Assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise. Methods for determining the competitiveness of an organization Methods for assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise scientific article

The problem of assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise is complex and complex, since competitiveness consists of many different factors. However, this assessment is necessary for the enterprise to carry out a number of activities, such as developing the main directions for the creation and manufacture of products that are in demand; assessing the prospects for selling specific types of products and forming a product range; setting prices for products, etc. Currently, the methodology and methodology for conducting assessments are not sufficiently developed. The complexity of the category of competitiveness is determined by the variety of approaches to its assessment.

Among the main methods of analysis in the economic literature, the following stand out:

1. horizontal analysis, or trend analysis, in which indicators are compared with the same for other periods;

2. vertical analysis, in which the structure of indicators is examined by gradually descending to a lower level of detail;

3. factor analysis - analysis of the influence of individual elements of an enterprise’s competitiveness on general economic indicators;

4. comparative analysis - comparison of the studied indicators with similar industry averages or with similar indicators of competitors.

As a rule, the economic literature identifies the following methods for assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise:

1. assessment from the position of comparative advantage;

2. assessment from the position of equilibrium theory;

3. assessment based on the theory of competitive efficiency;

4. assessment based on product quality;

5. requirements profile;

6. polarity profile;

7. matrix method;

8. SWOT - analysis;

9. construction of a “hypothetical polygon of competitiveness.”

Assessment from the position of comparative advantage - the essence of this method is that production and sales are preferable when production costs are lower than those of competitors. The main criterion used in this method is low costs. The advantage of the method is the ease of assessing the level of competitiveness;

Assessment from the position of equilibrium theory - this method is based on the situation in which each factor of production is considered with the same and at the same time the greatest productivity. At the same time, the company does not have additional profit due to the action of any of the factors of production and the company has no incentive to improve the use of one or another factor. The main criterion is the presence of production factors that are not fully used. The undoubted advantage of this method is the ability to determine internal reserves;

Assessment based on the theory of competitive efficiency - there are two approaches when using this method:

The structural approach is the essence of which is the organization of large-scale, efficient production. The main criterion of competitiveness when using this approach is the concentration of production and capital;

Functional approach - assessment of competitiveness according to this approach is carried out on the basis of a comparison of economic performance indicators. The ratio of price, costs and profit margins is used as a criterion for assessing competitiveness;

Assessment based on product quality - this method consists of comparing a number of product parameters that reflect consumer properties. The criterion of competitiveness in this case is product quality. The advantage of this method is the ability to take into account consumer preferences while ensuring the level of competitiveness. Due to the fact that the quality of a product is assessed by a certain set of parameters, the assessment of the competitiveness of a product is based on the use of so-called “parametric” indices that characterize the degree of satisfaction of the need for the product in question.

Requirements profile - the essence of this method is that, using a scale of expert assessments, the degree of advancement of the organization and the strongest competitor are determined. Profile comparison is used as a criterion. The main advantage of this method for assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise is its visibility.

Polarity profile - this method is based on determining the indicators by which the company is ahead or behind its competitors, i.e. its strengths and weaknesses. The criterion used is a comparison of the parameters of advance or lag. Table 1 shows a possible polarity profile;

Matrix method - when using this method, the competitiveness of an enterprise is considered in dynamics. As a criterion for assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise, a comparison of the competitiveness indicator with the table value is used.

The essence of the above methods for assessing competitiveness can be determined as follows. The methodological incompleteness of the existing approaches within the framework of the theory of comparative advantage, the theory of equilibrium and the theory of effective competition was a prerequisite for the development of other ways to solve the problem (quality-based assessment, profiles of requirements and polarities, matrix method). Assessing competitiveness based on product quality raises the question: are the concepts of “quality” and “competitiveness” synonymous? However, there are fundamental differences between these concepts: if the quality of a product is simply a set of properties, then competitiveness is the attitude of people, consumers of a product, to its properties, to the product as such. The formation of this relationship is based on the consumer’s assessment of the product and its properties, which depends on several points. Firstly, on the level of properties that the product has; secondly, on prices; thirdly, from the presence of competitors; fourthly, from time, since the consumer wants to receive his goods at a certain time; fifthly, on the specific circumstances associated with the use of this product;

SWOT analysis - this method allows you to analyze the weaknesses and strengths of the internal environment of an enterprise, the potential dangers of the external environment and, based on the analysis, identify existing opportunities for the development of enterprises.

Construction of a “hypothetical competitiveness polygon” - this method involves assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise based on eight factors:

The concept of goods and services on which the activities of the enterprise are based;

Quality, expressed in the product’s compliance with the high level of market leader products and identified through surveys and comparative tests;

Product price with possible extra charge;

Finance - both own and borrowed;

Trade - from the point of view of commercial methods and means of activity;

After-sales service, providing the company with a regular clientele;

Foreign trade of the enterprise, allowing it to positively manage relations with the authorities, the press and public opinion;

Pre-sales preparation, which demonstrates his ability not only to anticipate the needs of future consumers, but also to convince them of the exceptional capabilities of the enterprise to satisfy these needs.

