1. Practice Problems: Chapter 6, Managing Quality
Problem 1:
The accounts receivable department has documented the following defects over a 30-day period:
Category
Frequency
Invoice amount does not agree with the check amount
108
Invoice not on record (not found)
24
No formal invoice issued
18
Check (payment) not received on time
30
Check not signed
8
Invoice number and invoice referenced do not agree
12
What techniques would you use and what conclusions can you draw about defects in the accounts
receivable department?
Problem 2:
Prepare a flow chart for purchasing a Big Mac at the drive-through window at McDonalds.
Problem 3:
Draw a fishbone chart detailing reasons why a part might not be correctly machined.
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2. ANSWERS:
Problem 1:
Category
Frequency
Percent
Invoice amount does not agree with the check amount
108
54
Invoice not on record (not found)
24
12
No formal invoice issued
18
9
Check (payment) not received on time
30
15
Check not signed
8
4
Invoice number and invoice referenced do not agree
12
6
200
100
=
Use a Pareto chart to organize the defects and conclude that the obvious problem (about half the
defects) is the failure of the check to agree with the company’s records as to the correct amount.
Other problems are late payments and an apparent invoice-filing problem in the office. Notice that
27% of these common errors appear to be the result of procedural problems within accounts
receivable (invoice not on record, no invoice issued, and invoice numbering problems). This value
could be considerably higher depending on how much of the problem of disagreement between
invoice and check amounts is the result of accounts receivable process problems.
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3. 3

4. Problem 2:
Distance
Symbol
Activity
--
Pull up to speaker
--
Press button
--
Wait for response
--
Verbalize order
--
Get confirmation of order and cost
20
Move car up in line
--
Wait
20
Move car up in line
--
Wait
--
Verify order and cost
--
Pay and receive order
--
Leave
--
Realize they forgot the extra catsup!
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5. Problem 3
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