for economic universities, the second - for technical universities. Each student studied according to the chosen program of additional education after classes at either his own school or a neighboring one.

Currently, it is proposed to consider as a resource center both one of the schools in the microdistrict, the one with the most technical or personnel equipment, and an educational institution of a different educational level that has the resources necessary for the implementation of specialized training. In the first case, we have an example of competitive relations in the general education segment, implemented in the form of a model of horizontal integration, in the second - an example vertical integration.

Another look at the network organization is reflected in the program for the phased introduction of specialized training in educational institutions in the Southern District of Moscow. When organizing network interaction of educational institutions, program developers proceed from the following provisions: the network is created and maintained by common issues that are interesting to all members of the network; each of the network nodes offers its own vision of a particular problem and its own version of its solution, using other network nodes as an additional resource. Thus, the concept of a network node arises, which is defined by the developers as an educational institution that meets the following requirements:

Has its own resources and infrastructure to implement the content of its educational model;

Understands the partial nature of its content and sees the opportunity to use additional resources at the expense of other network nodes.

Accordingly, network interaction of educational institutions can be carried out on the basis of:

implementation of the educational process;

use of material and technical resources;

attracting personnel;

application of information and communication technologies.

Thus, the proposed network model reflects the presence not of a single resource center, but of a group of owners of certain resources entering into relations of exchange - that is, in co-competitive relations. And if so, then the optimal form of a co-competitive network model would be to consider a ring of resource centers interconnected and basing their own activities on a compatible software and technological base. This implies the feasibility of designing a ring of resource centers as the basis of a unified district educational system.

It should be noted that the idea of ​​a resource center or a network organization of such ideally corresponds to the very paradigm of competitive relations and perfectly extends to all levels of education, being embodied in models of both horizontal and vertical integration. Thus, considering the system of higher professional education, we note that it is by no means economically profitable for every university to maintain its own printing base, meanwhile, providing the educational process with educational and methodological materials is both one of the important licensing requirements and an indicator of the quality of education. Hence the expediency of partnerships between universities, in which one acts as a customer, and the other as a performer of printing works. Ideally, these relationships may not be limited to printing, but extend to the formation of a common educational and methodological resource. The idea of ​​a resource center in the field of training using new information educational technologies (e-learning) is of particular relevance, since the development of electronic training courses- truly an expensive pleasure. Both the exchange of courses and the development of “common” courses by interuniversity teams of authors can significantly reduce the costs of creating the content of an educational program. Of course, a number of issues require solutions, especially in terms of intellectual property management, but the benefits of such cooperation between universities are obvious.

Co-competitive processes also extend to vertical integration models. As is known, the system of lifelong education involves extensive interaction between educational institutions providing various forms and levels of education. These are schools and colleges, colleges and universities, schools and universities, etc. The most common model of cooperation is the school-university educational model. On its basis, schools and universities implement many educational programs: from preparation for a university to in-depth study of a number of special disciplines on the basis of a school with subsequent study at a university in individual plan. Educational activities is carried out, as a rule, on the basis of an agreement between the school and the university, with the involvement of university teachers, and on the terms of reimbursement of educational costs by the parents of the students. The demand for joint educational programs is great and can provide an influx of extra-budgetary financial resources to the school.

Currently, as has been shown, schools are moving towards specialized education. At the same time, it is stated that it is neither preparation for a university nor professional education. However, we believe that one does not exclude the other and, with proper organization of the educational process, does not lead to overload of students. In contrast to the approach in which children must be “major” at school, and then go to preparatory courses at a university, without receiving any basic professional knowledge at all. In the process of constructing a model of lifelong education at the Moscow Financial and Industrial Academy, we carried out a tremendous amount of work to align the didactic units of educational programs at various educational levels. And we can with full confidence assert that specialized training is perfectly complemented by the parallel development of a secondary vocational education program (of course, not in full), at least when it comes to the socio-economic profile and such specialties as “Management” or “Economics and Accounting” , or IT profile and specialty " Automated systems information processing and management". Of course, all this is possible only by ensuring consistency and continuity in mastering the material while avoiding its duplication, which presupposes scrupulous joint work of departments of educational institutions of various educational levels responsible for the content of education, educational and methodological support and organization of the educational process. At the same time, the requirements for the structure and content of educational and methodological support increase, since the student must master a certain amount of material independently. Teachers, in turn, are required to teach students how to correctly and effectively independent work, competent use of various information resources.

