DEN

["Ian Schoeman" <ianschoe@global.co.za>]

[Moderator's Note:  Folks - this is one of the main reasons we are here!! ]


I would like to express my grattitude to you and all the DEN members who =
contributed during the past two years.
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To complete my studies in Quality Assurance I had to submit a =
dissertation at the end of my fourth year.  Since Deming was one of the =
subjects presented I decided to do my dissertation on Deming.  I soon =
found that choosing the subject, difficult as that was, was nothing =
compared to the problem of lack of good reference material.  After =
various failed attempts at finding the right books (the Rand/Dollar =
exchange rate makes the import of American books prohibitive), I read =
every one of the thousands of messages on the DEN archive.  From these =
archives I got more insight into the Deming Management Philosophy than I =
dreamt possible.
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I would also like to express my thanks to those who graciously allow =
their essays to be published on the DEN so that we can learn from them.  =
As you once told me   "God willing and the creek don't rise", their =
knowledge and experience will be available to us for many years to come.
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Occasionally there is a student's request as to 'where do I start to =
learn about Deming' or 'Suggested first reading'.  Yes, there are so =
many good books, links etc. but I would put the DEN on top of my list of =
suggestions.
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By the way, I passed the dissertation with a cool 73%.  All thanks to =
the DEN.
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God bless
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Ian Schoeman
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"The most difficult things in the world must be done while they are =
still easy, the greatest things in the world must be done while they are =
still small. For this reason sages never do what is great, and this is =
why they can achieve that greatness." - Sun Tzu
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