CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

61. TQ requires _____ coordination between organizational units.

a. parallel

b. vertical

c. horizontal

d. complementary

62. The traditional way of viewing an organization is by surveying the _____ —by keeping an eye on an organization chart.

a. vertical dimension

b. horizontal dimension

c. number of employees

d. organizational culture

63. _____ refers to both incremental changes, which are small and gradual, and breakthrough, or large and rapid, improvements.

a. Quality circles

b. Process innovation

c. Continuous improvement

d. Quality leaps

64. Training and determining employee satisfaction are examples of:

a. human resources management practices.

b. data and information management.

c. strategy deployment.

d. leadership infrastructure.

65. In the context of total quality, an organization’s stakeholders include all of the following EXCEPT:

a. society.

b. customers.

c. suppliers.

d. competitors.

66. TQ practices can be classified into basic areas of management that are generic to any organization. Which of the following is NOT one of them?

a. Strategic planning and design of organizational and work systems

b. Customer engagement and knowledge acquisition

c. Advertising and public relations

d. Process management

67. Which of the following statement is INCORRECT about traditional management?

a. It associates quality only with manufacturing and engineering.

b. It views people as an interchangeable commodity.

c. It rewards individual performance rather than teamwork.

d. It views suppliers as partners.

Answer: d

AACSB: Reflective Thinking Skills

68. New management styles associated with total quality include all of the following characteristics EXCEPT:

a. empowering employees.

b. emphasizing postproduction inspection.

c. building quality into work processes.

d. understanding internal customer requirements.

69. According to the text, planning, execution of plans, assessment of progress, and revision of plans based upon assessment findings are the four stages in a _____.

a. quality circle

b. learning cycle

c. quality cycle

d. process improvement loop

70. Which of the following is defined as continually expanding its capacity to create its future?

a. Learning organization

b. Quality team

c. Reengineering group

d. Focus group

71. _____ is the learning that enhances our capacity to create.

a. Adaptive learning

b. Focused learning

c. Creative learning

d. Generative learning

72. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a strong competitive advantage?

a. It is driven by customer needs and wants.

b. It is soon copied by competitors.

c. It matches the organization’s unique resources with external opportunities.

d. It provides a basis for further improvement.

73. Studies conducted by PIMS researchers to examine the impact of product quality in the corporate scenario found that:

a. companies should reduce the number of products they manufacture in order to increase quality levels.

b. quality improvement leads to both short- and long-term profitability.

c. quality levels in the manufacturing sector exceeded quality levels in the service sector.

d. high quality products and services usually are the most profitable.

74. _____ denotes a firm’s ability to achieve market superiority.

a. Quality focus

b. Competitive advantage

c. Performance excellence

d. Customer focus

75. Which of the following is TRUE of the relationship between quality and profitability?

a. Improved quality of design leads to higher perceived value

b. Higher perceived value leads to increased market share

c. Higher prices leads to increased revenues

d. Improved quality of conformance leads to higher manufacturing costs

76. At the performer level, for each output of an individual’s job, the manager must ask all of the following EXCEPT:

a. What are the key inputs to the job?

b. What is required by the customer, both internal and external?

c. How can the requirements be measured?

d. What is the specific standard for each measure?

77. An organization that is committed to total quality must apply it at three levels. Which of the following is NOT one of them?

a. The organizational level

b. The process level

c. The customer level

d. The performer level

78. The standards such as accuracy, completeness, innovation, timeliness, and cost are the key focus at the:

a. organizational level.

b. performer/job level.

c. process level.

d. customer level.

79. At the organizational level, quality concerns center on:

a. meeting external customer requirements.

b. classifying organizational units as functions or departments.

c. standards for output based on quality and customer-service requirements.

d. organizing quality initiatives across various processes.

80. At the _____ level, organizational units are classified as functions or departments.

a. integrated

b. process

c. performer

d. organizational