Management

The speciality called “Economics and Management” has a wide horizon of applications because a manager is one of the key figures in every organization.

An organization consists of two or more people deliberately working together to attain a set of goals (for example, to produce goods and services). Any large organization will have managers, employees who set the goals for the organization and devise a plan to reach these goals.

Managers make up a social class which has become very important in the second half of the 20^th century. There’s simple explanation to this statement. There are some huge corporations that possess such enormous financial, production and scientific potential that they may be compared with countries. That’s why the decisions of their managers may affect lives of millions of people, or even whole economic regions.

Management is the process of achieving organizational goals through engaging in the four main functions of planning, organizing, motivating and controlling. All these functions are necessary to reach the organizational goals.

There are four main types of management as a form of activity in directing people: production, marketing, finance and innovation. Some people add information management and personnel management into the group.

The term “management” can also refer to a field of study. As a science it has its own subject, object, internal and external laws and a short, though very rich, history.

Management, as a scientific and organizational phenomenon, came into being in 1911 after the issuing of Frederich Taylor’s book “Principles of Scientific Management.” In it, Taylor expressed the idea that the most important thing one should do in any organization is to set up a system of special people called organizers or managers. This idea was received by some other scientists and businessmen.

In 1926, the Rockfeller Fund (at Harvard University) started researching the problems of organization or management. The world famous company of that time, “Western Electric Co.” spent lots of money on the research in that field.

Various famous specialists and scientists continued working or exploring

managerial problems and their application in practice. Those were: Henry Ford, Peter Drake, James Mooney, Alan Keiley and others.

The period of the fastest development in the managerial science covered the 1950s and 60s. A lot of interesting and highly useful methods were transferred from military sciences into the civilian production of goods and services.

The following are the most important principles of managerial science in the 90s:

• A return to the ideas of the technological and material component of production.

• The development of democratic power and general decentralization.

• The increase of the international aspect of management.

Mathematical Methods and Operations Research in Economics

The speciality “Mathematical methods and operations research in economics” is a new, more advanced variant of the speciality “Economic cybernetics.”

Cybernetics is quite a young science. The term “cybernetics” originated from the Greek “Kybernetike,” the Latin “gubernator” and the English “governor,” all meaning “control.” The term, cybernetics, was first introduced by the American mathematician Norbert Wiener who is considered the father of the science. Cybernetics is the science dealing with the problem of control and governing of processes. The main aim of this science is increasing the efficiency of human labour, and controlling and governing of processes in nature, technology and human society.

Cybernetics comprises three principal branches: theoretical, technical and applied. All branches are independent scientific trends. The theoretical branch deals with the philosophical mathematical and logical foundations. The technical branch refers to the technical means used in control mechanism. The applied branch is connected with the application of the theoretical findings in various fields of science and human activity. Extensive usage of theoretical and technical branches of cybernetics gave rise to the appearance of new science - applied cybernetics.

Economic cybernetics is one of the applied branches of cybernetics. Economic cybernetics is a branch of science dealing with the application of cybernetical methods and ideas to economic systems. Economic cybernetics holds an intermediate position between economics and mathematics. Structurally economic cybernetics comprises two main divisions: theoretical and technical.

As the result of some significant changes in the socio-economic sphere, as well as the development of economic and mathematical methods and information technologies was the appearance of the new speciality - mathematical methods and operational research in economics. It is a universal speciality requiring mathematical, humanitarian, and economic knowledge. Graduates receive the qualification of an economist-mathematician.

The students of the Department of mathematical methods and operational research in economics study various subjects. The established curriculum includes such mathematical disciplines as mathematical analysis, linear algebra, the theory of probability and mathematical statistics, basics of algorithmization and programming languages, and operational research. The students are also given lectures on some economic subjects (for instance, issues of micro- and macroeconomics) and special disciplines like economic-mathematical models, information technologies, cybernetic basis of management. The study of Information Technologies includes the following disciplines: computer architecture and operating system basis, database, programming technology, personal computers in financial and commersial calculations, modern information technologies, and the use of personal computers for accounting.

During the course of study, both junior and senior students take part in business and role plays in such courses as social processes modeling, optimal management of the elementary economic systems, the theory of decision-making and computer practical work.

The students of economics also study fundamentals of philosophy, history and foreign languages.

In addition to this, students have practical training in programming languages, computer application in the economy, mathematical methods and modeling in economics. Juniors carry out their practicum in the computer class, seniors - in banks, insurance companies, taxation and customs bodies, state administration bodies or local small and medium sized business.

After graduating from the University a wide range of activities is open to the graduates of the Department of mathematical methods and operational research in economics. They have the knowledge to work in various governmental institutions, state research and design organizations, in private firms and state enterprises, banks and finance companies, consulting firms and investment funds.

They will be able to carry out different kinds of economic activities such as analysis, forecasting and planning while conducting calculations and analytical operations using modern information technologies and computer software.

At present, the study of mathematical methods and operational research in economics is in great demand by our students who will work in the new market economy conditions.