(Message inbox:239838)

Date:    Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:23:20 MST
To:      staff@hpc.unm.edu
From:    "Timothy L. Thomas" <thomas@phys.unm.edu>
Subject: "American Management Style"

Normally, I don't forward this kind of stuff,
but I could not resist this one...

Cheers,
-TLT

------- Forwarded Message

Date: Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:44:19 -0500
Subject: American Management Style


A Japanese company and an American company decided to have a canoe race on
the Missouri River.  Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak
performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.  The Americans, very discouraged
and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat.

A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and
recommend appropriate action.  Their conclusion was the Japanese had eight
people rowing and one person steering, while the American team had eight
people steering and one person rowing.

So American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large
amount of money for a second opinion.  They advised that too many people
were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

To prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management
structure was totally reorganized to four steering supervisors, three area
steering superintendents and one assistant superintendent steering manager.

They also implemented a new performance system that would give the one
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.

There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment,
extra vacation days for practices and bonuses.

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.

The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses, and the
next year's racing team was outsourced to India.


------- End of forwarded Message