Last NH meeting I went to, Eric Bippus was telling all of us how they had a stable management team in North America that wouldn't be shuffled around like it had in the past. Before I got home, his departure had been announced.
Every time this outfit makes a move, it makes less sense.
After waiting for years to have a CUT with a factory cab (what, 10 years after Kubota?), we are currently without one. I need for someone to explain how that makes any sense.
I'll acknowledge that this is a rant on my part. I sense the frustration that Rick has he tries to figure out the big outfits business rationale.
Modern businesses are run by a bunch of MBA's (no offense to MBA's out there) who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. They are so focused on the next quarterly report that they think it's their company's product instead of what they manuafacture. They think their customer is themself and their big bonus contracts!
I worked as a propulsion engineer for a big airplane manufacturer in the Seattle area for over 34 years, whose name I won't mention. It merged with another outfit that we and Airbus put out of business. The ninnies at the top put these losers in charge of the company and launched a new airplane that is three years behind schedule and has doubled the development cost. They launched a new version of the 747 and that's over budget and behind schedule- a damm derivative airplane! The company is living off legacy programs and products that were developed before the merger. They can't get new products developed on schedule and to the cutomer, giving small upcoming outfits like Bombidier and Embraer, a leg up in the competition. Their saving grace is that their main competitor, Airbus, is screwed up also. It makes rational people wonder what are these so called "business leaders" thinking! How did these bozos get to lead these compaies?
In agriculture, livestock and commodity prices are at all time highs and there is money available for re equiping and the big equipment manufacturers can't provide product. This allows the manuafacturers in the Far East to fil the void.
No wonder American business is in such sorry shape. They can't capitalize on the business oppoortunities that are out there in their own backyard.
People blame unions and that's just pure bunk. Unions exist because management doesn't treat people fairly. Southwest Airlines is as heavily unionized as any air line out there and they have figured out how to work togther and they are one of the most prosperous airlines in the business with the lowest seat mile costs in the industry.
So we need to look at the business leadership in this country and make some changes. There is no doubt we can do better. The stockholders should be demanding better performace from CEO's and not rewarding them with high salaries, big bonuses, golden parachutes, etc. But as long as they get their dividend checks the stockholder seem oblivious. We have some of the highest paid executives in the world and we are losing business to places where CEO's make much less than $1.0Million per year. So much for attracting the "best and the brightest" with money.
I'll now get off my soap box.
Opinions are like belly buttons;everybody has one.
This is mine on this subject.
Sorry if this off topic rant offends you. Just click to another forum.