There are many wars that have taken place in the past and even today throughout history, breaking out for a wide range of possible factors and reasons: from ideological conflicts to invasions caused by the search for territory or resources. In these warlike conflicts, a great deal of loss occurs, with an immense number of victims.

The intervention of external forces and professionals who help to promote regeneration and restructuring on a social and economic level can be of great help, implementing useful strategies that improve the situation of the country’s inhabitants.

An example of this is William Edwards Deming, one of the main ideologues who contributed to the socio-economic recovery of Japan after the events of the Second World War. It is about this relevant author that we will talk throughout this article, in which we will see a brief biography of William Edward Deming .

Biography of William Edwards Deming

William Edwards Deming was born on October 14, 1900 in Sioux City, Iowa. He was the first of three children of lawyer William Albert Deming and musician Irene Edwards.

The family had very few resources and lived in a humble home, in a precarious situation. Initially Deming and his family lived in Sioux City, and later moved to a farm owned by his maternal grandfather in Camp Powell, Wyoming, something that was forced upon them by the fact that they lost a lawsuit and the possibility of benefiting from the land grant that the government made to favor agriculture.

Despite this, the farm was very unproductive and the family’s situation was difficult and they barely had enough to eat, so William Edwards Deming had to start working at the age of eight to survive. However, despite their poverty, the boy’s parents placed great importance on educating their children, and Deming went to Powell’s school even though he kept working at different jobs. The young man excelled in mathematics and even several teachers encouraged him to go to university.

Academic training and first years of work

When he turned seventeen in 1917, young Deming left for Laramie to enroll in the University of Wyoming, where he pursued a degree in electrical engineering . He completed his studies in 1921, one year after his mother’s death.

A year later he married Agnes Bell, with whom he would have a daughter. Later he did a master’s degree in Physics and Mathematics at the University of Colorado and after that a doctorate in Physics at Yale University , in 1928, with the thesis “A Possible Explanation of the Packing Effect of Helium”. At the latter university he was hired as a part-time professor.

In the 27th he was hired by the Washington Department of Agriculture and by the United States Census Bureau, where he served as statistical advisor. During his exercise in such work he discovered different procedures proposed by Walter Shewhart, which would be the basis of many of his later ideas. He taught at the USDA Graduate School, and wrote multiple articles and publications .

Unfortunately, three years later his wife died, and during that same year his father also died. It was not until 1932 that he reestablished his sentimental life by marrying Lola Elizabeth Shupe, with whom he would have two more daughters.

World War II and its role in the recovery of Japan

During the first moments of the Second World War, he was commissioned to increase the quality of the army’s weaponry, during the beginning of the First World War. In 1935 he began working as a professor of mathematics and statistics at the USDA Graduate School, while continuing to study statistical methodologies proposed by major professionals in the sector.

He retired from the Administration in 1946, to become a consultant and professor of statistics at New York University. That same year he was sent to Japan to study agricultural production and the problems derived from the damage generated during the war, a trip in which he would make numerous contacts interested in his theories (which had not been excessively taken into account in the United States).

Later, in 1950, he would be contacted and he would give numerous seminars in the Japanese country regarding statistical control, and he would train a great number of professionals in statistical process control and in total quality management .

These lectures were transcribed and sold, enjoying enormous success. Despite the fact that they wanted to pay him the royalties, Deming decided to reject it and instead proposed to use what they would have given him to generate a prize for exemplary companies (the Deming prize, today one of the most relevant for Japanese companies). His theories and methods were quickly applied, something that contributed greatly to changing the country’s economy and mentality : the need to control the quality of processes and materials and to generate plans that help manage it without waste. It also elaborated multiple principles and obstacles that served to favour the control of this quality.

Prestige and homecoming

After his stay in Japan, William Edwards Deming’s popularity increased greatly, holding multiple conferences in different parts of the world and a large number of publications.

The ideas that helped to improve the Japanese economy, and that until their passage through the country had not been valued in their country of origin, also began to be revised and applied in the United States . In 1975 Deming retired from teaching, but continued to produce publications of great international prestige. He also received a large number of awards and distinctions, such as the National Medal of Technology, as well as honorary doctorates from many universities.

Death

Death came to William Edward Deming on December 20, 1933, precisely the same year he founded the W Institute. Edward Deming. His death occurred in Washington D.C.

The role of this important statistician, mathematician, professor and consultant was enormous throughout his life , and even endures beyond his death. His methods and principles are still in use in Japanese society and have been successfully applied in other parts of the world, still very useful in the world of management.

Bibliographic references

  • The W. Edwards Deming Institute (n.d.). Deming The Man. [Online]. Available at: https://deming.org/deming/deming-the-man.