Introduction to Quality 16
‘look and feel’ of the Apple watch. When you look at it, it’s obvious that it’s a quality product.” In
speaking of product-and value-based quality, the student might point out that the watch has a lot
6. Think of a product or a service that you are considering purchasing. Develop a list of
fitness- for-use criteria that are meaningful to you.
As in question 5, students might choose any one of dozens of products or services to illustrate.
Fitness for intended use should answer questions such as: Does the product perform as
advertised? Is the product user-friendly, and affordable for both consumers and the
manufacturer? Is the product durable? How does the product stack up against other competitive
products, which may have different features?
For example, they might choose to discuss purchase of a used car to drive to school and
work. The list of fitness for use criteria might include initial price, cost to operate and maintain,
ease of driving, power, aesthetics. If a comparison is made between a used Ford Focus and a
Honda Civic, the Focus might be inexpensive to purchase, moderately economical to own, easy
7. A top Ford executive stated “You can’t have great value unless you have great
quality.” Comment on this statement. Do you agree? Why or why not?
This statement essentially validates the value perspective we discussed in the chapter. Students
should carefully consider their personal perspective of value. Clearly, many do not want to
8. Discuss how the factor of the frequency with which you anticipate using a product might
impact the quality and price that you are willing to pay and how it relates to the value–
based definition. Provide some examples to justify your reasoning.
Introduction to Quality 17
Most consumers are somewhat value-conscious. However, frequently-used products provide an
additional layer of complexity for quality. Often, such products are in the nature of commodities,
such as milk, gasoline, or restaurants. Thus, we may look for consistent quality, ease of access,
9. PCWorld Magazine changed its method of rating new products to base scores only on
product performance, design, and features, dropping price as a criterion, although it will
be clearly stated. Their reasoning was “When we used price as a criterion, high-flying
products often got dinged for having higher-than average prices, while budget items got a
boost based on value. Now superior products—those that are well designed, easiest to use,
feature rich, and power packed—get our highest rating.” How does this approach relate to
the definitions of quality? Does it help or hinder consumers?
This approach by PCWorld Magazine particularly impacts, and seems to down-play, the value-
based definition of quality. Price is a quality characteristic which most consumers consider. If
price is held constant, while other characteristics are compared, then it is often easier to make a
value-based decision. If price comparisons are not made, as implied by PCWorld’s new
10. What definition of quality is implied by the following consumer advertisements?
Explain your reasoning.
Several of the examples described can be seen as appealing to more than one definition in order
to attract the quality-minded consumer.
a. An ad for Rosetta Stone language software that features dozens of languages, covers a
range of five levels (beginning to advanced), provides live online practice sessions with
native speakers, furnishes mobile apps for smart phones and computer pads, and boasts a
30-day money–back guarantee, all for under $200. Additionally, they say: “Three reasons
to get started today: 1) Rosetta Stone solutions have brought language learning success to
millions all over the world. Proven to work. Prove it to yourself. 2) It’ s fun, effective, and
enjoyable. Don’t be one of the 20% of Americans who list ‘not learning a language’ as one
of their life’ s biggest regrets. 3) Studies suggest that trying a new skill— like learning a
new language— is effective at helping you develop and maintain mental fitness. Rosetta
Stone offers a choice of 30 languages.”
Introduction to Quality 18
The Rosetta Stone ad emphasizes multiple features and “fitness for use.” They also have a value-
oriented appeal in providing many features at an attractive price.
b. To justify their top-of-the-line oil change service at $49.95, a Goodyear store features
Valvoline oil. The ad states: SynPower Full Synthetic Lube, Oil, Filter 100% synthetic oil
outperforms all other oil types delivering maximum protection against heat, deposits, and
wear. Valvoline SynPower Full Synthetic Lube is crafted with 100% synthetic motor oil,
and outperforms all other oil types. It also:
• Delivers more protection than any other oil type
• Helps improve and maintain fuel efficiency
• Provides the ultimate protection against heat, deposits & wear
Valvoline tries to provide a value perspective at a high price-point. They point to the many
c. Toyota advertises that its subcompact Yaris model has a myriad of brake-related safety
features. They point out that: “Yaris comes standard with the Star Safety SystemTM, a
suite of six advanced safety features that includes Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Traction
Control (TRAC), Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS), Electronic Brake-force Distribution
(EBD), Brake Assist (BA), and Smart Stop Technology (SST).”
