Quality Control & Assurance (CIE IGCSE Business)

• Quality considers the characteristics and features of a product that satisfy the needs of customers
  • Businesses need to maintain a level of quality for several reasons
    • Attract and retain loyal customers
      
    • Build the reputation of the business or brand
    • Reduce wastage and returns from unsatisfied customers
      
      
• The quality of a businesses products can provide a  competitive advantage  
  
  • High quality and minimal defects lowers business costs allowing lower selling prices to better compete with rivals
  • High quality can be used in promotional activity and provide a unique selling point for businesses in competitive markets
  • Successfully developing a USP for quality can improve business reputation and ease expansion into new markets 
    
    
• If quality is not maintained then businesses may be at risk of
  • Losing their competitive advantage and customers to other brands who offer better quality goods/services
  • Experiencing higher costs due to having to replace faulty or defected goods
  • Gaining a poor reputation as customers spread poor reviews about the business to others
    
    
• Customer perceptions of quality are influenced by numerous factors

Diagram of Factors that Influence Quality Perception

The perception of quality is influenced by the brand, the product and the customer service

• Customers may consider products or services to be of good quality if they
  • Look good and are sold by a reputable business or brand
  • Are reliable and durable
  • Are safe and fit for purpose
  • Receive good customer service, including after-sales service
    
    
• In some countries laws protect consumers so businesses need to ensure that the products it sells are free of faults or defects to avoid harming customers or their reputation

• Quality control is a traditional method of checking quality at the end of the production process using quality inspectors to find faults
• It is not possible to achieve perfection in every production process
  • E.g. There will always be some variation in terms of materials used, production skills applied, reliability of the finished product

Evaluating Quality Control

Benefits	Drawbacks
Specialists in quality control check standards   Output is very likely to be fit for purpose before the customer receives it   Little staff training is needed as inspectors check quality rather than the employees themselves	Rejecting finished goods is a significant waste of resources   The cause of defects is ignored so problems may continue   High costs of scrapping or reworking products

• Quality assurance involves employees checking quality standards throughout the production process
• It aims to achieve quality by organising every process to get the product 'right first time' and prevent mistakes happening
  • There is an emphasis on 'self-checking' rather than checking by inspectors at the end of the process
     

• Total Quality Management (TQM) is a specific approach to quality assurance that aims to develop a quality culture throughout the firm

  • TQM is the continuous improvement of products and processes by focusing on quality at each and every stage of production
  • It tries to get it right first time and achieve ‘zero defects’
     

Evaluating Quality Assurance

Benefits	Drawbacks
Quality issues are identified early allowing reworking rather than rejection of substandard products The cause of defects is identified so future quality issues are prevented Fewer customer complaints maintain business reputation Improved worker motivation as workers have more ownership and recognition for their work	Staff training and a skilled workforce is required which  increases labour costs Reworking may lengthen the time period of production All workers must be fully committed to maintaining quality standards Focus on quality may reduce labour output