Homework 5 (Chapter 15)

Refer to Question 21. Consider a scenario where the cost for a production run of 106 units is $106,000. What is the cost per 'good' unit before the six-sigma quality initiative? You may assume costs are rounded off to the nearest whole dollar. Answers: a. $1514 b. $1178 c. $1955 d. $1723

a. $1514

Refer to the following table that illustrates a production process that has four stages along with the stages' average percentage of good quality. Stage Average Percentage of Good Quality 1 0.90 2 0.92 3 0.94 4 0.85 If daily input is 106 units, what is the daily production yield, given the information provided? Answers: a. Approximately 70 units b. Approximately 55 units c. Approximately 90 units d. Approximately 85 units

a. Approximately 70 units

You are a manager trying to determine the major causes of poor quality at your company. Which quality tool does this graphically? Answers: a. Cause-and-effect diagram b. Process flow chart c. Scatter diagram d. Histogram

a. Cause-and-effect diagram

Consider the work of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Which of the following statements is most accurate regarding his work? Answers: a. He advocated a process to guide and motivate improvement activities known as the Deming cycle. b. He proposed a simple definition of quality: "fitness for use." c. He sought to improve quality by working within the system familiar to managers. d. He professed that quality means conformance to requirements and not elegance.

a. He advocated a process to guide and motivate improvement activities known as the Deming cycle.

Britney Spears is doing a project for her online statistics course, and she wants to know which of the following is a rudimentary statistical tool that graphically depicts the frequency or quantity of observations of a particular value or within a specified range. What is the correct answer? Answers: a. Histogram b. Flowchart c. Cause-and-effect diagram d. Scatter diagram

a. Histogram

Which statement bears the most accuracy regarding kaizen? Answers: a. It is based on the concept of continuous improvement. b. It is an intense, rapid improvement process. c. It involves a huge financial investment. d. It is performed on a part-time basis.

a. It is based on the concept of continuous improvement.

According to Joseph M. Juran, _______. Answers: a. Quality is fitness for use. b. A product or a service possesses quality if it helps somebody and enjoys a good and sustainable market. c. Quality means conformance to requirements. d. A product or a service possesses quality if it consistently exceeds customer expectations.

a. Quality is fitness for use.

Which of the following choices is not included among ISO9000:2000 principles? Answers: a. Zero defects b. System approach to management c. Involvement of people d. Mutually beneficial supplier relationships

a. Zero defects

The cost savings resulting from the six-sigma quality initiative has caught the ear of your boss, Meryl Streep. She expects a comprehensive report on your efforts. For this question, refer to Questions 21-24. Determine the cost savings per unit due to the six-sigma quality initiative, and specify the relationship between quality and costs. Answers: a. $232, better quality results in lower unit production costs b. $336, better quality results in lower unit production costs c. $336, better quality results in higher unit production costs d. $232, better quality results in higher unit production costs

b. $336, better quality results in lower unit production costs

Denice manages the front desk at Remmington Hotel, a mid-market hotel. During Denice's shift last week, she received 29 customer complaints. A total of 428 guests had stayed in the hotel that week. Use this information to calculate the number of errors per million opportunities. Answers: a. 428 errors per million opportunities b. 67757 errors per million opportunities c. 14758620 errors per million opportunities d. 23456 errors per million opportunities

b. 67757 errors per million opportunities

Set forth by designers of goods and services, ________ are their targets and tolerances. Answers: a. defects b. specifications c. units of work d. costs of quality

b. specifications

Refer to Question 21. Now, suppose a six-sigma initiative was put into practice and the new average percentage of good quality values among each of the stages were those in the table below. Stage Average Percentage of Good Quality 1 0.95 2 0.96 3 0.97 4 0.96 What is the yield, now? Answers: a. Approximately 70 units b. Approximately 55 units c. Approximately 90 units d. Approximately 85 units

