Edwards Deming's 14 principles for management with comments and examples.
W. E. Deming's 14 Points for Management
"Don't try to challenge the conclusions Deming . Study the theory, because if the theory is not objectionable, and the logic leading from the theory to the conclusions is correct, then how can the conclusions be wrong?
To simultaneously translate English-language videos into Russian, use the new Yandex Browser feature - real-time video translation.
Source: [1] - Henry R. Neave, "The Organization as a System: Edwards Deming's Principles for Building a Sustainable Business." / "The Deming Dimension. Henry R. Neave"; Per. from English - M.: Alpina Publisher, 2017. Scientific editors: Y. Adler, Y. Rubanik, V. Shper. You can purchase the book from the publisher Alpina Publisher .
All ideas in the 14 points presented are those of Edwards Deming, and they are presented here in a compact form. The comments following each point are by Henry Neave. Some points are supplemented with links to articles from the practice of AQT experts.
Edwards Deming's 14 Points Program for Management are the conclusions that follow from Deep knowledge systems . – Note by S. Grigoryev.
Free access to articles does not in any way diminish the value of the materials contained in them.
"My 14 Points for Management are a natural outgrowth of Deep knowledge systems to move from an existing management style to an optimization style."
The points mentioned below do not cover the entirety of Deming's philosophy, although they serve as an important component of it. This is not a list of instructions, techniques, or a checklist. They serve as a means of preparing the mind for new thinking, for understanding that there are radically different, better ways of organizing business and working with people. Of course, a full appreciation of Deming's philosophy will require constant attention and movement in the direction indicated and expressed in the fourteen points. However, obediently following Deming's ideas without first studying them and deeply understanding what he says and why it seems even dangerous. I can predict that anyone who treats these fourteen points as a ready-made recipe will certainly fail. I do not recommend starting to apply any of the fourteen points before a thorough understanding of them has been achieved. Only then will it be possible to judge how to carry out a “total transformation” of management style in practice in the conditions of an individual company, since in fact the main goal is not the adoption of the fourteen points separately or all together, but the creation of a new environment that would be fully compatible with them and is receptive to them. And this is not a project, not a program, this is a continuous, endless process. It's forever.
1. Constancy of purpose
“Set a goal and be steadfast and persistent in achieving your goal of continuous improvement of products and services, allocating resources so that long-term goals and needs are met (not just short-term profitability) to achieve competitiveness, maintain the enterprise and keep people employed.” .
It would be unwise to accept Deming's philosophy in principle without putting it into practice. Sometimes it happens that management publicly proclaims its commitment to this philosophy, but then prioritizes solving almost any lingering problem. However, there must be a consistent, unwavering, endless, all-encompassing movement towards continuous improvement of all activities and operations within the company. People nowadays are accustomed to the fact that slogans and calls from leadership change every few weeks, disappearing as quickly as they appeared. With that kind of background, it may take time for people to believe that management is really serious this time. And this is only possible if the management really has a similar mindset. Management's commitment to continuous improvement is a critical factor in maintaining the enthusiasm, interest and ownership of employees at all levels, stimulating them to make even greater personal contributions. This kind of commitment can be acquired by those in leadership who take the trouble to study and deeply understand the philosophy that is new to them and thereby set a good example by the consistency of their intentions. Then their conviction will begin to spread throughout the organization from top to bottom, fueling and nurturing the consistency of all employees everywhere in the same intentions. This requires action - action of a different type and of a different nature than traditional ones; the right type of action is recognized by consistency in intentions and goals.
2. New philosophy
"Adopt a new philosophy. We are in a new economic era that has begun in Japan. We can no longer tolerate the accepted level of delays, errors, defects in materials and defective workmanship. A transformation of the Western style of management is needed to stop the continuing decline of the economy."
This is a completely new philosophy. These are not just a few guidelines, ideas, rules or techniques that you could add to those commonly used in your company. It actually involves a major radical rethinking of your views - more radical than you can imagine. It involves a 180-degree turn in many of the strategies, behaviors, and beliefs that you have become accustomed to or conditioned to over the years. We are talking about deep, fundamental changes - as radical as those needed to move from a flat-Earth theory to a ball-Earth theory. If you don't embrace the idea of fundamental change, then reinvention will never happen. In any case, this will not happen overnight. But we must maintain constant, continuous movement in the right direction. Every day should bring us closer to a state where the entire company is in the process of improving the quality of all systems and activities.
3. End your addiction to mass control
“Eliminate the need for mass testing and inspection as a way to achieve quality, primarily by “building” quality into products. Demand statistical evidence of “built-in” quality, both in the production process and in purchasing.”
If your first reaction to this demand of Deming was an ironic grin, it shows how far your standards of excellence are from those that he insists on and that are used by the people who responded to his calls. We are so accustomed to the poor quality of supplies, services and systems that this can be taken as an objective property of reality - as it is and as it will remain. However, the obvious result of achieving high and sustainable quality indicators (confirmed statistically, using appropriate process control methods) is that expensive and ineffective mass control actually becomes unnecessary, since the possibility of defects is nipped in the bud. The cost savings will be achieved not only by reducing the need for control, but also by ensuring that processes work with reliable, interchangeable, homogeneous materials of the same quality, with the same characteristics, in addition to everything else that becomes possible in this case. Just think about how your high-quality, competitive product or service will impact your reputation with your current and future customers.
See examples of what exactly needs to be done to build quality into products in the articles:
•
Is the product meeting the specification (approval) actually meeting the specification? Are defective products really defective?
[Donald Wheeler]
•
Correct and incorrect ways to use tolerance fields. Should products be sorted according to tolerance margins for defective and non-defective, or should we try to customize the process?
[Donald Wheeler]
4. End the practice of purchasing at the lowest price.
"End the practice of evaluating and selecting suppliers based solely on the price of their product. Instead, require serious evidence of product quality along with price. Reduce the number of suppliers of the same product by eliminating the services of those who cannot statistically confirm its quality Strive to ensure that each component comes from only one manufacturer with whom you have established mutual loyalty and trust as a result of a long-term relationship. The goal in this case is to minimize the overall costs, not just the initial costs, for the procurement and procurement departments. new responsibilities that they will have to learn thoroughly."
This point is directly related to the previous one. We can only end the need for incoming inspections if we trust that their manufacturers are held to the same high quality standards that we do. This assumes that you have established trusted, long-term collaborative relationships with a limited number of trusted suppliers who are able and willing to meet your needs. The benefits that can be achieved from such a relationship with a reliable supplier, and the resulting improvement in the quality of their products and services, greatly exceed the “savings” obtained by purchasing at the lowest prices. In any case, the practice of purchasing at low prices forces suppliers to tactics of extracting short-term benefits and does not allow them to pursue long-term policies. The excess costs that are inevitable as a result in our own production and possible for customers associated with our production as a result of the use of cheap, unreliable components are likely to be enormous and difficult to determine. At best, we can expect a significant increase in the volume of rework, delays, and irregularities in production. In the worst case, bad material can “slip” through the production process and then “resurface” at the consumer. And if the consumer suffers, rest assured that he will most likely make you suffer too. And he will be absolutely right.
See additional materials for this item in the articles:
•
Organization of an effective procurement system and productive work with suppliers.
•
The all-or-nothing plan is against the use of tables for random quality acceptance inspection. Edwards Deming
.
5. Improve every process
"Today and always, continuously improve all planning, production and service processes. Look for problems in order to improve all activities and functions in the company, increase quality and productivity and thus constantly reduce costs. Continuous improvement of the system, including development and design, supply of components and materials, maintenance and improvement of equipment operation, management and organization methods, training and retraining of personnel is the primary responsibility of management."
Currently, we see too many leaders who tend to believe in a “better future” and leave things to chance. They turn a blind eye to potential problems and pay attention to them only when their seriousness becomes apparent, which can result in significant damage to the organization. It is much better to find them as early as possible and destroy them in the bud before they can create real difficulties. This is the main difference between intellectual and crisis management styles. Never be complacent because you have solved some problems and made corresponding improvements. Know that further improvements are always possible, but this is only achieved when other existing problems are identified and resolved. By problems we mean the presence of both special (specific) and general causes of variability. That is, we must strive to make an unstable process stable, and a stable but ineffective process effective, and then even more effective. In problems lies the opportunity for improvement, and if you do not find problems, then rest assured that problems will find you.
See additional materials explaining the difference between special causes of variability and systemic ones and the difference between unstable processes and stable ones in the article:
•
The nature of variability (variability, variations)
.
6. Put into practice training and retraining of personnel
"Introduce modern approaches to training and retraining for all employees, including supervisors and managers, in order to better utilize the capabilities of each of them. To keep pace with changes in materials, methods, product design, equipment, technology, functions and service methods, New skills and abilities are constantly required."
