Z Reminds me of Theory Z

This is the last post of A to Z April Blogging Challenge. This year I blogged on management subject on all the 26 days. It helped me to revise management theory. I intend to do it next years also, may be with industrial engineering as the subject of focus.

To begin writing this post I first studied my earliest post on the topic: Theory Z - Type Z Organizations and made some changes to it. I also plan to add more content in the coming days.


William Ouchi proposed the concept of theory Z organizations. The concept was developed in his efforts to understand the best practices of Japanese management which can be used in companies of USA. He identified the differences between American and Japanese organizations in some aspects.

American Organizations                      Japanese Organizations
Short-term employment                      Lifetime employment
Individual decision making             Collective decision making
Individual responsibility                     Collective responsibility
Rapid evaluation & promotion     Slow evaluation & promotion
Explicit control mechanisms             Implicit control mechanisms
Specialized career paths                     Nonspecialized career paths
Segmented concern for employee as an employee   Holistic concern for employee as a person


Practice of Theory Z in American Companies

Then he went around interviewing managers of various companies asking them to identify American Companies which are practicing the characteristics identified by Ouchi as Japanese organization practices. But Ouchi had not told the managers that they were Japanese practices. Many managers identified some American companies as following those practices. The companies identified were IBM, Procter and Gamble, Hewlett Packard, Eastman Kodak, and the US Military. These companies are named Theory Z companies by Ouchi. They are companies in USA but follow practices similar to Japanese companies.

Like Japanese companies, type Z companies tend to encourage long-term employment. They rotate employees around functions. Even though they have modern information and accounting systems, they do not dominate decision making. Explicit and implicit information and issues seem to exist in a state of equilibrium. There is a central set of objectives to which all employees have agreed. The corporation’s philosophy or central set of values preserves the freedom of employees to pursue projects they felt would be fruitful. Organizational life is treated as a life of interdependence. It is team work and individual performance measure in a period has some ambiguity.

The decision making is collective but the responsibility for decision still resides in the individual. In type Z companies, superiors show broad concern for the welfare of subordinates. At peer level also, there is concern for co-workers. Egalitarianism is a central feature of type Z organizations. In egalitarianism in organizational contexts means that it is believed that each person can apply discretion and can work autonomously without close supervision. The belief is that every person can be trusted.

Ouchi proposes that American companies adopt type Z company practices. In stead of trying to imitate Japanese companies which are very far in a different culture, American companies can learn from some other American companies only, to follow some of the Japanese best practices.
 Strategies to Transform the Organization

Ouchi proposed 12 strategies or steps to transform a typical American company, named as type A company to type Z company.




Theory Z of Maslow

Maslow is a well known psychologist. He is known for his hierarchy of needs model.
Maslow's Theory Z , presented in Maslow on Management, presupposes that people, once having reached a level of economic security, strive for a life steeped in values, a work life where the person would be able to create and produce. Maslow's Theory Z and Ouchi's Theory Z are different.

Y Reminds me of Theory Y

Some managers make the Theory Y assumptions about their subordinates.

Theory Y Assumptions

Average person has intrinsic interest in his work

He has desire for self-directing and he seeks responsibility, and he has  capacity to be creative in solving business problems.


Douglas McGregor concludes after providing description of Theory X and Theory Y, that the latter approach is the more desirable one for managers to follow.


Beyond Theory Y
John J. Morse and Jay W. Lorsch
FROM THE MAY 1970 ISSUE of Harvard Business Review
https://hbr.org/1970/05/beyond-theory-y

The authors, Morse and Lorsch proposed contingency theory in the above article. With some people, theory X based management will work and with some people theory Y based management will work. Managers have to find which works with whom and accordingly use the supervision method.

X Reminds me of Theory X

Some managers follow Theory X in managing people.

Theory X assumes that people dislike work and must be coerced, controlled, and directed toward organizational goals. Furthermore, most people prefer to be treated this way, so they can avoid responsibility.
Douglas McGregor pointed out the Theory X and proposed that managers must use Theory Y to get better results.

