As part of one of my courses, I teach interviewing techniques for job interviews. We go over the various types of questions that interviewers can ask. Each year human resources departments come up with a new "flavor of the month" question. Last year it was "Why are manhole covers round?" This year the question was "What animal would best describe you?"
And here you thought that it was lots of studying, knowing the material and having a degree that would get you a job. So, let's see how employable we all are. What animal would best describe YOU?
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
A little Mind Wandering
I'm giving a large kiddush in the house on the first day of Shavuous and am up to my ears with the cooking and baking. Because it's Shavuous the kiddish is milchig. While shopping I ran into someone from the neighborhood who noticed the overflowing shopping cart. She made a kind of strange remark that has stuck in my mind. She said "It seems kind of funny to have all that hot Italian food on a Jewish yom tov. Why not cook something that is Jewish?"
Okay, let's go find that milchig Jewish food. Can't be blintzes because we "stole" that from the Russians and the French (Russian blini and French crepes). Can't be cheesecake because everyone makes that. Can't be pierogen (the Russians again.) I've been wracking my brain and I have yet to come up with one single dish that can be considered validly a Jewish milchig dish. For fleishigs we have cholent. We have the traditional kugels.
If I'm missing something, please, some reader fill in the gaps in my knowledge. We talk about eretz zavat chalav u'devash. What did they do with all that milk? What milchig dish is Jewish?
Okay, let's go find that milchig Jewish food. Can't be blintzes because we "stole" that from the Russians and the French (Russian blini and French crepes). Can't be cheesecake because everyone makes that. Can't be pierogen (the Russians again.) I've been wracking my brain and I have yet to come up with one single dish that can be considered validly a Jewish milchig dish. For fleishigs we have cholent. We have the traditional kugels.
If I'm missing something, please, some reader fill in the gaps in my knowledge. We talk about eretz zavat chalav u'devash. What did they do with all that milk? What milchig dish is Jewish?
Looking at "Tell Me Why"
There are any number of approaches to take in argumentation. One such approach is the contrarian method. The person wishing to make an argument in favor of one position espouses the opposite position. Those who argue with him make the point he wanted to make without his being in the position of having to defend it. There is also a type of Socratic approach, which says ask questions such that the answers you are looking for will arise, again making your point for you.
So what point was being made in the posting and why? There has been discussion on this blog and on many other blogs about the high cost of yeshiva tuition. When all that is being argued about is cost, the general concensus is that yeshivas cost too much, that there must be a flaw in their spending, that they must be spending too much. The posting referred to said that tuition has risen more over a set period of time then other things have. I asked why. And I got answers. Suddenly we weren't arguing about the cost of tuition but about why and how tuition got to be that high. Many commenters pointed out that school days have gotten longer, that teachers are finally being paid more, that more services are being offered, that more extras are being offered, that basic school services have risen more than other services, that states are requiring more of schools, that more students are getting more tuition assistance. In short, what we now have is some data to use when discussing tuition.
The argument has re-created itself into one that is different from "schools are charging too much in tuition." If we can see that schools, as now constituted, are probably charging around what it costs them to educate the students who are in a school, then the discussion needs to be "What can we get rid of, reduce, reformulate to lower costs?" (One caveat here: schools would need to open their books so that we could, indeed, see if they are spending on the necessities.)
If sending our children to school for 6 days a week costs X, how much would sending them for only 5 days cost us? If an 11-12 hour school day costs X, how much would a nine hour day cost? What programs and what amenities could we trim that would result in a lowered tuition for parents?
I know, I know, right now someone out there is thinking to themselves that the yeshivas will never go for this. But the time is coming, and coming very soon, that yeshivas are not going to have any options but to cut. There is a limited amount of money in the pool of parents and donators. The more you raise tuition, the smaller that pool becomes. There simply won't be the money to maintain the status quo. And that is why we, all of us, need to think about this now. What would we be willing to do without in a school setting if the end result were a reduced tuition?
