Page 191 - DMGT501_OPERATIONS_MANAGEMENT

Unit 6: Quality Assurance and Control

The pattern for Jurans life of hard work and dedication was set at an early age. “We grew up with Notes
no fear of long hours or hard work,” he writes. “We learned to seek out opportunities and to use
ingenuity to gain from them. We accepted the responsibility for building our own safety nets.
By enduring the heat of the fiery furnace, we acquired a work ethic that served us the rest of our
lives.”
As a child, Juran endured the loss of his beloved mother, an indifferent father, bitter winters, the
terror of anti-Semitism. Many residents of his native village in Romania perished in Nazi death
camps – and grinding poverty. Consequently, he entered the working world bitter and socially
inept, yet he was driven to succeed.

Jurans story parallels many of the great events of the 20th century. He landed his first job at
Western Electric, which was the hot growth company of the 1920s. He weathered the Great
Depression, he served his adopted country during World War II by working in the Lend-lease
Administration, he helped Japan rebuild its devastated economy and he showed U.S.
manufacturers how to compete successfully in the world market.
Also remarkable is the success of Jurans siblings. They, too, overcame their humble beginnings
and led successful lives. For example, his brother, Rudy, became a successful bond trader; his
brother, Nat, had a successful career in Hollywood, earning an Academy Award; his sister,
Minerva, earned a doctorate degree and became a college professor – no small feat for a female
Romanian immigrant.
Quality Digest issued an article which can be found at here. “No one in the last hundred years
has had more influence on the worldwide practice of quality in business than Dr. Joseph Juran.
In Architect of Quality, Juran recounts his fascinating life story, revealing how he overcame dire
poverty and childhood tragedy to make a profound impact on business and society. Juran
retraces his inspiring life journey – from an impoverished, tragic childhood in a tar-papered
shack to his career as the revered man who helped invent and champion quality management
systems, quality tools, and teams long before they became standard practice. Architect of Quality
delves deep into Jurans motivations, sharing for the first time how the early hardships he faced
and his relentless, aggressive spirit shaped his character and fueled his determination to succeed.”
Juran is considered to be after Deming the most important contributor to quality management.
He became well know after his book publishing Quality Control Handbook in 1951. In Japan,
Juran worked with manufacturers and taught classes on quality. Even his philosophy is very
similar to Deming’s philosophy, there exists some differences: while Deming emphasized the
need for organizational transformation, Juran believed that implementation of quality initiatives
does not need dramatic changes. Juran is the author of definition for quality: fitness for use,
rather than simply conformance to specifications. This way, Juran took into account the client, in
terms of his needs. Quality trilogy “quality planning, quality control and quality improvement”
represents another large contribution to quality. First part of trilogy is concerned with
identification of customers, product requirements and override of business goals. The second
part of trilogy implies the use of statistical control methods. As for the third part, Juran believe
is that improvement should be continual, as well as breakthrough.

Armand V. Feigenbaum

Initiator of the concept of Total Quality Control, Feigenbaum published in 1961 one of his
referencing book, named Total Quality Control. An interesting aspect regarding this book is
that it was written when he was a doctoral student at MIT. The power of his ideas was discovered
by Japanese in 1950s, about the same time Juran visited Japan. Quality principles set by
Feigenbaum lay down on 40 keys. He promoted the concept of a working environment where
quality developments cover entire organization; every single person in organization must have
a truly commitment to improve the quality. Learning from other’s success story is essential.

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