Baraka_Guru

I haven't commented on this thread yet, but it keeps coming back to me in my head.

There is clearly a number of problems in the North American industry that aren't just a result of the recession.

You want my opinion? To fix the North American industry, you'd have to overhaul the business operations on all levels (but basically on operations levels). If you compare the manufacturing process of, say, Japanese cars to North American cars, you'd see a big difference even in one aspect: defaults. If they find a fault in the manufacturing line, many in the Japanese operations shut the whole line down until the process is fixed. Most of the workers have the power to shut down the line at anytime. Comparatively, North American practices will find the default and pull it out for analysis while the line keeps running....yes, they quite possibly keep running the same default...until they know what to do to fix it. They place production over perfection. (Recalls anyone?)

Several North American operators have sent people to Japanese operations to learn from them, and yet they haven't seemed to learn much. Now they're paying the price.

It's not just what you make; it's also how you make it. This is a hard lesson Harley Davidson learned years ago back when it nearly dropped off the face of the earth from the onslaught of the better-made Japanese brands. You either learn lessons from your more successful competitors, or you die. Take your pick.

In other news, see all those dealerships they're closing? Ouch.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot