OSCM 303 Midterm Study Guide

Which of the following is one of the four principles of bottleneck management? A) Release work orders to the system at the bottleneck's capacity pace. B) Lost time at a non-bottleneck is lost system capacity. C) Increasing capacity at bottleneck stations is a mirage. D) Increased non-bottleneck capacity is increased system capacity. E) Bottlenecks should be moved to the end of the system process.

A) Release work orders to the system at the bottleneck's capacity pace.

Which of the following statements regarding "Six Sigma" is TRUE? A) The term has two distinct meanings—one is statistical; the other is a comprehensive quality system. B) Six Sigma means that about 94 percent of a firm's output is free of defects. C) The Six Sigma program was developed by Toyota in the 1970s. D) The Six Sigma program is for manufacturing firms and is not applicable to services. E) Six Sigma certification is granted by the International Standards Organization (ISO).

A) The term has two distinct meanings—one is statistical; the other is a comprehensive quality system.

Which of the following is FALSE regarding control charts? A) Values above the upper control limits imply that the product's quality is exceeding expectations. B) Control charts are built so that new data can be quickly compared to past performance data. C) Control charts graphically present data. D) Control charts plot data over time. E) None of the above is false.

A) Values above the upper control limits imply that the product's quality is exceeding expectations.

Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) includes manufacturing systems that have: A) computer-aided design, a flexible manufacturing system, inventory control, warehousing and shipping integrated. B) transaction processing, management information systems, and decision support systems integrated. C) automated guided vehicles, robots, and process control integrated. D) robots, automated guided vehicles, and transfer equipment integrated. E) all of their computers integrated with the marketing department.

A) computer-aided design, a flexible manufacturing system, inventory control, warehousing and shipping integrated.

The "four Ms" of cause-and-effect diagrams are: A) material, machinery/equipment, manpower, and methods. B) material, methods, men, and mental attitude. C) named after four quality experts. D) material, management, manpower, and motivation. E) mentality, motivation, management, and manpower.

A) material, machinery/equipment, manpower, and methods.

Which type of layout features departments or other functional groupings in which similar activities are performed? A) process-oriented B) product-oriented C) fixed-position D) mass production E) unit production

A) process-oriented

In most banks, customers need to go to different service areas for opening accounts, applying for loans, and making deposits. This service strategy is an example of: A. separation. B. modules. C. focus. D. automation. E. self-service.

A. separation.

Which of the following characteristics best describes repetitive focus? A) It uses sophisticated scheduling to accommodate custom orders. B) Its output is a standardized product produced from modules. C) Operators are broadly skilled. D) It is widely used for the manufacture of steel. E) low volume, high variety

B) Its output is a standardized product produced from modules.

The process improvement technique that sorts the vital few from the trivial many is: A) Taguchi analysis. B) Pareto analysis. C) benchmarking. D) Deming analysis. E) Yamaguchi analysis.

B) Pareto analysis.

A customer service manager at a retail clothing store has collected numerous customer complaints from the forms they fill out on merchandise returns. To analyze trends or patterns in these returns, she has organized these complaints into a small number of sources or factors. This is most closely related to the ________ tool of TQM. A) quality loss function B) cause-and-effect diagram C) scatter diagram D) histogram E) process control chart

B) cause-and-effect diagram

The typical goal used when developing a process-oriented layout strategy is to: A) minimize the distance between adjacent departments. B) minimize the material handling costs. C) maximize the number of different tasks that can be performed by an individual machine. D) minimize the level of operator skill necessary. E) maximize job specialization.

B) minimize the material handling costs.

Governmental attitudes toward issues such as private property, intellectual property, zoning, pollution, and employment stability may change over time. What is the term associated with this phenomenon? A) bureaucratic risk B) political risk C) legislative risk D) judicial risk E) democratic risk

B) political risk

Product-focused processes: A) allow more customization, but are not very efficient. B) tend to have long, continuous production runs. C) are processes that accommodate a variety of products or customer groups. D) apply only to service firms, not to manufacturers. E) are profitable because customers demand flexibility, not specialization.

