Chapter 11 – Quality Management

Quality is defined as the ability of a product to meet, and preferably exceed, customer expectations. Is this:
1. true?
2. often true?
3. false?
Supplier quality broadly represents the ability of a supplier to deliver products, that consistently meet or exceed current and future customer expectations or requirements, in critical performance areas. Is this:
1. true?
2. often true?
3. false?
Which of the following is not, usually, a factor in supply chain members’ concerned with quality?
1. search for continuous improvement
2. reliance on tiers of suppliers
3. consequences of poor quality on final customers
4. supplier impact on quality
5. structure of industry sector
6. increase in outsourcing
Which, of the following factors, is not an important factor in deciding the amount of attention that buyers should give to supplier quality?
1. ability of a supplier to affect the overall quality of a buyer’s product
2. resources available to support supplier quality management
3. ability of a buying firm to achieve world-class quality
4. supplier’s cost structure
5. supplier’s willingness to collaborate to improve quality
6. ability to collect and analyse quality related data
Total Quality Management:
1. has every customer submitting a report on product quality
2. involves the whole organisation working together to guarantee high quality products
3. is a measure of the quality of the total product package
4. organises the quality control function into a single coherent department
What is a reasonable target for the number of defects produced?
1. 100% of production
2. 100 parts per thousand
3. 10 parts per thousand
4. 1 part per thousand
5. none
What is the fundamental source of poor quality products?
1. working too fast
2. human error
3. variation
4. cost reduction exercises
5. competition
Deming’s 14 principles give rules for ensuring perfect product quality. Is this:
1. true?
2. partly true?
3. false?
Which of the following is not a core activity for implementing TQM?
1. stress objective analyses
2. pursue quality from suppliers
3. strive for zero defects
4. define quality, in terms of customers and their requirements
5. emphasise prevention, rather than detection, of faults
6. spend more than the market rate on components and materials
What is process capability?
1. the operations used to make a product
2. the skills available in the workforce
3. the ability to generate outputs that meet specifications
4. the facilities available for a process
5. none of the above
Which of the following costs are, generally, associated with quality?
1. fixed and variable costs
2. internal and external failure costs
3. purchasing and production costs
4. control and failure costs
5. holding and shortage costs
High quality products inevitably come at a higher cost. Is this:
1. true?
2. usually true?
3. false?
A common approach to process improvement has a cycle of:
1. buy-make-sell
2. plan-do-check-act
3. strategy-tactics-operations
4. product-price-promotion
5. Deming’s 14 principles
Six sigma is essentially a way of implementing quality management principles. What is ‘sigma’?
1. a measure of variability
2. a summary of Deming’s 14 principles
3. the ratio of expenditure on quality management over benefits
4. the average quality achieved
5. none of the above
When you buy from a supplier with ISO 9000 certification, you can be sure that the products will be good enough for your needs. Is this:
1. true?
2. not necessarily true?
3. false?
Which of the following is not one of the principles of ISO 9000?
1. customer focus
2. continual improvement
3. mutually beneficial supplier relationships
4. cost minimisation
5. involvement of people