Deck 6: Quality and Process Improvement

Question 1

External failure costs arise when a defect is discovered after the customer has received the product or service.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Appraisal costs are associated with preventing defects before they happen.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Functional benchmarking is based on comparisons with a direct industry competitor.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Problem-solving teams are also called quality circles.

Question 5

One of the principles that total quality management (TQM)stresses is employee involvement.

Question 6

Deming's philosophy was that quality was the responsibility of the worker.

Question 7

Fitness for use refers to how well the product or service performs its intended purpose.

Question 8

Internal failure costs result from defects that are discovered after the production of a service or product.

Question 9

Statistical process control (SPC)uses statistical methods to monitor the quality of output from individual operations along a process.

Question 10

One way to achieve employee involvement is through the use of teams.

Question 11

One of the principles that total quality management (TQM)stresses is customer satisfaction.

Question 12

Customers typically define quality as conformance to specifications.

Question 13

Six sigma is a comprehensive and flexible system for achieving,sustaining,and maximizing business success by minimizing defects and variability in processes.

Question 14

Customers define quality in many ways.

Question 15

One of the principles that total quality management (TQM)stresses is process reengineering.

Question 16

An example of an internal failure cost would be warranty cost.

Question 17

Most experts estimate the cost of poor quality in the range of 20 to 30 percent of gross sales for defective or unsatisfactory products.

Question 18

The foundation to Deming's philosophy to quality management is statistical process control (SPC).

Question 19

Firms should avoid having errors or defects caught and corrected at the source.

Question 20

The International Standard ISO 26000:2010 produced a guidance document for social responsibility.

Question 21

Stable product and service designs help to reduce internal quality problems.

Question 22

One part of the sampling plan specifies the time between successive samples.

Question 23

Process capability determines whether a process is capable of producing the product or services that customers demand.

Question 24

The philosophy behind problem-solving teams is that the people who are directly responsible for making the product or providing the service will be best able to consider ways to solve a problem.

Question 25

A control chart is a time-ordered diagram that is used to determine whether observed variations are abnormal.

Question 26

One function of control charts for variables is to monitor the mean of the process distribution.

Question 27

One chart commonly used for quality measures based on product or service attributes is the X-bar chart.

Question 28

The advantage of variable measurements is that they can be quickly counted compared to attribute measurements.

Question 29

Quality function deployment is a means of translating customer requirements into the appropriate technical requirements at each stage of product or service development and during production.

Question 30

Benchmarking is a continuous,systematic procedure that measures a firm's products,services,and processes against those of industry leaders.

Question 31

Assignable causes of variation include any variable-causing factors that can be identified and eliminated.

Question 32

Products never have more than one defect per unit.

Question 33

Statistical process control (SPC)is the application of statistical techniques to determine whether a quantity of material should be accepted or rejected.

Question 34

In the plan-do-check-act cycle,the do refers to the team analyzing the data collected.

Question 35

Continuous improvement is based on the Japanese concept called Kaizen.

Question 36

Self-managed teams essentially change the way work is organized because employees have control over their jobs.

Question 37

A process is said to be in statistical control when the location,spread,or shape of its distribution changes over time.

Question 38

Common causes of variation are the purely random,unidentifiable sources of variation that are unavoidable with the current process.

Question 39

Reliability is the probability that the product will be functional when used.

Question 40

Special-purpose teams take worker participation to its highest level.

Question 41

The additional time incurred if an item is rerouted to some previous operation(s)to correct a defect would be categorized as an internal failure cost of quality.

Question 42

When customers are upset with their bank because of an incorrect financial statement,the quality provided by the bank is poor from the aspect of

A) value.
B) support.
C) style.
D) psychological impressions.

Question 43

The "hub" or centre of the TQM Wheel is customer satisfaction.

Question 44

In applying quality control charts,a sample statistic that falls outside the UCL and LCL indicates the process is exhibiting common causes of variation.

Question 45

For a high-technology product,the lifespan of the product before it begins to deteriorate or no longer functions at an acceptable level is considered the basic performance dimension of quality.

Question 46

Which one of the following statements regarding customers' definition of quality is FALSE?

A) Conformance to specifications is not a concern for a service provider because no tangible product is produced.
B) Customers consider how well a product serves its intended purpose at a price they are willing to buy.
C) Consumers consider various aspects of quality such as value, service support, and psychological impressions.
D) Consumers may change their perception of quality.

Question 47

Deming argued that the vast majority of quality problems can be attributed to managers or the systems they put in place,not with the employees that must do their work according to these systems.

Question 48

Once a process is in statistical control,SPC techniques detect the onset of assignable causes of variation so that they can be eliminated.

Question 49

Working with suppliers to increase the quality of purchased items used to produce a product would be categorized as a prevention cost of quality.

Question 50

Training employees in the methods of continuous improvement would be categorized as an appraisal cost of quality.

Question 51

The costs associated with warranty claims would be categorized as an internal failure cost of quality.

Question 52

Quality engineering is an approach that involves combining engineering and statistical methods to reduce costs and improve quality by optimizing product design and manufacturing processes.

Question 53

"Conformance to specifications" implies that

A) there is no need to scrap or rework any product because it always meets specifications.
B) quality standards are specified for products or services.
C) quality performance is measured by the product's value.
D) quality level will be high.