Let me give you one example. All students in New York City and New York State are entitled to certain services provided by the Board of Education, services like speech and hearing assessments and testing and remediation. Ditto for special education services. However, the Board of Ed will not send in their specialists into the religious schools--no mixing of church and state. They will, however, send those specialists into premises that are not part of the "religious" building. If a trailer is put into a courtyard of a yeshiva that would satisfy the Board of Ed, as long as the trailer is not used for regular school activities. So, the cost of one trailer versus the costs of hiring specialists and running special programs. It certainly is one area to look at. There are others.
So I was hoping that the discussion on school tuition would move out of the griping stage and into the "what can we actually do" stage. We've made a start by recognizing that it costs lots of money to educate our children today the way we are approaching that education. We've identified some of the reasons why that education costs what it costs. Now we need to go to the next step: what can we realistically cut down on and cut out?
So what point was being made in the posting and why? There has been discussion on this blog and on many other blogs about the high cost of yeshiva tuition. When all that is being argued about is cost, the general concensus is that yeshivas cost too much, that there must be a flaw in their spending, that they must be spending too much. The posting referred to said that tuition has risen more over a set period of time then other things have. I asked why. And I got answers. Suddenly we weren't arguing about the cost of tuition but about why and how tuition got to be that high. Many commenters pointed out that school days have gotten longer, that teachers are finally being paid more, that more services are being offered, that more extras are being offered, that basic school services have risen more than other services, that states are requiring more of schools, that more students are getting more tuition assistance. In short, what we now have is some data to use when discussing tuition.
The argument has re-created itself into one that is different from "schools are charging too much in tuition." If we can see that schools, as now constituted, are probably charging around what it costs them to educate the students who are in a school, then the discussion needs to be "What can we get rid of, reduce, reformulate to lower costs?" (One caveat here: schools would need to open their books so that we could, indeed, see if they are spending on the necessities.)
If sending our children to school for 6 days a week costs X, how much would sending them for only 5 days cost us? If an 11-12 hour school day costs X, how much would a nine hour day cost? What programs and what amenities could we trim that would result in a lowered tuition for parents?
I know, I know, right now someone out there is thinking to themselves that the yeshivas will never go for this. But the time is coming, and coming very soon, that yeshivas are not going to have any options but to cut. There is a limited amount of money in the pool of parents and donators. The more you raise tuition, the smaller that pool becomes. There simply won't be the money to maintain the status quo. And that is why we, all of us, need to think about this now. What would we be willing to do without in a school setting if the end result were a reduced tuition?
Let me give you one example. All students in New York City and New York State are entitled to certain services provided by the Board of Education, services like speech and hearing assessments and testing and remediation. Ditto for special education services. However, the Board of Ed will not send in their specialists into the religious schools--no mixing of church and state. They will, however, send those specialists into premises that are not part of the "religious" building. If a trailer is put into a courtyard of a yeshiva that would satisfy the Board of Ed, as long as the trailer is not used for regular school activities. So, the cost of one trailer versus the costs of hiring specialists and running special programs. It certainly is one area to look at. There are others.
So I was hoping that the discussion on school tuition would move out of the griping stage and into the "what can we actually do" stage. We've made a start by recognizing that it costs lots of money to educate our children today the way we are approaching that education. We've identified some of the reasons why that education costs what it costs. Now we need to go to the next step: what can we realistically cut down on and cut out?
Monday, June 2, 2008
Rethinking Denim
Mention denim in frummy circles and you get funny looks. Denim is not looked at with favor. I don't understand why given what happened to me below.
Denim figured into two impromptu shopping expeditions I took. What I found makes me believe that we need to upgrade denim from casual "worker" clothing to you can wear it anywhere clothing. I had a few spare minutes and ran into a store on Avenue J looking for a tichel. The store sells hats and tichlach so I browsed for a few minutes. That's when I discovered I was really not in Kansas anymore and was somewhere in Oz. There it was, a fairly plain cap hat in denim. I picked it up, looked at the price tag and then had to look again. I was putting the hat back on the shelf and preparing to leave the store when the sales person told me "That's such a big seller and what a bargain." I backed out quickly. That bargain was $57.00.
