The concept of "factor". Factor classification

Factor in economic analysis called active forces that cause positive or negative changes in the state of the object and in terms of its reflections. The concept of "factor" is used in economic analysis in 2 meanings:

- a condition for making a business transaction;
- the reason for changing the state of the object.

Classification of factors in economic analysis:

1. extensive and intensive;
2. permanent and temporary;
3. main and secondary (Barngolts). It is customary to use the concept of the rank (order) of a factor.

By their nature, the factors are divided into natural, socio-economic and production-economic.

Natural factors have a great influence on the results of operations in agriculture, forestry and other industries. Accounting for their influence makes it possible to more accurately assess the results of the work of business entities. Socio-economic factors include living conditions employees, organization of recreational work at enterprises with harmful production, the general level of personnel training, etc. They contribute to a more complete use production resources enterprise and improve its efficiency.

Production and economic factors determine the completeness and efficiency of the use of the enterprise's production resources and the final results of its activities. Factors are divided into internal and external, depending on whether the activity affects them. this enterprise or not. The analysis focuses on internal factors that the company can influence.

In the course of the organization's work, some factors affect the studied indicator continuously throughout the entire time. Such factors are called constant. Factors whose impact is manifested periodically are called variables (this is, for example, the introduction new technology, new types of products). Great importance to assess the activities of enterprises has a division of factors according to the nature of their action into intensive and extensive. Extensive factors include factors that are associated with changes in quantitative, and not quality characteristics the functioning of the enterprise. An example is the increase in the volume of production due to the increase in the number of workers. Intensive factors characterize the qualitative side of the production process. An example is the increase in the volume of production by increasing the level of labor productivity. Most of the studied factors are complex in their composition, consisting of several elements.

The factors studied in the analysis can be classified according to different criteria (Table 2.1), which makes it possible to more accurately assess the place and role of each factor in the formation of the value of effective indicators.

By it's nature factors are divided into natural-climatic, socio-economic and production-economic.

Natural and climatic factors have a great influence on the results of activities in agriculture, mining, forestry and other industries. Accounting for their influence allows a more accurate assessment of the results of the work of business entities.

To socio-economic factors include the living conditions of workers, the organization of mass cultural, sports and recreational work at the enterprise, the general level of culture and education of the personnel, etc. They contribute to a more complete use of the production resources of the enterprise and increase the efficiency of its work.

Production and economic factors determine the completeness and efficiency of the use of the enterprise's production resources and the final results of its activities.

By degree of impact on results economic activity factors are divided into primary and secondary. Main factors, as opposed to minor, have the most significant impact on performance. It should be noted that the same factor, depending on the circumstances, can be both primary and secondary. The ability to identify the main determining factors from a variety of factors ensures the correctness of the conclusions based on the results of the analysis.

In relation to the object of study factors are classified into internal and external, those. dependent and independent of the activity of the enterprise. The main focus of the analysis should

but be given to the study of internal factors that the enterprise can influence.

At the same time, in many cases, in the presence of developed industrial relations and relations, the performance of each enterprise is largely influenced by the activities of other enterprises, for example, the uniformity and timeliness of the supply of raw materials, materials, their quality, cost, market conditions, inflationary processes, etc. These factors are external. They do not characterize the efforts of a given team, but their study makes it possible to more accurately determine the degree of influence of internal causes and, thereby, to more fully reveal the internal reserves of production.

According to the degree of dependence on the business entity factors are divided into objective(not dependent on the will and desire of people, such as a natural disaster) and subjective(depending on the activities of legal entities and individuals).

By prevalence factors are divided into general(operating in all sectors of the economy) and specific(operating in a particular sector of the economy or enterprise). Such a division makes it possible to take into account the characteristics of individual enterprises and industries more fully and to more accurately assess their activities.

By duration of impact on performance distinguish factors permanent(influencing the phenomenon under study continuously throughout the entire time) and variables(the impact of which is periodic, for example, the development new technology, new types of products, new production technology, etc.)

By the nature of the action factors are divided into intense, which characterize the degree of effort, the intensity of labor in the production process (for example, an increase in crop yields, an increase in livestock productivity, the level of labor productivity), and extensive, which are associated with a quantitative, rather than a qualitative, increase in the resultant indicator (for example, an increase in the volume of production by expanding the sown area, increasing the number of animals, the number of workers, etc.)

If the analysis aims to measure the influence of each factor on the results economic activity, then they are divided into quantitative and qualitative, complex and simple, direct and indirect, measurable and immeasurable.

quantitative factors express the quantitative certainty of phenomena (the number of workers, equipment, raw materials, etc.).

quality factors determine the internal qualities, signs and characteristics of the objects under study (labor productivity, product quality, soil fertility, etc.).

