The plight of American industry today

Ø 1) Read the text and decide whether these questions are covered in it:

a) the reason for American industry to be second to the Japanese one,

b) the branches of American industry that are especially sick,

c) if there’s a way for American agriculture to regain its once prosperous position,

d) who is to blame in not taking into account a new economic age,

e) what country will lead in the world’s industrial development,

f) if there is any way out from this dangerous situation for American industry,

g) key questions to realize that the USA is in deep crisis.

In retrospect, that Creamian chief was quite a clever guy. He realized that he was entering a new era and that he had to adapt to it by learning new ways. He knew that he had to change his philosophy and his overall way of thinking about people and how they should work.

It’s a tragic fact of American life today that American management has not been as clever as that of the old Creamian chief. Many leaders of U.S. industry have not had the foresight to recognize that they have entered a new economic age and that a different philosophy and corporate culture are needed.

The story of the Creamians and Apajeens dramatizes the plight of a people whose natural resources are abundant. They prospered, almost in spite of themselves, without ever learning how to work together and achieve common goals. This was contrasted with a group of people who, with no natural resources, were able to work together to produce and achieve common goals and eventually surpass the group with all the resources.

This scenario is all too familiar to us. American industry, once the most productive in the world, has now taken a back seat to Japanese industry and cannot produce quality goods and compete in the marketplace. Why? American management is adrift at sea without a rudder or a sail. It doesn’t know how to get back on course. It may not even realize that it is off course. U.S. industry doesn’t know how to regain its competitive position. What’s the solution? American management must realize that we are all in a new economic age, one dominated by the production of quality goods and services at a low price rather than mass production of lower-quality products. If American managers are to steer their corporate ships, they need to transform their style of management. In this new economic age, the old management rules no longer apply. It is time for corporate America to swallow some hard medicine. It must recognize that it is sick and must seek treatment or perhaps become terminally ill and die, while other countries grow stronger and prosper.

Examples of the problems of American industry bombard us daily. We read about Japanese competition destroying the U.S. car industry, labor-management problems creating strikes, bankruptcies in the airline industry, massive lay-offs, and the concern over the quality of American goods. But more important, we accept poor quality as a way of life. We work in companies, service organizations, and governments that we know are not producing quality goods and services. This creates stress for us as managers and as workers because we know we could be doing better. This stress leads to problems on the job and personal problems such as drug and alcohol abuse or family strife. In other words, the effect of poor management is creeping into our lives and is pervasive in our culture.

Ø 2) Read the text and correct the given outline of it:

a) the state of American industry nowadays,

b) the Creamian chief,

c) the reason for the problems in American industry,

d) American management failed to recognize a new economic age,

e) the solution for getting out of the crisis,

f) the stories of two societies: one with abundance of everything, the other with no natural recourses.