Deck 5: Quality and Performance

Question 1

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

Answer 1

False

Question 2

People often evaluate the quality of a service on the basis of psychological impressions.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Appraisal costs are associated with preventing defects before they happen.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Acceptance sampling is the application of statistics to determine if the quality of incoming materials should be accepted or rejected.

Question 5

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

Question 6

The notion of internal customers applies to all parts of a firm.

Question 7

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

Question 8

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

Question 9

The Six Sigma improvement model can be applied both to projects involving incremental improvements to processes and to projects requiring major changes.

Question 10

Since an employee's responsibility is to move production along,it is ethical to knowingly pass defective services or products to internal or external customers when capacity is tight.

Question 11

The investment a company makes in training employees to perform their duties and redesigning products and processes to improve them would be categorized as prevention costs.

Question 12

The Six Sigma five-step approach contains the elements define,measure,analyze,improve,and control.

Question 13

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

Question 14

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

Question 15

Because Six Sigma involves the elimination of defects,it can only be applied in manufacturing processes

Question 16

Applying Six Sigma to service processes is more challenging than for manufacturing processes.

Question 17

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

Question 18

From an ethical standpoint,it is acceptable for a hospital's cardiac surgery unit that is striving for zero complications to turn down high-risk patients.

Question 19

While acceptance sampling does determine if incoming materials should be accepted or rejected,it does not limit the buyer's risk of accepting bad-quality parts or rejecting good-quality parts.

Question 20

Value requires an assessment of the quality of a product or service with reference to the cost of obtaining it.

Question 21

A process may be in control according to the chart and out of control according to the R-chart.In this case,the process is said to be in partial control.

Question 22

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

Question 23

Strategic planning is given the most weight among the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program.

Question 24

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

Question 25

Wider limits on a control chart result in lower probability of a type I error.

Question 26

Products never have more than one defect per unit.

Question 27

The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program considers a company's business results but ISO 9001:2008 registration does not.

Question 28

One common point for inspection is at the raw material input stage.

Question 29

Financial and market results are one consideration of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program.

Question 30

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

Question 31

Despite their recent development,more firms are certified to the ISO 26000:2010 social responsibility guidelines than the ISO 14000:2004 environmental management system guidelines.

Question 32

On a control chart,a type I error occurs when the employee concludes that the process is in control when it is actually out of statistical control.

Question 33

ISO 9001:2008 standards provide strict guidelines for how products are to be produced.

Question 34

ISO 26000:2010 address human rights as part of the social responsibility standard for public and private organizations.

Question 35

The process and R-charts are developed using a sample size of 5,but the technician mistakenly looks up A2,D3,and D4 values for a sample size of 7.If these charts are put into daily use,the manufacturer will mistakenly ship more bad product than had the charts been constructed correctly.

Question 36

Convicting an innocent defendant is an example of a type II error.

Question 37

ISO 14000:2004 is a documentation standard that requires participating companies to keep track of their raw-materials use.

Question 38

When a process fails to satisfy a customer:

A)it is quite often the customer's fault.
B)it is considered a defect
C)it is time to reengineer the process.
D)it is usually half the customer's fault and half the company's fault.

Question 39

A process is monitored with a control chart.The process is correctly judged to be in-control once the results from the most recent sample are plotted.Therefore,all of the output produced at that time is good.

Question 40

Process centering is shown by an chart.

Question 41

Increasing the quality level by better products and processes may:

A)allow a company to raise the price of the product.
B)move a company closer to a competitive priority of price.
C)reduce prevention costs.
D)ensure that the trade-off between prevention costs and other costs of poor quality is worthwhile.

Question 42

Developing a cultural environment for ethical behavior in an organization includes all of the following EXCEPT:

A)education in how ethics is part of an employee's job.
B)organization of an ethics public relations group to interface between the firm and society.
C)redesign of a service or product to make it easier to produce.
D)documentation of a company's ethical standards and practices.

Question 43

Consumers consider five aspects when defining quality.Which one of the following is least likely to be one of these aspects?

A)value
B)fitness for use
C)psychological impressions
D)individual development

Question 44

Which of the following would be considered a prevention cost of quality?

A)inspecting incoming raw materials
B)training workers to perform their jobs
C)issuing a recall of defective product before another customer is injured
D)performing a 24 hour burn-in on every item produced to make sure it works before it is shipped.

Question 45

Which one of the following is part of prevention costs?

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

Question 46

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

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

Question 47

A professor,dissatisfied with a product he's purchased,bad mouths the product to his class,resulting in decreased market share (since the students believe everything he tells them).The manufacturer suffers:

A)an internal failure cost.
B)an external failure cost.
C)a prevention cost.
D)an appraisal cost.

Question 48

A prime example of an internal failure cost is the:

A)labor cost associated with inspecting every item produced.
B)labor cost associated with repairing an item returned under warranty.
C)material cost of a piece of stock metal that has had too large a hole drilled in it.
D)material cost of the paint applied to the case of a finished unit.

Question 49

When errors have been made while producing a product such that the item must be discarded,the resultant cost is called a(n):

A)warranty.
B)scrap cost.
C)rework cost.
D)external failure cost.

Question 50

Improving quality seems to be a strategic weapon in gaining market share.However,improving quality entails allocation of resources and effort.As greater effort is expended to stop defects before they occur,which one of the following costs increases?

