Chapter 1 Questions - Introduction to Quality and Performance Excellence

Question 1

T or F: The view of quality as the satisfaction of customer needs is often called fitness for use.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

T or F: Pursuant to the development of “scientific management,” quality control was carried out by skilled craftspeople, who served both as manufacturers and inspectors, building quality into their products.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

T or F: Performance excellence can be defined as “any primary or complementary activity that does not directly produce a physical product.”

Answer 3

False

Question 4

T or F: Unlike services, manufacturing is performed away from the customer.

Answer 4

True

Question 5

T or F: For an airline company, “on time arrival” for an airline is a measure of service performance while frequent flyer awards and “business class” sections represent features.

Answer 5

True

Question 6

T or F: Not-for-profit organizations are adopting quality principles because of their impact on the bottom line.

Answer 6

False

Question 7

T or F: From a total quality perspective, all strategic decisions a company makes are “customer-driven.”

Answer 7

True

Question 8

T or F: TQ views everyone inside the enterprise as a customer of an internal or external supplier and a supplier of an external or internal customer

Answer 8

True

Question 9

T or F: The “voice of the customer” refers to both near-term and longer-term customer needs and expectations.

Answer 9

True

Question 10

T or F: “Continuous improvement” refers to both incremental and “breakthrough” improvement.

Answer 10

True

Question 11

T or F: Process time refers to the time it takes to accomplish one cycle of a process.

Answer 11

False

Question 12

T or F: Employee engagement is manifest by empowerment.

Answer 12

True

Question 13

The term _____ refers to an integrated approach to organizational performance management that results in delivery of ever-improving value to customers and stakeholders.

a. fitness for use
b. exceeding customer expectations
c. performance excellence
d. empowerment

Answer 13

C

Question 14

Which of the following statements is not true regarding the history of quality in organizations?

a. Before the Industrial Revolution, skilled craftspeople served both as manufacturers and inspectors.
b. Statistical approaches to quality control had their origins at General Electric.
c. Scientific management led to “quality control” which basically meant the separation of good from the bad product.
d. Deming and Juran introduced statistical quality control to Japan as part of General MacArthur’s rebuilding program.

Answer 14

B

Question 15

_____ was the first non-Japanese company to win Japan’s coveted Deming Prize for quality.

a. Florida Power and Light
b. General Electric
c. Bell Telephone Laboratories
d. Ford Motor Company

Answer 15

A

Question 16

As part of the evolving understanding of quality management, many began to use the term _____ to contrast the difference between managing for quality in all organizational processes and focusing solely on manufacturing quality - _____.

a. strategic quality; operational quality
b. macro-quality; micro-quality
c. Big Q; Little Q
d. total quality; product quality

Answer 16

C

Question 17

_____ refer(s) to the “bells and whistles” of a product.

a. Aesthetics
b. Conformance
c. Features
d. Benefits

Answer 17

C

Question 18

_____ refers to the degree to which physical and performance characteristics of a product match preestablished standards.

a. Conformance
b. Features
c. Performance
d. Reliability

Answer 18

A

Question 19

_____ is the subjective assessment resulting from image, advertising, or brand names.

a. Reliability
b. Perceived quality
c. Performance
d. Aesthetics

Answer 19

B

Question 20

Quality control in manufacturing is usually based on:

a. Six Sigma standards.
b. equipment standards.
c. customer expectations.
d. conformance to specifications.

Answer 20

D

Question 21

In an ancillary manufacturing unit, the bolt manufacturing section has a value of 0.095 as the target, 0.005 as the tolerance. Which of the following is the acceptable range of values in production?

Answer 21

A

Question 22

Which of the following is not a difference in the management of quality in services and manufacturing?

a. Customer needs and performance standards are often difficult to identify and measure.
b. The production of services typically requires a higher degree of customization than does manufacturing.
c. Customers often are involved in the service process and present while it is being performed.
d. Services are generally capital intensive, whereas manufacturing is more labor intensive.

Answer 22

D

Question 23

Which of the following is not one of the critical service dimensions?

a. Conformity
b. Consistency
c. Courtesy
d. Accessibility

Answer 23

A

Question 24

_____ is the term used in the health care profession to denote quality initiatives methods.

a. Total health quality
b. Continuous quality improvement
c. Medical quality improvement
d. Comprehensive health initiative

Answer 24

B

Question 25

The _____ is the highest award given to executive branch agencies for management excellence. a. Deming Prize b. Malcolm Baldrige Award c. National Quality Improvement Award d. President’s Quality Award

Answer 25

D

Question 26

In 1992, the chairs and CEOs of nine major U.S. corporations in cooperation with deans of business and engineering departments of major universities, and recognized consultants endorsed a definition of _____ as a people-focused management system that aims at continual increase in customer satisfaction at continually lower real cost.

