If in the 80s it was all about quality, and in the 90s it was about business reengineering, then the key concept of the current decade is “speed.” Here is the speed of change in the nature of business; here are issues of efficiency of business process management; here is the dynamics of changes in the lifestyle of consumers and their demands under the influence of the increasing availability of information.

If a company that produces or distributes products is able to respond to the market situation not in a few weeks, but in a few hours, then in fact it already becomes a company engaged in offering services for these products.

The basis of all these changes is strikingly simple: the flow of digital information.

Very few are using these technologies for their intended purpose, that is, to create new, radically improved business processes that will allow employees to realize their full potential and ensure that they can respond to changing conditions at the speed necessary to compete successfully in the new world. high-speed business. And many problems in business are essentially information problems; almost no one treats information the way it deserves.

When people live for years without information at their fingertips, they cannot even know what they are missing.

Where to invest money? In information technology! The Internet creates a new unified space for information exchange, cooperation and trade. This new reality has two features that distinguish it from television technologies:

1) with its help, the necessary information is found;

2) it allows you to unite people into interest groups.

To operate successfully in the electronic era, we have specially developed a new electronic infrastructure. It is similar to the human nervous system (it activates your reflexes, which allow you to respond appropriately to danger or need). Likewise, it is important for companies to have their own “nervous system” - one that will ensure its sustainable and effective development, guarantee an immediate response to an emergency situation, promptly notify about the emergence of new opportunities, quickly convey useful information to company employees, prevent delays in decision-making and working with clients. Creating an "electronic nervous system" requires hardware and software; It is distinguished from a conventional computer network by: accuracy, efficiency and wealth of information provided, which gives intellectual workers the opportunity to carry out collective activities and develop original solutions.

With the help of the “electronic nervous system”, you can change any organization, making it more dynamic by improving the three main components of any type of activity - relationships with clients, partners, and staff.

The main purpose of the “electronic nervous system” is to support an environment in which employees work together to develop and implement new, effective strategies.
No company should view its market position as something permanent and unchangeable. You need to constantly re-evaluate the situation. At the same time, one company will achieve success by dramatically changing its type of activity. The other will come to the conclusion that you need to stick to the usual direction that has already brought success. It is only important that the management of each company knows exactly what exactly ensures its current superiority over its competitors and what other market can bring it success.

Information technology gives you access to data that allows you to gain greater insight into your business.

We are used to thinking about information—a piece of text, a picture, or, say, a financial report—as something static. ...There is another, active form of information. Actions that involve information as a verb. Information work generates 50-60% of the gross national product of industrialized countries.

Information work is the work of thought. When thinking and collaboration are powerfully supported by computer technology, you have created an “electronic nervous system.” It consists of modern computer processes used by knowledge workers to make optimal decisions in order to think, act, respond to and adapt to change.

Company employees should have easy access to information. We must get rid of the outdated perception that obtaining and distributing information is difficult and expensive. Middle managers are the people who need accurate, actionable data because it is their responsibility to act. They need a quick and continuous flow of useful information plus the ability to present it in a variety of visual ways. These employees shouldn't have to wait for senior management to give them the information they need. Instead of spending a ton of time protecting financial data from their employees, companies should spend more time teaching them how to analyze this data and how best to act on it.

Of course, in every company there must be a certain line demarcating access to information.

Another sign of a good “electronic nervous system” is the number of useful ideas that “float” to the upper levels of the company from the level of product line managers and knowledge workers. Having the opportunity to analyze specific data, these people become generators of specific ideas on how work can be improved - and we note that this aspect of their activity is very inspiring to employees. Everyone is pleased to know that this or that product of their efforts works, and it is doubly pleasant if this can be clearly demonstrated to management.

The final hallmark of a good electronic nervous system is that it allows meetings to discuss specific, well-defined problems and make specific decisions that lead to specific actions. As pilots say, a successful landing is the result of a correct approach. Meetings are productive thanks to careful preparation. It's bad when meetings are used primarily to provide information.

Electronic technology has the potential to completely change both production processes and company business processes. In particular, it can save employees from slow and labor-intensive work with paper documents. Replacing paper-based processes with electronic ones allows knowledge workers to do productive work.

By choosing a PC as the basis for creating the necessary systems in your enterprise, you have the opportunity to replace hardware without losing investment in software. You can always use the equipment of the manufacturer who currently has the most responsive technical support service or who produces the fastest (or cheapest) machines.

By upgrading your computer fleet every few years, you can re-evaluate suppliers against the same criteria and change them without fear of having to abandon existing software or retrain staff. Your software investment will continue to work as your PC migrates to new form factors, such as tablet devices or speech-input systems.

