Scientific journal
European Journal of Natural History
ISSN 2073-4972
ИФ РИНЦ = 0,301

SOCIAL THEORIES OF MANAGEMENT AND NATIONAL MODELS OF MANAGERS’ TRAINING

Shemyatikhina L.Yu.

Russian conditions of economic development made the problem of professional training of managers actual. What will become the basis of managers´ training National model formation? In the present clause the interconnection and interdependence of social management theories and the existing National models of managers´ training are considered.

Management and managers are the subject of many sociologists´ research. The reasons for such an attention to the topics have become the increase of the role of organization as independently acting subject from the middle of the 50s of the XX century up to the present time. The core of any modern organization is managers integrating separate elements into an effectively working system. As managers don´t exist beyond an organization, so organizations cannot exist without professional management.

Social research of management is carried out in three directions: 1) study of managers as elite social group; 2) character of social relations within the framework of managerial hierarchies at enterprises; 3) management as the process of technical and social control in organizations. However, it should be noticed that in the disciplines of Management, Economy, Sociology a range of theories falling out of the field of social research, but representing special interest for a teacher-research worker, as an illustration of possibilities of an interdisciplinary approach to the professional training of managers, develops in the course of time.

Abramov R.N. marked three blocks of such theories offering original views on managers and management. The "Intramanagerial theories" are a part of the managerial science and reflect the evolution of managers´ views on their role in organization in different periods of industrial development of the society: scientific management of Taylor F.W., administrative management of Faiol A., cost-benefit principles of Emerson H., human relations school and behaviorism in management, venture management concept of Drucker P., Carnegie school, theory of Bernard Ch. Alongside with the enumerated theories a range of approaches to organizations´ administration have been worked out by management: situational, quantitative and process approaches; models of Japanese, American and European managements, results based management, concepts of organization culture, corporative association model, etc. "Futurological theories" considered managers as a social group, which has to take a dominant position in the industrial and postindustrial society: the idea of a technocratic society or technicians´ power of T. Veblen (1921), the theory of economic power of A. Berl and G. Means (1932), J. Bernheim´s "managers´ revolution" idea of the proprietary class´s displacement by the class of managers, suppositions of James and Soreff about the priority of an individual´s position in the social structure of an organization and the set by this position restrictions on the activity, the model of corporative bureaucratism of A. Toffler, A. Bell´s concept of  the postindustrial society, where one of the key roles is played by managers. It should be noted that the "technocracy" power ideas of the first and "managers´ revolution" ones of the last were especially popular in the period of prepotency of the Keynesian economic model, which provides an active intervention of the government into the market mechanism and macroeconomic planning introduction, that prepares the soil for the development of governmental bureaucratism and large corporate structures. The Keynesian model crisis in 1970s had lead to the decrease of the public interest to the forecasts of the possible leading role of managers in the development of the society.

 "Stratification theories" offered different approaches to the research of managers´ position as a part of the industrial society stratification model: the idea of K. Marx about the generation of a new class of "white collars" in industry; the idea of M. Weber about the status group of managers; the theory of Ch. R. Mills about the dominating elite; the research of P. Bourdieu and M. de Saint-Martin on education and top managers´ background, the dependency between basic training of future managers and trajectory of their career.

In all developed nations of the world management is associated with a sustainable and successful development of the economy, its dynamism and potential. More and more the development of production, economy, and society becomes dependent on management. And in management itself great changes take course. The informative possibilities expand; the role of knowledge increases and the problem of knowledge control appears; the personnel becomes the human capital; the amount of alternatives of the problems being solved in the processes of management; management itself transforms into a science and, at the same time, remains a unique skill of the work with people; new requirements are imposed upon managers - the requirements of activity professionalism. In the new century a profession becomes a key stratifying factor.

At the present moment the occupational status of a Russian manager is formed of two moments: the obtained education with its symbolic rating of intellectuality and potentialities (capabilities) - diplomas, and the professionalism properly as an aggregate of experiences, skills, and technologies of organization problems´ solutions.

In the sphere of business-education two basic models - German and American - are being used now. Both of them demonstrate their successfulness in the countries of market economy and are the prototypes of business-education systems generation in other countries. The European or German (traditional) model is based on the separation of higher professional education according economic, engineering, humanitarian schools and managerial personnel development within the system of extended education. Within the framework of the specified model the attention is paid to the "after-experiential education", which is made up of regular participation of active managers in short-term personnel development programs on topical problems of management. The American (new) model named the "professional manager" is based on the creation of business-schools as general centers of research and education in the sphere of management. At that, management - is not only a professional activity aspect and an independent science, but also a social layer carrying out the administrative function in the industrial society.

