JPRS ID: 10624 USSR REPORT CONSUMER GOODS AND DOMESTIC TRADE
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J P r~S L/10624
30 JuNE 1~82
- USSR Re ort
~
CONSUMER GOODS AND DOMESTIC TRADE
CFOUO 3/82)
FBIS FOREIGN BROADCAST IN~ORMAT~ON SERVICE
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JPRS L'/.10624
30 June 1982
USSR REPORT
CONSUMER ~OOD~ AND DOMESTIC TRADE
(~'ouo 3/82)
. CONTENTS
HOUSING AND PERSONAI~ SERVICE~
Rural Residence Designs Require Updating, Improvement
(V. Stern; VOPROSY EKONOMIKI, No 1, 1982) ...........e.. 1
- CQNSUMPTION TRENDS AND POLICTES
- Improvement of Quality, Assortment in Consumer Goods Stressed
(Ya. Orlov; VOPROSY Env~v~!IKI, No 1, 1982 ) . . . . 12
Expansion of Conswmer Servicing in BAM Regions Planned
(V. Dmitriyev; VOPROSY EKONOMIKI, Feb 82) 25
New Book Swmnarizes F.xperience With Quality Control
Systems
(Mikhail Yevseyevich Zomazov, V1acL.mi.r Andreyevi.ch
Shvandar; ROST PROIZVODSTVA I POVYSHII~I2YE KACHESTVA
TOVAROV NAROTJNOGO POTREB7~ENIYA, 1981) 36
- a - [III - USSR - 38b FOUO]
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HOUSING AND PERSONAL SER'VICES
RURAL RESIDENCE DESIGNS REQUIRE UPDATING, IMPROVEM~,'N'T
Moscow VOPROSY EKONOMIKI in Russian No 1, 1982 pp 70-79
~ [Article by V. Stern: "The Development of Rural Housing Construc~ion"]
[Text] The resolution of the housing problem in accordance with plans will be of
great economic, social and political img^?r%ance. Rural housing con.struction is
closely related to the successful fulfillment of the food program. The existence
of well-equipped housing affects migration patterns and aids in the formation of
stable labor colle~tives on sovkhozes and kolkhozes. The settlement of rural
families in homes with out-buildings for the maintenance of livestock and po~iltry
- and with private plots stimulates private farming activity, and this adds consider-
ably to the national agricultural produ~t. A total of 25 billion rubles was allo-
cated by the state and kolkhozes for housing, cultural and consumer construction
in rural ~reas in the lOth Five-Year Plan, and a 39-percent increase in these
expenditures is envisaged in the llth Five-Year Plan.
There are material prerequsites for the improvement of housing conditior_su The
"Fundamentals of Hou~ing Legislation of the USSR and Union Republics," drawn up
- in accordance with tY?e provisions of the Constitution of the USSR, will be taken
~ into account when hou~zing codes are compiled in the union republics. They will
aid in securing the right of citizens to housing and in the efficient use and pro-
tection of t?ousing. The augmentation of rural housing is distinguished by cerLain
f eatures stemming from the lifestyle of rural families, the regional and ethnic
- practices and traditions of the population and the possibilities for the extPnsive
use of local resources in construction.
The comprehensive approach to housing construction requires the consideration of
the social aspects of construction as well as technieal and economic factors. An
integral program of rural housing construction, taking all possible economic situ-
ations and social consequences into account, is essential. What is needed is not
simply a change of proportions in the accumulated portion of national income (in
- f avor of non-production ac~umulation), but the improvement of the economic mechanism
- and methods of management, the discovery and utilization of internal reserves and
the closer coordination of plans with economic incentives, with a view to the
regional conditions of housing construction.
Around 30 percent of the housing construction pro~ects completed in the lOth Five-
Year Plan (106 million square meters) were in rural locations (the rural population
accounts for 37 percent of the total). Differences in urban and rural volumes of
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housing construction stem from a number of factors, particularly the growing ~eo-
nomic potential of the country's eastern regions, the development of large terri-
torial production complexes in these regions,.the relat,ed redistribution of labor
resources and changes in migration patterns and the birth of new cities and settle-
inerits, accompanied by an overall reduction in the rural population. Another factot
is the underfulf illment of rural housing construction plans in the last decade,
which was due to the reduced volume of individual residential construction, financed
by the population and with the aid of state credit (from 58 percer~t of the total in
1971 to 40 percent in 1979).
This tendency cannot be regarded as normal because it occurred at a time of uninter-
rupted growth in state and kolkhoz housing canstruction (the average annual volumes
of housing construction financed by kolkhozAs and the state was 2 million square
meters greater in the lOth Five-Ye~r Plan than in the Ninth). 'I'he growth of state
and kolkhoz constr~:ction. has not compensated for the drop in individual construction.
- In 1971 new housing (finaneed by all sourc~es) totaled 34.7 million square meters,
but in 1977 the figure had dropped to 30.7 million, and in 1979 it was 28.8 million.
- Individual construction took the biggest drop in remote regiens with a negative
- balance of rural migration (for exa~ple, the number of rural inhabitants in several
oblasts of the RSFSR nonchernozem z~ne decreased by araund 28-30 percent in the
9 years between the latest all-union censuses). In the RSFSR as a whole, the pro-
- portion of individual construction dropped from 52 to 20 percent during this period
and the level also dropped in Belorussia, Latvia and Estonia. In Lithuania indi-
vidual construction accounts for 58 percent of the total.
In regions with a large agra~~ian population the level of individual construction has
risen ur stayed the same: It accounts for 85 percent of the total in the Turkmen
SSR and 80 percent in Tajikistan. The level has stayed the same in Uzbekistan and
has dropped only slightly in the Kirghiz and Kszakh SSR's. The highest proportional
_ levels of individual construction are found in Moldavia (90 percent) and the Trans-
caucasian republics.
There are several reasons for the regional differences in volumes of individual
- housing constructioz: A significant factor in remote regions is thP psychological
- preference of inhabitants for state or kolkhoz~ ho~~Wing. In some remote regions a
preference for individual construction stems from ethnic traditions.l The same
factors inhit~it the development of individual construction in almost all areas:
the inadequate supply af construction materials in the market, the low impact of
available crPdit azd the insufficient aid offered to builders by self-funding
entities--sovkhozes and kolkhozes. It is no coincid~nce, for example, that indi-
cators of new individual construction are always much higher in Lithuania, where
- builders are consistently aided, +than in neighboring republics. Experience has
shown that the possibilities for independent housing construction in rural areas
. have not been exhausted.
The need for m.~re rural housing arises in connection with higher housing stanc?ards,
the need to replace housing which is dilapidated or has been damaged in natural
disasters and the mi~ration of the inhabitants of the smallest settlements and vil-
lages to sovkhoz and kolkhoz settlements. Around half of the new housing covers
the natural decrease in available housing (simple reproduction) and the rest repre-
sents the net incremenL (around 1 square meter per person in 5 years).
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Since 1965 more than S00 million square meters of new housing has been constructed
in rural areas. In other words,~the housing conditions of almost one out of every
three rural families have impraved. As a result, the housing supply of the rural
population is greater than in che cities, on the average (13.3 square meters per
- per~on in 19ti0). Regional averages fluctuate widely. Only one-fifth of the best-
equipped state housing has the full range of facil~ties (water, sewage, heat and
gas pipes). Kolkhoz housing has less conveniences and individual homes of ten havE
none of the abovementioned supply lines or only the simplest of systems.
The new individual and kolkhoz houses are one- and two-story buildings. In state
construction, on the other hand, multistory buildings account for a high percentage
of the total. For example, more than 20 percent af the buildings are from three to
f ive stories. The highest pereentage of four- and five-story residential buil3ings
is fou~d in industrial areas (up to 50 percent), which is due to the use of the
~ urban residential construction base. The construction of more multi-family dwell-
, ing~ in rural areas is restricting the sca3.es of private subsidiary farming~ The
operational costs of maintaining the centralized networks and installations needed
for these k.inds of structures in the small settlement are quite high.
Construction can be made more economical by a higher level of prefabricated build-
ing construction (reaching 60-80 percent in the case of completely prefabricated
homes). Completely prefabricated buildings (made of panels, large external bl~cks
and interior rcom and apartment modules) account for around 25 percent2 of the
state housing constructed in r~aral areas, 50 pereent of the residences are made of
smaller construction elements (brick and stone) and 25 per~ent are made of wood and
other materials.
- The estimated cost of residential buildings hz.s risen in recent years due to higher
wages in conetruction, the higher cost of some materials and the higher level of
rural housing comfort envisaged in new designs. For example, duxing the Ninth Five-
Year Plan the rural housing estimated cost index rose 16 p~ints in comparison to
the previous five-year plan, but the rise for wooden structures was 22 points.3
~ This tendency was~apparent to some degree in the lOth Five-Year Plan and it will
~ continue �:o be apparent in the near future.
The estimated cost of housing construction depends on a mumber of factors. On the
_ one hand, there are the constantly rising requirements with regard to conveniences,
sanitary and hygienic standards and the aesthetic appearance of housing (sanitary
engineering facilities, a more decorative exterior, built-in furniture, etc.);
besides this, there are the ri:;i,ng overhead co~ts of some structures, materials and
machinery due to the higher cost of energy. On the other hand, the use of scien-
tific and technical achievements in construction (more prefabricated and factory-
finished buildings, the mechanization of plant and con$truction site operations and
the use of light-weight efficient structures ~equiring less metal and other mater-
ials) and the improvement of residenti~l designs and of systems of organization and
management are augmenting labor productivity and lowering constructior. costs. As
yet, however, the factors increasing the estimated cost of housing are having a
greater impact than cost-reducing factors. This is why the growth rate of capital
investments in new rural housing will continue r~ .xceed the physical housing
increment.
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The prevailing method of operation in rural housing construction is work by non-
' specialized organizations without a developed produ~tion dase. The contracted work
performed by the Ministry of Rural Construction, the Ministry of Land Reclamation
and Water Resources and interkolkhoz c~nstruction organizations a..counts for only
ot?e-third of the new housing, which is due to the inadequate capacities of contract-
< ing organizations and the manpower shortage.
The integral program must stipulate two main interrelated objectives. Firstly, the
growth of estimated housing costs must be minimized by factors contributing to the
conservation of societal resources. Secondly, larger operational volumes will
necessitate the use of local resources for construction materials and the optimal
combination of various forms of construction work.
From the standpoint of labor, material, resource, energy and other requirements,
construction is a labor-intensive and material-intensive branch. The fur.ction of
architectual desigr~s f(A) is often represented in the form of the "mint-max" formula:
f(A) = maximuui function and aesthetics
minimum materials and labor
In other words, the problem consists in deriving maximum results (corresponding to
social standards, construction specif ications and hou~ing quality, hygiene and
aesthetic requirements) with minimum resource expenditures. These expenditures are
estima*_ed with a view to embodied labor (ccnstruction m~terials, finished items and ~
mecinani,sms), live labor and "future" labor--the annual cost of maintaining the
structure. Consequently, resource expenditures must be reduced during the stages
of the construction and expansion of the material and technical base of construc-
tion, the manu~facture of struetures and components and their delivery to the con-
struction site, the erection of buildings and the operation of the completed
facilities.
Planning improvements are connected with various facets of rural housing: archi-
tectural designs, the choice of materials and struc~ures, the technology of produc-
tioz and the erection process. In other words, the architectural-design-technology
system of rural housing (AKTS), the formation of which is affected by.a number of
specif ic conditions, requires optimization.
The architectural design~ of resid~nces are drawn up with a view to the living con-
ditions of the rural family, its demographic composition, the praetice of private
- farming, ethnic traditions and the environment. A11 of these factors determine the
size and layout of housing, its structure, the number of stories, the location of
summer accommodations (decks, porches, etc.) and the number of auxiliary facilities
(cellars, 3asements, storage rooms, etc.). Attempts to take public needs into
account more fully have giver~ rise to ~ large variety of building designs, differ-
ing in the conditions of habitatioz ~apartment buildings, dormitories, boarding
houses, homes for the elderly, etc.), the layout (duplexes, subdivided homes, the
= courtyard structure, row houses and detached hom2s, as well as different comb ina-
tions of these layouts), the number of stories, the location of private farming
areas, the level of conveniences and the types of supply lines.
