This was e-mailed to me from my dad who works in the Auto industry. These types of jokes are very common in the industry and are completly true. :eek:
A Japanese company and an American company decided to
have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams
practiced hard and long to reach their peak performance
before the race.
On the big day the Japanese won by a mile. Afterward,
the American team became very discouraged and morally
depressed. The American management decided the reason
for the crushing defeat had to be found.
A “Management Team” made up of senior management was
formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.
Their conclusion was that the Japanese had 8 people
rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team
had 8 persons steering and one person rowing.
To remedy the problem, the American management hired a
consulting company and paid them an incredible amount
of money. They advised that too many people were
steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.
So, to prevent losing to the Japanese again next year,
the American 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. “We must give the rower the
empowerment and enrichments through this quality
program.”
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. Then they distributed
the money saved as bonuses to the senior executives.
Thank goodness that this is just a story, and this sort
of thing doesn’t happen in real life, eh?