quality

an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone

"the quality of mercy is not strained"--Shakespeare a degree or grade of excellence or worth

"the quality of students has risen"

"an executive of low caliber" a characteristic property that defines the apparent individual nature of something

"each town has a quality all its own"

"the radical character of our demands" (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound)

"the timbre of her soprano was rich and lovely"

"the muffled tones of the broken bell summoned them to meet" high social status

"a man of quality" of superior grade

"choice wines"

"prime beef"

"prize carnations"

"quality paper"

"select peaches" of high social status

"people of quality"

"a quality family"

Quality refers to the inherent or distinctive characteristics or properties of a person, object, process or other wiktionary:thingthing. Such characteristics or properties may set a person or thing apart from other persons or things, or may denote some degree of achievement or excellence. When used in relation to people, the term may also signify a personal character or trait.The term is sometimes contrasted with the concept of quantity. In science, the work of Aristotle focused on measuring quality, whereas the work of Galileo GalileiGalileo resulted in a shift towards the study of quantity.

In manufacturing - expert In manufacturing, "quality" means on target with minimum variation. Many different techniques and concepts have been tried to minimize defects in products, including SPC, Zero Defects, Six Sigma, quality circles, TQM and continuous improvement.Most of these techniques and concepts are controversial to one degree or another, since there are two opposing schools of thought with regard to quality. One school subscribes to a statistical approach to quality, measuring variation and then taking corrective action. The other school subscribes to a more organic approach, arguing that one should "design in quality" rather than trying to "test in quality".

Historical development of the concept - The meaning for the term quality has developed over time. Five distinctive interpretations:# "Conformance to specifications" (Phil Crosby in the 1980s). The difficulty with this is that the specifications may not be what the customer wants; Crosby treats this as a separate problem.# "Fitness for use" (Dr. Joseph Moses JuranJoseph M. Juran). Fitness is defined by the customer.# A two-dimensional model of quality (Noriaki Kano and others). The quality has two dimensions: "must-be quality" and "attractive quality". The former is near to the "fitness for use" and the latter is what the customer would love, but has not yet thought about. Supporters characterise this model more succinctly as: "Product (business)Products and services that meet or exceed customers' expectations". One writer believes (without citation) that this is today the most used interpretation for the term quality.# "Value to some person" (Gerald M. Weinberg)# (W. Edwards Deming), "Quality is pride of workmanship." See http://www.deming.org/

In music - In music quality refers primarily to the timbre, but also dynamics and musical texture, of a section or piece.

In phonetics - In phonetics quality refers to the articulationarticulatory features that distinguish vowels and to their acousticsacoustic correspondent. Vowel quality is opposed to vowel lengthvowel quantity.

See also -

ISO 9000

Quality Management System

Quality time

Quality control

Six Sigma

Total Quality Management

Metaphysics of Quality from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Lila: An Inquiry into Morals by Robert M. Pirsig

Software quality

Video quality

Finding related topics -

list of economics topics

list of information technology management topics

list of production topicsCategory:Production and manufacturingCategory:Product !managementcategory:ManagementC ategory:Services? management and !marketingcategory:MarketingCat egory:Quality

External links - !da:Kvalitetde:Qualitätes:Cali dadfa:کیفیتfr:Gestion? de la !qualitéit:Qualitàmk:Квал итетnl:Kwaliteit? !(eigenschap)nn:Kvalitetpl:Jako śćpt:Qualidaderu:Качес� �воfi:Laatu

exclusive bags
exclusive bags personalitzed and limited collections. Made in Spain. high quality and design.
http://www.smuack-bags.com/

Sara Nolte Designs
Handcrafted precious and semi precious gemstone jewelry & accessories. Our jewels & accessories are hand crafted one of kind item made with painstaking attention to detail. We create heirloom quality jewels just for you.
http://www.saranoltedesigns.com/

Robo-Technology GmbH
Robo-Technology GmbH (established 1982) provides solutions for all kind of automation tasks. Industries are: photonics, semiconductor, electronic assembly, pharmaceutics, metrology, automotive, aviation and many others. We integrate Adept robots, Stäubli robots, ABB Flex Picker, sub-micron positioning systems and 3rd party mechanisms. Robo-Technology has the expertise to solve your challenging tasks using robot systems. We provide automation technology for motion control applications ranging from several nanometers to several meters.
http://www.robo-technology.de/

The Tipperary Stairs Company
Design and manufacturing of extremely high quality staircases and handrailing systems in glass steel and wood.
http://www.geocities.com/tipp.stairs

LE BAR DES CLANDESTINS
Monthly 2 days festival happening in Le Bar of a Theatre in Brussels : concerts, theatre, performances, screenings, exhibitions, Dj's and Vj's...
http://www.clandestins.com/

