Cost Reduction : An Evil Profile

Hey you…yeah, I mean: YOU, dear #reader. Come to me and don’t be shy: it’s the cost reduction: nice to meet you through these lines ?? I know, it’s been meaby long time since you’ve last felt my effects, probably once you quit your former #company, or you’ve been forced to slavery by your boss for a miserable salary, as you were struggling to pay your bills, or even...sweating once you beat Lance Armstrong’s sprint ?? while you were biking for Deliveroo during your second, night job. If that’s your life, you don’t need to wonder about presentation, so just think to have met me way sooner than you ever thought!

In facts, some would argue CEO's to have been first seduced by my evil charm decades ago, though only few of you will admit Covid19 effects to have stepped up the “great resignation” movement of #worldwide exhausted #employees over the last 3 years. Be that as it may, you’re witnessing how quality truly became a non-sense on a broad scale, because companies just want to produce as wild as possible to sell as much as possible the products or services they supply, and doing so, neck is wrought to any corporate resource, may these be #machines, #IT or #personnel.

Please apologize if I talk to you with a passive voice, since Nobel Prize winning management ?? - like French say: noblesse oblige - always follows my example since it believes to drain cost easing an employee take-off, while it is blind to any greater cost it added on the company balance sheet, that is, the loss of human capital ?? and its know-how. Many managers may not be chaught that company processes, which produce value of a given product or service, always rely on human relations efficiency, but most importantly, one must not wonder that any willing attempt to deteriorate them will sooner or later results in enhanced managing cost, as cost reductions factly commutes to cost enhancements.

You may be so ask who truly benefits about me, the cost reduction? Well man, that’s THE greatest question, which equals to exactly define the word “love”: there’s no exact reply. Depending on the #business domain, a given organization will be deluded finding means to bear its #costs, for example discharging them on its external supplying companies. Sooner or later, these #suppliers will look for other costumers, since there won’t be no more benefit ?? losing time with stingy costumers: its purchasing department will add costs, and later complain with #CEO or #Board of #Directors a meteor to have hit corporate #headquarters and reconstruction cost to justify the true explosion of the balance sheet.

Even worse, there’re company manufacturing goods or supplying services, whose #inefficiency may threat human health or environment and their tragic failure may cost human lives, so lots of people still wonder how could a willing cost reduction result in low quality and damage to the company's corporate image? #Pharmaceutical and #aerospace manufacturers are examples of such organizations, where one would be horrified if their managers nowadays feel safety certification THE first costs to be reduced, being theirself costs primarily responsible for margin reduction: that’s how certification bodies, which are meant to protect people’s life or environment, become THE first enemies of corporate interests. No surprise if lots of noticing employees of these companies get enough of ethical problems beyond their low salary, since they don’t want to be involved in a truly illegal business.

As I, the cost reduction, now need to go seduce other #management #Einsteins, I would like to finally remind you a Japanese #manager, who sadly was so smart to not fall in love with me ?? some decades ago. His name was Taichi Ohno, and some #automotive maniacs called #Toyota must thank to Ohno’s greatest invention: the #Lean Production System. As Japan lost WW2, Toyota was part of a nationwide heavy #industry, which struggled to restart production and gain competitiveness back. When Ohno led Toyota across 1950’s and 1960’s, he realized how difficult would have been for the company to compete with big US car manufacturers, especially if Toyota urged to reconvert its #manufacturing lines. Though #quality #professionals may be more skilled to introduce Ohno’s work, they would surely agree with me, the cost reduction, that Toyota’s built its rebirth on respect for employees and efficient supplier management, which became known as #Lean #Production #System.

Though the need to restart world’s economy after WW2 greatly pushed Toyota’s rebirth, Lean Manufacturing enhanced quality of Toyota’s cars and reduced costs in a more intelligent way than a wild fear to invest on people and resources, so that day, when employee will remain in a company and suppliers won’t choose other costumers because examples like Ohno’s will be recognized as a #valuable business model, I, the cost reduction, will pack up and leave, meaby driving an old Toyota, because that day I will be out of time!