19. Achieving quality production

A ‘high quality product’ means:

• 1) the product will never go wrong

• 2) customers will always be able to re-use the product

• 3) the product meets customers high expectations

• 4) the product is made from the highest quality materials

Which one of the following is not a benefit to a firm from producing quality products:

• 1) customers loyalty is likely to be high

• 2) all customers will be prepared to pay very high prices for the products

• 3) customers may tell other people about the products

• 4) the costs of returns and product failures is likely to be low

Which one of the following statements about quality is true?

• 1) Quality is an issue only for manufacturers

• 2) The quality of services offered by a bank cannot be measured

• 3) Low priced products are always low quality

• 4) Tertiary sector businesses should assess quality of their products

Quality control in a factory is usually achieved by:

• 1) testing all completed products

• 2) testing a sample of completed products

• 3) asking customers to check quality

• 4) testing materials as they arrive at the factory but not the finished product

Quality assurance means:

• 1) checking all finished products for faults

• 2) setting quality standards at all stages of products

• 3) assuring customers that products are of the highest standard

• 4) assuring workers that the work they do is of a high quality

One of the main differences between quality control methods and quality assurance is:

• 1) quality control is based on inspection of finished products but quality assurance involves workers at each stage of production

• 2) quality assurance guarantees that no faulty products will ever be made but quality control only tests a sample

• 3) quality assurance standards cannot be set in tertiary sector businesses but quality control can be used in service sector businesses

• 4) workers are more involved in quality control systems than they are in quality assurance systems

Which one of the following is not a disadvantage of quality control?

• 1) Expensive to pay employees to check the products

• 2) Doesn’t find why the fault occurred

• 3) Some faulty products may be discovered

• 4) Increased costs if faulty products are scrapped

Which one of the following is a disadvantage of quality assurance?

• 1) Tries to eliminate faults

• 2) Expensive to train employees to check products

• 3) Customer complaints are reduced

• 4) Expensive to train quality control inspectors

Which one of the following is a feature of total quality management?

• 1) All the production will be sold

• 2) Quality is built in to every part of the production process

• 3) More inspectors are needed to check on quality

• 4) No customers will complain about the product

Which one of the following is a benefit to a business of having a ‘Quality mark’ associated

with its product?

• 1) It illustrates the brand image of the product

• 2) It give the product an easily recognisable name

• 3) It means the business will increase its market share

• 4) Customers can be sure the product meets a particular standard