At the same time that STS designs were being developed, W.E. Deming pioneered techniques of employee involvement geared toward improving quality. In the early 1950s, Deming introduced these concepts to U.S. corporations, which were initially not very receptive to his approaches. Deming later spoke to a group of Japanese industrialists who found his message consistent with their general business philosophy, with the application of Deming’s concepts to STS interventions have begun to focus on “empowering” the worker to assume more lateral responsibility for the work. These innovations include quality circles, total quality management, and self-managed teams.