In this essay I will be explaining the different concepts of quality, which are established by different institutes and people. I will then compare these concepts and give my view on each of them. In the second part of this essay I will be looking at areas of commonality and difference between 'quality of product manufacture' and 'quality in service'.

Quality is difficult to define but what is sure is that we all know when it is achieved and when it is not. This assessment of quality is subjective and it can vary from different perceptions of individuals. It is the perception of the individual, by what influences his experience and what he thinks.

Overall, the word quality can mean different things to different people. For example, the first car that I bought appeared to me to be of superior quality, even though it was thirteen years old, had many rust patches and the ro

One main difference between quality in product manufacture and quality in service delivery is that products are tangible and services are not. So therefore when manufacturing a product, a firm will have to make sure that there are no defects on the product and that the product is conformed to requirement. This is because if there are any defects on the product, then consumers have a right to complain with tangible evidence (the product). On the other hand, services are intangible; there is usually little or no tangible evidence to show once a service has been performed. For example, when a mortgage adviser has given his proposition to a consumer, later the consumer will have little or no evidence of the service delivery to prove how good or bad it was. So consequently, from one perspective, service organisations can afford to make mistakes and not get blamed for them, although it can lead to a bad corporate image and serious damages, such as in health care situations. Overall, quality in a product will be evident but quality in service delivery does not always have to be evident due to the fact that services can be intangible.

"A product is any goods other than land, bridges or buildings and includes a product which is comprised within another product whether by virtue of being a component part or raw material or otherwise". (Dale and Plunkett, 1994). On the other hand "A service encounter is any direct interaction between a service provider and customers". (Dale and Plunkett, 1994). Industries, such as financial services, health care, tourism, government, transport and communications have their business activities focused on services rather than products.

Overall, I think that only if the whole organisational chain is functioning efficiently can quality be achieved in both products and services.

There are many differences in achieving quality in a product than achieving quality in a service. One of the differences is that services are tangible and products are not. Thus leaving little or no evidence of service delivery, even though is was not perceived as good quality. However, if mistakes are made in certain services, then these can not always be rectified, but when manufacturing a product, mistakes can usually be rectified easily without facing serious consequences. The main difference between quality in product manufacture and quality in service delivery is that products can be stored to meet fluctuations in demand, but on the other hand, services cannot always be stored, thus decreasing the quality of service delivery. A good example of a service not being stored is the NHS that is not meeting its recent demand levels. Also, another difference between these two is that there is more variation in services than products. Product variations can usually be controlled, but service variations are more difficult to control, thus this can decrease or increase the quality of service delivery. Last of all, I think that it is more important for service providers to 'get it right first time' due to the fact that poor services are hard to replace, where faulty products are easily replaced.

Last of all, I think that it is harder to achieve and control quality in service delivery than product manufacture. This is because services (such as doctors' time) cannot be stored to meet fluctuations in demand, but products can be stored. In order to conform to requirement and delight the customer (achieve quality), service organisations will have to meet demands at perplexing times, or otherwise they will find it very difficult to achieve quality.

Caplen, H.R (1992) A Practical Approach to Quality Control (Fifth Edition), London, Century Business

The quality chain links all of the business, and its external suppliers, to provide quality to the consumers. This objective is only achieved if each chain link provides quality. If one fails, then the overall objective of achieving quality is very unlikely to be achieved, the chain w

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Approximate Word count = 3287
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)