Deming’s Profound Knowledge Theory and 14 Points Essay

Deming’s Theory of profound Knowledge

I agree with the statement that leaders who manage in the context that rewards and punishments are the most effective motivators for people, optimization of every process in an organization leads to optimization of the entire process, results are achieved by setting objectives, quality is inversely related to quantity, rational decisions can be made based on guesswork and opinion, an organization can be improved by fighting fires, and competition is a necessary aspect of life are lost in the twenty-first century. It is because, in the twenty-first century, there is a constant change in knowledge and technology. Besides, the assumptions ignore the impact of the external environment. This makes the assumptions of success irrelevant in the current business environment. The disagreement with the assumptions is consistent with Deming’s theory of profound knowledge.

The Deming system of profound knowledge argues that the contemporary method of management needs to be changed. The theory further argues that change requires a view from the outside since a system cannot comprehend itself in totality. The theory asserts that the first stage is the transformation of an individual. The transformation of an individual should not be continuous. After the transformation, an individual would have a different view of life, events, and association with people. The individual will be in a better position to make sound decisions on issues surrounding his life. This will also apply in the organization; the individual will be able to make informed decisions during work. The theory argues that once an individual is transformed, “he will set an example, be a good listener 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” (The W. Edwards Deming Institute, 2013). This leads to an overall transformation of an organization.

Deming’s 14 points

The four components of profound knowledge are “psychology, knowledge about variation, the theory of knowledge, and appreciation for a system” (The W. Edwards Deming Institute, 2013). These four components lead to the creation of Deming’s fourteen points of management. These points have been used in several Western countries in management sectors such as government institutions. These fourteen organizations apply to all organizations and all institutions irrespective of their size (Harvard Business School Publishing, 2013).

1. “The creation of consistency of purpose in the improvement of products and services to become competitive, staying in business, and providing jobs” (The W. Edwards Deming Institute, 2013).
2. People should embrace different attitudes (The W. Edwards Deming Institute, 2013).
3. There should be a stop of dependence on inspection to attain quality. Companies should focus on producing quality goods in the first place.
4. Companies should avoid awarding contracts based on prices. Instead, they should focus on reducing the total costs. Companies should build a long term relationship with suppliers.
5. Companies should focus on improving the system of production and services and improve quality continuously. It is consistent with an appreciation of the system.
6. Put in place on the job training so that there is continuous training of employees. This relates to the theory of knowledge.
7. Set up leadership in an organization. Supervision aids employees and machines to do a better job (The W. Edwards Deming Institute, 2013).
8. “Drive out fear in the organization so that employees may work freely and effectively” (The W. Edwards Deming Institute, 2013). It is consistent with changing the psychology of employees.
9. All employees in the organization should work as a team. Thus, barriers between units should be broken down. This helps in foreseeing and understanding problems well.
10. “Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the employees, asking for zero defects and a new level of productivity” (The W. Edwards Deming Institute, 2013). Targets create fear in a working environment and may lead to low productivity.
11. The responsibility of supervisors should be to move from ensuring high quantity to ensuring high quality.
12. Eliminate the annual or merit rating and of management by objective.
13. “Companies should institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement” (The W. Edwards Deming Institute, 2013).
14. “Everybody in the company should work to accomplish the transformation” (The W. Edwards Deming Institute, 2013). The role of transformation is for everybody and not just the selected few.

(Source of the fourteen points – The W. Edwards Deming Institute, 2013).

The implication of not understanding the components of profound knowledge

Peter Scholtes outlines several implications of not understanding the components of profound knowledge (Mahadevan, 2009). He argues that if people fail to understand Deming’s theory, people will see events as individual accidents, they will focus on symptoms of what is happening in the organization and avoid the root cause of problems, employees will blame each other in the event of a system failure instead of blaming the system, and finally, employees will fail to understand the responsibility of the community as a whole (Scholtes, 2004; English, 2011). In summary, failure to understand the theory weakens team spirit.

References

English, P. (2011). Safety performance in a lean environment: A guide to building safety into a process. USA: CRC Press.

Harvard Business School Publishing. (2013). Management is (still) not leadership. Web.

Mahadevan, B. (2009). Operations management: Theory & practice. India: Pearson Education India

Scholtes, P. (2004). The leader’s handbook. India: McGraw-Hill Education (India) Pvt Limited.

The W. Edwards Deming Institute. (2013). The Deming system of profound knowledge. Web.