Dear Charles,
Thanks a lot of the various extracts on quality. My pick was:-
The notion that food quality must ultimately be defined by consumer perception is embodied in the frequently cited definition of food quality as “ the combination of attributes or characteristics of a product that have significance in determining the degree of acceptability of the product to a user”. Another definition of food quality that places even greater emphasis on the perceptual aspects of food quality is “the acceptance of the perceived characteristics of a product by consumers who are the regular users of the product category or those who comprise the market segment." In this definition, the phrase “perceived characteristics” refers to the perception of all characteristics of the food, not simply its sensory attributes. Thus it also includes the perception of the food’s safety, convenience, cost, value etc.
I had done the short session on quality defining with my staff and they too came up with the same thought that -Quality would be met if the customer’s perceptions, food characteristics and food safety are met. Few came up saying Quality is achieved if correct process or procedures are done in the right way and it conforms to the specification / regulation or requirements.
There are 2 forms of quality either Subjective or Objective.
1. OBJECTIVE quality is the degree of compliance of a process or its outcome with a predetermined set of criteria, which are presumed essential to the ultimate value it provides. Example: proper formulation of a medication.
2. SUBJECTIVE quality is the level of perceived value reported by the person who benefits from a process or its outcome. It may subsume various intermediate quality measures, both objective and subjective. Example: pain relief provided by a medication.
The following are different definitions which I had found:-
Quality is neither mind nor matter, but a third entity independent of the two, even though Quality cannot be defined, you know what it is. (Persig, 1974)
Quality is fitness for use. (Juran, 1974)
Quality means conformance to requirements. (Crosby, 1979)
[Quality is] a system of means to economically produce goods or services which satisfy customers' requirements. (Japanese Industrial Standards Committee, 1981)
Quality refers to the amounts of the unpriced attributes contained in each unit of the priced attribute. (Leffler, 1982)
Quality means best for certain conditions...(a) the actual use and (b) the selling price. (Feigenbaum, 1983)
[Quality] means that the organization's culture is defined by and supports the constant attainment of customer satisfaction through an integrated system of tools, techniques, and training. (Sashkin & Kiser, 1993)
Thanks & Best Regards,
Jean