I was on Coney Island Avenue and dropped into a store that sells ladies clothing. I wandered over to a rack that had denim skirts on it. Again, I could not believe what numbers were on the price tags. The cheapest skirt on the rack--this is denim we are talking about--was $95 and there were others with price tags in the $110-145 range. And, oh joy, we were talking about dry clean only.
So yes, denim seems to have become the new silk, at least in Flatbush. People may look down their noses at the stuff but then they pay through the nose for it. The prices are so over the top. And yet this is where frum Brooklyn shops?
All the way back to my car I repeated to myself "There's no place like home, there's no place like home." And then I got into my car and went there. "There" hasn't yet elevated denim to the price range of couture clothing. Hmmm, I wonder what silk costs in Flatbush?
Denim figured into two impromptu shopping expeditions I took. What I found makes me believe that we need to upgrade denim from casual "worker" clothing to you can wear it anywhere clothing. I had a few spare minutes and ran into a store on Avenue J looking for a tichel. The store sells hats and tichlach so I browsed for a few minutes. That's when I discovered I was really not in Kansas anymore and was somewhere in Oz. There it was, a fairly plain cap hat in denim. I picked it up, looked at the price tag and then had to look again. I was putting the hat back on the shelf and preparing to leave the store when the sales person told me "That's such a big seller and what a bargain." I backed out quickly. That bargain was $57.00.
I was on Coney Island Avenue and dropped into a store that sells ladies clothing. I wandered over to a rack that had denim skirts on it. Again, I could not believe what numbers were on the price tags. The cheapest skirt on the rack--this is denim we are talking about--was $95 and there were others with price tags in the $110-145 range. And, oh joy, we were talking about dry clean only.
So yes, denim seems to have become the new silk, at least in Flatbush. People may look down their noses at the stuff but then they pay through the nose for it. The prices are so over the top. And yet this is where frum Brooklyn shops?
All the way back to my car I repeated to myself "There's no place like home, there's no place like home." And then I got into my car and went there. "There" hasn't yet elevated denim to the price range of couture clothing. Hmmm, I wonder what silk costs in Flatbush?
Being a Doctor Just Got a Bit Easier
On my posting "Doctor, Lawyer, Engineering Chief" a number of commenters said that becoming a doctor was not a good bet because of the amount of debt medical students accrue in their school years. The June 9, 2008 edition of U.S.News & World Report has some interesting news about that debt. Medical school just might make a comeback among the frum.
The article is entitled "Med School Gets Cheaper for Some." "A growing number of medical schools are offering free or reduced-cost degrees. The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine is waiving tuition for all its future students. The University of Central Florida will pay all tuition and living expenses for the entering class of its new medical school. Harvard is cutting as much as $12,500 from the annual bills of medical students whose families earn less than $120,000. And the Mayo Clinic is granting all newly admitted students at least $25,000 in scholarships toward the school's $29,000 tuition."
"The schools are trying to counteract the growing financial pressures that cause many med students to pursue high-paying specialties rather than, say, becoming a pediatrician in a low-income community. Public medical school graduates average about $120,000 in debt. Private school graduates typically owe about $160,000."
Given the all too real doctor shortage that has been forecast for as early as 2011-2015, and which is already being seen in some parts of the country, more medical schools are liable to jump on the bandwagon. It's certainly something to think about. Now all we have to do is see to it that our frum students actually get the kind of undergraduate education that would get them admitted to the medical schools that offer the lowered tuition.
The article is entitled "Med School Gets Cheaper for Some." "A growing number of medical schools are offering free or reduced-cost degrees. The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine is waiving tuition for all its future students. The University of Central Florida will pay all tuition and living expenses for the entering class of its new medical school. Harvard is cutting as much as $12,500 from the annual bills of medical students whose families earn less than $120,000. And the Mayo Clinic is granting all newly admitted students at least $25,000 in scholarships toward the school's $29,000 tuition."
