SOLUTIONS MANUAL
MANAGING FOR QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE
12TH EDITION
CHAPTER NO. 01: INTRODUCTION TO QUALITY
ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What factors have contributed to the increased awareness of quality in modern business?
There have been several factors contributing to increased awareness of quality including gaps between
U.S. and international competitors’ quality levels, product recalls, and massive quality failures. The
realization of the superior quality of Japanese, German, and other products from non-U.S. firms in the
1970’s, ‘80’s and up to the present (Then, in initial quality levels; today, in long-term product reliability)
was a wake-up call about the lack of U.S. quality. In the last 20 years periodic quality issues have arisen,
such as the extensive product recalls by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the early 1980's
and the Challenger space shuttle disasters in 1986 and the Columbia in 2003, the first of which most
students will not recall. Product recalls such as the ones for brake problems on Toyota vehicles and faulty
air bags on cars made by numerous car manufacturers have kept the public's minds on quality throughout
the 1990's and into the 21st Century. Improvements in technology, reassessment of inadequate
managerial philosophies, and the economic impact of international competitiveness have also been
important factors.
2. What practices do Motorola and Mid-America Transplant in the Quality Profiles use to help
them achieve high quality?
At Motorola, two key beliefs guide the culture of the firm: respect for people and uncompromising
integrity. Motorola was a pioneer in continual reduction of defects and cycle times in all the company’s
processes, from design, order entry, manufacturing, and marketing, to administrative functions.
Customers report high levels of satisfaction, and the division demonstrates strong financial, product
quality, cycle time, and productivity performance. These results stem from exceptional practices in
,managing human assets, sharing data and information with employees, customers, and suppliers, and
aligning all its business processes with key organizational objectives.
Mid-America Transplant has a mission-driven workforce, and staff members have an exceptional
level of understanding of how their individual positions align with the Mid-America Transplant mission
of "saving lives through excellence in organ and tissue donation." The organization has a Strategic
Thinking Process that involves continuous strategic development, implementation, discussions,
environmental scans, industry reviews, and input from key stakeholders. This enables Mid-America
Transplant to be agile in identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing change initiatives that respond to
strategic challenges and opportunities. Staff members and key Mid-America Transplant partners have
real-time access to data, advanced reporting services, and customized analytics. This provides for
organizational agility and the ability to act on strategic opportunities. The organization continues to
innovate and advance its clinical practices.
3. Summarize the six quality perspectives described in this chapter.
The six perspectives are: the transcendent, product, user, value, manufacturing, and customer
perspectives. The customer is the driving force for the production of goods and services, and customers
generally view quality from either the transcendent or the product perspective. The transcendent, or
judgmental, definition of quality holds that quality is “both absolute and universally recognizable, a mark
of uncompromising standards and high achievement.” As such, it cannot be defined precisely—you just
know it when you see it. It is often loosely related to the features and characteristics of products as
featured by marketing efforts to promote product excellence in the minds of consumers.
The product perspective implies that higher amounts of product attributes are equivalent to higher
quality, so designers often try to incorporate more features into products, whether the customers want
them or not.
The user perspective of quality is meaningful to people who work in marketing. This leads to a
user-based definition of quality – fitness for intended use, or how well the product performs its intended
function. The manufacturer must translate customer requirements into detailed product and process
specifications. Making this translation is the role of research and development, product design, and
engineering. Product specifications might address such attributes as size, form, finish, taste, dimensions,
tolerances, materials, operational characteristics, and safety features. Process specifications indicate the
types of equipment, tools, and facilities to be used in production.
, Product designers must balance performance and cost to meet financial and marketing objectives;
thus, the value perspective of quality is most useful at this stage. The value perspective looks for the
relationship of product benefits to price. From this perspective, a quality product is one that provides
similar benefits as competing products a lower price, or one that offers greater benefits at a comparable
price.
Organizations want consistency in their goods and services. For production workers, quality is
defined by the manufacturing perspective. Having standards for goods and services and meeting these
standards leads to the definition of quality as: conformance to specifications. Specifications are
meaningless, however, if they do not reflect attributes that are deemed important to the consumer.
Throughout the value chain, each function is an internal customer of others, and the firm itself
may be an external customer or supplier to other firms. Thus, the customer perspective provides the basis
for coordinating the entire value chain.
4. Distinguish among consumers, external customers, and internal customers. Illustrate how these
concepts apply to a Chipotle’s restaurant, a Walmart, or a similar franchise or chain store.
Consumers are the final purchasers of a product or service. In the case of fast-food restaurants, such as
Chipotle, they are the people who buy and consume the restaurant's individually-made tacos, burritos,
etc. External customers are companies within a "chain of customers," that are provided with goods and
services from suppliers. Chipotle would be an external customer of companies that supply food products
such as meats, vegetables and other ingredients. Internal customers are people, functions, or departments
within the company who receive products or services from suppliers within the company. In Wal-Mart
stores, the store employees who unload the Wal-Mart trucks on the receiving dock are internal customers
to the employees who drive the trucks and make the deliveries.
