C215-WGU QUESTIONS & ANSWERS||
2025 LATEST UPDATE
TQM: Total Quality Management - ANSWERis an integrated organizational effort
designed to improve quality at every level.
Customer Defined Quality - ANSWERTQM is about meeting quality expectations as
defined by the customer.
Conformance to specification - ANSWERmeasures how well the product or service
meets the targets and tolerances determined by its designers.
Example of Conformance to specification - ANSWERThe wait for hotel room service
may be specified as 20 minutes, but there may be an acceptable delay of an additional
10 minutes.
Also, consider the amount of light delivered by a 60-watt light bulb. If the bulb delivers
50 watts, it does not conform to specifications.
Fitness for use - ANSWERfocuses on how well the product performs its intended
function or use.
Example of Fitness for use - ANSWERFor example, a Mercedes-Benz and a Jeep
Cherokee both meet a fitness for use definition if one considers transportation as the
intended function. However, if the definition becomes more specific and assumes that
the intended use is for transportation on mountain roads and carrying fishing gear, the
Jeep Cherokee has a greater fitness for use. You can also see that fitness for use is a
user-based definition in that it is intended to meet the needs of a specific user group.
Value for a price paid - ANSWERis a definition of quality that consumers often use for
product or service usefulness. This is the only definition that combines economics with
consumer criteria; it assumes that the definition of quality is price sensitive.
Examples of Value for a price paid - ANSWERFor example, suppose that you wish to
sign up for a personal finance seminar and discover that the same class is being taught
at two different colleges at significantly different tuition rates. If you take the less
expensive seminar, you will feel that you have received greater value for the price.
Support Services - ANSWERprovided are often how the quality of a product or service
is judged. Quality does not apply only to the product or service itself; it also applies to
the people, processes, and organizational environment associated with it.
,Example of Support Services - ANSWERFor example, the quality of a university is
judged not only by the quality of staff and course offerings but also by the efficiency and
accuracy of processing paperwork.
Psychological Criteria - ANSWERis a subjective definition that focuses on the
judgmental evaluation of what constitutes product or service quality. Different factors
contribute to the evaluation, such as the atmosphere of the environment or the
perceived prestige of the product.
Examples of Psychological Criteria - ANSWERFor example, a hospital patient may
receive average healthcare, but a very friendly staff may leave the impression of high
quality. Similarly, we commonly associate certain products with excellence because of
their reputation; Rolex watches and Mercedes-Benz automobiles are examples.
Manufacturing Organizations - ANSWERManufacturing organizations produce a
tangible product that can be seen, touched, and directly measured. Examples include
cars, CD players, clothes, computers, and food items.
Quality in manufacturing organizations - ANSWERquality definitions in manufacturing
usually focus on tangible product features.
Common quality definition in manufacturing - ANSWER1. Conformance: the degree to
which a product characteristic meets preset standards.
2. Performance: such as acceleration of a vehicle
3. Reliability: meaning that the product will function as expected without failure
4. Features: the extras that are included beyond the basic characteristics
5. Durability: the expected operational life of the product
6. Serviceability: how readily a product can be repaired
Service Organizations - ANSWERservice organizations produce a product that is
intangible. Usually, the complete product cannot be seen or touched. Rather, it is
experienced. The intangible nature of the product makes defining quality difficult.
Examples of Service Organizations - ANSWERdelivery of healthcare, the experience of
staying at a vacation resort, and learning at a university.
Quality of Service is defined by perceptual factors - ANSWER1. Responsiveness to
customers needs/
2. Courtesy and friendliness of staff.
3. Promptness in resolving complains.
4. Atmosphere
5. Time: the amount of time a customer has to wait for the service.
6. Consistency: the degree to which service is the same each time.
Quality Control Costs - ANSWERCost necessary for achieving high quality.
,Two types of Quality Control Costs - ANSWER1. Prevention costs.
2. Appraisal costs.
Prevention Costs - ANSWERare all costs incurred in the process of preventing poor
quality from occurring. Costs includes the following.
1. quality planning costs, such as the costs of developing and implementing a quality
plan.
2. cost of product and process design.
3. Employee training in quality measurement.
4. Cost of maintaining records of information and data related to quality.
Appraisal Costs - ANSWERincurred in the process of uncovering defects. They include
the following;
1. Cost of quality inspections.
2. Product testing.
3. performing audits to make sure that quality standards are being met.
4. costs of worker time spent measuring quality
5. cost of equipment used for quality appraisal.
Quality Failure Costs - ANSWERCost consequences of poor quality.
Two types of Quality Failure Costs - ANSWER1. External Failure Costs
2. Internal Failure Costs
Internal Failure Costs - ANSWERare associated with discovering poor product quality
before the product reaches the customer site.
1. rework: the cost of correcting the defective item.
2.Scrap: when item is so defective that it cannot be fixed and must be thrown away.
