Author Archives: John Hunter

Superior Customer Experiences

Posted on November 19, 2005 by John Hunter

Grow Your Business Through Superior Customer Experiences [the broken link was removed] by D. Randall Brandt and Rodger Stotz: In that study, Oakley found that there is a direct link between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction, and between customer satisfaction and improved financial performance. Employee satisfaction is a key antecedent to employee engagement. He also found that organizations with engaged employees have customers who use their products more, and increased customer usage leads to higher levels of customer satisfaction. Managing … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Management, Management Articles, Psychology | Tagged , ,

Management Science for Software Engineering

Posted on November 19, 2005 by John Hunter

Management Science for Software Engineering [the broken link was removed]: using the Theory of Constraints 5 focusing steps and the drum-buffer-rope solution for production flow problems, it was possible to increase the productivity of a sustained engineering department by more than 200%. In the final, quarter of the study period, a 25% increase (elevation) of the capacity constrained resource, produces a 25% increase in overall system throughput – just as the theory and model would predict. Read the full paper … Continue reading →

Posted in IT, Management Articles, Software Development, Theory of Constraints | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The Man Who Invented Management

Posted on November 17, 2005 by John Hunter

The Man Who Invented Management [the broken link was removed], a cover story in Business Week on Peter Drucker. Posts related to Peter Drucker.

Posted in Management Articles | Tagged

Peter Drucker On Leadership

Posted on November 17, 2005 by John Hunter

Peter Drucker On Leadership [the broken link was removed] Effective leaders check their performance. They write down, “What do I hope to achieve if I take on this assignment?” They put away their goals for six months and then come back and check their performance against goals. This way, they find out what they do well and what they do poorly. They also find out whether they picked the truly important things to do. I’ve seen a great many people … Continue reading →

Posted in Management | Tagged

Problems with Lean Manufacturing Awards

Posted on November 17, 2005 by John Hunter

Dangers in Lean Manufacturing Awards from the Got Boondogle blog: My simple understanding of lean principles is to focus on the pursuit of company survival for eternity with the elimination of waste while adding value for customers, enhancing quality of life for employees and contributing to society. The pursuit of lean manufacturing awards is not on the list of objectives. Another good post from an excellent blog that is well worth reading. Much can go wrong when pursuing an award. … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Manufacturing, Systems thinking

Managing Innovation

Posted on November 16, 2005 by John Hunter

TQM, ISO 9000, Six Sigma: Due Process Management Programs Discourage Innovation? [the broken link was removed – so many organizations show how unable they are to act with a concern for anything but the very short term] “In the appropriate setting, process management activities can help companies improve efficiency, but the risk is that you misapply these programs, in particular in areas where people are supposed to be innovative,” notes Benner. “Brand new technologies to produce products that don’t exist … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Innovation, Management | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

A Great Day for Georgia-Pacific

Posted on November 16, 2005 by John Hunter

A Great Day for Georgia-Pacific [the broken link was removed] by Bill Waddell The Koch people also said that G-P would be much better off not having to deal with “the distraction of quarterly reports” and they would be able to “execute strategic decisions much faster” if they did not have to drag Wall Street along with them. … They previously had been a Honda North America supplier, but have done so well they are going to sell automatic transmission … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles, Systems thinking

Curious Cat Science and Engineering blog

Posted on November 15, 2005 by John Hunter

We have moved the Curious Cat Science and Engineering blog to a new home. About Our Science and Engineering Blog: The title of the blog gives you an idea of the topics we explore. Some additional insight into our aim: Primary education (k-12) in science, math and engineering – we will post about the state of education (research etc.) and news and items of interest to teachers and students. We aim to be a resource that helps teachers and students … Continue reading →