In this ad, Toyota emphasizes the product perspective, and implicitly, the value perspective. That
is, you CAN get a safe, economical car from Toyota.
d. A Bulova watch add that explains “Most quartz watches are accurate to 15 seconds a
month—Bulova Precisionist is accurate to 10 seconds a year. The key is Precisionist’s
unique three-prong quartz crystal, which produces a vibration frequency of 262.144
kilohertz, eight times greater than the usual two-prong crystal and the highest of any watch
available today. And, the innovative design of the Precisionist movement reduces the effects
of temperature variation without using a high maintenance thermo-regulating integrated
circuit. The result is a watch that is extraordinarily precise, yet so easy to operate.”
The Bulova Precisionist ad implies that they deliver the highest level of product-based quality,
e. Barracuda Networks, Inc., makes commercial antivirus hardware and software
“packages,” such as The Barracuda Web Filter. It advertises that: “The Barracuda Web
Filter lets organizations benefit from online applications and tools without exposure to
web-borne malware and viruses, lost user productivity, and misused bandwidth. As a
comprehensive solution for web security and management, it unites award-winning
Introduction to Quality 19
spyware, malware, and virus protection with a powerful policy and reporting engine.
Advanced features ensure that organizations adapt to emerging requirements like social–
network regulation, remote filtering, and visibility into SSL-encrypted traffic.”
Barracuda emphasizes features, which focuses on the product perspective. It could also be seen
f. An ad for the Microsoft Surface computer tablet explains: “ Can’t decide between a new
tablet or laptop? Step up to Microsoft Surface, the device that goes from tablet to laptop in
a snap …great for staying productive and entertained from anywhere. Use Office to create
Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and Excel spreadsheets, or use Outlook to
check your email. Stay in touch with family and friends on Skype, and store all your photos
and videos with 1TB of OneDrive online storage. Surface is one of the best tablets around
for surfing the Internet, playing games, or streaming movies and TV shows from popular
sites like Netflix and Hulu.”
Microsoft’s Surface computer ad is designed to emphasize Microsoft’s persistent practice of
providing a multiplicity of features. Thus it has a product perspective, but also implies a
customer perspective of fitness for intended use.
11. What do you think are the most important lessons that managers can learn from
studying the history of quality management?
Each era of quality has important lessons which managers can learn from, if they pay attention.
Some of these lessons are suggested in bold-faced type in the following summary of quality
history. Evidence of the search for quality dates back to ancient Egypt, as indicated in the
precision and uniformity of methods used in the construction of the pyramids. The
craftsperson of the Middle Ages took special care to ensure quality in his/her product, a
necessary step since he/she dealt directly with the customer. In the late 18th Century, Eli
Whitney helped trigger the Industrial Revolution with his development of interchangeable
12. Consider the following views of quality:
Introduction to Quality 20
a. a strategic asset and competitive differentiator
b. a proactive continuous improvement activity
c. a tool to fix problems
d. a risk mitigation activity
e. a compliance activity
How would you order these in terms of increasing organizational maturity? What
organizational changes do you think need to occur as an organization moves to the next
(more mature) view of quality in this progression?
The following views of quality are ordered in (approximate) order of quality maturity:
e. a compliance activity
d. a risk mitigation activity
13. Provide some specific examples that illustrate how the three major themes cited in the
American Society for Quality’s 2015 futures study are reflected in today’s business
news.
