Re: Crisis in Japan

[demingtw <demingtw@ms17.hinet.net>]

Jean-Marie Gogue wrote

> American magazines and newspapers are focusing on a so-called Crisis in
> Japan. True or false?
>
> Their analysis is largely based on the comparison of numbers, e.g. rate of
> unemployment, financial gearing, etc. between Japan and the USA. The point
> is that American journalists compare both systems by using criteria which
> belong to their own system...
>

Some notes for J-M and other friends' reference. Normally I don't comment on
national comparisons. But Jean-Marie raised and pointed out an interesting
question with sound observations, so I like to join this 'guess'. The actual
issues might be government stupid 'tamperings' or planning and controlling
actions , creativeness and entrepreneurs . But I don't plan to cover these
areas in this mail.

First of all, we should not to forger that USA is a most rich and powerful(or
innovative) country in 20th century at least.( Back 1978, I talked in UK with a
Tokyo University student, we all agreed that UK is a 'rich' and 'great'
country, although we knew Japanese GDP is exceeding UK.)

I read Japanese best selling newspapers daily in National Taiwan Univ. That
means I can do some kind of 'context' research. Every day I keep on wondering
on Japanese publishing. I think Japan is a learning society. It is incredible
that at least 5% of major pages are for books/magazines advertisements.

No wonder the publisher of our best selling business magazine report on April
issue that after modernization of 150 years. Japan still leads far ahead of
Chinese countries.( According to Chinese recent Census, now the total
population of China is around 1.25 billions, but I think in terms of
'knowledge, China is a very small 'market', most segments are only one tens or
less than Japan. And please add one century culmination.)

I use books/magazines as the indicator simply because I think it is an
interesting and powerful one. I like some Japanese professors in business
administration formed reading clubs(or users group) for Americans like Mary
Follet and C. I. Barnard's books back '30s. They think that is a most creative
era of American business thinking. (W. A. Shewhart wrote his important papers
in around 1935.)

I used to visit Japan quite frequently and studied QC and Engineering
Management in one top Japanese American company several months. During that
Japanese booming era, I use their banking services to change money, it was
terrible experience. But the hotels and other service are very nice.
When I worked for Dupont Electronics, I invited a Japanese engineer to help us
to develop a product family and Japanese like to show their thanks. I asked
them to subscribed Japanese professional magazines for our department. I cannot
believe the details and scopes of them. So I think the English Year Books like
Quality Yearbook without Japanese contributions is only American Quality
Yearbook.( I remember one of the editors was a subscriber of DEN several years
ago.)*

I don't think Deming Philosophy is a Japanese-based philosophy. Although I
think Dr. Deming , Dr. Brian Joiner and Peter Scholtes and Dr. Tribus learned a
lot from their Japanese friends. Every system has their strength and weakness,
as I pointed out in my wesite several years ago, many Japanese people have
their learning traps.

In our first issue of Monthly Report to reflect on Dr. Deming's speech to some
Japanese top management, I pointed out that a significant gap between Japan and
USA. For example, Dr. Deming emphasized the importance of 'market researches'
as well as manufacturing controls. But I think most Japanese 'ignored' with it.
It took Japanese two decades to 'understand' what Dr. Deming said in 1950.
By the same token, I think Japanese might start to appreciate his system of
Profound Knowledge around 2010 or never. (Many essential points were presented
by Dr. Deming's papers to their conferences in '80s and '90s.)

Hanching Chung
http://www.deming.com.tw

* HC refers to John Woods and his annual Quality Yearbook - see:
       http://www.cwlpub.com/tqy01.htm