PRODUCTIVITY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM Building Bridges Between the Russian and American Peoples District 7610 of Rotary International, in helping the Center for Citizen Initiatives (CCI) of San Francisco, is planning to host eleven promising Russian entrepreneurs in telecommunications who want to learn the best America can offer them. These civic-minded business leaders will visit Northern Virginia from September 28 to October 22, 2000, for intensive business training and cultural exchange activities. The purpose of this Productivity Enhancement Program (PEP), developed by CCI, is to teach a carefully selected group of Russian managers the basic tenets of American business.  They will learn production, marketing, planning and budgeting, personnel management and other subjects of interest to them. The new skills they learn in America will not only help them survive, but also enable them to set an example for others to follow at a time when Russia is struggling to make an effective transition to a global open market economy. Today, owners and managers of small and medium size businesses in Russia have to operate in a climate that is still not supportive of independent enterprises. Moreover, business people there often do not have successful models to follow in coping with technical, tax, and regulatory issues unless they are well prepared to deal with the economic changes facing them. Thus, by coming to the United States and meeting like-minded people they acquire not only critical business skills, but also hope, a new sense of direction, moral support, and unshakable self-confidence. PEP is an extension of the technical component of the highly successful Marshall Plan, which trained 24,000 non-English speaking foreign nationals in U.S. production concepts and management principles. PEP, which enlists the support of service club organizations like Rotary, adds a new dimension to foreign assistance by giving international skill sharing a warm, cooperative, human face.   About | Events | Team Members | Guests | Hosts | Schedule | Contact District 7610 Rotary International / Center for Citizen Initiatives