Deck 2: Frameworks for Quality and Performance Excellence

Question 1

According to Deming's philosophy, a bad batch of material purchased from a supplier is an example of a common cause of variation.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The 10 major categories of the Deming prize are further divided into "checking points."

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A system governed only by common causes is stable and its performance can be predicted.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Enablers are the means by which an organization approaches its business responsibilities.

Question 5

According to Crosby's Absolutes of Quality Management, quality means conformance to requirements, not elegance.

Question 6

In the Baldrige award evaluation process, to help examiners understand the context of the organization, applicants are required to provide a Performance Profile, which is basically a snapshot of the organization that describes the organizational environment.

Question 7

In the additional awards given by the European Foundation for Quality Management, Recognized for Excellence is given for organizations that are at the beginning of the journey to excellence.

Question 8

Special causes disrupt the predictable pattern of a system.

Question 9

Deployment refers to the extent to which an approach is applied to all requirements of the item.

Question 10

Sustainability refers to an organization's ability to address current business needs and to have the agility and strategic management to prepare successfully for the future.

Question 11

For companies that apply for the Deming prize but do not qualify, the examination process is automatically extended up to three times over four years.

Question 12

The Baldrige Criteria for performance excellence consist of a non-hierarchical set of categories, items, and areas to address.

Question 13

ISO 9001:2008 provides background information and establishes definitions of key terms used in the standards.

Question 14

The ISO 9004:2009 document includes the fundamentals and vocabulary of the ISO standards.

Question 15

Deming provided a clear and precise definition of quality.

Question 16

Crosby placed more emphasis on management and organizational processes for changing corporate culture and attitudes than on the use of statistical techniques.

Question 17

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has adopted ISO standards in the United States.

Question 18

Juran advocates the accounting and analysis of quality costs to focus attention on quality problems.

Question 19

In Deming's view, variation is the chief culprit of poor quality.

Question 20

The Deming Award recognizes U.S. companies that excel in quality management practice and performance.

Question 21

Six Sigma applies to manufacturing processes but not to services.

Question 22

Six Sigma involves periodic review of Six Sigma plans and projects, providing champions to sponsor projects, providing training resources, and communicating progress and achievements.

Question 23

_____ causes of variation arise from external sources that are not inherent in the process.

A) Special
B) Unassignable
C) Common
D) Non-system

Question 24

The origin of the term Six Sigma came from a statistical measure that equates to 6.4 or fewer errors or defects per million opportunities.

Question 25

Deming summarized his philosophy of quality and management in what he called _____.

A) steps to total quality.
B) a system of profound knowledge.
C) absolutes of quality management.
D) basic elements of improvement.

Question 26

The concept of Six Sigma is facilitated through use of basic and advanced quality improvement and control tools by teams whose members are trained to provide fact-based decision-making information.

Question 27

ISO 9000 focuses on performance excellence for the entire organization in an overall management framework.

Question 28

According to Deming, factors causing variation that are present as a natural part of a process are called:

A) common causes of variation.
B) total variances.
C) assignable causes of variation.
D) system variances.

Question 29

Variations that result from special causes are called:

A) assignable causes.
B) random variances.
C) common variances.
D) secondary causes of variation.

Question 30

Six Sigma is based largely on worker empowerment and teams; TQ is owned by business leader champions.

Question 31

Deming emphasized that management's job is to:

A) increase process variance.
B) control the process indexes.
C) optimize the system.
D) give orders and punishments.

Question 32

The Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence focuses on product and service conformity for guaranteeing equity in the marketplace and concentrates on fixing quality system problems and product and service nonconformities.

Question 33

TQ activities generally occur within a function, process, or individual workplace; Six Sigma projects are truly cross-functional.

Question 34

Which of the following is true of Deming's theory of knowledge?

A) It is advisable to replicate others instead of developing new solutions.
B) Experiences can be tested and validated.
C) Asking multiple questions only causes confusion and should be avoided.
D) Decisions should be driven by facts, data, and justifiable theories.

