Final answer:
Mercantilism aimed at increasing wealth through quality goods for a favorable balance of trade, with roles for craftsmen, workers, merchants, and officials. Information technology helps modern mercantile organizations by reducing imperfect information, impacting the quality of goods.
Step-by-step explanation:
The mercantile view of quality was deeply interwoven with the practice of mercantilism, which was an economic theory aimed at increasing a nation's wealth through government regulation of all of the nation's commercial interests. Within a mercantile organization, quality was connected to how well goods could be produced and exported to achieve a favorable balance of trade. Mercantilism often led to the accumulation of wealth by offering high-quality goods that could be traded for precious metals or sold in foreign markets.
The roles of people in achieving quality within mercantile organizations involved the labor force, which included skilled craftsmen and unskilled workers, as well as the merchants and government officials who regulated trade. However, these roles often came at the cost of exploitation, particularly through the use of forced labor in colonies and harsh working conditions for many workers.
Information technology plays a pivotal role in achieving quality in modern organizations by reducing the risks of imperfect information. Imperfect information can lead to discrepancies in price, quantity, and quality of goods. Accurate information systems help in gathering, processing, and disseminating reliable data critical for decision-making, which affects the quality of products and services provided by a mercantile organization. Therefore, information technology supports quality by providing accurate market intelligence and fostering transparent transactions.