In this paper the following topics are considered: retrospective research into the effect of coal mine scale on its effectiveness; research results on the effect of the "system size" (coal mine) on the top-level management capability; and problem specifications for further research work in this area.
The research results presented in this paper are part of the work accomplished within the IIASA project called "Coal -- Issues for the Eighties". Among others, elements of the IIASA concept "S-IOT" have been used
