Tag Archives: government

Stupid Bureaucratic Requirement

Posted on March 3, 2008 by John Hunter

Quaker teacher fired for changing loyalty oath California State University East Bay has fired a math teacher after six weeks on the job because she inserted the word “nonviolently” in her state-required Oath of Allegiance form. … “I don’t think it was fair at all,” said Kearney-Brown. “All they care about is my name on an unaltered loyalty oath. They don’t care if I meant it, and it didn’t seem connected to the spirit of the oath. Nothing else mattered. … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Public Sector | Tagged ,

Losing Consumers’ Trust

Posted on February 24, 2008 by John Hunter

Last week their was a recall of 143 million pounds of beef in the USA. Lets take a short systemic view at what is going on. The public has an interest in a safe food supply which is difficult to enforce through caveat emptor (buyer beware). So this is a natural situation for government regulation (to protect the public interest) – plus it relates to public health which is another natural for government regulation. The USDA regulates the industry and … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Management, Psychology, Science, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Why Pay Taxes or be Honest

Posted on October 1, 2006 by John Hunter

This kind of stuff makes me mad. I was taught about robber barons in school (or actually I think by my uncle but…). And what I was taught was that business used to be seen as an amoral area. But then society agreed (or rather it no longer was an accepted excuse to claim business was an amoral area) that morality applied to whatever you did, whether you were at work, or not. But we keep getting these continuing examples … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Management, Psychology | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Army Lean Six Sigma

Posted on July 21, 2006 by John Hunter

Lean Six Sigma eases fiscal constraint challenges [the broken link was removed] by Beth Reece, Army News Service: During fiscal 2005, the Army Material Command saw $110 million in savings and cost avoidance by implementing Lean Six Sigma practices. By removing waste and better controlling output, for example, Letterkenny Army Depot, Pa., reduced costs by $11.9 million in Patriot air defense missile system recapitalization. And Pine Bluff Arsenal, Ark., reduced repair cycle time by 90 percent and increased its production … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles, Public Sector, Six sigma | Tagged , , ,

Gas Tax

Posted on June 29, 2006 by John Hunter

An Increase in the Gas Tax Would Hurt Consumers and Slow the Economy [the broken link was removed] Gross Domestic Product would decline by $6.5 billion per year, in real terms, from 2005 to 2014. In other words, this $131 billion in government revenues would shrink the economy by $65.5 billion. There would be, on average, 37,000 fewer job opportunities each year. That works out to one lost job for every $351,000 in new taxes, which is equal to 11 … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Public Management II

Posted on January 12, 2006 by John Hunter

Public Management-The Bush Administration II by Paul Soglin: Since that time, John Hunter posted a comment in reference to W. Edwards Deming: Newt Gingrich is also a supporter of Deming’s ideas: “I’m a disciple of Edwards Deming. I really believe in a culture and system of quality.” Any time I find myself in the company of Newt Gingrich, I become a little concerned, especially since he tends to bounce around and not ‘drill down’ to learn how things work. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Public Sector, quote, Systems thinking | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

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

Lean Government

Posted on October 4, 2005 by John Hunter

Making Government Work [the broken link was removed] by Tom Vilsack via Panta Rei [the broken link was removed]: We redesigned the child welfare system to place greater focus on the complex and hard cases that people live out every day. We cut down paperwork so workers would have more time to spend helping children. That effort was part of our charter agency effort, which the Kennedy School at Harvard and the Ash Institute recently recognized as an Innovation of … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Public Sector | Tagged , , , | 2 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 , , , , , ,

Science and Engineering Macroeconomic Investment

Posted on August 10, 2005 by John Hunter

I posted to the Curious Cat Science Blog on the Science and Engineering Doctoral Degrees being granted around the world. Why do I post this here as a Economic post? I believe, as do some countries that have made significant commitments to investing in science and technology education that such investments can have a large impact on long term economic success. A couple points from that post: From The Brain Drain [the broken link has been removed] by Debra W. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, quote, Science | Tagged , ,