Category Archives: Deming

Think Long Term Act Daily

Posted on January 17, 2007 by John Hunter

Great stuff from the DailyKaizen [the broken link was removed]: Over the last three months we have been working to incorporate PDCA discipline into our Model Line planning process. We are quite literally building a new management system in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Process improvement, Systems thinking | Tagged | 1 Comment

UK National Health System Management

Posted on January 15, 2007 by John Hunter

Another article on the UK national health system using lean thinking: In the drive to save the NHS, I’m choosing a Toyota by Simon Caulkin: So the lessons of Toyota come out rather differently from what you might expect. Large … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Health care, Management | 1 Comment

Performance Appraisals – Is Good Execution the Solution?

Posted on January 15, 2007 by John Hunter

Performance review proponents say the way it is done matters most[the broken link was removed] (based on reaction to: Performance appraisals get low marks[the broken link was removed]): Deming, it seems, has many fans. His view of performance reviews? He … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Performance Appraisal, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The Psychology of Too Much Choice

Posted on January 7, 2007 by John Hunter

An understanding of psychology is one of the four components of Dr. Deming’s management system. This understanding lies behind practices such as: driving out fear, respect for people and eliminating slogans. In an organization all the components (practices, processes, investments, … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Deming, Management, Psychology | Tagged | 2 Comments

Epidemic of Diagnoses

Posted on January 3, 2007 by John Hunter

What’s Making Us Sick Is an Epidemic of Diagnoses by Dr. Welch, Dr. Schwartz and Dr. Woloshin: For most Americans, the biggest health threat is not avian flu, West Nile or mad cow disease. It’s our health-care system. True, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Health care, Management, Process improvement, Psychology, Quality tools | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Why Extrinsic Motivation Fails

Posted on December 20, 2006 by John Hunter

Why Motivation by Pizza Doesn’t Work This completely changes the role of the manager as motivator. Rather than being the source of motivation (kind of a ludicrous idea in itself), the manager must help employees to find their own intrinsic … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology, Respect | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Starbucks: Respect for Workers and Health Care

Posted on December 16, 2006 by John Hunter

Starbucks Corp. CEO Howard Schultz interview on Marketplace [the broken link was removed] I grew up in Brooklyn, New York. I guess it’s been well documented, many times, in federally subsidized housing known as the projects. My dad never made … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Economics, Health care, Management, Respect, webcast | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

How to Improve

Posted on December 12, 2006 by John Hunter

My management philosophy is guided by the idea of seeking methods that will be most effective.* There are many ways to improve. Good management systems are about seeking systemic adoption of the most effective solutions. What this amounts to is … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Process improvement, Quality tools, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Common Cause Variation

Posted on November 30, 2006 by John Hunter

Every system has variation. Common cause variation is the variation due to the current system. Dr. Deming increased his estimate of variation due to the system (common cause variation) to 97% (earlier in his life he cited figures around 80%). … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Deming, Management, Quality tools, Theory of Constraints | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Illusion of Understanding

Posted on November 25, 2006 by John Hunter

The “Illusion of Explanatory Depth”: How Much Do We Know About What We Know? (broken link 🙁 was removed) is an interesting post that touches on psychology and theory of knowledge. Often (more often than I’d like to admit), my … Continue reading →

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