International Management - Rodchenko VV

4.4. Management peculiarities in Sweden

Essence and prerequisites for the development of the Swedish welfare state model

Sweden's achievement of the highest standards of living standards and social security is largely due to the implementation of the programs of the Social-Democratic Party, which throughout its history did not separate social issues from economic problems. Among the states where the social democratic governments were in power at one time or another, Sweden occupies a special position. This is recognized by the scientific, business and governmental circles of the West, which define the model of "welfare state" as a set of measures for the social protection of man [6; 23].

Even at the end of the last century Sweden was an agrarian country, but already in the 60s of the 20th century. She won the reputation of one of the most developed countries. In other words, in almost 70 years of development and for 30 years in power of the Social Democrats, Sweden has become a country with a highly efficient economy. During the century, the growth rate of the economy has constantly grown. No country knew not only such high average for a century growth rate of gross national product (GNP) per capita (25%), but also its almost continuous dynamics.

In our opinion, two main prerequisites for such development can be singled out.

1. Sweden has not been involved in wars for a long time and is pursuing a policy of neutrality (albeit so-called active neutrality, that is, its military spending is quite high, but it is not part of the international military blocs).

The peace conditions gave Sweden additional advantages in comparison with other countries: for over a hundred years there have been no sharp deformations either in the structure of the economy, or in the demographic and social spheres, nor has the gene pool of the country been deformed. Neutrality stipulated stability, consistency and purposefulness in the implementation of social and economic policy, the possibility of a permanent increase in economic potential.

2. Sweden's economic policy is based on a theoretical concept close to Keynesian. In no other country is there such a coherence between the development of the economy and its theoretical justification. Moreover, in Sweden there never existed competing, alternative schools and currents of economic thought.

The essence of the welfare state model is expressed in such qualitative features of social and economic development:

• a combination of private ownership of the means of production with broad socialization of spheres of consumption and distribution of goods and services;

• an effective state system for ensuring high employment and the reliability of social guarantees;

• a system of democratic methods that allows each person to influence the resolution of all issues related to his life, which creates a kind of psychological climate in the country, a sense of ownership of the employee to the goals of the organization.

In addition, the peculiarity of Sweden in comparison with other countries is also in the fact that its government and trade unions actively influence the relations between the state and capital, on the level of wages and employment. Local governments also function effectively.

In Sweden, many of those who participate in the decision-making process at the top level of management are major economists, known for their work not only in the country, but also abroad.

Ordinary workers in Sweden have a high social status, which is due to the perception by the top leadership of this objective necessity for achieving public consensus and the strategic goals of the organizations.

Thus, Sweden achieved one of the highest living standards and social security in the world. In the mid-90s of the XX century. In leading countries, the GNP per capita was about $ 12,000. USA, in Sweden it was equal to more than 16 thousand dollars. USA.

The term "Swedish model" arose in connection with the emergence of Sweden as one of the most developed in socioeconomic terms. It emerged in the late 1960s, when foreign observers began to celebrate in Sweden a combination of rapid economic growth with a broad policy of reform amid a relative social conflict-free society. This image of a successful and serene Sweden contrasted especially strongly with the growth of social and political conflicts in the surrounding world.

Some researchers note the mixed nature of the Swedish economy, combining market relations and state regulation, prevailing private ownership in production and socialization of consumption.

Another characteristic feature of postwar Sweden is the specific relationship between labor and capital in the labor market. For many centuries an important part of the Swedish reality was the centralized system of collective wage negotiations with the participation of powerful organizations of trade unions and entrepreneurs as the main actors, and the trade union policy was based on the principles of solidarity between different groups of workers.

Finally, in the broadest sense, the Swedish model is the entire complex of socio-economic and political realities in the country with its high standard of living and a broad scale of social policy. Thus, the concept of "Swedish model" does not have an unambiguous interpretation.

The main objectives of this model, as already noted, for a long time were full employment and income leveling. Their dominance can be explained by the unique strength of the Swedish labor movement. More than half a century - since 1932 (with the exception of 1976-1982) - the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Sweden (SDPPSH) is in power. For decades, the Central Union of Trade Unions

Sweden, which reinforces the reformist labor movement in the country. Sweden differs from other countries in recognizing full employment as the main and unchanging goal of economic policy; The Swedish people as a whole are an active supporter of it.

The desire for equality is highly developed in Sweden. When the leader of the Social Democrats, Per Albin Hansson, in 1928, put forward the concept of Sweden as a "people's home", which spoke of the common interests of the nation in creating a "common home", large groups of the population outside the labor movement were able to accept his views. In Sweden, social democratic ideas attract a significant part of the middle strata.

The specific factors inherent in Sweden are the invariable foreign policy neutrality since 1814, the non-participation in both world wars, the record of the duration of the Social Democratic Workers' Party in power, the historical traditions of peaceful methods of transition to new formations, in particular from feudalism to capitalism, Long favorable and stable conditions for the development of the economy, the dominance of reformism in the workers' movement, which established these principles in its relations with capital (their symbol was the agreements between the leadership of trade unions and entrepreneurs in Saltsche-Baden in 1938), the search for compromises on the basis of the interests of various Parties.

The economic development of Sweden was influenced by culture and historical background. An integral part of Swedish traditions is entrepreneurship. Since the time of the Vikings in Sweden, the enterprises for the production of weapons and jewelry are known. The world's first company, Strura Copparberg (founded more than 700 years ago) appeared in Sweden; So far, it is among the dozen of the country's main exporters.

The successful functioning of the economic system depends on the dynamics of prices, the competitiveness of the Swedish industry and economic growth. In particular, inflation is a threat to both equality and the competitiveness of the economy. Therefore, such methods of maintaining full employment should be used, which do not lead to inflation and negative impact on the economy. As practice has shown, the dilemma between unemployment and inflation has become the Achilles' heel of the Swedish model.

Since the mid-seventies of the XX century. In connection with the exacerbation of competition in foreign markets and a deep economic crisis, the situation of the country became noticeably more complicated, and the Swedish model began to "misfire." In particular, some industries that fell into a deep structural crisis, began to receive state aid, and on a very large scale. But, despite the gloomy forecasts of many economists, Sweden was able to get out of the crisis. Continuing economic growth since 1983 shows that the Swedish model was able to adapt to the changed conditions and showed its viability.

The Swedish model assumes that the decentralized market production system is effective, the state does not interfere in the enterprise's production activities, and active labor market policies should minimize the social costs of a market economy. The purpose of this model is to maximize the production of the private sector and, as much as possible, redistribute part of the profits through the tax system and the public sector to improve the living standards of the population, but without affecting the basics of production. At the same time, emphasis is placed on infrastructure elements and collective cash funds.

In Sweden, the role of the state in the distribution, consumption and redistribution of national income through taxes and public expenditures that have reached record levels is very great. In the reformist ideology, this activity was called "functional socialism."