http://management.curiouscatblog.net Management Improvement focused on Deming, lean thinking, innovation, customer focus, six sigma, etc. Thu, 15 May 2008 14:50:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Kevin Meyer is hosting Management Improvement Carnival #35 on the Evolving Excellence blog, some of the highlights include Hidden Problems from TPM Log.  "We must encourage people to speak up and identify problems. We must also develop avenues for people to do so in a comfortable manner." It's the People, Not Just the ... http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/05/15/management-improvement-carnival-35/ The recent drastic reductions again emphasize (once again) that changes in the federal funds rate are not correlated with changes in the 30 year fixed mortgage rate. In the last 4 months the discount rate has been reduced nearly 200 basis points, while 30 year fixed mortgage rates have fallen ... http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/05/13/fed-funds-rate-changes-dont-presage-mortgage-rate-changes/ Chinese firms bargain hunting in U.S. Liu is investing $10 million in the Palmetto State, building a printing-plate factory that will open this fall and hire 120 workers. His main aim is to tap the large American market, but when his finance staff penciled out the costs, he was stunned to ... http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/05/08/china-outsourcing-manufacturing-to-usa/ The Open Secret of Success Toyota's innovations, by contrast, have [focused] on process rather than on product, on the factory floor rather than on the showroom. That has made those innovations hard to see. But it hasn't made them any less powerful. At the core of the company's success is the Toyota ... http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/05/07/toyota-execution-not-close-to-being-copied/ Guest post by David Kerridge (originally posted to the Deming Electronic Network): This is part of a series in which I recall striking or thought-provoking things that W. Edwards Deming said, but did not put into his books. I remember taking a manager to his first Deming 4-day seminar. Afterwards my friend ... http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/05/05/post-number-1000/ The Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve in Ohio is quite a nice short hike. Photos by John Hunter. If anyone knows what the green beetle is please add a comment. I visited the preserve last year. Other sites from the trip include: Rocky Gap State Park, Maryland and ... http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/05/04/clifton-gorge-state-nature-preserve-in-ohio/ Please submit your favorite management posts to the carnival. Read the previous management carnivals. Introduction to Factorial Designs by Jonathan Mendez - "I like the idea of velocity in marketing -- test, learn, test, learn, test. Instead of one large test I prefer focusing attention on certain areas or elements ... http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/05/01/management-improvement-carnival-34/ The Deming Institute is sponsoring, How to Create Unethical, Ineffective Organizations That Go Out of Business, 12-14 May, 2008 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Kelly Allan and John Hunter will be presenting the seminar. Please let me know if you sign up. Twenty-seven faulty management and corporate governance practices create most of ... http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/04/30/management-seminar-in-colorado/ This is the 1,000th post to the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog. Here are some highlights: Post number 2: Dangers of Forgetting the Proxy Nature of Data - "We use data to act as a proxy for some results of the system. Often people forget that the desired end result ... http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/04/29/post-number-1000-2/ The Baldrige National Quality Award winners for 2007 are: PRO-TEC Coating, Leipsic, Ohio (small business) Mercy Health System, Janesville, Wisconsin (health care) Sharp HealthCare, San Diego, California (health care) City of Coral Springs, Coral Springs, Fla. (nonprofit) U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC), Picatinny Arsenal, N.J. (nonprofit) President Bush met with winners ... http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/04/28/2007-baldrige-national-quality-award/