5 ms·

Well, Ford didn't do too badly. As for what if someone better shows up, well if you were swapping out staff every time someone you thought was better showed up

Well, Ford didn't do too badly. As for what if someone better shows up, well if you were swapping out staff every time someone you thought was better showed up, irrespective of money, you would kill off your business. Stability is more important than chasing some vision of perfection if you are wanting to get stuff done.

joshpadnick 12y ago
That's a good point. Part of me is trained to think about this like an economist (the subject of one of my bachelor's), but in the end I really hope that human compassion triumphs and this proves to be a win-win. I'm routing for Mr. Price.
- lotsofmangos 12y ago
  Ford wasn't doing it to be nice. Ford was trying to cut turnover as that was costing him loads.
  - loco5niner 12y ago
    And likely getting better quality, harder workers in the process.
- azernik 12y ago
  Even economists have to take into account transaction costs. Hiring someone new is often a fairly costly transaction.
  - randomfool 12y ago
    I frequently worry that the measurement of success is shrinking from how a community prospers to how well an individual prospers. As low-wage workers commute from distant communities and we become isolated in our own worlds of gated communities and like-minded netizens, there's little incentive to improve our surroundings. It's tough to quantify the happiness and peace of mind that I get from experiencing a well cared-for community.
prostoalex 12y ago
Ford was more or less forced to do it due to technological advantage he developed (assembly line) and increase in amount of training an efficient worker would have to go through. There are businesses that survive on innovative processes (and highly trained workers to follow those processes) and those that survive on dumbed-down any-idiot-should-be-able-to-follow-this processes. In some industries you get an edge by choosing the former, in some you have to choose the latter.

joshpadnick 12y ago

That's a good point. Part of me is trained to think about this like an economist (the subject of one of my bachelor's), but in the end I really hope that human compassion triumphs and this proves to be a win-win. I'm routing for Mr. Price.

lotsofmangos 12y ago
Ford wasn't doing it to be nice. Ford was trying to cut turnover as that was costing him loads.
- loco5niner 12y ago
  And likely getting better quality, harder workers in the process.
azernik 12y ago
Even economists have to take into account transaction costs. Hiring someone new is often a fairly costly transaction.
- randomfool 12y ago
  I frequently worry that the measurement of success is shrinking from how a community prospers to how well an individual prospers. As low-wage workers commute from distant communities and we become isolated in our own worlds of gated communities and like-minded netizens, there's little incentive to improve our surroundings. It's tough to quantify the happiness and peace of mind that I get from experiencing a well cared-for community.

prostoalex 12y ago

Ford was more or less forced to do it due to technological advantage he developed (assembly line) and increase in amount of training an efficient worker would have to go through. There are businesses that survive on innovative processes (and highly trained workers to follow those processes) and those that survive on dumbed-down any-idiot-should-be-able-to-follow-this processes. In some industries you get an edge by choosing the former, in some you have to choose the latter.