Image by World Economic Forum via FlickrALCOA CEO Klaus Kleinfeld explains to CNN's Fareed Zakaria how he's made his company lean -watch:
Post your comments here on the blog. Look forward to the discussion.
Professor David Wyld
Southeastern Louisiana University
94 comments:
Doing more with less should always be on manager's minds. Sometimes letting go people will help a company do more with less. Other times its technology. Any way a company can have an advantage to make more money, they will do it in my opinion.
All of us have to trim the fat, and nothing make that easier than when we are going through hard times " like a double dip recession" right ?? Doing more with less. Yes hard times can actually be a help to society and devastating at the same time.
Doing more with less can be both good and bad. It might be profitable for the company if a high level of productivity is taking place with less workers; though it could hurt the economy with more and more job positions becoming scarce.
I believe doing more with less can be beneficial. It is definitely necessary during a recession or when a company is first starting out. I have had jobs where we had people that pretty much did nothing and still got paid so this would be a cost managers would want to monitor regardless of economic conditions. If staff members are being paid and they aren't benefiting the company then they shouldn't be there.
Doing more with less is essential in this economy. Where I am employed there has been several people who have left but no one has ever been replaced, however productivity is expected to stay the same or higher. I guess those of us that currently have jobs are fortunate. With companies striving to be “more lean”, I foresee people having a hard time finding employment in the future.
I think everyone has had to learn to be more efficient and function on less. As the economy suffers, we all suffer. Although it is unfortunate that individuals have lost their jobs, it is understandable that companies have had to downsize under the strain. We have all had to downsize in one way or another.
I agree with the previous comments because if a manager can have few people that are going to get the job done but it might take long then that manager should just go with it until he can find someone willing to do the job right.
From a managerial point of view, this is a very smart move. Cutting back costs while maximizing productivity is the goal of any manager and running a lean company is an ideal situation.
This is awesome as far as a managerial and business perspective goes, but from a worker, this is a horrible action to be taken. Workers never look nicely upon outsourcing and layoffs are never positively looked upon either. Less jobs for US citizens hurts the economy while bettering the company's profits/productivity.
Doing more with less is a risk to be taken. It helps certain areas of a company while it may be hurting other areas other the company at the same time, but it is in the best interest of the company as a whole for which these risky decisions should be made.
This is a very huge risk. But if you generate gain after the long run than in a way that is good. But you have to make sure that is is what will happen. if only certain people can do a certain job then the company cant grow but most CEO's are training workers to perform numerous task which can increase profits and the workers wont say NO because they need there income...smh
Doing more with less is a great concept that all everyone should consider. If you are able to do well with not that many resources, this shows people that you are able to be efficient with the things that you already have. This also shows your creativity and also saves money while trying to earn more.
Workers in a company may not agree with this as much as the executives would. It gets the management and he company farther ahead while possibly making the work for the employees more difficult.
Doing more with less stresses the employees out but makes the company more profitable.The employees are expected to get certain task done with a limited amount of resources which causes them to stress. Knowing that the economy is bad right now that is a risk that companies have to take.This may cause employess to take on more job than their original job. Or even cause them to quit because they cant take the pressure.
I'm sure alot of companies can relate when it comes to having to slim down their company. It is sad that they had to lay off and have people out of work, but it is nice that they have adapted to increase productivity with less workers. Hopefully when the economy gets better they can hire back some of the workers and increase productivity even more.
Just a wakeup call to non-mangers as to just how competitive the job market is in today’s economy. Companies are finding enterprise recourses, innovative technology, and outsourcing to accomplish lean productivity and increase profitability. Hence the importance of acquiring the necessary experience, knowledge, and continuing education to remain marketable in the job market today.
How to do more with less should be a question that is asked everyday of every task regardless of wether or not we are in lean economic times or in a boom.
Doing more with less can be a competitive advantage for your company. With showing other people that it doesn't take that much for you to get the work done is a great thing.
I think doing more with less is a huge advantage for the company. Being able to cut back and make adjustments that can potentially increase profit for a company is imperative to success.
Doing more with less shows that you can get the job done no matter how the economy is right now. This is a huge advantage for companies that can do more with less, because it lets people know that even though they have fewer people, they can still get the job done. This can even make the company seem even more successful than it ever was before. It makes people know that the company will work hard towards its goals no matter what obstacle comes in the way.
I think this is a topic that everyone should heed. This economy is unforgiving and more people need to understand that sometimes going without doesn't have to be complete, just take less of something and make the best of it. I think some companies need to realize that they need to cut back on the expenses that are deemed unnecessary and spend them where they are to better guide themselves through this crisis.
