Too_Many_Tools wrote:

The engineers are TOLD by the MBA accountants where to cut costs.

You've never worked for a company that manufactures stuff have you?

Marketing (NOT accounting) might provide a price-point that their research
indicates a product needs to be at to be competitive and the
design/engineering/manufacuring departments might be given a mandate to meet
that price point by top level management, but there are no "accountants" telling
anyone where to cut costs.

I believe it is you who needs to work in the real world and ignore the
fairy tales of academic circles.

In a real company, engineers are under the thumb of accountants. They
are to make whatever cuts need to be made to make the desired profit
margin. Products are manufactured with intentional end lifes and
without any possiblity of repair...all required by MBAs who have
dictated what the product life and quality will be.

It is done to extract as much of your cash as possible.

TMT

And what if the consumer tires of your company's product and moves on
to another brand?

As this thread proves, people take anecdotal evidence of a product's
failure and avoid all of that company's products in the future.

Poster A refuses to by a GE dryer because a family member had to repair
hers in less than 5 years.

Poster B avoids anything made by Panasonic because a vaccuum broke in
less than a year.

It would seem to work AGAINST a company's bottom line to make products
that **** off your customers. They'll move on to another company.

Terrence Briggs
Peace to you...