CHAPTER 1

Entrepreneurship as a factor of production: concept, essence, functions.

1.1 The concept and essence of entrepreneurship as a factor of production. Objects and subjects of entrepreneurship, main features entrepreneurial activity

Entrepreneurship is a kind of labor effort to organize and manage production in order to achieve the best results for the company. Entrepreneurship is an essential attribute of a market economy, the main distinguishing feature of which is free competition.

Although the history of entrepreneurship goes back centuries, its modern understanding was formed during the formation and development of capitalism, which chose free enterprise as the basis and source of its prosperity. K. Marx saw in the entrepreneur only a capitalist who invests his capital in own enterprise, and in entrepreneurship - an exploitative essence. Only later, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, did economists recognize the crucial importance of entrepreneurship for economic progress. A. Marshall added to the three classical factors of production (labor, land, capital) the fourth - organization.

J. Schumpeter in the book "The Theory of Economic Development" gave this factor its modern name - entrepreneurship. He defined the main functions of entrepreneurship:

creation of a new material good, not yet familiar to the consumer, or a former good, but with new qualities;

the introduction of a new method of production that has not yet been used in this industry;

the conquest of a new market or the wider use of the former;

the use of a new type of raw material or semi-finished products;

introduction new organization cases, for example, a monopoly position or, conversely, overcoming a monopoly.

To get a complete picture of entrepreneurship as a factor of production, it is necessary to dwell on the economic content of entrepreneurial activity. In terms of economic certainty, entrepreneurship can be considered:

as a method of management;

as a type of economic thinking.

In the description of entrepreneurship economic category the central problem is to establish subjects and objects.Subjects entrepreneurship can be, first of all, private individuals (organizers of sole, family, as well as larger production). The activities of such entrepreneurs are carried out both on the basis of their own labor and with the involvement of hired workers. Entrepreneurial activity can also be carried out by a group of persons linked by contractual relations and economic interests. The subjects of collective entrepreneurship are joint-stock companies, rental collectives, cooperatives, etc. In some cases, the state represented by its relevant bodies is also referred to as business entities.

object Entrepreneurship is the implementation of the most efficient combination of factors of production in order to maximize income. The creation of all kinds of new ways of combining economic resources, according to J. Schumpeter, is the main task of the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs combine resources to produce a new good unknown to consumers; introduction of new production methods (technologies) and commercial use of existing goods; development of a new market; development of new sources of raw materials; carrying out reorganization in the industry to create their own monopoly or undermine someone else's.

For entrepreneurship as farming method the main conditions are independence and independence economic entities, their availability of certain freedoms and rights - to choose the type of business activity, sources of financing, develop a production program, access to resources, sell products, set prices for it, manage profits, etc. The independence of the entrepreneur should be understood in the sense that there is no governing body over him, indicating what to produce, how much to spend, to whom and at what price to sell, etc. But the entrepreneur is always dependent on the market, the dynamics of supply and demand, the price level, that is, on the existing system of commodity-money relations.

The second condition for entrepreneurship is responsibility for decisions made their consequences and associated risk. Risk is always associated with uncertainty and unpredictability. Even the most careful calculation and forecast cannot eliminate the unpredictability factor; it is a constant companion of entrepreneurial activity.

The third sign of entrepreneurship is commercial success orientation, the desire to increase profits. But such an attitude is not self-sufficient in modern business. activities of many business structures goes beyond the solution purely economic tasks, they take part in the decision social problems communities, donate funds for the development of culture, education, health care, environmental protection, etc.

Entrepreneurship as a special type of economic thinking characterized by a set of original views and approaches to decision-making, which are implemented in practice. The personality of the entrepreneur plays a central role here. Entrepreneurship is not an occupation, but a mindset and a property of nature. According to J. Schumpeter, to be an entrepreneur, you need to have a special imagination, the gift of foresight, constantly resist the pressure of routine. You have to be able to find something new and use its possibilities. You need to be able to take risks, overcome fear and act regardless of the ongoing processes.

Entrepreneurship- this is an initiative independent activity of citizens and their associations, carried out at their own peril and risk and under their own responsibility and aimed at making a profit. An entrepreneur can engage in any type of activity (economic and production, trade and procurement, innovation, consulting, intermediary), if they are not prohibited by law. Pentrepreneur is defined as the subject of the search and implementation of new opportunities in generating and mastering innovative ideas, developing high-quality technologies, implementing innovations and mastering promising development factors, finding new ways to serve consumers, and finding new areas for investing capital.

