European Journal of Social Sciences Volume 25, Number 2 (2011)

Sir Isaac Newton to Total Quality Management - Paradigms

Keep Changing
S. Narasimhan
General Manager, G Plast (P) Ltd, Coimbatore, TamilNadu
E-mail: puneessn@yahoo.com
Tel: + 91-9566657560
V. Kannan
Director, Institute of Management Studies
RVS College of Engineering & Technology, Dindugal, TamilNadu
E mail: kannanpooja1971@yahoo.co.in
Tel:+ 91-9865008058
Abstract
Total Quality Management concept and theory has dominated the entire spectrum
Practicing managers and Academias together. And this has been a subject for all the
management students as well as experts in the organizational change concept. But TQM is
still continues to charm the world over. In this paper we would like to review the concepts,
history and the evolution of TQM. While we try to find out the roots of the TQM we
wanted to identify the initial point from where all these ideas started flowing from. And at
the same time management concepts are for the managing people and to a larger extent
society. Our review is taking a dip into the societal, political and scientific concepts
prevailed during the time. The revolutionary concepts by Isaac Newton and the impact it
created in the minds of people and how those concepts helped human being to understand
what was not known to the Human Race. The birth of Automobiles and the evolution and
the generation of management concepts, theories associated are also an important point
needs better understanding.

Keywords: Sir Isaac Newton, Scientific revolution, Industrial Revolution, Mass

production, Total Quality Management, Henry Ford

1. Introduction
Eighteenth century English poet, Alexander Pope wrote a small epitaph intended for Sir. Isaac Newton:
Nature, and Natures law, lay hid in night;
God said, Let Newton be! And all was light
Sir. Isaac Newton (1642-1727) is the single most important figure in the transformation of what
is called Natural Philosophy into a modern physical science. With the publication of his Principia in
1687 the first paradigm shift happened in modern physical science. It stressed the fact that philosophy
can be viewed and understood as physics.
The foundation for the modern view of nature which had its beginning with Bacon, Hobbes and
Descartes were made fast by Isaac Newtons Principia. The mathematical form of the famous three
laws of motion were sufficient to prescribe al the classical mechanics. It was his rigorous minimalism
that came to characterize the ensuing Newtonians.
In 1687 there was euphoria. Can Newton`s method work on any area of inquiry?
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Those who were taken by the new wave of this new method by Newtons thought that they
could do so and also the methods would be universally effective whether the chosen area was science,
society or religion (Grabiner 2004)
It was Bernard Cohen who coined the word Newtonian style- the method adopted by Newton
and followed by his followers over the centuries.
Newton first separated problems into their mathematical and physical aspects. An idealized set
of physical assumption was then treated entirely as a mathematical system. This was called
mathematical model. Then the consequences of these idealized assumptions were deducted with the
help of sophisticated mathematical techniques. All the propositions deducted in the mathematical
system could now be compared with the data of experiment and observation. This system was tested
against experience. And success finally comes when the system seems to confirm all the major
conditions. The main advantage of Newtonian science is that it is strictly quantitative.
The Newtonian concept is based on a mechanistic philosophy that the enormous diversity of
things found in the world can be reduced completely and perfectly and unconditionally to nothing more
the effects of some definite and limited framework of laws. (Dooley K, 1995)
Applying Newtonian concept for the entire endeavor and whatever be the type Newtons
followers established his authority (Grabiner 2004))
Some of the fundamental principles of Newtonian concepts are:
1. They are deterministic in nature and mechanical causes are everywhere ascendant
2. They are closed system and do not allow any outside influence.
3. The are atomistic
Newtonian concepts were ruling the world regarding the space and time until the theory of
relativity is published by Mr. Einstein.
Equilibrium and control are the core belief in the Newtonian system. The way Newton
transformed the Natural Philosophy into a modern scientific concept has no comparison and his made
exceptional contribution to the scientific culture. Newtonian concepts made the belief that the systems
of many independent basic building blocks can be completely understood by breaking it down to its
smallest element. This is known as reductionism.
When Newton brought up with his principles the world hailed him for his out breaking
thoughts. And he was placed near and next to God. And his followers used his system of working in all
the possible areas. And Newtonian concept took their root strongly by the tireless work and
propagation of his followers.
At that time of social and political situation was there no discontent voice as far as the concepts
of Principia?
The most important fundamental concept in history of modern thought was the controversy
between Newton and Leibniz. The way these two personalities treated the physical and Meta physical
questions has reached a parting way that one has to choose between these two alternatives.
It will be more appropriate to say that Leibniz defended a deductive idea of scientific thoughts
whereas Newton is the champion of an inductive method. ( Cassiner 1943)

