Bizuneh Asfaw Digafie
Negative Effects of the Process of
Transformation as the BARIERS of
the Development of Small and
Medium-Size Firms
Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska. Sectio H, Oeconomia 28, 235-246
A N N A L E S
U N I V E R S I T A T I S M A R I A E C U R I E - S K Ł O D O W S K A L U B L I N — P O L O N I A
VOL. X X V III, 19 SECTIO H 1994
Z a k ł a d P s y c h o s p o ł e c z n y c h P r o b l e m ó w Z a r z ą d z a n i a W y d z i a łu E k o n o m ic n z e g o U M C S
B izuneh ASFAW D IGA FIE
Negative Effects of the Process of Transformations as the BARRIERS to the Devlopm ent of Small and M edium-Size Firms
N eg a ty w n e e fe k ty procesu tran sform acji jako BA R IE R Y rozw oju m ałych i śred n ich firm
A BST R A C T
W h atev er m ethods of tra n sfo rm atio n process are used, (interactive or im perative) th e decisive facto r for acceptance by th e society is th e a p p a re n t grow ing rate of th e living sta n d a rd of th e society gained from th e reform . F u r th e r developm ent of the people first of all depends upon the new in v estm en t and accum ulation ability. F o r those purposes th e m iddle class plays the m ost im p o rtan t role. B ut ru in in g of the m iddle class h a m p ers th e d evelopm ent of SME.
G D P A S A N EX A M PLE OF IN V O L U N T A R Y A C T IV IT Y IN THE TR A N SFO R M A TIO N PRO CESS
In this p aper, we m ust seek to lim it o u r u n d erstan d in g of w hat we m ean by th e term tra n sfo rm atio n process.
E very process has a goal. G enerally, a process en tails th e continuous ru n of ev en ts w hich are in terconnected and lead to a definite change in th e object, a person, people or things. In the course of a process, th e v e ry in te rn a l dynam ics of th e change d eterm in e th e sphere, phase or stage of th e change, its progress and developm ent, and w h at th e fin al form , shape, appearan ce q u a lity or n a tu re of th e ob ject of change w ill be. The O xford A dvanced L e a rn e r’s D iction ary defines th e w ord ’’process”
236 B izu n eh A sfa w D igafie
as a connected series of action, change etc., w hich can be v o lu n ta ry or in v o lu n ta ry ”.1
So w hat is tran sfo rm atio n ? It is sim ply the process of m aking a de term in ed effo rt a t changing th e form , shape, appearance, q u a lity or n a tu re of som ething.
In th is p aper, tra n sfo rm atio n should th ere fo re be understood as a pro cess of reform s involving a continuous conscious o r unconscious activ ity of h u m an being. According to Je rz y H a u s n e r 2, th e approaches to tra n s fo rm atio n can generally be grouped into two: im p erativ e and in te rac tiv e m ethods. In th e im p erativ e m ethod o r approach, th e tra n sfo rm atio n process is an ex p erim en t in itiated and directed by th e c e n tral a u th o rity . F o r the ex p erim en ter, th e citizens are sim ply th e objects of this policy, th e y do not p a rticip a te in defining it. The aim is to force upon th em th e desired changes in m en ta lity and beh av io u r and to cause th em to a d ju st to the new ru les or th e g am e-rules defin ed by th e ’’ex p e rim e n te r s ” — th e S tate.
In contrast, th e in teractiv e approach consists of th e elicitation of th e desired changes by m eans of a process of social interaction . H ere th e ce n tral au th o rity , altho u g h th e in itia to r is also a p articip a n t, tre a ts th e o th e r agents as independent p a rticip a n ts in th e process of change and th e definition of th e goals of th e changes. Thus, th e im p erativ e approach and th e in teractiv e approach in both cases, th e conscious activities. We propose then, th a t th e resu lts of any conscious a c tiv ity can be n egative (deliberate or u n in ten tio n al) o r positive.
On th e o th er hand, tra n sfo rm atio n can be a process of unconscious activity. Unconscious activ ity is th e activ ity w hich is in v o lu n ta ry and cannot be controlled. This is especially tru e of th e period in socio-eco nom ic tran sfo rm atio n w hen th e econom y can be described as abn orm al (see Table 1).
In the above tab le th e estim ated figures supplied in each of th e y ears by th e governm ent show ing the pro bab le GD P and th e real G D P indi cate th a t economic activities w ere in v o lu n tary . If one studies g enerally th ese estim ated and real ann u al figures for each year, th e sta tistic a l differen ce b etw een th e real and th e expected values w ill point out w h a t
1 The O xford A d van ced L ea rn er’s D iction ary of C urrent E nglish: P o lish S c ie n tific P u b lish er — W arsaw 1988.
2 J. H a n s n e r : T h esis A b ou t Im p era tiv e vs. In te r a c tiv e S tra teg y of S y s te m atic C hange in C entral and E astern Europe: C o n feren ce organized by th e I n s ti tu tio n a l A n a ly sis S ectio n of th e In stitu te of P h ilo so p h y and S ocio lo g y o f th e P o lish A ca d em y of S cien ces, h eld at R a d ziejo w ice on N o v em b er 18— 19, 1993. T h esis about Im p era tiv e v s. In tera ctiv e S tra teg y of S y stem a tic C hange in C en tral and E astern E urope p. 1— 3.
N e g a tiv e E ffects of th e P rocess of T ransform ation.., 237 Tab. 1. E x p ected and rea l d eclin e in th e an n u al GDP rate (%) in th ree cou n tries:
P olan d , H u n gary and C zech R epublic: 1989— 1992
S p o d ziew a n y i rz e c z y w isty spadek rocznego w sk a źn ik a G D P (w%) w trzech krajach: w P o lsce, W ęgrzech i w C zechach: 1989— 1992
Y ear 1989 1990 1991 1992
r esu lts
cou n try exp . real exp . real exp . real exp . real P olan d 4 .2 1 0.2 —3J1 — 11.6 3.5 — 7.6 0 0.5— 2 H u n gary — 1— 2 0.4 0— 0.5 — 3.3 — 12 3 — 5
C zech Rep. 1.8 1.4 2.5 — 0.4 • —8.5
1 n et m a teria l product.
Source: b ased on ’’P o lish E conom y 1990— 1993” P o lish A cad em y of Scien ce, I n s ti tu te o f E conom ic S c ie n tific P u b lish er S em per, W arsaw 1993, p. 10.
b a rrie rs w ere posed to success and also th e falsity o<r non-preciseness of th e bases for th e expected figures.
Below, a n a tte m p t is m ade to ex p lain th a t position by looking at the economic and social aspects of th e tra n sfo rm atio n processes and th e ir resu lts in P o la n d ’s refo rm s package.
OTHER ECONOMIC FA C T S A N D T R A N SFO R M A TIO N PRO CESS
The in tro d u ctio n of th e m a rk e t econom y has tak e n hold in all coun trie s of th e fo rm er Soviet-bloc now n u m b ering 27 (except fo rm er GDR). The th re e co u ntries (Poland, H un g ary , Czech Republic) stand out from th e rest. H u n g ary w as th e firs t to edge out from th e com m and econom y as fa r back as th e late 1980’s. Poland follow ed in 1989 and th e fo rm er Czechoslovakia in 1990.. Since th e n all th re e have re-estabilish ed m ore or less th e basic legal and in stitu tio n a l fram ew o rk for a m a rk e t economy: th e m ost im p o rta n t of these being: a) d ec en tra lisa tio n of economic de cision m aking; th a t is, sh iftin g p ow er from th e c e n tral economic bodies (governm ental) dow n to th e en terp rises; b) dém ocratisation of th e eco nom ic sp h ere by estab lishin g self-m an ag em ent and p riv a te ow nership; c) re s tru c tu rin g of economic in stru m e n ts of control, in th e economy: banking, finance, and tax a tio n system s. These principles lay th e fou n dation s fo r d iffe re n t specific p rogram m es of refo rm in various areas of economic activ ity to im prove th e socio-econom ic position of th e society.