B) tend to have long, continuous production runs.

________ and currency risks are to key country success factors as land costs and ________ are to key region success factors. A) Cultural issues; zoning restrictions B) Exchange rates; environmental impact C) Labor costs; exchange rates D) Land costs; air and rail systems E) Location of markets; climate

C) Labor costs; exchange rates ???

The process of identifying other organizations that are best at some facet of your operations and then modeling your organization after them is known as: A) continuous improvement. B) employee empowerment. C) benchmarking. D) copycatting. E) patent infringement.

C) benchmarking.

Which of the following represents a common way to manage capacity in the service sector? A) appointments B) reservations C) changes in staffing levels D) first-come, first-served service rule E) "early bird" specials in restaurants

C) changes in staffing levels

When making a location decision at the region/community level, which of these would be considered? A) government rules, attitudes, stability, incentives B) cultural and economic issues C) cost and availability of utilities D) zoning restrictions E)air, rail, highway, waterway systems

C) cost and availability of utilities

Which of the following methods best considers intangible costs related to a location decision? A) crossover methods B) locational cost-volume analysis C) factor-rating method D) the transportation method E) center-of-gravity method

C) factor-rating method

Three of the four types of processes are: A) goods, services, and hybrids. B) manual, automated, and service. C) process focus, repetitive focus, and product focus. D) modular, continuous, and technological. E) input, transformation, and output.

C) process focus, repetitive focus, and product focus.

An assembly line is an example of a: A) product-focused process. B) process-focused process. C) repetitive process. D) line process. E) specialized process.

C) repetitive process.

One fundamental difference between a process chart and a flowchart is that: A) the process chart adds a time dimension to the horizontal axis, while a flowchart is not time-oriented. B) the process chart includes the supply chain, while the flowchart stays within an organization. C) the process chart is more like a table, while the flowchart is more like a schematic diagram. D) the process chart focuses on the customer and on the provider's interaction with the customer, while the flowchart does not deal directly with the customer. E) None of these is true, because a process chart and a flowchart are the same thing.

C) the process chart is more like a table, while the flowchart is more like a schematic diagram.

A fish-bone chart is also known as a(n): A) Scatter diagram. B) poka-yoke diagram. C) Kaizen diagram. D) Ishikawa diagram. E) Taguchi diagram.

D) Ishikawa diagram.

Suppose that a firm has historically been achieving "Three Sigma" quality. If the firm later changes its quality management practices such that it begins to achieve "Six Sigma" quality, which of the following phenomena will result? A) The average number of defects will be cut in half. B) The specification limits will be moved twice as far from the mean. C) The average number of defects will be cut by 99.9997%. D) The average number of defects will be cut by 99.87%. E) The average number of defects will be cut by 99.73%.

D) The average number of defects will be cut by 99.87%.

Which of the following is NOT an information requirement for solving a load-distance problem to design a process layout? A) a list of departments or work centers B) a projection of work flows between the work centers C) the distance between locations D) a list of product cycle times E) the cost per unit of distance to move loads

D) a list of product cycle times

Which of the following constitutes a major trend influencing office layouts? A) downsizing B) globalization C) environmental issues D) dynamic needs for space and services E) health issues

D) dynamic needs for space and services ??? - Off-site employees

In mass service and professional service, the operations manager should focus extensively on: A) automation. B) equipment maintenance. C) sophisticated scheduling. D) human resources. E) cost-cutting initiatives.

D) human resources.

When sample measurements fall inside the control limits, it means that: A) each unit manufactured is good enough to sell. B) the process limits cannot be determined statistically. C) the process output exceeds the requirements. D) if there is no other pattern in the samples, the process is in control. E) the process output does not fulfill the requirements.

