Deming’s 14 Points of Management

  

Date Posted: 1/22/2019 3:03:01 AM

Posted By: Milnel  Membership Level: Silver  Total Points: 367

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In his book, ‘Out of the Crisis,’ Deming focused mostly on the theories of management. The fourteen points highlight critical obligations that firm managers must put into consideration. Deming asserts that the fourteen points encompass those practices which must be followed on a daily basis.The first Deming's point of management is to create the constancy if purpose. The manager should seek to improve the products and services in a way that the firms gain a competitive advantage, achieves sustainability, and offer job opportunity. The second point involves the adoption of the new philosophy. Deming asserts that firms are operating in a new age where managers must be aware of the challenge. The primary aim of this point is to make the management personnel responsible and flexible in enhancing change. The third point requires managers to cease from depending too much on inspection as an aspect of achieving quality. The managers are encouraged to avoid mass inspection by all costs. Instead, the product’s quality must be created in the first stage (Deming, 2018).

Another issue addressed in Deming's fourteen points is the effort to minimize total costs. Deming proposed that managers should terminate the business awarding process in terms of price tag. The supplier base should be reduced significantly. A long-term relationship that enhances loyalty and trust requires that every item is allocated to a single supplier. The other points emphasizes that the process of improvement must be constant and unending. The managers should seek to improve the production system and quality. As a result, the costs associated with all operations will decrease significantly. Another critical point is to integrate on-the-job training. The potential and capabilities of the workforce must be improved constantly. On-the-job training also improves the skills and knowledge of the employees.
Deming also emphasized in his book ‘Out of the

Crisis’ that managers must institute leadership. The five functions of management are critical in enhancing the smooth flow of operation. The leadership aspect is more critical than others when it comes to getting the workforce do their tasks better. Every worker needs supervision to ensure they deliver the best quality. Fear is the worst enemy in any organization. Therefore, Deming proposes that managers who wish to see that everyone in the company operates effectively must seek to drive out fear. The fear of the abrupt termination of the contract for whatever reason always stress up the employees. The management team ought to ensure everyone is comfortable and at peace on a daily basis.

Deming was also very concerned with the fact that barriers within departments in the same organization have hindered growth and prosperity. Managers should realize that each section requires one another and that there is a need to remove these barriers. The departments within a firm must work together as a team. For instance, the research and design sections may be helpful to the sales department because it assists in foreseeing the potential problems in the production in the future. As a result, the firm can devise ways of dealing with the predicted problems in advance. Deming also emphasizes that managers should keep on dealing and doing away with exhortations, slogans, and targets. According to Deming, these aspects must be eliminated because they are the root cause of the adversarial relationship. For instance, the employees may feel a lot of pressure when the management keeps on emphasizing that the productivity level must change through an increase. The pressure due to slogans and targets will most of the time lead to low quality and productivity(Deming, 2018).

The quotas in form of work standards also affect performance adversely. As a result, proposes that managers should work on eliminating these quotas. The work standards seem to cause stress and depression on employees especially when they have no attained the set limit. The workforce eventually begins living in fear that they may be fired at any moment. Quotas have the same impacts on the employees as the management by objective. Since the focus of every manager is to eliminate fear, all activities that subject the workers to depression must be avoided. Deming recommended that managers should substitute the quotas and management by objectives with leadership.

Deming also recognized that the top management should deal with certain barriers that deprive the employees of some of their privileges. The manner in which the supervisors handle the employees may be robbing them of the pride of workmanship. Therefore, such aspects as merit rating should be abolished to allow the employees to enjoy the workmanship pride. The management can eliminate the barrier by emphasizing that all supervisors in all ranks must focus on quality alone. Furthermore, one of the Deming's fourteen points also calls for the managers to establish and implement self-improvement and educational programs. The aim of this strategy is to improve the skills and ability of the workforce on a daily basis. The programs to be implemented must be vigorous in nature for effective impacts. The fourteenth point in the Deming's style of management is that every person in the company should be given the opportunity to take part in the transformation of the firm. The employees should be free to give their opinions on what should be added or eliminated in certain areas in the firm to enhance productivity (Deming, 2018).

Whether I agree with the concept

I agree with the Deming’s fourteen points. The business environment is changing rapidly. Therefore, the managers ought to incorporate most of the points if not all of them in their daily operations to survive in this dynamic business environment.For instance, competition is the major drive for many firms. The application of most of the Deming’s points on management will place the company on a competitive edge. The company will ensure maximum quality right the first time. In doing so, many customers will be attracted and they will maintain their loyalty to the organization.

The Deming's fourteen points are also critical as they help the management personnel in developing a strong and skilled workforce to undertake certain tasks. The employees will, in turn, deliver the best quality to the customers thus satisfying them. A company that makes it clients to fell contented and happy will always win a competitive advantage. The fourteen points are also critical in enhancing cost analysis and management. A firm needs these guidelines as footprints to engage in activities that are cost effective.

An organization that is using the concept

Currently, Toyota Company is one of the firms that have embraced and implemented the fourteen points of management as highlighted by Deming. The major impact that the Toyota Company has experienced is a significant reduction in its overall cost of production. The Deming’s fourteen points have helped the management in Toyota to focus on quality and eliminate waste thereby reducing the unnecessary costs that would have otherwise arisen. Similarly, the concept of the fourteen points has helped Toyota Company to remain on a competitive edge. Various aspects have made the company outstanding. First, the employee turnover rate reduced due to the elimination of fear and depression factors. The provision of high-quality services also made the company to maintain a long-lasting relationship with its potential customers. Satisfied clients have always remained loyal to the Toyota Company.
The company’s performance also improved significantly as a result of implementing the Deming’s fourteen points. The organization won a large market share which contributed to the increased sales and profits. Many customers also shifted from the firm’s rivals to the Toyota Company because of high quality and cost-effective services. Some of the competitors had to leave the market because they could not put up with Toyota’s strategies.

What the organization can take away from the concept

The fourteen points are important to the organization's performance and growth. However, some elements may be a setback to the company and Toyota Company may consider eliminating or ignoring such aspects. For instance, the idea that the use of targets is eliminated may have a negative impact and so Toyota should not buy that idea. When workers lack the targets or objectives to accomplish by the end of the day, they may become lazy and begin offering poor quality services. The management style by objective and standards are also critical in enhancing the performance of a firm. Once a standard is set for every department, the heads will implement strategies to ensure they achieve the daily target thus enhancing performance. Therefore, Toyota Company should ignore the point that quotas and management by objective be eliminated.

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