6) 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.
7) 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 quality loss function.
D) a cause-and-effect diagram.
E) a flowchart.
8) 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) quality loss function
B) cause-and-effect diagram
C) scatter diagram
D) histogram
E) process control chart
9) A fishbone chart is also known as a:
A) cause-and-effect diagram.
B) poka-yoke diagram.
C) Kaizen diagram.
D) Kanban diagram.
E) Taguchi diagram.
10) 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.
11) 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) flowchart
D) control charts
E) activity chart
12) When sample measurements 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.
13) Which of the following is FALSE regarding control charts?
A) Values above the upper control limits imply that the product’s quality is exceeding expectations.
B) Control charts are built so that new data can be quickly compared to past performance data.
C) Control charts graphically present data.
D) Control charts plot data over time.
E) None of the above is false.
14) ________ diagrams use a schematic technique to discover possible locations of quality problems.
15) ________ are graphical presentations of data over time that show upper and lower control limits for
processes we want to control.
16) Explain how a Pareto chart can identify the most important causes of errors in a process.
17) Management is concerned that workers create more product defects at the very beginning and end of
a work shift than at other times of their eight-hour workday. Construct a scatter diagram with the
following data collected last week. Is management justified in its belief?
Number of Defects
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
First hour at work
12
9
6
8
7
Second hour at work
6
5
3
4
5
Third hour at work
5
2
4
3
3
Fourth hour at work
4
0
5
2
3
Fifth hour at work
1
6
2
4
5
Sixth hour at work
4
3
3
2
1
Seventh hour at work
7
4
4
6
3
Eighth hour at work
5
7
8
5
9
18) Perform a Pareto analysis on the following information:
Reason for unsatisfying stay at hotel
Unfriendly staff
Room not clean
Room not ready at check-in
No towels at pool
No blanket for pull-out sofa
Pool water too cold
Breakfast of poor quality
Elevator too slow or not working
Took too long to register
Bill incorrect
Total
19) Perform a Pareto analysis on the following information:
Reason for unsatisfying check-out at store
Frequency
Unfriendly cashier
27
Incorrect change
4
Cashier too slow
9
Price check
34
Poorly bagged merchandise
2
Slow receiving check approval
3
20) Construct a cause-and-effect diagram showing why a student might be dissatisfied with the cafeteria.
21) Pretend that you have just come from a relative’s wedding reception. It didn’t turn out as well as it
should have, and the bride’s parents are pretty mad at how things turned out. Use the supplied template
to construct a conventional cause-and-effect diagram. Identify twelve sources of defects for the issue
“dissatisfied customer of wedding reception caterer.” (Your dozen need not be exactly three per main
cause, but should be a balanced treatment.) Categorize each cause onto a main cause. Provide brief
support for each of your choices.
22) A refrigeration and heating company–one that installs and repairs home central air and heating
systems–has asked your advice on how to analyze their service quality. They have logged customer
complaints. Here’s a recent sampling. Use the supplied template to construct a conventional cause-and-
effect diagram. Place each of the complaints onto a main cause; justify your choice with a brief comment
as necessary. 1. “I was overcharged–your labor rates are too high.” 2. “The repairman left trash where he
was working.” 3. “You weren’t here when you said you would be. You should call when you must be
late.” 4. “Your repairman smoked in my house.”5. “The part you installed is not as good as the factory
original.” 6. “Your repairman was here for over two hours, but he wasn’t taking his work seriously.”7.
“You didn’t tighten some of the fittings properly–the system’s leaking.” 8. “Your estimate of repair costs
was WAY off.” 9. “I called you to do an annual inspection, but you’ve done more–work that I didn’t
authorize.”10. “Your mechanic is just changing parts–he doesn’t have a clue what’s really wrong.” 11.
“Your bill has only a total–I wanted to see detail billing.” 12. “Your testing equipment isn’t very new–are
you sure you’ve diagnosed the problem?”13. “One of the workmen tracked mud into my living room.”
23) Construct a cause-and-effect diagram for why students arrive to class late. Include at least three
reasons for each of the Ms.
