Students will explore a series of fundamental strategies for applying W. Edwards Deming’s management theory (his highly regarded “System of Profound Knowledge, SoPK”) to improve organizational performance in the public and nonprofit sectors. Students will participate in online project-based learning activities and prepare a final individual project.

Students will explore the thinking of Dr W. Edwards Deming, as it applies to improving how any organization functions as a system, within a framework of advancing how they work and learn together, starting with how they think together.

(Fall, Spring, Summer [As Needed]) [Graded]

None

• 1. Develop an understanding of the skills for managing interdependent actions through an appreciation of W. Edwards Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge (SoPK)
• 2. Develop a conceptual understanding of SoPK as a “Shared Mental Model”
• 3. Analyze how parts of within an organization interact within a broader interdependent set of systems using the SoPK Shared Mental Model approach
• 4. Apply conceptual knowledge developed in the course of Dr. Deming’s SoPK through the completion of several collaborative project-based learning exercises
• 5. Assess personal and professional knowledge gained from the course

Course Activities

• 1. As an online course, most weekly group and individual activities will be administered asynchronously through the CANVAS LMS. Group and individual activities will involve online discussions regarding application of concepts.
• 2. Online Group Forum: Discussions used to simulate class discussions. Substantive contributions required.
• 3. Research Essays: essays assigned during each module are design for students to research select topics from the class lectures, readings, and videos
• 4. Reflections Journal: students will keep a hand-written “Reflections Journal,” adding to it on a daily basis, with a focus on how the course content is enabling you to see the world through a lens enabled by a “Deming” view of the world
• 5. Learning Capacity Matrix: students will provide a self-evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of describing the essential elements of this course during Modules 3 and 7.
• 6. Assigned Content: Each module has readings and other learning materials to support the activities in class. Please make sure you read and/or watch the learning materials, in order to do well on the activities.

Performance Evaluation Criteria

• 1. Substantive Contribution to Online Group Forum 40%
• 2. Research Essays 28%
• 3. Reflections Journal, including sharing highlights within classmates 20%
• 4. Submission of Learning Capacity Matrix (end of Modules 3 and 7) 12%

Grading Policy

Weekly Online Topics, Required Readings, and Project Activities

Module 1 The Good, The Bad, and The Beautiful - A Brief History of Quality

Introduction: Module 1 content will include an exploration of the prevailing explanations of quality, including quality control, quality assurance, and quality improvement, past, present, and future. These ideas will be explored in parallel with the role of mental models in shaping how we learn (“Plan-Do-Study-Act” as a model) and also interact with the world around us, thereby providing a foundation for an introduction to the management philosophy of Dr. W. Edwards Deming, including his “14 Points for Management” and the “Deming Chain Reaction.” Added topics will include process flow diagrams, an introduction to the mental model of Six Thinking Hats, as well as the mental model of “Me” and “We” Organizations as a means to better understanding the contrast between organizations which practice the prevailing system of management and those which abide by the Deming Philosophy.

Module Objectives:

• 1. Describe the fundamental goals and strategies of Quality Management and how this relates to the overall operation of organizations; past, present, and future**
• 2. Describe mental models and offer examples of them**
• 3. Explain the Plan-Do-Study-Act learning model**
• 4. Explain and use the Six Thinking Hats on a personal level**
• 5. Describe the function of a Learning Capacity Matrix**
• To fellow classmates

Knowledge Check Questions:

• 1. What is the quality goal of a Zero Defects initiative? (Zero / 3.4 PPM / 6 PPM)
• 2. Can an awareness of one’s mental models allows one to “think outside the box”? (True / False)
• 3. Which thinking hat represents a search for added context? (black / yellow / white)

Assignments:

• Reading: (MO#1-#5)
  • 1. Article/LA Times/In Endless Pursuit: A Hero in Japan, Deming Continues His Quest for Quality at Home
  • 2. Article/LA Times/W. E. Deming, Quality Control Guru; Dies at
  • 3. Article/Bellows/First Impressions of W. Edwards Deming
• Lectures and Videos (MO#1-MO#5)
• Online Group Forum:
  • 1. How is Dr. Deming's theory of a system of management explained in the 1980 NBC White Paper?
  • 2. How is Dr. Deming's theory of a system of management explained in the Deming Round Tables with Bill Cooper (which were recorded in the mid-1980s)?
  • 3. In what way(s) is a focus on the achievement of Zero Defect Quality similar to what Russ Ackoff would explain as the management of actions?
  • 4. In what way(s) is a focus on managing the variation in the blue beads similar to what Russ Ackoff would explain as the management of interactions?
• Reflections Journal - Start a daily Reflections Journal, with a focus on how the course content is enabling you to see the world through a lens of your evolving appreciation of the Deming Philosophy (MO#6)
• Research Essay 1 - each module has essays (which may require research beyond the course material) designed to provide an opportunity to examine and evaluate management and leadership practices and objectives: past, present, and future (MO#1)

Module 2 Performance without Appraisals

Introduction: Module 2 content will include an exploration of the role of performance appraisals, rewards and recognition programs, and rating and rankings and how these practices fit well with the “How did you do on the exam?” model of “Me” Organizations, yet conflict with the fundamental systems view of “We” Organizations. Also, a review of the assignments.

Module Objectives:

• 1. Describe the standard roles and assumptions for using performance appraisals**
• 2. Describe how managers can perform their role within a “We” Organization without the use of performance appraisals
• 3. Describe what Dr. Genichi Taguchi meant by describing someone as being “worse than a thief”**
• 4. Explain the accelerators to innovation in a “We” Organization
• To fellow classmates

Knowledge Check Questions:

• 1. Dr. Deming advocated the need to motivate employees (True / False)
• 2. Dr. Deming proposed that “if you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it". (True / False)
• 3. Dr. Deming was known to blame labor unions for the poor performance of their organizations. (True / False)

Assignments:

• Reading: (MO#1-MO#4)
  • 1. Article/Bellows, The Last Straw
  • 2. Article/Bellows, Drawing Lines
  • 3. Article/Scholtes, Total Quality or Performance Appraisals
• Lectures and Videos (MO#1-MO#4)
• Online Group Forum:
  • 1. Dr. Deming was fond of saying "the most important figures that one needs for management are unknown or unknowable, but successful management must nevertheless take account of them." He attributed this statement to his colleague, Lloyd Nelson. Provide 2-3 examples of what you think Dr. Deming meant by important figures for successful management which are unknown or unknowable.
  • 2. In consideration of Gipsie Ranney's lecture on "Controls, Fairness, and Commitment in Organizations," what added insights did you gain on the roles of controls, fairness, and commitment in We Organizations?
  • 3. Given the content of the "Managing Fear" videos with Gerald Suarez, how would you explain how We and Me Organizations each manage fear?
  • 4. Given the content of the videos in this module with Gipsie Ranney and Dick Steele, what new ideas and/or skills did you learn about the management of people in a We Organization?
• Reflections Journal – continue to record daily (MO#7)
• Research Essay 2 - each module has essays (which may require research beyond the course material) designed to provide an opportunity to examine and evaluate management and leadership practices and objectives: past, present, and future (MO#4)

Module 3 Resource Leadership and the Next Millennium

Introduction: Module 3 content will include an exploration of the role of excellence within “Me” and “We” Organizations and the utilization of “An InThinking Roadmap.” Added topics include a review of the parallels between Rock Logic and Water Logic, Category and Continuum Thinking, Addition and Super-Addition, and a review of the assignments.

Module Objectives:

• 1. Describe the differences between Compliance Excellence and Contextual Excellence and how this awareness contributes to Quality, Innovation, and Systems Thinking in a "We" Organization**
• 2. Describe the differences between Category Thinking and Continuum Thinking and how this awareness contributes to Quality, Innovation, and Systems Thinking in a "We" Organization**
• 3. Describe the differences between "Me" and "We" Organizations and how each embodies Quality, Innovation, and Systems Thinking
• 4. Describe the function of a Learning Capacity Matrix** (CO#5)
• To fellow classmates

Knowledge Check Questions:

• 1. Contextual Excellence is more useful than Compliance Excellence. (True / False)
• 2. The concept of “Optimization” as a goal is consistent with model of Contextual Excellence. (True / False)
• 3. All (mental) models are wrong, some are useful. (True / False)
• 4. A focus on efficiency and a focus on effectiveness is very much the same. (True / False)

Assignments:

• Reading: (MO#1-MO#3)
  • 1. Article/Bellows, In Search of Excellence
  • 2. Article/Bellows, Contextual Excellence and Continuous Investment Thinking
  • 3. Article/blog post, W. Edwards Deming is not a Method or a Program, https://deming.org/w-edwards-deming-is-not-a-method-or-program/
  • 4. Notes/Bellows, Answers to Common Seminar Questions About the Deming Philosophy
• Lectures and Videos (MO#1-MO#3)
• Online Group Forum:
  • 1. What wisdom from Ed Baker, from the video of the interview with him, "The Symphony of Profound Knowledge Q&A with Ed Baker," can be applied to transforming a Me Organization in the direction of a We Organization?
  • 2. What wisdom from Bob Browne, in his lecture, "It's Not the Technology, It's the Neurology," can be applied to transforming a Me Organization in the direction of a We Organization?
  • 3. In appreciation of the mental model of Me and We Organizations,
    • In which organization would you most likely hear the expression, "culture eats process for lunch?"
    • What do you think is meant by this expression?
  • 4. Dr. Deming would often comment that "this [era] will go down as the age of superstitious learning.” In consideration of the prevalence of Me Organizations, how might you explain this comment?
• Reflections Journal – continue to record daily (MO#6)
• Learning Capacity Matrix - complete and submit for Module 3 (MO#4)
• Research Essay 3 - each module has essays (which may require research beyond the course material) designed to provide an opportunity to examine and evaluate management and leadership practices and objectives: past, present, and future (MO#1- MO#3)

Module 4 Deming's Ideas in the Twenty-first Century

Introduction: Beginning with a review of Dr. Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge and an explanation of its role in transforming individuals and organizations, Module 4 11 content includes a one-day (6-hour) seminar with Gipsie Ranney on the topic of "Deming's Ideas in the Twenty-first Century, recorded on April 20, 2012 at the In2:InThinking Network's 2012 Forum (Links to an external site.)

Although W. Edwards Deming died in 1993, the ideas he developed during the last decades of his life have relevance today. This discussion will address current issues of management and organizations, as well as larger issues we face in the twenty-first century, and bring to bear Deming’s ideas about systems, variation, knowledge and its development, and management of people. What issues need to be addressed to create organizations that are sustainable? What ideas will be useful to achieve the degree of innovation that will be required to address organizations’ challenges in this century? What are the responsibilities of managers? We will seek to deepen understanding of Deming’s ideas and relate them to the present and the future.

Module Objectives:

• 1. Explain the skills for managing interdependent actions** (CO#2)
• 2. Describe the function of a Learning Capacity Matrix** (CO#4)
• 3. Describe the function of a Reflections Journal** (CO#4)
• To fellow classmates

Knowledge Check Questions:

• 1. A stable process is one in which the level of variation meets requirements? (True / False)
• 2. Dr. Deming enjoyed sharing the story of Chanticleer, the mythical rooster, who crowed every morning, well before dawn, believing his crowing caused the sun to rise. Such was Chanticleer's theory; his crowing caused the run to rise. Dr. Deming suggested that if Chanticleer ever slept through dawn and forgot to crow, with the still sun rising, he would see his theory in need of revision. This represents a great example of learning if Chanticleer lived in a We Organization, with Chanticleer seeing his theory in need of revision. However, if Chanticleer lived in a Me Organization, might he conclude that while he forgot to crow just before dawn, he must have crowed in his sleep? (True / False)
• 3. An emergent property is defined as a property which a collection or complex system has, but which the individual members do not have. (True / False)

Assignments:

• Reading: (MO#1-MO#3)
  • 1. Article/Bellows, First Impressions of W. Edwards Deming
  • 2. Article/Macht, The Management Thinker We Should Never Have Forgotten
• Lectures and Videos (MO#1-MO#3)
• Online Group Forum:
  • 1. In what ways did Gipsie Ranney's entire lecture of expand your appreciation of "systems"? Be specific.
  • 2. In her lecture, Gipsie Ranney makes a reference to Myron Tribus and his “Perversity Principle,” namely, “If you try to improve the performance of a system of people, machines, and procedures by setting numerical goals for the improvement of individual parts of the system, the system will defeat your efforts and you will pay a price where you least expect it." Share a personal example of the “Perversity Principle.”
  • 3. Given Gipsie Ranney’s explanation of “emergent properties,” consider the 2 questions below:
    • Do We Organizations operate in a way which acknowledges “emergent properties”? Provide details to explain your answer.
    • Do Me Organizations operate in a way which acknowledges “emergent properties”? Provide details to explain your answer."
  • 4. In Gipsie Ranney's lecture, she presents an exercise known as "The Prediction Game." At the end of this exercise, she asks a series of questions, ending with this one, “If we continue to play the game, is there a guarantee that the same rule will continue to provide correct predictions?" Such was a question I explored at length with Gipsie, for I believe the implications are significant.
    • If you could hear her reply in the recording, do you recall if her answer as yes or no? That is, "Is there a guarantee that the same rule will continue to provide correct predictions?"
    • If you could not hear her answer, how do you believe she would have answered it? Whether you heard her reply, or are suggesting her reply, what is your explanation of this answer?
    • What does this answer, yes or no, say about predictions of the future?
• Reflections Journal – continue to record daily (MO#3)
• Research Essay 4 - each module has essays (which may require research beyond the course material) designed to provide an opportunity to examine and evaluate management and leadership practices and objectives: past, present, and future (MO#2)

Module 5 A Day with Russell Ackoff

Introduction: Module 12 content includes a one-day (5-hour) seminar with Dr. Russell Ackoff on the topic of "Deming's Ideas in the Twenty-first Century, recorded on March 4, 2003 at Boeing's campus in Huntington Beach, CA. Before his passing in 2019, Ackoff authored or co-authored of 21 books on management including Management in Small Doses, Ackoff’s Fables, The Democratic Corporation, and Re-Creating the Corporation. He was Anheuser-Busch Professor Emeritus of Management Science at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and was also a former president of the Operations Research Society of America and the Society for General Systems Research.

In this unique one-day session, Dr. Ackoff will explore the benefits and opportunities associated with changing the way we think about organizational behavior and problems. As an extension of ongoing InThinking efforts with Boeing, this workshop will further explain how to develop thinking and decision making skills, and will explore how everyday actions are related to organizational strategy. Dr. Ackoff will also consider how to encourage, facilitate, and support organizational learning and adaptation under these conditions.

Module Objectives:

• 1. Explain the skills for managing interdependent actions** (CO#2)
• 2. Describe the function of a Learning Capacity Matrix** (CO#4)
• 3. Describe the function of a Reflections Journal** (CO#4)
• To fellow classmates

Knowledge Check Questions:

• 1. According to Dr. Deming (quoting Lloyd Nelson, former director of statistical methods for the Nashua corporation), “the most important figures that one needs for management are unknown or unknowable, but successful management must nevertheless take account of them." (True / False)
• 2. According to Dr. Deming, “It is extension of application that discloses inadequacy of a theory, and need for revision, or even new theory. Again, without theory, there is nothing to revise.” (True / False)
• 3. Russell Ackoff was born on Lincoln's Day in 1919, February 12 and given the middle name of Lincoln. Was he given his middle name because his parents were admirers of Abraham Lincoln? (True / False)

Assignments:

• Reading: (MO#1-MO#11)
  • 1. Article/Ackoff, On Passing Through 80
  • 2. Article, Wayne State Split
• Lectures and Videos (MO#1-MO#3)
• Online Group Forum:
  • 1. Russell Ackoff is well known for devising a thought experiment in which he proposes to survey hundreds of cars to find which has the best engine, which has the best steering system, which has the best transmission, which has the best braking system, etc. The next step is to take each of these best systems and integrate them to create the "best overall" automobile.
    • Which organization, We or Me, would agree to and follow the logic of this thought experiment?
    • Provide an explanation of your answer
  • 2. In this program, Russell Ackoff explains the difference between "Errors of Omission" and "Errors of Commission." Given your understanding of We and Me Organizations, what are potential impacts of a Me Organization operating in a way which tries to minimize both types of errors?
  • 3. Russell Ackoff was trained as an architect before joining the US Navy at the end of 1941, when the United States entered World War 2. Years later, Ackoff gave great credit to his training as an architect in knowing how to manage systems.
    • What fundamental lesson did Ackoff learn as an architect?
    • How is what Ackoff learned as an architect fundamental to how We Organizations operate?
  • 4. As revealed in this one-day program, Russell Ackoff was well known as masterful storyteller. Of all the stories he shares in this program, which is your favorite and what lesson(s) did you learn from it?
• Research Essay 5 - each module has essays (which may require research beyond the course material) designed to provide an opportunity to examine and evaluate management and leadership practices and objectives: past, present, and future (MO#1)

Module 6 Russell Ackoff on Creativity and the Limitations of Management f-Laws

Introduction: Module 13 content includes two different half-day lectures by Russell Ackoff, both hosted by Rocketdyne. The first one, title "Creativity and What Can Be Done About It," was recorded on March 31, 2006 as a Pre-Conference session for the In2:InThinking Network's 2006 Forum. The second, "Moving Beyond the Limitations of Management f-Laws," was recorded on October 26, 2007, as Russ's last annual lecture at Rocketdyne. Details on both follow below:

Creativity and What Can Be Done About It - In this 3-hour session, Dr. Ackoff will explore the concept of Idealized Design as a means by which to unleash creativity within organizations. He will also address the need to change the way we think about organizational behavior and problems. Topics to be covered include: “What is creativity?”, “What kills the creativity found in pre-school children?”, and “How can it be resuscitated?”, plus “Ways of finding the constraining assumption”, such as Deny the "Facts”, Get the Incentives Right, Enlarge the System, Role Reversal, Countermeasures, Idealized Design, Problem Dissolving, and other Creativity Enhancing procedures.

Moving Beyond the Limitations of Management f-Laws - In this 3-hour session, which includes a birthday celebration, Dr. Ackoff will explore the benefits and opportunities associated with changing the way we think about organizational behavior and problems. As an extension to ongoing Enterprise Thinking efforts and prior visits by Dr. Ackoff to Canoga Park, this seminar will further explain how to develop thinking and decision making skills, and will explore how everyday actions are related to organizational strategy. Link here (Links to an external site.) to learn more about the book, Management f-LAWS: How Organizations Really Work

Module Objectives:

• 1. Explain the skills for managing interdependent actions** (CO#2)
• 2. Describe the function of a Learning Capacity Matrix** (CO#4)
• 3. Describe the function of a Reflections Journal** (CO#4)
• To fellow classmates

Knowledge Check Questions:

• 1. According to Russell Ackoff, there is only 1 solution to the "9-Dot Problem"? (True / False)
• 2. Russell Ackoff discovered the process of “Idealized Design” during a visit to Bell Laboratories in the 1950s? (True / False)
• 3. The process of “Idealized Design” is only applicable to the design of products and cannot be applied to the design of services (True / False)

Assignments:

• Reading: (MO#1-MO#3)
  • 1. Article/Ackoff, Transforming the Systems Movement
  • 2. Webpage. Russell Ackoff Quotes and f-Laws
  • 3. Article/Ackoff, A Lifetime of Systems Thinking
• Lectures and Videos (MO#1-MO#3)
• Online Group Forum:
  • 1. Russell Ackoff spoke about organizations which strive for less, from less cycle time to less inventory to less staff. Such action is very consistent with the management style of a Me Organization. Ackoff's proposal is that "getting less of what you don't want doesn't get you what you want." Instead, he proposed, “Improvement must be focused on what you want, not on what you don't want." Given this context, answer the two questions below:
    • In contrast to Me Organizations focusing on what they don't want, how do We Organizations focus on what they do want?
    • What would you propose as the wants of We Organizations?
  • 2. Over many years of observations and reflections, Russell Ackoff collected a long list of what he eventually referred to as f-Laws. Given what he shared in his 2007 lecture at Rocketdyne, what is your favorite f-Law and how does it remind you of a Me Organization?
  • 3. Given the examples in Russell Ackoff's 2007 lecture, in what ways are his ideas about the responsibilities of management consistent with the management responsibilities of a We Organization?
  • 4. As explained by Russell Ackoff, it is not uncommon for a given problem to be defined as a design problem or a manufacturing problem or a social problem or an economic problem. Given this context, answer the two questions below:
    • Which organization, Me or We, would define a given problem in this way, using one adjective to explain it?
    • What are the consequences of using one adjective to define a problem in the manner?
• Reflections Journal – continue to record daily (MO#3)
• Research Essay 6 - each module has essays (which may require research beyond the course material) designed to provide an opportunity to examine and evaluate management and leadership practices and objectives: past, present, and future (MO#1 – MO#3)

Module 7 Vision Therapy - Shift from Big Problems to Great Opportunities

Introduction: Module 7 content includes a summary of the content of the entire certification program.

Before his death in 1993, W. Edwards Deming provided “a map of theory by which to understand the organizations that we work in.” He was well aware of the challenges that organizations face, in their “Business as Usual” mode of operation. He shared simple explanations to challenge us to envision “Business as Unusual.” “Sure,” he said, “we have to solve problems. Certainly stamp out the fire. Stamp out the fire and get nowhere. Stamp out the fires puts us back to where we were in the first place.” In practicing “Business as Usual,” resources are allocated to fire-fighting, attempting to lower Things Gone Wrong, such as medical errors in a hospital. Under such contingent circumstances (a problem has occurred), how much value is given to activities for preventive measures (a problem has not occurred), if not seeking opportunities for investment, wherein efforts to improve existing actions (those not considered current problems) will have a superior return elsewhere within the system? Business as Unusual offers opportunities to both prevent problems and seek opportunities for investment.

Module Objectives:

• 1. Explain the limits of focusing on eliminating red beads and "things gone wrong"
• 2. Explain the advantages of focusing on variation in the blue beads ("things going well")
• 3. Explain the Red Pen Company - Blue Pen Company mental model and its similarity of this trip report to the "Me-We" and "All Straw-Last Straw" trip reports
• 4. Explain the skills for managing interdependent actions** (CO#2)
• 5. Describe the function of a Learning Capacity Matrix** (CO#4)
• 6. Describe the function of a Reflections Journal** (CO#4)
• To fellow classmates

Knowledge Check Questions:

• 1. Given the 4 elements of Dr. Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge, the element “Knowledge of Variation” is the most important (True / False)
• 2. Toyota credits Dr. Deming as a pioneer in the development of their famous “Toyota Production System”? (True / False)
• 3. According to Dr. Deming, “In God we trust, all others bring data”? (True / False)

Assignments:

• Reading: (MO#1-MO#6)
  • 1. Article/Bellows, Vision Therapy
  • 2. Article/Bellows, Business as Unusual - Shift from Big Problems to Great Opportunities
  • 3. Article/Deming, Quick Review of Some New Principles of Administration
• Lectures and Videos (MO#1-MO#6)
• Online Group Forum:
  • 1. What wisdom from Peter Scholtes, in his "101" lecture, can be applied to transforming a Me Organization in the direction of a We Organization?
  • 2. In consideration of your evolving understanding of Dr. Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, is process stability needed before a process can be improved?
  • 3. In consideration of your evolving understanding of Dr. Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, how would you explain what Dr. Deming meant when he said that Profound Knowledge comes from the outside and by invitation?
  • 4. What would you offer as the most significant concepts you learned in this course? For each concept, provide a brief explanation of why you find it to be significant
• Reflections Journal – continue to record daily (MO#6)
• Learning Capacity Matrix - complete and submit for Module 7 (MO#5)
• Research Essay 7 - each module has essays (which may require research beyond the course material) designed to provide an opportunity to examine and evaluate management and leadership practices and objectives: past, present, and future (MO#1 – MO#6)

• Instructor response time: It is my goal to respond to student messages within 1 business day and provide grades and feedback within 3-7 business days from the due date.
• Due dates for all assignments are posted in Canvas. Late work will be accepted, without penalty, provided it is submitted before the deadline for each assignment.

• Attendance recognized through weekly submission of graded activities
• Attendance in the course measured with discussions and weekly reflection activities.

Prerequisites

AVTN 3510, Strategic Thinking and Lean Management for Aviation Administration, is a prerequisite for this course

Recommended Text(s)

Reading (articles) are assigned through Canvas

References

References provided in Canvas