Chapter 6: Managing Quality

Costs of dissatisfaction, repair costs, and warranty costs are elements of cost in the a. taguchi loss function b. pareto chart c. ISO 9000 Quality cost calculator d. process chart e. none of the above

A

a fishbone diagram is also known as a a. cause and effect diagram b. poka-yoke diagram c. kaizen diagram d. kanban diagram e. taguchi diagram

A

a production manager at a pottery factory has noticed that about 70% of defects result from impurities in raw materials, 15% result from human error, 10% from machine malfunctions, and 5% from a variety of other causes. This manager is most likely using a. pareto chart b. scatter diagram c. a taguchi loss function d. a cause and effect diagram e. a flow chart

A

a quality circle holds a brainstorming session and attempts to identify the factors responsible for flaws in a product. which tool do you suggest they use to organize their findings? a. ishikawa diagram b. pareto chart c. process chart d. control charts e. activity chart

A

a recent consumer survery conducted for a car dealership indicates that, when buying a car, customers are primarily concerned with the salesperson's ability to explain the car's features, the salesperson's friendliness, and the dealer's honesty. the dealership should be especially concerned with which dimensions of service quality? a. communication, courtesy, and credibility b. competence, courtesy, and security c. competence, responsiveness, and reliability d. communication, responsiveness, and reliability e. understanding/knowing customer, responsiveness, and reliability

A

inspection, scrap, and repair are examples of a. internal costs b. external costs c. costs of dissatisfaction d. prevention costs e. societal costs

A

regarding the quality of design, production, and distribution of products, an ethical requirement of management is to a. determine whether any of the organization's stakeholders are violated by poor quality production b. gain ISO 14000 certification for the organization c. obtain a product safety certificate from the Consumer Product Safety Commission d. have the organization's legal staff write disclaimers in the product instruction booklets e. compare the cost of product liability to the external failure cost

A

stakeholders who are affected by the production and marketing of poor quality products include a. stockholders, employees, and customers b. suppliers and creditors, but not distributors c. only stockholders, creditors, and owners d. suppliers and distributors, but not customers e. only stockholders and organizational executives and managers

A

the four Ms of cause and effect diagrams are a. material, machinery, manpower, and methods b. material, methods, men, and mental attitude c. named after four quality experts d. material, management, manpower, and motivation e. none of the above

A

the goal of inspection is to a. detect a bad process immediately b. add value to a product or service c. correct deficiencies in products d. correct system deficiencies e. all of the above

A

which of the following regarding Six Sigma is true? a. the term has 2 distinct meanings- one is statistical; the other is a comprehensive system b. six sigma means that about 99% of a firm's output is free of defects c. the six sigma program was developed by Toyota in the 1970s d. the six sigma program is for manufacturing firms, and is not applicable to services e. six sigma certification is granted by the International Standards Organization

A

"poka-yoke" is the Japanese term for a. card b. foolproof c. continuous improvement d. fishbone diagram e. JIT

B

"quality is defined by the customer" is a. an unrealistic definition of quality b. a user-based definition quality c. a manufacturing-based definition of quality d. a product-based definition of quality e. the definition proposed by the American Society for Quality

B

3 broad categories of definitions of quality are a. product quality, service quality, and organizational quality b. user-based, manufacturing-based, and product-based c. internal, external, and prevention d. low-cost, response, and differentiation

B

a customer service manager at a retail clothing store has collected numerous customer complaints from the forms they fill out on merchandise returns. to analyze trends or patterns in these returns she has organized these complaints into a small number of categories. this is most closely related to the ____ tool of TQM a. taguchi loss function b. cause and effect diagram c. scatter diagram d. histogram e. process control chart

B

among the tools of TQM, the tool ordinarily used to aid in understanding the sequence of events through which a product travels is a a. pareto chart b. process chart c. check sheet d. taguchi map e. poka-yoke

B

if a sample of parts is measured and the mean of the measurements is outside the control limits, the process is a. in control, but not capable of producing within the established control limits b. out of control and the process should be investigated for assignable variation c. within the established control limits with only natural causes of variation d. monitored closely to see if the next sample mean will also fall outside the control limits e. none of the above

B

marketing issues such as advertising, image, and promotion are important to quality bc a. they define for consumers the tangible elements of a service b. the intangible attributes of a product may not be defined by the consumer c. they educate consumers on how to use the product d. they make the product seem more valuable than it really is e. they raise expenses and therefore decrease profitability

B

the process improvement technique that sorts the "vital few" from the "trivial many" is a. taguchi analysis b. pareto analysis c. benchmarking d. deming analysis e. yamaguchi analysis