Question 35

Although the 2000 revision of ISO 9000 incorporated many of the Baldrige criteria's original principles, it still is not a comprehensive business performance framework.

Question 36

Which of the following is an example of a common cause of variation in a manufacturing process?

A) Miscalibration of measuring instruments
B) A poorly trained operator
C) Variations in the raw material used
D) Normal wear and tear of machine parts

Question 37

According to Scholtes's understanding of profound knowledge, people don't understand systems when:

A) they see the causes of the problems but not the symptoms.
B) they see events as individual incidents.
C) they understand the process of change and the resistance to it.
D) they can distinguish between fact and opinion.

Question 38

Google pioneered the concept of Six Sigma as an approach to measuring product and service quality.

Question 39

In Deming's view, _____ is the chief culprit of poor quality.

A) long-term planning
B) macromanagement
C) variation
D) an overemphasis on teamwork

Question 40

A system governed only by _____ causes is stable and its performance can be predicted.

A) special
B) unique
C) common
D) assignable

Question 41

The Baldrige award examination is based upon a rigorous set of criteria called the:

A) Criteria for Performance Excellence.
B) Seven points of Superior Quality.
C) Criteria for Organizational Micromanagement.
D) Criteria for Organizational Process Variance.

Question 42

In the context of the factors related to the Baldrige Award evaluation process, _____ refers to the extent to which the approach is aligned with organizational needs identified in the Organizational Profile and other process items.

A) integration
B) suboptimization
C) process variance
D) fluctuation

Question 43

According to Crosby, _____ refers to a performance standard that concentrates on preventing defects rather than just finding and fixing them.

A) Chi-squared test
B) Six Sigma
C) Zero Defects
D) Linear Effects

Question 44

Which of the following is a part of the quality trilogy of Juran's philosophy?

A) Quality variance
B) Quality maintenance
C) Quality planning
D) Quality switch

Question 45

Applicants for the Baldrige Award are required to provide a snapshot of the organization that describes the organizational environment, referred to as the:

A) organizational hierarchy.
B) organizational chart.
C) organizational tree.
D) organizational profile.

Question 46

According to Juran's quality trilogy, _____ begins with identifying customers, both external and internal, determining their needs, and developing product features that respond to customer needs.

A) quality planning
B) quality variance
C) quality matrix
D) quality inspection

Question 47

With respect to Juran's quality trilogy, _____ refers to the process for meeting quality goals during operations.

A) quality planning
B) quality variance
C) quality improvement
D) quality control

Question 48

The essence of Crosby's quality philosophy is embodied in what he calls the:

A) quality chain reaction theory.
B) the breakthrough sequence.
C) quality trilogy.
D) absolutes of quality management.

Question 49

With respect to Juran's quality trilogy, _____ refers to the process for breaking through to unprecedented levels of performance.

A) quality improvement
B) quality variance
C) quality planning
D) quality control

Question 50

In the context of the factors related to the Baldrige Award evaluation process, _____ refers to the extent to which the approach is applied in addressing item requirements relevant and important to the organization, the approach is applied consistently, and the approach is used (executed) by all appropriate work units.

A) learning
B) process variance
C) integration
D) deployment

Question 51

In the Baldrige Award evaluation process, _____ refers to the methods used to accomplish the process, the appropriateness of the methods to the item requirements and the organization's operating environment, the effectiveness of the use of the methods, and the degree to which the approach is repeatable and based on reliable data and information.

A) deployment
B) approach
C) process variance
D) execution gap

Question 52

Which of the following is one of the four categories of Juran's definition of quality?

A) Variance
B) Quality = elegance
C) Quality of design
D) Economics of quality

Question 53

According to the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers, _____ is a system of activities to assure that quality products and services required by customers are economically designed, produced, and supplied while respecting the principle of customer-orientation and the overall public well-being.

A) Crosby's basic elements of improvement
B) Deming's 14 points
C) organizational process variance
D) Companywide Quality Control

Question 54

According to the Baldrige program, companies with _____ or fewer employees are classified as small businesses.

