The Deming's 14 points

The 14 points are a basis for transformation of [American] industry. Adoption and action on the 14 points are a signal that management intend to stay in business and aim to protect investors and jobs. Such a system formed the basis for lessons for top management in Japan in 1950 and in subsequent years.

The 14 points apply anywhere, to small organizations as well as to large ones, to the service industry as well as to manufacturing. They apply to a division within a company.

1.      Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs.

2.      Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age. Western management must awaken to the challenge, must learn their responsibilities, and take on leadership for change.

3.      Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for inspection on a mass basis by building quality into the product in the first place.

4.      End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag. Instead, minimize total cost. Move towards a single supplier for any one item, on a long-term relationship of loyalty and trust.

5.      Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease costs.

6.      Institute training on the job.

7.      Institute leadership. The aim of supervision should be to help people and machines and gadgets to do a better job. Supervision of management is in need of an overhaul, as well as supervision of production workers.

8.      Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company.

9.      Break down barriers between departments. People in research, design, sales, and production must work as a team, to foresee problems of production and in use that may be encountered with the product or service.

10.  Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the workforce asking for zero defects and new levels of productivity. Such exhortations only create adversarial relationships, as the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system and thus lie beyond the power of the work force.

11.  a. Eliminate work standards (quotas) on the factory floor. Substitute leadership.
b. Eliminate management by objective. Eliminate management by numbers, numerical goals. Substitute leadership.

12.  a. Remove barriers that rob the hourly paid worker of his right to pride in workmanship. The responsibility of supervisors must be changed from sheer numbers to quality.
b. Remove barriers that rob people in management and engineering of their right to pride in workmanship. This means, inter alias, abolishment of the annual or merit rating and management by objective.

13.  Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement.

14.  Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation. The transformation is everybody's job.

“End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag. Instead, minimize total cost. Move towards a single supplier for any one item, on a long-term relationship of loyalty and trust”

The business world of this modern era may not be able to implement his point, because its implementation looks quite difficult in current business environment. In this competitive business landscape, price is one of the most important things, so people want cheapest products with good enough quality. It is a viable plan to connect with one supplier so that both can develop a strong relationship, and help each other in various situations. A reliable supplier is great for your business as it can provide efficiency and consistency which means that you can decrease the prices if your business partnership is longer with them. The length of partnership with a supplier and how much is ordered; both can have an effect on the price. It is important to spread awareness amongst customers through seminars that companies going for cheap products don’t care about the quality, and such companies can have bad reputation in the market. There are examples of various companies, which are responsible as well as ethical. Chipotle and Patagonia are two such companies, which are ethical. If farmers raising pigs are having any issues, then Chipotle does not serve carnitas to its customers. If they would not have chosen the ethical path, then they also would have provided carnitas even when quality is not good at all.

“Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement”

Our company may also show resistance to adopt this point. This resistance could come from various sources like the company’s board will not accept it, and even employees may resist it too. If this kind of thing is applied, the employees will take an extra time to adjust with it, and employer needs to invest more money. The employer needs more money because they will have to hire trainers who can train about such programs, and certain training material may also be purchased. Moreover, the employees will have to give extra time to get these trainings so that they not only improve themselves, but they can also play their part in improving the performance of their company. However, it is something, which employees may feel that it is not good for them, and they may not show commitment and cooperation to move forward with it. But its responsibility of the company to aware them about the benefits of such trainings, and even provide some incentives to encourage them to participate with full attention and commitment. The employees should be given a clear perspective that education and self improvement is critical for their future with great success. They must be convinced that such training is more beneficial for them as compared to the benefits of the company.