In accordance with the Constitution of the USSR, state ~olicy in the area of housing
construction envisages "the promotion of cooperative and individual housing
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construction." In view of the effect of architectural designs on the conditions of
- private farming by rural families, another constitutional provision must also be
taken into account--"the pro~otion of private farming by citizens."4 At the July
(1978) CPSU Central Committee Plenum, L. I. Brezhnev remarked: "Rural constiuction
should obviously be planned with a view to providing families, whene~~er possible,
with comfortable and well-equipped separate dwellings with private plots.... It
will be extremely important to promote the development of individual and coopera-
tive housing construction through the efforts of the rural population."5
_ On the whole, rural residences will continue to have few stories in the future
(one or two stories or one story with an attic), will have summer and other ~auxili-
ary additions and access to private farming areas, will allow for the horizontal or
vertical augmentation of living space as families grow and will be accessible to
supply lines (hot and cold running water, sewage systems and heat and gas suppZies),
from local systems (group or autonomous) as well as ~entralized ones. The con-
struction of multi-family subdivided buildings in rural areas is only expEdient on
a limited scale: on the condition t1~at they are intended for small families not
_ engaged in private farming and that there is no other available construction site
and the adjacent agricul.tural lands are of greater value.6 Designers must consider
the capacities of t.he Qxisting industrial base of residential construction. For
- example, many four- and five-story subdivided buildings are being erected in rural
areas in Moscow, Leningrad and other oblasts. He~-a_~ it would be better to gradually
- incorporate capacities for the construction of smaller homes.
The designs of xural homes are distinguished by their architectural layout and
number of stories, the smaller loads of support structures, the extensive oppor-
tunities for the use of local resources and mat~rials made of them in the construc-
_ tion process, the specific techn~logy of building and folk architectural traditions,
which are taken into account in the AKTS.
The choice of materials and structures depends on ove:head costs, transport condi-
tions and the methods used to assemble materials on the construction site. The
total freight shipped for rural projects in the next 5 years will exceed a billion
tons. The reduction of material requirements will lower shipping expenses. It
will also be important to conserve metal, cement and wood and, besides this, fuel
resources in thermal processing of raw materials and the manufacture of structural
components.
The integral program ~or the development of rural housing construction must stipu-
late regional scales of local resource utilization and the need fQr shipments of ~
materials and other items from other areas. These matters are connected with the
general system of conservation, the incorporation of scientific and technical
~ achievements in construction and the directions and scales of the development of
the rural construction industry on the local level. Obviously, one of the general
guidelines to be followed in the design of rur~l homes should be the combination
_ of industrial structures with local materials. If the appropriate construction
b:~se, roads and means of transport exlst, large-panel (with panels the size of a
house wall) or prefabricated modular (with modules in .the form of complete rooms
or apartments) construction will be expedient. Light-weight materials and effective
ins~lation of the "'sandwich" type are used in these structures. In the absence of
these conditions, it will be necessary to make extensive use of traditional mater-
ials, but with the addition of modern production technology.
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It is probably inexpedient to use a reinforced cancrete framework, made of Portland
cement, in the construction of small homes. These structures require considerable
expenditures of materials, technical and labor resources, heat and electricity.
They can be replaced with pozz:;olana sheetrock and gypsum-lime block structures.
With these materials and new equipment, parts can be shaped without any subsequent
~ hydrothermal treatment. Besides this, cement expenditures in the first case are
only one-half or even one-third as high as expenditures on conventional concrete,
and cement is not used at all jr~ the second case. The use of light-�aggregate
porous concretes, espec~all_y those made with the use of limestone, ~lso seems
~ quite promising. Thev ~eigh only about half as much.as the widely used kermazit
concrete, the estimated cost of structures is approximately 30-35 percent lower
per square meter of wall surface and the capital investments in conventional raw
materials are 1.4 times as great. It is convenient to use brick in walls in almost
all areas. The replacement of manual bricklaying with the use of vibrobrick blocks
and panels reduces labor expenditures. It requires 7.5 times as much labor to use
separate bricks in the construction of a building than to use industrially produced
brick structures, and the estimated cost of the seeond type of building is 20 per-
cent lower. The use of concrete slab, shaped in industrial casings with the use of
the simplest machines and mechanisms, has proved effective in rural areas. This
minimizes the cost of establishing a material and technical base and lowers road
quality requirements because only dry mixtures and a casing (which is reusatile) are
taken to the construction site. In regions with a developed extractive industry
~ and primary processing branches, there is an economic advantage in using their
waste products and secondary resources in construction.
Prefabricated woodeu housing has a great future. There a.re enough trees in the
country to produce 80 billion cubic meters of wood and the annual increment exceeds
1 percent of the existing reserve. This is twice as high as projected average
= annual consumption.~ A special decree of the CPSU Central Committee and USSR
Council of Ministers "OL~ the Further Development of the In-Plant Production of
Wooden Panels and Sets of Wooden Components for Hou$es from Local Materials for
Rural Housing Construction" (October 1979) envisages the use of progress�ive tech-
nology and higher technical standards in the production of wooden pax~el hom~s.
This kind of construction is expected to account for one-fourth of new rural housing.
, The same quantity of homes built of local materials will be equipped with. setis of
plant-produced wooden trim elements. The production of homes is based or the
principles of assembly line technology with the maximum stan~ardization of parts
and components. The labor requirements (in the plant and in the assembly process)
of a wooden home are only one-third or one-fourth as high as those of a prefabri-
cated home with a ferroconcrete framp. The light weight of wooden structures makes
~their long-distance shipment expedient.8 Along with the development of the wood
chemistry complex in regions with a surplus of lumber, it ~~iould also be expedient
- to build log and shingle houses, partieularly in individual construction with wood
paid fo: at the so-called per-stump price.
Adobe is still being used in southern reg~ons with a relatively dry climate, despite
the high labor requirements of its preparation. The industri~l production and
transport of adobe (such as, for exampi~= rush pres~board) are not practiced.
_ Nevertheless, expenditures could be reduced on the construction site through Che
mechanization of several operatians (the cutting of vegetable components, the for-
mation of blocks and the air-drying process). The advantage of adobe buildings
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is that they do not conduct much heat (they are warm in cold weather and cool in
the heat) and no energy resources in *he preparation of the structures. The .
hygienic and aesthetic properties of adobe homes could be heightened thraugh the
use of modern trim, brick facing, etc.
- The mass production of prefabricated building elements in plants must be combined
, with the use of the simpiest construction machinery. and mechanisms, including
those in the possession of the builder--the sovkhoz or kolkhoz. This will reduce
_ the capital ~equirements of construction.
Housing construction can t~e accelerated and production costs can be lowered by the
better organization and management of the construction contracting system, the
more extensive use of the self-funding mechanism and the combination of these two
methods of construction. It must be said that, on the one hand, the b iggest problem
is the shortage of personnel for the contract:Lng method, but on the other hand it is
- precisely the client--the agricultural enterprise--that often has a sizeabZe supply
_ (or reservz) of manpower thar could be used in self-�funded housing construction
~ without det-racting from basic production~
The seasonal r~ature of iarming is dictated by agricultural production's dependence
' on natural f~,ctors. The seasonal fluctuations iu labor expenditures (in percent-
ages of the average annual level) range from 71 to 123 percent on vegetable farms
and 45 to 192 percent on cotton farms, while the range in poul.try factories is only
from 91 to 109 percent. In general, the use of labor resources in kolkhoz farming
between November and April is only equivalent to 30 percent of the annual total.
In 1977, 23.3 million people were engaged in agri~ulture but ~he average annual
number of workers was estimated at 11 million. During this per~.od, sovkhozes and
kolkhozes do not use all of their machinery. Working time is primarily under-
utilized during the coldest time of year. However, many of the operations involved
_ in the construction of small residences could be performed in early spring and late
fa11. The efficient use of labor resources in the branch for self-funded con-
struction projects would largely guarantee the completion of the planned quantity
of new housing each year. This would require the pronision of sovkhoz and kolkhoz
construction subdivisions with more fixed capital (including equipment for small-
scale mechanization).
The social program in housing const.ruction is based on the need to satisfy the
population's constantly rising requirements. The exercise of the right to housing
depends on public purchasing power, forms and terms of credit and the distribution
of sources of family income (including income from private farming) among social
groups. The program also envisages better conditions for population reproductxon,
for the encouragement of workers to remain in rural areas, for the employment of
more second family members, etc.).
The plans to develop individual and cooperative housing construction in rural
areas will require the efficient coordination of state, organizational and indi-
vidual interests. When a family chooses a particular way of exercising its right
to acquire (or build) individual housing, this does not result in the redistribu-
' tion of income or chang~ the expenditure patterns of popula~ion groups. To the
degree that this is connected with the econo*~y ef specific ente~prises and the
social development of collectives, the larter participate directly in the compi-
lation of development Plans, the management of accumulations and the choice of
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methods of housing construction and the different forms and terms of aid offered
to builder~.
The low effectiveness of credit extended for individual construction is due to the
limited supply of some construction na~erials and implements and, where this ie not
the case (in the system of contracted construction), to the high estimated cost of
homes and, consequently, the large down payments9 and subsequent loan payments.
The national e~onomic impact of individual construction is determined by the sav-
ings in social expenditures of labor, the increase in the number of workers (through
the inclusion of additional human resources in this sphere without detriment to
other branches), the efficient division ot labor (oa the one hand, the mass produc-
tion of industrial structures in plant~ and, on the other, the use of the semi-
skilled labor of the builder on the construction site) and the conservation of
mezns of production (lower capital requirements).
For the agricultural enterprise, the development of individual and cooperative
housing construction is beneficial because it keeps workers on the farm, reduces
the number of workers in the housing and utilities sector, lo;~ers the cost of
maintaining above-plan housing--since these expense~ are taken on by the home-
owner--and eliminates the need for amortization deductions for renovation. The
cost of maintaining state and public housing in rural areas is often double or
triple the cost in cities.
The credit privileges offered to the'individual builder should be differentiated.
" For example, in accordance w~.th the decree of the CPSU Central Committee and USSR
Council of Ministers "On the Further Development of Indinidual Housing Construc-
tion and tre Retention of Personnel in Rural Areas" (June 1978), the most preferen-
tial terms are offered everywhere to demobilized ve~erans, newlqweds and young
- specialists, and on farms suffering an acute manpower shor~age, they are also
offered to workers in the mass professions who have tak~n jobs on these farms. The
functions of the client should be assumed by kolkhozes, sovkhozes and other agricul-
tural enterprises.
In our opinion, certain economic situations and social objectives can require the
expansion of preferential credit terms for builders. For example, in the Lithuanian
SSR, the state and the farm cover the cost of half of the preferential credit
extended to persons who move to settlements from villages located on reclaimed
lands. Besides this, when the nomadic population of the Far North made the transi-
tion to the settled way of life, the state paid up to 75 pereent of the estimated
~ost of centrally supplied individual homes (including ~he freight charges). In
these cases, the monthly.payments on loans are not much higher than apartment rent
in state housing (in the RSFSR, for example, they are equivalent to 13.2 kopecks
per square meter of living area). These credit terms psychologically motivate
families to chmose individual homes even when they have an opportunity to rent
apartments in state (or public) residential buildings.l~ This is attested to by
sociological research data. For example, when credit is extended in the amount of
7,000-8,500 rubles to cover the estimated cost of all building materials (corres-
ponding to the sale price of the Alituss Residential Construction Combine), monthly
payments on a 20-year loan total 16 rubles (half is financed through a special
_ enterprise fund).
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It woula be economically and socially exp~dient to give priority to the maximum
development of individual and cooperative housing in the rural construction program.
_ Individual housing construction conserves funds for non-production accumulation and
consumption in the sphere of state housing construction and the maintenance of
housing. The i~dividual home is a particular form of private property with limited
rights of ownership (the maximum di~ensions of homes are limited by law, the private
homeowner is not eligible for state housing and cannot own shares in a housing
construction cooperative, certain ownership transfer transactions are restricted by
- law, etc.). The immobility of the property signifies that the tenant will remain
in a particular location or that a new family will be attracted to the area (in
cases involving dissolution or inherita.nce).
The output of materials, structures and semimanufaetured comp4nents depends on
regional conditions and the supply of various resources (non-met~llic minerals,
materials shipped in from outside, transport conditions, etc.). The construction
industry is developing in three main areas: Joint projects by rural constrsction
- and residential construction combines performing all production and installation
work; enterprises specializing in the manufacture of specific construction materi-
als and implements (regional and interregionalZ; small enterprises producing con-
struction materials on an independent basis, in�luding those operating seasonally.
_ In the case of projects negotiated with contracting organizations, the builder's
- own capacities will be widely utilized (for example, in the laying of foundatior~s,
in concrete-pouring, installation and trimming work, in the improvement of the
building site of small homes, etc.). Self-funded construction will not take people
away from their families or disrupt their daily Iife.
The individual construction of small homes requires teehnical supervision. This
could be the responsibility of local subdivisions of the Ministry of Rural Con-
struction and the Interkolkhoz Construction Organization (the specialists of
trusts, administrations, mobile meehanized columns and others) and the personnel
of sovkhoz and kolkhoz construction brigades. It shvuld be borne in mind that
there are now 3 million rural construction workers with an annual operational volume
_ exceeding 10 billion rubles.