The computing architecture should play a unifying role in the company, ensuring overall integration, but not prohibiting non-fundamental deviations, especially at the departmental level. It is important to ensure a certain flexibility because it is impossible to develop in advance an approach to organizing computing that would satisfy the entire spectrum of needs existing in an enterprise.

The standards of the electronic revolution - the personal computer, the microprocessor on which many more electronic devices can be built, and the Internet - allow companies to create unified, comprehensive computing architectures without risking bankruptcy.

Gennady VORONIN

Tantum possumus, quantum scimus
(We can do as much as we know).
Latin proverb

Humanity has a complex relationship with time. Not only that, in the hope of mastering it, we have divided time into small and large segments - from a second to a century, we also highlight significant dates in these segments that make people stop and take a closer look at what on ordinary days does not attract attention. Therefore, long live World Quality Day, which gathers large audiences of specialists, where we share our achievements and our problems.

The new hundred-year period of time, called the 21st century, has passed the first six distances, so it is too early to talk about any of its achievements. You can only see how the trends laid down earlier are developing and where the vector of further movement is directed. Therefore, using the title of the film, which at one time went around all the screens of the world, I offer some thoughts that may be useful as a guide for the future.

In the 90s of the twentieth century. We were all diligently preparing for the transition not only into a new century, but also into a new millennium. Looking through magazines and newspapers of that time now, you are surprised by the abundance of publications, the authors of which tried to look into the future, to understand what awaits us and in what direction we will develop. This campaign did not bypass our area of ​​activity. One of these publications appeared in February 1999 in the journal “Standards and Quality” in the form of a review of the proceedings of the conference “Quality Management on the Threshold of the 21st Century” (St. Petersburg, 1998), where many well-known figures in the field of quality shared their thoughts on the future.

Already in the late 90s there was a feeling that we were on the verge of a change in socio-economic formations, not in the sense of political regimes, but in the sense of production structures, relations between people, industrial tasks, environmental aspects, and much more. . It was important to understand what should remain unshakable in this change and receive further development in the new century. The participants of that conference had no doubt that this was a systematic approach to quality management, which, having been born in the 60s of the twentieth century, managed to conquer the world by the 90s and began to be enriched with new forms and concepts. Work was already underway on the new generation of ISO 9000 series standards and the TQM concept was in full swing. This gave the right to one of the speakers at the conference to give the following forecast: “...The basis for the existence of the enterprise of the future will be three conditions: the introduction of a quality system, the structural restructuring of the organization and the introduction of information technology. The combination of these three processes into a single mechanism, apparently, is what awaits us."

And now we are really seeing the development of these processes, both abroad and in Russia. However, the emphasis is changing. Bill Gates in his book “Business at the Speed ​​of Thought” (M., EKSMO-Press, 2001) notes: “If in the 80s everything was about quality, and in the 90s it was business reengineering, then the key concept of the current decade is “speed.” ". Here is the speed of change in the nature of business, here are the issues of efficiency in managing business processes, here are the dynamics of changes in the lifestyle of consumers and their demands under the influence of the increasing availability of information. The rate of growth in product quality and the rate of improvement of business processes will be much higher, and with a sufficiently large value of these indicators, the nature of the business itself will change. If a company producing or distributing products is able to respond to the market situation not in a few weeks, but in a few hours, then, in fact, it already becomes a company engaged in offering services. products", i.e. (let us add) for a short time it became almost a monopolist.

This opinion of Bill Gates is supported by one of the famous gurus in the field of quality, Armand V. Feigenbaum. In the preface to the book “Quality in the XXI Century” (M., RIA “Standards and Quality”, 2005) he writes: “The influence exerted on society by new technologies, primarily information technologies, is constantly increasing. In these conditions, the level of quality of goods and services, supplied by companies becomes obvious to consumers almost immediately, and not after months and years, as was the case recently. If previously newly developed goods and services were able to bring profit to their manufacturers for years, now the likelihood of their rapid replacement with new, more advanced ones is constantly. increases, and products that were quite recently unique, in a matter of months and even weeks, turn into ordinary consumer goods."

The emphasis on speed does not negate the attention to quality, only now the attention is not on the quality that was mainly cared about in the last century. For successful companies, it goes without saying that products and services must be safe, fit for purpose, perform their functions properly, and do not harm the environment.

This view of quality is confirmed, for example, by the Japanese scientist Noriaki Kano 1, who distinguishes three categories of product properties: one of them is expressed(explicit) properties that the consumer can clearly state, and two categories unspoken(implicit). The category of “unspoken” product properties includes those that “... are so well known to everyone that any competent consumer takes them for granted.” For example, a car must start, move, turn, and brake. Such properties are paid attention to if they are absent or poorly performed. That is why in a competitive market they do not discuss the “problem” of product quality, without which these products become unnecessary. The problem is solved in the production process, so the emphasis is not on the product, but on the process as a result of which this product appears. The quality of the process is what matters! I note that not all commodity producers felt the difference.

Here is the testimony of Dave Watkins, the author of one of the articles in the Quality Progress magazine: “... Quality as the goal of a management system is a broader concept and should characterize the enterprise as a whole, and not just its products and services. In addition, this concept includes fulfilling the demands and desires of not only consumers, but also investors, employees and their families, society, and legislators and regulators." And further the author states: “The quality management system (QMS), in order to be effective, must turn into a business management system (BMS)” 2.

This trend is actively manifesting itself in the creation of integrated quality management systems based on ISO standards of the 9000 and 14000 series, SA 8000, etc., although the standards that came from the last century are constantly criticized. But so far no one has come up with anything better. No matter how many new techniques and tools appear, they usually solve specific issues. Standards provide the necessary minimum of systematized rules and requirements for the construction of certain structures, within which any methods can be used to improve the efficiency of activities and ensure high quality results. The mechanism for periodic revision of standards makes it possible to make changes that fix innovations for a certain period of time, which experts have agreed upon and accepted for general use.

What the standard offers is only a short guide; the road to the goal must be paved and passed individually. Moreover, in this process two trends collide: on the one hand, the outdated idea of ​​the standard as something mercilessly strict, like the Criminal Code, on the other, the modern idea of ​​the need to use the standard as a guide for agreeing on the rules of the game and interaction with partners on a mutually acceptable basis .

The TQM ideology and this new approach have radically changed and continue to change the role of humans in organizing and managing the production process, especially in quality management. Why in quality management?

Before answering this question, I would like to remind you of one event, which, in a series of others, preceded the beginning of the new century. This is a scientific and practical conference held at Gosstandart in April 1999 on the topic “Quality of Life and Spirituality.” Now few people know about it, so let me remind you that the following was written in the final document of the conference:

"From ancient times to the present day, people have had different attitudes towards quality. Two practically independent approaches were observed: on the one hand, quality was studied as a philosophical category expressing the essence of an object, and on the other, there was a pragmatic view of quality, where this concept was associated with certain properties of utilitarian objects for personal and industrial consumption. Philosophical research was of little interest to most people, and the creators of utilitarian quality, creating the world of things and services, did not adequately use the achievements of the humanities. The passing century has changed the relationship between these two approaches...

Before our eyes, there is a convergence of the humanities and technical sciences, as well as practice, which gives rise to many questions related to the assessment and understanding of quality in the broadest sense.

But no matter how we evaluate the quality of everything that surrounds us, no matter how we measure the degree of satisfaction of material needs, there always remains something immeasurable, intangible and at the same time very important for our perception of the world, for a holistic assessment of the quality of life. This is the spirituality of each of us and society as a whole...

The world of things made with cold hands, not inspired by human warmth, is dead. The world of people who do not know how to hear each other, empathize with each other, who do not know how to work together and see a common goal, will never be prosperous:" 3.

This is how, on an emotional level, a new look at quality was noted in Russia, and two years earlier, a work by D. Goss was published in London, where in the dry language of science they spoke of the management of “human resources” as “a set of instrumental and humanistic approaches.” What did you mean?

With instrumental approaches, the employee is considered on a par with other instruments of production, subject to control and management by managers; with humanistic approaches, the main attention is paid to human and social factors, such as relationships between people, moral values, a sense of belonging, collective experience, motivation, employee involvement. Each person is considered as a unique individual, and the team of employees is considered as the most important asset of the enterprise, which cannot be copied by competitors and is the only one of all assets, the individual components of which are capable of mutually reinforcing each other 4 .

This is how one of the important modern principles of quality management was stated - reliance on the “human factor”, which acquired a completely different significance and weight. From here began the development of the principles of leadership and employee involvement, from here came a different relationship with suppliers and stakeholders than before.

I think humanistic approaches to managing the main trend of management development in the 21st century. It is the reliance on a person - on the individual and the team - that today should determine the life and effective work of any enterprise and organization.

For the full use of this resource, only good will and knowledge are required from the manager. Fortunately, there are modern managers who have felt the full power of the collective mind, capable of working miracles, especially if each member of the team is an individual.

