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Full file at https://fratstock.euChapter 02 - Ensuring Quality and Productivity

2-1

Chapter 02

Ensuring Quality and Productivity

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The amount of results (output) an organization gets for a given amount of inputs is defined

as:

A. productivity.

B. the same as idle time.

C. detour behavior.

D. overhead.

2. The product's primary operating characteristic, such as an automobile's acceleration or the

picture clarity of a television set explains which dimension of quality?

A. Aesthetics

B. Reliability

C. Durability

D. Performance

3. In terms of the dimensions of quality, which of the following explains reliability?

A. Supplements to the product's basic operating characteristics.

B. The probability that the product will function properly and not break down during a

specified period.

C. The speed and ease of repairing the product.

D. The degree to which the product's design and operating characteristics meet established

standards.

4. Poor quality work can lead to all of the following except:

A. customers looking for alternatives.

B. organization developing a negative image.

C. low costs.

D. organization having a harder time recruiting superior employees.


2-2

5. Quality control is defined as:

A. a company's efforts to prevent or correct defects in its goods or services or to improve

them in some way.

B. a team of employees who plan ways to improve quality.

C. the same as a "benchmark."

D. the degree of excellence or superiority that an organization's product possesses.

6. Process control has been defined as:

A. when a company considers how to do things in a way that leads to better quality.

B. the prevention and the detection of quality problems.

C. when a company considers how to improve its product.

D. the act of looking for defects using a sampling technique.

7. What is statistical quality control?

A. The use statistics to monitor production quality on an ongoing basis.

B. Focusing the whole organization on continuously improving every business process so it

satisfies customers.

C. Looking for defects in parts, finished goods, or other outcomes selected through a sampling

technique.

D. It is based on the view that everyone in the organization should work toward delivering

such high quality that all aspects of the organization's goods are free of problems.

8. An operator who periodically measures some aspect of ongoing production and plots the

results on a control chart is using:

A. statistical quality control.

B. statistical process control.

C. statistical analysis.

D. benchmarking.


2-3

9. Zero-defects approach is defined as:

A. the prevention or correction of statistical errors.

B. the quality control technique where an organization should work toward making its

products and services free of problems.

C. the quality control technique that emphasizes how to do things in a way that leads to better

quality.

D. identification of the top performer of a process and imitating that performance.

10. As the supervisor of an airplane brake installation company, you want to discuss the

importance of proper autopilot installation, especially since the rework ratio has increased

dramatically. You invite the union representative and five of your employees to discuss this

problem. You are practicing the concept of:

A. employee involvement teams.

B. covering yourself.

C. team effort.

D. communications within the department.

11. In a typical process, which would be the first step the members of an employee

involvement team might take?

A. Select the problems to focus on first.

B. Identify quality problems related to the employees' areas of responsibility.

C. Analyze the problem to identify its causes.

D. Identify possible solutions and select one to recommend to management.

12. Employee involvement teams are most successful when:

A. they have support from supervisors and higher-level managers.

B. supervisors apply the principles of problem solving.

C. all group members are eager to participate.

D. supervisors apply the guidelines for supervising groups.


2-4

13. A process-oriented quality control method designed to reduce errors to 99.9997 percent

perfect is called:

A. the Baldrige Award.

B. ISO 9000.

C. benchmarking.

D. Six Sigma.

14. The objective of total quality management (TQM) is to:

A. meet or exceed customer expectations.

B. make money for the company and the employees.

C. be implemented all at once.

D. identify the top performer of a process and then learn and carry out the top performer's

practices.

15. Joseph M. Juran taught quality concepts to the Japanese, and he said that management

should seek to maintain and improve quality through two missions. One of those missions

was to:

A. have only one department maintain and improve high quality.

B. promote the Deming Prize.

C. have only the most productive departments in the company achieve high quality.

D. have the entire organization maintain and improve high quality.

16. Nikki, a supervisor in the local telephone company was swamped with work. She had

schedules to write, reports to prepare, and performance evaluations to give. Even though she

knew everyone was to attend the new total quality management (TQM) training seminars, she

decided to skip them. She is violating this TQM phrase:

A. "Quality only happens when people start caring."

B. "It's a business philosophy."

C. "Walking the talk."

D. "It is a tool, like a computer."


2-5

17. Jolene manages a division of a toy manufacturing company making purple dinosaurs. This

toy manufacturer measures divisional quality performance in several different categories, such

as leadership, strategic planning, process management, and so forth. This company is using

which guideline to measure quality improvement?