Individual housing construction firms, which are already a common type of organiza-
tion in the Baltic republics, will operate as independ~nt subdivisions. T.heir
functions might consist of erecting the home and turning it over to the new owner
or in assembling all of the materials and implements needed for the construction
project and turning them over to the client who will be buil~ing his own home. In
the latter case, the client will be issued "know-how"11--precise instructions on
the technology of work--which will heighten the impaet and quality of this kind of
construction. It will probably be expedient to establish comprehensive design anci
construction organizations, which will compete for contracts for individual homes.
- The comprehensive experimental construction of model sovkhoz and kolkhoz settle-
ments in accordance with the decree of the CPSU Central Committee and USSR Council
of Ministers "On th~ Better Organization of Aural Con~truction" (September 1968)
has not been effective enough in the disclosure of reserves for independent housing
construction. The significance of experimental model construction in rural areas
was stressed in the April 1981 decree of the CPSU Central Committee and USSR Council
of Ministers on the further development of the nonchernozem zone.
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The development of individual and cooperative housing construction in rural areas
will conserve public resources, stimulate private farming and have an important
social impact. The accelerated construction of rural housing will attract workers
to sovkhozes and kolkhozes and make labor and material resources available for the
development of the service sphere and road construction in rural areas.
- The integral program for the development of rural housing construction must envis-
age forecasts of rural population dynamics, the supply of housing, the demand for
resources and t:he means of it~ satisfaction, alternative guidelines for the devel-
opment of the con;truction industry base and the distribution of future operational
- volumes among periods and executors. The optimization af the resource balance,
witli all of its inte~sectorial and interproduct aspects, wi11 also be taken into
account in forecasts of the development ~f ather subdivisions of the construction-
industrial complex and in the planning of integrated construction projects within
- the CEMA fram~work.
FOOTNOTES
1. This kind of value judgment is implicit in Le Corbusier's remarks: "Home takes
precedence over everything else" and "The home is the key to everything" (Le
Corbusier, "Twentieth Century Architecture," Izdatel'stvo "Progress," 1977,
p 143) .
2. By 1985 the proportion accounted for by these homes should reach 55-60 percent.
3. In the United States construction costs rose 69 percent during t2;e same period
as a result of galloping inflation and other factors, and housing starts
(including rural homes) dropped 20.2 percent.
4. "The Constitution (Basic Law) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics,"
Yurizdat, 1980, p 6.
5. L. I. Brezhnev, "0 dal'neyshem razvitii sel'skogo khozyaystva v SSSR" [On the
_ Further Development of Agriculture in the USSR], Politizdat, 1978, p 40.
b. The settlement of the Druzhba Narodov Kolkhoz in Krymskaya Oblast, where sub-
- divided building designs have been widely used, provides an example of this
- kind of limited construction area (bounded by through highways and valuable
perennial crops on adjacent irrigated lands).
- 7. The supply of wood, in contrast to many other natural resources, is renewable. ~
Nevertheless, the territorial distribution of the supply increment, the trans-
= fer of most logging operations tc remote parts of Siberia, transport difficul-
ties and the rising cost of maintaining forest resources are unavoidably
increasing the production costs of lumber.
- 8. For example, experience in construction in northern Canada has indicated that
- wooden homes are more economical and more efficient than homes made of aluminum
- and plastic panels.
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9. A single-family dwelling with all of the conveniences costs 18,000-20,000
rubles or more, which is almost double the cost of cooperative apartments in
multifamily dwellings. The overhead costs of prefabricated wooden homes are
lower when residential constructi4n combines are operating at planned capacity.
10. If we disregard socioeconomic considerations, we can say that in a number of
capitalist countries the cost of satisfying the dem~nd for housing remains
approximately the same no matter what form this satisfaction might take--
_ whether it is the payment of rent to the owner of ~he building or the purchase
of a home on c~edit (in both cases, the payments often represent one-third of
the worker's salary).
~ 11. This is an English term ~ignifying the technological expertise offered to
~ firms on a contractual basis.
i
COPYRIGHT: Izdatel'stvo "Pravda", "Voprosy ekonomiki", 1982
i
8588
CSO: 1827/111
~
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CONSti1~TI0N TRENDS AND POLICIES
IMPR.OVII~NT OF QUAI,ITY, ASSORTMENT IN CONSUMER GOODS STRESSED
Moscow VOPROSY EKONOMIKI in Russian No l, 1982 pp 125-137
[Article b~ Ya. Orlov: "The Expansion of Consumer Goods Production and the
Improvement of Their Quality"]
[Text] In a decree about the need to increase the output of vitally necessary
- goods and items in mass demand and to improve their quality and assortment in
1981-1985, the CPSU Cer:tral Committee and USSR Council of Ministers stressed that
the expanded production of consum~r goods of better quality is of primary signifi-
cance at the present time in the implemeatation of 26th party congress decisions
regarding the enhancement of the Soviet people's well-being and the more complete
and thorough satisfaction of the population's constantly increasing needs. This
instructton pertains to all branches of industry and all enterprises and organiza-
tions and is a matter of particular interest to party, soviet and economic organs.
In the las* 15 years the output of consumer goods increased 2.5-fold, the assort-
ment was renew~d and quality improved. In the last 5 years there was a 21-percent
increase in the output of these goods, including an increase of 41 percent in goods
for cultural and consumer use and housew~ares. Hundreds of enterprises of light
industry, the food industry and the meat and dairy industry have been opened.
Along with the considerable achievements in the development of consumer goods pro-
duction and the constantly increasing consumption of food products, clothing, foot-
wear, goods for cultural and consumer use and hou5ewares, there are difficulties in
~upplying the population with some food produ�ts and there have been frequent inter-
- ruptions in sales of some goods in mass d~mand. Some products of light industry
are still in short supply. The quality of many items often does not meet customer
requirements.
There have been some disparities in the balance of consumer demand and the supply
- of consumer goods in general and of certain commodity groups in p~rticular. Public
deposits in savings institutions have grown considerably, and part of this sum is
the result of unsatisf ied demand. The public demand for goods and services
exceeds their supply.
_ Problems in the normal use of public monetary income, received in ~he form of
direct compensation for labor in national production and from public consumption
funds, reduce the effectiveness of material incent{ves and thereby impede the
growth of national production and the enhancement of its efficiency. The goal of
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national production is the reason for the present importance of the satisfaction
_ of consumer demand and the achievement of more balance in the "income-demand-
supply" chain. The resolution of this problem, speakers noted at the 26th CPSU
_ Congress, will be the primary purpose of the measures envisaged in the plans for
the economic and social development of our country.
The "Basic Dir.ections for the Economic and Social Development of the USSR During
1981-1985 and During the Period up to 1990" stipulate the need to "attach gr~ater
importance to the fuller sati~faction of public demand for various goods and
services." For this purpose, an entire series of ineasures is specified in the
llth Five-Year Plan for the improvement of the most important national economic
- relationships and proportions. In particular, all branches of the economy are to
make a greater contribution to the resolution of problems connected with the pro-
duction of more goods for the population. This is reflected in its most general
~orm in the modification of one of the most important national economic proportions,
the distribution correlation of national income: The plan envisages the quicker
growth of the consumption fund--that is, resources allocated directly for the
satisfaction of the Soviet people's needs. As a result, the proportion accounted
for by consumption funds in national income will r.ise from 75.3 percent in 1980 to
= 78 percent in 1985 (as a basis for comparison, it pzeviously took two decades for
- the percentage accounted for by consumption fund5 in national income to rise just
2 points). According to calculations for 1985, the sum of 16.5 bil.lion rubles will
be allocated for centrally financed measures to raise the standard of living.
The production growth rate of group "B" will exceed the rate of grot~p "A" during the
current 5 years. With production growth in industry as a whole planned at 26-28
percent, the growth of production in group "A" will be the same, but the rate of
~ in~rease in group "B" will be slightly higher--between 27 and 29 percent. During
the current five-year plan the indicators of con~umer goods production development
will be higher than in the last. One of the peculiarities of this five-year plan
is the stepped-up growth of con~umer goods produetion in comparison to the rate of
increase in public monetary income. Retail commodity turnover in the state and
cooperative ~rade networks should also develop more qui~kly than the monetary
income of urban and rural workers.
One final feature of the llth Five-Year Plan is th~ quicker growth of the output
of goods for cultural and consumer purposes a~d housewares in comparison to the
total output of consumer goods. The production of these items in branches of heavy
industry will be considerably augmented. For example, in the chemical and petro-
chemical branches the basic production volume should inerease by 30-33 percent, but
the output of synthetic resins and plastics needed for the manufacture of a variety
- of consumer goods should increase 1.7-fold. The overall increase in the production
volume at enterprises of the construction industry has been set at 17-19 percent,
but their output of consumer goods will increase from 1.3-fold to 1.4-fold during
' the 5 years. The decisions of the congress envisaged the production of more goods
- for cultural purposes and hou$ewares by workers in metallurgy, instrument building,
machine building, electronics and woodworking.
During the llth Five-Year Plan more attention will be given to the fuller satisfac-
tion of public demand for various goods and services, a rise in the level of food
consumption and the improvement of the structure of food consumption.
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The present level of. food consumption provides the individual with the necessary
calories to compensate for the energy expended in labor and daily life. 3'he
avarage number of calories consumed each day is 3,280, which is in excess of the
human be~ng's physiological requirements. But the human diet should be r_onstructed
with a view to the total calorie count and to the scientifically sound physiological
norms of major food group consumption.
The highest level of fo~d consumption has been reaehed in recent years. Between
1965 and 1980 per capita meat consuuptinn '~ncreased by 16 kilograms, milk cons~mp-
tion increased bq 63 kilogr~;as and egg consumption increased by 114 eggs. Much
more fish is being consumed. The consumption level of some Froilucts (sugar, fish
.and fish products, vegetable oil) is approachir~g scien.tifically substantiated norms.
Less bread and potatoes a~e being consumed. Nevertheless, our diet sti11 suffers
from a surplus of carbohydrates, a signifieant shortage of vitamins, a poorly
balanced mineral composition and a shortage of animal protein. This is why one of
our main objectives is the improvement of the food product structure.
The principal reasons for problems in the food market, particularly animal husbandry
prQducts, are the inadequate rates,of ~gricultural development and the effects of
socioeconomic factors and changes in the structure of society, particularly the
rapid growth of the urban populatior~.l
The demand for food products, includ.ing animal husband~y products, rose in connec-
tion with the growth of the monetary income of all population strata.at a time when
retail prices remained stable. Wages rose and pensions, grants and stipends were
increased. The real income level of kolkhoz members was equivalent to 75 percent of
- the real income of workers and employees per family member in 1965, but the figure
had risen to 89 percent by 1980.2 The it~come of the poorest families increased at
a higher rate than the income of the total population. Whereas only 4 percent of
- the population had an income exceeding 100 rubles a month per family member in 1965,
the figure was 18 percent in 1970 and it was al~eady equivalent to around half of
the nation's population by the end of the lOth Five-Year Plan.3 Under these condi-
tions, the production growth rates of some foods and several other consumer goods
turned out to be too low.
The 26th CPSU Congress stressed the importance of a better public food supply.
"The food problem is the central problem of the entire five-year plan on the eco-
nomic and the political level. The basis of its resolution is the rapid development
of agricultural production," L. I. Brezhnev remarked in his speech at the November
(1981) CPSU Central Committee Plenum. A food program is being drawn up for the
resolution of this problem, and the fulfillment of this program is supposed to con-
siderably increase the output of ~gricultural produets and establish closer c~ntact
between agriculture and the branches engaged in the storage and processing of its
products and in the sale of food.
The food program must be carried out und~r the conditions of the dynamic and bal-
anced development of branches of agriculture, the processing industry, transporta-
tion, trade and procurement, as well as the branches manufacturing the means of
production for the entire agroindustrial complex. The output of grain and fodder
is to be maximized primarily through improvements in the structure of sown areas,
the effective use of mineral and organic fertilizers, the improvement of ineadows
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and pastures and the augmentation of lives~ock and poultry p~oductivity. It will
be ~xtremely importar_t to minimize losses of agricultural products and ensure the
_ rapid completion of grain eleva~ors, warehouses and other facilities for the
storage and preservation of groducts at their full volume.
The increased output of agricultural products will assist in the further improve-
ment of the structure.of the public diet. Per capita meat consumption should reach
62 kilograms by the end of the five-year plan (24 kilograms in 1940, 41 in 1965 and
57 in 1980). Per capita food consumption will also include 32'J kilograms of milk
and 250 eggs. The proportion accounted for by fruit and vegetables in the Soviet
diet is rising.
