ISOM Chapter 5 Study Questions – Flashcards
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The investment a company makes in training employees to perform their duties and redesigning products and processes to improve them would be categorized as prevention costs.
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True
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2. Appraisal costs are associated with preventing defects before they happen.
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False
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3. External failure costs arise when a defect is discovered after the customer has received the product or service.
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True
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An example of an internal failure cost would be warranty cost.
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False
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One of the principles that total quality management (TQM) stresses is customer satisfaction.
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True
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6. One of the principles that total quality management (TQM) stresses is employee involvement.
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True
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One of the principles that total quality management (TQM) stresses is process reengineering
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True
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8. Statistical process control (SPC) is the application of statistical techniques to determine whether a quantity of material should be accepted or rejected.
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False
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9. Common causes of variation are the purely random, unidentifiable sources of variation that are unavoidable with the current process.
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True
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10. Assignable causes of variation include any variable-causing factors that can be identified and eliminated.
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True
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11. The advantage of variable measurements is that they can be quickly counted compared to attribute measurements.
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False
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On a control chart, a type I error occurs when the employee concludes that the process is in control when it is actually out of statistical control
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False
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One common point for inspection is at the raw material input stage
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True
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A process is monitored with a control chart. The process is correctly judged to be in control once the results from the most recent sample are plotted. Therefore, all of the output produced at that time is good.
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False
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One chart commonly used for quality measures based on a product or service attributes is the x bar chart
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False
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Products never have more than 1 defect per unit
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False
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Process capability determines whether a process is capable of producing the product or services that customers demand
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True
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cpk is always equal to or greater than cp
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false
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The six sigma five-step approach contains the elements define, measure, analyze, improve, and control
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true
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General electric is credited with developing six sigma more than 20 years ago to improve its manufacturing capability
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False
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Conformance to specifications" implies that: a. there is no need to scrap or rework any product because it always meets specifications. b. quality standards are specified for products or services. c. quality performance is measured by the product's value. d. quality level will be high.
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B
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28. Consumers consider five aspects when defining quality. Which one of the following is least likely to be one of these aspects? a. Value b. Fitness for use c. Psychological impressions d. Individual development
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D
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29. Psychological impressions are considered one aspect of quality because customers can get upset with: a. misleading advertising. b. poor craftsmanship. c. discourteous employees. d. slow responses to warranty claims.
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C
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30. If the quality level is increased by taking steps to prevent defects before they happen, which one of the following statements is TRUE? a. Prevention costs increase. b. Appraisal costs increase. c. Internal failure costs increase. d. External failure costs increase.
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A
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31. Improving quality seems to be a strategic weapon in gaining market share. However, improving quality entails allocation of resources and effort. As greater effort is expended to stop defects before they occur, which one of the following costs increases? a. Prevention costs b. Appraisal costs c. Internal failure costs d. External failure costs
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A
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32. Which one of the following is a consequence of internal failures? a. Increased customer service b. Increased inventory costs c. Increased productivity d. Decreased lead time
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B
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33. Increasing the quality level by better products and processes may: a. allow a company to raise the price of the product. b. move a company closer to a competitive priority of price. c. reduce prevention costs. d. ensure that the trade-off between prevention costs and other costs of poor quality is worthwhile.
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A
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34. Which one of the following is a direct effect of high yield losses? a. Shorter lead times b. Reduced need for capacity c. Lower inventory levels d. Loss of material
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D
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35. Which one of the following statements is TRUE? a. Fitness for use is how well a product or service serves its intended market at a price customers are willing to pay. b. The quality of service is generally easier to measure than is the quality of manufactured products. c. High conformance to quality in manufacturing has no effect on profit margins. d. Rework tends to increase lead time and inventory levels maintained in a manufacturing company
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D
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36. Which one of the following is considered to be an appraisal cost? a. Cost of quality audits b. Cost of supplier programs c. Cost of rework d. Cost of process design
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A
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37. Which one of the following statements is TRUE? a. Appraisal costs decrease as quality level decreases. b. Appraisal costs increase as the variation of output increases. c. Appraisal costs increase as the variation of output decreases. d. Appraisal costs increase as quality level increases.
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C
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38. A cost that is incurred if some aspect of a service must be performed again is called a(n): a. yield loss. b. prevention cost. c. appraisal cost. d. rework cost.
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D
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39. When errors have been made while producing a product such that the item must be discarded, the resultant cost is called a(n): a. warranty. b. yield loss. c. rework cost. d. external failure cost.
