Message-ID: <14791eli$9808281651@qz.little-neck.ny.us> X-Archived-At: From: "Bill Morgan" Subject: {Morgan} NEW: Six-month Turnaround, 10/16 M/F Rom lite sex Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d Content-Type: text/plain Path: qz!not-for-mail Organization: The Committee To Thwart Spam Approved: X-Moderator-Contact: Eli the Bearded X-Story-Submission: X-Original-Message-ID: <19980827182646.853.qmail@hotmail.com> Author's note: If you are looking for wall-to-wall sex, look elsewhere. This book is a romance with a business setting. Beyond that, the sex is comparable to - or less than - what one would find in almost any work of popular fiction. Permission is granted to post on any free site, as long as the copyright statement is included. Please advise the author of any such postings. Comments are welcome and encouraged. Please address me at morg105829@aol.com. I hope you enjoy the book. My plan is to post a chapter each weekday; it will take about three weeks for it all to be up. This is chapter 10 of 16. Six-Month Turnaround Copyright 1992, 1998 by Morgan. All rights reserved. Chapter 10 Early the next week, Cliff had a rare staff meeting to review the company's condition subsequent to the Magna cancellation. He was surprised to find that things were as good as they were. The sale of stores had progressed far faster than he had expected. They had concluded the sale of the western stores and a surprising number of buyers - three - were interested in all or parts of their northeastern properties. The search for new business had gone remarkably well. They had made up almost half the lost volume. But Cliff realized their success was highly dependent on the success of the Kaga work. With the hoped-for Kaga volume added to the other new business, they would have made up all of the lost Magna volume. Everyone had his fingers crossed on that one. He turned to Jeff Stover. "How do things look to you, Jeff?" "Very good!" was the reply. "We seem to be cutting raw material waste to the bone. Of course, we're saving big money on personnel due to the staff reduction in production. We hope to cut sales allowances, too. Then we've done a pretty good job on below-the- line costs, as well. We've shed some fairly high-priced executive payroll. Finally, Sandy's cash management program has succeeded far beyond anything I would have believed possible. Between the sale of property and the cash freed up there, we may even be cash ahead. Cliff, the key to this whole thing is the effect it's having on our cost position. When we looked at the business in the planning session we were cost disadvantaged against Ajax and had inferior quality. I think we may now be the low-cost producer. I'm sure we're lower-cost than Ajax, at any rate. Now the question is product quality." "Yeah," Cliff said, "Product quality. Bill, what about it? How are we doing?" "Cliff, we're doing better than I could possibly have hoped. My people have their fingers crossed. We think the statistical system for quality assurance is working, but we can't really tell until the customers use the stuff. But we couldn't have a better attitude on the floor than we do now. What we can't be sure about is whether we can maintain it. There's still a sense of euphoria from the meeting Max ran. The people still seem all charged up. What we're hoping is that as the euphoria wears off - and it has to - it will be replaced by a sense of accomplishment as they see what they really can do on their own, without a battalion of inspectors looking over their shoulders. If a sense of accom plishment comes, that *can* be maintained. Let's hope!" Bill continued, "Cliff, I have a question. You're the one guy around here who doesn't seem to be surprised at our accomplishments. We always worked on a basis of redoubling our inspection efforts and clearly that isn't the way to go: We had the wonderful combination of sky-high costs and lousy delivered quality. Why did you think this approach would work?" "First, Bill - your choice of words is apt: 'You think'. I would have used the word 'hope' myself. However, there are two parts to the answer: First it works elsewhere, and in places requiring less skill than we require. Second, but related to it, is the idea people *want* to do a good job. We spend a lot of our time working. We do a hell of a lot better if we do something we like, something that gives us satisfaction. I'm relying on these people to derive personal satisfaction from a job well done. You can see that having bunches of people looking over your shoulder can be counterproductive. You feel that you aren't being trusted. And you know what? You aren't! It's easy for a person to get the feeling that it doesn't matter whether his work is good or bad. Then it gets bad because he doesn't care anymore. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope the experiment works." Then he turned to Sandy and asked, "Do you want to summarize? How does the position of the company look to you?" "I think it looks about as good as it possibly could under the circumstances. In fact, based on what Jeff says, I'm going to pay down the $25 million we borrowed from the bank. Strangely enough, Charley Adams will love us. There's nothing quite like having a customer paying interest on a loan when the money never even left the bank. From the sound of it we lost revenue but reduced our expenses even more. Is that right, Jeff? Do you think profits may be ahead of where they were?" Jeff nodded and smiled. "That's exactly the way I see it, Sandy. I didn't really say it very clearly because I know what a shock the loss of the Magna business was. And I also know how tenuous our position is with Kaga. But the fact is right now I believe our profits are up. If we lose out on the Kaga order, though, things could change for the worse in a hell of a hurry. Also important is how well we do with our stores in Southern Region. We're spending a lot of money on warehousing, new inventory and store upgrading. Basically, that's marketing spending. As Cliff stressed in the meeting, the reason Market Penetration as a strategy is considered