That's How Business Rows
A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (General Motors) decided to have a boat race on the Schuylkill River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day, the Japanese team 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 team had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing. So American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. They advised that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.
Not sure of how to utilize the information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the American's rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the "Rowing Team Quality First Program", with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rower. There was discussion of getting new oars, boats and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses.
The next year, the Japanese won by two miles. Humiliated, the American management laid off the rower for poor performance, halted development of a new boat, sold the oars, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses and the next year's racing team was outsourced to India.
This of course is just a story, but it sounds all too familiar.
Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all of it's factories out of the U.S., claiming they can't make money paying American wages. Toyota has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the U.S. The last quarter's results: Toyota makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses. Ford folks are still scratching their heads. If it wasn't so sad, it might be funny.
Big Money really talks and so does Steve Cordasco Saturday and Sunday mornings on The Big Talker, 1210AM. Cordasco provides long-term financial strategies for today's investor. Steve's practical, straightforward advice on big money matters propels listener calls and questions. He understands that his listeners are individuals and have different financial situations and investment needs. Steve is up to date with current economic and financial markets information and understands what will serve an investor for the long-term. Past shows topics included: How you can get out of debt and manage your money; the latest buzz on Wall Street; and where you should start when setting up a personal investment program. Cordasco offers the perspective of a seasoned pro on investing in today's market. A graduate of Temple University in North Philadelphia, Steve Cordasco is a Registered Financial Consultant with RBC Dain Rauscher. RBC Dain Rauscher is a member of the NYSE and SIPC. Steve specializes in comprehensive retirement and financial planning and believes "a good investment program is set up to fit an investor's financial needs, but also considers every risk".
King Abdullah City is a multi-billion economic project revealed in 2005 in Saudi Arabia. This future city will be located along the Red Sea, around 50km north of Jeddah. The proposed city would be fairly small (168 km), 50km in length. But it will have huge buildings and high skyscrapers that would be an important landmark in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. Theproject cost is about 100 Billion SAR = $53.3 Billion USD. The City is envisioned as an economic epicenter for the young.The basic drivers of the City will be a 30 million TEU port integrated with an international airport and a railway line which connects important Cities in KSA