D) if there is no other pattern in the samples, the process is in control.

The most common tactic followed in process-layout planning is to arrange departments or work centers so they: A) minimize the cost of skilled labor. B) maximize the machine utilization. C) are equally allocated within the available space. D) minimize the costs of material handling.

D) minimize the costs of material handling.

Because problems with fixed-position layouts are so difficult to solve well onsite, operations managers: A) virtually never employ this layout strategy. B) utilize this approach only for construction projects such as bridges and office towers. C) increase the size of the site. D) often complete as much of the project as possible off site. E) utilize this layout only for defense contractors.

D) often complete as much of the project as possible off site.

Which of the following is usually NOT one of the top considerations in choosing a country for a facility location? A) availability of labor and labor productivity B) exchange rates C) attitude of governmental units D) zoning regulations E) location of markets

D) zoning regulations

Which of the following techniques is NOT a technique for dealing with a bottleneck? A) Schedule throughput to match the capacity of the bottleneck. B) Increase the capacity of the constraint. C) Have cross-trained employees available to keep the constraint at full operation. D) Develop alternate routings. E) All are techniques for dealing with bottlenecks.

E) All are techniques for dealing with bottlenecks.

Which of the following is NOT a retail layout practice? A) Locate the high-draw items around the periphery of the store. B) Distribute power items throughout the store. C) Use end-aisle locations to maximize product exposure. D) Use prominent locations for high-impulse and high-margin items. E) All of these are retail layout practices.

E) All of these are retail layout practices.

The disadvantages of process-oriented layout come from: A) the use of special purpose equipment. B) machine maintenance, which tends to seriously degrade the capacity of the entire system. C) the use of specialized material handling equipment. D) the need for stable demand. E) the general-purpose use of the equipment.

E) the general-purpose use of the equipment. ???

Process redesign: A. tries to bring about dramatic improvements in performance. B. is sometimes called process reengineering. C. often focuses on activities that cross functional lines. D. is the fundamental rethinking of business processes. E. all of these

E. all of these

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 a) I, II, III, IV, V b) IV c) II, IV d) I, III, IV e) I, III, V a)I, III, V

a) I, II, III, IV, V

Globalization of the location decision is the result of all EXCEPT which of the following? a) higher quality of labor overseas b) more rapid, reliable travel and shipping c) high differences in labor costs d) ease of capital flow between countries e)market economics

a) higher quality of labor overseas

A hospital benchmarked against a Ferrari racing team in an effort to: a) improve patient handoff quality. b) reduce the number of doctors. c) increase surgery prep time. d) lengthen surgery duration. e)all of these

a) improve patient handoff quality.

Costs of dissatisfaction, repair costs, and decreased future demand are elements of cost in the: a) quality loss function. b) Pareto chart. c) ISO 9000 quality cost calculator. d) Ishikawa diagram. e)process chart.

a) quality loss function.

Based on his 14 Points, Deming is a strong proponent of: a) training and knowledge. b) inspection at the end of the production process. c) looking for the cheapest supplier. d) an increase in numerical quotas to boost productivity. e)all of these.

a) training and knowledge.

Which of the following is most likely to affect the location strategy of a manufacturing firm? a) utility costs b) appearance/image of the area c) purchasing power of drawing area d) parking availability e)competition in the area

a) utility costs

Which one of the following technologies is used ONLY for material handling, NOT actual production or assembly? a. AGVs b. FMS c. CAD d. CNC e. Robots

a. AGVs

"The employee cannot produce products that on average exceed the quality of what the process is capable of producing" expresses a basic philosophy in the writings of: a) Joseph M. Juran. b) W. Edwards Deming. c) Philip B. Crosby. d) Vilfredo Pareto. e)Armand Feigenbaum.

b) W. Edwards Deming.