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

Question 51

"Quality at the source" implies:

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

Question 52

Which one of the following statements is TRUE?

A)Appraisal costs decrease as quality level decreases.
B)Appraisal costs increase as the variation of output increases.
C)Appraisal costs increase as the variation of output decreases.
D)Appraisal costs increase as quality level increases.

Question 53

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 54

Which one of the following is a direct effect of high yield losses?

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

Question 55

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

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

Question 56

A cost that is incurred if some aspect of a service must be performed again is called a(n):

A)yield loss.
B)prevention cost.
C)appraisal cost.
D)rework cost.

Question 57

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 58

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 59

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 60

Which of the following would be considered an appraisal cost of quality?

A)training workers to perform their jobs
B)purchasing better tools for workers to perform their jobs
C)repairing an item under the warranty
D)running a functional test on each item before it is boxed for shipment

Question 61

Which step of the Six Sigma DMAIC procedure monitors the process to make sure high performance levels are maintained?

A)Define
B)Measure
C)Analyze
D)Improve
E)Control

Question 62

Which one of the following statements is a key feature of both TQM and Six Sigma?

A)Quality is primarily the responsibility of all employees in the organization.
B)Quality is primarily the responsibility of the quality control department.
C)Quality is primarily the responsibility of the production department.
D)Quality is primarily the responsibility of top management.

Question 63

The TQM wheel features ________ at its center.

A)incremental improvement
B)customer satisfaction
C)employee teams
D)leadership

Question 64

A firm's internal program in employee involvement includes which of the following considerations?

A)defining who is the customer
B)supplier management
C)product availability
D)psychological impressions

Question 65

Six sigma teacher can attain different level titles,based on their experience and level of achievement.What is the highest level a Six Sigma teacher can reach?

A)Black Belt
B)Green Belt
C)Master Black Belt
D)Master Green Belt

Question 66

When considering the plan-do-study-act cycle for problem solving,evaluating how closely a project's results correspond to the initial goals set for the work is part of the ________ step.

A)plan
B)do
C)study
D)act

Question 67

A firm that has embraced the notion of quality at the source is more likely to have:

A)an inspector at each workstation working alongside each employee.
B)inspectors at each of their suppliers performing 100% inspection on shipments bound for them.
C)multiple inspectors at the end of the line to make sure no defects are passed along to the customer.
D)no inspectors.

Question 68

As he entered his broker's office for the first time,the young associate professor was dazzled by its tasteful accoutrements and the offer of a double tall split shot skinny hazelnut latte.He knew his lottery winnings would be safe here,thanks to his:

A)broker's conformance to specifications.
B)broker's fitness for use.
C)broker's support.
D)own psychological impressions.

Question 69

Which of the following statements relating to total quality management and Six Sigma is true?

A)The only effect of internal failure is loss of material.
B)Poor quality generally does not increase the inventory level or lead times.
C)To produce 100 good units in a process with a 20 percent defective rate,the company must produce a total of 120 units.
D)High product quality in manufacturing can have significant market implications for a firm.

Question 70

Quality measured with reference to price is captured by the notion of:

A)conformance to specifications.
B)value.
C)fitness for use.
D)psychological impressions.

Question 71

Which step of the Six Sigma DMAIC procedure applies tools such as Pareto charts and cause-and-effect diagrams to determine where major process redesign may be necessary?

A)Define
B)Measure
C)Analyze
D)Improve
E)Control

Question 72

When considering the plan-do-study-act cycle for problem solving,quantitative goals are set for process improvement in the ________ step.

A)plan
B)do
C)study
D)act

Question 73

Which step of the Six Sigma DMAIC procedure involves identifying data sources and preparing a data collection plan?

A)Define
B)Measure
C)Analyze
D)Improve
E)Control

Question 74

What is one reason that Six Sigma is more difficult to apply to service processes?

A)There is no manual that suggests how Six Sigma can be applied to services.
B)The work product is more difficult to see.
C)There is no way to measure process capability of a service product.
D)The National Six Sigma Society cautions against using it for services.

Question 75

Continuous improvement is a philosophy that:

A)uses problem-solving techniques within work teams.
B)ensures there are plenty of quality inspectors to find areas for improvement.
C)waits until a big problem occurs,then systematically solves it.
D)encourages the hiring of statistical process control specialists to reduce the need for current employees to learn statistical methods.

Question 76

If a product initially fails to live up to the customer's expectations,which dimension of quality might salvage the sale and the company's reputation?

A)psychological impressions
B)fitness for use
C)support
D)value

Question 77

When considering the plan-do-study-act cycle for problem solving,instructing other employees in the use of the new process occurs in the ________ step.

A)plan
B)do
C)study
D)act

Question 78

As an operations manager,which definition of quality do you have the most control over?

A)conformance to specifications
B)support
C)psychological impressions
D)value

Question 79

The 15-year-old car didn't dazzle students or members of the opposite sex,but it started every morning and evening and got the professor to his destination on time,thereby scoring high on the:

A)psychological impressions scale of quality.
B)fitness for use scale of quality.
C)support scale of quality.
D)bells and whistles scale of quality.

Question 80

One of the main challenges in developing the proper culture for TQM is to:

A)define customer for each employee.
B)suspend reward systems based on quantity.
C)institute an equitable employee recognition program.
D)get buy-in from the customer.