Re: Some "System" and "Variation" data

[Bob Adsett <bob.adsett@lineone.net>]

On 20/1/01 13:04, "TQNELSON@aol.com" <TQNELSON@aol.com> wrote:

> By November 2002, 68.2 million US households are predicted to
> have computers and 66.9 million will be able to use the Internet.  The
> report showed that the digital divide still exists, as 80.7 percent of
> upper income households had computers compared to 41.2 percent of lower
> income households in August 2000.


Despite the growth identified by Del I believe that Information society
digital divide is far more serious than he identifies especially when we
consider the larger 'global system'.

Just over a year ago the following thoughts occurred to me when attending
the Deming Fall conference in Washington which had considerable content
dedicated to the Internet and the explosive growth of e-business.
Sadly, because of the format of the event I didn't get an opportunity to
raise these points at the end of the conference as there was no closing
session. 
So with your indulgence I have written out my notes and I would like to use
the DEN to forward my thoughts from the coffee bar at Georgetown University
as a part this thread.

bob.

Reflections on Deming Fall Conference Washington DC

Yesterday I visited the Smithsonian Institute and saw the exhibition of man
flight that clearly has been one of the great human achievements of the last
100 years. After generations of dreaming about being able to fly, I
witnessed through the exhibits the exploits of the Wright brothers, Charles
Lindberg and more recently, and probably most influential on me the NASA
manned space programme.
I can still recall staying up until the early hours to watch Neil Armstrong
take his first step on the lunar surface and having to convince my mother
that this really was a momentous occasion worth missing sleep for even
though I was at school the following day.
In the museum it was striking to see a wedge shaped rocket plane that had
been so familiar to me as it had appeared in the opening sequence to the TV
programme the 6 Million Dollar Man staring Lee Majors.

I found it interesting to compare my thoughts looking at these machines and
images and to considered the words of the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan
who only two weeks earlier had announced the birth of a baby that had taken
the planet¹s population to over 6 billion people.
In the galleries of the Smithsonian I found one of my favourite images; that
of the earth taken from space by the Apollo astronauts. This was the first
time that we had seen our planet as a colourful orb floating in the darkness
of space that later had become such a powerful image used by the growing
environmental and ecological movements of the 1970s and 80s.

But 30 years on from our first manned explorations of the moon sadly the
80/20 rule still applies, less than 20% of the global population commands
over 80% of the worlds¹ wealth and resources.
Deming said ³ no country needs to be poor² and yet significant advances in
engineering, medicine, science and technology have failed to provide the
basic necessities of life of clean wholesome water, food and shelter across
the globe ­ it seems that for many individuals Maslow¹s hierarchy will never
reach beyond the basics needed for survival.

The march of the industrial revolution has more than anything increased the
divisions between rich and poor nations, and between citizens within nations
as I found so clearly demonstrated  on the streets of Washington DC.

It is perverse that despite all the advances that we have achieved at the
end of this millennium, with all the industrial power that we believe we
control, that we have been unable, or unwilling to address the basic needs
of humanity.

As we move from the industrial age into a new technological era  I believe
that it is worth pausing in our headlong rush into this 'brave new world' to
undertake a reflective PDSA.
The conference in Washington gave considerable time to discussion about the
power and value of the developing information society.  But while we sat in
the capital of the USA contemplating the undoubted benefits of this new
technology we would do well to remember that over half of our global
population live, eat, sleep and die without ever having access to a phone,
let alone the internet.
As Peter Scholtes pointed out the rate of technological change is increasing
and ³if no country needs to be poor² we need to ensure that through our best
endeavours and stewardship the internet becomes a powerful tool to address
the global inequalities.
The challenge as we enter a new millennium is to use our skills, knowledge
and know-how to bridge the gap that divides on our small blue planet. And to
guide the activities of the information age so that we do not continue to
create a divisive rift between the information rich and the information
poor.

Now more than at any time in mans history we stand at a cross-roads of
development. The decisions that we take with this new technology will have
immense consequences, because for the first time citizens and governments
truly have the power to think and act globally. Whether this is an
opportunity for good or ill is up to those of us who have control over these
processes, and through our daily lives we can influence the communities and
networks to which we belong.

The Deming community is in global terms very fortunate in having the
insight, the potential and the influence to support the information
revolution for the benefit of all the passengers on our fragile spacecraft.
Members of this network are not so much catalysts of change, but are more
like a virus that has the ability infect organisations in which which it
comes into contact.

To live, to love, to learn and to leave a legacy is an awesome
responsibility. For any system to become corrupt and self-serving all that
needs to happen is that good men and women do nothing. There is a saying
³never doubt that a handful of motivated people cannot change the world,
that is all it has ever taken².
It seems to me that a coordinated group of 1000 individuals on the DEN using
the internet could do a great deal to make this world a better place and to
build a legacy in which we all can be proud.