Work-Methods Science

Ergonomics - Science Related to the Effect of  Work Posture, Body Movements and Brain Use on Human Body, Brain and Mind.

Manual packaging, storage and retrieval operations frequently involve the task characteristics that have been associated with the development of disorders of the upper extremities and lower back. When risk factors that cause these disorders are recognized, they can often be reduced or even
eliminated with very little effort and no capital expense. In the original process design and installation itself these risk factor can be eliminated provide science of the disorders that are developed due working methods is developed.  There are some methods, which  operational plant personnel, who have had little or no training in ergonomics, with an analysis tool to both evaluate and improve current workstations and work  methods, as well as to avoid the hazards of poorly designed tools and equipment, prior to their purchase and installation.

The costs that are most generally addressed related to musculo-sceletal disorders are the direct expense of high worker's compensation insurance and the potential for OSHA fines. These costs, although high, are not the only costs associated with the muscular skeletal disorders. Absenteeism and turn-over rates, as well as reductions in product quality and productivity, can also be important consequences that can have indirect costs that are much higher than the direct financial costs.

Some of the disorders are explained below.


1 Tendinitis and Tenosynovitis: A tendon is made of tough, fibrous connective tissue in which muscle fibers end and muscles are attached to bones. A tendon may or may not be surrounded by a sheath. A sheath protects and lubricates tendons. Tendons of the wrist, shoulder, and hand are surrounded by tendon sheaths; however, tendons of the elbow and forearm are not. Tenosynovitis can occur when a tendon that is surrounded by a sheath becomes inflamed because of excessive or insufficient amounts of synovial fluid in the sheath. Stenosing tenosynovitis is caused by the narrowing of the tendon sheath and triggering movements of the digits which is known as trigger finger. Tendinitis occurs when a tendon becomes inflamed because the tendon has been stretched beyond its strength or when the tendon is stretched across the bone when the wrist is deviated.

2 Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
 Thoracic Outlet Syndrome is a neurovascular condition which occurs when there is
compression of the neurovascular components (nerves of the brachial plexus and the brachial artery
and its branches) or compression between the muscles of the neck and shoulder. The result is
numbness and pain in the distal upper extremity. Most of the cases are attributed to poor muscle
condition. The syndrome is a result of reaching above shoulder level or carrying heavy loads at the
side of the body. Overhead work causes the muscles of the shoulder region to become tight or
compressed

3 Rotator Cuff Tendinitis
 The rotator cuff consists of four tendons that fuse over the joint in the shoulder. The rotator
tendons rotate the arm inward and outward, as well as move the arm away from the side of the body.
 Rotator cuff tendinitis is a common shoulder tendon disorder which occurs when the arm tendons
push against the bony structure in the shoulder, the acromion. Pain occurs when the tendon becomes
inflamed. The condition occurs in tasks that require the shoulder to be abducted (arm is away from
the center of the body) and the elbow is extended.

4 Epicondylitis
Epicondylitis is a form of tendinitis that occurs when the tendons from the elbow tear or
degenerate. These tears are a result of repeated mechanical overload. There are two forms of
epicondylitis: “tennis elbow” (medial) and “golfer’s elbow” (lateral). Both result from forceful
forearm rotation with a bent wrist  or repeated gripping, twisting, and wrist
extension or flexion against resistance  According to Sinclair's [1965] study  almost 50% of the subjects that had tennis elbow symptoms worked on jobs involving gripping tools with contractions of the extensor muscles or forearm rotation.

2.5 De Quervain’s Disease
This disorder is a form of tenosynovitis which occurs when the extensor tendons of the
thumb become inflamed due to thumb movement to the extreme of its range of motion.. According
to Guidotti (1992) this disorder tends to occur in occupations which use hand tools that require
deviation of the wrist either toward the thumb (radial deviation) or toward the little finger (ulnar
devaition).

