2.4.4 Quality Management

Question 1

what does quality refer to

Answer 1

• a business meeting or exceeding a customers expectations of a product

Question 2

what are the 4 types of quality management

Answer 2

1 quality control
2 quality assurance
3 quality circles
4 total quality management

Question 3

what is (1) quality control

Answer 3

• specialist inspectors review quality at the end of the production
• assumes that errors are unavoidable

Question 4

evalaute quality control

Answer 4

+ simple way to ensure quality
- rejection of finished goods is heavily wasteful
- hard to identify the cause of defects

Question 5

what is (2) quality assurance

Answer 5

• inspecting the quality of goods throughout the production process
• relies on staff self-checking their own work
• attempts to prevent errors to get it right first time

Question 6

evaluate quality assurance

Answer 6

+ problems identified earlier, less wastage
+ empowering and motivating for employees
- training is important for staff
- relies on staff being motivated
- may lengthen the production process

Question 7

what is (3) quality circles

Answer 7

• groups of workers meet to solve quality problems
• takes input from all levels in the business

Question 8

evaluate quality circles

Answer 8

+ includes and motivated employees
+ relevant and focused decisions
- time consuming
- management may not listen to employees

Question 9

what is (4) total quality management

Answer 9

• quality is at the centre of everything the business does
• every employee focuses on quality to improve overall quality

Question 10

advantages of total quality management

Answer 10

+ less waste
+ culture of constant improvement
+ quality improves
+ reputation improves

Question 11

Disadvantages of Total Quality management

Answer 11

• may demotivate, if it asks too much of employees
• expensive through training
• time consuming

Question 12

what is the Kaizen approach

Answer 12

• this suggets that a business takes continuous small step to improve productivity
• changes are small and undoing rather than one-offs
• employees are constantly evaluating and finding ways to be more efficient

Question 13

evalaute the kaizen approach

Answer 13

+ helps workers become proactive, they will require less management
+ creates a motivated business environment as everyone is always trying to better
- not suitable for businesses that require urgent dramatic changes and improvements in quality

Question 14

what are the benefits of using quality management and improving quality

Answer 14

+ less resources wasted by mistakes
+ lower costs
+ consistent quality attracts new customers and helps maintain them
+ provides USP’s
+ consumers may be willing to pay more