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North Korea Mass Production Campaigns
Parallel to management techniques such as the Ch'ongsan-ni
Method and the Taean Work System, which were designed to increase
output in the course of more normalized and regularized
operations of farms and enterprises, the leadership continuously
resorts to exhortations and mass campaigns to motivate the
workers to meet output targets. The earliest and the most
pervasive mass production campaign was the Ch'llima Movement.
Introduced in 1958, and fashioned after China's Great Leap
Forward (1958-60), the Ch'llima Movement organized the labor
force into work teams and brigades to compete at increasing
production. The campaign was aimed not only at industrial and
agricultural workers but also at organizations in education,
science, sanitation and health, and culture. In addition to work
teams, units eligible for Ch'llima citations included entire
factories, factory workshops, and such self-contained units as a
ship or a railroad station. The "socialist competition" among the
industrial sectors, enterprises, farms, and work teams under the
Ch'llima Movement frantically sought to complete the Five-Year
Plan (1957-60), but instead created chaotic disruptions in the
economy. The disruptions made it necessary to set aside 1959 as a
"buffer year" to restore balance in the economy.
Although the Ch'llima Movement was replaced in the early
1960s by the Ch'ongsan-ni Method and the Taean Work System, the
regime's reliance on some form of mass campaign continued into
the early 1990s. Campaigns conducted after the Ch'llima Movement
have been narrower in scope and have concentrated on specific
time frames for a particular industry or economic sector. Often,
the mass production movement takes the form of a "speed battle"--
the "100-day speed battle" being most common. The fact that the
leadership has to resort to these campaigns points to the
weakness or improper functioning of the regular day-to-day
management system, as well as to a lack of incentives for workers
to achieve the desired economic results. The leadership
frequently resorts to speed battles toward the end of a certain
period (such as a month, a year, or a particular economic plan)
to reach production targets. The "Speed of the 1990s" is designed
to carry out the economic goals of the decade.
Data as of June 1993
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