FREE ESSAY ON DEMING'S FOURTEEN POINTS FOR MANAGEMENT

DEMING'S FOURTEEN POINTS FOR MANAGEMENT

Deming has written a great deal over the years to explain his philosophy and methods.
Deming defined quality as a 'predictable degree of uniformity and dependability at low
costs and suited to the market'. In this case we are going to examine the causes of the
quality problems at EuroCab SA with respect to Deming's Fourteen Points for Management.
His Fourteen Points for quality are:
1. Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service with a plan to
become competitive and thus to stay in business and to provide jobs.
2. Adopt the new philosophy. We are in economic age. We can no longer live with commonly
accepted levels or delays, mistakes, defective materials, and defective workmanship.
3. Cease dependence on mass inspection to achieve quality. Require instead statistical
evidence that quality is built in.
4. End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag alone. Instead, depend
on meaningful measures of quality, along with price. Eliminate suppliers that cannot
provide 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 machines,
training, supervision, retraining). 
6. Institute modern methods of training and education on the job, including management.
7. Adopt and institute leadership. 
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 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 workforce.
11. Eliminate numerical quotas for the workforce and numerical goals for management.
12. Remove barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship. Eliminate the annual rating
or merit system.
13. Institute a vigorous programme of education and self-improvement for everyone.
14. Create a structure in top management that will push everyday on the above 13 points
EuroCab as we know is one of the leading European manufacturers of customized metal
cabinets of various sizes and designs. In the last five years EuroCab has experienced
rapid growth in sales and profits. It has actually sextupled its turnover from 115
million francs in 1992 to 750 million francs in 1995. Despite this success, EuroCab faces
many quality problems, which are a big threat for the performance of the company. Lack of
training and responsibility, problems with its suppliers and the pressure and threats
that management exerts to the employees are the main causes of the quality problem that
EuroCab face. In order to have a closer look to each one of these causes we are going to
examine testimonies of the supervisors. 
Charlotte Lorcy who is supervisor of Final Inspection in her testimony has mentioned that
they have to reject a completed cab when they find visual defects on the 
posts. Anne Cardignac supervisor in the Electrical Assembly has mentioned that despite
working with Charlotte in the same area of the factory, they cannot help her because they
are not qualified to say whether a small scratch or dent is acceptable or not. We can
assume immediately the absence of training from the workers in the electrical assembly
section. They have not been taught whether a scratch or a dent is acceptable and thus
creating waste of time if they left a cab that they think is ok but actually is not
because it will have to be fixed again. Anne also reported that sometimes because of
faults in the design of the cabinets they do a little damage (paint damage). So there is
a problem with the designing team that sends defective materials to the electrical
assembly section. There is also a problem with the mechanical assembly section. As Anne
mentions there is a lack of responsibility and lack of training in the department.
Specifically there are not clear build instructions for new employees so mistakes are
inevitable. Finally Anne mentions that by the time the only performance measurement is
output, everybody cares only for output and none for quality. That is a fault of the
company and it is caused by numerical quotas that can be put to the workforce and
numerical goals to the managers. 
Quentin Latour from the mechanical assembly section starts his testimony by stating the
lack of training for his staff. Workers that are temporary or new to the job are not
trained thus it is difficult to achieve high targets for efficiency. He also mentions a
problem with the defective materials that his section receives from the Alocrom
subcontractors and the Sawing and piercing section. It is the management responsibility
to find problems in the incoming materials and training of the staff. By the time EuroCab
management doesn't do that it is inevitable for these problems to occur. Finally, Quentin

mentions the problems that the manager of the component department faces with his
existing tools. Again management does not make its appearance here, as it should have to
by taking care of the improvements and the maintenance of the tools and machines. 
Hubert Montielle from the components manufacturing department mention the problems that
they face with their existing suppliers. In his testimony says: 'I am not always happy
with the long lengths of aluminium extrusions, which come from our suppliers. Because
they are banded in bundles with a cardboard outer protection, the outside ones are
sometimes crushed by the banding, or have obviously been damaged by other things on the
truck.' If the management could eliminate all these suppliers that cannot provide
statistical evidence of quality control and if the management could by itself locate the
defectively incoming materials this problem could be solved. 
Gaston Cahor, the quality manager states the problem of distance between the facilities
of the company. 'We need to build quality into the design and process before
manufacturing starts but his is not easy because of the distance between the design and
prototyping facility and thus the lack of communication'. He continues: 'it is difficult
to get people involved in quality when they are so preoccupied with output'. It is the
management team's fault that EuroCab employees care only for the output and not for
quality. As we will see later on employees are threatened sometimes to produce a specific
amount of cabs. There is also little cooperation between the departments and this is not
only happening because of the distance. Departments must work as a team to foresee
problems of production that may be encountered with various materials and specifications
but because the pressure for output is so big they cannot achieve that.
Bibliography
1. 'The cracks in Quality', The Economists, April 1992, pp85-86.
2. Adrial Wilkinson, Tom Redman (1998) Managing with Total Quality Management, Macmillan
Press Ltd, London, UK.
3. Bendell, Tony, The Quality Gurus, Department of Trade and Industry, London.
4. Deming, W. Edwards (1982) Out of crisis, Cambridge University press, Cambridge, UK.