According to the model of business-education a manger as a separate profession is consolidated in different ways in developed nations. It is probable that originally national features of business life formed managers as an independent profession, but currently the management-education system itself must become the factor affecting the further separation of managers as professionals.

In the analytic reference book "Business-education in Russia" (1998) a shot at describing national models of managers´ training in developed countries on the following characteristics was made: recognition of management as a profession, basic education, possibility of getting Master´s degree, research in the field of management, availability of quality educational materials, forms of mastering the profession of a manager, creation of Educational Centers in organizations, development of professional culture and socialization. There is no analogous description for the Russian national model and its absence doesn´t allow carrying out the quality training of Russian managers.

In business-education the American model might be the only deep-laid one, where management is considered as a profession. In the rest of the models there is a great opposition to the fact that a manager is a profession. Management n Russia, Germany, France is perceived as a certain topside to a profession, for example, manager-engineer and manager- economist. Though, some advances of the American economy testify that the professionalizing of management improves the efficiency of an organization activity greatly and, in terms of the social aspect, promotes the professional dynamics of specialists.   

In the former Soviet Union the ideas of management development, the use of managerial economics among them, became urgent in the 60s. Finally, the development of these ideas has lead to the comprehension of the managerial professionalizing necessity and this area specialists´ training concepts formulation. The most complete expression and practical importance this concept got at the beginning of the 80s. At that time the specialty "Management" with a number of branch, functional and problem specializations was opened. Further a whole complex of management-education specialties appeared: marketing, human resource management, information management and others. At the present time 485 higher colleges in Russia perform their training, but according to specialists´ calculations they are able to satisfy business wants for 38%.

From the outset of managers´ professional training organization in Russia some of its branches were developed: first education, extended education, later on - second education, professional development, reeducation. These branches didn´t come between each other, but, vice versa, enriched the topics and managers´ training methods. The first education was the leading one, as within the framework of its development a fundamental approach to professionalism, management efficiency and issue analysis methods were formed. The extended education characterized practical want of knowledge and a set of the most burning problems of management development.

The experience of the USSR and Russia in mangers´ training organization can be estimated in different ways. In the USSR there was planned and directive economy and, therefore, the training of specialists in the field of management until the 90s disagree with present-day wants of the market system. Partly this statement is correct. However, many problems of large industrial branches and complexes administration remain urgent nowadays, as well. The formation of large-scale and fundamental thinking of the manager - is also the experience of managers´ training development in Russia. The ability to solve organization problems not always depends on socio-economic administrative conditions. And these abilities were also projected in the previous stages of managers´ training development in Russia. It is of paramount importance that in the short period of economic conversions from the 90s up to the present moment Russia has obtained and accumulated a unique experience of managerial professionalism. And this circumstance is impossible to be ignored while discussing the problem of managers´ training.

The stratification structure changes: dynamic processes in occupational groups are traced, new professions and kinds of activity come into being. The possibilities of management-education in Russia are widely discussed. Many research workers hold by the opinion that the expansion of management-education is closely connected with professionalism and national managerial positions formation. Mastering the profession of a manager becomes the source of an individual´s recruitment into a new socio-economic field. At the same time the economical branches and concrete enterprises are in acute want of professional managers. In accord with the RF President Edict № 774 of 23.07.1997 the "Program of management training for the RF national economy organizations" has been realized, the realization of which being dealt by 81 regional branches and 102 Russian higher colleges and syndicates being engaged. The strategic target of the program is to create a reserve of highly skilled competent managers and the formation of management potential able to provide the development of all economical branches enterprises in Russia. The most important of these management tendencies is the managerial activity professionalism, professional managers´ training, and creation of conditions for their professional activity.

The educational situation on managers´ training still remains indefinite, as in the Russian society the social mandate for managers has not been formed, and the activity of educational establishments on managers´ training reminds an experiment. The independent forms and mechanisms of employers´ and occupational communities´ participation in solving the problems of educational policy, including the processes of independent social quality rating of management-education, has not been developed enough. The weak integration of educational, scientific and productive activities can lead to the ultimate separation of theory from practice. The content of management-education and educational technologies still remain inadequate to the up-to-date requirements and tasks of Russian education competitiveness provision in the world´s market of educational services.

It should be noted that the discussed above allows defining the subject matter of management investigation, emphasizing national models of managers´ training and the evolution of views on professional training of managers.

The article is admitted to the International Scientific Conference "Modern sociology and education", United Arab Emirates (Dubai), 16-23th October, 2007, came to the editorial office on 09.11.07.