Conference 7.286::digital

American management shortsightedness is no more than a reflection of cultural 
values that are common throughout America. For example, with generations of 
yuppies striving ravenously to have it all and have it in the next ten minutes,
can we expect their decisionmaking processes to be any more profound?

Amerca's is a mercantile society for which earning a buck is tantamount to 
sitting on the right hand of God. For as long as this rather singular 
value dominates others, we can expect management decionmaking to be optimized
on the quickest return, not the best. Changing cultural values permanently is
a long and laborious task. Changing our attitude towards making as much money
as humanly possible versus as much as humanly necessary  would be a hopeful
start. But then, there will always be the rathole discussion of what is 
econmically "necessary"? Economists are very bad at answering that question - 
regardless of which esteemed  academic institution they are affiliated.
They are far more attuned to macroeconomic predictions - it is quantative, not
qualitative and, therefore, easier.

Asking Americans to settle for less in the short run, to eventually have more
in the future has always proven politically untenable in peacetime. So, I fear,
there will be simply more of the same.....or, am I too pessimistic? 
Let's hope so!

       
    REF: <<< Note 1121.1 by HERON::PERLA >>>
    
    >><<Changing cultural values permanently is a long and laborious task>>
    
    Not necessarily.  Ken Olsen has the authority to change the fundamental
    rules which drives "how" Digital works.  If he changed those rules, the
    culture within Digital would change, overnight.
    
    Digital, by the way, had in one of its "bookstores" (part of Quality, I
    believe) Dr. Deming's book.  Perhaps if anyone has a copy, some of Dr.
    Deming's fundamental philosophies could be entered here so we can know
    in more detail what might be worth discussing, and implementing, as
    practice within Digital.  I believe (without having read his book yet)
    that the core of his philosophy is relentless improvement in all
    processes and products, via embracing and tracking change and new ideas
    with maximum employee and customer involvement.
    
    Tough to compete against this approach, especially when the corporation
    thinks long-term, even out to 50 years!
    
    As a sidenote, has anyone noticed how Digital buys all these books (by
    Deming, Peters, et al) and passes them about internally but that little
    from them seems to translate into practice?
    

	RE: .2 Which book by Deming do you refer to? He's written several
	I believe. I have one and re-read it from time to time. His 4 day
	course (which I took) was a truely eye opening experiance. Even after
	taking the Intro to Deming course that DEC teaches (do we still?)
	in house. Some groups do appear to have adopted Deming's ideas. The
	problem being that the groups that feed them or surround them don't
	always do likewise. It has to be driven top down (according to
	Deming) to move through the whole orginization.

			Alfred

    
    REF: 1121.3
    
    >><<Which book by Deming do you refer to?>>
    
    Out of the Crisis
    

                        Deming's 14 Points for Management


1.  Create constancy of purpose for improvement of product and service, with
    a plan to become competitive and to stay in business.  Decide whom top     
    management is responsible to.

2.  Adopt the new philosophy.  We are in a new economic age.  We can no longer  
    live with commonly accepted levels of delays, mistakes, defective materials,
    and defective workmanship.

3.  Cease dependence on mass inspection.  Instead, require showing statistical  
    evidence, that quality is built in to eliminate the need for inspection on  
    mass basis.

4.  End the practice of awarding business on the basis of a price tag.  Instead 
    depend on meaningful measures of quality along with price.  Eliminate     
    suppliers who cannot qualify with statistical evidence of quality.

5.  Find problems.  It is management's job to work continually on the system   
    (design, incoming materials, composition of material, maintenance,         
    improvement of machine, training, supervision, retraining).

6.  Institute modern methods of training on the job.

7.  Institute modern methods of supervising production workers.  The     
    responsibility...must be changed from...numbers to quality.  Improvement of 
    quality will automatically improve productivity.  Management must...take
    immediate action on reports...concerning barriers such as inherited 
    defects, machines not maintained, poor tools, fuzzy operational definitions.

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 that 
    may be encountered with various materials and specifications.

10. Eliminate numerical goals, posters, and slogans for the work force, asking  
    for new levels of productivity without providing methods.

