The Management Model that Transformed Japan

I often recall lessons learned in a management class I took at Kansas State. I've tried to retain and apply the gems obtained in that class taught by my favorite dean of engineering. I wanted to share one of those gems with you about how one man helped change a country. I long to see a similar change in Mexico City.

After WWII, Dr. W. Edwards Deming played a role in the reconstruction of Japan. Helping prepare for the 1951 Japanese census, the country wisely recognized his expertise in quality control, and they asked him to teach statistical control to hundreds of engineers, managers and scholars. Many top managers and executives began to apply his techniques widely and experienced a revolutions of sorts in quality and productivity. This dramatic rise in development led to an increased demand for Japanese products worldwide.

Despite widespread recognition and success in Japan, it took the United States many years to utilize Deming's techniques. Thankfully they finally caught on:

David Salsburg wrote:

"He was known for his kindness to and consideration for those he worked with, for his robust, if very subtle, humor, and for his interest in music. He sang in a choir, played drums and flute, and published several original pieces of sacred music."

Later, from his home in Washington, D.C., Dr. Deming continued running his own consultancy business in the United States, largely unknown and unrecognized in his country of origin and work. In 1980, he was featured prominently in an NBC documentary titled If Japan can... Why can't we? about the increasing industrial competition the United States was facing from Japan. As a result of the broadcast, demand for his services increased dramatically, and Deming continued consulting for industry throughout the world until his death at the age of 93.

Ford Motor Company was one of the first American corporations to seek help from Deming. In 1981, Ford recruited Deming to help jump-start its quality movement. Ford's sales were falling. Between 1979 and 1982, Ford had incurred $3 billion in losses. Deming questioned the company's culture and the way its managers operated. To Ford's surprise, Deming talked not about quality but about management. He told Ford that management actions were responsible for 85% of all problems in developing better cars. After 1982, Ford came out with a profitable line of cars, the Taurus-Sable line. In a letter to Autoweek Magazine, Donald Petersen, then Ford Chairman, said, "We are moving toward building a quality culture at Ford and the many changes that have been taking place here have their roots directly in Dr. Deming's teachings." By 1986, Ford had become the most profitable American auto company. For the first time since the 1920s, its earnings had exceeded those of arch rival General Motors (GM). Ford had come to lead the American automobile industry in improvements. Ford's following years' earnings confirmed that its success was not a fluke, for its earnings continued to exceed GM and Chrysler's.