RE: Re. Education Philosophy

[WMack <WMack@PEC.com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Morris Taylor [SMTP:wmt@netcomuk.co.uk]
> 
> could Deming have got it
> wrong? Or could he have been unaware of some of the fundamentals of
> psychology (which he came to latterly). Or could we be misinterpreting
> what
> Deming wrote about devices such as gold stars. 
> 
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Dr. Deming's feelings about gold stars, etc. were based on his
understanding of variation and not psychology.  Essentially, Dr. Deming
felt there are only three catagories for evaluation based on the control
chart: above the upper limit, between the lower and upper limit, and
below the lower limit.

Unless the awarding of gold stars is based upon either exceeding
the upper control limit or exceeding the lower control limit, it is
arbitrary.  This is one of the lessons of the red bead experiment.

Understanding variation is one of the keys to understanding Dr. Deming's
work.  Once you accept his views on variation, other issues such as
the psychological affect of awards become much more logical.  I'm
sure the first question Dr. Deming would ask of anyone awarding 
"gold stars" is "Where is your data (for determining the award)?"

Wayne Mack
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