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The purpose of this paper is to compare and discuss the evolution of six important management systems: Japanese Total Quality Control (JTQC), Total Quality Management (TQM), Deming's system of profound knowledge, Business Process Reengineering (BPR), Lean Thinking and Six Sigma. Indeed, the contribution of this paper lies in the concurrent analysis and classification, by the means of a literature review, of the results and critical implementation factors of the six systems. Deming's Plan‐Do‐Check‐Act (PDCA) has been used to classify the findings from the literature review.

The research methodology is based on a literature review. The literature review has been carried out for each single system, trying subsequently to compare and discuss the results.

Inside the six systems, nine common factors have been found and proposed. They are: results and benefits; management style; deployment of the system; employee management, deployment and participation; voice of the customer; tools, techniques and IT; optimisation of the system; day‐by‐day check and control of the results and review of the system.

This paper presents some limits due to the fact that it is based on a literature review. This implies that more research about the findings should be carried out: TQM in Western companies, Six Sigma that could have substituted TQM, Six Sigma and TQM in Japan, Deming's system developments and the influence of the Japanese style on Lean Six Sigma.

For the first time a paper tries to compare and discuss the six most important systems dedicated to quality and operations improvement.

This article discusses the total quality management (TQM) movement and then elaborates about W. Edwards Deming’s experiences and views. Finally, there is a comparison of total quality management and the Deming approach to quality management. The TQM movement was attractive to many organizations during the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s. To succeed, total quality management had many long‐term require‐ments. One of these was that top management must have a passion for the subject. Without this sustained passion top management’s attention and energy towards TQM would be diverted to other pressing needs. While Deming insisted that there was no “instant pudding”, many consultants in establishing themselves with a client suggested short‐term gains. Because of this search for short‐term gains, process improvement and reductions in cycle time became very popular and in some cases a final objective. Unfortunately, after they ran their short‐term course, many efforts collapsed and TQM was often declared a failure.

The purpose of this paper is to explore possible connections between brain functioning and quality management.

Five central principles regarding brain functioning according to neuroscience are conceptually described and related to principles and major concepts in quality management with a special emphasis on Deming’s system of profound knowledge.

The principles are shown to be related in a profound way. The first principle of coherence is closely related to appreciation for a system. The principle of homeostatic feedback loops concerns events that disturb the equilibrium of a system and is related to knowledge about variation. Neural plasticity is related to a theory of knowledge. The last two principles involve emotional and cognitive contributions to decision-making. They are closely related to the element psychology and one of them could lead to a further development of Deming’s system of profound knowledge.

The paper adds to the understanding of the role brain integration has for success in quality management efforts. A limitation is that it is difficult to localise higher-order thinking in brain function. Nonetheless, the research is indicative and provocative as a window to stimulate research into the fundamental basis of quality management success.

The findings provide a deeper understanding of profound knowledge in quality management through relating it to how the brain is functioning, which is of value for quality managers and leaders striving for excellence for their organisations.

The connection of brain principles with Deming’s profound knowledge has not been elaborated in the literature before.

This paper aims to present a quality and business improvement framework based on Six Sigma/design, measure, analyze, improve, and control (DMAIC); design for Six Sigma (DFSS); and Lean principles. An historical perspective on these methods is also provided.

Through a discussion of the fundamental components of Six Sigma, DFSS and Lean a deployment strategy is developed. This approach is consistent with Deming's philosophy of quality improvement and is based on his system of profound knowledge.

A quality/process improvement effort that utilizes Six Sigma and DMAIC, DFSS, and Lean can form two of the three basic building blocks of a company‐wide quality management system.

Some implications for education of future business leaders in a variety of disciplines including engineering, statistics and business administration are discussed. More widespread education about DMAIC and the associated problem‐solving tools is needed.

This paper provides practical guidance for implementing quality and productivity improvement across a wide range of industrial and business endeavors.

The purpose of this paper is to encourage the use of ongoing process-based measurement methods, specifically, control charts, as a process measurement tool to guide leadership improvement efforts. The work of Deming will be highlighted while providing a review of measurement methods.

Organizational leadership requires inspiring people and creating an environment so everyone can contribute toward the success of the organization. To accomplish this, a leader needs appropriate, real-time information about how to adjust the current situation. Rather than waiting for something to go wrong and then attempting to fix the situation or tamper with the process, management should use process measures to guide improvement efforts.

Real-time process measures guide improvement efforts by the workers and management because it enables them to pay attention to the process while simultaneously performing it. Traditional improvement methods often lead to worse results because they use retrospective data that encourages process manipulation.

Process measures enable the workers and management to better understand the process, its capacity, and how the process can be improved.

The evolution of management underlines the importance of the human, systemic, technological and contingency element and their interaction along with an amplified awareness of organizations for achieving excellence. This paper aims to discuss whether the fusion of digital, biological and physical world leads to a new excellence perspective and to investigate the potential value of informative neuroscientific findings for setting the foundations for smart services.

