Jim Press speaks out

He is right.

 

Refreshing just to hear someone supporting Toyota with a little bravado. Someone not apologizing.

Hope this is an early sign of the tide turning and maybe the media Toyota feeding frenzy dying down....although I doubt it.

 

I honestly wish the guy luck. I thought it was telling that my own senior-citizen parents commented how they would rather bring our car to a import tuning/speed shop rather than the dealership so they wouldn't have to deal with the "customer is wrong" crap and "sloppy" service.

 

I hope J Press is as candid when he leaves Chrysler

 

Now this makes sense. Before the recession, the previous CEO had received accolades for 'cost saving.' I remember the postings praising his ability to keep the Prius costs down. Looking over my professional career, I've seen the exact same BSh*t in companies I'd worked for and every time, I made plans for my next job ... because I knew the cheap b*stards would drive off our customers!

I learned a long, long time ago that you pay attention to your small, "bread and butter" customers because as they succeed, they will bring you the big jobs. Building on a foundation of small customers and the repeat business is the key to success. But as soon as Masters of Business Administration 'capture' a company:

1. find your next job if you work for the S*Bs
2. sell you stock as soon as you leave (it is already at a local peak value)

Sorry but that has been a pattern I've seen over and over again.

Bob Wilson

 

In a similar vein, when company communication become exercises in business talk, run away from the stock. Intel is a good example.

 

You can bet that tight, little tiny skirt that your avatar is wearing, that the finger pointing ain't over yet.

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you've got it exactly right bob, when the beancounters come in, customer respect and quality go out. i think toyoda himself mentioned when he took over that the company was heading in the wrong direction.

 

I wonder how many years is "some years ago".

 

It would appear to still be heading in the wrong direction: Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda on the hot seat - Feb. 24, 2010

Cliff-Notes version:

 

Well, inspectors are needed for immediate remedy. Once the process improves (longterm goal), they may not need them anymore.

 

Are they going to pull every car off the production line? I think the article was discussing the concept of designing quality into the manufacturing process. Right now, quality does not seem to be a dominant part of the manufacturing process. Inspectors act to confirm that the subcontractors are holding up their end of the bargain. If there is no requirement to be met, then all products fail and must necessarily be pulled off the production line.

 

Why did you say that? Because of the accelerator pedal? I think it is the result of previous president's cost cutting effort. We thought he was going to cut cost without compromise in safety or quality. That is now history, embarrassing one....

Akio Toyoda pulled the cord and stopped the production of the affected vehicles with accelerator pedal... because nobody pulled it. It showed the famous Toyota production process was broken. I am not blaming the assembly workers or the part supplier workers. There is no way they can tell the quality of the parts if it start to stick after years of usage. It also showed that the new president is leading everyone back on track starting from the top. He said they will get back to their root.

Remember Akio himself will be leading it to make sure the quality if top notch. Once every assembly workers can make the judgment to pull the cord to stop the production line, I don't see the need for the inspectors. They may still need a few to sample check.... the point is that the public need some type of assurance that the Toyota coming out of the factory tomorrow will be safe and top quality.

 

It's what our company does and it works. It isn't rocket science, it just works.

 

A universal truism I totally agree with. It unfortunately reflects the current state of global capitalism, where the minions of Wall Street and Big Finance have worked their way into a dominant position that is affecting the quality of manufactured products across the board. It appears that Toyota has in recent years, as Jim Press relates, been subjected to these financial imperatives, resulting in their suppliers being pressured to "reduce costs" by the finance types running the show. One of the first victims of this mindset is product quality.

In a similar area that I am more familiar with, Boeing in its development of the 787 decided to farm out far too many key components of the design to suppliers, one that is breaking new ground technologically. As a result they lost control of the overall program which is now running 2 1/2 years late with engineering problems showing up in the process. This is another company that has been taken over by the bean counters and economists, with predictable results.

I have faith in Akio Toyota. At the end of the day, his name is on the side of the building. That means a lot to anyone, in particular to a gentleman of Japan.

 

Akio Toyoda should rehire Jim Press and give him a blank check to kick a**.

 

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