I will give just one example from practice. In the May issue of our magazine for this year, under the heading “The Path to Success,” an interview was published with the director of the Research and Production Company (NPC) “TECO” S.N. Terekhov. He runs a successful modern enterprise that uses a completely unimaginable approach to building relationships between people in production and production itself.

We are talking about staging a production-psychological experiment at the enterprise, associated with the use of the so-called “myth design”. Psychologists call the personal plans of each employee (even the most ambitious) a “myth.” Any employee, including the director, puts his “myth” on paper and then strives to realize it. This “myth-making” is used throughout the enterprise, into the plans of which each employee contributes a piece of his “myth.”

Of course, this is a unique phenomenon, but it quite clearly illustrates the trend of humanization of management.

Moreover, another trend related to the human factor is clearly evident here. It is difficult to imagine “myth-making” within the framework of a huge enterprise. This technique is good for a relatively small team of like-minded people connected by a common main goal. Therefore, it is the team that becomes the main production unit in successful companies.

Unfortunately, there are still few enterprises like TEKO Research and Production Company in Russia, and there are few directors like N.A. Terekhov, too, but they, like stem cells, will be able to have a healing effect on the “organism” of the entire Russian economy, if this best experience becomes the property of many, if we are able not only at the forum dedicated to World Quality Day, but constantly and daily follow the call "The best experience - for a better life!"

Now let's return to the epigraph of the article. There is nothing wiser than a popular proverb! I, as the editor-in-chief of the magazine and president of the All-Russian Quality Organization, believe that we, and other professional public organizations, need to make education, training, and dissemination of best practices the main focus of our work. So far we have not been able to break the persistent reluctance to learn, which is like a terrible epidemic that has swept the country. Now only the lazy don’t talk about the crisis of the education system. Several generations of “C” students came into life, who from school were accustomed to using surrogates of knowledge.

New directions in management focused on quality, quick response and continuous improvement are designed to work with qualified, educated, skillful people who are also focused on continuous improvement.

Awareness and knowledge are becoming increasingly important in modern business. Knowledge of enterprise employees about what they have to do now and in the future, how to do it, when and why, is the most important resource of a business. Only well-informed employees are able to take responsibility and show entrepreneurial initiative. Without knowledge, it is impossible to use other resources - financial, technological, information. In modern business, the concept of “core competence of the company” has emerged, denoting personnel with unique knowledge that competitors practically cannot copy. Information technology, which plays a leading role in transforming data from external and internal sources into information and knowledge, can help create a “company core of competence.”

In this case, we inevitably have to talk about one more problem.

The processes of globalization, informatization and the constant expansion of the scope of human cognitive activity have explosively increased the flows of socio-political, economic, financial, scientific, technical and other information circulating in society. In connection with which the problem becomes urgent quality of information. If earlier methods of protecting information were actively developed, now the problem of protecting false, redundant, and sometimes frivolous information from the destructive effects is extremely acute. The scientific literature already speaks of the need to identify a special scientific direction - “information ecology”.

The quality of information is protection against erroneous decisions, and knowledge based on it is a guarantee of truly high education and qualifications of new generations of scientists, culture, and production.

In the meantime, we have to talk about the shortage of skilled workers and engineers, about managers who have no idea about modern management methods, about legislators who pass low-quality laws that are impossible to implement, about empty reading rooms and libraries, about the low demand for professional literature.

I am sure that if we feel in our hearts the meaning of the motto “Better experience for a better life!”, we will be able to methodically, day after day, resist the harmful trend of spreading surrogate education. If we can convince people to work and study in accordance with the requirements of the time, if we can awaken interest in quality in society, then our life will become more comfortable and we will provide new generations with the quality of life that the citizens of a great country deserve. But we can do as much as we learn.

You can learn more about this theory in the article by G. Watson, published in the book “Quality in the 21st Century”. - M.: RIA "Standards and Quality", 2005. - P. 35-64.

Watkins D. Reflections on the future of quality // Standards and quality. - 2006. - No. 7. - P. 102-106.

Appeal to Russian citizens from the participants of the scientific conference “Quality of Life and Spirituality”... // Standards and Quality, - 1999. - No. 5. - P. 17-18.

Quality in the 21st century. - M.: RIA "Standards and Quality", 2005. - P. 94.

Economics Essay

Revealing the meaning of the aphorism

Thesis formulation

Arguments

a) theoretical level

b) ordinary level

Your score - 6 points

Add your options

1 Problem the increasing role of information technology in business activities.

The author believes that as post-industrial society develops, the greatest economic success today accompanies those enterprises that actively use modern means of communication, information technology and their applications

Information is recognized by modern society as a necessary condition for progress.

