Management of Quality

Quality: Quality refers to the ability of a product or service to consistently meet or exceed customer
requirements or expectations. One way to think about quality is the degree to which performance of a
product or service meets or exceeds customer expectations. If these two measures are equal, the
difference is zero and expectations have been met. If the difference is negative, expectations have not
been met, whereas if the difference is positive, performance has exceeded customer expectations.

Dimensions of quality: Successful management of quality requires that managers have insights on
various aspects of quality. Customer expectations can be broken down into a number of categories, or
dimensions, that customers use to judge the quality of a product or service. Product quality is often
judged on nine dimensions of quality:

1. Performance—main characteristics of the product

2. Aesthetics—appearance, feel, smell, taste
3. Special features—extra characteristics
4. Conformance—how well a product corresponds to design specifications
5. Reliability—dependable performance
6. Durability—ability to perform over time
7. Perceived quality—indirect evaluation of quality (e.g., reputation)
8. Serviceability—handling of complaints or repairs
9. Consistency—quality doesn’t vary

Service quality is often described using the following dimensions:

1. Convenience—the availability and accessibility of the service
2. Reliability—the ability to perform a service dependably, consistently, and accurately
3. Responsiveness—the willingness of service providers to help customers in unusual situations
and to deal with problems
4. Time—the speed with which service is delivered
5. Assurance—the knowledge exhibited by personnel who come into contact with a customer and
their ability to convey trust and confidence
6. Courtesy—the way customers are treated by employees who come into contact with them
7. Tangibles—the physical appearance of facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication
materials
8. Consistency—the ability to provide the same level of good quality repeatedly
9. Expectations—meet or exceed customer expectations

Determinants of quality: The degree to which a product or a service successfully satisfies its intended
purpose has four primary determinants:

1. Design: The design phase is the starting point for the level of quality eventually achieved. Design
involves decisions about the specific characteristics of a product or service such as size, shape
and location. Design decisions must take into account customer wants, production or service
capabilities, safety and liability, costs and other similar considerations. Designers must work
closely with representatives of operations to ascertain that production or service has the
equipment, capacity and skills necessary to produce or provide a particular design. A poor
design can result in difficulties in production or service.
 2. Conformance to the design: Quality of conformance refers to the degree to which goods and
services conform to the intent of the designers. This is affected by factors such as the capability
of equipment used; the skills, training and motivation of workers; the extent to which the design
lends itself to production; the monitoring process to assess conformance; and the taking of
corrective action when necessary.
3. Ease of use: The determination of quality does not stop once the product or service has been
sold or delivered. Ease of use and user instructions are important. They increase the chances
that a product will be used for its intended purposes and in such a way that it will continue to
function properly and safely. Much of the same reasoning can be applied to services. Customers,
patients, clients or other users must be clearly informed on what they should or should not do;
otherwise, there is the danger that they will take some action that will adversely affect quality.
4. Service after delivery: For a variety of reasons, products do not always perform as expected and
services do not always yield the desired results. Whatever the reason, it is important from a
quality standpoint to remedy the situation—through recall and repair of the product,
adjustment, replacement or buyback or reevaluation of a service—and do whatever is necessary
to bring the product or service up to standard.

Responsibility for quality: It is true that all members of an organization have some responsibility for
quality, but certain parts of the organization are key areas of responsibility:

1. Top management: Top management has the ultimate responsibility for quality. While
establishing strategies for quality, top management must institute programs to improve quality;
guide, direct, and motivate managers and workers; and set an example by being involved in
quality initiatives.
2. Design: Quality products and services begin with design. This includes not only features of the
product or service; it also includes attention to the processes that will be required to produce
the products and the services that will be required to deliver the service to customers.
3. Procurement: The procurement department has responsibility for obtaining goods and services
that will not detract from the quality of the organization’s goods and services.
4. Production: Production has responsibility to ensure that processes yield products and services
that conform to design specifications. Monitoring processes and finding and correcting root
causes of problems are important aspects of this responsibility.
5. Quality assurance: Quality assurance is responsible for gathering and analyzing data on
problems and working with operations to solve problems.
6. Packaging and shipping: This department must ensure that goods are not damaged in transit,
that packages are clearly labeled, that instructions are included, that all parts are included and
that shipping occurs in a timely manner.
7. Marketing and sales: This department has the responsibility to determine customer needs and
to communicate them to appropriate areas of the organization. In addition, it has the
responsibility to report any problems with products or services.
8. Customer service: Customer service has the responsibility to learn of problems and
communicate that information to appropriate departments, deal in a reasonable manner with
customers, work to resolve problems and follow up to confirm that the situation has been
effectively remedied.
Consequences of poor quality: It is important for management to recognize the different ways in which
the quality of a firm’s products or services can affect the organization and to take these into account in
developing and maintaining a quality assurance program. Some of the major areas affected by quality
are:

1. Loss of business: Poor designs or defective products or services can result in loss of business.
Failure to devote adequate attention to quality can damage a profit-oriented organization’s
reputation and lead to a decreased share of the market or it can lead to increased criticism and
controls for a government agency or nonprofit organization.
2. Liability: Organizations must pay special attention to their potential liability due to damages or
injuries resulting from either faulty design or poor workmanship. Liability for poor quality has
been well established in the courts. An organization’s liability costs can often be substantial,
especially if large numbers of items are involved. Express written warranties as well as implied
warranties generally guarantee the product as safe when used as intended.
3. Productivity: Productivity and quality are often closely related. Poor quality can adversely affect
productivity during the manufacturing process if parts are defective and have to be reworked or
if an assembler has to try a number of parts before finding one that fits properly. Also, poor
quality in tools and equipment can lead to injuries and defective output, which must be
reworked or scrapped, thereby reducing the amount of usable output for a given amount of
input. Similarly, poor service can mean having to redo the service and reduce service
productivity.
4. Costs: Cost to remedy a problem is a major consideration in quality management. The earlier a
problem is identified in the process, the cheaper the cost to fix it. The cost to fix a problem at
the customer end has been estimated at about five times the cost to fix a problem at the design
or production stages.