Pilot ejects from CF-18 before it crashes and explodes

Pilot ejects from CF-18 before it crashes and explodes

Another victory for the McDonnell Douglas/Northrop Grumman team - the ejection seat on this CF-18 works just fine, even when the aircraft stalls and the ejection seat is deployed at low-speed and high angle of attack. Good job!

For better customer relationships, concentrate first on employees - SmartPlanet

For better customer relationships, concentrate first on employees - SmartPlanet

This is something that Northrop Grumman does NOT believe in.

The customers come first, shareholders (remember "shareholder value"?) come next, management are next, with the employees in a very distant last place (employees are replaceable, expendable, cogs in a big machine).

New Army chief is ready to pull the plug on ¿over-priced¿ UK defence firms | Mail Online

New Army chief is ready to pull the plug on ¿over-priced¿ UK defence firms | Mail Online

The Brits are tired over over-paying for over-priced defense items from their over-priced defense firms. They would rather buy abroad.

They would rather pay for over-priced foreign military goods. Northrop Grumman can provide high-priced (NOT over-priced) products.

I Write Like erupts online, authors scratch heads - Washington Times

I Write Like erupts online, authors scratch heads - Washington Times

Check this out - I put a couple of blog entries from this blog into I Write Like and it told me that I write like Isaac Asimov(?!)

14 Ways to Expand Your Influence - by Dumb Little Man

14 Ways to Expand Your Influence - by Dumb Little Man

Here's a question: How many of the managers at Northrop Grumman have "influence"?

Take a look at these "14 Ways to Expand Your Influence" in this blog.

1. Understand It

2. Be a Person of Integrity and of Values

3. Be Authentic and Transparent

4. Accept Responsibility

5. Be a Solution Seeker

6. Be Proactive

7. Practice Empathy

8. Appreciate & Recognize Others

9. Respond vs React

10. Bring Out the Best in Others

11. Practice the Golden Rule

12. Be a Giver

13. Go Above and Beyond

14. Have Vision

BBC News - Row over Canada F-35 fighter jet order

BBC News - Row over Canada F-35 fighter jet order

There seems to be a big fuss in Canada because "The contract with US company Lockheed Martin was signed without a competitive bidding process, drawing fire from Canada's opposition party."

The whole idea of the Joint Strike Fighter was to share costs for a common fighter jet design for several nations.

Where else would Canada get a fighter jet for less than the total cost of $16bn, according to "Media reports estimate that maintenance could bring the total cost to Canadian $16bn."

Northrop CEO: Wesley Bush is steering Northrop Grumman in a new direction - latimes.com

Northrop CEO: Wesley Bush is steering Northrop Grumman in a new direction - latimes.com

Wes Bush wants to make over Northrop Grumman, and is proposing to make additional changes.

Northrop Grumman may get out of the ship-building business.

See the link above for more.

Here's an interesting observation by Rebecca Grant of IRIS Independent Research:

"Wes Bush is not hung up on the Northrop Grumman of the past," Grant said. "Time will tell about his judgment. But I think you have to give him credit for making the tough moves early on."

10 surefire ways to kill morale | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com

10 surefire ways to kill morale | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com

Here's a list of ten things that supposedly "kill morale" - how many do you see at Northrop Grumman?

1: Punish desired behavior

2: Reward undesired behavior

3: Play favorites

4: Change direction early and often

5: Ignore the positives

6: Focus only on the negatives

7: Use questionable measurements

8: Fail to give credit

9: Micromanage

10. Freak out

Official Announcement from Wes Bush

This came from a Northrop Grumman employee who thought I was interested in this:

If you have access to the Company Intranet, you can also view this message at the following location: http://home.northgrum.com/comm/comm_execs.html.

July 12, 2010

MFCP 10-17

Site in Falls Church, Virginia Selected for New Corporate Office

To My Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce our selection of a building in Falls Church, Va. as the new home for our corporate office. Northrop Grumman has entered into an agreement to purchase the building located at 2980 Fairview Park Drive following a thorough site selection process. We plan to open the new office in the summer of 2011.

The building is located approximately 10 miles from the Pentagon, just inside the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495). It will accommodate employees from both our Los Angeles Corporate Office and Washington Operations facility in Arlington, Va.

I want to recognize the members of our relocation team for their efforts in identifying an excellent site, and for continuing to assist our Corporate employees who are making significant personal and professional changes as a result of this move.

I also want to thank our Corporate employees for their continued cooperation during this time of change, and I ask for everyone’s support as we move forward with the relocation. This is an important step in our drive to achieve sustainable performance improvement and deliver increased value to our shareholders, customers and employees.

sig:\

Wes Bush

Chief Executive Officer and President

MY TAKE on this DOWN-SIZING is this:

That means A LOT of folks in Century City are not being asked to go to Virginia - remember what I wrote based on the Daily Breeze article April 27, 2010?

In reading the Daily Breeze article, NOTICE the DOWN-SIZING that Northrop Grumman is undergoing:

- Current Century City headquarters has about 360 people

- New location will have about 300 people

OBVIOUSLY not all of the current 360 people are being asked to move to Virginia. ALSO, how many people will be hired from the "local talent"?

How many folks from the Washington facility are part of the 300?

The more Washington folks there are, the less Century City folks beyond the obvious 60 there will not be.

Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.

Ten Signs of a Fear-Based Workplace - Yahoo! Finance

Ten Signs of a Fear-Based Workplace - Yahoo! Finance

Is Northrop Grumman a "Fear-Based Workplace"?

Look at the link for the article for more on the following ten signs:

1. Appearances are everything.

2. Everyone one is talking about who's rising and who's falling.

3. Distrust reigns.

4. Numbers rule.

5. And rules number in the thousands.

6. Management considers lateral communication suspect.

7. Information is hoarded.

8. Brown-nosers rule.

9. The Office evokes sad chuckles, rather than laughs.

10. Management leads by fear.

What do you think?

Dark-horse team bids against Boeing and EADS for $35-billion Pentagon tanker contract - latimes.com

Dark-horse team bids against Boeing and EADS for $35-billion Pentagon tanker contract - latimes.com

Now that Northrop Grumman pulled out of the KC-X competition after Wes Bush decided that it was not worth the resources, time and effort (and Northrop Grumman not having the political clout to keep a once-won contract won), there's Boeing, EADS (Northrop Grumman's former partner that now is going it alone), and the U.S. Aerospace Inc. of Santa Fe Springs and former Soviet Union plane manufacturer Antonov of Ukraine.

U.S. Aerospace Inc. is described as "small, cash-strapped" but evidently they feel that when they are teamed with Antonov they have have the resources, time, and effort required that Northrop Grumman does not

BBC News - EADS submits new bid for USAF refuelling contract

BBC News - EADS submits new bid for USAF refuelling contract

EADS was Northrop Grumman's partner on the KC-X before Wes Bush decided that Northrop Grumman did not have the political clout that Boeing had to keep the KC-X that it had originally won.

Lockheed cuts exec ranks as Pentagon seeks savings - Washington Times

Lockheed cuts exec ranks as Pentagon seeks savings - Washington Times

Given that Northrop Grumman now has a number of former Lockheed employees, do you think that this method of cutting costs will be adopted at Northrop Grumman?