This study is based on a literature review regarding the advances of neurosciences and its implications for business. Their usefulness and potential contribution for the provision of smart services are investigated.

The fusion of technological evolution and biological sciences may potentially give birth to a new excellence conceptualization complemented by genetic data whose consequences are hard to predict. Neurosciences offer insights for various human behavior areas that can be used by business practitioners, to refine their thinking and management style and build brain-friendly organizational contexts. The combination of using neuroscientific evidence and technology in service systems sets the foundations for an “intelligent” provision of services in a quality context.

The paper investigates the conceptual development of excellence within the receding context of the “smart era” and the potential contribution of neurosciences for the provision of smart services with reference to quality pioneers’ theories and ideas.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which TQM has influenced the legal system in Australia, an area seldom investigated in the quality or legal literature.

Documentary and policy analysis of legislation, rules and rulemaking documentation based on a partial application of historical-policy analysis (HPA). Textual analysis was based on Dean and Bowen's (1994) definition of TQM and Vinni's (2007) review of new public management and Swiss (1992) “reformed TQM” concepts.

Australia's Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act of 2011 and supporting legal documents such as Guidance Notes include language reflective of TQM principles, providing evidence that present-day administrative law schemes include TQM practices and tools to undergird procedures of regulatory expectations (sometimes in the form of standards), monitoring and general operations. Oftentimes, it is the supporting legal documentation where TQM practices are found and operationalized.

This is a proof-of-concept research study to determine the feasibility to identify TQM concepts within the existing language of legal statutes and supporting regulatory documentation. As such this study worked out the preliminary research challenges in performing this type of analysis.

Understanding TQM's impact on legal systems expands the system's perspective of organizations that do not always factor in the influence government policy has on organizational behaviours and outlooks. More specifically, understanding TQM's influence sheds insight on regulatory requirements imposed on a sector and the normative aspects of regulatory compliance that impact the operations and strategic planning of organizations.

The article provides an example of how legal administrative rulemaking influences organizational operational and strategic activities to remain viable in the organization's business or industrial sector.

There are few research papers or literature reviews pertaining to the subject of TQM concepts embedded in laws and regulations, most of which date from the 1980s through early 2000s.

Compares the traditional performance appraisal systems with Deming′s philosophy of operating a production system focused on quality for the consumer. W. Edwards Deming has long challenged the effectiveness of traditional performance appraisal systems used by American managers. He criticizes the traditional performance appraisal system of rewarding “win‐lose” results rather than supporting “win‐win” aims, thereby placing so much emphasis on judging and ranking people and using extrinsic motivational means. He recommends replacing the traditional performance systems that encourage win‐lose behaviour with systems that promote co‐operative and supportive behaviour. The Deming approach to performance appraisal involves a complete change of the traditional system to one that concentrates on managers being highly focused on quality and long‐term improvement. The successful implementations of Deming′s management approach in several American organizations were examined as available means of integrating performance appraisals into their quality system. The more successful companies have found remarkable improvement in consumer recognition, sales, market share, operating costs, customer satisfaction, employee morale, and of course quality. Such actions will not only help to strengthen these companies′ market position, but will help to improve the overall global competitiveness of American industry.

In Deming’s system of profound knowledge, he found out that a problem is largely the result of “common causes” (at around 94 per cent) rather than “special causes”. Analysis of the potential causes and identification of the single one that ultimately relates to the problem is the crux of problem solving. Applies Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge to demonstrate how we can learn to solve problems. In the semi‐final of the soccer World Cup Finals 1990, England lost to West Germany in the penalty shoot‐out. The Italian team had the similar experience when they lost to Brazil in the World Cup final 1994. In an attempt to find the possible causes of defeats, identifies the common cause (due to the training system) for the outcome. These two examples illustrate the effectiveness of the problem‐solving method developed from Deming’s idea in identifying the common cause of a problem.

Contends that Deming’s philosophy for management is imperfectly understood. Unlike just a few years ago, very many people have now heard of W. Edwards Deming, and know something of his philosophy for management. But “something” is, in most cases, far too little. His work is sometimes dismissed as “just statistics” or even as no more than statistical process control. Another common false impression is that his philosophy is “summarized by the 14 Points”. And one of the few things to continue to irritate him until his death in December 1993 was any attempt to connect him with “TQM”! Agrees that all such diminutions trivialize his legacy to us. His work was not only much larger than any of these imply: it was genuinely of a higher dimension. He said of the two books by his great mentor, Walter Shewhart, that a “century will pass before people in industry and in science begin to appreciate the contents of these great works”. The ominous truth is that the same could well be true of Deming’s own two great books on management. Fears that we cannot afford to wait that long.