Upon returning from South Korea, authored a study comparing the decline of once world leading US

manufactures to the new world leading manufacturers in South Korea. The study documented the

impact technology and employee compensation programs played on overall corporate outcomes. The

study covered in detail economic factors, product quality, and brand impact, which included internal

corporate culture and external perception. The knowledge and experience gained from the time spent

in South Korea have been one of the most valuable assets one could hope f or. The emersion into a

world where one doesn’t fluently speak the native language, or understand the cultural norms beyond

what has been read, leads to an ingrained appreciation of what cultural diversity really means. In turn,

when encountering someone who is out of place, there is an automatic reaction to help them feel at

ease and included. Additionally, it is rare for one to have the opportunity to learn from the world’s

leading companies on quality control, logistics, project management, team building, standards of

operation, and system integration.

Most notable corporations in the study:

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co: The second largest shipbuilder in the world, with

at the time the largest dry dock and largest rail crane systems in the world. DSME produces Submarines,

Triple-E Class Container ships, and the largest Supertankers in the world. The massive ships

manufactured at the facility were constructed using a modular or cell assembly process that required

extreme precision and timing. Considering the array of systems in each cell (electrical, plumbing,

communication, and structural are a few examples), and the nature of shift work, it was immediately

clear DSME had mastered quality control and logistics. The research (to the extent allowed) focused on

how internal and external forces were controlled from raw materials to the finished product.

POSCO Steel: At the time of the visit, they were the world’s leading sheet metal producer, and were in

the top ten in overall global steel production. POSCO was the largest provider of sheet metal for

automobile and appliance production at the time of the visit. The study was conducted at the

Gwangyang Steel Works facility, which is still the largest of its kind in the world. The most notable fact

at the time of the review was that there was no local source for the raw materials or fuel to process the

material. Additionally, it was reported that as production increased over time, the barges containing

raw iron ore and coal eventually became too large to offload at a traditional harbor. It was quickly

apparent that for POSCO to become a global leader when it had to import all the materials for its end

product, it had mastered infrastructure and logistics. The study focused on what made the

infrastructure different (technology was a huge piece), and how they dealt with the logistics from raw

material to finished product. It is worth noting that POSCO viewed the knowledge of its employees as

one of its most valuable assets. When building out the facilities infrastructure, a city was essentially

created. Employees were provided with single or family dwellings (utilities included), medical facilities,

dining facilities, and schools just to list a few items. At the time of the study, the employee and family

satisfaction was so high, that the tradecraft was passed down through the generations, effectively

building in quality to the end product. Employee retention at this level also ensured that competitors

would not have access to generations of artisan tricks learned through decades of day to day

production.