Abstract
When we speak of workers’ selfmanagement and when we try to evaluate it, we must first make clear whether we designate by this term a general idea of the workers’ selfmanagement or the existent model of selfmanaged enterprises and of the system of selfmanaging relations in the actual Yugoslav society.
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References
Data by Federal Institute of Statistics, Statistični koledar Jugoslavije, 1969.
Data taken from the article ‘The Financing of Investments’, by Lojze Kersnič, Teorija in praksa, 1969,5.
Data by Federal Institute of Statistics, Indeks, 1969,6, and from the articlc ‘Relations of Selfmanagement in the Development of the National Economy’, byJakov Sirotkovič, Direktor, 1969,3.
Paul A. Samuelson, Economics, McGraw-Hill. New York.
The term ‘socially owned’ means practically the same as the term ‘public property’, if we take into account the specific structure of the Yugoslav society: absence of capitalists; the means of production may be the property of individuals if used for personal work by them and by the members of their families or in some branches of economic activity, like trade, inn-keeping, etc., if they do not employ more than five hired persons.
The term ‘working organization’ used in the Constitution defines enterprises and other institutions that work under economic conditions or arc treated as public services.
The term ‘organization of united labor’ defines the part of an enterprise or other working organization in which members of the working community exert themselves certain rights of sclfmanagement.
Data by Federal Institute of Statistics, Indeks, 1969,6.
Data taken from Bilten gradske konferencije SKH i Gradske konferencije Socialističkog saveza radnog naroda Hrvatske, Zagreb, 1969,3.
The inquiry was carried out by the School of Business and Organization of Kranj in the beginning of 1968. Figures were published later, in an article by Vladimir Arzenšek in the review Moderna organizacija, 1968, 7.
Article 3 of the Basic Law on Enterprises states: “The working people in the enter-prise shall organize and manage the working process so as to enable the best utilization of the means of production, constant growth of the productivity, as well as to encourage immediate concern for good work and as direct a participation in management of all activities of the enterprise as possible.” Article 8 of the same Law says: “The organization of work and management in the enterprise must enable the working people at every level and in every part of the working process which constitutes a whole to decide as directly as possible on matters of work, mutual relations, apportionment of income and on other matters concerning their economic position, at the same time ensuring for the enterprise as a whole the best conditions for the work and business.”
In this respect Article 74 of the Yugoslav Basic Law on Working Relations states: “Workers are entitled, on the ground of their contribution to the working and economic results of the department where they work and of the working organization as a whole, to the participation in the apportionment of the funds assigned by the working community for personal incomes.”
Average net monthly receipts of the workers employed in economic branches in Slovenia, where they are the highest in the country, have exceeded 1000 din in 1969-one din being equal to 0.08 U.S. dollar.
Data taken from the article ‘Earnings for Some Typical Jobs’, by Ilja Jurančič, Organizacija - Kadrovska politika, 1966,6.
This conception is also present in Article 83 of the Basic Law on Working Relations: “The working community shall settle personal incomes of every worker by the apportionment of income ascertained by the annual balance. During the year workers shall be entitled to monthly advances dependent on the current achievement of the enterprise.”
Article 79 of the above cited Law states: “The working community shall estimate the contribution of particular workers to the achievements of the enterprise autonomously on grounds and by standards included in general regulations and respecting the prescriptions of the statutes concerning the principle of apportionment according to accomplished work.”
Data taken from the Bilten Gradske konferencije SKH i Gradske konferencije SSRNH Zagreb, 1969,3.
D. Jezernik, The Gradation of Motivating Agents within Industry, Ljubljana 1965 ( Unpublished dissertation).
Data published in the article ‘Selfmanagement as a Motivating Agent and Social Value’, by V. Arzenšek, Moderna organizacija, 1969,1.
