Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge – 14 Principles

William Edwards Deming (1900-1993) was a renowned American quality management consultant, professor, and statistician, and wrote several books on product quality and management and gave lectures on the same. He is attributed for helping to advancement in production in corporate America but his greatest achievements were in Japan. He made a major contribution to Japan’s a trade and industry development, and also the advancement of their high-quality products. Deming (1990) noted that “by adopting appropriate principles of management, organizations could increase quality and simultaneously reduce costs (by reducing waste, rework, staff attrition and litigation while increasing customer loyalty).” Deming recommended that organizations should focus on quality which leads to reduction of costs, instead of concentrating on costs that decrease the quality gradually. He mostly advocated for proper management as he argued that it was responsible for 85% of the problems that companies face. He argued that good management of an entity should not be evaluated based on revenues but on innovative plans to ensure continued operations, it should invest more, and create employment opportunities through the production of quality products.

Deming observed that a transformation in the individual would bring a better understanding of the working organization. He explained that an individual has ample chances to link with the events, plans, and supporting features of an organization. A transformed individual will have the following qualities, which in turn will help the organization, they are:

• Setting an example.
• Be a good listener, but will not compromise.
• Continually teach other people.
• Help people pull away from their current practice and beliefs and move into the new philosophy without a feeling of guilt about the past.

One of his philosophies on management to achieve quality is the; System of Profound Knowledge which has four sections that can guide managers and hence these four items very useful. First, appreciation of a system: managers should be well informed of all the departments of the company and stakeholders like; suppliers, producers, and customers (or recipients) of goods and services. Second, knowledge of variation: managers should be able to recognize the cause of the problems being faced. Managers will use statistical methods to calculate the levels of deviation of quality from the normal hence enabling elimination of these problems according to their effect on quality. Thirdly, the Theory of knowledge and the Knowledge of psychology are the last two sections, and they go hand in hand since in management the managers ought to understand the employees their differences and capabilities since the performance of a person largely depends on the management. They can only do so if they have the knowledge and also wisdom required.

Deming developed 14 management points published in his book ‘Out of the Crisis’, which provide fundamental guidelines for organizations to use to improve quality. The Leadership Institute (2005) observes that “the 14 Points pose a challenge for many firms to figure out how to apply them in a meaningful way that will result in continual improvement”. Moreover, his philosophies are mentioned as Deming’s 14 points including:

1. The constancy of Purpose- This insists on a continuous improvement in products and customer service [which is the target area of quality control]. In addition to that, a strategy to make provisions for long-range requirements to remain competitive implies the constancy of purpose.
2. The new philosophy- In this point, he emphasizes his previous experience while working in Japan. He stresses the fact that the influence of Japanese management techniques needs to be revised to stop the decline of business and industry.
3. Cease dependence of mass inspection – this point is to show the issues related to mass inspection for which Deming suggests an alternative plan of statistical evidence of built-in quality.
4. End lowest tender contracts – through this point, he insists on a requirement of meaningful measuring quality in terms of giving minimal preference to those that do not show statistical proof of quality.
5. Improving every process- by saying this he means that there should be a continuous process of planning to sustain the quality.
6. Institute training on the job- including modern method of training for all to utilize the employee’s knowledge
7. Institute Leadership- this point concerns the responsibility of the managers to help people to improve job quality
8. Drive out fear to bring in an effective way of communication
9. Breakdown barriers to tackle issues related to production and service
10. Eliminate exhortations such as posters, slogans
11. Eliminate arbitrary numerical targets – to avoid work standards based on numerical goals and implement aids in terms of helpful leadership
12. Permit pride of workmanship- the responsibility of the employees should be changed according to quality instead of increasing the employees.
13. Encourage Education- the importance of education and encouragement should be given to everyone to improve their educational standards to show the results in improving the quality.
14. Top management commitment and action- to form top management and proceed with the previous 13 points.

Comparing Deming’s 14 Principles With Baldrige’s 11 Values

Deming’s 14 principles place a strong emphasis on the significance of continuous improvement rather than making radical changes. The first provision directly claims, “Create constancy of purpose for improving products and services”. Herewith, according to the principles, managers should implement various new philosophies, training, on-the-job education, and other relevant practices and strategies to ensure gradual enhancement. The advancements can concern the staff or particular workers, administration, equipment, processes, relationships, and resources. The principles also encourage executives to strengthen the team and interdepartmental cooperation, eliminate impracticable standards and objectives, and stimulate all employees to achieve beneficial transformations resulting in higher competitiveness and profit.

Baldrige’s 11 values define the management’s correct behavior and attitudes towards all organizational activities and fields to guarantee excellent performance. For instance, the Baldrige Criteria states that the management system should consolidate all parts of the organization under the shared purpose, mission, and vision. Besides, this concept urges managers to establish high expectations for workers and focus on providing an outstanding quality of service for customers. Organizations also should be open to new approaches, ideas, and innovations and resilient to emerging challenges and distress, retrieving valuable lessons from them. Finally, successful management takes care of constant improvements in personnel’s professionalism and adherence to professional and corporate values, ethics, and transparency.

In terms of management, Deming’s 14 principles and Baldrige’s 11 values have their commonalities and distinctions. For instance, the shared feature between these two concepts is a focus on improvement, primarily in the technological sphere and staff competence. Additionally, they recommend companies be open to forwarding ideas, methods, and practices. Similar to Deming’s principles, Baldrige’s values also welcome progressive changes.

However, the former concentrates on quality alterations in production processes and workers’ behaviors, while the latter optimizes the final products or results. Moreover, Deming encourages managers not to set high expectations and standards for employees, considering this activity ineffective and redundant. In contrast, Baldrige determines the establishment of expectations for staff as an essential task to ensure customer satisfaction. Finally, the first view gives priority to employees’ creativity, whereas the second prefers system quality.

Based on the comparison, it can be concluded that Deming’s 14 principles appear to be more effective and practical in the management field. In particular, if applied appropriately, this set of principles allows for releasing the enormous potential of employees, especially regarding their creativity and resourcefulness. This concept enables workers to grow professionally and ultimately become genuine leaders. On the other hand, Baldrige’s 11 core values rely more on the correct operation of the system, leadership, and vision. According to Baldrige, managers should develop their plans carefully to avoid possible obstacles, build a system able to withstand challenges, and try to foresee problems. Last but not least, Deming principles have similarities with lean manufacturing principles since they both focus on adjusting the production processes, not merely the final output.