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Tale of Two Business Systems February 7, 2006

Posted by Lawrence Loucka in : Economy, Lean , add a comment

by James Womack

In the fall of 1990, Dan Jones, Dan Roos, and I co-authored The Machine That Changed the World, our description of lean enterprise. On page 253 we forecast that 1991 or 1992 would be the moment of crisis as the full power of lean (represented by Toyota) threatened to topple mass production (defended by General Motors). And in 1992 GM nearly did go bankrupt.

However, as usually happens with forecasts, we were off in our timing. The moment of truth was actually delayed 15 years. What now seems certain is that Toyota will pass GM in 2006 to become the world’s largest industrial enterprise and that GM and Ford will undergo a profound transformation, whether led by current managers or by someone else.

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Why The Economy Is A Lot Stronger Than You Think February 5, 2006

Posted by Lawrence Loucka in : Economy , add a comment

Why The Economy Is A Lot Stronger Than You Think from Business Week Online By Michael Mandel, with Steve Hamm in New York and Christopher J. Farrell in St. Paul, Minn. In a knowledge-based world, the traditional measures don’t tell the story. Intangibles like R&D are tracked poorly, if at all. Factor them in and everything changes You read this magazine religiously, watch CNBC while dressing for work, scan the Web for economic reports. You’ve heard, over and over, about the underlying problems with the U.S. economy — the paltry investment rate, the yawning current account deficit, the pathetic amount Americans salt away. And you know what the experts are saying: that the U.S. faces a perilous economic future unless we cut back on spending and change our profligate ways. (more…)

2005 Salary Survey January 5, 2006

Posted by Lawrence Loucka in : Economy , add a comment

From the December 8, 2005 issue of Purchasing Time for a raise I’d say … Salary Survey * = Fewer than 10 respondents. # = One or no respondents.

2006 Economic Outlook January 2, 2006

Posted by Lawrence Loucka in : Economy , add a comment

Networking BallTed Daywalt, CEO and President of VetJobs Veteran Eagle offers his 2006 economic outlook in the latest issue of VetJobs monthly newsletter. Daywalt predicts that the coming year will see an employement seller’s market as labor shortages grow. While this is certainly true for long haul truck drivers we haven’t seen much of a recovery in high tech or telecom. Anyway the list is worth reflecting on.

  1. Labor shortages will become very acute and painful for companies.
  2. Competition for qualified workers by employers will intensify.
  3. Labor shortages will force employers to seek non-traditional employees.
  4. Employers will make greater use the Internet for recruiting.
  5. There will be a greater acceptance of flexible work by employers.
  6. Employers will put greater emphasis on employee training and retention.
  7. Job hopping will accelerate in the first half of the year.
  8. Retirement as we know it will change.
  9. Sending some jobs off-shore will continue, but more jobs will be coming to the United States.
  10. Out-sourcing of jobs from union states to non-union states will continue.
  11. The immigrant labor issue will have to be resolved to keep the United States competitive.
  12. Political correctness and EEOC policies will have to change to retain employees.
  13. Employers will become increasingly dissatisfied with public schools.

You can read the original article here.