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wedgewood woes - good show!

updated thu 25 jul 02

 

Frank Gaydos on wed 24 jul 02


Did anyone view this very interesting show on PBS about the corporate =
world?
This particular show is focusing on the Wedgewood Company and one man's =
effort to modernize it.
Along with the fascinating problems solving company wise, is the behind =
the scenes brut work of making pottery in the factory. One woman has to =
attach a thousand handles per day! Trying to get robots to attach =
handles to cups or apply decals is astonishing. (And sometimes =
hysterical when the robots at first would crush the handles and then =
drop them on the floor.):>)

A snippet from the intro:

Brian Patterson is the CEO of Wedgwood, the venerable pottery and =
ceramics manufacturer founded in 1759. The Irish executive got his start =
in business as a humble cost clerk with Guinness. Since becoming =
Wedgwood's CEO in 1995, he has overseen some of the biggest changes in =
the company's long history. Cheaper foreign competition is threatening =
to drive traditional British giants like Wedgwood out of business. As =
CEO, Patterson must act to protect Wedgwood's market share and, of =
course, the shareholders' investments.

Patterson, a "ruthless modernizer," has cut wages and replaced some =
workers with robots. But has he considered the effect of his decisions =
on the workers at Wedgwood factories? How do his workers feel about the =
company's practices? And are those robots working out as planned? =
Patterson has a lot to learn as he goes to work for one week in a =
Wedgwood factory.

Local schedules may vary:
http://www.pbs.org/opb/backtothefloor/wedgwood/index.htm

Frank Gaydos

" I feel strongly that the visual arts are of vast and incalculable =
importance. Of course I could be prejudiced. I am a visual art."
=20
-Kermit the Frog, =20