Bottom-up Blindness: The Reason to Fire Detroit Execs

North Star Writers Group ^ | December 10, 2008 | Rob Kall

[Invisigoth]

Detroit's Big Three refused to adopt the bottom-up approach that Toyota, Nissan and other international manufacturers used to achieve success. The failure is even more egregious because GM, Ford and Chrysler management knew about the bottom-up secret to Japanese auto-making success and ignored it.

Time magazine describes the painful, lost opportunity the top-down management mindset of Henry Ford bequeathed to the Big three produced:

Of all Detroit's failures – the failure to master small cars, failure to cut costs, failure to get tough with the UAW, failure to improve fuel efficiency – the failure to learn, says MacDuffie, is perhaps its worst sin.

Experts point to GM's interaction with Toyota at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, Calif., as emblematic of the industry's learning disability. NUMMI was established in 1984 as a joint venture between the two companies, using GM's plant, the Toyota production system and the UAW workers who were already there. The plant had been one of GM's worst; the Toyota system made it one of GM's best.

[wk4bush2004]

I can understand about the CEOs of GM and Chrysler, but I would disagree about Ford CEO Alan Mulally. Mulally is more than capable of turning Ford around and he has already begun to do so. He has been doing it since he became CEO.

Mulally was the CEO of Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes Division, and he turned it into a very productive and very successful organization. He made Boeing’s factories lean and efficient, allowing them to make aircraft faster and at lower costs. He restored the division to profitability.

Mulally has been working to do the same at Ford. He hasn’t been CEO that long and I don’t think that he should be blamed for Ford’s problems. Ford’s problems came from past management, not Mulally. He should not be fired.

[sickoflibs]

I am pretty mad that Hannity is using his shows as a mouth piece to get tax payers to pay for his ‘gift’ cars from GM to the tune of many billions of our dollars, I thought BoR was a phony but Hannity makes me sick! And he is Bald face lying saying its a loan to GM. A loan that never gets paid back but goes to UAW and Hannity.

Conservative my ....

[Mr. Jeeves]

Conservative my ....

Media commentators are in the business of making money. Some do it by tailoring a message to liberals, some to conservatives. The things they say on air should not be confused with actual political beliefs - if they are employed by the MSM they will say whatever they must to keep the cash coming in.

[dfwgator]

Bingo! Talk show hosts are nothing but characters playing a role.

[sickoflibs]

RE :”The things they say on air should not be confused with actual political beliefs “

Yet Hannity’s whole act/theme is “I am a patriot and a conservative and you are a great american only if you agree with me (including GWB, McCain, and UAW bailout) “. Over the years that theme has upset liberals, which was entertaining, but now that it is obvious he is selling out for $$$, it is sickening. His unending praise of McCain turned my stomach too, but at least McCain is laying low now not causing trouble.

While Hannity sells us out making sure we stand for nothing, he told us McCain can save us as president getting elected by talking about Ayers and Wright, a disaster. McCain would have been a disaster for party for same reason.