A. Process control

B. ISO 9000

C. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

D. Benchmarking

18. A series of standards adopted by the International Organization of Standardization, which

spelled out acceptable criteria for quality systems, is called:

A. ISO 9000.

B. process control.

C. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

D. benchmarking.

19. Joanne manages a supermarket that had such high retail sales for the year that the

company president decided to use her store as the "premier store" for comparisons, not only in

terms of gross sales, but also for efficiency in all areas of operations. The company president

is practicing which guideline in measuring quality improvement?

A. Process control

B. Benchmarking


D. ISO 9000

20. Identifying the top performer of a process, then learning and carrying out the top

performer's practices is called:

A. diversity training.

B. quality performance.

C. total quality management.

D. benchmarking.


2-6

21. At Pop-Right Popcorn Company, employees became frustrated when the company

continued accepting corn with moisture levels of up to 23 percent when only 17 percent was

acceptable. This violates which guideline in quality control?

A. Emphasize prevention

B. Insist on quality from suppliers

C. Set and enforce variances

D. Reward high-quality performance

22. At State National Bank, newly hired loan collectors are teamed with an experienced, loan

collector who takes them out on collection calls. In addition to "how to collect on loans,"

newly-hired loan collectors are taught how "not to collect on loans." These procedures teach

new loan collectors the importance of collecting on loans without jeopardizing the image of

the bank and are an example of which type of guideline in quality control?



C. Set and enforce standards


23. The most important way supervisors can overcome the productivity constraint of

management limitations is to:

A. collaborate with the labor union.

B. set a good example.

C. follow government regulations.

D. help employees overcome resistance to change.

24. Culture shock is defined as:

A. the set of physical and emotional discomforts people tend to experience when they move

from one cultural environment to another.

B. a state of mind that occurs when people find themselves immersed in a different but

familiar culture.

C. a state of mind that occurs when people find themselves immersed in the same culture they

live in now.

D. ways of postponing or avoiding work.


2-7

25. Seth, the U.S. production manager of an international corporation, was transferred to their

France facility. In France, he soon found that others did not respond to his behavior in

expected ways and that he no longer knew how he was expected to behave. He is suffering

from:

A. relocation trauma.

B. culture shock.

C. downtime.

D. second thoughts about the transfer.

26. Which of the following statements about union rules is false?

A. If an organization explains how everyone will benefit from changes, the union may agree

to revise the contract, especially if the alternative is employee layoffs.

B. Supervisors must do their best to get work done as efficiently as possible under the existing

work rules.

C. Even though a supervisor can propose changes, it is not part of a supervisor's job to remove

these constraints.

D. When employers and unions collaborate on a solution, they overcome constraints, usually

in a quick and efficient manner.

27. Mary processes 96 permit applications in an eight-hour day at the secretary of state's

office. If Mary earns $6 per hour, what would be her productivity measure?

A. 2

B. 6

C. 16

D. 48

28. Juan supervises a group of tax preparers specializing in corporate income taxes. He found

numerous errors made by the group. He discovered that the group was receiving inadequate

documentation from corporate clients. Group members were trained to learn what

documentation was needed from each client. Juan was trying to improve productivity by:

A. controlling quality of work.

B. trying to keep his job.

C. controlling the clients.

D. controlling quantity of work.


2-8

29. Before a supervisor can make intelligent decisions about how to trim costs, he/she has to

know where the money is going. The most important source of such information is:

A. auditor's reports.

B. earnings reports.

C. budget reports.

D. focus reports.

30. Increasing output without increasing costs makes employees:

A. happy that they were chosen to improve productivity.

B. unhappy that they are asked to work harder without additional pay.

C. understand that productivity must be increased for the good of the company.

D. want to adopt the principles of job enlargement and job enrichment.

31. A tactic used for postponing or avoiding work that results in wasted time is:

A. detour behavior.

B. idle time.

C. downtime.

D. uptime.

32. A supervisor can take all of the following steps to regulate departmental work flow

except:

A. if the work flow must remain even, a supervisor may find that the best course is to use

temporary employees during peak periods.

