Important Short Questions and Answers: Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management - Introduction

1. Define Total Quality?

TQM is an enhancement to the traditional way of doing business. It is the art of managing the whole to achieve excellence. It is defined both a philosophy and a set of guiding principles that represent the foundation of a continuously improving organization

2. Define Quality?

Quality = Performance x Expectations

3. What are the Dimensions of Quality?

Performance

Features

Conformance

Reliability

Durability

Service

Response

Aesthetics

Reputation.

4. Give the Basic Concepts of TQM?

A committed and involved management to provide long- term top- to- bottom organizational support. An unwavering focuses on the customer, both internally and externally. Effective involvement and utilization of the entire work force. Continuous improvement of the business and production process. Treating suppliers as partners. Establish performance measures for the processes.

5. State Deming Philosophy?

Create and publish the aims and purposes of the organization. Learn the new philosophy.Understand the purpose of inspection.

Stop awarding business based on price alone. Improve constantly and forever the system. Institute training. Teach and institute leadership. Drive out fear, Create trust and Create a climate for innovation. Optimize the efforts of teams, groups and staff areas. Eliminate exhortations for the work force. Eliminate numerical quotes for the work force.Eliminate management by objective. Remove barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship. Encourage education and self- improvement for everyone.

Take action for accomplish the transformation.

6. Give the Principles of TQM?

1. Constancy of purpose: short range and long range objectives aligned

2. Identify the customer(s); Customer orientation 

3. Identification of internal and external customers 

4. Continuous improvement 

5. Workflow as customer transactions

6. Empower front- line worker as leader

7. Quality is everybody’s business 

8. Customer orientation to child care services, a marketing perspective

9. Barriers that exist to a customer orientation

7. Give the Obstacles associated with TQM Implementation?

I.Lack of management commitment Inability to change organizational culture

II.         Improper planning Lack of continuous training and education

III.         Incompatible organizational structure and isolated individuals and 

IV. departments Ineffective measurement techniques and lack of access to data and 

V.         results. Paying inadequate attention to internal and external customers.

VI.    Inadequate use of empowerment and teamwork.

8. Give the Analysis Techniques for Quality Costs?

I.          Trend Analysis

II.         Pareto Analysis

9. Define Quality Costs?

Quality Costs are defined as those costs associated with the nonachievement of product or service quality as defined by the requirements established by the organization and its contracts with customers and society.

10.Give the primary categories of Quality cost?

I.Preventive cost category

II.         Appraisal cost category 

III.         Internal failure cost category IV. External failure cost category

11.Give the sub-elements of Preventive cost category?

I.          Marketing/Customer/User

II.         Product/Service/Design development 

III.   Purchasing

IV.   Operations/ 

V.         Quality Administration VI. Other Prevention Costs

12.Give the sub-elements of Appraisal cost category?

I.          Purchasing appraisal cost

II.         Operations appraisal cost 

III.         External appraisal cost

IV.   Review of test and application data 

V.         Miscellaneous quality evaluations

 13. Give the sub-elements of Internal failure cost category?

i.       Product or Service Design costs (Internal)

ii.     Purchasing failure costs

iii.  Operations failure costs

14. Give the sub-elements of External failure cost category?

I.Complaint investigations of customer or user service

II.      Returned goods

III.     Retrofit and recall costs

IV.     Warranty claims

V.      Liability costs

VI.     Penalties

VII.   Customer or user goodwill

VIII.  Lost sales

IX.     Other external failure costs

15. Give the typical cost bases?

I.Labor

II.         Production 

III.        Unit

IV.   Sales

16. How will you determine the optimum cost?

a.     Make comparison with other organizations

b.    Optimize the individual categories 

c.   Analyze the relationships among the cost categories

17. State the Quality Improvement Strategy?

Reduce failure costs by problem solving Invest in the “right” prevention activities

Reduce appraisal costs where appropriate and in a statistically sound manner Continuously evaluate and redirect the prevention effort to gain further quality improvement.

18. Define Quality Planning?

A quality plan sets out the desired product qualities and how these are assessed and define the most significant quality attributes. It should define the quality assessment process. It should set out which organizational standards should be applied and, if necessary, define new standards.

19. Give the Objectives of TQM?

a. To develop a conceptual understanding of the basic principles and methods associated with TQM;

b. To develop an understanding of how these principles and methods have been put into effect in a variety of organizations;

c.To develop an understanding of the relationship between TQM principles and the theories and models studied in traditional management;

d. To do the right things, right the first time, every time.

20.Give the Quality Hierarchy?

1. Inspection

2. Quality Control (QC)

3. Quality Assurance (QA)

4. Total Quality Management Inspect products. Detection Finding & Fixing Mistakes.

21.What is needed for a leader to be effective?

To be effective, a leader needs to know and understand the following:

People, paradoxically, need security and independence at the same time. People are sensitive to external rewards and punishments and yet are also strongly self-motivated. People like to hear a kind word of praise People can process only a few facts at a time; thus, a leader needs to keep things simple. People trust their gut reaction more than statistical data People distrust a leader’s rhetoric if the words are inconsistent with the leader’s actions.

22. What is the important role of senior management?

Listening to internal and external customers and suppliers through visits,

focus groups and surveys. Communication. To drive fear out of the organization, break down barriers, remove system roadblocks, anticipate and minimize resistance to change and in general, change the culture.

23. What are the general duties of a quality council?

i.      Develop, with input from all personnel, the core values, vision statement, mission statement, and quality policy statement. ii. Develop the strategic long-term plan with goals and the annual quality improvement program with objectives.

iii.  Create the total education and training plan.

iv. Determine and continually monitor the cost of poor quality.

v. Determine the performance measures for the organization, approve those for the functional areas, and monitor them.

vi. Continually, determine those projects that improve the processes, particularly those that affect external and internal customer satisfaction.

vii.  Establish multifunctional project and departmental or work group teams and monitor their progress.

viii.   Establish or revise the recognition and reward system to account for the new way of doing business.

24. What does a typical meeting agenda contain after establishing the TQM?

Progress report on teams Customer satisfaction report

Progress on meeting goals

New project teams

Recognition dinner

Benchmarking report