1.

How does Deming’s definition of quality— “A product or a service possesses quality if

it helps somebody and enjoys a good and sustainable market”—compare with the
definitions discussed in module 1?
-The Deming philosophy focuses on continual improvements in product and
service quality by reducing uncertainty and variability in design, manufacturing,
and service processes, driven by the leadership of top management.
2. Explain the Deming chain reaction.
-There has been more acceptance, though, of the idea that to improve, the focus should
be on continual improvement, not cost cutting. By focusing on continual improvement
you are able to remove waste, reduce errors, and remove delays. Reducing costs
through process improvement, and at the same time improving productivity and product
effectiveness, allows a company to benefit from the positive chain reaction
3. Summarize Deming’s 14 Points. How does each point relate to the four components
of Profound Knowledge?
1. Create and publish a company mission statement and commit to it. Create constancy
of purpose by continually looking for ways to improve both products and services, in
order to become/remain competitive.
2. Learn the new philosophy. A business must welcome innovation and change in order
to improve.
3. Understand the purpose of inspection. strive to ensure products and services are of
excellent quality throughout the process, rather than relying on inspection to highlight
faults or inefficiencies.
4. End business practices driven by price alone. May save money in the short-term, in
the long-term it is better to build relationships with specific suppliers that you can rely
on, ensuring a high quality of service.
5. Constantly improve system of production and service. Constantly evaluating and
ironing out creases in your processes, you can maximize productivity and minimize
waste of both time and money.
6. Institute training. Training is key to a successful business, and dedicated
development of your staff allows them to improve their efficiency and understanding of
how your business works.
7. Teach and institute leadership. managers should be able to supervise operations
effectively in order to ensure both employees and production lines work efficiently.
8. Drive out fear and create trust. Whether fear of failure, fear of reprisals or fear of
management, fear is unhelpful to the success of your business.
9. Optimize team and individual efforts. Break down barriers between departments and
hierarchies in order to ensure everyone in your business has a deeper understanding of
how each part of the company works
10. Eliminate exhortations for work force. If morale is low or targets are missed, it is
usually due to systemic issues rather than the fault of employees.
11. Eliminate numerical quotas and M.B.O. Focus on improvement.
12. Remove barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship. Employees should enjoy
their work and take satisfaction from a job well done.
13. Encourage education and self-improvement. Making training and self-development a
fundamental part of an employee’s job allows them to reach higher standards and
improves morale.
14. Take action to accomplish the transformation. recognize that improving your
business is the responsibility of everyone at the company, not just management’s, and
that your management can give each employee the stimulus to increase efficiency in
their individual areas.

4. Summarize the four components of Profound Knowledge. How do they mutually

support each other?
 Appreciation for a system
 Most organizational processes are cross-functional
 Parts of a system must work together
 Every system must have a purpose
 Management must optimize the system as a whole
 Understanding variation
 Many sources of uncontrollable variation exist in any process
 Excessive variation results in product failures, unhappy customers, and
unnecessary costs
 Statistical methods can be used to identify and quantify variation to help
understand it and lead to improvements
 Theory of knowledge
 Knowledge is not possible without theory
 Experience alone does not establish a theory, it only describes
 Theory shows cause-and-effect relationships that can be used for
prediction
 Psychology
 People are motivated intrinsically and extrinsically; intrinsic motivation is
the most powerful
 Fear is demotivating
 Managers should develop pride and joy in work

5. What is a system? Why is “systems thinking” important to quality management?

 -a system as a set of functions or activities within an organization that work
together for the aim of the organization. Systems thinking is critical in applying
quality principles because the organizational linkages among various functions of
an organization must be in alignment to meet the needs of customers and other
stakeholders.

6. Why is it important to understand variation from a statistical perspective?

-Because excessive variation results in products that fail or perform erratically and
inconsistent service that does not meet customers’ expectations and Statistical methods
are the primary tools used to identify and quantify variation.
7. Explain Juran’s Quality Trilogy.
 Quality planning, Quality control, and Quality improvement— which provided a
direction for quality assurance in organizations; and his specifications for a
detailed program for quality improvement, called the breakthrough sequence.

8. Summarize the breakthrough sequence that Juran advocated for quality

improvement.10. How is Juran’s philosophy similar to or different from Deming’s?
 -Proof of the Need
 Project Identification
 Organization for Breakthrough
 Diagnostic Journey
 Remedial Journey
 Holding the Gains

9. Explain the differences among quality principles, practices, and techniques.

-Principles are the foundation of the philosophy, practices are activities by which the
principles are implemented, and techniques are tools and approaches that help
managers and workers make the practices effective. All are vital for achieving high
quality and performance excellence.

10. List and briefly explain the eight principles of quality management.
 Customer Focus
 Researching and understanding customer needs and expectations.
 Ensuring a balanced approach between satisfying customers and other
interested parties (such as owners, employees, suppliers, financiers, local
communities and society as a whole).

 Leadership
 Inspiring, encouraging, and recognizing people’s contributions.
 Establishing a clear vision of the organization’s future.

 Involvement of People
 People actively seeking opportunities to enhance their competence,
knowledge, and experience.
 People freely sharing knowledge and experience.
 People openly discussing problems and issues.

 Process Approach
 Analyzing and measuring of the capability of key activities.
 Identifying the interfaces of key activities within and between the functions
of the organization.

 System Approach to Management

 Structuring a system to achieve the organization’s objectives in the most
effective and efficient way.
  Understanding the interdependencies between the processes of the
system.

 Continual Improvement
 Making continual improvement of products, processes, and systems an
objective for every individual in the organization.

 Factual Approach to Decision Making

 Making decisions and taking action based on factual analysis, balanced
with experience and intuition.

 Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationships

 Establishing relationships that balance short-term gains with long-term
considerations.

11. What is statistical thinking? Why is it important to managers and workers at all levels
of an organization? is a philosophy of learning based on principles of understanding that
all work occurs in a system of interconnected processes, variation exists in all
processes, and variation must be understood and reduced. It helps executives
understand the business system and its core processes, use data
from the entire organization to assess performance, develop useful measurement
systems, and encourage employees to
experiment to improve their work.