The Polish Road from Socialism: The Economics, Sociology and Politics of Transition PDF Download

Author: Walter D. Connor
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315487594
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
What the contributors to this volume offer is neither a romantic version of the course of Polish history nor a jubilant account of the recovery of national independence and political choice. Rather, they offer a variety of tough-minded analytic perspectives on what comes when "the party's over" - not just the PSPR but the celebration marking its downfall. They focus on Poland's movement toward an internationally competitive market economy, a political democracy in which plural interests compete, and the constitution of a civil society that both tolerates and ameliorates conflict. The multidisciplinary contributors include Jan Mujzel, Keith Crane, Benjamin Slay, Kazimierz Poznanski; Jan Bossak, Wojciech Bienkowski, Wlodzimierz Wesolowski, Edmund Wnuk-Lipinski, Adam Sarapata, Andrzej Sicinski, Piotr Lukasiewicz, Krzysztof Nowak, David S. Mason, Adrzej Rychard, Krzysztof Jasiewicz, Jack Bielasiak, Janusz Reykowski, Stanislaw Gebethner, Miroslawa Marody, Edmund Mokrzycki, and Michael D. Kennedy.

Author: John O'Del
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136766995
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 102

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Book Description
First published in 1997. Entrepreneurial activity in Poland has contributed to the economic revival of the nation and, arguably, to the 'social net' of Poland. In an effort to gain a greater understanding of the entrepreneur in Poland, this book offers a comparison of Polish entrepreneurs and American entrepreneurs while giving attention to the potential influence of the political-social context of the environment in which the entrepreneur was raised. The regimen of a command economic system is considered as well as its possible impact on the entrepreneur.

Author: Dietrich Rueschemeyer
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317463188
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
Since Alexis de Tocqueville first made the linkage in his writings on America, a healthy democracy has been associated with the flourishing of civil society, as measured by popular participation in voluntary and civic activities and the vitality of organizations that mediate between the individual and the state. This volume takes a fresh look at this classic theme in the context of post-communist Eastern Europe, the West European welfare states and the United States, asking: what patterns of participation characterize the new democracies of Eastern Europe?; what levels of civic activism are characteristic of contemporary Western democracies?; what factors account for differences among countries and changing patterns over time?; and what do findings suggest about the prospects for democracy in the 21st century?

Author: Bjorn Kurten
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351499327
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 379

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Book Description
Poland has carried out two peaceful revolutions in the span of one generation: first, the self-limiting movement of Solidarity, which undermined the legitimacy of Communism and then a negotiated transfer of power from Communism to free market democracy. Today, while Poland is seen as a success story and is joining political and economic associations in the democratic West, Poles themselves seem downcast. They ask: is social anomie a price worth paying for a successful transformation? In making moral compromises with an outgoing tyranny, can one avoid cynicism and disappointment with democracy? Zbigniew Brzezinski, professor of American Foreign Policy at Johns Hopkins University has calledPolish Transformation"a work that provides a comprehensive as well as incisive overview of the extraordinary difficult and historically unprecedented process of transforming an increasingly corrupt and decayed totalitarian system into a modern democracy." John Lenczowski, director of the Institute of World Politics, adds that "this extremely useful volume explains the essential elements of the post-communist political transition in Poland. Its authors convey...the cultural and ideological underpinnings that can be captured only by authorities who have developed over a lifetime that special sixth sense for detecting the elusive and unquantifiable soul of a country." Radek Sikorski, the executive director of the New Atlantic Initiative at the American Enterprise Institute, writes that "we should be grateful to the authors and editors of this thoughtful volume for asking questions which remain relevant for that uncomfortably large part of humanity that still lives under totalitarian or authoritarian regimes."

Author: Jennifer Lynn Roney
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 9780815333906
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
This study examines how the shared cultural values of employees in a Polish firm influenced management attempts to transform organizational practices in a newly privatized factory. By introducing a foreign management approach, Total Quality Management (TQM), the management of this factory presents a potential conflict of values between the employees and the management philosophy. Tracing the historical and contemporary impact of traditional, political and religious influences in Poland and utilizing ethnographic techniques of observation, interviews, and secondary source data, the author identifies four patterns of shared mindsets. These mindsets, insecurity and instability, distrust, reluctance to assume responsibility and a struggle between individualism and collectivism generate resistance to the successful implementation of TQM in this factory.Organizational studies research has identified cultural differences in values but previous studies have not examined the congruence assessment that employees make when confronted with a management intervention, such as TQM. The author finds that an incongruence between societal values and the values the employees perceive are embedded in the TQM approach produced actual outcomes that are not consistent with TQM objectives of empowerment, teamwork, visionary leadership and continuous improvement of quality. Employees demonstrated a reduced sense of empowerment, team goals that are counterproductive to organizational goals, autocratic leadership and an increased focus but not sustainable effort toward improving quality.The book examines the reasons for these results through detailed description and extensive quotations from employees bothinside the Polish firm and throughout Polish society.

Author: Jennifer Lynn Roney
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000525651
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
First Published in 2000. This is a research study that includes deep description, supported by research in organizational studies as well as Polish history, sociology and anthropology, of the perceptions of employees in a single Polish factory. This factory is experiencing the uncertainties and opportunities of tremendous change in external contingencies and internal operations. The employees in this factory are trying to adjust to a new owner and many new managers, the fear of lay-offs and confusion about the world in which they now find themselves.

Author: Tibor Iván Berend
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521663526
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
An ambitious, comparative analysis of 'Eastern Bloc' economies during a period of revolutionary change.

Author: M. Donald Hancock
Publisher: CQ Press
ISBN: 150639910X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 810

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Book Description
Politics in Europe, Seventh Edition introduces students to the power of the European Union as well as seven political systems—the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Russia, Poland—within a common analytical framework that enables students to conduct both single-case and cross-national analysis. Each case addresses the most relevant questions of comparative political analysis: who governs, on behalf of what values, with the collaboration of what groups, in the face of what kind of opposition, and with what socioeconomic and political consequences? Packed with captivating photos and robust country descriptions from regional specialists, the Seventh Edition enables students to think critically about these questions and make meaningful cross-national comparisons.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Asia, Central
Languages : en
Pages : 544

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Book Description
Provides information on East-Central Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Author: John K. Glenn
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 9780804749282
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
In 1989, newly formed civic movements replaced long-standing Leninist regimes in Eastern Europe with democratic governments. This book addresses such questions as: how similar were the Leninist regimes before their dissolution, how similar were their demises and ultimate outcome? How did the way communism fell affect the founding of democracies in Eastern Europe, notably in Poland and Czechoslovakia?