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  1. Join Date
    May 2006
    Posts
    357
    #1
    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]

  2. Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Posts
    1,985
    #2
    Mostly true but now that Toyota and others have built plants here in the US they are slowly starting to realize the US makers labor problems. I have a neighbor that used to work the the NUMI plant(iirc makes Tacoma, Corolla, Matrix/Vibe)in Fremont which is owned by Toyota in partnership with GM, he says they have people call in sick or are on workmans comp alot and only come in to work a few days so they don't lose insurance and retirement benefits. I know GM will be pulling out of that plant soon and Toyota want's to do the same but they have too much money invested in the plant. Now the only workers they hire are on probation or non-permanent status and they get terminated before becoming permanent so Toyota doesn't have to give them the same benefits or else they become sick all of a sudden. That's the reason my neighbor quit to work for the Feds and get a stable job. Also if you haven't noticed the quality of the Japanese cars made in the US isn't the same as the ones made in Japan, I know cause I own an Xterra made in Tennessee.

    edit: As far as GM not making money because of labor, also true because the insurance and other benefits they pay to the workers courtesy of the union is a big chunk of their operational cost.
    Last edited by redorange; May 6th, 2007 at 03:29 AM.

  3. Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    3,790
    #3
    Nice one.

    that is why it would be best to make ROBOT workers.

    or they should also try to hire indigent - mexicans, filipino migrants and other less demanding people.

    the concept of probation and non-permanent workers are the same that have been happening to the Philippines for the past 10 years na... and yet the benefits and salaries of permanent employees are not as equal as american employees.

    I'd say the problem lies more on the attitude of the filipino and american workers.... "both don't love their work/job" the same way as a japanese worker.

    Yung problem ng pag-absent sa trabaho is a very common thing on regular-permanent employees kasi they always think that they are secure enough.

    IMO, at the end of the day, it is the CEOs' that should also be fired kasi they don't know how to motivate their workers to love their work and thus give full work dedication.

  4. Join Date
    May 2006
    Posts
    357
    #4
    Sadly, motivation is only one part of the puzzle. Most employees will say that the best motivation is monetary, but compensation is easy to take for granted. There is a very fine line between motivating your employees and our employees abusing you. Also sad to say, filipino employees are prone to abusing privileges given to them by their employers, that's why you see the biggest companies in the PI with very very strict employment contracts. If you give an inch, they'll take a foot.

    We can bitch and moan about that but it is the truth. The japanese take PRIDE in their jobs and output, they show this in their dedication and the quality of work they do.

    Note I AM making a generalization, I wish myself it wasn't true but I have witnessed this personally.

    I understand there is a certain responsibility by the employer to share profits and give back to his workforce to reward a job well done, but it must not be abused by the employees.

  5. Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Posts
    1,046
    #5
    that is partly true, but one thing that US car critics always fail to take into account are the legacy costs incurred by GM/Ford, which are part of the many reasons of their financial losses. these costs are large portions that eat up their profits by the way. neither Toyota nor Honda has these costs. i don't know when that article was published, but fyi, GM actually made profits in the last two quarters.

  6. Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Posts
    787
    #6
    Quote Originally Posted by n2knee View Post
    that is partly true, but one thing that US car critics always fail to take into account are the legacy costs incurred by GM/Ford...
    I don't think that's accurate. People are very aware of the huge legacy costs (particularly healthcare) that are hurting US-owned carmakers. When you hear (or read) US automaker executives, that's one reason they constantly cite.

    The other reason they don't cite quite as often is that the cars they produce are generally of lower quality than Japanese ones.

  7. Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Posts
    3,067
    #7
    ito lang yan. they are spending too much on management that is not performing. too little on direct operation. the downfall of most american companies.

  8. Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    39,162
    #8
    Quote Originally Posted by van_wilder View Post
    ito lang yan. they are spending too much on management that is not performing. too little on direct operation. the downfall of most american companies.
    IMO,- ganito nga....

    99 na Heneral
    77 na Koronel
    55 na Kapitan
    33 na Tinyente
    2 na Sarhento
    1 na Private

    ... Tapos, kahit sagad na sa buto ang hirap dahil puro cost reduction,- sasabihin pa nilang mahal masyado ang operations ng Sarhento at Private..... I sub-out na lang....

    Mga b*p*l!!!

    2601:kick:

  9. Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Posts
    45,927
    #9
    Look at the Bush admin --- it's the same as GM --- big govt, too much bureaucracy, too much spending

  10. Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    14,825
    #10
    Quote Originally Posted by ogpro View Post
    HOW MY CEO'S DESTROYED THE UNITED STATES of AMERICA.[/SIZE][/FONT]
    IMO - analyzing the economic workings of an entire nation can't just be summarized in a simple story like that.

    Let's go to statistics shall we?

    The USA's GDP per capita is around $44,000 which is $10,000 more than Japan's. Simply put, they produce more goods per person over there and with their population size, they are easily the biggest producers of goods & services in the world (thrice as that of Japan & equals the output of the entire EU).

    We laugh about the "inefficient" Americans but it is hard to dispute those cold facts.

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