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Exploring the concept of quality management from a new point of view, this book presents a holistic model of how consumers judge the quality of products. It links consumer perceptions of quality to the design and delivery of the final product, and presents models and methods for improving the quality of these products and services. It offers readers an improved understanding of how and why the design process must consider how the consumer will perceive a product or service. In order to facilitate the presentation and understanding of these concepts, illustrations and case examples are also provided throughout the book.

This book provides an invaluable resource for managers, designers, manufacturers, professional practitioners and academics interested in quality management. It also offers a useful supplementary text for marketing and quality management courses.

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Creating a Competitive Advantage.- Defining Quality.- The Value Proposition.- Customer Perceptions.- The Product Design Process.- The Service Design Process.- Measuring Value.- Practical Implications of Customer Perceptions on the Design Process.- Re-Engineering the Process for Perceptions.

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Dr. George Kenyon is an Associate Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management at Lamar University. He received his B.S. in Technology from the University of Houston in 1982, his M.S. in Management Science from Florida Institute of Technology in 1993, and his Ph.D. in Business Administration from Texas Tech University in 1997. His research and teaching interests are in the fields of supply chain management, quality management, project management and operations management. He has published in the International Journal of Production Economics, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Journal of Marketing Channels, Quality Management Journal, International Journal of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management, and Journal of Case Studies in Accreditation and Assessment, as well as, several book chapters.Prior to joining Lamar University´s faculty, Dr. Kenyon spent eighteen years in industry with companies such as Texas Instruments, Rockwell International, The Boeing Company, Aspen Technologies, and Hewlett Packard. He has held positions in systems testing engineering, systems design, manufacturing engineering, manufacturing management, process improvement, and business planning. As a consultant, he has worked with Gulf States Steel, the Westlake Corporation, Miller Brewing, and Phillips Chemical designing and installing advanced planning and scheduling systems.Dr. Kabir C. Sen is a Professor of Marketing and currently Chair of the Management and Marketing Department at Lamar University. He received his B.Tech. (Hons) degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Khargpur (India). He also has a MBA from the Cranfield School of Management (UK). In 1991, he received his Ph.D. in marketing from Washington University in St. Louis. His research interests include franchising, service design, health care marketing and sports economics. He has published in some of these areas in academic journals such as the Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing and Managerial and Decision Economics. He has also contributed chapters for academic books on a variety of topics.Before joining academics, Dr. Sen worked as a senior metallurgist and later as the corporate planning officer for the former Indian subsidiary of GKN plc (UK).

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