battyr Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 http://www.detnews.com/article/20091009/AU...0402/1148/rss25 Dearborn --Ford Motor Co. has a secret weapon: a group of latter-day whiz kids who are using mathematical models to boost the amount of money it can command for its vehicles.Led by Rose Peng, this team of 19 Ph.D.s from the fields of mathematics, physics, statistics, economics and engineering is helping the company set pricing, plan production and strike the right mix of options and features in its new cars and trucks. Other automakers haven't committed similarly qualified employees in the way Ford has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 http://www.detnews.com/article/20091009/AU...0402/1148/rss25 ?...do Later day Whiz Kids ride bikes and knock door to door dressed in black suits and try to convince you that Fords way is the right way..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 http://www.detnews.com/article/20091009/AU...0402/1148/rss25 seriously, how about increased dealer feedback........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battyr Posted October 10, 2009 Author Share Posted October 10, 2009 Super nerds with PHD's. They know more about advanced mathematics and computer science that cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battyr Posted October 10, 2009 Author Share Posted October 10, 2009 seriously, how about increased dealer feedback........... Being able to listen is one skill Ford got with Mulally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark B. Morrow Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 (edited) Super nerds with PHD's. They know more about advanced mathematics and computer science that cars. Sounds like the same kind of Super Nerds who knew more about advanced mathematics and computer science than they did about mortgage backed securities and credit default swaps. That didn't work out so well for any of us. Here's an idea, how about concentrating on the cars and trucks and not the beans. Build great products, stand behind then when they break and sell them at a price that makes them a good value. Success will follow. You don't need a Super Nerd for that plan. Edited October 10, 2009 by Mark B. Morrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battyr Posted October 10, 2009 Author Share Posted October 10, 2009 Sounds like the same kind of Super Nerds who knew more about advanced mathematics and computer science than they did about mortgage backed securities and credit default swaps. That didn't work out so well for any of us. Here's an idea, how about concentrating on the cars and trucks and not the beans. Build great products, stand behind then when they break and sell them at a price that makes them a good value. Success will follow. You don't need a Super Nerd for that plan. According to Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, the computers that processed the financial transactions around the world knew that there was a problem. They just didn't have anyway of reporting it to their operators. In any case, it was not the Super Nerds that were selling mortgages to people that could not afford to pay for them or who were spending beyond there means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 You don't need a Super Nerd for that plan. Look, I don't like bean-counters either, but that product is going to require lots of super-nerds. Future product has to weigh less which is a challenge that's going to require computer-time. Developing turbo potential will require software. So, it's great to see that Ford "gets it". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7Mary3 Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Funny how the #1 Whiz Kid, Robert McNamara, was not mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Harbinger Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Such anti-intellectual paranoia! "OMG They have Ph.Ds - they obviously know nothing!" You do the GOP proud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevys Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 This seems odd to me but Im a true enthusiast. The bean counters dont understand my mind but I guess I could see how maybe they could help possibly in other areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battyr Posted October 10, 2009 Author Share Posted October 10, 2009 There is a difference between a Whiz Kid who knows advance mathematics and an accountant or an industrial engineer. Like the TV police series NUMB3RS. Only that the Whiz Kids use real math, not fictional math. This is what we are talking about. Business collect a lot of information. When you are talking about a huge corporation, it become a huge amount of information. When using huge amounts of information, advanced math can be used to help analyse the data. Is it best to analyse this data using business models that have not changed much for 60 years, use some executives gut instinct, or use advanced math to determine new models. I think if you rely on any one by itself, you will fail bad. By using all three, you will be able to learn something new from the advanced math and be able to confirm that it is true and not just a faulty theory by using the other method as a check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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