Week 12 – Unit 16: Quality
• Quote of the Week
– Quality is the elimination of variation. - W.E.
Deming (1900 - 1993), American quality expert
Week 12 – Unit 16: Quality
• Definitions of Quality
– http://dict.die.net/quality/
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality
Week 12 – Unit 16: Quality
• Discussion - Starting Up
– Discuss different ways of measuring quality
» Exercise A
» Exercise B
» Exercise C
Week 12 – Unit 16: Quality
• Discussion – Additional Resources
– Dell Computers
• http://www.dell.com/
– Information about customer support for its online customers
» http://support.euro.dell.com/uk/en/
– An article in the Fast Company magazine archive, How Dell
Sells on the Web, which looks at how Dell has built up its
relationship with its online customers by offering new levels of
service
» http://www.fastcompany.com/online/17/dellsell.html
Week 12 – Unit 16: Quality
• Language Review – Vocabulary: Quality control
& customer service
– Words for talking about quality control & customer
services
» Exercise A
» Exercise B
– Problems
– Quality control
– Customer service
» Exercise C
Week 12 – Unit 16: Quality
• Texts - Reading: Reading: Defining quality
– "New-style quality"
» Exercise A & B
» Exercise C & D
» Exercise E
– Profit margins
– Balance sheets
– Stock control
» Exercise F, G & H
Week 12 – Unit 16: Quality
• Language Review - Prepositions of time
• At is use with clock times, feast days, and certain
periods of time.
• On is used with days and dates.
• In is used for longer periods.
• By is associated with a deadline.
• For refers to a period of time
• During can be used instead of in with periods of the
day, months, seasons, years, decades, and centuries.
• Since is used if we say when something started in
relation to the present
Week 10 – Unit 14: Leadership
• Texts – Listening
– Two interviews about defective products
• Enid Wong, a business executive based in Hong Kong
• Lisa Soares, an Argentine student studying for an MBA in
London
»
»
»
»
Exercise A, 16.1
Exercise B, Enid Wong, 16.2
Exercise C
Exercise D, Lisa Soares, 16.3
Week 12 – Unit 16: Quality
• Skills - Telephone complaints
• Skills - Useful language
– Complaining
•
•
•
•
Making the complaint
Explaining the problem
Insisting
Threatening
– Dealing with complaints
•
•
•
•
Showing understanding
Getting the facts
Making excuses
Promising action
» Exercise A & B
Week 12 – Unit 16: Quality
• Texts - Additional Reading
– Fast Company online magazine deals with
issues of the new economy and workplace
• http://www.fastcompany.com/homepage/
– A list of articles on customer service
» http://www.fastcompany.com/online/resources/custser
v.html
– An interesting interview, Four who know how, in which
four leaders from different fields give their answers to a
key customer service question
» http://www.fastcompany.com/online/11/fourknow.htm
l
Week 12 – Unit 16: Quality
• Texts - Additional Reading
– The Lycos Small Business guide to Sales and
Marketing
• http://www.lycos.com/business/sales.html
– Good basic introduction to issues of total quality
management, TQM
» http://www.lycos.com/business/cch/guidebook.html?l
pv=1&docNumber=P03_9000
Week 12 – Unit 16: Quality
• Case Study - Western Airport
– Work out an action plan following complaints from
passengers
• Task 1
–
–
–
–
Action for improving customer service
The Customer Relations Dept. of WAA
A major airline
Airfare
• Task 2
– Telephone calls about the plans for improvement
– The Manager of the Customer Relations Dept.
– A dissatisfied customer
Week 12 – Unit 16: Quality
• Case Study - Additional Case Study
– The Marketing Council's innovation page
• http://www.innovation.org.uk/library/casestudies/ex
pert/index.html
– A useful case history of Guinness's initiatives aimed at
changing the way it relates to its customers
» http://www.innovation.org.uk/library/casestudies/expe
rt/guinness.html
Week 12 – Unit 16: Quality
• Case Study - Writing: memo
– Memo to General Manager about the decisions
for improving service at the airport