Measuring & Identifying Quality Problems (AQA GCSE Business)
Revision Note
Measuring Quality
Businesses can measure how well they have met quality targets in a variety of ways
Common Measures of Quality
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In addition, factors such as customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and market share can provide useful indications of customer experiences and perceptions of quality
Customers satisfied with quality are less likely to make complaints and are more likely to give positive feedback in surveys
High quality can drive repeat purchases
Increased market share may demonstrate satisfaction with quality over that offered by rival products/services
Failure to meet quality expectations can cause a range of problems, including:
Recalling, replacing or refunding customers for faulty goods increases business costs
Unhappy customers are unlikely to purchase from the business in future, reducing revenue
Legal issues if poor quality issues cause harm to customers, affecting a businesses reputation
Increased waste as poor quality products need to be disposed-of
Identifying Quality Problems
Customer views on quality
Businesses can identify quality problems by finding out the views of customers
Customer satisfaction surveys or market research activities
Reviews of complaints received
Findings from online survey tools, such as Trustpilot
Mystery shopping
Some businesses use mystery shoppers to test and review aspects such as customer service, the appearance of business premises and product range
Their detailed feedback can be used to measure performance against quality targets
Quality assurance and control
Within a business, the approach to identifying quality problems falls into one of two categories
Quality control involves inspecting the quality of output at the end of the production process
Workers focus on maximising output
Products that do not meet standards are rejected before they are released for sale
Quality assurance involves inspecting the quality of production throughout the process
Workers check their own work and, sometimes, the work of others at various stages of production
Some business take a whole business approach to quality assurance with systems such as quality circles, benchmarking and Total Quality Management (TQM)
An Evaluation of Approaches to Quality Management
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Quality Control |
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Quality Assurance |
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Examiner Tip
Make sure that you can distinguish between quality control and quality assurance, as they are frequently the topic of multiple-choice questions.
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