B. a supervisor should first make sure that adequate planning has been done for the work

required.

C. a supervisor may find it helpful to work with his/her manager and peers.

D. a supervisor may find it helpful to form teams of employees to examine and solve work-

flow problems.


2-9

33. Gates, a full-time student, is faced with a computer purchase decision. The cost of a new

personal computer is $2,000 and Gates estimates that he would save $400 per year by paying

someone else to have his term papers typewritten. The payback period for this decision is

A. .20 or 20 percent of a year.

B. five years.

C. $800,000 in 10 years.

D. unable to be calculated, based on the information given.

34. When layoffs occur, the people who are left behind:

A. want to increase their productivity because they are so glad to still have their jobs.

B. do not mind receiving less pay to save their jobs.

C. often struggle to keep up with the work that still has to be done.

D. quit their jobs and work elsewhere.

35. When supervisors are asked questions about productivity improvements, and the

supervisor cannot answer all the questions, he/she should:

A. make up the answers he/she does not know.

B. promise to get answers but do not and hope the employees will forget they asked.

C. promise to get answers and do so.

D. try to answer as many as possible and forget the rest.

True / False Questions

36. Productivity is outputs divided by inputs.

True False

37. One of the dimensions of quality is the serviceability of the product.

True False

38. Attracting new customers costs less than keeping existing customers satisfied.

True False


2-10

39. Two types of quality control are reliability and durability.

True False

40. Supervisors need to remember that the quality control technique itself will not guarantee

high quality.

True False

41. Statistical quality control is quality control that focuses on ways to improve the product

itself.

True False

42. In implementing a zero-defects approach, only top managers seek to build quality into

every part of their work.

True False

43. Teams of employees who plan ways to improve quality in their area of the organization

are known as employee involvement teams.

True False

44. In a typical employee involvement team, the process includes a step to select which

problems to focus on first.

True False

45. Six Sigma is defined as an organization-wide focus on satisfying customers by

continuously improving every business process for delivering goods or services.

True False


2-11

46. Focusing on improving the processes used for delivering goods and services, rather than

on the products themselves, is a strategy for implementing TQM.

True False

47. A company may seek ISO 9000 certification because a nation may require it before the

company can do business in that nation.

True False

48. Benchmarking is a process-oriented quality control method designed to reduce errors to

99.9997 percent perfect.

True False

49. Quality improvement should be directed toward delivering greater customer value.

True False

50. Building on the benefits of diversity is one guideline for quality control.

True False

51. Standards of quality control should be written, measurable, clear, specific, and

challenging, but achievable.

True False

52. The amount of goods and services produced by the average U.S. worker is the same as

that of most other industrialized nations.

True False


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53. Operative employees will contribute to improve productivity regardless of how committed

management is to this objective.

True False

54. To overcome the productivity constraint of employee attitudes and skills, supervisors

should set a good example.

True False

55. Improving productivity can involve changing employee attitudes and skills.

True False

56. The use of building codes and setting minimum safety standards are examples of

government regulations.

True False

57. Overcoming union rules is an easy task, because union contracts do not specify what tasks

particular employees may do, what hours they may work, and how organizations may use

employees.

True False

58. Protection of public safety is an input of a police force.

True False

59. To increase productivity, a supervisor needs to either increase outputs or reduce inputs,

but not both.

True False


2-13

60. The process of gathering information about costs and working with employees to identify

needed improvements is part of a supervisor's planning function.

True False

61. One way to increase productivity is to increase output without boosting costs.

True False

62. Keiretsu is a process in which teams map the details of each work process, looking for

ways to eliminate waste.

