Fortune, July 1, 2015 (I)

choi

(1) Brian Dumaine, Closing a Factory Gap, Thanks to Fracking. (under the heading “Energy Math”)
http://fortune.com/2015/06/26/fracking-manufacturing-costs/
("BCG, the Boston consultancy, estimates the average cost to manufacture goods in the US is now only 5% higher than in China * * * Even more striking: BCG projects that by 2018 it will be 2% to 3% cheaper to make stuff here than in China. * * * perhaps the single largest factor is that fracking has helped dramatically drive down the price of oil and gas that’s being used in energy intensive industries such as steel, aluminum, paper and petrochemicals. BCG calculates that US industrial electricity prices are now 30% to 50% lower than those of other major exporters")

Note: The print version is more concise.

(2) Erika Fry, ‘Big Ag’ Is Laid Low by a Virus.
http://fortune.com/2015/06/25/bird-flu-outbreak-farms/

Quote:

"The egg industry’s huge 'layer operations'—the sort that house millions of birds in one place—are designed to protect birds from contamination, says Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota at the University of Minnesota. The animals’ environment is tightly controlled, and workers who enter the henhouse follow special hygiene protocols; often, they must shower in and out, change clothes and wear special boots. But when a virus pierces such defenses, or when defenses lapse, having all of one’s eggs in one basket (so to speak) can make the impact more devastating.

"That industry standards failed to keep H5N2 out of hen houses this year is puzzling and unsettling to observers, and a matter of active inquiry. * * * Like previous avian strains, H5N2 arrived in the U.S. in the droppings of migratory birds * * * But it [this time the virus] seems to have spread among farms in the Midwest in novel, unforeseen ways. The role of wind and even ventilation systems—transmission routes that current biosecurity strategies don’t address—are now the subject of intense study and anxiety.

My comment: There is no need to read the rest.

choi

(3) Dinah Eng, Bring Change tin Car Research. (Under the heading “How I got started”)
http://fortune.com/2015/06/29/jd-power-auto-market-research/

Quote:

"Detroit carmakers in the 1970s weren’t interested in independent reports about their shortcomings. But Japanese rivals, he [J D Power] says, were 'fanatical' about understanding the American consumer and signed up for his surveys on quality. That established his foothold.

"Our biggest challenge was cash flow. When there was no contract work, we’d sell subscriptions to a report. As we grew, the cash flew out, and when the car companies were in trouble, they’d be slow to pay. It took us 15 to 20 years to really get stable. * * * By the early ’90s, every car manufacturer had to subscribe to us. It had taken decades to win people over. * * * We sold to McGraw Hill in 2005

“My advice — Be accessible to your employees. I would walk around at 5 p.m. to see who was still working after quitting time. I’d ask everyone, ‘What are you working on? Any difficulties? Any suggestions?’

Note:
(a) "in 1961, I took a job with Marplan, the research arm of McCann Erickson * * * [Years later] I hired some former Marplan colleagues.
(i) McCann Erickson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCann_Erickson
(For history, view the table for "Founded")
(ii) McCann and McCain are both Irish surnames, with different etymology and meaning.

(b) "I was introduced to Tatsuro Toyoda, the son of the company founder."

In 1937, Kiichirō TOYODA 豊田 喜一郎 established as an independent company what is now Toyota Motor Corp, out of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works 株式会社 豊田自動織機 (still making and selling textile machinery; IS "the world's largest manufacturer of forklift trucks measured by revenues" according to Wikipedia). Besides two daughters, 喜一郎 had two sons: 長男 豊田 章一郎 Shōichirō and 二男 豊田 達郎 Tatsurō (who was elevated to Toyota president 社長 right after his elder brother stepped down.