Increasing Labor Productivity Research Articles

Участие молодежи и комсомольцев во Всесоюзной ударной комсомольской стройке (на примере строительства Сарпинской оросительно-обводнительной системы)

Introduction. Carrying out irrigation works in the arid climate of the Kalmyk ASSR was of great importance. A special place in the complex of technical measures to improve the efficiency of the use of water and land resources was occupied by the construction of irrigation systems in the Sarpinsk lowland of the Kalmyk ASSR. An important factor that influenced the acceleration of the pace of construction of this facility was the announcement of the construction of the second stage of irrigation systems in the Sarpinsk lowland by the All-Union Komsomol Shock Construction Site. Subsequently, the irrigated facilities built provided an opportunity for the development of a new industry in the republic ⸺ rice growing. The purpose of this article is to study the history of the participation of Komsomol members and youth in the All-Union shock construction on the example of the construction of the Sarpa irrigation system and the contribution of youth to the socio-economic development of the republic. The research was conducted on archival and published materials of the National Archive of the Republic of Kalmykia. The analysis of archival materials was carried out on the principles of science, objectivity and historicism, which made it possible to explore the studied problem in its development and relationship with the prevailing concrete historical circumstances, as well as based on facts and taking into account both negative and positive phenomena. Results. The features of the construction of the Sarpa irrigation system are considered. It is shown that builders and meliorators prematurely commissioned the construction and water management facilities of the Sarpa irrigation system. The patronage of the Komsomol over the All-Union Komsomol shock construction site of the Sarpa Irrigation System had a positive impact on the organization of labor, accelerating the commissioning of construction facilities, increasing labor productivity and solving cultural and everyday issues.

Экономические эффекты применения цифровых решений в горной промышленности (на примере западной части Арктики)

Mining activities in the western part of Arctic is currently experiencing significant challenges caused by the increased mining depth, a decrease in the grades of the mined ore and the complicated mining and geological conditions. The use of digital solutions, as the experience of the main mining enterprises of the Kola region shows, can mitigate these challenges to a certain extent. The intensive introduction of digital technologies into the main business processes of mining production allows obtaining both direct and indirect economic effects. The direct effects include generation of additional profits, reducing costs and increasing labor productivity. The indirect ones can be of scientific, technical and social nature, as well as those concerned with improving the safety of mining operations. The objective of the study was to justify a scientific and technical approach to assessing the economic effects of digital solutions in the mining industry based on parametric and scenario modeling of the discounted cash flows. The result was to develop a graphical algorithm and disclose its step-by-step description for evaluating the economic effects of digital solutions for the mining industry in the Western part of Arctic. The use of digital solutions is estimated as an effective tool that meets the requirement to obtain positive direct and indirect economic effects. The proposed scientific and technical approach was tested using the case of one of the promising ore deposits in the Western part of Arctic.

Minimum Wage and Employment of Malaysian Low-skilled Workers

The current study is inspired by inconclusive empirical findings on the impacts of minimum wage on employment. The majority of past studies have concluded that an increase in the minimum wage negatively impacts employment, despite certain scholars discovering either an insignificant or a positive impact. Hence, this study aims to investigate the impact of the Malaysian minimum wage on the employment opportunities of low-skilled workers. The data are collected annually from 1995 to 2020. An autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model is employed to examine the impact of the Malaysian minimum wage on the employment of low-skilled workers. The bounds test method and error correction model (ECM) are subsequently utilised to determine both short- and long-term effects. As a result, the employment of low-skilled labour is found to be positively impacted by the minimum wage, with this impact being statistically significant in both the short and long terms. However, when the interaction variables are included, the effect on the employment of low-skilled workers is negative and insignificant. Furthermore, neither increasing labour productivity nor technological advancement significantly altered the impact of the minimum wage on employment.

