Deck 6: Managing Quality

Question 1

Which of the following statements is most true regarding ISO 9000?

A)ISO 9000 was designed specifically for the electronics industry
B)ISO 9000 is a quality award given by the U.S.government
C)ISO 9000 tells management specifically how to ensure quality
D)None of these statements is true.

Answer 1

None of these statements is true.

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT a core value of TQM?

A)Prevention is better than inspection.
B)Problem solving should occur at the lowest organizational levels possible.
C)Quality assurance managers should have the most power in the organization.
D)Product quality should be viewed holistically.

Answer 2

Quality assurance managers should have the most power in the organization.

Question 3

Sanford Corp.bought new technological systems to inspect the quality of products as they come off the production line.The expense of operating these systems would be an example of which of the following types of quality-related costs?

A)Internal failure cost
B)Appraisal cost
C)External failure cost
D)Prevention cost

Answer 3

Appraisal cost

Question 4

Which of the following statements that might be made by a business executive best expresses the overall philosophy of Total Quality Management?

A)"We've achieved Six Sigma.That's good enough."
B)"There's always room for improvement."
C)"The workers need to work harder to prevent quality problems."
D)"We never sell defective products to customers."

Question 5

The TQM view of organizational structure states that:

A)Employees must support management decisions.
B)Management must support employees.
C)Customers want quality products.
D)Middle management must support and enforce top management decisions.

Question 6

Which of the following statements is false?

A)Quality dimensions are easy to measure for tangible goods,while they are difficult to measure for services.
B)Many dimensions of service quality are similar to the dimensions of quality for tangible goods.
C)Some firms still have a poor understanding of quality and quality management.
D)All of these are false.

Question 7

"Zero defects" is a concept of quality management of which thought leader?

A)Deming
B)Juran
C)Crosby
D)Imai

Question 8

ISO 9000 defines a set of internationally accepted standards for:

A)Product quality.
B)Quality control.
C)Operations management quality.
D)Business quality management.

Question 9

"Quality at the source" suggests quality should be:

A)Built into the product.
B)Inspected at multiple points.
C)Ensured by the quality control lab.
D)An inspector's function.

Question 10

Xanadu Inc.decided to increase the training received by new employees.The expense of this training is an example of which of the following costs of quality?

A)Appraisal costs
B)External failure costs
C)Internal failure costs
D)Prevention costs
E)Quality control costs

Question 11

Stu Johnson,CEO of Johnson,Inc.,attended a seminar on Total Quality Management.Which of the following is NOT something he is likely to have learned at that seminar?

A)Some aspects of quality are difficult to measure because they depend on customers' judgments.
B)Quality is primarily the responsibility of operations management.
C)Quality results from design as well as operations and delivery.
D)Cross-functional teams are important in TQM decision making.
E)He is likely to have learned all of these things.

Question 12

Phil Bord is a CEO for a large auto manufacturer and is interested in improving the product quality.Phil had overheard his friend mention Six Sigma.Considering that Phil has no idea what Six Sigma is,what are some key points to help Phil out?

A)Six sigma quality means that he would have exactly half as many quality defects as he would have with three sigma quality.
B)To achieve truly world-class quality and performance,we need to focus on individual employee job functions.
C)Six sigma quality is the result of a well-defined and structured process.
D)All of these.

Question 13

Why is product quality sometimes poorly defined in a firm?

A)Managers are not clear on what characteristics customers care most about.
B)Holistic measures of quality are difficult to develop.
C)Managers in different functional areas tend to emphasize different dimensions of quality.
D)All these answers are correct.

Question 14

All of the following represent external failure cost EXCEPT the cost of:

A)Scrapping defective raw material.
B)Repairing items covered by warranty.
C)Replacing defective items found by customers.
D)Loss of goodwill and reputation.

Question 15

The idea that variability is the source of most quality problems was a major contribution of which quality management thought leader?

A)Juran
B)Imai
C)Crosby
D)Deming

Question 16

At the heart of the Six Sigma program is a five-step process called D-M-A-I-C.These letters denote a major activity that must be completed to achieve the objectives of Six Sigma.These activities are:

A)Define,Measure,Analyze,Improve,and Control.
B)Define,Measure,Analyze,Inquire,and Compare.
C)Define,Measure,Analyze,Involve,and Cost.
D)Define,Measure,Analyze,Improve,and Compare.

Question 17

When buying from suppliers,what decisions do supply managers make that potentially impact quality?

A)Design of manufacturing and service processes
B)Design of contracts and associated incentives and penalties
C)Design of packaging
D)Design of product prototyping procedures

Question 18

If a product includes features that customers care most about,we would say that it has high:

A)Conformance quality.
B)Design quality.
C)Reliability.
D)Aesthetics.

Question 19

In its promotional material for bed linens,Scarsdale Corporation states that all sheets and pillowcases sold to customers should have and actually do have a thread count of exactly 600 threads per inch.Scarsdale is apparently emphasizing:

A)Design quality.
B)Conformance quality.
C)Product quality.
D)Reliability.
E)Total quality management.

Question 20

If a tangible good or service performs the promised function dependably,we say that it has high:

A)Conformance.
B)Durability.
C)Reliability.
D)Perceived quality.

Question 21

Bill wants to purchase a new machine that is expected to hold tighter tolerances on production parts.What functional managers are likely to have a stake in this decision?