Theory:Business is a human activity aimed at generating income through the use of one’s knowledge, experience, and capital. ……….

The goal of business is profit. Profit shows the efficiency of the entrepreneur.

Abstracts: 1. The main condition for making a profit is increasing the competitiveness of your enterprise. Gates believes that the introduction of computer technology will accomplish this task.

2. Information revolutions in the history of civilization were: book printing; in the 20th century, the telegraph, telephone, radio, television appeared, making it possible to quickly transmit information to any corner of the Earth. The consequence of such transformations was each time that humanity acquired a new quality

3. In a post-industrial society - a computer. Computer technology in modern society has taken over a significant part of the work related to the processing, systematization and storage of information..Information will become the most important factor of production, creating social wealth.

4.Implications for business: risk management, competitiveness, modeling of production situations, use for forecasting, quick consideration of consumer needs, fast communication. -As a result of the development of information technology and the high profitability of projects, many companies have been attracted to the industry. Instead of the existing oligopoly, a situation of perfect competition is created.

Example : Reuters originally looked at the data in real time, now conclude transactions, view information messages and see graphical displays of changes in quotes. a means of analyzing and accessing the global database accumulated over many years of system operation will appear. This will allow you to more deeply analyze trading trends and make the right decisions.

From personal experience:

participation in online Olympiads allows schoolchildren from non-capital cities to enter prestigious educational institutions

Searching for work on the Internet

Online stores

Theses Business areas that make the most effective use of information technology advances

A) In industry, modeling systems make it possible to avoid expensive testing and reduce the time needed to create products.

B) The electronic data transfer system allows you to more effectively manage an enterprise, conduct quick correspondence between partners, and even due to the difference in time zones, expand the time spent working on projects.

C) New payment systems, card systems, electronic wallets are emerging in the banking system. New IT makes it possible to expand the scope of services, speed up payments, and reduce the cost of money turnover.

D) The entertainment industry actively uses the achievements of information technology in a wide variety of ways. This includes the development of new computer games, new attractions, and the use of IT in film and video production.

Multidimensionality of the topic: BUT! Negative aspects of use:-the defenselessness of the individual against the intrusion of the state and commercial structures into private life;-expanding the possibilities of obtaining (mining) data about any individual;- information providers can manipulate data in their own interests;- getting used to “life” in the virtual space and a threat to the moral immunity of the individual due to “fanatical” devotion to computers and faith in their infallibility.

6. Dangers and difficulties when using IT

A) Complex software has flaws that can be exploited by outsiders (hackers) and used to their advantage.

Example: Russian hackers have taken off their accounts.....

B) When using software, there is a possibility of data loss from the action of computer viruses that exploit software flaws. Due to the increasing cost of information, losses can be very significant

C) The ease of replication of information products makes it easy to violate the copyright of the IP developer. This applies, first of all, to audio and video products, Microsoft software,

Conclusion.No one can ignore the new technologies that are pervasive in our lives, not to mention the direct benefits that consumers can derive from them today. The results of these efforts are already being translated into real projects.

society and the state must limit business from actions that could cause harm to society, therefore legal regulation is necessary

Revealing the meaning of the aphorism

Thesis formulation

Formulating your own position

Availability of social science concepts in economics

Arguments

a) theoretical level

b) ordinary level

Your score - 6 points

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The economic development of most states that are efficient in terms of labor productivity is associated with the formation in them of the features of a post-industrial economy

The author raises the problemthe influence of scientific and technological progress on the economic development of the state.He argues that the main factors determining the growth of labor productivity and competitiveness of countries in the modern world is the use of scientific and technological advances. Currently, this problem has become very urgent; the prosperity and wealth of not only the country, but also the income and well-being of each person depends on economic growth .

Let's look at the theoretical foundations of the issue.

Ttheses

What is economic growth? This is a long-term increase in real gross product. How can we achieve faster economic growth? Let's take the factors of production: land, capital, labor.

There are countries in the world that have the resources of arable land and minerals. energy resources. These are Russia, USA, China. And there are countries that nature has deprived of resources. Japan, Denmark, Netherlands. Does it mean that the former prosper and the latter suffer?

Labor is a very important factor of production; it determines how other factors will be used. But a country may have a large working-age population, but they will have low qualifications.

Capital consists of equipment, buildings, and structures. But it is important to what extent the industries are equipped with them and whether advanced technologies are used.

