Define benchmarking and list its benefits.
> What is design failure mode and effects analysis (DFMEA)? Provide a simple example illustrating the concept.
> What is robust design? Explain why it is important for both consumers and manufacturers.
> Explain how to compute the reliability of series, parallel, and series-parallel systems.
> What is a reliability function? Explain how to determine it.
> Explain the product life characteristics curve and its implications for reliability and quality control.
> What is the definition of failure rate? How is it measured?
> What is the difference between inherent reliability and achieved reliability?
> What is the difference between a functional failure and a reliability failure?
> Define reliability. Explain the definition thoroughly.
> An article in the Harvard Business Review (Matthew Dixon, Karen Freeman and Nicholas Taman, “Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers,” July-August 2010, pp. 116–122) suggests that delighting customers by exceeding service expectations does not build loyalt
> Explain the Taguchi loss function and how it is used in process and tolerance design.
> Describe the steps of the product design and development process.
> What is the difference between sampling error and systematic error? Why are these important to understand?
> Describe the common types of sampling schemes.
> List and explain the three basic elements of statistical methodology.
> How do discrete probability distributions differ from continuous probability distributions?
> List the most important types of probability distributions used in quality management
> Explain the multiplication rule of probability. How does independence of events affect the multiplication rule?
> State the four rules for calculating probabilities of events.
> Describe a factorial experiment. Provide some examples of factorial experiments that you might use to solve some type of quality-related problem.
> Choose some e-commerce site with which you are familiar. Analyze how “customer-focused” the organization appears to be and provide specific examples to justify your opinions
> What is the purpose of design of experiments?
> Explain the concepts of correlation and regression.
> Explain the difference between an experiment, an outcome, and a sample space.
> Explain the hypothesis that is tested in analysis of variance.
> Describe some applications of hypothesis testing that might be applied to the topics in Chapters 3, 4, and 5
> What is a confidence interval? What value do they have?
> What are some of the descriptive statistical tools available in Microsoft Excel, and how can they be used?
> State the meaning of the central limit theorem in your own words. How important is it to the development and use of statistical quality control techniques?
> Explain the difference between the standard deviation and the standard error of the mean. How are they related?
> Explain how to compute a proportion.
> A manager at a franchise of casual restaurant observed that there are three types of customers who complain: those who feel they should receive exceptional service because of the price they pay; “regulars” who become accustomed to a certain level of food
> List the common types of statistical measures of dispersion and explain how to compute them.
> List the common types of statistical measures of location and explain how to compute them.
> Explain the difference between a population and a sample.
> What is the science of statistics? Why is it important in quality management?
> List important questions that should be asked when analyzing process maps to create a more effective design
> What is process mapping? Why is it important in process design?
> Describe some organizations that use projects as their primary value-creation processes. How might the project management process differ in such organizations, in comparison with firms or departments that only use projects on an ad hoc or as-needed basis
> Explain the differences between value-creation and support processes. Provide some examples of each.
> Why is it important that processes be repeatable and measurable?
> Discuss how process management is addressed in the ISO 9000 criteria.
> If you were the manager of a small pizza restaurant (dine-in and limited delivery), what customer contact requirements might you specify for your employees who take phone orders, work the cash register, and serve as waiters? How would you train them?
> A local delivery service has 40 drivers who deliver packages throughout the metropolitan area. Occasionally, drivers make mistakes, such as entering the wrong package number on a shipping document, failing to get a signature, and so on. A total of 280 mi
> Define process management and its three key activities. Why is process management important to any business?
> Explain some of the common practices for supplier certification. How does ISO 9000 support these practices?
> Why is it important to establish strong partnering relationships with suppliers
> Explain the factors associated with supplier selection.
> What is reengineering? How can TQ principles assist in reengineering efforts?
> What is a stretch goal? How can stretch goals help an organization?
> What is breakthrough improvement? How does it differ from kaizen?
> How can reductions in cycle time lead to improvements in processes
> Explain the concepts of kaizen and a kaizen event. How are they similar? How are they different?
> Discuss the lessons that organizations can learn about customer relationships and customer contact employees from the following experiences:72 a. In shopping for a cell phone, a customer met a salesperson who introduced herself, asked her name, went thr
> State several key process-focused practices for quality management.
> List the four stages of a learning cycle. Why is organizational learning important?
> What is continuous improvement? Provide several examples of the types of improvements on which organizations should focus.
> How process control is generally implemented in manufacturing and in services? Describe the similarities and differences
> Explain the concept of after-action review.
> Describe the four elements of any control system.
> Define process control and tell why it is important.
> Describe the types of errors that service poka-yokes are designed to prevent.
> Why do people make inadvertent mistakes? How does poka-yoke help prevent such mistakes?
> Why is agility important for processes in today’s business environment?
> Thinking about organizations that you encounter in your daily life (your college, bookstores, restaurants, and so on), identify examples of customer focused practices from Table 3.1 that are evident in these organizations.
> Explain the differences between designing processes for manufactured goods and services. How should the design of service processes be approached?
> What is a process? Provide several examples.
> Explain the difference between work design and job design. How does the Hackman and Oldham model enhance understanding of how job design affects motivation, satisfaction, and organizational effectiveness?
> List the key factors that characterize high-performance work.
> Define the term motivation. Why is motivation critical for performance excellence?
> What is employee involvement? Discuss different approaches to employee involvement.
> Explain the concept of workforce engagement. What advantages does it provide to an organization?
> Define workforce management. Explain its role from a strategic perspective.
> Summarize the key workforce-focused practices for performance excellence.
> Explain some modern practices for hiring, work force learning, and career development.
> Write a generic customer satisfaction policy that a firm might use to convey trust to its customers and as a means of determining employee values, policies, and training initiatives.
> Why is it important to consider workforce capability and capacity in designing and sustaining high performance work systems?
> Outline the characteristics of the Gallup Q12 survey instrument for employee engagement and explain the management uses for three categories in the resulting “engagement index.”
> Why is it important to assess workforce engagement and satisfaction? Describe some common approaches.
> What is 360-degree feedback? How does it differ from traditional performance appraisal approaches? How does it address the major criticisms of traditional performance appraisal processes and support TQ efforts?
> Briefly summarize traditional performance appraisal processes. From a performance excellence perspective, what objections have been raised concerning these processes? Describe some modern practices.
> Explain the key practices that lead to effective recognition and reward approaches?
> What types of compensation practices support a performance excellence philosophy?
> Describe the impact of the Taylor system on quality, productivity, and workforce management. How do TQ principles differ from the Taylor system?
> What are the steps required to perform the nominal group technique (NGT)?
> List and describe the tools needed for running an effective meeting.
> How has the Zero Moment of Truth affected your shopping experiences? Provide some examples.
> What issues must organizations consider with respect to health, safety, and employee well-being in the work environment?
> Explain the important issues an organization must consider in developing successful teams.
> Discuss the five phases that teams typically go through during their life cycle.
> Contrast the differences between quality circles and self-managed teams. What are the key characteristics of self-managed teams not found in quality circles?
> What is a team? Define the major types of teams found in organizations today.
> Explain the concept of self-determination and how it differs from empowerment.
> What is empowerment? How does it benefit both the organization and employees?
> Contrast job enlargement with job enrichment. How do they support the Hackman and Oldham model?
> Explain why there is a logical relationship between customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction.
> Why is it important to segment customers? Describe some ways of defining customer segments
> Prepare a list of moments of truth that you encounter during a typical quarter or semester at your college or university
> Explain the AT&T customer–supplier model. Why would it be an important component in training new employees?
> Explain the difference between consumers, internal customers, and external customers.
