Article 104942 of alt.peeves:
Path: matra.meer.net!tera.mcom.com!news.Stanford.EDU!agate!ames!enews.sgi.com!decwrl!brighton.openmarket.com!wizard.pn.com!news.xensei.com!!jennyg
From: jennyg@ (Jenny Gutbezahl)
Newsgroups: alt.peeves
Subject: Re: Corporate taxonomy
Date: 4 Aug 1996 19:56:16 GMT
Organization: I need to put my ORGANIZATION here.
Lines: 65
Message-ID: <4u2v90$2k9@xensei3.xensei.com>
References: <4ttl94$era@news2.aero.org>
NNTP-Posting-Host: rehmi.xensei.com

In article <4ttl94$era@news2.aero.org>, bobbyu <bobbyu@mustang.aero.org> wrote:

>Oh, we're WAY beyond TQM now.  You have High Performance Work Teams
>to look forward to.

!Peeve:  Deming's red bead experiment. This is a laboratory simulation
of  TQM.  

The concept is simple: There is a bead factory that's been having
trouble with Quality Control, particiularly on the white bead line.
No matter how hard management tries, the workers on this line have
insisted on making nonconforming beads (red ones).  The line has been
down for repairs for several months while management has taken time to
consider what might be done to get the workers to make mostly red
beads.  The supervisor has the task of making sure that the workers
produce no more than 3 non-conforming beads per 50 per day, per
worker.  The supervisor can use peptalks, rewards, extensive training
or threat of firing to decrease the number of nonconforming beads.

Now since this all takes place in a laboratory, there isn't a full
construction line.  There is a however a standard operating procedure
for making white beads:

1)  Pour materials from a large vessel (a clear plastic box containing
beads) ever so carefully into a smaller vessel.  The workers are
instructed how to do this difficult task.  The contents most be poured
at precisely 15^{o} from large to small vessle.  If spillage occurs
the worker is chastised - too many spills may result in dismissal.

2)  Return the material from the small vessel to the large vessel in
the same manner.  This insures that the material is properly mixed.

3)  Carefully dip the bead maker (a paddle with 5 columns & 10 rows of
holes) into the large vessel, all the way to the bottom.

4)  Gently shake the bead maker in order to removed excess material as
you remove it from the large vessel.

5)   The material will stabilize the the time you walk over to
Inspector #1.  Inspectors are carefully trained to distinguish between
conforming & non-conforming beads.

6)  Present work to Inspector #1.  Then to Inspector #2.  Finally
receive feedback from the Chief Inspector.  Using a minimum of three
inspectors per batch insure adequate quality control.

7)  Return to queue as another worker completes the task.  The Chief
Inspector provides continuous feedback throughout the work shift.

The supervisor can use such gimmicks as having the workers chant "The
Goal is 3!  The Goal is 3!" to help bind the workers as a team & keep
them focused on the goal.  Or having the workers sign a quality
pledge.  Or rewarding the best worker a pin that says "Highest Quality
Worker".  

Of course none of theese will really affect the distribution of the
beads.  And since the large box contains 1600 white beads and 400 red
beads, the goal of 3 nonconforming beads per 50 is never met.

However, a large number of workers get replaced.  And isn't that what
TQM is really all about?

Jenny