Quote:
Originally Posted by MS Fowler
...Engineers are engineers--pretty much interchangeable--let them define a problem, and they will come up with a solution. The difference must be when the cost accountants get involved in "decosting" an item.
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In German companies engineers are instructed to engineer a superior product, which must sell at a higher cost. Management protects these engineer by paying them well, and not pressing them for instant results.
In Japanese companies the engineer is instructed to design a product to be reliable, and then to keep improving its performance and cost. Management covers the rest with customer service.
In American companies the engineer is told to design a product that can be rapidly mass-produced. Management the instructs marketing to sell it for whatever the market will bear, and to hint at a new, improved better models next year.