The Leader's Handbook

W. Edwards Deming and the Japanese

During the U.S. occupation of Japan after World War II, General Douglas MacArthur summoned statistician and management expert W. Edwards Deming to teach Japanese manufacturers American techniques. The Japanese enthusiastically accepted Deming’s recommendations about production and quality control. Deming’s main point was that everything – manufacturers, customers, suppliers – forms part of a large system. Companies unable to recognize this fact ultimately fail. The Japanese perfected Deming’s ideas, now termed Total Quality Control (TQC). Indeed, they did so well adapting the Deming approach that many American manufacturers went to Japan in the 1980s to learn the following business “secrets”:

• “The marketplace is now global” – Quality standards are international.
• “The customer is all-important” – Establish long-term relationships.
• “Quality is determined by managers” – Good managers make good products.
• “The chain reaction” – Improving products and processes is the best way to decrease costs and increase market share.
• “Production is a system” – Companies, suppliers...