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LETTERS/LETT5
This website contains an archive of files for the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Acorn Archimedes, Commodore 16 and Commodore 64 computers, which Dominic Ford has rescued from his private collection of floppy disks and cassettes.
Some of these files were originally commercial releases in the 1980s and 1990s, but they are now widely available online. I assume that copyright over them is no longer being asserted. If you own the copyright and would like files to be removed, please contact me.
| Tape/disk: | Home » Personal collection » Acorn ADFS disks » Electron_User_Group » EUG_16.ADF |
| Filename: | LETTERS/LETT5 |
| Read OK: | ✔ |
| File size: | 06E6 bytes |
| Load address: | 4C204556 |
| Exec address: | 35545445 |
File contents
Mick Comley. Faversham. 0795 531285
Dear Gus
A little bit of nonsense I picked up from work, I dont know who the author
was.
Rowing and Steering.
A British company, and a Japanese company decided to hold a competitive
staff boat race on the River Thames. The Japanese won the first race by a
mile. The British became discouraged and morale at the company sagged.
Senior Managers decided the reasons for this defeat had to be found, so an
internal project team was set up to investigate the cause and recommend
appropriate action.
This report identified that the Japanese team had eight people rowing and
one person steering, the British Company in contrast, had one person
rowing and eight people steering. Senior Management at the British Company
hired a consultant to study the British team's structure. Several months
later, they concluded, in a leatherbound report, that too many people were
steering and not enough were rowing."
An action plan was immediately put into place to prevent the Japanese from
winning again. The British team structure was changed to four 'Rowing
Managers', three 'Senior Rowing Managers' and one 'Executive Rowing
Manager'. A performance and Appraisal System was set up to give the person
rowing the boat more incentive to work harder and become a 'Key
Performer'.
The next race was won by the Japanese by an increased Margin of two miles.
The British company reacted by laying off the rower due to his poor
performance, selling off the oars, cancelling all capital investment for
the new team equipment and halting development work on a new boat. They
gave a high performance award to the consultant and distributed the rest
of the money saved to the Senior Management.
Sounds very much like a firm I know.
