Crosby describes five erroneous assumptions about quality; select one and argue why it is an erroneous assumption

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Dr. Feigenbaum's definition of quality mentions the word intangible. By discussing five erroneous assumptions about quality, Crosby attempted to make quality more understandable and therefore, tangible. The first erroneous assumption, quality means goodness, or luxury, or shininess or weight, makes quality a relative term. Only when quality is defined in terms of customer requirements can quality be manageable. The second incorrect assumption about quality is that quality is intangible and therefore not measurable. If judged in terms of "goodness," then quality is intangible; however, quality is measurable by the costs of doing things wrong. More precisely, quality costs involve the cost of failures, rework, scrap, inspection, prevention, and loss of customer goodwill.

Closely related to the first two assumptions is the third, which states that there exists "an economics of quality.". Here again, one errs in thinking that quality means building luxuries into a product or service; rather, quality means that it is more economical to do things right the first time. Often workers are blamed for being the cause of quality problems. This is the fourth erroneous assumption about quality. Without the proper tools, equipment, raw materials, and training, workers cannot produce quality products or services. Management must ensure that the necessary items are available to allow workers to perform their jobs well. The final erroneous assumption that Crosby discusses is that quality originates in the quality department. According to Crosby, the quality department's responsibilities revolve around educating and assisting other departments in monitoring and improving quality.