During this extended evening session, you will receive an overview of a "system of profound knowledge". What is it? Why is it such a big deal? This session will be useful in creating a context or framework for the rest of the conference. Dr. Deming described a "system of profound knowledge" as composed of four parts, all related to each other: appreciation for a system; knowledge about variation; theory of knowledge; and psychology. You will explore why this theory of management is important and relevant; and discuss examples of how it applies to organizations, schools, hospitals and our personal lives.

This session introduces ideas that form the core of Deming's theory of management. It provides a foundation for your learning. As Nida explains, "by introducing a System of Profound Knowledge, Dr. Deming has gone beyond examining the way we do work, to challenging the way we think about people, organizations, management practice and the way we interpret events. By introducing new knowledge and harnessing the minds of people, the System of Profound Knowledge brings new and greater leverage to our efforts to improve." Nida shares pictures and stories of Dr. Deming to deepen your understanding of the development of his theory. Most of the important and fundamental ideas that Dr. Deming left to us in "A System of Profound Knowledge" have been left largely undiscovered and unexplored. Nida will whet your appetite about these unexplored areas. Appropriate for those who have not attended a Deming 4 Day seminar, want a refresher on the components of Dr. Deming's theory, or could benefit from an integrated understanding of Dr. Deming's body of work on management.

Conversation with W. Edwards Deming and Cecelia Killian. Moderated by Clare Crawford-Mason

Transformation of the Western style of management is required. The route to follow will be the 14 points for management. The 14 points follow from the theory for a system of profound knowledge, which consists of four parts, all related to each other: appreciation for a system, theory of variation, theory of knowledge, and psychology.

Dr. Edelman's presentation demonstrates the practical importance of an understanding of basic ideas in the theory of knowledge. Drawing on ideas of C.I. Lewis concerning the predictive nature of empirical knowledge, the presentation explores the limits of our predictive powers and so identifies fundamental differences in the kinds of problems faced by individuals involved in management or leadership, whether in business, industry, education, government or health care.

Specifically, Dr. Edelman argues that the failure to recognize the differences between what he calls "divergent" and "convergent" problems repeatedly leads to inappropriate responses to the varied problems we do face in our work. He argues that this failure to identify differences in the kinds of problems we encounter is one of the deepest causes of financial waste, frustration and discouragement in our efforts at continual improvement.

Dr. Deming regularly suggested that there are important connections between pride of workmanship, quality of work and productivity. If he was right to do so, then it would probably be useful to have a clearer understanding of the nature of pride of workmanship and of the means by which we could cultivate it in an organization. This presentation suggests that a careful examination of the nature of pride of workmanship can have some surprising -- and perhaps disturbing -- consequences for our thinking about some of the ethical aspects of leadership and management, consequences suggesting a paradoxical relationship between any concern for pride among workers and any corresponding interest in the productivity of those workers.

There is a distinct American Civilization that has flourished for over 200 years and yet, today is in jeopardy. Renewal of this civilization requires identifying and fostering the underlying values and attitudes that enable free market, private enterprise and democratic systems to function and flourish. Deming's System of Profound Knowledge is fundamental to this renewal.

Statistical thinking, when applied, questions the validity of assessing and regarding people through the use of ranking or rating in employee development and compensation.

"The management of people," Dr. Deming has often said, "is far more important than the management of materials." This session will examine how statistical thinking can help to eliminate Human Resource Systems as a major impediment to the transformation. Explore the validity of assessing and regarding people through rating and ranking, new learnings in the area of feedback and employee development, and a proven process for organizational change.

Chaos is a law of nature, and order is unnatural. This seems to turn our understanding of the world upside down. From astronomy to particle physics, science has been remarkably successful in finding simple "laws of nature." As a result, we have come to expect the same simple kind of order everywhere. Instead we find Chaos. In any complex system, whether in business, government, or ecology, the law of nature is "chaos increases." Unwise action will create chaos, but chaos does not need to be created. It will grow in any neglected system, just as weeds grow in a neglected garden. Attempts to suppress chaos often make it worse. But chaos can be managed and controlled, if we understand that it obeys simple laws, as certain as the law of gravity and even more fundamental.