00000000 4d 69 63 6b 20 43 6f 6d 6c 65 79 2e 20 46 61 76 |Mick Comley. Fav| 00000010 65 72 73 68 61 6d 2e 20 30 37 39 35 20 35 33 31 |ersham. 0795 531| 00000020 32 38 35 0d 0d 44 65 61 72 20 47 75 73 0d 0d 41 |285..Dear Gus..A| 00000030 20 6c 69 74 74 6c 65 20 62 69 74 20 6f 66 20 6e | little bit of n| 00000040 6f 6e 73 65 6e 73 65 20 49 20 70 69 63 6b 65 64 |onsense I picked| 00000050 20 75 70 20 66 72 6f 6d 20 77 6f 72 6b 2c 20 49 | up from work, I| 00000060 20 64 6f 6e 74 20 6b 6e 6f 77 20 77 68 6f 20 74 | dont know who t| 00000070 68 65 20 61 75 74 68 6f 72 0d 77 61 73 2e 0d 0d |he author.was...| 00000080 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 | | 00000090 52 6f 77 69 6e 67 20 61 6e 64 20 53 74 65 65 72 |Rowing and Steer| 000000a0 69 6e 67 2e 0d 0d 41 20 42 72 69 74 69 73 68 20 |ing...A British | 000000b0 63 6f 6d 70 61 6e 79 2c 20 61 6e 64 20 61 20 4a |company, and a J| 000000c0 61 70 61 6e 65 73 65 20 63 6f 6d 70 61 6e 79 20 |apanese company | 000000d0 64 65 63 69 64 65 64 20 74 6f 20 68 6f 6c 64 20 |decided to hold | 000000e0 61 20 63 6f 6d 70 65 74 69 74 69 76 65 0d 73 74 |a competitive.st| 000000f0 61 66 66 20 62 6f 61 74 20 72 61 63 65 20 6f 6e |aff boat race on| 00000100 20 74 68 65 20 52 69 76 65 72 20 54 68 61 6d 65 | the River Thame| 00000110 73 2e 20 54 68 65 20 4a 61 70 61 6e 65 73 65 20 |s. The Japanese | 00000120 77 6f 6e 20 74 68 65 20 66 69 72 73 74 20 72 61 |won the first ra| 00000130 63 65 20 62 79 20 61 0d 6d 69 6c 65 2e 20 54 68 |ce by a.mile. Th| 00000140 65 20 42 72 69 74 69 73 68 20 62 65 63 61 6d 65 |e British became| 00000150 20 64 69 73 63 6f 75 72 61 67 65 64 20 61 6e 64 | discouraged and| 00000160 20 6d 6f 72 61 6c 65 20 61 74 20 74 68 65 20 63 | morale at the c| 00000170 6f 6d 70 61 6e 79 20 73 61 67 67 65 64 2e 0d 53 |ompany sagged..S| 00000180 65 6e 69 6f 72 20 4d 61 6e 61 67 65 72 73 20 64 |enior Managers d| 00000190 65 63 69 64 65 64 20 74 68 65 20 72 65 61 73 6f |ecided the reaso| 000001a0 6e 73 20 66 6f 72 20 74 68 69 73 20 64 65 66 65 |ns for this defe| 000001b0 61 74 20 68 61 64 20 74 6f 20 62 65 20 66 6f 75 |at had to be fou| 000001c0 6e 64 2c 20 73 6f 20 61 6e 0d 69 6e 74 65 72 6e |nd, so an.intern| 000001d0 61 6c 20 70 72 6f 6a 65 63 74 20 74 65 61 6d 20 |al project team | 000001e0 77 61 73 20 73 65 74 20 75 70 20 74 6f 20 69 6e |was set up to in| 000001f0 76 65 73 74 69 67 61 74 65 20 74 68 65 20 63 61 |vestigate the ca| 00000200 75 73 65 20 61 6e 64 20 72 65 63 6f 6d 6d 65 6e |use and recommen| 00000210 64 0d 61 70 70 72 6f 70 72 69 61 74 65 20 61 63 |d.appropriate ac| 00000220 74 69 6f 6e 2e 0d 0d 54 68 69 73 20 72 65 70 6f |tion...This repo| 00000230 72 74 20 69 64 65 6e 74 69 66 69 65 64 20 74 68 |rt identified th| 00000240 61 74 20 74 68 65 20 4a 61 70 61 6e 65 73 65 20 |at the Japanese | 00000250 74 65 61 6d 20 68 61 64 20 65 69 67 68 74 20 70 |team had eight p| 00000260 65 6f 70 6c 65 20 72 6f 77 69 6e 67 20 61 6e 64 |eople rowing and| 00000270 0d 6f 6e 65 20 70 