OPERATIONS FINAL MC
When using exponential smoothing, the smoothing constant A. can be determined using MAD. B. is typically between .75 and .95 for most business applications. C. indicates the accuracy of the previous forecast. D. should be chosen to maximize positive bias.
A
Which of the following international operations strategies involves a high degree of centralization? A. global B. international C. transnational D. multidomestic
A
Gradual upward or downward movement of data over time is called: A. exponential variation. B. a trend. C. a cycle. D. random variation. E. seasonality.
B
A supply chain ends with A. manufacturers. B. suppliers. C. a satisfied customer. .D. distributors.
C
What program is used to determine employee's bonuses? A. time series B. regression C. exponential smoothing D. weighted moving averages
D
Which of the following techniques uses variables such as price and promotional expenditures, which are related to product demand, to predict demand? A. moving average B. exponential smoothing C. weighted moving average D. trend projection E. associative models
E
A forecast that addresses the business cycle by predicting planning indicators is A. an economic forecast. B. a demand forecast. C. an environmental forecast. D. a technological forecast.
A
A forecast that projects a company's sales is A. a demand forecast. B. an environmental forecast. C. a technological forecast. D. an economic forecast.
A
A fried chicken fast-food chain that acquired feed mills and poultry farms has performed which of the following? A. backward integration .B. current transformation C. horizontal integration D. forward integration E. job expansion
A
A fundamental distinction between trend projection and linear regression is that: A. in trend projection the independent variable is time; in linear regression the independent variable need not be time, but can be any variable with explanatory power. B. trend projection can be a function of several variables, while linear regression can only be a function of one variable. C. only linear regression can have a negative slope. D. trend projection uses least squares while linear regression does not. E. trend projection uses two smoothing constants, not just one.
A
Dummy activities A. are used when two activities have identical starting and ending events. .B. have a duration equal to the shortest non-dummy activity in the network. C. cannot be on the critical path. D. are found in both AOA and AON networks.
A
Inventory turnover is equal to A. cost of goods sold / inventory investment. .B. inventory investment / (annual cost of goods sold / 52 weeks). C. (total inventory investment / total assets) times 100. D. (total assets / total inventory investment) times 100.
A
PERT analysis computes the variance of the total project completion time as A. the sum of the variances of all activities on the critical path. .B. the sum of the variances of all activities in the project. C. the variance of the final activity of the project. D. the sum of the variances of all activities not on the critical path.
A
Supply chain managers outsource logistics to meet three goals: A. drive down inventory investment, lower delivery costs, and improve delivery reliability and speed. B. lower delivery costs, improve delivery reliability and speed, and provide better market response. C. drive down inventory investment, lower delivery costs, and provide better market response. D. drive down inventory investment, improve delivery reliability and speed, and provide better market response.
A
The creation of a unique advantage over competitors is referred as A. competitive advantage. B. experience differentiation. C. differentiation. D. response.
A
The degree or strength of a relationship between two variables is shown by the: A. coefficient of correlation. B. alpha. C. mean. D. cumulative error. E. mean absolute deviation.
A
The fundamental difference between cycles and seasonality is the: A. duration of the repeating patterns. B. magnitude of the variation. C. ability to attribute the pattern to a cause. D. All of the above. E. None of the above.
A
The goal of CPFR is to A. create significantly more accurate information that can power the supply chain. .B. ensure product innovation. C. create good relations with suppliers. D. determine which model needs to be used to predict future events.
A
The goal of CPFR is to A. create significantly more accurate information that can power the supply chain. B. ensure product innovation. C. create good relations with suppliers. D. determine which model needs to be used to predict future events.
A
The objective of inventory management is to A. strike a balance between inventory investment and customer service. B. provide a selection of goods for anticipated customer demand. C. take advantage of quantity discounts. D. decouple various parts of the production process.
A
The three phases involved in the management of large projects are A. planning, scheduling, and controlling. B. planning, scheduling, and evaluating. C. scheduling, designing, and operating. D. scheduling, operating, and evaluating.
A
The time an activity will take assuming very unfavorable conditions is: A. the pessimistic time. B. the minimum time. C. the optimistic time. D. the activity variance. E. exactly twice as long as the expected time.