What relation do preparation for higher education and professionalization of specialized education have to the processes of cooperation?

Firstly, the “demographic hole” makes the number of children in graduating classes who want to study in the same profile (and therefore choose the same university) insufficient to ensure the economic feasibility of the project of joint provision of educational services.

Secondly, specialized training still does not have its own methodological support, while many university developments could be quite effective for solving the problems of profiling.

Thirdly, issues of career guidance are closely correlated with issues of vocational training, which cannot be resolved by the schools themselves and, as it now turns out, cannot be entirely resolved by universities without the participation of the employer.

Fourthly, today they are already trying to tie profiling to the future needs of the labor market, which makes this task completely impossible for schools.

Thus, strategic alliances are required that include partnerships between schools, various universities, employers and local authorities state power and management. The latter should be responsible for state priorities in terms of training specialists.

Note that local alliances of this kind exist in the educational services market. For example, on the basis of Education Center No. 1694, educational services are provided for training in a number of universities according to a single program agreed with the participating universities. Teachers from all universities included in this alliance are involved in the educational process. Universities have recognized the quality of training children according to a unified program. In essence, this is the implementation of the concept of an interuniversity center, which we outlined in detail in the monograph “Education in Market Conditions: The Concept of an Educational Institution” (M., 2002). This concept is based on an interuniversity agreement that regulates the procedure for conducting pre-university training and contains the following list:

additional opportunities for admission to a budget department (passing without competition; additional points when participating in a competition; participation in olympiads and other events equivalent to entrance exams according to current regulations and instructions of the Ministry of Education and Science);

additional opportunities for admission on a contractual basis - financial (discounts, payment in installments, the possibility of switching to a budget department or a 100% discount on tuition fees in case of excellent academic performance) and organizational (passing without a competition; additional points when participating in a competition; enrollment by interview results, etc.).

The organizational aspects of training at the interuniversity center are as follows.

1. The student is preparing to enter several participating universities at the same time, into a group of specialties (of course, preparation for economic specialties will differ from preparation for mathematical, natural science, etc.).

2. Preparation is carried out on the basis of agreement between the interested parties. The student enters into an agreement with the interuniversity center if it acts as a legal entity; in the event that such a center is a structural unit of a university and is not authorized to enter into contracts, the contract is concluded with the university itself, on the basis of which this structural unit operates. The contract contains references to the agreement between the interested parties.

3. The student receives a training program approved by the participating universities and the necessary educational and methodological support. The training program includes in-depth study of disciplines relevant to the participating universities, mandatory career guidance classes, trainings and business games - the “highlights” of the participating universities.

4. Classes are conducted according to a modular principle: the module includes orientation lectures held at each participating university, and the development of material in practical classes with the participation of school teachers - tutors.

Let's consider what opportunities are acquired by interested parties when implementing such a model.

The benefit for the student is obvious - he has more opportunities to enroll in both the budgetary and non-budgetary departments of the participating university. In addition, during the period of study, he becomes thoroughly acquainted with both the chosen specialty and the features of training in this specialty in all participating universities.

The preference of a university for students (and their parents) in this case is formed under the influence of both price and non-price factors(applicant’s impressions of the library collection, public life university, etc.).

The economic interest of the interuniversity center is due to the following factors. Firstly, it is easier to recruit students for integrated training programs than for an educational program at a single university. Secondly, such educational programs make it possible to use the integrated resources of participating universities and thus reduce costs. The other side of the coin is the more complex organization of activities within the framework of the implementation of integrated programs, however, the higher the interest of the participating universities, the greater the support of project management can be provided.

Finally, the economic interest of the participating universities. Already today in private, denominational and specialized schools (with in-depth study foreign language, mathematics, etc.) almost every student is focused on a separate university. Both the school and the students are interested in programs integrated with the university, but due to the extremely small size of the group, it is not determined equilibrium price such programs.