How can any staff or management do their job correctly if they don't know what it is? Training should be as much a part of the work process as production itself. Taking root and spreading improvements is the result of learning, but many short-sighted managers view learning as an unproductive investment. As a result, when financial constraints force people to tighten their belts, learning opportunities are the first to be curtailed. What mistake! Just think how insignificant the cost of training an employee is compared to the total cost of maintaining him for many months and years of his work in the company. This value is completely insignificant compared to the potential benefits to the company from the fact that this employee understands his job, that is, knows how to do it correctly, and therefore, with the best benefit for the company. Moreover, this does not include the hard-to-consider benefits that the company has from the fact that its employees receive satisfaction and pleasure from correctly performed, high-quality work and therefore strive to improve it.
Caution: The Internet is full of offers of various training courses on Edwards Deming's management and Shewhart's control charts diluted with newfangled entertainment, be careful when choosing them for your team.
See description of our training programs:
•
Systems thinking, variability theory, cognitive theory, some knowledge in the field of psychology. What did the top management of Japanese companies learn from Edwards Deming and why is he called the creator of the “Japanese economic miracle”?
•
Shewhart control charts are the most effective tool for analyzing business metrics, monitoring process behavior and quality management. Statistical Process Control (SPC)
.
•
XmR control chart of individual values and moving ranges (IX-MR Charts) for quality management at the workshop level (working with a paper control chart form)
.
7. Establish leadership
"With the goal of helping people do their best work, introduce leadership. Managers at all levels should be held accountable not for mere numbers, but for quality, the improvement of which automatically leads to increased productivity. Leaders and managers must ensure that immediate action is taken when signals about emerging defects, faulty or broken equipment, poor tools, unclear work instructions (operational definitions) and other factors detrimental to quality."
If managers and foremen spend their time tightly controlling subordinates, shouting and “pressing” them so that they “work well” or fulfill the planned quota, this is a direct indication of low quality standards in this area of production. Management will delude itself into believing that workers' unscrupulous attitude to work is the reason for poor quality. This misconception serves as one of the most significant obstacles for managers in mastering the elementary principles of Deming’s philosophy. They simply cannot imagine or believe in the existence of a business where employees are involved in the process of continuous improvement, committed to it, and at the same time they do not need to be encouraged or pushed. We need to create an environment in which people will be truly interested in their work, and managers will help them do it well. Thus, mutual complementarity occurs: interested employees strive to do the work efficiently and accept appropriate help and advice; conversely, if they get an opportunity for good work, then their interest increases - thus the cycle will be continuous. However, too often we see the opposite - and a vicious circle is formed. Conditions force a person to do his job poorly, and then he loses interest in the work, which leads to an even lower quality of work, etc.
See examples of bad management practices in the articles:
•
Statistical process control (SPC) against the erroneous practice of rationing (timing) of production processes and operations. SPC - the best solution for production planning
.
•
A critical look at the use of KPIs in the personnel motivation system. Or how management deprives itself of the most important information for managing the company and destroys teamwork
.
•
Don't get carried away with aggregated numerical KPI indicators in quality management
.
•
Quality or quantity? Piece work or time work? What instead?
.
•
Do you have money, but don’t need knowledge? The usual practice of the dominant management style is while there is money, and when there is no money, knowledge will no longer help
.
8. Banish fears
"Encourage effective two-way communication and use other means to eradicate fear, apprehension and hostility within the organization so that everyone can work more effectively and efficiently for the benefit of the company. Innovation is all about freedom. New ideas come from people who owe nothing to anyone and They are accountable only to themselves."
Any person who is afraid of his superiors cannot cooperate properly with him. The best that can be expected in such circumstances is resentful submission, that is, exactly what the leader wants. However, this state of affairs will never lead to good results. True collaboration achieves much more than isolated individual efforts. But this interaction will not become effective if mutual trust, confidence and respect are not cultivated in the company. Those who work in fear try to escape the sight of those they fear. How can you expect returns corresponding to potential opportunities from people whose main desire is simply not to be noticed? The next paragraph will focus on removing barriers between departments and functions, but it is equally important to break down barriers between people and their immediate superiors, between management and middle management, between middle and senior management, and between senior management and the president of the company. In a suffocating climate of fear, senior management loses touch with reality. Leaders will be fed what they want to hear, and bad news will be suppressed, delayed, diluted and softened. Errors and inaccuracies will be hidden with great energy and invention, which could be used to benefit the cause. Thus, fears will seriously undermine the organization's ability to learn and improve.
