REQUEST: 21st Century Quality Concepts

[TQNELSON@aol.com]

My apologies in taking so long to respond to this request from Fatos Pakdil:
"According to your opinion what is the newest and most 
important concepts in total quality area and what will be the 21th 
century's quality concept ?"
 

IMHO, and in accordance with WED's SoPK, the 21st century MUST see a major 
shift in quality focus away from parts and to a "total system" concept.

Practically every effort we see, whether in TQM, or even in many educational 
efforts that claim a relation to Dr. Deming's teachings, in "strategic" 
management (the placement in quotes has a basis we may explore at a later 
time), service quality, and performance "management" (again, the quotes 
invite a later exploration), totally fail WED's intent of "Appreciation if a 
System and focus on parts alone (a recent/current, commercial "systems" 
course offering, claiming a Deming basis, restricted/restricts its focus to 
the internal organizational element alone, completely betraying the SoPK [no 
focus that only looks inside "an organization" {from company to country} can 
ever claim to have a basis in "Appreciation of a System"]).

Everywhere in the news around us, from the spread of diseases (caused by well 
intentioned national health/business efforts [ref. the lead article in the 
August "Scientific American," www.sciam.com]), to continuing war and conflict 
between so-called civilized peoples, we see a failure to take, and act on, a 
systems perspective (the recent "recall" of millions of tires in America is 
another great example), and acting on a highly restricted, "selfish system" 
(oxymoron?) as the heart of the problem.

That, in fact, can be seen as underlying the continuing need for the DEN and 
like educational efforts: to continually promote never-ending-improvement in 
an understanding of, and taking action based on the SoPK.

So, a wordy, late response that basically says: "In my
opinion, the newest and most important concept in the total quality area, and 
in the 21th century's quality concept, will/must be the shift to a total 
system understanding as the ONLY valid basis for quality."

Del Nelson
American River College

When "We, the people..."
Are replaced by dollar$, profit$, and greed,
It is time to start over.
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