Introduction
All products have stringent considerations for quality, which determine the difference between market acceptability and lack thereof. Each type of product however, has a different set of quality specifications which influence its marketability. Food products and electronics for instance, are judged based on different sets of quality characteristics.
Question1: Product Qualities
Products such as biscuits have different quality parameters, which are monitored at the production level and would also cause differences in customer perception (Davidson 2016). Biscuits from the Kuwait Biscuit and Food Products Company have to be monitored in terms of parameters such as surface consistency, sugar levels, sugar particle sizes, and collapse and surface crack capabilities. The surface consistency of biscuits is a function of the dough characteristics. Soft dough produces biscuits of different consistency from those produced using hard dough. The sugar levels in biscuits determine the classification of those biscuits (El Halal 2017). Different categories are available depending on the percentage of sugar in the biscuits and the formulations used for baking. Consumers select biscuits depending on their taste preferences (Biguzzi, Schlich, and Lange 2014). The sugar particle sizes, on the other hand, determine the level of gelatinization, which also impacts the biscuit size, and subsequently, the customer perception.
Electronic products have quality parameters different from those possessed by food products. The factors that customers would consider while purchasing electronic products are different from those that manufacturers of food products consider. The Panasonic Color LCD XGA projector is an example of electronics whose quality parameters reflect performance and acceptance in the market. When buying a new projector, the first aspect that most customers would look at is the resolution. The Panasonic projector has a resolution of 1024 by 768, which is adequate for conference room presentations (Panasonic 2018). Other factors that are considered include the brightness, portability, additional features, and the versatility of use. A brightness of between 2000 and 3000 lumens is sufficient for a big room with good lighting (Laughlin 2018). However, the brightness of a projector cannot be compared to that of a LED television.
Question 2: Measurement and Specification of the Quality Specifications
Each of the quality parameters associated with the different products can be specified through different terms. The surface consistency of biscuits is described in terms of percentages of dough fineness. For the Kuwait biscuits, the dough fineness is measured based on its firmness and can range from 240 to156 with different outcomes on the consistency (Yalcin 2017). The consistency of the biscuit improves with increase in consistency up to a certain limit and then declines. The sugar levels are also presented as percentages of the sucrose levels on a weight by weight (w/w) basis. A sucrose percentage of 63.5% w/w results in a low sugar biscuit while one with 72% w/w results in a high sugar biscuit (Manley 2011). The sugar particle sizes are determined based on the diameters of the resultant biscuits while the collapse and surface crack characteristics are measured as functions of the percentage of the leavening agents used from 0.5% to 2.0% (Manley 2011).
For the projector, each of the quality parameters has a distinctive measure. The resolution is measured in pixels while the brightness is measured in lumens. Other characteristics such as portability, extra characteristics and versatility are based on the design and physical characteristics of the projector (Pronto Marketing 2015). Portability, for instance, is a function of the size and weight of the projector, which is given in dimensions of height, length, width, and mass respectively. Extra characteristics such as plug and play capability are based on the projector design as is versatility factors such as the use of USB and SD storage and inputs. Depending on the intended use of the projector, the customer will select one that fits their needs. Based on the characteristics of the Panasonic color LCD XGA projector, it fits application in a wide variety of settings.
Question 3: Contribution of the Qualities to Product Differentiation
Distinction between one consumer product and another in the same category is considered to be a sum of the different quality characteristics of that product. One of the impacts of differentiation is on customer choice. To a large extent, utilitarian values of products determine the potential of customers to select them (Davidson 2016). The Kuwait Biscuits, for instance, are differentiated from others due to their distinctive formulations, which give them unique tastes for each class of biscuits. The formulations provide the sugar content, a specific dough consistency for a particular product, different collapse and surface crack characteristics, and sugar particle sizes (El Halal 2017). The biscuits are baked using fine sugar in all instances, with differences in the percentages, which gives a range of biscuit products for different target markets.
The projector, on the other hand, has a high resolution (1024 * 768) and a brightness of 2800 lumens, which make it one of the favorable projectors for multiple use (Schwabish 2016). The projector has a wide aspect ratio and significant versatility. The Panasonic product Catalogue provides a description of each of the products and their respective applications. While there are other projectors with similar quality characteristics, the Panasonic color LCD XGA projector is differentiated from the others based on its diverse capabilities and relative distinction in use (Panasonic 2018). The projector is versatile in terms of input and also has multiple additional features such as wireless readiness and eco filters which are required in some presentation contexts.
Conclusions
As much as these products have different sets of quality specifications which are measured in completely different ways, I think neither product group’s qualities are more important than the other product’s qualities. To each group, it is those specifications that set a product apart from the rest.
Bibliography
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Yalcin, S, 2017, ‘Determination of quality characteristic of biscuits including ground yellow poppy seed as fat replacer,’ International Journal of Secondary Metabolite, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 406- 411. Available from: <http://dergipark.gov.tr/download/article-file/399243>. [15 July 2018].