" I am tired of doing business this way"

[iamwhatiseem]

"I am tired of doing business this way".
The lament of business owners, managers and sales executives.
I'll say it again....I am tired of doing business this way.

Today, a woman I have known for 10 years, have purchased at least $1 mil in materials and services from..walked into my office for the last time.
The company she had worked for, for 20 years is finalizing a deal to be purchased by a larger company tomorrow. She already knows she will be offered a severance and sent on her way.
In the last 2 years, so many, many people I have come to know as friends thru business have done the same, or by phone. Wishing each other the best, listening to them trying to remain upbeat..f*ck.

I am tired of doing business this way.

Last week in a trade publication the results of a national poll of 450 businesses, a poll I myself took part in - was given 10 choices to describe "What is the #1 priority of your capital purchases in the next 3 years". 70%...that is seventy percent...chose "to invest in technology to lower cost and become more efficient"...an answer...I also gave.

I am tired of doing business this way.

Growth, product expansion, product improvements...pheh...who needs that?
People don't want these things - they want whatever you sell....cheaper.
Lower cost, reduce overhead, "cut the fat", merge with competitors - BECOME MORE EFFICIENT.
You have to.
Providing a great product, dependable service, longterm relationships with your clients....all...pale to compare to the almighty bottom price.
How cheap can you sell it for.

I am tired of doing business this way.

 

[Madeline]

I am sorry, iamwhatiseem. No one ever talks about the stress on employers who are forced to let people go, or on business colleagues who value these relationships and miss them when they're over.

 

[william the wie]

Unhappily this trend will continue for the foreseeable future.

 

[Sallow]

What?

You don't like the Conservative Corporatist Anti-Capitalist model?

Conservatives and their love of the third world.

Go fig.

 

[draper]

I am tired of doing business this way.

There are probably more of you that feel that way than you think.

 

[uscitizen]

One must keep increasing their profits.

 

[Avatar4321]

One must keep increasing their profits.

That would be how you feed the family.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

One must keep increasing their profits.

Hardly.
If you are not in the finance business, or the oil business, or in the green energy business...you are overwhelmingly under the threat of NO profit.
It has not been about increasing profits for two and a half years now - it is about survival.
Finding revenue is not all that difficult, in fact it is easy - finding revenue you can make a profit off of is becoming a war.
People who are not in business are unaware of this. They may not know just how many mergers and acquisitions that have taken place in the last 13 months. Each and every one of those mergers resulted in lay-offs, doors closed and services ended. If a person believes these take place to "increase profits" - they are mistaken. They overwhelmingly take place because one of the companies wasn't going to make it on their own so they sold their business to a competitor...or the two talked and knew that unless they merge they will not be able to compete in the near future.

 

[editec]

This continuing path of capitalism, one that denies the humanity of its workers and, frankly, its customers, too, cannot last.

In our lifetimes we have capital migrate from this nation to third world nations because the cost of doing business there is so much cheaper, and because --fineally-- manufactured goods coming into this nation come in free of tariffs.

This is a sort of abandonment (without announcing it, of course) of the social contract tht this nation once had.

And that social contract was based on the premise that we operate in the best intersts of the NATION including all citizens, rather than what we're doing now which is operating on behalf of an very select CLASS in this nation.

Now that's more than enough social disuption to stress out a nation, but thanks to technology, we are facing still another stress to the social contract.

As tecnology makes it increasingly easier to make products with fewer workers we marginalize and devalue workers.

And not just the workers whose jobs are lost to advancement in tecnology, but to all workers.

Ultimately 99% of todays jobs will be done by technology.

So does that mean that we only need 1% of the population?

It does if you believe that market forces are the very best decided for how your society is run.

These people who are tired of doing business "this way".

Well that's them expressing their discontent with the social contract from the perspective that they have within this society.

They may not realize that what is changing is the social contract, but they certainly understand that they're growing increasingly dissatisfied with their role in it.

 

[B. Kidd]

Alot of people forget about the human factor that was partially responsible for our post WW II financial and manufacturing success. Soldiers who had fought together ended up on Wall St. and in Industry and formed lasting ethical business relationships.
Good OP.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

This continuing path of capitalism, one that denies the humanity of its workers and, frankly, its customers, too, cannot last.