very high risk is the activities have little or no salvage value. If we can't build volume through the stores as a result of improving their physical appearance, the money is essentially down the drain." "Good point, Jeff," Cliff said. "Steve, with your permission and Jane's, I would like to visit Kaga Motors. What's the general manager's name? Saito?" "That's right," Jane responded. "I'm sure he would be very pleased to see you. I'll set it up. When would you like to go?" "When is the first trial order scheduled to be shipped?" "Tomorrow night to arrive at ten o'clock Thursday morning. You're not thinking..." "I sure am thinking," Cliff smiled. "What do you think about the idea of being at their plant to welcome the first shipment of Murphy Manufacturing's parts? Would Mr. Saito allow it?" "I'm almost certain he would," Jane replied. "In fact, I think he would consider it an honor. You know how so many Japanese in the States feel that they aren't really welcome? I think he would be very pleased. Can I call him now?" "Please do! Let's see if we can make this work." Minutes later Jane returned to the room grinning from ear to ear. "Mr. Saito asked me to say that he would be most honored if the president of a major United States auto parts supplier condescended to visit his humble facility. And Cliff, that's more or less a direct quote. He was so excited, he referred to welcoming Fitzpatrick San to his plant. Boss, you started me thinking. Would it be overkill if we tried to get a banner made or something. You know, 'First Shipment of Murphy Manufacturing Company Parts to Kaga Motors, USA'. Something like that?" Bill Stevens jumped on the idea. "I think it's great. And I have an idea I want to bounce off Max Kaufman if you approve the banner idea." Cliff grinned at his colleagues and was delighted at their enthusiasm. Plans went forward, although Bill never told him what he wanted to see Max about. It was about six-thirty in the evening when Cliff and Sandy walked through the plant on their way to his car. Sandy had decided that everyone knew where they were sleeping and no one seemed to care, so her contribution to the economy drive was her gas money. They both felt good about the way the whole facility was starting to look. Not only were the production machines sparkling after their overhaul, but getting rid of dead inventory had freed up a lot of space. They had noticed that a lot more attention was being spent on housekeeping to make the place look like the precision manufacturing facility it was. Then Cliff was surprised to see working lights still on in the area of one of the production machines. They walked over and found Bill Stevens with a machine operator. Bill was looking at a bright set of rings he was holding carefully in his hand. "Cliff, I don't think you've ever met Jim Wozlowski. He's one of our machinists producing rings. He talked to his supervisor, and I'm really glad he did. Jim has been working on the Kaga order. He has the idea that they could get better engine performance if they used a different metallurgical formulation for the ring metal. This is another benefit of your talk, Sandy. Everyone took it to heart, and the communication both ways has never been better. At any rate, Jim has been working on his own time to machine a set of rings to Kaga specs, but using the different metal. Our tech people agree with Jim, by the way. Of course, we don't know nearly enough about the internal arrangement of their pistons, operating temperatures, pressures and so forth. We produce to a specification, but we seldom know how the specification was derived. But what do you think?" Cliff looked at Sandy and winked, then looked back at Bill and Jim. "I think it's great. Jim, you probably know I'm going over to meet the first shipment when it arrives at Kaga. Do you suppose we could get a fancy box - you know, like a jewelry box? - and put a set of rings in it? I would like to present it to Mr. Saito. And Jim, let's enclose a card. I would like you personally to sign it. Sandy, could you help with the wording?" As they continued their walk to the car, he said, "It's working. Damn it! It's working! Let's pray it's good enough." * * * Jane and Cliff drove up to the entrance of Kaga Motors in a rental car at nine-thirty Thursday morning. He didn't know what to expect except he knew they were most welcome. When they arrived at the main entrance to the plant office, they found Mr. Saito and all his senior plant staff waiting outside to greet them. There followed the usual East-meets-West fumbling. Neither group was quite sure whether to bow or shake hands so they ended by doing a bit of both. The one constant was the very rapid dealing of business cards among the people. When they finished Mr. Saito led them up to his office. Cliff had done business in Japan, and it was easier when there were only three of them in Saito's office. He bowed gravely to Mr. Saito and presented him with a box wrapped in gay floral paper. At the same time one of the general manager's senior assistants appeared with two boxes which he placed on his boss's desk. Saito - he informed Cliff his name was Kenichi, so please call him Ken - opened the box and saw the set of beautifully machined rings. Neatly folded on top was the letter Jim Wozlowski and Sandy had prepared. He unfolded it, carefully read it through, and then read it again. Then he carefully studied the rings without touching them. Finally, he presented gifts to Jane and Cliff "as a small remembrance of your visit." After they took seats Saito looked thoughtful and said, "Mr. Fitzpatrick, I am very impressed with this gift. Would it be possible to get eleven more sets for testing? They would be shipped by air to our research center in Japan. As you may know, we work differently with our suppliers than your auto companies do here. We look for commitment. We look for ideas. It never occurred to me that your people could possibly care enough about us to think seriously about our requirements. "I was wrong. Mr. Woz... Wozel... Jim... thought a great deal. He is apologetic that he doesn't know