The 14 principles of management: an ever-present legacy.

Published on:People&Knowledge, number 188, October/November/December

Anyone who has crossed the90sof the twentieth century in the company you will have come across the myths and rites oftotal quality, a wave of thought and practices that have supported management for a few decades. I believe that those principles still have historical relevance. And the credit basically goes toWilliam Edwards Deming: Considered something of a hero in Japan, he began to gain widespread recognition in the United States, his native country, only shortly before his death.

Deming (1900-1993) was an engineer, essayist and business manager. He was given credit for studies on improving manufacturing in the USA during World War II. Starting from1950, taught top managers and engineers in Japan methods to improve the way they work and learn together. His attention was directed both internally and externally. Deming contributed significantly to the drastic turnaround of post-war Japanese industry and its rise to global economic power. The key is to practice acontinuous improvement(in Japanese “Kaizen”) and think of production as a system, not as production in pieces. It is often referred to as the “father of the third wave of the industrial revolution”.

The possibility of knowing Demming's thought in an extensive and authentic way is given by the workThe essential Deming, published in2013from Joyce Nilsson Orsini: “this book does not replace Deming's books”, writes its editor. “This book is written for those who want to see more of what Deming has to say about management in the world we live in, beyond his initial books.”

Deming continued to write and lecture until later90 years old. His latest book,The new economics, was published after his death in1993: It was the culmination of his life's work, detailing theDeming system of profound knowledge, a comprehensive management theory that embraces its famous14 points for managementand starts from the awareness of what he calls theseven deadly management diseaseswhich afflicted America and, in general, a large part of Western society. They are: the lack of constancy in purpose, the emphasis on short-term profits, the evaluation of performance based on levels of merit, or annual performance review, the mobility of managers and more generally of work, the management of a company based only on visible (and measurable) data, excessive medical costs and finally excessive liability costs, due to pressure from lawyers who gain from it.

Deming proposed14 key principlesthat management should follow to significantly improve the effectiveness of a company or organization. Here they are:1)create consistency of intent towards improving products and services, with the aim of becoming competitive, remaining on the market and providing jobs;2)adopt the new philosophy. Western management must become aware of the challenge, must learn its responsibilities and take leadership for change;3)stop dependence on inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for large-scale inspections by building quality into the product from the start;4)end the practice of awarding contracts based on price. Instead, minimize the total cost;5)constantly and continuously improve the production and service system, to improve quality and productivity and therefore constantly reduce costs;6)establish on-the-job training;7)establish leadership. The goal of supervision should be to help people, machines and devices work better;8)eliminate fear, so that everyone can work effectively for the company;9)break down barriers between departments;10)eliminate slogans, exhortations and goals for the workforce that require zero defects and new levels of productivity;11a)eliminate labor standards (quotas) in the factory. Replace them with leadership;11b)eliminate management by objectives. Eliminate management by numbers, numerical objectives. Replace it with leadership;12a)remove barriers that deprive hourly workers of their right to pride in their work;12b)remove barriers that deprive managers and engineers of their right to professional pride. This means, among other things, abolishing annual or merit evaluation and management by objectives;13)establish a vigorous training and self-improvement program;14)involve all company employees in the work to achieve the transformation. Transformation is everyone's job.

Deming was a visionary whose belief in continuous improvement led to a series of theories and teachings that changed the way we think about quality, management and leadership. He believed in a world where there was joy in learning and joy in work, where "everyone would win."