Shturmovshchina
Encyclopedia
Shturmovshchina was a common Soviet Union
work practice of frantic and overtime
work at the end of the planning period in order to fulfill the planned production target. The practice usually gave rise to products of poor quality at the end of the planning cycle. The Russian word shturm (штурм) means "storm (of a bastion)".
The cycle of shturmovschina, associated with the tradition of monthly targets (on which bonuses and manager's position safety depend) is described as follows. Despite planned economy
, right materials and tools are not always on time, and the work may go slowly or workers may be reassigned to do something else, expecting that when materials arrive, then the job will be done. However when the end of month comes closer, management becomes nervous, subtitute materials and improvised tools are used, the work goes overtime and in overdrive. All this abruptly ends by the end of the month. At the beginning of the next month the workers slacken to recover from the previous storm, thus aggravating the next cycle.
The same was happening in association with other plan deadlines, e.g., in construction
, before the sign-off date.
It was noted that the same uneven work distribution was observed in American
plants as well, for similar reasons. However there were different attitude to and consequences of this practice.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
work practice of frantic and overtime
Overtime
Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. Normal hours may be determined in several ways:*by custom ,*by practices of a given trade or profession,*by legislation,...
work at the end of the planning period in order to fulfill the planned production target. The practice usually gave rise to products of poor quality at the end of the planning cycle. The Russian word shturm (штурм) means "storm (of a bastion)".
The cycle of shturmovschina, associated with the tradition of monthly targets (on which bonuses and manager's position safety depend) is described as follows. Despite planned economy
Planned economy
A planned economy is an economic system in which decisions regarding production and investment are embodied in a plan formulated by a central authority, usually by a government agency...
, right materials and tools are not always on time, and the work may go slowly or workers may be reassigned to do something else, expecting that when materials arrive, then the job will be done. However when the end of month comes closer, management becomes nervous, subtitute materials and improvised tools are used, the work goes overtime and in overdrive. All this abruptly ends by the end of the month. At the beginning of the next month the workers slacken to recover from the previous storm, thus aggravating the next cycle.
The same was happening in association with other plan deadlines, e.g., in construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
, before the sign-off date.
It was noted that the same uneven work distribution was observed in American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
plants as well, for similar reasons. However there were different attitude to and consequences of this practice.