See examples of Russian practice in the article:
•
Let go of fear-based management
.
•
Manipulations with sample acceptance inspection data
.
9. Break down barriers
"Break down barriers between departments, services and departments. People from different functional departments - researchers, developers, production, sales and administrative representatives - should work in teams to resolve problems that may arise with products or services." .
Most companies are organized along functional lines, but must work cross-functionally. Different parts of the organization have their own interests, traditions, values, their own “sacred cows”, and often even their own jargon. Therefore, they may feel the need to fight with their colleagues from other parts of the organization if their interests seem to be infringed. If employees really need to fight for something, then it’s better to fight for the competitiveness and survival of the company, and not just fight with each other. It must be said that often differences of interests are apparent and not real. And sometimes the most minor changes in the work of one department can have a very positive impact on the work of others, and this, in turn, will create a desire to provide a reciprocal favor. But all this can only happen if the concerned services and departments gain a real understanding of the difficulties of the other department and if the overall organizational environment of the company stimulates cooperation rather than generating internal conflicts. To explain to each other our tasks and problems, as well as how to solve them, a common language of elementary statistical methods and control charts is very useful.
See this article describing the consequences of pervasive cross-functional barriers:
•
When designing in CAD, do you rely on testing a digital model built at face value? Then expect problems with the assembly of components and the behavior of the finished product in real conditions
.
•
The Misguided Appeal of Competition
.
10. Refuse empty slogans and appeals
"Avoid the use of posters, slogans and appeals that demand defect-free work, new levels of productivity, etc. from employees, but do not communicate anything about how to achieve these goals. Such appeals only cause hostility; the bulk of problems of low quality and productivity are related to with the system, and therefore their decisions are beyond the capabilities of ordinary employees."
“Do it right the first time!”, “Zero defects is our goal!”, “Let’s increase production by 10%!” — these and countless other calls assume that the manager believes that the workers can actually do it all. This assumption is rejected with indignation and bitterness by those people who every day are forced to deal with the results of someone's incompetent work. How can anyone do anything well the first time if they are not given the time, materials, or equipment to make it all possible? How can he produce defect-free products if what he is given to work with already contains defects and errors? The result is that already low job satisfaction drops even lower. And what will be the result of calling employees to produce more of something when they know full well that, under existing defective conditions, the quality of the product they produce will decrease even more significantly, despite all efforts to prevent this?
Make reasonable calls, and most importantly, provide everything necessary to fulfill them - and you will get more than you expected. By making unreasonable calls, you will get even less than you could, as a result of additional demoralization of the employee.
See examples of meaningless slogans and calls for defect-free work that only bring harm in the articles:
•
Edwards Deming's Red Bead Experiment
.
•
Dr. Deming's Funnel Experiment
.
•
Correct and incorrect ways to use tolerance fields. Should products be sorted according to tolerance margins for defective and non-defective, or should we try to customize the process?
[Donald Wheeler].
11. Eliminate arbitrary quantitative norms and assignments
"Eliminate work routines that impose arbitrary standards and quotas on employees and quantitative targets on managers. Replace them with support and leadership from higher-ups to continually achieve improvements in quality and productivity. Work standards, norms, incentive pay and piecework are all This is a demonstration of management's inability to understand and organize the work correctly. The losses must be terrible."
If simplistic, manipulative goals are set in order to move the company forward, then achieving them becomes more important than satisfying the customer, not to mention giving him pleasure. Such goals will never be “right”, except perhaps in very rare cases. If the goal is lower than the actual capabilities of the system, the automatic reaction of employees will be to slow down the pace of work as soon as this goal is achieved. And really, why try? If the goal is unreasonable or unattainable, it will most likely not be achieved, which will cause criticism, loss of bonuses, disappointment - all without any guilt on the part of the employees. Perhaps it will be achieved by “cutting corners”; lowering quality standards, neglecting safety requirements, etc. Thus, the given goal will be achieved at the cost of reducing quality with all the numerous consequences that will manifest themselves at subsequent stages of the production process or, even worse, at the consumer. In any case, people's faith in the ability of their leaders to conduct business competently will rightfully decrease.
See examples in the articles:
•
Statistical process control (SPC) against the erroneous practice of rationing (timing) of production processes and operations. SPC - the best solution for production planning
.