Organizational and technological predictors of construction development in the context of information environment modeling for the implementation of construction projects

Modern construction projects are defined by complex multifunctional connections, which in turn leads to the need to process a significant amount of information. The main task of the innovative development of construction development is the creation of competitive advantages in a strategic perspective, which form a safe and comfortable environment for human activity that meets high global quality standards to ensure sustainable socio-economic development of the country's construction complex. Achieving competitive advantages should be based on the innovative rearmament of the construction industry, the formation of innovative competencies, engineering schemes for the management of the life cycle of a construction object, the use of information technologies in order to increase labor productivity, reduce the energy intensity, material intensity and cost of construction products. The article analyzes the advantages of using information modeling and the method of integrated project implementation in construction. A mathematical model for choosing the optimal network organizational structure of the project has been developed. Identify the main factors that have an impact on the synergistic effect of construction project implementation (costs for making changes to the project, increasing the time of project implementation, transaction and operational costs). A practical verification of the economic-mathematical model of the assessment of the synergistic effect of the joint implementation of the integrated implementation of the construction project and information modeling in construction was built and carried out. A simulation model has been synthesized, which allows for comprehensive research, as well as optimization of the communication network of the participants in the implementation of the construction project. The obtained results allow the top management of contracting enterprises to carry out effective monitoring, structuring and maneuvering of the assets of contracting construction enterprises in the process of their operational activities, provide a reasonable opportunity to adjust the economic strategy and parameters of the production and economic portfolio of construction enterprises.

ПРОФСПІЛКИ УКРАЇНИ В УМОВАХ РАДЯНСЬКОГО ПОЛІТИЧНОГО РЕЖИМУ (1945–1991)

In the post-war years democratic principles were effectively nullified in the practical activities of Communist party structures at both the central and local levels. The role of the appointed party apparatus continued to expand, reinforcing bureaucratic methods of management. Centralism permeated all aspects of society, elevating arbitrary management techniques. The party, represented by the apparatus, assumed control over all facets of life. Trade unions constituted a link in the Soviet political system. Under the conditions of the totalitarian regime, they were subordinated to the party, transforming into a quasi-state entity performing political, industrial, and ideological functions as defined for them. Trade unions did not play an independent political role in the USSR and Ukrainian SSR. They merely served as a “transmission link from the party to the masses”, an additional tool for social regulation and a conduit for party influence in production across millions of workers engaged in various branches of the economy, culture, and science. The primary function of trade unions, protective in nature, took a backseat. They were now primarily tasked with production objectives such as “organizing workers and employees to fight for the steady development of the national economy...”. In essence, trade unions transformed into a branch of the administrative apparatus, intended to ensure the implementation and over-implementation of business plans, and increase labor productivity. Furthermore, they fulfilled certain ideological and educational functions based on Lenin's definition of trade unions as “schools of communism”. They had at their disposal clubs, houses of culture, libraries, and movie theaters. The cultural realm became a massive and potent channel through which the perception of the steadfastness and “correctness” of the principles of the totalitarian system was ingrained in the minds of the people.

Legal regulation of economic security of Ukraine under the establishment of Industry 4.0

