Quality Management

Question 1

Importance of quality

Answer 1

Helps create customer loyalty
Reduces costs

Question 2

Impacts of quality assurance on businesses

Answer 2

Reduces the needs for high costs of final inspection
Jon enrichment
Worker motivation

Question 3

Impacts of TQM on a business (5)

Answer 3

• Job enrichment links to Herzberg theory as workers are empowered with responsibility of checking quality before next stage
• Decreases costs of faulty products by getting it right first time to achieve zero defects
• Eliminates the need for quality control inspection department, reducing costs
• Less wastage of materials and time so saving costs
• Easier to trace reasons for faults, leading to increased productivity and performance

Question 4

Evaluation of TQM (5)

Answer 4

1. Change in culture and working practices
2. Change to TQM incurs costs especially of training, which in short term may offset any quality improvement
3. TQM can only succeed if training given to all employees
4. Requires a commitment from senior management to allow the workforce authority and empowerment.
5. TQM will not operate well in a rigid and authoritarian structure

Question 5

Importance of benchmarking in quality management

Answer 5

It is a process that can help a business increase international competitiveness.

Benchmarking is a more effective way of identifying and solving business problems than trying to solve production or quality problems without external comparisons.

The areas of greatest significance for customers are identified, and
action is directed to improving these.

Question 6

Evaluation of benchmarking

Answer 6

Benchmarking depends on obtaining relevant and up-to-date information from other businesses in the industry. If this is difficult to obtain, then the process will be limited.

Merely copying the ideas and practices of other businesses may discourage initiative and original ideas.