Deck 6: Managing Quality

Question 1

TQM is important because quality influences all of the ten decisions made by operations managers.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The Japanese use the term "poka-yoke" to refer to continuous improvement.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Philip Crosby is credited with both of these quality catch-phrases: "quality is free" and "zero defects."

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Internal failure costs are associated with scrap, rework, and downtime.

Question 5

The definition of quality adopted by The American Society for Quality is a customer-oriented definition.

Question 6

Improved quality can increase profitability via flexible pricing.

Question 7

Quality is mostly the business of the quality control staff, not ordinary employees.

Question 8

An improvement in quality must necessarily increase costs.

Question 9

Conforming to standards is the focus of the product-based definition of quality.

Question 10

One of the ways that Just-In-Time (or JIT) influences quality is that by reducing inventory, bad quality is exposed.

Question 11

Quality circles empower employees to improve productivity by finding solutions to work-related problems in their work area.

Question 12

Benchmarking requires the comparison of your firm to other organizations; it is not appropriate to benchmark by comparing one of your divisions to another of your divisions.

Question 13

Continuous improvement is based on the philosophy that every aspect of an operation can be improved.

Question 14

Line employees need the knowledge of TQM tools.

Question 15

Security is the determinant of service quality that means freedom from danger, risk, or doubt.

Question 16

Kaizen is similar to TQM in that both are focused on continuous improvement.

Question 17

The phrase Six Sigma has two meanings. One is statistical, referring to an extremely high process capability; the other is a comprehensive system for achieving and sustaining business success.

Question 18

Deming's writings on quality tend to focus on the customer and on fitness for use, unlike Juran's work that is oriented toward meeting specifications.

Question 19

ISO 9000 has evolved from a set of quality assurance standards toward a quality management system.

Question 20

Managers at Arnold Palmer Hospital take quality so seriously that the hospital typically is a national leader in several quality areas-so that continuous improvement is no longer necessary.

Question 21

Which of the following is not one of the major categories of costs associated with quality?

A) prevention costs
B) appraisal costs
C) internal failures
D) external failures
E) None of the above; they are all major categories of costs associated with quality.

Question 22

Source inspection is inferior to inspection before costly operations.

Question 23

A cause-and-effect diagram helps identify the source of a problem.

Question 24

Arnold Palmer Hospital uses which of the following quality management techniques?

A) Pareto charts
B) flowcharts
C) benchmarking
D) Just-in-Time
E) The hospital uses all of the above techniques.

Question 25

Companies with the highest levels of quality are almost how many times more productive than their competitors with the lowest quality levels?

A) 2
B) 3
C) 4
D) 5
E) None of the above, quality has no impact on productivity (units/labor hr.).

Question 26

The quality loss function indicates that costs related to poor quality are low as long as the product is within acceptable specification limits.

Question 27

Three broad categories of definitions of quality are

A) product quality, service quality, and organizational quality
B) user-based, manufacturing-based, and product-based
C) internal, external, and prevention
D) low-cost, response, and differentiation
E) Pareto, Shewhart, and Deming

Question 28

Quality can improve profitability by reducing costs. Which of the following is not an aspect of reduced costs by quality improvements?

A) flexible pricing
B) increased productivity
C) lower rework and scrap costs
D) lower warranty costs
E) All of the above are aspects of reduced costs by quality improvements.

Question 29

A successful quality strategy features which of the following steps?

A) organization environment that fosters quality
B) understanding the principles of quality
C) engaging employees in the necessary activities for quality implementation
D) A and C
E) A, B, and C

Question 30

"Making it right the first time" is

A) an unrealistic definition of quality
B) a user-based definition of quality
C) a manufacturing-based definition of quality
D) a product-based definition of quality
E) the definition proposed by the American Society for Quality

Question 31

Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between quality management and product strategy?

A) Product strategy is set by top management; quality management is an independent activity.
B) Quality management is important to the low-cost product strategy, but not to the response or differentiation strategies.
C) High quality is important to all three strategies, but it is not a critical success factor.
D) Managing quality helps build successful product strategies.
E) Companies with the highest measures of quality are no more productive than other firms.

