Toyota Fiasco -- Remind You of Ford Pinto Memo?

Maybe people don't learn from history ... or maybe all corporation (because of its structure) inevitably ends up this way.

Currently, Toyota is getting pretty beat up -- what with recalls, inability to explain what is really wrong with the cars, etc. This week in particular, news swirled around how outrageous it is that Toyota's internal memo discussed how it saved $100 million by floormat recall. People are questioning whether Toyota really cares about safety.

But current event reminded me of another part of auto history... that people seem to have forgotten. Do you remember the infamous Ford Pinto Memo? Basically, Ford knew that Pinto had a defect. However, after calculating what Ford would pay for accidents caused by the defect, Ford concluded it was mathematically better to leave the problem as is because it would save $70 million. That is after mathematically calculating for payments for accidents, burned victims, settlements, etc. In essence, human lives -- that we would like to think cannot be reduced to dollars -- were reduced to dollars and were concluded to be worth less than $11 fix on the defective part.

So Toyota appears to have taken similar route of calculating cost v. benefit for the company. To lay people, it's appalling. Yet, I have to wonder, since this appears to be history repeating itself, maybe it's just inevitable that corporate structure leads to such result. At some point, the drive for profit (bottom line) at all cost drives out any other factors such as safety and value of human lives is more than dollar figures... So what's our lesson? Will beating up Toyota mean this won't happen again? I have to wonder...

Firing Entire School System

So you may have heard, but the school board in Central Falls, Rhode Island decided fire all of the teachers and administrators after years of poor performance. If you haven't heard yet, you can read this NY Times article. Changing status quo sounds like the right thing to do... and apparently the politicians support the move. Yet, strangely, some students appear to oppose it because they believe their teachers were doing a good job. I hope the news media follows-up with what happens after the district hires a whole set of new teachers. Too often, there is a flash of headline and no follow-up on what happened afterwards. After all, in this economy, it's an incredibly drastic move to fire an entire school system.

Dear "Just Another Admirer"

Dear "Just Another Admirer,"
Thank you for the beautiful tulips. They made my day, especially because I expected another Valentine's Day to pass by me... without much celebration.

When I listened to my voicemail today from my apartment's office telling me I need to pick up flowers, I was frankly quite shocked. As I was walking down that long windy hallway to the office, I thought maybe they got the wrong person. Who could have possibly sent me flowers? Maybe it's a single token flower from some non-profit organization I donated.

When I got to the office, I waited another eternally long 15 minutes while the person who was being helped was finally off on her way. Then the manager went back and lo and behold, she brought back a box of flowers from Pro Flowers shipped overnight by UPS. The huge box was most certainly addressed to me, and it was not a token flower from a non-profit organization.

I hurried back to my apartment to rip open the box. In the box lay a bouquet of tulips... with a card wishing me a "Happy Valentine's Day" signed by "Just Another Admirer."

I was stunned. And then I was wearing the biggest smile. After that, my mind began to race. Who is this??? I began to think of ways to figure out who you are. How could I not? My curiosity remains high. And I hope some day you will reveal yourself to me before my curiosity kills me. But for now, I would like to thank you (and hope that you are reading this) for the lovely flowers. They brightened my day. And YOU brought cheer and hope that the dream of love will not die.

These are the flowers you sent me (although I'm sure you already know).


Whoever you are, Happy Valentine's Day!
And someday, I hope I find out who you are.

Working on Non-Work

I don't know if it's just me, but I seem to have a perpetual list of things I want to get accomplished that is not work (as in what pays my bills) but not what you would consider entertainment. Basically, they are non-work work.

I made a list to get through this weekend because I got sick of feeling like I had all these loose ends. My list ended up with 16 to-do's. I ended up with 5 that I haven't crossed off. Unfortunately, 4 of 5 are things that I would enjoy doing in my free time -- singing (practicing for my upcoming concert), reading my book/magazines, etc. What got crossed off? Calling my cell phone company (who told me they can't fix text message time stamp because it's Microsoft's fault), getting financial/computer softwares, updating my 2009 finances in anticipation of doing my taxes, etc. Such is our modern life. It's a bit ironic that our technology keeps us just as busy (half of what I crossed off involved using computer, cell phone, etc.). I love technology but apparently maintaining technology in our lives takes up quite a bit of free time.

Although I'm feeling pretty accomplished every time I crossed off something from the list, I think I have to prioritize my list so that next weekend, I cross off things I enjoy first!