B

total quality management emphasizes a. the responsibility of the quality control staff to identify and solve all quality-related problems b. a commitment to quality that goes beyond internal company issues to suppliers and customers c. a system where strong managers are the only decision makers d. a process where mostly statisticians get involved e. ISO 14000 certification

B

"making it right the first time" is a. an unrealistic definition of quality b. a user-based definition quality c. a manufacturing-based definition of quality d. a product-based definition of quality e. the definition proposed by the American Society for Quality

C

"quality is free" meaning that costs of poor quality have been understated, is the work of a. Frank Gilbreth b. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth c. Philip B. Crosby d. Crosby, Stills, and Nash e. none of the above

C

a worker operates a shear press. she notices that the metal sheets she is cutting have curled edges. who should get the first 'shot' at solving the problem? a. the foreman b. a member of the quality control department c. the operator herself d. an engineer e. the employee's supervisor

C

building high-morale organizations and building communication networks that include employees are both elements of a. ISO 9000 certification b. six sigma approach c. employee empowerment d. taguchi methods e. the tools of TQM

C

pareto charts are used to a. identify inspection points in a process b. outline production schedules c. organize errors, problems, or defects d. show material flow e. all of the above

C

the process of identifying other organizations that are best at some facet of your operations and then modeling your organization after them is known as a. continuous improvement b. employee empowerment c. benchmarking d. copycatting e. patent infringement

C

which of the determinants of service quality involves having the customer's interests at heart? a. access b. courtesy c. credibility d. responsiveness e. tangibles

C

"employees cannot produce goods that on average exceed the quality of what the process is capable of producing" expresses a basic element in the writings of a. Vilfredo Pareto b. Adam Smith c. Joseph M. Juran d. W. Edwards Deming e. Philip B. Crosby

D

ISO 9000 seeks standardization in terms of a. products b. production procedures c. suppliers' specifications d. procedures to manage quality e. all of the above

D

a manager tells her production employees, "it's no longer good enough that your work fall anywhere within the specification limits. I need your work to be as close to the target value as possible." her thinking is reflective of a. internal benchmarking b. six sigma c. iso 9000 d. taguchi concepts e. process control charts

D

a quality loss function utilizes all of the following costs except a. the cost of scrap and repair b. the cost of customer dissatisfaction c. inspection, warranty, and service costs d. sales costs e. costs to society

D

a successful TQM program incorporates all of the following except a. continuous improvement b. employee improvement c. benchmarking d. centralized decision-making authority e. none of the above; a successful TQM program incorporates all of the above

D

according to the manufacturing-based definition of quality, a. quality is the degree of excellence at an acceptable price and the control of variability at an acceptable cost b. quality depends on how well the product fits patterns of consumer preferences c. even though quality cannot be defined, you know what it is d. quality is the degree to which a specific product conforms to standards e. quality lies in the eyes of the beholder

D

an organization that has successfully used both internal and external benchmarking is a. Marks and Spenser b. DaimlerChrysler c. L.L. Bean d. Xerox e. none of the above

D

based on his 14 points, Deming is a strong proponent of a. inspection at the end of the production process b. an increase in numerical quotas to boost productivity c. looking for the cheapest supplier d. training and knowledge e. all of the above

D

to become ISO 9000 certified, organizations must a. document quality procedures b. have an onsite assessment c. have an ongoing series of audits of their products or service d. all of the above e. none of the above

D

when a sample measurement falls inside the control limits, it means that a. each unit manufactured is good enough to sell b. the process limits cannot be determined statistically c. the process output exceeds the requirements d. if there is no other pattern in the samples, the process is in control e. no investigation is necessary until another sample value falls outside the control limits

D

which of the determinants of service quality involves performing the service right the first time? a. access b. courtesy c. credibility d. reliability e. responsiveness

D

which of the following is true about ISO 14000 certification? a. it is a prerequisite for ISO 9000 certification b. it indicated a higher level of adherence to standards than ISO 9000 c. it is only sought by companies exporting their goods d. it deals with environmental management e. it is of little interest to European companies

D

which of the following statements best describes the relationship b/t quality management and product strategy? a. product strategy is set by top management; quality management is an independent activity b. quality management is important to the low-cost product strategy, but not to the response or differentiation strategies c. high quality is important to all 3 strategies, but it is not a critical success factor d. managing quality helps build successful product strategies e. companies with the highest measures of quality were no more productive than other firms

D

which of the following statements regarding Arnold Palmer hospital is false? a. the hospital uses a wide range of quality management techniques b. the culture of quality at the hospital includes employees at all levels c. the hospital scores very highly in national studies of patient satisfaction d. the hospital's high quality is measured by low readmission rates, not patient satisfaction e. the design of patient rooms, even wall colors, relfects the hospital's culture of quality

