Presentation Slides

Abstract: In his book, The New Economics, W. Edwards Deming wrote, “Any theorem is true in its own world. But which world are we in? Which of several worlds makes contact with ours? That is the question.” There are numerous situations in which context governs the bases for decision making or selection of practices to use. In other situations, there is choice available as to what context to create. Gipsie will discuss context for offshoring, outsourcing business activities, reduction of variation, use of numerical goals and targets, external and internal competition and cooperation, shareholder and stakeholder views of the firm, innovation, and improvement.

Biography: Gipsie Ranney is an international consultant to organizations on management, quality improvement and statistical methodology. She was a member of the faculty of the Department of Statistics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville for fifteen years. She was a co-founder of the University of Tennessee's Institute for Productivity through Quality, and she developed and conducted numerous seminars on quality improvement. She served as Director of Statistical Methodology for General Motors Powertrain Group from 1988 to 1992. She was the first president of the W. Edwards Deming Institute. She co-authored Beyond Total Quality Management: Toward the Emerging Paradigm, published by McGraw-Hill, and contributed to Competing Globally Through Customer Value, published by Quorum. She has published papers on quality improvement and statistical methods. The American Society for Quality awarded her the Deming Medal for 1996, "for outstanding contribution in advancing the theory and practice of statistical thinking to the management of enterprises worldwide." Gipsie holds a B.S. in Mathematics from Duke University and a Ph.D. in Statistics from North Carolina State University.

Contact: Gipsie can be reached by e-mail at gbranney@comcast.com for additional information about this Weekend Conference session.

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/pub/gipsie-ranney/1/4b7/88