These themes were:
1. Organizations must knock down silos of information in order to get the right information to
the right places. Where speed of decision and speed of action is crucial, very careful decisions
will have to be made about what to share and what to hold close. Students might point to the use
of teams and cross-disciplinary activities in organizations.
2. Organizations must begin to think differently about things they assume to know quite well,
such as customers. Even though organizations will get better in understanding customers, it will
Introduction to Quality 21
14. Provide specific examples of how the differences between manufacturing and service
organizations are evident in a school or a hospital.
Under certain conditions, a hospital or a school could be said to have both manufacturing and
service characteristics. The differences between manufacturing and service organizations are
evident in schools and hospitals in various ways. Using the list from the chapter, the contrasts
between service and manufacturing quality include:
• Customer needs and performance standards are difficult to quantify in services.
• The production of services often requires a high degree of customization.
15. Select a service activity with which you are familiar. If you were the manager of this
activity, what “conformance to specifications” criteria would you use to monitor it?
Student answers will vary here, also, according to their experience. For this question, students
will need to determine the targets and tolerances for their individual service activities that permit
“conformance-to-specifications” to be measured. Targets will be the specific services that
employees should provide, and the specific values that employees will demonstrate. Tolerances
Introduction to Quality 22
16. Cite some examples from your own experience in which you felt service quality was
truly top-notch, and some in which it was not. What do you think might be some of the
fundamental differences in the infrastructure and management practices of these
organizations?
Student experiences where service quality was truly top-notch, and some in which it was not,
will vary. Students may tend to dwell on poor quality service, first. You may have to probe
student’s memories to have them relate some “good quality” stories. For example, one of the
authors stayed in a hotel that was operated by a large eastern university. The desk employees
(probably students in hospitality management) were polite and well trained, and the bed in the
17. How are people and information technology used to improve service in your college or
university?
People and information technology may be used to improve service in a college or university by
providing services over the internet, such as registration, grade delivery, financial aid
information, library services, payment methods for copying, printing, and food services, etc.
Many universities are installing integrated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to
18. What role has the Internet played in improving service quality? What barriers to
service quality might it have?
The Internet has played a significant role in improving service quality. For example, many
banking transactions, which used to require face-to-face or telephone interaction, such as check
deposits, applying for a loan, checking bank balances, etc., now can be done online, without
Introduction to Quality 23
19. In this chapter, we noted that much of the work performed in traditional
manufacturing organizations now involve service. Provide some examples of this, drawing
upon the functions illustrated in Figure 1.2.
One good example is a machine tool company. Although its primary focus is on building
machine tools for other manufacturers, there are many service activities involved. For instance,
20. Choose an organization that you have read about or with which you have personal
experience and describe their sources of competitive advantage. For each, state whether
you believe that quality supports their strategy or does not support it.
One example of a highly competitive organization is United Parcel Service (UPS). UPS has
competitive advantages that are linked to efficiency and economies of scale. They use a
combination of ground and air transportation, depending on the customer’s needs for speed of
UPS Enterprise Strategy
Create Value, Transform, and Invest to Grow
• Create value for customers using our superior portfolio of logistics capabilities
• Continually transform to strengthen our leadership position
• Invest to accelerate growth in key markets and new opportunities
21. How can you internalize and practice quality at a personal level in your daily activities?
Students might start by thinking about how the definitions of quality relate to their lives, what
“defects” they might encounter and how to remove them, who their internal customers are and
SUGGESTIONS FOR PROJECTS. ETC.
Introduction to Quality 24
1. Develop a portfolio of advertisements from newspapers and magazines and illustrate
how quality is used in promoting these products. How do the ads imply the different
definitions of quality?
The results will vary, depending on the ads that the student chooses. Students might use ideas
from Discussion Question 10.
2. Choose an organization of interest, conduct appropriate research, and write a case
similar to the Xerox Quality in Practice in this chapter, documenting their quality journey
and practices.
Such projects not only help students understand the role of quality in organizations, but also help
improve their writing skills.
