17-1 Define quality. For management and control purposes, define the two primary components of quality. 17-2 What are the reasons that the cost of poor quality reached an epidemic level before U.S. companies were motivated to do something about the problem in the 1980s? 17-3 What is TQM? At what point can a firm consider its effort to achieve total quality management complete? 17-4 What is the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the ISO 9000 certificate? Why do many firms in the United States seek them? 17-5 In what respect are traditional accounting systems deficient in terms of the goal of managing and controlling quality? 17-6 Why is continuous quality improvement kaizen essential to achieve TQM and critical to an organizations success and competitive position? 17-7 Describe the major elements of a comprehensive framework for managing and controlling quality, such as the framework presented in Exhibit 17.2 . 17-8 What are the purposes of conducting a quality audit? 17-9 What is meant by Six Sigma? What five steps are usually associated with Six Sigma applications? 17-10 What implementation guidelines can you offer for ensuring the success of a Six Sigma program?