Problem setting. The conditions of the modern digital era impose new requirements on the efficiency of national enterprises. Industry 4.0 involves digitization and automation of production processes and management at enterprises of the real sector of the economy to increase labor productivity, reduce costs, flexibility and adaptability of production systems, and the effectiveness of cooperation in the value creation chain. At the same time, with the possibilities of Industry 4.0 technologies, there are threats to economic security, which requires the development of a strategic vision and legal regulation of security in the digital economy. Analysis of recent researches and publications. The analysis of scientific publications of domestic scientists on the topic of the study showed that there are two opposite groups of works. The first group of researchers analyzes the risks and threats of Industry 4.0 for the economy; however, the authors do not provide recommendations for ensuring economic security in the digital economy. The second group of scientific publications is devoted to general issues of ensuring the economic security of Ukraine, in particular in the legal sphere. However, they hardly pay attention to threats from digitalization. Purpose of research is the development of theoretical provisions and practical recommendations regarding the improvement of regulatory and legal regulation of ensuring the economic security of Ukraine in the conditions of the formation of Industry 4.0. Article’s main body. The work examines the essence of Industry 4.0, the possibilities and advantages of introducing digital technologies into management and production processes, the risks of digitalization and threats to the economic security of Ukraine, the feasibility of improving the legal regulation of economic security in the conditions of the introduction of digital technologies is substantiated. During the analysis of legal acts, the lack of a strategic vision of ensuring economic security against the threats of digitalization, an insufficient list of security indicators for assessing the consequences of digital transformations, and the threat of Ukraine’s financial and technological dependence on developed countries were revealed. The basic principles of the formation of state policy in the field of economic security are substantiated: the rule of law, the priority of protecting economic sovereignty, the correlation and comparability of national and international legislation, adequacy, expediency, meaningfulness, rationality, timeliness and effectiveness of regulatory measures, mutually beneficial conditions of international cooperation, equality of opportunities for residents and nonresidents, stimulation of the domestic economy, sequence of opening of the national economic system for the EU economic system, priority of protection of strategic sectors of the economy, recognition of the jurisdiction of international judicial and arbitration bodies. It is proposed to improve legal regulation in terms of expanding the principles of state policy formation in the field of economic security, revising the methodology for calculating the level of economic security of Ukraine, regulating the provisions on the development and implementation of the Strategy of Economic Security of Ukraine, establishing threats from digitalization and determining the corresponding tasks to overcome them in each sphere of economic security. Conclusions and prospects for development. The implementation of Industry 4.0 is associated with significant threats to national economic security, which requires the development and implementation of a state policy to ensure security in the field of the digital economy. The developed recommendations for improving legal regulation will allow to more effectively ensure economic security in Ukraine. Further directions of research consist in the development and scientific substantiation of measures to ensure economic security in conditions of digitalization, improvement of legal support for their effective implementation.

Interconnected dynamics of duration, productivity and “bullshit” of labor (branch aspect on the example of the USA)

Within the framework of the generally accepted concept of the increasing role of materialized labor in productivity, a constant but slowing growth in the rate of labor productivity and a reduction in working hours, some paradoxes of labor productivity formed and developed in the past few decades. One of the paradoxical phenomena characteristic of industries with a traditionally high share of human labor is the increase in working hours due to additionally created jobs, assessed by D. Graeber as completely or partially meaningless (“bullshit”) labor. Such labor does not create value, but only participates in its redistribution in favor of the least valuable for society types of activity that, as a rule, serve the creation of a real product or socially significant service. This dynamic actualizes the problem of the relationship between productivity, duration and meaninglessness of labor, not only as socio-economic, but also cultural value. Based on data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the results of factor analysis using a mathematical correlation-regression apparatus, the indicated relationships in the performance dynamics of two sectors of the US economy over a long period of time were modeled. It was empirically confirmed that in the context of a long-term increase in labor productivity, leading to a general reduction in working hours, a contradiction with the ethical principle of “purchasing” labor by the employer is gradually forming and developing, leading to stagnation and a subsequent increase in working hours due to the creation and diversification of different forms of meaningless labor. It is shown that the increase in the cost of living labor, expressed, in particular, in the need to allocate additional working time for socially meaningless work, objectively slows down productivity in construction and healthcare in the United States.

