Sunday 16 January 2011

Deming Dimension
(1990)

RATING: 80%



Rather turgid exposition of the "Management for Quality" philosophy of statistician W Edwards Deming that verges on inane hero worship. Deming is the man the Japanese credit with being the most important reason for their economic miracle after the devastation wrought by their failure to be on the winning side during the Second World War.

Nevertheless, despite its length, the book does brilliantly lay bare the comparative industrial failure of the West and the reasons for its continuing economic decline: A command-and-control culture and business practices that both inevitably lead to the stifling of innovation, quality and efficiency. The answer is to blame the system much more than those who are unfortunate enough to work within it and develop systems of work that can actually achieve business goals. The best systems' thinking book of its kind.


Copyright © 2011 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

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No science is immune to the infection of politics and the corruption of power.



Jacob Bronowski… (1908 - 74), British scientist, author. Encounter (London, July 1971).


Sleep of Reason:



The dream of reason produces monsters. Imagination deserted by reason creates impossible, useless thoughts. United with reason, imagination is the mother of all art and the source of all its beauty.



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Humans & Aliens:



I am human and let nothing human be alien to me.



Terence… (circa 190-159 BC), Roman dramatist. Chremes, in The Self-Tormentor [Heauton Timorumenos], act 1, scene 1.


Führerprinzip:



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