Assessing the capabilities of an enterprise based on these factors allows us to construct a “hypothetical polygon of competitiveness” (Fig. 1.1.).

Rice. 1.1.

If you approach the assessment of the competitive capabilities of enterprises in the same way, then, according to the authors, by superimposing the diagrams on top of each other, you can see the strengths and weaknesses of one enterprise in relation to another.

It should be noted that the above methods for assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise are unidirectional: one method takes into account reserves in the use of production factors, the other takes into account the cost of these factors, the next takes into account the quality of products. However, the competitiveness of an enterprise must be assessed comprehensively according to all criteria and areas of activity.

As one of the options for assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise, the following method is proposed; this method is based on an assessment of the main group indicators and criteria for the competitiveness of an enterprise. Assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise using this method includes the following steps:

1) selection of criteria for assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise;

2) calculation of weight coefficients of the selected criteria;

3) determination of quantitative values ​​of individual indicators of the enterprise’s competitiveness for each group of criteria and conversion of indicators into relative values ​​(to convert indicators into relative values, they are compared with basic indicators. Basic indicators can be: industry average indicators, indicators of any competing enterprise or enterprise - leader in the market, performance of the company being evaluated over past periods of time;

4) calculation of weight coefficients of selected individual indicators;

5) calculation of quantitative values ​​of enterprise competitiveness criteria;

6) calculation of the enterprise competitiveness coefficient.

As a rule, to ensure representativeness of the assessment of competitiveness, the criteria and indicators included in the above groups have weight coefficients. These coefficients are determined using the method of expert assessments.

The method of expert assessments is based on a generalization of the opinions of specialist experts about the probabilities of risk. Intuitive characteristics based on the knowledge and experience of an expert provide, in some cases, fairly accurate estimates. Expert methods allow you to quickly and without much time and labor costs obtain the information necessary to develop a management decision.

The essence of expert methods is the organized collection of judgments and assumptions of experts with subsequent processing of the responses received and the formation of results.

Among the most common methods of obtaining expert assessments are:

Delphi method;

Snowball method;

Goal tree method;

Method of “round table commissions”;

Heuristic forecasting method;

Matrix method.

Thus, summing up the above, we can draw the following conclusions. An analysis of literary sources and methodological developments devoted to the issues of assessing competitiveness of various types and levels showed that the weakest link in assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise is the lack of complexity and unity of approaches to this problem, taking into account the specific features of this category. Existing methods and scientific developments on the issues of assessing competitiveness relate mainly to products and, to a lesser extent, affect the activities of the enterprise. Analysis of methodological and theoretical developments on issues of ensuring the competitiveness of an enterprise confirms the need for its comprehensive assessment to identify possible reserves for improving the main indicators of its economic activity.

Conclusions on the first chapter

In the first chapter of this diploma project, we presented a variety of definitions that reveal the essence of the competitiveness of a trading enterprise.

The types of competitive strategies of an enterprise that provide long-term competitive advantages of an enterprise were also examined in detail.

The literature identifies three main competitive strategies:

The desire to have the lowest distribution costs in the industry (cost leadership strategy);

Finding ways to differentiate manufactured products from competitors' products (differentiation strategy);

Focusing on a narrow part rather than the entire market (focus or niche strategy).

The management of each enterprise independently, based on the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the enterprise, decides to adhere to one or another strategy.

Also in this chapter, the most well-known methods for assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise and product were briefly reviewed.

Assistant of the Department of Marketing, Commerce and Logistics Moiseenko I.V.

5th year student of the specialty

“Organization Management” Omelchuk A.V.

Far Eastern Federal University, Russia

Basic methods for assessing the competitiveness of an organization

Despite the fairly deep level of development of the problem of competitiveness, there is still no unified approach to its quantitative assessment. The problems of analyzing and assessing competitiveness are complex and multifaceted. Such foreign and domestic scientists as M. Porter, F. Kotler, E. Dichtl, E.P. made their contribution to solving these problems. Golubkov, A.N. Pechenkin, A. Glukhov, P.S. Zavyalov, G.L. Bagiev et al., who developed theoretical and methodological aspects of assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise. However, there is still no clear systematization of the research results obtained. The most well-known models and methods for assessing the competitiveness of goods and enterprises today can be divided into two groups: analytical and graphical methods. This division into methods for assessing the competitiveness of a product and methods for assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise is quite arbitrary, since they largely coincide, only the object of research changes. The classification of methods for assessing the competitiveness of goods and enterprises is presented in Figure 1.