True False

63. Waste seldom occurs in business operations.

True False

64. Idle time refers to the tactics for postponing or avoiding work.

True False

65. When work levels are low, the result is uptime.

True False

66. Lack of motivation is often the problem underlying time lost to tardiness and

absenteeism.

True False

67. Absenteeism may be the first step to leaving the company.

True False


2-14

68. When managers start talking about productivity improvements, employees react with

excitement.

True False

69. Employees are fearful of productivity improvements due to possible layoffs.

True False

70. When a supervisor gives information about productivity improvement, employees should

have an opportunity to ask questions.

True False

Essay Questions

71. Describe some of the consequences suffered by organizations, due to poor-quality work.

72. Compare and contrast product quality control and process control.


2-15

73. Compare and contrast the zero-defects approach to total quality management (TQM).

74. Define "value" and describe how a full-service commercial bank could improve customer

value.

75. List any two productivity constraints and then describe how these constraints limit

supervisors and managers.

76. Define culture shock and describe how supervisors can overcome it.


2-16

77. You are the supervisor of two employees who process loan applications. Employee 1 can

process 36 applications in a six-hour day, whereas Employee 2 can process 40 applications in

an eight-hour day. Calculate their productivity in terms of applications processed per hour.

Which employee is more productive and why?

78. Productivity can be improved by two methods, of which cutting costs is one. What is the

other? Develop your own example of the second method.

79. Identify and describe three of the eight cost-control strategies in the chapter. How can the

supervisor use the three strategies you chose?

80. Why do employees fear productivity improvements?


2-17

Chapter 02 Ensuring Quality and Productivity Answer Key

Multiple Choice Questions

1. (p. 32) The amount of results (output) an organization gets for a given amount of inputs is

defined as:

A. productivity.

B. the same as idle time.

C. detour behavior.

D. overhead.

Difficulty: Easy

2. (p. 32) The product's primary operating characteristic, such as an automobile's acceleration or

the picture clarity of a television set explains which dimension of quality?

A. Aesthetics

B. Reliability

C. Durability

D. Performance

Difficulty: Easy

3. (p. 32) In terms of the dimensions of quality, which of the following explains reliability?

A. Supplements to the product's basic operating characteristics.

B. The probability that the product will function properly and not break down during a

specified period.

C. The speed and ease of repairing the product.

D. The degree to which the product's design and operating characteristics meet established

standards.

Difficulty: Easy


2-18

4. (p. 33) Poor quality work can lead to all of the following except:

A. customers looking for alternatives.

B. organization developing a negative image.

C. low costs.

D. organization having a harder time recruiting superior employees.

Difficulty: Easy

5. (p. 34) Quality control is defined as:

A. a company's efforts to prevent or correct defects in its goods or services or to improve

them in some way.

B. a team of employees who plan ways to improve quality.

C. the same as a "benchmark."

D. the degree of excellence or superiority that an organization's product possesses.

Difficulty: Easy

6. (p. 35) Process control has been defined as:

A. when a company considers how to do things in a way that leads to better quality.

B. the prevention and the detection of quality problems.

C. when a company considers how to improve its product.

D. the act of looking for defects using a sampling technique.

Difficulty: Medium

7. (p. 36) What is statistical quality control?

A. The use statistics to monitor production quality on an ongoing basis.

B. Focusing the whole organization on continuously improving every business process so it

satisfies customers.

C. Looking for defects in parts, finished goods, or other outcomes selected through a

sampling technique.

D. It is based on the view that everyone in the organization should work toward delivering

such high quality that all aspects of the organization's goods are free of problems.

Difficulty: Easy


2-19

8. (p. 36) An operator who periodically measures some aspect of ongoing production and plots

the results on a control chart is using:

A. statistical quality control.

B. statistical process control.

C. statistical analysis.

D. benchmarking.

Difficulty: Medium

9. (p. 37) Zero-defects approach is defined as:

A. the prevention or correction of statistical errors.

B. the quality control technique where an organization should work toward making its

products and services free of problems.

C. the quality control technique that emphasizes how to do things in a way that leads to better

quality.