Achieving economic growth can be either extensive or intensive. Increasing GDP by expanding the use of resources leads to depletion of limited resources.

Example:USSR - development of virgin lands - depletion of arable land resources

Theses

There is another way - intensive growth, increasing GDP due to qualitative changes under the influence of scientific and technological progress, improving the skills of workers, and rational distribution of resources.

The first factor of intensive growth is scientific and technological progress, which is associated with the post-industrial economy. Electronics and computer science dramatically increase human capabilities and affect all factors of production

Example:Even small European countries are exporters of agricultural products (Finland) due to economies of scale and rational distribution of resources

That is why underdeveloped countries, if they understand the goals of the country's economic development and will strive to increase labor productivity. They will be able to overcome their poverty.

Revealing the meaning of the aphorism

Thesis formulation

Formulating your own position

Availability of social science concepts in economics

Arguments

a) theoretical level

b) ordinary level

Your score - 6 points

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“If we plan too much, that is, if we give too much power to the state, then freedom will be lost, and this will put an end to planning itself.” Karl Raymund Popper

Problem

Efficiency of economic systems

the negative impact of state planning and the command economic system on the economy and development of the country.

Karl Raimund Popper believes that strong government intervention in a country’s market relations negatively affects its economy, and that only with free market relations is its economic well-being possible.

Theory

I completely agree with the author of the statement and believe that only free competition, free choice of buyers and suppliers can provide the economy with positive development dynamics.

1 thesis. A command economic system is a system in which the main types of production resources are owned by the state and all economic decisions are made by government bodies through a centralizedplanning. Also, one of the signs of a centralized economy is the lack of competition. Using a command economic system has more negative effects on the economy than positive ones.

In my opinion, it may be advisable to use this economic system during wars or other difficult periods in the life of the country.An example of the negative impact of central planning is the shortage of goods in the USSR. A shortage of goods is an excess of demand over supply. In the USSR, shortages arose due to the fact that the state determined the types and quantities of goods and services that the consumer needed, which often did not coincide with the real desires of people. It was extremely difficult to purchase any exclusive, expensive items. This caused discontent in society, multiple speculative activities .

In the next decade, only those companies that can reorganize their work using electronic tools will achieve success. This will enable them to make the right decisions quickly, implement them effectively and maintain close relationships with their clients. The “electronic nervous system” will allow you to conduct business “at the speed of thought.” This is precisely the key to success in the 21st century.
In the updated list of the richest residents of our planet with a multi-year subscription, the head of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates, took first place: his personal fortune is estimated today at $50 billion. However, throughout the world he is known not only for the size of his capital, but also for the ideas that have changed our lives.

Bill Gates- William Henry Gates III ( William Henry Gates III) was born on October 28, 1955 in the USA in Seattle, Washington ( Seattle, Washington).

In 1970, Bill and his friend Paul Allen's interest in electronics led them to create a company. Traf-O-Data, which was not particularly commercially successful, but allowed them to gain the necessary skills in management. In 1973, Bill entered the prestigious Harvard University ( Harvard University). Gates told his professors that he would be a millionaire by the age of 30, and this was a rare case when he seriously underestimated his capabilities. At 31, Bill became a billionaire.

In 1974 in the magazine Popular Electronics Paul Allen accidentally saw a photo of the first personal computer (PC) Altair 8800 companies Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems. Bill Gates shrewdly assessed the market prospects of the new product and realized that “personal computers” needed special software. He dropped out of university and in 1975, together with Paul Allen, founded a company called Microsoft.

Five years later, the partners patented the operating system MS DOS, which began to be installed on all PCs IBM. Gates and Allen retained full rights to use and develop the system. First time managers IBM did not see prospects for the market success of PCs, considering personal computers to be a toy, a fad; but in the 1980s and 90s the PC market suddenly grew, bringing Microsoft incredible success and fame. In April 1983, the company introduced the first “mouse” to consumers, and in November - the now well-known graphical interface Windows. We lived the evolution of “windows” together with their creator. Products Microsoft constantly in the spotlight - on news feeds and in jokes. Fame always accompanies her with a tart taste of envy.

Bill differed from his peers in his keen sense of perspective and clear vision ( vision) future. From his early youth, he was convinced that not only should every business have a PC, but every housewife should have her own personal computer on her desk (using, of course, soft from Microsoft). Gates dreamed of creating a competitive software industry. He has had a tremendous impact on the way we work with information. Society changed thanks to a man who had vision. In 1992, Bill Gates was awarded the National Medal of Technology ( National Medal of Technology).