Doing more with less can definitely be an advantage to your compnay. It shows that you can get the job done no matter what. Doing more with less can also be very profitable in your company.
I think doing more with less is a good thing for a company. Yea, it unfortunate that you might have to let people go, but it might be a huge advantage for that company. When the company has "more" then they are really going to be able to do great things with that, but starting off with less is probably a smarter move.
Doing more with less is always a good strategy in any situation that you apply it to. Business can gain from this because they will make more money and do less work.
There are not many people in this world who would not want more for less. Everybody wants more for less, and sometime the idea just isn't obtainable. More for less can help many people when they are struggling.
More for less is sometimes not always a good time. Many times managers will try and stretch out resources which could mean less quality products or they could overwork workers which means less productivity in the long run.
More for less is a good strategy when trying to keep a company cost effective. Uneccesary waste is never good and will hurt a companies profit margins. Managers must always strive to find a balance between more and less.
More for less is something that many businesses have realized since the recession. My family business has been more profitable and efficient since we have went to fewer employees. Also I work for a contractor in a plant named Marathon. They too have made many cuts and still have been able to have the same productivity. Its bad in someways because people have lost their jobs but it is a money saver for companies.
Even though I hate to agree, "Doing more with less" is true. When I first started the company I presently work for, I was with a room of about ten girls. We were all around the same age, with the same job,in the same department. We didn't complete as much individual work throughout the days because there were so many of us. Now that we only have six girls in my particular department, it almost seems a 10hr work day isn't enough. We are constantly busy and get more accomplished not only individually, but as a team. It gets annoying a lot of times, but we rewarded for all of our hard work daily.
I believe that simplicity is the highest form of sophistication. I would have to agree with everyone else, doing more with less is the way to go. Just because something is complicated doesn't mean that it is better.
Doing more with less is something a lot of businesses are trying to incorporate lately. If you can do the same amount of work with four employees that you can with five, why have the extra work. Since so many businesses are trying the more with less it is making jobs more stressful and finding jobs a lot harder.
I see companies doing more with less a lot today. I work in the restaurant business and that is their main focus. It may have it's upsides, but it also has a lot of downsides. When you try to do more with less your quality may decrease, which will take awway from the amount of people that will buy your product. You may also see a large amount of dissatisfaction in the workplace due to people having to more work for the same amount of money. This can place great strain on your workers and sometimes cause them to leave the business.
If making his company more "lean" is making him more profitable than I agree. If I was in charge of a company and my livelihood depended on the success of said company, I would do everything in my power to make it as successful as possible. Yes, it sucks for all the employees that lost their jobs, but that is the way of life, sometimes you have to let people go to make your company as profitable as it can be.
I understand his point of view in the current economy it's important to "do more with less". From this excerpt it appears the coming was doing horribly and the manager was forced to make tough decisions. Also, he will rehire but will not lose the "productivity" he's gained by using a smaller workforce; I think this is extremely important considering the situation he has rebound from.
Letting people go has to be one of the hardest parts of being a manager. Desperate times call for desperate measures. In business and society in general only the strong survive. So, he kept his best workers and watched production increase. Had to be done.
Doing more with less is doesn’t mean let employees go are cut back on hours. Doing more with less is stop cutting hours and saying they don’t have the hours to give but they are still hiring new people everyday. Don’t hire any new people just give the ones you have the extra work and that’s when the managers are to step in and get their hands dirty and pickup the slack. There are ways of doing more with less.
Doing more with less is good and bad at the same time. I worked at St. Tammany Parish Hospital in the enviromental services department on the night shift and they were doing so much more with so much less that it put a big strain on all of the employees, the department was cutting people and not hiring if anyone would quit. It is a big hospital and it is impossible for 4 people to clean all the departments with in the hospital like cardiology, and recovery, plus strip and wax floors and maintain the floors. i think there has to be a balance with doing more with less because it can actually reduce productivity because of strained employees and the company would lose its good employees.
11. The very essence of businesses is to make money without having to spend money. People managing companies have to find the best way to cut costs. If that is by letting people go, that is just what they must do. This will only show workers to take their jobs seriously., because they know that only the best workers can be kept and the ones who do not work hard will be forced to leave. I think this helps the company to keep a stronger work force and stay cost efficient.
11. The very essence of businesses is to make money without having to spend money. People managing companies have to find the best way to cut costs. If that is by letting people go, that is just what they must do. This will only show workers to take their jobs seriously., because they know that only the best workers can be kept and the ones who do not work hard will be forced to leave. I think this helps the company to keep a stronger work force and stay cost efficient.
