Category Archives: Management

Management Improvement Carnival #25

Posted on December 18, 2007 by John Hunter

Please submit your favorite management posts to the carnival. Read the previous management carnivals. Some theoretical thinking by John Dowd – “Deming was fond of saying, ‘management is prediction‘ and, in this, I think he was exactly right. Management never … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | 1 Comment

Deming Companies

Posted on December 17, 2007 by John Hunter

I get asked for examples of Deming managed companies fairly often. And recently I have had a number of such requests. So I figured I would provide an answer as a blog post. First, Dr. Deming would respond to such … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Popular, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Great Visual Instruction Example

Posted on December 14, 2007 by John Hunter

This does a great job of explaining what you need to know clearly. While this presentation for Azithromycin doesn’t prevent a mistake it sure makes it much more likely that the process can be completed successfully. We need more effort … Continue reading →

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Performance Appraisals are Worse Than a Waste of Time

Posted on December 13, 2007 by John Hunter

Appraisals are a waste of Time Most British workers will certainly leave their appraisal fired up and motivated, but only to look for a new job, new research from workplace and HR body Investors in People has concluded. Nearly half … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Performance Appraisal, Psychology, Respect | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Dr. Deming 4 Day Seminar

Posted on December 12, 2007 by John Hunter

The W. Edwards Deming Institute is sponsoring a 4 day seminar using videos of Dr. Deming’s seminars and facilitated by Ed Baker, Dave Nave, and Joyce Orsini: Quality, Productivity, and Competitive Position. Ed Baker was the person at Ford responsible … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Deming, Education, Management, Systems thinking | Comments Off on Dr. Deming 4 Day Seminar

The Power of a Checklist

Posted on December 7, 2007 by John Hunter

Great article on The Checklist – If something so simple can transform intensive care, what else can it do? by Atul Gawande A decade ago, Israeli scientists published a study in which engineers observed patient care in I.C.U.s for twenty-four-hour … Continue reading →

Posted in Health care, Lean thinking, Management, Process improvement, Psychology, Quality tools | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Management Improvement Carnival #24

Posted on December 3, 2007 by John Hunter

Please submit your favorite management posts to the carnival. Read the previous management carnivals. Is it Scrum or Lean? by Jeff Sutherland – “A thoughtful analysis of the relationship between complex adaptive systems and Lean will show that both Scrum … Continue reading →

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Lean, Toyota and Deming for Software Development

Posted on December 2, 2007 by John Hunter

Mary Poppendieck on The Role of Leadership in Software Development, very nice 90 minute webcast: In this 90-minute talk from the Agile2007 conference, Lean software thought leader Mary Poppendieck reviewed 20th century management theories, including Toyota and Deming, and went … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, IT, Lean thinking, Management, Software Development, Toyota Production System (TPS), webcast | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Getting and Keeping Great Employees

Posted on November 29, 2007 by John Hunter

I am not convinced of the premise of The new war for talent: that there will be a great shortage of talent soon. But the article makes some interesting points. The Conference Board CEO Challenge of 2007 points out that … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Performance Appraisal, Respect | 1 Comment

Arbitrary Rules Don’t Work

Posted on November 28, 2007 by John Hunter

Procedurally Enforcing Workflow by Michael Salamon: UI gem, and a great reminder for the RIAA/MPAA: You can’t force people to follow directions they deem arbitrary. I bet if that gate spit out $100 bills people would use it. Why matters. … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Popular, Process improvement, Psychology, Respect | Tagged , , | 1 Comment