Category Archives: Popular

Amazon Innovation

Posted on November 9, 2006 by John Hunter

I believe Amazon uses technology very well. They have done many innovative things. They have been less successful at turning their technology into big profits. But I continue to believe they have a good shot at doing so going forward Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Innovation, Management, Popular | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Hiring the Right People

Posted on October 7, 2006 by John Hunter

The job market is an inefficient market. There are many reasons for this including relying on specification (this job requires a BS in Computer Science – no Bill Gates you don’t meet the spec) instead of understanding the system. Insisting on managing by the numbers even when the most important figures are unknown and maybe unknowable. Using HR to find the right person to work in a process they don’t understand (which reinforces the desire to focus on specifications instead … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Customer focus, IT, Management, Performance Appraisal, Popular | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Toyota IT Overview

Posted on September 5, 2006 by John Hunter

What’s Driving Toyota? by Mel Duvall is an interesting, long article discussing Toyota overall and focusing on Toyota’s Information Technology systems. Technology does not drive business processes at Toyota. The Toyota Production System does. However, technology plays a critical role by supporting, enabling and bringing to life on a mass scale the processes derived by adhering to TPS. “What strikes me about Toyota is, if you were to ask them if they have a technology strategy, they would probably say … Continue reading →

Posted in IT, Management, Popular, quote, Toyota Production System (TPS) | 9 Comments

Gladwell (and Drucker) on Pensions

Posted on August 21, 2006 by John Hunter

The Risk Poolhttps://management.curiouscatblog.net/2006/08/21/gladwell-and-drucker-on-pensions/ by Malcolm Gladwell (author of The Tipping Point and Blink): The most influential management theorist of the twentieth century was Peter Drucker, who, in 1950, wrote an extraordinarily prescient article for Harper’s entitled “The Mirage of Pensions.” It ought to be reprinted for every steelworker, airline mechanic, and autoworker who is worried about his retirement. Drucker simply couldn’t see how the pension plans on the table at companies like G.M. could ever work. “For such a plan … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Economics, Health care, Investing, Management, Popular, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Eliminate Slogans

Posted on August 13, 2006 by John Hunter

This poster may do a better job, than my posts, of showing why posters and slogan are not an effective management strategy. Text from the poster: “If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job. The kind robots will be doing soon.” Despair (link to the motivation poster shown here), offers many such de-motivational posters and note cards – well done satire, in my opinion, but they … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Deming, Management, Popular, Psychology, quote, Respect | Tagged , | 3 Comments

New Rules for Management? No!

Posted on July 14, 2006 by John Hunter

Fortune recently published an article talking about the “new rules” for management using Jack Welch (GE six sigma) as the focus of the old rules. It seems to me there is nothing new here (once again). “New” rule: “Agile is best, being big can bite you” Yeah. Does anyone think this is new. Do they really believe Jack Welch thought agile was not a good thing? Yes, Jack Welch wanted to be number 1 or number 2 in the field … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Management Articles, Popular, Six sigma | 8 Comments

Quality and Innovation

Posted on July 4, 2006 by John Hunter

I think the The Quality Movement Vs. The Innovation Movement by Bruce Nussbaum makes a mistake in calling the innovation movement separate from the quality movement. Wow. It makes sense. The father of quality, of course, was Dr. W. Edwards Demming, and he preached for a very long time before he was really heard. In fact, as I recall, Japanese companies first accepted Demmings teachings long before U.S. and European corporations. Lets quote Deming on innovation from New Economics, page … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Innovation, Management, Popular, quote | 5 Comments

Management Advice Failures

Posted on June 10, 2006 by John Hunter

…when we fail to value the best ideas, instead valuing the new ideas, we are not as effective as we could be. We often accept pale copies of good old ideas instead of going to the good old ideas – which will often lead to a much richer source of knowledge. Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Management Articles, Popular, quote | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

