The introduction of new industrial legislation in 1987, in theformer Soviet Union, followed a policy of decentralization in whichfactories were given increased authority to seek…
Abstract
The introduction of new industrial legislation in 1987, in the former Soviet Union, followed a policy of decentralization in which factories were given increased authority to seek their own customers and suppliers, agree prices, and to engage directly in foreign trade. Additionally, from 1987, various forms of co‐operative enterprise and leasing were established, State price controls began to be lifted from many products, and the groundwork was established for a wide range of industrial assets to be converted from public to private ownership. Discusses the major features of technological change and management behaviour likely to occur in the Commonwealth of Independent States, as enterprises continue to operate in an environment of decentralization in which authority and responsibility is being transferred to them from the previous State committees and industrial ministries. Specific attention is paid to the likely effects of this decentralization on markets, innovation and quality within the Commonwealth of Independent States. Details possible changes in supplies, workforce management, and management development as the effects of decentralization are diffused throughout these areas of industrial activity.
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In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
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This article is a review of research on the theme of Soviet product quality and Soviet state standards. The first section surveys previous research by Western scholars on the…
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This article is a review of research on the theme of Soviet product quality and Soviet state standards. The first section surveys previous research by Western scholars on the topic of Soviet product quality, paying particular attention to their sources of information. This is followed by a discussion of the availability of Soviet state standards as data sources on Soviet product quality. The third section of the article consists of a case study of the use of Soviet state standards to assess product quality, paying particular attention to machine tools. The article concludes with a discussion of the results and suggests avenues for further research.
Harry Boer, Malcolm Hill and Koos Krabbendam
Although the demand for Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) isstill growing, only a few companies are reported to have operationalexperience with these systems over a long…
Abstract
Although the demand for Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) is still growing, only a few companies are reported to have operational experience with these systems over a long period. Consequently, the supposed benefits of this new technology have yet to be widely proved in practice. The research reported was carried out to evaluate the experiences of a sample of early adopters of FMS in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium, by means of longitudinal case studies. The extent to which the companies managed to achieve their FMS implementation goals is described, and the influence of technical problems, market changes and organisational pressures on goal achievement is demonstrated. It is concluded that in order to introduce and operate FMS successfully, adopters should approach FMS implementation management in a more integrated manner.
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Malcolm R. Hill and R. Peter Dickenson
Surveys the methodologies of technical assessment which have beenused to evaluate the technical level of products and processes withinthe former USSR, and are now being adapted…
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Surveys the methodologies of technical assessment which have been used to evaluate the technical level of products and processes within the former USSR, and are now being adapted for use in Russian industry in the current conditions of transition from a centrally‐planned economy. Also provides examples of the use of these methodologies, and their relationship to other research on industrial development in the former USSR. Concludes by discussing the likely future role of technical assessment and other market research techniques, within the context of the uncertain transitional conditions of the Russian economy.
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This paper draws on research recently completed by the author on the Russian power engineering industry and its capability to assimilate relevant Western technology. A case study…
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This paper draws on research recently completed by the author on the Russian power engineering industry and its capability to assimilate relevant Western technology. A case study description is provided of a large and well established company within the power engineering industry, using material gathered during visits to Russia by the author from 1994 to 1997. This information is then followed by a discussion of demand‐related factors in the business environment, and the company’s product and manufacturing strategies, including the assimilation of advanced Western technologies. This discussion is then used to define those characteristics which should support the survival of large Russian enterprises, albeit at reduced levels of capacity, focusing on issues of specific markets, products and processes rather than the debates on privatisation, liberalisation, and corporate governance which have dominated much of the Western literature.
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This monograph commences with a survey of previous publications on the concepts, volume and structure of industrial co‐operation agreements between East and West. In the context…
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This monograph commences with a survey of previous publications on the concepts, volume and structure of industrial co‐operation agreements between East and West. In the context, the term “East” refers to those socialist countries of Eastern Europe which are members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON), namely USSR, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and the German Democratic Republic (GDR); and the term (West) refers to the non‐socialist industrially developed nations of Western Europe, North America and Asia. The author presents case studies of six British engineering companies having experience of industrial co‐operation with Eastern European foreign trade organisations. The USSR has been excluded, since case studies of Anglo‐Soviet industrial co‐operation had already been published by the present author (Hill, 1978) before the commencement of the study described in this paper; and the GDR has also been excluded because of that country's comparatively low level of involvement in East/West industrial co‐operation. The case studies highlight the practical advantages and disadvantages of East‐West industrial co‐operation to British companies; this is considered to be particularly relevant since British firms may have to be more willing to engage in this type of business activity if they wish to remain in the East European market place.
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Western accounts of the industrial infrastructure of the former USSR have been frequently couched in terms of outmoded product design, particularly in the consumer goods sector;…
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Western accounts of the industrial infrastructure of the former USSR have been frequently couched in terms of outmoded product design, particularly in the consumer goods sector; technological backwardness in processes and procedures, which can give rise to quality problems and environmental catastrophe; and difficulties in the assimilation of Western technologies. In the recent conditions of a transition economy, output has fallen to crisis levels partly because of high inflation, but also because fragmentation of the former Soviet Union has led to difficulties in access to markets and supplies. Furthermore, the size and vertically integrated structures of many factories in the region, previously developed in the central planning system to gain economies of scale and to assure continuities of supply, are now regarded as inflexible and inefficient for a privatised system of supply. These technological and structural conditions consequently give rise to concerns over the future lack of international competitiveness of industrial organisations in the former USSR and their associated effects on output and employment, with consequent effects on restrictions of access to welfare facilities in the region's transition economy.
Ruth King, Malcolm Hill and John Cornforth
Describes research carried out on the financial performance andoperational management of UK subsidiaries of parent organizations basedin Eastern Europe and the former USSR…
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Describes research carried out on the financial performance and operational management of UK subsidiaries of parent organizations based in Eastern Europe and the former USSR. Summarizes earlier research when the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe were planned economies, before discussing a recent update of those earlier studies following the recent political and economic changes that have occurred in the former socialist countries. Results highlight the continuities and differences in financial performance, policies and operations of the Western subsidiaries of the former socialist multinationals. Concludes with a discussion of these results, and an evaluation of the extent of the processes of transition of these organizations from socialist multinationals to capitalist entrepreneurs.
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This paper focuses on the terms of reference of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was drafted to support environmental…
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This paper focuses on the terms of reference of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was drafted to support environmental sustainability through the mitigation of global warming. The paper provides information on the main features of the protocol, especially the commercial incentives for companies in industrialised countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Particular attention is paid to the role of the operations manager and strategist in the selection of processes, plant and equipment to meet these commercial incentives, and the location of industrial facilities under conditions of political and economic uncertainty. The paper demonstrates the importance of the political and economic factors influencing environmental investment decisions, particularly those factors which often lie outside the usual terms of reference of operations managers.