ch. 9

Identify a result of the poor quality of production in an organization.

Wasted time and materials

turnover

The rate at which employees leave an organization.

value

The worth a customer places on a total package of goods and services relative to its cost.

In the context of types of waste in an organization, match the terms (in the left column) to their examples (in the right column).

Downtime - When an employee is waiting for a machine to be repaired. (It refers to the time during which employees or machines are not producing goods or services.) Detour behavior - When an employee takes a coffee break. (It refers to tactics for postponing or avoiding work.)

Identify a true statement regarding the output in a production process in an organization.

Employees feel unhappy when output is increased while quality is sacrificed.

Identify a consequence of improved productivity of organizations in a country.

Employers tend to pay higher wages and salaries to productive workers.

Low turnover is expensive for any company.

False

Quality-control programs should be limited to the detection of defects.

False

True or false: An even flow of work in a department can be costly.

False

True or false: The term benchmarking describes how much variation there is in a product.

False

Identify the areas that a supervisor needs to focus on when reinforcing high-quality performance in an organization.

Process Product

Identify the formula for measuring productivity.

Productivity = Outputs/Inputs

Identify a true statement regarding improving productivity in an organization.

Productivity is improved when output is increased without boosting costs.

True or false: To be ISO 9000 certified, an organization is visited by independent audit teams.

True Reason: This is true. To be ISO 9000 certified, an organization is visited by independent audit teams. If the auditors determine that the key elements of the standards are in place, they issue a certification of compliance.

True or false: Productivity increases when output rises without a cost increase or when an organization can do as much work at a lower cost.

True Reason: This is true. When supervisors and other managers look for ways to boost productivity, they often start by looking at their costs per unit of output. Productivity improves when the department or organization can do as much work at a lower cost and when output rises without a cost increase.

_____refers to the worth a customer places on what he or she gets (the total package of goods and services) relative to the cost of acquiring it.

Value

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program

An annual award administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce and given to the company that shows the highest quality performance in seven categories.

Poor-quality work in an organization can lead to _____.

high costs

The objective of Total Quality Management (TQM) is to _____.

meet or exceed customer expectations

An organization's focus to consider how to do things in a way that leads to better quality is known as _____.

process control

An organization that focuses on ways to improve a product itself uses

product quality control

When a city's park district considers ways to upgrade its playground equipment, it focuses on _____.

product quality control

The amount of results achieved by an organization for a given amount of inputs is known as

productivity

The rate at which employees leave an organization is known as _____.

turnover

statistical quality control

Looking for defects in parts or finished products selected through a sampling technique.

detour behavior

Tactics for postponing or avoiding work.

Employees are fearful of productivity improvements due to possible layoffs.

True

Identify a true statement about departmental work flow in a company.

When work levels are low in a department, the result is idle time.

Managers can improve the productivity of employees by _____.

communicating instructions clearly so that employees can live up to expectations

A true statement about lean manufacturing is that it _____.

considers costs other than a cost that adds value for a customer to be wasteful and, hence, something to be eliminated

Supervisors can help a Total Quality Management (TQM) effort succeed by behaving as if quality is important. Among TQM users, this commonly is called _____.

walking the talk

The quality-control technique where an organization works toward making its goods and services free of problems is known as the

zero defects approach

zero-defects approach

A quality-control technique based on the view that everyone in the organization should work toward the goal of delivering such high quality that all aspects of the organization's goods and services are free of problems.

statistical process control (SPC)

A quality-control technique using statistics to monitor production quality on an ongoing basis and making corrections whenever the results show the process is out of control.

ISO 9000

A series of standards adopted by the International Organization for Standardization to spell out acceptable criteria for quality systems.

quality control

An organization's efforts to prevent or correct defects in its goods or services or to improve them in some way. (Only refers to error detection)

total quality management (TQM)

An organization-wide focus onsatisfying customers by continuously improving every business process for delivering goods or services.

Identify a true statement about turnover.