Doing more with less is a great way to do things in this economy. The economy is rough and people are being laid off left and right. Working harder at work and putting in more time and effort into work will see who wants to work and who is willing to work their hardest for you. So doing more with less in the workplace is a great idea in a struggling economy.
Doing more with less should always be the primary goal of any management team because it will maximze profit by minimizing overhead. It may not be in the employees best interest due to the fact that the workload will increase. Managers benefit because they will ultimately make money by not paying more for employment.
All managers should try doing more with less. Employees have to become more productive and companies don't have to pay as many employees or pay for their benefits. Unfortunately, it is not as good for the workers.
With today's struggling economy "doing more for less" has become a common practice for most businesses across the country. Unfortunately as businesses are forced to down-size for their survival, many individuals have lost there jobs. Although it is necessary for businesses to cut back (doing more for less), it is also extremely important that a strategy is put in place so that cut backs made are for the best interest of the company.
In this tough economy, everyone should be trying to do more with less. I think being lean is something business should always practice. The employees will probably complain but efficiency is the way to make the most profit!
Doing more with less is risky. It could mean saving a lot of money or it could mean lower quality and productivity. With a smaller workforce, employees could become overworked and resentful. In the long run, doing more with less could be detrimental to the bottom line.
Klaus Kleinfeld has accomplished what every great business strives for, great amount of productivity within his company. All companies want to produce as much as possible with as few as possible employee because in the end it increases the revenue for the company. In this case this may decrease the revenue but its decreases the expenses by even more. With the economy the way it is going scaling down your company or making it "lean" is the only way to survive these difficult times in the world.
I believe that doing more with less can be a good thing and a bad thing. It is good because the company will be saving money by having fewer workers. Another way it is good because if an employee is doing more with less help and they are doing a good job at it, which is only developing that person. Maybe in the future that person can go up for a promotion. It is bad because that is causing fewer jobs for the economy.
Doing more with less is something that all companies that became accustomed to. Businesses are trying to accomplish this by not decreasing their normal production activity. Because of the economy many budgets have been cut back. I'm sure once the economy betters jobs, along with production activities will increase tremendously.
I would like to talk to his current employees to see if working with less is so beneficial. All businesses needs to cut back but I would like to see how much of HIS salary was part of the budget cut.
In theory, going lean sounds great and all, but how many of us actually want to do it? None - Well that is until we hit hard economic times like those of this recent ongoing recession, when it becomes absolutely necessary. The problem is that we should be implementing this practice all along so when we do hit times of economic difficulty, we don't have to downsize and that companies have more than enough cushion room to support it's employees.
Doing more with less can really be an advantage to your company. By doing this, you can show that your company is able to do get the job done no matter what. This shows that you are using the resources that you have to get the job done. Doing more with less can also be very profitable to the company.
Doing more with less is very smart, but at the same time more complicated. With not using as many resources, it makes the job harder. Although, it will pay off for everyone in the longrun.It's a matter if which route you want to take.
company will always do what is best for the company even if that means making you retire or quite your job.sometimes its best to let certain people go to make more money and better there business. it all just matters what is best thing for them at that certain moment and time.
It’s times like we are having now that is teaching managers how to be more efficient with skilled workers, technology, time, etc. Companies should have been trying to be lean all along. They need to keep making a certain amount of profitability to be able to succeed so that they can keep workers employed and expanding with a surplus every time there are economic changes that are unexpected. In this way, they are, in a sense, giving back to the communities in which they are doing business.
Using technology efficiently enables people to do more with less. Knowing how to use technology the right way makes people work more effectively and able to produce more even if they don’t have very much.
I don't think that less is more is ALWAYS a good thing. Too many times, the bottom line is all that's taken into consideration and that employees and customers are sacrificed in the sake of doing more with less. You have to make sure to walk that line very carefully.
The approach Klaus Kleinfeld considers using makes the strategy seem almost like a gamble although he stated some employees will be rehired. While trying to maintain a successful company without a full staff might push for more production and less quality. He should be careful with doing more with less if the company plans to remain balanced in the business aspects of the matter.
I’d imagine that most businesses tend to get bloated as they grow, which is fine at first when things are going well. When financial problems start to arise, extra fat not only creates unnecessary costs, but can slow productivity by creating redundancies. Like they mention in the video, outsourcing can dramatically reduce costs as well.
I feel that if a company can do the same level of work with less then they can and should do so. Much more often than not though companies cut corners and products are hurt by this. If a company has to cut numbers then they need their product not to be hurt by the cuts. Product numbers and quality should never be sacrificed over the number of workers.
