Quality

Question 1

What is quality?

Answer 1

• it’s about meeting the needs and expectations of customers
• customers want quality appropriate to the price paid

Question 2

What makes a product good quality?

Answer 2

• aesthetically pleasing
• does its job well
• reliable, acceptable level of breakdowns
• consistency
• durable,lasts long
• good after sales service
• value for money

Question 3

How do we judge quality?

Answer 3

• is subjective
• tangible measures include appearance, reliability, durability, what functions it has
• not all aspects are tangible, like brand name or rep

Question 4

What does value for money mean?

Answer 4

• most markets have products of different quality
• customer must be satisfied that price reflects quality
• BA expensive but good functions, easy jet has worse features but less expensive

Question 5

Why is quality important?

Answer 5

• customer loyalty, they return, make repeat purchases and recommend the product or service to others
• strong rep for quality
• retailers want to stock the product
• as the product is perceived to be better value for money, may command premium price and become inelastic
• fewer returns and replacements so reduced costs
• attracts and retains good staff

Question 6

What is poor quality?

Answer 6

• product fails, breakdowns or worn out
• product doesn’t perform as promised
• product is delivered late
• poor instructions/directors make using the product or frustrating
• bad customer service

Question 7

How does poor quality effect a business?

Answer 7

• lost costumers and sales
• cost of reworking or remaking product
• cost of replacement or refunds
• wasted materials reduce revenue and profit margins
• business could get a rep for poor quality, then may reduce prices
• it’s a competitive disadvantage
• if competitors have higher quality then the business will suffer

Question 8

What is quality management?

Answer 8

• quality management activities aim to ensure that products and services are fit for purpose and specifications required
• done through quality assurance

Question 9

What is quality assurance?

Answer 9

• process that ensures production quality meets the requirements of customers
• aims to achieve quality by organising every process to get the product right first time and prevent mistakes
• zero deficit approach
• quality checking is not left until end of production, but complete at end of each production point
• big focus on self assessment
• product shouldn’t go to next stage unless it’s been checked for meeting standards