Programme Transition in Work - Work in Transition
Inhaltsverzeichnis
International Conference: “Work in Transition – Transition in Work: A Comparative Analysis of Dynamics of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Cuba”
Organized by Prof. Antonia Kupfer and Dr Franz Heilgendorff, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
In-depth workshops on the topic will follow on 18/19 and 21/22 of November. If you are interested in taking part, please indicate it on the registration form. A detailed programme with timetables will follow in mid-September.
The programme with timetable can be found here: Programme
Registration form: https://tu-dresden.de/gsw/phil/iso/mak/conferences/conference-registration
Venue: TU Dresden, Institute of Sociology, Chemnitzer Straße 46a, 01187 Dresden, Germany Date: 14. and 15. of November 2024 (9 am to 6 pm)
Session 1: Principles and Political-Economic background of SMEs in Cuba
Social, political and economic frameworks for the establishment of SMEs for life care in Cuba: between progress and challenges
Prof. Magela Romero Almodóvar, University of Havana, Cuba
The paper explores Cuba's recent social and economic changes aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly those providing care services. It reviews regulatory framework alterations, the establishment of the National System for the Integral Care of Life, and enterprise managers' perceptions. The discussion emphasizes a theoretical framework for fostering equity, justice, and sustainability in the context of international transitions. From a feminist perspective, the paper argues for the importance of analyzing career and job transitions focusing gender relations with regard to life care. This approach highlights the need for gender sensitivity in the evolving Cuban economic landscape.
What influence do the SMEs have on the socialist model? Do they contribute to a strengthening of grassroots democratic initiatives?
Prof. Seida Barrera Rodríguez, University of Havana, Cuba
M.Sc. Melina Johanna Iturriaga Bartuste, University of Havana, Cuba
We plan to explain the influence of SMEs on the socialist model in three levels: 1) their creation at state level from the debate behind the decision, with roots on 2019 constitution; 2) the different business models and 3) how these have influenced on employment and work environment. At the same time, there is a transversal topic distorting the entire model: the US embargo/blockade on Cuba and its relaxations. We plan to use our databases on sanctions and relaxations from 1977 to July 2024; and cases from our practice as legal consultants and advisers.
MIPYMES in a global comparison within similar models
Dr Mark Hrubec, Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
The presentation will analyze the background of the small and medium-sized enterprises (MIPYMES) in a global comparison, mainly with similar models. It will make it possible to illuminate not only the parallels and inspiration for MIPYMES but also necessary international preconditions for the successful functioning of MIPYMES because MIPYMES do not function in isolation, especially in smaller countries that are dependent on international cooperation and trade. It will identify interactions in bilateral, regional, and global international cooperation, mainly in Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, and the world, and problems caused by the sanctions.
Session 2: Agri-Cultural Issues and Human-nature relationships as foundation of Society
The agrarian processes in Cuba within the framework of the transformations of the economic model
Prof. Alexander Abreu Pupo, University of Holguín, Cuba
In this study the situation of the Cuban rural society is analyzed in the current context of resizing in the types of property, the impact of the agrarian reforms that have taken place within it, as well as the processes of internal and external emigration that have caused the decrease of the labor force. There is also a growing predominance of aging population, agricultural areas in total abandonment and a worrisome poverty stripe with a tendency to increase due to its distance from its capacity to integrate to the foreign market and its decapitalization that makes it vulnerable to technological and industrial backwardness.
Alli Kawsay (Buen vivir) in indigenous movements: political-economic practices as a global model from the global south
Vanessa Arteaga, University of Nariño, Columbia
Eduardo Erazo Acosta, University of Nariño, Columbia
The Sumak Kawsay concept emphasizes community work across spiritual, political, economic, cultural, educational, and environmental dimensions. In Kichwa, it's known as MINKA, highlighting equitable communal labor and resource distribution, rooted in ancestral traditions and resistance to colonization. This circular economy aligns with community efforts to honor nature, often leading indigenous leaders to sacrifice their lives defending the environment against resource extraction. Comparatively, Cuba’s MYMES and German cooperatives reflect similar solidarity and economic resistance, promoting education and alternative access to goods under challenging conditions, embodying a shared political and spiritual consciousness akin to Sumak Kawsay.
Cooperatives, agriculture and technological innovation: creating economic opportunities for the rural poor through SMEs
Ass. Prof. Atrayee Saha, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
In India, agro-based cooperatives have been introduced in the form of state-owned small and medium enterprises for the economic development of the rural poor. Cuba has introduced the non-state owned SMEs. The aim of this paper is to focus on important aspects like, the trajectory of development of agricultural cooperatives in India and Cuba, the impact of two economic models on the lives of rural population in both the countries, the future of functioning of such cooperatives, the sustainability of both the models for the rural economy, the performance of such models in other countries like Japan and in what ways these models can be the future of agricultural industry of both the countries will be taken up in the paper.
