Continuous improvement involves the use of problem-solving
techniques as discussed in Chapter 46. There are a number of
analytical techniques also available as described below.
Critical evaluation
Critical evaluation techniques are used to assess the degree to
which a proposal or a concept is appropriate or valid. There are
five steps:
- Analyse and describe requirement.
- Identify alternative approaches to meeting requirement.
- Assess the advantages and disadvantages of each approach.
- Summarize factors influencing choice of approach.
- Define criteria for determining the success of the selected
approach.
Cause and effect diagrams
Cause and effect diagrams are used to clarify the causes of a
problem. They are sometimes called ‘fishbone diagrams (because
of their shape) or ‘Ishikawa diagrams’ (after Kaoru Ishikawa, the
Japanese quality expert who championed their use).
Suppose a customer complains at a restaurant. The fault may
be caused by the raw materials, the cooking, the staff or the facil-
ities. Problems with the raw materials may in turn be caused by
suppliers, storage or costs. A cause-and-effect diagram draws
these relationships as leading to spines like a fish bone as shown
in Figure 6.1.
Pareto charts
Pareto charts are used to focus on key problems. They are based
on Pareto’s Law. Pareto, an Italian economist, observed that 20
per cent of the population owned 80 per cent of the wealth. Dr
Joseph Duran in the 1940s recognized a universal principle
which he called ‘the vital few and trivial many’. This principle –
that 20 per cent of something produces 80 per cent of the results
- became generally known as Pareto’s Law. In his original work,
Juran noted that 20 per cent of the defects caused 80 per cent of
the problems. Many investigations have revealed that this law
36 How to be an Even Better Manager