BMB high-quality-windows
JSC BMB is producing high quality windows and doors from wood. BMB offers a wide range of products - also individual parts according to your special wishes. JSC BMB is exporting to all european countries and Russia.
http://www.bmb.lt/

Via La Moda - exotic leather goods manufacturer
Finest quality ostrich and crocodile leather bags and accessories.
http://www.vialamoda.com/

Americas Diamond Jewelry Store
<p> <b><font size=2 face=Arial><a target=_blank href=http://www.AmericasDiamondJewelryStore.com>AmericasDiamondJewelryStor e.com</a> Jewelry Store Gift Diamond Ring Bracelets Earrings Necklaces Gold Pendants...We offer over 432,000 jewelry items literally from A-Z almost everything you can imagine. We Sell Quality at great prices. COMPARE our QUALITY with ANY store on the internet or ANYWHERE. You will see our quality in comparison, then COMPARE our PRICES! WE ARE SURE YOU WILL BECOME OUR CUSTOMER TOO! </font></b></p> <p>
http://www.americasdiamondjewelrystore.com/

Interface Web Design Site Design Hosting Services Search Engine Optomization
Interface Web Design, located in the Tampa Bay Area on Florida's West Coast. We specialize in Web Site Design for small to medium-sized busineses.
http://www.interfacewebdesign.com/

Trelawney Hotel
Non smoking,award winning luxury hotel only 400yds from the sea front.
http://www.trelawneyhotel.co.uk

Hans-Jörg Günther
CEO of edditrex ltd, lecturer, author, project manager
http://www.edditrex.de/guenther/

Habanera
Music and Entertainment Production. We produce all kind of live music for corporate and incentive events in Stockholm.
http://www.habanera.se

Spain´s Finest Olive Oils & Gourmet Foods
Caroliva is a line of artisan produced award winning gourmet foods from Andalusia, Spain. The Caro family produces world renowned Caroliva estate extra virgin olive oil, as well as a variety of gourmet Spanish delicacies for your tapas table including Caroliva Reserve Sherry vinegar of Jerez and rare Spanish 18 year aged Caroliva balsamic vinegar
http://www.proacec.com/

The Tipperary Furniture Company
Design and manufacturing of extremely high quality cabinetwork, interiors and internal joinery.
http://www.tipperaryfurniture.com/

Web Design Tips
A resource to help out new web developers, covering some of the tips of how to put together a top-quality, professional web site.
http://www.colin.mackenzie.org/webdesign/

Big Vision Design LLC
A Kansas City-based web design and development company offering quality design services with state of the art internet technology. Usability and Search Engine Optimization are our specialties.
http://www.bigvisiondesign.com/

international golf course design, architecture and site supervision
Austrian based international and high tech standard golf course design and landscape architecture company working in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East
http://www.golf-land-design.com

Manufacturer and Exporter of All Metal Works.
Leading manufacturer who's specialized in Metal Castings and Metal Works. Products include metal castings (steel, iron, stainless-steel, aluminium, brass and bronze), machining parts, sheet metal works, wear parts, spare parts, machinery parts, toilet partitions and toilet accessories. Complete services from designing, engineering, manufacturing, heat treating to finishings. We accept any size of orders.
http://www.preciousgoods.com/

Egyptian Addiction
Wholesalers of quality Belly Dancing Costumes, hipscarves, jewelry, harem pants, skirts, tops, sarongs, sticks, Bedouin clothing and musical instruments. Egyptian Addiction is owned and operated by an Australian/Egyptian couple in Cairo, Egypt. We are a small family company with excellent quality control manufacturing handmade quality Belly Dancing accessories.
http://www.egyptianaddiction.com/

L'Aquila Saffron
The best quality Saffron of the world from a farm called Peltuinum based on the Navelli Plane near the town of L'Aquila in Italy.
http://www.peltuinum.it/

The Shelving Store by Shelving, Inc
The Shelving Store provides a wide variety of shelving needs for homes, offices, healthcare, foodservice and businesses including lockers, cabinets, storage containers, carts, etc For Quality Chrome Shelving, Wire Shelving in the Metro Area Call 800-637-9508 or 248-852-8600 We'll take good care of you.
http://www.shelving.com/

Software Management Marre
Wir helfen Ihnen bei Verbesserung ihrer Software-Prozesse
http://www.sw-m.de/

Gulf Trollers Association: Trolling for Wild Pacific Salmon in British Columbia
An organization of troll fishing vessel owners, the Gulf Trollers Association strives to promote the interests of its members, and protect the wild salmon resource. Fishing in the Gulf of Georgia and Johnstone Straits, Gulf Trollers fish for the five species of Pacific Salmon; chinook, coho, sockeye, pink and chum.
http://www.gulftrollers.com/