In our lifetimes we have capital migrate from this nation to third world nations because the cost of doing business there is so much cheaper, and because --fineally-- manufactured goods coming into this nation come in free of tariffs.

This is a sort of abandonment (without announcing it, of course) of the social contract tht this nation once had.

And that social contract was based on the premise that we operate in the best intersts of the NATION including all citizens, rather than what we're doing now which is operating on behalf of an very select CLASS in this nation.

Now that's more than enough social disuption to stress out a nation, but thanks to technology, we are facing still another stress to the social contract.

As tecnology makes it increasingly easier to make products with fewer workers we marginalize and devalue workers.

And not just the workers whose jobs are lost to advancement in tecnology, but to all workers.

Ultimately 99% of todays jobs will be done by technology.

So does that mean that we only need 1% of the population?

It does if you believe that market forces are the very best decided for how your society is run.

These people who are tired of doing business "this way".

Well that's them expressing their discontent with the social contract from the perspective that they have within this society.

They may not realize that what is changing is the social contract, but they certainly understand that they're growing increasingly dissatisfied with their role in it.

This is all truer than most realize.
We are but a small step away from 1/4 of the able-bodied population having to rely on the 75% employed to support them long-term to permanent.

 

[william the wie]

I strongly disagree with the prevailing sentiment of this thread as to causality. The situation we are in is a direct result of policies that the politicians ran for (re)election on over the past 50 years. I see no one addressing the issues just scapegoating:

I don't see anyone advocating the phased eradication of medicare/medicaid that has screwed up US Healthcare costs beyond any recognition. The paying of those bills if and when the USG so chooses so with Obamacare we see a popular double down on a losing hand.

The backdoor eradication of COLA for Social Security to reduce the costs of blowing bubbles with fiat money does not address the inflationary spiral we've been in since 1958. Instead generational, class and sectional conflict is encouraged.

Until reality is dealt with instead of scapegoats these problems will grow.

 

[sangha]

One must keep increasing their profits.

Hardly.
If you are not in the finance business, or the oil business, or in the green energy business...you are overwhelmingly under the threat of NO profit.
It has not been about increasing profits for two and a half years now - it is about survival.
Finding revenue is not all that difficult, in fact it is easy - finding revenue you can make a profit off of is becoming a war.
People who are not in business are unaware of this. They may not know just how many mergers and acquisitions that have taken place in the last 13 months. Each and every one of those mergers resulted in lay-offs, doors closed and services ended. If a person believes these take place to "increase profits" - they are mistaken. They overwhelmingly take place because one of the companies wasn't going to make it on their own so they sold their business to a competitor...or the two talked and knew that unless they merge they will not be able to compete in the near future.

I have a suggestion

How about you accept responsibility for your business incompetence instead of blaming your competitors ability to do a better job at a cheaper price.

And only a wingnut would think a failing business would try to save itself by hooking up with another failing business. No wonder your business is failing!!! You believe every loser that tells you a sob story

 

[sangha]

This continuing path of capitalism, one that denies the humanity of its workers and, frankly, its customers, too, cannot last.

In our lifetimes we have capital migrate from this nation to third world nations because the cost of doing business there is so much cheaper, and because --fineally-- manufactured goods coming into this nation come in free of tariffs.

This is a sort of abandonment (without announcing it, of course) of the social contract tht this nation once had.

And that social contract was based on the premise that we operate in the best intersts of the NATION including all citizens, rather than what we're doing now which is operating on behalf of an very select CLASS in this nation.

Now that's more than enough social disuption to stress out a nation, but thanks to technology, we are facing still another stress to the social contract.

As tecnology makes it increasingly easier to make products with fewer workers we marginalize and devalue workers.

And not just the workers whose jobs are lost to advancement in tecnology, but to all workers.

Ultimately 99% of todays jobs will be done by technology.

So does that mean that we only need 1% of the population?

It does if you believe that market forces are the very best decided for how your society is run.

These people who are tired of doing business "this way".

Well that's them expressing their discontent with the social contract from the perspective that they have within this society.

They may not realize that what is changing is the social contract, but they certainly understand that they're growing increasingly dissatisfied with their role in it.