Scrap cost includes all the material, labor, and machine cost spent in producing the
defective product.
3. cost of machine downtime due to failures in the process and the costs of discounting
defective items for salvage value.
External Failure Costs - ANSWERare associated with quality problems that occur at the
customer site. These costs can be particularly damaging because customer faith and
loyalty can be difficult to regain.
1. Customer complaints
2. Product returns
3. repairs to warranty claims
4. recalls
5. litigation costs resulting from product liability issues
6. lost sales and lost customers
, Example of External Failure Costs - ANSWERmanufacturers of lunch meats and hot
dogs whose products have been recalled due to bacterial contamination have had to
struggle to regain consumer confidence. Other examples include auto manufacturers
whose products have been recalled due to major malfunctions such as problematic
braking systems and airlines that have experienced a crash with many fatalities.
External failure can sometimes put a company out of business almost overnight.
External Failure Costs are particularly high where? - ANSWERExternal failure costs
tend to be particularly high for service organizations. The reason is that with a service
the customer spends much time in the service delivery system, and there are fewer
opportunities to correct defects than there are in manufacturing. Examples of external
failure in services include overbooking airline flights, long delays in airline service, and
lost luggage.
Walter A. Shewhart - ANSWER"grandfather of quality control"
-developed quality control charts that are used to identify whether the variability in the
process is random or due to an assignable cause, such as poor workers or
miscalibrated machinery.
W. Edwards Deming - ANSWER"father of quality control"
-Deming prize: an annual award given to firms that demonstrate outstanding quality.
-"14 points": upper management must develop a commitment to quality and provide a
system to support this commitment that involves all employees and suppliers.
Joseph M. Juran - ANSWER-considered to have had the greatest impact on quality
management.
-defines quality as fitness for use which takes in to account customer intentions for use
of the product instead of focusing on technical specifications.
-develpped the concept of cost of quality which allows measuring quality in dollar terms
rather than on the basis of subjective evaluations.
-originated the quality trilogy.
Quality Trilogy - ANSWER1. quality planning
2. quality control
3. quality improvement.
Quality planning - ANSWERcompanies identify their customers, product requirements,
and overriding business goals. Process set up so quality standards can be met.
Quality control - ANSWERstresses the regular use of statistical control methods to
ensure that quality standards are met and to identify variation from the standards.
Quality improvement - ANSWERquality improvement should not be just breakthroughs,
but continuous as well.
Armand V. Feigenbaum - ANSWER-introduced the concept of quality control.
2025 LATEST UPDATE
TQM: Total Quality Management - ANSWERis an integrated organizational effort
designed to improve quality at every level.
Customer Defined Quality - ANSWERTQM is about meeting quality expectations as
defined by the customer.
Conformance to specification - ANSWERmeasures how well the product or service
meets the targets and tolerances determined by its designers.
Example of Conformance to specification - ANSWERThe wait for hotel room service
may be specified as 20 minutes, but there may be an acceptable delay of an additional
10 minutes.
Also, consider the amount of light delivered by a 60-watt light bulb. If the bulb delivers
50 watts, it does not conform to specifications.
Fitness for use - ANSWERfocuses on how well the product performs its intended
function or use.
Example of Fitness for use - ANSWERFor example, a Mercedes-Benz and a Jeep
Cherokee both meet a fitness for use definition if one considers transportation as the
intended function. However, if the definition becomes more specific and assumes that
the intended use is for transportation on mountain roads and carrying fishing gear, the
Jeep Cherokee has a greater fitness for use. You can also see that fitness for use is a
user-based definition in that it is intended to meet the needs of a specific user group.
Value for a price paid - ANSWERis a definition of quality that consumers often use for
product or service usefulness. This is the only definition that combines economics with
consumer criteria; it assumes that the definition of quality is price sensitive.
Examples of Value for a price paid - ANSWERFor example, suppose that you wish to
sign up for a personal finance seminar and discover that the same class is being taught
at two different colleges at significantly different tuition rates. If you take the less
expensive seminar, you will feel that you have received greater value for the price.
Support Services - ANSWERprovided are often how the quality of a product or service
is judged. Quality does not apply only to the product or service itself; it also applies to
the people, processes, and organizational environment associated with it.
,Example of Support Services - ANSWERFor example, the quality of a university is
judged not only by the quality of staff and course offerings but also by the efficiency and
accuracy of processing paperwork.
Psychological Criteria - ANSWERis a subjective definition that focuses on the
judgmental evaluation of what constitutes product or service quality. Different factors
contribute to the evaluation, such as the atmosphere of the environment or the
perceived prestige of the product.
Examples of Psychological Criteria - ANSWERFor example, a hospital patient may
receive average healthcare, but a very friendly staff may leave the impression of high
quality. Similarly, we commonly associate certain products with excellence because of
their reputation; Rolex watches and Mercedes-Benz automobiles are examples.
