Obsoleszenz — ein Synonym für die Konsumgüterproduktion in entfalteten Marktwirtschaften

Zusammenfassung Wie im Titel angedeutet, gehen die Verfasser davon aus, daß sich hinter dem Obsoleszenz-Phänomen keine besondere Absatzstrategie der Unternehmen und daher kein eigenständiges Erkenntnisobjekt verbirgt. Die von bürgerlichen und marxistischen Kritikern vielfach geäßerte Ansicht, mit zunehmender Vermachtung/Monopolisierung der Märkte seien die Waren schlechter geworden, wird nicht geteilt. Nach wie vor werden bei uns sehr viele «gute» sowie «schlechte» Konsumgüter hergestellt, je nach dem wie die Produktivkräfte sowie die Konkurrenz um die zahlungskräftige Nachfrage es erlauben. Was die bekannten gesamtgesellschaftlichen Probleme (Umweltbelastung, Rohstoffknappheit etc.) verursacht und die Wissenschaften auf dem Plan gerufen hat, ist nicht die abnehmende Qualität der Waren, sondern die erweiterte Reproduktion kapitalistischen Wirtschaftens schlechthin. Die «ungeheure Warenansammlung» kann wissenschaftlich nicht zerlegt werden in eine unanfechtbare Normalität (=technischer Fortschritt) und moralisch abzulehnende Auswüchse (=Obsoleszenz); ebensowenig signalisieren Obsoleszenzstrategien die allgemeine Dekadenz des Monopolkapitals. Der Reichtum an Konsumgütern ist vielmehr zu begreifen als dialektisches Resultat einer Erwerbsgesellschaft, die-beispielhaft konkretisiert-überdimensionierte Fernsehgeräte zum Kauf anbietet, nachdem sie zuvor technisch ausgereifte Geräte entwickelt hat.

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As indicated by the title the authors are convinced that obsolescence is no special marketing strategy. Therefore the phenomenon should not be regarded as a subject worthy of study by itself. The authors reject the hypothesis that product quality is eroded by increasing monopolization, a position taken by bourgeois as well as marxian critics. In market economies there will always be production of good and bad consumer goods depending on productive capacity and sellers' competition for effective demand. The well-known social problems (pollution, shortage of raw materials, etc.) are not caused by decreasing product quality but are due to the need for reproduction of capital on a larger scale.The enormous production of goods cannot be separated by scientific methods into (a) an economic normality (technical progress) and (b) a perverse exaggeration not acceptable on moral grounds (obsolescence). Neither do the strategies of obsolescence indicate the decadence of monopolistic capitalism. Instead the abundance of consumer goods should be interpreted as a dialectic result of a society's profit maximization. To give an example: After well-equipped television sets with a high technical standard had been developed, the system starts supplying units of a hypertrophic size and capacity.

     

Changes needed in agricultural policy for female-headed farm families in tropical Africa

The decline in per-capita agricultural production has been reversed somewhat in tropical Africa by the structural adjustment programs which have increased producer prices, liberalized marketing and devalued currencies. But the 30% of smallholder farm households which are female-headed will not be assited much due to their special constraints of shortages of labor and credit, lack of extension visits and appropriate labor-saving technologies. For these households, the authors argue, improved extension services, credit for agricultural inputs, small ruminant animals and poultry, labor-saving devices and craft inputs will be necessary to increase their incomes and levels of living.     

Does FIN 48 Improve Firms' Estimates of Tax Reserves?

This paper examines whether the increased accounting guidance and reporting requirements of FIN 48 impact the adequacy and accuracy of tax reserves and the effect of auditor‐provided tax services on tax reserves. While we do not find FIN 48 affected the adequacy or accuracy of tax reserves on average, FIN 48 eliminated the differences in the tax reserve adequacy of firms with and without auditor‐provided tax services that existed prior to its adoption. We also find evidence of less premature releasing of tax reserves post‐FIN 48. Our evidence is consistent with an increase in the comparability of reserves for firms that do and do not purchase auditor‐provided tax services, consistent with one of the FASB's objectives for FIN 48.     

AN ANALYSIS OF SUPPLY CHAIN COLLABORATIONS AND THEIR EFFECT ON PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES

This research examined how operational outcomes, relational outcomes and business performance are affected by a collaboration project between buyers and suppliers in a supply chain. It is hypothesized that interdependence of knowledge and process, supply chain partner insight, and the level of collaboration between the firms affect the outcomes of a collaboration project. Survey data from buyers and suppliers from a wide range of industries and organizations were used in this analysis. Among these participants, higher levels of collaboration led to improvements in operational and relational outcomes, which together led to improvements in asset utilization, competitive position, organizational performance, and profitability.     

Russia’s salt industry: Problems of development

The paper describes the current situation in the salt industry. It points to the inadmissibly high and expanding market share of imported salt products despite the country’s own colossal resource base and the domestic enterprises’ huge unused capacities. It has been shown that OAO Russian Railroads (OAO RZhD) will economically benefit due to its reasonable policy of selective reduction of the railroad shipment tariffs for salt for domestic producers due to the inevitable growth of the country’s own salt output.