Dr. Deming refers to the adoption and integration of Profound Knowledge as transformation, a change in state. Intellectual understanding alone is not transformation. Neither is it merely a change in organizational structures and system. Rather, it is an interwoven and interdependent progression of both personal and organizational change. Barbara will describe the evolutionary process of transformation and the role and responsibilities of the leader in creating, directing and supporting the change.

Barbara leads an interactive discussion with participants looking at the dimensions of organizational culture from an anthropological perspective. The conversation will be guided by Ed Schein's outline describing how we view our world and our relationship to the world. This outline encompasses man's relationship to nature; the nature of reality and truth; the nature of human nature; the nature of human activity; and the nature of human relationships. Appropriate for those who want to challenge their understanding by examining a different perspective of a world view.

The idea that change begins with the individual is one that W. Edwards Deming, Ph.D., had begun to articulate more and more frequently during the last years of his public seminars. The subject of change was for many years of interest to Deming. The title of this presentation is meant more to draw attention to the importance of this statement from Deming than to imply that "change begins with the individual" is the fifteenth point.

Too often our approach to transformation is based in the old industrial paradigm of top-down control. The attempts resemble laser surgery, as we search for the one or two circumscribed changes that will result in transformation. Successful transformation will be rooted in the new paradigm. A new system of thinking, interaction and management cannot be assembled from independent pieces. Such a highly interdependent system must evolve from direct interaction of groups with the marketplace they wish to serve. Our job is to enable local evolution, to participate in it, and to learn from it!

In 1989, Jim McIngvale became familiar with Dr. Deming, and his 14 Points. Mac attended seminar after seminar, featuring Dr. Deming and his principles. He listened, questioned, and examined Dr. Deming's philosophies, wondering how it could apply to his retail business. You will hear Mac's story, and how he and his Gallery Furniture store is "Winning with Cooperation."

Dr. Neave describes Dr. Deming's use of "system" and then shows how his recent added emphasis on the concept of system clarifies and enhances much of Deming's teaching, including parts that have been widely regarded as particularly controversial.

All improvement requires change. Changes that have a positive impact come from the application of knowledge. One part of this knowledge is knowledge of the technology and systems relevant to a specific industry. In addition to this relevant sub subject matter knowledge, there is another body of knowledge, Dr. Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, that when integrated with the appropriate subject matter knowledge accelerates the rate of improvement.

When some managers are introduced to Deming's theory, their reaction is to question its applicability to their "real" world. Current business practices are derived from a theory, although it may not be recognized or understood by users of the practices that are derived from it. These Theories in Use constitute barriers to improvement. Dr. Ranney will propose theories that would lead to some common faulty practices and examine them from the viewpoint of Deming's theory.

New Territory
Gipsie Ranney and Michael Tveite add to the depth and breadth of Dr. Deming's teaching.

Numbers drive our businesses. Yet much of the data behind the numbers is questionable. Even worse is the way in which many decision makers use the data. To improve organizational performance, it is important to feel confident of data interpretation and to avoid the common pitfalls. You will discuss these common pitfalls:

• Lack of appreciation for a system;
• Misinterpreting causes of variation - confusing common cause with special cause:
• Linear thinking;
• Careless generalization or induction from incomplete data;
• Ignoring, discounting, or failing to seek out disconfirming data;
• Confusing correlation with causality.

"A Practical Approach to Improvement: True Improvement vs. The Illusion of Progress"

Recorded at: George Washington University - Continuing Engineering Education Program - 1990 video series.

Transforming to total quality involves extensive and intensive change both individually and collectively. Mr. Scholtes will explore some approaches to change which are adapted from social and political science for application in the transformation to Total Quality.

