Vol. 20 No. 4 (2018)

The article deals with the main challenges associated with the rapid development of the digital world, describes the role of the head of the civil service in this process and the attitude to digital technologies and artificial intelligence is characterized. The author gives the results of a study on the readiness of modern managers to work in the digital environment, expectations from artificial intelligence among civil servants, psychological effects reflecting the willingness of a modern manager to work in a digital society are determined. The group of managers and business leaders is the most open to change and ready to implement artificial intelligence systems. More than half of managers believe that the use of technology will increase productivity and business processes. 54% of business managers agree that the solutions offered by artificial intelligence services have already increased the productivity of their structures. 70% of respondents believe that such programs make fewer mistakes than people in the course of their work, which increases their significance. The article also analyzes the difficulties usually encountered by managers in the organization of the managerial work in the new digital reality. It is emphasized that people, of course, do not compete with information technologies, but adapt the world to something that machines can understand.

This article is based on the results of research being conducted within the Center for strategic developments in the field of transformation of the public administration system since 2016, and is a continuation of the article ‘State-as-platform': an approach to implementing a high-tech public administration system' published in № 3 of the journal «Gosudarstvennaya sluzhba». The authors define and analyze the system transforming effects in public administration, which characterize not just the next level of automation of individual administrative processes, but a full-fledged digital transformation of the state as a way of further modern development.

The following article focuses on the problem of making an objective and measurable assessment of competence for state civil employees of the Federal Tax Service based on the professional standards. It examines the methods used by tax authorities to evaluate professional or individual qualities of employees during personnel procedures to select, recruit, or certify. These methods of evaluation ensure the observance of the constitutional right of citizens of the Russian Federation for equal access to the state civil service. In addition, these technologies are designed to ensure the staffing of the tax authority with conscientious, professionally trained and motivated personnel. The current methodology for holding a contest of the Federal Tax Service does not provide for the application of professional standards. Professional standard is offered by the authors as a way to form the objective measurable and comparable reference values to assess employee competence in various types of professional career. The authors also formulated specific practical measures required to remove these restrictions.

The efficiency of public administration is one of the decisive factors for the successful development of the country, all spheres of activity in the state. The same applies to the successful development of physical culture and sports. The main focus of the development of public administration itself is now on the programme-oriented method of governance, which, however, is often too cumbersome and resource-intensive. The authors propose to use the mechanism of project management in the fields of physical culture and sports and provide evidence of its greater importance to improve management efficiency. To achieve this goal, the paper presents a SWOT analysis of the existing model of state management of physical culture and sports in the Russian Federation, analyzes the theoretical aspects of project activities, and substantiates the positive aspects of the implementation of project management mechanisms in the activities of the Ministry of sports of the Russian Federation.

The instability of the external environment of the Russian economy generates a request from companies for changes in strategic planning. The companies that used to do without paying attention to planning, due to the stability of the economic situation, are now forced to master new methods related to strategic planning without which it is impossible to cope with the problems caused by the crisis stage of the economy. This article reviews the possible actions that companies can add in their strategy to overcome the current situation in Russia. Any uncertainty of the external environment assumes unpredictability, presence of increased risks in making managerial decisions within the framework of the organization. Therefore, it is necessary to minimize the potential damage for the company because of certain possible circumstances. Possession of a stable financial position implies a set of actions including the following components: reducing of the portfolio of investments in non-core assets and assets with potentially high risks; revision of the investment program for the short and medium term; changing the methodology of working with debtors of the company and establishing interaction with creditors, partially (if possible) by the reduction of the credit burden, especially in foreign currency. Each action is connected with creation of the total strategy followed by an organization. The experience of many companies shows that reducing of the dependence on non-core assets is a tactical goal; its achievement requires an integrated approach of all divisions within the enterprise.

The article attempts to consider bureaucracy as an instrument of public administration from the standpoint of the methodology of structural and functional analysis. The use of this methodology is intended to identify and describe the structural components and elementary functions, as well as structural and functional features of the bureaucracy as such, regardless of the traits that it acquires in a particular country in a certain historical era. Bureaucracy is seen as an element of the social structure, which in turn has stable principles of internal organization. These principles include the hierarchical form of the organization, and the formal hierarchy of posts and the informal hierarchy of job statuses may not be the same. It is noted that the hierarchical principle of management in bureaucratic structures, unlike commercial management, has no alternatives and is carried out much more consistently. Special attention is paid to the analysis of terminological problems arising in the process of analyzing the functions of bureaucracy. The concept of ‘administration', implying the presence of specific organizational and managerial procedures in the Russian language until now has limited use and is usually accompanied by negative connotations. It is proposed to classify the functions of bureaucracy by features: formal and informal, external and internal. Identification of informal functions of bureaucracy allows to identify its features as a large social group and status group. The analysis of internal functions also creates additional opportunities for describing and evaluating bureaucracy from the point of view of the theory and sociology of organizations. In conclusion, the article points to some structural and functional features of the bureaucracy that distinguish it from the organizational models characteristic of commercial organizations and public associations.

The article examines the legal and organizational bases for the interaction of the Legislative Assembly of the Russian Federation and representative bodies of local self-government in the Kaluga region. The development of the institute of local self-government, the structure of power in municipalities, the connection of local self-government with the state power, the congress of deputies of representative bodies of municipal entities as a form of interaction for discussion and decision-making in the main areas of the economy and social sphere of the region are analyzed. The experience of interaction between the Legislative Assembly of the Kaluga Region and its representative bodies demonstrates the effectiveness of the used forms and applied techniques. Improvement of existing forms of cooperation between state authorities and local self-government bodies is possible through compliance with the principle of independence of municipal entities and state regulation. To coordinate the activities of the deputy corps of the region, the Consultative Council of the Legislative Assembly of Kaluga Oblast and representative bodies of local selfgovernment was formed. The site of the Legislative Assembly of the Kaluga region is in active mode. There are online broadcast sessions and deputy hearings. Constant work with the population, coverage of the activities of the parliament in the media, public control over the implementation of decisions, all this becomes the basis for openness and transparency of representative bodies.

The article is devoted to the analysis of some possibilities to increase the efficiency of the state property management system in the region. The general directions of the influence of this management system on the efficiency of the region's economy are highlighted: the increasing quantity and quality of services at the same volumes of the state and municipal property; growth of budget investments in the development of the region's infrastructure; improving the efficiency in the organization of the market space and its regulation in order to increase the welfare of the population; growth of real incomes of employees of the public sector of the region's economy, and also various pensions and privileges increse; providing additional tax revenues to the budgets of all levels due to the positive impact of the regional and local government on the economy. The disadvantages of the state property management at the regional and municipal levels are revealed by the example of the Lipetsk region: unreasonable budgetary support of the large business representatives, distorted reflection of the public needs in the structure of budget expenditures, lack of motivation in consistent implementation of the principles of efficiency.

The article is devoted to the generalization of the experience in formation of regional anti-corruption programs and the identification of the features of their implementation in practice. Also the problem of correlation of regional programs and anticorruption activity of local self-government bodies is considered. It is shown that at the municipal level the methods and directions for counteracting corruption are similar to those used by the authorities at the regional level. Both negative and positive consequences of a joint application of regional and municipal anti-corruption programs were investigated. The main directions, organizational problems of implementation of regional anti-corruption programs, peculiarities of personnel work in the framework of counteraction to corruption at the regional and local levels are determined. The article also highlights such major problem areas of counteracting corruption in the frame of personnel work in the system of state and municipal service, as 1) anti-corruption declaration; 2) solving the problem of conflicts of interest in the system of state and municipal service; 3) introduction of anticorruption standards into the anti-corruption system. Based on the analysis of the practice of implementing anti-corruption programs at the regional and local levels, the author of the article proves that further improvement is needed in the direction of systematization and institutionalization, more coherent coordination of anti-corruption activities between the levels of the subjects of the Russian Federation and local self-government bodies, as well as the implementation of system-wide measures laid by the federal legislation.

