Sociological diagnostics of pathologies in the practice of public regional administration

Kachurova Elena Vladimirovna ORCID: 0000-0002-7101-2143 Senior Lecturer; Institute of Economics and Management; Belgorod State National Research University 85 Pobedy St., office 304, Belgorod region, 308015, Russia elena.belg86@mail.ru Other publications by this author

The relevance of the research topic is due to the presence of problems in the socio-economic development of Russia. These include the economic downturn, uneven development, demographic difficulties, widespread corruption and poor governance, as well as increasing social inequality. They are largely related to the quality of the forms and methods used in management activities, both at the federal and regional levels. Modern social metamorphoses in society, internal contradictions and multifaceted external challenges have exposed the defects and flaws of the management system at the federal and regional levels. In modern Russian society, there is a process of crisis of transformation, a transition from an irrational model to a rational one capable of developing good-neighborly partnerships in the international arena in accordance with the international legal order. The issues of management effectiveness have been repeatedly discussed at various conferences. Thus, at the conference "Ensuring national economic security: new challenges and priorities", the prerequisites for the need to study the pathologies of public administration were voiced: the modern economic and social environment of the region is facing various external and internal challenges that require a revision of familiar approaches and the development of new response strategies, the search for original and innovative ways of development ^[1]. During the XX International Scientific Conference "Public Administration in new Geopolitical and Geo-economic conditions", held annually at the Faculty of Public Administration of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Professor, Ph.D. G.L. Kupryashin highlighted the trends of public administration arising from the challenges of the new environment, noted the urgency of the problem of adapting the public administration system to constantly emerging shocks, including the desire to reduce vulnerability and ensure sustainability, i.e. stability that provides for development ^[2].

The tasks of pathology research in the practice of regional management are important, since any modification of the management system can be effective only if there is a clear understanding of the barriers preventing it from approaching the most useful state. Nevertheless, the research and implementation of the mechanism of systemic counteraction to the pathologies of public regional governance remains a relatively new phenomenon in the context of the so-called transformation.

Theoretical development of the topic. The analysis of the problem from the point of view of the general theory of social management and the issues of institutionalization is reflected in a number of works by domestic and foreign authors. Among them are the works of A.A. Alekseenok, G.V. Atamanchuk, V.P. Babintsev, N.S. Danakin, L.Ya. Dyatchenko, Yu.V. Cairo, M. Meskon, A.I. Naumov, V.I. Patrushev, V.I. Speransky, F. Fukuyama, O.N. Yanitsky and others ^{[3, 4]} Socialization and social control are defined by T. Parsons as the main mechanisms that allow social systems to maintain stability. Deviations in moderate amounts are absorbed by the system, but more extreme forms should be regulated by balancing mechanisms ^[5]. The researchers emphasize the complexity and versatility of managerial activities within the modern state, as well as the interrelation of political and administrative processes in modern society.

Such scientists as G.V. Atamanchuk, V.A. Voropanov, N.S. Danakin, V.M. Zakharov, T.E. Kallagov, V.V. Kolmakov, A.V. Lukin, P.A. Orlov, V.I. Patrushev, N.A. Pushkareva, A.N. Yatsun et al. ^{[6, 7, 8]}. The term "public power" originates from the Latin publicus and translates as public, that is, it is "power exercised in the presence of the public, open to the public, to the people, capable of attracting the broad masses to discuss significant issues." V.E. Chirkin considered public power as "a public legal entity, and territorial public entities as a legal entity of public law" ^[9]. M.I. Marchenko, relying on the teachings of J. Locke wrote that "only an institution such as the state can act as the bearer of public (political) power. It is also designed to protect the rights and freedoms of citizens, to guarantee their participation in public and political life." S.A. Avakian characterizes public power as "the embodiment of democracy and identifies the types of public authority functions: rulemaking; leadership and management; resource management; control and (or) supervisory activities." According to S.I. Vershinina, "the public nature of power gives the ability to consolidate individual powers of each member of society and transfer them to a new public entity. At the same time, the people themselves, the population, are part of the source of public power. On the one hand, the people is a subject delegating its powers to public authorities, on the other hand, it also acts as an object to which public authority is directed" ^[10].

The content and meanings of uncertainties, imbalances, dysfunctions, and pathologies in public administration are given a place in the works of such authors as: M.M. Abramychev, E.V. Bagrova, E.V. Belova, S.M. Vasin, I.M. Volkov, M.V. Gracheva, B.Y. Gromov, G.L. Kupryashin, N.A. Pleshakova, I.V. Ponkin, A.I. Prigozhin, A.P. Sokolov, and others ^{[11, 12]}. Thus, G.L. Kupryashin, in his report "Dysfunctions of institutions of modern public administration", outlined the main challenges and crisis situations faced by public administration from the point of view of the institutional paradigm. In his opinion, "the dysfunction of public administration is a consequence of its internal inconsistency, manifested in the fundamental pathologies of public administration institutions" ^[13]. These pathologies include the reproduction and spread of patron-client relations, weak universalization of rules in the activities of the state apparatus, and a low level of differentiation between the private and public spheres. In modern society, institutions of transformation play a key role in the process of changing rules and established procedures. The administrative reform is not limited only to technical aspects, but also includes changes in the rules governing the activities of the department.

