Subjective Criteria Should Be Used

¶ … subjective criteria should be used to determine whether a process is in control. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer using at least three examples from your day-to-day life.

The need for objective data to determine the efficacy of a process may seem obvious: for example, to know if a new marketing technique is effective, there must be a demonstrable increase in sales of that item. McDonald's could create a new, catchy slogan for its Big Mac that is widely circulated on YouTube but if the campaign fails to increase sales of the product, objectively the campaign would seem to be a failure. Subjectively, a teacher may feel her student understands her lecture, but if the student's objective results on an exam are poor, then the teacher needs to reevaluate her pedagogical strategy. This does not mean all objective tests are inherently valid -- a standardized test can be a poor objective measure of what was learned, and more objective data (such as the student's initial state of preparation, socioeconomic information about the student, past performance of students in the district) may be needed to contextualize standardized, objective results. More objective data than one figure is essential when making decisions. In the case of the McDonald's campaign, if McDonald's sales overall increased, even if sales of the Big Mac remained static, the name recognition conveyed by the campaign's popularity would suggest some measure of objective success.

This does not mean that the hypothetical teacher should discount subjective data entirely. A student struggling with the basics of grammar may exhibit great creativity in his or her compositions. The teacher can see that a lack of basic knowledge, rather than a lack of enthusiasm about English is the reason for the student's poor objective results, and use those objective results to target what areas need greatest work. In the case of constructing a marketing campaign that is effective, as well as reviewing objective sales results, a McDonald's executive might want to observe customers in a store, to observe consumer behavior, to get an idea as to why consumers selected certain items.