This is from the “Accounting Makes Cents” podcast episode #60 released on Monday, 11 March 2024.
In today’s episode, we’re going to be looking into the cost of quality as a topic. Most accounting students will probably have heard of this term before – the cost of quality – especially if you’ve been studying anything to do with Total Quality Management (TQM).
Jump to show notes.
Total Quality Management and Cost of Quality
A bit of background on TQM and Cost of Quality (COQ). TQM is a management philosophy and approach that focuses on continuous improvement, customer satisfaction and the involvement of all employees (everyone) in the quality improvement process of a business. The emphasis is on understanding customer needs and expectations, identifying and eliminating defects and waste in the processes, and then fostering that culture of teamwork and accountability within the company. In this way, everybody is aware of why quality is done in a certain way and what it serves in the end in the greater scheme of things.
Now, cost of quality (COQ) is a fundamental concept within TQM, emphasising that achieving quality comes with its own set of expenses. Nothing’s free even if you try to ingrain it into the process. It doesn’t just involve the cost of making a product or providing a service, but it also includes the cost of ensuring that product or service meets the desired quality standards.
Quality in terms of podcast production
As an inspiration, this topic came to me while I was thinking about my podcast production here. As you all know, I’ve been producing these episodes for just over 2 years now, and while it served a basic purpose when I first started, which is to give students some free resources and information about exam topics and how to study for CIMA, I do realise that in terms of production, it still needed work.
I’ve slowly begun realising that content creation is not just about the material itself, or text copy, you also need to think about how you present it and whether it is digestible at the other end. Now we can probably spin another accounting topic for that line of thinking, but for today, we’ll stick with the quality.
The result that I’m trying to aim for is to ensure that the episodes are engaging even when some of the topics are not as engaging. I mean I can get pretty excited a lot about accounting stuff but I have to admit that for most people, this is really a boring subject.
Going back on topic, as a podcaster, I’ve become more aware that as I strive to consistently deliver better quality listening experience to my podcast listeners, I could actually equate the process to the Cost of Quality concept. Like I said, initially, I focused primarily on the content itself, but as I produce more episodes, I’ve begun to realize that the quality of the audio recordings could also be improved.
Costs of Quality
So, how do we actually identify quality issues in podcast recordings? It often starts with self-awareness. I started noticing moments of background noise, occasional microphone pops, or volume inconsistencies that detract from the overall listening experience.
And it got me thinking, recognising these issues is very similar, if not the same, to understanding the Cost of Quality concept. We need to consider the various components of COQ in podcast production. There are 4 costs of quality – prevention costs, appraisal costs, internal failure and external failure costs.
Prevention costs
As I’m slowly understanding what better audio quality should sound like, I try to invest more in improving the quality of the recordings. I’d invested in better equipment, such as better quality microphones, sound treating my environment a little bit, mostly these are things that have to do with the actual recording. I invest in software that helps with audio processing and enhancement. I switch to better tools if one doesn’t work or I find something better. I’ve also been training myself on better technique of speaking into the microphone.
All these are considered prevention costs since they are actions done to prevent defects from occurring in the first place. As highlighted, this includes a variety of investments in quality training, process improvement initiatives, quality planning, and better equipment or technology.
Appraisal costs
I also spend some time editing and using tools or software for the recording of the podcast. This is actually a very tedious part of the production for me. I don’t really like it that much but I do understand that as a cost of quality, this is considered appraisal costs – investing in assurances. I do sound checks and audit the recording. A lot of the tools I use to clean the audio up, level the volume, remove filler words and really long pauses, those are what’s helping me ensure the product or in this case, the audio sounds better. See, I never really thought of those when I first started and it’s just basically speaking into a mic and recording, but it’s a bit more than that.
So this is more making sure about the product or service itself. The product is already produced or the service is already performed. Appraisal costs are costs incurred in evaluating the product or service to ensure it meets the quality standards. This can include inspection, testing, audit and the cost of maintaining a quality control department.
Internal failure costs
Now even armed with the training, technique, good tools and equipment, audio plug-ins and whatnot, I can still mess it all up. Sometimes I record and it seemed like it went off without a glitch and I didn’t really find anything seriously wrong with it the first time. But there do come times when I’m not quite happy with the length of a segment or maybe I wanted to change some parts of the recording. This is of course still prior to the episode being released, and I could always just re-record and address issues that ultimately make it onto the recording.
This is classified as an internal failure cost. It’s the cost incurred when defects are identified before the podcast episodes are released to the audience. As mentioned, the big thing here is the time and resources spent on fixing to get it right.
External failure costs
So the last cost of quality is called external failure costs. And these are costs incurred when defects are identified by your audience after the episodes have been released. I have been lucky enough that I’ve not had any of this. Fingers crossed. Or maybe my listeners are a bit more forgiving, thank you for that.
I suppose with this podcast, if I had to turn in an episode where I just abandon cleaning up the audio and hold the podcast in a very busy marketplace or restaurant, and you can barely hear my voice or the topic that I’m discussing, then that would be quite serious.
I think though that in terms of podcast production, this would really be something big and serious where you damage your reputation as a podcaster or you lose listenership or sponsorship, if you have any of those, because you have not met the quality expectations.
Conclusion
While the podcast’s audio quality may not be perfect initially, it’s evolving to be better. It’s still evolving. The thing here is that I myself am on a journey of continuous improvement.
By recognizing the Cost of Quality and investing in prevention measures, rigorous quality control, and continuous improvement, I am trying to elevate the quality of the podcast and enhance the overall listening experience for the audience.
Show notes simplified
In this episode, MJ the tutor explores the concept of the “Cost of Quality” and how prioritizing quality leads to better outcomes and experiences. Discover why investing in prevention, appraisal, and continuous improvement is crucial both in business and podcast production.
MJ THE TUTOR 