
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, December 21, 1993                   TAG: 9312210175
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

MANAGEMENT THEORY PIONEER DEMING DIES

Management theorist W. Edwards Deming, a longtime critic of American business practices whose ideas helped Japan revolutionize its manufacturing by stressing worker involvement, died Monday.

Deming was 93 years old.

Although largely ignored by corporate America for decades, Deming is now considered a pioneer in modern industrial management. Often a sharp critic of U.S. management styles, he was revered by the Japanese, who adopted many of his views, creating one of the world's economic superpowers.

Deming's theory of quality control focused heavily on worker involvement, goal-setting and communication within the corporate structure, as opposed to competition among workers and management control.

Deming, who used a wheelchair because of phlebitis, had been battling cancer for some time.

by CNB