Zbigniew Szeloch
Process of the Formation and
Functioning of Economic
Associations
Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska. Sectio H, Oeconomia 19, 45-57
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 IX , 4 SECTIO H 1985
Z akład O rgan izacji i Zarządzania W ydziału E k o n o m iczn eg o UMCS
Z b i g n i e w S Z E L O C H
The Process of Forming ■
and Functioning of Economic Associations
P roces tw orzen ia i fu n k cjo n o w a n ia zrzeszeń gospodarczych
П роц есс ф орм и рован и я и ф ун к ц и он и рован и я экон ом ических соеди н ен и й
The economic refo rm u n d e rta k en in 1981, included also th e organiza tion al s tru c tu re of th e economy. The act about state e s ta b lis h m e n ts 1 m ade plans fo r th e form atio n of associations w ith econom ically ju sti fied aims. These associations w ere supposed to be, in th e in te n tio n of the legislator, unions whose aim was to en sure th e establish m ents u n ited in th e fo rm er h elp in carry in g out th e ir s ta tu to ry tasks and the u n d e rta k in g of e n te rp rises th e com m on realization of w hich increases efficiency and economic a c tiv ity of p a rtic u la r establishm ents. This aim is realized by m eans of:
— co n cen trated and ratio n al u tilization of pow ers and m eans ne cessary to c a rry out th e tasks exceeding th e realizatio nal possibilities of p a rtic u la r m em bers of th e association;
— finding and m anaging reserv es existing in th e activ ity of m em bers of th e association;
— eq u atin g conditions of th e functioning of p a rtic u la r establish m ents;
— creatin g p ro p er conditions to h a ste n th e technological and organi zational progress.
The act about sta te estab lish m en ts quoted above provide for a
possi-1 A ct fro m S ep tem b er 25, possi-198possi-1 about sta te esta b lish m en ts (no. 24 from possi-198possi-1, p o sitio n 122).
46 Z b ign iew S zeloch
b ility to create tw o basic typ es of associations: v o lu n ta ry and obligatory ones. C reation of a v o lu n ta ry estab lish m en t proceeds on the basis of an ag re e m e n t concluded w ith the concord of w o rk e rs’ com m ittees of estab lish m en ts form ing an association and su bject to th e approval of th e organs w hich founded th e association. On th e o th er hand, th e form ation of an o bligatory association m ay tak e place only in exceptional cases ju stified by social and economic factors. It takes place by w ay of an act of th e C abinet a fte r previous consultation w ith adequ ate com m ittees of th e Seym . In such a case, defin ite estab lish m en ts are obliged to e n te r a c o n tra c t p ertain in g to th e form atio n of an association for th e period of five years, and the superv iso r organs sanction the S ta tu s of th e Asso ciation.
M em bers of th e association tak e p a rt in all comm on en terp rises of th e association, th ey cover th e costs of th e la tte r ’s realization; they also have th e ir sh are in surpluses and o th er p ro fits a tta in e d by th e association.
A ssociations as purp osefu l unions m ay u n ite not only establishm en ts b u t also oth er organizational units, for instance scientific-research bases, d esigning offices, cen tres of organizational or in form ation al services.
T herefore, m em bers of associations m ay be organizational u n its of d iffe re n tia te d subjects of activity. T heir in ter-depen d ence gives as a re sult, possibilities of creating various types of associations, p resen ted in Tab. 1.
The form ation of associations was sim ultaneously connected w ith the liq u idatio n of fed eration s functioning in Polish econom y since 1958.2 W h at w as m ean t h ere was to liq u idate th e in d irect level of m an agem ent o ccurring betw een b ran ch-lik e m in istries and establishm ents in connec tion w ith basing th e functioning of establish m ents on so-called p rin ciple 3 ” S ”, th a t is independence (samodzielność), autonom y (sam orząd ność), self-financing (sam ofinansow anie). This co n stitu ted a stra ig h t con sequence of giving up th e im p erativ e-d irectiv e system of m anagem ent. A g rea t m ajo rity of estab lishm ents joined associations on th e ir ow n in itia tiv e , seeing in^ this act d efinite p ro fits.3 This positive attitude, to associations at th e in itial stage resu lted first of all from the a c tiv ity of estab lish m en ts in th e conditions of g reat suspense (lack of raw m ate ria ls and m ate ria ls as w ell as of foreign currency, lack of fa ith in th e sta b i lity of p rinciples of th e refo rm being introduced, breaking up th e u n ity as a re su lt of th e liquidation of federations, restrictio n s of the m a rtia l law). M oreover, sm all and m edium sized establishm ents saw in fed e ra
-2 A ct No. -24-2 of the C abinet from N ovem b er 30, 1981 con cern in g th e p r in c ip les — procedures and tim e of su p p ressin g fed eration s of sta te e sta b lish m e n ts
(MP No. 32 from 1981, posiiition 286).