Answer 26

B

Question 27

Which of the following is not one of the basic principles of total quality? a. Customer and stakeholder focus b. Employee engagement and teamwork c. Management by objectives d. A view of performance excellence as an integrated system

Answer 27

C

Question 28

In a total quality environment, internal customers are the: a. customers who are part of the product testing panel. b. immediate customers, but not the end users. c. recipients of any work output. d. designated team members of the quality control team.

Answer 28

C

Question 29

A(n) _____ is a sequence of activities that is intended to achieve some result. a. process b. operation c. methodology d. array

Answer 29

A

Question 30

Noriaki Kano suggests that three classes of customer needs exist. Which of the following is not one of them? a. Essentials b. Dissatisfiers c. Delighters/exciters d. Satisfiers

Answer 30

C

Question 31

_____ refer to those needs that are expected in a product or service. a. Essentials b. Dissatisfiers c. Delighters/exciters d. Satisfiers

Answer 31

A

Question 32

_____ are the needs that customers say they want. a. Essentials b. Dissatisfiers c. Delighters/exciters d. Satisfiers

Answer 32

D

Question 33

The importance of Noriaki Kano’s classification is realizing that although _____ are relatively easy to determine through routine marketing research, special effort is required to elicit customer perceptions about _____. a. dissatisfiers; satisfiers b. delighters; exciters c. satisfiers; dissatisfiers d. delighters; satisfiers

Answer 33

C

Question 34

Over time, _____ become _____ as customers become used to them. a. delighters/exciters; satisfiers b. dissatisfiers; satisfiers c. satisfiers; delighters/exciters d. dissatisfiers; delighters/exciters

Answer 34

A

Question 35

Sylvia orders a security system to be installed at her house. After placing the order, the company took three days to install it. The time taken for the order to be delivered is referred to as: a. delivery time. b. execution gap. c. turnaround time. d. cycle time.

Answer 35

D

Question 36

McGregor’s Theory X model of motivation says that: a. workers dislike work and require close supervision and control. b. workers are self-motivated, seek responsibility, and exhibit a high degree of imagination and creativity at work. c. workers are motivated mainly by monetary progress and replenishments. d. workers are motivated if they are part of a motivated team.

Answer 36

A

Question 37

Which of the following is not a classification of teamwork? a. Vertical b. Horizontal c. Interorganizational d. Multiorganizational

Answer 37

D

Question 38

At the _____ level, data provide real-time information to identify reasons for variation, determine root causes, and take corrective action as needed. a. work b. process c. strategic d. organizational

Answer 38

A

Question 39

Which of the following is not performance data at the process level? a. Yields b. Cycle times c. Productivity measures d. Market indicators

Answer 39

D

Question 40

Agency theory makes the assumption that individuals in agency relationships are: a. utility maximizers. b. negotiators. c. type A individuals. d. type X individuals.

Answer 40

A

Question 41

_____ is a central issue in agency theory, because it is a primary mechanism used by both parties to maintain and govern the relationship. a. Motivation b. Monitoring c. Authority d. Hierarchy

Answer 41

B

Question 42

Which of the following is not true regarding the agency theory? a. It takes a long-term perspective based on continuous improvement. b. It is based on an economic perspective. c. It propounds the belief that people are self-interested and opportunistic. d. It suggests that information may be concealed to advance self-interests.

Answer 42

A

Question 43

In the _____ organizational model, work is reduced to elementary tasks with a focus on efficiency, conformity, and compliance. a. mechanistic b. organismic c. environmental d. cultural

Answer 43

A

Question 44

The _____ model assumes that systems goals, such as the need to survive, displace performance goals, such as profit. a. mechanistic b. organismic c. environmental d. cultural

Answer 44

B

Question 45

Which model does Total Quality share most similarities with? a. Mechanistic b. Organismic c. Environmental d. Cultural

Answer 45

B

Question 46

The _____ model views an organization as a collection of cooperative agreements entered into by individuals with free will. a. mechanistic b. organismic c. environmental d. cultural

Answer 46

D

Question 47

In the cultural model, all of the following are true except: a. managers take on a more distinctive leadership role. b. employees have greater voice in establishing organizational goals. c. all structural decisions are value-based. d. learning needs are driven by adaptation to environmental forces.

Answer 47

D