A review of the literature on the research topic leads to the conclusion that there is no shortage of publications covering general aspects of government and public administration. However, the status of pathology research in the practice of public regional management, from the standpoint of management sociology, is at the stage of its active increase.

The study of various positions on public administration allows us to draw the author's conclusion that public administration represents a wide range of tasks and actions aimed at ensuring the livelihood and security of the state and society. These functional aspects include the organization, execution and control of various processes and activities within the government structure. With the development of democratic processes, public administration is gradually evolving into public administration, where leaders elected by the people, along with other participants, play an important role. The concepts of "public administration" and "public administration" are closely interrelated and cover the activities of public authorities at all levels, including local government ^[14].

The analysis of sociological theories that reveal the process of pathologies in public regional management has allowed us to establish that there is a contradiction between the need to reduce the number of pathologies in public regional management, on the one hand, and the lack of a conceptual justification for the process of forming a mechanism that ensures the solution of this problem.

The purpose of the study is to identify indicators of pathologies in public regional management.

Materials, methods and methodology. The research is based on the study of the transformation of public administration into public administration as a system of social interactions. The methodological basis was the concept of technologization of management, which makes it possible to reveal social technologies and mechanisms for countering pathologies in the practice of regional management. To conduct the research, both general and specialized methods of scientific analysis were used, including system analysis, documentation analysis, questionnaire survey and secondary analysis of the results of sociological research: data from the research project "Sustainability of socio-political development of Russian society and the changing image of the future in the mass consciousness of citizens" (2020) ^[15]; data from the annual sociological monitoring "How are you living, Russia?" (2024) ^[16]; data from the study "Image of an ideal future: normative ideas of Russian citizens about power" (2020) ^[17]; rating of management efficiency in the subjects of the Russian Federation for 2023 ^[18].

The results of the study. Under the influence of fragmentary attempts at administrative reform, the system of public regional governance is nevertheless characterized by transformational potential. Despite the positive aspects of the administrative reform, it is impossible to speak about the completeness of the process of improving the effectiveness of regional management, as evidenced by the number of scientific studies and dissertations on the problems of functioning and development of management at the regional level. Pathologies in management are systemic problems that can affect the effectiveness and efficiency of organizations and managers ^[19]. The problem of violations in the work of government agencies in modern management science has not been studied deeply enough, despite many studies on the "pain points" of the Russian bureaucracy. The legislation of the Russian Federation does not use the term "organizational pathology", therefore, the fight against various violations in the state apparatus is conducted indirectly and does not have a systemic character. Organizational pathology is a concept that refers to systemic deficiencies and problems in the structure, processes and functioning of an organization that arise under the influence of various factors.

For the first time, the term "organizational pathology" was proposed by the Polish researcher Jadwiga Staniszkis in the context of the analysis of organizational structures and their dysfunctions. A.I. Prigozhin, in his work "Organizational management pathologies", suggests dividing organizational pathologies into two groups: pathologies in the structure of the organization and pathologies in management decisions ^[20].

The analysis of the theoretical and methodological foundations of pathology research in public regional management allows us to formulate the author's understanding of the pathologies of regional management systems in the sociological aspect - actions deviating from social norms, or inaction of the subject, as a rule, consistently leading to functional degradation and inefficiency of the regional management system or its elements. As a result of the penetration of deviations and dysfunctions into the social fabric, social destruction is a marginal social practice that is embedded in the social system and destroys or modifies immanent institutions and relationships beyond recognition. Deviations and dysfunctions that have moved from marginal or peripheral to the category of dominant social practices begin to play the role of destructive factors.

Let us present the results of a sociological study conducted using the questionnaire method - the expert survey "Analysis of factors contributing to or hindering the effective operation of public regional government" (February - March 2024). The study included a questionnaire survey of experts from four regions of the Central Federal District (Belgorod, Kursk, Voronezh and Oryol regions, N=100). The study of systemic pathologies was conducted in the context of the activities of civil servants, which made it possible to identify not only technical problems in the work of government structures, but also to deepen understanding of the socio-psychological aspects of their functioning.

