ABSTRACT
Three foreigners—all Americans—are thought by the Japanese to be mainly responsible for the economic recovery of their country after World War II and for its emergence as a leading economic power. Edwards Deming taught the Japanese statistical quality control and introduced the “quality circle.” Joseph M. Juran taught them how to organize production in the factory and how to train and manage people at work. What is now the “latest” import from Japan and the “hottest management discovery”—the “just-in-time” inventory delivery system (the Japanese word for it is Kanban)—was introduced to Japan by Juran, who had been instrumental in developing it for America's World War II production effort.
