A riddle wrapped in an enigma: Demystifying Russian managerial motivation

Western business people are eager to penetrate the vast Russian market that has opened up following the breakup of the Soviet Union and the fall of communism. Yet, many are discovering that their Russian contacts are like the ‘riddle wrapped in an enigma’ that Winston Churchill called Russia in decades past. Using a framework of five components of motivation, Sheila Puffer explains how Russian managers think and act in three time periods: the autocrat in pre-revolutionary tsarist times, comrade communist from the Russian revolution of 1917 to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the emergent entrepreneur in the fledgling market-oriented economy of the 1990s.     

Risk analysis of PCB exposure via the soil-food crop pathway, and alternatives for remediation at Serpukhov, Russian Federation.

A risk assessment was conducted to determine the likelihood of certain health risks resulting from exposure to soils and food crops contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs). PCBs have contaminated soils, river sediments, and air in the past as a result of industrial activities at a capacitor plant located in the City of Serpukhov, Russian Federation. This risk assessment and suggestions for remediation are designed to aid in decision-making efforts by a joint Russian-American research team developing a community, national, and international response to industrial contamination. Bobovnikova et al. (The Science of the Total Environment 139/140, 357-364, [1993]) have reported that PCBs are elevated in soils and sediments, breast milk, and locally grown foods in the Serpukhov area. Data from these and other investigators have been used in this risk assessment to calculate a potential cancer risk resulting from exposure to PCBs. Our assessment indicates that members of the local population may be at increased risk of cancer, and possibly other adverse health effects, as a result of PCB contamination of their environment. Because previously unassessed environmental contamination is a common problem in the former Soviet Republics, as well as many other areas of the world, we believe this type of evaluation, using known methods, can serve as a model for assessment efforts in other parts of the globe and result in remediative efforts in regions constrained by faltering economies.     

The impact of key success factors on company performance

This article presents the results of a large scale survey taken among U.S. manufacturers of mature industrial products. The results of the study indicated that within each product/market there are some tasks which are more important (i.e. critical) than others for success—success being defined as outperforming the competition in terms of profitability. The results also showed that different product/market areas have different critical success factors, but the more similar they are in their make-up the more similar their key success factors tend to be.     

Production technology and management in planned and market economies

This paper discusses how technological innovation takes place in manufacturing industry, and especially in the engineering sector, contrasting in particular the effects of the Western market economy, and the East European planned economy. The relative lack of cross-influence between formal scientific research and actual industrial innovation practice in this area is first discussed. Comparative studies of engineering practice in planned and market economies are described which point to the important influence of the economic environment on innovation practice in the factory's design office, and on the shop-floor. The East European Soviet Type Economy is seen to have features which in the light of recent Western empirical studies into industrial innovation, must hamper this process. In particular it is proposed that its relative economic and social rigidity has an important restricting influence on the actual process of innovation in the factory.     

Risk Analysis of PCB Exposure via the Soil–Food Crop Pathway, and Alternatives for Remediation at Serpukhov, Russian Federation

A risk assessment was conducted to determine the likelihood of certain health risks resulting from exposure to soils and food crops contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs). PCBs have contaminated soils, river sediments, and air in the past as a result of industrial activities at a capacitor plant located in the City of Serpukhov, Russian Federation. This risk assessment and suggestions for remediation are designed to aid in decision-making efforts by a joint Russian–American research team developing a community, national, and international response to industrial contamination. Bobovnikova et al. ( The Science of the Total Environment 139/140 , 357–364, [1993]) have reported that PCBs are elevated in soils and sediments, breast milk, and locally grown foods in the Serpukhov area. Data from these and other investigators have been used in this risk assessment to calculate a potential cancer risk resulting from exposure to PCBs. Our assessment indicates that members of the local population may be at increased risk of cancer, and possibly other adverse health effects, as a result of PCB contamination of their environment. Because previously unassessed environmental contamination is a common problem in the former Soviet Republics, as well as many other areas of the world, we believe this type of evaluation, using known methods, can serve as a model for assessment efforts in other parts of the globe and result in remediative efforts in regions constrained by faltering economies.     

