QUALITY DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTSLEARNING OUTCOMES To define quality from different perspectives

and generate our own definition of quality

To explore and describe various concepts of explaining quality

QUALITY DEFINITIONS Juran defined quality as “Product

performance that results in customer satisfaction and freedom from deficiencies and avoids customer dissatisfaction, in short fitness to use by the customer”

Deming defined quality as “A product or a service has or possess quality if it helps somebody and enjoys a good and sustainable market”

Crosby defined quality as “Complying with clear specifications and that management is responsible for establishing unequivocal or clear specifications”

CONTDN.. The Institute of Food Science and

Technology (IFST) defined quality as “The degree or standard of excellence or fitness for purpose”.

The American National Standard Institute (ANSI) defined quality as “The totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bears on its self the ability to satisfy given needs”.

The International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) defined quality as “The means of achieving sustained customer satisfaction through meeting customer needs and expectations within the organisational environment committed to continual improvement of efficiency and effectiveness”.

CONTDN.. Alabi, 2010 (Unpublished) defined quality

as “The ability to meet and exceed customer expectations”.

QUALITY CONCEPTSTHE ZIP MODEL by Van den berg & Delsing

(1999) Van den berg and Delsing used the Zip Model

to describe quality as the relationship between suppliers or organisations delivering products or services that comply with specific expectations of customers.

CONTDN...Expectations of quality fromCustomers provision of service/Product from Q organisations

or suppliers

CONTDN.. Organisations and suppliers must provide

products and services that meet their customers’ expectations. When the organisation provides services or products to meet the expectations of the customer, then it is said that quality has been achieved by having the two zips locking perfectly, the reverse is also true.

CRITIQUE OF THE MODEL The Zip Model have been criticised for lacking

the potential to innovate and not paying attention to the external environment.

Quality Viewpoints (Evans & Lindsey 1996)

According to Evans and Lindsey, the concept or understanding of quality is confusing. They therefore identified five different perspectives from which people view quality.

Judgemental Based View: From this perspective quality is seen as being synonymous to excellence or superiority. It is loosely related to the product characteristics and more of an image created by marketing. Example, Rolex watches, exotic bags and perfumes etc

CONTDN..Product Based View: From the product based

view, quality is seen as a function of a specific measurable variable so that differences in quality will be reflected in differences in the quantity of those specified variables. As a result quality is always mistakenly related to price, the higher the price the higher the quality.

User Based View: It involves the assumption that quality is determined by what the consumers want, in other words what customers see as being fit for its intended use, so that if a product or service is not fit for its purpose then it is not quality.

CONTDN.. Value Based View: This perspectives views

quality as the usefulness or satisfaction one derives from a product in relation to price. People with this view want to enjoy a product or service that meets their needs at comparable lower price, for them that is quality.

Manufacturing Based View: Manufacturers view quality as the desirable outcome of engineering practice. For them quality of a product is determined by its conformance to specifications.

QUALITY DIMENSIONSDimensions of product by Garvin (1984) Performance: The primary operating characteristics

of a product Features: The second operating characteristics of

additional properties Conformance: The degree to which physical and

performance characteristics of a product comply with pre-established standards.

Reliability: Is the probability of a product to survive over a specified period of time under stated condition of use.

Durability: The amount of use you get from a product before it physically deteriorates or needs repairs.

Aesthetics: It Is how a product looks, feels and sounds.

CONTDN.. Serviceability: The after sales relationship, for

example, speed and competency in repairs Perceived Image: It is the subjective

assessment of quality resulting from image, advertising or brand name

CONTDN..Dimensions for services, by Evans & Lindsey

(1996) Accuracy: The correct performance of the service Courtesy: The friendliness, politeness of

employees Completeness: The correctness of the delivery of

the service Timeliness: The completion of the service at the

agreed time Expertise and customisation of service

personnel: The ability of the service to be tailored to suit the customer’s unique demands.

CONTDN.. Responsiveness: Quick response of service

personnel to unexpected problems Accessibility & Convenience: Ease of obtaining

the service or information about the service. Time: The waiting time before the service was

delivered.

CONTDN..Dimensions of service by Parasuraman

(1988) Empathy: Putting yourself in the position of

others Assurance: confidence in the delivery of the

service Responsiveness: The ability to respond or deal

with an unexpected situation Reliability: whether the service can be

depended on or not Tangibles: The appearance of the building,

and the employees rendering the service.

INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC QUALITY ATTRIBUTES. VAN TRIJP ET AL (1996) & STEENKAMP (1989)

Intrinsic quality attributes are those attributes that directly linked to the product or service and are actually part of that product or service. They cannot be separated from the product or service. On the other hand, extrinsic attributes has to do with those attributes that are not directly linked to the product or service hence not part of that product or service.

CONTDN.. For example, a typical extrinsic attributes can

range from brand names, price, packaging etc whiles colour of food, nutrition, taste etc are intrinsic attributes. There have however been arguments whether some packaging can be intrinsic; an example is a pharmaceutical capsule. In such cases where the packaging serves as part of the product it is considered as intrinsic

THE EXPECTATIONS HIERARCHY

This concept explains the attributes that customers expect at different level of the hierarchy. The concept posits that customers’ expectations are in a hierarchy. These are

Before Purchase Appearance Features Aesthetics Perceived image

CONTDN..

At the point of purchase Price After Purchase Performance Reliability Durability Conformance

Quality Guidance Model by Van Trip & Steenkamp (1998)

This model posits that, perception about the quality of service or product delivered is formed based on what people have:

Heard Seen and Experienced All these three levels of perception inform

people’s expectations of the service or product the next time they want to purchase. So that, Perception of Quality (PQ) = Experience – Expectations