Tag Archives: Deming

Ford and Managing the Supplier Relationship

Posted on October 1, 2005 by John Hunter

There have a been a number of articles (Ford to slash vendors of key parts [the broken link was removed] – Ford Rethinks Supply Strategy and posts (A “Kinder and Gentler” Lean Supply Base? – Ford Adopts Toyota-style Supplier Strategy [the broken link was removed]) about supplier management, many springing from Ford’s announcement [the broken link was removed]. My first thought on reading the stories about the press release was, didn’t Ford already say they were going to do this … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Manufacturing, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Performance Without Appraisal

Posted on October 1, 2005 by John Hunter

In response to the Alternatives to Stack Ranking? post on the popular Mini-Microsoft blog. I’m also taking some time to contemplate on Deming’s points and assess how Microsoft is doing against them. … What I would deeply appreciate is real-world experience from people living with stack ranking alternatives. I strongly suggest chapter 9 (Performance Without Appraisal) of The Leader’s Handbooks, by Peter Scholtes. You mentioned Deming. When asked “If we eliminate performance appraisals, as you suggest, what do we do … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Performance Appraisal, Psychology, Respect | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Measurement and Data Collection

Posted on September 10, 2005 by John Hunter

This is my response to the Deming Electronic Network message (the site is dead, so I removed the link) on measurement. I find it useful to ask what will be done with the results of data collection efforts (in order to confirm that the effort is a wise use of resources). If you don’t have an answer for how you will use the data, once you get it, then you probably shouldn’t waste resources collecting it (and I find there … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Deming, Management, quote, Statistics | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Life Beyond the Short Term

Posted on September 4, 2005 by John Hunter

Life Beyond the Short Term by Simon Caulkin, The Observer. Last week’s column – ‘Adrift in a parallel universe‘ – about the perversion of management provoked an eloquent, sometimes passionate, response. … In the spirit of a positive alternative, a prime text is W Edwards Deming’s 14-point programme for transforming management, drawn up in the 1980s. Once again Simon Caulkin has penned an excellent article. In this article he gives an overview of Deming’s 14 points. I am glad to … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Has Six Sigma been a failure?

Posted on August 20, 2005 by John Hunter

My response to the message, Has Six Sigma been a failure? (broken link was removed) on the Deming Electronic Network email list (DEN). I think Six Sigma has been a success. Do I think it the best option? No, I would prefer a Deming based approach. But I think Six Sigma can be a successful improvement strategy. Like most any management strategy, many applying it do so poorly (hacks as Deming would say). But if most any DEN participant worked … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Six sigma, Statistics | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

LA Jail Saves Time Processing Crime

Posted on August 19, 2005 by John Hunter

After efficiency study, L.A. jail saves time processing crime by Dan Laidman Los Angels Daily News (pointy hired boss broke the link so I removed it) Last week, Chief William Bratton told the Board of Police Commissioners that Toyota methods have produced dramatic changes in a jail division once beset by delays, inefficient transportation, personnel shortages and troubles with medical treatment. … But the collaboration between Toyota and the LAPD marks the first time law enforcement has used the principles … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Process improvement, Public Sector, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , , ,

Purpose of an Organization

Posted on August 16, 2005 by John Hunter

W. Edwards Deming described the purpose of an organization in New Economics, on page 51, as: The aim proposed here for any organization is for everybody to gain – stockholders, employees, suppliers, customers, community, the environment – over the long term. Like so much of what Deming said that makes sense to me. It is my sense the “conventional wisdom” would state something more along the lines of the purpose of a company is to make money. I do not … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Popular, quote, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , | 23 Comments

Agile Management

Posted on July 19, 2005 by John Hunter

David Anderson publishes the Agile Management Blog, wrote the Agile Management for Software Engineering: Applying the Theory of Constraints for Business Results, and works for Microsoft. Robert Scoble, technical evangelist [the broken link was removed], also with Microsoft, has posted an online video interview with David Anderson [the broken link was removed] on Microsoft’s Chanel 9 online. Quote by David Anderson, from the video: “My work focuses on applying the teachings of two management science gurus, one is Eli Goldratt … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, IT, Management, Software Development, webcast | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Deming and Six Sigma

Posted on July 15, 2005 by John Hunter

The first Curious Cat Management Improvement blog post was on the Six Sigma and Deming Philosophies Recently the Deming Electronic Network has returned to this topic (broken link removed). The Quality Advisor web site has an article on this topic: Deming and Six Sigma (broken link so removed): The Six Sigma process can be seen to offer a parallel to Deming’s Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycle, although Six Sigma brings experimental design and regression analysis to the forefront in the “plan” phase. Six … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Six sigma | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Fashion-Incubator on Deming’s Ideas

Posted on July 15, 2005 by John Hunter

Be corrigible [the broken link was removed]: For example, I was sold on Deming years ago but people still aren’t talking about his ideas. If there were a Nobel prize for manufacturing, Deming should have won it It is true Deming’s ideas do not get the attention they deserve, in my opinion. However, it is interesting to note the recent BBC radio program on Deming (available online) and Business Week including him in their list of the Top 25: Influential … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management | Tagged

Management is Prediction

Posted on July 14, 2005 by John Hunter

re: post on prediction [link broken, so removed] on the Deming Electronic Network, Petter Ogland wrote: …that intelligence more or less boils down to updating a predictive model of the world. As far as I can see, this is the C.I. Lewis epistemology that Shewhart and Deming based their philosophy upon. …but is there any kind of operational definition for ‘prediction’ that would explain what Deming means when he uses this word in various contexts? I think your first point … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Process improvement, Quality tools, quote, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Managing Fear

Posted on July 12, 2005 by John Hunter

The post, Root Causes of Crunch Mode [the broken link was removed] from the Game Manager blog makes the good point that Fear and anxiety are known to reduce comprehension and learning ability. W. Edwards Deming made “drive out fear” one of his 14 management changes America needed to make in order to compete with Japan. Fear is a valuable physiological reaction in some situations, but fear make(s) it difficult to think, and thinking is generally superior to fighting in … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology, quote, Respect | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Targets Distorting the System

Posted on June 13, 2005 by John Hunter

I still remember Dr. Brian Joiner speaking about process improvement and the role of data well over a decade ago. He spoke of 3 ways to improve the figures: distort the data, distort the system and improve the system. Improving the system is the most difficult. There is an interesting article on the effects of distorting the system: Tony Blair says he will ensure NHS targets do not stop people from seeing their GPs when they want to, from BBC … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Deming, Management, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Dilbert and Deming

Posted on June 5, 2005 by John Hunter

5 June 2005 Dilbert Strip on motivational posters – [update – well the pointy haired bosses running the site removed the page so we removed the link] New update the phb has been overthrown. Here is the strip: The point of that poster is your spirit should soar like an eagle while you continue to do mundane work Dilbert can show the silliness that is common place in many workplaces, as just that – silly. Point 10 of Deming’s 14 … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

SEC chief quotes Deming

Posted on May 16, 2005 by John Hunter

Security and Exchange Chairman William H. Donaldson Speaks At Chartered Financial Analysts Institute Annual Conference [broken link removed]: This approach will, ultimately, better serve investors, and it will also gradually temper the pressures on some corporate executives to fudge the numbers. It would behoove us all to remember the words of W. Edwards Deming: “People with targets, and jobs dependent on meeting them, will probably meet the targets – even if they have to destroy the enterprise to do it.”

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

Brain Joiner on Dr. Deming

Posted on May 2, 2005 by John Hunter

Topic: Management Improvement The Spring 2005 MAQIN newsletter [link broken, so it was removed] includes an interesting piece on a recent MAQIN event where the life and work of Dr. W. Edwards Deming was celebrated. Dr. Brain Joiner, author of Fourth Generation Management, gave a toast that included several Dr. Deming quotes: Best efforts are not enough, you have to know what to do. A numerical goal without a method is nonsense. The most useful numbers are unknown and unknowable. … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management | Tagged , , | 1 Comment