Chapter 9 Management of Quality- Production Ops
The difference between Performance-Expectations
If these two measures are equal, the difference is zero, and expectations have been met. If the difference is negative, expectations have not been met, whereas if the difference is positive, performance has exceeded customer expectations.
focus groups of consumers
Marketing may organize to express their views on a product or service (what they like and don't like, and what they would like to have).
superior design
Similarly, a ___________ ___________ usually cannot offset poor workmanship.
Aesthetics
appearance, feel, smell, taste
Serviceability
handling of complaints or repairs
Conformance
how well a product corresponds to design specifications
Consistency
quality doesn't vary
Reliability
the ability to perform a service dependably, consistently, and accurately
One way to think about quality
the degree to which performance of a product or service meets or exceeds customer expectations.
Quality of design
the intention of designers to include or exclude certain features in a product or service. For example, many different models of automobiles are on the market today. They differ in size, appearance, roominess, fuel economy, comfort, and materials used. These differences reflect choices made by designers that determine the quality of design.
skilled craftsmen
Prior to the Industrial Revolution_____________performed all stages of production
Product Quality
Product quality is often judged on nine dimensions of quality
Named after the late Malcolm Baldrige, an industrialist and former secretary of commerce, the annual Baldrige Award is administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The purpose of the award competition is to stimulate efforts to improve quality, to recognize quality achievements, and to publicize successful programs.
measurable characteristics
They must be stated in terms of specific, ____________ __________, For example, when buying a car, a customer would naturally be interested in the car's performance. But what does that mean? In more specific terms, it might refer to a car's estimated miles per gallon, how quickly it can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour, or its stopping distance when traveling at 60 mph. Each of these can be stated in measurable terms (e.g., estimated miles per gallon: city = 25, highway = 30). Similar measurable characteristics can often be identified for each of the other product dimensions, as well as for the service dimensions. This is the sort of detailed information that is needed to both design and produce high-quality goods and services.
Reliability
dependable performance
Expectations
meet (or exceed) customer expectations
Quality of conformance
the degree to which goods and services conform to (i.e., achieve) the intent of the designers.This is affected by factors such as the capability of equipment used; the skills, training, and motivation of workers; the extent to which the design lends itself to production; the monitoring process to assess conformance; and the taking of corrective action (e.g., through problem solving) when necessary
Assurance
the knowledge exhibited by personnel who come into contact with a customer and their ability to convey trust and confidence
Convenience
the availability and accessibility of the service
A poor design can result in
difficulties in production or service. (For example, materials might be difficult to obtain, specifications difficult to meet, or procedures difficult to follow.)
A division of labor accompanied the Industrial Revolution
each worker was then responsible for only a small portion of each product. Pride of workmanship became less meaningful because workers could no longer identify readily with the final product. The responsibility for quality shifted to the foremen. Inspection was either nonexistent or haphazard, although in some instances 100 percent inspection was used.
Designers must work closely with representatives of operations to ascertain that designs can be produced; that is, that production or service has the
equipment, capacity, and skills necessary to produce or provide a particular design
Special features
extra characteristics
Frederick Winslow Taylor, the "Father of Scientific Management,"
gave new emphasis to quality by including product inspection and gauging in his list of fundamental areas of manufacturing management. G. S. Radford improved Taylor's methods.
inadequate
if a design is __________or inappropriate for the circumstances, the best workmanship in the world may not be enough to achieve the desired quality. Also, we cannot expect a worker to achieve good results if the given tools or procedures are inadequate
Perceived quality
indirect evaluation of quality (e.g., reputation)
Appraisal costs
relate to inspection, testing, and other activities intended to uncover defective products or services, or to assure that there are none. They include the cost of inspectors, testing, test equipment, labs, quality audits, and field testing.
Successful management of quality
requires that managers have insights on various aspects of quality. These include defining quality in operational terms, understanding the costs and benefits of quality, recognizing the consequences of poor quality, and recognizing the need for ethical behavior. We begin with defining quality
The results of this service quality audit help management identify
service strengths and weaknesses
Design involves decisions about the specific characteristics of a product or service such as
size, shape, and location
five service dimensions that influence customers' perceptions of service quality:
tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy
quality
the ability of a product or service to consistently meet or exceed customer requirements or expectations
Consistency
the ability to provide the same level of good quality repeatedly
Tangibles
the physical appearance of facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials
Time
the speed with which service is delivered
Courtesy
the way customers are treated by employees who come into contact with them
Responsiveness
the willingness of service providers to help customers in unusual situations and to deal with problems
quality pioneers
A core of______________shaped current thinking and practice.
