tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9263500.post8729233217700479422..comments2023-10-02T07:55:24.415-04:00Comments on Words Matter: American's angst aimed at wrong targetJimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01763876658345223153noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9263500.post-85150050802628239822008-12-07T18:44:00.000-05:002008-12-07T18:44:00.000-05:00Great points, Kevin. Thanks for taking the time to...Great points, Kevin. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. It's nice to hear from an industry person that I'm on the right track. <BR/><BR/>Intuitively, I see the importance of trying to keep manufacturing viable in the U.S., as it is one of the sectors that creates wealth (unlike finance that just moves money around via keystrokes).<BR/><BR/>Thanks for mentioning American Apparel, a company I've been a fan of for awhile.<BR/><BR/>People over profits is an M.O. that they obviously embrace, and they still manage to grow and prosper.<BR/><BR/>Real patriotism isn't finding any excuse to offshore production to maximize profits.<BR/><BR/>America needs to find a way to get back to making things again.<BR/><BR/>BTW, checked out your blog; good stuff!Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01763876658345223153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9263500.post-91442466495616971122008-12-06T23:17:00.000-05:002008-12-06T23:17:00.000-05:00Good post. I am a manufacturing executive who wri...Good post. I am a manufacturing executive who writes a lot on manufacturing, but I have always believed that the "problem" with unions is due to pathetic management. I'm far less concerned about the wage discrepancy than the work rule inflexibility, which can hamper improvement.<BR/><BR/>But almost exactly to your point, real "lean" focuses on the people, while most U.S. companies use it to focus almost purely on efficiency, often to the detriment of the people.<BR/><BR/>As you point out, wages are only minor part of true cost. I saw this first hand last month while visiting Toyota's most profitable plant in Kyushu. Most profitable... but with rather low labor productivity compared to most. They specifically don't automate or use excessive robotics, as robots can't create ideas for improvement. See:<BR/>http://www.evolvingexcellence.com/blog/2008/10/jke-day-1-toyota-kyushu.html<BR/><BR/>Another example, in the U.S., is American Apparel. Low margin clothing, but they pay 5,000 factory workers in Los Angeles well above minimum wage, plus good benefits, and they're beating the socks off of Asian sweatshops. See<BR/>http://www.evolvingexcellence.com/blog/2008/11/a-visit-to-american-apparel.html<BR/><BR/>The biggest cost in business is not labor, material, or overhead... it's unnecessary complexity. If you whack people you whack knowledge, creativity, and ideas.<BR/><BR/>Kevin<BR/>www.evolvingexcellence.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com