MGMT 354 Exam 1 — Quality Management Fundamentals Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, quality advocates, basic statistics, ISO standards, Six Sigma, and problem-solving tools from MGMT 354 Exam 1.

Quality

Consistently meeting or exceeding customer requirements and expectations.

Productivity

Efficiency; output produced relative to inputs used.

Quality vs. Productivity

Quality means doing the right things right; productivity means using resources efficiently. The goal is to improve both.

Quality at the Source

Workers build and check quality during the process instead of relying only on final inspection.

Variation

Differences in process output; some variation exists in every process.

Common-Cause Variation

Normal/random variation built into a stable system; improved by improving the overall process/system.

Special-Cause Variation

Unusual, identifiable variation; addressed by investigating and removing the specific cause.

Inspection

Detects defects after they happen; reactive.

SQC / SPC

Statistical Quality Control / Statistical Process Control; uses statistics to monitor and control process variation proactively.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

Organization-wide, continuous effort to improve quality and customer satisfaction.

Specification

Customer/design requirement for a product or service.

Tolerance Limits

Maximum and minimum acceptable values around a specification.

Control Limits

Statistical limits based on process data; used to judge process stability.

Specification Limits vs. Control Limits

Specifications come from customers/design; control limits come from the process.

In Control

A process state where the process is stable and only common-cause variation is present.

Capable Process

A stable process that can consistently meet specification limits.

Walter Shewhart

Father of SPC; introduced control charts and distinguished between common vs. special causes.

W. Edwards Deming

Promoted the 14 Points, leadership, continuous improvement, customer satisfaction, and reduced reliance on inspection.

Joseph Juran

Created the Quality Trilogy (planning, control, improvement) and defined quality as 'fitness for use'.

Philip Crosby

Advocated for zero defects, defined quality as 'conformance to requirements', and stated 'quality is free.'

Kaoru Ishikawa

Developed the Fishbone/cause-and-effect diagram, quality circles, and seven quality tools.

Genichi Taguchi

Created the Quality Loss Function, emphasizing that variation from target creates loss, even within tolerance.

Armand Feigenbaum

Developed Total Quality Control, asserting that quality is everyone's responsibility.

Shigeo Shingo

Developed Poka-yoke/mistake-proofing to prevent errors before defects occur.

Quality Planning

Component of Juran's Trilogy: Identify customer needs and design processes to meet them.

Quality Control

Component of Juran's Trilogy: Measure actual performance and compare it to standards.

Quality Improvement

Component of Juran's Trilogy: Make lasting changes that improve performance.

Population

Entire group being studied.

Sample

Subset of the population.

Parameter

Numerical measure describing a population.

Statistic

Numerical measure calculated from a sample.

Sampling Error

Difference between a sample statistic and the true population parameter.

Mean

Arithmetic average; affected by outliers.

Median

Middle value after ordering data; resistant to outliers.

Mode

Most frequent value.

Range

Calculated as: $\text{Highest value} - \text{Lowest value}$.

Variance

Measure of spread using squared deviations from the mean.

Standard Deviation

Typical amount values vary from the mean.

Normal Distribution

Symmetrical bell shape where $\text{mean} = \text{median} = \text{mode}$ in a perfect distribution.

Outlier

Extremely high or low value that can distort the mean.

Continuous Improvement

Ongoing effort to improve processes, products, and services.

PDCA / PDSA Cycle

Plan (define problem, collect/analyze data, plan change) -> Do (test change) -> Check/Study (evaluate results) -> Act (standardize or revise).

ISO 9000

Quality-management-system standards and guidance.

ISO 9001

Quality-management-system requirements to which organizations can be certified.

ISO 14000

Environmental-management standards.

ISO 14001

Environmental-management-system requirements to which organizations can be certified.

Six Sigma

Data-driven approach to reduce variation and defects, improve quality, and improve financial performance.

Six Sigma Benchmark

Target performance of about $3.4$ defects per million opportunities.

DMAIC

Six Sigma process steps: Define (identify problem/goal), Measure (collect data), Analyze (root causes), Improve (implement solutions), Control (sustain improvements).

Baldrige 7 Categories

1. Leadership, 2. Strategy, 3. Customers, 4. Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management, 5. Workforce, 6. Operations, 7. Results.

Root Cause

Underlying reason a problem occurs.

Symptom

Visible sign that a problem exists.

Corrective Action

Action that eliminates the cause of an existing problem.

Preventive Action

Action that prevents a potential problem.

Band-aid Solution

Temporary fix that does not remove the root cause.

Brainstorming

Group idea-generation method aimed at producing many ideas without criticizing them during the session.

Check Sheet

Structured tally form for collecting data on defects or events.

Flowchart

Visual map of process steps used to identify bottlenecks, delays, rework, and unnecessary steps.

Fishbone Diagram

Visual tool that lists possible causes of a problem; also called cause-and-effect or Ishikawa diagram.

Pareto Chart

Bar graph with categories ranked largest to smallest used to identify the 'vital few' problem categories.

Histogram

Displays frequency distribution of numerical data to show shape, center, and spread.

Scatter Diagram

Graph plotting two variables to show possible relationship or association.

Control Chart

Tracks process performance over time to detect special-cause variation.

Pareto Principle

Principle stating a small number of causes often creates a large share of problems; often called the $80/20$ rule.

Common Fishbone Categories

People, Methods, Machines, Materials, Measurement, Environment.

UCL and LCL

Upper Control Limit and Lower Control Limit; statistical boundaries established on control charts based on process data.