| Statistical Process Control is a method of assessing system processes that is typically used in the business sector. Profound knowledge is an integrated theory of understanding people, variation, systems and knowledge. It forms the foundation for Statistical Process Control. W. Edwards Deming was a management theorist who proposed that Statistical Process Control, based upon profound knowledge, could be used by businesses to improve productivity.;This study analyzed the use of Statistical Process Control, based upon W. Edwards Deming's (1986) theory of profound knowledge, by the principal in a high school. It modified Deming's Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle and used a Systems Application Model to study and improve school processes.;The elements of the Systems Application Model are the input, the technology, the output, and the continuous improvement loop. The input is the raw material (the data)--that which must be changed. The technology is the process used to convert the raw material (the data) into new knowledge. The technology, based upon profound knowledge, is Statistical Process Control. Statistical Process Control converts the data into new knowledge, which leads to improved processes. The output is the improved process. This new output loops back into the system, collecting new raw data, to be further improved over time.;The Systems Application Model was used in this study to assess and improve an attendance problem in a small high school by using the elements of profound knowledge to apply statistical process control to the problem. The results of the study demonstrated that Statistical Process Control, guided by profound knowledge, could be used in a school setting to solve school problems, improve the way in which school problems are assessed and lead to continuous improvement of a school's systems. In addition, an understanding of profound knowledge can lead to a paradigm shift in the way principals view the system in which they work. |
