Four Days with Dr. Deming: A Strategy for Modern Methods of Management

Dr. W. Edwards Deming, the legendary master of managing for quality whose techniques helped propel Japan into its postwar economic boom, delivered his management message in the form of four-day seminars. Now you can experience the wisdom of his seminars with this unique book. Reviewed in detail by Dr. Deming himself before his recent death, Four Days with Dr. Deming compiles and summarizes the essence of his seminars in a remarkably entertaining and easy-to-absorb style. Through the voices of Dr. Deming, the authors, and a company executive, you will learn about the problems with prevailing management systems that focus on such short-term strategies as quotas and management by results. You will discover how to move beyond these counterproductive strategies to achieve true cooperation, process improvement, and long-term productivity. The book includes Dr. Deming's most recent thinking on the System of Profound Knowledge, as well as purchasing strategies, cross-functional teams, alternatives to quotas, operational definitions, and systems of measurement. The unique one-concept-per-page visual format allows you to absorb complex material quickly, and the real-life examples make Dr. Deming's message concrete and usable.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Dr. Deming. Preface. Acknowledgments. Prologue. Who Is Dr. Deming. More on Dr. Deming's Background. Background-Japan after World War II. Dr. Deming Teaches in Japan. Why Should I Read This book. How to Read This Book. Overview. DAY ONE. 1. The Need for Transformation of Western Management. Dr. Deming Lectures to a Packed Convention Hall. Why Are We Here. Historical Perspective. Is America Prosperous or Are We in Trouble. America Is in Trouble-More Is Going out than Coming in. Aren't We Still Leaders in Agriculture. What American Industry Brings in the Most Dollars. What Factors Have Led to American Prosperity in the Past. What Is the Definition of a Colony. Something Has Happened to America. Reflections During Coffee Break. To Achieve Quality There is No Substitute for Knowledge. Quick Fix-Machinery and Automation. Quick Fix-Just In Time (JIT). Quick Fix-Cost Cutting. Quick Fix-Suboptimization of People and Technology. Quick Fix-Management by Results. Quality Is Made in the Boardroom-Not on the Factory Floor Forces of Destruction. Story of the Art Class. The Prison. Comments Overheard in the Prison Compound. Escape from Prison. 2. A System of Profound Knowledge. What Is a System of Profound Knowledge. What Is a System. The Importance of Interdependence in a System. An Example of the Systems Concept-Customer/Supplier Flowchart. How to Suboptimize a Firm. Theory of Variation. Variation Is So Easy to Understand. Theory of Knowledge. There Is No Such Thing As a True Value. Psychology. Reflections During Lunch. 3. Obligations 1 through 5. Obligation 1-Constancy of Purpose. Obligation 2-Adopt the New Philosophy. Obligation 3-Cease Dependence on Mass Inspection. The Hazard of 100 Percent Inspection. When to Use Mass Inspection. Three Worlds-Rules for Inspection. Inspect the Process-Not the Product. Obligation 4-End the Practice of Awarding Business on the Basis of Price Tag Alone-Instead Reduce Cost by Reducing Variation. Buying on Price Tag Alone. Comparison of Suppliers. Taguchi's Use of the Loss Function. Three Worlds for Purchasing. Reduce Variation through Long-Term Relationships. What About the Purchase of a Commodity. Single Supplier Policy. What If Your Supplier Has a Fire. Obligation 5-Continual Improvement. Innovation and Improvement. Where Does Innovation Come From. The Shewhart Cycle for Learning and Improvement. Evening Study Group. Reflections on Day One. DAY TWO. 4. Obligations 6 through 9. Dr. Deming Autographs His Book. Hands against the Wall. Obligation 6-Training for a Skill. Why a Leader Must Be a Trainer. Obligation 7-Leadership. Doing Your Best is Not Good Enough. Obligation 8-Drive Out Fear. Blaming the Worker. Obligation 9-Break Down Barriers between Staff Areas. Why Don't People within an Organization Cooperate. Independent Kingdoms versus Cross-Functional Teams. We Need a Theory of Cooperation. Cooperation Will Lead to More Standards. Cooperation and Darwin. 5. The Red Beads. The Workers Are Instructed. The Red Beads-Production-Day 1. The Red Beads-Production-Day 2. The Red Beads-Production-Day 3. The Red Beads-Production-Day 4. Keeping the Plant Open with the Best Workers. The Red Beads-Production-Day 5. Red Beads Chart. The Light Goes On. Day Two-Afternoon. It Is So Easy to Be Fooled by Figures. What Can We Do to Reduce the Proportion of Red Beads. How Did This Come About. Two Kinds of Mistakes. How Do You Make Red Beads. As a Result of the Red Bead Experiment-the Japanese Went to Work Straight Away. I Am Learning. 