Applying the principles of Total Quality - requires in the words of Dr. W. Edwards Deming - "a transformation of western management." This means a more comprehensive change in our approach to leadership than we have seen in the last 130 years of American management history. Peter examines dimensions of quality leadership.

Dr. W. Edwards Deming advocated nothing less than a complete transformation of Western business practice often saying that existing systems of management "must be blasted out; new construction commenced." The redesign of HR systems, based on a new set of premises and priorities, is fundamental to the required transformation. In this session, Mary Jenkins and Peter Scholtes will explore the new implications for the HR function in the post-Deming era. Topics include: The basics of an organization in the Quality Era; The purpose of the Human Resource function in the Quality Era; Identification of gaps between conventional HR practices and (1) the premises of the Quality Era and (2) the needs of HR customers; An examination of six specific HR activities in light of a renewed focus.

This high energy session of review and inquiry is OQPF's "quality" version of the talk show format. You asked for more time with speakers and the speakers want a chance to explore more fully your questions and concerns. Increase your level of understanding through a rapid fire exchange of questions and answers with Peter Scholtes . Our purpose is to help you clarify a new thought, challenge an assumption and solicit input on issues of personal interest.

Applying Quality Management Principles in a Political Environment. To create a community quality council, the group should pay attention to both the principles of community development and quality management.

In order for a manager to drive improvement of his business, he must know the processes which create results, as well as the results themselves. Process management is a methodology to help managers ask questions which will lead them to know the processes.

A common focus of an organization’s education and training has been to improve processes. Dr. Deming has ideas about some of the other learning necessary in an organization. Mike Tveite addresses the contributions made by learning about the system of profound knowledge.

Dr. Deming states in his seminars that Theory of Knowledge was the most important course you ever attended. Dr. Tveite is, by no means, an expert when it comes to theory of knowledge. However, in this talk, he will share some of his learning about theory of knowledge and discuss his view of its place in a system of profound knowledge.

When the subject of quality comes up, many organizations proudly discuss their process improvement efforts or their employee involvement program or their teams. Although these things can be parts of an effective transformation in a company, they are not the focus of Dr. Deming's message about quality. Dr. Deming, through a System of Profound Knowledge, is not trying to teach a different way to do so much as he is trying to teach a different way to think.

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This famous Deming quote prompts the following questions:

• How and why do we take action?
• How do we learn so our next decision is better than our last?
• On what assumptions do we base our predictions for the future?

During this session, Mike will help you understand Dr. Deming's original quote by addressing these questions using client examples in the learning.

There are several myths about control charts which are currently in circulation. These myths hinder and inhibit the effective use of control charts. In contrast to these myths, four foundations of Shewhart's control charts are listed and explained.

Drawing on first-hand experience with a wide range of American companies, John Whitney offers concrete proposals on how to dismantle mistrust-breeding hierarchies and revamp the ways of recognizing, measuring, and rewarding performance. He also suggests radical changes for rooting out waste and complexity, while unleashing trust in everything from hiring to budgeting to streamlining the chain of command -- a landmark blueprint for corporate teamwork, mobilization, and renewal. Among the subjects to be analyzed are such root causes of mistrust as:

• Information that is biased, useless or wrong;
• Incompetence or the presumption of incompetence-whether in bosses, peers, or subordinates;
• The misalignment of measurements and rewards--an all-too-common state of affairs that pits people against one another and against the organization;
• An imperfect understanding of systems; and finally
• A lack or integrity whether it's caused by an individual violator or internal conditions that need to be changed.

This high energy session of review and inquiry is OQPF's "quality" version of the talk show format. You asked for more time with speakers and the speakers want a chance to explore more fully your questions and concerns. Increase your level of understanding through a rapid fire exchange of questions and answers with John Whitney. Our purpose is to help you clarify a new thought, challenge an assumption and solicit input on issues of personal interest.