While flipping channels during the commercial break for one of my favorite comedy shows "Mad Money with Jim Cramer" I stopped on Fox News on report about Americans paying Iraqi Press to print positive news about improvement in their current situation. Donald Rumsfield is relieved that Iraqi's are getting truthful news, verses the propoganda they were getting before....hmmm....
"America...Fuck yea." - Team America
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
"You look like a guy I did some time with a year ago"
As I was consuming, yet another cup of shitty coffee this morning, to keep my edge at the office,(making tiger faces in the mirror at 7 am just wasn't having success this morning) I had the opportunity to meet some of the guys from the plant. This is an an unusual interaction for the work I do, as I spend about 80% of my time in my office in the corporate section of the building and the other 20% in conference rooms, however I learned today from my conversation with these hard working, blue collar guys that I have been missing out.
The first thing said to me by Bob, an man in his 40's with a grey pony tail, a beard, and a a couple mean looking tattoos was "Hey, you look like a guy I did some time with a year ago, you ever been to county." I responded "umm.. not that remember." Obviously jokes from both ends.
There was nothing fake about the conversation with these guys, not that conversation in the office is not real, but its different. I felt like I was talking to my uncles when I talked to these workers, and learned some new things about the company, from the engineering/manufacturing end that is relevant to some international marketing issues we may face as we continue to go global.
I have concluded that the value of the president, executives and other business types of a company are very important as they are sort of the face of its success, in terms of profits and stock price, however men like the 2 guys I drank coffee with this morning are clearly the backbone, and companies who value their American workers, like the one I work for and also specifically Kalamazoo's infamous Stryker, will continue to have excellent growth in their earnings.
And then there is GM, but Ill let Michael Moore speak on that issue, as far as I'm concerned, that company is a lost cause, and it is unfortunate that through their stupidity of lack of continuous environmental scanning (before producing substandard cars that people aren't driving anymore), thousands of more Americans will be canned, Delphi is going under, and pension holders that used to work for GM are going to get screwed. There was a headline in the New York Times talking about how the fall of GM will destroy the middle class. I don't really know much about that, though Ive heard that GM is the reason we have a middle class, because of the initial benefits and rewards they offered their employees in past years. Are they going to go from one extreme to another? Delphi, who was part of GM in 1999, re-hired this girl I'm friends with, to do some marketing work for them. Of course they are not paying her for it, unlike the $12 an hour she got last summer for much less intensive work. Is this going to be the trend for managing human resources with American auto companies in the US? I just hope GM isn't going to follow this behavior, and expect everyone, especially guys like who I had coffee with this morning, to work for free, or close to it, or not work at all.
The first thing said to me by Bob, an man in his 40's with a grey pony tail, a beard, and a a couple mean looking tattoos was "Hey, you look like a guy I did some time with a year ago, you ever been to county." I responded "umm.. not that remember." Obviously jokes from both ends.
There was nothing fake about the conversation with these guys, not that conversation in the office is not real, but its different. I felt like I was talking to my uncles when I talked to these workers, and learned some new things about the company, from the engineering/manufacturing end that is relevant to some international marketing issues we may face as we continue to go global.
I have concluded that the value of the president, executives and other business types of a company are very important as they are sort of the face of its success, in terms of profits and stock price, however men like the 2 guys I drank coffee with this morning are clearly the backbone, and companies who value their American workers, like the one I work for and also specifically Kalamazoo's infamous Stryker, will continue to have excellent growth in their earnings.
And then there is GM, but Ill let Michael Moore speak on that issue, as far as I'm concerned, that company is a lost cause, and it is unfortunate that through their stupidity of lack of continuous environmental scanning (before producing substandard cars that people aren't driving anymore), thousands of more Americans will be canned, Delphi is going under, and pension holders that used to work for GM are going to get screwed. There was a headline in the New York Times talking about how the fall of GM will destroy the middle class. I don't really know much about that, though Ive heard that GM is the reason we have a middle class, because of the initial benefits and rewards they offered their employees in past years. Are they going to go from one extreme to another? Delphi, who was part of GM in 1999, re-hired this girl I'm friends with, to do some marketing work for them. Of course they are not paying her for it, unlike the $12 an hour she got last summer for much less intensive work. Is this going to be the trend for managing human resources with American auto companies in the US? I just hope GM isn't going to follow this behavior, and expect everyone, especially guys like who I had coffee with this morning, to work for free, or close to it, or not work at all.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Holy Geez
In my marketing courses I have recently spent a lot of time discussing blog sites, and just realized I attempted to start my own a while back, While living abroad. Picking up where I left off...
Its the week after Thanksgiving...Finally got a semi-vacation, the first since my travels in Europe. This semester has been extremely busy, with school, my job (RPAprocess.com) leading the 3 student Organizations I have become involved with, and trying to organize my life otherwise. No complaints though, I'm finding my place at WMU, getting ready to graduate in a semester or 2, and things at my job are taking off. Lately Ive noticed that I might be "losing my edge" with all this settling down and routine... This is totally unacceptable. After the madness I was fortunate to experience in London, I feel like I'm getting old in Kalamazoo.
I recently read a book, The Rum Diary, by the then 22year old Hunter S Thompson, that came highly recommended by one of my new roommates, Jay. While reading the book, I couldn't help but recall the adventures I had while doing my own travels, and wish that I would have written more things down. I'm still trying to figure out what exactly happened in my street fight in Barcelona however.
I have lost touch with a lot of that which is going on in the world right now. I guess I'm not paying enough close attention to NPR. Its been a nasty year for natural disasters and other horrific events, and Ive had some close calls, with the Tsunami while I was visiting India, the London Bombings a few weeks after I left, which happened at the Tube station I took took to work every morning, at the time I went to work every morning, The Hurricanes, the tragic earthquake on the border of India/Pakistan. I recently made good friends with a Lebanese fellow,who has given me a new perspective on the other side of the world. I hope things work out with this internship in India next summer, I need to spend some time out with my family out there, Ive simply lost touch with most of them...In the meantime, Gotta muscle through this next week of finals.
-J
Its the week after Thanksgiving...Finally got a semi-vacation, the first since my travels in Europe. This semester has been extremely busy, with school, my job (RPAprocess.com) leading the 3 student Organizations I have become involved with, and trying to organize my life otherwise. No complaints though, I'm finding my place at WMU, getting ready to graduate in a semester or 2, and things at my job are taking off. Lately Ive noticed that I might be "losing my edge" with all this settling down and routine... This is totally unacceptable. After the madness I was fortunate to experience in London, I feel like I'm getting old in Kalamazoo.
I recently read a book, The Rum Diary, by the then 22year old Hunter S Thompson, that came highly recommended by one of my new roommates, Jay. While reading the book, I couldn't help but recall the adventures I had while doing my own travels, and wish that I would have written more things down. I'm still trying to figure out what exactly happened in my street fight in Barcelona however.
I have lost touch with a lot of that which is going on in the world right now. I guess I'm not paying enough close attention to NPR. Its been a nasty year for natural disasters and other horrific events, and Ive had some close calls, with the Tsunami while I was visiting India, the London Bombings a few weeks after I left, which happened at the Tube station I took took to work every morning, at the time I went to work every morning, The Hurricanes, the tragic earthquake on the border of India/Pakistan. I recently made good friends with a Lebanese fellow,who has given me a new perspective on the other side of the world. I hope things work out with this internship in India next summer, I need to spend some time out with my family out there, Ive simply lost touch with most of them...In the meantime, Gotta muscle through this next week of finals.
-J
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