Dr. Deming

The Futility of a Numerical Goal

By Guest Post / January 2, 2014 / 0 Comments

Guest post by Tim Higgins In discussions about goals, I typically find attempts to create two distinct categories of goals. I see the words “arbitrary goals.” Arbitrary numerical goals are believed to be bad, problematic. Some numerical goals the non-arbitrary type are believed to be useful, good, even necessary. I could find no evidence Deming […]

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Deming 101: Theory of Knowledge and the PDSA Improvement and Learning Cycle

By John Hunter / December 3, 2013 / 0 Comments

By John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. This webcast continues Ian Bradbury’s Deming 101 presentation looking at the Theory of Knowledge and the PDSA Learning Cycle. Commenting on Deming’s presentation of the PDSA (plan-do-study-act) cycle in 1951 Ian says It is articulated as a learning cycle. A learning cycle in which you are trying to build […]

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Online Resources for W. Edwards Deming’s Management Ideas

By John Hunter / September 23, 2013 / 0 Comments

By John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog Update: as new online resources are added this blog post is not. See the current list of online Deming management system resources. There are many online resources for those looking to improve the practice of management in their organization in a way consist with […]

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The consumer is the most important point on the production-line

By John Hunter / September 16, 2013 / 0 Comments

By John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog. In, New Principles in Administration for Quality and Efficiency (speech by W. Edward Deming in Manila, Philippines, July 2, 1971) Dr. Deming laid out 19 principles. The full list of principles is included in The Essential Deming, page 176-178. Two I find particularly insightful […]

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What to Do When Individual Performance is Exceptional (outside normal variation)

By John Hunter / September 4, 2013 / 0 Comments

By John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog. W. Edwards Deming wrote that most of the results are due to the system and blaming people for those results was not effective. He also wrote that sometimes employees were outside control limits (evidence of a special cause existed). When those employees were failing […]

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Mobility of Management

By John Hunter / July 15, 2013 / 0 Comments

By John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). Mobility of management, job hopping was one of the practices Dr. Deming included in his list of 7 Deadly Diseases. To understand why we can look at the underpinnings of Deming’s management system. Two of the four elements that comprise the management […]

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Don’t Limit Improvements to Low Level Process Improvement

By John Hunter / July 11, 2013 / 0 Comments

By John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. One of the mistakes people make, who have a very superficial understanding of Deming, is to believe that Dr. Deming’s publications and seminars focused on process improvement. Deming’s ideas on management focused on creating a management system that changed how the entire organization worked. Deming’s ideas on management weren’t […]

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People are Part of the Management System

By John Hunter / July 1, 2013 / 0 Comments

By John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. People are part of the system; they need help… Many people think of machinery and data processing when I mention system. Few of them know that recruitment, training, supervision, and aids to production workers are part of the system. – W. Edwards Deming on page 366 of Out of […]

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Support Learning with an Understanding of Psychology and Systems Thinking

By John Hunter / June 20, 2013 / 0 Comments

By John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. From The Essential Deming, What Ought a School of Business Teach? by Dr. Deming I carried out a study at New York University School of Business. The Dean of the school, at that time, came to me about 1972 and suggested we carry out a study of students that […]

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We are Here to Have Fun, to Learn, and To Make a Difference

By John Hunter / June 17, 2013 / 0 Comments

By John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). Dr. Deming would start his seminars with a quote that set the tone for the seminar: We are here “To have fun, To learn, and To Make a Difference.” In that statement you can see the importance Deming placed on knowledge, effectiveness […]

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