Table 1 presents the classification, advantages and disadvantages of methods for assessing the competitiveness of a product and an enterprise.

The vast majority of methods are based on identifying the factors that determine the competitiveness of business entities, with the emphasis being on identifying the maximum number of these factors and creating an exhaustive list of them. Next, the selected factors are processed using various mathematical methods.

Figure 1 – Hierarchy of methods for assessing competitiveness

Thus, the number of competitiveness factors is almost infinite, therefore, no matter how extensive their list is, it will still not be exhaustive, which means that an assessment of an enterprise’s competitiveness based on such an incomplete list will be inadequate. As a result, all existing lists of competitiveness factors are very conditional, which does not allow them to be used to assess the competitiveness of enterprises. By focusing on an exhaustive list of enterprise competitiveness factors, researchers find themselves in a dead end, since such a list is impossible in principle. The limited list determines the limitations of the method. To assess the competitiveness factors identified by researchers, as well as to determine a number of other indicators, approximate, approximate estimates and “expert methods” are used, which suffer from significant subjectivity and convention.

Most methods involve comparing almost identical enterprises that produce similar goods and services and operate in similar economic conditions. At the same time, the development of commodity-money relations leads to increasing diversification of enterprises, increasing differentiation of goods and services, and increasingly aggravating differences in the economic conditions of enterprises. It is becoming increasingly difficult to determine clear geographical boundaries of a particular market, to establish a list of competing goods and enterprises, which entails the inapplicability of such methods for assessing the competitiveness of enterprises.

Table 1 – Classification of methods for assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise

Number of evaluation parameters	Method name	Advantages of the method	Disadvantages of the method
Graphic methods for assessing the competitiveness of goods and enterprises
Number of coordinate axes = 2	BCG Matrix	If sufficiently reliable information is available, it accurately shows the position of the enterprise	There is no predictability, does not show the reasons for this position of the company
	Model “Market attractiveness – competitive advantages”	Allows you to determine the position of the company relative to other competitors; develop further strategies	The model is static, it is difficult to assess the quality characteristics
	Porter Matrix	Visual structuring of achieving competition
Number of coordinate axes > 2	Method "polygon of enterprise competitiveness"	Sufficient ease of use for operational analysis of the situation, determining the current position relative to competitors	Difficulty in calculating the indicator, obtaining initial data, lack of forecast information
Universal analytical methods for assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise
Number of parameters ≤ 2		Quite accurately determines the place of a given enterprise relative to its competitors	Difficulty in calculating the indicator, obtained initial data, lack of forecast information
	Valuation based on market share calculation	The method allows you to determine the type and place of the company in the market	It is impossible to determine the reasons for the identified position of the company and develop the necessary strategy
Number of parameters > 2	Method for assessing competitiveness based on use value

End of table 1

Number of evaluation parameters	Method name	Advantages of the method	Disadvantages of the method
Analytical methods for assessing the competitiveness of an industrial enterprise
Number of parameters > 2		Complexity of calculations and collection of necessary information	Complexity of calculations and collection of necessary information
Analytical methods for assessing the competitiveness of a trading enterprise
Number of parameters > 2	Method for assessing the competitiveness of a trading service	Assessing competitiveness taking into account factors of the company’s internal environment	Difficulty in collecting the necessary information; only a narrow range of factors are taken into account
	Assessment method based on the theory of effective competition	Covers all the most important assessments of a company's economic activity	Complexity of calculations and collection of necessary information
	Marketing approach to assessing the competitiveness of a trading enterprise	Determines the importance of individual factors of enterprise competitiveness for the consumer and gives their quantitative assessment	The need for data reliability to ensure the correct sampling of respondents

Compiled by:

The noted shortcomings of existing approaches to assessing the competitiveness of enterprises determine the low possibilities of practical application of most of them. The main reason for this is that the concept of enterprise competitiveness and the criteria for assessing this indicator are initially not clearly defined by most economists. This, in turn, is due to the lack of a generally accepted concept of enterprise competitiveness.

Thus, in a competitive environment, an enterprise is immediately influenced by several groups of factors, forming and constantly modifying the competitive environment of its activities. The noted complexity is aggravated by the fact that each of the mentioned groups, in turn, consists of many elements, and the composition and structure of the elements are unique for each specific enterprise. Because of this, competition cannot be presented as an exhaustive list of competitive forces and factors.

Literature

1. Dushenkina, E. Enterprise economics: lecture notes / E. Dushenkina - M.: Eksmo, 2009. - 160 p.

2. The level of competitiveness of an enterprise as a basic result of the efficiency of resource use. / Bartkova N.N., Krupina N.N. // Scientific Bulletin of the Ural Academy, 2010. - No. 2(12) – from 35-48.