The degree to which employees feel supported by their organization directly influences their decision to stay or quit that organization.

__ refers to a process-oriented quality-control method designed to improve the product or service output to 99.9997 percent perfect.

Six Sigma

Match the common quality improvement methods used in an organization (in the left column) to their descriptions (in the right column).

Six Sigma - Using a formal process in which teams study processes and correct problems to limit defects to 3.4 per million operations Lean process improvement - A practice that considers any costs other than a cost that adds value for a customer to be wasteful and, hence, something to be eliminated Total quality management - Focusing the whole organization on continuously improving every business process so it satisfies customers

_____ is a quality-control technique using statistics to monitor production quality on an ongoing basis and making corrections whenever the results show a process is out of control.

Statistical process control (SPC)

overhead

Expenses not related directly to producing goods and services; examples are rent, utilities, and staff support.

Tardiness is often an employee's first step to leaving the organization.

False

True or false: Total Quality Management (TQM) strategies call for the involvement of employees at the top level and prohibit the involvement of the first line of employees.

False Reason: This is false. Because Total Quality Management (TQM) strategies call for the involvement of employees at all levels, an organization needs to educate its employees about why quality improvement is needed and how the TQM process will work.

In the context of quality standards, identify the categories that are evaluated for the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. (Check all that apply.)

Human resource focus Results Process management Customer and market focus Measurement, analysis, and knowledge management Strategic planning Leadership

_____ is a series of standards adopted by the International Organization for Standardization to spell out acceptable criteria for quality systems.

ISO 9000

benchmarking

Identifying the top performer of a process, then learning and carrying out the top performer's practices.

Identify a way managers can boost productivity.

Improve process quality so that employees work more efficiently

Identify a consequence of poor quality of production in an organization.

It becomes difficult to attract resources.

Identify a true statement about Total Quality Management (TQM).

It is an organization-wide focus on satisfying customers by continuously improving every business process for delivering goods or services.

Identify a true statement about the guidelines for quality control.

It is more efficient to design and build quality into a product than to try to improve the product later.

Identify a true statement about lean manufacturing.

It refers to continually identifying and eliminating waste through the use of a variety of assessment, scheduling, and production control tools.

Identify a true statement about productivity.

It refers to the amount of acceptable work employees do for each dollar they earn.

Identify a true statement about productivity. Multiple choice question. It refers to the practice of identifying

It refers to the amount of acceptable work employees do for each dollar they earn.

Identify the consequences of improved productivity of organizations in a country.

People will have access to more and better goods and services. Goods and services will be available at low prices.

Match the dimensions of quality of goods or services (in the left column) with their descriptions (in the right column).

Performance - A product's primary operating feature Features - Supplements to a product's fundamental operating characteristics Aesthetics - The way in which a product feels, looks, tastes, and smells Serviceability - The ease and speed of repairing a product

_____ is an annual award administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce and given to the company that shows the highest quality performance in seven categories.

The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program

productivity

The amount of results (output) an organization gets for a given amount of inputs.

The most accurate way to apply statistical quality control is to use a _____.

random sample

Quality assurance

refers to both the prevention and the detection of quality problems.

_____ refers to an organization's efforts to prevent or correct defects in its goods or services or to improve them in some way.

Quality control

Which of the following is a true statement about the guidelines for quality control?

Quality control should include a prevention program to keep defects from occurring.

process control

Quality control that emphasizes how to do things in a way that leads to better quality.

product quality control

Quality control that focuses on ways to improve the product itself.

Match the measures of the quality of goods or services (in the left column) with their descriptions (in the right column).

Reliability - The likelihood that a product will function smoothly and not break down during a specified period Conformance - The extent to which a product's design and operating features meet established standards Durability - The length of the life of a product Perceived Quality - A customer's impression of the quality of a product

In the context of the quality of services or goods, match the quality improvement methods used in an organization (in the left column) to their descriptions (in the right column).