A successful TQM program incorporates all EXCEPT which of the following? a) benchmarking b) centralized decision-making authority c) employee involvement d) JIT e)continuous improvement

b) centralized decision-making authority

Quality can improve profitability by reducing costs. Which of the following is NOT an aspect of reduced costs by quality improvements? a) lower warranty costs b) flexible pricing c) lower rework and scrap costs d) increased productivity e)All of these are aspects of reduced costs by quality improvements.

b) flexible pricing

Service blueprinting: a) determines the best time for each step in the process. b) focuses on the provider's interaction with the customer. c) uses the schematic of a house to diagram a service process. d) provides the basis to negotiate prices with suppliers. e)mimics the way people communicate.

b) focuses on the provider's interaction with the customer.

What identifies components by a coding scheme that specifies size, shape, and the type of processing (such as size)? a) bill of material b) group technology c) assembly chart d) assembly drawing e)engineering drawing

b) group technology

Advances in technology: a) have dramatically changed health care, but have not changed retailing. b) have had a dramatic impact on customer interaction with services and with products. c) have had only a limited impact on services. d) have impacted the manufacturing sector only. e)have failed to change the level of customer interaction with an organization.

b) have had a dramatic impact on customer interaction with services and with products.

A location decision for a traditional department store (e.g., Macy's) would tend to have what type of focus? a) labor focus b) revenue focus c) cost focus d) environmental focus e)education focus

b) revenue focus

Mechanical devices that use electronic impulses to activate motors and switches are called: a) automated storage and retrieval systems. b) robots. c) automated guided vehicles. d) additive manufacturing. e)flexible manufacturing systems.

b) robots.

Value analysis takes place: a) during the initial stages of production when something needs to be done to assure product success. b) when the product is first conceived. c) when the product cost is very low. d) during the production process when it is clear that the new product is a success. e)when the product is selected and designed.

b) when the product is first conceived.

A document for production that gives the instruction to make a given quantity of a particular item, usually to a given schedule, is a(n): a) assembly chart. b) work order. c) bill of information. d) route sheet. e)value analysis.

b) work order.

A production manager at a pottery factory has noticed that about 70 percent of defects result from impurities in raw materials, 15 percent result from human error, 10 percent from machine malfunctions, and 5 percent from a variety of other causes. This manager is most likely using: a) a flowchart. b) a quality loss function. c) a Pareto chart. d) a scatter diagram. e)a cause-and-effect diagram.

c) a Pareto chart.

Additive manufacturing (3-D printing) is an extension of: a) concurrent engineering. b) quality function deployment. c) computer-aided design. d) robust design. e)modular design.

c) computer-aided design.

Building high-morale organizations and building communication networks that include employees are both elements of: a) Six Sigma certification. b) the tools of TQM. c) employee empowerment. d) ISO 9000 certification. e)Taguchi methods.

c) employee empowerment.

A Three Sigma program has how many defects per thousand? a) 34 b) 1500 c) 3 times the standard deviation d) 2.7 e) 2700

d) 2.7

Which of the following is TRUE regarding the concept of flexibility? a) It is the ability to respond with little penalty in time, cost, or customer value. b) It may involve modular or movable equipment. c) It may be accomplished with digitally controlled equipment. d) All of these are true. e)None of these is true.

d) All of these are true.

Which of the following is TRUE regarding vision systems? a) They do not become bored. b) They are modest in cost. c) They are consistently accurate. d) All of these are true. e)None of these is true.

d) All of these are true.

"Quality Is Free," meaning that the costs of poor quality have been understated, is the work of: a) Joseph M. Juran. b) Crosby, Stills, and Nash. c) Armand Feigenbaum. d) Philip B. Crosby. e)W. Edwards Deming.

d) Philip B. Crosby.

Which of the following technologies could enable a cashier to scan the entire contents of a shopping cart in seconds? a) CAD/CAM b) AGV c) FMS d) RFID e)ASRS

d) RFID

A system using an automated work cell controlled by electronic signals from a common centralized computer facility is called: a) an adaptive control system. b) a manufacturing cell. c) an automatic guided vehicle (AGV) system. d) a flexible manufacturing system. e) robotics.

d) a flexible manufacturing system.