A
What is the cost to prepare a machine or process for production? A. setup cost B. holding cost C. ordering cost D. preparation cost
A
Which of the following activities are NOT part of project scheduling? A. Make sure all necessary activities are finished in proper sequence and on time. B. Chart separate schedules for personnel needs by type of skill and materials needs. C. Compute resources needed at each stage of production. D. Decide how long each activity will take.
A
Which of the following forecasting steps comes directly after determining the time horizon of the forecast? A. Select the forecasting model(s). B. Make the forecast. C. Gather the data. D. Select the items to be forecasted.
A
Which of the following international operations strategies uses decentralized authority with substantial autonomy at each business? A. multidomestic B. global C. transnational D. international
A
Which of the following is a qualitative forecasting method? A. Delphi method B. naive approach C. linear regression D. trend projection
A
Which of the following is a quantitative forecasting method? A. exponential smoothing B. jury of executive opinion C. sales force composite D. market survey
A
Which of the following is an advantage of PERT and CPM? A. Straightforward concept and not mathematically complex. B. Useful in monitoring only schedules. C. Project activities have to be clearly defined, independent, and stable in their relationships. D. Precedence relationships must be specified and networked together.
A
Which of the following is the purpose or rationale for an organization's existence? A. mission .B. strategy C. charter D. articles of incorporation
A
Which of the following statements is an assumption PERT makes regarding the probability of finishing the project on time? A. Total project completion times follow a normal probability distribution. .B. Activity times are statistically dependent. C. Total project completion times follow a uniform probability distribution. D. Activity times are statistically identical.
A
Which of the following statements regarding critical paths is true? A. On a specific project, there can be multiple critical paths, all with exactly the same duration. B. Every network has only one critical path. C. The duration of the critical path is the average duration of all paths in the project network. D. Some activities on the critical path may have slack. E. The shortest of all paths through the network is the critical path.
A
Which of the following statements regarding critical paths is true? A. On a specific project, there can be multiple critical paths, all with exactly the same duration. B. The duration of the critical path is the average duration of all paths in the project network. C. The shortest of all paths through the network is the critical path. D. Some activities on the critical path may have slack. E. Every network has only one critical path.
A
Which of these is NOT an advantage of outsourcing? A. potential creation of future competition .B. accessing outside technology C. gaining outside expertise D. cost savings
A
A six-month moving average forecast is generally better than a three-month moving average forecast if demand: A. follows an upward trend. B. is rather stable. C. has been changing due to recent promotional efforts. D. exceeds one million units per year. E. follows a downward trend.
B
Forecasts are usually classified by time horizon into which three categories? A. departmental, organizational, and industrial B. short-range, medium-range, and long-range C. finance/accounting, marketing, and operations D. exponential smoothing, regression, and time series E. strategic, tactical, and operational
B
Forecasts used for new product planning, capital expenditures, facility location or expansion, and R&D typically utilize a: A. short-range time horizon. B. long-range time horizon. C. naive method, because there is no data history. D. medium-range time horizon. E. trend extrapolation.
B
One use of inventory is A. to ensure that item cost is maximized. B. to provide a hedge against inflation. .C. to tightly synchronize production and distribution processes. D. to tightly synchronize a firm's production with its customers' demand.
B
Prior to embarking on supply chain design, operations managers must first consider A. how to select suppliers. B. "make-or-buy" and outsourcing decisions. C. what kind of distribution network to have. D. how to manage supply chain inventory.
B
The main difference between PERT and CPM is that: A. PERT is more accurate than CPM. B. PERT employs three time estimates for each activity. C. PERT assumes that activity durations are known. D. CPM assumes activity durations can vary. E. PERT ignores activity costs.