Although the average growth rate of the output in.branches of the food industry
will range from 23 to 26 percent, the production of prepared foods, semiprepared
meals, delicatess2n items and fr~sh-frozen fruit and vegetables will be distinguished
by a higher rate of development. The output of baby foods and dietetic items will
also be increased more dramatically. To.provide toddlers with 3 balanced diet in
convenient form, the.output of dry milk mixtures and canned meat-based meals will be
considerably increased, and the assortment of dairy products for infants will be
augmented.
Some of the problems facing branches of the food industry will b~ solved by the
improvement of the quality and assortment of food produets and the production of
more foods enriched with protein, vitamins and other wholesome additives. Product
losses are to be considerably redu~ced in the food industry and trade through the
increased output of packaged goods, the extensive use of new packaging materials,
the more comprehensive processing and better uti~lizstion of raw materials, the
widespread acceptance of agricultural products on the production site and the
reinfo?-cement of the material. and technical base of these branches, particularly
with the use of artif icial cold in the processing and storage of agricultural
products.
Fish occupies an important place in the national diet. Fish prod+icts account for
one-fifth of all the animal protein consumed. The per capita output of fish products
(including canned fish) was 20.1 kilograms in 1980, and per capita eonsumption was
17 kilograms, with a recommended scientific per capita norin of 18.2 kilograms.
Besides this, the fish industry is one of the main suppliers of fodder protein for
the combination feed industry and fur farming. During the curxent five-year plan
_ the commercial output of fi~h products (includi.ng canned fish) will increase by
10-12 percent, and consumption will reach the recommended r.orm. The basic assign-
ments in this branch envisage a larger output of fish products of b~:t~er quality and
in a wider variety. Special attention will be paid to the dev~lopment of fish
farming in internal bodies of water. Ponds, l~kes and other commercial farming
facilities are already producing large quantities of fi5h for public consumption.
Much of the commercial fish supply comes from kolkhozes and sovkhozes.
Production will be developed further on the subsidiary farms of enterprises, organi-
- zations and establishments, the private plots of citizens and ~n the horticultural,
gardening and rabbit-breeding clubs (or societies) of workers and employees. They
will be aided in the acquisition of young livestock and poultry, fodder, seeds and
fertilizers.
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.The private farming szctor accounts for a large share of the output of various
animal husbandry and farming groduc~ts. For example, it accounts for more than half
of the potato output and around 30 pe~eent of the total output of vegetables, meat,
milk and eggs. The decree of the CPSU Central Committee and USSR Council of Minis-
ters "On Addit.ional Measures ~o Increase the Output of Agricultural Products on the
trivate Plots of Citizens" outlines measures to establish favorable conditions for
a larger output in the private farming sector. The experience of a number of
oblasts and rayons testifies th~t the private plots of citizens can be the source
of sizeable additions to the supply of ineat, milk, potatoes, vegetables and several
other products.
The preparations for the food prog�ram will include the planning of ineasures to
improve the provision of the popula.tion with food produets: the development of
warehouse capacities, inclu~ing refr-igerated ones, for their storage, the improve-
- ment of c~.amodity traflsport, the prese~vation of the quality of products and the
reduction of losses during shipping and storage. ~
The public dining sector will play an important role in the resolution of the food
problem. It is here that more than one-fi�th of the total commereial food supply
is consumed. Measures must be taken to increase the output of snacks, pastries and
rolls in the public dining sector and at cooperative ~nterprises, in the quantities
_ and assortment needed for the complete satisfaction of public demand. However,
sugar and f3t must be used economically and efficiently in the preparation of,con-
fections and bakery goods.
It will be ituportant to improve kolkhoz trade, offer the population the necessary
assistance in the delivery and sale of products and find resources for the con-
struction of covered markets. Workers of consumer cooperatives must improve the
- work of cooperative trade organiaations in cities and buy more surplus agricultural
products from the population.
Light industry is justifiably call.ed the industry for everyone. It supplies the
population with thousands of different types of produets, satisfying the most
diverse needs. Each year arouud 100;000 new types of inerchandise, designs and
= styles are put�in production at enterprises of light indu~try. For example, in
the cotton fabric industry the present assortment of materials is b~i~g improv~d
and a new one is being created. These new fabrics are manufactured on shuttle-
free looms with the use of cross-spun fibers. Around half of the printed yardage
has been redesigned. More new fabries have been treated with high-quality finishes
which improve their appearance and enhance their eonsumer appeal, resistant finishes,
such as prints or glosses with a silvery luster, and chemical finishes to retard
shrinkage.
The output of woolen fabrics is being inerea~ed by the production of largex quan-
tities of scarce materials: fabric for coats and for ehildren's wear, virgin wool
scarves and printed yardage. The group of woolen dress goods will be augmented with
new tweEds, open-weaves made with crepe and coarse linen threads. The group of suit
goods is being improved with thc use of fibers with new external effects and better
finishes. New fabrics made with virgin worsted-wool, tweeds and light-weight
materials have been developed.
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In the silk industry a new fabric assortment has been developed and is now being
produced with the use of new types of raw materials, including some made with
polyamide "shelon" f iber, textured polyesters and complex fibers c4mbined with
reinforced and non-reinforced triacetate threads. Lighter-weight fabrics have been
developed from synthetic fibers and thread, simulating cotton and other natural
fibers. The knitwear industry is producing millions of printed linen articles.
Knitwear is being produced in different patterns.
- The output of leather footwear in 1980 was 744 million pa`LrS, as compared to 698
million in 1975. Significant changes h~ve been made in the assortment and quality
of footwear in.reeent years. The production of new and stylish designs has been
mastered in the footweay industry.
The USSR Ministry of Light Industry and the State Committee for Standards are
managing eight programs for the comprehensive st-andardization of the major types
of co~odities, such as footwear, knitwear, sewn. garments and others. These
programs envisage interrelated requirements refiarding the quality of the raw
materials, semimanuf actured items, dyes, equipment and tools used in the production
process. ~
The production volume of light. industry is exgeeted to incr~ase by 18-20 percent
and more high-quality goods in great demand will be manufactured, especially vari-
ous types of cotton, woolen, silk and linen fabries and garments made of these
fabrics, knitted underwear and outerwear, hosiery, curtain fabric, fur headgear and
artificial fur and leather. The inereased production of children�s goods of better
quality will be given special attention. The textile industry will be developed
through broad-scale remodeling and the teehnieal re-equipping of production units.
During the current f ive-year plan these objeetives will absorb two-thirds of the
capital invested in industrial cons~ruction in the branch.
_ The reinforcement of the raw material base will be of great importance. Up to 70
percent of the products of group "B" were once made of agricultural raw ma.terials.
Now, along with the development of the agroindustrial complex, as the main supplier
of raw materials for the textile, knitwear and leather industries, measures are
being planned to increase the output of high-quality goods made of artificial
leather, suede and fur.
- The decree of the CPSU Central Committee and USSR Council of Ministers "On Measures
To Increase the Output of the Most Vital Goods in 1981-1985 and the Fviler Satis-
faction of Public Demand for These Goods" i~laps out a complpte program for the
accelerated augmentation of the output of same goods which are now in short supply.
They include cotton fabrics and articles mans of them, knitwear, hosiery, non-woven
materials, rubber f ootwear, soap, synthet3.c d~tergent5 and other vitally necessary
goods. High assignments have been set for the production of children's goods. The
output of many vital necesslties and goods in mass demand will grow at a rate
double or triple the rate of the lOth Five-Year Plan. The development of the
production of non-woven materials and the use of these materials for technical
purpose constitute one important way of increasing sales of cotton fabrics and
items made of them. This could supply the market and the garment enterprises of
light industry with an additional 500 million square meters of cotton fabrics.
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During the llth Five-Year Plan attention will be focused on the fuller satisfaction
of the public demand for high-qualit_y gooas in a greater variety. The production
of scarce items will be stepped up in the kn~twear industry--cotton underwear--and
- in the garment industry--cotton and mix~d-b1End shirts, coats, rainc:oats and
- jackets, and cotton dresses, jumpers and robes. The output of fashionable athletiC
footwear and footwear with uppers made of high-quality natural and synthetic
- leather will increase substantially.
Enterprises of machine building and instrument building will contribute much to the
increased output of many goods for cultural and consumer purposes and housewares,
which are all required for the dev~lopment of the travel industry. During the last
- five-year plan, these branches produced around 43 million radios and phonographs,
- over 36 million television sets, 313.6 million watehes, 29.5 million refrigerators
and many other goods. Color television sets have become a common sight. Around
2.3 million of the5e sets were already being manufaetured in 1980. The output of
small television sets, stereo systems and microcalculators is growing. The time-
piece industry is developing rapidly; our watches have won widespread recognition
abroad and much of our produet is being exported. At the end of 1980 the estimated
numbers of durable gouds per 100 families included 515 watches, 86 radios, 85 TV
sets, 84 refrigerators, 71 washing machines, 66 ~~ewing machines, etc.
The output of cultural consumer goods and housewares should inerease at least 1.4-
_ fold during the current 5 qears, from 43.5 billion rubles to 61 billion. Further-
more, their quality wiZl be improved and their assortment will.be constantly
renewed and improved.
The decree of the CPSU Central Committee and USSR Council of Minis~ers "On the Pro-
duction of More Goods in Mass Demand and the Improvement of Their Quality and
Assortment in 1981-1985" outlines several ways of overcoming the shortage of some
cultural consumer goods and housewares. These assignments call for a 2.3-fold
increase in the output of color TV sets in 1985, a 2.2-fold increase in the output
of cassette recorders, a 1.6-fold increase in that of automatic and semiautomatic
washing machines and a 1.7-fold increa~e in that of refrigerators with a capacity
of 200 cubic decimeters or more.
Plans envisage a much larger output of electronic quartz timepieces, reflex cameras,
enamel cookware and china, gardening tools, paints and varnishes, science hobby
goods for children and other items.
The fulfillment of the five-year-plan assignments will bring the number of refrige-
rators per 100 families up to 95, the number of washing machines up to 80, the
number of vacuum cleaners up to 43, etc.
It will be important to establish the necessary conditions at enterprises of group
"A" for a larger output of goods in mass demand and to give their collectives moral
and financial incentives to increase this output. At present, the production of
these items often puts these enterprises at a disadvar?tage because it lowers their
economic indicators. For example, the fund-forming indicator--labor productivity--
is much lower in consumer goods production shops than in basic production units.
Obviously, enterprises should have separate plans for the production of their main
product and products in mass demand.
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The increased production of consumer goods in branches of group "A" will also have
a nPgative effect on another important indicator--the proportional quantity of
products of the highest quality category--because many consumer goods are not cer-
_ ~tified for the Emblem of Quality. This is why there is a need for improvement in
the planning and pricing mechanism and the system of incentives for the production
of high-quality consumer goods.
Each year the output of consumer goods increases, the assortment is expanded and
the quality of these goods improves. Many items with new qualities appear. They
include solid state color television sets, high--quality stereophonic cassette
- recorders and attachments, refrigerator-freezers and several other items. Items
recommended for mass production must have a definite advantage over older products,
must be more durable and reliable, must be manufactured with the aid of the latest
engineering and technological discoveries and must be accessible to a broad range
- of consumers.
To heighten rPSponsibility for the iievelopment, manufacture and sale of high-quality
products and for their proper preservation, the decree of the CPSU Central Committee
and USSR Council of Ministers "On More Intense Work for the Conservation and Eff i-
cient Use of Raw Materials, Fuel, Energy and Other Material Resources" envisages
more sweeping economic penalties for the violation of standards and technical
requirements and specifies that the following organizations will be subject to
these penalties: project pl~nning and design organizations, scientific research
establishments and engineering enterprises--during the stages of the product's
development and manufacture; agricultural, procuremeat, supply, sales and wholesale
and retail trade organizations and enterprises--during the stage of product sales
and storage; transport enterprises--during shipping.
In accordance with the decisions of the 26th party cong~ess and the decree of the
CPSU Central Committee and USSR Council of Ministers on the improvement of the
economic mechanism, an integral compr~hensive program is being drawn up for the
production of absolutely new high-class items whieh are not being manufactured in
our country at the present time. Many consumer goods are to reach the level of the
best world models. According to forecasts by experts, in the next few years there
will be more demand for furniture (in connection with the i.mprovement of housing
conditions) and machinery and appliances to simplify housework and ensure better
~ conditions for cultural recreation, sports and tra.vel. According. to VNIIKS [All-
Union Scientific Research Institute of Consumer Demand ~nd Market Conditions]
estimates, by 1985 the sales volume of fundamentally new and improved goods will
be around 25 billion rubles. The high variability of demand in connection with
the growth of income and the saturation of the market will require, according to
expert estimateg, the annual production of at least 5 billion rubles' worth of new
goods.