Since the cost of training for a university preparation program includes a significant number of overhead expenses, it significantly exceeds the cost of a private tutor. Thus, the equilibrium price of integrated programs is formed only in the case of a sufficient number of students, which is ensured by the offer of training not in one, but in several universities.

In addition, the “demographic hole” inevitably intensifies the competition between universities not only for extra-budgetary, but also for budget students. In this case, the most complex function - student recruitment - is implemented by a third-party organization. As well as the entire management of the learning process under the interuniversity pre-university training program. In addition, university teachers participating in educational process, extra-budgetary workload is provided.

Universities interested in attracting future students must be ready to provide their own resources (personnel, technical, technological) at reasonable prices, that is, act as a resource center. IN marketing purposes They benefit from holding even free events (the university recoups the costs when holding such events together with students from the university’s pre-university training system).

I should note that implementing the concept of an interuniversity center is a very difficult task, requiring enormous communication efforts and the gift of persuasion. In the process of interaction with universities, an unexpected phenomenon appears to be university snobbery, which consists in the reluctance to delegate to anyone the educational process of preparing for a university, since “except for ourselves, no one can prepare for our university.” Universities treat the delegation of marketing functions with great caution, seeing this as “an encroachment on the general market segment.” Often the communication process reaches a dead end due to the bureaucratization of numerous approvals. If a structural unit of a university responsible for pre-university preparation tries to solve this problem, it is “suspected” by the participating universities that during the preparation process, applicants recruited for admission to several universities will ultimately be focused on one. This task is solved somewhat more simply by a third-party independent educational organization of an entrepreneurial type.

Nevertheless, it is precisely such interuniversity centers, due to their mobility, simplicity organizational structure and efficiency of management are able to take on a coordinating role in complex competitive processes of university interaction in order to implement pre-university education programs, assist schools in the transition to specialized education and applicants in vocational guidance And making the right choice your future path.

The cementing basis for the activities of the interuniversity center, as we see, is also the idea of ​​a resource center, and the most viable, from our point of view, is its network organization.

Let's consider another aspect of the development of co-competition in the educational services market. The onset of the “demographic hole” has led to the close attention of entrepreneurial universities to corporate training programs (in the order of interaction with business) and postgraduate educational programs. Their activation in universities, in our opinion, will be accompanied by the following processes:

Mutual incorporation of education and business and the creation of strategic alliances “university - enterprise”;

Promotion of universities into corporate universities with short-term educational programs of an applied nature (mainly today there is interest in training); development of competitive or co-competitive relations with professional training centers, inclusion of “freelancers” (trainers and consultants working in the market as “free artists”) into the orbit of their own activities;

Attempts to create business consulting areas at universities, which in turn will entail either entering into competition or developing competitive relations with specialized companies providing business consulting.

And finally, let us turn to the most important global trend - the globalization of education and its consequence - the rapid development of the export of educational services in a number of countries. As is known, the globalization of education is directly related to the emergence of online universities and the development of transnational education. According to the Australian scientist G. McBurney, as a representative of a country-exporter of transnational education, it is “a difficult topic of debate. Importing nations invent regulatory legislation for a variety of reasons, including consumer protection, protection of local education systems, and quality assurance. Exporters create ethical codes and care about the reputation of their institutions as they operate in the international arena. International organizations such as UNESCO, as well as non-governmental and private international organizations such as the International Union for Transnational Education, adhere to the principles of good practice in transnational education."

Meanwhile, in 1999, 35 of 38 Australian universities reported offering 750 transnational courses (a compelling example of co-competition, isn't it?). By 2000, the number of students enrolled in them was approximately 32 thousand people (studied in programs both on site and remotely) plus 6250 people studying only remotely.

The globalization of education attracts the attention of major international institutions and organizations: UNESCO, UN, World Bank, Council of Europe, etc. They are intensifying international relationships in the field of education: they are aimed at the quality and accessibility of education, ensuring recognition of the equivalence of diplomas, and overcoming national barriers.