In Poland all aspects of ev ery d ay life have changed. The society seem s to have fo rg o tten th e h ard sh ip s of th e socialist era. F o r exam ple: — th e people have b een freed from th e d aily b u rd e n of endless queueing for food and household necessities,
238 B izu n eh A sfa w D ig a fie
— th e zloty (Polish official currency) w as devalued in ord er to boost foreign tra d e (export and im port),
— firm s have been re s tru c tu re d to m eet the challenge of th e m a rk e t economy,
— P o lan d ’s economy (GDP) grew , 4% in real term s in 1993 and th e governm ent b udget deficit has fallen from over 7% of GDP in 1989 to below 3% in 1994 3,
— foreign deb t is reduced alm ost 50%,
— even though the p riv a tisa tio n and rep riv atisa tio n process is v e ry slow; m ost foreign trad e, over 80% of reta ilin g , 75% of construction, over 60% road tra n sp o rta tio n and n e a rly 30% of in d u stria l sale now come from th e p riv a te sector w hich account for 50% of GD P and 60% em ploy m ent including a g ric u ltu re .4
Thus, clearly th e refo rm is p ro ving positive. F rom these indications Poland seem s to have a prom ising fu tu re econom ically.
Despite these positive tren d s, th e re are also negative tre n d s and these negative trn d s are obstacles of th e refo rm process and sim u ltaneo u sly collapse th e developm ent of SME. F o r exam ple.
1. The sudden exposure to in te rn atio n a l free com petition destroyed industries and job.
2. The problem of sh ortage has h o w ev er been replaced by ano ther: the m any h o u rs w asted in h u n tin g for a good prices, th e m oney w asted on n on -g u aran ted co n trab an d goods from b azaars and shops th a t have sp ru n g up illegally.
3. The re stru c tu rin g process also m ea n t a red uctio n in th e n u m b er of the em ployees and increase in th e o u tp u t and h ig h er e n try re q u ire m ents for w orkers of those who rem ain. T h at is bad lab o u r practice.
4. R esulting from bad lab o u r p ractices, w id espread discontent am ong w orkers and continuing strik e actions leading to economic losses.
5. R ate of unem p loy m ent is increasing. 6. Real wages and incomes have declined. 7. C u rren t account balance is negative.
8. P urchasing pow er for lu x u ry goods in increased.
The above m entioned economic and social indicators are illu stra te d g raphically and in th e Table below (Table 2).
1. From grap h s I, II, III and IV it is u n d ersto od th a t th e re is economic chaos.
2. F igures in th e c u rre n t account balance and exchange ra te of zlotys, indicate d ev alu atio n is m eaningless w hen, th e re is a huge and u n fa v o u r able tra d e balance.
3 The E conom ist, v ol. 331 no 7859 A p ril 16th 1994.
N eg a tiv e E ffects o f th e P rocess of T ransform ation... 239 Tab. 2. O w nership per 100 h ou seh old s
S ta n p osiad an ia na 100 gosp od arstw Y ear good purchased 1985 1990 1992 cars 27.2 33.2 41.4 colou r TV 23.1 67.1 91.4 v id e o -c a sse tte recording — 20.1 53.4 w a sh in g m ach in e 38.7 63.5 69.7 S ource: T he E conom ist, no 7859, vol. 331, A p ril 16th 1994.
F ig. 1. R eal n et w a g e in d ex, 1990 =il00
W skaźnik r zeczy w isty ch zarobków netto, 1990 = 100
Fig. 2. G row th of G D P % ch an ge one year ea rlier W zrost zm ian G D P (%) rok w cześn iej
F ig. 3. U n em p lo y m en t rate W skaźnik bezrobocia
F ig. 4. C on su m er price % in crease one year earlier W zrost c en (%) rok w cześn iej
Source: F igures 1, 2, 3 and 4 axe from th e sam e: The E conom ist, v ol. 331, S u r v e y o f P olan d , A pril 16th 1994, p. 84.
240 B izu n eh A sfa w D igofie
Fig. 5. C urrent accou n t b alan ce in bn. USD S ource: M on th ly S ta tistic a l In form ation , Jan u ary 1994
B ieżący b ilan s h a n d lo w y w m id U SD
Fig. 6. E xch an ge rate of z lo ty per U SD in v erted sca le Source: S ee Fig. 5.