6. Obligations 10 through 14. Obligation 10-Eliminate Slogans, Exhortations, Arbitrary Targets. Why Do Exhortations and Arbitrary Targets Create Frustration. Obligation 11-Eliminate Numerical Quotas for the Workforce. Incentives Are Quotas. What About a Person Who Doesn't Give a Hoot. How to Survive When the Company Insists on a Quota. Alternatives to Quotas-Change from MBO to MBP. Obligation 12A-Remove Barriers to Pride of Workmanship. Obligation 12B-Drop the Annual Merit Review. Obligation 13-Education and Growth. Obligation 14A-Take Action to Accomplish the Transformation. Obligation 14B-An Example (Caution-Do Not Use Without Theory). DAY THREE. 7. The Seven Deadly Diseases. The Seven Deadly Diseases. Deadly Disease 1-Lack of Constancy of Purpose. Deadly Disease 1-How to Develop Constancy of Purpose. Deadly Disease 2-Emphasis on Short-Term Profits. Worldwide Steel Recession. Deadly Disease 3-Evaluation of Performance, Merit Rating, or Annual Review. Deadly Disease 3-Evaluation of Performance, Merit Rating, or Annual Review (Continued). Deadly Disease 3-Alternatives to Evaluations. Deadly Disease 4-Mobility of Management. Deadly Disease 5-Running a Company on Visible Figures Alone. Running a Company on Visible Figures Alone (Continued. Take Time to Understand the Figures. Study the Process, Not the Results Alone. Deadly Disease 6-Excessive Medical Costs. Deadly Disease 7-Excessive Legal Costs. 8. Obstacles. Obstacles to Getting the Job Done. Obstacle-Hope for Instant Pudding. Obstacle-Hope for Instant Pudding (Continued). Obstacle-The Supposition that Solving Problems, Automation, Gadgets, and New Machinery will Transform Industry. Obstacle-The Search for Examples. Examples without Theory Teach us Nothing. Obstacle-The Search for Examples-Plant. Tours Teach Nothing Without Theory. Copying Japanese Quality Control Circles. Obstacle-The Search for Examples-It Is a Hazard to Copy. The Problem with Benchmarking. Obstacle-Obsolescence in Schools. Obstacle-Poor Teaching of Statistical Methods in Industry. Obstacle-Use of Military Standard 105D and Other Tables of Acceptance. 9. The Funnel. Management and Tampering. Dr. Shewhart's Experiment. The Funnel Experiment. Rule 1-We Make No Adjustment to the Funnel. Rule 2-Adjust the Funnel from its Last Position Vis-a-Vis Target. Rule 3-Bring Back to Origin Before Adjustment. Rule 4-Aim at the Previous Point. What Does it All Mean to Me. 10. Operational Definitions. Operational Definitions. How Many People Are in the Room. Misunderstandings Are Often Caused by the Lack of Operational Definitions. Reflections on Operational Definitions. DAY FOUR. 11. Management of People, Leadership, and Training. The Job of the Manager of People. Why a Leader Must Be a Trainer. The Leader's Job is to Know When Statistical Stability Has Been Reached. The Manager's Job is to Know the Difference between Random Causes and Special Causes of Variation. The Manager's Job is to Dig-To Learn What Is Going On. A Manager's Job is to Dig-To See Who Needs Special Help. The Manager's Job Is to Understand Inspection. The Manager's Job Is to Drive Out Fear So That Control Systems Work Properly. The Manager's Job Is to Drive Out Fear. Reflections on the Manager's Task. 12. System of Measurement. Be Aware of the Hazards of False Consensus. Independent versus Dependent Inspection. Measurement Requires Operational Definition to Be Useful. Know Your Data. Measurement Requires a Holistic View. The Need to Look at the Measurement over Time. 13. Closing Thoughts. Service Organizations. Dr. Deming's Theory Applies to Service Organizations. Costly Misunderstandings. Two Types of Quality. Improvement in Performance in a Bank. Dr. Shewhart's Discussion of Quality. The Role of Consumer Research. Analytic and Enumerative Studies-Why versus What. Analytic and Enumerative Studies-Why versus What (Continued). The End. Epilogue. Where Do We Go from Here. Questions for Discussion. Appendix. Some Notes on Statistical Process Control. The Funnel Rules Applied to the Red Bead Experiment. The Four Funnel Rules Applied to the Red Beads. Bibliography. Index.

About the Author :
Author William J. Latzko, a consultant in managing for quality with long-time personal familiarity with Dr. Deming and his seminars, has faithfully recreated them in fact and spirit. By reading this book you will gain the knowledge and skills to transform your company and your own personal perspective on management. David M. Saunders, a consultant in managing for quality with long-time personal familiarity with Dr. Deming and his seminars, has faithfully recreated them in fact and spirit. By reading this book you will gain the knowledge and skills to transform your company and your own personal perspective on management. 0201633663AB04062001