Category Archives: Public Sector

Interview of Bill Hunter, Brian Joiner and Peter Scholtes on Better Management Practices

Interview with Bill Hunter, Brian Joiner and Peter Scholtes (listen to the interview) on a Public Affair, National Public Radio about improving management practices in the USA. The interview is over 30 years old now but the better management ideas … Continue reading

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Burning Toast: American Health System Style

Democrats and Republicans have created a health care system in the USA over the last 40 years that “burns toast” at an alarming rate. As the symptoms of their health care system are displayed they call in people to blame … Continue reading

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The Education System

The current topic for ASQ Influential Voices to address is the importance of the education system and the impact on the capability of employees. The education system is important and not very good in my opinion. As a kid I … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Public Sector | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

George Box Articles Available for a Short Time

A collection of George Box articles have been selected for a virtual George Box issue by David M. Steinberg and made available online. George E. P. Box died in March 2013. He was a remarkably creative scientist and his celebrated … Continue reading

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Quality Processes in Unexpected Places

This month Paul Borawski asked ASQ’s Influential Voices to explore the use of quality tools in unexpected places. The most surprising example of this practice that I recall is the Madison, Wisconsin police department surveying those they arrested to get … Continue reading

Posted in Creativity, Customer focus, Data, Innovation, Management, Process improvement, Public Sector, Respect | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Using Incentives to Guide Social System Improvements

When confronted with the challenge of managing a social system (or market) I like to find ways to use a few simple rules that will guide the system to find improvements. I favor allowing participants in complex social system to … Continue reading

Posted in Creativity, Economics, Public Sector, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Better Management in Government

This month Paul Borawski (CEO of ASQ) has asked the ASQ Influential Voices to share their thoughts on quality management in the public sector. I have been involved in quality improvement in government at the Office of Secretary of Defense … Continue reading

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Web Seminar with Gerald Suarez: Better Thinking About Leadership

In2In offers some great opportunities for those interested in management improvement. Their conference is excellent. They also offer various conference calls with speakers knowledgeable about Deming and Ackoff’s ideas. These normally take the form of conference call presentations (similar to … Continue reading

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Dr. Deming in 1980 on Product Quality in Japan and the USA

I posted an interesting document to the Curious Cat Management Library: it includes Dr. Deming’s comments as part of a discussion organized by the Government Accounting Office in 1980 on Quality in Japan and the United States. The document provides … Continue reading

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Lean Thinking in Minnesota Government

The Office of Governor Pawlenty issued a press release on Minnesota’s Drive to Excellence effort: Increased Quality via Lean Continuous Improvement Reform – The State has adopted “Lean Thinking” as its preferred process improvement tool. So far, 18 agencies are … Continue reading

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