2. Industrial Revolution
With this scientific revolution Industrial revolution followed
Englands principal industry was cloth making and this cloth making industry went into many a
sea change in the manufacturing methods and this period is called the Industrial Revolution.
Keys drop box and Flying shuttle invented in 1738 made it possible for a man to sit still and
throw the shuttle to and fro and therefore one man could do the job instead of two.
James Hargreavess spinning jenny invented in 1764. This spinning jenny could spin eight
thread at the same time there by increased the production capacity.
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Richard Arkwright perfected this and patented his spinning wheel in 1769. Samuel Compton
invented his hybrid origin Mule in 1779. Dr.Edward Cartwright perfected the power loom which
started to be used in nineteenth century.
Spinning Jennies could be used in house of the weaver but later day spinning machines were so
large and cumbersome that they could not be used in houses and require large space and power. James
Watt perfected his steam engine in 1769 and in 1785 first steam engine was used for power in cotton
mill.
These conditions slowly and gradually led o a factory system of working.
In factory system Machines powered by mechanical devices like steam engine placed in one big
place and laborers brought into on a regular working time under the control of the employer.
This introduction of factory system involved many changes: adaptation of machineries,
artificial power, the use of greater amount of capital and the collection of scattered laborers into a
strictly regulated establishment.
Slowly gradually all other forms of economic occupation have subsequently taken all the
characteristics of factory system .The changes in the manufacturing and organization of labor in the
cotton goods industry were soon introduced in almost all forms of production.
In 1776 Adam Smith published his Wealth of Nations. This formed the basis for factory system
and laid the foundation for latter day capitalistic concepts. And he formalized mechanism for economic
control shifting from lord to the manufacture and merchants.
And he opens his Wealth of Nations with the topic Division of Labor and discussing about
the Newtonian concept of reductionism to achieve higher level of production.
And again in 1833 Charles Babbage stresses the point of Division of Labor in his book On the
economy of Machinery and Manufactures In that he declares that the division of labor cannot be
successfully practiced unless there exists a great demand for product and it requires a large capital to be
employed.

3. Industrial and Social Condition at 19th Century

The thought and the economic teachings of this period were opposed to the excess control of the
Government regulation. These teaching further proclaimed that enlightened self interest was the
incentive and universal free competition was the force for the economic development. It was also
taught that men must be entirely free to act as they think best, to choose what and when and how things
will be produced. Therefore complete individualism and universal freedom of competition was the
ideal and motto of that age.
Individualism believes that every man should remain and allowed to remain free, unrestricted,
undirected , unassisted so that he may be in a position at anytime to direct his abilities, labor in any
direction that may seem to him most desirable to achieve success. Men had never been so free from
external control by the Government.
This is the core of individualism prevailed in that period of time.
Farm laborers were now free to come to work in a factory. But the conditions of the factories
were filthy, crowded and demoralizing.
Industrial revolution thus created the factory system and the writings of the great men created a
social upheaval and freed men from their bondage. The society was at a large in a very fluid and flux
condition.
19th century management concept was success depends entirely on getting the initiative of the
workmen and it was really a rare case this initiative is achieved. (Taylor 1911)
American Civil war was over by 1865 and President Lincolns assassination was the
culminating point in the same year. Following all these incidents American society was at a very fluid
condition. American business started entering upon the great boom that followed civil war. They were
the years of money grubbing, lavish display and debased business morality. (Carl Solberg 1976)
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The economic structure that underpinned Americas political order was in perfect consonance
with the supreme right guaranteed by US constitution, Freedom. Men were free to hold and acquire
property.
Cotton mills were flourishing in UK and it was railroad industry that made a very big difference
in Americas economy. As the corporations grew the balance between freedom and order broke down.
Laisz-Faire became the passport for individuals.
Another industry was propping up in America and eventually that determined the future of the
world. Petroleum. It became the hottest industry and created many money power centers in the US.
This gave rise to US a superpower.
In 1895 the automobile was not yet even known by that name. The vehicle that the Durgea
brothers built to win big race through Chicago streets was called a motor wagon. In 1900 the
automobile industry scarcely existed. In 1911 automobile manufacturing was second in size next to oil
business and in 1920 it was far ahead in the lead.
Americas Love affair with automobiles started.