Statistical quality control - Looking for defects in outcomes selected through a sampling technique Statistical process control - Using statistics to monitor production quality during a production process Zero-defects approach - Employees delivering such high quality that goods and services are free of problems

employee involvement teams

Teams of employees who plan ways to improve quality in their areas of organization.

Quality improvement directed toward value begins when an _____.

organization's employees determine the needs and wants of customers through communication

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program Seven categories

1. Leadership 2. Strategic planning 3. customer and market focus 4. measurement. analysis, and knowledge management 5. human resource focus 6. process management 7. results

The estimated cost of purchase of new machinery to a shoe manufacturing firm is set at $100,000, and it is expected to save the firm $20,000 per year. In this scenario, the average rate of return (ARR) would be _____.

20 percent

A supervisor can make decisions about how to reduce costs if he or she has information on where money is being spent. The most important source of such information is a(n) _____.

budget report

Atlas Inc., a U.S.-based clothing firm, has factories in China that produce garments for sale in the United States. This practice helps Atlas cut costs since the factories function on low-cost labor. This scenario is an example of _____.

offshoring

Arrange the steps involved in a typical problem-solving process used by the members of an employee involvement team in the correct order. (Place the first step at the top.)

1. Quality problems related to the employees' areas of responsibility are identified 2. The problems to focus on first are selected 3. A problem is analyzed to identify its causes 4. Possible solutions to a problem are identified and one solution is selected to recommend to management

In a repair shop, a new printer would save the shop $1,000 per year and cost the shop $4,000. Calculate its average rate of return (ARR).

25 percent

In a legal firm, a new printer will save the firm $2,000 per year and costs $8,000. Calculate the payback period.

4 years

The estimated cost of purchase of new machinery in a production facility is set at $200,000, and it is expected to save $40,000 per year. In this scenario, the payback period would be _____.

5 years ($200,000/$40,000)

Identify an example of process control.

A city's park district asks its maintenance crew to suggest ways to keep its parks clean and attractive.

average rate of return (ARR)

A percentage that represents the average annual earnings for each dollar of a given investment.

Six Sigma

A process-oriented quality-control method designed to improve the product or service output to 99.99 percent perfect.

Average rate of return (ARR)

Average annual earnings or savings / Amount invested (A percentage that represents the average annual earnings for each dollar of a given investment)

Payback period

Cost of new equipment / Savings per year (The length of time it will take for the benefits generated by an investment to offset the cost of the investment)

Identify an example of an overhead.

Cost of utilities

Identify the characteristics of quality standards.

They should be challenging but achievable. They should be written. They should be measurable, clear, and specific.

Identify a true statement about quality standards.

They should reflect what is important to a client.

Identify a way in which supervisors can overcome the productivity constraint of management limitations.

They should show that they are interested in their department's productivity through their actions and words.

idle time, or downtime

Time during which employees or machines are not producing goods or services.

Identify a goal of an employee involvement team.

To directly include employees in planning on ways to improve quality

Why is it necessary for employees in an organization to care about quality?

To maintain or enhance the organization's reputation

Lack of motivation is often the problem underlying time lost to tardiness and absenteeism.

True

True or false: In a basic sense, productivity is the amount of output produced with the inputs used.

True Reason: This is true. The basic way to measure productivity is to divide outputs by inputs. In other words, productivity is the amount of output produced with the inputs used.

The term ____ refers to expenses not related directly to producing goods and services.

overhead

Jacob works at a manufacturing plant that produces spare parts for the automobile industry. He records the accuracy of the thread patterns on screws and bolts and plots this information on a control chart. This helps him monitor the production quality on an ongoing basis. In this scenario, Jacob is using _____.

statistical process control (SPC)

Looking for defects in parts, finished goods, or other outcomes selected through a sampling technique is known as _____.

statistical quality control

By implementing _____ in an organization, employees and managers at all levels seek to build quality into every aspect of their work.

the zero-defects approach