4. Capítulo Metodología
5.2 Recomendaciones
5.2.1 Recomendaciones empresariales
R E V I E W Q U E S T I O N S
1. Review the meaning of the terms and concepts listed in Key Terms and Concepts. 2. What are the three factors that relate to meeting customer requirements?
3. How does the quality-based view differ from the traditional approach of managing quality by inspections?
4. The quality-based view focuses on higher long-run profits. Why? 5. What are the two costs of controlling quality?
6. What are the two costs of failing to control quality? C R I T I C A L A N A LY S I S A N D D I S C U S S I O N Q U E S T I O N S
7. How does service relate to the expectations of the customer?
8. Can you think of any products in which one or several of the elements of service, quality, and cost are not important to the customer? Explain.
9. Review the Managerial Application ‘‘Quality, Reputation, and Ethics.’’ Who bears the cost of the decisions made by management that allowed the tire tread separation problem to continue? 10. For goods or services that you see produced, what are three examples of a warning signal
and the related diagnostic signal you would use to identify quality problems? 11. How could control charts be used? Give two examples.
12. Why does just-in-time require total quality management? 13. Why is time important in a competitive environment?
14. Why would improvements in response time drive improvements in quality and productivity? Use a specific example.
15. Southwest Airlines has particularly emphasized the importance of on-time flight arrivals. Why?
16. Allegiance Insurance Company sends a questionnaire to policyholders who have filed a claim. The questionnaire asks these claimants whether they are satisfied with the way the claim has been handled. Why does Allegiance Insurance do this?
17. Students began evaluating college courses during the 1960s. Why do you think course evaluations were introduced?
18. Why might managers be more concerned about controlling costs than total quality man- agement initiatives?
E X E R C I S E S
Solutions to even-numbered exercises are at the end of the chapter after the problems.
19. Quality according to the customer. What are the three most important elements of service for each of the following products?
a. Bridal gown b. Refrigerator
c. English course at a university d. Cruise on a Princess ship
e. Freshly squeezed orange juice
20. Quality according to the customer. What are the three most important elements of service for each of the following products?
a. Cowboy boots b. Television
c. Meal in a fine restaurant
d. Student study guide for managerial accounting e. Dishwasher
21. Quality according to the customer. What are the three most important elements of service for each of the following products?
a. Personal calculator b. MP3 player
c. Money market account d. Taxicab ride through New York
e. Sewing machine
22. Costs of quality. Cool Corporation manufactures freezers. The following table presents financial information for two years.
Year 1 Year 2 Sales... $2,450,000 $2,200,000 Quality Costs:
Quality training... 16,500 18,800 Scrap... 18,500 19,300 Production process design... 198,000 130,000 Repair of returned goods... 43,000 48,000 Rework (goods spoiled during production)... 170,000 185,000 Preventive maintenance... 135,000 95,000 Materials inspection... 65,000 48,000 Finished product testing... 94,000 124,000 a. Classify the above costs into prevention, appraisal, internal failure, or external failure costs. b. Calculate the percentage of each prevention, appraisal, internal failure, and external
failure cost to sales for Year 1 and Year 2.
23. Costs of quality. Scan It Company manufactures computer scanners. The following table presents financial information for two years.
Year 1 Year 2 Sales... $2,000,000 $1,800,000 Quality Costs:
Scrap... 15,000 16,000 Repair of returned goods... 35,000 40,000 Dealing with customer complaints... 23,000 28,000 Rework (goods spoiled during production)... 150,000 150,000 Materials inspection... 55,000 40,000 a. Classify the above items into prevention, appraisal, internal failure, or external failure
costs.
b. Calculate the percentage of each prevention, appraisal, internal failure, and external failure cost to sales for Year 1 and Year 2.
24. Costs of quality. Hien Corporation manufactures copy machines. The following table presents financial information for two years.
Year 1 Year 2 Sales... $3,920,000 $3,520,000 Quality Costs:
Scrap... 28,800 30,100 Warranty repairs... 70,000 75,000 Rework (goods spoiled during production)... 272,000 195,000 Preventive maintenance... 220,000 152,000 Materials inspection... 105,000 75,000 Product testing... 150,000 200,000 a. Classify the above items into prevention, appraisal, internal failure, or external failure
costs.
b. Calculate the percentage of each prevention, appraisal, internal failure, and external failure cost to sales for Year 1 and Year 2.
