DEMING,W. EDWARDS QUALITY ANALYSIS, AND TOTAL BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT

During the past 10 years, the inclusion of the word ''quality'' in des criptions of production methods, management approaches, educational sy stems, service system changes, and so forth, has grown exponentially. It appears that no new approach to any problem is likely to be given m uch consideration today without overt acknowledgment that some improve ment in quality must be the outcome. The origins of the importance of quality are primarily rooted in the awakening recognition of the influ ence of W. Edwards Deming in the post-World War II restoration of Japa nese industry. We provide a brief overview of Deming's approach to mod ernizing management methods and discuss recent criticisms from the fie ld of organizational behavior management that his approach lacks empha sis on the role of reinforcement. We offer a different analysis of Dem ing's approach and relate its evolution to the contingencies of reinfo rcement for the behavior of consulting. We also provide an example of problem solving with Deming's approach in a social service setting fam iliar to many behavior analysts.