Depending on composition factors are divided into complex(complex), consisting of several elements, and simple(elemental), which are not decomposed into component parts. An example of a complex factor is labor productivity, a simple one is the number of working days in the reporting period.

As already mentioned, some factors have a direct and others indirect impact on the performance indicator.

By level of subordination (hierarchy) distinguish factors of the first, second, third and so on levels of subordination. Factors of the first level directly affect the performance indicator. Factors of the second level determine the effective indicator indirectly, with the help of factors of the first level, etc. (Fig. 2.2).

Whenever possible, measure the impact factors for the performance indicator are divided into parametric(measurable) and nonparametric(immeasurable - for example, the provision of workers with housing, the level of training, etc.).

Classification of factors in the analysis of economic activity

The value of the classification of factors. The main types of factors. The concept and difference between different types of factors in AHD.

The classification of factors is their distribution into groups depending on common features. It allows you to better understand the causes of changes in the phenomena under study, more accurately assess the place and role of each factor in the formation of the value of effective indicators.

The factors studied in the analysis can be classified according to different criteria (Fig. 5.1).

By their nature, the factors are divided into natural-climatic, socio-economic and production-economic. Natural and climatic factors have a great impact on the results of activities in agriculture, in the extractive industry, forestry and other industries. Accounting for their influence allows more accurate assessment of the results of the work of business entities.

To socio-economic factors include the living conditions of workers, the organization of mass cultural, sports and recreational work at the enterprise, the general level of culture and education of personnel, etc. They contribute to a more complete use of the enterprise's production resources and increase the efficiency of its work.

Production and economic factors determine the completeness and efficiency of the use of the enterprise's production resources and the final results of its activities.

According to the degree of impact on the results of economic activity, the factors are divided into primary and secondary. To main factors that have a decisive influence on the performance indicator. Minor those that do not have a decisive impact on the results of economic activity in the current conditions are considered. Here it should be noted that the same factor, depending on the circumstances, can be both primary and secondary. The ability to identify the main determining factors from a variety of factors ensures the correctness of the conclusions based on the results of the analysis.

Of great importance in the study of economic phenomena and processes and the assessment of the results of enterprises' activities is the classification of factors internal and external, that is, on factors that depend and do not depend on the activities of the enterprise. The main attention in the analysis should be given to the study of internal factors that the enterprise can influence.

At the same time, in many cases, with developed production ties and relations, the performance of each enterprise is largely influenced by the activities of other enterprises, for example, the uniformity and timeliness of the supply of raw materials, materials, their quality, cost, market conditions, inflationary processes, etc. Often the results of the work of enterprises are reflected in changes in the field of specialization and industrial cooperation. These factors are external. They do not characterize the efforts of a given team, but their study makes it possible to more accurately determine the degree of influence of internal causes and, thereby, to more fully reveal the internal reserves of production.

For correct assessment the activities of enterprises, the factors must be divided into objective and subjective Objective ones, such as a natural disaster, do not depend on the will and desires of people. Unlike objective subjective reasons depend on the activities of legal entities and individuals.

According to the degree of prevalence factors are divided into general and specific. General factors include factors that operate in all sectors of the economy. Specific are those that operate in a particular sector of the economy or enterprise. Such a division of factors makes it possible to more fully take into account the characteristics of individual enterprises and branches of production and to make a more accurate assessment of their activities.

According to the period of impact on the results of economic activity, factors are distinguished permanent and variables. Constant factors affect the phenomenon under study continuously, throughout the entire time. The impact of variable factors is manifested periodically, for example, the development of new equipment, new types of products, new production technology, etc.

Of great importance for assessing the activities of enterprises is the division of factors according to the nature of their action into intense and extensive. Extensive factors include those that are associated with a quantitative, rather than a qualitative, increase in the result indicator, for example, an increase in production by expanding the sown area, increasing the number of livestock, the number of workers, etc. Intensive factors characterize the degree of effort, labor intensity in the production process, for example, an increase in crop yields, animal productivity, and the level of labor productivity.

If the analysis aims to measure the impact of each factor on the results of economic activity, then they are divided into quantitative and quality, sophisticated and simple, straight and indirect, measurable and immeasurable.

quantitative factors are considered that express the quantitative certainty of phenomena (the number of workers, equipment, raw materials, etc.). quality factors determine the internal qualities, signs and characteristics of the objects under study (labor productivity, product quality, soil fertility, etc.).

