About the Author
Dr. H. James Harrington is one of the world’s quality system gurus with more than 60 years of experience. He has been involved in developing quality management systems in Europe, South America, North America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It has been said about him, “He writes the books that other consultants use.”
In the book Tech Trending, Dr. Harrington was referred to as “the quintessential tech trender.” The New York Times referred to him as having a “knack for synthesis and an open mind about packaging his knowledge and experience in new ways—characteristics that may matter more as prerequisites for new-economy success than technical wizardry …”
The author Tom Peters stated, “I fervently hope that Harrington’s readers will not only benefit from the thoroughness of his effort but will also ‘smell’ the fundamental nature of the challenge for change that he mounts.”
William Clinton, past president of the United States., appointed Dr. Harrington to serve as an Ambassador of Good Will.
The leading Japanese author on quality, Professor Yoshio Kondo, stated: “Business Process Improvement (methodology) investigated and established by Dr. H. James Harrington and his group is some of the new strategies which bring revolutionary improvement not only in quality of products and services, but also in the business processes which yield the excellent quality of the output.”
The father of “Total Quality Control,” Dr. Armand V. Feigenbaum stated: “Harrington is one of those very rare business leaders who combines outstanding inherent ability, effective management skills, broad technology background and great effectiveness in producing results. His record of accomplishment is a very long, broad and deep one that is highly and favorably recognized.”
He was featured in the TV program “Heartbeat of America.” The host, William Shatner, stated: “You [Dr. Harrington] manage an entrepreneurial company that moves America forward. You are obviously successful.”
Present Responsibilities
Dr. H. James Harrington now serves as the chief executive officer for the Harrington Institute. He also serves as the chairman of the board for a number of businesses and as the U.S. Chairman of Technologies for Project Management at the University of Quebec in Montreal. Dr. Harrington is recognized as one of the world leaders in applying performance improvement methodologies to business processes.
Previous Experience
In February 2002 Dr. Harrington retired as the COO of Systemcorp A.L.G., the leading supplier of knowledge management and project management software solutions. Prior to this, he served as a principal and one of the leaders in the Process Innovation Group at Ernst & Young. Dr. Harrington was with IBM for 40 years as a senior engineer and project manager.
Dr. Harrington is past chairman and past president of the prestigious International Academy for Quality and of the American Society for Quality. He is also an active member of the Global Knowledge Economics Council.
Credentials
The Harrington/Ishikawa Medal presented yearly by the Asian-Pacific Quality Organization was named after Dr. Harrington to recognize his many contributions to the region. In 1997, the Quebec Society for Qualite named its Quality Award “The Harrington/Neron Medal,” honoring Dr. Harrington for his many contributions to the Quality Movement in Canada. In 2000 the Sri Lanka national quality award was named after him. The Middle East and Europe Best Quality Thesis Award was named “The Harrington Best TQM Thesis Award.” The University of Sudan has established a “Harrington Excellence Chair” to study methodologies to improve organizational performance. The Chinese government presented him with the Magnolia Award for his major contribution to improving the quality of Chinese products. In 2006 Dr. Harrington accepted the honorary chairman position of Quality Technology Park of Iran. In 2008 Dr. Harrington was awarded the Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award (UAE) in recognition of his superior performance as an original Quality and Excellence Guru who helped shape modern quality thinking. In 2009 Harrington was selected as the Professional of the Year (2009). Also in 2009 he received the Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-University Medal. In 2010 the Asian Pacific Quality Organization (APQO) awarded Harrington the APQO President’s Award for his “exemplary leadership.” The Australian Organization of Quality NSW’s Board recognized Harrington as the “Global Leader in Performance Improvement Initiatives” in 2010.
Dr. Harrington’s contributions to performance improvement around the world have brought him many honors and awards, including the Edwards Medal, the Lancaster Medal, ASQ’s Distinguished Service Medal, and many others. He was appointed the honorary advisor to the China Quality Control Association, and he was elected to the Singapore Productivity Hall of Fame in 1990. He has been named lifetime honorary president of the Asia Pacific Quality Organization and honorary director of the Asociacion Chilena de Control de Calidad.
Dr. Harrington has been elected a fellow of the British Quality Control Organization and the American Society for Quality Control. He was also elected an honorary member of the quality societies in Taiwan, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Singapore. He is also listed in Who’s Who Worldwide and Men of Distinction Worldwide.” He has presented hundreds of papers on performance improvement and organizational management structure at the local, state, national, and international levels.
Dr. Harrington is a very prolific author, publishing hundreds of technical reports and magazine articles. He has authored 35 books and 10 software packages. His e-mail address is [email protected].