Seven Management (New) Tools

from the Perspective of Competitive Advantage

by
Edwin B. Dean

Relations Diagram

Affinity Diagram (KJ method)

Systematic Diagram (Tree Diagram)

Matrix Diagram

Matrix Data Analysis

Process Decision Program Chart (PDPC)

Arrow Diagram

They were chosen to meet the following criteria:

• The ability to complete tasks
• The ability to eliminate failure
• The ability to assist in the exchange of information
• The ability to disseminate information to concerned parties
• The ability to use "unfiltered expression"

Nayatani, Eiga, Futami and Miyagawa (1994) note that the "Committee for Developing New QC Tools was dissolved in 1978 and reconstituted as The Seven New QC Tools Research Group for the long-term study of the new tools. ... The First Seven New QC Tools Symposium was held in 1979." Figure 3 on page 5 uses a relations diagram to examine the problem solving process with and without the seven new tools. If you want to understand the power of these tools, you must study it.

A personal observation is that a concept can only be expressed if the language is rich enough to permit the concept to be expressed. A corollary is that many concepts cannot be expressed because the language is not rich enough. I have cried internally every time someone has told me that I must express something I said in layman's terms. They have no concept that certain concepts can not be expressed within that domain of language. The seven new tools compose a rich visual language which allows the user to easily explore and decompose complexity that cannot be dealt with otherwise.

References

• Mizuno, S., ed. (1988). Management for Quality Improvement: The 7 New QC Tools, Productivity Press, Inc., Cambridge MA.
• Nayatani, Y., T. Eiga, R. Futami, and H. Miyagawa (1994). The Seven New QC Tools: Practical Applications for Managers, Quality Resources, White Plains NY.

Bibliographies

Seven Management (New) Tools Bibliography

Table of Contents | Quality Technologies | Use