1.

What is quality?

We deal with the issue of quality in our daily lives. While grocery shopping, eating in a restaurant and
making a major purchase such as an automobile or a phone or any gadget we concern ourselves with quality.
Quality is a major factor by which people make distinctions in buying or selecting goods. Although there is no
universally accepted definition of quality, enough similarity does exist among the definitions that common elements
can be extracted:

Quality involves meeting or exceeding customer expectations.

Quality applies to products, services, people, precesses and environments.

Quality is an ever changing state.

With these common elements extracted, the following definition of quality can be set forth:
Quality is a dynamic state associated with products, services, people, processes and environments that meets or
exceeds expectations and helps produce superior quality.
There are so many other definitions of quality which were defined by different people and organizations:

2.

Fred Smith, CEO of Federal Express, defines quality as performance to the standard expected by the
customer.

The General Services Administration (GSA) defines quality as meeting the customers needs the first time
and every time.

Boeing defines quality as providing our customers with products and services that consistently meet their
needs and expectations.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) defines quality asdoing the right thing right the first time, always
striving for improvement, and always satisfying the customer.

What is TQM?

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a comprehensive and structured approach to organizational

management that seeks to improve the quality of products and services through ongoing refinements in response to
continuous feedback.

TQM also describes a management approach to long-term success through customer satisfaction, In a TQM effort,
all members of an organization participate in improving processes, products, services and the culture in which they
work.
The total quality approach characteristics are as follows

3.

based on strategic

focus on customer

quality obsession

decision making and problem solving by scientific approach

commitment for long term

working in teams

improvement of people, processes, products, services and environments continuously

training and education

freedom through control

unity of purpose

involvement and empowerment of employee

peak performance as a top priority

How can we achieve organizational excellence with quality?

Organizations survive and thrive in a globally competitive marketplace by providing superior value to
customers. Achieving organizational excellence is about developing the ability to consistently provide superior value
to customers over the long term. The three basic elects of superior value are superior quality, superior cost and
superior service. To achieve organizational excellence the performance level required for long run success in a
global environment should consistently give superior value to customers. Quality is any way one of the key elements
in giving superior value. where total quality is even more than that. Total quality is a wide approach that
encompasses all three of the elements of superior value. Improving the quality of products, processes, services and
costs continuously is what total quality is all about. Therefore it is called as total quality. Organizations that apply
the total quality approach to management effectively have more chances to achieve organizational excellence.

4.

What is the Deming cycle?

Of the various quality pioneers in the United States, the best known is W. Edwards Deming. Demings
contributions to the quality management would be difficult to express. He is considered as the founder of moment.
He was most famous for Deming cycle, Fourteen points and seven deadly diseases.
The Deming Cycle:
To link the production of a product with consumer needs and focus the resources of all departments to meet those
needs the Deming cycle was developed.
The following are the features of Deming cycle

5.

conduct research on consumer and use it in the product planning

production of the product

verify the product to confirm that it was produced according to the plan

marketing the product

analyze whether the product reached the market place in terms of quality, cost and other factors.

What are the most common errors when starting quality initiatives?

The most common errors are as follows:

6.

If an organization is serious about quality, its efforts cannot be confined to a few people with formal people
with responsibilities. For quality initiatives to succeed, they must become a part of organizations DNA.

The extent to which employees incorporated quality principles and tools into their daily decision making.

The effectiveness with which employees were trained and provided quality related skills.

The effectiveness with which the organization recognized and rewarded people for applying quality
principles and extent to which top leadership embraced quality principles

To make sure that the employees are treated in the best way so that they would love to work in an
organization for the next few years.

Quality measures should be taken at the utmost care as the customer satisfaction is the primary motive of
the organization.

Explain the cost of poor quality .

Most of the business executives follow the feeling that maintaining quality is an important thing to do until
there is some problem and cost reduction is required. During tough times, quality is the first factor that will be
affected. Few things affect an organizations ability to compete in the global market. When an organization does what
is necessary to improve its performance by reducing deficiencies in key areas, it can reduce overall cost without
eliminating essential services and functions. Reducing costs associated with poor qualities is mandatory for
companies that want to compete in the global market. Once activities have been identified that exist only because of
poor quality. The following steps are used to measure the poor quality:

7.

identify all activities that exist only because of poor quality

deciding the estimation of costs of these activities

collecting the data of the activities and estimating the costs

analyzing the results and taking necessary actions the proper order of priority

What are the quality characteristics of world-class organizations?

There is a saying that only world class organizations can compete in the global market. American
management association (AMA) confuted a global survey. according to that survey a world class organization
should have the characteristics :

customer service

control of quality and assurance

development and research

acquirement of new technologies

innovation

team based approach

best practices

manpower planning

environmentally sound practices

business partnership and alliances

reengineering of processes

mergers and acquisitions

outsourcing and contracting

reliance on consulting services

political lobbying.

In addition to the above characteristics, the AMA survey found that respondents were also bothered about various
human resources topics. they are a follows :

worker productivity

employee training and development

open communication between management and employees

employee benefits and perquisites

codes of workplace conduct

conflict resolution

8.

employee satisfaction

flextime arrangements

management-employee-relations

child care

Responsibility and total quality .

