Overview
Deming's first major management book, published in 1982 by MIT Center for Advanced Engineering Study. This was the precursor to out-of-the-crisis — essentially the same material that would be reorganized and expanded into the 1986 edition. It presented Deming's management philosophy to an American audience for the first time in book form, following the wave of attention from the 1980 NBC documentary.
Key Arguments
The book contains the first published version of the-14-points-for-management, the seven-deadly-diseases of Western management, and the chain-reaction-diagram showing how improved quality leads to decreased costs and improved competitive position. These ideas had been circulating in Deming's seminars and consulting work since the early 1980s, but "Quality, Productivity, and Competitive Position" was their first codification in print. The book also presents Deming's critique of American management practices — performance appraisals, management by objectives, short-term profit focus — that would become more fully developed in the later edition.
Significance
This is a separate publication from "Out of the Crisis," not merely an earlier edition. It represents the first statement of Deming's management philosophy in book form and is historically significant as the document that American managers first encountered when they sought to understand what Deming was teaching. The 1982 publication date — just two years after the NBC documentary — reflects the urgency with which Deming moved to codify his ideas once American industry finally showed interest. Less polished than its successor but valuable for scholars tracking the development of Deming's published thought during the american-revival-and-legacy-1980-1993.
Source
Full text available via Archive.org controlled digital lending. Also available through academic libraries and used book markets. The 1986 revision as "Out of the Crisis" superseded this edition commercially but did not replace it as a historical document.