Answer the following questions in details. !!!

(Use the book (charts, tables if necessary) while answer the questions.) Book Name :Foster, Thomas. (2010). Managing Quality. Prentice Hall, ISBN-10: 0136088503, ISBN-13: 9780136088509 Due Date : 04/01/2012 Wednesday until 16:00. Note: Do your project separately and prepare it as a Word document. Submit its printout. 1. Why is quality a difficult term to define? How can we improve our understanding of quality? 2. Briefly discuss Garvins eight dimensions of quality. Is Garvins multidimensional approach a step forward in improving our understanding of quality? Why or why not?

3. Why do managers need to be cautious about purchasing material (e.g., courses, workbooks, videos, and so on) on quality management from trainers and consultants? How would you go about selecting this type of material? 4. Briefly describe the contributions W. Edwards Deming made to the field of quality management. Why do you believe he is the most influential quality expert?

5. Category 5 of the MBNQA criteria focuses on workforce. Why do you think the authors of the Baldrige criteria included this category? Why is human resource management an important consideration in quality planning and management?

6. If you were the CEO of a manufacturing firm, would you encourage your firm to apply for the MBNQA? Why or why not?

7. According to the quality literature, without top management leadership, quality improvement will not occur. Why do you believe this is the case?

8. Juran argues that both incremental (continuous) improvements and stepwise (breakthrough) improvements are needed in a strategic framework. Do you agree with Jurans assessment? Why or why not? 1

9. When was the last time you purchased a product and were asked to provide the seller or manufacturer of the merchandise information about yourself, such as your name, address, and telephone number? Did the request for information seem intrusive to you? Did you have any idea why you were being asked for the additional information?

10. Can you think of an example of an experience that you have had with a firm in which the difference between the espoused and the actual level of service provided was great in either a positive or negative way? If so, did this experience influence your perception of the business? Has this experience affected your willingness to do business with this company again?

11. Describe the concept of benchmarking. Provide an example of how a restaurant that you are familiar with could use benchmarking to improve its performance. 12. Is the growing popularity of the Internet a positive development or a negative development for the future of benchmarking? Please explain your answer. 13. Describe the concept of concurrent engineering. How does concurrent engineering improve the product design process? 14. The design for maintainability concept states that a product should be designed in a way that makes it easy for a consumer to maintain it. What product attributes make it easy for a product to be serviced or maintained? 15. Why do you believe that quality techniques in the service industry are less mature than quality techniques for manufactured products? What can be done to bring quality techniques for the services industry up to a higher level? 16. Describe the concept of moment of truth in a service context. Describe a moment of truth that you recently experienced as a consumer. Was your service experience satisfactory or unsatisfactory? Explain your answer.