D. identification of the top performer of a process and imitating that performance.

Difficulty: Medium

10. (p. 37) As the supervisor of an airplane brake installation company, you want to discuss the

importance of proper autopilot installation, especially since the rework ratio has increased

dramatically. You invite the union representative and five of your employees to discuss this

problem. You are practicing the concept of:

A. employee involvement teams.

B. covering yourself.

C. team effort.

D. communications within the department.

Difficulty: Easy


2-20

11. (p. 38) In a typical process, which would be the first step the members of an employee

involvement team might take?

A. Select the problems to focus on first.

B. Identify quality problems related to the employees' areas of responsibility.

C. Analyze the problem to identify its causes.

D. Identify possible solutions and select one to recommend to management.

Difficulty: Medium

12. (p. 39) Employee involvement teams are most successful when:

A. they have support from supervisors and higher-level managers.

B. supervisors apply the principles of problem solving.

C. all group members are eager to participate.

D. supervisors apply the guidelines for supervising groups.

Difficulty: Hard

13. (p. 39) A process-oriented quality control method designed to reduce errors to 99.9997

percent perfect is called:

A. the Baldrige Award.

B. ISO 9000.

C. benchmarking.

D. Six Sigma.

Difficulty: Easy

14. (p. 40) The objective of total quality management (TQM) is to:

A. meet or exceed customer expectations.

B. make money for the company and the employees.

C. be implemented all at once.

D. identify the top performer of a process and then learn and carry out the top performer's

practices.

Difficulty: Medium


2-21

15. (p. 40) Joseph M. Juran taught quality concepts to the Japanese, and he said that

management should seek to maintain and improve quality through two missions. One of those

missions was to:

A. have only one department maintain and improve high quality.

B. promote the Deming Prize.

C. have only the most productive departments in the company achieve high quality.

D. have the entire organization maintain and improve high quality.

Difficulty: Medium

16. (p. 41) Nikki, a supervisor in the local telephone company was swamped with work. She had

schedules to write, reports to prepare, and performance evaluations to give. Even though she

knew everyone was to attend the new total quality management (TQM) training seminars, she

decided to skip them. She is violating this TQM phrase:

A. "Quality only happens when people start caring."

B. "It's a business philosophy."

C. "Walking the talk."

D. "It is a tool, like a computer."

Difficulty: Medium

17. (p. 41) Jolene manages a division of a toy manufacturing company making purple dinosaurs.

This toy manufacturer measures divisional quality performance in several different categories,

such as leadership, strategic planning, process management, and so forth. This company is

using which guideline to measure quality improvement?

A. Process control

B. ISO 9000


D. Benchmarking

Difficulty: Medium


2-22

18. (p. 42) A series of standards adopted by the International Organization of Standardization,

which spelled out acceptable criteria for quality systems, is called:

A. ISO 9000.

B. process control.

C. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

D. benchmarking.

Difficulty: Easy

19. (p. 42) Joanne manages a supermarket that had such high retail sales for the year that the

company president decided to use her store as the "premier store" for comparisons, not only in

terms of gross sales, but also for efficiency in all areas of operations. The company president

is practicing which guideline in measuring quality improvement?

A. Process control

B. Benchmarking


D. ISO 9000

Difficulty: Easy

20. (p. 42) Identifying the top performer of a process, then learning and carrying out the top

performer's practices is called:

A. diversity training.

B. quality performance.

C. total quality management.

D. benchmarking.

Difficulty: Easy


2-23

21. (p. 43-45) At Pop-Right Popcorn Company, employees became frustrated when the company

continued accepting corn with moisture levels of up to 23 percent when only 17 percent was

acceptable. This violates which guideline in quality control?



C. Set and enforce variances


Difficulty: Medium

22. (p. 43-45) At State National Bank, newly hired loan collectors are teamed with an

experienced, loan collector who takes them out on collection calls. In addition to "how to

collect on loans," newly-hired loan collectors are taught how "not to collect on loans." These

procedures teach new loan collectors the importance of collecting on loans without

jeopardizing the image of the bank and are an example of which type of guideline in quality

control?