Thus, the following can be distinguished peculiarities entrepreneurial activity: firstly, it is the initiative activity of people associated with risk and responsibility; secondly, it is aimed at the most efficient use of resources that are limited and require innovative approaches to their use; thirdly, entrepreneurship is justified if it brings additional income. In the process of entrepreneurial activity, the main issues are solved market economics: what to produce, for whom to produce, how to do it most effectively.

1.2 Functions and goals of entrepreneurial activity

In a developed market economy, entrepreneurship as an integrated set of entrepreneurial organizations (companies, firms), individual entrepreneurs, as well as complex associations of entrepreneurial organizations performs the following functions:

general economic

resource

creative-search, innovative

social

organizational

Determinant in the developed market economy is general economic function, which is objectively determined by the role of business organizations and individual entrepreneurs as subjects of the markets. Entrepreneurial activity is aimed at the production of goods (performance of work, provision of services) and their delivery to specific consumers: households, other entrepreneurs, the state, which primarily predetermines the general economic function. Entrepreneurship development is one of the determining conditions for economic growth, increase in gross domestic product and national income. This factor also acts as a manifestation of a general economic function in the system of economic relations.

The most important function of entrepreneurship is resource. Entrepreneurship development involves the efficient use of both reproducible and limited resources, and resources should be understood as all material and non-material conditions and factors of production. First of all, these are labor resources, land and natural resources, all means of production and scientific achievements, as well as entrepreneurial talent.

Creative-search, innovative a function associated not only with the use of new ideas in the process of entrepreneurial activity, but also with the development of new means and factors to achieve the goals. The creative function of entrepreneurship is closely related to all other functions and is determined by the level of economic freedom of business entities, the conditions for making managerial decisions.

In the process of establishing a market economy, entrepreneurship acquires social a function expressed in the ability of each capable individual to be the owner of the business, to show their individual talents and capabilities with the greatest return. This function of entrepreneurship is more manifested in people who are enterprising, prone to independent economic activity, able to create their own business, overcome the resistance of the environment and achieve their goals.

Organizational the function of entrepreneurship is manifested in the adoption by entrepreneurs of an independent decision on organizing their own business, in the formation of entrepreneurial management, in the creation of complex entrepreneurial structures, in changing the strategy of an entrepreneurial firm, etc. The organizational function is especially clearly expressed in the rapid development of small and medium-sized businesses.

The essence of entrepreneurship is revealed through the following interconnected functionsentrepreneur:

He takes the initiative to combine the factors of production to create goods (works, services) for the purpose of making a profit;

The entrepreneur is the organizer of production. He determines the strategy and tactics of the company's behavior, takes responsibility for their implementation;

An entrepreneur is an innovator, as he introduces new non-traditional techniques and ways to increase profits;

An entrepreneur is a person who is not afraid of risk and consciously takes it in order to achieve a goal.

Among the most important goals entrepreneur - the production of goods and services, increasing income, ensuring prestige, business development. All these goals are closely interrelated (figure 1.1).

The phenomenon of entrepreneurship is an integral element of the market economy. AT economic theory The concept of "entrepreneur" appeared in the XVIII century. and often associated with the concept of "owner". At its origins was the English economist R. Cantillon, who first introduced the term "entrepreneur" into economic theory.

An entrepreneur is a person with uncertain, non-fixed income (a peasant, an artisan, a merchant, a beggar, etc.). He buys other people's goods at the same price, and will sell at a price unknown to him yet. It follows that risk is the main distinguishing feature entrepreneur, and his main economic function is to bring the supply in line with the demand for various commodity markets. A. Smith also characterized the entrepreneur as a person who takes economic risks in order to implement his commercial ideas in order to make a profit. He himself plans and organizes production, disposes of its results.

The French economist J. B. Say described in some detail the specific properties of the entrepreneur and the nature of his income, part of which is a payment for his rare entrepreneurial abilities.

A major contribution to the development of the theory of entrepreneurship was made by the German economist W. Sombart and the Austrian economist J. Schumpeter. According to Sombart, an entrepreneur is a "conqueror" (willingness to take risks, spiritual freedom, a wealth of ideas, will and perseverance), an "organizer" (the ability to connect many people for joint work) and "merchant" (the ability to convince people to buy goods, arouse their interest, gain confidence). Describing the goals of an entrepreneur, Sombart highlights the desire for prosperity and growth of his business as the main among them, and the growth of profits as a subordinate, since prosperity is impossible without it.

