Quality management
Why quality matters
- Quality = how well a product meets customers' needs.
- Good quality wins repeat custom, lets the firm charge more, protects the brand, and cuts waste/returns.
Managing quality
| Method | How it works |
|---|---|
| quality control | check finished products, remove faulty ones (at the end) |
| quality assurance | build quality into every stage (prevent faults) |
| total quality management (TQM) | every worker owns quality, aiming for zero faults |
| benchmarking | compare with the best firms and copy what they do well |
- Quality control finds faults late; assurance and TQM prevent them — usually cheaper long term.
Practice
Quality control means:
Quality control inspects at the end; quality assurance and TQM prevent faults earlier.
Practice
Total quality management (TQM) means:
TQM makes everyone responsible for quality, aiming for zero defects.
Practice
Benchmarking compares a firm's methods with the best firms and copies what they do well.
Benchmarking learns from the best performers to improve.
You've got it
Key idea
- quality = meeting customer needs → repeat custom, higher prices, less waste
- quality control (check at end) vs quality assurance/TQM (prevent at every stage)
- benchmarking copies the best firms' methods