Taylor vs. Deming

[Øgland - Petter <petter.ogland@skatteetaten.no>]

In order to understand Deming, I feel I need to contrast him with some other
type of quality management philosophy.  As I see it, there are only two
types of quality management philosophies.  Either one views the world
deterministically, like Juran & Taylor, or one views the world
stochastically, like Shewhart and Deming.

Deming quality management I feel is best understood through Japanese Quality
Management, viewing the world as running water, while Taylor
quality/productivity management is probably better understood as the
American Way (Six Sigma etc), viewing the world as a dead thing, like a
machine.

I wonder if Taylor management suits the kind of people who like J.S. Bach,
Maurice Escher and Religious Fundamentalism, while Deming management is
better suited for people who like jazz, Picasso and Zen Buddhism.

Does this comparison make sense to anybody?  Are there other and better ways
of explaining the cultural difference between Deming management and
conventional management by illustrating the differences through the use of
poetry, music, art and religion?

Petter Ogland

[Moderator's Note:  Consider a chronological comparison...  Deming was one of many
that influenced and perhaps even created "Japanese Quality Management"  Deming's
American predecessors like ( good or bad )the Gilbreths and Frederick Taylor
also preceeded him to Japan influencing their thinking.