25. Reporting costs of quality. Using the data in exercise 22, prepare a cost of quality report for Year 1 and Year 2.
26. Cost of quality report. Using the data in exercise 23, construct a cost of quality report for Year 1 and Year 2.
27. Cost of quality report. Using the data in exercise 24, construct a cost of quality report for Year 1 and Year 2.
28. Quality versus costs. Assume Clearly Canadian has discovered a problem involving the mix of flavor to the seltzer water that costs the company $3,000 in waste and $2,500 in lost business per period. There are two alternative solutions. The first is to lease a new mix regulator at a cost of $4,000 per period. The new regulator would save Clearly Canadian $2,000 in waste and $2,000 in lost business. The second alternative is to hire an additional employee to manually monitor the existing regulator at a cost of $2,500 per period. This would save Clearly Canadian $1,500 in waste and $800 in lost business per period.
Which alternative should Clearly Canadian choose?
29. Quality versus costs. Susan Scott has discovered a problem involving the mix of lye to the dry concrete mix that costs the company $20,000 in waste and $14,000 in lost business per period. There are two alternative solutions. The first is to lease a new mix regulator at a cost of $14,000 per period. The new regulator would save Susan $14,000 in waste and $8,000 in lost business. The second alternative is to hire an additional employee to manually monitor the existing regulator at a cost of $12,000 per period. This would save Susan $10,000 in waste and $8,000 in lost business per period.
Which alternative should Susan choose?
30. Quality versus costs. Almaden Bicycles has discovered a problem involving the welding of bicycle frames that costs the company $3,000 in waste and $1,500 in lost business per period. There are two alternative solutions. The first is to lease a new automated welder at a cost of $3,500 per period. The new welder would save Almaden $1,500 in waste and $1,000 in lost business. The second alternative is to hire an additional employee to manually weld the frames at a cost of $3,000 per period. This would save Almaden $2,500 in waste and $1,000 in lost business per period.
Which alternative should Almaden choose?
31. Break-even time. Domer Company’s research and development department is presenting a proposal for new-product research. The new product will require research, development, and design investments of $500,000 (discounted cash flow). Sales will begin after two years and will generate an annual discounted net cash flow of $200,000 starting in year three.
Calculate the break-even time for the new product. P R O B L E M S
32. Alternative views about quality. Here are several comments that relate to either the quality-based view or the traditional view of quality.
1. We have high standards and we expect our people to meet them. We do not expect people to improve beyond those standards.
2. We must make product inspections to assure quality. 3. We design quality into our dishwashers from the beginning.
4. Customers would never pay enough to justify a high-quality service. 5. We should be prepared to fix any problems.
6. If you don’t like our service, tell us. If you do, tell others.
7. In the purchasing department, we are expected to get the lowest cost materials. 8. I know that we could get better people, but that would cost a lot more money. 9. It’s simply a fact of life in the airline industry that baggage takes 15 minutes to be
delivered to baggage claim.
10. We don’t make much profit on the sale of new cars, but we make up for that by doing a lot of service business when customers bring them back for repairs.
a. Indicate whether each statement best describes the quality-based view or the traditional view of quality.
b. Indicate what each statement would say if it related to the opposite view of quality. For example, if the statement relates to the quality-based view, then give a statement that would reflect the traditional view of quality.
33. Alternative views about quality. Here are several comments that relate to either the quality-based view or the traditional view of quality.
1. Most of our staff accountants don’t stay with us long enough so that we can trust their work. 2. You get what you pay for. If you buy high-quality computer equipment, you will have
fewer breakdowns and less time lost on the job.
3. There is no reason to buy high-quality appliances for our house because we plan to sell it in five years.
4. I shop only where I trust the people who sell me stuff.
5. We have always done (name the activity) this way. There is no point in changing now. 6. High quality comes with high costs.
7. I know that providing high-quality services pays off in the long run, but if I spend more than my budget, I won’t be around here in the long run.
8. We spend 20 percent of our total product costs on rework. We must find a way to improve the quality of our production processes.
9. Training costs a lot of money. We can’t afford to provide a lot of training only to have employees quit.
a. Indicate whether each statement best describes the quality-based view or the traditional view of quality.
b. Indicate what each statement would say if it related to the opposite view of quality. For example, if the statement relates to the quality-based view, then give a statement that would reflect the traditional view of quality.
