ABSTRACT
WHAT IS QUALITY? Webster's New 20th Century Dictionary defines quality as "the degree of excellence that a thing possesses." Unfortunately, while this is the common usage of the term, it is useless as a working definition. If you were given a set of fine china, chances are you'd agree that the dinnerware was "quality merchandise." But what if you were asked to judge the quality of a set of paper plates? Although it is obvious that the paper plates don't compare to fine china, it's equally clear that the users of these products have certain things in mind when they make their purchase. The fine china would be as out of place on a picnic as the paper plates would be at a formal dinner. Thus, if we want a definition of quality that works with paper plates as well as with fine china, we must look beyond the dictionary.
