„‚ CONDITIONS THAT HINDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

work in both areas, and separating products from their service components is seldom
easy. Common definitions of quality include the following elements (Smith, 1995a):
1. Conformance to standards represents the degree to which a service or product
complies with a predetermined set of standards. Examples could be a specific
numeric standard, such as “Three or Four Sigma” or “zero defects.” A
descriptive standard could be a customer’s definition of “high quality.”
Standards may originate with the developer, supplier, or vendor or be a one-of-akind
prototype.
2. Timeliness means that the customer does not have to wait for goods or services.
3. Fitness for use could either imply (in descriptive terms) or specify (in numeric
terms) a product’s or service’s convenience, availability, or durability.
4. Value in the marketplace is a bottom-line standard for acceptance. Customers
and competitors are the ultimate judges of value or overall usefulness.
5. Quality is also based on perceptions and expectations, as “in the eye of the
beholder” implies. Customers define quality by value, cost, and by their own
gradually increasing standards for quality and service.
Standards
Standards for quality may be outlined in key-result areas and also specified in mission or
vision statements. They may also be incorporated into the strategic plans of the
organization.
A common numeric term used to express quality standards is the number of defects
or errors per total number of units produced, like one defect per hundred thousand units.
Motorola’s Six Sigma, or three errors per million, is a longstanding, well-known
standard. The Six Sigma level is one way to express literally hundreds of elements of
vital numeric and descriptive information in the entire flow of a manufacturing process
(Smith, 1996).
Numeric end-result or output variables used to represent standards are relatively
easy to understand and communicate to others. Using numbers to make comparisons
over varying period of time, like months or years, is standard operating procedure.
For instance, customer satisfaction is measured in percentage points: 98- or 99- or
100-percent satisfaction The type of industry often dictates the type of quality measure.
Service industries usually relate to customer or end-user satisfaction. Product-based
industries often use ratios of scrap or waste or damaged units to total number of units
produced.
Once people understand quality and what it means in terms of their jobs, they can
gradually develop expectations and standards for quality in their work. These same
expectations and standards extend to the work of others and to the overall quality of
services and products. Quality cannot be judged without uniform baselines or realistic,
carefully developed standards. Increasingly, standards are set by discerning, demanding
customers.
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The Pfeiffer Library Volume 6, 2nd Edition. Copyright ©1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer