Operational Management Chapter 9

A quality circle is a management team focused on implementing major changes to improve quality

False

Fixing a problem will often cost money; to minimize these costs it is best to find and fix the problem:

during the design phase

Giving workers responsibility for quality improvements and authority to make changes is known as:

employee empowerment.

Which is not a cost of quality?

extended service contract costs

Warranty service, processing of complaints, and costs of litigation are examples of:

external failure costs.

A control chart is a visual representation of the steps in a process

false

An organization achieves quality by consistently meeting its competitors' standards

false

Because courtesy is subjective, it cannot be considered a factor in service quality

false

Broadly defined, quality refers to the ability of a product or service to occasionally meet or exceed customer expectations

false

Companies that strive for zero defects in the products they deliver to their customers must perform 100 percent inspection of the final product.

false

Continuous improvement focuses on achieving major breakthroughs in product or service quality

false

Cost of inspectors, testing, test equipment, and labs are examples of prevention costs

false

Deming stresses that workers are primarily responsible for poor quality because very often they fail to follow instructions

false

High performance and low prices are both considered to be dimensions of quality

false

If the majority of service customers are satisfied, it is likely that all service customers will be satisfied

false

In market research, a group of consumers organized by marketing to express their opinions about a product or service is called a steering committee.

false

Juran describes quality management as a trilogy that consists of quality planning, control of quality costs, and quality improvement.

false

Modern quality management emphasizes finding and correcting mistakes before they reach the customer—catching the errors before they are shipped

false

Poor quality has a positive effect on productivity because it usually takes longer to produce a good part

false

Quality at the source means returning all defects to the source—our vendors

false

Quality certification refers to a process of 100 percent inspection to catch all defective products before they leave the company; this allows every item to be certified defect free

false

Regardless of superior quality, consumers will not pay premium prices

false

So long as quality input resources are used to make a product, we can expect quality output from the process

false

Suppliers are not included in quality assurance and quality improvement efforts in TQM; they should worry about their own problems

false

The Baldrige award can only be won by manufacturing organizations

false

The degree to which a product or service satisfies its intended purpose is determined by design, conformance to design, cost, and reputation of the producer

false

The dimensions of quality are important for products but are not applicable in service organizations.

false

The expression "quality at the source" refers primarily to the practice of requiring each of our vendors to provide quality parts and materials

false

User instructions and follow-up services after delivery are important elements of overall product or service quality

false

Your benchmark organization must be chosen from your industry in order for its methods to be applicable to your business

false

Cause-and-effect diagrams are sometimes called:

fishbone (Ishikawa) diagrams

The tool that is useful in documenting the current process is a:

flowchart.

The "Control" phase of DMAIC is intended to ensure that:

improvements are sustained.

In order for TQM to be successful, it is essential that most of the organization be:

in agreement with the philosophy and its goals.

Which of the following is not a typical goal of process improvement?

increasing market share

Lost production time, scrap, and rework are examples of:

internal failure costs

ISO certification differs substantially from the Baldrige Award in that it:

is an ongoing process.

Six sigma programs involve both ________ and ________ components

managerial; technical

Before a dimension of quality can be made operationally useful, it must be restated in some ________ form

measurable

Which of the following raises quality risks?

outsourcing to less-developed countries

To minimize quality risks, which of the following would be least likely to be outsourced to less-developed countries?

pharmaceuticals

Loss of business, increased liability, decreased productivity, and higher costs are all likely consequences of:

poor quality

Quality planning and administration, quality training, and quality control procedures are examples of:

prevention costs.

Which of the following is not an element of TQM?

quality management as a specialized function within the firm

A tool that is not used for quality management is a:

redesign

The Baldrige Award is based on evaluations in seven main areas. Which is not one of those?

relative profitability

In addition to correcting substandard work, employees have an ethical obligation to ________ the quality problem as well

report

If customer satisfaction does not always lead to customer loyalty, firms may need to focus additional effort on ________ strategies.

retention

Deciding how much to invest in the prevention of defects can be analyzed using:

return on quality

ISO certification is similar to the Baldrige Award in its emphasis on:

self-appraisal

The typical difference between quality circles and continuous improvement teams is:

the amount of employee empowerment.

