Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Granduate Studies for Statistical Research - Department of Statistical Quality Control and Quality Assurance

Insufficient attention has been paid to the importance of quality as a factor in determining the state of the economy, yet improvements in product quality can be a catalyst in the betterment of national economies and the lives of people. Five economic areas in which quality plays a significant role are: Competitive advantage in exporting, national trade deficits, economic growth, productivity and customer satisfaction, and standardization. Good quality can be the basis for achieving a competitive advantage in exporting. Improvements in the quality of products and services could be used instead of exchange rate depreciation to achieve a positive trade balance (Brust, Peter J.; Gryna, Frank M. (2002, ASQ)). Egypt has devalued its national currency by 48% (Zahraa Alkhalisi, 3rdNov. 2011, CNNmoney) and many Egyptian companies began extensive cost cutting actions and this may have been resulted in lower quality, lower exports and less profits. This occurs because the concept of quality is still somewhat vague to many people and companies and they deal with it as an additional cost not as an investment. One way to make it more concrete is to calculate quality costs. This study will include calculating quality costs then analyzing them to give the motivation needed to implement these quality improvement efforts. This can be an effective way to make the management give more attention to quality as this way describes the impact of quality on business using the monetary language that help people who never worked with quality matters to understand the importance of working preventive not only corrective to problems that arise

Issued also as CD