B
What is transferring a firm's activities that have traditionally been internal to external suppliers? A. vertical integration B. outsourcing C. keiretsu network D. make-or-buy
B
What is transferring a firm's activities that have traditionally been internal to external suppliers? A. make-or-buy B. outsourcing C. keiretsu network D. vertical integration
B
Which of the following describes using one supplier for a component and a second supplier for another component, where each supplier acts as a backup for the other? A. backup-sourcing B. cross-sourcing C. dual-sourcing D. outsourcing E. parallel-sourcing
B
Which of the following is NOT a time-series model? A. moving averages B. multiple regression C. naive approach D. exponential smoothing
B
Which of the following mitigation tactics could reduce economic risk? A. multiple transportation modes and warehouses B. purchasing contracts that address price fluctuations C. franchising and licensing D. subcontractors on retainer
B
Which of the following represents the FIRST step to crash a project? A. Update all activity times. B. Compute the crash cost per week for each activity in the network. C. Select the best activity to be crashed and crash it by one period. D. Find the critical path(s) in the project network.
B
Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding forecasting? A. Forecasting may involve taking historical data and projecting them into the future with a mathematical model. B. Forecasting is exclusively an objective prediction. C. Forecasting is the art and science of predicting future events. D. A forecast is usually classified by the future time horizon that it covers.
B
Which of the following statements regarding CPM is true? A. The critical path is that set of activities that has positive slack. B. All activities on the critical path have their LS equal to the maximum EF of all immediate predecessors. C. All activities on the critical path have their ES equal to their LF. D. Some networks have no critical path. E. The critical path is the shortest of all paths through the network.
B
Which of the following strategies is part collaboration, part purchasing from few suppliers, and part vertical integration? A. horizontal integration B. keiretsu networks C. virtual companies D. joint ventures
B
Which of the following strategies is part collaboration, part purchasing from few suppliers, and part vertical integration? A. joint ventures B. keiretsu networks C. virtual companies D. horizontal integration
B
A response strategy requires suppliers be selected based primarily on A. product development skills. B. being willing to share information. C. capacity, speed, and flexibility. D. cost.
C
Inventory control models assume that demand for an item is A. identical to the demand for other items. B. always dependent on the demand for other items. C. either independent of or dependent on the demand for other items. .D. always independent on the demand for other items.
C
Prior to embarking on supply chain design, operations managers must first consider A. how to manage supply chain inventory. B. how to select suppliers. C. "make-or-buy" and outsourcing decisions. D. what kind of distribution network to have.
C
The most realistic estimate of the time required to complete an activity is referred to as what? A. optimistic time B. pessimistic time C. most likely time .D. slack time
C
The stated purposed of NAFTA is to A. gain membership in the WTO. B. increase product innovation in the wireless communication sector. C. phase out all trade and tariff barriers among Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. .D. reduce the outsourcing of jobs to foreign countries.
C
The time an activity will take assuming very unfavorable conditions is: A. the minimum time. B. the activity variance. C. the pessimistic time. D. the optimistic time. E. exactly twice as long as the expected time.
C
The ________ distribution is used by PERT analysis to calculate expected activity times and variances. A. Normal B. Alpha C. Beta D. Binomial E. Gaussian
C
The ________ distribution is used by PERT analysis to calculate expected activity times and variances. A. Normal B. Gaussian C. Beta D. Alpha E. Binomial
C
What is transferring a firm's activities that have traditionally been internal to external suppliers? A. make-or-buy B. keiretsu network C. outsourcing D. vertical integration
C
What mathematical technique is used when planning menu changes? A. standard error of the estimate B. exponential smoothing C. multiple-regression analysis D. correlation analysis
C
Which of the following international operations strategies uses decentralized authority with substantial autonomy at each business? A. international B. transnational C. multidomestic D. global
C
Which of the following is the FIRST step in a forecasting system? A. Determine the time horizon of the forecast. B. Select the forecast model(s). C. Determine the use of the forecast. D. Select the items to be forecasted.
C
Which of the following is used for computations in CPM? A. pessimistic time B. optimistic time C. normal time D. most likely time
C
Which of the following statements regarding CPM networks is true? A. The late start of an activity is its late finish plus its duration. B. The early finish of an activity is the latest early start of all preceding activities. C. If a specific project has multiple critical paths, all of them will have the same duration. D. There can be multiple critical paths on the same project, all with different durations. E. None of the above are true.
