Klarinet Archive - Posting 000522.txt from 1999/11

From: Neil Leupold <leupold_1@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] subject: [kl] Plastic Horns
Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 18:47:20 -0500

--- Richard Bush <rbushidioglot@-----.net> wrote:

> When the guys who really know what quality is, those who have spent their whole
> lives learning about instrument making no longer have a say or any input and
> when all kinds of "musical" decisions are turned over to the bean counters, we
> all know the outcome.

This trend may be steadily turning itself around as better-trained
managers are making their way into the marketplace. One of the
qualities of these "nouveau" managers is their increased aware-
ness of what you pointed out: that the specific knowledge of the
craftsman should be linked to the appropriate decision-making
authority. Managers who make a habit of ignoring the special-
ized knowledge of their employees discover that their operation
is inherently inefficient, which results in lower quality and lost
market share in the long run. With competition as fierce as it
is, a company is doomed to fail if management doesn't wake up and
solve that problem. The solution rests partially in decentraliza-
tion, where workers are empowered with rights to decide about areas
of operation which pertain directly to their jobs. This way, workers
are allowed to maintain and innovate on the quality of their products,
and management can still make decisions higher up which pertain to
the overall direction of the company. It is a fallacy, however, to
assume that these highly-skilled craftsman are equally qualified
to negotiate the torrential waters of the modern business environ-
ment. A profitable, high-quality balance is possible, however.

-- Neil
Do You Yahoo!?
Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com

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