Dr. W. Edwards Deming, the legendary master of managing for quality whose techniques helped propel Japan into its postwar economic boom, delivered his management message in the form of four-day seminars. Now you can experience the wisdom of his seminars with this unique book.
Reviewed in detail by Dr. Deming himself before his recent death, Four Days with Dr. Deming compiles and summarizes the essence of his seminars in a remarkably entertaining and easy-to-absorb style. Through the voices of Dr. Deming, the authors, and a company executive, you will learn about the problems with prevailing management systems that focus on such short-term strategies as quotas and management by results. You will discover how to move beyond these counterproductive strategies to achieve true cooperation, process improvement, and long-term productivity.
The book includes Dr. Deming's most recent thinking on the System of Profound Knowledge, as well as purchasing strategies, cross-functional teams, alternatives to quotas, operational definitions, and systems of measurement. The unique one-concept-per-page visual format allows you to absorb complex material quickly, and the real-life examples make Dr. Deming's message concrete and usable.
We conceived the idea for this book when we met at the Toronto Annual Quality Conference. We decided then to write a book about Dr. Deming's message. The book was to be simple to read yet introduce his philosophy in a completely accurate way. We planned to use copious illustrations to make the ideas clearer.
The purpose was to make the message easy to understand. We visualized an executive, flying home after a busy day, who wanted to use the time to study a new theory without undue strain.
Would Dr. Deming like the idea? We began to work on a manuscript and laid out the first chapter with an outline. This we gave to Dr. Deming. He sent this material back, edited and with a letter: "Your idea of a book is exciting. Please continue to work on it, and get it out."
Dr. Deming not only encouraged us but actively reviewed the manuscript and added his ideas. We believe this book represents the most simple, up-to-date, and accurate presentation of his philosophy.
This book is an ideal introduction to the Deming Management Theory. Its organization follows the four-day seminar made famous by Dr. Deming. Over the course of writing the book, Dr. Deming changed the order of presentation and of emphasis. In an early draft we included a table showing the order of a presentation he made only a week before. He wrote on this table, "We have to rethink this." Subsequently he adopted the format we now follow in this book. We like to think that we have had some influence on his presentation.
The book is an ideal study tool. Undergraduate and graduate courses of Management, Organizational Development, and Quality will benefit by using this book. The material of the seminar is presented in 13 chapters - an ideal content for a semester course. The list of questions at the end of the book is useful for studying and exploring the subject matter in depth.
While this book makes a useful text for university courses, it also fills a need as a study tool for in-house training. With appropriate changes in presentation, an instructor can use this book to train all levels of management and workers. The presentation avoids as much as possible the need for any technical knowledge. The authors are working on an instructional guide for in-house training.
Those who have attended Dr. Deming's seminars in the past will find the book to be a refresher of what they experienced. It may even clarify a point that was obscure at the time of the seminar.
For those who have never attended Dr. DemingIs seminar, this book gives the flavor of such an experience. To make people feel the forces at work during the seminar, we use three voices - first is Dr. Deming, who usually introduces the topic. Where we feel that we can contribute to understanding, the authors act as the second voice. An imaginary seminar participant is voice number three. The authors have much experience with the seminars, having acted often as facilitators for Dr. Deming. During this time we met many executives and managers who came to learn, impatient to get on with it but willing to listen. We have observed that changes in the seminar participant take place over time. The lesson of the beads is a particular point of change.
The epilogue was added to help people to continue to study the application of this philosophy. "There is no substitute for knowledge," said Dr. Deming. The best way to effect a transformation is with the help of a master. The authors recognize that there will be those who cannot find a master yet wish to continue studying the ideas. We give some advice that we hope will help these readers in their quest.
For a long time Dr. Deming kept saying that to manage in a competitive world requires Profound Knowledge. It was only in the last few years that he defined what he meant by Profound Knowledge. This book incorporates his most recent thinking on this important topic.
Why did we choose this format? We chose to use a nontraditional format because it is our theory that people learn in different ways. Some people are visual and can learn best when they see pictures. Others are more verbal and prefer to listen to lectures.
Traditional English text is one dimensional. A page really consists of a long line of words. (When read in one direction - left to right - this page is actually a 10-foot line of words.) Research suggests that the human brain converts information like a holograph, in three dimensions. For that reason, TVs, movies, and exhibits are popular ways of learning. Therefore, we have created this book specifically for those who prefer visual learning.
We chose to present the Four-Day Seminars in the landscape (wide page) format. Dr. Deming reviewed, corrected, and added to this manuscript. He liked the landscape format and hoped that it would appeal to the reader as well. Managing to achieve quality, by its very nature, requires the ability to see relationships. We have attempted to cross-reference the relationship between ideas whenever possible.
This book is the compilation of many of Dr. Deming's lectures. In attending many of these lectures, we observed his never-ending improvement - he constantly clarified his message and its delivery.
Dr. Deming's message to management is simple: The prevailing system of management is ruining us. The prevailing system focuses on short-term thinking, ranking, merit systems, management by results, quotas, and MBO's. The authors hope that by bringing Dr. Deming's message in this visual format we will help managers gain a better understanding of their jobs.
Every system, such as this book, must have an aim. Our aim is to present the Deming Seminar in a simple, enjoyable way that will give the reader understanding and desire to continue studying Dr. Deming's philosophy.
William J. Latzko
David M. Saunders
9 June 1994
0201633663P04062001