STUDY OF THE DYNAMICS OF ASSOCIATED DRILL STRINGS INTERACTING WITH THE WELL WALL

The depth of exploration and production wells during the development of oil and gas fields can exceed 5-10 km, and the insufficient strength and reliability of the drill string often limits the possibility of further increasing labour productivity. In addition, accidents at wells lead to significant material costs. Therefore, the design and operation of drill strings, as well as the implementation of work to eliminate complications during drilling, should be carried out on the basis of a science-based approach, taking into account the latest advances in the field of drill string dynamics and technologies related to work to eliminate stuck problems. Unsteady vibrations of inhomogeneous distributed systems is a very complex problem in the mechanics of a deformable solid and the theory of vibrations. In connection with the rapid development of the extractive industries, solving this problem is of particular importance. This is due to ensuring the strength of drill string structures with increasing power and speed of drilling units and mechanisms. The study of the problem revealed a number of little-studied problems, which include issues of nonlinear interaction of the column with the surrounding soil, accompanied by various types of complications (sticking, pipe ruptures, etc.), wave and oscillatory processes in the elements of the drilling dynamic system (DDS), finding the boundaries of the interaction areas of the column with the walls of the well using low-cost techniques. The purpose of the work is theoretical research of wave and oscillatory processes in the pipes of the drilling assembly and the dynamics of associated drill strings interacting with the well wall. In this work, a homogeneous rod was used as a drill string model. The drill string consists of a drill pipe string (DPC) and a bottom drill string assembly (BDSA), which includes a bit, a downhole motor, wellbore forming elements: calibrators, centralizers, sections of drill collars (DC), the main purpose of which is to creating an axial load on the bit. The DPC consists of sections of drill pipes that are identical in their characteristics (type, outer diameter, wall thickness, joints used, etc.). Therefore, in general, the drill string is a heterogeneous structure.

TESTING KALDOR’S FACT: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

This paper discusses the functional distribution of income, as a consequence of decoupling phenomenon between workers’ compensation and labor productivity. This issue has been observed since the mid- 1970s in most developed economies, resulting in a trend of decreasing labor income in national income or GDP. Despite conventional economic theory predicting a proportional increase in workers’ income with increases in labor productivity, empirical results suggest that this relationship is not being realized. The study analyzes the distribution of labor income and capital income in relation to GDP in European countries, in order to gain insight into the conditions and trends of labor income and to evaluate the functional distribution of income at the level of an individual country. The paper provides a detailed analysis of labor share on the example of all countries in Europe and compares countries to determine the direction and degree of trend of the labor share. The results highlight the need for further research on this topic and provide insight into the factors contributing to the decoupling of productivity from workers’ compensation.

Labour relations in Kyrgyzstan and mechanisms for improving the environment in the training of qualified personnel

The relevance of this study is due to the problems of migration of the population of the Kyrgyz Republic due to unfavourable labour market conditions. In accordance with this, the purpose of the study is to find out the features of the current environment in the training of qualified personnel. Methods of logical analysis, synthesis, comparative-legal, formal-legal, and legal hermeneutics are used in the study to fulfil the tasks set. In the course of the study conducted, statistical data on the state of the labour market in the Kyrgyz Republic as of September 2023, by regions and years, are examined. According to this analysis, it is noted that in the context of years, the unemployment rate decreased by 4.5%, which indicates the effectiveness of the measures taken. The risks that exist in the implementation of state programmes to reduce unemployment were examined. These included limited budgetary resources of state bodies and the potential of employees of state bodies and local self-government bodies, increased migration due to the lack of jobs in Kyrgyzstan that provide more favourable conditions. A comparative legal analysis of the experience of the USA and Japan was conducted. This allowed identifying a number of features, namely: the active development of communication between management and staff, the introduction of human resource management structures, productivity improvement, effective staff selection, management, productivity incentives and employee certification, loyalty programmes for employees etc. The practical value of the results obtained consists in providing recommendations that will allow government agencies to eliminate current problems, reduce unemployment and increase labour productivity in Kyrgyzstan