In the present article the sociological analysis of the key problems of institutionalization of the national system of management training at the present stage is presented. The author points out that management personnel training meeting modern challenges will ensure not only the implementation of the tasks facing the country, but also will have a significant impact on the image and stability of the state itself. This thesis has been repeatedly raised in the speeches of the leaders of the country, enshrined in law that means understanding by the system of state power and society of the need for effective staffing of management structures. The novelty of the approach demonstrated by the author is determined by the analysis of the institutionalization of the national system of training managerial personnel as a poly-component phenomenon from the point of view of postclassical sociological metaparadigm (the theory of system analysis, globalization) in which the training of the public administration system is viewed as a triad of the sphere of interaction, social institutions and social solidarity. In the course of the analysis, the current problems of the institutionalization of the management training system are revealed, it is noted that any changes in the management environment must correspond to the demand of the society. The author concludes that in the context of globalization and glocalization it is necessary to overcome the problems of institutionalization of staffing; mechanisms for effective rotation must be found and a high management culture must be formed, that will effectively respond to numerous modern challenges, and that will also contribute to the sustainable development of the state and social structures.

The article presents modern approaches to managing the social and economic development of municipalities. The authors summarize the experience of developing and implementing a program of professional retraining of city managers on the basis of Vologda branch of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. The modern management paradigm is based on a system approach to the object of management and consideration of all elements of the system in dynamics and interaction between themselves and the external environment. To effectively manage the social and economic development of municipalities, it is necessary to retrain the staff of managers (city-managers) on a regular basis.

The article considers the new model of financing introduced into the system of additional education - ‘personalized financing' - which is currently operating in a number of regions. Despite the fact that the tool is new and is currently being tested, it is already possible to draw conclusions about the results of implementing this tool, as well as on the positive and negative consequences, risks and benefits. The author examines the algorithm of the financial instrument, reveals the main aspects of its activities in relation to all participants of the educational process: executive authorities, educational institutions and, directly, recipients of supplementary education services. As a result of the study, the need to improve the implemented method in a number of aspects characterizing the process of providing these services was identified. In particular, it was concluded that the methodological and regulatory framework accompanying the funding mechanism has not been sufficiently developed to date. A comprehensive approach is needed to address issues in this area, including a number of measures aimed at eliminating identified problems. The expert community should pay attention to the shortcomings of the implemented financial mechanism and develop proposals for improving the process and its adaptation to the modern educational system. According to the author, the creation of a unified information base on additional education at the federal level should be an important help. It can be a kind of ‘navigator' in the system of additional education. This will make the process more open and transparent.

The article is devoted to topical issues of e-education development in Russia and in the world. The author analyzes the state of online education in the sphere of higher education, as well as the prospects of export of services on the basis of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) developed by Russian universities in foreign languages. The paper presents current data on key indicators of the online education market in Russia and in the foreign countries. In our country, it is planned to increase the number of students in online courses to 11 million people and develop at least 4,000 online courses by 2025. To achieve these indicators in 2017-2018 IPACS RANEPA is implementing a joint project with the Ministry of Higher Education to promote Russian online courses in foreign languages to the international educational market. To implement this project, a consolidated database of existing programs in the distance format in foreign languages in higher education institutions of Russia was created. The next task of the project was to identify the most promising programs worthy of promotion on the world market, their qualitative and quantitative analysis. To do this, it is necessary to study the best foreign and domestic experience in creating online programs, to explore new ‘products' of the educational market. The basis of the project was the creation of an infrastructure for the promotion and transfer of information on courses selected in the previous stages in foreign languages developed at Russian universities.

This research is carried out within the framework of comparative sociological and psycholinguistic research of motives of choosing a University and a city for studying among French and Russian applicants. The article examines the factors influencing this choice, namely: the French legislation that provides all applicants with the right to higher education, the increasing number of school children completing their education with the ‘baccalaureat' diploma, the difference in terms of admission to universities and Grandes Ecoles, different on-line platforms, allowing to select a university, dormitories or other living facilities. The article is mainly based on data from French statistical studies and recent press. The analysis of online platforms «Admission post Bac» and «Parcours plus» showed a number of contradictory factors with which French higher education is facing. Thus, the need to give each applicant the opportunity to exercise their constitutional right for higher education conflicts with the need to reduce drop-out rates and improve academic performance among first year students; in spite of the increased number of schoolchildren successfully finishing school, the funding of higher education per student is constantly decreasing; it is physically impossible to accept all comers for training programs in demanded specialties, and the desire of applicants to study in large cities is broken about the lack of dormitories in them. Finally, public rejection of any selection coexists with the rating of schools and lyceums and the elitism of the system of higher schools. All these factors should be taken into account when compiling questionnaires for French students. Acknowledgment: The study was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research within the framework of the scientific project No. 18-510-22001.

