A generation ago, United States companies found themselves trailing behind. US companies were on the verge of bankruptcy.
Quality is a difficult term to define.
Either a product has quality or it does not. Consumers recognize it when they see it. Just the manufacturer cannot determine quality components. A manufacturer can produce what they think is a quality product, but unless it meets the consumers standards it will never be considered a quality product. Finally realizing that American goods were inferior to foreign competitors products in quality, corporations instituted programs that followed the principles of W. Edward's Deming.