MM> Replying to a msg dated 12 Dec 12 02:37, from you to all.

 MM> Then how come factories from non-union companies are
 MM> actually more productive making cars for Niesan and
 MM> Mercedes Benz?

 Niesan is union, in Japan. Neisan's union factories in Japan are
 more productive. Before the Bush debacle, when we talked about
 producitivy, we were told American workers were not very
 productive.

 I looked it up. I wasn't difficult, the OECD (Organization of
 Economic Cooperation and Development) published the records. The
 American worker was the most productive in the world. The US was
 the standard, set as 100, and all other countries were compared
 to that. Japan was about 73% as productive as the US.

 However, the Japanese automotive industry was more productive
 than the US automotive industry. That was the *ONLY* major
 industry in which Japan was more productive. That was ascribed
 to the higher level of automation in Japanese auto factories.
 That and massive outsourcing. In Japan the auto companies were
 more efficient, but their suppliers were required to maintain
 stocks of material that the auto companies in the US would have
 maintained themselves.

 In the US auto parts were made by either the companies
 themselves, or by large companies that supplied them. In Japan
 many auto parts were made by smaller companies, so it was much
 harder to find inefficiencies in so many smaller companies.

 Years ago, when I worked for American Can Company, they were a
 world leader in the can industry. The company developed
 machinery that was used all over the world. The company
 engineers traveled all over the world supporting the design of
 plants in other countries. One of them told me, in Japan they
 would have people with mechanical engineering degrees doing jobs
 US factories would have mechanics doing.

 Also, years ago I learned, American companies would more often
 be run by people with management or business admin degrees. In
 Japan companies would far more often had management with
 engineering degrees rather than in the US. Believe me, I see the
 effect of that all the time.



BOB KLAHN bob.klahn{at}sev.org   http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn

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