For the last five years, a firm has measured (in euros) the following quality costs by categories:

a. Given these costs, is it likely that the companys defective rate has gone up or down? Explain.

b. If these figures reflect all the relevant quality costs, have the increased costs of prevention and appraisal yielded a net benefit to the company?

2011 2012 2013 2014 Category Prevention Appraisal Internal failure External failure 5,000 5,000 9,000 6,000 5,000 9,000 8,000 7,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 7,000 5,000 2015 9,000 8,000 3,000 9,000 7,000 6,000 5,000