24) A professor teaches two sections of a class, one on MWF for 50 minutes per day and another on T/TH
for 75 minutes per day. Use the following information to construct a scatter diagram with test # on the x–
axis and score on the y-axis. Should the professor argue for a change in the university’s scheduling?
MWF Section Test Results Test # T/Th Test Results
75 1 82
70 2 77
65 3 73
65 4 70
70 5 76
25) Create a Pareto chart for the following mistakes made in grading an exam.
Cause
Frequency
Incorrect Sum
35
Question marked wrong was right
3
Question marked right was wrong
4
Partial Credit not consistent
58
26) Construct a cause-and-effect chart for a missed field goal late in a football game with at least three
aspects for each M.
27) A pizza delivery company wants to improve its response time to gain a competitive advantage.
Create a flowchart with 8 unique events from the time the customer calls in to the time the pizza is
delivered.
Section 5 The Role of Inspection
1) The Japanese use the term poka-yoke to refer to continuous improvement.
2) Source inspection is inferior to inspection before costly operations.
3) A checklist is a type of poka-yoke to help ensure consistency and completeness in carrying out a task.
4) The goal of inspection is to:
A) detect a bad process immediately.
B) add value to a product or service.
C) correct deficiencies in products.
D) correct system deficiencies.
E) all of the above
5) Which of the following is not a typical inspection point?
A) upon receipt of goods from your supplier
B) when production or service is complete
C) before the product is shipped to the customer
D) at the supplier’s plant while the supplier is producing
E) after a costly process
6) A good description of source inspection is inspecting:
A) materials upon delivery by the supplier.
B) the goods at the production facility before they reach the customer.
C) the design specifications.
D) goods at the supplier’s plant.
E) one’s own work.
7) Poka-yoke is the Japanese term for:
A) card.
B) foolproof.
C) continuous improvement.
D) fishbone diagram.
E) just-in-time production.
8) In his book, Safe Patients, Smart Hospitals, Dr. Peter Pronovost emphasizes the use of what tool to
reduce catheter infections?
A) a Pareto chart
B) a flowchart
C) a cause-and-effect diagram
D) a checklist
E) a statistical process control chart
9) A checklist is a type of:
A) poka-yoke.
B) kaizen.
C) kanban.
D) Pareto chart
E) flowchart
10) ________ is doing the job properly with the operator ensuring that this is so.
11) A(n) ________ is a type of poka-yoke that lists the steps needed to ensure consistency and
completeness in a task.
12) How is source inspection related to employee empowerment?
13) What is a poka-yoke? Give an example.
Section 6 TQM in Services
1) Security is the determinant of service quality that means freedom from danger, risk, or doubt.
2) Of the several determinants of service quality, access is the one that relates to keeping customers
informed in language they can understand.
3) What refers to training and empowering frontline workers to solve a problem immediately?
A) just-in-time
B) poka-yoke
C) benchmarking
D) kaizen
E) service recovery
4) A recent consumer survey conducted for a car dealership indicates that, when buying a car, customers
are primarily concerned with the salesperson’s ability to explain the car’s features, the salesperson’s
friendliness, and the dealer’s honesty. The dealership should be ESPECIALLY concerned with which
determinants of service quality?
A) communication, courtesy, and credibility
B) competence, courtesy, and security
C) competence, responsiveness, and reliability
D) communication, responsiveness, and reliability
E) understanding/knowing customer, responsiveness, and reliability
5) Marketing issues such as advertising, image, and promotion are important to quality because:
A) they define for consumers the tangible elements of a service.
B) the intangible attributes of a product (including any accompanying service) may not be defined by the
consumer.
C) they educate consumers on how to use the product.
D) they make the product seem more valuable than it really is.
E) they raise expenses and therefore decrease profitability.
6) Which of the determinants of service quality involves having the customer’s best interests at heart?
A) access
B) courtesy
C) credibility
D) responsiveness
E) tangibles
7) Which of the determinants of service quality involves performing the service right the first time?
A) access
B) courtesy
C) credibility
D) reliability
E) responsiveness
8) What is a popular measurement scale for service quality that compares service expectations with
service performance?
A) COQ
B) SPC
C) KAIZEN
D) SERVQUAL
E) TQM
9) Identify the ten determinants of service quality. Describe two of them in a sentence or two each.