5. Explain why a single quality definition is not sufficient.
This can be explained in the context of Figure 1.1 and the discussion in the section “Integrating Quality
Perspectives in the Value Chain.” Customers, and marketing, design, manufacturing functions view
quality differently and apply the concepts to meet their own needs.
, 6. Briefly summarize the history of quality and the four industrial revolutions. What were the most
significant changes in quality philosophy and methods in each of these eras?
Evidence of quality dates back to ancient Egypt, as indicated in the precision and uniformity of methods
used in the construction of the pyramids. Many approaches of quality assurance began in ancient China.
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. As industry advanced, historians point to the “four
industrial revolutions,” termed Industry 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0.
The 1st Industrial Revolution began around the latter years of the eighteenth century and into the
early 1800s. During this era, many innovative processes and products were developed. They
revolutionized mining and iron production; water and steam power allowed factories to be built just about
anywhere, steam engines and trains transformed society and transportation; and the development of new
machine tools mechanized manufacturing.
Eli Whitney helped trigger this era with his development of interchangeable machine parts. The Industrial
Revolution itself was a key turning point, since it made quality assurance a critical component of the
production process. However, quality was determined only after the products were finished, rather than
during the manufacturing process, so as volume increased and costs decreased, craftsmanship decreased.
The 2nd Industrial Revolution (from the 1830s to the early twentieth century) is typically seen as
the period where electricity and new manufacturing inventions that it enabled, such as the assembly line,
paved the way for mass production. Scientific management segmented a job into specific work tasks and
focusing on increasing
efficiency, quality assurance fell into the hands of inspectors. Manufacturers were able to ship good-
quality products, but at great costs. Defects were present, but were removed by inspection. Plants
employed hundreds, even thousands, of inspectors. Inspection continued to be the primary means of
quality control during the first half of the twentieth century, leading to separate quality departments. At
Western Electric, statistical methods were developed for controlling quality and were adopted throughout
manufacturing industries.
The 3rd Industrial Revolution was an outgrowth of the end of World War II. Advances in
technology, such as the development of computers, information technology, factory automation, robotics,
and other developments led to significant increases in manufacturing productivity. However, quality
was not a priority of top managers, who delegated this responsibility to quality managers.
operational excellence.
MANAGING FOR QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE
12TH EDITION
CHAPTER NO. 01: INTRODUCTION TO QUALITY
ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What factors have contributed to the increased awareness of quality in modern business?
There have been several factors contributing to increased awareness of quality including gaps between
U.S. and international competitors’ quality levels, product recalls, and massive quality failures. The
realization of the superior quality of Japanese, German, and other products from non-U.S. firms in the
1970’s, ‘80’s and up to the present (Then, in initial quality levels; today, in long-term product reliability)
was a wake-up call about the lack of U.S. quality. In the last 20 years periodic quality issues have arisen,
such as the extensive product recalls by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the early 1980's
and the Challenger space shuttle disasters in 1986 and the Columbia in 2003, the first of which most
students will not recall. Product recalls such as the ones for brake problems on Toyota vehicles and faulty
air bags on cars made by numerous car manufacturers have kept the public's minds on quality throughout
the 1990's and into the 21st Century. Improvements in technology, reassessment of inadequate
managerial philosophies, and the economic impact of international competitiveness have also been
important factors.
2. What practices do Motorola and Mid-America Transplant in the Quality Profiles use to help
them achieve high quality?
At Motorola, two key beliefs guide the culture of the firm: respect for people and uncompromising
integrity. Motorola was a pioneer in continual reduction of defects and cycle times in all the company’s
processes, from design, order entry, manufacturing, and marketing, to administrative functions.
Customers report high levels of satisfaction, and the division demonstrates strong financial, product
quality, cycle time, and productivity performance. These results stem from exceptional practices in
,managing human assets, sharing data and information with employees, customers, and suppliers, and
aligning all its business processes with key organizational objectives.
Mid-America Transplant has a mission-driven workforce, and staff members have an exceptional
level of understanding of how their individual positions align with the Mid-America Transplant mission
of "saving lives through excellence in organ and tissue donation." The organization has a Strategic
Thinking Process that involves continuous strategic development, implementation, discussions,
environmental scans, industry reviews, and input from key stakeholders. This enables Mid-America
Transplant to be agile in identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing change initiatives that respond to
strategic challenges and opportunities. Staff members and key Mid-America Transplant partners have
real-time access to data, advanced reporting services, and customized analytics. This provides for
organizational agility and the ability to act on strategic opportunities. The organization continues to
innovate and advance its clinical practices.
