The Red Brick Times

If you're going to Washington to beg for billions of dollars to save your cash strapped company you should probably set a good example by flying coach. Or not.
Posted 3:36 PM by whatley (1) comments

       Comments:

Its true. They really, really don't get it. All the interaction I ever had upwards in the automotive world left me floundering and confused. Delusional is the best description. I was always taken to task for being "unrealistic" or for having poor judgment when I tried to confront practices that hurt the business from an end customer perspective. The financial, short-term and administrative goals always trumped the agenda. As a lowly engineer, I once had my job threatened by the assistant plant manager with my silent supervisor and several other managers looking on when I tried to point out how one of our assembly practices was damaging a supplier's part. I was supposed to beat up the supplier to solve the problem and get the most leverage for the plant out of the situation. But when I elevated a dealership's problem in getting service support in the wake of hurricane Katrina, I exceeded the tolerance of, not just an assistant plant manager, but a director, one hungry for the next step, vice presidency, and who felt embarrassed by my pointing out a hole in the organization that happened to be in a time and place that the world was watching closely. Even that may not have been bad enough, except that one of his director peers took the opportunity to slip the shiv to him over the issue, thereby costing him internal political capital and embarrassment. Intolerable! So when the next round of involuntary separations coincided with a directive to reduce costs and work positions, my job was neatly eliminated, with no direct link to my uncorporatelike, disrespectful and pragmatic (to borrow a presidential elect descriptor) attitude. There is no room for pragmatic, simple, direct or effective action in the automotive industry. Every action must be so insulated and layered that no criticism or analysis or backlash can penetrate. Not just plausible deniability, but "who, me?"-ability to the ultimate degree. They may all go down, but it will be the American Consumer's fault for daring to doubt and question the management's god-like judgement and far-sighted vision of The Way Things Will Be. Truly so removed from reality that only evisceration will serve. And woe unto us for being so deeply in automotive's debt for the money that still keeps beer in the icebox and plasma screens flickering far into the economically chilling night.

# posted by  Andy : November 20, 2008 7:05 AM
 
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