Due to the peculiarities of the public sector, any sociological research conducted among civil servants can be considered as a controlled experiment. Civil servants who act as respondents participate in it according to pre-defined values and goals based on their understanding of the formal requirements of the system. Taking into account the peculiarity of the civil service, referring to the study of systemic pathologies in the practice of public regional management, it can be argued that the study of systemic pathologies is a complex and multifaceted study that faces various socio-psychological barriers. This is especially relevant in the context of civil servants, whose activities are closely related to the functioning of complex organizational systems and management mechanisms.

It is important to take into account that systemic pathologies not only reflect negative phenomena and dysfunctions in the work of government structures, but also have a deep socio-psychological character. Consideration of these phenomena requires a special approach that takes into account many factors, including interpersonal interactions, corporate culture, level of trust and professional identity of government employees.

In the practice of public regional management, it is possible to identify the main "zones of tension" associated with factors of systemic pathologies. Based on this, the sociological diagnosis was carried out on the basis of the identified three blocks of factors in the practice of public regional administration.

1. A block of motivation and values that provides an analysis of the key values of modern officials and their compliance with the goals of public administration. As part of the author's expert survey, an attempt was made to find out the value orientations in the activities of civil servants. Thus, the answers "improving the quality of life of the population" (4.23 points), "making informed management decisions in the interests of citizens" (4.19 points) and "Ensuring the safety of life of the population" (4.11 points) were included in a number of fundamental conclusions expressing the effectiveness of activities that, according to experts, received maximum points.

Figure 1. Distribution of expert assessments on the question "How can the effectiveness of public regional management be expressed?" (block of motivations and values, average score)

Experts confirm that improving the quality of life of the population is one of the priorities of regional government, which means the need to ensure individualized services, while 75% of experts noted that the effectiveness of public regional government is reflected in ensuring the safety of life of the population. Currently, it is extremely important to increase the level of protection of citizens from criminal encroachments and other threats to their life, health and property. Thus, the data from the expert survey confirm that the citizen is increasingly being considered by representatives of the regional government as the main consumer of state (municipal) services, i.e. a request for a transition to "public values management" is indicated. Public values management focuses on meeting the needs of society through the provision of quality services, focusing on the opinions and wishes of citizens. The trends in the development of public administration are noted - the transition from the use of administrative methods to the promotion of self-organization of society in decision-making processes.

The respondents also point to the main factors that hinder the effective work of regional authorities: an incompetence-oriented system of professional development of managerial personnel (4.22 points), lack of motivation for effective activities (4.17 points) and making managerial decisions for personal gain (4.17 points). It is equally important to note that least of all, According to generalized expert estimates, the effective performance of managerial personnel is hampered by the lack of a unified methodology for rationing the number of civil servants (3.74 points).

Figure 2. Distribution of responses to the question of what factors hinder the effective performance of management personnel of regional authorities

In the study "The Image of an ideal future: normative representations of Russian citizens about power," conducted by E.B. Shestopal, it is noted that 56% of respondents give the greatest importance and priority to the president and 41.3% to the government. At the same time, 9.3% of respondents noted the importance of regional legislative bodies and 11.1% of local governments. It should be noted that in 2021 there was a decrease in the level of trust in almost all political institutions ^[19].

Figure 3. Distribution of respondents' responses to the question, "In the ideal future of the country, political power seems to me ..."

At the same time, to the question "In the ideal future of the country, political power seems to me ...", the largest number of respondents noted proximity to the people / concern for citizens 42.5% and justice and honesty 20.3%, and uncorruptness and legality were noted by 11.4%. The importance of professionalism and education was noted by 7.7% ^[19].

Based on the results of a comprehensive study by M.V. Ilyicheva, a favorable scenario for the future is "to bring a new generation with its own vision of the world, ideals and values to the forefront of the political and social life of the country." This study showed that the majority of respondents rely primarily on the efforts of government structures of the state ^[17].

The above research data confirm our assumption that hyper-bureaucracy and corruption are destructive factors of public regional governance.

2. The professional competence block, examines the professional potential of regional management and its analysis.

According to the data obtained during the expert survey, the main factors contributing to the effective performance of regional government management personnel include: a combination of a process approach and project management in their professional activities (4.26 points) and the introduction of technologies for assessing the competencies of regional government personnel, allowing them to attract the most trained and promising specialists (4.29 points)

Figure 4. Respondents' assessment of the factors contributing to the effective performance of regional government management personnel

According to experts, the following factors are noted as hindering the effectiveness of activities:: incompetence-oriented system of professional development of managerial personnel (4.22 points), unclaimed professionalism (4.17 points), lack of motivation for effective activities (4.18 points), making managerial decisions for personal gain (4.17 points).

Figure 5. Respondents' assessment of factors impeding the effective performance of regional government management personnel

The results of the conducted diagnostics once again confirm the thesis that the environment in which regional authorities operate has the characteristics of a closed system that is self-oriented (training mainly forms competence-management, without reference to the specifics of specific specific tasks).

