Out of the Crisis
Author: W. Edwards Deming
List Price: $29.95
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ISBN: 0262541157
Publisher: MIT Press (11 August, 2000)
Sales Rank: 12,483
Average Customer Rating: 4.78 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
A quality classic
This is a classic in the world of quality assurance. It is fair to call Deming the father, godfather, grandfather and preacher of the quality movement. This book, written in 1986 after he achieved international fame for helping improve quality in Japan, captures the spirit and ideas that spawned a revolution.The book captures many of the key points in Deming's philosophy:
1) Creating metrics based approaches to management, without falling into a quota system.
2) Differentiating between problems caused by the system and problems outside of the system.
3) Focusing on both doing things correctly, and identifying the right tasks to approach.
4) Introducing a Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle of continuous improvement.
If you look at this list, the book presents a blueprint for many of the so called management revolutions of the subsequent 15 years: Excellence, Re-engineering, Process Management, Systems Thinking. This book really is both a trend setter as well as highly important body of theory. The theory is relevant today, as many management problems today can be addressed by his 14 points of management. (Example: A reliance on inspection is bad - build quality into the process. This is highly relevant to software construction today.)
So are there any knocks?
1) You're left with many imperatives, but sometimes without positive prescriptions. For example: If you don't do annual performance reviews, what do you replace it with to determine who gets promoted?
2) The book can be dry and hard to follow. Sometimes it is written as notes pieced together.
3) Many of the companies that Deming held up as models have fallen on tougher times. It seems that today Quality alone is not enough.
Having said this, it should be required reading for any manager. The theory is good, and the book should spark your thinking.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Deming, the Root Cause of Quality Improvement
Having "seen the light" as spoken by Deming, I highly recommend this book and Deming's "The New Economics" to anybody interested in not only quality and business, but anybody working. If you aren't in a position having the power to change your workplace, be prepared to bite your lip when conventional management is used.
When you look at Six Sigma you can see much of Dr. Demings work and thoughts being used, thus one persons short review that Dr. Deming is the real father of Six Sigma. Six Sigma brings more of the cost savings aspect to process improvement which appeals to conventional business.
While people can look at Japan and say they are down now and Dr. Deming is wrong, there are plenty of Japanese companies that follow Dr. Deming's teachings still that are clobbering the competition. Toyota, the 2nd largest auto manufacturer in the world now (yes, ahead of Ford by most accounts) uses his teachings.
Don't just read the words, understand what is being said and learn from Dr. Deming.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Where Quality Begins
I first became aware of Dr. Deming through the Deming Management method. He affected so much change in Japan and was not known here in the USA. The chief reason for his lack of success here was probably that eliminating fear, one of his 14 points, has never really been a management method of American Management. Today people fear losing jobs, his method of quality was to lead to more jobs and more quality utilizing American pride in work. I do think his method had an impact, look at companies like Xerox, and others who continually improved, yet, our economy is so short sighted, we never seem to get past the view of everything this Quarter...we need to have a broader perspective. I find my coworkers in America to be very hard working people who have pride in what they do and accomplish. If only we would remember the red beads, we would get quality if we provide quality material. Demings last seminar was held in Pasadena, I wanted to go to that, yet I hesitated and well, had to learn from a friend second hand. This is a must buy for anyone who will manage people, engineers and corporations. Similar Products
The Deming Management Method
Quality Is Free: The Art of Making Quality Certain
The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education - 2nd Edition
Dr. Deming : The American Who Taught the Japanese About Quality
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