3. Methodological foundations of dynamic states of competition. / Zhigun L. A., Tretyak N. A. // Modern competition, 2008. - No. 4 – p. 35-58

It is advisable to study existing approaches to assessing the competitive advantages of a small enterprise in three stages:

The first stage is the analysis of the category of competition and the study of the theory of competition as the basis for developing a system for ensuring competitiveness (level of theoretical understanding);

The second stage is an analysis of the category of competitive advantages, competitiveness and research into methods for developing effective competitive strategies (the level of strategic enterprise management and long-term decision making);

The third stage is the analysis of methods for assessing competitive advantages, the competitiveness of various objects (the level of current or operational management and short-term decision-making).

The competitiveness of an enterprise is a general measure of interest and trust in the services of an enterprise in the stock, financial and labor markets. Among the main determining factors of this measure are the value of the enterprise, the technical equipment of workplaces, the implemented management concept, management technologies, organizational system, human capital, strategic marketing, technical, investment and innovation policies / 17.с 100/.

Currently, many Russian enterprises do not have a focused, ongoing, scientifically based comprehensive system for assessing their competitive advantages, as well as a strategic management system for interrelated goals and indicators, which has a very negative impact on the efficiency of the enterprise as a whole.

As a rule, the main indicators are formed in the strategic planning department of the enterprise, but they are more operational in nature and do not allow organizing a modern strategic management system at the enterprise, effectively directing, motivating and coordinating the activities of the departments and employees of the enterprise. / 18 p. 700/.

1. SWOT analysis- This is one of the most common types of analysis in strategic management today. It allows you to identify and structure the company's strengths and weaknesses, as well as potential opportunities and threats. This is achieved by comparing the internal strengths and weaknesses of their company with the opportunities that the market gives them. Based on the quality of compliance, a conclusion is drawn about the direction in which the organization should develop its business. In general, conducting a SWOT analysis comes down to filling out a SWOT analysis matrix, in the appropriate cells of which it is necessary to enter the strengths and weaknesses of the enterprise, as well as market opportunities and threats/20 s. 390/.

2. SNW analysis – This is an advanced analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of an organization (SWOT analysis).

Therefore, the problems of competitive management have become increasingly relevant for Russian firms in recent decades. In market economic conditions, due to sudden changes in the external environment and increased competition, the need for strategic management at the enterprise has increased. Firms are forced to look for sources of vitality not only in the internal environment, paying attention to the rational use of resources, increasing productivity, etc., but to look for ways to adapt to changing external conditions. Viability of the company and success in competition. It is increasingly determined by how effectively the organization interacts with the external environment. Environmental analysis is the initial stage of strategic management and is necessary to determine strategic prospects and develop a long-term development strategy aimed at strengthening the company's position in the market. The goal of any business activity is to make a profit. To do this, it is necessary to benefit the client, i.e. produce and sell a particular product (service), eliminating all possible obstacles on its way to the buyer. At the present stage, in order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to provide conditions for consumers to spend as little time, effort and money as possible to obtain the desired product (service). In modern conditions, small business has become an important factor ensuring economic efficiency in general. The role of small businesses is enormous in making breakthroughs in a number of important areas of scientific and technological progress, and above all in the field of electronics, cybernetics, and computer science. Small business is anti-monopoly by its very nature and with narrow specialization and the use of the latest technology, small business is a serious competitor to large corporations. It is this quality of small business, by the way, that played a significant role in weakening and sometimes overcoming by industrialized countries the inherent tendency of big capital to monopolize and delay technical progress. A special feature of the work is the study of managing competitive advantages and the competitiveness of an organization using the example of a small trading enterprise. In the system of ensuring competitiveness, special attention is paid to strategic marketing as the beginning of everything, the first management function. Competition obliges a product to be competitive, and the competitiveness of a product determines competition itself. There is a dialectical dependence of competition on competitiveness: the second follows from the first, forming a base, which in turn creates conditions for the growth of the first. Competitiveness is the basis for the emergence of competition. Competition itself, having just arisen, sets boundaries and makes its own demands on the competitiveness of a product or service. Consumers will use the manufacturer's products if they are satisfied with its value (the need to purchase it and the set of quality parameters offered) and cost. Companies that fail to meet customer needs on either value or cost soon find that they have lost their market area to more sophisticated competitors who have better understood customer needs. The higher the level of customer satisfaction, the higher the opportunities for business development. Speaking about competitive advantages, in our opinion, it is necessary to dwell on the theory of the five forces of competition by the American economist M. Porter. The theory of the five forces of competition allows us to form an idea of ​​the company’s competitive environment and the main factors of competition. In recent years, such analysis has been increasingly used by entrepreneurs to identify their competitors. At the same time, small businesses play an important role in this aspect. The literature recommends considering four key directions. The analysis was called PEST analysis (from English: politics, economics, society, technology). Thus, PEST analysis singles out the political, economic, sociocultural and technological aspects of the external environment from a variety of factors. A special place in the analysis of the industry is occupied by the study of competition in it. To characterize the state of competition in the industry, the scheme of Harvard Business School professor M. Porter can be used, identifying five competitive forces: Rivalry between sellers within the industry; Availability of attractive goods – substitutes; Opportunity for new competitors to enter the industry; The ability of suppliers to dictate their terms; The ability of consumers to dictate their terms. Approaches and methods for assessing the competitive advantages of a small enterprise It is advisable to study existing approaches to assessing the competitive advantages of a small enterprise in three stages: The first stage is the analysis of the category of competition and the study of the theory of competition. As the basis for developing a system for ensuring competitiveness. Level of theoretical understanding. The second stage is an analysis of the category of competitive advantages, competitiveness and research into methods for developing effective competitive strategies. Level of strategic enterprise management and long-term decision making. The third stage is the analysis of methods for assessing competitive advantages, the competitiveness of various objects (the level of current or operational management and short-term decision-making). The competitiveness of an enterprise is a general measure of interest and trust in the services of an enterprise in the stock, financial and labor markets. Among the main determining factors of this measure are the value of the enterprise, the technical equipment of workplaces, the implemented management concept, management technologies, organizational system, human capital, strategic marketing, technical, investment and innovation policies. While some methods for assessing the performance of organizations appear and disappear, the 7C structure continues to exist stably. This structure appeared in the early 80s, its developers were Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, they worked as consultants at the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. The initial condition of this model was that in any organization there are 7 internal aspects that must be clearly synchronized for the successful operation of the enterprise. The McKinsey model can be used both for a separate unit and for the project as a whole. This model can be used regardless of the scope of the aspects being studied. The McKinsey 7C methodology includes seven independent factors that are classified as “hard” or “soft”. Classification of factors according to the McKinsey model Hard factors Soft factors Strategy Shared values ​​Structure Capabilities System Style Employees “Hard” factors are easy to identify or recognize, and management can directly influence them. These include strategy approval, organizational charts and reporting data, as well as formal processes and information technology systems. “Soft” factors, on the one hand, are difficult to characterize; they are less obvious and more susceptible to the influence of cultural values. However, these factors are just as important as the “hard” ones for an organization that is aimed at successful development. Also, when analyzing the competitiveness of enterprises, they often use the KSF (key success factors) model. Key success factors.

