Chapter 2 MGT 3121

In a process flow diagram what shape is used to represent a resource?

Box

Think about the head chef of a restaurant and his/her view of the restaurant as a process. Which scope would he/she NOT have? (Check all that apply.)

Bussing tables Seating customers

You manage the finances for a restaurant. Which flow unit would you be most interested in?

Currency

Little's Law states that Inventory = Flow Rate ×

Flow time

Think about the head chef of a restaurant and his/her view of the restaurant as a process. Which scope would he/she NOT have?

Seating customers Bussing tables

A process metric is quantitative.

True A process metric is something that can be measured.

Process scope defines the set of ________ included in the process. Multiple choice question.

activities

A process flow diagram indicates

both where a flow unit is processed and where it is held in inventory.

What shape is used to represent resources in a process flow diagram?

box

Process analysis ______ be used with both manufacturing and service businesses.

can

Which are not flow units for a restaurant?

cash registers

A process flow diagram is a graphical way to _______ the process.

describe

A process flow diagram is a graphical way to ________ the process

describe

Which flow unit do you think would enable you to measure the most activities in a restaurant process?

dollars

In a process flow diagram, we refer to the beginning of the flow as the upstream of the process and the end of the process as the

downstream

A process metric is something that we can measure that informs us about the and capability of a process.

efficiency

Some processes do not require inputs.

false

If a store manager wanted to know how many customers arrived at his/her store each hour, which process metric would he/she need?

flow rate

In a process flow diagram, triangles are used to represent ________ waiting in a system.

flow units

The earlier the patient arrives for the same departure time the ______ the flow time.

longer

The later the departure time for a patient for the same arrival time the ______ the flow time.

longer

A _______________ ______________ _____________ is a graphical way to describe a process.

process, flow, diagram

are shown as rectangular boxes in the process flow diagram.

resources

You should choose a flow unit based upon what you want to ______________ and ________________.

track and measure

You should choose a flow unit based upon what you want to ______________

track, measure

think of a restaurant as a process. Which would be a combination of inputs and outputs for such a process?

- Investments by the owner(s) of the restaurant become revenues - Ingredients become meals - Hungry customers become satisfied customers

Which has a higher flow rate? 10 customers arriving over two hours or 10 customers arriving over three hours?

10 customers arriving over two hours

Process analysis is only applicable to manufacturing settings.

False

True or false: A process is self-contained and does not accept inputs or produce outputs.

False

If Little's Law predicts that inventory for sweaters in a warehouse will be 10 units then there will ALWAYS be 10 sweaters in the warehouse.

False Little's Law only predicts averages. The warehouse may be empty for the first hour and have 20 sweaters in the second.

Inventory can be calculated by dividing the total number of customers that arrived during a period of time by the length of that period of time.

False That is how you calculate average flow rate.L

If a restaurateur wanted to know how many dollars his/her restaurant made per day, which process metric would he/she need?

Flow rate

Throughput is sometimes defined as the rate of production for a process. It is a synonym for which process metric?

Flow rate

A hospital administrator wants to know how long patients spend in the emergency room. What process metric is he/she interested in?

Flow time

Flow units waiting in the process without being worked on are often referred to as buffer ___________.

Inventory

If a hospital administrator wanted to know how many patient beds an emergency room would usually need what process metric would he/she need?

Inventory

If an accountant wanted to know how much money is typically tied up in a process, which process metric would he/she need?

Inventory

is a mismatch between supply and demand.

Inventory

What is NOT indicated by a process flow diagram? Multiple choice question.

Location of the process

_________ __________ identifies and analyzes all the activities involved in serving one unit of demand or, put differently, in providing one unit of supply.

Process Analysis

The process flow diagram is a graphical representation of the inputs to the process, outputs from the process, and the resources involved in the process.

True A process flow diagram highlights the key components of a process: (1) the resources, (2) the inputs, and, (3) the outputs.

In the case of an interventional radiology unit, there is only one flow unit for the process.

True The patient is provided with care in the interventional radiology unit.

Flow units waiting in the process without being worked on are often referred to as __________ inventory.

buffer

A process is self-contained and does not accept inputs or produce outputs.

false

If Little's Law predicts that there will be 20 customers arriving to a store each hour then 20 customers will arrive EVERY hour.

false Little's Law only predicts averages. 10 may arrive the first hour and 30 the second.

True or false: A process can only have one scope.

false The scope of a process is often determined by the perspective of the person managing it. If there are different managers, or individuals at different levels of management then there may be multiple scopes.

In terms of a process, inventory can only refer to physical things.

false When doing process analysis inventory refers to whatever flow unit you are interested in tracking.

Inventory is the number of units within the process.

flow

flow rate is the rate that ________ units travel through a process

flow

A manager of a car wash wants to know how long his/her facility takes to wash a car. What process metric does he/she need?

flow time

If a plant manager can reduce the time it takes to manufacture a part (i.e. the Flow Time) and the Flow Rate stays the same, what does Little's Law predict will happen to Inventory?

go down

If a supply chain manager can reduce Inventory while keeping the Flow Rate constant, what does Little's Law predict will happen to Flow Time?

go down

The more patients that arrive in a ten-hour span the _____ the flow rate.

high

Resources help the flow units to move from being a unit of __________ to a unit of ___________.

input, output

______________ help the flow units to move from being a unit of input to becoming a unit of output.

input, output

If a supply chain manager of a clothing retailer wanted to know how big a warehouse they would typically need to store sweaters, which process metric would he/she need?

inventory

Stock on hand is sometimes defined as the amount of goods a company has at a particular time. It is a synonym for which process metric?

inventory

Which metric is most difficult to calculate directly?

inventory

The larger the average flow rate, the ______ the average inventory level.

larger

The longer the average flow time, the _______ the average inventory level.

larger

The flow unit is the basic unit that ________ a process.

moves through

flow rate is the rate at which flow units travel through a

process

A rigorous framework for understanding the detailed operations of a business is known as _____.

process analysis A process capacity determines the maximum flow rate a process can provide per unit of time.

A process flow diagram outlines a directional flow in the process.

true

A(n) _________________ resource is a supplier of the downstream portion of a process.

upstream

A process manager participates in a process. True false question.

False

What shape is used to represent flow units waiting in a system (buffer inventory)?

Triangle

Arrows in a process flow diagram can indicate

outputs movement of people inputs

What are the key questions the manager of a process should ask?

- How can we make the process better? - Is the process performing well?

Inventory is a mismatch between supply and

demand