K urs w y m ia n y złotego na U SD
Fig. 7. H ou sin g co n stru ctio n d ecrease, a verage of 1980— 1988 = 1.00%
Spadek ilości od d aw an ych m ieszk ań , struktura m ieszk an iow a, w sk a źn ik za la ta 1980— 1988
Fig. 8. In verted sca le rate of p overty W skaźnik zubożenia sp o łeczeń stw a
3. F in ally w hen th e tre n d of th e po v erty gap, house b uilding and th e grow th of G D P analysed, th ere is u n rea l d istrib u tio n of th e m ate ria l w ealth. The in te restin g fig u res m ay be th e p u rch a sin g pow ers of th e society fo r some goods (See Table 2 above) and th e in v erted scales of ra te of p o v erty gap and th e real wage index. One can a t th is point only agree w ith th e P ru ssian econom ist E rn est Engels (1821— 1896) w ho a fte r s tu dying th e relatio nsh ip b etw een th e q u a lity of goods dem anded and in come, concluded th a t th e dem and fo r some ’’lu x u ry ” goods m ay increase p ro p o rtio n a tely m ore rap id ly th a n income, w h ereas th e dem and for necessities” m ay grow p ro p o rtio n a tely less rap id ly th a n incom e” .5
5 W. N i c h o l s o n : M icroeconom ic T heory B asic P ricip les and E xten sion s, 4th E dition U SA 1989, p. 133.
N e g a tiv e E ffects of th e P ro cess of T ransform ation... 241
T herefo re, the above m entioned goods, even if th ey w ere second hand, are lu x u ry goods for th e v ast m a jo rity of Poles. R a th e r th an in v estin g in housing and accom m odation, th e households p refe re d to bu y those lu x u ry goods. Based on th e fact th a t u n rea l d istrib u tio n of m ate ria l w e a lth and chaotic economy are a re su lt of th e tra n sfo rm atio n process, we can id en tify tw o m ain groups of people in th e society: first the low - -incom e group of people w ho are exposed to ” 3S” (Sadness, S tarv atio n , Sickness) and, th e upper-incom e (legally or illegally) groups of th e people hav ing ”3V” (Volvo, Villa, Video).
This abno rm al division of th e society resu ltin g from th e d isto rte d d istrib u tio n of m a te ria l w ealth is d estro y in g th e m iddle class. N a tu ra lly , th e m iddle class w hich m u st be high in n u m b er w ith in the whole pop u latio n are being m arginalised to w ard th e p o v erty group. In fact this can not stop, th e tid e of refo rm , b u t ra th e r it creates th e b a rrie r to develop m en t of sm all and m edium sized e n te rp rises w hich m u st be b u ilt and developed by th e m iddle class.
The pro blem in to d ay ’s Poland, w hich affects th e developm ent of SME is not only th e economy, b u t also th e relationsh ip b etw een persons and com m unity, go vern m en t and th e people, th e church and th e laity, w o rk ers and em ployers, in sh ort, a social crisis.
SO C IO -ECO NO M IC IN D IC A TO R S A N D A C T IO N S T A K E N BY THE ST A T E A U T H O R ITIES
Crisis has been vario u sly defined as: ”a com bination of tre n d s th a t [has] reached a radical tu rn in g point and has im p o rta n t im plication” ; a ’’break in g tu rn in g p o in t in a tre n d of processes” , and as ”a s tru c tu ra l b reakd ow n from w hich we can go up and dow n, for b e tte r or fo r w orse” .6 Thus, crisis is nothing. It is sim ply th e sta rtin g point of a process. B u t in case of social life, crisis is th e u n u su al relatio n of th e society caused by negative re su lt of economic reform . A ny economic refo rm m u st bring social change, and w hen th a t re su lt of social change is negative we call it social crisis. As some politicians say, ’th e re is no painless re fo rm ” :
1. W hole categories of th e w orkers such as teachers, u n iv ersity p ro fessors, doctors, nurses, railw ay m en etc. have lost th e ir fo rm er socio-eco
nom ic p restig e along w ith th e ir fo rm er re la tiv e ly high income.
6 J. T o r t o s a , J. I r v i n e : C risis and D anger; P o lish A ca d em y of S cien ce C om m ittee ’’P oland 2000”, W arsaw Spec. N o 1985.
242 B izuneh A sfa w T-igafie
2. The social service (organised govern m en t services providing help and advice to those who are in need or trouble) have disapp eared or have been lim ited to th e m inim um , or w here th ey exist th ey are p rac tic a lly non-functional.
3. W omen are discrim inated from the w ork place (this is because of th e ir n a tu ra l obligation — especially m a te rn ity leave).
4. C rim inal activ ity is on the in c re a s e 7: In 1989, 457,589 crim inal cases w ere rep o rted . In 1990, the n u m b er increased to 883,346. A n in crease of 64.31% — an ab n o rm ally high figure. F rom those d a ta th e ft and breaking — in to houses in 1989 am ounted to 219,581 and in 1990, 431,056; an increase of 97.2%. People a ctu ally fe a r to w alk outside th e ir hom es a fte r sunset.
