Theoretical and methodological foundations of rationalization of administrative activities: developing a program of reforming the national management system

part considers the problem of forming a modern model of rationality of social management and will be published in the next issue. The first part attempts to clarify the meaning of the terms "rationality" and "rationalization" in their relation to the problems of modern management and "rationalizing management technologies" in connection with the historical experience of theorizing and research in this field of science and practice. At the same time, we proceed from the idea that clarification of the term "rationalizing management technologies" is possible only through its corre-lation with the terms "rationality" and "rationalization", on the basis of theoretical and methodological approaches contained in the works of the classics of sociological thought. This position is of great theoretical, methodological and practical im-portance in connection with the research of the problem of reforming the domestic management system in the context of modern challenges by the Center for Sociology and Management of IS RAS. Speaking about the coherence of the specified terms, we consider the term "rationality" as a basic concept in relation to the later emerged term "rationalization". In addition, the term is now much more developed, clarified and unambiguous than the term "rationalization". It comes from the Latin terms ratio – reason and rationalis – reasonable . In a broad sense, the term "rational "is consid-ered in the European tradition in relation to human behavior as close in meaning to such concepts as "logically reasonable" or "scientifically justified". Particular interest in the problem of rationalization of management activity is manifested in modern Russia.