2.6 Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common nerve entrapment disorder which occurs
when the median nerve is compressed between the carpal ligament and structures in the narrow
carpal canal. Within this area are the median nerve and the
flexor tendons that connect the fingers with the muscles that provide grip strength. Compression of
the median nerve causes tingling, pain and numbness to the hands and fingers, and can cause loss of
feeling and loss of grip. CTS is usually a result of forceful hand movements  or
repeated grasping, pinching and gripping.

2.7 Raynaud’s Syndrome
This disorder is associated with occupational tasks which require the handling of vibration
tools and working in cold temperatures (Lahey, 1984). Vibration delivered to the hand and arm by
pneumatic tools causes injury to the small blood vessels in the hand resulting in a lack of circulation.
 This lack of circulation results in whiteness of the fingers.

Several occupations subject operators to biomechanical stress and operators in them  have been found to be suffering from these disorders. The biomechanical stressors are referred to as occupational risk factors that cause musculo-sceletal disorders. A risk factor is defined as any attribute, experience or
exposure that increases the probability of a disorder.

Research studies have found that the following risk factors can contribute to musculoskeletal disorders:
1) awkward postures, 2) wrist deviations, 3) forceful exertions, 4) pinch grips, 5) cold, 6) vibration, 7) high grip forces, 8) direct mechanical impact, 9) wrist accelerations, and 10) repetitive motions.


1 Awkward Posture


Shoulder Abduction. The side-ways movement of the upper arm away from
the center of the body.
Shoulder Adduction. The movement of the upper arm toward or across the
center of the body.
Shoulder Flexion. The forward movement of the upper arm away from the
center of the body.
Shoulder Extension. The backward movement of the upper arm (reaching
behind the back).

Forearm Pronation. Rotating the forearm so that the palm is down.
Forearm Supination. Rotating the forearm so that the palm is up.

Radial Wrist Deviation. Bending the hand at the wrist in the direction of the
 thumb.
Ulnar Wrist Deviation. Bending the hand at the wrist in the direction of the
 little finger.
Wrist Flexion. Bending the hand toward the palm at the wrist.
Wrist Extension. Bending the hand backward at the wrist (dorisflexion).

Awkward postures that result in fatigue and discomfort are usually a result of poor work
station design, layout, or poor work methods that require excessive horizontal or vertical reach
distances. Examples of awkward postures include shoulder elevation, awkward elbow postures
(elbow above mid-torso), deviated wrist postures (flexion, extension with force, radial deviation and
ulnar deviation), and pinch grips.

Research Studies

According to Tichauer [1966], tasks, such as tightening screws, are particularly harmful because the
forearm is extended and turned through supination (palms-up) at the same time. In a study of 154
workers, the number of complaints of pain in the extensors of the forearm increased as the included
angle between the forearm and upper arm increased. The most comfortable posture is when the arm
is flexed so that the included angle between the forearm and the upper arm is 90 degrees.

In a study of 1979 of two matched female populations, one group having problem of carpel tunnel syndrome and the other not having the problem. The work methods of both groups were analyzed with respect to hand and wrist positions and hand force. It was found that the diseased group tended to use a wrist position deviated from neutral more frequently than the non-diseased group. Furthermore, the diseased group exerted more force than the non-diseased group.


Fernandez, Dahalan, and Halpern [1991] performed a study to determine the effect of wrist posture (neutral, 1/2 of maximum extension, 1/2 of maximum flexion, maximum extension, and maximum flexion) on seven pinch grip styles (five pulp pinches, a lateral and a chuck pinch). The pulp pinches were defined by the finger that was used with the thumb to pinch. They found that as the wrist deviated from the neutral position, the pinch strength decreased by up to 34 percent for the maximum flexion using the ring finger and thumb.

DeCaro, Feuerstein, and Hurwitz [1992] found that the more the hand and wrist deviated from the neutral position, the more the subjects experienced pain and
fatigue.