34. Quality improvement. Custom Frames makes bicycle frames in two processes, tubing and welding. The tubing process has a capacity of 50,000 units per year; welding has a capacity of 75,000 units per year. Cost information follows:
Design of product and process costs... $110,000 Inspection and testing costs... 42,500 Scrap costs (all in the tubing dept.)... 175,000
Demand is very strong. Custom Frames can sell whatever output it can produce for the market price of $50 per frame.
Custom Frames can start only 50,000 units into production in the tubing department because of capacity constraints on the tubing machines. The company scraps all defective units produced in the tubing department. Of the 50,000 units started in the tubing operation, 5,000 units (10 percent) are scrapped at the end of the production process. Scrap costs, based on total (fixed and variable) manufacturing costs incurred in the tubing operation, equal $35 per unit as follows:
Direct materials (variable)... $18 Direct manufacturing, setup, and materials handling labor (variable)... 7 Depreciation, rent, and other overhead (fixed)... 10
$35
The ‘‘$10 fixed cost’’ is the portion of the total fixed costs of $500,000 allocated to each unit, whether good or defective.
The good units from the tubing department are sent to the welding department. Variable manufacturing costs in the welding department are $3.50 per unit. There is no scrap in the welding department. Therefore, Custom Frame’s total sales quantity equals the tubing department’s output. Custom Frames incurs no other variable costs.
Custom Frame’s designers have discovered that using a different type of material in the tubing operation would reduce scrap to zero, but it would increase the variable costs per unit in the tubing department by $2.00. Recall that only 50,000 units can be started each year. a. What is the additional direct materials cost of implementing the new method? b. What is the additional benefit to Custom Frames from using the new material and
improving quality?
c. Should Custom Frames use the new materials?
d. What other nonfinancial and qualitative factors should Custom Frames consider in making the decision?
35. Quality improvement. Chen Products makes cases for portable music players in two processes, cutting and sewing. The cutting process has a capacity of 100,000 units per year; sewing has a capacity of 200,000 units per year. Costs of quality information follow: Design of product and process costs... $100,000 Inspection and testing costs... 50,000 Scrap costs (all in the cutting dept.) ... 155,000
Demand is very strong. At a sales price of $20 per case, the company can sell whatever output it can produce.
Chen Products can start only 100,000 units into production in the cutting department because of capacity constraints. All defective units produced in the cutting department are scrapped. Of the 100,000 units started in the cutting operation, 15,000 units are scrapped. Units are not discovered to be defective until the end of the production in the cutting department. Unit costs, based on total (fixed and variable) manufacturing costs incurred through the cutting operation, equal $11 as follows:
Direct materials (variable) ... $5 Direct manufacturing, setup, and materials handling labor (variable) ... 2 Depreciation, rent, and other overhead (fixed)... 4 $11
The fixed cost of $4 per unit is the allocated fixed costs of the department to each unit, whether good or defective. The total fixed costs in the cutting department are $400,000. The good units from the cutting department are sent to the sewing department. Variable manufacturing costs in the sewing department are $2 per unit. There is no scrap in the sewing department. Therefore, the company’s total sales quantity equals the sewing department’s good output. The company incurs no other variable costs.
The company’s designers have discovered that adding a different type of material to the existing direct materials would reduce scrap to zero, but it would increase the variable costs per unit in the cutting department by $1.20. Recall that only 100,000 units can be started each year. a. What is the additional direct materials cost of implementing the new method? b. What is the additional benefit to the company from using the new material and
improving quality?
c. Should Chen Products use the new materials?
d. What other nonfinancial and qualitative factors should management of Chen Products consider in making the decision?
36. Recalling products to provide good service to customers. Automobile companies, drug manufacturers, and others have frequently attempted to recall and replace defective products before they reached the customers. The best example we have seen of recalling products to provide good service to customers was that of a newspaper publisher in a community in Kansas. Shortly after the papers were delivered to people’s homes, they were soaked by a sudden unexpected downpour as they lay on porches, sidewalks, and lawns. So the publisher ordered the entire press run of 100,000 newspapers to be repeated and delivered. Why? He was attempting to provide a high level of service to readers and advertisers.
What are the costs and benefits to the newspaper of making this ‘‘product recall’’? Was this an ethical issue?
