Final answer:
An assignable cause is a specific reason or factor responsible for changes observed in a process. Quality Assurance believes the increase in defects is due to an assignable cause, meaning there is an identifiable reason causing the increase.
Step-by-step explanation:
Quality Assurance has concluded that the increase in defects must be variation related to some assignable cause. An assignable cause is a specific reason or factor that is responsible for the changes observed in a process. It is distinct from common causes, which are inherent in the process and lead to random variations.
In this case, the Quality Assurance team has determined that there has been no change to the process itself, indicating that the increase in defects is not due to a common cause. Rather, it suggests that there is an underlying, identifiable reason causing the increase. Examples of assignable causes could include a faulty machine, a change in raw materials, or an error in the production setup.
Therefore, when explaining this to the president of Cignet Plastics, you can inform him that Quality Assurance believes the increase in defects is not a result of normal process variations but rather due to some specific cause that can be identified and addressed.