65 72 73 6f 6e 20 73 74 65 65 |.one person stee| 00000280 72 69 6e 67 2c 20 74 68 65 20 42 72 69 74 69 73 |ring, the Britis| 00000290 68 20 43 6f 6d 70 61 6e 79 20 69 6e 20 63 6f 6e |h Company in con| 000002a0 74 72 61 73 74 2c 20 68 61 64 20 6f 6e 65 20 70 |trast, had one p| 000002b0 65 72 73 6f 6e 0d 72 6f 77 69 6e 67 20 61 6e 64 |erson.rowing and| 000002c0 20 65 69 67 68 74 20 70 65 6f 70 6c 65 20 73 74 | eight people st| 000002d0 65 65 72 69 6e 67 2e 20 53 65 6e 69 6f 72 20 4d |eering. Senior M| 000002e0 61 6e 61 67 65 6d 65 6e 74 20 61 74 20 74 68 65 |anagement at the| 000002f0 20 42 72 69 74 69 73 68 20 43 6f 6d 70 61 6e 79 | British Company| 00000300 0d 68 69 72 65 64 20 61 20 63 6f 6e 73 75 6c 74 |.hired a consult| 00000310 61 6e 74 20 74 6f 20 73 74 75 64 79 20 74 68 65 |ant to study the| 00000320 20 42 72 69 74 69 73 68 20 74 65 61 6d 27 73 20 | British team's | 00000330 73 74 72 75 63 74 75 72 65 2e 20 53 65 76 65 72 |structure. Sever| 00000340 61 6c 20 6d 6f 6e 74 68 73 0d 6c 61 74 65 72 2c |al months.later,| 00000350 20 74 68 65 79 20 63 6f 6e 63 6c 75 64 65 64 2c | they concluded,| 00000360 20 69 6e 20 61 20 6c 65 61 74 68 65 72 62 6f 75 | in a leatherbou| 00000370 6e 64 20 72 65 70 6f 72 74 2c 20 74 68 61 74 20 |nd report, that | 00000380 74 6f 6f 20 6d 61 6e 79 20 70 65 6f 70 6c 65 20 |too many people | 00000390 77 65 72 65 0d 73 74 65 65 72 69 6e 67 20 61 6e |were.steering an| 000003a0 64 20 6e 6f 74 20 65 6e 6f 75 67 68 20 77 65 72 |d not enough wer| 000003b0 65 20 72 6f 77 69 6e 67 2e 22 0d 0d 41 6e 20 61 |e rowing."..An a| 000003c0 63 74 69 6f 6e 20 70 6c 61 6e 20 77 61 73 20 69 |ction plan was i| 000003d0 6d 6d 65 64 69 61 74 65 6c 79 20 70 75 74 20 69 |mmediately put i| 000003e0 6e 74 6f 20 70 6c 61 63 65 20 74 6f 20 70 72 65 |nto place to pre| 000003f0 76 65 6e 74 20 74 68 65 20 4a 61 70 61 6e 65 73 |vent the Japanes| 00000400 65 20 66 72 6f 6d 0d 77 69 6e 6e 69 6e 67 20 61 |e from.winning a| 00000410 67 61 69 6e 2e 20 54 68 65 20 42 72 69 74 69 73 |gain. The Britis| 00000420 68 20 74 65 61 6d 20 73 74 72 75 63 74 75 72 65 |h team structure| 00000430 20 77 61 73 20 63 68 61 6e 67 65 64 20 74 6f 20 | was changed to | 00000440 66 6f 75 72 20 27 52 6f 77 69 6e 67 0d 4d 61 6e |four 'Rowing.Man| 00000450 61 67 65 72 73 27 2c 20 74 68 72 65 65 20 27 53 |agers', three 'S| 00000460 65 6e 69 6f 72 20 52 6f 77 69 6e 67 20 4d 61 6e |enior Rowing Man| 00000470 61 67 65 72 73 27 20 61 6e 64 20 6f 6e 65 20 27 |agers' and one '| 00000480 45 78 65 63 75 74 69 76 65 20 52 6f 77 69 6e 67 |Executive Rowing| 00000490 0d 4d 61 6e 61 67 65 72 27 2e 20 41 20 70 65 72 |.Manager'. A per| 000004a0 66 6f 72 6d 61 6e 63 65 20 61 6e 64 20 41 70 70 |formance and App| 000004b0 72 61 69 73 61 6c 20 53 79 73 74 65 6d 20 77 61 |raisal