Question 32

High-quality products and services are the most profitable.

Question 33

Which of the following statements regarding Arnold Palmer Hospital is false?

A) The hospital uses a wide range of quality management techniques.
B) The culture of quality at the hospital includes employees at all levels.
C) The hospital scores very highly in national studies of patient satisfaction.
D) The hospital's high quality is measured by low readmission rates, not patient satisfaction.
E) The design of patient rooms, even wall colors, reflects the hospital's culture of quality.

Question 34

Quality "lies in the eyes of the beholder" is

A) an unrealistic definition of quality
B) a user-based definition of quality
C) a manufacturing-based definition of quality
D) a product-based definition of quality
E) the definition proposed by the American Society for Quality

Question 35

According to the manufacturing-based definition of quality,

A) quality is the degree of excellence at an acceptable price and the control of variability at an acceptable cost
B) quality depends on how well the product fits patterns of consumer preferences
C) even though quality cannot be defined, you know what it is
D) quality is the degree to which a specific product conforms to standards
E) quality lies in the eyes of the beholder

Question 36

Pareto charts are a graphical way of identifying the few critical items from the many less important ones.

Question 37

All of the following costs are likely to decrease as a result of better quality except

A) customer dissatisfaction costs
B) inspection costs
C) scrap costs
D) warranty and service costs
E) maintenance costs

Question 38

The role of quality in limiting a firm's product liability is illustrated by

A) ensuring that contaminated products such as impure foods do not reach customers
B) ensuring that products meet standards such as those of the Consumer Product Safety Act
C) designing safe products to limit possible harm to consumers
D) using processes that make products as safe or as durable as their design specifications call for
E) All of the above are valid.

Question 39

Of the several determinants of service quality, access is the one that relates to keeping customers informed in language they can understand.

Question 40

Which of the four major categories of quality costs is particularly hard to quantify?

A) prevention costs
B) appraisal costs
C) internal failure costs
D) external failure costs
E) None is hard to quantify.

Question 41

A Six Sigma program has how many defects per million?

A) 3.4
B) 34
C) 1000
D) 6 times the standard deviation
E) none of the above

Question 42

If 1 million passengers pass through the St. Louis Airport with checked baggage each month, a successful Six Sigma program for baggage handling would result in how many passengers with misplaced luggage?

A) 3.4
B) 6.0
C) 34
D) 2700
E) 6 times the monthly standard deviation of passengers

Question 43

"Quality Is Free," meaning that the costs of poor quality have been understated, is the work of

A) W. Edwards Deming
B) Joseph M. Juran
C) Philip B. Crosby
D) Crosby, Stills, and Nash
E) Armand Feigenbaum

Question 44

Total quality management emphasizes

A) the responsibility of the quality control staff to identify and solve all quality-related problems
B) a commitment to quality that goes beyond internal company issues to suppliers and customers
C) a system where strong managers are the only decision makers
D) a process where mostly statisticians get involved
E) ISO 14000 certification

Question 45

One of Britain's largest children's hospitals working with Ferrari Racing is an example of

A) internal benchmarking
B) external benchmarking
C) Taguchi concepts
D) employee empowerment
E) corporate responsibility

Question 46

Subaru's green plant is an example of the application of

A) ISO 9000
B) ISO 14000
C) TQM
D) ISO 24700
E) SPC

Question 47

Regarding the quality of design, production, and distribution of products, an ethical requirement for management is to

A) determine whether any of the organization's stakeholders are violated by poor quality products
B) gain ISO 14000 certification for the organization
C) obtain a product safety certificate from the Consumer Product Safety Commission
D) have the organization's legal staff write disclaimers in the product instruction booklets
E) compare the cost of product liability to the external failure cost

Question 48

"Employees cannot produce goods that on average exceed the quality of what the process is capable of producing" expresses a basic element in the writings of

A) Vilfredo Pareto
B) Armand Feigenbaum
C) Joseph M. Juran
D) W. Edwards Deming
E) Philip B. Crosby

Question 49

A successful TQM program incorporates all of the following except

A) continuous improvement
B) employee involvement
C) benchmarking
D) centralized decision-making authority
E) None of the above; a successful TQM program incorporates all of the above.