4. Growth of Automotive and Management Concepts

To put in the words of Allan Nevins, the historian,
No other single machine , in all probability , did so much to induce people of provincial mind
to begin thinking in national terms; none did so much to knit together different parts of the country ;
none did to create a sense of freer and more spacious life
Automobile both symbolized and embodied these changes. Woodrow Wilson once remarked
that nothing has spread the socialistic feeling in this country more than the use of automobiles. The car
has opened lives. The great thing about it is that it took owner where he wanted when he wanted. It
took the city dwellers away from the trolley tracks and farm residents out of rustic isolation.
By tradition, mounted transport was reserved for the gentleman that is for higher class people.
In America the rich that owned fast horses and loved to display them on avenues so that when
horseless carriages began to be built in grater number, everybody supposed these automobiles would
belong only to the well heeled gentry. And thence manufacturer began manufacturing for this market.
One man decided otherwise. He said he will build automobile for the masses. He even went on
to say that his plan was to build a car for every garage. It was Henry Ford.
Ford plunged himself into automobile business in 1899. Established Ford Motor Company and
sold his first car for 1200. He continued his experiments to look into the ways and means of bringing
down the price and it is worth going through some of the points in detail here. And also single
handedly Ford has changed the entire economic as well as manufacturing process.
In the first year Ford Motor Company produced and sold 1708 cars. Ford was working on his
mega project Model T. And it was put out for season 1908-09.
In 1909 Ford announced that there will be only one model and the chassis would be exactly the
same for all cars and will be available only in one color that too in black. And came his famous
remark:
Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black
By taking the mounted transport to the common man Ford visualized a social change
All his statement made in 1909 was not implemented immediately. Model T was available in
many colors.
April 1, 1913 Ford experimented with his assembly line and the first one assembled on a
moving conveyor line was flywheel magneto.
This moving conveyor assembly line was the master stroke of Ford. This changed the entire
concept of production. And this paved the way for mass production.
Enter FW Taylor and his Scientific Management.
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His thought and his Scientific Management principles have become a way of life for the
industrial set up and a very dominant force still in use and should we say that the legacy of Taylor is a
force to reckon with.
FW Taylor declared in his scientific management that the initiative of workmen is obtained
with absolute uniformity. And managers assume the burden of gathering all traditional knowledge
which in the past has been possessed by the workmen and then clarifying, tabulating and then reducing
it by rules, laws and formulae.
In the whole process Taylor grouped the new duties of management into four heads:
1. Develop a science for each and every element of a mans work and this will replace the
old rule of thumb.
2. Scientifically select and train, teach and develop the workmen where as is the past Worker
chooses his own work and trained himself
3. Heartily cooperate with the men so that the work being done in accordance with the
Science developed.
4. There is almost equal division of work and responsibility between worker and
management.
Todays management concepts are greatly influenced by reductionism principles built on
Newtonian concept. Whatever concepts preached, practiced and discussed in industrial set up today are
all steeped in the Newtonian concept generalized in the 18th century and propagated, promulgated in
19th century.
Division of labor, idea of work, interchangeable parts, time and motion study are some of the
concepts still ruling the industries.
The single most important element in modern scientific management is the task idea. The work
of every workman is fully planned out by the management and every workman receives complete
written instructions describing in detail the task which he has to accomplish as well as the means to be
used in doing the work.
Drucker viewed Taylor was at the same rank with Freud, Darwin and Marx in his influence on
the modern world.
Disciples of Taylor did the same thing what the followers of Newton did to Newton. Taylors
concepts were applied to the entire possible industry spectrum.
There were five original objectives of the scientific management:
1. Industrial process can be reduced to units for scientific observation and experiments. The
operations of workmen ca be reduced to fundamental motion to ascertain the longest,
shortest and average time required for each motion.
2. The standard time prescribed for each operation can be used as the task for each workman
to achieve. Each unit of product can be produced at a designated standard and at a
standard cost.
3. The workmen can be instructed in the best methods for achieving the standards and the
responsibility for imparting such instructions should be in the hands of foreman.
4. The workmen can be relieved of the responsibility for determining how a process is to be
performed.
5. The workmen can be inspired to accept new methods.
When we look at the above objective and the content described in the scientific management we
can find and understand how the entire Newtonian concept played such a vital role in the industrial
management and thereby making management into science.
By stressing the concept of cooperation FW Taylor he tried to put a full stop on the
individualistic approach that was dominant in the entire 19th century. He was the first man to initiate
the quest for better performance at work. Taylor was the first management thinker to stress the concept
of research and standards in management. It was he who emphasized the importance of planning and
the more importantly the concept of control.
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FW Taylor visited Ford Motor Company and appreciated about Ford implementing the
scientific management principles.
We are neither interested nor intended to repeat the story but we would like to view the
development of management concepts evolution from a social and political background.
While Taylor decomposed the tasks and assigned the responsibilities o the individual worker,
Ford recomposed the tasks by attaching the human workers with the moving conveyor and thus making
a human machine (Simon Clarke 1990)
Taylors scientific management is based on his steel industry experience and experiments. And
he is the one who brought all the scattered concepts into a full fledged management idea.
When the fall of Ford started in 1929 with the stoppage of Model T, his competitors took
advantage of the gaps he left while concentrating more on the production economics and filled into the
space.
During this Fordist era we observe two distinct phases of mass production stages:
1. Mass production stage Product focus
2. Mass production stage _ Marketing focus (Davis F W & Manrodt K B, 2001)
In the first era the main factor was the production economy. A standard product with standard
process tightly controlled by the centralized planning are the key factors. This era witnessed the one
product, one chassis one color concept. Numbers alone matter in this and human beings are converted
into human machines. Henry Ford flooded the American market with his Model T.
Market reached a stage when the supply was higher than the demand and the buying interest of
the consumer started coming down.
At this juncture General Motors countered Ford with their slogan Every car for every purse and
thus the marketing innovations started. Many models with a touch of reaching a different taste of
customers induced the marketing era of mass production. This era witnessed the marketing concepts
getting a firm place in the mass manufacturing time and segmentation of markets also took place.
Along with this Logistics concepts slowly gradually evolved.
When marketing and logistics are at loggerheads on reducing the cost, customer identified that
there are some organization that focus on the need of the customers than the production economics and
market segments.

