Eric Gamble
IME 415 Topic Paper
May 27, 1998
The Deming Prize
The Deming prize is a prestigious annual award given to individuals or groups who have contributed to the development and improvement of Total Quality Control. This award is given to commemorate Dr. W Edwards Deming’s advances in the field of quality control.
Dr. Deming had become very well known for his expertise in statistics and his work with the System of Profound Knowledge. This is an all-encompassing theory for management to provide a system by which every aspect of production may be improved. Because of this, the Economic and Scientific Section of the war department sent Dr. Deming to Japan in 1946. His humanitarian mission was to study agricultural production and related problems of this troubled nation. He made several other trips to Japan. One of which was in 1948 to further study problems associated in the field of occupational forces.
While on these trips, Deming was introduced to Kenichi Koyanagi. It was at this time that Koyanagi could see the potential of his methods. Koyanagi, in turn, shared the ideas with the other members of JUSE, of which, Koyanagi was one of the founding members.
JUSE, or the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers, was originally established in May of 1946 and was authorized as a foundational juridicial body by the Science and Technology Agency of Japanese Government in 1962 and has continued to award the Deming prize to this date.
The Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers invited Dr. Deming to teach his methods to Japanese Industry. With the support of the Supreme Commander of the
Allied Powers, Deming was able to share his teachings. He was so successful, they invited him back five more times as a teacher and consultant to Japanese Industry.
The JUSE organization, so impressed with the advances Dr. Deming had made, instituted the Deming Prize in his name. The prize was originated in 1951, however, there is some disagreement on this point. While reviewing this date from various sources, it can be found to have begun in 1950 or 1951. The party responsible for the selection of the recipient is known as the Deming Prize Committee. They review the persons or groups that are under consideration for the prize. This committee has the final say as to who the recipient shall be. The Deming prize medal was originally designed by Mr. Yoji Yamawaki. The ceremony to award the medal has been held in November every year.
The award originally was given to only to Japanese companies or individuals, however, during recent years there has been a strong showing for many companies around the world to compete for the prize. The prize committee has opened up to this option and now awards to recipients all around the world.
For more information on this topic there are several sources you can refer to. There is a pamphlet put out by JUSE entitled “The Deming Prize”. There are several websites that give information, for example and