Posted in curiouscat.com, Science

Lean Education Academic Network

Posted on November 14, 2005 by John Hunter

Lean Education Academic Network [the broken link was removed], is a group of academic and industry people interested in bringing lean content into academic programs. The Leaneduc email list will send you announcements from the network. From Exclusive Q&A with Jim Womack, Part 4: We recently came across a new industrial engineering text from a major American publisher titled something like “Principles of Lean Engineering” in which the first chapter was about … Economic Order Quantity! It got Jim so … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Lean thinking | Tagged | 1 Comment

Conclusion of Jim Womack Interview

Posted on November 14, 2005 by John Hunter

Interview with Jim Womack part 5 of 5 has been posted by the Lean manufacturing blog. Each part provide valuable insights, from part 4: Toyota has recently said that it will now make a major effort to apply process thinking to dealer networks, probably beginning in Europe, and all of us who buy cars should wish them every success. We are making a major effort in this book to show how a totally different system of sales and service would … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles

Management Pioneer Peter Drucker 1909 – 2005

Posted on November 13, 2005 by John Hunter

Management expert Peter Drucker passed away at age 95. See: Peter F. Drucker Information from Claremount University [the broken link was removed] and our previous post. Here we list links to some of his work. There is an excellent podcast of an interview with him on NPR (Peter Drucker – podcast interview [the broken link was removed]) on management, the state of the world today and where we are headed. A profound view from Peter Drucker in his 95th year. … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Management Articles, quote | Tagged | 1 Comment

Management Guru Peter Drucker 1909-2005

Posted on November 12, 2005 by John Hunter

Management expert Peter Drucker passed away at age 95. Peter F. Drucker Information from Claremount University [the broken link was removed]. In 2002, Peter Ferdinand Drucker was awarded the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom. Drucker, was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1909 and moved to the United States in 1937. He taught at New York University as Professor of Management from 1950 to 1971. From 1971 through 2002 he taught at Claremont University. The university’s School of Management was … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Management Articles | Tagged | 1 Comment

ToC in UK Surgery

Posted on November 9, 2005 by John Hunter

UK surgeon uses TOC approach to double capacity and eliminate waiting lists [the broken link was removed] by Clarke Ching via Carnival of Lean Leadership II [the broken link was removed] First, he has identified himself – or surgeons in general – as the current system constraint: … Second, he’s figured out how to exploit himself as the constraint – i.e. how to make him as efficient as possible: … Third, he’s subordinated the other resources in the process to … Continue reading →

Posted in Management | Tagged , ,

Government Lean Six Sigma

Posted on November 9, 2005 by John Hunter

Deep Thinkers [the broken link was removed] by Kimberly Palmer, GovExec.com: “This is not a fad that will die out. It’s been tried, it’s been tested, it’s true. If you look at the best-run companies in industry, this is part of the heart and soul that’s making them successful,” says Mark Price, president of George Group Federal Services, part of Dallas-based George Group Consulting. Unfortunately I would have to say the article does strike me as talking about fadish behavior … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Management, Public Sector, quote, Six sigma | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Dell Ranked as Top Supply Chain – Toyota Sixth

Posted on November 9, 2005 by John Hunter

The Top 25 Supply Chains for 2005 [the broken link was removed], AMR Research: Supply chain leaders are able to shape demand, instantly respond to market changes, and crush their competitors. According to AMR Research benchmarking data, leaders carry 15% less inventory, are 60% faster to market, and complete 17% more perfect orders. … The first component of the ranking is publicly available financial data, which comprises 60% of the total score: return on assets and inventory turns each accounts … Continue reading →

Posted in Management

Womack and Jones Webinar

Posted on November 9, 2005 by John Hunter

The Lean Enterprise Institute is offering a free 1 hour webinar with James Womack and Dan Jones on November 15th at 2 PM (US Eastern Time). Jim will deconstruct this broken consumer-provider-manufacturer model and show how to repair it using the six principles of lean consumption. The principles will be illustrated with examples of companies already leading the way from the age of mass consumption to the age of lean consumption and lean solutions. Jim will also describe how the … Continue reading →

Posted in Management