Creative Class in Türkiye: New Job Prospects

This paper covers a comprehensive study of the creative class in Türkiye in terms of new job prospects. Nowadays, creativity is one of key skills necessary for future jobs. People, who have creative and innovative thinking, generate original ideas and produce unique products, form a special stratum of society called creative class. Creative class professionals include scientists, teachers, artists, models, social media influencers, etc. This article is intended to outline the specifics of new type of workers’ lifestyle which implies comfortable living conditions known as “quality of place.” In order to clarify how ready Türkiye is for the development of the creative class, the state of the labor market is analyzed. It has been revealed that the Turkish labor market is characterized by both strengths (e.g. large population, a large share of the youth, increase in labor productivity) and weaknesses (e.g. labor underutilization, limited female labor participation, lack of skills). People mainly work in agriculture, industry, service sector and construction. These characteristics outline the basis for the rise of the creative class and the emergence of new careers in Türkiye. Correspondingly, this research is aimed at analysis and assessment of factors, circumstances and preconditions for the emergence of the creative class in Türkiye as well as determining the creative class job opportunities. The methodology of the study is founded on exploring new and potential jobs that will be required by the future. The article presents a framework for the assessment of the creative class in Türkiye based on the standard measures of job quantity, as well as job quality and labor market inclusiveness. The paper proposes the vision of how Türkiye can drive talent transformation and upskill its workforce in order to satisfy demand for innovative type of workers and take advantage of new opportunity. This study provides a unique and vital contribution to ongoing discussions about the significance of the creative class for employment highlighting the universalized assumptions concerning the position of these professionals in the Turkish economy.

State and development prospects of the agricultural tractor fleet in the context of digital transformation of agriculture

BACKGROUND: The digital transformation of various sectors of the national economy including agriculture is one of the main tasks of economic development. The implementation of digital technologies in production processes helps to improve the technical and economic indicators of production by ensuring the timely adoption of optimal management decisions, increasing labor productivity, and reducing the impact of the human factor on production. To ensure the digital transformation of agricultural production, first of all, it is necessary to assess the state of machinery and technology provision for agriculture, in particular, the tractor fleet, in terms of the level of equipment readiness for being equipped with digital systems and the availability of standard technical solutions for equipment adaptation to digital agriculture.
 AIMS: Determination the expected values of indicators of the level of technical and technological state of agricultural production by developing a forecast for the development of the agricultural tractor fleet and the level of provision with these types of equipment for the period up to 2030 taking into account current trends.
 METHODS: For the tractor fleet state assessment, the data taken from specialized databases on the tractor fleet and the area of arable land retired from active agricultural circulation, statistical materials of the Rosstat and Avtoselkhozmash-Holding organizations were used. Statistical extrapolation methods implemented in the Microsoft Excel environment were used to predict the development of the tractor fleet.
 RESULTS: The forecast for the tractor fleet development was made according to two scenarios: pessimistic and optimistic, taking into account the use of digital technologies.
 CONCLUSIONS: The development forecast made it possible to assess the state of the tractor fleet by 2030 according to various scenarios.

Comparative analysis of labor productivity factors of personnel of medical organizations providing care to patients with cardiovascular diseases

The issues of improving efficiency of health care institutions are increasingly becoming the center of scientific discussions. The purpose of the study is to examine the subjective assessments of medical organizations staff regarding factors of labor productivity. Objectives of the study: to analyze the existing approaches to the study of labor productivity factors of medical personnel, to study the opinion of medical organizations staff regarding labor productivity factors, to identify the most significant of them, and to conduct a comparative analysis of the data obtained in the course of sociological research in medical organizations providing medical care to patients with cardiovascular diseases in the Kemerovo Region – Kuzbass. The authors have studied the conclusions and findings of selected foreign and domestic experts in this field of research. The presented study identifies the key factors that can increase labor productivity of all categories of personnel on the example of two medical institutions providing care to patients with cardiovascular diseases, namely: presence of a system of material (non-material) incentives, level of material and technical support, moral and psychological climate, working conditions, and regular professional development. Common and special features of two organizations have been shown. Differences in assessing labor productivity factors in different professional categories have been found. The results obtained can be used as a basis for improving personnel policy in direction of increasing labor productivity in health care and medical science institutions.

ANALISIS FAKTOR DALAM UPAYA PENINGKATAN PRODUKTIVITAS TENAGA KERJA WANITA TANI TERHADAP USAHATANI CABAI RAWIT DI PAOK PAMPANG, LOMBOK TIMUR

Cayenne pepper plants are very suitable in areas that have high soil fertility, one of which is in the Rinjani Geopark Area. East Lombok Regency is one of the cayenne pepper commodity producing areas in NTB Province. Cayenne pepper farming is one of the livelihoods of the local population, especially the farm women's labor, the productivity of farm women's labor can be a source of competitive advantage of cayenne pepper farming, the higher the productivity of farm women's labor, the higher the production of cayenne pepper in East Lombok Regency so that the importance of measuring the increase in productivity of farm women's labor based on the variables obtained will be measured which variables have the most significant influence and will be seen the correlation value to the productivity of farm women's labor. Respondents used in this study were female workers who worked on chili farms in Paok Pampang village. Data collection using survey techniques by conducting interviews using questionnaires to 35 respondents. Then to analyze the factors that affect the productivity of women's labor on the cayenne pepper farm in Paok Pampang village, Sukamulia sub-district, East Lombok with reference to the variables that affect the labor time of women farmers.

Evaluation of Lean Manufacturing Tools and Digital Technologies Effectiveness for Increasing Labour Productivity in Construction

Multiple studies are devoted to problems of construction labour productivity and methods of increasing it. These studies contain systematized factors and the main measures that can be applied to influence them. However, the issues of reducingdowntime in design and construction by integrating Lean manufacturing tools and innovative digital technologies to increase construction labour productivity have not yet been actively studied. This paper examines the quantitative assessment of the impact of tools for Lean construction and the digitalization of business processes on labour productivity when implementing investment projects in development and changes in the effectiveness of projects. The conducted study contains an extensive review of the literature, identifies time losses as an important labour productivity factor, proposes a practical approach to the implementation of Lean 4.0 technology in the activities of a development company, and provides practical calculations of labour productivity for the existing project. Expert and calculated evidence of the positive impact of Lean 4.0 on labour productivity and performance parameters of construction projects are presented here. The effects of the introduction of tools and principles of Lean-digital technologies for construction project participants, as well as recommendations for the implementation of the proposed approach in construction practice, are discussed.

Prevention before intervention: introducing mindfulness-based social-emotional learning in higher education institutions across the United Arab Emirates

In recent years, several studies have indicated that there is a considerable mismatch between the specific set of skills that employers require and the ones that university graduates have to offer. The 2023 report from the World Economic Forum lists 10 core skills that are sought after by global organizations, six of which are categorized under social-emotional learning. As part of its National Employment Strategy 2031, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) aims to build a knowledge-based economy and increase labor productivity. This communicative piece proposes a policy reform across higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates, seizing as an opportunity the country’s growing commitment to increase talent attraction and retention in the rapidly evolving workplace. Seeing the significant association between social-emotional competencies and thriving in dynamic professional settings, the article highlights the prevalence of mental health disorders among the general youth in the UAE, the government’s commitment towards awareness and prevention of mental health disorders, the relevance of social-emotional competencies for employability and adaptability in the rapidly evolving workplace, the importance of introducing lessons and training in mindfulness-based social-emotional learning (MBSEL) to build the youth’s adaptability in an ever-changing job landscape, and practical measures that can be taken at the institutional level within the UAE context.

IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATION OF CENTRALIZED RESTORATION OF AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT PARTS

Effective use of machines largely depends on timely and high-quality maintenance and repair. Due to the increase in the volume of restoration of units and aggregates at specialized enterprises, an opportunity was created in the workshops of farms and collective farms to more widely apply the aggregate method of restoration and repair. Improving the organization of centralized restoration of damaged parts makes it possible to restore tens of millions hryvnas worth of parts in a year. The organization of centralized delivery of material and technical means to farms is applied using the services of equipping farms with the necessary equipment in assembled, adjusted and run-in form. Increasing the level of concentration of repair production, deepening its specialization will allow to significantly improve the quality of repair, to bring the resource of repaired machines, tractors, combines and aggregates up to 80%. Before repairing driven discs of clutches of tractors, cars, combines, to replace friction linings, it is necessary to carry out operations of drilling, riveting and knocking off old linings. These operations require a lot of labor and the use of additional tools, which leads to significant capital investments. The paper proposes a device for cutting the fastenings of the friction linings of the driven clutch discs. Taking into account the conditions of agricultural enterprises, which have repair workshops, and the presence of vertical boring and milling machines, it is proposed to organize their use for the operation of removing worn friction linings. For riveting of friction linings of driven clutch discs, the development of a hydraulic stand is proposed, which can be made from standard units in the workshops of agricultural enterprises. Using this stand will make it possible to increase labor productivity when performing this operation and reduce its time.

