Characteristics of a professional educational organization as an object of management

Aim. To examine the distinctive characteristics of a professional educational institution (PEI) as an object of economic management and, at the same time, as a subject of innovative development. Objectives. To examine the dual nature of a PEI, which combines a social mission and an economic function; to show how the basic management functions are implemented in the specific context of a PEI; to substantiate the need to transform the role of a PEI amid the integration of production, science, and education; to systematize the key properties of a PEI as an object of management. Methods. Logical and systemic approaches, as well as methods of institutional, structural-functional, economic-legal, and comparative analysis, are applied. Results. The article traces the dual nature of a PEI, which combines the features of a non-profit organization performing socially significant functions and an economic entity operating in a market environment, giving rise to a contradiction between the social mission and the economic function. It is shown that under the conditions of an innovative economy, the traditional model, in which a PEI acts exclusively as an executor of a state assignment and a supplier of personnel by order of enterprises, is giving way to a new model according to which a PEI becomes a full-fledged partner of industry, a subject of innovative development, and a generator of applied knowledge. The key properties of a PEI as an object of management are systematized: a dual target function, dependence on the labor market situation, a long production cycle, a high degree of uncertainty in the external environment, and a high potential for participation in network interaction and self-development. A comparative characterization of a PEI and a commercial organization as objects of management is conducted. Conclusions. In modern conditions, a PEI represents a complex socio-economic system that combines a social mission and an economic function, which determines the specifics of management requiring consideration of both substantive (pedagogical) and economic aspects of activity. In the context of PSE integration, a fundamental transformation of the role of a PEI is taking place, from a passive executor of a state assignment to an active partner of industry, a subject of innovative development, and a generator and commercializer of applied knowledge. This requires an expansion of management functions to include strategic partnership, innovation management, fundraising, quality management, digital transformation, and human resource development. The author’s vision of a PEI as a specific object of management consists in defining it as a socio-economic system whose activities are aimed at the reproduction of human capital; however, in the context of integration, a PEI acquires the features of an innovatively active organization that generates and commercializes knowledge.