Unlock document.
This document is partially blurred.
Unlock all pages and 1 million more documents.
Get Access
Introduction to Quality 16
7. 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 approach, the reader may experience difficulty in arriving at a
decision.
8. Several of the examples described can be seen as appealing to more than one definition in
order to attract the quality-minded consumer.
a. The DirectTV ad is based on an appeal to the value-conscious consumer, who wants a
reliable, low-cost TV service.
b. The deodorant ad implies “fitness for use,” because if a deodorant doesn’t keep you
dry, as well as kill odors, it’s not very effective.
c. The Paul Mitchell hair products are appealing to the product perspective, by citing the
9. 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
Introduction to Quality 17
10. Despite being controversial due to its lack of specific aims and suggestions for remedies,
the Occupy Wall Street movement of 2011—12 has drawn attention to issues of global
responsibility in making decisions, specifically in the banking and financial sector.
11. 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, listed in Review Question 10, are evident in schools and hospitals in
various ways. Using the list from the review question, 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.
• The output of many services is intangible, unlike manufactured goods.
Introduction to Quality 18
12. 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 will be the standards set up to determine what is necessary
13. Student experiences in 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 clean, well-furnished room was comfortable.
However, after arriving late at night and settling into bed, the antiquated heating system
14. 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 integrate support processes for planning, budgeting,
enrollment management, etc. Often, in a web-based system, students will be able to
retrieve grades for courses right after they are posted, view their transcript to see what
Introduction to Quality 19
15. 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
16. Some examples of manufacturing functions, which also involve services, and drawing
upon the functions illustrated in Figure 1.2 are:
Marketing and Sales – Effective market research and solicitation of customer feedback
are necessary for developing quality products.
Product Design and Process Engineering – Here, designers and technicians must make
sure products are not over- or under-engineered. Over-engineering results in ineffective
use of a firm’s resources and products. Under-engineered products poor process designs
result in lower quality as well. Once again, the “voice of the customer” must be gathered
and translated into technical specifications.
Production Planning and Scheduling – The correct material, tools, and equipment must be
available at the proper time and in the proper places to maintain a smooth flow of
Introduction to Quality 20
17. 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 delivery. They adjust staffing levels to meet processing requirements by using a
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
18. Students might use the personal TQM approaches suggested by Roberts and Sergesketter
as a “springboard” for discussion of this question. Typical processes would be getting
ready for school or work, keeping a room straight, or studying for an exam. Opportunities
SUGGESTIONS FOR PROJECTS. ETC.
1. The results will vary, depending on the ads that the student chooses.
2. There is a great deal of information available on the merger of Continental with United in
the business press. It should be noted that Continental Holdings, Inc. (parent of the
Introduction to Quality 21
3. There is a great deal of information available on the annual reports of companies
available in college library databases, as well as on corporate websites.
4. This could be one of the more challenging assignments, since students may have to “dig
in” to find sources about international quality awards on the Internet, or by contacting the
American Society for Quality (www.asq.org) for contact information about various
quality-related professional organizations.
5. 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 may have difficulty identifying “departments” with some functions. For
6. 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 information technology and employee know-how in their efforts to
7. A Personal TQM Project
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
Introduction to Quality 22
d. The personal quality project can help the students to understand how difficult it is for
managers to plot data systematically, take corrective action based on facts, or break
“bad habits” of producing defective parts. Thus, personal goals, such as “getting to
class on time” can be related to “getting to work on time” or delivering the customer‘s
order on time. “Zero Defects” on the next exam can be as difficult as “Zero Defects”
Users of this text should feel free to contact me for further details. – Bill Lindsay
ANSWERS TO CASE QUESTIONS
I. Skilled Care Pharmacy
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
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
Introduction to Quality 23
3. The company does face strategic challenges in financial, human resources (obtaining
licensed pharmacist personnel and employee retention), and environmental factors
II. Chelsey’s Restaurant
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.
Customer’s perceptions of transcendent quality must be built over a period of time. She
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 appeal to the customer’s sense of value. From a user perspective,
attention should be paid to such things as product packaging, so as to make the various
foods easy to handle and use. From a manufacturing perspective, consistency of
materials, serving sizes, and preparation methods are keys to customer satisfaction and
delight. Finally, a customer perspective demands getting to know the customers so that
their wants and needs can be anticipated and fulfilled.
To assist in designing the restaurant, its products and its processes, Chelsey should
incorporate TQ into the design of her business, including:
1. A focus on customers and stakeholders
Introduction to Quality 24
Point 2 must be addressed in setting the criteria for excellence and using them during the
recruiting, screening and hiring of her workforce. Chelsey must not allow herself to view
her workforce from the conventional attitude that they are just “labor.” Instead, she must
recruit, screen, hire, and train associates who will be expected to be quality-minded,
knowledgeable, and creative partners in developing the business.