A part of ethical behavior is accepting responsibility. This is very important in modern workplace as the
employees come from a society that as a rule shuns responsibility. This is the reason why ours has become a litigious
society. People always blame others for their shortcomings and failures. Students graduating from high school
unable to read and immediately file lawsuits against the school board as if they had no part in their own failure, a
burglar after robbing a house trips on a skate board sues the home owner and wins. Modern society has evolved such
that it focuses on rights but ignores the responsibilities that must accompany those rights. Blaming others has
become so common these days. Employees always refer to their employer as they rather than we. Employees
should feel their employer as one of them. For example if we go to a fat food restaurant or a retail store and
complain to a sales clerk he always passes the blame on to some other person. This is very unethical. In a total
quality setting, people are always responsible for their actions and accountable for their deeds. Taking and accepting
responsibility helps us boost trust, integrity and other elements of ethics that are very important in a total quality
environment.

9.

Discuss some models for ethical quality decisions.

The models for ethical quality discussions are as follows:

Categorical imperative model: This method is also known as black and white model. According to this
model there are no gray areas where right is right and wrong is wrong.

Full disclosure model: This model deals whether the organization can explain its actions to satisfy wide
range of stake holders. This method has the advantage of applying the values of stakeholders in deciding
what is ethical.

Doctrine of the mean model: Mean is the average or middle point between the two extremes. According to
this model in any situation the middle region option will be an ethical option. This model also suggests that
moderation is ethical.

Golden rule model: According to this model the golden rule is Do unto others as you would have them do
unto you. This is one of the most famous models of western society. Similar to full disclosure model it
also takes the views of stakeholders in deciding what is ethical.

Market-ethic model: This model follows the belief that any legal action that promotes profitability is
ethical. The main aim of this model is to make profit. According to this model what is ethical is decided
based on profit and loss. According to this model in the long run the market will not approve unethical
behavior making it there by unprofitable.

Organizational ethic model: This model depends on loyalty towards the organization. Its principle is that
the one that serves best the organizations interests in the most ethical decision. Until and unless an
organization will adopt a set of principles that will ensure ethical behavior this model is difficult to defend.

Equal freedom model: The principle of this model is that the organizations will have the freedom to behave
however they want unless their actions infringe the rights of stakeholders. This model is more confines than
it appears at the first glance.

Proportionality ethic model: This model depends on the assumption that the world is so complex that
decisions are often right or wrong. Therefore the best thing an organization can do is to make sure that the
good is always in upper hand than bad when making decisions.

Professional ethic model: According to this model a decision is ethical if it can be explained to the approval
of a high number of professional peers. Professions that are confined to this model mostly adopt a
professional code of ethics.

10. What is the engineering managers role in quality ethics?

Managers role is to make ethical decisions. Deciding what is ethical is very easy than doing what is ethical.
Managers and professionals in organizations are responsible for following ethics. They are responsible for
establishing high ethical standards and actin immediately when they observe unethical behavior. Following are the
three approaches managers can use in carrying out these responsibilities:

Best ratio approach: This method is based on the the people behave ethically under right circumstances and
unethically when the circumstances are not good. Therefore managers job is to create good circumstances
and try to maintain the best possible ratio of good to bad choices. This approach is sometimes called
situational ethics.

Black and white approach: With this approach conditions are irrelevant, right is right and wrong is wrong.
The mangers task is to make ethical decisions and carry them out. When difficult decisions must be made,
managers hold be fair and do the right thing without concern for short term circumstances.

Ful potential approach: With this method the decisions that are made are based on how they effect the
ability of those involved to achieve their full potential. The values of organization and manager will
determine which approach is used

1. INTEL takes on car hacking, Founds Auto Security Review Board

Hacking is no longer limited to computers and online data; Hi-Tech cars are now falling prey to hacking and led
INTEL found a new Automotive Security Review Board (ASRB). To get a better understanding of hacking
automobiles two security researchers demonstrated how attackers could take control of a 2014 Jeep Cherokee's
braking, steering and transmission control system and these have increased concerns and made it obvious to address
this issue. INTEL's researchers would perform security tests and audits to figure out best practices for advanced
cyber- security for the auto industry stated a press release. INTEL also says that with the cars connected to mobile
networks and Wi-Fi, the attack surface is now substantially broader. A report released by Senator Edward Markey
(D-MA) in February, based on input from 16 major automakers, revealed that 100% of new cars have wireless
technologies. Craig Hurst, director of strategic planning and product management at Intel Transportation Solutions
Divisions Internet of Things Group says holistic approach is needed; automotive security must be approached from
system level prospective. Solution to car hacking must be addressed by taking into consideration the institutional
processes from a cyber-risk standpoint and should be an ongoing process.
2. Toyota Launches Hydrogen-Fueled Sedan
Toyota with the vision statement "To be the most successful and respected car company in America" has now
launched Mirai hydrogen-fueled sedan. These would be the successors of gas-electric powertrain, plug-in hybrids
and full-electric vehicles. The region's new CEO, Johan van Zyl, told reporters on the sidelines of the Frankfurt auto
show that "It's not a question of if, it's a question of when," hydrogen technology will go mainstream.
Sales of Mirai is mainly being concentrated in Britain, Germany, Denmark and Belgium where Toyota is working
on getting in hydrogen pumping stations with local partners, expecting sales between 50 and 100 this year. The
customers mainly are companies and governments looking to reduce their carbon emission said Toyota Europe sales
Chief Karl Schlicht.
3. Us Bottled water sales could surpass Soda by 2017
The steady increase in consumption of bottled water indicates mainly cites that people are being more health
conscious; this resulted in reduced sales of sodas drastically. However Coca-Cola and PepsiCo combined to control
about one fifth of the bottled water market increasing their resources for these products, but soda sales doubled those
of water in 2014 despite the narrow gap in consumption. Nestle another giant in beverage companies in USA outsold
Snapple group from Dr Peppers soft drink offerings. Amongst all these, new, higher end water companies hope to
take more advantage of this situation for themselves.