Let's imagine that conversation...

BeanCounter: "Make the product cheaper"
Engineer: "Sure, what do you suggest?"
BeanCounter: "I have no idea. I'm an accountant, not an engineer!"
(at this point everyone at the meeting stops paying attention to the
BeanCounter)


Okay....now let's do it the way it really happens....

CEO: I need a BIGGER bonus...how do we do that?
BeanCounter: "Make the product cheaper?"
Engineer: "Sure, what do you suggest?"
BeanCounter: "I have no idea. I'm an accountant, not an engineer!"
Engineer: "Well based on your cost point we can't do it."
BeanCounter: "How about cheaper labor?"
CEO: Sounds good to me...fire the engineers and outsource it."

The CEO gets his bonus, the Beancounter gets a promotion and the
Engineer is aaking "Do you want fries with that?"

It has happened thousands of times and will happen thousands of times
more.

TMT

Rick Brandt wrote:
clare at snyder.on.ca wrote:
On Tue, 16 Jan 2007 10:01:43 +1100, "Rod Speed"
wrote:
It's the bean counters that dictate the quality or lack thereof that
makes the part failure prone in the first place, and glue is a lot
cheaper than screws. Moulded power cords, on the other hand, are not
only CHEAPER, but "more reliable" They are cheaper to make than just
the replaceable end itself because they are moulded in place.


Let's imagine that conversation...

BeanCounter: "Make the product cheaper"
Engineer: "Sure, what do you suggest?"
BeanCounter: "I have no idea. I'm an accountant, not an engineer!"
(at this point everyone at the meeting stops paying attention to the
BeanCounter)

Cost reduction is a *technical problem*, it cannot simply be mandated by fiat.
Every company is a bit different but I work at a company that manufactures
capital equipment and I can tell you that there are no accountants even invited
to these meetings. Ours (and many companies) are RUN by the engineering
departments. All other departments are considered "support".