Study of the discipline «Lean Manufacturing» as a condition for training specialists for the industrial sector of the economy

Personnel training using the tools and algorithms of the lean manufacturing concept is relevant, since improving the efficiency and competitiveness of enterprises is a key issue in the development of the industrial sector of the economy. The main condition for the successful implementation of this methodology is the availability of professional competencies among specialists implementing lean manufacturing at enterprises. Updating the curricula for the preparation of undergraduates, as well as the introduction of a new discipline into the educational process, will make it possible to form a specialist who is ready to work in a lean production environment. At the Department of Innovation in Chemical Technology of Kazan National Research Technological University, the discipline «Lean Manufacturing» has been introduced into the curricula of undergraduates studying in the field of Innovation. In order to identify the formation of knowledge, skills and abilities for the implementation of Lean-methodology, as well as the possession of its tools and algorithms for implementation at enterprises, the authors of the article conducted a questionnaire survey, which showed that a systematic approach is needed to form students' competencies in the field of lean manufacturing to increase their competitiveness in the modern labor market. Studying the discipline «Lean Manufacturing» will allow to form the necessary competencies in the field of Lean-methodology implementation at enterprises and increase labor productivity.

Changing the world one step at a time by example: Building on the New Lanark Legacy

A robust alternative “model” is presented that demonstrates how Owen’s vision of the New Lanark utopia was transformed into reality. New Lanark housed a profitable cotton mill owned by investor-owners led by Robert Owen. It was profitable whilst Owen treated employees and families with dignity in the context of his times in nineteenth century Scotland. Owen adhered to an ethical imperative that he understood would pay for itself through increasing labour productivity. I articulate the conditions under which utopia can be operationalised in the real world with privately owned business. This modelling contravenes the contemporary economic worldview where “utopia” is an impossibility since it invariably increases average cost. Employee co-operatives can have the same effect, but they remain few and far between. New Lanark exemplifies that dominant investor-owned firms can be both ethical and profitable. This can be achieved if investors who have a strong preference for being ethical understand that being ethical can be profitable. Hence, the importance of investors and potential co-operators understanding that being ethical, which is costly, is consistent with a competitive and profitable firm. Without this understanding building an ethical firm is an unrealisable utopia.

Цифровая трансформация промышленных предприятий и экономический рост

The article examines the features of the digital transformation of industrial enterprises in the Russian Federation at the present stage of their development. The empirical part of the study is focused on examining the growth rates of large enterprises representing various sectors of the country’s national economy (EvrazHolding, Sukhoi Company, and Gazprom Neft) and their transformation as part of the digitalization of the domestic economic system. Their benefits from the introduction of digital technologies into production processes, including ecosystem purposes, which simplify the process of selling products without loss of quality, ensuring a high level of cooperation between platform participants and high market transparency, are considered. The indicators of profitability and business activity of the above companies (2017–2021) were studied as part of the digital transformation of these enterprises. The problems of introducing digital technologies are identified: high risks of data leakage when introducing online technologies; high costs of introducing digital technologies; changes in the labor market; customer privacy costs; errors in device operation, calculations, and software. In accordance with the above-identified problems, ways to resolve them have been developed based on a strategic approach to the digital transformation of the financial and economic activities of enterprises: preparation of production in accordance with the requirements of the digital passport of the Ministry of Industry and Trade; drawing up an investment schedule; preparation of a business process reengineering schedule; determination of strategic directions for R&D to improve the quality of products and increase labor productivity through digital technologies.