J. J. Servan Schreiber, Le défi americain. Editions Denoël, Paris, 1967.
H. Decroches, ‘Sociology of Cooperation and Cooperative Sociology’, Sociologija, 1960, 2.
Article 53 of the Basic Law on Enterprises stated: “The director shall be in charge of the business of the enterprise, shall execute the decisions of the workers’ council and the managing board, represent the enterprise, and transact other affairs in accordance with legal prescriptions, the provisions of the statute and other general acts of the enterprise. The director shall be independent in his work and shall be personally accountable to the workers’ council, the managing board and the working community. He shall safeguard the legality of the work of the enterprise, and that the enterprise discharge legally determined obligations; in this respect he shall be accountable also to the social-political community. - The director shall attend the meetings of the workers’ council without, however, having authority to make decisions for the council.”
A discussion about this dilemma was held during a symposium at Bled, organized in 1967 by the School of Business and Organization at Kranj. The discussion was particularly animated on the report ‘Responsibility for Business and Professional Decisions in Selfmanaged Enterprises’, by Mitja Kamušič (published later in Organizacija - Kadrovska politika) advocating the professional concepts of management.
Josip Županov, ‘Is Management Becoming a Profession?’, Moderna organizacija, 1968, 10.
The workers’ council as the representative organ of the working community has, according to Article 48 of the Basic Law on Enterprises, besides other tasks, also the duty to make decisions concerning the economic program and plans of the enterprise, and to adopt measures for their implementation, as well as the basic orientation of the business policy and the provisions for the use of the funds of the enterprise, for the approval of the annual balance sheet, etc. The managing board, being a representative organ too, but elected indirectly, by the members of the workers’ council, is entitled, according to Article 49 of the same law, to discuss future programs and annual plans, to conduct efficient management of the enterprise, etc.
The results of this inquiry were published in Moderna organizacija, 1969,1.
V. Rus. ‘Status of the Professional and Managerial Staff’, Moderna organizacija, 1968, 5.
J. Županov, Inquiry in Economic Standpoints of the Producers, Institute of Economics. Zagreb, 1969.
J. Jerovšek, ‘Why Persons with Graduate-School Education do not want to be Directors’, Kadrovska politika, 1964, 9.
M. Kamušič, ‘Responsibility for Business and Professional Decisions in Self- managed Enterprises’, Ekonomska revija, 1967, 3.
Indices of costs of living and of nominal and real personal incomes for particular years from 1959 to 1969 (with 1964 as basis, i.e. 100 points) are given in the table on page 116.
According to the data published by Federal Institute of Statistics in IruJeks, 1969,6, there were 370000 unemployed against 3674000 employed (i.e. nearly 9%) in Yugoslavia in April 1969. If we added about 400000 workers who could not find employment in Yugoslavia and went abroad, the percentage of unemployed would be considerably greater.
M. Korać, An Analysis of the Standing of Economic Groups during 1962-1966, Institute of Economics, Zagreb, 1968.
M. Kamušič, ‘The Crucial Dilemma of Further Development of Selfmanagement’, Modernu organizaeija, 1968, 1.
J. Županov, ‘Economic Function of the Producers in Selfmanaged Working Organizations’, Moderna organizaeija, 1969, 6.
As a consequence of political inertia this belief has entered also the present relationships of selfmanagement. About this question an everlasting battle is being fought in Yugoslavia between the ‘conservatives’ and the ‘progressives’.
Deposits of private citizens in Yugoslav saving-banks, in millions din per Dec. 31 of each year as quoted below: 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 651 898 1199 1476 2115 2964 3523 5863 7549 9597 By the end of June 1969 these deposits amounted to 10925 million, while by the same time consumers’ credits amounted to 4421 million, and the credits for housing construction to 3162 million din. We can better appreciate these sums if we compare them to 4984 millions of investments of the whole Yugoslav economy during the first third of 1969, of which ‘proper means’ of the enterprises were only 2301 million din.
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Kamušič, M. (1970). Economic Efficiency and Workers’ Selfmanagement. In: Broekmeyer, M.J. (eds) Yugoslav Workers’ Selfmanagement. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-3287-2_5
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