WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 1981, PAGE 5 THE VOICE OF THE TURTLE by GeorgeTauchman "Private enterprise, indeed, became too private, it became privileged enterprise, not free enterprise." Franklin Delano Roosevelt. "Civilization is a method of living, an attitude of equal respect for all men." Jane Adams. LET US PERFORM MIRACLES LIKE JAPAN What can be the secret to Japan's meteorie, miraculous rise to industrial power?! At the end of World War Two, Japan's chances of an economic boom seemed laughable and pathetic. Its tiny territory was devastated and it never did have any natural resources worth talking about, except for the ingenuity of its people. But in industrial might, Japan soon raced past post-war France, then past Britain, then past Germany and then (hold on to your hat!) Japan superseded that industrial giant whose territory covers one sixth of the earth's dry land, the Soviet Union. Today, Japan's industrial power is only second to the United States! And even then, Japan has taken away from North America what used to be our major industry. Japan is now the world's number one manufacturer of automobiles! Only a few short years ago, we in the west still managed to kid ourselves that the reason for the cheapness of Japanese products was the cheap slave-labour available from their masses of "coolies". Today, statistics force us to realize that an average worker in the Toyota plant, for example, is about eight to 12 times as productive as a worker at British Leyland Automotive Works! Furthermore, as western visitors have discovered repeatedly, the Japanese workers are not forced to function in the kind of dehumanizing, frenetic atmosphere that may be witnessed in the giant assembly line at Ford's River Rouge plant in Michigan, just a few hours drive from Whitby, Ontario! The Japanese production line appears relaxed and dignified by comparison. No wonder Japanese products now sport a higher standard of quality than do our own! While American auto manufacturers have been operating in the red for years and are begging for massive handouts of taxpayers' money to keep them afloat, we are forced to ask the Japanese not to compete with us too much. From the facts at hand, a good case can be made for the proposition that the Canadian worker's lot is closer to being dehumanizing and slave-labour than that of the Japanese. The once-proud British now openly admit that they're desperately trying to copy the Japanese production line techniques, but for some mysterious reason the secret of the Japanese miracle has been stubbornly eluding the British. The magic secret ingredient is naturally invisible to most of British and North American management. IF YOU ARE INVOLVED UN AN ACCIDENTI 1. Call the Police. (Don ' admit lability let the police decide) 2. Cai your insurance agent. (E xplain the problem 3. COlt Home. IYu'll be at least one hour late 4. Colt OSHAWA CAR CARE LTD. (lt's r c h o ice where y our car is repa red i We have the mnost up Io date equipment to repair ay car on the road today We uaraftee satisfaction MEW CAR RENTALS on pet day no mileage. 660 Drake St. 5 76-1019 No wonderJapan is an industrial power By and large, our executives are still hooked on the power trip they get from the master and slave relationship in the workplace. The hierarchy of the pecking order is more camouflaged today; we may call the boss by his first name, but our tradition of the Middle Ages still prevails at the office and too many of us are turned into bootlickers without permitting ourselves to become conscious of it. So with regard to the miraculous Japanese secret we must ask ourselves: (a) Why exactly is their industrial might overtaking ours? (b) Why is the workmanship and quality of Japanese goods so often superior to ours? It has to do with an old Western theory in the field of "human relations" that states: The "productivity and the quality of a worker increases in direct proportion to the com- bination of the worker's self-respect gained by working con- ditions that permit him pride in workmanship, a feeling of importance in the scheme of the company, a faith in the democratic justice of his bosses, and the degree of personal dignity he is permitted to salvage (from the foolish, elitist tendencies his "superiors" are too often weak enough to in- Get s- for Spring with a beautiful hairstyle. Call for an appointment today. LA CONTESSA BEAUTY LOUNGE 119 Green Street 668-9262 For a deeper insight into this problem, it may help to study "The Peter Principle" by Dr. Laurence J. Peter. The Japanese are ahead of us in realizing the profits that accrue from humanizing the workplace. We might be wise to start winding down the industrial medievalism that prevails in Canada.