I don't know the source, otherwise I'd quote it. It is a funny parable that rings quite close to the truth. The bottom line is I think, NATIONAL PRIDE. It is the driving force in a country's development. The "me first attitude" is becoming rampant in the US but also very very big in the Philippines (where filipinos seem to like everything "stateside" ;).

National pride, people. Your country first, it's the same place your children will be living in in a few years. Lets give them something to be proud of.

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[SIZE=2] HOW MY CEO'S DESTROYED THE UNITED STATES of AMERICA. - A Modern Parable.



A Japanese company ( Toyota ) and an American company (General Motors) 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.

GM very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management 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 mon ey 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, hal t ed development of a new canoe, sold the paddles and all equipment to the local junk yard, and cancelled 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 out-sourced to India.

Sadly, The End.

Sad, but oh so true! Here's something else to think about: GM has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the U.S.A., claiming they can't make money paying American wages. Toyota has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the U.S.A. The last quarter's results: Toyota makes 4 billion in profits while GM racked up 9 billion in losses. GM folks are still scratching their heads. Don't even think about Ford.....



HOW MY CEO'S DESTROYED THE UNITED STATES of AMERICA.[/SIZE]