Deming’s 14 points

Deming’s 14 points comprise a philosophy about business and efforts to achieve quality devised by Dr. W. Edward Deming (1900–1993), a mathematical physicist. In 1950 Deming was invited to Japan to teach. His statistical quality-control methods were quickly adopted by Japanese manufacturers, and in 1951 a Deming Prize was established in his honor. Deming has had a significant impact on business managers, first in Japan and more recently in the United States. Deming’s 14 points, referred to as “A System of Profound Knowledge,” are a basis for transformation for industry. Quality advocates suggest they apply anywhere, to small and large organizations, to the service industry, and to the manufacturing. As one of the first MANAGEMENT GURUS, Deming brought together ideas from many sources and emphasized the importance of human factors in achieving excellence. The 14 points are:
• Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service.
• Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age.
• Cease dependence on mass inspection to achieve quality.
• Constantly and forever improve the system.
• Remove barriers.
• Drive out fear. Create trust and a climate for innovation.
• Break down barriers between departments.
• Eliminate numerical goals.
• Eliminate work standards (quotas).
• Institute modern methods of supervision.
• Institute modern methods of training.
• Institute a program of education and retraining.
• End the practice of awarding business based on lowest price alone.
• Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation.