Monthly Archives: May 2008

Outsourcing To America

Posted on May 30, 2008 by John Hunter

Outsourcing To America [the broken link was removed] Toyota began operating in North America in the mid-1980s. It currently operates seven automotive plants there, four of which are in the U.S. A fifth plant is under production in Mississippi. Toyota … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Lean thinking, Management Articles, Manufacturing, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Outsourcing To America

Paying New Employees to Quit

Posted on May 25, 2008 by John Hunter

[the video is no longer available] Training new employees and then paying them to quit, sounds pretty bizarre; Zappos is not afraid of doing things differently. Why Zappos Pays New Employees to Quit – And You Should Too [Harvard broke … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Customer focus, Innovation, Management, Respect, webcast | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Why is Customer Service So Bad?

Posted on May 24, 2008 by John Hunter

Why is it? I really don’t know. It drives me crazy though – having to put up with horrible service again and again. Is it possible that only a few people actually care about service? I know I care about … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Management | Tagged | 7 Comments

Some Posts from May 2005

Posted on May 22, 2008 by John Hunter

Here are just a few posts from 3 years ago this month on the Curious Cat Management Improvement blog: A Traffic Congestion Non-Solution – Brain Joiner on Dr. Deming – Open Source Management Terms – Google: Good Service not Arbitrage … Continue reading →

Posted in Management | Comments Off on Some Posts from May 2005

Deming Auto Repair

Posted on May 20, 2008 by John Hunter

Here is an interesting example of an auto repair shop applying Deming’s ideas, AGCO Automotive in Baton Rouge, Louisiana: In this section we hope to present our business philosophy, through a series of articles written by president Louis Altazan. Our … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Systems thinking | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Well Managed Companies

Posted on May 18, 2008 by John Hunter

If a company is dependent on one (or more) people to perform then it is in danger. Processes should be in place that don’t risk the success of the company on the performance of a specific person. If your organization … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Process improvement, Psychology | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Management Improvement Carnival #35

Posted on May 15, 2008 by John Hunter

Kevin Meyer is hosting Management Improvement Carnival #35 on the Evolving Excellence blog, some of the highlights include Hidden Problems from TPM Log.  "We must encourage people to speak up and identify problems. We must also develop avenues for people … Continue reading →

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Fed Funds Rate Changes Don’t Presage Mortgage Rate Changes

Posted on May 13, 2008 by John Hunter

The recent drastic reductions again emphasize (once again) that changes in the federal funds rate are not correlated with changes in the 30 year fixed mortgage rate. In the last 4 months the discount rate has been reduced nearly 200 … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Economics | Comments Off on Fed Funds Rate Changes Don’t Presage Mortgage Rate Changes

China Outsourcing Manufacturing to USA

Posted on May 8, 2008 by John Hunter

Chinese firms bargain hunting in U.S. Liu is investing $10 million in the Palmetto State, building a printing-plate factory that will open this fall and hire 120 workers. His main aim is to tap the large American market, but when … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Economics, Manufacturing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Toyota Execution Not Close to Being Copied

Posted on May 7, 2008 by John Hunter

The Open Secret of Success Toyota’s innovations, by contrast, have [focused] on process rather than on product, on the factory floor rather than on the showroom. That has made those innovations hard to see. But it hasn’t made them any … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Innovation, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Popular, quote, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , | 2 Comments