3 - Jacobs University

Audit data collected during the on-site evaluation can be divided according to four main categories:
physical evidence, sensory observation, comparisons and trends, and interviews and questioning
(Parsowith, 1995). Generally speaking recorded data could be qualitative or quantitative
as both types have their advantages. The main advantage of qualitative data is that it allows for
the in-depth study of selected issues without the necessity to fit data into certain predetermined
categories (Patton, 1987). On the other hand, quantitative data is very useful when great amounts
of data have to be processed. This type of evidence offers ”statistical aggregation of the data” and
”gives a broad, generalizable set of findings” (Patton, 1987, p. 9).
5.3 Reporting and Closure
The information gathered during the on-site evaluation is used as a basis for shaping an opinion
about supplier’s capability to meet the particular quality and commercial requirements of the
outsourcing organization. Once the on-site evaluation has come to an end, the audit team has to
prepare an official report based on the factual observations gathered during the audit. All identified
problems have to be supported with substantial evidence. The report should be submitted to the
supplier shortly after the completion of the on-site evaluation. Based on the report the auditing
organization may assign follow-up audits in order to revisit areas which need improvement. The
supplier, on the other hand, should prepare a corrective action plan which describes the measures
that will be taken to remove the observed problems together with the respective deadlines and perform
the necessary quality improvements. The important aspects of the discussion presented in
this section are summarized in Figure 11.
6 Empirical Data
The preceding sections treated the conceptual and general aspects of quality auditing. Section 4
elaborated on the broad context of this discussion and derived the consequences for quality auditing
resulting from the specifics of the automotive industry, while Section 5 presented in detail the
technical structure of the second-party quality audit. Now that the general framework has been
introduced, the remaining part of the paper deals with the analysis of Volkswagen specific empirical
data and concentrates on the research questions defined in Section 2. The aim of the current section
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