This book, first published in 1984, is the first systematic attempt in English to produce an analytical as well as a descriptive outline of the operations, management and role of the Soviet industrial enterprise. The microeconomics of central planning is a relatively neglected area of analysis with most effort being directed towards the theory of economic incentives. This book fills that gap by presenting an integrated view of the theory of the socialist firm. It concentrates on the day-to-day activities of the Soviet enterprise, and uses a wealth of unused Soviet data to project its findings.

Study of management activities at the enterprise level in USSR industries. The problem for managers is to combine central economic planning of the collective economy and local level decision making. Wage incentives and profits. Management attitudes during planning process. Personnel management, an occupational sociology problem. Significant comparisons with management activities in the USA.

An examination of production relations in Russian industry during the transition process. Using case studies, the focus is on the gap between formal and informal relations in the work place, a key feature of traditional Soviet industrial production.