The way in which businesses compete is rapidly changing. Businesses must constantly strive to offer "better" products and services than their competitors. South African Companies on the whole need to improve the quality of their products in order to be a player in the global market. Managers must decide how to overcome the many problems that prevent quality products and services. One of the aims of this study was to establish whether managers in the manufacturing industry of KwaZulu Natal are aware of the uses of statistics in decision making. In this study, it was found that most of the quality managers either do not use statistical process control techniques or use them seldom or very seldom. It was established that the majority of the respondents do not use statistical process control charts. The above facts indicate the need for the awareness of the uses of statistical process control techniques and charts to improve the quality of products. Results of the "Survey on Statistical Quality Control Techniques" used by Managers in the Manufacturing Industry of KwaZuluNatal, are also given (Hargreaves, 1999).
The CAUSE Research Group is supported in part by a member initiative grant from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and Data Science Education