"TQM" from the Deming Theory of Mgmt

[Code_Name_D]

This subject has recently come up in a thread revolving around Clark's educational policy. What do we know about this concept? And how might it apply to educational management of public schools?

[Old and In the Way]

1. A manufacturing philosophy that espouses quality in all aspects

of business (measurement, continuous improvement,etc)...sure, probably should be used in educational....although measuring the end product of education, the educated student, is not easy and there are influences on the final end product (an educated student) that are outside the control of educational system.

[Another Bill C.]

2. Total Quality Management

is a concept whereby quality is built into a product rather than corrected (or not) at the tail end of production.

The problem with implementing it in the U.S. is that the system uses empowered work teams to make decisions regarding quality of the product. Empowering workers to make decisions flies in the face of traditional management philosophy in the U.S.

Every attempt I've seen to implement this system has been sabotaged by management.

[rock]

3. I am a serious student of Deming's theory

but I thought TQM was a different theory and, in fact, a methodology, which is not what Deming taught. A basic tenet of Deming's was, "Treat workers as people". That is, humanely. (That's my take on his teachings.)

[Prodemsouth]

4. Deming would not give out F's to his students

I think this is why Japan and now the US are suffering because they moved away for TQM.

[Code_Name_D]

5. So TQM has already moved into US education policy?

Could you elaberate please?

[happyslug]

6. Deming liked a pass/fail system

Deming was a statistician Not a "Management Guru", his movement into management had to do with the fact he observed during WWII that management was the single biggest problem in American Industry. What he notice was that Management confused hiring the "Best and the Brightest" with improving quality. Deming pointed out that the best any company can do is the best its weakest input can do. Thus if you have 1000 "A" students and 1 "D" Students (and you need 1001 workers to operate the company) the best quality your company can ever have is the level of the D student. This is what the Japanese took to heart in the 1950s, instead of producing the "best" they looked at their worse input and improved that. This slowly improved their overall quality.

The Second Concept Deming pushing is making sure that any difference between two outputs or inputs (including people) are REAL not statistician error. For example what is the REAL difference between an "A" Student and a "D" Student? Statistically most tests used by most schools have an error rate that exceeds the 99% confidence level i.e. you can NOT say with 99% confidence that a "A" on a test is really better than a "D" on the test, the difference may be statistical error NOT a real difference. i.e. the difference is the produce of CHANCE not reality. Civil Service tests are the worse here, you can have people who took the test all score within 99% confidence and than the Civil Service commission will rate those same people based on their scores, even through statistically they are all equal (i.e. testee #1, scored 100, testee #2, scored 99, Testee #3 scored 98, when the error rate is plus of minus 5, i.e. the reason any one of them scored 100, 99 or 98 is statistical error NOT any real difference between them).

This second concept is why he used pass/fail. His policy is you either learned what he was teaching or you did not. He could NOT, with any scientific certainty, Rate one of his student better than the others as to how well their learned their lesson. Educationally this is not liked it means there is no real difference between an "A" Student and a "D" student and to say there is, is NOT supported by Statistics.

[happyslug]

7. A few more concepts of Demings

First Deming believe the best way to improve a company’s quality was to educate their workers. He was always amazed at how low most companies put to training their own work force (Something the Japanese did in the 1950s and seem to drop in the 1990s do to the decline in their overall economy).

Deming also attacked the whole concept of the “Market Economy” NOT because of any ideological biases BUT that it had NEVER been tested in a Scientific manner. No control tests, nor double blind tests, etc. All of the Tests required to test a theory in any other scientific discipline have NOT been done in economics (He could have said the same about Socialism but he was working in the Capitalistic West not the Communist East, his fights were with economists who had used voodoo math to justify what they believed in.

I am simplify Deming’ doctrine, you need to get one of his books to fully understand his positions as to improving quality.

[GAspnes]

8. education does not produce a product

while some of Demming's concepts might be useful in portions of the educational system, or applied generally to 'measure the inputs and measure the results', education generally is still a black art.

In fact, we haven't even defined what 'education' is. Is it the teaching of philosophy? The creation of philosophers? Why are we ignoring B. F. Skinner and embracing the 10 Commandments?

Personally, having taught and created educational systems, I'm still at a loss for possibilities for improvement.

[happyslug]

9. Yes and No,

Deming would have told any School that asked him that the best way to improve the educational quality of the School was to put more resources on the problem and slower children. By improving the quality of such children's education would have been the best way to improve the school's education. I know this is against what Bush is doing, he prefers to throw such kids out on the street but Deming policy could fit into today's education but in ways not now popular with politicians.