SERVQUAL
A widely used tool for assessing service quality, and an instrument designed to obtain feedback on an organization's ability to provide quality service to customers.
Of particular interest are any gaps or discrepancies in service quality. There may be discrepancies between:
Actual customer expectations and management perceptions of those expectations Management perceptions of customer expectations and service-quality specifications Service quality and service actually delivered Service actually delivered and what is communicated about the service to customers Customers' expectations of the service provider and their perceptions of provider delivery. If gaps are found, they can be related to tangibles or other service quality dimensions to address the discrepancies.
Ethical behavior
All members of an organization have an obligation to perform their duties in an ethical manner.
appraisal, prevention, and failure.
Any serious attempt to deal with quality issues must take into account the costs associated with quality. Those costs can be classified into three categories:
The degree to which a product or a service successfully satisfies its intended purpose has four primary determinants:
Design How well the product or service conforms to the design Ease of use Service after delivery
defective products and substandard service, poor designs, shoddy workmanship, and substandard parts and raw materials.
Ethical behavior comes into play in many situations that involve quality. One major category is substandard work, including
A related issue is how an organization chooses to deal with information about quality problems in products that are already in service.
For example, automakers and tire makers in recent years have been accused of withholding information about actual or potential quality problems; they failed to issue product recalls, or failed to divulge information, choosing instead to handle any complaints that arose on an individual basis.
decreased productivity, an increase in the accident rate among employees, inconveniences and injuries to customers, and increased liability costs.
Having knowledge of this and failing to correct and report it in a timely manner is unethical and can have a number of negative consequences. These can include increased costs for organizations in terms of
the major areas affected by quality are:
Loss of business Liability Productivity Costs
Walter Shewhart
a genuine pioneer in the field of quality control, and he became known as the "father of statistical quality control." He developed control charts for analyzing the output of processes to determine when corrective action was necessary. Shewhart had a strong influence on the thinking of two other gurus, W. Edwards Deming and Joseph Juran.
Quality awards have been established to generate improvement in quality.
The Malcolm Baldrige Award, the European Quality Award, and the Deming Prize are well-known awards given annually to recognize firms that have integrated quality management into their operations.
product , service , quality
The dimensions of both___________and____________ , ______________ establish a conceptual framework for thinking about quality, but even they are too abstract to be applied operationally for purposes of product or service design, or actually producing a product or delivering a service.
Service Quality
The dimensions of product quality don't adequately describe service quality. Instead, service quality is often described using the following dimensions
It is true that all members of an organization have some responsibility for quality, but certain parts of the organization are key areas of responsibility:
Top management. Top management has the ultimate responsibility for quality. While establishing strategies for quality, top management must institute programs to improve quality; guide, direct, and motivate managers and workers; and set an example by being involved in quality initiatives. Examples include taking training in quality, issuing periodic reports on quality, and attending meetings on quality. Design. Quality products and services begin with design. This includes not only features of the product or service; it also includes attention to the processes that will be required to produce the products and/or the services that will be required to deliver the service to customers. Procurement. The procurement department has responsibility for obtaining goods and services that will not detract from the quality of the organization's goods and services. Production/operations. Production/operations has responsibility to ensure that processes yield products and services that conform to design specifications. Monitoring processes and finding and correcting root causes of problems are important aspects of this responsibility. Quality assurance. Quality assurance is responsible for gathering and analyzing data on problems and working with operations to solve problems. Packaging and shipping. This department must ensure that goods are not damaged in transit, that packages are clearly labeled, that instructions are included, that all parts are included, and that shipping occurs in a timely manner. Marketing and sales. This department has the responsibility to determine customer needs and to communicate them to appropriate areas of the organization. In addition, it has the responsibility to report any problems with products or services.
Pride of workmanship , reputation
____________and_______often provided the motivation to see that a job was done right. Lengthy guild apprenticeships caused this attitude to carry over to new workers.Moreover, one person or a small group of people were responsible for an entire product.
Durability
ability to perform over time
Business organizations with good or excellent quality typically benefit in a variety of ways:
an enhanced reputation for quality, the ability to command premium prices, an increased market share, greater customer loyalty, lower liability costs, and fewer production or service problems—which yields higher productivity, fewer complaints from customers, lower production costs, and higher profits.
Design decisions must take into account:
customer wants, production or service capabilities, safety and liability (both during production and after delivery), costs, and other similar considerations.
The design phase
is the starting point for the level of quality eventually achieved
Performance
main characteristics of the product
Designers may determine customer wants from information provided by:
marketing, perhaps through the use of consumer surveys or other market research
two key elements of every purchasing decision are
price and quality