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Page THE H ALTON HILLS HOMESTYLE Saturday September IS IBM Productivity is battle cry of new global world TORONTO Do managers earn their keep Are chief executives really worthy what they are paid These are crucial questions given the pressures of global com petition Yet all we hear about is how workers must pull up their socks and start working harder Productivity output per worker is the battle cry of the new global world Productivity encompasses much more than how quickly people work on the plant floor It depends on how modern the equipment is And it depends on the good judge ment and restraint of manage ment from the office supervisor to the president and the chairman of the board Lately Finance Minister Michael Wilson has taken to lectur workers about the need for restraint His latest target is the Canadian Auto Workers union His preaching must be annoying to the people who work for General Motors Ford and Chrysler It was executives not workers who took their eye off the ball dur the 1970s and enabled foreign carmakers to clean up Manage ment has had a decade to mend its ways By the looks of It it has fad ed miserablv Customers prefer Japanese cars CI JOBS The automakers solution is to cut costs and jobs The Big Three are beginning to move production to Mexico where labor costs are cheaper Maybe they should try Dianne Maley giving the customer what he wants instead The auto industry is not the only one that has been poorly managed over the years Almost invariably the failure of a company to com pete or even stay alive in many cases is a failure of management It is not the fault of the hundreds of thousands of people who depend on corporate executives for their True some of those who failed have been Inspired leaders for whom employees were willing to go the extra mile They and failed People can understand that Included this group is Max Ward the legendary founder of Wardair On the other side are some equal ly legendary names But there are also less known ones As business failures pile up and profits tumble managers of companies that have issued shares to the public will have to stand up and account for themselves Corporate North America is no longer a cozy club offering a lifetime membership for those who have achieved executive status Too often these decision makers do not their position GOVERNMENT Government is even more guilty and strangely less accountable In Ontario for example civil vice salaries have soared For months now want ads in the local newspaper have been swelled with ads for government jobs Why is government expanding when the provincial economy is suffering the worse slowdown since No wonder Mr Wilson s words fall on deaf ears Perhaps it is time he cut back federal government transfer payments to the pro vinces The bottom line as we business writers like to say is that people are fed up We are being skewered as taxpayers with the new goods and services tax We are being skewered as workers by not being allowed to catch up with past lion We have no control over the destiny of the companies we work for If we try to go into business for ourselves we are smacked with high borrowing costs Meanwhile bank chairmen write off their expensive business suits as uniforms High flying ex draw in the hundreds of thousands with perks that effectively double the take And Canada slides further down the productivity scale Architects can provide help This article is provided local Realtors and the Ontario Real Estate Association for the benefit of consumers in the real estate market Has your home kept pace with changing tastes and needs Is it time for overhaul If want to turn house into the dream home longed for you mav want to consult an ar Architects proide help with planning and designing ind can devise a realistic workable plan ti suit both needs and budget can also provide ing consultation throughout the con phase to ensure dream doesn turn into a nightmare When searching f a registered architect to handle project check with family memoirs friends or neighbors who have had architectural work done If they are pleased with the results get the names of architects they con suited You can also find architects listed in the phone book want to find one who specializes in home design and renovations not an industrial or commercial architect If possible you may want to talk to a few architects before choosing one for your particular project Ask to see pictures of projects they ve handled and talk to their former clients You should also have a good rapport with the person you select so you can be sure that your needs and wishes are fully understood Types of architectural services can vary depending on the work to be done If your project is relatively simple you may only want to meet with an architect once or twice to help further develop ideas and plans or discuss viableopttons But if the project is complex and lengthv vou probabh want an to handle the entire under taking providing valuable input and supervision until completion An architect can tell if your plans are realistically suited to your budget You mav end up having to sacrifice some aspects of plans but your architect can come up with design which will be able to ac commodate future changes If v find that the addition of new rooms or a second storey is loo cost ly for budget an architect can ten show vou how to make better use of existing spate within your home COW FY 111- When you meet with your make sure convev your ideas and needs clearly It also helpful to show him or her