Author's Name:	David Fogarty, MBA, Ph.D
Subject Area:	Social Science and Humanities
Subject	Accounting
Section	Research Paper

“BIG DATA”, Six Sigma, Analytics, Statistics, Hypothesis, Testing, TQM, Strategy, Competition

In his key paper written in 1953 William Edwards Deming wrote that better quality through the use of statistical techniques can lead to a competitive advantage for firms. He also pointed out that for a more effective use of these techniques, top management should not only become familiar with the results of statistical methods; they should study also the problems of organization by which to achieve a wider and more effective use of these methods. This paper explores Deming’s original premise and evaluates its usefulness and lessons to the modern post-industrial world and one in which BIG DATA is being collected and used by many firms across a variety of industries in an effort to develop a competitive advantage from the use of statistical analysis. It also debunks the common misconception that competing on analytics is something new and novel which represents a call to action for managers in analytically challenged companies since they will now be underinvesting in function that has been around for over half a century.