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1.5: An Introduction to Quality

  • Page ID
    39474
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    Why is quality necessary?

    Making the connection between what a customer wants and what a company provides is essential for a successful business. How does managing quality fulfill customers’ needs and expectations? For businesses to succeed in such a competitive and demanding market, they need to formulate a way to do what they do faster, better, and cheaper than the competition. Their survival depends on it. Understanding quality and quality systems are what can give businesses the edge they need to succeed and compete.

    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): The connection between what a customer wants and what a company provides is essential for business success. Highway Sign by RM Media, CC BY 3.0.

    Quality may mean different things to people.

    If you asked several people to define quality, you would most likely get different answers because each person values items or processes in their way. What one person feels is important; another person may not. You have probably experienced this at home or with friends. There are likely different views in your family on how to clean the bathroom and the quality of the cleanliness.

    Quality is a Customer Determination

    Many prominent contributors in the field of quality use various definitions and meanings of the word Quality. One definition of quality is provided by one prominent quality pioneer, Armand Feigenbaum. In his comprehensive text on the subject, Total Quality Control, Armand states that: “Quality is a customer determination based on the customer’s experience with the product or service, measured against his or her requirements – stated or unstated, conscious or merely sensed, technically operational or entirely subjective – and always representing a moving target in a competitive market.” (Summers, 2010)

    Several principles stand out in this view of quality

    No two customers will have the same expectation for the same product, and one customer’s needs may even change over time as they use the product. Companies must solicit feedback from their customers and respond to their needs even as they change.

    • Customer Determination: Only a customer can decide how well a product meets their needs.
    • Experience: A customer will determine the quality of a product using the product.
    • Requirements: Necessary aspects of the product may be stated or unstated by the customer.
    • Technically operational: Aspects of a product may be identified verbally by the customer.
    • Entirely Subjective: Aspects of a product may be conjured in a customer’s personal feelings.

    Corporate Culture & Quality

    Corporate culture is an important aspect of a good quality product. A successful company has a clear vision statement (how they see themselves in the future), which helps them create a cohesive atmosphere of shared value systems with both their employees and customers alike. A mission statement is developed to support the organization’s vision. The mission statement should be short, complete, and timeless. Many companies incorporate a value (or philosophy) statement that relay to the customer core beliefs and guiding principles of the company. Companies will frequently have also a quality statement or quality policy outlining their dedication to a quality product.

    Explore!

    Amgen is a worldwide biopharmaceutical company. Review their quality statement:

    www.amgen.com/about/how-we-operate/policies-practices-and-disclosures/business-conduct/quality/

    As a customer or prospective employee, what do you think about these? Do they influence how you feel about purchasing their product or working at their company?


    This page titled 1.5: An Introduction to Quality is shared under a CC BY license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Jack O'Grady.

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