0 Honda. Sure, there are recalls and questions about how excit- ing designs are, but when sales are not up from last year at this time it is surprising. And market share in America and globally only seems to go in one direction: up! Why are there so many ups and downs for the traditional powerhouses in the American auto industry? Executives of these companies will blame it on external factors, or at least factors beyond their control, and there is certainly truth in this. They made huge profits per vehicle on large gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs, which covered up many sins. With fuel prices sky rocketing, sales of these profit makers are down. They also suffer from an accumulation of obligations to retir- ees for pension and health care costs that grow every year as people retire and healthcare costs grow. Any company that has committed for decades to cover health care costs for life will struggle as time goes on, especially with people living longer than ever before. While these are legitimate challenges for the Big Three, I do not believe that is the entire story. In my book, "The Toyota Way" (McGraw Hill, 2004), 1 discuss the underlying principles that have allowed Toyota to be so successful, so consistently, for so long. Often, as a foil, I refer to an example from the Big Three of how they fail to fol- low comparable principles. The fact that Toyota has any set of principles that are diligently and consistently followed gives them a huge competitive advantage. If you can summarize the underlying management principle of the Big Three, it is: Look at the current situation and maximize quarterly earn- ings (or minimize losses) for today. Tomorrow will take care of itself ... or we will worry about that tomorrow. I summarized Toyota's philosophy in a "4P" model. The foundational P is philosophy: "Base your management deci- sions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short- term financial goals." Toyota is always thinking about how they can thrive in adding value decades out. As such, they keep large cash reserves to handle any downturn, and think about investments in terms of long-term payback. The invest- ment in the Prius hybrid was never cost-justified based on forecasted sales of Prius versus R&D and capital expendi- .. _ It is hard to find bad news about Toyota and Honda. - Jeffrey Liker Prof. of Industrial and Operations Engineering tures. It was part of preparing for the 21 century. And the benefits have been so strong in so many ways that they dwarf any early investments. The second P is process and the belief that "the right process will produce the right results." Toyota has evolved through trial and error, learning a whole set of beliefs about what makes an efficient and effective high value-added process. The Toyota Production System, the new model for manufacturing globally, reflects those beliefs about the right way to do things. Toyota has certain precepts about the right way that they rarely violate. This consistency helps in achieving the last two principles. The third P is people. Toyota believes in investing in and developing its people and partners (including suppliers) for the long term. The right process only works because of exceptional people who know how to continuously improve processes. Toyota will spend years rigorously developing shop-floor employees, to the point at which they can become team leaders to develop new employees and lead continu- ous improvement activities. The final P, problem solving, is about that continuous improvement. It is really continuous learning - trying things, measuring results, reflecting, and incorporat- ing what is learned into today's best standard practice. Toyota's learning enterprise is getting a little bit better every day - like the tortoise, slowly and steady wins the race. It is interesting that Ford, GM and Chrysler have all made major investments during the last 15 years in learning from Toyota, mostly in manufacturing but also in product development. For Ford and GM, these efforts have, to a large degree, been put on hold as their attention is focused on downsizing enough to stay afloat. Chrysler seems to be newly invigorated in their efforts to learn from Toyota, hav- ing recently hired a number of former Toyota managers into key leadership posi- tions. But how come this has not worked to erase any competitive advantage of Toyota? Fundamentally the problem is that they have not been able to stick with it. The "lean program" gets a great deal of management attention, the best consultants here is a myriad of ways people interact with me. There are people that get the "deer in the headlights" look on their face when I wheel toward them. There are also people that don't even see me - since I am so much lower to the ground - until it's too late and they are now on my lap (this is most awkward when the countering partner is riding a bicycle). And then there are the most annoying: the overachieving helpers. For some reason, these people have it ingrained in their brains that people who use wheelchairs can't do anything for themselves. Now, I'm not talking about all of the very kind people that hold doors and pick up books that fall on the floor - that is just common cour- tesy for everyone, whether they use a wheelchair or not. The people I am talking about are the ones like the aunt that you only see one time, and even that once a year is too much. They just don't leave you alone! They talk to you as though you are five again and insist that you are "so brave" and "you can do it" (Apparently I am now the Little Engine that Could). These people are everywhere, and make blending in much more difficult. Imagine yourself walking down the street to class when all of the sudden, you are being picked up and whisked away by a stranger, only to be dropped at a point they feel is convenient and then they vanish with a self-righteous "You're Welcome!" This has happened to me numerous times. I will be wheeling down the sidewalk and someone will just come up behind me and start pushing me. There are times when assistance is welcomed, but the majority of the time, I'm doing pretty well on my own. These overachievers also seem to have the idea that since my legs don't function properly, neither does my brain. On numerous occasions, I have been shown how to use the vending machines and how to cross the street. But my all-time favorite is the day I was shown how to grocery shop. I was happily going through the aisles, when a woman just came up to me and picked my basket off my lap. I was slightly stunned, but when I regained my composure I told her I was all right and didn't need her help. She didn't listen to me. This went on for three or four rounds, until I finally just had to break it to her that I was doing fine on my own and she should just get back to her own shopping. As she walked off in a huff, I wondered if I was transmitting a signal saying I was helpless. While the previously mentioned "random acts of kindness" are annoying, they are also tolerable. The one thing that is not tolerable under any circumstances is when people don't treat me like a human being. If I am sitting in your way, please tell me because I will move, for you, do not just pick me up and move me like a chair or a couch. I also know how to use the vending machines, but thanks for buying me a Snickers with my money when I really did I N M ORDS Rolling by Disabled students struggle for equality on campus By Jolene Brcker Jolene Bricker sits in the Tap Room of the Michigan Union want the Twix I was going for. I am not deaf either. Speaking loudly isn't going to make a difference in how I can hear or understand you. Hostesses, when finding a table where a wheel- chair user can sit, occasionally refer to them as "the chair" or "that wheelchair." We are not made of metal and paint, and we would never say, "Shoe, party of two, your table is ready," (unless of course, your name was Shoe). When seating a wheelchair user, please do not say, "So, do you want to sit in a real chair? Or are you just going to stay in yours?" The patron will most likely use their own. They brought it for a reason, didn't they? My I change chair u es -1l floor tc having to Mar disadv help, ji won't b new be you mz are as f cooler I athoeyo cn!ve nN one FREE tall beverage - wi th 1this COtup07- hies hstry ofC in s coffee, tea, lattes, frozen drinks, pastries, soups, salads, sandwiches, and more. live music coming in March! 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