Sociological Services to Enterprises and Problems of Improving the Effectiveness of Sociological Research

The practical implementation of scientific methods of management of social processes has required the creation of special services providing sociological information on various aspects of the life of society. Today, according to data from the Institute of Sociological Research, Academy of Sciences USSR and from the Soviet Sociological Association, there are over 400 entities in this country doing work in sociology, of which 250 operate within the system of institutions of the Academy of Sciences USSR and those of the various republics as well as in higher educational institutions, and dozens function on a voluntary basis in association with Party bodies. The largest sociological service, in scale and facilities, is being established within the Moscow Party organization. Many ministries have sociological centers that provide guidance on research methods within their respective branches of industry. Hundreds of associations, enterprises, and organizations have groups of employees engaging in sociological studies. Services of this kind at the "Red Proletarian" Works, the Perm Telephone Equipment Factory, and the Volga Auto Works, the Lenin Auto Works, the Kirov Works, the "Svetlana" Factory, and others, have become very well known.