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I borrowed this from another site and thought you guys could use a good laugh. Sorry if it's already been posted here somewhere.
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 paddling and 1 person
steering, while the American team had 7 people steering and 2 people
paddling.
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 paddling.
Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another
loss to the Japanese, the paddling 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
paddling the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the
'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners and free pens
for the paddlers. 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 channeled into morale boosting programs and teamwork posters.
The next year the Japanese won by two miles.
Humiliated, the American management laid off one paddler, 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 paddler 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 racks up 9 billion in losses.
Ford folks are still scratching their heads, and collecting bonuses...
_________________ Slightly modified Lt. Khaki 3.7 2004 LTD 4X4. Purchased new 8/6/03. What I don't have....A Mag light mounted to my seat. Original Old L.O.S.T. #000354 Nick's Pics & Mods click here: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/531173http://www.survivaltopics.com/forums/
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