A) 500
B) 300
C) 200
D) 800

Question 55

_____ refers to an organization's ability to address current business needs and to have the agility and strategic management to prepare successfully for the future, and to prepare for real-time or short-term emergencies.

A) Sustainability
B) Conformance
C) Standardization
D) Process variance

Question 56

Which of the following is a part of the "leadership triad"?

A) Process variance planning
B) Strategic planning
C) Micromanagement
D) Workforce focus

Question 57

Deming believed that _____ should be the common language across the levels in an organization.

A) experiences
B) statistics
C) reverse engineering
D) costs

Question 58

With reference to the factors related to the Baldrige Award evaluation process, _____ refers to refining the approach through cycles of evaluation and improvement, encouraging breakthrough change to the approach through innovation, and sharing refinements and innovations with other relevant work units and processes in the organization.

A) process variance
B) learning
C) fluctuation
D) integrating

Question 59

Juran and Deming would argue that it is pointless to exhort a line worker to produce perfection, because:

A) workers are not motivated to improve unless a financial incentive is offered.
B) the overwhelming majority of imperfections are due to poorly designed manufacturing systems.
C) it is the supervisor's responsibility to ensure quality through effective quality control.
D) management systems that are unsupportive of quality initiatives should be reengineered in advance.

Question 60

Juran defines quality as:

A) fitness for use.
B) statistics.
C) process variance.
D) creativity.

Question 61

Contrast total quality (TQ) and Six Sigma.

Question 62

With respect to the documents consisted in the ISO 9000:2000 standards, _____ pertains to fundamentals and vocabulary.

A) ISO 9004: 2009
B) ISO 9000: 2005
C) ISO 9002: 2007
D) ISO 9001: 2008

Question 63

_____ pioneered the concept of Six Sigma as an approach to measuring product and service quality.

A) Motorola
B) Nokia
C) Google
D) Apple

Question 64

With respect to the documents consisted in the ISO 9000:2000 standards, _____ pertains to guidance for performance improvement.

A) ISO 9000: 2005
B) ISO 9001: 2008
C) ISO 9004: 2009
D) ISO 9002: 2007

Question 65

Provide some examples of the financial applications of Six Sigma.

Question 66

Six Sigma methodology is driven by a _____ methodology.

A) fit-for-use
B) cost-driven
C) management-by-fact
D) conformance-to-specifications

Question 67

With regard to quality management systems, a(n) _____ is a formal document that demonstrates a commitment to achieving high quality and meeting customer expectations.

A) guidance document
B) quality trilogy
C) owner's manual
D) quality policy

Question 68

In the Baldrige evaluation process, what is an "Organizational Profile"?

Question 69

With regard to quality management systems, a ______ serves as a permanent reference for implementing and maintaining the system.

A) quality manual
B) quality trilogy
C) quality minute book
D) quality policy

Question 70

What are the two premises of Juran's view on quality?

Question 71

Describe the composition of each category in the Baldrige Criteria.

Question 72

List the three key characteristics of Six Sigma projects.

Question 73

List Crosby's Absolutes of Management.

Question 74

In both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing processes, places where the defective "product" is sent to be reworked or scrapped are referred to as:

A) recycling units.
B) hidden factories.
C) outlier facilities.
D) outsourcing units.

Question 75

Which of the following is true about ISO certification?

A) The entire company and not individual sites must achieve recertification of the ISO standards.
B) Costs of recertification are borne by the company and the certifying firm.
C) The ISO 9000 standards originally were intended to be advisory in nature.
D) The recertification of ISO 9000 standards is required every two years.

Question 76

Compare the three major frameworks for quality systems.

Question 77

What is a system? According to Deming, what is the relevance of a system?

Question 78

The ISO 9000:2000 standards consist of three documents of which ISO 9001: 2008 pertains to:

A) requirements.
B) fundamentals.
C) guidance for performance improvement.
D) vocabulary.

Question 79

The origin of the term "Six Sigma" came from a statistical measure that equates to _____ or fewer errors or defects per million opportunities.

A) 4.5
B) 3.4
C) 6.8
D) 2.6

Question 80

Describe the causes of variation.