nd small are slowly adopting the philosophy that management is the key difference. Most companies feel like they produce products or services to make a profit, but Deming's philosophy says organizations produce products and services that help people live better. In return this develops loyal customers, which according to Deming, is where the real profits are generated – by loyal customers, not just satisfied customers. In order to completely understand Dr. Deming's philosophy, you must first comprehend four important axioms:1.Quality and cost are not opposites or tradeoffs, with one being improved at the expense of the other. Instead both can be constantly improved.2.The meaning of quality is different from conventional views that mistake exotic materials and fail-safe designs for quality. In Deming's view, quality is best understood from the point of view of the customer, but one important component of quality is improving uniformity.3.Variation is a naturally occurring phenomenon. It is not an exception or fault. Variation is treated differently depending on whether we are dealing with a stable or unstable system. A stable system creates both successes and failures. Lowering the number of defects in a stable system can only be achieved by working on the system.4.Cooperation is a fundamental ingredient that leads to improvement. Competition is often at work and helps determine which products and which companies survive, but there are times when competition is irrelevant and times when competition is inappropriate.Dr. Deming has developed a number of guidelines for the transformation of management, which he calls the fourteen points. It is an almost instinctive reaction to try and pick out those of the fourteen points that seem most applicable to a company in its present state. This is a major mistake. The fourteen points are guidelines for the transformation of a company from one state into another. An example of th...
