ASQ Review Questions
C - answer Which of the following quality gurus is credited as the Father of Statistical
Quality Control, or SQC?
A. Kaoru Ishikawa
B. Joseph M. Juran
C. Walter F. Shewhart
D. Dr. W. Edwards Deming
B - answer The factory system is a product of the Industrial Revolution in Europe. How
was quality guaranteed during this era?
A. By marking flawless good with a special mark or symbol
B. Through laborer skill and supplemented by audits and inspections
C. Using statistical techniques to see whether a process is stable and in control
D. By focusing on improving all organization processes through the people who used
them
B - answerThe US response to Japanese market gains, emphasizing not only statistics
but approaches that embraced the entire organization, became known as what?
A. Company-Wide Quality Control, or CWQC
B. Total Quality Management, or TQM
C. The Pareto Principle
D. Statistical Quality Control, or SQC
A - answerWhich of the following quality gurus is generally credited with developing the
concept of "total quality control" during the late 1940s?
A. Dr. Armand V. Feigenbaum
B. Philip B. Crosby
C. Joseph M. Juran
D. Taiichi Ohno
D - answerWhich of the following quality gurus first advised organizations to concentrate
on the vital few problem sources and not become sidetracked by those of lesser
importance?
A. Kaoru Ishikawa
B. Philip B. Crosby
C. Dr. W. Edwards Deming
D. Joseph M. Juran
B - answerWhich of the following is the best definition of quality in a restaurant setting?
A. The food arrives within a reasonable timeframe.
B. A server delivers food that matches the menu description.
C. The table, chairs, dishes, and utensils are clean and unbroken.
,D. A server provides menu options in response to a customer request.
C - answerWhat is the most important action that managers can take to increase
employee involvement, empowerment, and engagement?
A. Provide educational training and resources
B. Allow employees to serve on process improvement teams
C. Delegate authority to act in support of the mission
D. Establish reward and recognition events
A - answerWhen developing a quality plan, which of the following approaches would
best demonstrate a first step in the planning process?
A. Identify a strategic priority of reducing production costs
B. Develop specific action steps to reduce production costs
C. Analyze current product process and result variations
D. Identify customer and supplier needs and expectations
D - answerAdam has been working as an auditor for three years now, and has indicated
interest in further growth and development to benefit his company. His manager values
Adam, and would like to retain him in the organization. Which of the following manager
actions would help Adam deliver his best for the organization?
A. Assign Adam to lead a new performance improvement project.
B. Provide an opportunity for Adam to learn and use two additional audit processes.
C. Assign Adam to another department that needs his auditing services.
D. Provide an opportunity for Adam to increase his responsibilities and work authority.
B - answerWhen differentiating between a system and a process, which of the following
statements best describes an element of a process versus a system?
A. A process creates interrelationships of multiple inputs and outputs.
B. The elements of a system generate data that is "fed back" to a process.
C. The elements of a process are used to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
D. The element of a process serves as an approach to manage an organization's
performance.
A - answerA metal fastener manufacturing company has asked you to conduct an audit
of their key work processes. As you are capturing a listing of the key work processes,
which of the following best represents a key process listing in your SIPOC?
A. Production; sales; distribution; support services
B. Production of bolts, screws, and nails
C. Identify potential buyers and customer requirements
D. Supplier identification, marketing and sales, customer feedback, evaluating product
quality & defects, managing profit/loss
C - answerWhen interpreting control charts, which of the following is an indication of
special cause variation?
A. Any point beyond a specification limit
B. Five successive points that increase
, C. Nine points in a row above or below a centerline
D. 2 out of 3 points in a row that are more than 1 sigma from a centerline
D - answerA statistician was reviewing the results of a performance improvement
project report. She noticed that there was one data point that was well outside of the
range of the others. After that data point, the results came back to where they were.
She was tasked with improving result performance. What would be her most effective
action at this point?
A. Focus on the significant outlier, because it could become a pattern.
B. Monitor the results, since without the skewed data point, results are at target.
C. Focus on improving the process, since results were not yet at target.
D. Evaluate the cause of the single variation, yet focus on improving the process.
C - answerRachel has been directed to install a quality system in her company. What
activity should be her initial focus?
A. Quality Assurance (QA) activities
B. Quality Improvement (QI) activities
C. Quality Planning (QP) activities
D. Quality Control (QC) activities
B - answerSue needs to assess a company's values for an employee engagement
initiative. What is the best indicator of what the company actually values?
A. Have the organization fill out a self-survey on what they value.
B. Directly observe employee behavior at all levels in the organization.
C. Pull together a focus group of mid-level managers and record reactions to several
constructed situations.
D. Review the organization's corporate values statement.
B - answerAlex is reviewing defect codes and sees an opportunity to create a uniform
set of codes. This is an example of which principle?
A. Compliance
B. Standardization
C. 5S
D. Defect reduction
B - answerQuality leaders often comment that good quality costs less. What is the most
significant impact of quality on reducing costs to organizations?
A. Good quality reduces the costs from suppliers, that then reduce production costs.
B. Good quality reduces defective products and rework, while building efficiency and
customer loyalty.
C. Good quality reduces the costs of replacing defective products, and all of the labor
costs that were part of the defects.
D. Good quality reduces losses from dissatisfied customers and reduces marketing
costs.