"The schools are trying to counteract the growing financial pressures that cause many med students to pursue high-paying specialties rather than, say, becoming a pediatrician in a low-income community. Public medical school graduates average about $120,000 in debt. Private school graduates typically owe about $160,000."
Given the all too real doctor shortage that has been forecast for as early as 2011-2015, and which is already being seen in some parts of the country, more medical schools are liable to jump on the bandwagon. It's certainly something to think about. Now all we have to do is see to it that our frum students actually get the kind of undergraduate education that would get them admitted to the medical schools that offer the lowered tuition.
Tell Me Why, Why,Why, Why
Prices go up as the years pass. So it has always been. Base salaries also go up as the years pass. Presumably salaries and expenses should be rising by the same amount. Presuming is in the same category as assuming, and you know what they say about assuming.
36 years ago a pound of kosher hamburger cost 39 cents in the Far Rockaway area. A pound of chicken was 19 cents. Today a pound of hamburger costs around $3.99 and a pound of chicken around $2.49 to $3.00. Back then gas was around 39 cents a gallon as well, with gas at $3.90 to $4.10 a gallon today. Still the consumer price index would show that the cost for these items has not gone up out of sync with salaries for the most part.
Now let's look at yeshiva tuition. In 1978 a year's tuition at both a Bais Yaakov school and at RJJ for boys was $300 per year for Kindergarten. In 1982 first grade at RJJ was slightly under $500 per year. In 1986 the first year tuition for Prospect Park High School was under $1000 per year.
Now fast forward to today. Kindergarten at TAG in Far Rockaway, for fall 2008 is $11,850, for a four year old. First grade at Shulamit, assuming they open, for fall of 2008 is slightly under $15,000. One year of high school at Flatbush Yeshiva is around $25,000.
Of all the products that frum people use and have to pay for, tuition is the only one that has risen at a rate out of sync with salary increases and with other products required to be purchased. In 36 years hamburger and gas have gotten 10 times more expensive. In 32 years kindergarten tuition has gotten 40 times more expensive. In only 22 years first year high school tuition has gotten to be 15 times as expensive. To put this in perspective, if hamburger and gas prices had risen at the same rate as school tuition you would be paying $15.60 cents per pound of hamburger or per gallon of gas.
So please, someone tell me why. Tell me what has changed so that tuition should not fall within a basic economic predictor of cost. Yes, I've heard of the basic supply vs. demand model. To my knowledge demand for yeshivas does not outstrip supply, so that cannot be the major component in the huge jump in tuition. I have my suspicions, one of which is the number of parents able to pay full tuition 36 years ago versus the number able to do so today. But perhaps we really do need to have full transparency in yeshiva costs and the input of lots of people with financial savvy to see what can be done about rising tuition costs.
Look at it this way: unless something is done to contain tuition costs, following the model of the last 32 years, in just 10 years from now a kindergartner will be paying $120,000.00 per year in tuition. Before you say that's never going to happen, please look back at that $300 per year that I paid in tuition "only" 32 years ago. My generation would have bet the farm that tuition could never reach today's prices.
36 years ago a pound of kosher hamburger cost 39 cents in the Far Rockaway area. A pound of chicken was 19 cents. Today a pound of hamburger costs around $3.99 and a pound of chicken around $2.49 to $3.00. Back then gas was around 39 cents a gallon as well, with gas at $3.90 to $4.10 a gallon today. Still the consumer price index would show that the cost for these items has not gone up out of sync with salaries for the most part.
Now let's look at yeshiva tuition. In 1978 a year's tuition at both a Bais Yaakov school and at RJJ for boys was $300 per year for Kindergarten. In 1982 first grade at RJJ was slightly under $500 per year. In 1986 the first year tuition for Prospect Park High School was under $1000 per year.