C
Which of the following statements regarding PERT times is true? A. The pessimistic time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will require. B. The expected time estimate is calculated as t = (a + 4m + b). C. The optimistic time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will require. D. The most likely time estimate is an estimate of the maximum time an activity will require. E. The optimistic time estimate is an estimate of the maximum time an activity will require.
C
Which of these is NOT an advantage of outsourcing? A. gaining outside expertise B. accessing outside technology C. potential creation of future competition D. cost savings
C
Which time-series model below assumes that demand in the next period will be equal to the most recent period's demand? A. trend projection B. weighted moving average approach C. naïve approach D. moving average approach E. exponential smoothing approach
C
A disadvantage of the "few suppliers" sourcing strategy is: A. the risk of not being ready for technological change. B. the suppliers are less likely to understand the broad objectives of the procuring firm and the end customer. C. the lack of cost savings for customers and suppliers. D. the high cost of changing partners. .E. possible violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
D
A disadvantage of the "few suppliers" sourcing strategy is: A. the risk of not being ready for technological change. B. the suppliers are less likely to understand the broad objectives of the procuring firm and the end customer. C. the lack of cost savings for customers and suppliers. D. the high cost of changing partners. E. possible violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
D
A forecast with a time horizon of about 3 months to 3 years is typically called a: A. weather forecast. B. long-range forecast. C. short-range forecast. D. medium-range forecast. E. strategic forecast.
D
A response strategy requires suppliers be selected based primarily on A. product development skills. B. being willing to share information. C. cost. D. capacity, speed, and flexibility.
D
ABC inventory analysis pertains to A. allowance between checks. B. expensive, normal, and cheap inventory. C. accept, buy, and check. D. inventory categories by annual usage.
D
Among the following, critical path and slack time analysis MOST help A. point out who is responsible for various activities. B. highlight relationships among project activities. C. managers define the project activities. D. pinpoint activities that need to be closely watched.
D
Gantt charts are A. not widely used. B. widely used network techniques. C. not easy to understand. D. planning charts used to schedule resources and allocate time.
D
The ability of an organization to produce goods or services that have some uniqueness in their characteristics is: A. time-based competition. B. mass production. C. competing on quality. D. competing on differentiation. E. competing on productivity.
D
The advantage of having many potential suppliers is their willingness to A. provide innovations. B. participate in JIT. C. provide technical expertise. D. offer lower prices in the short term.
D
Three criteria for designing distribution networks to meet customer expectations are: A. low cost, product choice and service. B. rapid response, low cost, and service. C. low cost, rapid response and product choice. D. rapid response, product choice, and service.
D
What is considered the primary factor to forecast? A. food and beverage costs B. memorabilia sales activity C. monthly food sales D. people who walk through the door
D
What is developing the ability to produce goods or services previously purchased or actually buying a supplier or a distributor? A. virtual companies B. outsourcing C. horizontal integration D. vertical integration
D
What is the practice of keeping a product generic as long as possible before customizing? A. backward integration B. keiretsu C. vendor-managed inventory D. postponement E. forward integration
D
What is the practice of transferring a firm's activities that have traditionally been internal to external suppliers? A. nearshoring B. backsourcing C. farshoring D. outsourcing E. offshoring
D
Which of the following could reduce distribution risk? A. use multiple suppliers B. cross-country diversification C. secure IT systems D. careful selection, monitoring and effective contracts with penalties
D
Which of the following does NOT belong to holding costs? A. insurance on inventory B. pilferage, scrap, and obsolescence C. storage costs D. order processing
D
Which of the following international operations strategies involves a high degree of centralization? A. multidomestic B. international C. transnational D. global
D
Which of the following statements best characterizes delivery reliability? A. a company that always delivers on the same day of the week B. a company that delivers more frequently than its competitors C. a company that delivers faster than its competitors D. a company that always delivers at the promised time .E. a company that has a computerized delivery scheduling system
D
Which of the following statements regarding CPM networks is true? A. There can be multiple critical paths on the same project, all with different durations. B. The early finish of an activity is the latest early start of all preceding activities. C. The late start of an activity is its late finish plus its duration. D. If a specific project has multiple critical paths, all of them will have the same duration. E. None of the above are true.
