ABSTRACT
The Soviet Union is attempting to hasten the development of industry. The industrialization of a young country requires a large investment of capital. Much of the capital assets of the country are a heritage from the old industrial corporations. Not only is there a shortage of trained men, but the efficiency of labor tends to decline with the increasing scale of industry. Before the war Russian industrial plants which were partly owned by foreigners were largely manned by foreign engineers, foreign managers, and foreign technicians. It was expected that in 1931 the Five-Year Plan would call for an additional 500,000 skilled workmen, or about one-third the total number of skilled workers then in industry. The idea of scientific management, or rationalization, as it is called in Europe, pervades the Five-Year Plan. The success of the Five-Year Plan is usually tested by the quantity of output.