5. Social secu rity is u n h e a lth y , though above 33% of th e w hole po p ulation was living below th e p o v erty level in 1992, com pared to 15% in 1980.
From th e economic p a in t of view th e gross dom estic product, average m o nth ly income or an n u al p e r capital incom e has been used as a social indicator, because change in these figures m eans change in the m eans of living. B ut th is is not n ecessarily tru e.
The living stan d ard of th e society is declining th ou gh th e GD P in creased 4%. F u rth e rm o re , to find the incom e and expanse of young people, a su rv ey was conducted am ong stu d e n ts about to g rad u a te from th e high school. In M arch 1994, such stu d e n ts had an average of 922,000 zloty as th e ir disposable income p e r m onth. The difference b etw een the m axim um and m inim um disposable income and th e ir ab ility of spend th e m oney w as v e ry v ast. The m ost w e a lth y s tu d e n t sta te d th a t he had spent 32 m illion zlotys (USD 1,450) th a t m onth. D espite th a t ra th e r h ig h m ean average (922,000 zl), 50% of the respo nd ents indicated th a t th e y had less th an 400,000 zlotys at th e ir disposal.8
Hence, th e w ealth of a m in o rity of th e respo nd en ts pushed up th e average. T hat m eans the official economic indicators (5 m ln average m o n thly income and 2.1 m ln p o v e rty gap in th is y e a r 9), conceals th e presence of b oth th e poor m a jo rity and the rich m in o rity and p ro b ab ly indicate an income level w hich does not exist. This is su p p o rted by th e resu lts of a su rv e y on ’’Life in P o lan d ” by th e Polish P ublic Opoiniion. The resu lts of th e su rv e y showed th a t tw o -th ird s of Poles feel th a t th e ir
7 P rzegląd R ząd ow y nr 7— 8 (37— 38) S ocial secu rity , A u g u st 1994.
8 P o lish P u b lic O pinion, Incom e and E x p en se of Y oung P eo p le, A u gu st 1994, p. 4.
N e g a tiv e E ffects of th e P ro cess of T ransform ation... 243
ev ery d ay lives are difficult. As can be seen in the Table 3, in th e period from 1988 to 1994 (seven y ears in total), no change was recorded in the
living sta n d a rd s of Poles.
Tab. 3. A n sw e r s of resp on d en ts as p ercen ta g e of th e w h o le p op u lation for sam p le ’’H o w ’s life in P o la n d ”
O d p ow ied zi resp o n d en tó w (w p rocen tach w stosu n k u 'Lo ogółu ludności) na a n k ietę ’’Ż ycie w P o lsc e ” L ife in a n sw ers resp on d in g Y ear 1988 1992 1994 it is v ery d ifficu lt 22% 14% 1Q% rath er d ifficu lt 54% 53% 52% not v ery d ifficu lt 21% 29% 27% n ot d ifficu lt at all 3% 4% 5% Source: P o lish P u b lic O pinion, L ife in P olan d , Ju n e 1994 p. 3.
Tab. 4. A sa m p le of th e m ost im p ortan t d iffic u ltie s faced by P o les in th eir d a y to -d ay liv in g
N a jw a żn iejsze p roblem y, z jak im i sty k a ją się P o la c y w życiu cod zien n ym
D iffic u ltie s Y ear
1988 1994 prob lem s a ssociated w ith career 36% 11%
ru n n in g a h ou seh old 19% 19% u n em p lo y m en t or fea r of u n em p lo y m en t — 11%
d iffic u lty of fin a n cia l sita tio n 14% 51%
h ea lth problem 10% 20%
h ou sin g situ a tio n 3% 5%
old age lo n elin ess — 5%
Source: see T ab le 3.
The facto rs co n trib u tin g to d ifficu lty in life have a lot of change com p a rin g w ith th e d ifficu lty itself. In th e 1980’s problem n u m b er one was identified as being th e d ifficu lty in obtaining consum er goods. Today u n em p lo ym en t and lack of financial income stan d first.