J. Schumpeter calls an entrepreneur a person who undertakes the implementation of new combinations of factors of production and thereby ensures economic development. At the same time, Schumpeter believed that an entrepreneur is not necessarily the owner of production, an individual capitalist - he can also be the manager of a bank or a joint-stock company.

The association in one person of the owner and the entrepreneur began to collapse just in the period of the appearance of credit

The separation of entrepreneurship from ownership is especially evident in joint-stock companies. In the conditions of a joint-stock, corporate economy, property as a legal fact loses its administrative functions. Power in production moves from the owner to the organizer. Instead of real physical items traditionally associated with the concept of ownership, the shareholder owns only a piece of paper, the title of ownership. Over the entrepreneurs themselves, he, the owner of the shares, has a very conditional control. However, the shareholder is not responsible for the performance of the joint stock company. This is the responsibility of managers.

Thus, the development of credit relations and the transition of national wealth from the form of individual private property to the form of corporate ownership entails the separation of property from disposal - entrepreneurship.

So, entrepreneurship is basically not a function of only the owner, it can be attended by persons who are not directly owners.

What is entrepreneurship in terms of economic certainty? In the scientific literature, it is proposed to consider entrepreneurship in three aspects:

1) as an economic concept;

2) as a method of managing;

3) as a type of economic thinking.

To characterize entrepreneurship as economic concept the central problem is the establishment of its subjects and objects. The subjects of entrepreneurship can be, first of all, private individuals (organizers of sole, family, as well as larger production). The activities of such entrepreneurs are carried out both on the basis of their own labor and with the involvement of hired workers. Entrepreneurial activity can also be carried out by a group of persons linked by contractual relations and economic interests. The subjects of collective entrepreneurship are: 1) joint-stock companies; 2) rental collectives; 3) cooperatives, etc. In some cases, business entities also include the state represented by its relevant bodies. In a market economy, there are three forms of entrepreneurial activity:

1) state;

2) collective;

3) private, each of which finds its "niche" in the economic system.

The object of entrepreneurship is the implementation of the most efficient combination of factors of production in order to maximize. All sorts of new ways of combining production resources are the main business of the entrepreneur and distinguish him from the ordinary business executive. Entrepreneurs combine resources in order to produce a new good unknown to consumers; discovery of new production methods (technologies) and commercial use of existing goods; development of a new market; development of a new source of raw materials; carrying out reorganization in the industry to create their own monopoly or undermine someone else's.

The main condition for entrepreneurship as a method of managing the economy is the autonomy and independence of economic entities, i.e. they have a certain set of freedoms and rights - at the choice of the type of entrepreneurial activity; on the formation of the production program; on the choice of funding sources; access to resources; for the sale of products; setting prices for it; profit management, etc.

The independence of the entrepreneur should be understood in the sense that there is no governing body over him, indicating what to produce, how much to spend, to whom and at what price to sell, etc. But the entrepreneur is always dependent on the market, on the dynamics of supply and demand, on the level, i.e. from the existing system of commodity-money relations.

The second condition for entrepreneurship is responsibility for the decisions made, their consequences and the risk associated with it. Risk is always associated with uncertainty and unpredictability. Even the most careful calculation and forecast cannot eliminate the factor of unpredictability in entrepreneurial activity.

The third sign of entrepreneurship is the focus on achieving commercial success, the desire to increase profits. But this goal is not the only one in modern business. The activities of many business structures go beyond purely economic tasks, they take part in solving social problems of society, donate their funds to the development of culture, education, health, environmental protection, etc.

Describing entrepreneurship as a special type of economic thinking, it should be noted that the personality of the entrepreneur plays a central role in entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurship is not an occupation, but a mindset and a property of nature. To be an entrepreneur is not to do what others do; you need to have a special gift of imagination; the gift of foresight; constantly resist the pressure of routine. You have to be able to find something new and use its possibilities. You need to be able to take risks, overcome and act not depending on the ongoing processes, but to determine these processes yourself.

An entrepreneur in his activity is driven by the will to win, the desire to fight, the special creative nature of his work, the possibility of earning income.