The abbreviation SNW comes from the English words: Strength (strong side), Neutral (neutral side) and Weakness (weakness). SNW analysis, unlike SWOT analysis, also offers an average market condition (N). The main reason for adding a neutral party is that often in order to win the competition, it may be sufficient to have a state in which a given organization, relative to all its competitors in all (except one) key positions, is in state N and only one in state S.

3. PEST analysis is an acronym for Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors that are used to evaluate the market of an organizational or business unit. PEST analysis is a useful tool for understanding the market, company position, potential and business direction. PEST analysis helps a company manager or analyst see the picture of the company’s external environment and highlight the most important influencing factors.

For simplicity and convenience of analysis, all factors are usually considered together in the form of a four-field table. Table 1.3 (Appendices) provides examples of factors that are typically considered in the analysis.

4. Boston Consulting Group Matrix- a long-known and well-proven analysis tool, successfully used by marketers for many decades. It was developed by one of the largest American consulting companies in order to define a basic approach for managing a product portfolio. The essence of the matrix consists of two basic parameters by which product analysis is carried out: the relative (relative to competitors) market share and the growth of the market itself. An image of the expectation matrix for capturing market share is shown in Figure 1.6.

It is necessary to consider each product from the entire range of the company and place it in one of the quadrants of the matrix.

		Stars || \/	<== Трудные дети
		Cash cows ==>	Dogs ==> X
		MARKET SHARE

Rice. 1.6. .Expectation matrix for capturing market share

This is quite simple and clear, but the matrix has several limitations. Each cell of the matrix has its own conventional name.

There are several structural analysis techniques that can be used either individually or in various combinations to find the root causes of incidents. In this note we will analyze one of them.

general information

5. Ishikawa diagram (cause-effect diagram, fishbone diagram) is a graphical tool that allows you to visually and systematically analyze the relationships between effects and causes that give rise to these effects or influence them. These diagrams are also called “fishbone diagrams” because of their external resemblance to the skeleton of fish.

The main advantage of this method is its clarity and versatility. Visualization is achieved due to the fact that the connection of all identified causes with the studied consequence is displayed in a simple graphical form. And the versatility can be judged by the incomplete list of areas of application:

analysis of business process efficiency;

making management decisions based on a structured analysis of influencing factors;

analysis of factors influencing the quality of services provided;

analysis of the causes of failures of technical systems;

Limitations include the need for a preliminary search for possible causes of the effect under study, as well as the complexity (not accuracy) in determining the degree of influence of the identified causes on the likelihood of the effect occurring.