3. Examine the annual reports of one company over a period of years. Summarize how
quality is discussed or implied in the company’s statements and philosophy. Are any
changes in the perspectives of quality evident over time?
There is a great deal of information available on the annual reports of companies available in
4. Conduct some research on quality practices that is focused on a particular country or
global region. Summarize your findings in a two- to three-page report.
Doing research on quality practices focused on a particular country or global region can help
5. Visit the web site for the American Society for Quality (www.ASQ.org) and write a short
report on the services and resources it offers to quality professionals.
This is a good project to help understand the role of the society and encourage students to join at
a reasonable student rate.
6. Interview some key managers at a nearby manufacturing company and construct a
diagram similar to Figure 1.2 showing the company’s key functions and their relationships.
Summarize the major quality concerns of each function.
This project should provide students with insights into how the various functional areas are
related to one another. Depending on the amount of cross-functional work that is done, students
Introduction to Quality 25
7. Interview some managers at a local service organization and summarize the role of
people and information technology in providing quality service. How are people and
information technology integrated into long-range improvement plans and strategies?
If some of the students in the class do project 1 and others do this project, it can provide a very
interesting contrast. Most service businesses, even very small ones, are highly dependent on their
8. Develop a “personal quality checklist” that you would like to achieve each day and
analyze the results over an extended period of time. … After completing the project,
answer these
questions:
a. What did your analysis reveal?
b. Did you find that you improved simply because you began to measure these
“defects”?
c. How did you feel about discussing your progress with others?
d. How might such a process help in a work environment?
This approach, developed by Roberts and Sergesketter, was used for several years by one of the
authors (Lindsay) as a class assignment with both undergraduate and graduate students in
Quality Management and Production and Operations Management courses. Student response at
the end of the term was overwhelmingly positive. Answers are based on experiences in these
classes.
a. Student analysis, backed up by use of the checksheet, a scatter diagram, and Pareto charts,
tend to show an initial, often dramatic drop in total weekly defects over the first three or four
weeks. Later in the study period, regression often occurs because of exam weeks or project
assignments coming due. The final several weeks of the study period often show another
drop in the scatter diagram of defects, possibly because the final project report comes due
and people want to “look good.”
Introduction to Quality 26
Fear” may be illustrated if the professor assigns grades for this project based on whether the
students write excellent reports that are well-documented and analyzed, not on whether their
ANSWERS TO CASE QUESTIONS
I. Skilled Care Pharmacy
Discussion Questions
1. How might the various definitions of quality apply to Skilled Care?
2. How are the six quality perspectives reflected in Skilled Care’s policy and operations?
3. Given the nature of Skilled Care’s operations and the challenges it faces, discuss how a
total quality approach can help the company meet these challenges and improve its ability
to provide the services its customers need.
1. Various definitions of quality such as: transcendent quality, product-and value- based quality,
fitness for use, and conformance to specifications could be applied to Skilled Care’s
operations. Transcendent quality is perhaps conveyed to customers by hearing about and
observing Skilled Care’s “dedication and commitment to continuous quality improvement.”
The product-, user-, value- and manufacturing-based definitions are reflected in the Skilled
2. Accepted quality principles include: a focus on customers; participation and teamwork; and
continuous improvement and learning. These are supported by the organizational
infrastructure that includes: customer relationship management, leadership and strategic
planning, human resources management, process management, and data and information
management, as well as a set of management practices and tools. Skilled Care has outlined
3. The company does face strategic challenges in financial, human resources (obtaining licensed
pharmacist personnel and employee retention), and environmental factors relating to medical
practice. A total quality approach can help to develop senior leaders and systematic strategic
Introduction to Quality 27
planning, articulate strategic objectives, and align and deploy quality strategy and day to day
practices with strategic goals in order to better service their customers.
II. Dinner On-the-Go
Using the six quality perspectives and any other concepts discussed in this chapter to advise
Chelsey on what she might consider to assure high quality for this venture.
