More interesting notes from friends

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

Reply to Big Three Bailout- Jack Plymale

Columbus' John McConnell had a saying he adhered to in managing Worthington Steel, consistently rated one of America's ten best managed companies. "Do the Right Thing". That sounds so much like the "Golden Rule" of the Bible. It is vital to having Capitalism work effectively like we know it can. John paid well, but expected a 'day's work for a day's wages'.

Sam

----- Original Message -----
From: Jack H Plymale
To: Jim Fout ; Sarah Rapp ; Sam Kegley
Sent: 2008-12-29 19:32
Subject: Bailout-Excellent reading


HERE'S AN OLD OHIO BOY WITH A PRETTY FAIR HANDLE ON OUR PROBLEMS AND, AT LEAST, A POSSIBLE SOLUTION.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Keith & Pat Brooker

Subject: Bailout-Excellent reading
Date: Sun, 28 Dec 2008 19:17:18 +0000







<>














Subject: GM supplier answers GM President Troy Clarke's "plea" / Great
response




This is one of the greatest responses to the requests for bailout money
I have seen thus far. As a supplier for the Big 3 this man received a
letter from the President of GM North America requesting support for the
bail out program. His response is classic, and has to make you proud of
a local guy who tells it like it is.



Dear Employees & Suppliers,
Congress and the current Administration will soon determine whether to
provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it
through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation's
history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why
this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior
to the global financial crisis......................As an employee or
supplier, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most
effective and passionate voices. I know GM can count on you to have your
voice heard. Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support.
Troy Clarke President General Motors North America



Response from:
Gregory Knox, Pres.
Knox Machinery Company
Franklin, Ohio

Gentlemen:

In response to your request to contact legislators and ask for a
bailout for the Big Three automakers please consider the following, and
please pass my thoughts on to Troy Clark, President of General Motors
North America.

Politicians and Management of the Big 3 are both infected with the same
entitlement mentality that has spread like cancerous germs in UAW halls
for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping this
nation, awaiting our new "messiah", Pres-elect Obama, to wave his magic
wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing
our once great nation to keep "living the dream"... Believe me folks,
The dream is over!

This dream where we can ignore the consumer for years while management
myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time
that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid,
arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minde d "laborers" without
paying the price for these atrocities...this dream where you still think
the masses will line up to buy our products for ever and ever.

Don't even think about telling me I'm wrong. Don't accuse me of not
knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW,
Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle and countless other automotive OEM's
throughout the Midwest during the past 30 years and what I've seen over
those years in these union shops can only be described as disgusting.

Troy Clarke, President of General Motors North America, states: "There
is widespread sentiment throughout this country, and our government, and
especially via the news media, that the current crisis is completely the
result of bad management which it certainly is not."

You're right Mr. Clarke, it's not JUST management...how about the
electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times,
making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag ass...so
they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time...for a
job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour work week.
How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare
tactics...for putting out too many parts on a shift...and for being too
productive

(We certainly must not expose those lazy bums who have been getting
overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?)

Do you folks really not know about this stuff?!? How about this great
sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke's sad plea: "over the last few years
...we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors."
What the hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!? Did we
really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and
them? The K car vs. the Accord? The Pinto vs. the Civic? !? Do I
need to go on? What a joke!

We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the
United States auto industry for decades. It's time to pay for your
sins, Detroit.

I attended an economic summit last week where brilliant economist, Alan
Beaulieu, from the Institute of Trend Research, surprised the crowd when
he said he would not have given the banks a penny of "bailout money".
"Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems," but despite what
people like politicians and corporate magnates would have us believe,
the sun would in fact rise the next day... and the following very
important thing would happen...where there had been greedy and sloppy
banks, new efficient ones would pop up...that is how a free market
system works...it does work...if we would only let it work..."

But for some nondescript reason we are now deciding that the rest of
the world is right and that capitalism doesn' t work - that we need the
government to step in and "save us"...Save us my ass, Hell - we're
nationalizing...and unfortunately too many of our once fine nation's
citizens don't even have a clue that this is what is really
happening...But, they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite
sports teams...yeah - THAT'S really important, isn't it...

Does it ever occur to ANYONE that the "competition" has been producing
vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades in this country?... How can
that be??? Let's see... Fuel efficient... Listening to customers...
Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul...

Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr. W. Edwards Deming
four decades ago when he taught that by adopting appropriate principles
of management, organizations could increase quality and simultaneously
reduce costs. Ever increased productivity through quality and
intelligent planning... Treat ing vendors like strategic partners, rather
than like "the enemy"... Efficient front and back offices... Non union
environment...

Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn't be telling anyone
anything they really don't already know down deep in their hearts.

I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting
someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into -
my children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did when I was
their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their
greatest gifts, by the way) - I make them stand on their own two feet
and accept the consequences of their actions and work through it.
Radical concept, huh... Am I there for them in the wings? Of course -
but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as
adults.

I don't want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly
are unmistakable parallels he re between the proper role of parenting and
government. Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins.
Bad news people - it's coming whether we like it or not. The newly
elected Messiah really doesn't have a magic wand big enough to "make it
all go away." I laughed as I heard Obama "reeling it back in" almost
immediately after the final vote count was tallied..."we really might
not do it in a year...or in four..." Where the Hell was that kind of
talk when he was RUNNING for office.

Stop trying to put off the inevitable folks ... That house in Florida
really isn't worth $750,000... People who jump across a border really
don't deserve free health care benefits... That job driving that
forklift for the Big 3 really isn't worth $85,000 a year... We really
shouldn't allow Wal-Mart to stock their shelves with products acquired
from a country that unfairly manipulates their currency and has the most
atrocious human right s infractions on the face of the globe...

That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn't
be living in that $485,000 home... Let the market correct itself folks -
it will. Yes it will be painful, but it's gonna' be painful either way,
and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it all,
is a nation that appreciates what it has...and doesn't live beyond its
means...and gets back to basics...and redevelops the patriotic work
ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world...and
probably turns back to God.

Sorry - don't cut my head off, I'm just the messenger sharing with you
the "bad news". I hope you take it to heart.

Gregory J. Knox, President
Knox Machinery, Inc.
Franklin, Ohio 45005











--
Jack P.