6. McKinsey model. While some methods for assessing the performance of organizations appear and disappear, the 7C structure continues to exist stably. This structure appeared in the early 80s, its developers were Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, they worked as consultants at the consulting firm McKinsey & Co (hereinafter referred to as McKinsey). The initial condition of this model was that in any organization there are 7 internal aspects that must be clearly synchronized for the successful operation of the enterprise.

The McKinsey model can be used both for a separate unit and for the project as a whole. This model can be used regardless of the scope of the aspects being studied.

The McKinsey 7C methodology includes seven independent factors that are classified as “hard” or “soft” (Table 1.4)

Table 1.4

Classification of factors according to the McKinsey model

Hard Factors	Soft factors
Strategy	Shared Values
Structure	Capabilities
	Employees

Hard factors are easy to identify or recognize and can be directly influenced by management. These include strategy approval, organizational charts and reporting data, as well as formal processes and information technology systems.

“Soft” factors, on the one hand, are difficult to characterize; they are less obvious and more susceptible to the influence of cultural values. However, these factors are just as important as the “hard” ones for an organization that is aimed at successful development.

Also, when analyzing the competitiveness of enterprises, they often use the KSF (key success factors) model. Key success factors are factors common to all enterprises in the industry, the implementation of which opens up prospects for improving their competitive position. The challenge is to identify the factors that provide the key to competitive success in a given industry. Identification of CFU for a specific industry is the first step, which should be followed by the development of activities for mastering CFU specific to the industry. CFU should be considered as the foundation of the developed strategy. Basic CFUs should be highlighted, some of which are given below. The task of analysts is to identify the 3-5 most important CFUs in the near future, for example, by ranking all the identified factors that are important for a given industry. They should then form the basis of the enterprise strategy./21 p. 18/.

1. KFU based on scientific and technological superiority;

2. KFU related to the organization of production;

3. Marketing-based CFUs;

4. KFU based on knowledge and experience;

5. KFU related to organization and management;

6. It is possible to identify other CFUs.

These are summarized key success factors. For each enterprise, their definition must be individual.

Thus, in order to determine the competitive advantages of an enterprise, a competitive analysis of its activities should be carried out. There are many methods for doing it. However, all of them, in their essence, reveal the advantages and disadvantages of the organization’s activities, while establishing a cause-and-effect relationship and are a rational driving force.

After diagnosing the competitive environment, the competitiveness of the enterprise is assessed.

The purpose of developing and constructing a model of enterprise competitiveness is to correctly determine a competitive strategy consistent with the conditions of a specific industry, the skills and capital that a particular enterprise possesses.

A tool for developing and constructing a model can be the use of mathematical modeling, which allows us to identify the peculiarities of the functioning of an economic object, and on the basis of this, predict the future behavior of the object when any parameters change. For any economic entity, the ability to predict a situation means, first of all, obtaining better results or avoiding losses. In the model, all relationships between variables can be quantified, which allows for a better and more reliable forecast.

The question of what palette of indicators characterizing the competitiveness of an economic entity should be included in the database for building a model will be answered by the experience accumulated by scientists in determining the main criteria of competitiveness.

When constructing an economic model for the economic category under consideration, “enterprise competitiveness,” structural elements are identified, such as the category of firm competitiveness and product competitiveness, corresponding to this goal, and the most important qualitative characteristics of these elements are identified.

The categories of competitiveness of a company and competitiveness of a product are interrelated. As the main criteria for the competitiveness of an enterprise, two evaluation categories can be proposed in a generalized form: “the value of the goods (services) produced by the enterprise” and “the value of the enterprise as an economic entity.”

Rapid changes in the external environment of domestic enterprises stimulate the emergence of new methods, systems and approaches to managing competitiveness. The most common methods are to assess the capabilities of competitors through special expert research and indirect calculations based on known data. The “reflection method” is also widely used in practice to analyze competitors, which consists in identifying information about the company of interest from clients or intermediaries of this company. Competitor research should be aimed at the same areas that were the subject of the analysis of the potential of your own enterprise. This can ensure comparability of results. A convenient tool for comparing the capabilities of an enterprise and its main competitors is the construction of competitiveness polygons, which are a graphical display of assessments of the position of the enterprise and competitors in the most significant areas of activity, depicted as vector axes.

All methods for assessing competitiveness can be divided into analytical and graphical (Figure 1.2).

Rice. 1.2 - Methods for assessing competitiveness

Let's consider analytical methods for assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise.

1) The rating score is used when comparing enterprises in an industry or region. This method can use the following documentation: results of a survey of managers of the customer or the enterprise; financial statements of enterprises.

2) Assessment of competitiveness based on calculation of market share. Market share is defined as the share of retail turnover in its total volume (clause 1.2). An increase or decrease in the range from 0 to 100% indicates the level of competitiveness (11; p.31).