Enterprises using local resources and materials and industrial and agricultural
waste products in the manufacture of items have considerable potential for the
_ saturation of the market with consumer goods. There is probably no other sphere
of the national economy in which local reserves play as important a role as they
do in the satisfaction of daily consumer needs and in public services. The output
of enterprises of local industry will increase 1.4-fold between 1981 and 1985.
This will be accomplished through the fuller use of local resources, the development
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of handicrafts and the extensive use of the labor of people working ir~i their homes,
especially disabled and retired individuals. Auxiliary industrial production units
on kolkhozes and sovkhozes, using the labor of the rural po~pulation off-season, will
also continue to be developed. These prvduction units wiil be engaged in the
processing of agricultural productS and in the manufacture of construction mat~r�~-
als and consumer goods, primarily with local raw materials aad industrial waste
products.
- When L. I. Brezhnev spoke at a session of the USSR Supreme Soviet Presidium, he
stressed: "In matters like these, the soviets.and .their ispolkoms sho~ld not make
polite requests, but should behave like str?,ct and demanding masters, for the
better exerci~e of their coordinating and coi~trolling authority."4 The recent
decree of the CPSU Central Committee, USSR Su~.~reme Soviet Presidium and USSR Council
of Ministers on a more important role for soviets in farm construction should serve
as an excellent incentive. This deeree envisages, in particular, that the councils
of ministers of autonomous republics and kray, oblast and okrug soviets will be
authorized to sell the public, through the retail network, up to 50 percent of the
goods produced over and above the plan by enterprises located within their terri-
torial jurisdiction. Trade administrations and the workers of ~rholesale bases and
offices must offer�all types of assistance in the use of local resources in the
production of goods.
_ To ensure the implementation of the 26th CPSU Congress decisions regarding the
constant elevation of the mat~rial and cultural standard of living, the collectives
of leading enterprises and associations in Moscow and Sverdlovskaya Oblast proposed
ways of considerably increasing the uutput, expanding the assortment and improving
the quality of consumer goods during the curre�i~t 5-year period. The measures they
suggested envisage the organization of the production of consumer goods at the over-
- whelming majority of industrial enterprises and associations. The greatest import-
ance has been attached to the impro~:ement of produet quality, the mastery of the
production of new products, incl~~.iing technically complex items, and the consider-
able augmentation of the outpu~ of con~umer goods in high demand. These programs
will be carried,out primarily by means of the remodeling and speeialization of
existing enterprises and shops, the incorporation of progressive technological
processes and the more eff icient use of raw materials, including local resources,
and production waste. The CPSU Central Committee has eommended this initiative.
Special attention must be given to the further improvement of the interrelations
between industry and trade and thE augmentation of the trade network's role in
_ optimizing the supply of consumer goods. The system of plan indicators and cri-
teria for evaluating the performance of enterprises manufacturing consumer goods
and the system of economic incentives must focus on the final national economic
results of this activity--that is, on the fuller satisfaetion of social and personal
nee~~is and the enhancement of operational eff iciency and quality. This will first
take the form of the fulfillment of the delivery plan in the proper assortment and
on the scheduled dates envisaged in contracts with trade enterprises. The antici-
pated changes in the.system of plan indicators during the current 5 years will be
the result of the optimal combination of natural and cost indicators and of quali-
_ tative and quantitative indicators. A list of indicators specified in the five-
year plan (with specific assignment for eaeh year) has been compiled for the first
time. This will be just one step away from the use of an indicator for the
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- quantitative measurement of the final results of the activities of branches pro-
ducing consumer goods and satisfying public demand for various commodities, with
a view to scientifically substantiated ccnsumption norms. The use of this indicator
wiil play an important role in evaluating the performance of ministries in the
production of specific items. ~
~ The binding nature of contracts is particularly sign3.ficant today, now that produc-
tion associations (and enterprises) have made the transition to direct ties with
organizations in the state and cooperative trade networks. In 5-year contra.~ts
(with a yearly breakdown), only goods of the contracted assortment are included in
calculations of the delivery volume. In annual plans the assortment is specified
in detail and clarified at least a month and a half before the beginning of the
year.
To heighten the impact of economic ineentives for assoeiations, enterprises and
organizations and to give their collectives a greater financial interest in the
fuller use of industrial waste, secondary resour.ces and local raw materials, the
decree of the CPSU Central Committee and USSR Couneil of Ministers "On More Intense
Work for the Conservation and Efficient Use of Raw Materials, Fuel, Energy and Other
Material Resaurces" stipulated certain necessary measures. It dec~eed that, begin-
- ning in 1982, the profits earned from the sale of consumer goods and production
engineering items made of production waste products would be the property of the
associations, enterprises and organizations and would be deposited in the consump-
tion fund: They could deposit the whole amount if the profit margin (in relation
_ to overhead costs} was under 25 p~reent, and half of the amount if the.margin was
over 25 percent, on the condition that the cost of ~he waste products used in the
production of goods and items acaounted for at least half of the cost of all
resour~:~~s and materials, excluding the cost of auxiliary materials. All of this
should allow for the more efficient use of production capacities and local resources.
This decree has much to say about the improvement of the quality of consumer goods.
The State Committee for Standards plans to work with mi~istries on a comprehensive
program for the standardization of the ma3or types of con~umer goods, with inter-
related requirements set on the quality of crude r.esources, materials, components
and the finished product. The products of new and remodeled enterprises should be
" on a par with the best Soviet and foreign models.
Trade must take more responsibility for the accuracy and validity of orders (and
industry, in turn, must. take more responsibility for filling these orders). Other-
wise, industry has no guarantee ttiat its goods will be sold after it has made great
efforts to organize their production. There is no que~tion that the present eco-
nomic and legal status of orders for consumer goods is inhibiting the growth of the
output of some items, particularly capital-intensive products, cultural consumer
goods and housewares.
The necessary conditions for the development of the socialist spirit of enterprise
in this area now exist. Trade and industry are taking more responsibility for the
validity of orders and for their completion. Coordinated plans have been drawn up
for the renewal of the assortment and the improvement of the appearance and finish
- of articles. Now these matters must be specified .in greater d~tail in enterprise
contracts. Besides this, long-range forecasts of demand up to 1990 and 2000 are
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- being compiled with a view to scientifically substantiated norms. Under these
conditions, it 3s more important to study public demand, and this will require
purposeful effort by various subdivisions of trade, ministries and departments and
the introduction of progressive forms of work which will guarantee quick reactions
to the wishes of the %ustomer.
Demand is studied so that it can bE satisfied b~ p~roa~iction in l~ne with trade
orders. This wouid eliminate the possibility cf "tror.," "brush" and '~lamp" crises
and other shortages. Shortages generally occur wher~ the quantity of items produced
is far smaller than the quantity needed for the sat~,sfactior. of customer demand.
Trade's orders for maay good~ are filled only by 60-80 pErc~nt. This reminder is
necessary because people often speak about the artificial shortages which are
allegedly created or can be created by trade personnel. In 1980, for example,
industry was instrueted to produce 30 million less toothbrushes than the required
number. Furthermore, even this p].an was underfulfilled by almost 9 million. Trade
orders for electric irons were shor~ by 500,000 units. .
At the November (1981) CPSU Central Committee Plenum, L. I. Br~zhnev remarked:
"There is only way of solving these and other problems. It consists, as the party
has repeatedly pointed out, in production growth, higher labor productivity and
- increased ecor.omic efficiency."
- It must be said that errors are sometimes made in the distribution of consumer
goods among trade systems a~d organizations, leading to above-norm stocks in some
organizations and enterprises and shortages in others. As a result of inefficient
- and irresponsible management, som~ trade enterprises do not put goods on sale even
when these goods exist in sufficient quantit~es.
The evaluation of the results of industrial enterprise aetivity and the formation
of economic incentive funds are 'oased on the dEgr.ee to wh~.ch assignments and deliv-
ery obligations are fulfilled. Sometimes it is the fulfillment of the sales plan,
rather than the delivery plan, that serves as the basis for evaluations and rewards.
_ Many ministries and departments of union and union-republic jurisdiction set high
maximum ur,~derdelivery limits for their enterprises. The Kazakh SSR Central Statis-
tical Administration surveyed 146 enterprises. This indieator was over 5 percent
at half of them., and only 11 of them had an indicator under 2 percent. At the
majority of enterprises the maximum (permissible) pereentage of underdelivery was
- 2=3 percent higher than actual plan underfulfillment figures. In spite of the fact
that delivery plans were not fulfilled, the bonuses of administrative, engineering
and technical personnel and employees were reduced only slightly. Workers are
paid bonuses for quantity, for quality, for the conservation of water and light,
for the collection of.scrap metal, etc.. There are around 20 different types of
bonuses and various types of extra payments. Incen~ives are provided for every-
_ thing but the fulfillment of delivery plans, but it is on these that the fulfill-
ment of commodity turnover plans and the satisfaction of public demand depend.
According to som.e economists, there is good reason for the present variety of
extra payments, bonuses and wage differentials. It seems to us that this variety
is harmful because it allows for a choice of the particular results f_or which
higher bonuses are paid,without any consideration for the main goal ar ior the
interests of the national economy and the population.
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An analysis of the work of inc~ustry in 1979-1981 proves that an extremely high
- number of enterprises did not fulfill shipment contracts. Some ministries have
established something like preferential "limits" on the underfulfillment of deliv-
_ ery assignments for their enterpxi~es, and this means that the administrative
personnel of these enterprises can earn bonuses even when shipments are not ~de.
Enterprises of the Moldavian SSR Ministry of Light Industry were authorized by
their department to underfulfill the delivery plan by several percent. The USSR
Ministry of Light Industry lowered the maximum pereentage of delivery plan under-
~ fulfillment. In 1980 enterprises of light industry failed to deliver almost 2.5
billion rubles' worth of the goods specified in cont.racts and orders. At the
same time, they produced large quantities of unordered goods. There does not seem
to be any reason to pay bonuses to thE collectives of enterprises which underful-
- fill contractual obligations by "only'' 1 or 2 percent, thereby staying within the
- "limit." The 100-percent fulfillment of contracts~for the delivery of goods in
the assortment ordered by trade should be the norm for all enterprises.
- We feel that there should be more mutual responsibility in relations between part-
ners and that the penalty for the violation of delivery contraets and the produc-
tion of substandard goods should not be a fin~, but full compensation for all
losses. In addition to the finanaial incentives for good work and for the produc-
~ tion of high-quality goods, there should be financial liability for the failure to
deliver goods in the proper assortment and for the production of defective goods.
In conjunction with other central agencies, USSR Go~plan and Gossnab have compiled
and approved new instructions on the procedure for calculating the fulfillment of
assignments and obligations for the delivery of products in accordance with con-
tracts and orders. The in~tructions will be put in effect in 1982. They envisage
- stricter penalties for enterprises which fail to comply with deliv~ry schedules.
The unconditional observance of ~he new ~equirements will m~ke contacts between
industry and trade stronger and more reliable. The provi~ions of these instruc-
tions must be taken into account when economic relations between trade and indust-
rial enterprises are being clarified for the five-year plan and the conclusion of
delivery agreements.
The maximum growth of the output of consumer goods in all branches of the national
economy and the improvement of their quality represer~t the most important element
of the party's plans to enhance the.Soviet people's well-being.
FOOTNOTES
1. Since 1965 the population of the USSR has grown by mdre than 34 million, with
an increase of 45.1 million in the urban.population and a decrease of 10.7 mil-
lion in the~rural population.
2. See "SSSR v tsifrakh v 1980 godu" [USSR Statistics for 1980], Izdatel'stvo
_ "Finansy i ~tatistika", 1981, p 170.
3. Ibid.
4. PRAVDA, 2 April 1981.
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RECOI~II~fENDED READING
"Materialy XXVI s"yezda KPSS"' [Materials of the 26th CPSU Congress], Politizdat,
1981.
Decrees of the CPSU Central Committee and USSR eouneil of Ministers "On Measures '
~ To Increase the Output of the Most Vital Goods in 1981-1985 and the Fuller Satis-
faction of Public Demand for These Goods" and "On the Production of More Goods in
Mass Demand and the Improvement of Their Quality and Assortment in 1981-1985"
(PRAVDA, 12 August 1981).
_ Decree of the CPSU Central Committee and USSR Coun�il of Ministers "On More Intense
Work for the Conservation and Efficient Use of Raw Ma~erials, Fuel, Energy and Other
Material Resources" (PRAVDA, 4 July 1981). .
"The Law of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the State Plan for the Eco-
- nomic and Social Development of the USSR in 1981-1985" (PRAVDA, 20 November 1981).
_ Brezhnev, L. I., "Speech at 16 November 1981 CPSU Central Committee Plenum,"
Politizdat, 1981.