As for the intellect of an entrepreneur, it must be selective, i.e. is aimed at a narrow range of phenomena that the entrepreneur studies thoroughly.

In general, entrepreneurship should include elements of economic art, economic and organizational creativity, free manifestation of initiative, innovation, readiness for risk, etc. for the sake of making a profit. And this is quite natural, since the management and organization of production in the conditions of the revival of a market, competitive economy, individual inclinations, skill, and estimate play a crucial role.

Introduction

The relevance of the research topic is due to the fact that entrepreneurship is one of the most important components of the modern economy. In the market economy countries, entrepreneurship has become widespread and constitutes the vast majority of all forms of organizations.

The main part of Belarusian entrepreneurship is small and medium business. The main task of the entrepreneur is to manage the enterprise, which includes the rational use of resources, the organization of the process on an innovative basis and economic risk, as well as responsibility for the final results of their activities.

The transition to a market economy is a transition to an entrepreneurial economy. Creation of conditions for the development of entrepreneurship is the most important component of transformational changes in the transitional economy. In this regard, the identification of the essential features and patterns of entrepreneurship development is extremely important. This determines the relevance of the topic term paper.

The purpose of the work is to reveal the concept of entrepreneurship, its role and functions in the national economy, as well as the features and prospects for development in the Republic of Belarus.

In accordance with the purpose of the work, the following tasks are put forward:

1) reveal the concept, content, main features of entrepreneurship, risk, uncertainty in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial income;

2) to analyze the business environment in the Republic of Belarus;

3) to propose ways for the development of entrepreneurship in the transformational economy of the Republic of Belarus.

The object of research is the national economy of the Republic of Belarus.

The subject of the course work is the concept of entrepreneurship as a factor of production.

Research methods: comparative analysis, synthesis, generalization, comparison, description, historical, logical.

The research topic has been sufficiently developed both by Belarusian and foreign scientists. The most complete concept of entrepreneurship, as well as its role and features in the Republic of Belarus, was disclosed by N. I. Bazylev, M. N. Bazyleva, S. I. Mazol, M. G. Lapusta, M. I. Balashevich, etc. Yu. M. Osipov and M.G. Lapust revealed the need and influence of entrepreneurship on the development of a market economy.

Theoretical Foundations of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship as a factor of production

Entrepreneurship in modern economy is a specific factor of production that combines other factors of production within an economic unit. As a result, disparate production factors form the economic system and acquire new properties - the ability to efficiently produce products and create new resources.

Thus, entrepreneurial ability is usually understood as a special kind of human resource, which consists in the ability to most effectively use all other factors of production. The specificity of this type of human resource lies in the ability and desire to introduce new types of manufactured products, technologies, forms of business organization and the possibility of incurring losses in the production process on a commercial basis. Risk is the main distinguishing feature of an entrepreneur, and the goal of entrepreneurial activity is to maximize income by identifying the most efficient combination of production factors. No one guarantees the entrepreneur that the end result of his activity will be a loss or he will receive income.

It is customary to include in the composition of this resource: firstly, entrepreneurs, which include company owners, managers who are not their owners, as well as business organizers, combining owners and managers in one person; secondly, the entire entrepreneurial infrastructure of the country, namely: the existing institutions of a market economy, i.e. banks, exchanges, Insurance companies, advisory firms; third, business ethics and culture, as well as the entrepreneurial spirit of the society.

In general, an entrepreneurial resource can be characterized as a special mechanism for the realization of people's entrepreneurial abilities, based on the current model of a market economy. All of the above provides a basis for defining entrepreneurship as a factor of production.

All factors of production interact with each other.

Entrepreneurship combines the economic resources of land, capital, labor in one enterprise

Entrepreneurship as a factor of production is a set of human abilities to use a certain combination of resources to produce a product, make reasonable and consistent decisions, apply innovations and take justified risks.

The author of the theory of factors of production is Jean-Baptiste Say. Based on A. Smith's "Research on the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations", he showed that in the daily process of production of goods, the owners of factors of production interact, which, depending on their own importance, receive one or another income.

Entrepreneurship as a factor of production is closely related to the risk factor.

