Changes

Factory managers and supervisors could hold their posts only if they were clear and passed under the nomenclatural list system of party-approved cadres. Furthermore, the party politics effectively limited all free initiatives and strictly constrained and modified the meaning of the term good management. Managers assigned their workers all tasks based on the pattern of “norms, with sanctions for non-fulfillment”. However, the system eventually served to significantly increase inefficiency. This was because once the norms were met and fulfilled, the management would merely increase them even further.

The Soviet Rule under Stalin also introduced the infamous “Lenin shifts” or “Lenin Saturdays”, where laborers had to work additional extra days and hours for no pay. However, the emphasis on the construction of heavy industry provided full employment and social mobility through the recruitment of young rural workers and women. While blue-collar workers enjoyed that they earned as much or more than many professionals, the standard of living did not match the pace of improvement in Western Europe.