SCM CH 6

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) flowchart D) control charts E) activity chart

A

Costs of dissatisfaction, repair costs, and warranty costs are elements of cost in the: A) quality loss function. B) Pareto chart. C) ISO 9000 quality cost calculator. D) process chart. E) Ishikawa diagram.

A

One hundred percent inspection A. means that every part is checked to see whether or not it is defective. B. catches all of the defective parts. C. is practical and an excellent fit for​ world-class manufacturers. D. means that only good parts will be shipped to a customer.

A

PDCA, developed by Shewhart, stands for which of the following? A) Plan-Do-Check-Act B) Plan-Develop-Check-Accept C) Problem-Develop Solution-Check-Act D) Problem-Do-Continue-Act E) Prepare-Develop-Create-Assess

A

Quality can improve profitability by reducing costs. Which of the following is not an aspect of reduced costs by quality improvements? A) flexible pricing B) increased productivity C) lower rework and scrap costs D) lower warranty costs E) All of the above are aspects of reduced costs by quality improvements.

A

The "four Ms" of cause-and-effect diagrams are: A) material, machinery/equipment, manpower, and methods. B) material, methods, men, and mental attitude. C) named after four quality experts. D) material, management, manpower, and motivation. E) mentality, motivation, management, and manpower.

A

The Taguchi Method includes all except which of the following major concepts? a. employee involvement b. remove the effects of adverse conditions c. quality loss function d. target specifications

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

The usual purpose of an R-chart is to signal whether there has been a: A) gain or loss in dispersion. B) change in the percent defective in a sample. C) change in the central tendency of the process output. D) change in the number of defects in a sample. E) change in the consumer's risk.

A

Which of the following is FALSE regarding control charts? A) Values above the upper control limits imply that the product's quality is exceeding expectations. 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) None of the above is false.

A

Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding the importance of the role that an operations manager plays in addressing service​ quality? A. The manager may be able to influence the quality of the service but has little control over the​ customers' expectation. B. The operations manager should realize that the​ customer' expectations are the standard against which the service is judged. C. The tangible component of many services is important. D. Managers must expect exceptions.

A

Which of the following statements regarding "Six Sigma" is TRUE? A) The term has two distinct meanings-one is statistical; the other is a comprehensive quality system. B) Six Sigma means that about 94 percent 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 (ISO).

A

​Cause-and-effect diagrams are also known as A. fish-bone charts. B. Pareto charts. C. flowcharts. D. target specification graphs.

A

Assignable variation: A) is a sign that a process is under control. B) is to be identified and investigated. C) is the same as random variation. D) is variation that cannot be traced to a specific cause. E) leads to a steep OC curve.

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 because: A) they define for consumers the tangible elements of a service. B) the intangible attributes of a product (including any accompanying service) 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

Statistical process control charts: A) display the measurements on every item being produced. B) display upper and lower limits for process variables or attributes and signal when a process is no longer in control. C) indicate to the process operator the average outgoing quality of each lot. D) indicate to the operator the true quality of material leaving the process. E) are a graphic way of classifying problems by their level of importance, often referred to as the 80-20 rule.

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

Three 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. E) Pareto, Shewhart, and Deming.

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

Which of the following determinants of service quality means the firm performs the service right the first time and that the firm honors its​ promises? A. responsiveness B. reliability C. competence D. credibility

B

"Quality Is Free," meaning that the costs of poor quality have been understated, is the work of: A) W. Edwards Deming. B) Joseph M. Juran. C) Philip B. Crosby. D) Crosby, Stills, and Nash. E) Armand Feigenbaum.

C

A device or technique that ensures production of a good unit every time is a A. control chart. B. fail-safe. C. poka-yoke. D. zero defect.

C

Building high-morale organizations and building communication networks that include employees are both elements of: A) ISO 9000 certification. B) Six Sigma certification. C) employee empowerment. D) Taguchi methods. E) the tools of TQM.

C

Control charts for variables are based on data that come from: A) acceptance sampling. B) individual items. C) averages of small samples. D) averages of large samples. E) the entire lot.

C

PDCA is most often applied with regard to which aspect of TQM? A) Six Sigma B) employee empowerment C) continuous improvement D) benchmarking E) JIT

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) show the range of values of a measurement and the frequency with which each value occurs.

C

The Central Limit Theorem: A) is the theoretical foundation of the c-chart. B) states that the average of assignable variations is zero. C) allows managers to use the normal distribution as the basis for building some control charts. D) states that the average range can be used as a proxy for the standard deviation. E) controls the steepness of an operating characteristic curve.