our pressures, temperatures, and so forth. I will make sure you have a full set of our technical data to bring back with you to Milwaukee. This counts for a very great deal with us. Thank you very much, and please thank him." Just then they heard the loud squawk of a diesel truck's air horn. Cliff glanced at his watch, and noticed Saito did, too. They both smiled. It was exactly ten o'clock as the truck with the big red Murphy banner rolled into the yard. Saito smiled and said, "Score another for your company, Mr. Fitzpatrick. It's clear you understand the way we work. Ten o'clock is ten: not eleven, but not nine-thirty, either." "Ken, I would appreciate it if you would call me Cliff. Everyone does. Now shall we go and inspect the shipment?" It was obvious to Jane and Cliff that things were going as well as they possibly could for them at Kaga. Clearly, the things the Murphy people had done were being received in the spirit intended. When they reached the truck, Cliff was amazed to see Max Kaufman standing with the driver. He presented him to Saito. "Mr. Saito, it's my pleasure to introduce you to Mr. Max Kaufman. Mr. Kaufman is president of the union at Murphy Manufacturing. Frankly, I have no idea what brings him over today. Max, this is Mr. Kenichi Saito, general manager of the Kaga Motors plant." Cliff and Jane watched in amazement as Max made a deep bow to Mr. Saito who gravely returned it. Max then took a large scroll and presented it to Saito who untied the ribbon securing it and unrolled it. Cliff was in a position to see it over Saito's shoulder. It was a handsomely prepared scroll that said the workers at Murphy Manufacturing believed they were as dedicated to quality as they knew the people at Kaga were. Accordingly, each of the production workers involved in the trial order from Kaga had signed below, indicating his personal dedication to producing the quality he knew Kaga expected and needed. Meanwhile, the truck had backed up to the receiving dock and the unloading had begun. Cliff saw quality control inspectors selecting random boxes to be opened for checking. This was the moment of truth. Ken asked Max to join them and asked if he could give them a tour of the plant, an invitation they gladly accepted. First, Cliff was interested, and second, it beat sitting and chewing his nails while waiting for the inspection report. The facility was as clean, neat and organized as Cliff had expected it would be. Finally, they went back to Saito's office. There was a piece of paper in the center of his desk: the verdict. Saito studied it carefully. "The shipment meets our specifications. Thank you very much." He then reviewed the report with Cliff and Max. It met spec... but just. They talked about ways to improve, and Cliff was pleased to see Max was taking very careful notes. Afterward, they went to the cafeteria to eat. As at Murphy, everyone in the facility ate in the same place. They returned to Ken's office and prepared to leave. Then Saito asked if Murphy had a fax machine, and Cliff said they did and gave him its number. He said it was the preferred method of communication in his company. Finally he said, "Thank you, Cliff, and you, Max, for coming over. It is premature, perhaps, but not by much, for me to tell you that I sent a fax to Japan recommending that Murphy Manufacturing be accepted as a regular supplier. Jim's rings are now on their way by air to Japan. I will file a full report with my headquarters. I will tell you, though, they will be very impressed. The new metallurgy, whether it works or not, counts for a great deal. It demonstrates you are very interested in us. I gather, Cliff, you did not know Max was coming or that the workers prepared the lovely scroll for us. That, too, says something very important to me and to Kaga Motors. It says that your people care about us as customers. It says they care deeply about Murphy, as well. It is a tribute to you and your management. "Finally, may I congratulate you on being represented by Miss Miller? She has done the best job of any sales person calling on us in terms of taking the time to understand our requirements and the reasons for them, and, in turn communicating these requirements in Milwaukee. We hope she will continue to call on us. Thank you so much for coming. May I visit you, someday, in Milwaukee?" Cliff assured him he would be welcome at any time, and they went back to the car. When they were driving toward the airport, he was the first to speak. "Are you taking the plane? If the wind weren't in the wrong direction, the way I feel I could just float back to Milwaukee. Jane and Max, you've just saved the company. That's all I can say." Jane smiled at them both. "Max, do me a favor? Give me a big whack on the back to start me breathing again? Cliff, that has to go down as the best day of my business career, bar none, and at the same time, the most nerve wracking. I feel like laughing and crying at the same time... and if either of you even *thinks* 'emotional woman,' I'll kick you in the shins!" "I know just how you both feel," Max said. "You know, what came to my mind was when my wife had our first child. It was great when it happened, but it was agonizing right before! I want to say something else: Cliff, I was right about you... more right than I knew. You came into Murphy and did all the right things from the very beginning. Even some things, like chopping the product line, that scared hell out of me. The boys and me... Well, we know about your contract. We know it has performance requirements in it, although we don't know what they are. Frankly, we don't give a shit. I also know you and Sandy have been coming and going in the same car, and I don't think it's a car pool. We do care about that. We love it! With you two together, we really feel good about Murphy. Damn, it feels good to win one once in a while!" "Max," Cliff said, "Let's drink to that! I'm buying when we get to the airport." -- +----------------' Story submission `-+-' Moderator contact `--------------+ | | | | Archive site +----------------------+--------------------+ Newsgroup FAQ | ----