给美国雨鸟高层管理者的几点建议

积极方面：雨鸟从基础上来说是一个非常稳固的公司，但最近几年，雨鸟公司因为高层领导管理不善逐渐走向低迷。它的过去非常成功，且全球销售增长很快。它占有的灌溉市场份额较大，其拥有实用的灌溉系统且后期维修做的成功，能保证产品的质量。雨鸟很重视对员工进行设计工具等方面的培训。拥有很完善的质量健全系统。为达到提升可分配充足资源和机会。类似的产品评估系统涉及返修品，且从客户角度出发进行设计。专业人员享有较高薪资待遇且年底奖金可观。公司积聚了许多能干之才，你会为在这个公司工作感到自豪。

消极方面：我是雨鸟公司的一个老员工，我觉得在雨鸟工作很有挑战性，而且有很好的事业回报。短期挫折可在短时间内解决，会建立很好的人际关系，且有成就感。在任何公司，上级领导都可创造天堂或地域般的生活。然而，在过去的十年里，相对于实际经验，雨鸟逐渐开始更加重视纸面工作。外行人才进入公司后参与管理，他们不明白怎样评估其员工，重视客户服务工作。管理层面过多导致每次信息都是逐步向上传递。越是积极越偏离工厂运行的本质动力。中层管理人员能力不足、经验不够，且对即将开展的事项不够自信，这就使托尼和他手下的员工以及管理者做出错误决策。下游领导如人力资源人员在其工作范围内未被授予权利，他们只能参考政策规定执行上级的决定。

雨鸟多年来一直重视低成本计划。从另一角度讲，它没有意识到减低成本转向提升质量的时间点。他们想要两者并重。在这种条件下要求降低成本对员工来说是很令人泄气的、可笑的，更糟糕的是，这对产品质量是一个很大的威胁。降低成本的关键点是更好的应用于系统。

不仅是雨鸟公司，其实这一现象在许多公司都存在。它可能是运营公司的一个有效策略，但不是最好方法。近些年虽然雨鸟试图做些改变，但收效甚微。中层管理者曾经是最有经验且最有权力的一群人。高层管理者过去对于将产品推广到低生产成本的国家比如墨西哥和中国并不太积极。雨鸟之前是很开放、粘性强且工作感愉悦的一个公司。

给高层管理者的建议：给Tony手下员工的建议就是削减管理层，督促高层管理人员与工厂以及底层领薪员工面对面参与进来。走出你的办公室，不要开启你的电脑，不要开会，多了解你本该负责的基础运营情况。与下级员工多聊天，对他们的价值增加更多了解，他们在乎什么，他们对公司的建议是什么。现在恢复对他们的尊重还不算晚。过去两年来你的言行令他们感到担心。你应该叫着他们的名字，看着他们的眼睛，告诉他们是很有价值的。你已经忽略这方面太久了。如果他们没有得到上级的尊重，他们会另寻高就。这比得到一小笔额外奖金更有用。你还没有意识到很多人已经在另寻高职了，这只是时间问题。你最好立即行动。（翻译 灌溉网崔亚静）

"Rain Bird is fundamentally strong, but it does need immediate attention to fix a broken wing.

Pros - Rain Bird is fundamentally a very good company but has gone down a path of poor upper management in recent years. It has a very successful history, is respected in the industry, and has strong international sales growth. It has achieved good market share across a wide range of diverse irrigation products, and has the systems in place and interest to maintain best product quality. They promote employee training in many quality and engineering tools, and other areas. They have good systems in place to insure build quality and that all defects are ranked and top opportunities are assigned resources to make improvements. Similar systems assess product concerns on field returned products, and engineers get directly involved with customer concerns. Professional staff enjoys good salary compensation and a goal oriented small bonus program. There are many very good and talented people at Rain Bird that you will enjoy as your peers.

Cons - I was a very, very long term employee and will say that I had a very challenging and rewarding career at Rain Bird. Short term frustrations more easily dissolve over time, and it is the good accomplishments and relationships that are remembered. A specific direct manager can make life heaven or hell at any company. However, over the past decade Rain Bird shifted to valuing paperwork degrees more than demonstrated experience. Management has become infused with pedigreed people from outside the industry that don't understand how to value their employees, and lead to directions that best serve our customers. Management has too many layers and every time information passes upwards it is more positive and more out of touch with what makes the factory run. This allows Tony and his staff, and Directors, to make bad decisions with middle managers too weak, inexperienced, and not trusted enough to defend what should be done. Unfortunately for the lower ranks, HR is dis-empowered in this system to where they can only carry out orders while referring to the policy manual.

To Rain Bird's credit they have been placing very strong emphasis on cost reduction projects for several years. To their dis-credit, they have failed to realize when to shift the focus off of cost reduction and onto a better area such as quality improvements and NPD. They want it all, all the time. Demanding this level of cost reduction continually is demoralizing, ridiculous, infuses gaming of the system, and worst - is very risky to product quality. Cost reduction emphasis is better applied in cycles.

These comments are not unique to Rain Bird. These struggles can be found at many other companies. It may even be a valid strategy in how to run a company, but it is not a good way. It has been sad though to see the shifting occurring within Rain Bird over the years. Mid-level managers used to be much better informed and empowered. Upper level management used to be less aggressive at driving product into lower manufacturing cost centers (Mexico and China). Rain Bird used to be a much more open, cohesive, and fun place to work.

Advice to Senior Management - Suggestions to Tony's staff would be to break down layers of management and force upper level managers to get more directly involved with the factories and the people that are making their paychecks. Get out of your offices, don't turn on your computers, deny meetings, get to know the base level of the operations you are responsible for. Talk to your lower level employees to gain an understanding of their value, what matters to them, and what their suggestions are. It's getting to be too late to regain their respect. From the actions seen over the last couple years you have them all scared. You need to call them by name, look them in the eye, and tell them they count. You have been ignoring this for too long. If they don't get this respect from upper management, they will look to go somewhere where their contributions are valued. This is more valuable to them than a little extra money. Many more of them than you realize are already looking elsewhere, it's just a matter of time before their networks of friends and displaced prior Rain Bird employees come to fruition. You better do this quickly.