Ta b. 1. S p e c if ic a ti o n of th e Types of A ss o c ia ti o n s P a r ti c ip a n ts
The P rocess of Form ing... 47
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48 Z b ign iew S zeloch
tions a form of in te g ratio n m aking m u tu a l h elp possible and a m eans fo r th e stre n g th e n in g of th e ir position in th e relatio n s w ith c e n tral organs of econom ic ad m in istration .
Process of th e form atio n of associations did no t alw ays proceed w ith o u t a n y resistance and w as a re su lt of th e in itia tiv e tak en by the esta blishm ents. In some cases, th e establishm ents w ere u n d er a strong p re ssu re on th e p a rt of p le n ip o te n tia ry offices,4 m in istries and the staff of fo rm e r fed eratio ns. The p ro ced u re m ost fre q u e n tly applied was to c re a te associations on th e b asis of fe d e ra tio n s ju st being done aw ay w ith. This w as connected on th e one h an d w ith th e above-m entioned ’’pressu r e s ”, on th e other, w ith th e p ersistence of th e th e n existing connections a n d th e estab lish m en ts’ relu ctance to b rea k th em up. In some cases this gave rise to various conflicts.
T h ere have been left only v e ry few estab lish m en ts outside of the s tru c tu re of associations. The m a jo rity of th ese is m ade up by m any- -d e p a rtm e n t establishm ents, and p lan ts as w ell as those w hich opposed th e fo rm atio n of additional stru c tu re s beyond th e establishm ents.
The p resen t experience as fa r as th e form atio n of associations m akes it possible to fo rm u la te th e follow ing p rere q u isite s consituting th e basis of form ing associations by estab lish m ents:5
1) creating, fo r estab lish m en ts accustom ed to top a u th o rita tiv e m an a g em en t, p ro p er conditions for m ild tra n sitio n to com plete independence a n d fin a l situ atin g in th e new o rg an izatio n al s tru c tu re of th e economy, not on th e basis of a u th o rita tiv e decisions, b u t as a re s u lt of research an d an aly ses of p e rtin en c e an d efficiency of o rg an iz atio n al solutions, in tro d u c ed and p lan n ed ones;
2) organizing in place of fo rm er in d irect link of economic ad m in istra tion, th a t is the fed eratio n , of an o rg an com pletely fo rm ed by in d ep e n d e n t u n its in o rd e r to m ake e asier a tta in in g of p ro fits re su ltin g fro m th e co op eratio n betw een estab lish m en ts h aving com m on aim s;
3) a p ossibility fo r m ore effective u tiliz a tio n of v e ry m eagre now — an d c e rta in ly in th e n earest fu tu re — funds for d evelopm ent by m eans of th e coordinating of th e p lan n ed and in trodu ced u n d e rta k in g s in tim e and in space;
4) a possibility to be, in relatio n to producers — p urv ey o rs of th e
* P len ip o ten tia ries d ealin g w ith s o -c a lle d operation al program m es and se le c te d
p ro d u ctio n sy stem s w ere ca lled on the basis of A ct. N o. 278 of th e C ab in et from D ecem b er 30, 1981, co n cern in g th e fu n ctio n in g of th e econ om y in th e p erio d of th e m a rtia l la w (MP N o. 1/82 p o sitio n 1).
5 C. S k o w r o n e k , J. M r o z e k : F u n k c jo n o w a n ie z r z e s z e ń p r z e d s i ę b i o r s t w
w s f e r z e o b r o t u z a o p a t r z e n i o w e g o [ t h e Fu n cti on in g of th e A sso c ia tio n s of E s ta b l is h m e n t s i n th e S p h e r e of th e S u p p l y T u rn o v e r] . IO ZiDK , W arszaw a 1983.
The P rocess of Form ing.. 49
m eans of p rod u ctio n — an organization stro ng econom ically an d one w hich m u st be tak e n into consideration and cooperated w ith d u rin g th e creation of p rod u ctiv e program m es, o u tle t plans, m a rk e t research etc.;
5) coordination of activ ities connected w ith th e functioning of div i
sion still necessary in th e tra n sito ry period or obligatory agency in th e sales.
