What follows is a short story about a worker who has requested additional education and training. Read the story and discuss which point or points of Dr. Deming’s, Dr. Juran’s, and Crosby’s philosophies are not being followed. Cite at least one point from each man’s plan. How did you reach your conclusions? Back up your answers with statements from the story. Support your argument.
Inspector Simmons has been denied permission to attend an educational seminar. Although Simmons has attended only one training course for plumbing inspectors in his 15 years on the job, he will not be permitted to attend a two-week skills enhancement and retraining session scheduled for the coming month. The course devotes a significant amount of time to updating inspectors on the new plumbing regulations. While the regulations concerning plumbing have changed dramatically in the past five years, this is the third request for training in recent years that has been denied.
City commissioners have voted not to send Simmons for the $1,150 course, even though the plumbing guild has offered to pay $750 of the cost. The commissioners based their decision on a lack of funds and a backlog of work resulting from stricter plumbing standards enacted earlier this year. City commissioners do not believe that Simmons’s two-week salary should be paid during the time that he is "off work." They also feel that the $400 cost to the city as well as travel expenses are too high. Although the city would benefit from Simmons’s enhanced knowledge of the regulations, one city official was quoted as saying, "I don’t think he really needs it anyway."
The one dissenting city commissioner argued that this is the first such course to be offered covering the new regulations. She has said, "Things change. Materials change. You can never stop learning, and you can’t maintain a quality staff if you don’t keep up on the latest information."