C. Set and enforce standards


Difficulty: Medium

23. (p. 46) The most important way supervisors can overcome the productivity constraint of

management limitations is to:

A. collaborate with the labor union.

B. set a good example.

C. follow government regulations.

D. help employees overcome resistance to change.

Difficulty: Medium


2-24

24. (p. 47) Culture shock is defined as:

A. the set of physical and emotional discomforts people tend to experience when they move

from one cultural environment to another.

B. a state of mind that occurs when people find themselves immersed in a different but

familiar culture.

C. a state of mind that occurs when people find themselves immersed in the same culture they

live in now.

D. ways of postponing or avoiding work.

Difficulty: Medium

25. (p. 47) Seth, the U.S. production manager of an international corporation, was transferred to

their France facility. In France, he soon found that others did not respond to his behavior in

expected ways and that he no longer knew how he was expected to behave. He is suffering

from:

A. relocation trauma.

B. culture shock.

C. downtime.

D. second thoughts about the transfer.

Difficulty: Medium

26. (p. 48) Which of the following statements about union rules is false?

A. If an organization explains how everyone will benefit from changes, the union may agree

to revise the contract, especially if the alternative is employee layoffs.

B. Supervisors must do their best to get work done as efficiently as possible under the existing

work rules.

C. Even though a supervisor can propose changes, it is not part of a supervisor's job to remove

these constraints.

D. When employers and unions collaborate on a solution, they overcome constraints, usually

in a quick and efficient manner.

Difficulty: Medium


2-25

27. (p. 49) Mary processes 96 permit applications in an eight-hour day at the secretary of state's

office. If Mary earns $6 per hour, what would be her productivity measure?

A. 2

B. 6

C. 16

D. 48

Difficulty: Medium

28. (p. 50) Juan supervises a group of tax preparers specializing in corporate income taxes. He

found numerous errors made by the group. He discovered that the group was receiving

inadequate documentation from corporate clients. Group members were trained to learn what

documentation was needed from each client. Juan was trying to improve productivity by:

A. controlling quality of work.

B. trying to keep his job.

C. controlling the clients.

D. controlling quantity of work.

Difficulty: Medium

29. (p. 51) Before a supervisor can make intelligent decisions about how to trim costs, he/she

has to know where the money is going. The most important source of such information is:

A. auditor's reports.

B. earnings reports.

C. budget reports.

D. focus reports.

Difficulty: Easy

30. (p. 52) Increasing output without increasing costs makes employees:

A. happy that they were chosen to improve productivity.

B. unhappy that they are asked to work harder without additional pay.

C. understand that productivity must be increased for the good of the company.

D. want to adopt the principles of job enlargement and job enrichment.

Difficulty: Hard


2-26

31. (p. 53) A tactic used for postponing or avoiding work that results in wasted time is:

A. detour behavior.

B. idle time.

C. downtime.

D. uptime.

Difficulty: Easy

32. (p. 55) A supervisor can take all of the following steps to regulate departmental work flow

except:

A. if the work flow must remain even, a supervisor may find that the best course is to use

temporary employees during peak periods.

B. a supervisor should first make sure that adequate planning has been done for the work

required.

C. a supervisor may find it helpful to work with his/her manager and peers.

D. a supervisor may find it helpful to form teams of employees to examine and solve work-

flow problems.

Difficulty: Medium

33. (p. 56) Gates, a full-time student, is faced with a computer purchase decision. The cost of a

new personal computer is $2,000 and Gates estimates that he would save $400 per year by

paying someone else to have his term papers typewritten. The payback period for this decision

is

A. .20 or 20 percent of a year.

B. five years.

C. $800,000 in 10 years.

D. unable to be calculated, based on the information given.

Difficulty: Hard


2-27

34. (p. 58) When layoffs occur, the people who are left behind:

A. want to increase their productivity because they are so glad to still have their jobs.

B. do not mind receiving less pay to save their jobs.

C. often struggle to keep up with the work that still has to be done.

D. quit their jobs and work elsewhere.

Difficulty: Medium

35. (p. 58) When supervisors are asked questions about productivity improvements, and the

supervisor cannot answer all the questions, he/she should:

A. make up the answers he/she does not know.

B. promise to get answers but do not and hope the employees will forget they asked.

C. promise to get answers and do so.

D. try to answer as many as possible and forget the rest.

Difficulty: Medium

True / False Questions

36. (p. 32) Productivity is outputs divided by inputs.

