Letters To The Editor For June 2006

May 30, 2006
Alarmist reports, missing values and shoes.

Scaring Our Readers?

Re "Gentle Persuasion," April 2006, an article about greenhouse gases and global warming, reminds me of the global cooling article in Newsweek (April 28, 1975) entitled "The Cooling World," which claimed, "the present decline [in temps] has taken the planet about a sixth of the way to the ice age average." Maybe today's journalists aren't old enough to remember top "news scares" from 30 years ago, but you can be sure that many of your readers do.

In light of conflicting stories regarding global climatic conditions, Jayson Blair's ponied up stories in the New York Times, Rathergate and myriad other "creative news" stories, how in the world can anyone believe anything from today's journalists? Thankfully, President Bush isn't swayed by their scare tactics.

Tom Russell, vice president
Rock Ridge Equipment
Hassan Valley, Minn.

Lack Of Values Laughable

Re "Quality Takes A Beating," March 2006. I had to laugh when reading your article in the March edition of IndustryWeek. If you dug a little deeper into all those supplier problems noted by your OEMs, I'm betting you find that most of those OEMs had a long-term, high-quality, ultra-reliable supplier who didn't get the business on those parts because some untested supplier underbid them by a few cents. The problem is summed up perfectly by Mr. Trahan's comment,"We weren't providing sufficient quality supervision for this supplier." If you had a qualified, capable supplier, you wouldn't have to supervise his quality-he could do it himself.

The problem is not that quality is slipping; it is that no one cares about value anymore. Companies have taught their staff to vigorously pursue the short-term gain of lower price rather than the long-term benefits and ultimately lower cost of value.

Douglas W. Breon, sales and marketing manager
Gold Shield of Indiana Inc.

R-e-s-p-e-c-t

Re "Brandt On Leadership -- Business Travel Tips For Bozos," March 2006, I agree completely, but I have one question: Why is it necessary for some to remove their shoes as soon as they sit down on the plane? Especially if they're sockless! I don't relish the potential of nasty foot odor or the sight of ugly feet. Come on people, have some respect for those around you!

Iain Procter, director of global quality
Trico Products Corp.
Brownsville, Texas

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