Germany’s Economy amid Increasing Economic and Political Challenges

October 3 this year Germany celebrated the 32nd anniversary of the unification of the two German states. Three decades after the historic events of 1990, the state faced a number of extremely difficult economic and political problems, which escalated significantly in the fall of 2022. The large-scale measures taken in the first half of the year to support business and the population turned out to be insufficient to solve them. Inflation in September reached 10%, the German economy was on the verge of recession. In autumn, the government was forced to nationalize the leading gas importer Uniper SE, provide state support to the energy company Verbundnetz Gas AG, cancel the planned special surcharge on the price of gas, extend the operation of the nuclear power plant, accept a third aid package, and create a special economic fund of 200 billion euros, which caused a sharp criticism of the leadership of a number of EU countries. The development and discussion of anti-crisis tools reflected the existing disagreements and conflict potential of the «traffic light» coalition. Against this background, there was a further aggravation of German-Russian relations in the oil and gas sector. The author analyzes the content and possible effectiveness of the autumn anticrisis measures of the government, pays special attention to state intervention in the activities of the main players in the German energy market

Anti-crisis Measures of the Federal Government in the Energy Sector

The article analyzes the deterioration in the situation in the German energy sector that began in 2021 and continued in 2022. It was complemented by a significant intensification of the crisis surrounding Ukraine. Its consequence was the introduction of a harsh sanction’s regime against Russia by the collective West, primarily by the United States and the European Union. As part of multiple sanctions packages in March-June, restrictions on a number of domestic primary energy sources were imposed, which were major contributors to rising global oil and gas prices and curbed Russian gas supplies to Europe. This has become one of the most important factors driving inflation growth in Germany and raising expectations of gas shortages on the eve of the next autumnwinter season. Since the beginning of the year, the government has taken a number of measures in the energy sector, which, however, at the beginning of the second half of the year were only able to partially alleviate the looming crisis. The author assesses the effectiveness of German anti-crisis instruments and the prospects of maintaining a consensus in the coalition government on further steps to resolve the situation. Particular attention is paid to the conflict over the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline

System of key performance indicators as a method for executive decision-making

Key performance indicators, KPI are a proven cutting-edge tool for process productivity and staff performance monitoring. Therefore, today it is possible to find the use of this tool in the most varied spheres and industries. However, the system implementation is a long and painstaking process, which requires financial, labor and time expenditures. But in case of its successful implementation, KPI technology will provide the balance of advantage for the company management and contribute to its growth. The article presents the selection mechanism of KPI system development and implementation methods. Using key performance indicators, the organization is able to manage the process and modify it, as well as define objectives for employees and motivate them to achieve their objectives. KPIs are based on measuring quantitative benefits. Control shall be based on comprehensive and reliable information about the company’s process productivity. This is the only way to take quick management decisions, make adjustments to the operation of processes that will contribute to the achievement of strategic objectives as a whole