D

"kaizen" is a Japanese term meaning a. foolproof mechanism b. JIT c. a fishbone diagram d. setting standards e. continuous improvement

E

Arnold Palmer Hospital uses which of the following quality management techniques? a. Pareto charts b. flow charts c. benchmarking d. JIT e. the hospital uses all of the above techniques

E

a good description of 'source inspection' is inspecting a. materials upon delivery by the supplier b. the goods at the production facility before they reach the customer c. the goods as soon as a problem occurs d. goods at the supplier's plant e. one's own work, as well as the work done at the previous work station

E

all of the following costs are likely to decrease as a result of better quality except a. customer dissatisfaction costs b. inspection costs c. scrap costs d. warranty and service costs e. maintenance costs

E

quality circles members are a. paid according to their contribution to quality b. external consultants designed to provide training in the use of quality tools c. always machine operators d. all trained to be facilitators e. none of the above

E

techniques for building employee empowerment include a. building communication networks that include employees b. developing open, supportive supervisors c. moving responsibility from both managers and staff to production employees d. building high-morale organizations e. all of the above

E

the philosophy of zero defects is a. the result of Deming's research b. unrealistic c. prohibitively costly d. an ultimate goal; in practice, 1 to 2% defects is acceptable e. consistent with the commitment to continuous improvement

E

the role of quality in limiting a firm's product liability is illustrated by a. ensuring that contaminated products such as impure foods do not reach customers b. ensuring that products meet standards such as those of the Consumer Product Safety Act c. designing safe products to limit possible harm to consumers d. using processes that make products as safe or as durable as their design specifications call for e. all of the above are valid

E

which of the following is not a typical inspection point? a. upon receipt of goods from your supplier b. during the production process c. before the product is shipped to the customer d. at the supplier's plant while the supplier is producing e. after a costly process

E

which of the following is not one of the major categories of costs associated with quality? a. prevention costs b. appraisal costs c. internal failures d. external failures e. none of the above, they are all major categories of costs associated with quality

E

which of the following is true about ISO 14000 certification? a. it is not a prerequisite for ISO 9000 certification b. it deals with environmental management c. it offers a good systematic approach to pollution prevention d. one of its core elements is life-cycle assessment e. all of the above are true

E

which of the following is true regarding control charts? a. values above the upper and lower limits indicate points out of adjustment b. control charts are built so that new data can be quickly compared to past performance data c. control charts graphically present data d. control charts plot data over time e. all of the above are true

E

Managers at Arnold Palmer Hospital take quality so seriously that the hospital typically is a national leader in several quality areas - so that continuous improvement is no longer necessary.

False

An improvement in quality must necessarily increase costs

false

benchmarking requires the comparison of your firm to other organizations; it is not appropriate to benchmark by comparing one of your divisions to another of your divisions

false

conforming to standards is the focus of the product-based definition of quality

false

deming's writings on quality tend to focus on the customer and on fitness for use, unlike Juran's work that is oriented toward meeting specifications

false

for most, if not all organizations, quality is a tactical rather than strategic issue

false

of the several determinants of service quality, access is the one that relates to keeping customers informed in language they can understand

false

quality is mostly the business of the quality control staff, not ordinary employees

false

source inspection is inferior to inspection before costly operations

false

the Japanese use the term "poka-yoke" to refer to continuous improvement

false

the quality loss function indicated that costs related to poor quality are low as long as the product is within acceptable specification limits

false

ISO 9000 has evolved from a set of quality assurance standards toward a quality management system

true

Kaizen is similar to TQM in that both are focused on continuous improvement

true

Philip Crosby is credited with both of these quality catch phrases "quality is free" and "zero defects"

true

TQM is important bc quality influences all of the 10 decisions made by operations managers

true

a cause-and-effect diagram helps identify the source of a problem

true

continuous improvement is based on the philosophy that any aspect of an organization can be improved

true

internal failure costs are associated with scrap, rework, and downtime

true

line employees need the knowledge of TQM tools

true

one of the ways that Just-In-Time (or JIT) influences quality is that by reducing inventory, bad quality is exposed

true

pareto charts are a graphical way of identifying the few critical items from the many less important ones

true

quality circles empower employees to improve productivity by finding solutions to work-related problems in their work area

true

the definition of quality adopted by The American Society for Quality Control is a customer-oriented definition.

true

the delivery of quality products and services to customers is important, for reasons that include profitability as well as social responsibility

true

the phrase six sigma has 2 meanings. one is statistical, referring to an extremely high process capability; the other is a comprehensive system for achieving and sustaining business success

true

the quality of services is more difficult to measure than the quality of goods because both the intangible differences between service products and consumers' intangible expectations are poorly defined

true