According to experts, in the coming years, teaching foreign students in a number of countries will become one of the most profitable sectors of the economy. As for Russia, as we know, despite the presence of technical, technological, and content support for the export of educational services, a significant breakthrough in terms of providing educational services to foreign students through e-learning has not yet been noted. In this regard, one cannot ignore another opportunity to develop the export of educational services - through the activation of competitive processes with interested parties from “near” and “far” abroad and the initiation of innovative educational projects in the format of international cooperation.

Perhaps it is the integration processes in education that will play a decisive positive role in the processes of reforming the domestic education system. And then the economics of education, like modern biology, will record the abandonment of such tactical models of competitive behavior as offense and defense, in favor of models of orderly effective interaction and cooperation.

Literature

competitive educational professional

1. Does natural selection exist? (Round table materials) // Higher education in Russia. - 2006. - No. 7.

2. Does natural selection exist? (Round table materials) // Higher education in Russia. - 2006. - No. 8.

3. McBurney G. Globalization as a political paradigm of higher education // Higher education today. - 2001. - No. 1.

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What are competitive methods? Even people who are far from entrepreneurial activity and economic sciences. In this article we will talk about what methods of competition there are in the market, we will discuss its various types and forms. Such information can be useful both to a wide audience and to novice entrepreneurs or economics students.

After all, we are faced with manifestations of competition between firms every day, be it small businesses or large well-known companies, foreign or domestic organizations. They all compete with each other, and this manifests itself in completely different ways.

What is competition?

On this topic there are many bulky ones scientific works, various studies, articles, and literature. In addition, there are many definitions of the concept of “competition”; they are given by different economists and scientists, but at the same time they all carry a similar meaning. Methods of competition are often the most important issue addressed within this topic.

So, most definitions of competition boil down to the fact that enterprises strive to occupy a leading position in their market, thereby reaching more consumers, which, in turn, will bring additional profit. Based on this, we can conclude that the struggle for a client is competition. Methods of competition include a large number of ways to improve your position in the market. For example, these could be price competitive methods or mixed forms, based on various techniques and tricks. There can be a lot of options and combinations, and their effectiveness is determined by the ability to adapt to the market situation.

Types and methods of competition

Depending on the markets and their size, there are many forms for the development of competition. Touching upon the types of competition, as a rule, we mean, and in the conditions of the modern economy there are many examples of its manifestations. All it takes is a quick glance at different markets and industries.

As for methods of competition, they are divided into price and non-price. Both are used and improved in business, while taking new forms, changing and adapting to new realities. Next, methods of competition in the market will be covered.

Price

Their implementation is the simplest in terms of the activities that the organization must carry out. Price methods of competition usually include reducing the cost of goods. The result of such actions may be an increase in consumer attention to the product, an increase in sales and demand for the product. However, it should be remembered that everything has its own resource and boundary, when crossed, the opposite effect occurs.

The most important disadvantage of the pricing method is that, firstly, the company must set a budget, initially planning to reduce prices, or the cost of production must be extremely low for the business to be profitable. Therefore, these methods are good as long as the business remains profitable.

The second disadvantage will be such a factor as the price being tied to the consumer properties of the product. It is quite possible to sell products for almost nothing compared to competitors, but no one has canceled the fact that if the quality of a product is so unsatisfactory, then it may not be in any demand at all. It turns out that in order to use pricing methods, a company’s product or service must meet at least minimum quality requirements, and sales must generate income.

Non-price

When talking about these methods of increasing competitiveness, they very often mean a wide range of different actions. For example, it could be marketing events, and improving the consumer properties of the product, this also includes improving quality, service, warranty service, and so on.

In the modern economy, non-price methods of competition are much more effective. The fact is that consumers often perceive a simple price reduction as a sign of low quality goods, and some types of products, for example mobile phones, as an indicator of status, so a reduction in price in this case may scare away potential users. Next will be described specific methods competition, which are classified as non-price.