Point 3 is extremely important, but must grow out of insights developed from points 1
and 2. In other words, Chelsey must develop processes that are customer-centric and take
advantage of the knowledge and creativity of her associates. These must also evolve and
III. Deere & Co.
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
Introduction to Quality 25
• In 2003, the emphasis was on human resources with a new compensation and rewards
system, to support the attainment of goals and promoting alignment among the
• In 2005, Deere employees were aligned with business objectives and evaluated and
compensated accordingly. Most salaried employees worldwide followed detailed,
tailored performance plans that spelled out how each individual’s efforts contribute to
meeting unit and company goals. Also stewardship of the environment was
• In 2008, Deere emphasized four key approaches: rigorous processes, the Deere
Product Quality System, corporate responsibility, and an emphasis on a performance-
based work culture. Following rigorous processes everywhere helped Deere address
the growing scope and scale of operations and achieve increased levels of
consistency, simplicity, efficiency and quality. Many of their approaches were unique
to Deere and hard to copy. Concurrently, the company implemented the Deere
• In 2010, Deere took a more strategic business focus. Their strategy concentrated on
two growth areas – agricultural and construction equipment solutions. Other
operations – turf, forestry, parts, engines, intelligent solutions, and financial services
– were said to have vital roles supporting or complementing the growth operations.
Deere’s lineup of tightly knit operations were designed to leverage strengths,
Introduction to Quality 26
These summaries definitely show an increasing commitment to TQ concepts. The early
use of TQ concepts was first started when Deere committed itself to the TQ concept in
INSTRUCTOR RESERVE MATERIALS
In this edition, we have chosen Instructor Reserve materials that may be used by the instructor to
give the students additional depth in a topic, provide additional cases for analysis and discussion,
summarize materials from the chapter, and for problem-solving and quantitative cases, provide
space for more “real–world” amounts of data related to the cases and problems. Please let us
know what you think of this approach.
Instructor Reserve Quality in Practice
Quality in Practice: Building Trust Through Quality at Gerber
1. Gerber exemplifies several of the definitions of quality, including: transcendent quality,
product-and value-based quality, fitness for use, and conformance to specifications. The
company has enjoyed a superior brand image and exceptional customer loyalty for
2. Gerber improved their customer focus by implementing a real-time customer feedback
process via 800-number telephone lines in the 1980’s. It later extended that service to 24
hours a day in the 1990’s to provide even more customer access than previously.
Introduction to Quality 27
responsibility for quality and process improvement. Gerber had always had a process
focus, with a concentration on the best processes and ingredients for its products. Once
teams were operating well, the company began a sustained effort to increase process
3. The consumer tampering case brought unwelcome media attention, and a full-scale
investigation of Gerber’s quality processes. Because of the level of documentation, and
Instructor Reserve Cases
Case – A Total Quality Business Model
1. Rob and Diane have a well-thought-out system for developing a sound infrastructure for
their restaurant. In customer relationship management, they seem to have covered most of
the bases on current needs and satisfaction. However, they may want to develop ways to
tie these results into both their strategic planning process (what type of customers will
they appeal to, what are their customer-related objectives that they will build into their
marketing plan, etc.?) They may also need to consider a process to determine future
needs of customers, perhaps by using a focus group, or groups. Will there be a need to
Introduction to Quality 28
2. Viewing the organization at three levels may help to determine what is the most
important quality focus. At the strategic level, top management needs to deal with
competitive strategy, goals, objectives, and resource allocation. At the tactical level,
Case – Is Quality Good Marketing or Is Good Marketing Quality?
The value in this case study is to show students that quality concepts can be applied in retail
service operations, and thus is not limited only to the production of tangible goods.
1. The actions taken by the company to please the customer address points 7 of Garvin’s
quality dimensions (described in detail in Chapter 4 – Customer Focus) — aesthetics and
also the area of perceived quality. Store appearance, warehousing policies, delivery
standards, and customer relations all reinforce the visual (aesthetic) dimension of quality
2. The franchiser’s statement that: “The best way to assure quality is through product
inspection and market research,” could be open to some debate. If market research is not
closely linked to product design, then customers may not be offered the product that they
Introduction to Quality 29
3. To answer the question: “Is quality good marketing, or is good marketing quality?” one
must realize that the field of marketing grew up as a result of a “backlash” against
“salesmanship” in the 1950’s. At that time, the purpose of a “salesperson” was to sell
whatever products the factory could produce, whether the customers wanted to buy them
or not. Marketing suggested the radical concept of trying to find out what the needs of the
customer were and then providing a product to fill those needs. As the PIMS studies have
WML/JRE – 10/4/12
