Deming and Toyota

[macrossen@adelphia.net]

I have read a few of the threads referring to Toyota and their success.  I am somewhat familiar with the Toyota Production System (where Lean principles sprouted from), but I have often wondered if Toyota subscribed to all of Deming's 14 points.  Do they have numerical quotas, pay for performance, annual ratings of employees and incentives?  When I read the book "Profit Beyond Measure"(Thomas Johnson, Anders Broms), I was quite impressed by the process of operating production based on the customer demand; no end of the month flurries to meet quotas.  The book was talking about the plant in Kentucky.  When I visited the Toyota plant in Kentucky last year, there was much discussion (with great pride) on how they incentivized people and had teams competing against each other with incentives.  One of the  incentives was having your name placed in a drawing to win a car if you did not miss a day's work all year.  Their attendance rate (as they reprted it) was as outstanding (I can't remember the precise number).  They had teams competing with other teams within the factory.  I remeber Deming mentioning something about competition within a company not being a good thing (increases variation...just what you don't want).  Some have said that "friendly competition is OK.  I don't know.

Anyway, I have a feeling that even Japanese companies fall prey to American culture and some of the deadly diseases when they establish plants on US soil.  But I'd  really like to know if,  in Japan did Toyota subscribe to all of Demings 14 points?

Mike Crossen