This technique allows us to identify a number of standard positions of its subjects based on the nature of the distribution of market shares: outsiders; with a weak, medium, strong competitive position; leaders.

The magnitude of the change in market share allows us to determine groups of economic units: with rapidly improving, improving, deteriorating, rapidly deteriorating competitive positions. Cross-classification of the size of shares and their dynamics makes it possible to build a competitive map of the market, on the basis of which it is easy to establish the place of the object in the market structure.

3) Assessing competitiveness based on the norm of use value involves assessing the totality of marketing, organizational and management decisions, i.e. economic technology company. This method allows you to accurately identify and assess the real needs of potential consumers.

This method makes it possible to more accurately assess the real needs of potential consumers and the level of the company due to the cumulative assessment of marketing, management and organizational decisions. But only expert methods are used to collect information, which indicates a lack of objectivity in the results of assessing competitiveness.

• 4) Assessing competitiveness based on the theory of effective competition involves assessing the performance of each department. According to this theory, the most competitive enterprises are those where the work of all departments and services is best organized. The efficiency of each service is influenced by many factors - the company's resources. Assessing the performance of each department involves assessing the effectiveness of its use of these resources. The method is based on the assessment of four group indicators or competitiveness criteria:
  • - indicators characterizing the efficiency of production process management: cost-effectiveness of production costs, rational operation of fixed assets, perfection of technology, labor organization;
  • - indicators reflecting the effectiveness of working capital management: the enterprise’s independence from external sources of financing, creditworthiness, stable development;
  • - indicators that provide insight into the effectiveness of sales management and promotion of goods on the market through advertising and promotion;
  • - indicators of product competitiveness: product quality and price. Since each group of criteria has its own importance, weight coefficients for each group were obtained by expert means.

The entire algorithm for calculating the competitiveness coefficient consists of three successive stages (Figure 1.2):

Figure 1.2 Stages of calculating the competitiveness coefficient

The use of comparisons of indicators for different periods of time during the assessment makes it possible to use this method as an option for operational control of individual services.

5) Assessment of competitiveness based on the motivational complex for assessing commodity systems “MKOTS”. To form competitive components of a product or company, you need to assess the needs of a potential buyer from a marketing point of view.

Let's consider graphical methods for assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise.

1. Matrix method (BCG matrix). It is based on an analysis of competitiveness taking into account the product life cycle.

The most competitive are considered to be enterprises that occupy a significant share in a fast-growing market, that is, they are “stars”. If reliable information about sales volumes is available, the method allows for a highly representative assessment.

2. The model “market attractiveness - competitive advantages” is a development of the BCG matrix and is similar, in essence, to the General Electric model. The determining factors in the model are market attractiveness (in the GE model - business efficiency) and competitive advantages (in the GE model - competitive positions). Competitive advantages are determined by relative market position, product potential, and the qualifications of managers and employees.

This matrix allows you to determine the position of the enterprise in the market relative to competitors, and also allows you to develop practical recommendations for improving the level of competitiveness.

3. Porter matrix. Based on the factors that are most significant for the competitive position of an enterprise, M. Porter developed a competition matrix (Table 1.1).

Table 1.1

Competitive strategies of M. Porter's company

4. SWOT _ analysis allows you to identify and structure the strengths and weaknesses of the company, as well as potential opportunities and threats.

This is achieved by comparing the internal strengths and weaknesses of their company with the opportunities that the market gives them.

Based on the quality of compliance, a conclusion is drawn about the direction in which the organization should develop its business, and ultimately the allocation of resources to segments is determined.

5. The competitiveness polygon is a graphical combination of assessments of the position of the enterprise and competitors in the most significant areas of activity and allows you to compare the capabilities of enterprises (Figure 1.3).

By overlaying one polygon on another, you can identify the strengths and weaknesses of enterprises relative to each other.

Figure 1.3 Polygon of enterprise competitiveness

The use of the expert method and, as a consequence, a decrease in the objectivity of assessments and difficulty in assessing certain characteristics are the main disadvantages of the method. The clarity of the result and ease of interpretation are the advantages of this method.

Most of the methods considered are limited: either one group of factors is assessed, or the method is too complex and time-consuming for practical use.

It must be emphasized that the proposed classification is not complete, but represents only the basic techniques that are more often used in practice.

Varieties of approaches to assessing competitiveness. One of the main conditions for managing the competitiveness of an enterprise is development of methods for its analysis and measurement, which in turn will allow you to manage its level and conduct a comparative analysis of the competitiveness of market entities.

Competitiveness assessment enterprise allows him to solve the following important problems: determine your position in a particular market; develop strategic and tactical measures for effective management; select partners to organize joint production of products; attract funds to promising production; draw up programs for the enterprise to enter new markets, etc. However, this is only possible if there are objective methods for assessing the level of competitiveness of the enterprise and effective organizational and economic measures to manage competitiveness in order to increase it.