•
A critical look at the use of KPIs in the personnel motivation system. Or how management deprives itself of the most important information for managing the company and destroys teamwork
.
•
Don't get carried away with aggregated numerical KPI indicators in quality management
.
•
Quality or quantity? Piece work or time work? What instead?
12. Give employees a chance to be proud of their work.
“Remove the barriers that rob workers and managers of their ability to take pride in the quality of their work. This includes, among other things, eliminating annual performance reviews and management by objectives methods. Once again, the responsibilities of managers, supervisors, and foremen must be shifted from achieving purely quantitative indicators to quality."
There are so many barriers to satisfaction and pride in the results of your work - and how few of them we have considered! How can a worker be proud of what he does if, due to poor quality materials, poor tools, unreasonable production standards, he is forced to produce inferior products? How can he be satisfied if he realizes the futility of discussing ways of improvement with his superiors? That is why the worker, without any enthusiasm, trudges along the well-worn rut, although he probably knows that this path is not the most correct. How can a manager be proud of what he does if the result is reduced quality and frustrated workers? How can he be proud of what he does if he has neither the time nor the support to improve the morale of his subordinates, their productivity, improvements in processes and methods to improve quality? The value of what an employee of any rank produces will be immeasurably greater if he can take pride in his work, compared to when he simply works the allotted time. And what can a performance appraisal system do to achieve this? The answer is obvious.
See examples in the articles:
•
Peter Scholtes: The "Management by Objectives" (MBO) method, KPI (Key Performance Indicators, KPIs) - what's wrong?
.
•
System of external motivation of personnel (false management paradigms)
.
•
About the dangers of bonuses
.
•
Manipulations with sample acceptance inspection data
.
13. Encourage the pursuit of education
"Establish an active program of education and self-improvement support for all employees. An organization needs more than just people, it needs employees who improve through education. Knowledge is the source of successful progress in achieving competitiveness."
In the old version of the fourteen items, items 6 and 13 related to job training and education. Now paragraph 6 is entirely devoted to training in working methods, and paragraph 13 is devoted to education and a new concept - self-improvement. The difference is obvious. Of course, training in methods of work in line with how the work is done is essential now. But a more diverse education is a significant contribution to the future. In the modern world, everything changes very quickly, and, naturally, change for the sake of change itself is meaningless. But without recognizing the need for change and understanding the potential benefits it can bring, how can we or the company take advantage of these benefits and achieve effective performance? How can improvements occur without change? And can there be change without the knowledge and education necessary to implement it? Deming's final addition to this point concerns self-improvement. This is his new call, just as (if not more) significant than those he put forward many years ago, which require a single source of supply or the elimination of mass control. Just imagine the additional potential of those workers who actively, without coercion, instructions, or monetary rewards, try to improve their education, and at the same time, perhaps even at the expense of significant personal costs.
14. Top management involvement and actions
"Clearly define top management's unwavering commitment to continuous improvement of quality and productivity and their commitment to implement all the principles discussed above. However, a sincere declaration by top management of their commitment to quality and productivity is not enough. These people must also know exactly what they are committed to," that is, what they should do. Create a structure in senior management that will provide daily impetus for progress towards the thirteen principles discussed above, and take action to achieve change. Support is not enough, concrete action is needed."
Everything we talk about begins and can end at this point. Without the faith, understanding and action of senior management, progress (if any) will be sporadic and temporary at best. Top managers must lead and energetically lead the entire organization in the direction of improving the quality of each activity: provide the required support, training, allocation of funds. In their own practice, senior management must follow the same principles that it preaches. In particular, managers must accept that they also have a lot to learn and be willing to learn. For example, what is the point of training everyone from middle management on down in statistical methods if senior management does not know them and will likely not understand the reports, analyses, and recommendations resulting from their application? Much more important is the use of these methods by senior managers in relation to their own data. Of course, leaders are very busy people, but that is why it is so important to establish among them a definite and permanent structure for the sole purpose of supporting and facilitating continuous progress in a new direction. It's hard work (as Deming always said), and commitment and faith are needed now more than ever. But the potential benefits for you and your company are enormous.
See the description of the training program for senior management:
•
Systems thinking, variability theory, cognitive theory, some knowledge in the field of psychology. What did the top management of Japanese companies learn from Edwards Deming and why is he called the creator of the “Japanese economic miracle”?