http://forums.industryweek.com Talk about the issues raised in a recent IW article, column or news item. en Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:30:17 GMT vBulletin 60 http://forums.industryweek.com/IWImages/misc/rss.jpg http://forums.industryweek.com http://feeds.penton.com/~r/IWTalkBackForum/~3/JPJX9gxdsX0/showthread.php Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:41:10 GMT I guess that's not the greatest title for my comment but it was the recent article about Katadyn that caught my eye.

It shows that there is more than one option when it comes to being able to compete on a global playing field. I realize that their products are probably specialized and not sold into an intensely cost competitve market but it should be a model that similar businesses could adopt.

Also think a minute about why how cost competitive markets arise. It's because we as a nation, knowingly or otherwise have chosen them. We tend to value cost over quality but where does that lead? To reduce costs means ever improving productivity which through three possible routes leads to fewer jobs in the nations manufacturing sector. Fewer jobs in manufacturing means that more jobs have to be created in non-cash generating sectors or unemployment rises. The amount of profit from manufacturing has to be able to pay for this or one or both of two things happen.

1) We have to rely on bogus, unsustainable sources of income such as trading in obscure derivatives and/or
2) We have to borrow money.

I know some will say that we can sell services but they are also a cost driven product (where's the person that answers when you call the help line?).

As Karl Marx observed in 1867 : 'Owners of Capital will stimulate the working class to buy more and more expensive goods, houses and technology, until their debt becomes unbearable. The unpaid debt will lead to bankruptcy of banks, which will have to be nationalised, and State will have to take the road that will eventually lead to communism'.

Sound familiar. Maybe it's time to seek a middle path (I'm no advocate of either communism or the free market. It's clear they are a Yin and Yang but that's a whole different thread). Maybe Katadyn have opened a crack in the door that might shed light on what a new way could be.

Rog ]]> Reader Talk-Back Rog http://forums.industryweek.com/showthread.php?t=9381 http://forums.industryweek.com/showthread.php?t=9381 http://feeds.penton.com/~r/IWTalkBackForum/~3/e1-V8cC2-u0/showthread.php Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:22:56 GMT Many European countries have public option health care systems that function adequately if not better than that of the US. These countries also have manufacturing economies on a par with the USA per capita. The benefit of a state run healthcare system is that it frees the employer of the need to... Many European countries have public option health care systems that function adequately if not better than that of the US. These countries also have manufacturing economies on a par with the USA per capita. The benefit of a state run healthcare system is that it frees the employer of the need to provide it and thus reduces manufacturing costs. In the UK and many other European countries one can choose to have private health care if one wants and can afford to. It is often given as part of a package to managerial and executive positions but most employers do not provide healthcare support for the bulk of their employees who are covered by the state scheme.

Let's be clear about one thing the government is not dictating the cost of health care to manufacturing, the 'for profit' health insurance companies are. Instead of railing aginst pending legistalation should the manufacturing industry representatives not be dicussing with the government ways to reduce the burden on manufacturing? Of course that probably means challenging the staus quo of the current healthcare system. ]]> Reader Talk-Back Rog http://forums.industryweek.com/showthread.php?t=9161 http://forums.industryweek.com/showthread.php?t=9161 http://feeds.penton.com/~r/IWTalkBackForum/~3/M85Mc5W2R6Y/showthread.php Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:13:48 GMT It is very sad to see what some Americans will do to make a profit. Electrolux closing two plants while they are still making a profit to move to Mexico. I guess people and the USA don't really matter when it comes to making more and more money. I for one will never purchase from this company again. Electrolux is a name everyone knew and respected, well not anymore. ]]> Reader Talk-Back gayle4711 http://forums.industryweek.com/showthread.php?t=9041 http://forums.industryweek.com/showthread.php?t=9041 http://feeds.penton.com/~r/IWTalkBackForum/~3/39dkJQHsNcM/showthread.php Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:17:51 GMT Jill,
Rogue employees as an agent for change?
I liked your summary.
I knew of a group like that once, -or twice. They sketched the picture of a bulls head with an eye patch, and referred to the programs that the group initiated as "pirate programs". One of those projects resulted in a Wright Flyer replica made of carbon fiber composites and powered by a Harley engine. It had no institutional funding, was built of donated and scrounged materials in space borrowed from "legitimate' programs - and resulted in the eventual dismissal of all the participants. But it has made over 500 flights, toured the nation, was the subject of a "History Channel " program and is now in Dayton Ohio at the Wright Brothers Museum. ( it neatly joined history and the future, new pilots and techs worked side by side with a surviver of the Dolittle Raid on tokyo, a classmate of the Rutans, a winner of the "Charles Taylor award" and a mechanic that worked on "Glamoris Glenis" ) Another pirate program resulted in what is now a well respected flight training program at the same institution. (the institution let all of the folks go, but still uses images of the Flyer in advertising).

What were the reasons that the group thrived and then disbanded? You hit on it. The percieved threat to the organization.

The group came together from a common vision that things were possible. There was during this time a sometimes spoken contract between management and inovation, it had several parts.
(1) (management) the basic work had to get done.
(2) (pirates) there were multiple paths to completion.
(1a) (management) results still have to meet industry standards.
(2a) (pirates) Results wildly exceeded industry standards due to improved resources.
(3) (management) severe budget constraints limited options for improvements.
(4) ( pirates) innovative programs attract outside investment, donations and involvement with experts from around the nation.
(5) (management) if the project goes off track we kill it.
(6) (pirates ) we could live with that.

