A Pro and a Con of Piecemeal Application of Deming S 14 Points

Management - Analysis of Processes & Workflows -- Deming Essay W. Edwards Deming is a renowned expert in the analysis of business processes and workflows. Though much of his work predated the 1980s, that decade saw American businesses eventually acknowledge and begin to implement his 14 points of management. Implementation of those points is ideally accomplished simultaneously. Implementation of one point over the others might seem logical; however, that piecemeal approach is also deeply problematic. W.

Edwards Deming is widely known in management circles as one of the giants of quality (Editor, 2012). Holding engineering and physics degrees from the Universities of Wyoming and Yale, during Deming's 93 years of life (1900-1993) (Editor, 2012), he became renowned for his developed management techniques. Though he initially worked in the industrial sphere, his most notable first effort at effective management was his government-directed reconstruction of Japanese industry after WWII (Editor, 2012).

Though Deming effectively used his knowledge as a statistician, American industry tended to resist his efforts until the 1980 release of "If Japan Can, Why Can't We?" on NBC (Editor, 2012). Thereafter, American managers began listening closely to Deming's analysis. By 1986, Deming fully developed and published his road map: "14 Points of Management" (Singh, Dean, & Chee-Chuong, 2013, p. 41). Thereafter, organizations in industrial nations began employing Deming's 14 points, focusing on organizational change and management's vital role in guiding change (Editor, 2012). Certainly by 1994, Deming's ideas were commonly recognized in U.S.

Business and his 14 points were extensively recited and analyzed (Myers, 1994). Though Deming's 14 points are all aspects of a single methodology (Singh, Dean, & Chee-Chuong, 2013, p. 42), if forced to choose one initial point, it would be the first. The first point states: "Create a constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs" (Myers, 1994).

The benefits of choosing this first point is that it is a logical "Square 1" for implementing Deming's 14 points, as "A key objective of many organizations in both public and private sectors is to systematically and sustainably improve the quality of their product or service offerings" (Singh, Dean, & Chee-Chuong, 2013, p. 41). Inculcating those values within the organization by creating the "constancy of purpose" to improve, become competitive, stay in business and provide jobs should enhance the corporate mindset and culture toward relentless self-examination and improvement.

Furthermore, management experts analyzing all 14 points have found that employing this first point before all others, top management would ideally: make long-term strategies for the organization; arrange for the introduction and implementation of new technology; and ensure effective employee training/education (Fisher, Elrod, & Mehta, 2011, p. 349). Consequently, the upside of adopting point one first is that it establishes, the mindset, the corporate culture, the groundwork for successfully employing all 14 points. There is at least one significant disadvantage of adopting the first point before adopting the others.

First, Deming's construct is a philosophy, a methodology and a road map for success (Fisher, Elrod, & Mehta, 2011, p. 329). Each point is all the stronger for its combination with the other 13 points and the other 13 points are all the stronger for their combination with the 14th point. The strength of Deming's approach is in the simultaneous application of all points. Quoting the extensive analysis of Deming's approach by prior experts, Singh et al.

state: "The effectiveness of the Deming Management Method arises from leadership efforts toward the simultaneous creation of a cooperative and learning organization to facilitate the implementation of process-management practices, which, when implemented, support customer satisfaction and organizational survival through sustained employee fulfillment and continuous improvement of processes, products, and services" (Singh, Dean, & Chee-Chuong, 2013, p. 44). Accordingly, artificially separating one point from the others makes implementation of that point more difficult and less effective. For just one example, points 1 and 8 should logically be combined.

Point 8 states: "Drive out fear so that everyone may work effectively for the company. Fear is a barrier to innovation and collaboration" (Myers, 1994).

Absolutely agreed that this is an important point for constant quality improvement; however, shouldn't this logically be combined with point 1 in order for both points to succeed? In establishing your corporate culture dedicated to constant improvement (Point 1), wouldn't management simultaneously want to drive out fear to forge a corporate culture of innovation and collaboration (Point 8)? Using just this one example, clearly Deming intended all 14 points to be used simultaneously or nearly simultaneously for constant improvement.

Thus, an artificial adoption of a single point -- any point - without the others unduly hampers the organization's progress toward Deming's ideal. 3. Conclusion W. Edwards Deming's 14 points are extensively regarded as highly beneficial to business. Deming's incipient ideas were effectively used in rebuilding Japan's industry after WWII, though they.