I think there is no single idea in the work of Dr. W. E. Deming’s more important than his assertion: “A SYSTEM has an AIM”. This is the crux of the “Understanding of a System” component of his System of Profound Knowledge (SoPK). The aim of a system is not in the system itself but in the minds of the people who define and construct systems.
People often misunderstand this. Deming really does mean that ALL systems have an aim. The aim of a system called a “car” is to move people from point A to B in fast, comfortable, safe and sexy manner. The aim of a system of enterprise is to transform a set of inputs into more highly ordered outputs regarded as valuable by customer audiences. The aim of our Solar System is to specify the place and describe a relation that locates ourselves in the vastness of the universe–to anchor us in time and place in a reasonable, predictable and meaningful manner.
Deming’s idea about AIMS can be difficult to grasp. It represents a fundamental departure from the traditional Western idea of science in which a system is thought of as existing outside the minds of people, as an external fact to be discovered. But the aim of any system cannot be found in the world at large. Our Solar System does not aim to make itself reasonable for us. System aims can only be found in the minds of humans who address the world in purpose, and those purposes–our aims—are always values based. Aims reflect the values and moral foundations of human conduct. Our values and morality are rooted in what we chose to believe about what is right and good or wrong and bad.
This is very tricky stuff for people who have been tutored in the very intuitive idea that we impose our values on a world filled with facts. In Deming’s view and the view of the Pragmatists who informed his view, we actually create the facts of the world that we come to know based on our values. In Deming’s SoPK he refers to this as a “Theory of Knowledge”.
The very important difference is that rather than the facts of the world being the subject of our valuations, our values and our moral stance in the world determines the facts that are available to us . When you get into this stuff it really is mind-blowing. Deming was mind blowing!
Deming’s idea is actually well supported by discoveries at the leading edge of modern science. Investigators in all scientific disciplines are finding that the knowledge products of their best efforts only hold true when viewed in terms of the values that guide their investigations. Science does not reveal the truth, it reveals the truth as it pertains to our aims. Stephan Hawking, in his book The Grand Design says that our experience of reality is “model dependent”, our models being our systems for turning the world to our values-based purposes.
This is why the first of Deming’s 14-Points for business management, reads…
“1. Create constancy of PURPOSE toward improvement of product and service, with the AIM to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs.”
Right out of the starting gate Dr. Deming states what he believes to be good and useful aims for business. (Note the absence of profit).
So SoPK tells us that in order to understand any system we must understand the aims of the humans who define and construct that system BUT in the age of reason that imagines systems existing independent of our aims we encounter a problem with Deming’s axiom, “A system has an aim. ” Our values-based aims are hidden in plain sight.
This slight of hand that hides our aims has very practical consequences and no more so than when we look at our economic system defined in terms of free-market theory. The aim of the system defined as free market theory is said to be profit. The system aim to profit is defined as a natural law that exists as a system outside the minds of humans. The omission of human values-based purposes serves free market true believers well because the moral consequences of their actions can be set aside. The human behavior–to seek profit–is determined not by our choice of a moral stance, it is determined by an amoral external law of nature. It goes like this:
The free-market true believer says that the system of markets, driven on the basis of man’s true nature, obeys no man made moral standard. They say that the greatest GOOD will be realized by following the objective and true system precept of man’s profit-seeking nature. Now here’s where the old switcheroo happens. They say anything that interferes with the pursuit of profit wrongly perturbs the natural system resulting in more BADNESS and that which unfetters this natural law creates more GOODNESS. This supposedly amoral precept is the HIDDEN MORALITY of free market theory.
Again: The greatest GOOD will come from seeking to maximize profits irrespective of any moral judgement and anything that interferes with the natural pursuit of profits is BAD.
Deming saw through the fallacy of free-market theory. He understood that humans are inherently moral beings, driven in all their enterprises by their shared understanding of their values-based purposes—their aims. To claim otherwise is either a delusion or a con game. To say that the “system” of natural law in the world made me do it, and that this is on the whole, the essence of goodness, is itself a moral claim! The hidden values and moral stance of free-market theory is that irrespective of the harm done to others, the pusuit of profit will always produce the greatest good.
Now think on this for a bit if you will because it is a very clever turnabout. That which harms others is good! This is the moral stance of free-market theory.
Deming’s idea about the role of aims was not a moral stance in itself. It was a theory of knowledge that asserts that all that we CAN KNOW is based in our values-based purposes. The moral implications of his theory—his explanatory system—are that we must take responsibility for our aims. We must chose what they will be. Free-market theory sees goodness in harming others just as countless despots throughout history have regarded their harming of others as a moral calling.
Dr. Deming rejected the idea that harming others is a good and useful aim. He said that we will do better if we chose to design our systems with the aim to make everyone a winner. His values-based purpose and moral stance was fundamentally at odds with free-market theory that attempts to pawn itself off as the natural laws of markets.