3. Summarize the six quality perspectives described in this chapter.
The six perspectives are: the transcendent, product, user, value, manufacturing, and customer
perspectives. The customer is the driving force for the production of goods and services, and customers
generally view quality from either the transcendent or the product perspective. The transcendent, or
judgmental, definition of quality holds that quality is “both absolute and universally recognizable, a mark
of uncompromising standards and high achievement.” As such, it cannot be defined precisely—you just
know it when you see it. It is often loosely related to the features and characteristics of products as
featured by marketing efforts to promote product excellence in the minds of consumers.
The product perspective implies that higher amounts of product attributes are equivalent to higher
quality, so designers often try to incorporate more features into products, whether the customers want
them or not.
The user perspective of quality is meaningful to people who work in marketing. This leads to a
user-based definition of quality – fitness for intended use, or how well the product performs its intended
function. The manufacturer must translate customer requirements into detailed product and process
specifications. Making this translation is the role of research and development, product design, and
engineering. Product specifications might address such attributes as size, form, finish, taste, dimensions,
tolerances, materials, operational characteristics, and safety features. Process specifications indicate the
types of equipment, tools, and facilities to be used in production.
, Product designers must balance performance and cost to meet financial and marketing objectives;
thus, the value perspective of quality is most useful at this stage. The value perspective looks for the
relationship of product benefits to price. From this perspective, a quality product is one that provides
similar benefits as competing products a lower price, or one that offers greater benefits at a comparable
price.
Organizations want consistency in their goods and services. For production workers, quality is
defined by the manufacturing perspective. Having standards for goods and services and meeting these
standards leads to the definition of quality as: conformance to specifications. Specifications are
meaningless, however, if they do not reflect attributes that are deemed important to the consumer.
Throughout the value chain, each function is an internal customer of others, and the firm itself
may be an external customer or supplier to other firms. Thus, the customer perspective provides the basis
for coordinating the entire value chain.
4. Distinguish among consumers, external customers, and internal customers. Illustrate how these
concepts apply to a Chipotle’s restaurant, a Walmart, or a similar franchise or chain store.
Consumers are the final purchasers of a product or service. In the case of fast-food restaurants, such as
Chipotle, they are the people who buy and consume the restaurant's individually-made tacos, burritos,
etc. External customers are companies within a "chain of customers," that are provided with goods and
services from suppliers. Chipotle would be an external customer of companies that supply food products
such as meats, vegetables and other ingredients. Internal customers are people, functions, or departments
within the company who receive products or services from suppliers within the company. In Wal-Mart
stores, the store employees who unload the Wal-Mart trucks on the receiving dock are internal customers
to the employees who drive the trucks and make the deliveries.
5. Explain why a single quality definition is not sufficient.
This can be explained in the context of Figure 1.1 and the discussion in the section “Integrating Quality
Perspectives in the Value Chain.” Customers, and marketing, design, manufacturing functions view
quality differently and apply the concepts to meet their own needs.
, 6. Briefly summarize the history of quality and the four industrial revolutions. What were the most
significant changes in quality philosophy and methods in each of these eras?
Evidence of quality dates back to ancient Egypt, as indicated in the precision and uniformity of methods
used in the construction of the pyramids. Many approaches of quality assurance began in ancient China.
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. As industry advanced, historians point to the “four
industrial revolutions,” termed Industry 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0.
The 1st Industrial Revolution began around the latter years of the eighteenth century and into the
early 1800s. During this era, many innovative processes and products were developed. They
revolutionized mining and iron production; water and steam power allowed factories to be built just about
anywhere, steam engines and trains transformed society and transportation; and the development of new
machine tools mechanized manufacturing.
Eli Whitney helped trigger this era with his development of interchangeable machine parts. The Industrial
Revolution itself was a key turning point, since it made quality assurance a critical component of the
production process. However, quality was determined only after the products were finished, rather than
during the manufacturing process, so as volume increased and costs decreased, craftsmanship decreased.
The 2nd Industrial Revolution (from the 1830s to the early twentieth century) is typically seen as
the period where electricity and new manufacturing inventions that it enabled, such as the assembly line,
paved the way for mass production. Scientific management segmented a job into specific work tasks and
focusing on increasing
efficiency, quality assurance fell into the hands of inspectors. Manufacturers were able to ship good-
quality products, but at great costs. Defects were present, but were removed by inspection. Plants
employed hundreds, even thousands, of inspectors. Inspection continued to be the primary means of
quality control during the first half of the twentieth century, leading to separate quality departments. At
Western Electric, statistical methods were developed for controlling quality and were adopted throughout
manufacturing industries.
The 3rd Industrial Revolution was an outgrowth of the end of World War II. Advances in
technology, such as the development of computers, information technology, factory automation, robotics,
and other developments led to significant increases in manufacturing productivity. However, quality
was not a priority of top managers, who delegated this responsibility to quality managers.
operational excellence.