Most of the studied factors are complex in their composition, consisting of several elements. However, there are also those that are not decomposed into component parts. In this regard, the factors are divided into complex (complex) and simple (elemental). An example of a complex factor is labor productivity, and a simple one is the number of working days in the reporting period.

As already mentioned, some factors have a direct impact on the performance indicator, others indirectly. According to the level of subordination (hierarchy), factors of the first, second, third and subsequent levels of subordination are distinguished. To first level factors those that directly affect the performance indicator. Factors that determine the performance indicator indirectly, with the help of first-level factors, are called second level factors etc. On fig. 5.2 shows that the factors of the first level are the average annual number of workers and the average annual output per worker. The number of days worked by one worker and the average daily output are second-level factors relative to gross output. The factors of the third level include the length of the working day and the average hourly output.

Impact individual factors performance indicator can be quantified. At the same time, there are a number of factors whose influence on the performance of enterprises cannot be directly measured, for example, the provision of staff with housing, child care facilities, the level of training of personnel, etc.

Necessity and importance of systematization of factors. The main ways of systematizing factors in deterministic and stochastic analysis.

Systems approach in AHD causes the need for an interconnected study of factors, taking into account their internal and external relations, interaction and subordination, which is achieved through systematization. Systematization as a whole is the placement of the studied phenomena or objects in a certain order with the identification of their relationship and subordination.

One way to systematize factors is to create deterministic factor systems. Create a factor system - means to represent the phenomenon under study in the form of an algebraic sum, a quotient or a product of several factors that determine its magnitude and are functionally dependent on it.

For example, the volume of gross output industrial enterprise can be represented as a product of two first-order factors: the average number of workers and the average annual output by one worker per year, which in turn depends directly on the number of days worked by one worker on average per year and the average daily output by the worker. The latter can also be decomposed into the length of the working day and the average hourly output (Fig. 5.2).

The development of a deterministic factor system is achieved, as a rule, by detailing complex factors. Elemental (in our example - the number of workers, the number of days worked, the length of the working day) are not decomposed into factors, since they are homogeneous in content. With the development of the system, complex factors are gradually detailed into less general ones, which, in turn, into even less general ones, gradually approaching elemental (simple) ones in their analytical content.

However, it should be noted that the development of factor systems to the required depth is associated with some methodological difficulties and, above all, with the difficulty of finding factors of a general nature that could be represented as a product, private or algebraic sum of several factors. Therefore, usually deterministic systems cover the most common factors. Meanwhile, the study of more specific factors in AHD is much more important than general ones.

It follows that the improvement of the method of factor analysis should be aimed at the interconnected study of specific factors, which are, as a rule, in a stochastic relationship with performance indicators.

Of great importance in the study of stochastic relationships is structural and logical analysis of the relationship between the studied indicators. It allows you to establish the presence or absence of causal relationships between the studied indicators, to study the direction of the relationship, the form of dependence, etc., which is very important when determining the degree of their influence on the phenomenon under study and when summarizing the results of the analysis.

Analysis of the structure of the relationship of the studied indicators in the AHD is carried out using the construction structural-logical block diagram, which allows you to establish the presence and direction of the relationship not only between the studied factors and the performance indicator, but also between the factors themselves. Having built a flowchart, one can see that among the studied factors there are those that more or less directly affect the performance indicator, and those that affect not so much the performance indicator as each other.

For example, in fig. 5.3 shows the relationship between the unit cost of crop production and factors such as crop yields, labor productivity, the amount of fertilizer applied, seed quality, and the degree of mechanization of production.

First of all, it is necessary to establish the presence and direction of the relationship between the cost of production and each factor. Of course, there is a close relationship between them. direct impact on the cost of production this example only crop yields. All other factors affect the cost of production not only directly, but also indirectly, through crop yields and labor productivity. For example, the amount of fertilizer applied to the soil contributes to an increase in crop yields, which, other things being the same, leads to a decrease in the unit cost of production. However, it must also be taken into account that an increase in the amount of fertilizers applied leads to an increase in the amount of costs per hectare of sowing. And if the amount of costs increases more than rapidly than the yield, then the cost of production will not decrease, but increase. This means that the relationship between these two indicators can be both direct and inverse. Similarly, it affects the cost of production and the quality of seeds. The purchase of elite, high-quality seeds causes an increase in the amount of costs. If they increase in more than the yield from the use of higher quality seeds, the cost of production will increase, and vice versa.

The degree of mechanization of production affects the cost of production both directly and indirectly. An increase in the level of mechanization causes an increase in the cost of maintaining the fixed assets of production. However, at the same time, labor productivity increases, productivity increases, which helps to reduce the cost of production.

