"If we reduce the number of employees for better short-term financial results, employee morale will decrease," he said. "I sincerely doubt employees who fear that they may be laid off will be able to develop software titles that could impress people around the world."
https://www.polygon.com/platform/amp/2013/7/5/4496512/why-nintendos-satoru-iwata-refuses-to-lay-off-staff
MBAs are trained to squeeze money with short term solutions, with no concern of long term consequences, or impact on human lives.
Engineers are trained to find the best solution within the constrains of the problem and the budget, with concerns on impact in human lives and long term consequences.
Remember the Pinto? Ford's cost-benefit analysis showed it was cheaper to endure lawsuits and settlements than to remedy the Pinto design, no matter the lost human lives, or the long term consequences for the company with Americans losing their faith in Ford business's ethics.
MBAs are needed in a large enterprise, but they are overrated, like CEOs. There is no need to be an MBA just to manage a team. Engineers are needed too, but they are sidelined. Which is understandable, since MBAs are all about inflating their "achievements", while Engineers tend to be more introvert and not many people understand their achievements.
@ikv - interesting statement as I have an MBA and my BA is in psychology. That is very myopic thinking in ur part.
FWIW my MBA at Ford never did a damn thing for me and I was in my own dime.
@ikv MBA's are WAAAAAY overrated. I have dealt with numerous LL's who have impeccable academic credentials, but make the worst technical decisions you could imagine. If you have an MBA and dont have an engineering or IT background, you part of the problem.
Ford loves MBA degrees, the problem with these people is that they are too stupid to understand basic human nature.
That's actually the right move, if you know the company is healthy (no deadwoods). Keeping the right number of employees, will allow some flexibility during more demand (OT or temp position to help during those times), but when the demand is lower, the company itself should be the flexible one, and keep the talent.
What a contrast with FMC! The company is rotten, starting on the top. We push the talent out, because talent is expensive, and then hire 3 times more people, cheaper, but ignorant. The end result is a bloated company, with many deadwoods in made up positions, and barebones, overloaded, in key areas.
All those MBAs at Ford are missing the greatest truth: get the company fundamentals right, and the stock will follow. We should be striving to build good quality vehicles at a decent price, instead of chasing the latest fad trying to get the stock up.