I remember when I was a young man I went into business with a friend to clean yards. (Evergreen Gardening) It was hard work because we really cleaned the yard up so it would be easy to be maintained. We took pride in our work and we knew that if we did a great job we could do more jobs and spend less time doing it. I work now in a manufacturing environment and I saw a team of production workers have their pride taken away from them just for the sake of production. They were complaining about the quality of the product and that they were not up to standard, yet they were told to just do the job and keep the line running. How does quality stack up to quantity? Does quality outweigh quantity in the long run or does quantity out rank quality?
Sometimes I wonder about the shops in China that produce tons of stuff. Do their employees have pride in what they do, or is it just about the numbers? The question is, as people in general couldn’t we all just take pride in our work and what we do? I know if the goal is to produce the cheapest thing there is, I would want to take pride in the fact that I could produce the cheapest thing. So how does this pride thing work? Is it pride in the quantity that can be produced, or is it in the quality of what is produced? Is it apples or oranges? Can’t it be both quality and quantity? I am sure it can be because people who have a stake in the product (their pride) will do the extra to always have the best, not just the most. The real goal should be to keep pride in the work place and our homes. Teach it to the next generation, as the great generation taught us.
Sometimes I wonder about the shops in China that produce tons of stuff. Do their employees have pride in what they do, or is it just about the numbers? The question is, as people in general couldn’t we all just take pride in our work and what we do? I know if the goal is to produce the cheapest thing there is, I would want to take pride in the fact that I could produce the cheapest thing. So how does this pride thing work? Is it pride in the quantity that can be produced, or is it in the quality of what is produced? Is it apples or oranges? Can’t it be both quality and quantity? I am sure it can be because people who have a stake in the product (their pride) will do the extra to always have the best, not just the most. The real goal should be to keep pride in the work place and our homes. Teach it to the next generation, as the great generation taught us.
1 comment:
Complaining is too easy, and difficult to hear without an accompanying positive suggestion to remedy the matter at hand. It doesn’t take a team to complain.
Pride is a word that means too many things to be understood universally. The churchgoer considers pride a sin; the teenager must swallow his pride to learn from parents and teachers. The opposite of pride in that situation is humility. Pride in your own or your team’s achievements is a feeling to be sought after if it is truly based in the reality of good works. Pride can be misguided and can lead to self-deception or lack of focus on realities in the market place. There is a Hebrew proverb; Pride goes before the fall.
Quality vs. Quantity is like the chicken or the egg argument; today it is almost meaningless because we make purchase decisions based on brand.
Brand Example: Apple’s computer operating system is OSX and is considered good but not well known. Microsoft’s recent operating system is called Vista and considered bad but well known. Vista hasn’t hurt the Microsoft brand and hasn’t really helped the Apple brand. Apple has gained a little market share (2 percent US, Worldwide 0) mostly thanks to the Intel chip set that allows the computer to run OSX and Microsoft’s Vista. Apple is never going to be bigger than Microsoft when it comes to computer operating systems no matter how great the advertising.
I don’t remember the quality of products being better in the past than they are now. Roller skates with metal wheels, toy trucks with sharp edges and play guns made of steel and wood that actually shot dirt and rocks when you pumped the handle. More fun, yes; not better quality.
The essential American Character that must be passed on is the pride of being American. Our country feeds the world and when our free market system is copied and used in countries, like China for example, the life of people improve. It works everywhere it is tried, even Utah.
Remember if you don’t like your job, it’s five o’clock somewhere!
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