The dom inating form is co n stitu ted by associations of the same tra d e , am ong th em associations of th e producers of rea d y products. These associations of th e h o riz o n tal c h a ra c te r m ost fre q u e n tly fu lfil th e fo l low ing f u n c tio n s :6
— organizing m a rk e t research,
— realization of comm on u n d ertak in g s of productive, research , tra d e ch aracters,
— organizing com m on info rm atio n services; — tra in in g and p rep a ra tio n of specialized staffs,
— coordination of th e economic policy in th e fields of production, tra d e and research,
— coordination of th e activ ity on foreign m arkets,
— co ord ination of th e investive a c tiv ity and technological progress. As regards vertical-g ro u p estab lish m ents w hich c a rry out th e su b seq u en t phases of producing th e fin al product, th e m ost fre q u e n t fu n c tions are the fo llo w in g :7
— common b alancing of plans, including production ones, — common p rep a rin g of th e p ro jects of tw o-sided agreem ents,
— u n d ertak in g activities connected w ith th e giving up of th e im p o rt of re a d y sub-assem blies,
— g ran tin g n o n -in te re ste d cred its from th e com m only created in v e stive fu n d w ith th e purpose of doing aw ay w ith n a rro w sections,
— establishing th e principles of price policy as regards supply-coope ra tiv e elem ents,
— tra n s fe rrin g th e m eans fro m th e funds of th e technological econo mic progress for the finacing of new initiatives,
— conducting com m on policy of developm ent, — conducting com m on services.
A sep arate group is m ade up of th e associations of estab lish m en ts of supply tra d e whose m ain functions are as follows: 8
— to u n d ertak e, in th e nam e of rep re sen te d establishm ents, ac tiv i
8 Z. G a d a j , B. M i e d z i ń s k i : Z r z e s z e n ia w ocenie p r z e d s i ę b i o r s t w [ A s s o
cia tio n s in th e E stim a tio n o f E sta b lis h m e n ts], IO ZiDK , W arszaw a 1983.
7 H. J a g o d a , P. K u b i a k : P io n o w e z r z e s z e n i a p r z e d s i ę b i o r s t w [ V e r t ic a l
Association s of E sta b lis h m e n ts]. IO ZiDK , W arszaw a, 1983.
8 C. S k o w r o n e k , J. M r o z e k : op. cit. 4 — A n n a les
50 Z b ign iew S zelo ch
ties en su rin g a tta in m e n t of n ecessary m ate ria ls used in the building tra d e ,
— in th e nam e of estab lish m en ts to e n te r in to co n ta c ts and a g re e m en ts w ith p ro d u ce rs and o rg an izatio n s of th e o u tle ts of m aterials used in th e building trad e,
— to keep th e reg isters of ag reem ents and co n tra cts tran sacted for g e n e ra l sup ply of m aterials and pro du cts used in th e building trade,
— to p re p a re m a te ria l b alances w hich are th e o b jects of th e tu r n o v e r fo r th e w hole building tra d e and balances co n stitu tin g the assort m e n t developm ent of c e n tra l balances,
— to agree upon th e y e a rly and q u a rte rly size of supplies w ith th e m ain p urveyors,
— to conduct actions w ith th e purpose of increasing the assortm ent ran g e of d istrib u ted m aterials,
— to coordinate and estab lish th e principles of m an y -y e ars’ p ro gram m es of developing th e activ ity of establishm ents,
— to in itia te and coordinate com m on u n d ertak in g s, especially those connected w ith inv estm ents, rep airs, social services, com m ercial-technical services, ad v ertizin g etc.,
— to cre a te on th e level of th e association th e fu n d for financing th e in te g ra te d needs of th e m em bers of an association; principles and w a y of utilizing th e funds laid out by th e association council,
— to pro v id e help fo r estab lish m en ts in in tro d u c in g th e achievem ents of o rg anizational-technological progress,
— to provide technical and organizational counsel,
— to re p re se n t com m on in te rests of th e M inistry of the B uilding T rad e and th e In d u stry of B uilding M aterials as w ell as o ther organs of c e n tra l ad m in istra tio n in m a tte rs of th e policy of p rices and m argin s of profits, system of paym ent, organization, accountancy and others con n ected w ith th e activ ity of establishm ents,
— to in itia te activities aim ing a t im proving form s and principles of th e tu rn o v e r,
— to conduct instruction- and economic in fo rm atio n as well as to organize professional courses re fe rrin g to estab lish ed pro blem s com m on to all establishm ents,
— to deal w ith division of th e m eans c e n tra lly balanced and m ea n t fo r th e supplies of establishm ents,
— to coordinate cooperation concerning b o rd er exchange of m aterials, — in th e nam e of associated establishm ents, to e n te r into agreem en ts w ith tra n sp o rt organizations,
— to assign and coordinate research w ork connected w ith th e acti v ity of associated establishm ents.