A study of the relationships between factors shows that of all the factors studied, there is no causal relationship between the quality of seeds, the amount of fertilizers and the mechanization of production. There is also no direct inverse relationship between these indicators and the level of crop yield. All other factors directly or indirectly influence each other.

Thus, the systematization of factors allows you to more deeply study the relationship of factors in the formation of the value of the indicator under study, which is very important at the next stages of the analysis, especially at the stage of modeling the studied indicators.

The classification of factors in economic analysis allows a deeper understanding of the reasons for the change in the phenomena under study, and a more accurate assessment of the place and role of each factor in the formation of the value of effective indicators.

The factors studied in the analysis can be classified according to different criteria:

1) by nature:

natural and climatic;

socio-economic;

production and economic;

2) according to the degree of impact on the results of economic activity of the enterprise:

basic;

secondary;

3) in relation to the object of study:

internal;

external;

4) according to the degree of dependence on the business entity:

· objective;

· subjective;

5) according to the degree of prevalence:

specific;

1) by the duration of the impact on the results of the enterprise:

permanent;

· variables;

2) by the nature of the action:

Intensive

· extensive;

3) according to the degree of influence of factors on the results of economic activity of the enterprise:

· quantitative;

quality;

4) by the degree of aggregation:

complex;

simple;

5) according to the degree of controllability:

managed;

uncontrollable;

6) if possible, to measure the influence of factors on the performance indicator:

measurable;

immeasurable.

Natural and climatic factors have a great influence on the results of activities in agriculture, mining, forestry and other industries. Socio-economic factors include the living conditions of employees, the organization of mass cultural, sports and recreational work at the enterprise, the general level of culture and education of personnel. Production and economic factors determine the completeness and efficiency of the use of the enterprise's production resources and the final results of its activities.

The main factors, in contrast to the secondary ones, have the most significant impact on the performance indicator in the current situation. It should be noted that the same factor, depending on the circumstances, can be both primary and secondary.

The action of general factors is manifested in all sectors of the economy, and specific - in certain sectors of the economy or a particular enterprise.

Constant factors have an impact on the phenomenon under study continuously throughout the analyzed period. The impact of variable factors is manifested periodically (for example, the development of new equipment, new types of products, new production technology).

Intensive factors characterize the degree of effort, labor intensity, aimed at increasing the return of resources (for example, increasing crop yields, livestock productivity, labor productivity). Extensive factors are associated with additional attraction of resources to production (for example, an increase in the volume of production by expanding the sown area, increasing the number of animals, the number of workers).

Factors that express the quantitative certainty of phenomena (the number of workers, equipment, raw materials) are considered quantitative. Qualitative factors determine the internal qualities, signs and characteristics of the objects under study (labor productivity, product quality, soil fertility).

An example of a complex factor is labor productivity, and a simple one is the number of working days in the reporting period.

Managed factors (factors-regulators) are amenable to operational regulation and their impact manifests itself in a relatively short period of time. Uncontrollable factors are not amenable to regulation (natural conditions, transport and geographical location of the enterprise).

Measurable factors are factors whose impact can be quantified. The influence of immeasurable factors on the results of operations cannot be directly measured, for example, the provision of staff with housing, child care facilities, and the level of personnel training.

According to the hierarchy (level of subordination), the factors of the first, second, third, etc. are distinguished. levels of subordination. Factors of the first level directly affect the performance indicator. Factors that determine the performance indicator indirectly, with the help of first-level factors, are called second-level factors.

The value of the classification of factors. The main types of factors. The concept and difference between different types of factors in AHD.

The classification of factors is their distribution into groups depending on common characteristics. It allows you to better understand the causes of changes in the phenomena under study, more accurately assess the place and role of each factor in the formation of the value of effective indicators.

The factors studied in the analysis can be classified according to different criteria (Fig. 5.1).

Production and economic factors determine the completeness and efficiency of the use of the enterprise's production resources and the final results of its activities.

For a correct assessment of the activities of enterprises, factors must be divided into objective and subjective Objective ones, such as a natural disaster, do not depend on the will and desires of people. Unlike objective, subjective reasons depend on the activities of legal entities and individuals.

quantitative factors are considered that express the quantitative certainty of phenomena (the number of workers, equipment, raw materials, etc.). quality factors determine the internal qualities, signs and characteristics of the objects under study (labor productivity, product quality, soil fertility, etc.).

The impact of individual factors on the performance indicator can be quantified. At the same time, there are a number of factors whose influence on the performance of enterprises cannot be directly measured, for example, the provision of staff with housing, child care facilities, the level of training of personnel, etc.

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