c. Approximately 90 units

McDonald's decides to train their staff on what SERVQUAL is. After the training, a team member is asked which term is defined by the knowledge and courtesy of service providers and their ability to convey trust and confidence. What is the correct answer? Answers: a. Reliability b. Responsiveness c. Assurance d. Competence

c. Assurance

Regarding the GAP model, which statement is true? Answers: a. It eliminates causes of defects and errors in manufacturing and service processes by focusing on outputs that are critical to customers. b. It defines quality system standards based on the premise that certain generic characteristics of management practices can be standardized. c. Failure to understand and minimize gaps presents the risk of losing customer loyalty. d. Minimizing gaps 4 and 5 will result in low customer satisfaction.

c. Failure to understand and minimize gaps presents the risk of losing customer loyalty.

Larry, the senior manager at North by Northeast Inc., wants to know the sequence of the production processes in the company to evaluate if any process can be combined or discarded. In this scenario, a ______ will suit Larry's requirement. Answers: a. histogram b. run chart c. flow chart d. checksheet

c. flow chart

Which of the following are true about appraisal costs? They _______. Answers: a. are incurred during product design b. include scrap, rework, downtime, and price reductions c. include inspection, testing, equipment and operator costs d. are a type of external failure cost

c. include inspection, testing, equipment and operator costs

At Barry's ATVs, a few machines in the assembly section were not operating correctly and needed to be shut down until they were repaired. A consequence of this was a reduction in output of ATVs for the quarter. In this scenario, the costs incurred by Barry's ATVs for repairing the machines are an example of _______. Answers: a. prevention costs b. appraisal costs c. internal failure costs d. external failure costs

c. internal failure costs

Which term describes the extent to which a product matches pre-established standards and/or specifications? Answers: a. product yield b. quality of performance c. quality of conformance d. product reliability

c. quality of conformance

Refer to Question 22. In this scenario, the cost for a production run of 106 units is $106,000. Two other assumptions to make are the six-sigma quality initiative added no extra cost, and costs are rounded to the nearest whole dollar. Therefore, what is the cost per 'good' unit after the six-sigma quality initiative? Answers: a. $1955 b. $1723 c. $1514 d. $1178

d. $1178

Choose the option that represents a core philosophy of Six Sigma. Answers: a. Avoiding errors per million opportunities as a standard metric b. Increasing variation in cash flow c. Increasing non-value-added activities d. Achieving cycle time reduction

d. Achieving cycle time reduction

The executive team at Cantaloupe Corp. think their products are superior in quality in comparison to the products of other companies in the market. However, the customers rate Cantaloupe Corp.'s products as below average, a byproduct of inferior process design specifications in the company. This is an example of _______ in the GAP model. Answers: a. Gap 4 b. Gap 3 c. Gap 5 d. Gap 2

d. Gap 2

Which statement is most accurate regarding the poka-yoke concept? Answers: a. Many applications of poka-yoke are expensive to implement. b. It is a manufacturing process. c. It is a concept advocated by Dr. W. Edwards Deming. d. Many applications of poka-yoke are deceptively simple.

d. Many applications of poka-yoke are deceptively simple

Which statement is true of Philip B. Crosby's Absolutes of Quality Management philosophy? Answers: a. There is no such thing as zero defects. b. Quality means conformance to elegance. c. The only performance measurement is the economics of quality. d. There is no such thing as a quality problem.

d. There is no such thing as a quality problem.

John Flannery delivers a seminar on General Electric's Six Sigma problem-solving approach (DMAIC). Through his seminar, you discover the ________ phase of DMAIC is aligned with discovering the most likely causes of defects. Answers: a. measure b. define c. control d. analyze

d. analyze

Stark Suits fielded a considerable number of complaints from customers when its recent batch of goods was dispatched. As a result, the workers at Stark Suits had to rework on the returned items. In some instances, the company needed to replace the faulty goods. In this scenario, the costs incurred by Stark Suits are an example of _______. Answers: a. prevention costs b. internal failure costs c. appraisal costs d. external failure costs

d. external failure costs