Juran

Juran may refer to:

See also

Joseph M. Juran

Joseph Moses Juran (December 24, 1904 – February 28, 2008) was a Romanian-born American engineer and management consultant. He was an evangelist for quality and quality management, having written several books on those subjects. He was the brother of Academy Award winner Nathan H. Juran.

Early life

Juran was born in Brăila, Romania, one of the six children born to a Jewish couple, Jakob and Gitel Juran; they later lived in Gura Humorului. He had three sisters: Rebecca (nicknamed Betty), Minerva, who earned a doctoral degree and had a career in education, and Charlotte. He had two brothers: Nathan H. Juran and Rudolph, known as Rudy. Rudy founded a municipal bond company In 1912, he emigrated to America with his family, settling in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Juran excelled in school, especially in mathematics. He was a chess champion at an early age, and dominated chess at Western Electric. Juran graduated from Minneapolis South High School in 1920.

In 1924, with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota, Juran joined Western Electric's Hawthorne Works. His first job was troubleshooting in the Complaint Department. In 1925, Bell Labs proposed that Hawthorne Works personnel be trained in its newly developed statistical sampling and control chart techniques. Juran was chosen to join the Inspection Statistical Department, a small group of engineers charged with applying and disseminating Bell Labs' statistical quality control innovations. This highly visible position fueled Juran's rapid ascent in the organization and the course of his later career.