H ealth p roblem s and m edical care co n stitu te th e second problem nex t to economic problem s and are reg arded as som ething w hich is a g re a te r pro blem at this m om ent th a n it w as d u rin g th e com m unist tim e. Old age loneliness is a new phenom ena. Even th ou gh th e fu n d a m en tal indicators of living sta n d a rd (financial problem , h e a lth problem , or u nem ploym ent) increase in sh eer n u m b er and ra te , about 32% of th e resp o nd en ts answ ers w ere positive as before th e reform . This shows
244 Bizi n eh A sfa w D igafie
th a t Poles are v e ry optim istic. H ow ever, about 2/3 of th e society live in d iffic u lt conditions.
N a tu ra lly the purpose of econom ic and social indicators is to enable th e a u th o rities to d irect th e d irectio n of th e reform in o rd er to p rev e n t th e society from th e p o v erty . B u t as official S tatistics indicate, it is not p ractical. In addition to th e above problem s th e re are legal problem s caused by the sta te au th o rities:
1. Rules often change and th e y a re not c le a r for th e directo rs of firm s; these affect firm ’s p lan (e.g. V A T sim ply w eighs dow n firm s w ith p a p e r work).
2. Rules w hich are th o u g h t to p ro te c t legal firm s come out too late; and th is enables th e illegal firm s to o u tw it th e legal firm s from the m a rk e t by m eans of m a rk e t com petition.
3. One set of economic ru les fo r th e o th e r play ed m alicious tricks. F o r exam ple th e p riv a tisa tio n and re s tru c tu rin g of in d u stria l firm s has increased the n u m b er of people w ho go on ea rly re tire m e n t, b u t th ey h av e g e n erally been allow ed to d ra w th e ir pensions and continue to w ork fre e ly for sev eral m onths (18 m on th s 10) fo r em ployers, th a t is w h y m any em p lo yers ad vertise in th e n e w sp ap er for pensioners instead of ablebody w orkers.
4. P olitical and ideological m isu n d erstan d in g s delay actu al decisions w hich are im p o rta n t fo r economic activity . (Pow er strugg le b etw een th e E xecu tiv e and th e L egislature, h a m p e red th e p riv a tisa tio n process).
5. The financial policy of th e g o v ernm ent: h igh ra te of bank in te re st (40—45) did not a ttra c t th e investors. T hus no inv estm en t of new firm s and hence no developm ent.
Because of th e above m entioned reasons and o th er sim ilar economic and social problem s, Poles p ro v ed th e in cap ab ility of th e previous gov e rn m e n t (S olidarity and L iberals) and voted fo r com m unists on S ep te m b e r 19, 1993, to slow dow n th e pace of tra n sfo rm a tio n process.
H ere is a question: h as th e slow dow n of th e reform show n a positive e ffect on th e society? No. B ut, people in any society look fo rw ard to fu ll em p lo y m ent, not unem p lo y m en t, th ey w an t fa ir tra d e , not free tra d e , th e y w ant eq u ality, not d iscrim in atio n and in eq u ality , th e y w a n t an e fficien t m ark e t m echanism in o rd er not to w aste tim e and m oney, h u n
10 L aw on E m p loym en t and R e h a b ilita tio n of th e D isab led of M ay 9, 1991 (D z.U . N o. 46, item 201 of 1991) and C h an ges in P erso n a l In com e T a x L a w o f J u ly 26, 1991. A rt. 2 and A rt. 26.
N e g a tiv e E ffects o f th e P ro cess of T ransform ation... 245
ting for good price, th ey d ream of p ro sp e rity and a h e a lth y life, not d egradation and poverty .
As M. F uszara argues ’’th e p ic tu re of recent change in Polish society w ould be incom plete, if only the difficu lties w ere discussed; if all th e im provem ent of e v ery -d ay life b ro u g h t about by th e m ark e t econom y w ere left aside” .11 It is a fact, th a t change focused only on th e aim of creating a m ark e t econom y r a th e r th a n on th e aim of im proving th e living sta n d a rd of th e society w ill end in social decline w hich is m ore d ifficult to reverse once th e ra te is high. The d anger is not th a t Poland m ight re v e rt to com m unism ; it is th a t th e com m unist m en ta lity w hich hinges on com m and economy, w ill p o litically h a m p e r th e ten a c ity of p u r pose of governm ent to p u rsu e th e process to m a rk e t econom y consist ently.
