Development of MPCA Culture. Overcoming of Cultural Differences and Problems in Communicating with the West

Cooperation between State Scientific Research Institute of the Scientific Industrial Enterprise 'Luch' and U.S. National Laboratories has been developing successfully for more than three years. During this period, a significant number of organizational, technical and behavioral barriers, which are very specific, have been overcome. These specifications are caused by the transitional character of political and economic conditions in Russia, as well as by the objective need of transition from the MPCA system of 'administrational' sort to integrated and graded system of providing materials safety. Formation of a layer of qualified state specialists at the enterprise who are knowledgeable about current technology, culture and principles of organizing process administration for handling the materials, play a key role in the successes and achievements on the path of long term process of building a new integrated and multi-layered MPCA system at 'Luch'. Thanks to the fact that a bilateral group of cooperating teams was created at 'Luch' during the very first stages of the cooperation process, a foundation was laid for preparing specialists over and over again in this very sensitive area, shifts in mastering the level of materials protection have become