Efficiency and Stability of Large Agricultural Enterprises

Abstract

The problem of efficiency and stability of large agricultural enterprises is examined. Despite widespread opinion, based on average data and a priori conclusions, that large enterprises are inefficient, the study of agricultural enterprises in the St. Petersburg Region<SUP>1</SUP> demonstrates that a considerable number of large enterprises are effective, meaning that they have a potential for further growth, which is being put into practice. Moreover, current data show that the efficiency of an enterprise depends pro rata on the number of workers. On the whole, by approximately 50 percent, the efficiency of enterprises is defined by the quality of management. The study also investigates the economic ways in which unprofitable agricultural enterprises survive. The major factors of success of the most effective enterprises include monthly planning of an enterprise's manufacturing and its basic divisions, regular control of expenses, regular monitoring of receipts and expenditures, a system of motivation that depends on specific results on the part of top managers and specialists, and the disposition of profits mainly for investment. Top management's attention to concentration of land and property shares in the hands of enterprise management was unexpectedly low.