Design Soup
All natural with no preservatives, Website production tops our menu of alternatively fresh design. It's a mix of robust style & creative thinking in site development utilizing cutting edge DHTML, Macromedia Flash, and total graphic design solutions.
http://www.designsoup.com/

DRShelf by Shelving, Inc Your Quality Shelving Store
DRShelf from Shelving, Inc provides a wide variety of shelving needs for homes, offices, healthcare, foodservice and businesses including lockers, cabinets, storage containers, carts, etc For Quality Chrome Shelving, Wire Shelving in the Metro Area Call 800-637-9508 or 248-852-8600 We'll take good care of you.
http://www.drshelf.com/

WAMMI: Web site ease of use -
WAMMI is a unique service to help web site owners across the world accomplish their business goals by measuring and tracking user reactions to web site ease-of-use.
http://www.wammi.com/

designeffects
we simply design & develop effective web sites, animations/motion graphics, marketing materials, identity pieces and presentations to show your company in its best possible light.
http://www.designeffects.com

Kittamor Kitchenware
Come experience the best quality cookware at extremely affordable prices!
http://www.kittamor.com/

Binnacle Solutions
Enterprise Resource Management Software for Small to Medium Size Enterprises.
http://www.binnaclesolutions.com/

Juli Hunter
New Zealand clothing designer Juli Hunter designs wearables for individuals. Stocists throughout New Zealand. Check out the catalog!
http://www.julihunter.com

AudioDev
AudioDev in brief AudioDev is a world-leading manufacturer of test equipment for quality control of optical media such as CDs and DVDs. The company is also in a leading position for the evolving blue laser optical media formats (Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD) Net sales in 2004 were SEK 275.0 million with the largest markets being in the US, Asia and Europe. The head office is based in Malmö, Sweden. AudioDev has been listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange since September 2000. AudioDev's products are sold under the brands CATS and Go!. The products in the CATS series are high precision analyzers for quality testing of all formats on the market. Go! is a brand with products optimised for production control. AudioDev also offers an extensive service network, as well as customised training and independent test analyses via AudioDev's TestCenter. AudioDev's customers include Cinram, CMC, EMI, Microsoft, Moser Baer India, Panasonic, Pioneer, Ritek Corp. and Technicolor.
http://www.audiodev.se/

Qualitätsgemeinschaft Deutsche Bauchemie e.V.
Notified Body for inspection and certification of factory production control for construction chemicals. ***** Bundesweit anerkannte und notifizierte Überwachungs- und Zertifizierungsstelle für Betonzusatzmittel und Schutz- und Instandsetzungsprodukte für Betonbauteile
http://www.qdb.de/

Eagle Web Solutions
High quality web design for businesses. Call 0800 169 7889 now!
http://eaglewebs.co.uk/

PFL WoodWorking
Hand Crafted Fine woodworking by PFL, I will endeavor to build you the exact piece of Hand Crafted Wooden heirloom quality one-of-a-kind Jewelry box, Ornamental Box or piece of Fine Furniture you've always wanted. I can work from drawings, pictures or your imagination. I will always give you the highest level quality for the type of project you and I are creating.
http://www.pflwoodworking.com/

Advice on Management
Quotes on managerial dilemmas by famous management thinkers and business leaders.
http://www.adviceonmanagement.com/

Deanes Machines and Tattoos
Handcrafted custom made tattoo machines. This site also features the tattoo art of Deane Holland, New Zealand.
http://www.deanesmachines.com

Quality, Affordable Website Design and E-Commerce Solutions
Quality, Affordable Website Design, Flash Movies and E-Commerce Solutions
http://www.webwonder.co.uk/

American Hardwood Lures (AHL)
Quality Hand made Musky, Muskie Lures and Super Snaps Custom Leaders by Jim Leuze
http://www.musky-lures.com/

Woven Strings Publishing
Publisher of books and e-books.
http://www.wovenstrings.com/

American Society for Quality
A society of individual and organizational members dedicated to the ongoing, development, advancement, and promotion of quality concepts, principles, and techniques.
http://www.asq.org/

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality - AHRQ
Formerly the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. Provides practical health care information, research findings, and data to help consumers, health providers, health insurers, researchers, and policymakers make informed decisions about health care issues.
http://www.ahcpr.gov/

NCQA: National Committee for Quality Assurance
Provides information about the quality of national managed care plans to enable consumers to evaluate health plan performance. Includes links to accreditation and certification programs, compliance audits, health plan report cards, and credentialing data.
http://www.ncqa.org/

Quality Magazine
Monthly publication serving the quality assurance and process improvement needs of manufacturing professionals. Reports on the use of sound metrology methods, statistical analysis and process improvement techniques to quality on the shop floor.
http://www.qualitymag.com

Quality Digest Magazine
Quality Digest Magazine, a major trade publication.
http://www.qualitydigest.com/