Экономические науки / 6. Маркетинг и менеджмент

Doctor of Economics Irina А. Kislukhina,

Ph. D., Cultural Studies Olga G. Rybakova

Industrial University of Tyumen, Affiliate in Nizhnevartovsk, Russia

Differential Characteristics of Anti-crisis Management

Generally all management can be called as anti-crisis management so far as it is aimed to improve the economic conditions of social and economic systems and to prevent crisis occurrences in their activity. At the same time anti-crisis management should have its own “niche” in the theory and practice of management. When defining this “niche” it should be taken into consideration such concepts as “economic crisis”, Federal Bankruptcy Act, federal and regional anti-crisis programs аs well as the results of theoretical investigations of Russian and foreign scientists.

The threat of forthcoming bankruptcy according to Z. Ivazyan and V. Kirichenko’s classification [1, p. 94] may become the boarder between anti-crisis management and management. This threat is the third and forth phases of crisis which are characterized by nonstandard and extreme conditions of social and economic systems operations claimed urgent and forced measures to overcome crisis.

Consequently anti-crisis management may be defined as the whole complex of management methods and legal processes applied to social and economic system (including enterprises) in case of its crisis and the threat of forthcoming bankruptcy (default, collapse).

Anti-crisis management should be considered not only as microeconomic category i. e as the complex of management methods applied solely and exclusively to certain business entities - enterprises. As known crisis can arise at all levels of economics: micro-, meso- and macro- and mega level. Consequently anti-crisis measures and management of their implementation will be needed for crisis bailout plan at any rate. However, methods themselves and modes of their application will be different depending on the economy level and kind of social and economic system (small enterprise, consortium, sector of economy, state economical system and etc.)

From there for the object of anti-crisis management can act social and economic systems being under conditions of crisis and for the subject can be the crisis conditions in their activity.

Like any independent scientific discipline and practical activity anti-crisis management should possess its own range of research and practice methods. It is impossible to manage social and economic system with the help of conventional methods in the context of crisis. Crisis condition demands for different approaches to management and making such kinds of decisions which will be able to change the course of events in the shortest period and to stop moving into the “recessionary hole”. Anti-crisis management has important differential characteristics from conventional management (table 1).

Table 1

Differential characteristics of anti-crisis management and management

Management	Anti-crisis management
1. Long-term development is preferred to here and now profit.	1. There is a necessity of here and now profit, even to the prejudice of the possible future.
2. Short-term purposes and tasks are depended on the main development strategy.	2. There is an absence of strategic purposes and tasks and long-term planning. There is short-term planning.
3. There is a tendency to maximize profit and minimize losses.	3. There is a tendency to accumulate money resources in order to prevent bankruptcy (default, collapse). There is a possibility of mandatory expenses.
4. Lean optimization and more intensive methods of social and economic system resources utilization are achieved by the introduction of advanced technology and the increase of labour productivity.	4. Social and economic system is characterized by hard resource conservation which is fulfilled mainly by decreasing needs in current assets.
5. Strategic and tactical plans have the offensive character measures.	5. Predominantly protective measures are set aside in crises bailout plan (f. e. decrease in production, selling a part of assets, reduction of stuff).
6. Money resources are invested in advanced projects profitable in future.	6. Investment operation is stopped for the whole period of anti crisis management: “freezing advanced projects, halt to actually unprofitable business.
7. Dynamic social policy is focused on improving labour conditions and increasing the standard of well-being for employees (town people and citizen etc.).	7. Social programs are stopped for a while. It is fulfilled only essential employees’ payments and social net which will keep people’s incomes from falling below some socially accepted minimum level.

The difference of anti-crisis management is determined by the change of measures in making management decisions. In the context of crisis the long-term development orientation and future planning lose their applicability as far as there is no future for the social and economic system which is under the threat of forthcoming bankruptcy (default, collapse).

Anti-crisis management is the activity extremely limited in time. When inability to pay having come, an entity has only three month for introducing anti-crisis measures at the expiration of which the head of organization should petition the arbitrary court with bankruptcy notice [2, paragraph 9]. As for social and economic system of the other levels (of branch, region and etc.) here the measures of anti-crisis management may be fulfilled for a longer period although they would be always hard limited in time by the terms and conditions of execution of obligations, loan repayments, contracts and anti-crisis programs time of validity.

Social and economic system being in “the nearest bankruptcy zone” (third and forth phase of crisis [1]) should undertake urgent measures for reestablishing debtor solvency that is maximization of cash resources during the short current period of time. As far as there is already no reserve capital which can be used for debt service and financial investments (capital expenditures, credits and etc.) are hardly probable so the most ideal way of cash resources accumulation is to transfer existing assets into financial means combined with hard budget savings of all kinds of resources.

Hard budget savings is meant to decrease the current needs in floating funds that is social and economic system transition to decrease in production and “freezing” of all the long-term projects profitable in future as well as stopping the financing package of social programs(except essential employees’ payments).

Maximization of money resources requires resolute actions seldom accepted in ordinary management conditions. For increasing of current money resources it is needed to use both funds already received and materialized and those funds that can be received in case of successful fulfillment of crisis bailout plan (figure 1). The maneuver is to fill the gap between the money demand and cash inflow. According to Z. Ivazyan and V. Kirichenko anti-crisis management allows any losses as at present as in future which can help to recover financial responsibility [1, p. 97].

Finances, Maneuver Maneuver

roubles of the last of the future

money resources money resources

Time, month

Pre-crisis period: Post-crisis period:

«the past» of social and “recessionary hole” «the future» of social and

economic system economic system

Fig. 1 Flow chart of cash flow during crisis

It should be noticed that it is not enough to use only anti-crisis management methods because they are undertaken in urgent situation when the crises has already come and social and economic system has met with the threat of bankruptcy and there is extremely little time to overcome crises. Economic crises should be managed using the whole complex of methods and techniques of all modern management theory and practice. In this regard the concepts of “anti-crisis management” and “crisis management” (as economic phenomenon) should be differentiated so far as the process of crisis management is far beyond the anti-crisis management and it includes crisis bailout plan, crisis forecasting and crisis averting. Anti-crisis management fulfills only the crisis bailout plan whereas the methods and procedures of anti-crisis management are applied to social and economic system which is already in the context of crisis. Crisis forecasting can be realized on the basis of internal context and environment monitoring. Made on a permanent basis monitoring will let to find out just in time negative changes of the data under control, to determine the dynamic of their development and to forecast the appearance of crisis. Early crisis forecasting will let to prevent it coming that means to avert crisis or at least to decrease its development. Crisis averting can be done by the methods of strategic and tactical management such as reorganization of social and economic system, improvement in management techniques and economic activity, innovations and etc. intended to ensure sustainable economic status.

Consequently, the differentiation of anti-crisis management permits to define anti-crisis management as an independent science discipline and practical activity, gives the possibility to formulate theoretical foundation and the development of its methodology as well as practical application of valid management methods in the social and economic systems being in the context of crisis.

References:

1. Ivazyan, Z. Anti-crisis Management: Decision-making on the Brink of a Catastrophe [Text] / Z. Ivazyan, V. Kirichenko // Questions of Theory and Practice Management. – 1999. – № 4. – P. 94-100.

2. Federal Bankruptcy Act on October 26. – 2002. – № 127-Federal Act // Rossiyskaya Gazeta. – November 2. – 2002. – № 209-210.