led the Deming Award. In 1960, Deming received The Second Order Medal of the Sacred Treasurer, the highest award the Japanese bestow on foreigners.
Deming was rediscovered by the American public in 1980 after he was interviewed for a television documentary. The documentary focused on the shortcomings of U.S. manufacturing firms in comparison to their Japanese counterparts. The documentary generated an avalanche of interest in TQM and Deming became a popular guest lecturer and seminar speaker. Deming devised the following list of criteria that are deadly to a company's health; ironically, one of the deadly diseases is excessive medical costs:
Deming's Seven Deadly Diseases
3.Evaluation by performance, merit rating, or annual review of performance
5.Running a company on visible figures alone
7.Excessive costs of warranty, fueled by lawyers that work on contingency fees
TQM is a means for a company to achieve superior quality. If a company focuses on quality it eliminates the need for concern about profit: "A company must first improve quality; only then should it look into cost, volume, and productivity. The improvement in price, performance, and services follow automatically." TQM requires that all company operations be oriented toward improving the company's products and services as indicated by the following table:
The Role of Different Functions in Achieving Superior Quality
Value-Creation Function Primary Role
Infrastructure (Leadership) 1.Provide leadership and commitment to quality
2.Find ways to measure quality
3.Set goals and create incentives
4.Solicit input from employees
5.Encourage cooperation between functions
Manufacturing 1.Shorten production runs
Marketing 1.Focus on the customer
2.Provide customer feedback on quality
Materials Management 1.Rationalize suppliers
2.Help suppliers implem...