Deming’s theory of profound knowledge is closely related with the systems theory. Its fundamental principles are based on the assumption that every organization comprises of system of interrelated people and processes acting as system components. The success of the system depends on management’s ability to closely correlate each of these components to achieve optimize performance. Deming believes that the contemporary management style needs to undergo a transformational change, which can be viewed and analyzed from outside.
Deming believed that all managers need to understand the fundamentals of profound knowledge that comprises of following four interrelated concepts (Overbeek, 2009):
1. Appreciation of a system – The first step is involved with understanding the overall process comprising of suppliers of raw material, producers or manufacturers, and end customers who will use finished goods and services.
2. Knowledge of variation – Analyzing the range and cause of variations in quality and the use of statistical sampling in measuring this variability.
3. Theory of knowledge – The third concept helps in explaining the knowledge and limit what can be known.
4. Knowledge of psychology – This helps in explaining the concepts of human behavior.
These four components are mutually dependent on each other and are equally applicable in industries in the field of technology, manufacturing, communication, education, government and likes. For example, understanding of psychology is incomplete without proper knowledge of variations.
The appreciation of a system involves interactions with other system to help the organization to reach a steady state and carry on the path of productive transformation. It is this steady state that determines the output of the system rather than performance of individual parts (Overbeek, 2009).
The knowledge of variations involves the study of...