Harber, Bloswick, Beck, Pena, Baker, and Lee [1993] compared 50 supermarket checkers’ motions and symptoms from questionnaires. They found relationships between wrist flexion and extension and carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. They also found that forearm pronation showed a
relationship with hand,wrist, and lower arm symptoms.

Loslever and Ranaivosoa [1993] investigated both biomechanical and epidemiological data on seventeen high risk jobs. They found the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome highly correlated with the frequency of flexion and the use of high forces. They also found that high or low flexions were a greater risk than high or low extensions.

The studies indicate that having the wrist in an awkward posture is definitely a contributing factor to the incidence of CTDs.

2.  Forceful Exertions
Forceful exertions such as using knives and other tools  can cause inflammation of joints, muscles, and tendons. Poorly balanced tools and poorly maintained tools (e.g., dull knives or scissors) can increase the force required by an operator. Gloves can also increase the muscular effort required to perform a gripping task because they can reduce tactile feedback, as well as reduce the friction between the hand and the object being grasped.

According to Welch [1972], the use of excessive force was the cause of tenosynovitis in 30% of 500 cases studied.

Kim and Fernandez [1993] conducted a study for a simulated drilling task at different
applied forces and angles of wrist flexion. They found that the maximum acceptable frequency for
gripping was significantly reduced as the required drilling force and the angle of wrist flexion
increased. Therefore, they concluded that the task frequency for a drilling task should be lowered as
force and wrist flexion angle increase.

Vanderpool, Friis, Smith, and Harris [1993] performed a study with cardiac sonographers. Based on a questionnaire to identify the possible causes of musculoskeletal disorders (the response rate was low)  they found that high-pressure hand grip correlated significantly with carpal tunnel syndrome symptom.

3. Cold Temperatures

Working in cold temperatures and handling cold parts can reduce manual dexterity and tactile sensitivity and this demands use of increased force to do the job. This creates the potential for muscle strains and sprains. Gloves  when used to avoid the cold temperature, also increase the force required to perform a task.

Schiefer, Kok, Lewis, and Meese [1984] studied the relationship between finger skin temperature
and performance with four manual dexterity tasks. They found that cooling the finger skin temperature to 0-20 degrees Celsius affected strength and dexterity and therefore performance. Hence a person operates at a higher proportion of his maximum strength in cold temperature.


Reference
A COMPUTER-BASED JOB ANALYSIS SYSTEM TO REDUCE
CUMULATIVE TRAUMA DISORDERS
Steven L. Johnson
M. Michelle Dime
Sherry A. Brown
Jeffrey B. Hardcastle
Department of Industrial Engineering
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701
January, 1996

http://comp.uark.edu/~sjohnson/EJA-Users-Manual.pdf

Industrial Engineering Knowledge Revision Plan - One Year Plan

January - February - March - April - May - June

July - August - September - October - November - December

Understanding Marketing Productivity

I proposed a framework for application of industrial engineering: technical processes, business processes and management processes.

The first and major focus of industrial engineering is engineering activity. It is only after their success in improving productivity of engineering activities and processes that industrial engineers develop the basic understanding to study and improve business processes and management processes.

Marketing is a business process in contrast to production or operations process and there is management activity related to it which called marketing management.

Management is processes consisting of functions planning, organizing, staffing (resourcing), directing (executing) and control.

Marketing has activities like market research, marketing communications, sales and customer service.

Every activity in organizations has to be productive. Productive means it has to be effective and efficient. It has to deliver what it was supposed to deliver. It has to use as less resources as possible. Marketing activity also has to be productive.

Kotler emphasized marketing productivity right from the first edition of his text book. The emphasis gets more prominence in the recent editions (14th edition)


Some of the aspects of marketing productivity covered by Kotler.


Efficiency Control

The company has to examine the question.
Are there more efficient ways to manage the sales force, advertising, sales promotion, and distribution?

Some companies have established marketeting efficiency officers in controller's department.

