Total Quality Management Exam #1

Dr. Smith MCOB University of South Alabama Online 2026

Appraisal costs

costs of activities designed to ensure quality or uncover defects

Baldrige award

Annual award given by the U.S government to recognize quality achievements of U.S. companies

benchmarking

process of measuring performance against the best in the same or another industry

brainstorming

technique for generating a free flow of ideas in a group of people

cause-and-effect (fishbone) diagram

a diagram used to search for the cause(s) of a problem; also called fishbone diagram

check sheet

a tool for recording and organizing data to identify a problem

continuous improvement

Philosophy that seeks to make never-ending improvements to the process of converting inputs into outputs

Control chart

a statistical chart of time-ordered values of a sample statistic

Deming Prize

Prize established by the Japanese and awarded annually to firms that distinguish themselves with quality management programs

European Quality Award

European award for organizational excellence

external failures

failures discovered after delivery to the customer

fail-safing

incorporating design elements that prevent incorrect procedures

failure costs

costs caused by defective parts or products or by faulty services

flowchart

a diagram of the steps in a process

histogram

a chart of an empirical frequency distribution

internal failures

failures discovered during production

ISO 9000

a set of international standards on quality management and quality assurance, critical to international business

ISO 14000

a set of international standards for assessing a company’s environmental performance

ISO 24700

a set of international standards that pertains to the quality and performance of office equipment that contains reused components

kaizen

Japanese term for continuous improvement

Pareto analysis

technique for classifying problem areas according to degree of importance, and focusing on the most important

plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle

a framework for problem solving and improvement activities

prevention costs

costs of preventing defects from occurring

process improvement

a systematic approach to improving a process

quality

the ability of a product or service to consistently meet or exceed customer expectations

quality at the source

the philosophy of making each worker responsible for the quality of his or her work

quality circles

Groups of workers who meet to discuss ways of improving products or processes

quality of conformance

the degree to which goods or services conform to the intent of the designers

quality of design

Intention of designers to include or exclude features in a product or service

return on quality

an approach that evaluates the financial return of investments in quality

run chart

Tool for tracking results over a period of time

scatter diagram

a graph that shows the degree and direction of relationship between two variables

Six Sigma

a business process for improving quality, reducing costs, and increasing customer satisfaction

total quality management (TQM)

a philosophy that involves everyone in an organization in a continual effort to improve quality and achieve customer satisfaction

Manufacturability

the capability of an organization to produce an item at an acceptable profit

Serviceability

the capability of an organization to provide a service at an acceptable cost or profit

reverse engineering

dismantling and inspecting a competitor’s product to discover product improvements

Research and Development (R&D)

Organized efforts to increase scientific knowledge or product innovation

Product liability

the responsibility of a manufacturer for any injuries or damages caused by a faulty product

Uniform Commercial Code

a product must be suitable for its intended purpose

Cradle-to-grave Assessment

the assessment of the environmental impact of a product or service throughout its useful life

Value analysis

Examination of the function of parts and materials in an effort to reduce cost and/or improve product performance

remanufacturing

refurbishing used products by replacing worn-out or defective components

design for disassembly (DFD)

design so that used products can be easily taken apart

Recycling

recovering materials for future use

Product life cycle management (PLM)

a systematic approach to managing the series of changes a product goes through, from its conception to its end-of-of life

Standardization

extent to which a product, service, or process lacks variety

mass customization

a strategy of producing basically standardized goods, but incorporating some degree of customization

delayed differentiation

the process of producing, but not quite completing, a product or service until customer preferences are known

modular design

a form of standardization in which component parts are grouped into modules that are easily replaced or interchanged

reliability

the ability of a product, part, or system to perform its intended function under a prescribed set of conditions

failure

situation in which a product, part, or system does not perform as intended

normal operating conditions

the set of conditions under which an item’s reliability is specified

robust design

design that results in products or services that can function over a broad range of conditions

quality function deployment (QFD)

an approach that integrates the “voice of the customer” into both product and service development

concurrent engineering

bringing engineering design and manufacturing personnel together early in the design phase

computer-aided design (CAD)

product design using computer graphics

design for manufacturing (DFM)

the designing of products that are compatible with an organization’s capabilities

design for assembly (DFA)

design that focuses on reducing the number of parts in a product and on assembly methods and sequence

manufacturability

the capability of an organization to produce an item at an acceptable profit

service

something that is done to or for the customer

service delivery system

the facilities, processes, and skills needed to provide a service

product bundle

the combination of goods and services provided to a customer

service package

the physical resources needed to perform the service, the accompanying goods, and the explicit and implicit services included

service blueprint

a method used in service design to describe and analyze a proposed service