A Modern Parable.

Nitin · 15th April 2008, 22:06

Got this in the mail..Thought I'd share it with everyone..

A Japanese company ( Toyota ) and an American company (Ford Motors) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese 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 had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing.

Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion.

They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the 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 paddles, canoes 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 canoe, sold the paddles, 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 out-sourced to India .

Sadly, The End.

Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US , claiming they can't make money paying American wages.

TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US . 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 THIS WEREN'T SO TRUE IT MIGHT BE FUNNY.

srijit · 15th April 2008, 22:41

CEO's and MBA's get paid too much without doing any work.

jkdas · 15th April 2008, 22:49

The Q is what made them sell more/make more profit?

1) Quality for product?
2) Model?
3) VFM?
4) FE??
5) Reliability?
6) Looks?

emm, Ford is to US like Tata is to India?

Nitin · 15th April 2008, 23:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkdas

The Q is what made them sell more/make more profit?

1) Quality for product?
2) Model?
3) VFM?
4) FE??
5) Reliability?
6) Looks?

emm, Ford is to US like Tata is to India?

Quality of the Toyota stable has gone from good to excellent over the years. VFM,definitely!

Ford sells its trucks/SUVs in high numbers,though their sedans go on the lower side.

iraghava · 16th April 2008, 00:03

Fantastic article there! And how true it is in today's American car industry!

v1p3r · 16th April 2008, 00:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkdas

emm, Ford is to US like Tata is to India?

Don't insult Tata, man!

drkhalsa · 16th April 2008, 01:34

I think it is GM is to US like TATA is to India

But Tata will reach its peak glory like GM before Tumbling!

rev_hard · 16th April 2008, 05:22

Brand Toyota along with Scion and Lexus has pretty much every segment covered here in the US.

Add to that their legendary reliability, relative VFM and excellent MPG figures across the board and you have a sure shot winner.

funkydevil · 16th April 2008, 08:15

Saw someting about this on NatGeo. One of the main reasons stated by them for the failure of ford is that they still concentrate on making cars which are real gas guzzlers ( Except the fiesta of course

), where as quite a lot of toyota cars are extremly fuel efficent.

nishantgandhi · 16th April 2008, 11:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by srijit

CEO's and MBA's get paid too much without doing any work.

??
didnt quite understand your comment in the context of the story!!

drkhalsa · 16th April 2008, 11:35

Quote:

Saw someting about this on NatGeo. One of the main reasons stated by them for the failure of ford is that they still concentrate on making cars which are real gas guzzlers ( Except the fiesta of course

), where as quite a lot of toyota cars are extremly fuel efficent.

Seems like very valid point ! as Gas prices in US was never a worry in the past but not Now!

srijit · 16th April 2008, 15:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

??
didnt quite understand your comment in the context of the story!!

Sorry, I have a prejudice against people with MBA's. No relation to this story

nishantgandhi · 16th April 2008, 16:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by srijit

Sorry, I have a prejudice against people with MBA's. No relation to this story

And why would that be, if I may ask?

GTO · 16th April 2008, 16:34

Sheer Classic! Brilliant! Maybe a Toyota executive actually penned this to send a message to Ford?

funkydevil · 16th April 2008, 19:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by drkhalsa

Seems like very valid point ! as Gas prices in US was never a worry in the past but not Now!

Exactly, even during the filming of that episode on nat geo, the new mustang was being rolled out by ford the very next day

15th April 2008, 22:06	#1
Nitin Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 3,294 Thanked: 22 Times View My Garage	A Modern Parable. Got this in the mail..Thought I'd share it with everyone.. A Japanese company ( Toyota ) and an American company (Ford Motors) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day, the Japanese 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 had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing. Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing. Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the 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 paddles, canoes 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 canoe, sold the paddles, 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 out-sourced to India . Sadly, The End. Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US , claiming they can't make money paying American wages. TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US . 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 THIS WEREN'T SO TRUE IT MIGHT BE FUNNY.
	() Thanks

15th April 2008, 22:41	#2
srijit BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 598 Thanked: 8 Times	CEO's and MBA's get paid too much without doing any work.
	() Thanks

15th April 2008, 22:49	#3
jkdas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Thiruvananthapu Posts: 9,685 Thanked: 1,497 Times View My Garage	The Q is what made them sell more/make more profit? 1) Quality for product? 2) Model? 3) VFM? 4) FE?? 5) Reliability? 6) Looks? emm, Ford is to US like Tata is to India?
	() Thanks

16th April 2008, 00:03	#5
iraghava Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bhaiyyaland Posts: 7,993 Thanked: 281 Times View My Garage	Fantastic article there! And how true it is in today's American car industry!
	() Thanks

16th April 2008, 01:34	#7
drkhalsa BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: amritsar Posts: 71 Thanked: 0 Times	I think it is GM is to US like TATA is to India But Tata will reach its peak glory like GM before Tumbling!
	() Thanks

16th April 2008, 05:22	#8
rev_hard BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 360 Thanked: Once	Brand Toyota along with Scion and Lexus has pretty much every segment covered here in the US. Add to that their legendary reliability, relative VFM and excellent MPG figures across the board and you have a sure shot winner.
	() Thanks

16th April 2008, 08:15	#9
funkydevil BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Dubai, UAE Posts: 362 Thanked: 102 Times	Saw someting about this on NatGeo. One of the main reasons stated by them for the failure of ford is that they still concentrate on making cars which are real gas guzzlers ( Except the fiesta of course ), where as quite a lot of toyota cars are extremly fuel efficent.
	() Thanks

16th April 2008, 16:34	#14
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 71,769 Thanked: 322,384 Times View My Garage	Sheer Classic! Brilliant! Maybe a Toyota executive actually penned this to send a message to Ford?
	() Thanks