Now fast forward to today. Kindergarten at TAG in Far Rockaway, for fall 2008 is $11,850, for a four year old. First grade at Shulamit, assuming they open, for fall of 2008 is slightly under $15,000. One year of high school at Flatbush Yeshiva is around $25,000.
Of all the products that frum people use and have to pay for, tuition is the only one that has risen at a rate out of sync with salary increases and with other products required to be purchased. In 36 years hamburger and gas have gotten 10 times more expensive. In 32 years kindergarten tuition has gotten 40 times more expensive. In only 22 years first year high school tuition has gotten to be 15 times as expensive. To put this in perspective, if hamburger and gas prices had risen at the same rate as school tuition you would be paying $15.60 cents per pound of hamburger or per gallon of gas.
So please, someone tell me why. Tell me what has changed so that tuition should not fall within a basic economic predictor of cost. Yes, I've heard of the basic supply vs. demand model. To my knowledge demand for yeshivas does not outstrip supply, so that cannot be the major component in the huge jump in tuition. I have my suspicions, one of which is the number of parents able to pay full tuition 36 years ago versus the number able to do so today. But perhaps we really do need to have full transparency in yeshiva costs and the input of lots of people with financial savvy to see what can be done about rising tuition costs.
Look at it this way: unless something is done to contain tuition costs, following the model of the last 32 years, in just 10 years from now a kindergartner will be paying $120,000.00 per year in tuition. Before you say that's never going to happen, please look back at that $300 per year that I paid in tuition "only" 32 years ago. My generation would have bet the farm that tuition could never reach today's prices.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Big Business, Meet Shidduchim
The state of shidduch making today points to a reliance on the "big business" model and approach. In this approach a company follows a collaborative model from inception of a product idea to final placement in the market.
There are multiple levels of responsibility in this model of business. Various people have responsibility for moving the product along. First, of course, comes the Product Development team. They are responsible for creating the vision for the product right at the beginning. They know that there may be other, similar products on the market but they believe that their version is unique and adds something that no other example of the product does. In other instances the Product Development Team knows that a particular item is selling like hotcakes and they want to cash in on the trend.We can call this team the parents of the product.
Next up is the Research and Development team. Their job is to look at all other similar products and to make sure that their product fits into the field it will be associated with. Their job is to fine tune the original concept and to put it into a final form that they believe will sell on the open market. They worry about things like color and trim and usefulness. Let's call them the School and Educator people.
Okay, so we have a product. It's not yet ready to be sold yet. First we need the input of the Marketing and the Consumer Psychology experts. These people are responsible for "taking the temperature" of the buying public. They are going to do some consumer testing to see if the new product will raise any enthusiasm in the buying public. They are going to do surveys and sampling tests and they are going to analyze all the data they can get their hands on. They are going to look at what consumers are buying and why and see how the new product fits into the buying patterns. They are going to ask questions, lots of questions. They will report back with their findings and recommend any tweaking of the product that is necessary for it to fit into its proper niche. Let's call them the Shadchan team. This team sometimes includes psychologists who specialize in product relationships.
Are we done yet? Nope. That product has to be packaged to catch the right consumer's eyes. Packaging specialists look to enhance the product's basic looks through the use of throwaway wrappings. The packaging is not a part of the permanent structure of the product but can be key in selling the product. The "plainer" the product or the more different it is from others in its field, the more the packaging experts work to make it look more attractive to a specific consumer. Packaging specialists can include but are not limited to beauticians, clothing store owners, hair stylists, sometimes shadchanim who are doing double duty, and friends of the product who want it to conform to the right standards. Parents sometimes also do double duty in this category. Educators consider themselves ideally situated to take on this job also.
Next up we have the group responsible for advertising the product. It's no use having a new product if nobody knows about it. It is absolutely essential to create a public awareness that a new product is out there and to create a desire for that new product. Let's call this team the Everybody-you-have-ever-met-and-lots-of-strangers-too Team.
The Internet has become an integral part of many businesses. It is this way in shidduchim as well. You get wider exposure through the Internet than you do with many traditional means of communication. Let's call this the Online Shidduch Site team.