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B
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40. Which one of the following is part of prevention costs? a. The costs of quality audits b. The costs resulting from yield losses c. The costs of improving process design and product design d. The costs of lawsuits from injury from use of the product
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C
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41. Which one of the following is a consequence of external failures? a. Longer lead times b. More rework c. More litigation costs d. Lower product costs
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C
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42. At which of the following steps will the cost of detecting product defects be the highest? a. Customer b. Process c. Final testing d. Raw material
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A
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43. Which one of the following statements about strategic considerations in total quality management is TRUE? a. Total quality management is another name for quality control. b. Training programs for employees and monetary incentives are two ways organizations can increase quality awareness in their employees. c. Plants with the best quality control usually have a high percentage of quality inspectors. d. Setting specific quality goals is impossible because good quality is impossible to quantify.
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B
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44. "Quality at the source" implies: a. less expensive raw materials. b. lower yield losses. c. higher rework costs. d. more final-test inspectors.
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B
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45. Which one of the following statements is a key feature of total quality management (TQM)? a. Quality is primarily the responsibility of all employees in the organization. b. Quality is primarily the responsibility of the quality control department. c. Quality is primarily the responsibility of the production department. d. Quality is primarily the responsibility of top management.
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A
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46. Which one of the following statements about total quality management (TQM) is TRUE? a. Total quality management reduces the external failure costs but not the internal failure costs. b. Total quality management reduces the internal failure costs but not the external failure costs. c. Total quality management means inspectors are responsible for finding out who makes the defects. d. In total quality management, workers have the authority to stop a production line if they see quality problems.
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D
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47. Which one of the following statements is most consistent with the concept of total quality management? a. Set goals for quality performance at the corporate management level only. b. Emphasize quality prevention rather than just quality control. c. Management should concentrate on process-design, not product-design, issues. d. The marketing function and operations function should avoid interdepartmental communication so that each can become as efficient as possible.
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B
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48. The implementation of a total quality management program will most likely result in: a. an increase in product lead times. b. a decrease in employee involvement. c. an increase in communication between workers. d. an increase in work-in-process inventory.
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C
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49. Honda gives more than 100,000 hours of classroom instruction to Honda associates annually. In terms of employee involvement programs, this is an example of: a. cultural change. b. individual development. c. awards and incentives. d. teamwork.
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B
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50. "Employee-related" strategies for preventing quality problems include teamwork, employee training, and: a. product/service design. b. quality engineering. c. zero defects. d. monetary incentives.
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D
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51. Continuous improvement is a philosophy that: a. uses problem-solving techniques within work teams. b. ensures there are plenty of quality inspectors to find areas for improvement. c. waits until a big problem occurs, then systematically solves it. d. encourages the hiring of statistical process control specialists to reduce the need for current employees to learn statistical methods.
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A
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52. The idea of continuous improvement is that activities not contributing value are wasteful and should be recycled or eliminated. An example of such an activity is: a. machining a part. b. checking out a customer at a grocery store. c. routing requests for loan approvals to several departments. d. drilling a hole for a metal fastener.
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C
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53. Which of the following statements relating to total quality management is true? a. The only effect of internal failure is loss of material. b. Poor quality generally does not increase the inventory level or lead times. c. To produce 100 good units in a process with a 20 percent defective rate, the company must produce a total of 120 units. d. High product quality in manufacturing can have significant market implications for a firm.
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D
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54. Which of the following would be a "common" cause of variation? a. Random sources b. A machine in need of repair c. An untrained worker d. A defective raw material
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A
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55. Which one of the following statements is TRUE? a. No two products are exactly alike because the processes that produce them contain many sources of variation, even if the process is a machine. b. With due diligence, variation in a process can be completely eliminated. c. SPC and TQM are two competing techniques for quality control. d. Common causes of variation are those factors that can be identified as commonly occurring at a particular process.
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A
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56. Which one of the following statements is TRUE? a. Nothing can be done to completely eliminate variation in process output. b. SPC and TQM are one and the same thing. c. Assignable causes of variation are purely random factors that can be assigned to a particular process. d. Common causes of variation are those factors that can be identified as commonly occurring at a particular process.
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A
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57. A measure of the dispersion of observations in a process distribution is called: a. an average. b. a range. c. a shape. d. a specification.
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B
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58. A machine that produces more light boxes than heavy boxes has a process distribution that is: a. above average. b. capable. c. skewed. d. symmetric.
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C
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59. A process is said to be in statistical control only when the: a. process produces output within the specifications. b. mean of the output does not change over time. c. variance of the output does not change over time. d. dimensions of its distribution don't change over time.
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D
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60. Which of the following can be used to eliminate "common" causes of variation? a. Statistical process control b. Acceptance sampling c. Traditional statistical techniques d. They cannot be eliminated.