According to Deming, it is the systems that management puts into place that are primarily responsible for poor quality, not employees

true

The quality certification that deals primarily with conformance to customer requirements is ISO ________; ISO ________ is concerned primarily with the organization's effect on the environment

9000; 14000

When an organization comes to the realization that there are quality problems in products that are already in service, ethical approaches include: I.divulging the information to the public at large. II.recalling, if possible, affected products. III.handling complaints on an individual rather than a systemic basis.

I and II

Managers have obligations to a wide variety of stakeholders such as shareholders, employees, and customers. When considering outsourcing production to offshore suppliers, managers have to weigh: I.cost benefits that might make shareholders wealthier. II.quality issues that might make firms less productive and/or products riskier. III.the investments already tied up in relationships with existing suppliers.

I, II, and III

The Baldrige Award aims to:I.publicize successful quality programs.II.recognize quality achievements of U.S. companies.III.stimulate efforts to improve quality.IV.distribute the grant money available for improved quality

I, II, and III only

Among the guiding principles of six sigma are:I.Reduction of variation is an important goal.II.Valid measurement is critical.III.Outputs determine inputs.IV.We should focus on those critical few influences on our quality.

I, II, and IV only

A chart showing the number of occurrences by category would be used in:

Pareto analysis

A technique for focusing attention on the most important problem areas is:

Pareto analysis

The quality tool which helps focus on the most important problem areas based on the 80-20 rule is:

Pareto analysis.

TQM stands for:

Total Quality Management

The Deming Prize was established by the:

Union of Japanese Scientists

A quality circle is:

a group of employees who meet to discuss ways of improving products or processes

Costs of inspectors, testing, test equipment, and labs are examples of:

appraisal costs

The process of identifying other organizations that are best at some facet of your operations, analyzing your performance versus theirs in order to establish a standard against which to judge performance, and identifying a model for learning how to improve is known as:

benchmarking

A quality improvement technique that involves the sharing of thoughts and ideas in a way that encourages unrestrained collective thinking is:

brainstorming.

The quality tool that resembles a "fishbone" is:

cause-and-effect diagrams.

The tool that is useful in the collection and organization of data is a:

check sheet.

Focusing a supply chain on ________ is a modern way of ensuring high-quality inputs and extending an organization's continuous improvement efforts.

close, collaborative ties with suppliers

ISO 9000 currently stresses ________ of a certified organization.

continual improvement

A tool that uses time-ordered values of a sample statistic to help detect the presence of correctable causes of variation in a process is a(n):

control chart

Business organizations that achieve good quality benefit in a variety of ways, including a positive reputation for quality, increased customer loyalty, and lower production costs.

true

Convenience, reliability, and assurance are dimensions of service quality

true

Cost of inspectors, testing, test equipment, and labs are examples of appraisal costs

true

Crosby's concept of "quality is free" means that it is less expensive to do it right initially than to do it over

true

Customer expectations tend to change over time, affecting their perception of service quality

true

Firms that wish to do business with the European Community can benefit from having a quality management system that meets ISO 9000 standards

true

ISO 9000 standards stress continual improvement regardless of how good you currently are

true

ISO standards aid in transferring technology to developing countries

true

Juran describes quality management as a trilogy that consists of quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement.

true

Medical malpractice claims are an example of how poor quality can affect an organization through liability

true

Quality of conformance refers to the degree to which goods and services conform to the intent of the designers as documented in the specifications.

true

Quality of design refers to the intention of the designers to include or exclude certain features in a product or service based on marketing and other information

true

Reducing the variability in our product or service is an important key to quality

true

Serviceability, conformance, and reliability are dimensions of product quality

true

Six Sigma programs have both management and technical components

true

TQM expands the traditional view of quality beyond looking only at the quality of the final product or service to looking at the quality of every aspect of the process

true

The PDSA cycle forms the conceptual basis for continuous improvement

true

The customer is the focal point and customer satisfaction is the driving force in quality management

true

The degree to which a product or service satisfies its intended purpose is determined by service after delivery, ease of use, design, and conformance to design

true

The dimensions of product and service quality are too abstract to be used as parameters for product or service design.

true

The primary difference between internal failures and external failures is time and place of discovery of the failure.

true

The purpose of benchmarking is to establish a standard against which the organization's performance can be judged and to identify a model for possible improvement.

true

There is a positive link between quality and productivity

true

Three key philosophies in TQM are continuous improvement, involvement of everyone in the organization, and customer satisfaction

true

Total quality management attempts to involve everyone in an organization in the effort to achieve quality.

true

When considering service quality, convenience often is a major factor

true