Regarding the quality of design, production, and distribution of products, an ethical requirement for management is to: a) gain ISO 9000 certification for the organization. b) compare the cost of product liability to the external failure cost. c) have the organization's legal staff write disclaimers in the product instruction booklets. d) determine whether any of the organization's stakeholders are being wronged by poor quality products. e)obtain a product safety certificate from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

d) determine whether any of the organization's stakeholders are being wronged by poor quality products.

"Operators simply load new programs, as necessary, to produce different products" describes: a) automated guided vehicles. b) vision systems. c) CAD. d) flexible manufacturing systems. e)process control.

d) flexible manufacturing systems.

Among the tools of TQM, the tool ordinarily used to aid in understanding the sequence of events through which a product travels is a: a) Taguchi map. b) Pareto chart. c) poka-yoke. d) flowchart. e)check sheet.

d) flowchart.

The advantage of additive manufacturing includes supporting: a) ASRS and AGVs. b) flexible manufacturing systems (FMS). c) information numeric control. d) innovative product design. e) all of these.

d) innovative product design.

Reducing the complexity of a product and improving a product's maintainability are activities of: a) design for destruction (DFD). b) product lifecycle management (PLM). c) organizing for product development. d) manufacturability and value engineering. e)product-by-value analysis.

d) manufacturability and value engineering.

"Making it right the first time" is: a) a user-based definition of quality. b) the definition of quality proposed by the American Society for Quality c) a product-based definition of quality. d) an unrealistic definition of quality. e) a manufacturing-based definition of quality.

e) a manufacturing-based definition of quality.

Quality function deployment (QFD): a) is used early in the design process. b) is used to determine where to deploy quality efforts. c) determines what will satisfy the customer. d) translates customer desires into the target design. e) all of these

e) all of these

A regional bookstore chain wants to build a distribution center that is centrally-located for its eight retail outlets. It will most likely employ which of the following tools of analysis? a) assembly line balancing b) load-distance analysis c) locational cost-volume analysis d) linear programming e) center-of-gravity method

e) center-of-gravity method

Kaizen is a Japanese term meaning: a) just-in-time (JIT). b) a fishbone diagram. c) a foolproof mechanism. d) setting standards. e) continuous improvement.

e) continuous improvement.

Payoffs, alternatives, and expected monetary values are terms associated with: a) product life-cycle management. b) quality function deployment. c) make-or-buy analysis. d) virtual reality. e) decision trees.

e) decision trees.

All of the following costs are likely to decrease as a result of better quality EXCEPT: a) scrap costs. b) customer dissatisfaction costs. c) inspection costs. d) warranty and service costs. e) maintenance costs.

e) maintenance costs.

At which stage of the product life cycle is product strategy likely to focus on improved cost control? a) saturation b) introduction c) growth d) inflation e) maturity

e) maturity

Techniques for building employee empowerment include: a) building high-morale organizations. b) building communication networks that include employees. c) developing open, supportive supervisors. d) moving responsibility from both managers and staff to production employees. e)All of these are techniques for employee empowerment.

e)All of these are techniques for employee empowerment.

Members of quality circles are: a) always machine operators. b) all trained to be facilitators. c) external consultants designed to provide training in the use of quality tools. d) paid according to their contribution to quality. e)None of these; all of the statements are false.

e)None of these; all of the statements are false.

Operations managers must be able to anticipate changes in which of the following? a. product mix b. product opportunities c. product volume d. the products themselves e. all of these

e. all of these

Stakeholders who are affected by the production and marketing of poor quality products include: a) customers and distributors. b) suppliers and creditors. c) stockholders and employees. d) all of these e) none of these

stockholders, employees, customers ???