The P rocess of Form ing... 51
A ssociations fu n ctio n on th e basis of s ta tu te s passed by th e Council of th e Association. The s ta tu te should contain:
1) G en eral decisions including am ong others:
— legal bases of th e activ ity of th e association (act abo ut s ta te e sta blishm ents, agreem ent, statute),
— decisions defining th e c h a ra c te r of th e ag reem en t (open, closed, procedure of leaving an association and dissolving it),
— nam e and seat of th e association.
2) P urp ose (basic and specific ones), su b ject and ran g e of th e a c tiv ity of th e association; e x em p lary basic p u rp o se of th e association m ay be considered th e a tta in m e n t of d efinite economic and social p rofits, as a re su lt of organized cooperation of m em bers of th e association in th e course of c a rry in g out th e la tte r ’s tasks.
3) R ights and duties of m em bers of the association, and th e m em b e rs’ rig h ts are to specify defin ite p ro fits provided by th e p o ssibility to p a r ti cipate in th e association, w hereas th e fo rm u lated duties a re to e n su re conditions w hen these p ro fits m a y be attain ed .
4) O rgans of th e association, th a t is: the Council of th e A ssociation, P re sid e n t of th e Association, D irector of th e Association.
5) The econom ic-financial system and principles of m anag ing — spe cifying am ong o th ers th e fu n d am e n ta l principles of p lan n in g and fin a n cial m anagem ent, including form ation of com m on funds and fin an cin g th e activ ity of th e association ap p aratu s, th e ran ge of decisions ta k e n by organs of th e association and th e principles of u n d e rta k in g com m on enterprises.
6) W ork ers’ autonom y — com prising decisions re fe rrin g to th e g ua ra n te e of th e w o rk e rs’ rig h ts as re g a rd s th e m anaging of th e association and possible decisions reg u latin g the affairs of th e association a p p a ra tu s.
7) F inal decisions — re g u la tin g such pro b lem s as for in stan ce se ttlin g con trov ersial m a tte rs and th e application of possible sanctions in rela tio n to u n its w hich do not fu lfil th e ir duties resu ltin g from th e p a rticip a tio n in th e association, including exclusion from th e association.
Associations have th e follow ing organs: th e council — as th e m an a ging organ, p resid en t and d irecto r of th e association.9
The Council of th e Association is th e hig h est organ of th e association. It includes rep re sen ta tiv e s of w o rk e rs’ self-govern m ents (one person from each) and d irecto rs of estab lish m en ts — m em bers of th e associa tion. The Council takes decisions concerning th e functio ning of th e asso ciation in th e form of resolutions w hich should, in principle, be ta k e n by th e m a jo rity of 2/3 votes w ith th e m inim um presence of 3/4 m em
52 Z b ign iew S zeloch
bers of th e Council. The com petence of th e Council includes passing re solutions as regards m a tte rs co n stitu tin g th e su b ject of th e activ ity of th e association as specified in th e sta tu te , tablin g m otions concerning in tro d u ctio n of possible changes to th e s ta tu te of the association, taking decisions about adm ission or exclusion of the m em bers of th e associa tion, establishing p rogram m es of a c tiv ity of th e Association B ureau, appointing and dism issing directo rs of th e association, v alid ating th e or ganizational s tru c tu re of th e association bureau, rang e of its activity, th e proportions of em ploym ent, v alid ating th e budget of th e association and creatin g p e rm a n en t and tem p o rary problem com m ittees.
The Council of th e A ssociation acts on th e basis of th e rules establi shed by th e Council; it should specify th e organization, range and p ro cedures of th e Council’s w ork.
The Council chooses P re sid e n t from am ong its m em bers who p resi des over th e sessions, sum m ons th e sessions, controls p rep aratio n s to sessions, tak es decisions about th e p rocedure of dealing w ith appeals against R esolutions of th e Council of th e Association and rep resen ts th e Council outside.