First of all, let's define the initial, basic concept of "risk", bearing in mind that it is a threat, the danger of losses that can damage the economic security of an enterprise. In this understanding, entrepreneurial (economic) risk is characterized as the danger of a potentially possible, probable loss of resources or shortfall in income in comparison with the option designed for the rational use of resources in this type of entrepreneurial activity. In other words, risk is the threat that the entrepreneur will incur losses in the form of additional costs in excess of provided by the plan, his program of action, or receive income below those he expected. When establishing economic risk it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of "expenditure", "losses", "losses". Any economic activity is inevitably associated with costs, while losses and losses occur under unfavorable circumstances, miscalculations and represent additional costs in excess of those planned.

In absolute terms, the risk can be determined by the amount of possible losses in material (physical) or cost (monetary) terms, if only the damage can be measured in such a way. In relative terms, risk is defined as the amount of possible losses related to a certain base, in the form of which it is most convenient to take either the property state of the enterprise, or the total cost of resources for this type economic activity, or the expected income (profit) from a business operation (project). In relation to an enterprise, it is advisable to take the value of fixed assets and working capital enterprises or the estimated total costs of a given type of economic activity, meaning both current costs and capital investments, or estimated income (profit). The choice of one or another base is not of fundamental importance, but one should prefer an indicator determined with a high degree reliability.

In the future, the basic indicators used for comparison, we will call the calculated, or expected, indicators of profit, costs, revenue. The values ​​of these indicators are determined during the development of a business plan, in the process of a feasibility study of an operation, project or transaction.

The central place in the assessment of entrepreneurial risk is occupied by the analysis and forecasting of possible losses of resources in the implementation of the production and economic activities of the enterprise.

This does not mean the consumption of resources, objectively determined by the nature and scale of economic activity, but random, unforeseen, but potentially possible losses arising from the deviation of the real course of economic activity from the plan.

In order to assess the probability of certain losses due to the development of events according to an unforeseen option, it is necessary, first of all, to determine all types of losses associated with the implementation of the project, and be able to calculate them in advance or measure them as probable forecast values. At the same time, it is natural to want to quantify each type of loss and be able to bring them together, which, unfortunately, is not always possible to do.

Speaking about the calculation of probable losses in the process of their forecasting, it must be borne in mind that a random development of events that affects the course and results of economic activity can lead not only to losses in the form of overestimated resource costs and a decrease in the final result, but also a decrease in the costs of another resource. Therefore, if a random event has a double impact on the final results of a project, operation or transaction, has adverse and favorable consequences, then both should be equally taken into account when assessing the risk.

Losses that may be in economic activity, it is advisable to divide into material, labor, financial, loss of time, special types of losses.

Material losses are manifested in additional costs not provided for by the entrepreneurial project or direct losses of equipment, property, products, raw materials, energy, etc. In relation to each individual of the listed types of losses, their own units of measurement are applicable.

It is most natural to measure material losses in the same units in which the quantity of a given type is measured. material resources, that is, in physical units of weight, volume, area, etc. However, it is not possible to bring together the losses measured in different units and express them in one value. Therefore, it is almost inevitable to calculate losses in value terms, in monetary units. To do this, losses in the physical dimension are converted into a cost dimension by multiplying by the unit price of the corresponding material resource.

For a significant amount of material resources, the cost of which is known in advance, the losses can immediately be estimated in monetary terms.

Labor losses represent the loss of working time caused by random, unforeseen circumstances. In direct measurement, labor losses are expressed in man-hours, man-days, or simply hours of working time. Translation of labor losses into cost, monetary value is carried out by multiplying the number of labor hours by the cost (price) of one hour.

Financial loss is a direct monetary loss associated with unforeseen payments, payment of fines, payment of additional taxes, loss of Money and securities. In addition, financial losses may occur if there is a shortage or non-receipt of money from the provided sources, if debts are not returned, if the buyer does not pay for the products delivered to him, if the revenue decreases due to a decrease in prices for products and services sold. Special types monetary damage associated with inflation, changes in the exchange rate, additional to the legal withdrawal of funds from enterprises in the state budget. Along with the final irretrievable losses, there may also be temporary financial losses caused by the freezing of accounts, untimely disbursement of funds, and deferment of debt payments.

Losses of time exist when the process of economic activity is slower than planned. A direct assessment of such losses is carried out in hours, days, weeks, months of delay in the intended result. In order to translate the assessment of time losses into a cost measurement, it is necessary to establish what losses of income and profits can be caused by random losses of time.

Special types of losses are manifested in the form of damage to the health and life of people, environment, the prestige of the enterprise. Most often, special types of losses are extremely difficult to quantify, even more difficult in terms of value.

