Transcripts of Factory Production Meetings as a Source on the Socio-Psychological Aspects of Industrial Enterprise History (on the Example of Ttranscripts of AMO ZIL)

The article's research is centered on the transcripts of industrial conferences, meetings and reunions of the Moscow Automobile Plant named after I.A. Likhachev (AMO ZIL). The aim of this study is to determine the information potential of the transcripts taken during factory meetings concerning production issues and to use them as a source for studying the socio-psychological aspects of the history of industrial enterprises. The author examines in detail many aspects of the topic, including the transcripts' reflection of the views of enterprise managers, unit leaders, engineering and technical workers and workers in the production process, the features of the business culture, and the motivation of production participants. In working with transcripts, the author applied the socio-psychological and illustrative methods to a comprehensive analysis of sources. The research revealed a high saturation of information contained in the transcripts of production meetings, showing the possibilities of their use for studying the socio-psychological aspects of the history of industrial enterprises, in particular, the economic culture, the mentality of organizers and production participants, the atmosphere within the team, the views of managers and employees on the production process, their work motivation, as well as other issues. The author introduces into scientific circulation previously unexamined archival materials.