Hi Sam,
Sorry I missed you all for breakfast recently. I did enjoy the photos. Maybe
I cam join you the next time.
I can relate to Ginny's story below. My dad (Tom Arthurs) worked at the rod
and wire mill where he wanted to get me on. He was upset with my refusal
because I had insight from my buddies who did work there. I told him that
the place was not going to make it from all the stories I heard. He told me
I didn't know what I was talking about. There now sits a Kmart on the very
site where the rod and wire mill sat. I rest my case.
Here is an interesting parable I received that tells of one perspective.
Enjoy,
Jack
A Modern Parable
A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (Ford 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.
The Americans, 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 7 people steering and 2 people 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, 2 area steering superintendents and 1
assistant superintendent steering manager.
They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 2 people
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
rowers. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other
equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses. The pension
program was trimmed to 'equal the competition' and some of the resultant
savings were c channeled into morale-boosting programs and teamwork posters.
The next year the Japanese won by two miles.
Humiliated, the American management laid off one rower, halted development
of a new canoe, sold all the paddles, and canceled all capital investments
for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives
as bonuses.
The next year, try as he might, the lone designated rower was unable to even
finish the race (having no paddles,) so he was laid off for unacceptable
performance, all canoe equipment was sold and the next year's racing team
was out-sourced to India.
Sadly, the End.
Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years
moving all its factories out 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, collecting bonuses... and
asking for a "bail-out"...
IF THIS WEREN'T SO TRUE IT MIGHT BE FUNNY
_____
From: Sam Kegley [mailto:skegley@columbus.rr.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 3:23 PM
To: VMarsh1979@aol.com
Subject: Re: Fw: Bailout-Excellent reading
Thanks Ginny!
I am not anti-union, but we all know that the pendulum swings back and forth
from its apex to its low point, over and back again. Upton Sinclair's "The
Jungle" about the Chicago Stockyards near the beginning of the twentieth
century, whereby the cattle or hogs went in one door and no waste products
came out the other, led to meat inspection and produced much of the union
efforts in Chicago. Owner-managers were taking advantage of the mostly
European immigrant workers and their customers all over the country.
Our adversarial management-labor arrangements came about due to mistrust by
each side. Deming showed the gullible Japanese, with an industrious
workforcs, how to manufacture keeping parts and products within control
without waste. How clever he and his ilk were, but our managers were too
busy maximizing their profits with increased production, shipping good along
with bad.
I am proud that the rearing of my friends in the Looney family was by
excellent working people who instilled the ethics to be worth your labor.
Forest and Mary Kegley did likewise. Aren't we imperfect, but perfectly
blessed?
Sam
----- Original Message -----
From: VMarsh1979@aol.com
To: skegley@columbus.rr.com
Sent: 2008-12-30 13:45
Subject: Re: Fw: Bailout-Excellent reading
Sam, way back in the 60's before Bill and I split, I worked at the Rod and
Wire Plant in New Boston. As a member of the union, which was forced, not
my choice. I later took a job as a secretary not in the union. I saw a lot
of manipulating with the union office people who would hide their work so
that they could work overtime, especially on holidays where it would be
double time and a half. I saw people and I was one of them who was bumped
off their jobs by someone with longer employment but who could not do the
job. On one job I had, the janitor was running the mimeograph machine
making copies because the woman who bumped me from my job didn't know how to
do it. I had no respect for the union. I think the union had a lot to do
with the steel industry shutting down years later. Poor quality work.
Ginny
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