Question 54

In applying quality control charts,eight consecutive values that fall on the same side of the central line indicates a process that is in statistical control.

Question 55

is always equal to,or greater than .

Question 56

Consumers consider various aspects when defining quality in terms of high-performance design.Consideration of the lifespan of a product before it begins to deteriorate or no longer functions at an acceptable level refers to which one of these aspects?

A) support
B) reliability
C) durability
D) basic performance

Question 57

Purely random,unidentifiable sources of variation that are unavoidable with an existing process make it impossible to apply statistical process control techniques.

Question 58

Deming argued that 85% of quality problems could be directly attributed to employees based on mistakes made by not following the instructions of management.

Question 59

Customers assess quality solely on the basis of how goods and services conform to design specifications and associated operating characteristics.

Question 60

In applying quality control charts,assignable causes of variation are evident when a sample statistic falls outside the UCL and LCL.

Question 61

Which one of the following is a direct effect of high scrap levels?

A) shorter lead times
B) reduced need for capacity
C) lower inventory levels
D) loss of material

Question 62

At which of the following levels will the cost of detecting product defects be the highest?

A) customer
B) process
C) final testing
D) raw material

Question 63

One of the quality "gurus" defined quality using the term fitness for use to reflect the importance of understanding quality from the perspective of the customer.Who was this?

A) Philip Crosby
B) Joseph M. Juran
C) W. Edwards Deming
D) Walter Shewart

Question 64

"Quality at the source" implies

A) less-expensive raw materials.
B) lower yield losses.
C) higher rework costs.
D) more final-test inspectors.

Question 65

Which of the following statements is NOT one of Deming's 14 points for improving quality?

A) Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service.
B) Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality - build quality into the product.
C) Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement.
D) Focus the job tasks of workers by instituting barriers between departments.

Question 66

Which one of the following statements about total quality management (TQM)is TRUE?

A) Total quality management reduces the external failure costs but not the internal failure costs.
B) Total quality management reduces the internal failure costs but not the external failure costs.
C) Total quality management means inspectors are responsible for finding out who makes the defects.
D) In total quality management, workers have the authority to stop a production line if they see quality problems.

Question 67

Which one of the following statements is TRUE?

A) Appraisal costs decrease as quality level decreases.
B) Appraisal costs increase as quality consistency increases.
C) Appraisal costs increase as quality consistency decreases.
D) Appraisal costs increase as quality level increases.

Question 68

Which one of the following is part of prevention costs?

A) the costs of quality audits
B) the costs resulting from yield losses
C) the costs of improving process design and product design
D) the costs of lawsuits from injury from use of the product

Question 69

If the quality level is increased by taking steps to prevent defects before they happen,which one of the following statements is TRUE?

A) Prevention costs increase.
B) Appraisal costs increase.
C) Internal failure costs increase.
D) External failure costs increase.

Question 70

Four major costs categories are associated with total quality management.Which one of the following is NOT one of those cost categories?

A) internal failure cost
B) external failure cost
C) prevention cost
D) correction cost

Question 71

Which one of the following is a consequence of internal failures?

A) increased customer service
B) increased inventory costs
C) increased productivity
D) decreased lead time

Question 72

Whose teachings regarding quality management emphasized the role of project teams to achieve periodic "breakthrough" improvements that provide dramatic gains to address chronic quality problems?

A) F.W. Taylor
B) Philip Crosby
C) Joseph M. Juran
D) W. Edwards Deming

Question 73

Which one of the following is a consequence of external failures?

A) longer lead times
B) more rework
C) more litigation costs
D) lower product costs

Question 74

Which of the quality "gurus" advocated the idea of setting an objective of zero defects to focus on the cost of poor quality (cost of nonconformance)?

A) Philip Crosby
B) Joseph M. Juran
C) W. Edwards Deming
D) Walter Shewart

Question 75

Which one of the following statements is TRUE?

A) Fitness for use is how well a product or service serves its intended market at a price customers are willing to pay.
B) The quality of service is generally easier to measure than is the quality of manufactured products.
C) High conformance to quality in manufacturing has no effect on profit margins.
D) Rework tends to increase lead time and inventory levels maintained in a manufacturing company.

Question 76

Whose philosophy of quality management focused on advocating continuous improvement of production processes to achieve conformance to specifications and reducing variability?

A) F.W. Taylor
B) Philip Crosby
C) Joseph M. Juran
D) W. Edwards Deming

Question 77

Which one of the following statements about quality is generally FALSE?

A) An example of a "support" quality of service is the number of errors in a bank statement.
B) Production workers, rather than management, must shoulder all of the responsibility for good quality.
C) Internal to a manufacturing organization, quality usually means conformance to specifications.
D) Consumer perceptions of quality may be influenced by different factors at different stages in the buying process.

Question 78

Which one of the following is considered to be an appraisal cost?

A) cost of quality audits
B) cost of supplier programs
C) cost of rework
D) cost of process design

Question 79

Psychological impressions are considered one aspect of quality because customers can get upset with

A) misleading advertising.
B) poor craftsmanship.
C) discourteous employees.
D) slow responses to warranty claims.

Question 80

Improving quality seems to be a strategic weapon in gaining market share.However,improving quality entails allocation of resources and effort.Which one of the following costs increases to improve quality?

A) prevention costs
B) appraisal costs
C) internal failure costs
D) external failure costs