In th e case of big councils, th ere is a possibility of choosing th e P re sidium of th e Council of .the Association, com prising 5— 7 persons, w hich takes over th e functions e n u m e rate d above and re fe rrin g to the p resi d e n t of the council (of course a p a rt from presiding over th e sessions of th e council). P re sid e n t of th e council is a t th e sam e tim e the p re s i d en t of th e presid iu m of th e council of th e association.
The executive organ of th e association is its director, appointed and rem oved by th e council of th e association, by w a y of an open co m p eti tion. In ag reem en t w ith article 64, point 2 of th e act about state e sta blishm ents, th e o rg an yield ing pow er o v er the association should con sen t to th e ap p oin tm en t of d irector. H ow ever, th is is a very co n tro v ersial principle because of th e fact th a t associations are of v o lu n ta ry c h a ra c te r and th ey are cre a te d by estab lish m en ts thenlselves and it is estab lish m ents th a t have th e su p erio r organs and n ot th e Association.
D irector of th e A ssociation acts w ith th e help of a group of w o rk e rs d irectly sub o rd in ated to him , called b u reau of th e association. The scope of th e w ork of th is b u rea u resu lts from the su b ject of th e association’s activ ity specified in th e sta tu te .
The tasks of th e d ire c to r of th e association include: — organizing th e w ork of th e b u rea u of the association, — in itiatin g and organizing th e activ ity of th e association,
— rep resen tin g th e association outside, in th e fram ew o rk of received powers,
The P rocess of Form ing.. 53
— ap p o in tin g his a ssista n t and th e m ain accou n tan t w ith the consent of th e Council of th e Association,
— p rese n tin g th e Council of th e A ssociation w ith th e follow ing m a terials to be accepted:
a) o rg anization al s tru c tu re of th e bureau, b) bu d g et of th e A ssociation,
c) periodical p rog ram m es of th e activ ity of th e association,
— giving s u b sta n tia l an d organizational help in th e p rep aratio n s and conducting of th e sessions of th e Council of th e A ssociation and its P r e sidium ,
— p rese n tin g th e Council of th e A ssociation w ith periodical accounts from th e a c tiv ity of th e Association.
The con tro llin g organ of th e association is R evisory Com m ittee elect ed from th e m em b ers of th e Council of th e Association. The head of th e C om m ittee is its p re sid e n t chosen fro m th e m em bers of th e Com m ittee.
The task s of th e C om m ittee are th e following:
— to control th e fo rm atio n and u tilizatio n of th e funds of th e asso ciation and th e fin an cial a c tiv ity of th e b u rea u of th e association,
— to in v estig ate th e ag reem en t of th e resolutions of th e council of th e association w ith th e binding rules,
— to control th e w hole of th e activ ity of th e association.
A sh o rt period of th e functio n in g of v o lu n ta ry associations does not m ake it possible to estim ate th em in a com plex and objective way. N evertheless, in v estig atio n s p e rta in in g to this phenom enon carried out by th e a u th o r and o th ers allow fo r c e rtain in tro d u c to ry rem ark s to be form ulated.
Process of form ing associations is n e ith e r closed n o r finished b u t it is still going on. Som e (although not num erous) establishm en ts re m ained beyond associations, some leave associations, some belong to tw o associations or suggest changing scope of th e functions perform ed by associations. A g re a t m a jo rity of associations are cle a rly of b ran ch -lik e c h a ra c te r and th e ir ran g e ’’copies” th e fo rm e r system of federations. T herefore, form s of g rouping and cooperation of establishm en ts is dom i n a te d by a ten d e n c y to p reserv e th e in d irect level of m anagem ent. This system doub tlessly fav o u rs th e keeping of m onopolistic tendencies.
To give an exam ple, in 79 in v estig ated associations, th e ir economic activ ity co n stitu tes over 50% of th e c o u n try ’s value of production, se r vices and tu rn o v e r 10.
The m ost m onopolized s tru c tu re prev ails in ag ric u ltu re and food in
10 A. C y l w i k , A. C h a j e c k i , C h a r a k t e r y s t y k a działa ln ości ra d z r z e s z e ń
[ C h a ra c te ris tic s of th e A c t i v i t y of th e A sso c ia tio n Councils], IOZiDK, W arszaw a,
54 Z b ign iew S zelo ch
d u stry , and it is least fre q u e n t in th e building tra d e and th e in d u stry of building m aterials.
