Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein Case Study 1: Here’s a great example of what happens when decision makers don’t look to the future, don’t think about the environment, and as a result …..
| Australian Broadcasting Corporation Broadcast: 25/07/2006New Commodore do or die for the industry(Excerpts from http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2006/s1696794.htm )Reporter: Ben Knight |
| KERRY O'BRIEN: It's been seven years and more than $1 billion in the making. But when the first new generation Commodore in nearly a decade goes on sale next month, its success, or failure, could determine the future not only of the Holden Motor Company, but the entire Australian car industry….. IAN PORTER: So far this year, large car sales have fallen 20 per cent compared to last year, and the Commodore, in fact, is down 26 per cent.. BEN KNIGHT: But the car market overall is booming. Unfortunately so is the cost of petrol……. IAN PORTER: It looks very badly timed, but ...... planning for the Commodore was started in 1999 and they locked in the design in 2003……here is poor Holden having to push on with this car, which is, you know, going to be slightly heavier and slightly bigger. BEN KNIGHT: CSIRO scientist David Lamb sees the irony in Holden's current predicament. While this new Commodore was still on the drawing board, he was helping Holden build a working hybrid electric version of its flagship car, a concept vehicle called the ECOmmodore. DAVID LAMB: It worked beautifully. We were so proud of it.BEN KNIGHT: David Lamb concedes this current Commodore could have been a hybrid….. |
So there you go, faced with a once in a decade choice, Holden could have spent $1billion dollars on an “ECOmmodore” in 1999, and right now be enjoying huge market advantage and lots of brownie points for saving greenhouse gasses. Instead, they spent $1billion building a big thirsty car, putting hundreds of jobs at risk, damaged the Commodore brand that we know and love, and handed the market to Toyota and Honda. Here’s another example, this one’s about a pulp mill. Once upon a time there was a pulp mill in BC, Canada. It had all the latest technology when it was built, only 15 years ago. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as promised, and huge tax-payer dollars were pumped into the pulp mill trying to keep it going, and its staff in a job. It got more and more out of date, and the government got sick of propping it up. Then it filed for bankruptcy Right across the road, there was a community-owned sawmill. It was employing over 50 contractors to going into the forest and fell the right logs to be milled for the highest price. It employed lots of people, made lots of money, and harvested the forests in a reasonably sustainable manner Now, the closure of the pulp mill could drag the sawmill down with it…… Click here for the full story (link to http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/story.html?id=e9130786-7f88-4bf5-aa3e-3aa0f2a89759) If you’d like to submit your own example, email the editor (email goes to editor@paddlewithsim.com)