Deming said, “Economists have led us down the wrong road.”
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Hidden Morality
People often misunderstand this. Deming really does mean that ALL systems have an aim. The aim of a system called a “car” is to move people from point A to B in fast, comfortable, safe and sexy manner. The aim of a system of enterprise is to transform a set of inputs into more highly ordered outputs regarded as valuable by customer audiences. The aim of our Solar System is to specify the place and describe a relation that locates ourselves in the vastness of the universe–to anchor us in time and place in a reasonable, predictable and meaningful manner.
Deming’s idea about AIMS can be difficult to grasp. It represents a fundamental departure from the traditional Western idea of science in which a system is thought of as existing outside the minds of people, as an external fact to be discovered. But the aim of any system cannot be found in the world at large. Our Solar System does not aim to make itself reasonable for us. System aims can only be found in the minds of humans who address the world in purpose, and those purposes–our aims—are always values based. Aims reflect the values and moral foundations of human conduct. Our values and morality are rooted in what we chose to believe about what is right and good or wrong and bad.
This is very tricky stuff for people who have been tutored in the very intuitive idea that we impose our values on a world filled with facts. In Deming’s view and the view of the Pragmatists who informed his view, we actually create the facts of the world that we come to know based on our values. In Deming’s SoPK he refers to this as a “Theory of Knowledge”.
The very important difference is that rather than the facts of the world being the subject of our valuations, our values and our moral stance in the world determines the facts that are available to us . When you get into this stuff it really is mind-blowing. Deming was mind blowing!
Deming’s idea is actually well supported by discoveries at the leading edge of modern science. Investigators in all scientific disciplines are finding that the knowledge products of their best efforts only hold true when viewed in terms of the values that guide their investigations. Science does not reveal the truth, it reveals the truth as it pertains to our aims. Stephan Hawking, in his book The Grand Design says that our experience of reality is “model dependent”, our models being our systems for turning the world to our values-based purposes.
This is why the first of Deming’s 14-Points for business management, reads…
“1. Create constancy of PURPOSE toward improvement of product and service, with the AIM to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs.”
Right out of the starting gate Dr. Deming states what he believes to be good and useful aims for business. (Note the absence of profit).
So SoPK tells us that in order to understand any system we must understand the aims of the humans who define and construct that system BUT in the age of reason that imagines systems existing independent of our aims we encounter a problem with Deming’s axiom, “A system has an aim. ” Our values-based aims are hidden in plain sight.
This slight of hand that hides our aims has very practical consequences and no more so than when we look at our economic system defined in terms of free-market theory. The aim of the system defined as free market theory is said to be profit. The system aim to profit is defined as a natural law that exists as a system outside the minds of humans. The omission of human values-based purposes serves free market true believers well because the moral consequences of their actions can be set aside. The human behavior–to seek profit–is determined not by our choice of a moral stance, it is determined by an amoral external law of nature. It goes like this:
The free-market true believer says that the system of markets, driven on the basis of man’s true nature, obeys no man made moral standard. They say that the greatest GOOD will be realized by following the objective and true system precept of man’s profit-seeking nature. Now here’s where the old switcheroo happens. They say anything that interferes with the pursuit of profit wrongly perturbs the natural system resulting in more BADNESS and that which unfetters this natural law creates more GOODNESS. This supposedly amoral precept is the HIDDEN MORALITY of free market theory.
Again: The greatest GOOD will come from seeking to maximize profits irrespective of any moral judgement and anything that interferes with the natural pursuit of profits is BAD.
Deming saw through the fallacy of free-market theory. He understood that humans are inherently moral beings, driven in all their enterprises by their shared understanding of their values-based purposes—their aims. To claim otherwise is either a delusion or a con game. To say that the “system” of natural law in the world made me do it, and that this is on the whole, the essence of goodness, is itself a moral claim! The hidden values and moral stance of free-market theory is that irrespective of the harm done to others, the pusuit of profit will always produce the greatest good.
Now think on this for a bit if you will because it is a very clever turnabout. That which harms others is good! This is the moral stance of free-market theory.
Deming’s idea about the role of aims was not a moral stance in itself. It was a theory of knowledge that asserts that all that we CAN KNOW is based in our values-based purposes. The moral implications of his theory—his explanatory system—are that we must take responsibility for our aims. We must chose what they will be. Free-market theory sees goodness in harming others just as countless despots throughout history have regarded their harming of others as a moral calling.
Dr. Deming rejected the idea that harming others is a good and useful aim. He said that we will do better if we chose to design our systems with the aim to make everyone a winner. His values-based purpose and moral stance was fundamentally at odds with free-market theory that attempts to pawn itself off as the natural laws of markets.
Deming said, “Economists have led us down the wrong road.”
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Instructional Design Consultant