Respect for People

Posted on May 8, 2006 by John Hunter

A very thoughtful post, Respect for People on the Kaikaku blog raises some interesting questions. What does respect for people really mean? Toyota empowers people: To stop the line – to stop every other worker from working – that is real respect and trust. To implement creative improvement ideas around their work area. They trust you to come up with the best idea to make your work easier and more interesting. You don’t have to wait for management to tell … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Popular, Respect, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Find the Root Cause Instead of the Person to Blame

Posted on May 3, 2006 by John Hunter

When encountering a problem or defect the inclination of many is to find a person to blame. W. Edwards Deming believed that the system was responsible for 93% of the problems and over time he increased that number to at least 97%. Why did he see it that way, while so many others first inclination is to blame someone? As I see it the issue has to do with what is the effective way to improve. Often if you ask … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Popular, Process improvement, Psychology, Quality tools, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Stop Demotivating Employees

Posted on April 20, 2006 by John Hunter

Why Your Employees Are Losing Motivation [broken link removed – Harvard is extremely bad about breaking links, which is an indication of how little they think about anything but the short term] by David Sirota, Louis A. Mischkind, and Michael Irwin Meltzer from the Harvard Management Update: Most companies have it all wrong. They don’t have to motivate their employees. They have to stop demotivating them. Clear, simple and right. Douglas McGregor explored this topic well in 1960. He explained … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Management Articles, Popular, Psychology | Tagged , , , , | 18 Comments

China’s Manufacturing Economy

Posted on April 15, 2006 by John Hunter

Brad Setser posts on manufacturing comparisons: Have China’s manufacturing powers been exaggerated? [the broken link was removed] I am all for pushing against over-generalizations that get repeated so often that they become conventional wisdom. The oft-stated argument that France isn’t growing is one example. In fact, France has grown faster than either Germany or Italy over the past few years, and France grew for the same reason the US grew: soaring real estate prices have pumped up domestic demand. But … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Economics, Manufacturing, Popular | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Manufacturing Jobs Data: USA and China

Posted on April 7, 2006 by John Hunter

Manufacturing Productivity and the Shifting US, China, and Global Job Scenes-1990 to 2005 (working paper – July 2005) by William Ward, Clemson University: Manufacturing productivity growth from 1990 to 2004 should have taken away 7.5 million of the 17.7 million manufacturing jobs that existed in the US in 1990, while GDP growth should have added back (at the new productivity levels of 2004) 5.7 million manufacturing jobs-for a net loss of 1.8 million. In fact, the US economy lost 3.3 … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Economics, Manufacturing, Popular, quote | 6 Comments

Deming and Toyota

Posted on March 17, 2006 by John Hunter

In response to Deming Electronic Network message, Deming and Toyota (broken link removed): I have read a few of the threads referring to Toyota and their success. I am somewhat familiar with the Toyota Production System (where Lean principles sprouted from), but I have often wondered if Toyota subscribed to all of Deming’s 14 points. I believe Toyota applied Deming’s ideas to create a management system and continued to develop that system to create the Toyota Production System (also known … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Popular, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Global Manufacturing Data by Country

Posted on February 22, 2006 by John Hunter

I am still looking for a good source for manufacturing data by country and year. Today I found some data from the United Nations Statistics Division. The data for the top five manufacturing economies: China, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom and United States. Figures are in current $US billion. The data used is for Mining, Manufacturing and Utilities (because China and Germany do not have manufacturing data separated out). Country 2001 2002 2003 2004 United States 1,781 1,779 1,876 2,012 Japan … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Economics, Manufacturing, Popular, quote | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Management Improvement Leaders

Posted on January 17, 2006 by John Hunter

Who’s Driving Quality Today by Laura Smith, Quality Digest. Ten years ago, in our March 1995 issue, we profiled 45 “New Quality Gurus.” Although it was one of our more popular articles, some of the “gurus” and their causes have faded into obscurity. Other gurus chased the latest fads into oblivion. A few have shown remarkable staying power. When we decided to revisit the quality gurus issue, one thing was immediately apparent: There isn’t any one guru who stands out … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Popular, quote | Tagged , | 7 Comments