Gates does not lecture at universities or give consultations. But he did not become a recluse; he devotes a lot of time to charity. His thoughts on management are now available to the general public - he has written two books: The Road Ahead ( The Road Ahead), 1995 and "Business at the Speed ​​of Thought" ( Business @ the Speed ​​of Thought), 1999.

He always had something to say about strategy. In the spirit of a management guru, Bill Gates formulated his recipe for company success. Here are its ingredients:

concentrate on a market with great potential and few competitors;

play ahead and play big;

occupy your niche in the market;

protect this niche with all available methods;

strive for high or maximum possible profits;

make your clients an offer they will find difficult to refuse.

"Mister Microsoft“has always tried to provide the organization with vital components. He formulated the design rules for a viable company as the “five E’s” ( five E):

Enrichment(enrichment). Employees are attracted by high salaries and retained by generous bonuses ( generous option schemes).

Egalitarianism(equality). The company is trying to develop social insurance, provide free medical care, and provide loans for housing construction.

Empowerment(empowerment). The transfer of authority to employees and increasing their responsibility for work are encouraged.

Email(Email). Widespread use of the capabilities of modern communication systems, in particular e-mail, is considered mandatory.

Emphasis on Performance(emphasis on results). Particular attention is paid to the quality of employee work; their achievements are assessed twice a year (in Microsoft A "four" means "this is incredibly good" and a "one" means "you're fired") on a scale of five.

In the 80s, everything was decided in business quality, in the 90s - reengineering. The key concept of this decade is speed: the speed of business change, determined by the dynamics of changes in consumer demands, and high requirements for the efficiency of business process management. The main problem of “accelerating” a business often lies not in the technical, but in the cultural area - all employees of the company must realize that the survival of the organization depends on the ability of each of them to act as quickly as possible. In business, as in war, the one with the shorter procurement and implementation cycles wins. If a company that produces or distributes products is able to respond to the market situation in just a few hours, then, in fact, it is already providing services to promote these products. The flow of information is the main factor in a successful business in the computer age, so the speed of a company's response to unplanned events - good or bad - is the main indicator of its ability to compete.

"Business at the speed of thought"* - not a technical book. On its pages, Gates advocates for the introduction of electronic technologies into the work of every company (the creation of corporate “electronic nervous systems”) and shows the advantages of their practical use in solving real problems. I want to believe him - he knows about the knowledge economy firsthand.

Microsoft is an intelligence-oriented company, its main assets are highly professional and very creative employees. They are connected by a kind of digital nervous system (a digital nervous system, DNS) - email, which provides instant communication and allows you to maintain a high level of coordination of work (see. rice.). Thanks to it, Gates was able to control and comment on the smallest details of the work of each employee.

"Electronic nervous system"

A key feature of the company’s “electronic nervous system” is ample opportunities for coordinating activities in three areas: knowledge management, business operations and commerce. The book is devoted to the consideration of the basic conditions for the correct organization of information flows. Here are B. Gates' recommendations:

In the field of intellectual activity

Ensure that your organization communicates via email. Only then will you be able to react to events with the proper speed. Middle managers need as much information as senior management, although they often receive less of it.

Explore sales data online to make it easier to spot patterns and share insights. You must understand global market trends and provide each client with an individual approach.

Use the power of computers to analyze your business. Free your knowledge workers from routine work so they can focus on doing the work that requires real brainpower—improving products and services, increasing profitability. Unproductive meetings devoted primarily to clarifying the current state of affairs are a sign of poorly organized information flows.

Use electronic tools to create virtual groups of employees from different departments: let them exchange information and work together on their ideas (all this in real time and regardless of where in the world each of them is located). Keep an electronic record of your organization and let your employees study it.

Convert all paper-based processes to electronic ones, freeing up knowledge workers for more valuable tasks. 90% of the work involved in administering employee data can be done by the employees themselves.

When conducting business transactions

Use the power of automation and computerization to eliminate routine tasks or transform them into knowledge-based jobs.

Create an electronic feedback loop to improve the efficiency of processes and the quality of goods and services offered. Every employee should be able to easily track all key company performance indicators.

Use electronic communications to redefine the nature of your business and its boundaries. Dynamically expand or contract your business depending on the market situation.

When carrying out commercial activities

Exchange information for a time. Reduce the product preparation cycle by switching to electronic transactions with all suppliers and partners; transform all business processes, achieving coordinated work on a just-in-time basis.

Make extensive use of e-commerce to eliminate intermediaries from your transactions with customers. And if you're a reseller yourself, use these tools to add value to the products or services you offer.

