Re: Getting the Deming message out

["Dr. W. J. Latzko" <Latzko@att.net>]

>
>P.K. Dutta, a DENizen, friend, and friend in India, and I have been 
>chatting on the back channel about the surge of consultants offering all 
>the "new" solutions like 6 Sigma, ISO-XXXX, Lean, and the like.  His 
>concern is deep and I asked him if I could share the dialogue with the DEN 
>and he agreed.
>
>This is not intended as an invitation to re-open the 6 sigma etc. debates 
>- but to ask how DENizens can both expand and take advantage of our 
>"circles of emphasis"

Dr. Dutta is concerned with the impact of the new nostrums on the Deming 
Philosophy. In simple terms, they are all easier for management to 
"implement" than to transform to Dr. Deming's principles. That appeals to 
CEO's who seem to have lots of time to correct errors but none to prevent 
them.

The fact that the CEO of GE is a strong proponent of the six sigma system 
persuades many CEO's that this may be worthwhile. What they do not see is 
that the six sigma process as practiced at GE today is a form of the old 
"Quality Cost" program that GE had for many years.

Are these CEO's mislead? Probably. As Deming would say, "How could they 
know?" The emphasis is on saving costs for the company, not necessarily by 
improving customer service or increasing sales.

I fail to see how we can engage in a dialog without re-opening the debate. 
The merits of the processes examined are the key to whether they enhance 
the Deming Philosophy or substitute it. It is somewhat like the discussion 
on MBO. Deming thought that Peter Drucker's original version had merit but 
the later format was anything but good.

Bill

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. William J. Latzko
215 - 79th Street, North Bergen, NJ 07047-5727
Telephone & Fax: +1-201-868-5338
E-mail: Latzko@att.net
---------------------------------------------------------------------