Better Ways For The New Economic Age
Dr.P.K.Dutta
I am an unabashed fan of Dr.W.E.Deming (1900-1993), the Father of the 3rd.Industrial Revolution in Japan
I took the vow while shaking hands with him for the last time in 1992 that I would try as much as I could to spread his message to my people in India and help anyone wanting to give it a chance to work, I plead with you to kindly consider the following table 1 and tell me if it made any sense to you. My focus is ‘you’ in singular number, because only you can make a difference!
Indeed, Dr.Deming’s radical view for transformation of the individual first is not at all appealing to many people. For, we tend to pass on the buck to someone else, in the organisation (or society, government etc.), to cause the desired transformation, which any way can not happen. We are not prepared to accept our own responsibility to change, which can be like– a leap into the unknown. However, I believe that unless we make a committed beginning here and now for learning the better ways by each one of us who want good things to happen for us, the balloon of India rising as an economic power, may not remain afloat in the not too distant a future. We have many deep seated maladies to be eradicated to develop a new mindset or else…! But we must begin now, otherwise our coming generations will find it difficult to forgive us!
The major part of transformation must come from individuals like you and I, the middle-class, because it is large, reasonably educated, articulated and very selfish So, they should realise soon they stand to loose out and suffer the worst in case of a future melt-down, like it is now in the West.. In the USA and Western Europe , the working class is facing the maximum damage. So we must learn to do things differently.
We need to remember that success in the past in the traditional ways of managing and administering organisations in the West, did not guarantee much success now. In my humble opinion, in fact the root cause of their dismal failures today can be traced back to their old ways of doing things the ‘cow boy’ ways, especially in the USA
Here, we are mainly talking about the business and administration world; but the lessons to learn and the remedies are equally valid for all kinds of human organisations, Schools, Universities, NGOs, Public Offices, Hospitals and households etc. It is just the “somebody else” mindset of the individuals is holding us back. I often hear refrains, like “somebody should do something about it” sort of expectations. Therefore, nothing changes. Here, there is no way to order and get a ready to eat instant pudding! Nor anybody else to serve us on the plate!
Anyway, before drifting away, let me present before you the Deming’s ideas on better management practices in the New Economic Age. His seminal books, “Out of the Crisis” and “New Economics” published by the Centre for Advanced Engineering Studies(CAES) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA can give the interested readers more to ponder over the following better ways:
Table 1.
Traditional Ways | Better Ways |
1) REACTIVE: Only skill is required not knowledge, not sound theory of management; only MBO (numbers) Thinking mind is not considered important. Just do it – belief. | UNDERSTANDING THEORY OF MANAGEMENT for taking decisions involving the complete system made up of - man, method, material, machinery, work-environment/ values to consider arriving at optimum outcome. |
2) MANAGEMENT OF RESULT: at any cost; tampering, fudging figures, manipulating, forcing, acting without knowing how to get result, carrot and stick approach and rule book etc. Going for instant actions only. | Consider the system first to reduce faults at the source upstream, fix them. Costs and failures are not causes, which by themselves can not be reduced. Avoid instant actions by tampering, instead separate the common (chronic) causes from the special (acute) causes and then only work for reducing variations in out comes. It can not be forced. Confusing the chronic and acute causes leads to disappointments. This calls for sound knowledge. |
3) WORK STANDARDS, QUOTAS, TARGETS etc., when forced on people, only increased costs, hidden wastages, robbed people from joy and pride in good work, demoralised and shuts off the chance of continual improvements, bitterness all over the work-place, loss of vigour and vitality in the organisation – boring. Considers People as ‘Liability’! | The better way is to understand the complete system and sharing the knowledge with one and all to improve the total system if better outcomes are to be assured. Remembering that only the system (process) delivers. Any attempt to beat the system by force will only make the outcomes worse (if not covered up by fudging figures!). Must believe that the people want to do a good job. Respect them. Do not put them under ‘liability’ |
4) INCREASE PAY FOR THE INDIVIDUAL --PAY FOR WHAT YOU GET syndrome; incentive for numbers, anything else of vital importance becomes casualty, backfires later on, burn out of honest people and eventually loss to the organisation, Encourages Win-Lose adversarial competition.-to show results only. Managers sit on judgement, fails to coach with knowledge of problems and care for the people. | · Put all people on a regular system of fair pay to enable people to feel secure and eliminate win-lose gambling and manipulation · Provide competent leadership to inspire and guide, coach and not to pass Judgement, to lead people to win-win situation and make total system improvement. · Discourage adversarial competition for salary raise, promotion etc. MONETARY INCENTIVES ARE LIKE OPIUM, avoid them |
Here, it may be necessary to explain what he called “The System”. As a matter of fact this is at the core of the much revered Deming topic in Japan
However, in science, “A System is an assembly of parts, components, sub-components, sub-systems, arranged in such a way that together interdependently all of them perform to satisfy only One Aim. One system-one aim is a critical point to understand. However, here a philosophical question can arise, like what is the purpose (aim) of our solar system? I have no idea! It is a system for sure, because the planets revolve round the sun in a certain path and in some periodicity and also rotates on their own axes and they are interdependent. Also, it is only a small sub-system in the huge boundary-less cosmos, again functioning interdependently. Our present knowledge is not adequate to explain the ‘why’s and ‘how’s of such mysteries.
Now, let me come down to our good old earth. Here, we even with limited knowledge can manage our human organisations, the systems much better for the aim “prosperity and happiness of the earth-dwellers” if only we understand our smaller sub-systems, components and their roles in the above aim of mankind. I found it rather tough when I learnt for the first time about it at the feet of the master. I hope over the years, after lot of turbulence in my mind could I understand it to a small extent in practical applicable terms. In organisations I experimented with these ideas too. Therefore, I am trying to share with you.
Shall we together take this road for our own good or shall we await the arrival of the ‘Avatar’, the last one, “Kalki”, the destroyer?
If we study the above table intently, we can see the differences between the traditional management approach and the better ways suggested by Deming. Apparently, the table is self-explanatory and so I am not elaborating on the text it contains. However, I assure the readers, in case of any clarity still required, I will be grateful to elaborate further via e-mail exchange.
In the process I too can learn a bit more! Can’t I?
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