Deming, W. Edwards

The work of W. Edwards Deming (1900–1993), creator of the total quality management (TQM) process of industrial development, has proven influential among contemporary educational leaders seeking to improve school performance and stakeholder collaboration. Following World War II, Japan had a reputation for producing products of poor quality and was desperate to enter the world market but did not have the organizational, management, or leadership skills necessary to effectively run and operate successful companies. It was at that time that the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers sought out Deming. In 1950, Deming went to Japan and began working with Japanese engineers, scientists, and the managers of Japan's top companies. Collaboratively, Deming's quality control philosophies and procedures were implemented, and the products produced in post-World War II Japan went from laughable to laudable. Emperor Hirohito awarded Deming Japan's Second Order Medal of the Sacred Treasure and attributed the rebirth of Japanese industry and the country's worldwide success to Deming.

In 1953, Deming attempted to bring his quality management principles to the United States. At that time, however, American companies were in a state of growth, and Deming's philosophies were ignored. For years, Deming tried to convince American companies that the Japanese would soon surpass them in the areas of quality production. Eventually, American industry, faced with dwindling production output and increased costs, took notice of a nationally broadcast television documentary entitled “If Japan Can, Why Can't We?” Following the airing of this documentary, companies such as Ford, General Motors, and Dow Chemical began inquiring about Deming's management philosophies. However, Deming soon found that most American companies wanted quick, easy solutions to corporate problems. As Deming's reforms were more involved than American companies were used to, the American companies resisted Deming's TQM program. Eventually, some American corporations did adopt Deming's principles, and the effect is still apparent in corporate slogans such as Ford's “Quality Is Job 1.”

Business courses and companies worldwide now teach the major premises of Deming's TQM principles: (a) management must recognize and define continuous improvement, (b) management must work with subordinates to improve the system, (c) to improve, quality must be measured and one must tell others about the lessons learned and the benefits to mankind, (d) managers not only measure their systems but also [Page 276]look for the root causes of the problems and then fix the system before the system dies, and (e) managers must be leaders for their organization and not just persons who supervise the work of others. Deming's primary belief was that if quality goes up, costs go down and the savings can be passed on to the customer. Ergo, customers get quality products, companies get higher revenues, and the economy grows. At the age of 92, one year prior to his death, Deming was still putting in 16-hour days teaching quality management principles to American companies. His 14 Points and 7 Deadly Sins have become commonplace in management books

His love of learning and teaching was demonstrated in his willingness to teach anyone who cared to learn. While sometimes abrupt and impatient with trainees who would not take responsibility for their own learning, Deming's questions and continual search for answers exemplify his philosophy that the learner (organization) has to take responsibility for learning.

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