- Kostin, L. A., "Proizvodstvo tovarov narodnogo potrebleniya" [Consumer Goods Pro-
duction], Izdatel'stvo "Ekonomika", 1980.
Kostin, L. A., "Consumer Goods Production in the llth Fiv~-Year Plan"
- (POLITICHESKOYE SAMOOBRAZOVANIYE, No 6, 1981).
n
Gorshkov, M., The Development of Consumer Goods Produ~tion as the Main Condition
for the Growth of Public Prosperity" (PLANOVOYE KHOZYAYSTVO, No 5, 1981).
"Khozyaystvennyy mekhanizm na sovremennom etape" [The Economic Mechanism at the
Present Stage], Izdatel'stvo "Ekonomika", 1980.
Shimanskiy, V. and Orlov, Ya., "Torgovlya i blago naroda" [Trade and Public Welfare],
= Politizdat, 1980.
- "Statute on Consumer Goods Shipments" (EKONOMICHESKAYA GAZETA, No 21, 1981).
COPYRIGHT: Izdatel'stvo "Pravda", "Voprosy ekonomiki", 1982
- 8588
CSO: 1827/110
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CONSUMPTION TRENDS AND POLICIES
EXPANSION OF CONSUMER SERVICING IN BAM REGIONS pLANNED
Moscow VOPROSY EKONOMIKI in Russian No 2, Feb 82 pp 71-80
/Article by V. Dmitriyev: "Development of Consumer Services in BAM Regions"/
/Text/ In the last few years natural resources in the country's ea.stern regions
have been developed at accelerated rates, to which the construction of the Baykal-
" Amur Trunk Line (BAM) contributes. Simultaneously with the construction of this
trunk line the construction of new industrial pro~ects is developing on a wide
front in regions ad~oining it. The commissioning of these projects will make it
possible to greatly increa.se the output of hard coal and iron and complex ores and
timber procurement and on this basis to establish a number of large production fa-
- cilities for their industrial proceQsing.
The buildup of the economic potential of eastern regions is one of the main trends
in the economic strategy of the Com~munist Party of the Soviet Union. Specific
tasks for the develup~r~ent of the economy of these regions are set in "Basic Direc-
tions in the Economic and Social Development of the USSR for 1981-1985 and for the
Period Until 1990: "`To expand the work on the economic development of the zone
gravitating toward tne Baykal-Amur Trunk Line. To camplete the planning work on
the Udokan Copper Deposit. To continue the formation of the South Yakutiya Ter-
ritorial Production Complex and to complete the construction of the coal pit, con-
centration factory and first stage of the Neryungrinskaya GRES. To develop the
technical and economic substantiations for the development of the iron ore deposit
in South Yakutiya, as well as the construction of the Berkakit-Tommot-Yakutsk
Railroad."
The task of the development of natural resources in the BAM zone and the formation
of territorial production complexes envisaged here necess~tate a wide influx of
~ manpower. ~s the practice of economic development o~ little-inhabited territories
shows, the creation of normal living conditions ensuring a high adaptability of
- the population is the main factor in the solution of the personnel problem. Mean-
while, the influx of manpower to eastern regions and its retention are hampered
_ for a number of social reasons, primarily the shortage of well-managed housing,
children's, medical and cultural-educational institutions and trade and consumer
service enterprises.
At the 26th CPSU Congress L. I. Brezhnev drew attention to the need for the solu-
tion of important social problems in the country's easitern regions: "Sometimes
it is assumed that it is sufficient to increase wage increments in Siberia, the
- 25
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Far East and northern regions and people will not leave these areas. Of course,
increments are needed. However, this alone will not solve the problem. A person
leaves, for example, Siberia mostly not because the climate does not suit him or
his ea.rnings are low, but because here it is more difficult to obtain housing and
to place a child in a kindergarten and there are not enough cultural centers. That
is why we plan to carry out the construction of housing and of the entire social
and cultural complex at even higher rates and to improve the population's supply
with consumer goods in these regions during the present five-year plan."
The industrial development of the territory adjoining the BAM is carried out under
exceptionally complex natural and climatic conditions (a sharply continental cli-
mate, increased seismicity and permafrost). These difficulties are compounded by
the extremely low population density, lack of roads and remoteness of future con-
struction projects from large centers with an existing base for social and cultural
services cap~ble of partially making up for the shortage of services in the newly
developed regions.
- The complexity of local conditions in the zone causes a significant increase in the
cost of production construction and of the creation of the necessary elements of
the social inf rastructure. According to the calculations of specialists, the per-
capita expenditures connected with the attraction of manpower to the BAM zone and
- its buildup are 2.5 to 3 times higher than in the country's European part. Under
these conditions the solution of the problem of_ the population's adaptability and
on this basis the establishment of stable personnel is of great importance. This
can be achieved by ensuring an adequate standard of living in BAM regions. An
overall approach to the creation of the necessary standard of living conditions--
- provision of maximally high living conveniences, including well-managed housing,
regular supply of the necessary food and industrial products and rationally orga-
nized development of all the sectors of the service sphere--is important.
In the last few years the sphere of consumer services for the public has developed
at rapid rates. The strengthening of the sector's material and technical base,
establishment of large specialized enterprises and overall rural receiving centers
and implementation of a system of ineasures directed toward an improvement in the
organizational structure of management of consumer services for the population con-
tribute to the above. An accelerated development of domestic services is also
characteristic of oblasts through which the BAM passes. In 10 years (from 1970
through 1980) the volume of services sold to the population throughout the region
- increased 2.3 fold (by 131 million rubles), the number of enterprises, by 1,900
units and the number of workers in the sector, by 42 percent.l At the same time,
the network of specialized enterprises grew rapidly. At present they perform more
than one-half of the total volume of consumer services. Specialization was almost
fully carried out in such subsectors of the service sphere as the repair of house-
hold machines, appliances, and television and radio equipment, dry cleaning, laun-
dries and the manufacture of knitwear. During the indicated period much attention
was paid to an improvement in the organization of acceptance of the population's
l. On the average, the evaluation of the present state of development of consumer
services is given f or Irkutskaya, Chitinskaya and A~urskaya Oblasts, the Buryat-
skaya and Yakutskaya ASSR and Khabarovskiy Kray.
~ 26
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~
orders f or the perf ormance of various consumer services . Advanced f orms and meth-
ods of services for the population were introduced, the operating schedule of con-
sumer service pro3ects was regulated and the network of overall receiving centers,
especially in rural areas, expanded. In ru.ral areas the number of such centers
_ almost quadrupled.
On the whole, however, consumer services in the BAM zone are less developed than
in central regions, which is reflected in the level of consumption of consumer
services, their quality and the service standard. This sector is not developing
in a sufficiently uniform manner in various parts of the reg3.on. For example, in
Chitinskaya Oblast 79 people are employed in consumer services per 10,000 people,
" in the Buryatskaya ASSR, 82 people, in Irkutskaya Oblast, 99 people, in the Yakut-
skaya ASSR, 110 people, in Amurskaya Oblast, 106 people and in Khabarovskiy Kray,
105 people. Despite the fact that in the last few years the number of enterprises
and projects for consumer ~ervices has increased gradually, obviously, they are
insufficient. First of all, this applies to centers of acceptance of the popula-
- tion's orders f or domestic services. For example, in Irkutskaya Oblast there is
one receiving center for 2,100 residents, in Khabarovskiy Kray, for 1,700 andin the
Buryatskaya ASSR and Chitinskaya Oblast, for 1,600, whereas, on the average, in
the RSFSR, for 1,500.
The transfer of consumer services to an industrial basis is carried out slowly in
the indicated regions. For example, at enterprises in Chitinskaya Oblast the to-
tal machine-worker ratio comprises 68 percent of the average level in the RSFSR,
in Khabarovskiy Kray, 92 percent and in the Buryatskaya ASSR, 68 percent. In a
number of rayons in this region the share of the active part of fixed productive
capital and the level of inechanized labor are lower than the average in the repub-
lic. In practice, this leads not anly to a reduction in the volume of services,
but, at the same time, to a decrease in the sector's efficiency, because under
conditions of a lower machine-worker ratio and power-worker ratio specific labor
expenditures on the
production of services rise and, ultimately, the prof itability
of services is lowered. According to the data of the Scientif ic Research Insti-
tute of Chemical Technology for Consumer Services (NITiQiIB), in the regions of the
Far North and the Far East specific expenditures per ruble of consumer services
greatly exceed the average republic level: for custom sewing and knitting of knit-
wear, by 59 percent, dry cleaning and dyeing of clothes, by 49 percent and custom
I sewing of sewn articles, by 39 percent.
Owing to the insufficient development of the material and technical base of con-
~ sumer services and defects in the organization of services, the level of per-capi-
ta c.onsumption of services in the autonomous republics and oblasts adjoi.ning the
route of the future trunk li.ne is approximately 30 percent lower than in the coun-
try's European regions. The per-capita provision of the services of dry cleaning
enterprises is 50 to 55 percent lower here, of motor transport repair enterprises,
55 to 60 percent, of housing repair and construction enterprises, 40 to 45 percent,
and of enterprises for the repair of household and radio television equipment, 20
to 25 percent.
At the f irst stage in the economic development of the BAM zone the basic load of
services for the arriving population falls on the material and technical base o,f the
consumer service existing near the places of new construction, but, as the above-
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mentioned data indicate, it cannut provide the entire necessary set of services
_ even to the local population: Along with the difficulties in living under extreme
natural conditions workers at new construction projects and their family members
are also forced to experience a poorly organized way of life for a long time, which
complicates the task of formation of stable personnel in this region. Now in the
- most intensively growing centers of the BAM zone--T~nda and Neryungri--the per-ca-
pita volume of consumption of consumer services is 2 to 2.5 times lower than the
average in oblasts in the Far East Economic Region. The situation with the orga-
nization of consumer services in small settlements and directly at the sections of
- dislocation of construction subdivisions is even more complicated.
At present it is important to correctly determine the main trends in the improve-
ment in consumer services and the specif ic characteristics of new development re-
gions, which, in turn, determine the principles of organizational structure of the
service system and the requirements on the types of enterprises, technological re-
gimes, forms of services, the occupational skill composition of personnel and so
forth. Such an approach will make it possible to avoid the shortcomings charac-
teristic of consumer services on the territory ad~oining the BAM zone and to es-
tablish a service system in the new regions, maxima.lly orienting it toward the spe-
cif ic conditions of development in the BAM zone.
In the last f ew years a number of scientific and planning institutions in the coun-
- try under the methodological guidance of the Scientific Council for Problems of E-
_ conomic Development of the BAM zone organized under the Presidium of the USSR Acad-
emy of Sciences have been engaged in the elaboration of the program for the social
and economic development of this region. The general and sectorial outlines of its
overall economic development have been worked out and the approximate limits of
distribution of productive forces and the needs of individual rayons and territo-
rial production formationsfor labor resources, capital investments and so forth
have been established. Thus, a scientif ic basis for the pursuance of research of
an applied nature has been established. Rayon schemes of development and place-
ment of consumer service projects should become an integral part of this research.
However, such detailed studies have not yet begun in this area, which in the fu- ,
- ture can lead to a tardy commissioning of consumer service enterprises and to an
increase in the gap in the level of provision with services, as well as in their
quality, between the regions from where the settlers come and new development re-
gions. Apparently, the RSFSR ministr3es and departments responsible for the dev-
elopment of specific spheres of activity of the consumer service and the scientific
and planning institutes subordinate to them should accelerate the preparation of
proposals for the formation of the necessary complex of consumer services in the
zone of BAM development.
A careful study of the features characteristic of this region--severe natural-cli-
- matic conditions, remoteness from inhabited territories, a low population density,
fractionation of settlement areas, weak transport com~unications among them, an
increased share of young people, men and unmarried people in the structure of the
population, spread of the watch method of development of raw material resources,
increased production costs and substantial expenditures on facilities for the pop-
ulation--is an important condition for the development of consumer services in the
zone. These characteristics determine, on the one hand, the organizational prin-
ciples and f orms of services, the types and dislocation of consumer service enter-
prises and the requirements on the occupational skill composition of personnel and,
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on the other, directly affect the total amount and specific structure of consump-
tion of consumer services. Theref ore, when working out recommendations f or the
development of consumer service sectors, principal attention should be concentrated
on problems dictated by the specific canditions of this zone.
The settlement system in the BAM zone is characterized by the predom3nance of small
and medium-size cities, as well as small settlements significantly removed from
each other, which limits the Cr~nsport accessibility of some settlements located
in the heart of the territory. As a result, the possibilities for the development
of intrasystem cooperation in the spl~ere of services, which presupposes the per-
_ f ormance of work at large specialized enterprises and a regular delivery of artic-
les to places of consumptian, are lowered to a mini~mum.
