Final answer:
Improving quality tends to increase productivity because making higher-quality products generally results in less waste and rework.
Step-by-step explanation:
The relationship between quality and productivity is that improving quality tends to increase productivity because making higher-quality products generally results in less waste and rework (option d).
When a company focuses on improving the quality of its products or services, it can reduce the amount of time and resources spent on fixing mistakes and reworking faulty products. This leads to increased efficiency and productivity.
For example, if a manufacturing company invests in high-quality materials and trains its employees to follow rigorous quality control processes, it is likely to produce fewer defective products, which can save time and resources that would have been spent on fixing those defects. This, in turn, increases productivity because the company can produce more quality products in less time.