Most surgical methods assessment of the competitiveness of an enterprise is based on portfolio and SWOT analyzes, or on the use of various production indicators and financial ratios characterizing production activities, financial position, investment efficiency, etc.

5) aesthetics (design);

6) manufacturability;

7) standardization and unification;

8) patent purity and patentability;

9) compatibility and interchangeability;

10) safety (mechanical, thermal, electrical, electromagnetic, chemical, biological, radiation, fire, explosion safety);

11) certification data (when and by whom it was issued, type, validity period).

Integral indicator of service quality for consumers determined by the following standard indicators:

1) image of the manufacturer;

2) legal reliability of the manufacturer;

3) financial reliability (sustainability) of the manufacturer;

4) quality of information about the product;

5) quality of product packaging;

6) quality of service of a trade organization;

7) quality of delivery and installation (assembly) of goods;

8) quality of product warranty service;

9) quality of repair (restoration) of the product;

10) quality of monitoring and diagnostics of the market mechanism, etc.

Generally The competitiveness of products is assessed by comparing the parameters of the analyzed product with the parameters required by the consumer, or with the parameters of the sample product. The parameters being compared must be expressed in the same measurement quantities. The comparison is made by groups of technical and economic parameters.

However each group goods have their own groups of specific quality indicators. Fatkhutdinov R.A. notes that in most textbooks, teaching aids and monographs on product quality included in quality indicators included indicators economical use of raw materials, materials, energy and labor resources (labor intensity) during the product life cycle.

Other authors prove the illegality of such an approach, since cost elements constitute the second (resource) side of the product, which is one of the factors of its competitiveness. The inclusion of resource indicators of a product in the composition of quality indicators removes the resource intensity of the product from the management objects, as a result of which no one systematically deals with it and the resource intensity of domestic goods during their life cycle is approximately 3-4 times higher than that of the best similar world samples.

Of interest solving the problem of assessing the level of competitiveness of products by Western scientists. According to price indicators of comparative cost and comparative profitability of products assess competitiveness English economists. When assessing the price competitiveness of a product, it is considered competitive if its selling price, design and quality indicators are not inferior to analogues on the market.

3) analysis of the competitiveness, efficiency and sustainability of the functioning of the main competitors at the output of the organization, external threats and opportunities, internal strengths and weaknesses of competitors;

4) analysis of the mechanism of action of competition law in the industry, antimonopoly legislation, form (structure) and strength of competition in the industry;

5) analysis of factors in the macroenvironment of the country and the infrastructure of a given region (city), which have a positive and negative impact on the organization;

6) analysis of the mechanism of action of the law of competition at the input of the system, antitrust legislation and the strength of competition among the organization’s suppliers;

7) analysis of external threats and opportunities, internal strengths and weaknesses of the organization in comparison with competitors in the supporting subsystem, i.e. in legal, methodological, resource, information support of the organization;

8) analysis of the strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities of the organization in its organizational, technical and social development (“process” in the system);

9) analysis of the quality of the managed subsystem of the management system in terms of the formation of a system of indicators of the quality and resource intensity of goods, the quality of their service, market infrastructure, organization of analysis of the effectiveness of these areas of activity and the formation of measures to improve them;

10) analysis of the quality of the management subsystem of the organization’s management system in terms of personnel management for the development and implementation of strategic and tactical management decisions;

11) analysis of the structure, content and quality of connections in the system of strategic marketing, innovation and production management, tactical marketing, establishing their strengths and weaknesses;

12) analysis of the competitiveness of manufactured goods, innovations and services provided, personnel and technologies, and the organization as a whole;

13) analysis of the efficiency of resource use and profitability of production;

14) analysis of the sustainability of the organization’s functioning;

15) establishment of strategic and tactical factors of the competitiveness of goods, efficiency and sustainability of the organization’s functioning in order to develop its strategy on their basis. At this stage, all previous work is synthesized.

It should be noted that approaches to assessing competitiveness cannot be the same for the stages of strategic and tactical marketing. At the stage of strategic marketing as the first stage of the product life cycle (spatial aspect) and the first management function (temporal aspect), competitiveness standards are developed for a long period, and at the tactical marketing stage, work is carried out to materialize the manufacturer and implement strategic competitiveness standards on the market, as well as to adjust these standards. Therefore, when measuring the competitiveness of an organization at the stage of strategic marketing, priority should be given to a dynamic approach, forecasting future states in the present based on the past.

Most methods for assessing the competitiveness of enterprises are based on the use of various methods for analyzing production activities, financial position, investment efficiency, etc.

Competitiveness assessment Some authors propose to manage enterprises according to five private indicators characterizing the efficiency of production activities, the financial position of the enterprise, the effectiveness of sales organization and product promotion, the competitiveness of the product and the effectiveness of the innovative project.