The Loony Bin
(
loonies@bloodaxe.demon.co.uk
)
Thu, 6 Jun 1996 08:48:56 +0100
Hiya Folks... Here's a story that rings true... Wishes & Dreams... - ANDREA xx ************<andrea@bloodaxe.demon.co.uk>************ ******************<ajc6@ukc.ac.uk>******************* *** *** *** THE LOONY BIN *** *** loonies@bloodaxe.demon.co.uk *** *** *** ******************Internet Goddess******************* *********************ANDROMEDA*********************** ------- Forwarded foolishness follows ------- Once upon a time, an American company and a Japanese company decided to have a competitive boat race on the Tennessee River. Both teams practiced hard and long to reach peak performance. On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile. The American team was enraged by the loss; morale sagged. Top management decided to find the reason for the crushing defeat. A "continuous- measurable-improvement" team was set up to investigate the problem and to recommend appropriate corrective action. Their conclusion: The problem was that the Japanese team had eight people rowing and one person steering, whereas the American team had one person rowing and eight people steering. The American corporate steering committee immediately hired a consulting firm to do a study on the management structure. After months and millions of dollars, the consulting firm concluded too many people were steering and not enough rowing. To prevent losing to the Japanese again next year, the team's management structure was reorganized to include four steering managers, three area steering managers, and one staff manager. A new performance system was instituted to give the person rowing the boat incentive to work harder. "We must give him empowerment and enrichment." The managers thought. "That ought to do it." The next year the Japanese won by two miles! Humiliated, the American corporation laid off the rower for poor performance, sold all of the paddles, canceled all capital investments for new equipment, and halted development of a new canoe. Finally, they gave a high-performance award to the consulting firm, and distributed the money saved as bonuses to the senior executives.