Brand recognition

The most effective way to increase competitiveness is to create products that consumers will recognize. You don’t even need to give names, you just need to simply describe the industry, and examples will come to mind, because there are many such products - there are world-famous cars, there are products Food Industry(carbonated drinks, various snacks), clothing, shoes, stationery and, of course, smartphones. Most readers probably thought of the same brands, automobile concerns and groups of companies, because their products are well-known.

Such methods of competition not only allow one to maintain its position in the market, but also deter new firms. It is quite possible that the consumer will never know that new company makes better products, simply due to a lack of trust in it.

Quality

If before this we were talking about brand awareness, now we should move on to the aspect without which it can become a failure of the business. Without quality products, it is impossible to achieve recognition. Recognition can work in both directions, and if a product has poor consumer properties, then not only will they not buy it, but they will also inform other potential customers about it.

Quality is not only formalities and compliance with all norms and metrological standards, but also satisfaction of consumer expectations. If the properties of a product or service are not enough to make the client satisfied, then they need to be modernized.

Service and maintenance

A firm's competitive methods may include an emphasis on technical product support. This especially applies to high-tech products, such as computers, smartphones, cars, and some services such as communications.

Product support can come in different forms depending on the industry. For example, these could be hotlines, repair points, stations Maintenance and even staff to fix product problems at home.

Prestige

As stated above, brand recognition is an excellent Prestige follows from the same, because most people prefer to use products with rich history, be it the same cars or carbonated drinks. The status of a thing is very important for a certain category of clients, and competent marketing measures and positioning in the market will help make the product such.

Advertising

Competitive methods include many powerful tools. Advertising is one of them. IN modern world there is a lot of scope for marketing activities. Thanks to the advancement of technology, advertising has come a long way. Now it's not just newspaper columns or billboards, but also television and radio. Wide scope for showing your product is provided by the Internet and social media. A large number of Internet resources will help not only communicate about yourself, but also attract more additional audiences who may be looking for your offer.

Extending product life

Very often, consumers complain that relatively new products quickly become unusable. As a rule, we are talking about household appliances, electronics, and sometimes about clothes. An excellent competitive advantage will be either an improvement in the quality of the products produced, or a longer product. A good attitude towards the client is the guarantee that he will come back to buy your products again.

Types of competition

Returning to this topic, we should again note the existence of both perfect and Not perfect competition.

In the first case, a free market is implied, where firms can easily enter and exit with their products. In addition, in the case of free competition, enterprises cannot significantly influence the cost of goods in their segment, which creates a breadth of choice for the buyer.

There is another group of signs; it includes such factors as free exchange of information, exceptionally honest behavior of enterprises in relation to pricing policy, in addition, this can include high mobility of organizations in the context that firms can freely change their activities.

It implies the absence or distortion of the above conditions, as well as the emergence of various conspiracies, increased pressure and control of certain industries, and the emergence of monopolists (the only firms in their industry).

One of the most common types of imperfect competition today is oligopoly. This refers to a limited number of different manufacturers and sellers who dominate their industries. This situation occurs, for example, among manufacturers of cars, some food products, and cosmetics. Entry thresholds to these markets are quite high for new firms.

What competition gives

Methods of competition, due to their characteristics, are of great benefit to society. If competition is developed, consumers receive either best product, or products at a lower price compared to the offer of other market participants.

This is due to the endless struggle of market participants for leading positions, which provides a huge benefit for the development of society and the economy both at the smallest levels and on an international scale. It's important to remember that the main objective business - obtaining and maximizing profits, however, a large number of participants in the battle for clients require advantages over other companies. Organizations must create products and provide services that will interest potential customers. The main methods of competition in the sales process themselves impose unique restrictions on business, preventing the provision of goods poor quality, and regulate the price.

Results

The modern market cannot exist without competition. Yes, it takes different forms, and methods of competition - depending on industries and areas - are also different. They are constantly being improved, and organizations are forced to adapt to the dynamics of what is happening in the external environment.

Depending on economic, technical, social and political factors some industries choose perfect competition, while others move towards monopolistic or even oligopoly. The task of enterprises is to recognize changes in time and adapt to them.

These are natural processes; competition is generated by the actions of firms. Methods of competition in this case are only a consequence of changes environment, as well as the spirit of the times.