Learning to Learn: The Challenges in Russia

Generalizing about organizational change in Russia is difficult. The education of managers in eastern Europe generally includes an initial five-year degree equivalent to a U. S. masters degree, specific post graduate work in management and some re-qualifying education every 3-5 years. In the old Soviet Union, there were four levels of management training, and in the new Russia several universities have opened MBA programs. In many ways the curricula of Russian managers exceed the rigor in U. S. training (McNully, 1992). This training structure might lead to the false conclusion that change would be easier and more welcome by the managers of Eastern Europe. Transforming the economies of the new republics has not been easy, nor have the results been the same in every country (Shama, 1993). Some training under the old Communist regimes was illusory, and in some countries, including Russia, party bureaucrats were suspicious of managers and discouraged most advanced management training except for party indoctrination (Cakrt, 1993). All the new economies suffered higher levels of inflation, recession, a drop in exports and distribution problems, and all managers in the new economies faced higher competition. Managers report reductions in demand, higher inventories and increasingly choosy consumers in Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland, but the reverse is true in Russia (Shama, 1993). Managers in Russia have been slow to adjust their practices to accommodate a market economy (Shama, 1993).