QUALITY MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Which aspect of a Hyundai Sonata best illustrates the reliability dimension of product quality?

10-year powertrain warranty Reliability refers to the length of time a product will function before it fails, or the probability it will function for a stated period of time. By offering a 10-year warranty, Hyundai backs up the reliability of its cars.

Which of the following is an example of an internal failure cost?

A restaurant discarding spoiled dairy products Internal failure costs are those associated with defects found before the product reaches the customer. A restaurant discarding spoiled food before serving it to customers is an example of an internal failure cost.

Managers at Johnson Computers want to understand the expectations that customers have about their products. What is the first step the firm should take to accomplish this goal?

Asking customers what they want in a product The first step in understanding customer expectations involves asking customers what they want in a product. However, organizations must go beyond asking customers what they want and understand what their customers value, such as how they do their work and what makes customers happy.

Which of the following is primarily attributed to Joseph Juran?

Focusing on customers by describing quality as "fitness for use" Juran focused on the customer by defining quality as "fitness for use."

Awesome Pizza uses an internally oriented definition of quality. Which question is most relevant to an Awesome Pizza manager when conducting a monthly quality assessment?

How many pizzas are delivered on time? Quality with an internal, or organizational, orientation measures specific characteristics of the product or service, such as the number of pizzas delivered on time in a month or the amount of cheese used on each pizza.

Benson Manufacturing defines quality from an external perspective. In order to create a quality product, what should Benson do first?

Identify customer expectations When a company defines quality from an external orientation, quality begins with identifying customers' needs and expectations. Then, those needs and expectations are translated into an internal process to guarantee they are met or exceeded.

Managers at Taylor Tool Company are using the philosophy of Dr. W. Edwards Deming to improve product quality. As part of the firm's efforts, which of the following actions will most likely be implemented?

Providing on-the-job training to new employees One of Deming's points for the transformation of management was to institute training on the job.

After conducting customer surveys, managers at the national hotel chain, Holiday Hotels, determine that the company needs to improve its service quality, primarily in the area of responsiveness. Which of the following would most likely help the company achieve this goal?

Providing room service orders quickly. Responsiveness refers to the willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. If Holiday Hotels fills room service orders quickly, then the company is being responsive to customer needs.

What advice about quality control would Philip Crosby most likely give to a manufacturing firm?

Reduce failure costs by making products correctly the first time Philip Crosby argues that failure costs are much greater than most companies had thought. By reducing failure costs, companies can save money. He promotes the idea that all errors must be eliminated, indicated by his slogan "do it right the first time," and the concept of zero defects.

Executives at AXI Electronics have implemented a new quality management effort based on the philosophy of Genichi Taguchi. The company is building a manufacturing facility and hiring hundreds of workers to build a new tablet. Which of the following best illustrates the philosophy of Taguchi?

Using production equipment that eliminates variations in the quality of AXI tablets caused by employee errors. Taguchi's philosophy is based on the concept of robust design — designs that guarantee high quality regardless of variations (such as employee errors) that may occur during the processes that produce the product.