JP Machala
Management
Professor Mento
13 June 2018 A System and Its Purpose
“Without a purpose there is no system” Dr. Deming. A system is what makes the world go
around. Without a system, the Earth would be still, and we wouldn’t exist. The purpose of the Earth is to
rotate, and its system is the axis and gravitational pull that enables it to. We all have a purpose in life and
that is to add to the system. When you think of a system you can think of anything, but in the business
world you think of William Deming. Through exploring Brian Scholtes’ article, “The New Competencies
of Leadership,” we get closer to understanding the system Deming is discussing. Systems are several
different things composed of many different parts. Scholtes illuminated this topic by relating a system to a
musical symphony, “The purpose of a symphony is not cacophony. A common purpose, the absences of
cross-purposes and an overall integrating context explain what constitutes a well–performed symphony.”
A musical symphony eludes to what every well-functioning organization needs. For an organization to
become successful, it has to have a specific, clear thought-out purpose. With a purpose we need strong
leadership to carry out the process, so the organization’s system can succeed. Inadequate leaders can be a
detriment to the system. Leaders who fail to identify and master the ever-changing world of business—
variation, will “blame people for things beyond their ability to control and give credit for things equally
beyond control” (Scholtes). These so-called leaders will have no understanding of what to expect and how
to handle situations if things go awry. By not understanding variation it can lead to the manager’s disease.
Leaders will not be able to adapt to the constant changing business cycle— especially today when
technology is so prominent and only advancing. By leading through learning, it will help leaders and
workers not make the same mistake and improve on how they can become a better asset to their company.
We should not punish, we should teach. Teaching is vital in today’s business world because it establishes
a loyal connection between the manager and worker and in today’s society, that is very hard to come by.
Millions of Americans only work for their paycheck. There are not a lot of healthy relationships between
the boss and the worker. The proper leader has to bridge that gap and treat his/her employees with loyalty,
respect, and love: “If our goal is to take care of people, people will have a better experience working and
work even harder—becoming a better asset to the company” (Scholtes).
The right leader has to instill trust in him/herself and trust in his/her co-workers. Without trust,