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Mike Hartigan

In article ,
says...
[...]

Ever wonder why Dilbert and the television show
"The Office" are so popular...because they are so true.

Nope, because they exaggerate what really happens.

Isn't "what really happens" the same as "true"? What am I missing
here? Perhaps "true" is not accurate since they don't deal with
actual events. "True to life" is probably a better characterization
of 'The Office' and 'Dilbert'.

That is what caricatures have always been about.

Caricatures make reality entertaining. But they still reflect
reality. They wouldn't be funny if they didn't. 'The Office' is a
caricature - that's why it's funny on the particular level that it is
funny. I find that people who have never worked in an office are
less likely to 'get it'. 'Scrubs', on the other hand, is farce. You
don't have to work in a hospital to enjoy it.

What you neatly gross over is what happens when
engineering says it can't make a product based on
the imaginary price point...who then decides?

Its never that black and white either.

Just a guess - you don't work for Corporate America.

I will give you a hint....it ain't engineering.

It aint the bean counters either if it isnt possible, stupid.

Just a guess - you don't work for Corporate America.

And did I mention that the CEO's bonus is tied to this product?

No it isnt.

Typically, it is. Particularly when the target price is
'impossible'.

In the end, a company will produce the cheapest junk that it can sell...

Have fun explaining ipods and countless other products.

Are you suggesting that Apple did not try to minimize the production
cost of the iPod? Perhaps you could explain why they are made in
China?

The real world is nothing like as black and white as you claim.

and it will work very hard to insure that the consumer
needs to buy another new one from them...

Having it not last long is a hopeless way of doing that.

Actually, you're both wrong. The objective is to sell a product NOW.
Given the rate of change, particularly with technology products,
repeat sales are no longer an objective. Build them as cheaply as
possible TODAY. This year's bottom line is what the CEO's bonus is
based on.

and have to get any and all support from them.

Plenty avoid products like that.

That's pure BS. Consumers are motivated, first and foremost, by
purchase price. That's the reason so many products have a 'Made in
China' label. Apple and a few other American companies have
successfully marketed a perception of quality (actually, hipness),
but still import the products.

It is all about separating the consumer from as
much of their money as painlessly as possible.

Its never that black and white either.

Just a guess - you don't work for Corporate America.

And that is called a conspiracy.

Wrong again, its you silly little 'planned obsolescence'
thats a conspiracy, if it was actually possible.

Actually, it has nothing to do with a conspiracy. It's simply using
a business model that works.