Question 50

A Three Sigma program has how many defects per million?

A) 34
B) 3
C) 3 times the standard deviation
D) 2700
E) 1500

Question 51

A hospital benchmarked against Ferrari Racing in an effort to

A) improve patient handoff quality
B) increase surgery prep time
C) lengthen surgery duration
D) reduce the number of doctors
E) all of the above

Question 52

Suppose that a firm has historically been achieving "three-sigma" quality. If the firm later changes its quality management practices such that it begins to achieve "six-sigma" quality, which of the following phenomena will result?

A) The average number of defects will be cut in half.
B) The specification limits will be moved twice as far from the mean.
C) The average number of defects will be cut by 99.9997%.
D) The average number of defects will be cut by 99.87%.
E) The average number of defects will be cut by 99.73%.

Question 53

Based on his 14 Points, Deming is a strong proponent of

A) inspection at the end of the production process
B) an increase in numerical quotas to boost productivity
C) looking for the cheapest supplier
D) training and knowledge
E) all of the above

Question 54

To become ISO 9000 certified, organizations must

A) document quality procedures
B) have an onsite assessment
C) have an ongoing series of audits of their products or service
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 55

PDCA is most often applied in regard to which aspect of TQM?

A) Six Sigma
B) Employee Empowerment
C) Continuous Improvement
D) Benchmarking
E) JIT

Question 56

The philosophy of zero defects is

A) the result of Deming's research
B) unrealistic
C) prohibitively costly
D) an ultimate goal; in practice, 1 to 2% defects is acceptable
E) consistent with the commitment to continuous improvement

Question 57

Which of the following statements is not true?

A) Self-promotion is not a substitute for quality products.
B) Inferior products harm a firm's profitability and a nation's balance of payments.
C) Product liability transfers from the manufacturer to the retailer once the retailer accepts delivery of the product.
D) Quality-be it good or bad-will show up in perceptions about a firm's new products, employment practices, and supplier relations.
E) Legislation such as the Consumer Product Safety Act sets and enforces product standards by banning products that do not reach those standards.

Question 58

Stakeholders who are affected by the production and marketing of poor quality products include

A) stockholders, employees, and customers
B) suppliers and creditors, but not distributors
C) only stockholders, creditors, and owners
D) suppliers and distributors, but not customers
E) only stockholders and organizational executives and managers

Question 59

Which of the following is true about ISO 14000 certification?

A) It is not a prerequisite for ISO 9000 certification.
B) It deals with environmental management.
C) It offers a good systematic approach to pollution prevention.
D) One of its core elements is life-cycle assessment.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 60

PDCA, developed by Shewhart, stands for which of the following?

A) Plan-Do-Check-Act
B) Plan-Develop-Check-Accept
C) Problem-Develop Solution- Check- Act
D) Problem-Do-Continue-Act
E) none of the above

Question 61

A fishbone diagram is also known as a

A) cause-and-effect diagram
B) poka-yoke diagram
C) Kaizen diagram
D) Kanban diagram
E) Taguchi diagram

Question 62

A manager tells her production employees, "It's no longer good enough that your work fall anywhere within the specification limits. I need your work to be as close to the target value as possible." Her thinking is reflective of

A) internal benchmarking
B) Six Sigma
C) ISO 9000
D) Taguchi concepts
E) process control charts

Question 63

Among the tools of TQM, the tool ordinarily used to aid in understanding the sequence of events through which a product travels is a

A) Pareto chart
B) flowchart
C) check sheet
D) Taguchi map
E) poka-yoke

Question 64

The process improvement technique that sorts the "vital few" from the "trivial many" is

A) Taguchi analysis
B) Pareto analysis
C) benchmarking
D) Deming analysis
E) Yamaguchi analysis