5. Tqm- Paradigm Keep Changing

This ushered into another shift in the manufacturing management which was later renamed as Total
Quality Management Paradigm.
War is the father and king of all said Heraclitus, the Greek Philosopher. Some he has made
Gods and some men; some slaves and some free (Will Durant, 1953)
When the Second World War was over, the victors had to superintend the economic, social and
political reconstruction of the vanquished. (Simon Clarke, 1990).This had a profound effect on the
practice on the management especially on the quality management. This effect soon became
global.(Dooley K 1991)
This era represented by the quality initiative and movements started and spearheaded by Japan.
This era witnessed the rise of Toyota, the most important initiator of the customer focused
organizations.
It all started with Dr.Demings lecture to the top management team in Japan (Peter Kolesar
1994)
As Francis Bacon puts it in his Novum Organum (1620), It would be an unsound fancy and
self-contradictory to expect that things which have never yet been done can be done except by means
which have never yet been tried.

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When such organizations start focusing on the need of customers then naturally a shift in their
objective formed. Customer satisfaction is the primary objective of an organization than the profit
maximization
This is a revolutionary philosophy as pointed out by Mr.Ishikawa and hailed this as
management innovation.(Ishikawa K ,1985)
The seeds of this new era were sown by the statistical experts. If management is responsible for
the improvement of the system then management and the working class should speak in the same
language. And Statistics is the new language through which the discussion happened.
These new concepts are path breaking ideals and questioned the conventional wisdom of
manufacturing and especially scientific management. They are in conflict with the established
management practices. They are built on the holistic mechanisms. And another most important factor
in these concepts that they cherish open systems. It calls for optimizing the entire system than
improving the smaller sub systems.
It has been propagated that Total Quality Management is derived from the so called Toatl
Quality Control but Mr.Ishikawa differs this point. He says that making quality is everybodys job may
lead to nobodys job, Dr. Feigenbaum advocated TQC as a well organized management function whose
area of specialization is product quality and area of operation is only Quality Control. (Ishikwa K,
1985)
Are we talking about this TQC changed into TQM..? Certainly not otherwise TQM will not be
referred as Management innovation and a thought revolution.

6. Conclusion
As Robert Grant puts it rightly Total Quality Management inevitably conflicts with the established
management practices and real TQM will not take its roots until and unless the conventional
management practices are transformed. (Robert Grant et al 1994)
And our aim is look for the basic foundation of Total Quality Management and its roots and
review those ideas and remind how the paradigms are keep changing.
In this paper we reviewed the basic tenet of Total Quality Management as a new paradigm and
the changes it tries to bring into the organizations in terms of Physical, Psychological, Political
structures in the mind set of the organizations.

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