MS>     Motorola is manufacturing products with very 
 MS> little human input in heavily _automated_ 
 MS> factories.  That is a very different environment 
 MS> from a K-12 public school where little 
 MS> "automation" is even possible, let alone done.
 MS>     The only reason that Motorola's system works for Motorola is that 
 MS> so little is _not_ done automatically by a 
 MS> machine.  Bad or indifferent workers do not make 
 MS> much difference in their final product.  Are you 
 MS> familiar with how a circuit board is now soldered 
 MS> all at once by machine, rather than component-by-
 MS> component by workers?  Motorola plants have little 
 MS> opportunity for error.
Matt, you miss the point, Motorola uses team management for its staff, not 
the machines.  The high quality of the finished part comes from pride in 
work.  These machines are maintained by humans, they are designed by humans, 
they are improved by humans.  The high quality comes from management, not 
machines.  There is great opportunity for error, in fact--machines can 
magnify errors as numerous parts are made at high speed.
 
You have misunderstood Deming's approach which may be my fault, but then his 
books and much information is available at most any library, or through 
inter-library loan.  His books are easy reading, you might find his approach 
to statistics interesting as well as his approach to management.
--- Maximus 2.02
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