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The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education - 2nd Edition
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Sales rank 52,161
Customers rating (based on 26 reviews)
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". . . competition, we see now, is destructive. It would be better if everyone would work together as a system, with the aim for everybody to win. What we need is cooperation and transformation to a new style of management." In this book W. Edwards Deming details the system of transformation that underlies the 14 Points for Management presented in Out of the Crisis. The system of profound knowledge, as it is called, consists of four parts: appreciation for a system, knowledge about variation, theory of knowledge, and psychology. Describing prevailing management style as a prison, Deming shows how a style based on cooperation rather than competition can help people develop joy in work and learning at the same time that it brings about long-term success in the market. Indicative of Deming's philosophy is his advice to abolish performance reviews on the job and grades in school. previously published by MIT-CAES
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| Publisher | The MIT Press | | Release date | 08/2000 | | Availability | Usually ships in 24 hours | | Edition | Paperback |
| | List price | $27 | | Our price | $24.3 (you save 10.00%) | | Used price | from $9.35 |
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Simple & Informative. A management must read!
Dr. Deming takes the reader into the American workplace showing the problems with management and why American industries are being beaten by foreign competitors. He notes that American inventions are taken away by foreign companies who improve the process and how we are on a steady decline. The New Economics will identify problems with the current system and help you to approach them in a new way.
Prevailing management practices that Deming identifies to be compounding the situation in America include short term thinking, ranking, rewards systems, competition along with many others. By understanding the System of Profound Knowledge, Deming believes a leader will apply this knowledge to change the system. He discusses the use of control charts and uses experiments such as the Red Beads and Funnel Experiment as a way to illustrate variation and tampering. Other discussions include what business students should be learning in school and how the education should change.
Every manager or business major should read this book. With this knowledge you will truly understand that most of the time problems are attributed to the system and not the worker and that many problems are due to natural variation in the system. You can make real changes in your organization by fixing problems that can be fixed rather than tampering.
Everyone in Business Should Read
This book I believe is an excellent read and a must if you are involved in any type of management setting or in engineering. Dr. Deming points out the wrongs found in our business, government, an education sectors. All of his ideas and knowledge provide a great insight on how business and government should be run. Also, reading this book and seeing all that Deming points out shows how and why companies right now are struggling to survive (GM). Not only does Dr. Deming give ideas on management style, but also provides statistical basis for production in order to drive costs down and to provide the best possible product. Reading this book made me have a better understanding of why Japanese cars are exponentially better than our own domestic cars. Deming's examples include experiments such as the Red Bead Experiment and the Funnel Experiment to show not only how statistical quality control can be used to help improve processes but also to prove how wrong American management confronts production issues as compared to how the Japanese have done since the end of World War II when Dr. Deming was there consulting. All these are examples of management by results which leads to worse quality and a less friendly work atmosphere and market.
Deming also speaks on how companies should work together and not against each other. He mentions that companies should focus on expanding the market instead of expanding their market share. He also emphasizes that working together does not mean price gauging because that will be less profitable in the long run.
The book is also a good and easy read and is not all technical. The book can entertain you and interest you at the same time. Will give you a better understanding on management and SPC.
This is a great book, but however it is not free of faults. Deming refuses to put any blame upon the worker. Many times he is right, the worker is not to blame. however Deming rests all the blame for issues in the production process with management. Another issue is Deming sounds more like a bitter boss telling American business "I told you so" and scorning American business in the same way he criticizes American management of doing.
In the end, read this book. You will like it and enjoy it and hopefully learn how to use its ideas and knowledge.
Pros: Well written, no fluff, easy to read.
Cons: Does not flow in a logical order, at times too simple, can sound like parent lecture.
Deming review
Overall I think that this book is an important tool for an engineer and people in general to understand the importance of management role and leadership. In this book Deming highlighted the various problems in an organization, he also mention how management can control those variables.
