have created special departments (affiliate services 

 of the NPO) which include design engineers and tech- 

 nologists who assist the plants in retooling and man- 

 ufacturing new products. 54 In general, though, this 

 set of important functions is not yet being performed 

 by the majority of NPOs. 



Underlying these issues of the optimal structure, 

 composition, and functions of the science-production 

 association is the problem of what in American busi- 

 ness terminology is called "product differentiation." 

 Given the array of new structural designs and asso- 

 ciational forms that have evolved since the late 1960s, 

 the NPO has had difficulty in gaining and maintaining 

 a distinct identity. Lacking a precise definition of 

 the NPO, some ministries have arbitrarily classified 

 the new complexes. What are labeled NPOs are, in fact, 

 production associations or complex scientific insti- 

 tutions. Some NPOs have experienced problems in pre- 

 serving their fundamental dual character. Overdevel- 

 opment of their scientific functions turns the NPO 

 into a traditional research institute, only larger. 

 Hypertrophy of production operations, on the other 

 hand, transforms the complex into a production asso- 

 ciation. The difficulties of maintaining a "dialec- 

 tical unity" of functions have led some experts to 

 press for a fixed ratio or at least minimum levels 

 regulating these activities. " 



The problem of product differentiation is made all 

 the more difficult because in some instances it is 

 practically impossible to distinguish between an NPO 

 and a PO which contains its own large R&D complex. 

 For example, the Uralmash Production Association in- 

 cludes a scientific research and engineering design 

 institute of heavy machine-building which has more 

 than 6000 workers and does business by contract with 

 more than 60 R&D establishments in the country. Dur- 

 ing the Ninth Plan the PO developed more than 100 

 prototypes of new machines and equipment. 56 The dis- 

 tinction becomes especially fine when a production 

 association creates new products in small series or 

 single lots and is one of the major producers of this 

 type of product, as with Elektrosila . 



214 





