Detroit automakers – management without vision 
The game is blame the little guy. The unions have too many unrealistic demands, they won't take pay cuts, they won't reduce health care benefits, they won't work longer for less money, they won't cooperate with us – don't they realize we are in a global economy? Oh the poor executives at the automaker! The big three manufactures all have the same problems – but GM is currently in the spotlight. Thousands at GM and Ford are losing jobs. Sales are plummeting, it almost seems that a sea change has occurred and the industry is doomed. Detroit has to offer their incentive programs to maintain sales while the Japanese car makers are posting gains.
The real problem is that leadership at these companies has failed and has been for years. Rather than positioning themselves for changing consumer patterns, rather than doing some scenario planning to forecast possible future market conditions, rather than working to ensure the viability of the corporation for longer than the next dividend cycle, they have abdicated long term sense for short term financial gain. Pressuring Congress for exemptions from the fuel economy standards so they could continue to flood the markets with gas guzzling SUV's, they made more quick money. Rather than really invest in alternate fuel vehicles – they squandered the lead in this technology to the Japanese. Rather than offer the consumer a good car with high reliability, they have slacked off on quality with a resultant increase in customer dis-satisfaction.
Ford Motor's chairman and CEO Bill Ford, the only leader with some vision, is trying to position Ford for the coming hydrogen fuel revolution and is acting with more than lip service. His recent advocacy for a government tax breaks and incentives to encourage research and development into alternative fuels is off the mark. This is activity the automakers should have been concentrating on years ago – they didn't. So why do the taxpayers have to bail them out now? If the top management of these companies and their seemingly absent Boards of Directors were performing their fiduciary responsibilities, the companies would not be in this predicament and the working men and women would not be carrying an unfair burden.
The industry is on life support, but it is vital to our economy. Paraphrasing former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca – we can't be a great country if we are flipping burgers for each other.
Posted on The Human Stain
The game is blame the little guy. The unions have too many unrealistic demands, they won't take pay cuts, they won't reduce health care benefits, they won't work longer for less money, they won't cooperate with us – don't they realize we are in a global economy? Oh the poor executives at the automaker! The big three manufactures all have the same problems – but GM is currently in the spotlight. Thousands at GM and Ford are losing jobs. Sales are plummeting, it almost seems that a sea change has occurred and the industry is doomed. Detroit has to offer their incentive programs to maintain sales while the Japanese car makers are posting gains.
The real problem is that leadership at these companies has failed and has been for years. Rather than positioning themselves for changing consumer patterns, rather than doing some scenario planning to forecast possible future market conditions, rather than working to ensure the viability of the corporation for longer than the next dividend cycle, they have abdicated long term sense for short term financial gain. Pressuring Congress for exemptions from the fuel economy standards so they could continue to flood the markets with gas guzzling SUV's, they made more quick money. Rather than really invest in alternate fuel vehicles – they squandered the lead in this technology to the Japanese. Rather than offer the consumer a good car with high reliability, they have slacked off on quality with a resultant increase in customer dis-satisfaction.
Ford Motor's chairman and CEO Bill Ford, the only leader with some vision, is trying to position Ford for the coming hydrogen fuel revolution and is acting with more than lip service. His recent advocacy for a government tax breaks and incentives to encourage research and development into alternative fuels is off the mark. This is activity the automakers should have been concentrating on years ago – they didn't. So why do the taxpayers have to bail them out now? If the top management of these companies and their seemingly absent Boards of Directors were performing their fiduciary responsibilities, the companies would not be in this predicament and the working men and women would not be carrying an unfair burden.
The industry is on life support, but it is vital to our economy. Paraphrasing former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca – we can't be a great country if we are flipping burgers for each other.
Posted on The Human Stain
posted by James Roberts at
11/23/2005 10:11:00 PM
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