I think that if a company can do more with less, then they can do EVEN MORE with more! I can understand laying people off when profits are low, but once you figure out a way to be profitable with less people, you should definitely hire those people back and make profits even higher.
The interview is a great example of how lots of people are living. A lot of people had to make transitions to make more with less. With the economy how it is families are having to sacrifice a lot more and use what they have more efficiently. This applies to many business that we know today too. If people and businesses do not adopt this, they will soon meet the effects of losing money and valuable resources. All in all, use what you have and learn to use if most efficiently.
The mind set of doing more with less is without a doubt the smart way of running a business. It may be difficult to figure out at first but once achieved it will show that it can be done. People tend to give up once they seem that it is impossible to get the job done without a large amount of resources. Having less could possibly bring in more profit for the business. Once more profit comes in and the business seems to be more stable then a manager could possibly think about either bringing in more employers or even expanding their business in other ways.
The goal of a manager of any company is to stay lean, cut costs, and be profitable, but there is a point that any successful company can reach where societal responsibility is just as important as your responsibility is to your company. I believe they can learn from what they have gained from this process but I also still believe they have a responsibility to the public to hire back as many jobs as it is resonable to do so.
It's always important for managers to try to keep costs low and profits high, but I do think you have to be very careful not to make it extreme. For example, at my job we have to make sure we keep payroll down, but sometimes if we don't have enough people working it can actually hurt us. If everyone is too busy to answer the phones, then that is a potential new client that's not going to come in.
I agree with Shawn. I understand that company's need to cut cost, but when those cost means less jobs then it's not so good end the long run.
Definitely think that it is important for a manager to do more with less. You must look out for the company, in any way possible. It is a goal to keep cost low and revenue high.
in today society it is a must for anyone to learn how to do more with less. it seem that every time we turn a corner we are in a recession. it may also save money in some cases.
This seems to be a trend that i keep hearing about. The lean companies who do more with less employees are making more money than bulky companies that used to make tons of money. In today's technology driven world the key is efficiency, who can do more with less and I feel that in the future it will remain a big part of successful business strategy.
These days people do have to earn to do more with less. Not only in the workplace but also at home. Companies and homes are in the same boat right now with the economy being so bad. Families are having to learn to make more food with less just as companies are learning to do more work with less workers. But just image how good it might be once the econeomy picks up and we can still do more with less.
These days people do have to earn to do more with less. Not only in the workplace but also at home. Companies and homes are in the same boat right now with the economy being so bad. Families are having to learn to make more food with less just as companies are learning to do more work with less workers. But just image how good it might be once the econeomy picks up and we can still do more with less.
This video supports the old saying "Make the most out of what you have." With the economy in the state that it's in, people/companys have to be more cautious about how they reach their ultimate goals.
I feel that when there are less voices saying what should be done, more things get accomplished. I've been at mt job when they had to let go more than half of the staff and thank God that I was not one of those to be let go. Leading up to the lessening of staff, people started to slack and not keep up their duties. It helped my boss see who was worth keeping and who was not. He is happy with the people he kept.
Doing more with less, is a very tough thing to accomplish I think. For one it is hard as the employer to have to "trim the fat" and knowing what "fat" to trim and which will be best for the company, but is something that is being done more and more in our economy today. as an employee, although I, thankfully,have not been in a position of weather or not I might be losing my job because of this, I think makes us a better employee, its making us work hard for our jobs and appreciate them more.
I think doing more with less can be hard to accomplish but when it is successfully accomplished it can be very benefical to a company. With less people you have more communication and a smaller close knit team that your working with, and usually everyone know a little about everything not just their specific field so it could really benefit a company. It also comes down to how do you cut back on workers and who do you give the heavy loads to, and how do you make tough decisions like that, and for what cost.
Doing more with less can be both beneficial and cost effective. We have to watch the productivity and quality when doing so. Some may find it hard than others but it is actually a great tool to use.
Companies should continuously be trying to find a way to maximize results per resource. He mentions that a substantial amount of workers were laid off, no doubt due to the depression when many other companies laid off workers, and that the company is now stronger for it. When pushing something to its limits, it can often amaze how much it is actually capable of. The biggest challenge for this is organization of these resources and workers.
I don’t believe in outsourcing. Not only does it take jobs away from people in the host country, but it takes advantage of the people in the area they are outsourcing to. Most of these companies move to countries where child labor is prevalent and where the labor conditions are poor; such as in Taiwan, Singapore, and Vietnam. We should be trying to help these countries improve the working conditions for the people, but instead big companies are using this to their advantage. Also, when a company goes into these countries they harm that countries culture.
