MGMT Ch9

A planned elimination of positions or jobs is called ______.

downsizing

Large organizations benefit from ______.

economies of scope economies of scale

A system that calls for subassemblies and components to be manufactured in very small lots and delivered to the next stage of the production process just as they are needed is ______.

just-in-time (JIT) operations

The _____ approach to manufacturing relies on having broadly trained employees, general-purpose equipment, and long-term, cooperative supplier relationships.

lean

An operation that achieves increased efficiency while simultaneously improving effectiveness is referred to as ______.

lean manufacturing

Which are primary activities in the generic value chain?

marketing inbound logistics outbound logistics

The production of varied, individually customized products at the low cost of standardized, mass-produced products is called ______.

mass customization

Managers must usually restructure their internal processes and relationships with customers in fundamental ways to achieve ______ quality.

six sigma

When a product or process is defect-free 99.99966 percent of the time, it is said to have met ________ standards.

six sigma

Which statement about the three types of technology configurations is true?

They are equally useful for describing service or manufacturing technologies.

A multifaceted process focusing on creating two-way exchanges with customers to foster intimate knowledge of their needs, wants, and buying patterns is ______.

customer relationship management

Companies can better understand, as well as anticipate, the needs of current and potential customers by implementing ______.

customer relationship management

Among the components of the strategic triangle are

customers.

The structure of an organization must be designed to allow the organization to be

flexible and agile

A business leader seeks input from all levels of the company in a(n) ________ organization.

high-involvement

Oscar, the CEO of an international Internet security company, seeks input from his top management team and from lower levels of the company about the direction the company should take. By doing this, Oscar is building a ______.

high-involvement organization

A centralized company with a mechanistic structure and many rules and formal procedures typically uses ______ technology.

large batch

McDonald's and Burger King have production processes that tend to be very standardized, with all customers receiving similar if not identical products. They are examples of companies that use ______.

large batch technology

_____ is a team-based approach that incorporates perspectives of all functions, resulting in a higher-quality product.

Concurrent engineering

When a firm has the purchasing power to buy merchandise in larger volumes and sell it at lower prices than its competitors, it is benefiting from ______.

economies of scale

A strategy aimed at reducing the total time it takes to deliver a product or service is ______.

time-based competition

______ management is a way of managing in which the organization is committed to continuous improvement of a product or service.

Total quality

Which refers to an approach that uses statistical tools to analyze the causes of product defects and aims at defect-free outputs?

Six Sigma

If a company seeks to maximize internal efficiencies while emphasizing rigid organizational rules, it is using ______ structure.

a mechanistic

Huge, complex organizations can be difficult to manage because ______.

bureaucracy can run rampant future growth is complicated too much success can breed complacency

Large organizations are typically more ______.

bureaucratic

Strategic alliances are sometimes formed between ______.

governments universities firms and competitors

As companies grow larger, and their market share increases, customers may begin to view their products as ______.

having lower quality

Large-batch technologies are characterized by

higher spans of control.

Managers usually opt for downsizing only

in response to some kind of pressure.

The benefits of CIM include ______.

reduced waste greater control and predictability of production process production of high-variety products in high volume

Concurrent engineering, logistics, and just-in-time (JIT) are elements of

time-based competition.

Research and development, inbound logistics, and operations are just three of the six steps in the

value chain.

Armand is a manager for Interscope Machinery, which produces parts for a variety of industrial machines. One day, Melinda, who works on the production line, asks if she can speak with him in confidence. Armand agrees, and she tells him that problems with one of the line managers are preventing her team from meeting its monthly production goals. Armand listens and takes appropriate action. Which of Deming's "14 points" is this most clearly an example of?

Drive out fear so that people believe it is safe to report problems or ask for help.

True or false: In a high-involvement organization, top management makes all company decisions.

False

True or false: When it comes to company size, bigger is always better.

False

______ is a family of standards designed to improve total quality in all businesses for the benefit of producers and consumers.

ISO 9001

Which are accurate descriptions of strategic alliances?

Participating organizations accept joint ownership. Individual organizations share administrative authority. Social links are formed between participating organizations.

______ is the systematic application of scientific knowledge to a new product, process, or service.

Technology

An organization that is prepared to meet the complex and ever-changing challenges that it constantly confronts is ______.

adaptable

Which are important properties of an organization to enable it to meet or exceed customer expectations?

agility responsiveness adaptability

A firm that seeks to be viewed as a portfolio of capabilities, rather than a portfolio of specific businesses is focused on its ______ capabilities.

dynamic

Josephine is a highly successful manager, with a strong ability to adjust, and sometimes even proactively shape, situations as they arise. Josephine is demonstrating

dynamic capabilities.

Diseconomies of scale lead to new organizational problems, such as administrative difficulties that inhibit ______.

efficient performance

With continuous process technology, company communication tends to be ______.

informal

Effective lean manufacturing requires which of the following conditions?

informal and horizontal communication concurrent product development long-term, cooperative relationships with suppliers

Burns and Stalker described a ______ organization as one that seeks to maximize internal efficiency.

mechanistic

The type of organization most similar to a bureaucratic structure is a(n) ________ one.

mechanistic

The overall reason why organizing activities like agility, adaptability, and structuring are important to organizations is because it enables organizations to ______.

meet and exceed customer expectations

JIT represents a number of key production and organizational concepts including ______.

reduced setup times elimination of waste perfect quality reduced cycle times elimination of delays

Advanced Communications, a leading mobile communication service provider, has a deal with On-the-Go, a chain of several thousand convenience stores nationwide. Users of Advanced Communications simply have to punch in their phone number at an On-the-Go gas pump to get 20 percent off on up to 20 gallons of gas for the next 90 days. This scenario describes a(n)

strategic alliance.

