The basis of the economies of most countries are corporations. Moreover, this term can correspond to economic entities with a variety of characteristics - in terms of scale, structure, development priorities. What are the modern approaches to the concept of the term "corporation"? How can these structures function in different countries of the world?
What is a corporation?
The term "corporation" may mean:
- the union of several companies in order to jointly solve complex business problems;
- a large company or, in some cases, a holding that includes several subsidiaries;
- a political subject with a unified system of management and decision-making - at the city or even state level.
But most often a corporation is understood as a holding or a business combination, sometimes monopolistic (for example, in the form of cartels). Corporate relations between the founders of the relevant business entity, as well as their partners, are usually established at the level of civil law and labor agreements. The more effective the legal support of the corporation will be, the more successful it will be in business, in cooperation with competitors.
Correlation of interests in a corporation
Let us consider such an aspect of the activity of the associations in question as the correlation of interests. Those may have the founders of the corporation, managers, ordinary employees. The interests of corporate participants may vary, but they are united by the fact that they are delegated by a specific person to a higher level.
So, an ordinary employee trusts to defend his interests to the head of the department. Which, in turn, delegates its own, taking into account those accepted from the subordinate, to the head, relatively speaking, of the department. After that, the interests are transferred to the level of top managers of the company and are considered by them taking into account their priorities. If a person is satisfied with such a scheme of delegation of interests, he, as a rule, successfully integrates into the activities of the corporation.
This feature of the interaction of participants in the respective business associations predetermines the need to develop standards governing their communication with each other.
Corporate Standards
The most important condition for the effective development of the corporation is the existence of rules that it is recommended that its employees adhere to in the implementation of their interests. They are usually characterized by a high degree of centralization. It can be noted that the features of finance of various types of corporations have, in principle, the same property. They are managed by higher structures of the company, key decisions on their distribution are made by top managers of the company.
Norms in a corporation are usually set at the level of local regulations. But it's not always the case. It is possible that they will be informal in nature, transmitted from one member of the corporation to another orally, but strictly observed. It can be noted that in some corporate structures official norms will be more significant, in others - those that are more correctly attributed to informal ones. It depends on national traditions in the state in which the company is registered, on the policies of the owners, top managers of the company, on the specifics of the segment in which the organization develops.
It should be noted that for the effective building of relations in business, as a rule, it is not so much the various formats of corporate norms that matter, as the mechanisms that ensure their observance.
Consider what the main types of corporations are distinguished by researchers.
Corporate classification by economic nature
Modern experts classify the associations in question into 3 main types of corporations based on the criterion of their economic nature:
- classic;
- statist;
- creative.
We study their specifics in more detail.
Classic corporations are firms that are established with the aim of achieving maximum business efficiency in the form of cost-effective production of goods or services, as well as assuming a steady increase in turnover with a subsequent increase in the company's market share. The classical corporation is characterized by a pronounced distinction between the institutions of ownership and management. There are owners of the company investing in it, and there are managers responsible for its development. The former, as a rule, do not interfere with the activities of the latter. However, hired managers in a classic corporation are usually accountable to company owners.
In the associations in question, a stable culture of interaction between employees is usually established. Depending on the degree of influence of the company, it may extend to other firms and be approved there. Under the influence of various factors, the components of the corporate structure, once formed, can be changed. This is possible, for example, due to the influence of the field of scientific and technological development, social technologies, political development.
The evolution of classic corporations
Thus, researchers distinguish 3 stages in recent history, within which corporations developed and changed. The types of associations, thus, appeared new, largely dissimilar to the previous ones.
So, in the mid-20th century, corporations began to specialize in the development of new technologies as one of the key competitive advantages in business. Large volumes of production began to be delegated to countries where conditions were more suitable for the deployment of appropriate capacities in terms of profitability. In the states in which the corporations were registered, head offices and technology centers remained.
In the years 70-80, global businesses began to develop with a focus on territorial expansion, to occupy the largest possible share in the international market. This influenced the beginning processes of globalization, the unification of standards, the exchange of corporate experience with the participation of entrepreneurs from different countries.
In the 90s, changes in the social nature began to occur in the structure of world corporations, reflecting the revision by employees of companies of their own role in business. So, employees of many companies stopped considering themselves as hired specialists, they began to feel like partners of their employer. Of course, the noted trends are traced in different states with dissimilar intensity. These or other types of international corporations and their distinguishing features may imply completely unique characteristics of businesses that do not fit into any global concepts.
Further in the article, we will consider examples of some national corporate cultures, indicating that trends that are formed even in the largest economies cannot always significantly affect the processes occurring in other states.
Statistical corporations
The classification and types of corporations formed by modern researchers suggest the separation of statist associations into a separate category. What are their specifics?
Statistical corporations emerged as a response to capitalist trends that were actively developing and spreading their influence in the world. Their founder and main ideologist is the state. It is assumed that it determines the basic norms of the corporate culture of these associations, forms economic and social priorities in the development of the relevant structures.
Unlike classical capitalist corporations, statist associations are established with a view to solving mainly urgent social and political problems. For example, providing employment for citizens. Where the classical capitalist does not dare to start production due to the high costs of building infrastructure, the state entity establishing the statist corporation may well initiate the construction of a new factory in order to employ citizens living in the corresponding territory.
In the associations in question, official rules governing the corporate behavior of employees are extremely important. Such companies developed mainly in the USSR and other socialist countries. Moreover, in the respective states the essence of the term “corporation”, the concept, the economic nature and the main types of economic associations were often not considered in the context of real social policy, since they were considered to be related to the capitalist system.
Thus, the associations in question may have not only an economic, but also a socio-political institutional basis. In this sense, their significance can be significantly higher in terms of state development than in the case of classical structures.