newspaper or magazine clippings of designs or ideas that you d like to in corporate into your remodelling pro ject If you re handy with a sketch pad and pencil you can develop some rough drawings whicl can be helpful as well After discussing the project with you in detail the architect will develop a series of his or her own drawings These drawings will il lustrate what your home will look like once the proposed renovations have been made Once the preliminary drawings are complete you can discuss the plans further outlining any con cerns you may have about the pro posal While they are bound to be small changes and ad made throughout the planning and construction process due to availability of matenals and so on it is much easier to in corporate any major alterations at the drawing board stage MEM- Fees are usually arranged on a per hour basis or as a percentage of the construction costs of the project If the fees is based on a percentage of the cost then supervision of the construction phase is generally in eluded While it is difficult to come up with an exact price for the work required an architect should be able to give you a fairly good predetermination of how much his or her services will cost The fee should include supervisory visits to the project of any ad and so on Before any work gets under way both and the architect should sign a contract Most architectural firms have client architect agreement forms available sure you art both on terms of the contract Input fmm a good architect should result in work that will enhance the value and appearance of your home for many years to come Survey Completed Wednesday Sept 1990 MORTGAGE RATES ANNUAL INTEREST SIX MONTH ONE YEAR mm YEAS THREE YEAR FOUR YEAR FIVE YEAR TRUST COMPANIES Canada Trust NA 13 13 13 50 13 13 50 Municipal Trust N A 13 75 13 14 14 14 Trust 13 13 13 13 13 CHARTERED BANKS Bank of Commerce A 13 13 13 50 13 13 Bank of Montreal 13 13 13 13 13 13 40 Bank of Nova Scotia 13 13 13 13 Royal Bank 13 13 50 13 50 13 50 13 13 Toronto Dominion 13 50 13 50 1350 13 13 50 13 50 This survey was prepared to help the Herald Homestyle readers track weekly Bank and Trust Company rates Homeowners not thrilled by Autumn leaves The glorious colours of the Autumn leaves are enjoyed by all Homeowners however are not always so enthusiastic about leaves once they have fallen and cover all parts of the garden driveway and paths What to do While fallen leaves may provide a good mulch on flower beds it is port ant to remove them from lawn areas where they encourage the presence of mice and other rodents which can do extensive damage to turf A mat of wet leaves can also aid the growth of grass killing fungi If the property is large or even not so large but dominated by one of several large shade trees there will be great numbers of leaves For many homeowners the gathenng of the leaves while it may seem a chore is not nearly as large a con as the actual disposal of them Many municipalities where landfill site availability is becoming a pro are no longer picking up leaves grass clippings and other garden trash as part of the normal weekly service A practical alternative is for homeowners to compost their own leaves in a remote or theway corner of their property While there are several commercial composting units available none of these is real ly suitable for composting the great quantities of leaves with which most homeowners must deal each Autumn The answer is a special composting area for leaves Choose a corner of the garden out of sight possibly heavily shaded The com posting can be done in trenches dug into the soil but the best method is to construct a simple bin One method that is simple is to use three standard wood pallets used for shipping many goods and often available for the taking from in dust a parks in cities Nail the three pallets together to form a shape set on the ground with one open side fistest composting before putting the leaves in the bin pile them in thick layers on the driveway and run the rotary lawn mower at its lowest setting over them several times in all direc tions There are also small shred available made especially for shredding leaves Once the leaves have been chop ped up with the rotary mower it time to add them in layers to the compost bin Make each layer about 1520 cm On top of each layer place a 3 cm layer of garden soil and some animal manure or handful of high nitrogen not slow release fertilizer Nitrogen is the first number in the formula on fer tihzer bags and is the ingredient on which the bacteria and other position organisms feed Continue to pile the leaves to at least a height of one metre or even higher being sure to alternate with the soil and manure or nitrogen fer The pile will work best if it is moist the Autumn rains provide suf If it becomes dry a hose soaking is in order If the pile is not frozen a month after the leaves have been slacked it should be turn in order to get air to the centre The turning can be a chore so an alternative is to install plastic piping that is drilled with holes it entire length up through the centre of the pile Next spring examine your pile and turn it again Depending on the type of leaves oak is the slowest to compost 2 the amount of reduc tion by shredder or lawn mower and 3 the efficiency of the pile par the air from turning your leaves may be suitable for use as garden compost as soon as the following Autumn or it may take one more year Regardless of how long you II have one of Nature finest soil conditioners and organic matter to add to your garden at literally no cost