Continuous processes are characterized by which of the following?

Machines and computers do all the work. They have a relatively organic structure.

Select the principles of ISO 9001.

There should be an evidence-based approach to decision making. The focus should be on customers.

Which statements about dynamic capabilities are true?

They focus heavily on innovation. They allow the company to compete on the basis of its core strategic strengths.

Which characteristics of a company's value chain build competitive advantage?

achieving economies of scale developing innovative distribution channels linking the elements in innovative ways

When a company decentralizes its decision making and allows employees to rely more heavily on judgment than on rules, the company is using ______ structure.

an organic

Rightsizing refers to

arriving at the size at which a company performs most effectively.

A design approach in which all relevant functions cooperate jointly and continually in a maximum effort aimed at producing high-quality products that meet customers' needs is ______.

concurrent engineering

To avoid problems of growth and size, companies can ______.

decentralize decision making organize around small, adaptive, team-based work units

One way to cope with issues of growth and size is to allow work units to make and implement choices. This is known as ______.

decentralizing decision making

Unilever is a large company with several organizations selling different product lines in each country in which it conducts business. Until a short while ago, Unilever was run by two CEOs. Being so large has made it difficult for Unilever to respond quickly to the changing market. This is known as ______.

diseconomies of scale

An organizational form that emphasizes flexibility has a(n) ______ structure.

organic

The coordinated series or sequence of functional activities necessary to transform inputs such as raw materials or professional skills into the finished goods or services customers value and want to buy, is called the ______.

value chain

The term "diseconomies of scale" refers to the

varied costs associated with an organization being too big.

The use of computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing to sequence and optimize a number of production processes is called ______.

computer integrated manufacturing

What types of products are produced through mass customization?

computers automobiles clothes

When all functional departments in an organization play a role in the design and production of a product that satisfies buyer needs, the organization is using ______ engineering.

concurrent

Manufacturing plants that have short production runs, are organized around products, and use decentralized scheduling are called _______ factories.

flexible

An organizing approach based on a commitment to making an operation both efficient and effective and that continually strives for improvement is called ______ manufacturing.

lean

In JIT operations, what happens when a customer places an order?

It triggers a factory order and the production process.

______ offers efficiency only when the costs of storing items are greater than the costs of frequent delivery.

JIT

An integrative approach to management that supports the attainment of customer satisfaction through a wide variety of tools and techniques that result in continuous improvement in the production of high-quality goods and services is known as ______.

TQM

Which term refers to the methods, processes, systems, and skills used to transform resources into products?

Technology

Characteristics of small batch technologies include all of the following EXCEPT ______.

centralized decision making

A design approach in which all relevant functions cooperate jointly and continually in a maximum effort aimed at producing high-quality products that meet customers' needs is known as

concurrent engineering.

CLM Technologies Inc. manufactures two products, and the production process is fully automated so that no human workers are on the factory floor. The factory runs 24 hours a day. This is an example of ______.

continuous process technology

An organization can increase its competitive advantage by building on its ________, or the knowledge, expertise, or skill that underlies its ability to be a leader in providing a range of goods or services.

core capabilities

A ______ is the knowledge, expertise, or skill that underlies a company's ability to be a leader in providing a range of goods or services.

core capability

Frasier Industries has knowledge, expertise, and skill in producing surgical needles that allow the company to be a leader in the surgical needle market. This ability to lead in the industry is called a ______.

core capability

Belinda's job at the corporate offices of Mobility Car Rental requires her to analyze large amounts of data in order to identify patterns regarding what people are looking for in a car rental experience. This is an example of

customer relationship management.

"We have grown substantially over the past five years and, as we have become more complex structurally, we have introduced more rules, procedures, and paperwork," said Lynda Thompkins, CEO of Gold Star Products. "I am afraid that these bureaucratic controls have increased ________ but weakened our ability to ________. As a result, some of our smaller and more nimble competitors are out-maneuvering us."

efficiency; innovate

Which are common approaches to downsizing?

eliminating functions replacing full-time employees with temporary workers

The movement of resources into the organization and of products from the organization to its customers is called ______.

logistics

Which function is often critical to an organization's ability to be responsive and achieve a competitive advantage?

logistics

Easy Rider Motorcycles, which produces and sells its bikes nationwide, has a top-notch design team that often works closely with the customer base. Team members pride themselves on the fact that they are constantly innovating, and they work to shorten the period of time from the earliest sketches to the point when they pass the finished design on to the production team. This is an example of

mass customization.

A business structure in which employees depend more on one another and relate more informally and personally is a(n) ________ organization.

organic

Flexible factories, as opposed to traditional factories, are characterized by ______.

organization around products, work cells, or teams local or decentralized scheduling

"We have hired a TBC consultant to teach us about logistics, just-in-time (JIT), and concurrent engineering," said Andy Jorgenson, COO of Link Systems, Inc. His VP of Operations, Janice Sloan, asked, "What is 'TBC'?" Andy replied, "'TBC' refers to time-based competition, that is, broad strategies that

reduce the total time needed to deliver goods or services."

Organizations need to be able to respond effectively to their environments. One of the most important factors that influence an organization's ability to do this is ______.

size

The basic technologies for processing include which of the following?

small batch large batch continuous process

Marilyn Bee is an entrepreneur who specializes in catering to high-end photography enthusiasts. In her organization, there are no rules and formal procedures, and the decision making tends to be decentralized. Marilyn's operation is best described as ______.

small batch technology

For companies, being small is good for ______, but being large is good for ______.

speed; market power

Bill is implementing logistics, just-in-time, and simultaneous engineering to reduce the total time needed to deliver his service to his customers. These strategies are known as ______.

time-based competition