The Deming management theory: A managerial leadership profile for the new economic age

A recent feature of organizational America which appears to be acquiring permanency is the concept of Quality Management, now considered the third stage of the Industrial Revolution. Although this concept was introduced by an American, Dr. W. Edwards Deming, over five decades ago, the Japanese became the forerunners in the global Quality Movement while American businesses remained complacent on the issue. Yet, in the last two decades, organizational America has experienced serious economic decline due to the diligent quality efforts of the Japanese, and American businesses have only recently entered the Quality Management arena, prompted primarily by the necessity to fight for their economic survival.;A necessary element for success of the Quality Movement is management leadership in organizational America. Dr. Deming (1990b, 1993) has articulated a holistic theory of management called the "System of Profound Knowledge" which provides insight into the profile of a manager in the new economic age and its shaping of American society. Through a quantitative methodology, this study investigated the underlying principles of the "System of Profound Knowledge," to determine whether the managerial leadership properties of this theory represent a paradigm shift in current management leadership theory.;The characteristics of a managerial leader which form the foundation of Dr. Deming's (1990b, 1993) "System of Profound Knowledge" were identified. From these characteristics, a profile inventory was developed, complete with a modified semantic differential interval rating scale which ranged from "0" to "10" with "10" representing the ideal from the "System of Profound Knowledge".;Individuals selected for this study were a random sample of 255 managers taken from the mailing lists of the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC) and the Academy of Management (AOM). A hierarchical cluster analysis using the squared Euclidean distance method was completed in order to determine if distinct groups existed. The data clustered into three groups, revealing distinct profile patterns for the three groups which were characterized as Deming managers, traditional (i.e., non-Deming) managers, and "not sure" managers. The inventory can be used as a management hiring or management development tool with further validation.