Deming Concept

W. Edwards Deming was considered to be way ahead of his time. His philosophical ideas were also considered radical in the United States during the 1950s, notwithstanding were quickly adopted by Japan. He developed what later became known as Demings 14 points, that would later launch the Total Quality Management Movement in the United States, which were non actually accepted until the 1980s. One of his philosophies that I found interesting was Point 5 Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve note and productivity, and thus constantly decrease costs. This philosophy was foreign in the 1950s, where managers philosophy was focused more on power and control. Demings concept leaned more towards a teacher/student relationship, instead of the power and control focus of his time. Humans argon very resistant to change however, and that is wherefore I feel this is an classic concept that some companies still struggle with at once. My employer for exam ple, Lowes Distribution Center, has some managers that dont like to change processes because it is the way they like it to be through with(p).Demings philosophy involved a new focus, which involved management to constantly be looking for improvements that can be made in some(prenominal) their processes, and technology that would reduce cost. Our computer system that controls every function in our facility is about 22 years old, and is outdated to the point where it has employees repeat move to convince the computer system the task has been completed. Inefficient methods lead to higher cost. Higher costs in turn seem to add to our societys need for power and control, resulting in change magnitude pressure on team members to make up for the inefficiencies of the system.At this point, team members than reduce quality to equip increased expectations, resulting in decreased customer satisfaction. The long-term result involves lower profit margin and decreased sales, which all could ask been avoided if Demings points were followed in the first place, by replacing or updating the equipment. Demings philosophy also referred to the service industry. If improvements were made to meet the expectations of customers, than overall costs would be decreased. This is commonly still seen today with new technology being put on the market, only to be recalled later when it is tested and announced to be unsafe. For example, the recall of the Toyota model Prius, which was found to have quality issues with the clips that hold the floor mats in place. If the clips came loose, the mats could slide and hold down the accelerator, which risked causing an accident. This recall was estimated to cost Toyota around two billion dollars, as well up as a loss of $100,000 in sales in both the U. S. and Europe. Imagine if Toyota had invested more in the quality side of producing the clips, and the savings that would have came with it.Demings philosophies triggered the Total Quality Managem ent movement in the 1980s. Beforehand, factories focused solely on productions numbers, without even taking quality into consideration. I can see why Demings ideas werent accepted at first, if you think back to how things probably were in the 1950s. Not to mention the increased costs that comes with higher quality. For example, a clothe factory probably only had two options for shoes, black or white. Now we have a large selection of brands to choose from, each representing a diverse level of quality.With the focus now being on quality, businesses can provide a higher level of customer satisfaction, bringing different levels of quality to meet their customers budget, as well as expectations. Having strict levels of quality guidelines in the service industry, especially in fast food, customers are more reassure that they are consuming food that is safe, and has met requirements set by health inspectors. Demings philosophies have also made our business processes more efficient. Busin esses today focus on the future, and predict possible changes they would need to adopt to survive.Technology is constantly changing, and is also bringing a higher level of quality to both manufacturing and service industries. In conclusion, I think Demings philosophies are vital today to businesses survival. For a business to get ahead of the competition, they need to not only be efficient, but also possess a certain level of accepted quality by consumers. Quality continues to improve as new technology emerges on the market, and processes are continually evaluated. Any business would benefit by following Demings 14 points.