Fundamentals of Management 6th Edition by Ricky Griffin

Exercise 16

Defining Quality and Productivity
Introduction: Quality is a complex term whose meaning has no doubt changed over time. The following assessment surveys your ideas about and approaches to quality.
Instructions: You will agree with some of the statements and disagree with others. In some cases, making a decision may be difficult, but you should force yourself to make a choice. Record your answers next to each statement according to the following rating scale:
Rating Scale
4 Strongly agree
3 Slightly agree
2 Somewhat disagree
1 Strongly disagree
_______ 1. Quality refers to a product's or service's ability to fulfill its primary operating characteristics, such as providing a sharp picture for a television set.
_______ 2. Quality is an absolute, measurable aspect of a product or service.
_______ 3. The concept of quality includes supplemental aspects of a product or service, such as the remote control for a television set.
_______ 4. Productivity and quality are inversely related, so that, to get one, you must sacrifice the other.
_______ 5. The concept of quality refers to the extent to which a product's design and operating characteristics conform to certain set standards.
_______ 6. Productivity refers to what is created relative to what it takes to create it.
_______ 7. Quality means that a product will not malfunction during a specified period of time.
_______ 8. Quality refers only to products; it is immeasurable for services.
_______ 9. The length of time that a product or service will function is what is known as quality.
_______ 10. Everyone uses exactly the same definition of quality.
_______ 11. Quality refers to the repair ease and speed of a product or service.
_______ 12. Being treated courteously has nothing to do with the quality of anything.
_______ 13. How a product looks, feels, tastes, or smells is what is meant by quality.
_______ 14. Price, not quality, is what determines the ultimate value of service.
_______ 15. Quality refers to what customers think of a product or service.
_______ 16. Productivity and quality cannot both increase at the same time.