ABSTRACT
Deming’s initial approach, reputedly rejected by American industry at the outset, was based on his background in statistical methods. Deming believed in the use of statistical process control charts as the key method for identifying special and common causes and enabling diagnosis of quality problems. The approach is seen as re-emphasising the responsibility of management to be actively involved in the organisation’s quality programme, while Logothetis considers that it provides the basis for a ‘self-sustaining quality programme’ and it reflects the adaptive notion of the intelligent organization. Pension and other investment companies, still commonly the largest stockholders in public companies, set requirements and reward packages tied to short-term performance. While acknowledging Deming’s belief in the potential damage that a poor appraisal system can cause, this is perhaps more to do with system design than a necessary outcome of performance review.