System wa| 000004c0 73 20 73 65 74 20 75 70 20 74 6f 20 67 69 76 65 |s set up to give| 000004d0 20 74 68 65 20 70 65 72 73 6f 6e 0d 72 6f 77 69 | the person.rowi| 000004e0 6e 67 20 74 68 65 20 62 6f 61 74 20 6d 6f 72 65 |ng the boat more| 000004f0 20 69 6e 63 65 6e 74 69 76 65 20 74 6f 20 77 6f | incentive to wo| 00000500 72 6b 20 68 61 72 64 65 72 20 61 6e 64 20 62 65 |rk harder and be| 00000510 63 6f 6d 65 20 61 20 27 4b 65 79 0d 50 65 72 66 |come a 'Key.Perf| 00000520 6f 72 6d 65 72 27 2e 0d 0d 54 68 65 20 6e 65 78 |ormer'...The nex| 00000530 74 20 72 61 63 65 20 77 61 73 20 77 6f 6e 20 62 |t race was won b| 00000540 79 20 74 68 65 20 4a 61 70 61 6e 65 73 65 20 62 |y the Japanese b| 00000550 79 20 61 6e 20 69 6e 63 72 65 61 73 65 64 20 4d |y an increased M| 00000560 61 72 67 69 6e 20 6f 66 20 74 77 6f 20 6d 69 6c |argin of two mil| 00000570 65 73 2e 0d 54 68 65 20 42 72 69 74 69 73 68 20 |es..The British | 00000580 63 6f 6d 70 61 6e 79 20 72 65 61 63 74 65 64 20 |company reacted | 00000590 62 79 20 6c 61 79 69 6e 67 20 6f 66 66 20 74 68 |by laying off th| 000005a0 65 20 72 6f 77 65 72 20 64 75 65 20 74 6f 20 68 |e rower due to h| 000005b0 69 73 20 70 6f 6f 72 0d 70 65 72 66 6f 72 6d 61 |is poor.performa| 000005c0 6e 63 65 2c 20 73 65 6c 6c 69 6e 67 20 6f 66 66 |nce, selling off| 000005d0 20 74 68 65 20 6f 61 72 73 2c 20 63 61 6e 63 65 | the oars, cance| 000005e0 6c 6c 69 6e 67 20 61 6c 6c 20 63 61 70 69 74 61 |lling all capita| 000005f0 6c 20 69 6e 76 65 73 74 6d 65 6e 74 20 66 6f 72 |l investment for| 00000600 0d 74 68 65 20 6e 65 77 20 74 65 61 6d 20 65 71 |.the new team eq| 00000610 75 69 70 6d 65 6e 74 20 61 6e 64 20 68 61 6c 74 |uipment and halt| 00000620 69 6e 67 20 64 65 76 65 6c 6f 70 6d 65 6e 74 20 |ing development | 00000630 77 6f 72 6b 20 6f 6e 20 61 20 6e 65 77 20 62 6f |work on a new bo| 00000640 61 74 2e 20 54 68 65 79 0d 67 61 76 65 20 61 20 |at. They.gave a | 00000650 68 69 67 68 20 70 65 72 66 6f 72 6d 61 6e 63 65 |high performance| 00000660 20 61 77 61 72 64 20 74 6f 20 74 68 65 20 63 6f | award to the co| 00000670 6e 73 75 6c 74 61 6e 74 20 61 6e 64 20 64 69 73 |nsultant and dis| 00000680 74 72 69 62 75 74 65 64 20 74 68 65 20 72 65 73 |tributed the res| 00000690 74 0d 6f 66 20 74 68 65 20 6d 6f 6e 65 79 20 73 |t.of the money s| 000006a0 61 76 65 64 20 74 6f 20 74 68 65 20 53 65 6e 69 |aved to the Seni| 000006b0 6f 72 20 4d 61 6e 61 67 65 6d 65 6e 74 2e 0d 0d |or Management...| 000006c0 53 6f 75 6e 64 73 20 76 65 72 79 20 6d 75 63 68 |Sounds very much| 000006d0 20 6c 69 6b 65 20 61 20 66 69 72 6d 20 49 20 6b | like a firm I k| 000006e0 6e 6f 77 2e 0d 0d |now...| 000006e6
LETTERS/LETT5.m0
LETTERS/LETT5.m1
LETTERS/LETT5.m2
LETTERS/LETT5.m4
LETTERS/LETT5.m5
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