S ta tu te s of th e associations contain a lot of resolutions m aking it possible to u n d e rta k e a c tiv ity lim itin g co m p etition and for establishm ents to m ake use of th ese decision's. A ssociations com prise establishm ents w ho se comm on sh a re on th e m a rk e t is u su a lly d om in ating , w hich in con sequence re su lts in sig n ific a n t low ering of th e s ta te of com petition. Hence •a conclusion th a t o ne should give some th o u g h t to th e fun ction s w hich should be fulfilled by associations in th e nam e of g eneral social w elfare.
Two tendencies can be noticed in th e a c tiv ity of associations and these are, to a significant degree, opposing. The firs t one is th e fact th a t associations p erfo rm functions of fo rm e r federations, in this functions of th e in d irect level of m anaging. This situ a tio n w as fav o u red by big haste in th e form ation of associations by fo rm er d irectors of federations, appointing directors of fed eratio n s to the posts of d irectors of associa tions, as w ell as th e sta ff of b u reau s of associations consisting of th e w o rkers of fo rm er F ederations. These people tra n s fe rre d th e habits, s ty les and ex p eriences to th e w o rk in associations.
A m an ifestatio n of th is ten d en cy is alm ost g en erally applied b ran ch - -lik e criterio n of form ing associations and accepting new m em bers, gene ra l a c tiv ity connected w ith a coordin atin g fu n ctio n of associations co v erin g num erous spheres (prices, production, sale etc.), as w ell as su b s ta n tia l restrictio n of th e role of rep re sen ta tiv e s of self-governm ents of associated establishm ents. As a re su lt, o rg an iz atio n al and stru c tu ra l ch an ges connected w ith th e fo rm atio n of associations a re slight, and in some d e p a rtm e n ts ra th e r superficial, fa r fro m o rg an iz atio n al change of th e s tru c tu re of th e econom y p o stu lated in th e assum ptions of th e reform .
The o th e r ten d en cy — is th e a ttitu d e of th e m anaging personnel of estab lish m en ts w hich is against lim iting th e ir autonom y. It is in terestin g to n o te th a t if in th e in itia l perio d of th e form in g of associations (1981), establish m en ts expected th a t a n ew form of cooperation betw een e sta b lish m en ts w ill b e cre a te d and it w ill n o t th re a te n th e la tte r ’s autonom y, a fte r a y ear-lon g fu nctioning one can observe increase of critical a ttitu des of estab lish m en ts in relatio n to associations. This resu lts am ong o th er th in g s from the fact th a t associations have not fu lfilled expectations. A n illu stra tio n of th is thesis is p ro v id ed by resu lts of inv estigatio ns c a rrie d out in 50 co n sultan t estab lish m en ts by th e In stitu te of O rganization of M anagem ent and S taff A dvancem ent. No question p ertain in g to th e e v alu atio n of th e p a rticip a tio n of an estab lish m en t in a n association w as answ ered in th e positive, 38% resp o n d en ts estim ated this p articip atio n as ra th e r positive, 30°/o saw no in flu en ce of p articip atio n in an associa tio n on th e fu n ctio n ing of establishm ents, 19,l°/o — estim ated th is in
-The Process of Forming... 5 5
fluence as negative, 8°/o — decisively negative, 5°/o — had no established opinion in this respect.
Therefore, as follow s from the data quoted above, over 60% respon dents do not see any positive influence of participating in an association on the functioning of establishments. Even those rather cautious esti m ations of the usefulness of associations should be considered rather optimistic in view of the answers for the next question. Respondents w ere asked to answer the question if in 11 specified fields of activity the fact of belonging of an establishment to an association, increased the form er’s efficiency, decreased it, or had no influence. The structure of answers to this question is presented in Tab. No. 2. It should be stressed
Tab. 2. E v a lu a tio n o f th e In flu en ce o f B elon gin g to th e A sso cia tio n on th e E ffic ie n c y of th e F u n ctio n in g of E stab lish m en ts *) Q uestion: In w h a t sp h eres o f the a c tiv ity of on e sta b lish m en t has its
efficien cy' ch an ged sin ce th e m om en t of jo in in g th e association?