37. Total quality management. Individually or as a group, interview the manager of a fast-food restaurant. Ask the manager how quality of service is measured and used to evaluate the manager’s performance. Write a report to your instructor summarizing the results of your interview.
38. Quality control. Eastsound operates daily round-trip flights between two cities using a fleet of three planes: the Viper, the Tiger, and the Eagle.
The budgeted quantity of fuel for each round trip is the average fuel usage, which over the past 12 months has been 150 gallons. Eastsound has set the upper control limit at 180 gallons and the lower control limit at 130 gallons. The operations manager received the following report for round-trip fuel usage for the period by the three planes.
Trip Viper Tiger Eagle
1 156 155 146 2 141 141 156 3 146 144 167 4 152 161 156 5 156 138 183 6 161 170 177 7 167 149 189 8 186 159 171 9 173 152 176 10 179 140 185
a. Create quality control charts for round-trip fuel usage for each of the three planes for the period. What inferences can you draw from them?
b. Some managers propose that Eastsound present its quality control charts in monetary terms rather than in physical quantities (gallons). What are the advantages and disadvantages of using monetary fuel costs rather than gallons in the quality control charts?
39. Break-even time. Princeton Corporation’s research and development department is pre- senting a proposal for new product research. The new product will require research, development, and design investments of $6 million (discounted cash flow). Sales will begin after four years and will generate an annual discounted net cash flow of $1.5 million starting in year three.
a. Calculate the break-even time for the new product.
b. What can Princeton Corporation do to reduce break-even time?
40. Break-even time, working backward. Tennessee Instruments is considering manufacturing the S-Card, a new type of sound card for personal computers. The new product development committee will not approve a new-product proposal if it has a break-even time of more than four years. If the project is approved, the investments to make the S-Card will begin on January 1, Year 1. The projected sales for the S-Card are $5 million each year for Years 1 through 4. The costs of manufacturing, distribution, marketing, and customer service are expected to be $3 million each year.
Assume that all cash flow numbers are discounted cash flows.
a. What is the maximum cash investment that the new product development committee will agree to fund for the S-Card project?
b. Why might Tennessee specify a policy not to fund new product proposals with an estimated breakeven of more than four years?
41. Firestone blows it. Using library and Web resources, research and write a report about how Firestone (now part of Bridgestone) has dealt with the quality problems that led to tire separation. Include anything you find about how Firestone/Bridgestone has changed its
management decision-making process so that it can better deal with similar problems in the future.
42. Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol recall. Business ethicists give Johnson & Johnson high marks for the way it dealt with potential quality problems for Tylenol in the early 1980s. (These problems led to the difficult-to-remove caps on analgesic products.) Using library and Web resources, research and write a report about how Johnson & Johnson dealt with the problem. Indicate whether you think Johnson & Johnson would handle a similar problem in the same manner today.
43. Customer response time. American Bikes manufactures custom motorcycle racing equip- ment and parts. The company engages in the following activities (not in sequence): a. shipping product to the customer
b. processing mail-in orders c. queuing orders to be shipped
d. sending each order to the appropriate production department at the end of each day e. on-site salespeople calling in orders at the end of each day
f. shipping parts
g. quality inspection during production h. cataloging orders taken over the phone
i. production department ordering special materials for ordered parts j. queuing orders in the production department
k. setup of machinery to produce part according to specifications l. production of a part
m. on-site sales to retail motorcycle shops
n. classifying orders according to process required for production o. quality inspection after production
p. sending a part to the shipping department q. staffing on-site booths for taking orders at races
r. holding parts until completion of other parts in the order
Categorize these activities according to the elements of customer response time shown in Exhibit 4.8. Write a short report to management detailing what you think could be done to reduce customer response time.
44. Balanced scorecard. A business executive says, ‘‘The financial perspective of the balanced scorecard indicates how the organization adds value to shareholders. I am involved with two organizations: a small business that is a partnership, so it has no shareholders, and a church that has no shareholders. While the balanced scorecard makes a lot of sense to me, the financial perspective is clearly irrelevant for these two organizations.’’ How would you respond to this statement?
45. Balanced scorecard. John Donelan, the managing partner of the Dublin office of Donelan Consulting, saw the following diagram while visiting one of his clients, who owns a small manufacturing company.