Naturally, for each type of loss, the initial assessment of the possibility of their occurrence and magnitude should be made for a certain time, covering the month, year, and duration of the project. When conducting a comprehensive analysis of probabilistic losses for risk assessment, it is important not only to identify all sources of risk, but also to identify which sources prevail. Analyzing the types of losses listed above, it is necessary to divide the probable losses into determining and secondary losses based on the very overall assessment their magnitudes.

When determining business risk, collateral losses can be excluded in quantification risk level. If among the considered losses one type is singled out, which, either in magnitude or in the probability of occurrence, obviously suppresses the others, then only this type of losses can be taken in the quantitative assessment of the level of risk. In addition, it is necessary to take into account only random losses that are not amenable to direct calculation, direct forecasting and therefore not taken into account in the entrepreneurial project. If losses can be foreseen in advance, then they should be considered not as losses, but as unavoidable costs and included in production costs.

In addition to risk, it is necessary to consider the uncertainty in which the entrepreneurial function manifests itself and its income is formed. It is uninsurable uncertainty, not taken into account in the expectations of entrepreneurs, that becomes the "environment" of the entrepreneur's activity. The rest of the income that the entrepreneur receives is formed after the satisfaction of all obligations, including risk insurance. The size of this balance depends partly on entrepreneurial abilities and the ability to overcome uncertainty, as well as on the nature of the combination of random factors with the surrounding economic conditions. As a result, only that risk leads to entrepreneurial profit, which is the unique uncertainty resulting from the assumption of ultimate responsibility, which by its very nature cannot be insured, capitalized, or compensated by salary.

Uncertainty about the future is an inherent feature of every day, and only those individuals who deal with it constantly in their economic expectations are entrepreneurs.

R. Cantillon believed that the function of entrepreneurship is to act in uncertainty, to find in it a source of satisfaction of one's material needs, and this function formed the basis of his concept of a market system.

It was this interpretation of the entrepreneur that marked the direction for researchers who shared the point of view of R. Cantillon on risk as the most important aspect entrepreneurial function.

The motivation for personal responsibility decisions made under conditions of uncertainty, G. Shackle's research also differs. It is characterized by a general denial of the state of equilibrium, outside of which only an entrepreneur can exist, and the violation of which is the direction of his activity. At the same time, as essential functions he highlights the transfer of uncertainty and decision making. The latter is carried out on an intuitive or instinctive level with full responsibility for it.

Uncertainty is also a "state of mind", something subjective, however, limited by both personal and environmental possibilities.

F. Knight's studies of the nature of entrepreneurial income formed the basis of modern points of view on risk and uncertainty. Its results provide an opportunity to assess the boundaries between traditional corporate governance and entrepreneurship.

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Entrepreneurship as a factor of production. Entrepreneur's profit.

Entrepreneurship is an essential attribute of a market economy. Although the history of entrepreneurship goes back centuries, its modern understanding was formed during the formation and development of capitalism, in which free enterprise serves as the basis and source of prosperity. But only at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. economists have recognized the crucial importance of this factor of production for economic progress. Alfred Marshall added to the three classical factors of production - labor, capital and land - the fourth - organization, and Joseph Schumpeter in his book “The Theory of Economic Development” gave this factor its modern name - entrepreneurship.

Schumpeter called an entrepreneur an organizer of production who paves new paths, implements new combinations: “Being an entrepreneur means doing not what others do ... and not in the way others do.” J. Schumpeter attributed to the functions of an entrepreneur:

1) the creation of a new, yet unfamiliar to the consumer material good or a former good, but with new qualities;

2) the introduction of a new method of production that has not yet been used in this industry;

3) the conquest of a new market or the wider use of the former;

4) the use of a new type of raw material or semi-finished products;

5) the introduction of a new organization of business, for example, a monopoly, or, conversely, overcoming it.

Struggling with the routine, carrying out the implementation of innovations and thereby ensuring economic growth, the entrepreneur becomes, according to Schumpeter, a “creative destroyer”.

The object of entrepreneurship is the implementation of the most efficient combination of factors of production in order to maximize income. The creation of all kinds of new ways of combining economic resources, according to J. Schumpeter, is the main task of an entrepreneur and distinguishes him from an ordinary business executive.

In modern literature, it is customary to distinguish three functions of an entrepreneur.

First function- resource. Any economic activity requires objective factors (means of production) and subjective, personal factors (workers with sufficient knowledge and skills).

