One part of many auto solutions is to replace top management ....... okay, I agree, but .......

[Stinky The Clown]

..... with whom?

I am strongly in the camp that says these assholes are part of the problem and offer virtually nothing toward a solution. The worst of the lot is Nardelli, who should be made to stand in front of a firing squad when his trial is over ....... or maybe be forced to eat dinner with George Bush each night for the rest of their natural lives.

But 'management' isn't just those three jet set bozos who testified yesterday.

And do we get "car guys"? Or professional managers? Or professional conservators? Or professional bean counters? Or maybe "green guys"?

Who do you think ought to replace Big 3 management?

(Note: "guys" is meant to be gender neutral.)

[FSogol]

1. With Hillary Clinton of course!

:popcorn:

[lapfog_1]

2. Anyone with an IQ over 150

and over the age of 21. Place the names (with permission) in a hat and draw names. Offer a salary of $250K down to $100K and see what happens.

Can't be worse than what they have now. No business degree required (or desired).

[TheCowsCameHome]

4. That's the total Big Three IQ that I saw at the hearings yesterday

[niyad]

8. you are generous. I wouldn't have given them a collective three points

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. You're correct. I added points for their sheer arrogance.

[TheCowsCameHome]

3. The foreign automakers seem to know which end is up.

How about tapping into the resources of a successful management strategy?

Surely some of their top execs/minds could be lured away.

[niyad]

5. pity tucker isn't still around

[This One]

6. Hire the #2 guy at Toyota

[niyad]

7. how about workers' councils?

[Greyhound]

9. What specifically is management? The people that decide the direction of an organization.

Correct so far?

[PVnRT]

10. Start promoting from within, like the old days

The accountants and business majors have their place in today's economy, but people running a manufacturing company should be the line workers and engineers who understand day-to-day operations. It seems that too often anymore, managers are hired from the outside, which is ridiculous.

[TahitiNut]

12. The engineering/operations end of each company has excellent people ...

... who're top-stopped and shunted aside by the bean-counters from finance and accounting. Once upon a time, this was the slightly preferred source of executive management - until the flood of MBAs in the early 80s. Investment banks and insurance companies involve themselves in jerking the companies around (short-term financing, benefits, stock, etc.) and that coerces the companies into getting "chop shop" thinkers.

[Xipe Totec]

13. Outsource them

with the money we save on exec salaries, we could give workers a raise so they can afford to buy cars.

[dkofos]

14. Cut the top three or four levels and promote from within.

[JHB]

15. Form a committee from the engineers and line workers to determine that.

Once they've streamlined the org chart, they also get to vet replacements: new-hires or old ones who're trying to get their jobs back.

Not a perfect solution, but it puts the decisions in the hands of those who will be most affected by them.

[Mike 03]

16. I agree, and your question deserves some careful consideration before I pop off

answers off the top of my head, but I like the idea of a "conservatorship" because that permits a flexibility as we move forward. A conservator can actually appoint mangerial leadership at some point down the road when the corporations are healthy enough to begin serious reorganization.

Thanks for this post. It's reassuring to see some people here are really reflecting on this issue instead of just firing blanks and refusing to compromise or dig deeply on the seriousness of this issue.

Also, I'm not sure we should treat the "Big 3" as one entity. Maybe one or two of them deserve to be saved, and one or two of them don't.

Thanks.

[Stinky The Clown]

18. Actually, I'd like to see a "car guy" with serious marketing skills.

Lee Iacocca is the model here, but retooled (to coin a phrase :) ) for the times.

Someone who can discern what cars people will buy ..... not what they lust after ..... not what they fancy ..... but what they will **want** to buy. In 1964, that was Iacocca's Mustang. In the 80s, that was Iacocca's minivan (after he did the K-car which, while total crap, saved the company).

Iacocca is an old man today. Still sharp ..... but old.

Iacocca 2.0 is out there. He's just currently overshadowed by the MBAs and Bean Counters and ASSHOLE CRIMINALS like Nardelli.

[Mike 03]

20. You could be right! I barely do remember Lee Iacocca. He was an idol as far as

intelligent business minds go.

Like I said, I am not qualified to even contemplate this so I defer to people who have given this issue more consideration.

If that is what it takes, then I toss my support behind your idea.

Maybe there is something condescending about the idea of a "conservatorship." But it just seems like these corporations need A PLAN. They came to Capitol Hill with nothing, no strong selling point.

I love discussions like yours, because they are helping me to figure out what I think about all of this.

[Mike 03]

17. Rec for thoughtfulness, which is in short supply when it comes to this issue. NT

[Stinky The Clown]

19. I JUST thought of the perfect fate for Nardelli ......

....... make him sleep each night with Carly Fiorina.

He gets no Viagara.

She gets no makeup.