Culture Shock

PRIOR TO THE EMERGENCE OF WORLD WIDE COMPETITION, THE FOCUS OF THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY WAS PRIMARILY ON PROFITS. THE INCENTIVE FOR INCREASING PROFITS WAS TO PROVIDE GREATER RETURNS FOR THOSE WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS. IF THE ECONOMY WAS GOOD, OUR CUSTOMERS WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO BUY VIRTUALLY ANYTHING THE BIG THREE PRODUCED. CUSTOMERS MIGHT COMPLAIN ABOUT QUALITY BUT THEY WOULD BE BACK TO BUY. CUSTOMERS, IN FACT, HAD RELATIVELY NOTHING ELSE WITH WHICH TO COMPARE QUALITY. MANAGEMENT IN THIS ENVIRONMENT COULD BE AUTOCRATIC, UNIONS COULD BE ADVERSARIAL, AND CUSTOMERS COULD BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED. BIGGER, FASTER, AND AMERICAN MADE AT ANY COST WAS DEEMED BETTER BY MOST CUSTOMERS.

THE ARAB OIL EMBARGO FORCED CONSUMERS TO BECOME INTERESTED IN A TYPE OF VEHICLE THAT AMERICAN CONSUMERS HAD NOT BEEN GREATLY INTERESTED IN NOR WAS THE AMERICAN AUTO INDUSTRY PREPARED TO PRODUCE. AS A CONSEQUENCE, CUSTOMERS INADVERTENTLY BECAME AWARE OF THE RELIABILITY OF "OTHER" CAR PRODUCERS. BIGGER WAS NO LONGER BETTER AT ANY COST. PATRIOTISM WAS PUT ON THE BACK BURNER AND THE PRIME FOCUS OF AN INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMER BECAME HIS OR HER ECONOMIC SURVIVAL.

THE BIG THREE AMERICAN AUTO PRODUCERS ALL BECAME SIMULTANEOUSLY VULNERABLE TO DEMISE FOR THE FIRST TIME. ALTHOUGH AMERICANS HISTORICALLY BECOME INGENIOUS AND RESOURCEFUL IN TIMES OF ADVERSITY, THIS WAS A PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT TIME FOR COMING UP WITH THE NECESSARY IDEAS AND RESOURCES. WE DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE RULES OF THE GAME NOR HOW THE NEW GAME WAS BEING PLAYED. THE "OTHER" CARS WERE SMALL, NOT LOADED WITH AMENITIES, SLOWER, AND USUALLY LESS ESTHETICALLY APPEALING. QUALITY HAD ALWAYS MEANT SATISFYING THE CUSTOMER, BUT, THE CUSTOMER HAD SUDDENLY CHANGED THE REQUIREMENTS FOR SATISFACTION. RELIABILITY AND ECONOMY HAD BECOME THE REQUIREMENTS.

THE MOST PERCEPTIVE LEADERS OF AMERICAN COMPANIES AND UNIONS BEGAN TO RESEARCH THE COMPETITION TO LEARN HOW TO MANUFACTURE COMPETITIVELY RELIABLE PRODUCTS. THE DISCOVERIES MADE IN THIS LEARNING PROCESS WERE SHOCKING. THE APPROACHES WERE ALMOST TOO SIMPLE TO ACCEPT.

FOREIGN COMPETITORS WERE VERY SIMPLY COMPRISED OF PEOPLE WHO WORKED TOGETHER TO PROVIDE CUSTOMERS WITH PRODUCTS THAT WOULD SATISFY CUSTOMERS AND THEY WERE USING STATISTICAL APPROACHES TO CONTROL THEIR PROCESSES. THERE WERE NO TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES, NO ABUNDANCE OF INNOVATORS, NO VAST AMOUNTS OF AUTOMATION, AND NO COMPLEX PROCESSES FOR MANUFACTURING.

WORKING TOGETHER WOULD REQUIRE A DRASTIC CULTURE CHANGE IN THE WORK PLACE. THE CHANGE WOULD REQUIRE INVENTING A NEW BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND CREATING A NEW AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL CULTURE WITHIN THE AUTO INDUSTRY. EVERY PARTICIPANT WOULD HAVE A GREATER VOICE, A MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN DECISION MAKING, AND MORE TO GAIN FROM THE SUCCESS OF THEIR BUSINESS.

Dan Robling©

Back to my home page