Thus, destructive factors in the professional subsystem of regional management are defined in a separate group. The main destructive factors of public regional management related to the professional competence level are identified:

– low level of professional management culture;

– lack or insufficiency of motivation to perform effectively;

– lack of competence and poor command of social management technologies.

3. A block of organizational and technological aspects, which examines the issues of organization and technologies used in the practice of regional management. Pathologies in the system of public regional administration can manifest themselves in the activities of civil servants, in the process of performing their managerial functions.

Thus, the essence of bureaucracy is not so much in the "paper" style of work, as in the "privatization" of management functions by the apparatus.

According to a study by the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the functioning of the Russian bureaucracy is more or less positively assessed by 9.6% of respondents, while 57.1% consider it ineffective ^[20]. In our opinion, the pathology factors related to the organizational and technological subsystem of public regional management can be traced to the contradiction between the susceptibility of employees to changes and the functional conservation of regional management, blocking administrative transformations.

Further, for a clearer study of this topic, let us turn again to the study "The image of an ideal future: normative representations of Russian citizens about power", conducted by E.B. Shestopal. So, when asked "Which period of Russian history, in your opinion, was closest to the ideal?" (Figure 6), 28% of respondents noted that the power of the Soviet period seemed to be the most attractive to them, while the majority of respondents noted the era of perestroika and the 90s as the most difficult for Russia. There is a difference between the needs that are behind the images of the future (personal, family and country), on the one hand, and the image of ideal power, on the other ^[19].

Figure 6. Distribution of respondents' responses to the question "Which period of Russian history, in your opinion, was closest to the ideal?"

According to data published by the online publication Svobodnaya Pressa, in the article "Sociologists found out whether Russians need changes", "... there is a request for changes in Russian society: 47% of survey participants said that Russia needs decisive, full-scale changes. Another 36% believe that changes are needed, but only minor ones. 13% believe that everything should remain as it is, and 5% could not answer this question" ^[21].

The main goal of change in Russia was, first of all, various aspects of the rule of law and a democratic state, such as the establishment of democracy, the independence of the courts, fair elections, and the rotation of power.

Within the framework of the study, experts expressed their opinion on the importance of introducing new principles of personnel policy in order to achieve effective performance of regional government management personnel.

From the results of the study, it can be seen that for the respondents the most important characteristics are: the establishment of a competence-based approach when filling positions in the civil service (4.2 points) and the transition from monitoring the procedure for the performance of official duties of civil servants to monitoring the results (4.15 points). It should be noted that an important factor is the promotion of anti-corruption behavior of civil servants (4.07 b.) and the need to introduce public (civil) control (4.12 b.).

Figure 7. Respondents' assessment of the importance of introducing new principles of personnel policy to achieve effective employee performance

As can be seen from the data in the above table, according to experts' estimates of factors impeding the effective activities of regional government bodies, the key factors impeding effectiveness arise in the motivational-value, professional-competence, organizational-technological subsystem of regional government.

Based on the results of the analysis of empirical data, an attempt was made to structure key indicators of pathologies in public regional management.

Table 1. Ranked indicators of pathologies in the public regional administration (scores in points, where 5 is the maximum value, 1 is the minimum value)

Conclusion.

The empirical assessment of pathology indicators in the practice of public regional management was based on the author's sociological research, as well as a secondary analysis of studies devoted to the problem under study. The sociological diagnosis of these pathologies in the practice of public regional management was carried out by us on the basis of three blocks of tension: motivation and values, professional competence, organizational and technological aspects.

Based on the conducted sociological diagnostics, we have identified the following indicators of pathologies in public regional management: an incompetence-oriented system of professional development of managerial personnel; making managerial decisions for personal gain; distrust of citizens to government authorities; lack of motivation for effective activities; lack of civil control over the activities of employees; imperfect technologies and criteria for evaluating the effective performance of regional management personnel; unclaimed professionalism , etc . The illustration of pathology indicators in the practice of public regional management highlights the importance of developing a mechanism that promotes systemic leveling of pathologies in the management practice of public regional management.

The mechanism of systemic counteraction to pathologies in the practice of public regional governance is understood as a socially oriented integral set of components (tools, technologies, resources, principles), functioning in order to eliminate factors that reduce the effectiveness of regional governance.

As practical recommendations for state authorities at the regional level, it is proposed to create monitoring platforms on the information resources of regional authorities (by analogy with the Feedback Platform) to identify systemic problems and accumulate proposals to overcome pathologies in public regional management, expanding the opportunities for sharing best practices on management effectiveness.

Systemic counteraction to pathologies in the practice of public regional management involves comprehensive diagnostics carried out by various quantitative and qualitative empirical methods.