Headings of the journal
"Economics and Management"

Annotation: Competitive advantage is a system that has an exclusive value, giving it superiority over competitors in the economic, technical and organizational fields, and an opportunity to manage available resources more effectively. The formation and achievement of a sustainable competitive advantage of the product is a priority for any company from any industry and any field of activity. It provides stability, growth opportunities, creates barriers to entry of new players and, as a result, allows the company to receive higher profits from the sale of its products. And its use in advertising and marketing communications contributes to a longer-term positioning of the product in its market segment and in a clear consolidation of the image of the product in the minds of the target audience. In the framework of tough market competition, demonstration of the company and product advantages to the target consumers, as well as the benefits they will receive, becomes one of the essential means to promote business and work for the future. This is a fairly simple version of brand name positioning, that does not require large financial investments, but it is an effective tool for competing in a market. This article reveals product levels (i.e. functional purpose, properties and additional advantages, brand image) as well as the corresponding types of competition (types and subject of competition, the degree of brand awareness and reputation of the product) and competitive advantages (specific, rational, emotional). The article presents an algorithm for developing a rational competitive advantage, and provides recommendations and examples of its use in the process of making an advertising appeal.

Annotation: The article considers the problem of assessing the quality of preschool education in accordance with the requirements of Federal state educational standard associated with the lack of a unified methodology of estimation of efficiency of activity of preschool educational institutions, as well as the possibility of using scale ECERS-R for assessment of activity of contemporary preschool educational organizations, presented the results of the evaluation on the example of real preschool. The experience of the municipal budget educational institution «Kindergarten №110» of the city of Ryazan on the use of ECERS-R scales to assess the quality of the conditions for the implementation of the basic educational program of preschool education in the conditions of the implementation of the Federal state educational standard of preschool education in terms of such an indicator as «developing subject-spatial environment» is presented as one of the directions on the problem. The results of the analysis using ECERS-R scales showed the consistency of the proposed indicators, levels and indicators for determining the developing subject-spatial environment, which will allow preschool institutions to carry out internal monitoring, as well as to determine their strengths and weaknesses in the direction of the implementation of the Federal state educational standard of preschool education.

Annotation: The article considers the development of public procurement to achieve its high openness and transparency. The study purpose is to assess the effectiveness of legal penalties in the public procurement. The study purpose was realized by analyzing data on major violations of public procurement. This ensured the attainment goal. Data analysis showed the ineffectiveness of penalties (administrative liability) in Public Procurement. The authors suppose that the further development of public procurement will be focused on toughening the measures of administrative liability of procurement participants for corruption.

Annotation: The article is devoted to the analysis of ways to increase the efficiency of using fixed assets. The relevance of the work is due to the importance of fixed assets in the assets of the enterprise in almost any industry. Improving the efficiency of their use is a permanent task of company management. The article provides an overview of the works of domestic authors regarding the topics being studied, the definition of fixed assets is considered, federal statistical information is analyzed. Four groups of the main factors affecting the efficiency of the use of fixed assets are identified, their main focus (achieving specified financial, economic, organizational and technical parameters of production) and classification (extensive and intensive ways to improve the use of fixed assets) are determined. The system of increasing the efficiency of using fixed assets is described in detail, consisting of three basic elements (technical improvement of the means of labor, increasing the time of functioning of equipment and improving the processes of organizing and managing production). Specific methods for increasing the efficiency of using fixed assets are indicated, the main factors for choosing a particular method are described. Based on the analyzed materials, the author proposed an original technique for managing fixed assets.

Annotation: The purpose of the article is to study and analyze the main problems of youth employment in the Russian Federation. The main categories of young professionals and their characteristics that are important when entering the labor market are defined. The causes of youth unemployment, which are due not only to the socio-economic situation of the country, but also the deformation in the value orientations of young people, in its psychological unpreparedness and improper motivation for work. The authors substantiate the conclusion that the solution of numerous problems of adaptation of modern youth in the labor market is possible with the use of an integrated approach, when this process will include all stakeholders: employers, the state, educational institutions, youth. It is determined that educational initiatives and programs are of great importance in the professional development of this category. The state remaining the main subject of the implementation of policies for the promotion of youth employment, focused in the future on the creation of an integrated economic-legal mechanism to facilitate leveling of negative trends in the youth labor market.