Engineer, manager, executive, author and lecturer, Dr. Joseph M. Juran compiles the first-ever international history on managing for quality. Focusing on the elements of quality management common to all industries, this volume illustrates the immense effect that quality, and its evolution, has had on civilization over the centuries. Juran brings together a richly diverse group of authors, each one a renowned authority in the field of quality management. Each of the 17 stand-alone chapters describes how managing for quality evolved in a specific geographical area and during a specific time frame of human history. Juran summarizes this historical profile with a final chapter that identifies and traces worldwide trends, derives lessons learned over history, and suggests likely directions in managing for quality for the next century.