In article >, Picasso wrote:

> They need to take some time and study the GE management style, and begin
> to manage these people.

Have you ever personally experienced the GE management style?

Here's how it works. Each year every employee is ranked. This is a
political process. It's not how well you do your job, how smart you are,
how much money you made or saved the corporation, but how well liked you
are and how high your salary is. The bottom 10% is subject to downsizing,
and usually is.

After a few years, those who fought for change and became disliked by
bosses for not supporting the status quo, those who were creative and
fought to try new politically risky solutions, those who had experience
and knowledge are all gone.

Sure, wall street and the executives love it when the engineering staff
has been reduced to fresh-outs and ass kissers. However, innovation,
creativity and institutional knowledge suffers. Nobody still working
there knows that doing such and such leads to fires once the cars are
out in the real world... 'little' things like that.

If Ford and GM want to survive they need to take the shackles off their
engineers, not find new ways to pound down the highest nails. (as per
the japanese saying) And that's what the GE method does, pounds down the
highest nails.