I think the key word in the the video is productivity.He said that they have a better productivity then before. So each employee is expected to do more with less while being paid the same as they were before. So wouldn't a small hit in productivity by hiring an extra person so the workload wouldn't be so back on the employee be better then having an overworked employee that hates their job.
Doing more with less is the key to a successful business. Being able to eliminate unncessary employees eliminated unnecessary payroll and makes for a much more productive team. It can be a complicated task to accomplish. You don't want to reduce so many workers that it puts entirely to much stress and workload on others. This may result in a relatively increased turnover ratio. Even though I have never held a job where in this type of work before, I wouldn't think it would be a difficult task to manage. The main thing a manager would have to take into account is not be to greedy and eliminate a ridiculous amount of employees. However I have never worked in such a position and I am sure it is not near as simple as I perceive it to be.
Doing more with less is extremely tough, but it can be done. Sometimes you have to because, for example, we had a big lay off at my work. About half the staff got cut because of the lack of work that was getting done. By cutting the workers, he cut cost, and he also has a better, and harder working staff. He chose that decision, and ultimately I believe that he made the right choice. It was a hard decision, but one that had to be made. This is a prime example of "less is more".
Corporations should be finding ways to do more with less. The way this economy is, that might be the only way to make a profit. Sometimes as a business owner you do not have everything at your will so you have to make do.
Even though he is doing more with less, staying lean, what I heard him say is that he wants to be hiring back employees when the economy is better. His technology has become more efficient and he has learned to restructure his company so that he is making a profit. I believe that if he continues making his profit, he will be able to rehire and continue to grow his business.
I think that given current economic conditions, you have to learn to run a successful business or enterprise with the resources you have at the lowest costs. It's a tough call to say he won't hire people back when profits rise but he found a way of running things at a lesser cost. The economy is changing all the time. Jobs will open up now where there were none before so I don't think its a totally negative thing.
I understand having to do more with less to increase profits, but at the same time there is a line that should not be crossed. There is a difference between normal profit and greed. In this world today I honestly see businesses putting themselves in bad situations mostly focusing on making more and more and never being satisfied with what they have. This is what makes businesses fail, focusing more on money than the workplace itself. I agree he should cut back to save his company, but just not TOO MUCH.
Doing more with less should be the goal of every business . This is how you maximize profits. If businesses would have had this mentality years ago the economy would most likely be in a lot better shape today. Cutting wasted costs, operating more efficiently, all sounds like common sense but the only thing common about it is that most businesses operated in the complete opposite way pre recession.
Our government could certainly learn from this. Downsizing, I think also makes people value their jobs more and hopefully influence better performance. Maybe this would make our government work more efficiently.
There are two completely different worlds when it comes to employees vs executives point of view. I think doing more with less is always a good system, however laying off ten employees typically equals the pay of one executive and the productivity of the employees is much higher.
With the economy being in a slump right now, we have seen many businesses being innovative in the way they do business. Businesses are becoming conservative with there money and watching where it is being allocated to. Being able to find skilled labor for lower cost, using technology and manufacturing smart are three ways that businesses are adapting.
I agree that to maximize profit, a company should operate as lean as possible. I, also, agree that as the company profits grow that they should hire more people. They need to make sure that they hire the minimum amount of people to get the job done.
I think that in tough times its either do more with less or have to face the decision of not doing at all. Sometimes companies come out better in the long run during times like this when they realize that they can do more with less and dont need to go back to their old ways in the future. The only downfall about this is not adding jobs back to the workforce when the economy picks back.
Restructing is an important part of business! firing ppl and downsizing are the key components of being able to survive. Not everyone can pull a GM and run to the gov and beg for tax dollars... some companies have to be capitalistic lol....
In a capitalistic society, it is the ultimate goal of a company or individual to make the most profit possible. Even though in an event like such it might be sad for so many people to lose their jobs, but the company must do what is necessary survive. As the company begins to flourish, it will be able to hire back more employees and give back to the community.
we were talking about this in one of my classes today. I think after the recession most companies are trying to become lean. The idea is to use less resources but achieve the same profit margins. This mean cheaper labor, part, supplies etc. Now that companies have started making money again, they are keeping the leaner systems in place.
Doing more with less is a risk to be taken. It helps certain areas of a company while it may be hurting other areas other the company at the same time, but it is in the best interest of the company as a whole for which these risky decisions should be made.
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