Agoracom

> 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.
> 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 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 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.
> IF THIS WEREN'T SO TRUE IT MIGHT BE FUNNY