Title: Deming's chain reaction revisited

Authors: Andrés Carrión-Garcia; Angela M. Grisales; Ljubisa Papic

Addresses: Centre for Quality and Change Management, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Edif. 7 A, 46022, Valencia, Spain ' Centre for Quality and Change Management, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Edif. 7 A, 46022, Valencia, Spain ' Faculty of Technical Sciences of Cacak, University of Kragujevac, Cacak, Serbia; Dependability and Quality Management Research Centre, Prijevor, Serbia

Abstract: Deming's chain reaction is a well-known proposal from Dr. W.E. Deming, in which he explains the positive effect of improving quality in different aspects of an organisation's activities and performance. Recognising and enhancing the value of Deming ideas, in this paper chain reaction is reevaluated and adapted to environments different to those considered by Deming, specifically to those where competition is not the motto for quality improvement. Three economic situations are considered: open competitive markets (as Deming considered); markets with no or very limited competition; and public services or organisations not oriented to profits but to cover social demands. Two additional versions of the chain reaction are proposed based in Deming's original, and finally a comprehensive chain reaction is presented, adequate to any type of economic environment. The paper enhances the strength and power of Deming's ideas, showing its ability to adapt to scenarios different to those originally considered.

Keywords: quality management; Deming's chain reaction; non-competitive environment; quality in non-profit organisations.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPQM.2017.083777

International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 2017 Vol.21 No.2, pp.264 - 271

Received: 14 Dec 2015
Accepted: 27 Feb 2016
Published online: 22 Apr 2017 *

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