Romantic sounding, but flawed. For one thing, you shouldn't confuse the Social Contract with Capitalism. The SC is anti-thetical to capitalism; in fact, the SC is a simplified definiton of socialism

You are also in error when you blame technology, as if it's something new. 99% of all existing jobs depend on "technology"; It's just that you don't think of hammers and books as "technology" even though it is.

The problem isn't that the Social Contract is being changed; the problem is that the Social Contract has been ripped apart by Big Business. The problem isn't technology, or anything specific to out times; the problem is capitalism and its singular focus on profit, not matter the cost

 

[sparky]

what is it now? 1 of 6 on some sort of assistance here?

lotta sob stories out there

did they all make bad choices?

you tell me....

~S~

 

[Mr. Sauerkraut]

I will never understand why the worth of an enterprise is downing, if it doesn´t raise it´s profit each year. As long as it makes profit at all, isn´t it´s job done?

 

[sparky]

The problem isn't that the Social Contract is being changed; the problem is that the Social Contract has been ripped apart by Big Business. The problem isn't technology, or anything specific to out times; the problem is capitalism and its singular focus on profit, not matter the cost

very true sangha

and while this guilded age capitalist philosophy we are mired in has it's pundits, there have been economic pheonixs that sadly go unnoted

one would be the post WW2 Japanese model, interestingly enough forwarded to them via an American>

(for your purusal)
W. Edwards Deming

The "Seven Deadly Diseases" include:

Lack of constancy of purpose
Emphasis on short-term profits
Evaluation by performance, merit rating, or annual review of performance
Mobility of management
Running a company on visible figures alone
Excessive medical costs
Excessive costs of warranty, fueled by lawyers who work for contingency fees

 

[HUGGY]

"I am tired of doing business this way".
The lament of business owners, managers and sales executives.
I'll say it again....I am tired of doing business this way.

Today, a woman I have known for 10 years, have purchased at least $1 mil in materials and services from..walked into my office for the last time.
The company she had worked for, for 20 years is finalizing a deal to be purchased by a larger company tomorrow. She already knows she will be offered a severance and sent on her way.
In the last 2 years, so many, many people I have come to know as friends thru business have done the same, or by phone. Wishing each other the best, listening to them trying to remain upbeat..f*ck.

I am tired of doing business this way.

Last week in a trade publication the results of a national poll of 450 businesses, a poll I myself took part in - was given 10 choices to describe "What is the #1 priority of your capital purchases in the next 3 years". 70%...that is seventy percent...chose "to invest in technology to lower cost and become more efficient"...an answer...I also gave.

I am tired of doing business this way.

Growth, product expansion, product improvements...pheh...who needs that?
People don't want these things - they want whatever you sell....cheaper.
Lower cost, reduce overhead, "cut the fat", merge with competitors - BECOME MORE EFFICIENT.
You have to.
Providing a great product, dependable service, longterm relationships with your clients....all...pale to compare to the almighty bottom price.
How cheap can you sell it for.

I am tired of doing business this way.

May I suggest a better invention or service than a more efficient rat race? I invent. If the tool or service is enough of a dramatic improvement over the existing tool or service the time one can capitalize on it's ownership can be extended much farther than a tool or service that is marginally better. I have several unexplored inventions with dynamic practical application. Maybe we should talk.

Eventually all business is reduced to small margins. The winners all get in on the ground floor.

 

[sangha]

I will never understand why the worth of an enterprise is downing, if it doesn´t raise it´s profit each year. As long as it makes profit at all, isn´t it´s job done?

If a corporations' profits are the same as last years, their stock price won't rise. If the stock price doesn't rise, then the people who own the business (ie stockholders) wont make any money, even if the corporation did make a profit.

The days of investing for dividends is long over

 

[Mr. Sauerkraut]

I will never understand why the worth of an enterprise is downing, if it doesn´t raise it´s profit each year. As long as it makes profit at all, isn´t it´s job done?

If a corporations' profits are the same as last years, their stock price won't rise. If the stock price doesn't rise, then the people who own the business (ie stockholders) wont make any money, even if the corporation did make a profit.

The days of investing for dividends is long over

What if we allow to trade only 1day per month? Wouldn´t this restress the system?