Session 3: Labour Sociological Reflections
Micro, small and medium-sized businesses as new forms of organization. An analysis from its impact on the world of work for Cuba
Prof. Idalsis Fabré Machado, University "Marta Abreu" of Las Villas, Cuba
In Cuba, since the emergence with greater force of micro, small and medium-sized businesses, the tendency has been to focus the analysis from their economic dimension, specifically with regard to conceiving them as a form of property. This approach, although not incorrect, greatly limits the broad conception from which this phenomenon should be analyzed, based on understanding that SMEs constitute a new organizational form that can and should be efficiently inserted into the reorganization of the Cuban business system. For Cuba, it is an important challenge to articulate the dynamizing capacity of these new forms of organization in economic terms, that is, production, marketing, chains and diversification, with the dynamization of labor markets as well, with the strengthening of labor relations that produce and reproduce relationships.
The role of work in the subjective transformations of private entrepreneurs in Cuba
Prof. Daybel Pañellas Alvarez, University of Havana, Cuba
Research evidence will be presented showing subjective transformations of the Cuban private entrepreneurial sector from 2011 to 2024, from intra- and ex-group perspectives. The categories of analysis have been social identities and future projects. All this from an intersectional analysis that takes into account especially gender, skin color, age, the role of employee or employer, the territory of origin and belonging. The heterogeneity of the private sector is highlighted, and the significance and influence of its social role is debated.
Working with Humour: New Work Modalities through the Lens of Popular Culture
M.Sc. Jackie Cannon, University of Nottingham, UK
José Arístides Rodríguez Chacón
Employment laws and local legislation relating to business creation provide us with the regulatory framework for small and medium-sized enterprises. Nevertheless, perspectives on how these structures are interpreted and applied can be gleaned through engaging with actors in society, popular culture and especially with local humour. In this presentation, we will take a look at how self-employment and new styles of self-managed enterprises are reflected in Cuban comedy, specifically in the highly popular Pánfilo: Vivir del Cuento, by examining the wide range of entrepreneurial activity referenced in the programme and popular attitudes towards it.
Session 4: Critical Perspectives
Living the original accumulation
M.A. Ariel Pierucci Pérez, EAFIT University Medellín, Columbia
Cuban society is in a process of transition from socialism to capitalism. Following the Marxian scheme, the present moment is that of the original accumulation of capital. In the Cuban case, the original appropriation takes place in the dissolution of revolutionary egalitarianism and the resurgence of private property and the market. The present proposal will approach Cuban original accumulation from the egalitarianism/market conflict.
Contextualising the 1968 revolutionary offensive
M.Sc. Albert Gil Gil, University of Glasgow, UK
A key moment in the history of small businesses in Cuba is the 1968 Revolutionary Offensive, which virtually eliminated the remnants of the private sector in Cuba. This presentation will focus on the Revolution’s attitudes towards small and medium-sized businesses during the late 1960s and it will engage with the debates about how the Revolutionary Offensive has been interpreted by supporters and critics of the revolutionary process. The presentation will contextualise the Revolutionary Offensive through the lens of its class discourse, Cuba’s model of development, and the international situation.
Human development in the Cuban context of non-state management of the economy. An intersectional analysis
Prof. Marybexy Calcerrada Gutiérrez, University of Holguín, Cuba
Analysis of the effects and challenges of new formulas of non-state management of the Cuban economy (SME) in the population. The Human Development perspective understood from an intersectional approach (articulation between gender, skin colour, territory, age, health condition) is hereby adopted as a frame of reflection. Criteria are presented with respect to:
- Purchasing capacity, by population groups, with respect to basic goods and services.
- Labor mobility between the state and non-state sectors.
- Social vulnerability by groups, identified by identity aspects mentioned above, in the context of the economic crisis the country is going through.
- Social policies that, with respect to the crisis contingency, the state administration has developed in the direction of containing and subverting the harmful effects of the systemic behaviour of the crisis are exposed.
Navigating Challenges and Opportunities: A Comparative Study of SMEs in Cuba and India
Ass. Prof. Bijayani Mishra, University of Delhi, India
The dynamics of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Cuba and India illustrate contrasts and similarities shaped by each country's economic landscape. SMEs are crucial for both nations, driving employment and growth. In Cuba, SMEs are developing within a transitioning socialist economy, facing challenges like regulatory constraints and limited market access despite government support efforts. In contrast, India’s SME sector thrives in a liberalized environment, benefiting from comprehensive governmental support through initiatives like the MSMED Act. While Indian SMEs are well-integrated globally, they grapple with bureaucratic hurdles and market competition. This comparative analysis stresses the importance of tailored policy environments and highlights lessons both nations can learn to enhance SME resilience and competitiveness.