Fundamentals Of Scientific Management Of Socialist Economy

This set of four volumes is an indispensable reference work for the study of modern Russia in general and Soviet Communism in particular. Ever since its foundation on the eve of the twentieth century, the organization now called the Communist Party of the Soviet Union has been embodying its major policies in documents called 'resolutions and decisions.' These form a much more continuous and extensive record of the evolution of Soviet Communism than the writings of any single leader, and the standard Soviet anthology of these materials has gone through eight editions over a fifty-year period. Yet most of this essential material has been available only in Russian, and even in that language the standard editions have been marred by selectivity and editorial comment that is often politically motivated. At last students of modern Russian studies have access to a multi-volume work that not only presents the most important Communist Party resolutions and decisions in English, but also amplifies the standard Soviet anthology in important respects and provides editorial explanation that is independent of Kremlin politics. The rich store of materials in these four volumes ranges from the formation of the party to the fall of Khrushchev, and it deals with a wide range of issues. The clearly organized volumes each contain a major introductory essay as well as shorter background essays on each party congress, conference or Central Committee plenum. The documents approved by these meetings are often fundamental in importance, but the centralist operation of the party in power has been such that many of the most vital decisions have been issued in the name of the Central Committee when there was no meeting of that body at all. It is one of the signal achievements of these volumes that the selection of materials included was based on a list of all known part decisions, whether or not they have been included in the main Soviet reference work. The four volumes in this series are edited as an integral set. Each contains a subject index in which Russian abbreviations and acronymic names are translated. Tables summarizing the personnel of the main party executive bodies since 1917 are also provided. At the same time each of the volumes is built around a coherent period in the development of Russian Communism, and each reflects the special features of its time. Volume 5 covers Brezhnev's consolidation of power; the limits set on his rule are traced through leadership changes, institutional reforms, and policy development. The major industrial reforms, and policy development. The major industrial and agricultural reforms introduced under Brezhnev are documented, as are the struggle to implement the reforms, the resistance of managerial elites and workers, and Brezhnev's attempt to modernize the Soviet economy and improve levels of efficiency and productivity. Internal party changes reflecting the stable oligarchy that emerged after Khrushchev's removal are included, as well as Brezhnev's commitment to security of tenure for cadres and the changing nature and role of the purge. Party efforts to upgrade recruitment procedures, to change the qualitative composition of the party, to improve the procedures for ensuring routinization and responsiveness in the conduct of party business, and to upgrade the party education system are also documented. Evidence is provided of the party's struggle with corruption in the Georgian Republic and the regime's inability to cope effectively with the widespread growth of social problems. The volume conveys the flavour of oligarchic and bureaucratic politics that emerged with Brezhnev's style of leadership.

We live in a time of crises - economic turmoil, workplace disempowerment, unresponsive government, environmental degradation, social disintegration, and international rivalry. In The 99 Percent Economy, Paul S. Adler, a leading expert on business management, argues that these crises are destined to deepen unless we radically transform our economy. But despair is not an option, and Adler provides a compelling alternative: democratic socialism. He argues that to overcome these crises we need to assert democratic control over the management of both individual enterprises and the entire national economy. To show how that would work, he draws on a surprising source of inspiration: the strategic management processes of many of our largest corporations. In these companies, the strategy process promises to involve and empower workers and to ensure efficiency and innovation. In practice, this promise is rarely realized, but in principle, that process could be consolidated within enterprises and it could be scaled-up to the national level. Standing in the way? Private ownership of society's productive resources, which is the foundation of capitalism's ruthless competition and focus on private gain at the cost of society, the environment, and future generations. Adler shows how socialized, public ownership of our resources will enable democratic councils at the local and national levels to decide on our economic, social, and environmental goals and on how to reach them. The growing concentration of industry makes this socialization step ever easier. Democratic socialism is not a leap into the unknown, Adler shows. Capitalist industry has built the foundations for a world beyond capitalism and its crises.

How does the excessive bureaucratization of central planning affect politics in communist countries? Mark Beissinger suggests an answer through this history of the Soviet Scientific Management movement and its contemporary descendants, raising at the same time broader questions about the political consequences of economic systems. Beissinger traces the rise and decline of administrative strategies throughout Soviet history, focusing on the roles of managerial technique and disciplinary coercion. He argues that over-bureaucratization leads to a succession of national crises of effectiveness, which political leaders use to challenge the power of entrenched elites and to consolidate their rule. It also encourages leaders to resort to radical administrative strategies--technocratic utopias, mass mobilization, and discipline campaigns--and gives rise to a cycling syndrome, as similar problems and solutions reappear over time. Beissinger gives a new perspective and interpretation of Soviet history through the prism of organizational theory. He also provides a comprehensive history of the Soviet rationalization movement from Lenin to Gorbachev that describes the recurring attractions and tensions between politicians and management experts, as well as the reception accorded Western management techniques in the Soviet factory and management-training classroom. Beissinger uses a number of unusual sources: the personal archive of Aleksei Gastev, the foremost Soviet Taylorist of the 1920s; published Soviet archival documents; unpublished Soviet government documents and dissertations on management science and executive training; interviews with Soviet management scientists; and the author's personal observations of managers attending a three-month executive training program in the Soviet Union. Beissinger's skillful handling of this singular material will attract the attention of political scientists, historians, and economists, especially those working in Soviet studies.

In the years since the first edition of the "Guide" was published, the research institutions of the academies of sciences of the USSR and the republics have undergone several, sometimes radical, reorganizations and reaffiliations. This guide to academy institutions supplies names, addresses, and historical, research, and organizational profiles for each institution, with summary information on staffing, current projects, special facilities, and libraries. The end of the Cold War has brought with it many changes of attitude and policy in the political arena; however, nowhere has change been so emotionally charged as in the area of politically-based emigration. Refugee policy is the driving force behind many of today's headlines, influencing both foreign and domestic policy. In Desperate Crossings, authors Norman L. and Naomi Flink Zucker chronicle and analyze the phenomenon of mass escape that began with the Haitians, but exploded into the American consciousness in the spring of 1980 with the Mariel boatlift and the subsequent mass exodus from Central America, and was most recently manifested in the Haitian and Cuban exoduses of 1994. In a compelling and carefully documented narrative, they identify the troika of interests - foreign policy, domestic pressures, and costs - that have controlled and determined the American response to refugees since before the Second World War, continuing until today. Desperate Crossings concludes by proposing a comprehensive and politically palatable approach to future refugee flows, both in our hemisphere and for the world community-at-large - including Europe and Asia. The authors suggest how, by changing the course of its refugee policies and programs, the United States can better respond to both the needs of refugees and the demands of its citizens.

Featuring nearly 500 entries, and including a detailed contextual introduction, this major new reference work pulls together many years of research in order to present a landmark bio-bibliographic dictionary of Russian and Soviet economists.