Edward Elgar Publishing MANAGEMENT AND INDUSTRY IN RUSSIA: Formal and Informal Relations in the Period of Transition

Management and Industry in Russia is a major examination of production relations in Russian industry during the transition process. Using a series of authoritative and thorough case studies, the authors focus on the gap between formal and informal relations in the work place, a key feature of traditional Soviet industrial production. Focusing on four contrasting regions in Russia - Moscow, Samara, Kuzbass and the Komi Republic - an experienced group of researchers has used a wide range of qualitative and ethnographical research methods to explore production relations in the Soviet enterprise. The research is based on a series of longitudinal case studies of between two and four enterprises in each region. The economic, social and political developments in each region have also been monitored. Each of the papers in this collection focuses on one aspect of life in a post-Soviet enterprise which it places in the context of the interaction of formal and informal relations in production. The areas discussed include the Soviet system of production, attitudes to work, the specificity of Soviet production, paternalism in state management, the role of women, the role of middle management and the continuing importance of the plan and pay systems. Review ’. . . a sociological study concerning connections between formal and informal activity, effectively pries open the black boxes, shedding much-welcome light on the monitored enterprises. All in all, Management and Industry in Russia is a stimulating volume that suggests new hypotheses about the nature of Russian transition, while serving as useful reminder that it is often those factors that are absent from official statistics that are decisive for reform.’ About the Author Edited by Simon Clarke, Professor of Sociology, University of Warwick, UK and Scientific Director, Institute for Comparative Labour Relations Research (ISITO), Moscow, Russia