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At the end of
the second world
war Japan was 
occupied by US 
forces and Deming
was sent to Tokyo
to help re-order
the economy. He 
found a country 
utterly devas-
tated by war. It 
was, in effect,
an industrial
blank space
where he could
test his theories
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By the early 
Fifties Japan was 
already showing 
signs of recovery. 
Democracy took 
root, and the 
industrious 
Japanese work 
ethic did lead to 
a boom in exports
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Deming's 
emphasis on 
quality and
equal treatment
of workers helped 
create the culture 
of labor relations
which transformed 
Japan into an 
economic super-
power. By the
mid-Seventies, 
Japanese working 
practises made 
European firms 
look inefficient 
and outdated
#
Deming's theories 
of breaking down 
labor hierarchies 
worked, especially 
where workers 
and their superiors
shared an intense
loyalty to their
company, and
where relation-
ships within a
firm were similar
to those within
a family
#
Deming believed 
there are few 
problems that 
could not be 
solved by right
management. Every 
employee should
be treated 
equally and made 
to feel part of
the production 
process. Daily 
exercises are 
one simple way 
of showing con-
cern and forging
team spirit
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Western firms
realised that 
Deming's ideas
could help them 
compete with
the Japanese.
They introduced
consultation
between workers
and managers, and 
other innovations 
intended to break 
down the hier-
archical barriers
between white-
collar and blue-
collar employees
#
Deming's theories 
of total quality 
management 
even penetrated 
the traditionally 
conservative oil 
industry, which 
had hitherto 
scorned the idea 
of learning from 
foreign experience
#
Deming's ideas 
spread as Japan
invested in 
Europe. Deming 
called for nothing 
short of a work-
place revolution,
and in many cases
this was just
what occurred: 
"Put everybody
in the company
to accomplish the
transformation. 
It is everyone's 
job."
#
In 1987 President
Ronald Reagan
awarded Deming
the national medal
of technology, 
presented in the 
Rose Garden of 
the White House. 
It was an ironic 
vindication for a 
man whose ideas 
had caused the US
to be toppled from
its place as the 
world's leading
industrial nation
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