S p h eres of a c tiv ity
P roportion*) in th e total num ber o f resp on ses
gro w th o f , ch an ge
e ffic ie n c y |no cn an €e
d ecrease of e ffic ie n c y
1. P la n n in g 0 97 0
2. S u p p ly o f ra w m aterials 10 79 6
in the cou n try
3. Im port su p p ly o f raw 25 68 4
m aterials
4. C ooperation 15 78 3
5. O u tlet 3 85 9
6. O rgan ization of w ork 0 99 0
7. In trod u ction of tech n ica l 4 91 1
progress
8. C ooperation w ith the 15 81 0
en v iro n m en t
9. R ea liza tio n of m aterial tasks 1 96 0
10. E xport 12 75 0
11. Im port 21 74 0
12. O thers — kinds 0 0 0
1 Source: Z. G a d a j , B. M i e d z i n s k i : T he q u o te d w o rk .
2) The co m p lem en tin g to th e su m o f 100 resp on ses in rela tio n to each sp here w ere resp on ses: ”1 d on ’t k n o w ” w h ic h h a v e n o t b een ta k e n in to con sid eration in th e Table. T heir num bers w e r e from 2 to 13%.
that answers stating no influence of belonging to an association on the efficient functioning of an establishment constituted from 68,0% to 98,0% of the whole number of answers, depending on the field u .
56 Z b ign iew S zeloch
O bviously, th e a ttitu d e of estab lishm en ts to associations is correlated w ith th e fo rm e r’s position an d aspirations. Big establishm ents, do not see an y need to p a rtic ip a te in associations since eg alitarism of th e la tte r m akes it im possible for th e fo rm e r to occupy a (position a p p ro p ria te fo r the p o te n tia l th e y rep resen t. They solve th e ir problem s them selves th ro u g h d ire c t contacts w ith th e p ro p er d ep a rtm e n t. T h eir a ttitu d e to associations is negative.
M edium -sized estab lishm en ts cK aracterized by significant activ ity and c e rta in asp iratio n s to tak e th e lead, joined associations as a re su lt of the p re ssu re of th e ir in tia to r’s organs, and in th e conviction th a t this will h elp th em in solving m ate ria l problem s.
Now, associations co n stitu te for th em a p o ten tia l link of th e a u th o ri ta tiv e -d ire c tiv e system th re a te n in g th e ir independence. Hence, th e n eg a tiv e a ttitu d e of these estab lishm en ts to associations.
On th e o th er hand, sm all and w eak establishm en ts w hich are unable to cope w ith th e dem ands connected w ith self-financing and independen ce see associations as th a t form of organization w hich w ill help them solve th e ir ow n problem s.
T herefore, th e fu tu re of associations is n o t v e ry clear. One can sup pose th a t th e ir functions m u st undergo c e rtain m odifications going in th e d irectio n of loose union of estab lish m en ts w hich p erform s only th e fu n ctio n s of service in relatio n to establishm ents, helping to do aw ay w ith th e m ain spheres of u n c e rta in ty in th e ir functioning. The m ain p u r pose of th e activ ity of associations should be to re p re se n t in te rests of associated estab lish m en ts in relatio n to organs of state adm in istratio n an d to conduct w ide counsel and inform ation activity, as w ell as to orga nize cooperation of establishm ents.
S T R E S Z C Z E N I E
A utor n in iejszeg o artyk u łu p o d ją ł tem a ty k ę tw orzen ia ii fu n k cjo n o w a n ia zrze szeń gosp od arczych , które ak tem o p rzed sięb iorstw ach p a ń stw o w y ch zatw ierd zon ym w ram ach reform y z roku 1981 za jęły m iejsce zjednoczeń.
Z rzeszen ia m ia ły być pom ocn e w rea lizo w a n iu zadań sta tu to w y ch oraz p rzed s ię w z ię ć zw ięk sza ją cy ch w y d a jn o ść p rzed sięb iorstw . C el ten m iał być rea lizo w a n y poprzez: d ysp o n o w a n ie środkam i produkcji, k iero w a n ie rezerw am i, w y r ó w n y w a n ie w a ru n k ó w p o szczeg ó ln y ch p rzed sięb iorstw , p rzy czy n ia n ie się do szyb szego w d r a żan ia p o stęp u tech n iczn ego. Z lik w id o w a n ie zjed n oczeń m iało n a celu z lik w id o w a n ie p o śred n ieg o p oziom u k iero w a n ia m ięd zy m in isterstw a m i b ran żow ym i a p rzed się b io rstw a m i w oparciu o zasady 3 „S ”.
A u to r d zieli zrzeszen ia na: zrzeszen ia o ch arak terze poziom ym , zrzeszen ia o ch a ra k terze p io n o w y m , zrzeszen ia p rzed sięb iorstw bran ży zaop atrzen iow ej. F u n k cjo n u ją one na p o d sta w ie sta tu tó w u ch w a lo n y ch przez R adę Z rzeszenia. A utor artyk u łu
P roces tw orzen ia i fu nkcjonow ania... 57
p rzed staw ia p u n k ty, k tóre tak i sta tu t w in ie n zaw ierać, a n a stęp n ie om a w ia str u k turę organ izacyjn ą zrzeszeń oraz fu n k cje p oszczególn ych organów .