The dispersal of the population over a signif icant part of this region requires the
establishment of an internal closed service system, in which almost the entire com-
plex of consumer services will be developed in every settlement. In turn, this.
predetermines higher specif ic expenditures on the per-capita establishment of con-
sumer service pro~ects, which must be reflected in the long-term plans for the de-
velopment of this sector in the BAM zone.
The organization of services according to a closed system will slightly raise the
indicator of the standard number of people employed i.n this sphere, which under
the conditions of the local small-volume demand for services will bring about a
reduction in the sh ift load of experts in consumer services and an incomplete util-
ization of production capacities. The training of experts of broad specialization,
that is, all-rounders--barbers, boot and shoe industry workers, mechanics for the
repaix of radio television equipment and household machines and appliances and so
f orth--can be the way out of this situation. This trend in the area of personnel
formation will contribute to an efficient development of mobile forms of services
- for the public in the BAM zone. An expansion of the range of combined occupations
hy consumer service workers also determines a slightly different production spe-
cialization, which should be based on the combitistion of types of services close
in technology.
The level of utilization of labor resources in the BAM zone can also be raised as
a result of an eff icient organization of the system of organized recruitment of
personnel. For example, when reGruiting industrial workers, preference should be
given to those whose second family members have practical experience in consumer
services. The importance of such an approach to the formation of personnel is dic-
tated by the general orientation of the program for the economic development of the
BAM zone toward a decrease in the expenditures of live labur, which is connected
~ with the increased expenditures on facilities for the population brought here.
The determination of the sectorial structure of services, which in a number of re-
gions will differ slightly from the average republfc structure, is a complex ele-
ment in the development of the scheme of organization of consumer services in the
BAM zone. Deviations in individual items are of an objective nature and are con-
nected with the specific nature of natural-economic and social factors. For ex-
ample, the increased demand for the renting of articles for cultural and general
purposes and household use (especially during the period ~f initial buildup of the
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territory), which is caused by the fact that the new development regions are not
populous and by the high proportion of young people without families in the total
- population, is natural here. This f eature of the structure of consumption of con-
sumer services is characteristic of all the newly developed regions. For example,
iri Arigarsk, A~ursk, Nizhnevartovsk, Tol'yatti, Valzhsk and other young cities the
per-capita volume of sale of the services of renting centers is approximately tWice
to three times as high as throughout the republic.
The renting of articles for cultural-general and household purposes is one of the
most widespread types of services in the settlements of BAM builders. Transistor
sets, tape recorders, television sets, refrigerators, washing and sewing machines,
dishes, wedding outfits and even pianos are in great demand. The work of this serv-
ice must be organized so that the population's needs are fully met in every city
and settlement. However, as an analysis shows, renting is developed mainly in large
settlements. The general state of this type of service in the oblasts through
which the BAM passes is not h~.gh. As a rule,renting centers and equipment for rent
are insuff icient here. For example, whereas in 1980, on the average, in the RSFSR
- the value of the allocations for ren t per center was 61,000 rubles and in rural
areas, 26,000 rubles, in Chitinska.ya Oblast, 35,OQ0 and 12,000 rubles respectively,
in the Buryatskaya ASSR, 38,000 and 9,000 rubles, in Amurskaya Oblast, 39,000 and
19,000 rubles and in Irkutskaya Oblast, 41,000 and 16,000 rub les.
The shortcomings in the organization of the work of the renting service are due to
the existing procedure of its provision with equipment for ren t. The appropriate
allocations are acquired on the basis of the orders of consumer service institu-
tions in trade institutions. However, the local trade network does not always have
a sufficiently wide and varied assortment of goods, especially novelties and scarce
goods in demand by young people. The transition to centralized specific deliveries
of the necessary set of articles f or cultural-general purposes and household use
from general republic resources to renting services could con tribute to an improve-
ment in the activity of this important service sector.
The need f or an economical utiliza.tion of labor resources in the BAM zone sets the
task of reducing sewing, knitwear and footwear production facilities in the system
of consumer services. In our opin ion, the structure of services existing in in-
habited regions should not be mechanically transferred to the BAM zone. The domi-
nation of labor-intensive custom sewing of clothing and footwear in the total vol-
ume of services is its most significant defect. For example, in Chitinslcaya and
Amurskaya Oblasts and in the Buryatskaya ASSR these types of services comprise more
than 38 percent and approximately one-half of the workers in consu~ner services are
engaged in their performance. The reservation of key positions in the sphere of
consumer services to sectors spec ializing in the manufacture of sewn and knitwear
articles and footwear is due primarily to the insufficient assortment and quality
of f inished articles produced by industry, as well as to the unsatisfactory supply
of the population in the country's eastern regions with these goods. For example,
in 1975-1980 the volume of deliveries based on the market allocations of sewn ar-
- ticles per resident in Chitinskaya Oblast was 20 percent lo~~er than, on the aver-
- age, in the RSFSR, of leather footwear, 21 percent and of kz?itwear articles, 22
percent. A smaller number of these articles were sold in Irkutskaya Oblast and
the Buryatskaya ASSR.
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In our opinion, in the future the clothing needs of residents in the BAM zone
should be met through retail trade and consumer cooperatives. It is advisable to
introduce a special provision of the residents of this region with light industry
consumer goods in full accordance with the rational standards developed by scien-
tific institutions for this climatic zone. At the same time, the manufacture of
work clothing, footwear and sheepskin-fleece, fulling-felting and other articles
~ should be concentrated at specialized enterprises in inhabited regions in East Si-
beria and the Far Ea.st. Stylish clothing and footwear should be brought to these
regions from the Baltic area, Moscow, Leningrad and Novosibirskaya Oblasts and oth-
er recognized centers of manufacture of these goods and requirements should also
be met by import deliveries. Consumer service enterprises should only supplement
the basic volume of deliveries of such articles (for example, provide people, whose
figures are not standard, with clothing, as well as with national clothing and foot-
wear and so forth). At the same time, it is necessary to expand the network of
work rooms and shops specializing in the repair and renovation of warm clothing and
footwear. The level of consumption of these services in BAM regions will be much
higher than the average republic indicator.
The demographic characteristics of this zone, in particular the prevalence of young
people, who will live in modern hotel-type hostels, in the total population, pre-
- determine an increase in the proportion of services offered at the expense of pub-
lic funds in the volume of consumption. It is advisable to include dry cleaning,
bath house services, renting of spurts and tourist equipment and various articles
for domestic use and linen washing in the list of the social benefits that will be
- established here for the purpose of retention of labor resources. These types of
benefits should be introduced primarily for workers of watch settlements and indi-
viduals living in you th hostels.
At the stage of full development of new industrial.regions the high proportion of
the able-bodied population, which is the most active consumer of services, will be
reflected both in the volume and structure of sale of services. It is realistic
to expect here an increased demand for dry cleaning, linen washing, repair of mo-
tion picture and photographic equipment, services for festive family holidays a-~~d
so forth. It is necessary to envisage an overall provision of a number of serv-
_ ices. In our opinion, the sets of services according to the "wedding," "new set-
tler," "rest" and other programs will become very popular. At the same time, the
consumption of such types of services as furniture repair, repair and maintenance
of motor transport facilities and repair and construction of housing will be much
lower than in other regions for a long time.
A correct orientation in the characteristics of manifestation of the population's
needs in this zone is very important for the substantiation of the order and vol-
umes of commissioning of consumer service enterprises, which ultimately will in-
crease an efficient utilization of the allocated investments. In our op3nion, the
sectorial groups of consumer services that have the greatest eff ect on the stabi-
lization of personnel at this stage should be developed on a priority basis in the
BAM zone.
The standardization of the produced domestic ~quipment is an important problem,on
whose solution an improvement in the quality of services for the public depends.
Almost 40 brands of refrigerators, more than 50 brands of washing machines, up to
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25 or 30 brands of vacuum cleaners and electric shavers and many brands of watches
with various schemes of operation and sets of parts are now used by the population.
This extremely complicates the organization of work of repair enterprises and leads
to interruptions in their supply of spare parts, especially in the zone of devel-
opmeh t of new territories.
The transfer of enterprises to the output of radio, television and household equip-
ment on the basis of standardized parts and units will take a long time. Theref ore,
it seems justified to control on a planned basis the brand composition of durable
goods sent to the trade network of cities and settlements established in the BAM
zone. Through a population survey it is necessary to establish the three or f ive
most "popular" brands of refrigerators and television sets and, as this region is
settled, to provide new settiers with them in a planned manner. The same line
should be followed during the for~ulation of orders for articles for cultural and
general purposes for youth hostels, hotels, rest homes, clubs, schools and medical
and other public institutions:
Cities with a population of 10,000 to.15,000 will be built in a number of BAM re-
- gions specializing in the development of ore deposits. Some of them will become
bases, from where shift watches of workers will depart for distant mines and fields.
The watch settlement should be a small hotel complex provided with basic service
projects (a restaurant, medical center, club, laundry, bath house, bakery and so
forth). The scientists and planners of the consumer service system should take the
most direct part in the development of plans for watch settlements, in the deter-
mination of the model list of consumer service projects and the set of services
needed by the population under the conditians of the watch method of work and in an
efficient organization of services. This should be preceded by an analysis of the
existing experience in the use of the watch method of work accunoulated during the
development of petroleum and gas bearing deposits in West Siberia.
A high social and economic eff ect in the BAM zone can be ob tained f rom mobile set-
tlements. Living premises (individual homes for ~rorkers with families and hostel
houses) and projects for cultural and general purposes in such settlements are es-
tablished on the basis of motor-vehicle trailers or through the use of dismount-
able assembled structures. Such settlements should be provided with electric pow-
er, a water pipe, a heating system and comfortable and practical furniture and be
equipped for a normal functioning of all services under harsh climatic conditions.
- In our opin ion, at the base of the planning organizations existing in the system
of consumer services it is necessary to establish a service f or the planning of
dismountable assembled and mobile types of consumer service enterprises: bath
houses, laundries, barber shops, shops for the repair of clothing and f ootwear and
renting centers. These projects require the development of special technological
equipment adapted for installation on dismountable assembled premises, as well as
of containers for its transportation when a settlement is moved to a new place.
The use of mobile consumer service projects will make it possible to provide the
population in new development regions with a set of consumer services.
The provision of the enterprises of this sphere with transport is an important
task of the organization of consi:mer services in the BAM zone. For the most part,
vans or ordinarq motor vehicles with cabins installed in bodies f or the transpor-
tation of people are now used in the consumer service. Such transport facilities
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are not heated or are provided with a primitive heating system, but in BAM regions
in winter they are used at 30 to 40 degrees of frost. Nor are such transport fa-
cilities adapted for lang trips (from 50 to 300 km) on impassable and winter roads.
The decree of the CPSU Central Committee "On the Work of the RSFSR Ministry of Con-
sumer. Services on Improvement 3n the Quality of Fulfillment of Orders and Rise in
~ the Standard of Services for Workers" paid much attention to the problems of im-
provement in material and technical supply for ~onsumer service enterprises, in-
cluding the provision of regions in the Far North and Far East with specialized
motor transport.
The All-Union Experimental Design Institute of Bus Building developed the f irst
- models of watch machines. These are all-purpose vehicles on the basis of the GAZ-
66 and ZIL-375 trucks with spacious, comfortable and heated saloons. Double win-
dows, thermal insulatian and an additional furnace make it possible to maintain a
constant temperature in such an all-purpose bus even during a bitter frost. The
saloon is equipped with a radio and maintains communication with the driver. Such
a motor-vehicle equipped with two axles is designed for the transportation of geo-
logists and petroleum specialists working far from settlements on impassable and
- bad roads. The introduction of minor changes in the equipment of the passenger
compartment of the new vehicle would ma.ke it suitable for the consumer service at
the BAM.
The question of the use of railroad transport for consumer services far the popu-
lation should also be thought out. Sp~ecialists in the consumer service of Ukhtin-
skiy Rayon, the Komi ASSR, accu~ulated a wealth of experience. In this rayon there
are a number of settlements that can be reached only by railroad. The workers of
the consumer service of the Ukhta City Consumer Service Combine together with rail-
. road workers with the active assistance of the city executive committee transformed
the railroad car into a distinctive mobile house of consumer services. An overall
brigade consisting of four people--a clerk accepting orders, a cutter, a barber and
an expert in the repair of household, television and radio equipment--operates in
this house on wheels. The brigade services settlements strictly according to sched-
ule. The railroad car has two routes: One in the direction of Ukhta-Tobis sta-
tion and the second, Ukhta-Iras' station. The length of this route is 1 week. The
orders received en route are transferred for execution by specialized enterprises,
the railroad car is loaded with ready orders, samples of fabrics and footwear and
the necessary materials and departs in the opposite direction. The railroad car
visits every settlement twice a week strictly according to schedule, about which
, the population is informed. It stops there for 3 to 5 hours. During that time the
br3gade of consumer service workers performs services directly on the spot or ac-
cepts orders. The orders received en route are executed by s~ecialized enterprises
in Ukhta. From the railroad a conductor travels with the brigade, solving all the
problems connected with moving the railroad car from one settlement to another.
