Deming: a new philosophy or another voice?

This article questions the widely held proposition that the management philosophy of W. Edwards Deming, with its focus on quality improvement and pragmatic thinking, is a new conceptual paradigm which renders previous management thought, particularly that represented by the scientific management concepts of Frederick W. Taylor, obsolete and wrong‐headed. A closer examination of the similarities between older management theories and those of Deming indicates that there is significant commonality. Deming has provided, not a radical new school of thought, but a complementary body of emphases that enrich our understanding of management rather than revolutionize it.