Tag Archives: management

How Toyota Turns Workers Into Problem Solvers

Topic: Management Improvement How Toyota Turns Workers Into Problem Solvers, Sarah Jane Johnston interview of Steven Spear. It is our conclusion that Toyota has developed a set of principles, Rules-in-Use we’ve called them, that allow organizations to engage in this … Continue reading

Posted in Creativity, Deming, Management, Process improvement, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

LA Jail Saves Time Processing Crime

After efficiency study, L.A. jail saves time processing crime by Dan Laidman Los Angels Daily News (pointy hired boss broke the link so I removed it) Last week, Chief William Bratton told the Board of Police Commissioners that Toyota methods … Continue reading

Posted in Deming, Management, Process improvement, Public Sector, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on LA Jail Saves Time Processing Crime

Stretching Agile to fit CMMI Level 3

Topic: Management Improvement Stretching Agile to fit CMMI Level 3 by David J. Anderson. I highly recommend reading this article. My work happens to straddle both the management improvement and software development areas that this article covers. But, if you … Continue reading

Posted in Deming, Management, Quality tools, Software Development | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

New Toyota CEO’s Views

The Man Driving Toyota from Business Week: Toyota has grown in the past few years, but [there’s a risk] that a belief that the current status is satisfactory creeps into the minds of employees. That’s what I’m worried about. We … Continue reading

Posted in Management, Process improvement, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Agile Management

David Anderson publishes the Agile Management Blog, wrote the Agile Management for Software Engineering: Applying the Theory of Constraints for Business Results, and works for Microsoft. Robert Scoble, technical evangelist [the broken link was removed], also with Microsoft, has posted … Continue reading

Posted in Deming, IT, Management, Software Development, webcast | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Targets Distorting the System

I still remember Dr. Brian Joiner speaking about process improvement and the role of data well over a decade ago. He spoke of 3 ways to improve the figures: distort the data, distort the system and improve the system. Improving … Continue reading

Posted in Data, Deming, Management, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Who Influences Your Thinking?

Comments on Who Influences Your Thinking? [broken link removed] – Survey results [broken link removed] > 1. Are people getting most of their information > from other sources? That would be my guess. Similar to the phenomenon of “the long … Continue reading

Posted in Management, quote | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Theory of Knowledge

Deming’s Management System, as expressed in his book: The New Economics has four interdependent parts: Appreciation for a System (systems thinking) Knowledge about Variation (see: variation definition) Theory of Knowledge Psychology (the human element of management systems) Quotes on the … Continue reading

Posted in Deming, Management | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Operational Excellence

In, the post Is Operational Excellence Dead? the argument is made that operational excellence is dead as a differentiator of companies. “All of the emphasis on outsourcing to low labor cost countries seems to imply that organizations no longer consider … Continue reading

Posted in Management, Manufacturing, Process improvement, quote | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Management Improvement History

I do believe we need to improve our practice of Quality (and to do that we need to understand what happened in the past and why it was not more successful). The idea that Design of Experiments (DoE) was at the core of some Quality Movement to me is not at all accurate. In my experience only a few Quality professionals today understand what it means and how it should be applied. The idea that it was common place in the 40’s I seriously doubt (though I don’t have first hand knowledge of this). I find it difficult to believe we would have decided to stop using DoE if it was commonly done previously. The understanding I have from those that should know (like George Box and previously my father – Bill Hunter) is that it was not at all common practice and still is not outside of a few industries and even there it is isolated in the domain of a few experts. Continue reading

Posted in Deming, Design of Experiments, Lean thinking, Management, Popular, Process improvement, Quality tools, Six sigma, Statistics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments