Customer Reviews

Dr. Deming: The American Who Taught the Japanese About Quality

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Mr. Aguano's book was one of the first ones I read when placed in a supervisory position 10 years ago. Through people "borrowing" my copy (never to return), I'm currently on my third, highlighter marker streaked copy. I enjoy it that much!

This book is a great introduction to TQM. It is extremely easy to read, well organized, and moves quickly. It basically is a "lite" version of Deming's "Out of the Crisis." (Deming's book is a definite recommended read).

The plus side of this book is that it explains how management needs to understand the nature of variation. It explains through Deming's (now famous) "red bead experiment," how variation is inherent in all systems, and it is up to management to reduce that variation. It also shows how some of the tools of quality management, such as control charts, explain stable/unstable systems.

The minus side of this book is that it is simplistic. If you are looking for how to calculate a control chart, do not look here. If you want to understand the difference between X & R control charts and P control charts, it is not in this book. On the other side, it's not really in Deming's either. But at least Deming shows some of the calculations necessary to make a P control chart. I recommend reading Leonard Doty's "Statistical Process Control" for the hard-core SPC methodology.

Also, the author gushes a bit about Deming. I don't know how to articulate it, but the fawning over Deming oozes out of the writing. That gets annoying (to me) after a while. Fortunately, it's a short book!

In summary, if you have read Deming's "Out of the Crisis," skip this book. It more or less rehashes much of that book, without any of the statistical calculations.

If you haven't read Deming's book, by all means read this. I still feel that it should be a TQM required read for all new managers. It explains in simple terms the role of management in TQM.

P.S. If you are trying to decide between this book and Mary Walton's "The Deming Management Method," pick this one. Mary Walton's book does not deal as much as this book with the theory and application of TQM. Her book is more TQM "case history" based.

Quit running around to management seminars and reading the latest book to gather loose tidbits of Deming's work floating around often bound together with very bad advice, advice that can be the ruin of your company. Find out the origin of the most effective management practices out there. Discover the ideas in their entirety which are making our workplaces successful and productive and adding quality to our lives.

In recent years the Japanese utterly eclipsed our efforts in the personal electronics and automotive industries. How did they go from the butt of jokes about quality to their current reign? Aguayo explains in his straightforward, readable introduction to the work of W. Edwards Deming just what he taught the Japanese that allowed them to achieve such unimaginable success in these fields. He explains the principles of management and manufacturing that American companies have largely ignored to their peril.

Unlike hundreds of other management gurus, Deming wa! s not just spouting platitudes and basing his claims solely upon "case studies" (which amount to unsolicited testimonials). He was a physicist and statistician, a scientist who was able to put his testable and verifiable groundbreaking theories into practice with many companies, first in Japan and later in the U.S. His approach to management is unparalleled in its vision, scope and practicality. This approach finds its roots in continuous improvement with the ultimate goal of creating a product or sevice of quality, and doing so in an environment that allows workers to experience satisfaction in their work.

You will find watered down versions of Deming's teachings floating about the business management world, but these out of context tidbits won't be effective in the same way as implementing the "profound changes" Deming taught. Be an insider.

I read this book five years ago, when I was a manager leading a small company about 15 people. I honour management style that respect human nature. Deming's priciples presented in this book give me a systematic insight of the principles based on mutual trusting and respect. I used his approach -- our company makes good profit -- and more important, all the staff enjoy working in our company.

This book was my first introduction to Dr. Deming and it changed my entire perspective on managing. His discussions of variation and systems is clear and understandable and hits the nail on the head. It is interesting reading, easy to read, and more importantly captures the essence of Dr. Demings message. No manager's book shelf should be without it.

Although I agree the book is dated in its examples, etc...

This book captures the essence of the way at looking at quality, no matter what field you may be in. The examples are dated, but the simple premise of what the book discusses is as important as ever today. The companies I have worked for since graduation from college (1992) still haven't come close to thinking of quality as described, and it was a hot topic in my production management classes during that time. The readability of the book is excellent; real-world (not classroom) analysis that keeps you interested in the subject without confusion.

The one dis-heartening (sp.) thing in this book is that for low- and mid-level managers, it's difficult to be an agent of change when nobody else believes or is comitted to this practice. Everywhere I've been so far still put too much emphasis on things that Deming calls crazy. I'll leave that for a management effectiveness book to discuss, but it's a read that anybody would find useful.

Of all the books on Deming that I have so far read this book is probably the most concise and easy to understand.

The Quality is far beyond a simple theory. It is a vision of the life and how it must be lived .
There is a powerful statement of the Samurai code : Do not make anything useless.
And this is the way you get close mre and more to the essential doctrine and quality philosophy .
Deming was a pioneer in this sense, because he knew to establish patterns of behavior and systematic direction for an issue that mostly of the real artists own in his inner world .
His reading is absolutely recommended for any kind of reader .
And his presence must be a perpetuum mobile for the management no matter your discipline field is!

Once in a while you run across a good book you just have to tell everyone about. When you get real lucky, you find two. I am lucky, I found two. I recommend this book and "Life and Death on the Internet" by Keith A. Schroeder. Both are valuable tools to help understand our Internet/computer connected world.

If you're a person who has no interest whatsoever in statistical abstractions, but wants to know more about quality and productivity, this book is for you. In plain English, Aguayo explains what Dr. Deming's philosophy is, why it works and what its' implications are.

Mr. Aguayo writes as one who studies the efforts to produce quality, from an MBA, trained in the field, to view and review the management training in the US with that taught to the Japanese by Deming. His insightful examples and comparisons are invaluable to the reader, in furthering our understanding for the need to improve quality. Quality not as a product, but as a means and total way of life.