Ch 1 MGT 3332 Operations and Supply Chain Management

T/F: Operations managers are responsible for assessing consumer wants and needs and selling and promoting the organization's goods or services.

False - Operation managers are not responsible for promoting goods/services. It is the marketing functional area that is responsible for assessing consumer wants and needs and selling and promoting the organization's goods or services.

T/F: Service operations require additional inventory because of the unpredictability of consumer demand.

False - Service operations cannot use inventory as a hedge against unpredictable demand.

T/F: Goods-producing organizations are not involved in service activities.

False - There are very few pure goods or pure services, so most companies sell product packages which combine goods and services. Therefore, most production systems involve a blend of goods and services.

T/F: The greater the degree of customer involvement, the more challenging the design and management of operations.

True - Greater customer involvement leads greater variation in the goods and services provided. This creates greater variation in production or service requirements and results in more complexity in the design and management of operations.

T/F: People who work in the field of operations should have skills that include both knowledge and people skills.

True - Operations management requires a blend of knowledge and people skills.

T/F: Service often requires relatively greater labor content when compared to manufacturing.

True - Service operations tend to be more labor intensive than manufacturing.

Marketing depends on operations for information regarding: a. lead time b. budgeting c. corporate intelligence d. productivity e. cash flow

a. lead time - Marketing uses lead time information to make promises to customers.

Which of the following is a system in which low-skilled workers use specialized equipment to produce high volumes of standardized goods? a. mass production b. supply chain c. craft production d. lean systems e. the Internet

a. mass production - Mass production has played a prominent role in increasing standards of living.

Modern firms increasingly rely on other firms to supply goods and services instead of doing these tasks themselves. This increased level of _____________ is leading to increased emphasis on ____________ management. a. outsourcing; supply chain b. downsizing; total quality c. offshoring; lean d. optimizing; inventory e. internationalization; intercultural

a. outsourcing; supply chain - Supply chain management takes a more systemic view of the firm, its operations, and its suppliers.

The fact that new improvements in a few key areas of operations will have more impact than many improvements in many other areas is consistent with the: a. Adam Smith phenomenon b. Pareto phenomenon c. Irwin phenomenon d. Stevenson phenomenon e. Tellier phenomenon

b. Pareto phenomenon - Pareto phenomena direct our attention to the difference between the "important few" and the "trivial many."

Which is not an area of significant difference between manufacturing and service operations? a. uniformity of input b. forecasting demand c. customer contact d. labor content of jobs e. measurement of productivity

b. forecasting demand - Manufacturing and service operations both use forecasting and capacity planning to match supply and demand.

Buying goods or services instead of producing or providing them in-house is called: a. downsizing b. outsourcing c. vertical integration d. internationalization e. entrepreneurship

b. outsourcing - Outsourcing is increasingly a part of operations management and is contributing to the increased attention on supply chain management.

Which of the following is not a characteristic of service operations? a. high customer contact b. high labor content c. intangible output d. easy measurement of productivity e. low uniformity of input

d. easy measurement of productivity - The productivity of service operations is often hard to measure.

Production systems with customized outputs typically have relatively: a. high volumes of output b. low unit costs c. fast work environment d. skilled workers e. high amounts of specialized equipment

d. skilled workers - Skilled workers are necessary to accommodate the variation inherent in customized outputs.

If one organization is better able than most to respond to changes in demands or opportunities, we say that organization exhibits higher: a. sustainability. b. efficiency. c. marketability. d. productivity. e. agility.

e. agility - Agility refers to the ability of an organization to respond quickly to demands or opportunities.

Which of the following refers to service and production processes that use resources in ways that do not harm ecological systems? a. marketability b. transportability c. perishability d. supportability e. sustainability

e. sustainability - Sustainability refers to service and production processes that use resources in ways that do not harm those ecological systems that support both current and future human existence.