Creative corporations
Another major category of corporations is creative associations. They are among the youngest structures. Creative corporations appeared at the end of the 20th century. Their emergence and distribution is mainly associated with the development of communication infrastructure - primarily the Internet. People have a need for communication, for the exchange of information, digital products that can shape emotions.
Consequently, there was a demand for businesses, ready-made such products - games, sites, programs, multimedia content, to deliver. Creating such solutions requires a creative approach - when you need to develop a product that is not similar to existing ones that competitors have, or is characterized by significant advantages over solutions already on the market.
There are a variety of creative corporations. Types of corresponding structures are presented in “offline”, “online” varieties. There are large, but there are small creative firms. Given the large volume of the online market, competition between them can be very mild. Which is not too characteristic of classic corporations.
The business associations we have examined above are the results of the evolution of the economy, society, and technology. But none of them can be considered obsolete; in most developed countries, you can find any of the corporations represented in these categories. Types of relevant associations can be classified according to many other criteria. Their specificity depends on the specific approach used by the researcher or formed in the national school of economics.
Essence, types of corporations can be studied using a wide range of methods. Among them - the identification of legal characteristics of the corporation. That is, those that are based on the provisions of the legislation of a country. It would be useful, therefore, to consider the official, traceable at the level of state laws, approach to the classification of the associations in question.
Classification of corporations in Russian law
So, the main types of corporations in the Russian Federation under the law are business companies, NGOs, associations, cooperatives, partnerships. If we are talking about a holding, then in Russia the corresponding structure is most often referred to as a group of companies. There are state corporations in the Russian Federation , in a sense, which are a subset of the statist, but at the ideological level, rather, consistent with the capitalist concepts of determining priorities in economic development.
The Russian economy is largely integrated with the world. Therefore, the definitions of the term “corporation” adopted in the Russian Federation, the concept, economic nature and the main types of relevant associations, in practice can be interpreted taking into account current international definitions.
So, for example, in Russia and abroad the term "concern" is common. Depending on the context, it can be understood differently among Russian managers. What can constitute a concern in the Russian Federation as a type of corporation? The specifics of the financial activity of Western European firms, in particular German ones, predetermines the frequent use of the term in question in order to designate the largest multinational associations in Europe. In turn, American firms, albeit on a large scale, are most often referred to as corporations, or financial groups.
Thus, the term “corporation”, its concept and types can be interpreted differently depending on the traditions adopted in a particular cultural management environment. It will be useful to get acquainted with the experience of building corporate businesses abroad. Let's study it on the example of some of the largest economies.
National types of modern corporations
Types of corporations can be classified based on national traditions of building relationships between participants in the respective association. So, it is useful to consider the experience of Japan. The fact is that in this state corporate norms play an exceptionally significant role. Moreover, those that are of an unofficial nature are often referred to the most stringent ones.
One of the key characteristics of the Japanese corporation is the priority of collective interests over individual ones. A person comes to work in a particular company, as a rule, not considering the transition to another in the near future. This allows him to consistently realize his qualities and, possibly, ensure career growth. Another reason why the prospect of transferring to another company may not seem very attractive for a Japanese employee is the fact that the structure, types of corporations that compete with the current employer, most likely, will not fundamentally differ from those that characterize a company in which man works. Most likely, the employee will perform the same functions and receive the same salary.
Another thing is the American corporate tradition. It is characterized, in turn, by the priority of the individual over the collective. A person, of course, delegates part of his interests to a higher level, but their volume, as a rule, is significantly lower than if he worked in Japan. This is due to the fact that corporate culture in the United States can vary significantly between companies. And this can stimulate the active migration of specialists of different levels from one company to another.
Despite the fact that American and Japanese corporate cultures have a number of obvious differences, this does not prevent specialists from US firms from successfully cooperating with entrepreneurs from Japan. In general, an understanding of the essence of the term “corporation”, definition, types of relevant associations studied by the American and Japanese school of management, can be based on the same principles. Thus, the corporate models of the USA and Japan in a number of contexts will differ in content, but in form they will be very close. And this may be enough to build effective cooperation.
The noted types of international corporations and their distinguishing features indicate that, in principle, unique conditions can be formed in any state that determine the development of the relevant business associations. Especially when it comes to states with relatively little experience in building capitalist relations. For example, in Russia. It will be useful to study the most remarkable characteristics of corporate culture in the Russian Federation.
Russian corporate culture
What types of corporations in Russia have developed over the period of building capitalism in the country? According to many experts, the Soviet traditions are quite strong in the Russian Federation, especially when it comes to large backbone enterprises with state participation. Those have a certain similarity with the Japanese concepts of building a corporate culture - when a person is required to consider himself as a carrier of mainly corporate interests while he is at work.
Citizens of the Russian Federation, finding a job in a particular company, like the Japanese, in many cases are ready to work in it indefinitely, without considering the prospects of moving to another company. But there are types of corporations in Russia, which, in turn, are much closer in their structure to American concepts of building relationships in business. Typically, these are small and medium enterprises, often family businesses. The national Russian corporate tradition is still in its infancy. How it will look in the foreseeable future depends on many factors - social, foreign economic, and foreign policy.
Summary
So, we studied the essence of the term "corporation", the concept and types of relevant associations in terms of concepts that are common among modern researchers. The considered type of structures is represented by the widest spectrum of their varieties. The concept, characteristics of a corporation, types of corporations in different historical periods were investigated taking into account political, socio-economic factors, processes in the scientific and technical sphere.
. , , , . . , , . , , .
In modern developed economies, you can find companies that match any of the categories we have examined. But it is worth noting that in some national farms the share of classical and creative corporations is more noticeable, in others - statist. The characteristics of the country's economy depend on what stages in the economic development the state has already passed, what social and political tasks it sets for itself.