Chelsey should be aware of, and use the six different perspectives: transcendent, product, value,
user, manufacturing, and customer as a guide for designing her restaurant. Dinner On-the-Go’s
customer’s perceptions of transcendent quality must be built over a period of time. Chelsey
apparently has a viable and innovative concept in developing a line of takeout home-cooked
meals. Now she must develop every facet of the business to impress, excite, and delight the
customer. She can provide the product features that are most appealing to her customers, such as
taste, presentation, quality of ingredients, and food safety. Pricing will need to be set so as to
To assist in designing the restaurant, itself, its products and its processes, Chelsey should
incorporate TQ into the design of her business, including:
1. A focus on customers and stakeholders
2. Employee engagement and teamwork by everyone in the organization
3. A process focus supported by continuous improvement and learning
Points 1 and 2 must be addressed before the restaurant/outlet is opened. She must determine how
to obtain information about customer needs and preferences for home-cooked take-out, as well as
dine-in, meals. She could do this by benchmarking successful restaurant chains with take-out
meals, such as Bob Evans, Marie Callender, and others with similar services. Also, in her
geographic area, she might perform market studies to better focus on her specific market
Introduction to Quality 28
improved over time, as experience is acquired. Improvement and learning must be continuous
and systematic, rather than occasional and erratic.
Chelsey should plan strategically for growth and development of the business. She should
ensure that senior leadership understands the meaning of performance excellence and is capable
of developing the mission, vision, and values that will sustain the organization. Chelsey will
need to set up a performance measurement system, with key metrics with which she and her
leadership team can set goals and objectives for the business and gage the health of the business
once performance is being measured.
quickly obtain a local and regional reputation for quality and performance excellence.
III. Who’s Responsible for the Quality?
Discussion Questions
1. Who is responsible for the quality from inkjet production printing?
2. How might a company such as Xerox work with inkjet customers to ensure quality?
1. As Howie Fenton said: The answer is: it depends. It depends on whether you’re willing to
live within the recommendations made by the manufacturer or you want to try to save some
money by deviating from those recommendations. These questions and debates typically
appear in early stages of a new technology such as inkjet production printing. There are
different stages of adoption of new technology. These early stages include the pioneers or
Introduction to Quality 29
to determine if it is acceptable and supported. This takes the guesswork and risk out of the
process so that the customer can be confident that they can safely use the expected inkjet
product and attain the required paper performance.
IV. Deere & Co.
Assignment
On the basis of this information, prepare a brief report discussing Deere & Company’s
evolution of quality. Relate your discussion to historical trends, future challenges, the
various definitional perspectives of quality, and other issues discussed in this chapter,
including quality perspectives. For example, how has their perspective of quality and the
practices used to implement it changed over the years? Update the case by reviewing
Deere’s latest annual report and include any new information in your analysis.
There is no correct solution to this case problem, but a number of useful teaching points can be
brought out after students have done their analyses. Specifically:
• In 1999, the themes of continuous improvement, profitable growth, and business
innovation continued to be dominant. The continuous improvement area featured six
sigma quality goals for performance and customer satisfaction. It was mentioned that
during the year some 900 projects involving several thousand employees had been
carried out. These six sigma projects had the objectives of streamlining business
processes, focusing on customers, and structuring around core processes.
Introduction to Quality 30
certification through 2008. Deere affirmed that it takes its responsibilities seriously.
This included continuing to set employee safety as one of John Deere’s top priorities,
and endeavoring to treat the environment with increasing care, by making
sustainability an integral part of its operations. Their biomass energy system went
into operation during the year at their German combine factory. Further in 2008,
Deere announced plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its global operations
These summaries definitely show an increasing commitment to TQ concepts. The early use
of TQ concepts was actually started when Deere began to focus on TQ concept in the 1990’s.
Management has continually emphasized productivity and cost reduction as the key to
excellence. In the mature and very competitive heavy equipment industry, the changing focus