发展战略、休克疗法与经济转型

本文构筑了一个两部门的动态一般均衡模型,对前苏联和东欧国家实施"休克疗法"转型后产量大幅下降以及产业结构深度重组的现象给出了一个全新的理论解释。在转型前,政府采用扭曲性政策扶持重工业部门,新上台的政府试图采用"休克疗法"尽快取消这些扭曲性政策。结果是,失去政策扶持的重工业部门回报率下降,可流动的生产要素从该部门流出,导致其他非流动性的生产要素出现闲置和废弃,最终可能导致总产出下降。我们给出了"休克疗法"以后经济转型的数值模拟例子,结果表明,一个国家在转型之前的经济扭曲程度越高,其产出下降的幅度就越大;而且,在相同的扭曲程度下,相对落后的国家在转型后的经济恢复速度会更快;另外,我们的模型也能预测转型后产业结构的大幅度调整。     

Reinvigorating stalled CQI efforts through physician involvement

Continuous quality improvement (CQI), loosely synonymous with total quality management (TQM), was designed for the comparatively simple world of industry. Now that the gurus of CQI have attempted--originally with full support of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)--to apply the industrial CQI model to hospitals, they've noticed something: The model doesn't work, and hospital CQI programs are faltering enough to persuade the Joint Commission to scale back its CQI accreditation requirements. One major shortcoming behind the performance to date of CQI in hospitals: Physicians don't fit into the industrial model of CQI. Physicians are too important, and too many programs are stalled, to continue to implement CQI as though physicians don't exist. The techniques described here should help to reinvigorate faltering programs, giving hospital management a chance to "do it right the second time."     

基于元胞自动机模型的产业集群规模演化初探

本文旨在从复杂性系统的角度出发,运用元胞自动机模型和计算辅助语言,以产业集群规模演化为研究对象,选取进入资金、集群市场结构、地域环境、企业风险偏好、企业竞合关系等为主要控制参量,建立CA扩展模型,模拟不同关键控制参量变化对产业集群规模的影响,并基于实验结果,提出相关的政策建议。     

An information system for Just-In-Time

In recent years, U.S.'s worldwide industrial and economic leadership has been seriously challenged by many foreign countries. In order to counter the problem, many U.S. manufacturing companies have sought effective materials management systems such as MRP and the ‘Just-In-Time’ (JIT) system as used by many Japanese companies. Even through many practitioners and academicians have been studying the JIT concept and have recommended ways of adapting the concept to the U.S. manufacturing environment, not very many organizations are enjoying benefits of JIT system in full scale because of misunderstanding of information needs in JIT system. The objectives of this paper are (1) to identify information requirements of the materials management systems under JIT concept, (2) to compare them against the requirements under MRP system, and (3) to propose an integrated management information system to support materials management system in JIT environment. The goal of this paper is to facilitate more effective implementation of the JIT system, and stimulate further research on the subject matter.     

Corporate planning in developing economies

The critical factor in industrial planning in developing economies is the effective implementation of national or regional plans at the individual industrial enterprise level. This article focuses upon the ‘state of the art’ of corporate planning in developing countries and, having considered the difficulties and opportunities for improvement, suggests guidelines for a constructive assistance programme based on the development of planning in terms of progressive modular steps which may be introduced one at a time depending upon individual needs and other local circumstances.     

Quality circles—Are they working in British factories?

A survey of Quality Circle programmes in British manufacturing companies reveals that Circles introduced and used properly with full management and trade union support can and do work and have many benefits. The findings suggest that current management attitudes and actions are more detrimental to the establishment and success of a circle programme than that of the trade unions. Based on the findings, indications are made of the factors which will assist companies who are considering the introduction of a Quality Circle programme and also help those companies currently using Circles to make and keep them effective.     

An integrated response to trauma in three post office businesses

Abstract

This paper looks at the way the UK Post Office has developed a core trauma care programme that is capable of being adapted to meet the needs of three of its businesses. The core programme includes an introductory stage that is involved in the selection and education of the workforce and the promotion of the programme; crisis management; manager debriefing; psychological debriefing; trauma counselling; and a final stage involving the evaluation of the programme and following up traumatized employees. The core programme was tailored to the needs of each of the three Post Office businesses, using information on the business operation, culture and policies of the businesses in the light of the nature and range of the traumatic incidents that affect their workforce.     

Cost accounting in manufacturing: dawn of a new era

Abstract

Advances in the technology of manufacturing planning, control and operation have made conventional cost accounting practices not only obsolete but dangerous. As a portion of total factory cost, direct labour costs have declined dramatically due to improved quality materials, fewer interruptions, automation and robotics. Overhead costs, conversely, have increased greatly and the fixed components now predominate. Charts of accounts contain many trivial items and lack those now considered very important. This article presents the needed revisions.     

Corporate Ideology – Meanings and Contradictions for Middle Managers

This paper describes an investigation into corporate ideology and control and the responses of the ‘middle managers’ in a large engineering corporation. The paper explores the creation of meaning and values in the organization through a large‐scale ‘corporate values’ programme aimed at 1500 middle managers, and asks to what extent the priorities of these managers match those of the organization, and whether the creation of meaning through an ideological values programme carries risks that have not been considered by the organization adopting this approach. The findings suggest six individual response types amongst the delegates on the programme: ‘evangelists’, ‘actors’, ‘sceptics’, ‘open cynics’, ‘critical thinkers’ and ‘untouched professionals’. The influences upon these responses are considered, and a number of key factors identified as important in affecting perceptions of and response to the programme. The paper concludes that today more than ever, corporate ideologies are becoming an increasingly dominant influence on our organizations, causing mixed and confused responses amongst the middle managers who are required to disseminate these messages.     

