(Quality costs) Forsythe Furniture has gathered the following data on its quality costs for 2009 and 2010:
|
Defect Prevention Costs |
2009 |
2010 |
|
Quality training |
$4,500 |
$5,250 |
|
Quality technology |
3,750 |
5,000 |
|
Quality production design |
2,000 |
4,500 |
|
External Failure Costs |
2009 |
2010 |
|
Warranty handling |
$7,500 |
$5,000 |
|
Customer reimbursements |
5,500 |
3,600 |
|
Customer returns handling |
3,500 |
2,000 |
a. Compute the percentage change in the two quality cost categories from 2009 to 2010.
b. Write a brief explanation for the pattern of change in the two categories.