Monthly Archives: May 2011

One factor at a time (OFAT) Versus Factorial Designs

Posted on May 25, 2011 by John Hunter

Guest post by Bradley Jones Almost a hundred years ago R. A. Fisher‘s boss published an article espousing OFAT (one factor at a time). Fisher responded with an article of his own laying out his justification for factorial design. I admire the courage it took to contradict his boss in print! Fisher’s argument was mainly about efficiency – that you could learn as much about many factors as you learned about one in the same number of trials. Saving money … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Design of Experiments, Popular, Quality tools, Science, Six sigma, Statistics | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Management Improvement Carnival #131

Posted on May 21, 2011 by John Hunter

The management improvement blog carnival is published 3 times a month (though not this month – May 10th was missed) with select recent management blog posts. Curious Cat also collects articles on improving management practices, you can subscribe via RSS to new article additions. See more photos from my trip to Utah, including Antelope Island State Park in the Great Salt Lake. Drive out Fear by Wally Bock – “Fear corrodes morale and team spirit. Fight or flight rules the … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Tagged | 2 Comments

Respect People by Creating a Climate for Joy in Work

Posted on May 9, 2011 by John Hunter

Respect for people sure sounds great. And most of us have plenty of experience with organizations that dis-respect people continuously (both employees and customers). So what does respect for people mean at the core? For me: A system that lets people take joy in work and fixes root causes instead of finding people to blame. A huge part of the disrespect shown by companies to employees is through direct action. But another huge part is forcing people to deal with … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology, Respect | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Management Improvement Carnival #130

Posted on May 1, 2011 by John Hunter

The management blog carnival highlights recent management blog posts 3 times each month. The posts generally focus on the areas I have focused on in the Curious Cat Management Improvement guide since 1996 (Deming, lean thinking, agile software development, respect for people, leadership…). Autonomy: condition for continuous improvement by Rob van Stekelenborg – “Teams that should take the responsibility over a (part of a) process should at the same time also be given the opportunity to actually improve something within … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Tagged | 1 Comment