Question 2 This question assumes that applying each one of D

Question 2 This question assumes that applying each one of Deming\'s 14 points has a monetary cost and that all of these costs are equal You are the manager of a manufacturing company who focuses heavily on adhering to Deming\'s 14 points. In order to recover from heavy economic losses in 2017, you are forced to suspend adherence to 4 of Deming\'s 14 points during 2018. For the first quarter of 2018 all 4 of these points will be suspended, for the second quarter 3 points will suspended, for the third quarter2 points will be suspended, and for the fourth quarter 1 point will be suspended. Please see the example timeline below. 2017 1st Quarter2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter4th Quarter2019 Point #1 Point #3 Point #8 Point #14 Suspended Suspended Suspended Suspended Please identify the 4 points that you would suspend and how long they would be suspended. Do NOT simply list the 4 points that you feel are the least important. Consider and discuss the short term benefits versus the long term repercussions (and vice versa) of suspending a specific point for a given amount of time.

Solution

The four points which are suspended in the short term are as follows:

The advantage of suspending this point is that cost incurred in the process of educating employees is saved. A long term repercussion is that the long term productivity might be impacted although since this is a temporary measure, there should not be a drastic impact.

By suspending the above point, it would be possible to reintroduce the system of setting targets for the workforce and inspire them to script a turnaround this year and post profit. The long term impact may be a development of confusion in the workforce regarding the approach of the management.

In order to set a definite objective for improvement in the efficiency and set an enhanced target to bring in profitability, the point 3 should be suspended. This is expected to bring more focus on achieving targets and may have long term effect of being too much driven by numbers without caring for the larger strategic imperative.

Since the company is facing tough times, the company should focus on employing trained and skilled employees and restrain from providing training on the job.

The long term impact would be that the resource pool may be constrained and dependency on few trained manpower may increase.