Senior Management Math and Logic...

[caseydog]

Car makers thinking - A Modern Parable....

A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (Ford) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.

Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing.

Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. They
advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager.

They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rower. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.

Humiliated, the American management laid off the rower for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses and the next year's racing team was outsourced to India.

Sadly, The End.




Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving factories OUTSIDE of the US, claiming they can't make money paying American wages. Toyota has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants INSIDE the US.

The last quarter's results:

Toyota makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses. Ford folks are still scratching their heads. Plant closings, layoffs and executive bonuses coming soon.

IF THIS WASN'T SO SAD IT MIGHT BE FUNNY!

[madjack]

.............IF THIS WASN'T SO SAD IT MIGHT BE FUNNY!

...ain't it the truth...the bonuses and salaries made by many top executives in this country are absolutely obscene.....
madjack

[Mike C.]

When I read articles like this, I wonder how America is still solvent. Oh wait????? Maybe not.

[del]

Toyota spent about 5oo million on their formula 1 team last year, Ford (jag) sold their team about 2 yrs ago to red bull.

[Nitetimes]

.............IF THIS WASN'T SO SAD IT MIGHT BE FUNNY!

...ain't it the truth...the bonuses and salaries made by many top executives in this country are absolutely obscene.....
madjack

The real shame of it is they give them all this money for what...??
To get them deeper in the hole. Seems to me, paying the guy doing the work a little more and the guy doing nothing but sitting on his a$$ in a big office a LOT less, a whole lot more work would get done.
I have always wondered what they could possibly do with all that money, most of them make more in a year than I would spend in 20.
It seems like most of their jobs are nothing more than to think up ways to bankrupt a company.

[asianflava]

This story has been floating around for a long time. It is so true, even tho it has been around for several years now, corporate America has not changed their ways. Sad to say that it is not just Ford, all of coroprate Amreica that operates like this.

Whenever we have a layoff (I've lost count of how many I been thru) they always get rid of the folks who actually touch/make the product. Rarely does it ever extend to any of the management. Getting rid of one or two of those high priced do-nothings would probably save half a dozen worker bees. We always say that eventually, there will be all Chiefs and no Indians.