Business Life
Essay by review • March 14, 2011 • Essay • 250 Words (1 Pages) • 1,116 Views
A Japanese company and an American company decided to have a canoe race
>on
>the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their
>peak
>performance before the race. On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.
>
>
>The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate
>the
>reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior
>management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.
>
>Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person
>steering,
>while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing.
>
>So American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large
>amount of money for a second opinion. They advised that too many people
>were
>steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.
>
>To prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management
>structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area
>steering
>superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager. They
>also
>implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing
>the
>boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the ; "Rowing Team
>Quality First Program" ; with meetings, dinners and free pens for the
>rower.
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