C

The number of late insurance claim payouts per 100 should be measured with what type of control chart? A) x-bar chart B) R-chart C) p-chart D) c-chart E) either p-chart or c-chart

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

The purpose of an x-bar chart is to determine whether there has been a: A) change in the dispersion of the process output. B) change in the percent defective in a sample. C) change in the central tendency of the process output. D) change in the number of defects in a sample. E) change in the AOQ.

C

Up to three standard deviations above or below the centerline is the amount of variation that statistical process control allows for: A) Type I errors. B) about 95.5% variation. C) natural variation. D) all types of variation. E) assignable variation.

C

Which of the determinants of service quality involves having the customer's best interests at heart? A) access B) courtesy C) credibility D) responsiveness E) tangibles

C

Which of the following DOES NOT increase profit by improving​ quality? A. flexible pricing B. improved reputation C. higher warranty costs D. increased productivity

C

A manager tells her production employees, "It's no longer good enough that your work falls 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 includes 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 EXCEPT which of the following? A) continuous improvement B) employee involvement C) benchmarking D) centralized decision-making authority E) JIT

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

Natural variations: A) are variations that are to be identified and investigated. B) are variations that can be traced to a specific cause. C) are the same as assignable variations. D) lead to occasional false findings that processes are out of control. E) play no role in statistical process control.

D

The causes of variation in statistical process control are: A) cycles, trends, seasonality, and random variations. B) producer's causes and consumer's causes. C) mean and range. D) natural causes and assignable causes. E) Type I and Type II.

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

To develop a standard or​ benchmark, firms need to start with A. forming a benchmark team. B. identifying benchmarking partners. C. collecting benchmarking information. D. determining what to benchmark.

D

When sample measurements 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) the process output does not fulfill the requirements.

D

Which of the following TQM tools would be best suited for displaying the number of students majoring in each business​ discipline? A. flowchart B. scatter diagram C. cause-and-effect diagram D. histogram

D

Which of the following is NOT an external failure​ cost? A. costs to society B. returned goods C. lost goodwill D. scrap

D

Which of the four major categories of quality costs is particularly hard to quantify? A) prevention costs B) appraisal costs C) internal failure costs D) external failure costs E) None is hard to quantify.

D

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 design specifications. D) goods at the supplier's plant. E) one's own work.

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

Assignable causes: A) are not as important as natural causes. B) are within the limits of a control chart. C) depend on the inspector assigned to the job. D) are also referred to as "chance" causes. E) are causes of variation that can be identified and investigated.

E

Kaizen is a Japanese term meaning: A) a foolproof mechanism. B) just-in-time (JIT). C) a fishbone diagram. D) setting standards. E) continuous improvement.

E

Members of quality circles 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; all of the statements are false.

E

Natural variations: A) affect almost every production process. B) are the many sources of variation that occur when a process is under control. C) when grouped, form a pattern, or distribution. D) are tolerated, within limits, when a process is under control. E) All of the above are true.

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

What refers to training and empowering frontline workers to solve a problem immediately? A) just-in-time B) poka-yoke C) benchmarking D) kaizen E) service recovery

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 failure costs D) external failure costs E) None of the above; they are all major categories of costs associated with quality.

E

Which of the following is not a typical inspection point? A) upon receipt of goods from your supplier B) when production or service is complete 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

A normal distribution is generally described by its two parameters: the mean and the range.

False

A process is said to be in statistical control when assignable causes are the only sources of variation.

False

An x-bar chart is used when we are sampling attributes.

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

A c-chart is appropriate to plot the number of flaws in a bolt of fabric.

True

Averages of small samples, not individual measurements, are generally used in statistical process control.

True

In statistical process control, the range is often used as a substitute for the standard deviation.

True

Internal failure costs are associated with scrap, rework, and downtime.

True

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

True

Mean charts and range charts complement one another, one detecting shifts in process average, the other detecting shifts in process dispersion.

True

Mistakes stemming from workers' inadequate training represent an assignable cause of variation.

True

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

True

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

True

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

True

Some degree of variability is present in almost all processes.

True

The Central Limit Theorem states that when the sample size increases, the distribution of the sample means will approach the normal distribution.

True

The phrase Six Sigma has two meanings. One is statistical, referring to an extremely high process, product, or service capability; the other is a comprehensive system for achieving and sustaining business success.

True