In the news, I’m sure many of you have read that GM, Daimler Chrysler, Ford have had a rough time. Ford seems to be the only US car company taking any responsibility in the mismanagement and lack of planning. GM still thinks everything is fine and Chrysler has seen better days. It’s no secret that there is wholesale incompetence at record breaking salaries given, and I do mean given (as opposed to earned), to CEOs and other corporate officers. Anyone who has ever worked for a corporation knows that bad ideas become corporate policy and ultimately the failures that result get blamed on its employees and successes on its corporate officers. The terrible idea doesn’t get questioned until well after layoffs and considerable financial loss to the company. The CEOs then give themselves raises, come up with another bad idea and the cycle repeats. GM believes what it needs isn’t coming up with a car that people want to buy. They believe that a “strategic alliance” is what they lack. Of course the CEOs salary will increase without actually producing profit for the company. It doesn’t take a genius to run a company into the ground. I can imagine a complete moron accomplishing the same and would be magnanimous with half the pay.
I consider myself pretty average. I can tell you that few American made cars caught my eye. I ended up purchasing a 2006 Honda Civic Sedan. It is a slick looking car, that is economical on gas, sporty, and brings me from point A to point B safely. It has A/C and a CD player and I’ve installed better speakers which sound pretty good (My friend Damien told me that I did pay too much for them; they were Honda speakers with an amp). I am very happy to get in my car and drive and I’m not typically known for enjoying driving. So what convinced me to buy a Honda? A lot of my friends have them and rarely have problems with them. I also read the consumer reports for 2006 and the Honda Civic was considered one of the best compact cars. At that point it was fairly easy for me to conclude that the Honda Civic was for me. I would have preferred a hybrid, but couldn’t afford it. Ultimately I got what I wanted, a safe compact car with a CD player that is cheap on gas and doesn’t look like crap. I don’t think I’m the only one who thinks this way. Ford destroyed the Taurus which had been a very successful franchise among family cars. At least now they recognize it instead of blaming company woes on employees. I would like to consider a Ford or GM in the future, but only if they have economical cars that are quality and not pieces of junk. Unfortunately Ford now has to lay off people because of its stupidity.
Usually I try to relate my personal opinions to something in the optical industry. Right now, several corporations have developed stupid paradigms in order to stop the hemorrhaging of company profits by demoralizing employees. One company is trying to implement a metro sexual ambiance in order for glasses to be fashionable. Being fashionable in and of itself isn’t a bad thing. There are enough frames in existence that just about everyone can be fit with something that is both flattering and useful. The problem is that the focus isn’t on vision. It’s about “the look.” Employees are forced to conform to a dress code that is unreasonable and demeaning. Another company has decided that outsourcing lab work to China can save money. To me it’s being penny wise and dollar foolish. The problem stems from the immorality of capping salaries of people who deserve more and not attracting talent (I mean real talent, not the corporate definition of it). The problem, as most corporations see it, is labor. Obviously every unit of labor is not equal and taking away the incentive to perform at ones best is just another stupid idea that will invariably lead to salary garnishments for corporate officers while the company’s long term health remains dubious. As long as there is some profit in a quarter, corporate officers will pat themselves on the back. The moment it becomes apparent that short term profit superseded the company’s long term goals of relevancy are squandered on corporate egos, it’s usually too late or take years to undo the damage. Share holders suffer loss in portfolio and employees suffer layoffs. Corporate mismanagement is morally reprehensible and extremely overcompensated for what amounts to negative value. How long will it take for shareholders to notice?