Question 65

Pareto charts are used to

A) identify inspection points in a process
B) outline production schedules
C) organize errors, problems, or defects
D) show material flow
E) all of the above

Question 66

A quality loss function includes all of the following costs except

A) the cost of scrap and repair
B) the cost of customer dissatisfaction
C) inspection, warranty, and service costs
D) sales costs
E) costs to society

Question 67

"Kaizen" is a Japanese term meaning

A) a foolproof mechanism
B) just-in-time (JIT)
C) a fishbone diagram
D) setting standards
E) continuous improvement

Question 68

When a sample measurement falls inside the control limits, it means that

A) each unit manufactured is good enough to sell
B) the process limits cannot be determined statistically
C) the process output exceeds the requirements
D) if there is no other pattern in the samples, the process is in control
E) the process output does not fulfill the requirements

Question 69

Costs of dissatisfaction, repair costs, and warranty costs are elements of cost in the

A) Taguchi Loss Function
B) Pareto chart
C) ISO 9000 Quality Cost Calculator
D) process chart
E) none of the above

Question 70

The "four Ms" of cause-and-effect diagrams are

A) material, machinery/equipment, manpower, and methods
B) material, methods, men, and mental attitude
C) named after four quality experts
D) material, management, manpower, and motivation
E) none of the above

Question 71

Members of quality circles are

A) paid according to their contribution to quality
B) external consultants designed to provide training in the use of quality tools
C) always machine operators
D) all trained to be facilitators
E) None of the above; all of the statements are false.

Question 72

Building high-morale organizations and building communication networks that include employees are both elements of

A) ISO 9000 certification
B) Six Sigma certification
C) employee empowerment
D) Taguchi methods
E) the tools of TQM

Question 73

Techniques for building employee empowerment include

A) building communication networks that include employees
B) developing open, supportive supervisors
C) moving responsibility from both managers and staff to production employees
D) building high-morale organizations
E) All of the above are techniques for employee empowerment.

Question 74

A production manager at a pottery factory has noticed that about 70 percent of defects result from impurities in raw materials, 15 percent result from human error, 10 percent from machine malfunctions, and 5 percent from a variety of other causes. This manager is most likely using

A) a Pareto chart
B) a scatter diagram
C) a Taguchi loss function
D) a cause-and-effect diagram
E) a flowchart

Question 75

The process of identifying other organizations that are best at some facet of your operations and then modeling your organization after them is known as

A) continuous improvement
B) employee empowerment
C) benchmarking
D) copycatting
E) patent infringement

Question 76

Which of the following statements regarding "Six Sigma" is true?

A) The term has two distinct meanings-one is statistical; the other is a comprehensive quality system.
B) Six Sigma means that about 94 percent of a firm's output is free of defects.
C) The Six Sigma program was developed by Toyota in the 1970's.
D) The Six Sigma program is for manufacturing firms, and is not applicable to services.
E) Six Sigma certification is granted by the International Standards Organization (ISO).

Question 77

A quality circle holds a brainstorming session and attempts to identify the factors responsible for flaws in a product. Which tool do you suggest they use to organize their findings?

A) Ishikawa diagram
B) Pareto chart
C) process chart
D) control charts
E) activity chart

Question 78

ISO 9000 seeks standardization in terms of

A) products
B) production procedures
C) suppliers' specifications
D) procedures to manage quality
E) all of the above

Question 79

If a sample of parts is measured and the mean of the measurements is outside the control limits, the process is

A) in control, but not capable of producing within the established control limits
B) out of control and the process should be investigated for assignable variation
C) within the established control limits with only natural causes of variation
D) monitored closely to see if the next sample mean will also fall outside the control limits
E) none of the above

Question 80

A customer service manager at a retail clothing store has collected numerous customer complaints from the forms they fill out on merchandise returns. To analyze trends or patterns in these returns, she has organized these complaints into a small number of sources or factors. This is most closely related to the __________ tool of TQM.

A) Taguchi loss function
B) cause-and-effect diagram
C) scatter diagram
D) histogram
E) process control chart