ABSTRACT
People who are satisfied with the way things are can never achieve improvement or progress. Indeed, the first step in improvement is dissatisfaction with the status quo; it means always asking why productivity cannot be increased, why stocks are necessary, or whether there are not better ways to do things. Even among those who feel dissatisfaction, however, there are some who blame it on the fact that they must contend with high-diversity, low-volume production, or that they must produce in response to orders, or that plant equipment is outdated. Just as no one really resents paying for the banana skins, people do not question what goes on in the workplace. Even when most of the work only increases cost and little is done to increase value, people become habituated to the situation, satisfied that a good job is being done if the work is performed conscientiously.