Second function- organizational. Its essence is to ensure such a combination and combination of factors of production that best contributes to the achievement of the goal.

Third function- creative, associated with organizational and economic innovation. The importance of this function for business has increased dramatically in the context of modern scientific and technological progress and the development of non-price competition.

To successfully perform these functions, a person must have certain abilities, among which there must be initiative, the ability to think independently and make decisions, perseverance in achieving goals, the ability to organize and lead a team.

The reward for the services of an entrepreneur is profit. In economic theory, there are several approaches to determining the sources of profit generation.

According to the first of them - accounting - profit is interpreted as the difference between the income received by the enterprise from the sale of goods and the costs incurred by it in the course of production and marketing activities. Thus, in contrast to wages, interest and rent, profit is not a kind of equilibrium price fixed in a contractual manner, but acts as a residual income. This view was not established in science immediately. Profit for a long time was not distinguished from wages and interest on capital.

Modern economists interpret profit as a reward for performing the functions of an entrepreneur, i.e. as income from the entrepreneurial factor. Thus, under the net (economic) profit in economic theory it is customary to understand the excess over the interest rate, over rent payments, over the wage rate, over normal entrepreneurial profit. This is a kind of “entrepreneur's salary”.

Profit is often viewed as a kind of payment for the risk that entrepreneurial activity involves.

Finally, profit is treated as monopoly income. A large firm can get it by setting higher prices in the market, and therefore by conquering this market and turning perfect competition into the imperfect.

A specific estimate of profit can be made as the difference between the total income of the enterprise and its total costs. In other words, profit can be defined as net income, or income excluding costs and taxes. So when statisticians calculate profits, they usually add up total cost sales of the enterprise (revenue) and all costs (wages, cost of materials and energy, rent, interest on loans, etc.), as well as taxes, are deducted from it.

Thus, entrepreneurial income (economic profit) consists of two parts:

1) the normal profit of the entrepreneur, which is part of the internal (opportunity) costs, which is the minimum income necessary to continue the operation of the company in the chosen field of activity;

2) the net income of the entrepreneur - the part of the profit remaining at the disposal of the entrepreneur after the payment of interest on the loan.

An important indicator, which characterizes the economic results of the company, is rate of return- the share of profit in the proceeds from sales or the share of profit in the price of the product.

In any case, the hope of making a profit is a stimulus for technical progress, the redistribution of capital among the branches of production. The expectation of profit stimulates the most efficient distribution and use of resources, reducing production costs, mastering new technologies, increasing investment in the economy, increasing production and employment, and ultimately, the economic growth and better satisfaction of people's needs. As J. Schumpeter said, “without development there is no profit, without profit there is no development”.

In Western countries, promising areas of entrepreneurship in the 21st century have been identified. Thus, in Japan, the emphasis is on information business, in Germany, Great Britain and France - on industrial technologies (it is believed that one who is strong in industrial production, will be successful in all areas of science and technology). In the United States, the focus is on increasing the intellectual level of workers, their education and qualifications, because the technological potential of a business depends on this.

Entrepreneurship is an essential attribute of a market economy, the main distinguishing feature of which is free competition. It is a specific factor of production, firstly, because, unlike capital and land, it is intangible. Secondly, we cannot interpret profit as a kind of equilibrium price, by analogy with the labor market, capital and land.

The modern understanding of entrepreneurship was formed during the formation and development of capitalism, which chose free enterprise as the basis and source of its prosperity.

The views of the classics were one of the starting points of the Marxist concept of entrepreneurship. K. Marx saw in the entrepreneur only a capitalist who invests his capital in his own enterprise, and in entrepreneurship - an exploitative essence. Only much later, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, did economists recognize its crucial importance for economic progress. A. Marshall added to the three classical factors of production - labor, land, capital - the fourth - organization, and J. Schumpeter gave this factor its modern name - entrepreneurship and defined its main functions:

Creation of a new material good, not yet familiar to the consumer, or the former good, but with new qualities;

The introduction of a new method of production that has not yet been used in this industry;

The conquest of a new market or the wider use of the former;

Use of a new type of raw material or semi-finished products;

The introduction of a new organization of business, for example, a monopoly position or, conversely, overcoming a monopoly.