TRUE

Difficulty: Medium

37. (p. 32) One of the dimensions of quality is the serviceability of the product.

TRUE

Difficulty: Easy

38. (p. 33) Attracting new customers costs less than keeping existing customers satisfied.

FALSE

Difficulty: Medium


2-28

39. (p. 34) Two types of quality control are reliability and durability.

FALSE

Difficulty: Easy

40. (p. 36) Supervisors need to remember that the quality control technique itself will not

guarantee high quality.

TRUE

Difficulty: Easy

41. (p. 36) Statistical quality control is quality control that focuses on ways to improve the

product itself.

FALSE

Difficulty: Medium

42. (p. 37) In implementing a zero-defects approach, only top managers seek to build quality

into every part of their work.

FALSE

Difficulty: Medium

43. (p. 37) Teams of employees who plan ways to improve quality in their area of the

organization are known as employee involvement teams.

TRUE

Difficulty: Easy


2-29

44. (p. 38) In a typical employee involvement team, the process includes a step to select which

problems to focus on first.

TRUE

Difficulty: Medium

45. (p. 39) Six Sigma is defined as an organization-wide focus on satisfying customers by

continuously improving every business process for delivering goods or services.

FALSE

Difficulty: Medium

46. (p. 41) Focusing on improving the processes used for delivering goods and services, rather

than on the products themselves, is a strategy for implementing TQM.

TRUE

Difficulty: Medium

47. (p. 42) A company may seek ISO 9000 certification because a nation may require it before

the company can do business in that nation.

TRUE

Difficulty: Medium

48. (p. 42) Benchmarking is a process-oriented quality control method designed to reduce errors

to 99.9997 percent perfect.

FALSE

Difficulty: Medium


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49. (p. 42) Quality improvement should be directed toward delivering greater customer value.

TRUE

Difficulty: Easy

50. (p. 43) Building on the benefits of diversity is one guideline for quality control.

TRUE

Difficulty: Medium

51. (p. 43) Standards of quality control should be written, measurable, clear, specific, and

challenging, but achievable.

TRUE

Difficulty: Easy

52. (p. 45) The amount of goods and services produced by the average U.S. worker is the same

as that of most other industrialized nations.

FALSE

Difficulty: Medium

53. (p. 46) Operative employees will contribute to improve productivity regardless of how

committed management is to this objective.

FALSE

Difficulty: Easy


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54. (p. 47) To overcome the productivity constraint of employee attitudes and skills, supervisors

should set a good example.

FALSE

Difficulty: Medium

55. (p. 47) Improving productivity can involve changing employee attitudes and skills.

TRUE

Difficulty: Easy

56. (p. 47) The use of building codes and setting minimum safety standards are examples of

government regulations.

TRUE

Difficulty: Medium

57. (p. 47-48) Overcoming union rules is an easy task, because union contracts do not specify

what tasks particular employees may do, what hours they may work, and how organizations

may use employees.

FALSE

Difficulty: Medium

58. (p. 48) Protection of public safety is an input of a police force.

FALSE

Difficulty: Medium


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59. (p. 49) To increase productivity, a supervisor needs to either increase outputs or reduce

inputs, but not both.

FALSE

Difficulty: Medium

60. (p. 51) The process of gathering information about costs and working with employees to

identify needed improvements is part of a supervisor's planning function.

FALSE

Difficulty: Medium

61. (p. 52) One way to increase productivity is to increase output without boosting costs.

TRUE

Difficulty: Easy

62. (p. 52) Keiretsu is a process in which teams map the details of each work process, looking

for ways to eliminate waste.

FALSE

Difficulty: Medium

63. (p. 53) Waste seldom occurs in business operations.

FALSE

Difficulty: Easy

64. (p. 53) Idle time refers to the tactics for postponing or avoiding work.

