Quote:
Originally Posted by trebuchet03
It sounds like you have a pretty decent bossman....
Personally, I still feel it necessary for the big three to present business models a priori.
The bail out won't change the fact that 61 vehicles were sold rather than 400. I'm not going to be another one to say what they need to do - because there are other much better at figuring that out. It is obvious, however, that the status quo is nOooOt quo.
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The only thing I hold fast to is that the UAW NEEDS to accept rate cuts, or they need to accept more responsibilities per employee, making them worth what they're paid in each market. The US and local Gov'ts CAN add input to this, since THEY'RE the ones that control prevailing wages, and if the Gov't ends up being some sort of comptroller for the big3, the UAW will be left with whatever monies are being paid, and probably left with fewer members, as there won't be as many positions available once its' determined that one person CAN do what it "takes" two to do now. Either way, it's either rate cuts or people lose jobs, but even 10,000 jobs lost is better than 3+ million.
On the other hand, the big3 DO need to re-think their ideas behind manufacturing. They need to adopt LEAN manufacturing processes, which are proven to be one of the biggest resources for any company trying to save from losing money.
Also, another step in the LEAN mfg system is "give them what they ask for, nothing more, nothing less."
Japan has been doing this for decades, as have several other countries. The US and organizations within this country are JUST NOW figuring it out. You don't provide goods and services for free. So why would you give a customer 5 rulers when they only needed, asked for, and paid for 4? You just ripped yourself off, and they're not going to keep that other ruler in stock anyway.
If you put together a kit of something, and it requires 24 bolts, 13 nuts, and 38 washers, you don't just put in a handful of bolts, a smaller handful of nuts, and a larger handful of washers. You put in exactly what's needed to build the kit. Customer loses parts, that's their problem.
How does this apply to the big3? Nobody asked for cars that ONLY come with auto transmissions... nobody asked for cars that have A/C as a factory option, rather than a consumer option. If they didn't ask for it, and they're not paying for it, DON'T GIVE IT TO THEM.
Simple things like this, done several years ago, could have helped to turn around what is now a giant clusterfsck.
Each American manufacturer in the big3 paired with companies overseas back in the 80's, and formed tenuous relationships, yet REFUSED to take cues from them EVER AFTER those same companies started taking the US market's lion's share of sales away from the big3.
They were too stuck on the idea of "people will buy it, just because WE made it, and they LOVE what WE make."
Wrong.
This has been a lecture on how the price of rice in America is directly proportionate to the size of the asteroids constantly bombarding stellar masses in the milky way galaxy.
I hope you learned something.