To characterize entrepreneurship as an economic category, the central problem is the establishment of its subjects and objects. The subjects of entrepreneurship can be, first of all, private individuals (organizers of sole, family, as well as larger productions). The activities of such entrepreneurs are carried out on the basis of both their own labor and hired. Entrepreneurial activity can also be carried out by a group of persons linked by contractual relations and economic interests. Joint-stock companies, rental collectives, cooperatives, etc. act as subjects of collective entrepreneurship. In some cases, the state represented by its relevant bodies is also referred to as business entities. Thus, in a market economy, there are three forms of entrepreneurial activity: state, collective, private, each of which finds its own niche in the economic system.

The object of entrepreneurship is the most efficient combination of factors of production to maximize income. "Entrepreneurs combine resources to produce a new good unknown to consumers; discover new methods of production (technologies) and commercial use of an existing product; develop a new market and a new source of raw materials; reorganize the industry in order to create their own monopoly or undermine someone else's" - J. Schumpeter.

For entrepreneurship as a method of managing the economy, the first and main condition is the autonomy and independence of economic entities, the presence of a certain set of freedoms and rights for them to choose the type of entrepreneurial activity, sources of financing, the formation of a production program, access to resources, marketing of products, setting prices for it, profit management, etc.

The second condition for entrepreneurship is responsibility for the decisions made, their consequences and the associated risk. Risk is always associated with uncertainty and unpredictability. Even the most careful calculation and forecast cannot eliminate the unpredictability factor; it is a constant companion of entrepreneurial activity.

The third condition of an entrepreneur is a focus on achieving commercial success, striving to increase profits.

The profit of an entrepreneur is understood as the difference between the income received by the enterprise from the sale of goods and the expenses that were incurred by him in the course of production and marketing activities. Thus, in contrast to wages, interest and rent, profit is not a kind of equilibrium price of a contractual nature, but acts as a residual income. This view was not established in science immediately. Profit for a long time was not distinguished from wages and from interest on capital.

Modern economists interpret profit as a reward for the function of the entrepreneur, i.e. as income from the entrepreneurial factor.

Profit as the difference between total revenue and total costs has two forms: accounting and economic. Accounting profit is calculated by subtracting from the income received, the so-called external or accounting costs (this cash expenses firms for raw materials, materials, wages, equipment, etc.). The firm pays this money to external suppliers by buying the inputs it needs from the market.

However, in addition to accounting, explicit costs, there are also implicit, hidden costs, which the company must also take into account when assessing the economic results of its activities. These are payments for resources owned and used by the firm. They got the name opportunity cost, i.e. opportunity cost. Although the firm does not pay these costs, in fact they exist, since in an alternative use these resources could generate income. Therefore, these hidden costs also need to be subtracted from the total income to determine the profit of the firm. In this case, we will get economic (net) profit.

Under conditions of perfect competition, i.e. in a static economic system functioning in a vicious circle, there is no room for economic profit. The entrepreneur does not make a profit and does not suffer losses, the opportunity cost of the entrepreneur's services, which will be included in the full costs, will be the payment for his work in organizing and doing business. Such income - management fee in economic theory is called normal profit. The size of this profit is determined by the income that the entrepreneur could receive by working for hire. This is the lower limit of the income of the entrepreneur, since below this limit the entrepreneur will be inclined to abandon his activity and accept the most favorable offer of employment for him.

But the entrepreneurial factor is rewarded not only from normal profit, which is included in economic costs, but also from a possible excess of income that exceeds explicit and implicit costs, i.e. from economic profit. These surpluses are formed as follows. Market structures are distinguished by a certain imperfection of competition: lack of information, concentration of production in the hands of a few firms, release of new, previously unknown products - in a word, the economy is in a state of continuous development, dynamic transformation, which gives it a certain uncertainty. Basically this condition economic system due to the actions of entrepreneurs looking for their niches in the market and using them to their advantage. This leads to a disruption of the existing market equilibrium, and for some period some entrepreneurs find themselves in a more advantageous position than others, their competitors, and seek to realize this benefit for their own benefit. But this benefit is far from obvious, not obvious in advance. An entrepreneur always takes a risk when he decides to start a new business, to carry out some innovations, to buy someone's securities, to put his products on an unknown market, etc. This creates a state of uncertainty in which one has to look for right decisions etc.

But entrepreneurship is not always associated with making a profit; losses are also possible. The threat of losses and bankruptcy also serve as a powerful incentive for efficient management, as well as making a profit.