H alf m easures are m ore dan g ero u s th a n not beginning — th e collapse of sm all and m edium -size e n te rp rise s w ill m ake Poles po orer and less free society th a n th ey w ere before 1989.
S T R E S Z C Z E N I E
P rzed m iotem artyk u łu jest u k azan ie n eg a ty w n y ch sk u tk ó w w procesie tr a n sform acji od gospodarki p lan ow ej do gosp od ark i ryn k ow ej jako BAR IER rozw oju m ałych i średnich p rzed sięb iorstw w P o lsce.
P ojęcie „proces” jest to „przebieg n a stęp u ją cy ch po sobie i pow iązan ych p rzy czyn ow o ok reślon ych zm ian, sta n o w ią cy ch stadia, fazy, eta p y rozw oju. K ażdy p ro ces ma cel. T ran sform acja sy stem o w a ja k o proces reform od gospodarki p lan ow ej do gospodarki ryn k ow ej w y m a g a od p ow ied n iej m etod y k ierow an ia. J a k a k o lw iek m etoda (in terak tyw n a czy im p eratyw n a) jest prow adzona, to n a jw a żn iejszą rzeczą jest ak cep tacja zm ian przez sp o łeczeń stw o . S u k cesem p rocesów tra n sfo rm a cy jn y ch (akceptacji zm ian przez sp o łeczeń stw o ) jest w zro st poziom u życia ludzii. R ozw ój zależy natom iast od zd oln ości a k u m u la cji kap itału i w ielk o ści n o w y ch in w e sty c ji w gospodarce.
P ro cesy tran sform acji gospodarki sk ła d a ją się z działań w p ełn i św iad om ych , zap lan ow an ych i takich, które m ożna o k reślić jako m im ow oln e, w y stęp u ją ce w s p o sób n iek on trolow an y, będące poza za sięg iem od d ziaływ an ia d ecy d en tó w . Jest to szczególn ie w id oczn e w ted y , k ied y gospodarka nie jest u k szta łto w a n a w pełni w sposób praw id łow y, k ied y n a zy w a m y ją „an orm aln ą”.
W P o lsce o b serw u jem y p o d sta w o w e w sk a źn ik i rozw oju gospodarczego: in w e sty cje, zatrudnienie, dochód sp o łeczeń stw a itp., p raw ie w sz y stk ie są n eg a ty w n e. To określa, w jak ich w aru n k ach sp o łe c z e ń stw o żyje. W P o lsce m ożna z id en ty fik o w a ć istn ien ie ty lk o dw óch grup sp o łeczeń stw a : p ierw sza p rzew ażająca część sp o łeczeń stw a to lu d zie o n isk ich dochodach, drugą, n iew ielk ą , grupę sta n o w ią ludzie o w y
11 M. F u s z a r a : E conom ic and In d u stria l D em ocracy, an In tern ation al Jou rn al V ol. 15, No. 1, F ebruary 1994, p. 75.
246 3 iz u n e h A sfa w D igc.i’e
sokich dochodach. Od czasu tran sform acji (1989) z pow odu n iera cjo n a ln eg o g o sp o darow ania m ajątk iem n arod ow ym , k la sy śred n iej p raw ie n ie ma (nie w idać). Z n isz czen ie tej k la sy to h a m o w a n ie rozw oju całego k raju — sp o łeczeń stw a .
P rob lem podziału sp o łeczeń stw a jest n ie ty lk o za g a d n ien iem ek on om iczn ym , a le jest to rów nież k w e stia rela c ji m iędzy sp o łeczeń stw em a jed n ostk ą, rządem a sp o łeczeń stw em , p racow n ik am i a p racod aw cam i, k tóre to p ro b lem y p ow od u ją p o w a żn y k ryzys sp ołeczn y. O czy w iście m ożna zgodzić się ze stw ierd zen iem , że nie m a b ezb olesn ych reform , ale trzeb a podjąć o k reślon e d ziałan ia, a b y zm n iejszyć n eg a ty w n e skutki p rocesów p rzem ian u stro jo w y ch . J eżeli nie, te n e g a ty w n e sk u tk i tran sform acji dojdą do n ieu d a n y ch reform , k tó re m ogą sp o w o d o w a ć n ieo d w ra ca ln e stra ty k u ltu row e, p o lity czn e i ek on om iczn e oraz tru d n iejsze życie, tru d n iejsze n a w e t niż przed reform ą.