Manufacturing Organizations - ANSWERManufacturing organizations produce a
tangible product that can be seen, touched, and directly measured. Examples include
cars, CD players, clothes, computers, and food items.
Quality in manufacturing organizations - ANSWERquality definitions in manufacturing
usually focus on tangible product features.
Common quality definition in manufacturing - ANSWER1. Conformance: the degree to
which a product characteristic meets preset standards.
2. Performance: such as acceleration of a vehicle
3. Reliability: meaning that the product will function as expected without failure
4. Features: the extras that are included beyond the basic characteristics
5. Durability: the expected operational life of the product
6. Serviceability: how readily a product can be repaired
Service Organizations - ANSWERservice organizations produce a product that is
intangible. Usually, the complete product cannot be seen or touched. Rather, it is
experienced. The intangible nature of the product makes defining quality difficult.
Examples of Service Organizations - ANSWERdelivery of healthcare, the experience of
staying at a vacation resort, and learning at a university.
Quality of Service is defined by perceptual factors - ANSWER1. Responsiveness to
customers needs/
2. Courtesy and friendliness of staff.
3. Promptness in resolving complains.
4. Atmosphere
5. Time: the amount of time a customer has to wait for the service.
6. Consistency: the degree to which service is the same each time.
Quality Control Costs - ANSWERCost necessary for achieving high quality.
,Two types of Quality Control Costs - ANSWER1. Prevention costs.
2. Appraisal costs.
Prevention Costs - ANSWERare all costs incurred in the process of preventing poor
quality from occurring. Costs includes the following.
1. quality planning costs, such as the costs of developing and implementing a quality
plan.
2. cost of product and process design.
3. Employee training in quality measurement.
4. Cost of maintaining records of information and data related to quality.
Appraisal Costs - ANSWERincurred in the process of uncovering defects. They include
the following;
1. Cost of quality inspections.
2. Product testing.
3. performing audits to make sure that quality standards are being met.
4. costs of worker time spent measuring quality
5. cost of equipment used for quality appraisal.
Quality Failure Costs - ANSWERCost consequences of poor quality.
Two types of Quality Failure Costs - ANSWER1. External Failure Costs
2. Internal Failure Costs
Internal Failure Costs - ANSWERare associated with discovering poor product quality
before the product reaches the customer site.
1. rework: the cost of correcting the defective item.
2.Scrap: when item is so defective that it cannot be fixed and must be thrown away.
Scrap cost includes all the material, labor, and machine cost spent in producing the
defective product.
3. cost of machine downtime due to failures in the process and the costs of discounting
defective items for salvage value.
External Failure Costs - ANSWERare associated with quality problems that occur at the
customer site. These costs can be particularly damaging because customer faith and
loyalty can be difficult to regain.
1. Customer complaints
2. Product returns
3. repairs to warranty claims
4. recalls
5. litigation costs resulting from product liability issues
6. lost sales and lost customers
, Example of External Failure Costs - ANSWERmanufacturers of lunch meats and hot
dogs whose products have been recalled due to bacterial contamination have had to
struggle to regain consumer confidence. Other examples include auto manufacturers
whose products have been recalled due to major malfunctions such as problematic
braking systems and airlines that have experienced a crash with many fatalities.
External failure can sometimes put a company out of business almost overnight.
External Failure Costs are particularly high where? - ANSWERExternal failure costs
tend to be particularly high for service organizations. The reason is that with a service
the customer spends much time in the service delivery system, and there are fewer
opportunities to correct defects than there are in manufacturing. Examples of external
failure in services include overbooking airline flights, long delays in airline service, and
lost luggage.
Walter A. Shewhart - ANSWER"grandfather of quality control"
-developed quality control charts that are used to identify whether the variability in the
process is random or due to an assignable cause, such as poor workers or
miscalibrated machinery.
W. Edwards Deming - ANSWER"father of quality control"
-Deming prize: an annual award given to firms that demonstrate outstanding quality.
-"14 points": upper management must develop a commitment to quality and provide a
system to support this commitment that involves all employees and suppliers.
Joseph M. Juran - ANSWER-considered to have had the greatest impact on quality
management.
-defines quality as fitness for use which takes in to account customer intentions for use
of the product instead of focusing on technical specifications.
-develpped the concept of cost of quality which allows measuring quality in dollar terms
rather than on the basis of subjective evaluations.
-originated the quality trilogy.
Quality Trilogy - ANSWER1. quality planning
2. quality control
3. quality improvement.
Quality planning - ANSWERcompanies identify their customers, product requirements,
and overriding business goals. Process set up so quality standards can be met.
Quality control - ANSWERstresses the regular use of statistical control methods to
ensure that quality standards are met and to identify variation from the standards.
Quality improvement - ANSWERquality improvement should not be just breakthroughs,
but continuous as well.
Armand V. Feigenbaum - ANSWER-introduced the concept of quality control.