Use the power of the Internet to help your customers solve problems; reserve personal contacts for answers only to the most complex and significant client requests.

Well-organized information flows are the “circulatory system” of any business; this is what can set a company apart from its competitors. Bill Gates writes: “It is how you collect, organize and use information that determines whether you win or lose. The number of competitors is growing. The volume of information about them, as well as about the market, which is now becoming global, is also growing. And the winners will be those companies that can implement a top-class “electronic nervous system” - one that ensures the uninterrupted flow of information for the sake of intensive development of the company’s intelligence.” Every organization should encourage knowledge sharing through specific corporate strategy provisions, prize funds and projects aimed at creating an appropriate culture.

In the depths of most organizations, huge amounts of useful information and colossal practical experience have accumulated that could make it even stronger... if only these treasures were available to all employees! Managers must realize that the purpose of knowledge management is to enhance corporate IQ(intelligence quotient) by providing employees with wide access to current information and data from past years.

Without the rapid movement of useful information, it is impossible to effectively organize work processes and systematically improve product quality and intellectual productivity. There is no place for single-operation workers in the future. Their activities will be automated or included in more complex procedures that require working with knowledge. Providing access to information about production processes to employees directly involved in them opens new ways to improve product quality, and the transfer of this information to other departments improves the overall efficiency of the company. Its employees are no longer just cogs in a giant mechanism - they get the opportunity to make an intellectual contribution to the development of the business.

The Internet will help achieve “friction-free capitalism” by connecting the buyer directly with the seller and giving each of them more opportunities. Check if you have enough information to answer the following questions:

What do customers think about your products? What new services do they want to receive from you? What problems are you expected to solve?

What challenges do your distributors and resellers face when selling your products when working with your company?

In what areas of your business are you inferior to your competitors and why?

If your customers' needs change, will you look for new opportunities? Do you have enough resources for this?

What emerging markets do you need to enter?

Having an “electronic nervous system” does not guarantee that you will find the right answers to these questions. But it will help free up time to think about more important things and relieve you of the burden of old paper processes. This system will provide you with the data to start thinking immediately and allow you to see business trends in a timely manner. Finally, an “electronic nervous system” will allow facts and ideas to quickly flow from the depths of your organization to the level of senior management (by the way, it is very likely that people “down there” also have the answers). And most importantly, the “electronic nervous system” will allow you to do all this quickly. Very fast. Faster than competitors.

The “Electronic Nervous System” unites all areas of the company’s activities. Ensuring access to accurate information for everyone transforms strategic decision-making from a separate autonomous activity of top managers into an ongoing process of strategic thinking for each employee. However, the “electronic nervous system” itself cannot ensure victory in the competition. It can only help a company change itself and find its place in the future, while vitality or apathy, success or failure depend on its leaders.

Creator Windows is not a management guru in the usual sense. He is not seen actively promoting his business “recipes”, although he sincerely believes that the factors that led to success Microsoft, may be useful to other companies. In any case, what he did is worthy of being studied.
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* This article uses excerpts from the book: Gates B. Business at the Speed ​​of Thought. Ed. 2nd, corrected - M.: Eksmo Publishing House, 2006. - 480 p.

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editorial staff of the magazine

B. Gates says that in modern society the main trend is the acceleration of all processes, whether it is accelerating changes in people's needs or changing the nature of the market and business.

To understand the meaning of this quote, you need to understand some concepts, for example, business is understood as an activity carried out at your own peril and risk, the purpose of which is to make a profit. The author also mentions the term consumers. So who are they? A consumer is someone who wants to buy a product or service presented on the market. Consumers form the so-called demand. Thus, the author talks about the speed of change in people’s needs, respectively, he talks about the speed of change in people themselves. In the last decade, the speed of change in business and people's needs has increased.

I believe that the author is right, because in order to get more profit, manufacturers need to move with the times and constantly use new technologies in their production. People's needs are not limited, which means that when some are satisfied, others immediately appear in their place.

As evidence that speed has been a key concept in the last decade, look no further than mobile phones. Several years ago people did not have them, but then, realizing their convenience, they gradually began to acquire them. Over the past few years, phones have acquired many functions to make human existence more comfortable.

Recently, laws on electronic payment systems, on electronic tax reporting, and on the government services portal have become relevant. All these changes are aimed, first of all, at increasing the speed of meeting certain needs, be it an electronic queue at a government agency, or an appeal to the district administration. In our lives, including the state, is actively introducing new technologies that increase the speed of solving this or that issue, thereby, as it were, forcing a person to keep up with the times.