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D
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61. Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. If a process is in statistical control, assignable causes of variation should be sought. b. If a process is in statistical control, there are no causes of variation. c. If a process is out of statistical control, there are only assignable causes of variation. d. When assignable causes of variation exist, the process generates different distributions of the quality characteristic over time.
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D
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62. Which one of the following statements about quality control is TRUE? a. Measurement by attributes is a simple yes or no decision. b. Complete inspection is used when inspection cost is high. c. Sampling inspection is used when the cost of passing a defective unit is high relative to the cost of inspection. d. Measurement by variables is often used when the quality specifications are complex
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A
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63. Which one of the following statements relating to quality is TRUE? a. Sampling procedures based on measurement by variables should be used when quality specifications are complex. b. A distribution of sample means has more variance than the process distribution itself. c. The distribution of sample means can be approximated by the normal distribution. d. Sampling is a better approach than 100 percent inspection when the cost of accepting a defective item is very high.
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C
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64. When should complete inspection be used? a. When inspection tests are destructive b. When inspection tasks are monotonous c. When the cost of product failure is high relative to the inspection costs d. When quality is a competitive priority
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C
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65. An operator of a filling machine plotted the weights of each bag she filled for three weeks. At the same time, a quality inspector randomly took groups of five bags of the same output and plotted the average weights of the samples. The inspector's sampling distribution will: a. have greater variability than the operator's distribution. b. have less variability than the operator's distribution. c. show if the output has been produced to the operator's specifications. d. have a mean five times greater than the operator's distribution.
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B
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66. In SPC, the distribution of sample means: a. can be approximated by the normal distribution. b. will have greater variability than the process distribution. c. will always have a mean greater than the process distribution because of the sample size. d. cannot be used for control charts because the variability is understated.
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A
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67. Regarding control charts, a type I error refers to concluding that the process is: a. in control when it is not in control. b. incapable when it is capable. c. out of control when it is in control. d. capable when it is not capable.
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C
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68. An example of a type I error would be: a. throwing away a perfectly good banana. b. counting a student's multiple choice response correct when it is actually incorrect. c. releasing a guilty defendant. d. counting a student's multiple choice response correct when it is actually correct
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A
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69. An example of a type II error would be: a. counting a student's True/False response incorrect when it is actually correct. b. convicting an innocent defendant. c. eating food that you were unaware was spoiled. d. counting a student's True/False response incorrect when it is actually incorrect.
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C
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70. Regarding control charts, changing from three-sigma limits to two-sigma limits: a. increases the probability of concluding nothing has changed, when in fact it has. b. increases the probability of searching for a cause when none exists. c. decreases the probability that the process average will change. d. decreases the probability that defects will be generated by the process.
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B
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71. Regarding control charts, changing from two-sigma limits to three-sigma limits: a. increases the probability of concluding nothing has changed, when in fact it has. b. increases the probability of searching for a cause when none exists. c. decreases the probability that the process average will change. d. decreases the probability that defects will be generated by the process.
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A
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72. The UCL and LCL for an chart are 25 and 15 respectively. The central line is 20, and the process variability is considered to be in statistical control. The results of the next six sample means are 18, 23, 17, 21, 24, and 16. What should you do? a. Nothing; the process is in control. b. Explore the assignable causes because the second and fifth samples are above the mean. c. Explore the assignable causes because there is a run. d. Explore the assignable causes because there is a trend.
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A
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73. The central line on a p-chart is 0.50 with a UCL of 0.65 and an LCL of 0.35. The results of the next six samples are 0.60, 0.37, 0.45, 0.48, 0.53, and 0.62. What should you do? a. Nothing; the process is behaving as expected. b. Explore the assignable causes because three observations are above the central line. c. Explore assignable causes because there is a run. d. Increase the sample size to get a better measure.
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C
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75. A company is interested in monitoring the variability in the weight of the fertilizer bags it produces. An appropriate control chart would be: a. a x bar chart. b. a p-chart. c. a c-chart. d. an R-chart.
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D
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76. A company is interested in monitoring the average time it takes to serve its customers. An appropriate control chart would be: a. an xbar chart. b. a p-chart. c. a c-chart. d. an R-chart.
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A
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77. A company is interested in monitoring the number of scratches on Plexiglas panels. The appropriate control chart to use would be: a. an x bar chart. b. a p-chart. c. a c-chart. d. an R-chart.
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C
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78. Which alternative will increase the probability of detecting a shift in the process average? a. Increasing the control limit spread b. Taking smaller samples c. Taking smaller samples more frequently d. Taking larger samples more frequently
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D