This culture resulted in a fantastic training ground for the younger techs and engineers, from certifying aircraft, testing rocket motors, flying remote sensing payloads and trying new flight simulator ideas, and a whole slew of materials and process inovations. The folks lucky enough to be there have done well around the country. From C-17s to cessnas, skycranes, airlines, drones, manlifts and golf clubs - Those people are there.

The end came when the management that had fostered the innovaton retired. The new management wanted guaranteed results and cash up front. They did not value the community and industry involvement, the unpredictable results of innovation, and they could not tolerate the all too often failures of thes experiments.

A clean sweep was made, a few pirates held on, long enough to foster a couple of Nasa student rocket contest wins, and a few more smart engineers. The programs limp on, we hope that a new crop of pirates will emerge. This group was not the first, And won't be the last.

As for the all-important "good of the company" sometimes you have to agree to disagree. The Group of pirates were dedicated to producing the best engineers and technicians they could, the institution was merely a tool to accomplish that. Any fame, papers, grants, cash, were byproducts to be plowed back into the prime directive, build people. Sometimes those guys could be excused for thinking that the new management does not have the same goals. ]]> Reader Talk-Back wesdavidson http://forums.industryweek.com/showthread.php?t=8821 http://forums.industryweek.com/showthread.php?t=8821 http://feeds.penton.com/~r/IWTalkBackForum/~3/OwLLTSNZqYM/showthread.php Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:47:31 GMT IndustryWeek just posted the news here.

I believe this plant may be Dell's newest in the U.S. It is less than 5 years old.

What the AFP article doesn't mention are the incentives attached to this plant. Like many other manufacturers, Dell was offered an incentives package to locate its facility here. Some portion of that may need to be returned, given that the plant did not remain open for five years. That all depends on the compliance requirements of the incentives package. A little more detail on the incentives component of this closure is in this article. ]]> Reader Talk-Back Jill Jusko http://forums.industryweek.com/showthread.php?t=8661 http://forums.industryweek.com/showthread.php?t=8661 http://feeds.penton.com/~r/IWTalkBackForum/~3/jd6EScRvFRQ/showthread.php Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:35:30 GMT Fine.
Merit pay is fair.
Let's be sure to apply it to all aspects of American Life.

First, though, before we apply merit pay to business let's run a pilot program to prove the concept by applying it to the federal government.

Lets set standards of reveiw and confirmation of performance on all departments and activities of the federal government.

1st - Lets teach them 5S and how to identify the 8 wastes!

Once they see the enormous waste in governement, they will be able to easily save billions of taxpayer's dollars just by eliminating waste at the basic level of government.

2nd - Lets teach them to 'protect and defend the constitution of the United States of America'.
Any law or policy they develop must meet the absolute standards of constitutionality. If not, scrap it.

3rd - All senators and representatives will be paid by the states they represent. Their state will set their salary & budget; tell them where they can live; pay for their travel; medical; retirement; etc. That way they are answerable to their constituents. Instead of living a life of nobility as they currently do, they will live a life of servitude to the people who gave them the opportunity to serve their state.

4th - Eliminate the IRS.
Set a flat rate on sales of 20%.
10% Federal.
5% State.
5% Local.

If the local is getting the same as the state then the local should be able to take care of most of its own business.


5th - - Every registered voter should be allowed to select the 'slices of the pie' that their Federal tax dollars go into.

for example: My dollar $.20 Military. $.20 Education. $.20 Support to Business Economic Development. $.20 Scientific R&D. $.10 Homeland Security. $.05 Support for unemployed, needy. $.05 General Funding of Domestic programs.

The 1 thing that makes America Great is this: We are allowed to fail!

If a business spends money unwisely or makes bad decisions it can lead to failure of the company, so be it.
You learn from mistakes.

Obama wants to eliminate risk.
This is America!

It was FOUNDED by people that took risks.
They left everything they knew; got on a small boat; crossed an ocean; landed in a far away country; rolled their sleeves up and started over!

We are not Europe.
We are not France.
We are not England.

We are AMERICA.
We experienced all of those societies and their governments and found them unsatisfying and repressive.

Our founders did something no one else had ever done - created a nation based on the foundation of individual freedom.

The people.

We earn our pay and we earn our way.

Stop trying to defeat the engine that drives our economy - - business.

The government has no credible reputation of success to justify their dictating income standards to business.

Government does not make money by providing a product or service. Look at Medicair or the Post Office.

Government uses our money to do things.

They have no idea, no experience in making money or in managing successful business ventures.

Don't pick and choose the sectors to persecute.
Apply Merit Pay to all positions.

Sports - Atheletes.

Politics - Senators, Representatives, Governors, President, VP. Mayors, City Managers, Police Chiefs, Fire Chiefs, teachers, administrators, admins. All public serivce employees.

Unions - all unions; all positions, everywhere.

Medical - Doctors, Hospitals, surgeons, specialists, nurses, labs, etc.

We already do this with businesses.
If we don't like their product or service; we don't spend our money with them anymore.

If you don't like the pay of an executive that you own stock in the company---sell your stock.

If someone breaks the law -- prosecute them.
If bonuses were paid illegally then prosecute the companys that broke the law.

Enforce the laws we have. ]]> Reader Talk-Back butch71753 http://forums.industryweek.com/showthread.php?t=8211 http://forums.industryweek.com/showthread.php?t=8211