Dr. W. Edwards Deming and his contributions to quality management

Dr. W. Edwards Deming: A Leader in Leadership Theory

Dr. William Edwards Deming was born in Sioux City, Iowa, on the 14th of October 1900. The son of a farmer, his family took advantage of a government settlement program and moved to Wyoming in 1907, only to find that the land they had been given was useless for farming. He grew up in a family that was often cold an often hungry ("Deming: Biography," 2000).

Both of his parents valued education, as both were surprisingly well educated. In 1917, young Dr. Deming enrolled in the University of Wyoming, graduating 4 years later with a B.S. In electrical engineering. He continued his education and received his Masters from the University of Colorado, and his Ph.D. from Yale, in mathematics and mathematical physics. ("Deming: Biography," 2000).

This amazing physicist and statistician went on to develop the sampling techniques that were used beginning with the 1940 U.S. Census, and was involved in the planning for the 1951 Japanese Census and then ran a relatively unknown consultancy until 1980. It was then that Deming was featured in an NBC documentary regarding the increasing industrial competition that American businesses were facing from Japan ("W. Edwards," 2004).

In 1987, Deming's book, Out of Crisis, was published and became an immediate success. This work would be the basis for what would become known as Total Quality Management ("W. Edwards," 2004). Deming understood that the prevailing style of American management needed to be changed to once again become competitive, and that this transformation could only occur with a view from the outside ("Deming: Teaching," 2000).

Dr. W. Edwards Deming: A Leader in Leadership Theory

Introduction:

Dr. William Edwards Deming was born in Sioux City, Iowa, on the 14th of October 1900. The son of a farmer, his family took advantage of a government settlement program and moved to Wyoming in 1907, only to find that the land they had been given was useless for farming. He grew up in a family that was often cold an often hungry ("Deming: Biography," 2000).

Both of his parents valued education, as both were surprisingly well educated. In 1917, young Dr. Deming enrolled in the University of Wyoming, graduating 4 years later with a B.S. In electrical engineering. He continued his education and received his Masters from the University of Colorado, and his Ph.D. from Yale, in mathematics and mathematical physics. ("Deming: Biography," 2000).

This amazing physicist and statistician went on to develop the sampling techniques that were used beginning with the 1940 U.S. Census, and was involved in the planning for the 1951 Japanese Census and then ran a relatively unknown consultancy until 1980. It was then that Deming was featured in an NBC documentary regarding the increasing industrial competition that American businesses were facing from Japan ("W. Edwards," 2004).