Social factors of overcoming the divergence of economies of Ukraine and the EU: trends and challenges for the national governance

The article applies synergistic interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of problems of divergence in the economies of Ukraine and the EU, to evaluate the present state and key problems of implementing the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU in terms of the socio-economic modernization of this country. The thesis about slow, partial (only in certain segments), unsystematic overcoming of divergent trends by Ukraine, which appeared in the first years after signing the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, is substantiated. In particular, there are clear trends of divergence between Ukraine and the EU in the areas of social development, personal security, rule of law, some civil and political rights and freedoms, which is primarily due to insufficient effectiveness of European integration reforms, lack of consensus in the political elite and society with regard to "Road map" of modernization, consequences of Russian aggression and the ongoing armed conflict in the east of Ukraine. At the same time, moderate convergence trends in areas such as social inclusion and innovation have been identified. It is proved that Ukraine still has a strong social foundation for economic modernization breakthrough. In terms of social parameters, Ukrainian society is significantly more powerful than the modern Ukrainian economy from the viewpoint of meeting basic human needs, social components of the quality of life and healthy environment. In particular, in terms of the level and dynamics of innovation, Ukraine is ahead of all post-Soviet member states of the Eastern Partnership and even Romania as an EU member state. It is argued that the Ukrainian Government still monitors mainly the formal fulfilment of the Action Plan оn implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union and its member states for the years 2018–2024 without analyzing the Action Plan's impact on the institutional effectiveness and indicators of Ukraineʼs socio-economic development. Under such conditions, certain indicators of the Action Plan implementation may give a misconception about the real dynamics of the convergence / divergence process of Ukraine and the EU. This requires improved strategic monitoring of the implementation of the Association Agreement.

Competition conditioned strategic decision making by tourism enterprises in Ukraine

The article is devoted to the disclosure of theoretical and methodological foundations and development of practical recommendations for strategic tourism management in Ukraine. The main components of an effective strategy in the field of tourism are identified as well as the main levels of tourism development and appropriate tools for implementing this development. The authors have analysed the process of strategic decision making by enterprises in the field of tourism in a competitive environment. The strategies of tourism enterprises should be the basic provisions creating a hierarchical system with intertwined elements. This system should be in line with the national strategy for the development of tourism in Ukraine, combining macro-, meso-, and micro-levels. The ratified Programme of the sphere of tourism development of Volyn region exemplifies the practice of development and realisation programme and strategy by local authorities in the field of tourism. It has been concluded that coordination and control over the implementation of the Programme remain unsettled. Apart from the development measures and sources of funding the strategies for tourism development in the regions of Ukraine should also provide appropriate mechanisms for control, monitoring and reporting. The study of tourism has shown that this industry is currently experiencing at the stage of development, which is due to the long process of reforming Ukraine's economy. In this connection, the author has proposed the following measures aimed at withdrawing the tourism sector out of development: achieving European and world parameters of the balance of service quality and prices for these services; development of market mechanisms in the field of tourism; development of tourism in a mixed form of ownership; raising funds from the tourist structures independently, as well as bank loans and investments; development of an investments protecting mechanism, including the foreign ones; creation of a favourable tax policy to support tourism development, intensification of environmental activities to create normal living conditions and environmental safety of the territory; creation of programmes and further prognosticating the sphere of tourism development.

Modern patterns of development higher education internationalization

The article is devoted to the study of modern transformations taking place in the international mobility of students due to the spread of higher education internationalization. It is substantiated that the internationalization of higher education is an important determinant of higher education development, national economies, and the like. The objective of the work is to determine the regularities and intensity of the development of internationalization in different countries and the features of the national policy on attracting foreign students. It is determined that higher education internationalization has become an important component of the development of many countries that differ in their level of socioeconomic development. The author of article analyzes the current trends in the development of international student mobility, identifies the features of attracting different countries to the processes of academic mobility, and determines the factors of choosing applicants in favor of international education. The multidimensional nature of the phenomenon of internationalization is proved, in the study of which there is a need to use multidimensional estimates. The proposed methodological tools by author for the quantitative assessment of the level of development of internationalization of higher education includes an index of national higher education system internationalization, the use of which allowed to quantify the process of internationalization of higher education. To identify patterns of development of this process in dynamics, and their intensity. It is substantiated that from the macroeconomic point of view, foreign students are an important factor in influencing the country's balance of payments, the development of the national labor market, the national educational system, and innovative development. Students who have received higher education abroad become an important source of development for the countries of origin, on the terms of the return of such students to their motherland. It is determined that modern universities develop strategies for internationalization of higher education actively, attracting foreign students, which contribute to the development of the level of international universities competitiveness, providing its financial stability of its development. It is proved that in response to the annual growth in the number of foreign students who are sent to highly developed countries, national governments and universities of these countries will direct their efforts to find new ways and arrangements to attract foreign students to study, including using the tools of migration policy. The main directions and methods of attracting foreign students are defined.

Features of modeling of management consulting in modern conditions

In today's conditions, a major number of business structures in Ukraine use services of consulting companies, the main reasons are the ability to form a sequence of elements of the system of consulting model, necessity to provide confidential information to third party company, and also absence of previous experience of cooperation with consulting companies and low level of information about their activities in the media. That is why the spread of practice of using services of consulting companies in general and on issues of the organization of accounting work among national enterprises becomes especially relevant and important. In today's conditions there is an urgent need in the rational use of funds, means of labor and various resources by defining and implementing effective mechanisms of the management system at the level of the enterprise, which relevant form the list and the system of management consulting and consulting services. Features of modernity create important tools and means of interaction at the level of consulting services, and in particular the preparation of a consulting model and modeling elements of the mechanism of using management consulting, to which the relevant research is devoted. The demand of management consultants as experts of innovative development of organizations, and the creation of special components of the model of management services arethe important features of this area of activity at the state level. Thus, the ultimate goal of consultancy and as a result of creating a model of consulting services is the help the client to make progressive changes in his organization. In Ukraine, where political, economic, social, technological changes occur quite chaotic, it is necessary to take into account that fact that people and organizations need not only changes but also stability and continuity. Finding a balance between changes and stability is one of the main tasks of a consultant. Thus, consulting modeling is a professional activity which consists in providing independent and objective advice and technical assistance by qualified specialists, enterprises, and organizations to individual entrepreneurs in order to assist them in identifying and researching management problems, finding their optimal solutions, methodology of implementing recommendations.