The Role of Theory in Practice of Engineering and Management

Theory provides the relationship between input variable and output variable. Normally the interest is in output variable to start with. We want the output variable or do not want it. If we know the input variable which is going to cause the output variable, we may be able to increase the input variable and thus get the desired output variable. But how do we know which is the input variable. Theory development which is called research observes the phenomena of interest and identifies the input and output variables. The input variables can be more than one. After a theory brings out the input variables and output variables, the job of engineering to create a convenient way of creating input variables and also create convenient way of generating output. Engineering depends on scientific theory, but is an independent exercise of creativity and judgment to invent devices like air conditioners which are today available in various sizes and can be mounted on wall, ceilings etc.

Six Sigma - Zero Defect Movement Systematized

Six sigma method is engineering solution to zero defect movement started by Phil Crosby.



Zero Defects is the approach to quality that was developed and promoted by the guru Philip B. Crosby in his book ‘Quality Is Free’.

It’s a way of thinking about quality that doesn’t tolerate errors or defects and continually strives to improve processes and prevent errors so that work is always done correctly without needing repetition or rework or generating waste;

The accepted theory was that a certain level of defects is seen as normal or acceptable, as implied by the Acceptable Quality Limit approach; Crosby took a strong line against AQLs for precisely that reason, he saw them as a “commitment, before we start the job, that we will produce imperfect material”.

Zero Defects is based on four key principles:

Quality is simply conformance to requirements.
It is always cheaper to do the job right the first time than to correct problems later
Quality is measured in monetary terms (the price of non-conformance)
The performance standard for a process must be Zero Defects.


The key word for achieving Zero Defects is Zero defects production. Not reworking to correct errors of deviations.

The case for Zero Defects

Crosby explains that defects result in costs which can be measured - inspection, waste/scrap, rework, lost customers, etc. By eliminating defects these costs are sufficiently reduced that the savings more than pay for the quality improvement programme; hence his assertion that ‘Quality is Free’ and his advocacy of the quality management movement.

As with many areas of quality management it’s about the philosophy and the journey you take from where you are now to being a better business, it is the “attitude of defect prevention”.

When your goal is zero defects it sets a standard against which all your processes can be assessed. It’s about continually striving to work better and not being satisfied with the status quo.

Crosby gave a 14 step quality improvement programme.
http://www.qualityandproducts.com/2009/12/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-%E2%80%98zero-defects%E2%80%99/


Lockheed Martin - Proud of Phil Crosby and Zero Defect Program

It was at the Martin Company’s Orlando plant that a far-reaching and influential program was born: Zero Defects, the granddaddy of nearly every quality control program in the world.
One of the plant’s first jobs was the production of the first Pershing missile for the United States Army. Philip Crosby was the quality control manager on the Pershing missile program, and he established the four principles of Zero Defects:


1) Quality is conformance to requirements,
2) Defect prevention is preferable to quality inspection and correction,
3) Zero Defects is the quality standard, and
4) Quality is measured in monetary terms—the Price of Nonconformance.


Put simply, it’s better to do it right the first time than to have to correct mistakes later. Crosby’s standards were credited with a 25 percent reduction in the Pershing missile program’s overall rejection rate, and a 30 percent reduction in scrap costs. Zero Defects meant a better product, produced more economically.

The Martin Company offered Zero Defects freely to all other aerospace companies and, years later, it was adopted by automobile manufacturers around the world.

Zero Defects was the guiding principle behind Martin Marietta’s work on the Titan rocket series, which propelled NASA’s Gemini astronauts into orbit over ten months in 1965 and 1966. The end result was a program that launched ten manned missions and had a 100 percent success rate—a feat unmatched in space travel before.
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/100years/stories/zero-defects.html


More articles by me on Six Sigma

The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt - Donald Benbow and T.M. Kubiak - Book Information

Six Sigma - Introduction

Total Quality Management: Focus on Six Sigma - Review Notes

Control of Variation in Inputs and Outputs - Management Insights from Statistics