Principles of Operations Management
Who was the person most responsible for popularizing interchangeable parts in manufacturing? - Frederick Winslow Taylor - Henry Ford - Eli Whitney - Whitney Houston - Lillian Gilbreth
Eli Whitney
(T/F) "Considers inventory ordering and holding decisions" is within the strategic operations management decision area of managing quality.
False
(T/F) A naive forecast for September sales of a product would be equal to the forecast for August
False
(T/F) Agile project management is a type of work breakdown structure (WBS)
False
(T/F) An assembly drawing lists the operations necessary to produce the component.
False
(T/F) Firms using the global strategy can be thought of as "world companies"
False
(T/F) In the maturity stage of the product life cycle, operations managers will be particularly concerned with adding capacity or enhancing existing capacity to accommodate the increase in product demand.
False
(T/F) Low-cost leadership is the ability to distinguish the offerings of the organization in a way that the customer perceives as adding value.
False
(T/F) Manufacturing now constitutes the largest economic sector in postindustrial societies
False
(T/F) Mean squared error and exponential smoothing are two measures of the overall error of a forecasting model
False
(T/F) Outsourcing is the practice of moving a business process to a foreign country but retaining control of it.
False
(T/F) Regression lines graphically depict "cause-and-effect" relationships
False
(T/F) The enhancement of existing products is an external product development strategy
False
(T/F) The expected value of each course of action in a decision tree is determined by starting at the beginning of the tree (the left-hand side) and working toward the end of the tree (the right).
False
(T/F) The four phases of the product life cycle are incubation, introduction, growth, and decline
False
(T/F) according to PCN analysis, the consumer's process domain typically includes the set of activities at the beginning of the process chain
False
Which of the following is NOT a typical service attribute? - intangible product - easy to store - customer interaction is high - simultaneous production and consumption - difficult to resell
Easy to store
Manufacturability and value engineering has which of the following benefits? I. Reduced complexity of the product II. Reduction of environmental impact III. Additional standardization of components IV. Robust design V. Improved job design and safety - I, III, V - II, IV - I, III, IV - IV - I, II, III, IV, V
I, II, III, IV, V
Which of the following smoothing constants would make an exponential smoothing forecast equivalent to a naive forecast? - 0 - 1 divided by the number of periods - 0.5 - 1.0 - cannot be determined
1.0
Analysis of a PERT problem shows the estimated time for the critical path to be 108 days with a variance of 64. There is a .90 probability that the project will be completed before approximately day: - 98 - 108 - 109 - 115 - 118
118
An activity on a PERT network has these time estimates: optimistic = 1, most likely = 2, and pessimistic = 5. What is its expected activity time? - 2.00 - 2.33 - 2.67 - 4.67 - 14.00
2.33
The Dulac Box plant produces 500 cypress packing boxes in two 10-hour shifts. What is the productivity of the plant? - 25 boxes/hr - 50 boxes/hr - 5000 boxes/hr - 0.04 boxes/hr - 250 boxes/hr
25 boxes/hr
A cleaning company uses 10 lbs each of chemicals A, B and C for each house it cleans. After some quality complaints, the company has decided to increase its use of chemical A by an additional 10 lbs for each house. By what % has productivity (houses per pound of chemical) fallen? - 0% - 10% - 15% - 25% - 33%
25%
An operations manager is performing a factor-rating analysis to help her choose an outsourcing provider. She is focusing on three factors: A, B, and C, with weights of .50, .20, and .30, respectively. She has scored one potential outsourcer, Ling Services, on each of the factors using a scale of 10-50. Ling Services received a score of 30 for factor A, 46 for factor B, and 22 for factor C. What is the factor-rating score for Ling Services? - 98.0 - 32.7 - 21.8 - 29.2 - 30.8
30.8
A combination of effective Gantt chart use and other tactics allowed Delta to cut the average time for a plane layover by what % of the original 60 minute duration? - 33% to 40 minutes - 50% to 30 minutes - 20% to 48 minutes - 25% to 45 minutes - 40% to 36 minutes
33% to 40 minutes
A time-series trend equation is 25.3 + 2.1x. What is your forecast for period 7? - 23.2 - 25.3 - 27.4 - 40.0 - 179.2
40.0
The Dulac Box plant works two 8-hour shifts each day. In the past, 500 cypress packing boxes were produced by the end of each day. The use of new technology has enabled them to increase productivity by 30%. Productivity is now approximately: - 32.5 boxes/hr - 40.6 boxes/hr - 62.5 boxes/hr - 81.25 boxes/hr - 300 boxes/hr
40.6 boxes/hr
What is the forecast for May using a four-month moving average? November - 39 December - 36 January - 40 February - 42 March - 48 April - 46 - 38 - 42 - 43 - 44 - 47
44
What percentage of sales from new products is indicative of industry leaders? - 50% - 7.5% - 10 to 15% - above 75% - 20 to 25%
50%
Which of the following is the best example of competing on low-cost leadership? - A firm produces its product with less raw material waste than its competitors do. - A firm offers more reliable products than its competitors do - A firm's products are introduced into the market faster than its competitors' products are - A firm's research and development department generates many ideas for new products. - A firm advertises more than its competitors do.
A firm produces its product with less raw material waste than its competitors do.
Which of the following projects were completed by Bechtel? - Hoover Dam - Boston Central Artery/Tunnel - Rebuilding Kuwait after Iraq's invasion in 1990 - Rebuilding Iraq after the US invasion, starting in 2003 - All of these were Bechtel projects
All of these were Bechtel projects
Which of the following statements is most accurate? - Nearly all outsourcing relationships do not last beyond two years. - Nearly all U.S. firms that outsourced processes to India have backsourced them. - Approximately half of all outsourcing agreements fail. - Outsourcing is a relatively risk-free activity. - More than 90% of outsourcing agreements succeed.
Approximately half of all outsourcing agreements fail.
Which of these statements regarding time-cost tradeoffs in CPM networks is true? - Crashing is not possible unless there are multiple critical paths. - Crashing a project often reduces the length of long-duration, but noncritical, activities. - Activities not on the critical path can never be on the critical path, even after crashing. - Crashing shortens the project duration by assigning more resources to one or more of the critical tasks. - The crash time always exceeds the normal time.
Crashing shortens the project duration by assigning more resources to one or more of the critical tasks.
All of the following decisions fall within the scope of operations management EXCEPT for: - creating the company income statement. - design of goods and services - location strategy - managing quality - human resources and job design.
Creating the company income statement
Which of the following tasks within an airline company are related to operations? - crew scheduling - international monetary exchange - sales - advertising - accounts payable
Crew Scheduling
Match the following steps in Microsoft's development of Windows 8 to their respective WBS level. Develop Windows 8 Operating System System Testing Compatible with Windows 7 Develop GUI's Module Testing - Level 1, Level 2, Level 4, Level 3, Level 3 - Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, Level 5 - Level 0, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4 - Level 0, Level 2, Level 2, Level 3, Level 3 - Level 5, Level 3, Level 4, Level 1, Level 2
Level 1, Level 2, Level 4, Level 3, Level 3
The factor responsible for the largest portion of productivity increase in the United States is: - Labor - Management - Capital - All three combined - None of these
Management
The beta distribution is used in project management to: - calculate slack on activities not on the critical path - calculate the probability that a project will be completed within its budget. - calculate pessimistic and optimistic activity times. - determine which activity should be crashed - None of these
None of these
Current challenges in operations management include all of the following EXCEPT: - just-in-time performance - rapid product development - mass customization - empowered employees - None of these are exceptions, all are current challenges
None of these are exceptions, all are current challenges
Two critical path activities are candidates for crashing on a CPM network. Activity details are in the table below. To cut one day from the project's duration, activity ________ should be crashed first, adding ________ to project cost.
One; $400
The main difference between PERT and CPM is that: - PERT is more accurate than CPM. - PERT assumes that activity durations are known. - PERT ignores activity costs. - CPM assumes activity durations can vary. - PERT employs three time estimates for each activity
PERT employs three time estimates for each activity
An operations task performed at Hard Rock Café is: - borrowing funds to build a new restaurant. - advertising changes in the restaurant menu. - calculating restaurant profit and loss. - preparing employee schedules - all of the above
Preparing employee schedules
Which of the following is NOT a strategic operations management decision? - Maintenance - Price - Layout design - Quality - Inventory
Price
Which of the following is NOT an element of the management process? - controlling - leading - planning - pricing - staffing
Pricing
Which of the following statements about challenges in operations management is FALSE? - Job specialization is giving way to empowered employees. - Local or national focus is giving way to global focus. - Sustainable production is giving way to a low-cost focus. - Rapid product development is partly the result of shorter product cycles - The goal of mass customization is to produce customized products, whenever and wherever needed.
Sustainable production is giving way to a low-cost focus.
Which of the following is not present in a time series? - seasonality - operational variations - trend - cycles - random variations
operational variations
Which is NOT true regarding differences between goods and services? - Tangible goods are generally produced and consumed simultaneously; services are not. - Most goods are common to many customers; services are often unique to the final customer. - Services tend to have a more inconsistent product definition than goods. - Services tend to have higher customer interaction than goods. - None of the above are false
Tangible goods are generally produced and consumed simultaneously; services are not.
Which of the following statements is TRUE?? - The person most responsible for initiating the use of interchangeable parts in manufacturing was Eli Whitney. - The origins of management by exception are generally credited to Frederick W. Taylor. - The person most responsible for initiating the use of interchangeable parts in manufacturing was Walter Shewhart. - The origins of the scientific management movement are generally credited to Henry Ford. - The person most responsible for initiating the use of interchangeable parts in manufacturing was Henry Ford.
The person most responsible for initiating the use of interchangeable parts in manufacturing was Eli Whitney.
Which of the following is true of maquiladoras? - They discourage foreign businesses from outsourcing. - They assess tariffs only on the value-added work done. - They originated in China - None of these - All of these
They assess tariffs only on the value-added work done.
(T/F) A multinational corporation is a firm with an extensive international business involvement
True
(T/F) A naïve forecast for September sales of a product would be equal to the sales in August.
True
(T/F) An example of a "hidden" production function is the transfer of funds between accounts at a bank.
True
(T/F) Apple generates almost 60% of its revenue from products launched the past 4 years
True
(T/F) Cycles and random variations are both components of time series
True
(T/F) Every network has at least one critical path
True
(T/F) Most forecasting techniques assume that there is some underlying stability in the system.
True
(T/F) One advantage of exponential smoothing is the limited amount of record keeping involved
True
(T/F) The World Trade Organization has helped significantly reduce tariffs around the world
True
(T/F) The objective of the product decision is to develop and implement a product strategy that meets the demands of the marketplace with a competitive advantage.
True
Which of the following represents a reason for globalizing operations? - to improve the supply chain - to improve operations - to expand a products life cycle - to attract and retain global talent - all of these
all of these
Which of these statements regarding Regal Marine is TRUE? - Product design is a critical decision for the firm. - Regal uses a three-dimensional CAD system to shorten product development time. - Regal still uses some wooden parts and hand-produces some components. - Regal's use of CAD has resulted in a superior product - all of these are true
all of these are true
Which of the following shows in schematic form how a product is assembled? - an engineering drawing - an assembly routing - an assembly chart - a route sheet - a process sheet
an assembly chart
Short-range forecasts tends to ________ longer-range forecasts. - be less accurate than - be more accurate than - have about the same level of accuracy as - employ the same methodologies as - deal with more comprehensive issues than
be more accurate than
In a PERT network, non-critical activities that have little slack need to be monitored closely: - because PERT treats all activities as equally important. - because near-critical paths could become critical paths with small delays in these activities. - because slack is undesirable and needs to be eliminated - because they are causing the entire project to be delayed - because they have a high risk of not being completed
because near-critical paths could become critical paths with small delays in these activities.
Which of the following is NOT one of the phases of project management? - planning - scheduling - controlling - budgeting - all of these are project management phases
budgeting
The ability of an organization to produce goods or services that have some uniqueness in their characteristics is: - mass production - time-based competition - competing on productivity - competing on quality - competing on differentiation
competing on differentiation
3-D printing is an extension of: - modular design - quality function deployment - robust design - concurrent engineering - computer-aided design
computer-aided design
Cost minimization is an appropriate strategy in which stage of the product life cycle? - introduction - growth - adolescence - decline - retirement
decline
The fundamental purpose of an organization's mission statement is to: - create a good human relations climate in the organization. - define the organization's purpose in society. - define the operational structure of the organization. - generate good public relations for the organization - define the functional areas required by the organization.
define the organization's purpose in society.
Which of the following is NOT a step in the forecasting process? - determine the use of the forecast - eliminate any assumptions - determine the time horizon of the forecast - select the forecasting model - validate and implement the results
eliminate any assumptions
A forecast based on the previous forecast plus a percentage of the forecast error is a(n): - qualitative forecast - naive forecast - moving average forecast - weighted moving average forecast = exponential smoothing forecast
exponential smoothing forecast
Which of the following environmental factors has not contributed to Microsoft's changing strategy? - Google - security issues - faster processors - the Internet - global warming
global warming
A code of ethics especially for project managers: - has been established by the project management institute - has been formulated by the Federal government. - has been formulated by the World Trade Organization - is inappropriate, since everyone should use the same guidance on ethical issues. - does not exist at this time
has been established by the project management institute
Which of the following OM strategy/issues should a firm with a product in the maturity stage of its life cycle be LEAST concerned with at the present time? - increase capacity - long production runs - standardization - cost cutting - fewer rapid product changes
increase capacity
An SWOT analysis determines - internal strengths and weaknesses and internal opportunities and threats - internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats - external strengths and weaknesses and internal opportunities and threats - external strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats - internal strengths and opportunities and external weaknesses and threats.
internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats
Which of the international operations strategies uses import/export or licensing of existing products? - international strategy - global strategy - transnational strategy - multi-domestic strategy - worldwide strategy
international strategy
In which stage of the product life cycle should product strategy focus on process modifications as the product is being "fine-tuned" for the market? - introduction - growth - maturity - decline - incubation
introduction
Forecasts used for new product planning, capital expenditures, facility location or expansion, and R&D typically utilize a: - short-range time horizon - medium-range time horizon - long-range time horizon - naive method, bc there is no data history - trend extrapolation
long-range time horizon
At which stage of the product life cycle is product strategy likely to focus on improved cost control? - introduction - growth - maturity - saturation - inflation
maturity
Standardization is an appropriate strategy in which stage of the product life cycle? - introduction - growth - maturity - decline - retirement
maturity
A network has been crashed to the point where all activities are critical. Additional crashing: - is unnecessary - is impossible - is prohibitively expensive - may require crashing multiple tasks simultaneously - can be done, but all critical tasks must be reduced in duration
may require crashing multiple tasks simultaneously
Which of the following is not a type of qualitative forecasting? - jury of executive opinion - sales force composite - market survey - Delphi method - moving average
moving average
Which time-series model below assumes that demand in the next period will be equal to the most recent period's demand? - naive approach - moving average approach - weighted moving average approach - exponential smoothing approach - trend projection
naive approach
What are the five elements in the management process? - plan, direct, update, lead, and supervise - accounting, finance, marketing, operations, and management - organize, plan, control, staff, and manage - plan, organize, staff, lead, and control - plan, lead, organize, manage, and control
plan, organize, staff, lead, and control
Taco Bell's unique employee scheduling practices are partly the result of using: - point-of-sale computers to track food sales in 15 minute intervals - focus forecasting - a six-week moving average forecasting technique - multiple regression - point-of-sale computers teach food sales in 15 minute intervals and a six-week moving average forecasting technique are both correct
point-of-sale computers teach food sales in 15 minute intervals and a six-week moving average forecasting technique are both correct
Boeing's 737 airplane and Hewlett-Packard's printer business are examples of using enhancements and migrations of existing products to build on a ________. - product template - product pulpit - product platform - product dais - product foundation
production platform
Which of the following is NOT performed by Microsoft Project? - drawing the project AON network - identifying the critical path - providing PERT probability calculations - tracking the progress of the project - creating the project Gantt chart
providing PERT probability calculations
The tracking signal is the: - standard error of the estimate - absolute deviation of the last period's forecast - MAD - ratio of cumulative error / MAD - MAPE
ratio of cumulative error / MAD
The finance function is concerned with: - producing goods or providing services - procuring materials, supplies, and equipment - building and maintaining a positive image - generating the demand for the organization's products or services - securing monetary resources
securing monetary resources
An assembly chart: - shows graphically how the product is assembled. - shows an exploded view of the product. - lists the operations, including assembly and inspection, necessary to produce the component with the material specified in the bill of material. - provides detailed instructions on how to perform a given task - describes the dimensions and finish of each component.
shows graphically how the product is assembled
A result of concurrent engineering in product design is: - speedier product development - lower quality - less customer demand - higher costs - all of these
speedier product development
Which of the following statements regarding PERT times is true? - The expected time is an estimate of the time an activity will require if everything goes as planned. - The optimistic time estimate is an estimate of the maximum time an activity will require. - The expected time estimate is calculated as t = (a + 4m + b)/6. - The pessimistic time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will require. - The most likely time estimate is an estimate of the maximum time an activity will require.
the expected time estimate is calculated as t=(a+4m+b)/6
Caterpillar and Texas Instruments are two firms that have benefited from the use of: - the multi-domestic strategy option - the international strategy option - the transnational strategy option - the maquiladora system in Europe - the global strategy option
the global strategy option
A graphic technique for defining the relationship between customer desires and product (or service) is: - product lifecycle management - the house of quality - the moment of truth - the assembly drawing - modular design
the house of quality
The time an activity will take assuming very unfavorable conditions is: - the optimistic time - the pessimistic time - the activity variance - the minimum time - exactly twice as long as the expected time
the pessimistic time
Activity R on a CPM network has predecessors M and N, and has successor S. R has duration 5. N's late finish is 18, while M's is 20. S's late start is 14. Which of the following is definitely true? - R is critical and has zero slack - R has no slack but is not critical - The set of time cannot all be possible - N is a critical activity - S is a critical activity
the set of times cannot all be possible
Time-series data may exhibit which of the following behaviors? - trend -random variations - seasonality - cycles - they may exhibit all of these
they may exhibit all of these
Which of the international operations strategies involves high cost reductions and high local responsiveness? - international strategy - global strategy - transnational strategy - multi-domestic strategy - worldwide strategy
transnational strategy
Regal Marine: - no longer builds boats with any wooden parts - has replaced all human labor with robots - treats the production design decision as critical to its success - gets its competitive advantage by being the low-cost producer of boats designed by others - designs several new boats each year, but contracts other firms for the manufacture
treats the product design decision as critical to its success
Projects such as road building and plane building are: - ill-defined - well-defined - agile - not defined - none of these
well-defined