D
Japanese manufacturers often pursue a strategy that is part collaboration, part purchasing from a few suppliers, and part vertical integration. What is this approach called? A. kanban B. samurai C. poka-yoke D. kaizen E. keiretsu
E
Local optimization is a supply-chain complication best described as: A. the opposite of the bullwhip effect. B. the prerequisite of global optimization. C. obtaining very high production efficiency in a decentralized supply chain. D. the result of supply chains built on suppliers with compatible corporate cultures. E. optimizing one's local area without full knowledge of supply chain needs.
E
The difference between AON and AOA networks is that: A. nodes designate activities in AON, while arrows designate activities in AOA. B. both are acceptable in practice; however, Microsoft Project uses AON. C. AOA networks sometimes require dummy activities. D. nodes consume no resources or time in AOA networks. E. All of the above are true.
E
The three major types of forecasts used by organizations in planning future operations are: A. exponential smoothing, Delphi, and regression. B. departmental, organizational, and territorial. C. causal, time-series, and seasonal. D. strategic, tactical, and operational. E. economic, technological, and demand.
E
What forecasting systems combine the intelligence of multiple supply chain partners? A. SUPPLY B. MSCP C. MULTISUP D. FORE E. CPFR
E
Which of the following best describes vertical integration? A. build long-term partnerships with a few suppliers B. develop the ability to produce products that complement the original product C. sell products to a supplier or a distributor D. develop the ability to produce the specified good more efficiently than before E. produce goods or services previously purchased
E
Which of the following describes using one supplier for a component and a second supplier for another component, where each supplier acts as a backup for the other? A. outsourcing B. backup-sourcing C. dual-sourcing D. parallel-sourcing E. cross-sourcing
E
Which of the following devices represents an opportunity for technology to improve security of container shipments? A. devices that can communicate the breaking of a container lock or seal B. devices that identify truck and container location C. devices that sense motion D. devices that measure radiation or temperature E. All of the above.
E
Which of the following is an example of competing on quick response? A. A firm produces its product with less raw material waste than its competitors do. B. A firm advertises more than its competitors do. C. A firm utilizes its capacity more effectively than its competitors do. D. A firm offers more reliable products than its competitors do. E. A firm's products are introduced into the market faster than its competitors' products.
E
Which of the following statements concerning CPM activities is false? A. The late finish is the earliest of the late start times of all successor activities. B. The early start of an activity is the latest early finish of all preceding activities. C. The early finish of an activity is the early start of that activity plus its duration. D. The late start of an activity is its late finish less its duration. E. The late finish of an activity is the earliest late start of all preceding activities.
E
The primary purpose of the mean absolute deviation (MAD) in forecasting is to: A. measure forecast accuracy. B. seasonally adjust the forecast. C. estimate the trend line. D. eliminate forecast errors. E. remove random variations.
a
Which of the following values of alpha would cause exponential smoothing to respond the SLOWEST to forecast errors? A. 0.10 B. 0.90 C. 0.2246 D. 0.50 E. cannot be determined
a
What organizational function has the opportunity to most affect net income? A. accounting B. purchasing C. marketing D. human resources
b
A seasonal index for a monthly series is about to be calculated on the basis of three years' accumulation of data. The three previous July values were 110, 150, and 130. The average demand over all months during the three-year time period was 190. What is the approximate seasonal index for July? A. 2.053 B. 0.487 C. 1.462 D. 0.684 E. cannot be calculated with the information given
d
A simple CPM network has three activities, A, B, and C. A is an immediate predecessor of B and of C. B is an immediate predecessor of C. The activity durations are Aequals4, Bequals3, Cequals8. A. The critical path is A-C, duration 12. B. The network has no critical path. C. The critical path cannot be determined without knowing PERT expected activity times. D. The critical path is A-B-C, duration 15. E. The critical path is A-B-C, duration 13.5
d
For a given product demand, the time-series trend equation is 53 minus 4x. The negative sign on the slope of the equation: A. is a mathematical impossibility. B. is an indication that the forecast is biased, with forecast values lower than actual values. C. implies that the cumulative error will be negative. D. implies that the coefficient of determination will also be negative. E. is an indication that product demand is declining.
e