The Sosnogorsk Railroad Department and the Pecherles Association, thaf~ is, the or-
ganizations whose workers live in the settlements serviced by them, incur the ex-
penditures on the mainten~ance of the mobile house for consumer services. In Ukh-
- tinskiy Rayon, the Komi ASSR, about 20,000 people are serviced in this way. On
� the average, the volume of consumer services totals approximately 8,000 to 9,000
_ rubles per month.
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It is advisable to introduce the indicated form of services in the zone of economic
development of the BAM primarily for reaidents of small settlements located along
the railroad, whose number along the route is more than 200 right now. For a mass
development of this form of services it is necessa.ry to solve a number of problems
concerning the improvement in its technical base. Specifically, the planning or--
ganizations of the Ministry of Railways, the RSFSR Ministry of Housing and Municf-
pal Services and the RSFSR Ministry of Consumer Services ought to establish a spe-
cial railroad car with the necessary technical facilities for the consumer service.
In particular, for the on-the-spot repair of refrigerators, washing machines, ra-
dio receivers, television sets and tape recorders the railroad car should be fitted
with the appropriate diagnostic equipment. It is also necessary to equip the rail-
road car with special shelves and f i~ctures f or the transportation of household ar-
ticles requiring repair under stationary conditions. At the same time, apparently,
it is necessary to develop several types of railroad cars, each of which should
perform specific functions. For example, a modification of the railroad car with
the installation~ of a self-service laundry in co~inat3on with equipment for the
dry cleaning of clothes, a specialized renting cen ter railroad car and so forth
are possible. The staff inembers of the consumer service, who work in such rail-
road cars, uaist not be forgotten. Normal working and rest conditions should be
established for them.
�
A prompt commissioning of consumer service enterprises is important for an improve-
ment in services for the public. However, the establishment of consumer service
enterprises is delayed. This is connected to a large extent with the scattering
of the construction of consumer projects over many ministries and departments,
which build primarily production projects. Apparently, it is necessary to reor-
ganize the system of f inancing of capital construction and material and technical
supply of the entire social infrastructure. This author fully shares the urgency
of the proposal by a number of economists on the advisability of centralization of
the funds for the development of the sectors of the social complex in the hands of
a single customer. The question as to who should be.entrusted with the.functions
of the general buyer responsible for the rates and overall nature of development
of new cities and settlements is fund3mental for the BAM zone.
As is well known, nine territorial production complexes are to be established on
the vast territory of the BAM zone, which comprises approximately one-tenth of the
RSFSR area. At present planning bodies and ministries ~ointly with the Siberian
Department of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the Central Scientif ic Research
Economic Institute under the RSFSR State Planning Committee are completing the pre-
paration of the overall program for the development of this zone for the period
until 1990 with a 5-year breakdown, which also reflects problems connected with
the management, financing and construction of projects of the nonproduction sphere.
The essence of our proposals on the organizational principles of the social devel-
opment of BAM regions is as f ollows.
Taking into consideration the territorial dispersion ~f the industrial enterprises
established in the BAM zone, the weak transport communications within the zone and
the considerable remoteness of new construction projects from developed regions,
_ it is necessary to have in every territorial production complex a general buyer
fully responsible f or its production and social development. The performance of
the function of the general buyer should be entrusted to one of the ministries de-
veloping this region. Specif ic general buyers are appointed for every territorial
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production complex with due regard for the sectorial specific nature of investment
. programs. Nonproduction canstruction in the BAM zone should be financed with the
funds allocated to the ministries and departments.carrying out the economic devel-
opment of territorial production complexes. The volume of these funds should be
designed to meet the needs of the entire population of ~ territorial productivrl
complex, which resides and is brought there in connection with new construction,
for the appropriate necessities of Iife. To determine th~ material contribution
of every ministry to the development of inf rastructure pro~ects in a specif ic ter-
ritorial production complex, it is advisable to distribute the total amount of the
capital investments needed for this among ministries in accordance with their share
- in the total population of a territorial production complex. These funds should
be placed in the fund of the general buyer--the ministry responsible for the econ-
omic development of a territorial production complex.
The direct construction of social pro3ects should be carried out by specialized
construction ministries, whose sphere of activity includes the regions of the BAM
zone, and in some cases, by large ministries, which are the main builders of a
certain territorial production complex. For example, in the South Yakutiya Terri-
torial Production Complex during the lOth Five-Year Plan the performance of the
functions of the general contractor was entrusted to two ministries--the USSR Min-
istry of Coal Industry and the USSR Ministry of Power and Electrification. In the
annual plan of the general contractor the total volume of capital investments in
nonproduction construction should be subdivided into individual items--housing,
_ general educatior.ial schools, preschool and medical institutions, cultural and con-
~ sumer service pro~ects and so forth.
In our opinion, the transfer of the functions of a single buyer to local soviets
of people's deputies is justif ied in the.BAM zone at a later stage--the stage of
conclusion of formation of municipal services. For the performance of these func-
tions it would be advisable to establish the services.of a single buyer, that.is,
administrations of capital construction, under escecutive committees of city soviets.
Their content can be entrusted to ministries and departments developing an appro-
priate territory. At the same time, for a more active influence of local soviets
on the provision of an overall buildup of the territory subordinate to them it seems ~
- advisable to introduce a system under which they would have the right of a"second"
obligatory signature on all the documents connected with the construction of social
infrastructure projects.
The need for an in-depth scientif ic study of the indicated problems with due regard
for the local characteristics of the zone of 2conomic development of the BAM is
dictated by the exceptional importance of social measures in the buildup of the
economic potential of the new territorial production complexes being formed in the
- country's east. The importance of this work especially i.ncreases in the light of
the decision of the CPSU Central Committee and the USSR Council of. Ministers "On
Improving Planning and Strengthening the Influence of the Economic Mechanism on
Increasing Production Eff iciency and Work Quality." It includes the development
of the BAM zone among the most important programs, which must be worked out as in-
tegral companenCs of. state plans for economic and social development.
COPYRIGHT: Izdatel'stvo "Pravda", "Voprosy ekon~miki", 1982
11,439
CSO: 1827/73
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CONSUMPTION TRENDS AND POLICIES
NEW BOOK SUrIlKARIZES EXPERIENCE WITH QUALITY CONTROL SYSTEMS
Moscow ROST PROIZVODSTVA I POVYSHENIYE KACHESTVA TOVAROV NARODNOGO POTREBLENIYA in .
Russian 1981 (signed to press 9 Feb 81) pp 3-5, 143-144
[Anno~ation, foreword and table of contents from book "The Growth of Consumer Goods
Production and the Improvement of Their Quality" by Mikhail Yevseyevich Lomazov and
Vladimir Andreyevich Shvandar, Moscow, Izdatel'stvo "Ekonomika", 10,000 copies, 1981,
144 pages] ~
[Text] This book elucidates theoretical and practical questions connected with
the growth of consumer goods production and the improvement of their quality.
Examples are cited to illustrate methods of calculating the socioeconomic impact of
the improvement of consumer goods quality, and the experience of leading enterprises
= in the use of quality control systems is summarized. The book is intended for
engineering and technical personnel and scientif ic workers engaged in the study of
~ the economic impact of quality and in the development and incorporation of quality
- control systems at enterprises producing consumer goods.
� Foreword by Professor A. V. Glichev, Doctor of Economic Sciences
Intensive factors of development are being stressed to an increasing degree in our
country's economy under the conditions of developed socialism. This is why the
improvement of product quality objectively acquires primary significance as a
result of technological progress and as a material means of satisfying production
and personal needs. ~
The publication of the CPSU Central Committee and USSR Council of Ministers decree
"On the Improvement of Planning and the Enhancement of the Economic Mechanism's
Effect on Production Efficiency~and Operational Quality" has set new tasks in the
improvement of scientific studies and practical measures intended to improve the ~
quality of products manufactured in our country.
The decree states that one of the primary and most immediate objectives is a special
comprehensive program to increase the output of new consumer goods.
Th~ successful resolution of problems in the growth of consumer goods production
and the improvement of their quality requires further scientific investigation. For
this reason, this seems to be the right time to publish a book about all of the
problems connected with the production of goods to satisfy public demands and the
improvement of the quality of these goods.
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- The authors' choice of topics is interesting. They trace the connections between
~ public demand, consumer value and product quality. In this context, the issue of
~ quality represents a social problem, the resolution of which simultaneously signi-
fies the attainment of social objectives connected ~~ith the satisfaction of public
- demand and the thorough development of the individual. Goods of high quality and
= in large quantities should satisfy public demand. The degree to which demand is
satisfied constitutes the criterion of quality and quantity.
Demand is the point of departure in the formation of the product assortment and the
determination of the quality level and quantity of manufactured goods. The social-
ist planned economy presupposes purposeful influence on production for the satis-
faction of demand. This thesis is thoroughly analyzed in the book and practical
methods of studying demand and taking it into account in the quality control process
are suggested.
_ The study of demand can be difficult because it is dyn~mic, and not constant.
Whatever might have satisfied the public and been in demand yesterday could already
be obsolete today. The system for the study of demand should be differentiated
enough to take in the entire range of consumers, with breakdowns according to sex,
age and region, and with a view to climatic and ethnic features.
- In this book, which I recommend to readers, methods of forecasting demand are ana-
lyzed, the connection between consumer value and product quality is examined,
methods are proposed for the quantitative measurement of quality and approaches
to the determination of consumer value are sugg~sted. There is a discussion of
unsolved problems in the control of consumer product quality, such as the organiza-
tional system for the study of demand and its inclusion in the quality control
process, the determination of the optimal quality level with a view to the economic
criterion and the def inition of the standard as an informational model of consumer
value. The authors discuss the role and significance of standardization as an
instrument of procedural organization in the eff icient construction and operation
of comprehensive consumer goods quality control systems. Such topics as metrologi-
cal information and departmental supervision in the operation of quality control
systems are also discussed in the work.
A special chapter deals with problems in determining the impact of better quality.
The decision-making process in technical or organizational matters must be accompa-
nied by an analysis of the economic consequences of the decision. The total eco-
~ nomic unpact must serve as the criterion governing the choice of the particular
_ decision.
Existing methods for the calculation of economic impact are intended primarily for
~ items for technical use in production, where the impact is measured in cost terms.
As far as consumer goods are concerned, these methods can only be of limited use
_ because aesthetic, organoleptic and ergonomic indicators are also quite important
in consumer goods production. The approach proposed by the authors for the calcula-
tion of the social impact of improved product quality is therefore of interest.
The same procedure is used to measure the impact of comprehensive systems to control
the quality of consumer goods. The authors trace the precise and logical connection
between the quantitative measurement of quality and consumer value on the one hand
and the determination of the social and economic impact on the other.
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The authors analyze the progressive experience of industrial enterprises in the
country that hav� been quite successful in improving the quality of consumer goods.
This book is af scientif ic and practical value. Its purpose is the further improve-
ment of the product quality control mechanism. ~
- Contents
Foreword 3
I. Role of Consumer Goods in the Enhancement of Public Well-Being...... 6
l.l. The Elevation of the Material and Cultural Staudard of .
Living--The Highest Goal of Social Production in the
Socialist Society 6
1.2. Public Demand--The Point of Departure for the Product
Assortment and Quality Level of Consumer Goods 11
1.3. Problems in Assessing the Quality Level and Consumer Value
_ of Products 22
1.4. Questions Connected with the Optimal Quality Level and the
Utility of Consumer Goods 53~
II. Methods of Evaluating the Enhancement of Consumer Product
Quality 67
2.1. Basic Procedures of Calculating the Economic Impact of
Quality Enhancement 67
2.2. Methods of Calculating Economic Impact in Various Spheres
of Social Production 77
2.3. The i:onsideration of Social Results in Plans for the .
Improvement of Quality 91
III. The Development and Impro~Tement of Quality Control Systems.......... 98
3.1. Procedural Principles Governing the Control of Industrial
Product Quality 98
3.2. Standardization--A Quality Coritrol Subsystem 108
3.3. The Role of Metrological Information in Product Quality
Control 117
3.4. The Origins and Development of Product Quality Control
Systems 123
3.5. The Cal~ulation of the Impact of Quality Control Systems...... 131
Conclusion 140
COPYRIGHT: Izdatel'stvo "Ekonomika", 1981
8588
CSO: 1827/100 END
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