Done yet? Nope. Consumers also play a role in how successful a new product will be on the market. One person hears about a new product and maybe tries it. His/her experience with that product will be shared with other people who might be considering buying the product. Word of mouth is a much used selling tool. Let's call this the People-who-have-dated-other-people Team.
There are specialized consumers who function as arbiters of taste and who serve as setters of fashion. Other consumers tend to follow their lead. These consumers decide which products are worthwhile, which packaging is "in," which product characteristics are what is being looked for. In this group we can put rabbanim, roshei hayeshiva and heads of schools. Sometimes these consumer leaders are influential members of a community.
Launching a new product, despite all the work done beforehand, is not the end of the involvement of all these teams. They keep a watchful on the newly launched product to see how it is doing in the open market. They look at how much market share the new product seems to be garnering. They may have to adjust product placement along the way; it may be possible that the product is placed in the wrong place to find the consumers it needs. They may fiddle with packaging and/or presentation. All teams mentioned so far are involved in this aspect.
While individual inventors and designers may have only one product that is their "baby," the company, as a whole, may be launching a slew of new products all at the same time. Some may find their ideal consumer right out of the starting gate; some may be slower to catch on. And some may not catch on at all. They may languish on shelves while other, newer products are whisked out of the stores.
Some manufacturers never give up hope that their product will eventually find its proper niche. They believe fully in that product. Other companies seem to write off the product if it doesn't take off by some arbitrary date and deadline. Some manufacturers seem to take the attitude of "if it sells it sells, if not okay too." They leave the product out there and hope for the best. Others recall the product and stop working to place it properly. Some take the stance that the product was introduced "before its time" and will do better at a later date.
Some products take a hand in the process all on their own. They may only be a "product" but they know something that many team members don't: some products get better as they age. Some products become better and more valuable the older they get. Some products need time to achieve the patina that will attract the discerning consumer. Some products don't care who buys them as long as it happens now. They are all flash and dazzle with a snappy packaging but perhaps not too much in the box. Other products are not looking for just any home to grace but for just that perfect home.
The Big Business Model assumes that if you follow a pattern you will come up with the right results. This Model assumes that manipulation is part of the process. This Model assumes that products and consumers are merely playing pieces that can be moved around at will. This Model relies a lot on illusion--what you think you see but that may not really be there.
Application of the Model to shidduchim is not working out nearly as well as was hoped by those applying it. There is one simple explanation for why not. People are not products, are not inanimate objects created through a manufacturing process that creates identical items. People are unique; what works for one may not work for another. Unless and until the communities stop trying to "peddle" people as if they were just another product on a shelf we are going to continue to hear about an artificial "shidduch crisis." "Buying" and "selling" people is already illegal and it should be considered unethical and immoral also.
There are multiple levels of responsibility in this model of business. Various people have responsibility for moving the product along. First, of course, comes the Product Development team. They are responsible for creating the vision for the product right at the beginning. They know that there may be other, similar products on the market but they believe that their version is unique and adds something that no other example of the product does. In other instances the Product Development Team knows that a particular item is selling like hotcakes and they want to cash in on the trend.We can call this team the parents of the product.
Next up is the Research and Development team. Their job is to look at all other similar products and to make sure that their product fits into the field it will be associated with. Their job is to fine tune the original concept and to put it into a final form that they believe will sell on the open market. They worry about things like color and trim and usefulness. Let's call them the School and Educator people.
Okay, so we have a product. It's not yet ready to be sold yet. First we need the input of the Marketing and the Consumer Psychology experts. These people are responsible for "taking the temperature" of the buying public. They are going to do some consumer testing to see if the new product will raise any enthusiasm in the buying public. They are going to do surveys and sampling tests and they are going to analyze all the data they can get their hands on. They are going to look at what consumers are buying and why and see how the new product fits into the buying patterns. They are going to ask questions, lots of questions. They will report back with their findings and recommend any tweaking of the product that is necessary for it to fit into its proper niche. Let's call them the Shadchan team. This team sometimes includes psychologists who specialize in product relationships.