The social and psychological causes of inflation

It appears that it is no longer possible for the rate of inflation in Britain and other advanced industrial economies to be controlled by the traditional macro- economic reglators, at least within the limits imposed by other politico-economic goals (such as the maintenance of an acceptable level of unemployment). This has led many to look for explanations of inflation beyond economic analysis: in the psychology of wage and salary earners; in the changing class structure of our society; in the changing loci of power and means of exercising power; and in our systems of labour relations and pay determination.The author's organization (PEP—Political and Economic Planning) have just come to the end of a programme of research concerned with the contribution that non- economic perspectives can make to an understanding of the process of inflation. The author has been focusing upon the pressure on pay and has carried out two studies designed to explore the forces contributing to the apparent increase in the demand for pay increases and the conviction that these are legitimate among wage and salary earners. This article describes his findings.     

Corporate planning— A personal viewpoint

The theme running through this article is a plea for realism in the preparation of corporate plans. The author outlines his views on corporate planning: the steps taken by the Greater London Council to introduce corporate planning supported by a programme budgeting system are described, and a summary is given of how the planning process operates.

The effect of the current industrial, financial and economic difficulties on corporate plans is discussed, and a note of warning sounded about the utility under present circumstances of corporate planning.     

产业特征、空间竞争与制造业地理集中——来自中国的经验证据

本文通过对影响我国产业地理集中的决定因素建立了一个基于产业特征分析的空间竞争理论框架,并通过对1995~2003年间中国28个两位数制造业的面板数据的计量检验,得出一些启示性结论:第一,传统的劳动力等比较优势逐渐成为抑制中国制造业地理集中的主要因素;第二,我国制造业地理集中主要由产业的技术偏好、市场规模和产业关联等因素推动,制造业地理集中表现出较为明显的区域技术外溢效应,临近区域之间的后向关联效应较强;第三,产业的规模经济特征的作用效果不明显。规模经济特征一方面限制了产业空间集中,另一方面又抑制了产业的扩散,但总的来说,具有微弱的促进产业空间集中趋势。     

Stuck between Surplus and Shortage: Demand for Skills in Russian Industry

In order to remain competitive, firms need to keep the quantity and composition of jobs close to optimal for their given output. Since the beginning of the transition period, Russian industrial firms have been widely reporting that the quantity and composition of hired labour is far from being close to optimal. This paper discusses what kinds of firms in the Russian manufacturing sector are unable to optimize their employment and why. The main conclusion is that the key issue is an excess of non‐viable firms and a shortage of highly efficient firms because of weak selection mechanisms. The major solution is seen in creating institutional conditions that stimulate a more efficient reallocation of labour. The analysis presented in this paper is based on data from a large‐scale survey of Russian manufacturing firms.     

基于厂商理论的区域产业边界和最优要素配置结构

区域经济发展核心是产业结构优化升级和资源的优化配置。在全球经济结构亟待优化升级和要素资源呈现不同层次紧缺的大背景下,如何合理配置和引导区域资源配置,优化产业发展方向,确定包括新兴产业在内的产业发展战略,是每一个地区新形势下面临的重要问题。一方面,在经济全球化和零边际成本趋势驱动下,区域产业发展不再局限于区域内部资源禀赋,资源流动性加强,区域产业发展的选择更加广泛和灵活;另一方面,资源日益短缺和经济快速发展推动了劳动力成本和资本成本上升,产业的生产要素配置也随之变化。基于厂商理论,将区域作为市场经济中的生产主体,在考虑区域交易成本和生产要素成本的基础上,构建区域产业边界模型和产业的最佳要素配置结构模型,开创了资源和商品全球化趋势下的产业升级战略的研究范式,探索了成本约束下的产业生产要素优化配置模式,为经济新常态下的区域产业升级战略和资源配置研究提供理论指引,为区域制定个性化的产业发展战略提供实践依据,同时对零边际成本社会趋势下的产业格局进行了初步的探索。研究得出：产业边界能够在一定程度下反映区域产业长期演化趋势,在完全市场经济下产业边界是产业发展的最优规模;区域产业的要素配置格局取决于产业的资源占用和资源贡献情况,最优配置结构受各要素的相对贡献率和相对成本影响;产业边界与成本的关系取决于规模经济与否,在规模经济状态下与生产成本成正相关关系,与交易成本成负相关关系;大部分地区的农业有较大提升空间,最佳资源配置方案是加大机械动能投入。