The article examines the prospects for the development of the Eurasian transport space under the influence of the Chinese strategy “One Belt One Road”. After officially announcing the initiative of the OBOR in 2013 and the subsequent series of visits that Chinese leader Xi Jinping made to the Central Asian republics, the diplomatic status of relations between China and the republics of the region has increased to the level of strategic partnership. The format of this partnership continues to evolve, new agreements and contracts are signed, which further connects with the Chinese economy and further deepens the relationship. Programs of subsidizing various types of economic activity, which are considered a priority for the state at certain stages, are very typical for China. This fully applies to the modernization of transport, increasing its efficiency and environmental friendliness. The most extensive subsidy programs were implemented by China specifically for the modernization of sea freight. China's plans to strengthen its positions in the Suez Canal zone, as well as the volume of investments in the development of sea transportation, indicate that land freight has not yet become a priority for the PRC. Meanwhile, the geography of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Agreement on the interface with the Chinese project allow it to count on the status of the land transit territory for goods sent by the China-EU-China route.

Public-private partnership is one of the forms of cooperation between the state and the private sector, which is aimed at attracting investment in the Russian economy and improving the quality of goods, works and services. There are many agreements where one side is public legal education, and the other is a private investor (production sharing agreements, various investment contracts, procurement contracts for government needs, etc.). In the scientific literature and official documents, this type of partnership is interpreted unjustifiably widely. In this article, the classification of its forms is given; the necessity of a narrow interpretation of this concept is justified. The essential features of public-private partnership distinguishing it from the adjacent legal relations are given. The paper proposes a division into public-private partnerships in a narrow and broad sense. In a broad sense, it should not be understood as any form of interaction between the state and business in order to solve social and economic problems. It is possible to single out concession and non-concession types of such partnership. In connection with the recent law enforcement practice, which allows full budget financing for the creation of the object of the concession agreement, it becomes urgent to give economic reasons for classification. Both concession agreements and public-private partnership agreements, depending on the way of return of investments can be divided into operational, semi-operational and non-operational.

The article gives an idea of the basic principles and structure of the health systems of the four eastern countries that are in the top five ranking of the effectiveness of health systems (The Most Efficient Health Care 2016) of the US financial and economic information agency Bloomberg. The main distinctive features and recommendations of use in our country are formed. It is necessary to introduce at the state level a system of motivating the population to take care of their health, as well as to increase preventive measures and strengthen health promotion. The search for external sources of financing (for example, the development of recreational resources) will improve the quality of medical services in the face of tight financial constraints. It is necessary to redistribute funds between inpatient and outpatient medical care in favor of sanatorium care, as well as preventive care of a healthy lifestyle. The successful combination of these practices in Russian conditions can contribute to improving the efficiency of the health care system, reducing mortality and morbidity, and increasing the level of life expectancy. The author believes that in Russia it is necessary to introduce at the state level a system of motivation of the population to take care of their health, as well as to increase preventive measures and strengthen health promotion. Besides, redistribution of funds between stationary and out-patient medical care in favor of sanatorium help, and also preventive care of a healthy lifestyle is required.

This article discusses the main problems of the analysis of the effectiveness of the executive authorities of constituent entities of the Russian Federation. They consist in the use of numerous indicators to assess their work, the availability of unreliable sociological surveys of citizens about the degree of satisfaction with the activities of state bodies, as well as in the inconsistency of the results of this activity with the functions assigned to them and the powers delegated to them. It is necessary to review the existing methods of assessing the activities of the executive authorities of the Russian Federation and local authorities. The results of such an assessment should be focused on a qualitative analysis of the entire system of territorial administration in order to optimize it according to the following criteria: the organization of the process of territorial administration; the provision by the executive authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation and local self-government bodies of the assumed obligations to provide state and municipal services; improving the efficiency of the use of socio-economic space. The introduction of the proposed evaluation mechanism will provide an opportunity to determine to what extent the authorities ensure the satisfaction of public and territorial interests in accordance with the functions assigned to them and the powers delegated to them.