Editing W. Edwards Deming (section)

== Overview ==

Deming received a [[Bachelor of Science|BS degree]] in [[electrical engineering]] from the [[University of Wyoming]] at [[Laramie, Wyoming|Laramie]] (1921), an [[Master of Science|MS degree]] from the [[University of Colorado at Boulder|University of Colorado]] (1925), and a [[PhD]] from [[Yale University]] (1928). Both graduate degrees were in mathematics and physics. He had an internship at [[Western Electric]]'s [[Hawthorne Works]] in [[Cicero, Illinois]], while studying at Yale. He later worked at the [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]] and the Census Bureau. While working under Gen. [[Douglas MacArthur]] as a census consultant to the [[Japanese government]], he was asked to teach a short seminar on [[statistical process control]] (SPC) methods to members of the Radio Corps, at the invitation of [[Homer Sarasohn]]. During this visit, he was contacted by the [[Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers]] (JUSE) to talk directly to Japanese business leaders, not about SPC, but about his theories of management, returning to Japan for many years to consult. Later, he became a professor at [[New York University]], while engaged as an independent consultant in Washington, D.C.

Deming was the author of ''Quality Productivity and Competitive Position'', ''Out of the Crisis'' (1982–1986), and ''The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education'' (1993), and books on statistics and sampling. Deming played the flute and drums and composed music throughout his life, including sacred choral compositions and an arrangement of "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]."<ref>[http://deming.org/?content=64 The Man: His Music]. W. Edwards Deming Institute. Accessed: 2006-06-16.</ref>

In 1993, he founded the W. Edwards Deming Institute in Washington, D.C., where the Deming Collection at the U.S. [[Library of Congress]] includes an extensive audiotape and videotape archive. The aim of the institute is to "Enrich society through the Deming philosophy."  <ref>[https://deming.org/about-us/aim-vision]. W. Edwards Deming Institute. Accessed: 2008-10-15.</ref>

Deming's teachings and philosophy are clearly illustrated by examining the results they produced after they were adopted by Japanese industry,<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/manufacturing-innovation-lessons-from-the-japanese-auto-industry/|title = Manufacturing Innovation: Lessons from the Japanese Auto Industry| journal=MIT Sloan Management Review | date=October 15, 1988 | last1=Cusumano | first1=Michael A. }}</ref> as the following example (called the Ford-Mazda study) shows. [[Ford Motor Company]] was simultaneously manufacturing a car model with transmissions made in Japan (by Mazda) and the United States (by Ford). Soon after the car model was on the market ({{circa|1950}}),<ref>The Washington Post/archive/opinions/12-23-1993 Japans Secret W Edwards Deming</ref> Ford customers were requesting the model with Japanese transmissions over the US-made transmissions, and they were willing to wait for the Japanese model. As both transmissions were made to the same specifications, Ford engineers could not understand the customer preference for the model with Japanese transmissions. Finally, Ford engineers decided to take apart the two different transmissions. The American-made car parts were all within specified tolerance levels. However, the Japanese car parts were virtually identical to each other, and much closer to the nominal values for the parts—e.g., if a part was supposed to be one foot long, plus or minus 1/8 of an inch (300&nbsp;mm ± 3&nbsp;mm)—then the Japanese parts were all within {{convert|1/16|in|mm|adj=pre|of an}}, less variation. This made the Japanese cars run more smoothly and customers experienced fewer problems.<ref>Ford Transmission Quality Study Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAfUOfSY-S0</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Dr. Deming: The American Who Taught the Japanese About Quality |last=Aguayo |first=Rafael |year=1991 |publisher=Fireside |pages=40–41}}</ref>

In his book ''The New Economics for Industry, Government, and Education''<ref>{{cite book|last=Deming|first=W. Edwards|title=The New Economics for Industry, Government, and Education|date=1993|publisher=MIT Press|location=Boston, Ma|isbn=0262541165|page=132}}</ref> Deming championed the work of [[Walter Shewhart]], including [[statistical process control]], operational definitions, and what Deming called the "Shewhart Cycle",<ref>{{cite book|last=Deming|first=W. Edwards|title=Out of the crisis|date=2000|publisher=MIT Press|location=Cambridge, Mass.|isbn=0262541157|page=88|edition= 1. MIT Press}}</ref> which had evolved into Plan-Do-Study-Act ([[Continual improvement process#PDSA|PDSA]]). Deming is well known for his work in Japan after WWII, particularly his work with the leaders of Japanese industry. That work began in July and August 1950, in Tokyo and at the Hakone Convention Center,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://quality-history.blogspot.com/2007/10/deming-ishikawa.html|title = History of Total Quality Management: How Deming met Kaoru Ishikawa after World War II|date = October 28, 2007}}</ref> when Deming delivered speeches on what he called "Statistical Product Quality Administration". Many in Japan credit Deming as one of the inspirations for what has become known as the [[Japanese post-war economic miracle]] of 1950 to 1960, when Japan rose from the ashes of war on the road to becoming the second-largest economy in the world through processes partially influenced by the ideas Deming taught:<ref name="lecture">[http://hclectures.blogspot.com/1970/08/demings-1950-lecture-to-japanese.html Deming's 1950 Lecture to Japanese Management]. Translation by Teruhide Haga. Accessed: 2015-02-24.</ref>
# Better design of products to improve service
# Higher level of uniform product quality
# Improvement of product testing in the workplace and in research centers
# Greater sales through side [global] markets

Deming is best known in the [[United States]] for his 14 Points (''Out of the Crisis'', by W. Edwards Deming, preface) and his system of thought he called the "System of Profound Knowledge". The system includes four components or "lenses" through which to view the world simultaneously:
# Appreciating a system
# Understanding variation
# [[Psychology]]
# [[Epistemology]], the theory of knowledge<ref>{{cite book|last=Deming|first=W. Edwards|title=The New Economics for Industry, Government, and Education|date=1993|publisher=MIT Press|location=Boston|isbn=0262541165|chapter=4}}</ref>

Deming made a significant contribution to Japan's reputation for innovative, high-quality products, and for its economic power. He is regarded as having had more impact on Japanese manufacturing and business than any other individual not of Japanese heritage. Despite being honored in Japan in 1951 with the establishment of the Deming Prize, he was only just beginning to win widespread recognition in the United States at the time of his death in 1993.<ref name="America">{{cite video  |date=1991 |title=Deming of America  |url=http://priscillapetty.com/page7/page7.html |medium=Documentary |publisher=The Petty Consulting/Productions  |location=Cincinnati, OH}}</ref> [[Ronald Reagan|President Ronald Reagan]] awarded him the [[National Medal of Technology]] in 1987. The following year, the [[National Academy of Sciences]] gave Deming the Distinguished Career in Science award.