A)Logistics,Human Resources,Manufacturing
B)Engineers,Manufacturing,Marketing
C)Finance,Manufacturing,Engineering
D)Sales,Finance,Logistics

Question 22

Implementation of a Six Sigma program typically involves:

A)Applying for the Malcolm Baldrige Award.
B)Setting up training at various levels including green belt and black belt training.
C)A cost of quality analysis.
D)None of these are usually involved in implementing Six Sigma.

Question 23

Which of the following statements is NOT consistent with core values of TQM?

A)Front line workers usually have the best ideas for solving problems.
B)Every employee has a stake in product quality.
C)Managers should support workers,not the other way around.
D)Opinions are as important as data.

Question 24

Ted wants to hire more inspection personnel to insure that all products shipped are free of defects.What TQM core value would this action violate?

A)Workers are more valuable than managers
B)Prevention is better than rework
C)Better quality leads to long term success
D)A PDCA cycle should always be followed

Question 25

The objective of the "control" step in the DMAIC process is:

A)To consider differing opinions regarding the root causes of problems
B)To create controlled experiments to analyze sources of variation
C)To be rigorous in following the DMAIC steps
D)To prevent an improved process from becoming highly variable again.

Question 26

The focus of the first step in the DMAIC process is on:

A)Process variability.
B)Cost.
C)Critical-to-quality characteristics.
D)Problem solving.

Question 27

If a company spends more on prevention,what would be the expected impact on other costs of quality?

A)Appraisal costs will go up.
B)Failure costs will go down.
C)Failure costs will go up.
D)Other costs will be unaffected.

Question 28

The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle is best defined as:

A)A rigorous procedure for strategic planning.
B)A method used to guide problem identification and solution.
C)A method first proposed by Joseph Juran.
D)All of these statements apply to the definition.

Question 29

The managers of a production line that fills cereal boxes would like to reach a Six Sigma level of quality in terms of product weight.The desired range of output extends from 10 to 16 ounces.In order to reach Six Sigma quality,what would the maximum standard deviation of output need to be?

A)1 ounce
B)2 ounces
C)0.5 ounces
D)Not enough information is given to answer the question.

Question 30

Maxmo Corporation identified the following costs for the most recent fiscal year: Vendor evaluation = $20,000
Design engineering = $100,000
Scrap = $15,000
Training = $30,000
Warranty = $40,000
What was Maxmo's total prevention cost for the year?

A)$205,000
B)$85,000
C)$55,000
D)$150,000

Question 31

Factors affecting the success of a TQM effort do not include:

A)An existing crisis
B)A charismatic leader
C)An uncomplicated product
D)Trust between labor and management

Question 32

Suppose that a producer of 50 pound bags of potting soil decides that bag weight variation within a range of +/- 2 pounds will be acceptable to customers.To deliver a six sigma level of quality for this product,the bagging process will need to have a standard deviation not larger than:

A)2 pounds
B)4 pounds
C)0.33 pounds
D)0.17 pounds

Question 33

XYZ distribution center receives 1,000 deliveries each day.Arrivals are on time if they are within plus or minus 10 minutes of the targeted arrival.In order to have only 3.4 late or early arrivals per million deliveries,what would the standard deviation of arrival times need to be?

A)3.33 minutes
B)0.83 minutes
C)1.67 minutes
D)6.67 minutes

Question 34

A process with Six Sigma quality is expected to produce how many defects?

A)3.4 defects per million opportunities
B)6 defects per million opportunities
C)66,807 defects per million opportunities
D)Zero defects

Question 35

"Quality management" is:

A)A measure of how well managers achieve goals
B)An approach that develops culture and tools with a focus on quality
C)Six sigma
D)The achievement of all dimensions of quality

Question 36

An application of the DMAIC process to product design is known as:

A)Design for Six Sigma.
B)Design for Quality.
C)Quality Function Deployment.
D)None of these answers are correct.

Question 37

"Product quality" is best explained as:

A)The result of both design quality and conformance quality
B)Absence of defect
C)Customer satisfaction
D)Desirable features

Question 38

The types of costs included in a cost of quality analysis include:

A)Production,delivery,and marketing.
B)Internal and external.
C)Direct and indirect.
D)Prevention,appraisal,and failure.

Question 39

In a Cost of Quality analysis,"failure costs" refers to:

A)Costs associated with defects
B)Costs of not achieving goals
C)Costs of not considering customer needs
D)Costs associated with mistakes

Question 40

Some consider any level of quality short of perfection to be unacceptable.However,managers who must set quality targets should consider:

A)The quality level required by ISO 9000
B)The relative costs of failure,prevention,and appraisal
C)The fact that six sigma is a universally accepted standard
D)The effects of product quality on stock prices.

Question 41

An organizational culture is shaped by:

A)The experiences of certain charismatic leaders
B)Leadership memos and meeting statements
C)The organization's value statement or motto
D)The actions taken by leadership

Question 42

Two dimensions of product quality are hard to measure objectively and are therefore subject to subjective assessment.One of those subjective dimensions is:

A)Reliability
B)Perceived quality
C)Support
D)Features

Question 43

The degree to which the product meets its' design specifications is called:

A)Performance quality
B)Aesthetic quality
C)Conformance quality
D)Perceived quality
E)Total quality

Question 44

Persons with responsibilities in which business function will make decisions regarding new product testing programs?

A)Marketing
B)Finance
C)Logistics
D)Manufacturing