FALSE

Difficulty: Medium


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65. (p. 54) When work levels are low, the result is uptime.

FALSE

Difficulty: Easy

66. (p. 56) Lack of motivation is often the problem underlying time lost to tardiness and

absenteeism.

TRUE

Difficulty: Medium

67. (p. 57) Absenteeism may be the first step to leaving the company.

TRUE

Difficulty: Medium

68. (p. 58) When managers start talking about productivity improvements, employees react with

excitement.

FALSE

Difficulty: Medium

69. (p. 58) Employees are fearful of productivity improvements due to possible layoffs.

TRUE

Difficulty: Medium

70. (p. 58) When a supervisor gives information about productivity improvement, employees

should have an opportunity to ask questions.

TRUE

Difficulty: Easy


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Essay Questions

71. (p. 33) Describe some of the consequences suffered by organizations, due to poor-quality

work.

Companies may develop a negative image, lose business and thus revenues, increased costs,

product recalls, lawsuits, etc.

Difficulty: Medium

72. (p. 34-35) Compare and contrast product quality control and process control.

Both types of quality control involve preventing and detecting quality-related problems.

Product quality control focuses on the product, whereas process control emphasizes how to do

things in a way that leads to better quality.

Difficulty: Medium

73. (p. 37, 40) Compare and contrast the zero-defects approach to total quality management

(TQM).

Both are quality control techniques which have an organization-wide involvement, but with

different goals. Zero-defects is directed toward all company areas, whereas TQM affects only

those areas directly involved in the delivering of goods or services.

Difficulty: Medium


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74. (p. 42) Define "value" and describe how a full-service commercial bank could improve

customer value.

Value refers to the worth a customer places on what he/she gets relative to the cost of

acquiring it. Possible ways to improve customer value include: providing ATM machines at

convenient, well-lit locations both inside and outside the building; maintaining longer

customer hours with some weekend hours; offering quicker responses to loan requests; and

offering lower loan and charge card interest rates; etc.

Difficulty: Medium

75. (p. 46-47) List any two productivity constraints and then describe how these constraints limit

supervisors and managers.

Four possible answers are management limitations, employee attitudes and skills, union rules,

and government regulations. Based on the two chosen, make sure they relate to how

supervisors can be held back from productivity improvements.

Difficulty: Medium

76. (p. 47) Define culture shock and describe how supervisors can overcome it.

Culture shock is the set of physical and emotional discomforts people tend to experience

when they move from one cultural environment to another. Supervisors can expose employees

to diverse groups, educate them, train them, and be open and honest with employees.

Difficulty: Medium


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77. (p. 49) You are the supervisor of two employees who process loan applications. Employee 1

can process 36 applications in a six-hour day, whereas Employee 2 can process 40

applications in an eight-hour day. Calculate their productivity in terms of applications

processed per hour. Which employee is more productive and why?

Employee 1 = 6 apps/hour (36/6), Employee 2 = 5 apps/hour (40/8). Employee 1 is more

productive than Employee 2, since he/she can process six applications/hour compared to

Employee 2's five applications/hour.

Difficulty: Hard

78. (p. 50-51) Productivity can be improved by two methods, of which cutting costs is one. What

is the other? Develop your own example of the second method.

Controlling quality. Based on the example, make sure it fits how supervisors can help

improve productivity by focusing on quality.

Difficulty: Hard

79. (p. 50-57) Identify and describe three of the eight cost-control strategies in the chapter. How

can the supervisor use the three strategies you chose?

Eight possible answers are increase output, improve methods, reduce overhead, minimize

waste, regulate workflow, install modern equipment, train and motivate employees, and

minimize tardiness, absenteeism, and turnover. Based on the three strategies chosen, make

sure they fit how a supervisor can use them to control costs.

Difficulty: Hard


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80. (p. 58) Why do employees fear productivity improvements?

Endless possible answers here; layoffs, more difficult work, and less overtime pay were

mentioned in the book, but other answers can include resistance to change, fear of the

unknown.

Difficulty: Medium

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