is an industrial enterprise with mechanized means of 

 production. The term factory ( fabrika ) is used pri- 

 marily for plants in light industry and for plants 

 engaged in the initial processing of raw materials. 

 When several technologically related production ac- 

 tivities are combined, the resulting enterprise is 

 called a combine ( kombinat ) . A combine may consist 

 of a lead plant with several subordinate ones, or it 

 may be a single plant. Such enterprises have exis- 

 ted in metallurgy, chemicals, textiles, food, and 

 some other branches of industry for many years . The 

 firm ( f irma ) is an early type of production associa- 

 tion in which the management of the lead plant serves 

 as the management of a firm consisting of several 

 plants. When a firm is organized no new management 

 structure is set up. Usually the enterprises that 

 make up the firm are located in a single geographi- 

 cal area around a major city. Firms are most often 

 found in the light and food industries. 



Today, the "independent" enterprise operates under 

 a principle of economic management known as khozras- 

 chet , which is variously translated as self-suppor- 

 ting or economic accountability. In the broadest 

 sense, the term implies that the organization is to 

 operate and be evaluated on the basis of economic 

 criteria. It is expected to cover current operating 

 expenses by revenue from the sale of its output, and 

 to finance internally or by credit a significant part 

 of its capital investment. To reinforce this econom- 

 ic orientation, success indicators for the facility, 

 which determine the size of bonuses for its person- 

 nel, are economic, including profitability, sales, 

 and measures of input productivity. Concomitant with 

 the economic orientation, the directors of establish- 

 ments operating under the khozraschet principle are 

 accorded greater authority to make decisions at the 

 operational level. With the number of official tar- 

 gets specified by middle- and upper-level management 

 organs restricted, as well as the degree of unoffi- 

 cial interference, the focus of decision-making re- 

 sponsibility has shifted downward in Soviet industry, 

 without challenging the ultimate supremacy of the 

 central leadership . 



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