C - answer Which of the following quality gurus is credited as the Father of Statistical
Quality Control, or SQC?
A. Kaoru Ishikawa
B. Joseph M. Juran
C. Walter F. Shewhart
D. Dr. W. Edwards Deming
B - answer The factory system is a product of the Industrial Revolution in Europe. How
was quality guaranteed during this era?
A. By marking flawless good with a special mark or symbol
B. Through laborer skill and supplemented by audits and inspections
C. Using statistical techniques to see whether a process is stable and in control
D. By focusing on improving all organization processes through the people who used
them
B - answerThe US response to Japanese market gains, emphasizing not only statistics
but approaches that embraced the entire organization, became known as what?
A. Company-Wide Quality Control, or CWQC
B. Total Quality Management, or TQM
C. The Pareto Principle
D. Statistical Quality Control, or SQC
A - answerWhich of the following quality gurus is generally credited with developing the
concept of "total quality control" during the late 1940s?
A. Dr. Armand V. Feigenbaum
B. Philip B. Crosby
C. Joseph M. Juran
D. Taiichi Ohno
D - answerWhich of the following quality gurus first advised organizations to concentrate
on the vital few problem sources and not become sidetracked by those of lesser
importance?
A. Kaoru Ishikawa
B. Philip B. Crosby
C. Dr. W. Edwards Deming
D. Joseph M. Juran
B - answerWhich of the following is the best definition of quality in a restaurant setting?
A. The food arrives within a reasonable timeframe.
B. A server delivers food that matches the menu description.
C. The table, chairs, dishes, and utensils are clean and unbroken.
,D. A server provides menu options in response to a customer request.
C - answerWhat is the most important action that managers can take to increase
employee involvement, empowerment, and engagement?
A. Provide educational training and resources
B. Allow employees to serve on process improvement teams
C. Delegate authority to act in support of the mission
D. Establish reward and recognition events
A - answerWhen developing a quality plan, which of the following approaches would
best demonstrate a first step in the planning process?
A. Identify a strategic priority of reducing production costs
B. Develop specific action steps to reduce production costs
C. Analyze current product process and result variations
D. Identify customer and supplier needs and expectations
D - answerAdam has been working as an auditor for three years now, and has indicated
interest in further growth and development to benefit his company. His manager values
Adam, and would like to retain him in the organization. Which of the following manager
actions would help Adam deliver his best for the organization?
A. Assign Adam to lead a new performance improvement project.
B. Provide an opportunity for Adam to learn and use two additional audit processes.
C. Assign Adam to another department that needs his auditing services.
D. Provide an opportunity for Adam to increase his responsibilities and work authority.
B - answerWhen differentiating between a system and a process, which of the following
statements best describes an element of a process versus a system?
A. A process creates interrelationships of multiple inputs and outputs.
B. The elements of a system generate data that is "fed back" to a process.
C. The elements of a process are used to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
D. The element of a process serves as an approach to manage an organization's
performance.
A - answerA metal fastener manufacturing company has asked you to conduct an audit
of their key work processes. As you are capturing a listing of the key work processes,
which of the following best represents a key process listing in your SIPOC?
A. Production; sales; distribution; support services
B. Production of bolts, screws, and nails
C. Identify potential buyers and customer requirements
D. Supplier identification, marketing and sales, customer feedback, evaluating product
quality & defects, managing profit/loss
C - answerWhen interpreting control charts, which of the following is an indication of
special cause variation?
A. Any point beyond a specification limit
B. Five successive points that increase
, C. Nine points in a row above or below a centerline
D. 2 out of 3 points in a row that are more than 1 sigma from a centerline
D - answerA statistician was reviewing the results of a performance improvement
project report. She noticed that there was one data point that was well outside of the
range of the others. After that data point, the results came back to where they were.
She was tasked with improving result performance. What would be her most effective
action at this point?
A. Focus on the significant outlier, because it could become a pattern.
B. Monitor the results, since without the skewed data point, results are at target.
C. Focus on improving the process, since results were not yet at target.
D. Evaluate the cause of the single variation, yet focus on improving the process.
C - answerRachel has been directed to install a quality system in her company. What
activity should be her initial focus?
A. Quality Assurance (QA) activities
B. Quality Improvement (QI) activities
C. Quality Planning (QP) activities
D. Quality Control (QC) activities
B - answerSue needs to assess a company's values for an employee engagement
initiative. What is the best indicator of what the company actually values?
A. Have the organization fill out a self-survey on what they value.
B. Directly observe employee behavior at all levels in the organization.
C. Pull together a focus group of mid-level managers and record reactions to several
constructed situations.
D. Review the organization's corporate values statement.
B - answerAlex is reviewing defect codes and sees an opportunity to create a uniform
set of codes. This is an example of which principle?
A. Compliance
B. Standardization
C. 5S
D. Defect reduction
B - answerQuality leaders often comment that good quality costs less. What is the most
significant impact of quality on reducing costs to organizations?
A. Good quality reduces the costs from suppliers, that then reduce production costs.
B. Good quality reduces defective products and rework, while building efficiency and
customer loyalty.
C. Good quality reduces the costs of replacing defective products, and all of the labor
costs that were part of the defects.
D. Good quality reduces losses from dissatisfied customers and reduces marketing
costs.
