The Deming Management Method

by Mary Walton

Whether you are the owner of your own small business, a middle manager in a mid-sized company, or the CEO of a multinational, this book aims to show you how to improve your profits and productivity, following the principles of the Deming management method.

Genres: Business, Management, Nonfiction, Reference, Leadership, Programming, Economics

254 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1986

Reviews

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that's turned up, and been useful, again and again since I first encountered it in a Total Quality Leadership (TQL) program, the military version of Total Quality Management (TQM), back in the 90s while on active duty as a Marine officer, then again in a public health job a decade later. Dr. Deming was the innovator who tried to share what he'd learned about managing processes to the U.S. auto industry, then went to Japan when Detroit ignored him, with the results visible in the products of Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Subaru, Isuzu, Mitsubishi... this approach is suited to any system in which processes are defined and repetitive; though it wasn't a good fit for the less structured role of the combat arms specialties in the military, it worked well for supply and data systems there.

[Cedric Chin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was written before Deming reorganised his ideas into the System of Profound Knowledge, but is a better, gentler introduction to Deming’s approach than his primary books.

All this is to say I’m still working my way up to Deming’s own writing.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stopped when I got to the second part because the Toyota Lean Method and Six Sigma in production did a much more fleshed out version of his method. In essence, he laid the groundwork or the foundation and others built the skyscraper on top. The massive building we have today has him to thank for the early development but the clarity didn't come from him, it came from Toyota and other Japanese thinkers. Still good to see the roots of process improvement and systems redesign and PDCA and to read some of the early influence that he had in Japan as well as his late reintroduction in the United States.
Interesting read but I wouldn't invest too much study time into it. There are better books for that.

[Jim Laughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential Deming Reading

Illustrated with case studies, highlighting the challenges of adopting Deming’s Management Method. Years later, Deming feels just as relevant, perhaps more so!

[Ron Me]

The management method is good, and still worth reading. Unfortunately, the America to which this could be applied no longer exists.

I was sad to see that of Deming's 14 points, 13 are done exactly the opposite in today's world.

N.B.: I read an earlier edition of this book.

[David Calloway · Rating 3 out of 5]

remember it as a very good read

[Yves · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book and read it in the early years of starting Qualifirst, my first company. Deming was a bit of a business hero to me at that time and I was pretty excited to be able to talk to someone that had read & given some thought on "The Parable of the Red Beads" which is early in the book, dealing with work systems and processes outside of a worker's control.

I read it and used what I could but the concept of total quality reinforced my determination that a business that was not inherently quality-oriented in all aspects was losing ground. All products should either be high quality or on their way to being high quality.

This book also meticulously detailed the enduring advantage Japan obtained by embracing the "Deming Method". A great book that is in my office that with pleasure I dip into a chapter.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I personally really enjoyed many of the principles raised in the book and wonder how they apply to today, since much of this was written awhile ago and many of the examples provided (I stopped reading somewhere around past the story involving Ford and the Taurus) just don't seem to as appropriate given more recent history. Nevertheless, I'm sure many of the concepts really do apply to many companies (or agencies in the work scenarios I deal with) and could be readily applied if leadership were willing to... which I *highly* doubt.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good fundamental reference for business philosophy. The Deming Management Method brought quality back to the U.S. Surprising that so many organizations still fail to implement these leadership practices which should, by now, be commonplace.

[Brian]

Suggested by Mark Graban from leanblog.org when asked about good book about Dr. Demming.

[Amy Holbrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paperback 1 Copy

[Bridget]

This is the correct publisher but a soft cover edition. I own five copies.

[Bridget]

This is the paperback edition of the hardcover shown above. Cannot find the exact edition. I have four copies of this book. (One swapped so far)

[Goodreadsscannertesting]

Should be zero star rating now

[Sharon]

My deceased husband's book.

[Erneilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was my introduction to Dr. Deming - as a manager I have heard his name and his work mentioned over and over again so I figured it was time to get to know him better.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic review of statistics and statistical quality control explaining workers' success or non success in a system.

[Jair Jimenez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesante hasta la mitad del libro. Presenta conceptos muy válidos y los lleva a la luz de una manera sencilla. Después se tornó un poco desordenado.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helped propel my career into the stratosphere.