The main part in this book that I think is pretty important is the Theory of Profound Knowledge. It breaks down all the components in an organization, explaining all the variables and the solutions. Deming breaks down the theory into 4 parts, which are appreciation of a system, knowledge of variation, theory of knowledge, and psychology. Those 4 parts are the main factor in building a good organization, and also the relationship between management and workers. But the bottom line for this theory is that, the transformation to understand the whole system has to start from each individual/component in the system. Then from there it will affect all components, so that the system can reach its maximum potential and accomplish it goals.
Some pros and cons of reading this book:
-Pros: short, easy to understand, give enough examples, really helpful to understand about management and leadership.
-Cons: the writing does not really flow between each chapters, reader can get lost if between chapters.
A must read for everyone!
Having read this book as an assignment for a Statistical Quality Control course in college, I now understand why this is required reading. While I was reading this book, I began making comparisons between what I was reading and certain companies are now having financial problems and are facing bankruptcy or already are. The downfall of these companies can be traced to poor management.
Now I understand why the Japanese listened closely to Deming after 1950s corporate America brushed off his ideas. Look at where Japan currently stands in industry.
Deming takes concepts from statistics (ex. common and special cause variation, tampering) and ties them in with what management should look for to fix problems and how to do so.
One of his big points is that management and society should look more at cooperation than competition. Deming believes that competition is what leads to the downfall of organizations and demoralizes workers and students.
However, Deming does idealize the worker. In the real world, not every problem is management's fault; there can be workers who are just bad workers.
Pros:
+ easy to understand (don't have to be a statistician to understand it but it can help)
+ eye-opening look at how current management practices affect society and vice versa
+ short, easy read (could have finished it in a weekend)
Cons:
- can be hard to read (writing style doesn't "flow")
- not enough people have read this book soon enough
If You're Looking to Inspired Read This Book!
I was assigned this book for a statistical quality control class. When I found out that I was supposed to read an additional book for the class, I was not too excited. I am not one to enjoy having additional reading pushed on me; however, this book proved to be an exception. I can with all honesty say that this book was a pleasure to read.
First a little about the author. Deming is arguably the greatest visionary in the fields of quality control, process improvement, and management revision. In short, he has a lot of great things to say about corporate America.
Unlike a lot of independent works on corporate America, this book does not get lost in the technical and theoretical aspects of problems and solutions. The New Economics uses simple logic and useful reasoning to make points about the current state of things in United States, and what should be done to improve upon them. Even topics such as the use of control charts or the causes of variation are covered in such a straightforward way, that even a person that has never taken a statistics class in their life can understand it. Now, It is important to note that while this book does take a very simplistic approach to topics that are typically hard to grasp, the book is by no means trivial. The book makes many profound points that are truly eye opening. I found myself on more than one occasion slap my head saying, "Wow! That is so ridiculously obvious! I can't believe I have never thought of that before."... and sometimes, "Wow! That is so obvious! I am seriously disappointed no one in corporate America is acting like this!"
Really, the only bad thing I have to say about this book is that Deming tends to be a bit idealistic when it comes to the worker. He believes that if given favorable circumstances, workers will perform well. I can say from personal experience that I have seen workers that have been given every advantage conceivable, and they still show lack of initiative and capability. Deming on the other hand indicates that pretty much any worker is a good, and that if problems occur, blame should fall on upper management. This is really the only point Deming makes that I do not fully agree with.
So, I am not one to sweet-talk something unless I truly stand behind, and I can say, I truly stand behind this book. There are many profound insights in The New Economics that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. All in all, this book is an inspiring read.
I suggest you buy this book... or at the very least see if your library has a copy and read it!
Topics Covered in The New Economics:
General Views on Corporate America
Current Wasteful Behavior
Setting up a System with a Goal
Theory of Profound Knowledge
The Role of Management
Need for a Cooperative System
The Red Beads Experiment
Using Control Charts
The Funnel Experiment
Understanding Variation
Pros:
Very eye opening insight
Defended with sound logic
Simple explanations
Good examples
Only 230 pages; 10 chapters
Cons:
Idealizes Human Nature
I Didn't Read this Book Sooner
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