Communication Failure and the application of 85-15 to 97-3 %

[FVoehl@aol.com]

In a message dated 6/3/99 5:42:41 AM, (Ed Baker) lifemap@ix.netcom.com wrote:

<<management vs employee contributions to problems ranged from 85-15 to 97-3 
to 102% for management.  In other words, Dr, Deming was saying, let's not 
take the quantification of the issue too literally; we know where the problem 
lies.

I think that Deming's source of this idea, if it is Juran, is NOT Juran's 
Pareto work, but his analysis of MANAGEMENT VS OPERATOR CONTROLLABLE DEFECTS. 
>>

Ed Baker raises an interesting point, which is somewhat central to the 
discussion, that being one of analysis of sources.  Both Deming and Juran 
cited the failure to grasp the distinction between *operator controlled vs. 
management controlled* errors was a widespread source of confusion.  Juran 
goes on to emphasize that *controllability can be quantified by analysis of 
the process* and he uses the Tables (cited by Ed Baker) as a source.  He goes 
on to say that the overwhelming evidence is that operator-controlled defects 
are generally less than 20% of the total, based upon numerous studies 
conducted in *the United States, the Czech Republic, Holland, Japan, and 
Sweden. . .curiously, there has been little material published on this point* 
(Juran, Quality Control Handbook).  

Juran does not dismiss the importance of searching for causes of operator 
errors.  Instead, he suggests a two-level diagnosis procedure:  (1) analysis 
of past performance to discover the patterns of concentration and (2) 
analysis to discover the causes of concentration patterns.  One of Juran's 
key conclusions, that was also embraced by Deming, is that *Communication 
Failure* often plays a leading role, especially where there is an apparent 
conflict between management's words and deeds regarding quality, leading 
workers to conclude that management does not give a high priority to quality 
and thus there is no reason for the workers to do so either.  In other words, 
even when managers words are for quality (and they always are), their 
actions--as seen by the operators--are often speaking in another language.

We do not give enough attention to communication failure in our work and 
studies.  Even when management has good reasons for its actions, the workers 
may not be aware of this and may conclude otherwise.  The understanding of 
workers views of actions taken by management is an important aspect of fixing 
the quality system.  Thank you, Ed, for bringing this important subject to 
our attention once again.

Frank Voehl(FVoehl@aol.com)
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