Scope and Content Note
The papers of Homer Sarasohn (1916-2001) span the years 1936-2001 and cover a variety of topics concerning industrial quality control. The papers are organized into the following series: Civil Communications Section , Personal File , and Speeches and Writings . Recruited by the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, Sarasohn served with the Civil Communications Section, which sought to restore communications manufacturing in Japan after World War II. Sarasohn led training courses for executives in Japanese manufacturing, which influenced management and quality control principles in Japan for the following decades. Japanese material is included in this collection.
The Civil Communications Section series contains copies of the course training book, Fundamentals of Industrial Management, with copies of the original version, the personal copy of Yukio Maeda, a Japanese translated copy, and an updated typed copy of the course. Other material includes copies of memoranda from the Headquarters of the Supreme Command for the Allied Powers, photographs of Sarasohn and his classes, and other publications born out of the CCS training courses.
The Personal File contains primarily biographical material and correspondence. Included in the biographical material are Sarasohn’s employment history, military documents such as discharge papers, and material collected while employed at International Business Machines Corporation and post-retirement. Years after his CCS courses, Sarasohn reestablished contact with one of his students, Masaharu Matsushita, and included in his correspondence with him are photographs of the two during a conference in Arizona. Sarasohn’s correspondence with Kenneth Hopper and Myron Tribus relate primarily to Hopper’s and Tribus’s articles, while his miscellaneous correspondence covers a variety of topics. The interviews are related to quality control management and Japan.
The Speeches and Writings file contains articles and speeches by Homer Sarasohn which cover a number of topics relating to Japan, the CCS, and quality control management. Sarasohn also collected material covering the same topics by other authors.