N a zak oń czen ie autor fo rm u łu je n a stęp u ją ce w n io sk i, n a su w a ją ce się na p o d sta w ie d oty ch cza so w y ch sp ostrzeżeń dotyczących fu n k cjo n o w a n ia zrzeszeń:
a) proces tw orzen ia zrzeszeń n ie je s t jeszcze skończony,
b) m ożna w y ró żn ić d w ie ten d en cje w id oczn e w d ziałaln ości zrzeszeń: — zrzeszen ia p ełn ią fu n k cje b y ły ch zjednoczeń,
— sto su n ek k iero w n icze g o p erson elu p rzed sięb iorstw w ob ec o gran iczan ia jeg o au ton om ii je s t n eg a ty w n y .
S tosu n ek p rzed sięb io rstw do zrzeszeń zależy od p ozycji i asp iracji p r z e d się b iorstw , a p rzyszłość zrzeszeń n ie jest jak dotąd jasn a. B ędą one m u sia ły p rzejść p ew n e zm iany, a ich g łó w n ą fu n k cją w in n o być rep rezen tow an ie in teresó w zrze szon ych p rzed sięb io rstw w ob ec organ ów ad m in istracji p a ń stw o w ej.
Р Е З Ю М Е В статье о б су ж д а ет ся ф ор м и р ован и е и ф ун к ц и он и р ован и е новы х экон ом и ч еск и х соединен ий, которы е, согласно зак он у о государств ен н ы х п р ед п р и я тиях, у т в ер ж д ен н о м у в р ам ках экон ом ической р еф ор м ы 1981 года, за н я л и м есто п р е ж н и х соеди н ен и й (главков). Новые соеди н ен и я д о л ж н ы бы ли способствовать вы полнению задан и й , предусм атри ваем ы х уставом предприятия, а т а к ж е мерам, направленны м на повы ш ение п р ои зводи тел ьн ости труда. Э той ц ел и предусм атривалось д о ст и гнуть путем п р едостав л ен и я заводам р асп ор я ж ен и я средствам и прои зводства, при управлен ии р езерв ам и , вы равнивании усл ови й дея тел ь н ости от д ел ь н ы х п редприя тий и способствовании уск ор ен н ом у вн едрен и ю т ехн и ч еск ого п р о гресса. У п р аздн ен и е главков д о л ж н о было ликвидировать п р ом еж уточ н ы й уровен ь уп рав лен и я м е ж д у отраслевы м и м инистерствам и и п редприятиям и , согласно прин ципу „трех С“ (сам остоятельности, сам оуправлен ия и са м о о к у паемости). Новые соеди н ен и я р аздел я ю тся автором на: горизонтального хар ак т ер а, в е р тикального хар ак т ер а и соеди н ен и я, п редприятий отрасли сн абж ен и я. Они ф у н к ционирую т на ба зе уставов, приним аем ы х Советом соединен ий. А втор п р е д с т а вля ет статьи, которы е д о л ж н ы быть пом ещ ены в такой устав, а затем р а с сматривает орган и зац и он н ую стр ук тур у соеди н ен и й нового типа и ф у н к ц и и отдельны х органов. В конечной части статьи ф орм и рую тся сл едую щ и е выводы, сдел ан н ы е на основании н аблю дени й н ад деятел ьн остью новы х соединен ий: а) процесс ф орм и рован и я соеди н ен и й нового типа ещ е не зав ер ш ен , б) в и х дея тел ьн ости вы деляю тся две тенденции: — они вы полняю т ф у н к ц и и главков, — отнош ение органов уп рав лен и я на п р едп р и я ти я х к ограничиванию автономности п р едп р и я ти й отрицательно. Отнош ение п р едп р и я ти й к новым соединен иям зависит от п ози ц и и и стрем лений п р едприя тий. Б у д у щ ее новы х соеди н ен и й пока что н еясно. Им придется претерп еть и зв естн ы е и зм ен ения, так, чтобы и х главной ф у н к ц и ей стало п р едст ав л ен и е и нтересов объ ед и н я ю щ и х ся п редприя тий п е р е д органами государств енной адм инистрации.
