Monthly Archives: January 2010

The Trouble with Incentives: They Work

Posted on January 28, 2010 by John Hunter

Gipsie B. Ranney has a great new article – The Trouble with Incentives: They Work I have wondered whether the escalation of pay, perks and parachutes for CEOs actually tends to attract individuals who are primarily extrinsically motivated, rather than individuals who are seriously interested in creating value. Several recent examples appear to be consistent with this view. … An important issue with regard to incentives is possible effects on teamwork and cooperation. If the incentive system is set up … Continue reading →

Posted in Competition, Deming, Management, Management Articles, Performance Appraisal, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Toyota Stops Lines – Lots of Lines

Posted on January 26, 2010 by John Hunter

The practice of stopping (either the machine automatically detecting a problem and stopping or a person stopping) the line when a problem is detected is part of Jidoka. Jidoka is also highlighting and making problems visible. Jidoka and Just in Time are the two pillars of the Toyota Production System. Today Toyota practiced Jidoka on a large scale: Toyota Halts Sales of Eight Models After Recall [the broken link was removed] Toyota Motor, still struggling to resolve a problem with … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Manufacturing, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Prophet Unheard: Dr. W. Edwards Deming – 1992

Posted on January 25, 2010 by John Hunter

[embedded webcast links removed because they have been removed from YouTube. To see video with W. Edwards Deming see the Deming Institute YouTube channel.] This is an interesting video on Deming and American management (by the BBC in 1992): Prophet Unheard. It includes some nice old footage of Deming in Japan. The importance of respect for people is clear and the video also touches on the idea the danger of relying on data (when you do not understand variation and … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Deming, Management, Manufacturing, Quality tools, Respect | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Management Improvement Carnival #86

Posted on January 24, 2010 by John Hunter

The collection of posts from 10 blogs that made up the 2009 annual management blog are counted as Management Improvement Carnival #85, making this post #86. Are Slogans Always Bad or Can They Inspire? by Mark Graban – “Why are slogans bad? Dr. Deming writes, in part, ‘They are directed at the wrong people. They arise from management’s supposition that the production workers could, by putting their backs into the job, accomplish zero defects, improve quality, improve productivity, and all … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Tagged | 1 Comment

Hospital Providing Better Health Care While Reducing Costs

Posted on January 19, 2010 by John Hunter

Business Week has a good article on the strides one hospital has been able to make at reducing costs and improving quality. Hospitals: Radical Cost Surgery [the broken link was removed] Walk into Providence Regional Medical Center, in Everett, Wash., and you will see a hospital trying something different: It brings the equipment to the patient. In 2003, Providence opened one of the few “single stay” wards in the nation. After heart surgery, cardiac patients remain in one room throughout … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Health care, Innovation, Management | Tagged , , ,

2009 Annual Management Blog Review Part 3 of 3

Posted on January 17, 2010 by John Hunter

The 2009 annual management improvement blog carnival continues with more bloggers posting highlights from some of their favorite management blogs. Also see 2009 Annual Management Blog Review Part 1 and part 2. Mark Graban’s review took a Boston theme covering Chasing the Rabbit, Running a Hospital, Gemba Coach and John Shook’s Management Column. Highlights include: Medical Intensive Care Units go Lean: Result = Happiness What’s health care reform missing? Quality! How Do I Convince People to Practice Lean? A Trip … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival | Tagged , , ,

Undercover Boss – Will They Really Change?

Posted on January 11, 2010 by John Hunter

[removed video that is no longer available] I am skeptical that this reality show (Undercover Boss) will actually do any good but the webclip looks fun. It will premier right after the Super Bowl on CBS. The concept, if done right, could actually be interesting. But even in that case, I would be skeptical it would do much good. I may be wrong, but I would think we will get a whole bunch of thoughts based on one single data … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Management, Psychology, quote, Respect | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

2009 Curious Cat Management Blog Carnival

Posted on January 9, 2010 by John Hunter

10 management blogs are participating in the 2009 Management Blog Carnival. Be sure to check out all the great posts. Here we are looking at some exceptional posts on the , Training Within Industry and Making IT Clear. The quotes below are taken from blog posts on these blogs (and include links to the posts they are taken from) Visual Management Blog by Xavier Quesada Allue “Visual Management is the practice of using information visualization techniques to manage work. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Lean Manufacturing Simulation (webcast)

Posted on January 6, 2010 by John Hunter

This webcast, from the MIT Open Courseware initiative, shows a simulation (with legos). And in doing so explores the advantages of lean manufacturing methods. Related: Red Bead Experiment Webcast – one-piece flow – Applied Quality Engineering Education – The Lean MBA

Posted in Education, Lean thinking, webcast | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

2009 Annual Management Blog Review Part 2

Posted on January 4, 2010 by John Hunter

The 2009 annual management improvement blog carnival continues with more bloggers posting highlights from some of their favorite management blogs (see 2009 Annual Management Blog Review Part 1). Kevin Meyer looked back through the posts from TimeBack Management, Lean Six Sigma Academy, Curious Cat Management Improvement, A Lean Journey, and Stats Made Easy and found some gems, including 7 Practical Ways to Respect People by Ron Pereira Sustainability: Ten Factors for Making Culture Change Stick by Tim McMahon Experiments for … Continue reading →

Posted in Management | Tagged , ,

Worse Hotel Service the More You Pay

Posted on January 2, 2010 by John Hunter

The more you pay for your hotel room the more likely they will charge to provide decent WiFi in your room. Whether a company tries to rip you off with exorbitant prices, or lousy service, is just a function of their lack of respect for customers. Obviously it is cheap to provide decent WiFi (as staying at numerous cheap hotels shows – nearly all offer WiFi completely free). Most expensive hotels show they do not respect their customers. Some actually … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Deming, Lean thinking, Management | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments