Abstract

An interview with Joseph M. Juran reveals an inspirational story of his struggle to overcome the challenges of emigration, childhood poverty, and the Great Depression to become one of quality's leading gurus. Armed with a new degree in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota, Juran accepted a position with Western Electric, embarking on a quality career that would last more than 70 years and which in many ways mirrored world events of the 20th century. After World War II he used his management skills and experience to help companies and students deal with massive changes in U.S. industry and the economy. His eventual career change from industry and government to teaching and consulting led him to focus on managing for quality, a concept that grew to include the human dimension. By drawing upon the work of earlier researchers in the field of resistance to change, Juran drew parallels to clashes between management and employees. A lesson gleaned from his long c!areer is the importance of becoming bilingual, which means the ability to communicate with senior managers by converting quality data into the language of business and finance. At the age of 99, Juran is at work on another book addressing leadership aspects of managing for quality that features a unique how-to section. Sidebar articles explore the relationship of Juran, Deming, and Japan and present comments of quality professionals on Juran's greatest contributions to quality.