http://www.uwsa.com/issues/trade/japanyes.html

Read it when you have a LOT of time it is rather lengthy.

 

Very good Read. This is, in a lot of ways, how Wal-mart came to be. Smart business.

 

Americans could learn a lot from their success. I do believe that if everybody would adopt some of the Japanese tacticts, the manufacturing sector in North America wouldn't be in such peril.

Too many Americans have no pride in american manufaturing companies or what makes/made America great where the Japanese will bend over backwards for the honor of their country/way of life.

 

Japan learned from us. When we rebuilt Japan (think Marshal plan) we used new ways of business manufacturing practices. They learned and excelled at this. We have not evolved as quickly with our business proceedures. I'm at work and can't think of the guys name. If any of you are business majors, please help with the name? LOL, if I was home I'd crack open one of my business books.

 

I remember the Japanese auto execs saying how much they've learned from the US auto sector. Now it seems they can do it better.

Some services in Japan are supposed to be extremely inneficient though mainly the post offices and such.

When people have pride in what they do and put the wellfare of the company first and their greed second, it's amazing how good things can run.

 

One more thing. Read up on Japanese business pratices. Trust me, things are not equal. We have a free market where anyone can compete, we have a right to compete law. They are far from that simple. It's hard to get a product in there economy, let alone sell it at the price you want to sell it. They run other businesses out. Check out the Intel problem. Just for Example

 

I'm American and I have pride in my work. That's a broad Generalization. Have you been to Japan. I have and they come to work (office here) and chill for the whole morning. Spend the rest of the day working to get caught up. While I was out the door. I like my evening. And Americans are hard workers

 

Trust me there are some of us who have a lot of pride in what they do and give it 110%....myself included. I've been called a company man countless times by co-workers and it's almost meant as an insult. I'd proudly wear that label.

Here's an example of what I mean:

We have a plant in Ingersoll Ontario that is a joint venture between Suzuki and GM, they make the Equinox/Torrent. It's mostly Japanese management and it wouldn't be uncommon to see a supervisor sleep in his office because he's been working/trouble shooting a production problem for 20 hours straight. They believe that work comes first, then their personnal lives/family comes a close second. They will often work for free. This is not very common over here.

However, it seems that the newer generations in Japan as not a fanatical as they once were but we still hear of companies CEOs jumping of the 30th floor of their buildings when the company fails. I couldn't imagine Wagoner ever doing that. Instead he supposedly secured himself a huge pension. See what I mean. Shame is a big deal with the Japanese. Here, not so much.

Most of us are proud of what we do but we can all tell of stories of people who just don't give a damn. There are too many people who don't give damn.

I'm a GM employee (CAW) and I would have given up way more concessions to GM than everybody was willing to give in the last contract we signed. People are greedy and can sometimes run a company into the ground for their personal gains.

OK Sorry.....That's enough ranting for now.

 

No, You're aloud to rant. That's what this is for. To see differant points of views. I used to work for GM. I totally understand what you seeing. I worked on the floor while I went to school. (several years) I find that at my job now the workers on the floor have a lot of pride in there work. We have a totally differant attitude then there was at GM. We don't have the dirty fight amongst Administration and Union.
I guess I'm saying don't give up.

 

LT1 PWRD ^ ^ ^ I hear what you're saying. As you know, I'm in company with a very strong union as well ... not with GM ... but a big corporation, big union. While I certainly can't complain about the "luxuries" or "perks" I have because of what the unions have fought for over the years, but the majority of the workforce now are lazy, unmotivated, greedy, have NO pride in their work, and not only would we like things to remain at least as good as they are, but if we could actually get a little more out of the company that would be great.

Yeah, morale really sucks from time to time. There is certainly a lack of motivation to do better ... when you see the guy next to you sleeping on the job, making the same $$$ as you are, and not getting in crap for it, then why not join the party? You know what's funny, I'm a naturally "lazy" person, and while I love sitting around doing nothing, I actually go home some days feeling BETTER about my day if I was BUSY that day instead of not?! Go figure!

I think the UAW and CAW unions have become a little over-inflated over the years. Absolutely they've been great for thousands and thousands of workers and their families, but I'm certain they haven't been good for GM from a business stand point?

 

I think the Japanese are still pissed about WWII. A lot of the quotes in that article from the Japanese about how Americans are lazy and fat are some of the same things they were saying before WWII.

 

Edward Deming. The "Deming" principles focus on continuous refinement- that things can ALWAYS be made better than they are.

That article is a bit dated- looks like it was written in 1993.

I work for a Japanese company (semiconductor equipment), and seeing it from my end, I can tell you-
1. The Japanese don't work as hard as you think.
2. They are a bit close-minded to the ideas from "Round Eye," until you prove your worth. Once you're "in," though, you're in. Sometimes, it's a bit daunting, really.
3. They are not nearly as greedy as we are. The markups on their products are WAY WAY lower than what many American companies would do. They are perfectly happy to toil away in a low-margin business (like the manufacture of semiconductor equipment, for instance).

It's a bit funny to read a few things in that article, particularly about their domination of the DRAM market. It didn't exactly work out that way- the Koreans (Samsung and Hynix) dominate now, with Micron (an American company) close behind. Not surprisingly, it's the Koreans who work harder than anyone. A recent survey showed that Koreans put in more hours than any other country, and in 2nd place- the US.

It's interesting to note that after decades of articles on how the Japanese are overtaking us, they still don't live nearly as well as we do. Not close, really- I've been able to compare, since I work daily with a few Japanese nationals.

I see the "Union Mentality" as a cancer on industry/manufacturing in America. Whereas the average Japanese expects (and usually gets) a lifetime of employment with a particular company, that doesn't keep him from working to better himself and the company. I am mindful of the honor that my Japanese colleagues put into their work. By contrast, anyone given a lifetime employment opportunity via a union contract in the US seems to go into a cruise mode- the prize is won, game over. This is where we lose our competitive advantage. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but it seems much more prevalent than it should be.

 

Thanks Todd. My Prof. would have killed me for my brain fart. Very intellegant man.

Thanks for some insite besides mine as well. I get to travel for work a bit and see workers everywhere. There are those that are lazy and those who are not. Everywhere.

 

It's just WAY easier to be lazy in a union and still making a killing.

 

I couldn't have said it better myself.

I have yet to meet any lazy Koreans too. They have great work ethics too and if I was GM, I wouldn't be worried about Toyota, I'd be worried about Hyundai/Kia. I'm sure the Japanese automakers are more worried about the Koreans than any of the big 3.

The problem with working for GM or any big union is that there is very little pride in what we do. You can have the best quality, productivity, attendance but you can still lose your job at any time or management treats you like a turd. Look at GM closing the Oshawa plant #2. It's won every significant awards and is very profitable but they're closing it. It's very hard to do your best when too many people have that US vs. THEM attitude and always worry about:"How is GM gonna screw us next?" This kind of attitude is very common these days. I find it very tough to live and work like that.

I still do my best for my own satisfaction. Too many people just do the minimum to keep their jobs, nothing more.

While I'll still defend that unions are useful in this sector, too many union members are out to lunch on so many issues.