PSU Magazine Winter 1993

Eder ay the United State economy is further hurt by compan ies that attain enormous profit margin by tran fe rring U.S. job to fo reign na– tion , where labor is cheaper. Eder has mixed feelings about a vastly successful company such a Nike Inc. "What if every company in the U.S. op rated that way?" a ks Eder. "It's made them very rich, but you can 't con- ume if you don't have income, and you don't have income if good-pay ing jobs are exported. How does this build ou r economic tr ngth fo r the future? Some trends in the business world may eventually force compani es to different ways of staffing their orga n– iza tions. "There's no que tion that we're in a marketplace economy in which quality i becoming a key value statement," say Eder. Companie concerned about global competition know they can't beat the competition on low cost alone. Prod ucts must be of high quality, and custom r servi ce must be emphasized. Placing importance on quality and customer service means that companies must occasionally hire more people and offer more on -the-job training. Large companies used to imply lopping off employees to achieve better bottom line results may need to operate in a new way. "You'll see more large companies spinning off new, different bu inesses at small or moderate sizes so those busi– nesses can compete better in today's marketplace," says Eder, citing the uccess of General Motor Corp. 's Saturn venture. "GM recognized it was too big to turn on a dime and that it needed a fresh approach in a new, separate company." Thus, large companies may be forced to become what Eder ca lls "entrepreneurs," fo rming new, mailer companies that are leaner from the tart and able to compete and adjust to changing market conditions. "Maybe what will urvive in the future won 't be IBM but IBM 's 1 new pinoff ventures," Eder contemplates. Besides reacting to changing market demands, companies must acknowledge changing employee attitudes about work as part of the human experience. "Loyalty is dead these days," say Eder. 'Ten or 15 years ago I'd ask manage rs what they wanted from employees. They sa id loyalty. In the PSU 11