Are we done yet? Nope. That product has to be packaged to catch the right consumer's eyes. Packaging specialists look to enhance the product's basic looks through the use of throwaway wrappings. The packaging is not a part of the permanent structure of the product but can be key in selling the product. The "plainer" the product or the more different it is from others in its field, the more the packaging experts work to make it look more attractive to a specific consumer. Packaging specialists can include but are not limited to beauticians, clothing store owners, hair stylists, sometimes shadchanim who are doing double duty, and friends of the product who want it to conform to the right standards. Parents sometimes also do double duty in this category. Educators consider themselves ideally situated to take on this job also.
Next up we have the group responsible for advertising the product. It's no use having a new product if nobody knows about it. It is absolutely essential to create a public awareness that a new product is out there and to create a desire for that new product. Let's call this team the Everybody-you-have-ever-met-and-lots-of-strangers-too Team.
The Internet has become an integral part of many businesses. It is this way in shidduchim as well. You get wider exposure through the Internet than you do with many traditional means of communication. Let's call this the Online Shidduch Site team.
Done yet? Nope. Consumers also play a role in how successful a new product will be on the market. One person hears about a new product and maybe tries it. His/her experience with that product will be shared with other people who might be considering buying the product. Word of mouth is a much used selling tool. Let's call this the People-who-have-dated-other-people Team.
There are specialized consumers who function as arbiters of taste and who serve as setters of fashion. Other consumers tend to follow their lead. These consumers decide which products are worthwhile, which packaging is "in," which product characteristics are what is being looked for. In this group we can put rabbanim, roshei hayeshiva and heads of schools. Sometimes these consumer leaders are influential members of a community.
Launching a new product, despite all the work done beforehand, is not the end of the involvement of all these teams. They keep a watchful on the newly launched product to see how it is doing in the open market. They look at how much market share the new product seems to be garnering. They may have to adjust product placement along the way; it may be possible that the product is placed in the wrong place to find the consumers it needs. They may fiddle with packaging and/or presentation. All teams mentioned so far are involved in this aspect.
While individual inventors and designers may have only one product that is their "baby," the company, as a whole, may be launching a slew of new products all at the same time. Some may find their ideal consumer right out of the starting gate; some may be slower to catch on. And some may not catch on at all. They may languish on shelves while other, newer products are whisked out of the stores.
Some manufacturers never give up hope that their product will eventually find its proper niche. They believe fully in that product. Other companies seem to write off the product if it doesn't take off by some arbitrary date and deadline. Some manufacturers seem to take the attitude of "if it sells it sells, if not okay too." They leave the product out there and hope for the best. Others recall the product and stop working to place it properly. Some take the stance that the product was introduced "before its time" and will do better at a later date.
Some products take a hand in the process all on their own. They may only be a "product" but they know something that many team members don't: some products get better as they age. Some products become better and more valuable the older they get. Some products need time to achieve the patina that will attract the discerning consumer. Some products don't care who buys them as long as it happens now. They are all flash and dazzle with a snappy packaging but perhaps not too much in the box. Other products are not looking for just any home to grace but for just that perfect home.
The Big Business Model assumes that if you follow a pattern you will come up with the right results. This Model assumes that manipulation is part of the process. This Model assumes that products and consumers are merely playing pieces that can be moved around at will. This Model relies a lot on illusion--what you think you see but that may not really be there.
Application of the Model to shidduchim is not working out nearly as well as was hoped by those applying it. There is one simple explanation for why not. People are not products, are not inanimate objects created through a manufacturing process that creates identical items. People are unique; what works for one may not work for another. Unless and until the communities stop trying to "peddle" people as if they were just another product on a shelf we are going to continue to hear about an artificial "shidduch crisis." "Buying" and "selling" people is already illegal and it should be considered unethical and immoral also.
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