Klarinet Archive - Posting 000526.txt from 1999/11

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] subject: [kl] Plastic Horns
Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 19:44:17 -0500

At 03:12 PM 11/13/1999 -0600, Edwin V. Lacy wrote:
(snip)
>A business, even if it is in some way related to music, is just that, a
>business. The owners and/or managers have an obligation to produce as
>much return as possible on the investment of the owners or stockholders.
>In no case does a concern for making better quality musical instrument
>come into the formula. If it did, would Conn have made the move that they
>did?
>
>Given the fact that we can observe and assess the experience of Conn, I
>think we can ask a few pertinent questions. The basic question is, did it
>work? Is Conn more profitable or less profitable than it was before the
>move? (I don't know the answer to that one, but I suspect that it is less
>profitable. Certainly the reputation of the company and their product has
>suffered.) I think that musicians have answered those questions for the
>profession. As the saying goes, they have voted with their pocketbooks.
>What is the level of the public relations image of the company in the
>minds of the public, compared to what it had been?
>
You've answered your own question here. The incentive to make a better
product is to increase sales. The disincentive to make a shoddy product is
fear of lost sales and reputation. Conn took the gamble that they could
move production to Mexico without losing quality. They were wrong, and it
cost them dearly. If they had not joined up with the other makers to form
UMI, they would now be history. But, see, corporations DO make mistakes.

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://homepages.go.com/~zoot14/zoot14.html
ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.

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