Comments on: The Demise of Nortel

By: ben33303

ben33303 — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:43:27 +0000

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By: ben33303

ben33303 — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:43:27 +0000

By: whopperscan

whopperscan — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:31:02 +0000

MZ and his mates always talked about plans, but they never eventuated. It seemed to me that their idea of a plan was small quality-team-type improvements. Like Lean Six Sigma, it was almost always ineffective.
Try to think of any solid strategic moves MZ or his cronies came up with…. all I can think of is, he flogged off UMTS? (basically GSM 3G) While it plugged a loss-maker off the balance sheet, it also seemed to knock the wireless division out of serious consideration by decent customers on major tenders.
They talked and talked of plans, but nothing ever showed… heck even after Chapt 11, they spoke of plans for Nortel to come out of it “by March” then later and later… later… and bust! No plan!!

By: freqmgr

freqmgr — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:04:13 +0000

I really think that in 2005 Mike Z and his buddies' Plan A was that the market would recover and Nortel with it or Plan B would be invoked meaning bankruptcy and liquidation. They lack the skill set to do anything other than Plan B.

By: less

less — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:22:52 +0000

Is it me or does everything read like Nortel anymore:

Russian investigators on Saturday picked through the remains of a burned-out nightclub and detained at least five people in the aftermath of an explosive inferno, the result of an alleged misuse of fireworks that claimed more than 100 lives.

Nortel: 90,000 dead due to infernal misuse

Friday night's fire -- in the Ural Mountain area industrial city of Perm -- swept through a party in full swing at the Lame Horse, a local nightclub celebrating its eighth year in business.

Nortel: stalking horses (yet oddly lame). Yeats year of restatements. They hired me temp to perm to temp.

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Prosecutor's Office said several people have been detained: two club co-owners, a club manager, the night club art director, and a businessman who provided the fireworks and is now suffering from burns at a hospital.

Nortel businessmen provided fireworks too. No egos burned.

The blast and fire engulfed the club, law enforcement officials said, as a performance artist juggled cold-flame pyrotechnical maces.

Nortel had a pyrotechnical Macedonian juggling a cold-fart performance, leaving the equivalent of a burned-out nightclub.

By: wasthere

wasthere — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:42:57 +0000

''The last 8 years have served to enrich the executives at the expense of the shareholders and creditors, yes, but all of the foot-soldiers have collected 8 years of paychecks, too. In an optimized world, both would have been terminated long ago.''

Yep ! I totally agree.

By: joelwhackedme

joelwhackedme — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:36:47 +0000

Lying Sick Smegma – the worse idea ever for a support organization. These fools never had a clue, nor did they care to heard from those that did. Comments and Suggestions were not allowed…and in some cases people were quickly shuttled out of the company if they tried to bring an idea to the table.

Dumba$$e$ – the whole lot of them….Mike Z – you stink!

By: less

less — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:33:01 +0000

people really do need to understand money and business and markets much
more... not just how to run a machine but how to turn a profit

Enter Lean Six Sigma. For example, cell phone X takes 19 minutes to repair, period. Replacing specific parts within that timeframe will fix it exactly 87.53% of the time. Your numbers don't match? You needed more/less parts? You're fired.

People would also need to strike a balance somewhere along the lines of "the journey is the goal" or "success is a journey, not a destination".

Companies with a suggestion box are few and far between. Ordinary folks making suggestions will want to be rewarded for their effoerts, but also not fired for doubting their superiors' numbers.

By: free_agent

free_agent — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:34:49 +0000

It seems a bit bizarre to say "rather than emerge out of bankruptcy protection as a leaner, focused and viable entity", since there is no evidence that the Nortel management could accomplish that. After all, the company has been foundering since 2001; the current crisis is simply the exhaustion of the remaining cash sources. For that matter, it is unclear whether *any* management could have succeeded at this, given the new competitors from South Korea and China.

From that point of view, the earlier that Nortel was liquidated (its valuable resources put in the hands of managers who could utilize them well, and its non-valuable resources subjected to "creative destruction"), the better for its creditors. The last 8 years have served to enrich the executives at the expense of the shareholders and creditors, yes, but all of the foot-soldiers have collected 8 years of paychecks, too. In an optimized world, both would have been terminated long ago.

To all the fine technical people at Nortel, I recommend the words of John Case:

In today's new economy, people really do need to
understand money and business and markets much
more than they need to understand printing-press
operation or computer repair.

The reason, of course, is that more and more of us
will soon be self-employed, or will be out
starting our own company, or will find ourselves
on some struggling small business's payroll. What
we'll need to know is not just how to run a
machine but how to turn a profit.

and this: If it can be done in China, it is not "high-tech".

By: zeroman

zeroman — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:08:09 +0000

good for you. after you hire all these duds when your company files for bankruptcy and you need a job give me a call. I'd have you cleaning our toilets because thats all you are worth. Maybe the post of lead janitor.