11. Eliminate work standards that prescribe numerical quotas.

12. Remove barriers that stand between the hourly worker and his right to pride 
    of workmanship.

13. Institute a vigorous program of education and retraining.

14. Create a structure in top management that will push every day on the above  
    13 points.

    Industry Week, June 20, 1988
    
    WHAT MAKES DEMING RUN?
    
    Four quotes from Deming from the article:
    
    "The biggest problems that any company in the Western world faces are
    not its competitors, nor the Japanese.  The biggest problems are
    self-inflicted, created right at home by managements that are off
    course in the competitive world of today.  Systems of management are in
    place in the Western world that for survival must be blasted out."
    
    "It is not enough that top management commits itself for life to
    quality and productivity.  They must know what it is that they are
    committed to -- that is, what they must do.  These obligations cannot
    be delegated.  Support is not enough; action is required."
    
    "Most American manufacturers somehow suppose that they can achieve
    Japanese quality and efficiency by adopting resolutions...Almost nobody
    in any responsible position has the faintest idea about statistical
    quality-technology."
    
    "Replace time standards and work quotas with leadership, and quality
    and productivity will go up; the people will be happier, and they will
    feel more important."
    
    "appraisal of people is actually the destroyer of people."
    

    Since we seem to have gotten off on Deming, there is a fascinating
    interview with him in the June 9th WSJ suppliment, Managing Change. I'd
    recommend it to everyone. I'm not a good enough typist to enter the
    entire interview but I think the very first question and its answer
    give a pretty good indication of the flavor of the interview:
    
    WSJ: "What do you think is wrong with current management at
    corporations?"
    
    Deming: "We are all born with intrinsic motivation, self-esteem,
    dignity, an eagerness to learn. Our current system of management
    crushes that all out."
    

    I attended the Deming course (at the same time Alfred did, I think). 
    It must be about 6 years ago now.   A group of us had dinner with him
    one night.  Truly an amazing man.  Few times in your lifetime do you
    meet someone who, when the encounter is over, do you make the
    obsevation "That person will have a big impact on the way we do things,
    if only people will listen."
    
    If you're ever given the chance, run, don't walk, to that seminar. 
    It's very eye opening.
    
    Anyway, Storage Systems is into Six Sigma these days.  That is
    Motorola's Statistical Quality Control methodology adapted in house.
    Time will tell if it works here.
    
    

    So I can learn... where might I find written materials on Motorola's
    SQC methodology???  books, tapes, cassettes, videos, whatever...
    
    thanks!  Same goes for Deming seminars - would Ed Srvc know of these??
    
    Bruce (in Seattle) Evans

RE .7

>> Deming: "We are all born with intrinsic motivation, self-esteem,
>> dignity, an eagerness to learn. Our current system of management
>> crushes that all out."
    
To illustrate this, here is an extract of a recent mail we got here 
(FYO, Ferney Voltaire, FRANCE, with close link to Geneva European Headquarters):

----

The following EIS time reporting directive was adopted by the EISFMT on
June 1, 1990:

All Professionals, and first-line managers of those Professionals, within
all EIS functions (P&C, EIC, E.S. and I.S.) must report time as of FY91.

The only persons not required to report time are:

    . Clericals
    . Second-line managers (managers of managers)
    . Headquarters staff

----
 
Note that since I'm with DEC (87) I've been doing the traditional time reporting work
( on systems which changed every six months ). 

For me, management directives like the one above perpetuates the old fashioned 
and how wrong idea that employees are not really responsible people (as opposed
to magagement).   

Christian-Luc

    re.-1
    I'd love to see the business justifications for the time reporting!
    In particular with regards to 1st line managers reporting, 2nd
    line managers not reporting..
    As an individual contributor I used to report against projects in
    engineering, or "warranty", "per call"..... activities etc
    in Customer Services.
    As a first line EIS manager, what would I report against ?
    e.g 2 hours of leadership per engineer per month ?
        1 hour of  people development per """"""""" ?
        .5 hours of CC management per 100k$ of capital equipment per ?
    Quite exciting perspective,
    Fred