Bad 375 Midterm Multiple Choice
One trade-off illustrated by the product-process matrix is between flexibility and cost.
True
Sharing capacity is a common source of external capacity.
True
The capacity cushion is the ratio of capacity used to the best capacity level.
False
The capacity utilization rate is found by dividing best operating level by capacity used.
False
The closer the customer is to the customer order decoupling point, the longer it takes the customer to receive the product.
False
In a flowchart, what is used to represent a storage activity in a process?
Inverted triangle
Which of the following is not a queue discipline discussed in the textbook?
Last in, first out
Capacity planning involving acquisition or disposal of fixed assets such as buildings, equipment or facilities is considered as which one of the following planning horizons?
Long range
In the service-system design matrix, a face-to-face loose specs service encounter is expected to have which of the following?
Low production efficiency
Buying a ticket for a college football game where there are multiple windows at which to buy the ticket features which type of queuing system line structure?
Multichannel, single phase
Buying food at a large food store with multiple checkout counters features which type of queuing system line structure?
Multichannel, single phase
Standing in line to buy a ticket for a movie where there are multiple windows at which to buy tickets is which type of queuing system line structure?
Multichannel, single phase
What dimension of competitiveness does time-to-market performance in product design and process selection affect?
Responsiveness to customer needs
The central problem in virtually every waiting line situation is a decision balancing the costs of adding services with the costs of waiting.
True
The focus in the make-to-stock environment is on providing finished goods where and when the customers want them.
True
The process when a company seeks to match the benefits of a successful position while maintaining its existing position by adding new features, services, and technologies into its current portfolio it is called straddling.
True
When evaluating capacity, managers need to consider both resource inputs and product outputs.
True
A continuous process indicates production of discrete parts moving from workstation to workstation at a controlled rate.
False
A diamond is conventionally used in a process flowchart to represent a storage area or queue.
False
A finite population in waiting line management refers to a population that is large enough in relation to the service system so that the change in population size caused by subtractions or additions to the population does not significantly affect the system probabilities.
False
A tellers' window in a bank is an example of a single-channel, multiphase queuing system.
False
Choosing how to accommodate customer induced variability in a service business is the decision of the front-line service provider.
False
In a partial measure of productivity, the denominator of the ratio would include all resources used or all inputs.
False
In the generic product development process, phase 2 (system-level design) begins with corporate strategy and incorporates market objectives.
False
Low rates of capacity utilization in service organizations are never appropriate.
False
Once an operations strategy is adopted and articulated, the primary emphasis becomes perfecting the system of activities that make up the strategy through detailed refinements over a long period of time.
False
Process selection refers to the strategic decision of choosing the volume of output to produce in a manufacturing facility depending upon the way that facility produces.
False
The larger the capacity cushion, the better
False
The time needed to respond to a customer's order is called the customer response time.
False
Entail unusually large uncertainties about the technology or market. The development process takes steps to address those uncertainties.
High-risk products
When deciding to add capacity to a factory, which of the following need not be considered?
Immediate product demand
Capacity planning that involves hiring, layoffs, some new tooling, minor equipment purchases, and subcontracting is considered as which one of the following planning horizons?
Intermediate range
Products are designed and built around a pre-existing technological subsystem.
Platform products
The production process has an impact on the product properties. Therefore, product design and process design cannot be separated.
Process-intensive products
Uses a repeated prototyping cycle. Results from one cycle are used to modify priorities in the ensuing cycle.
Quick-build products
Machine breakdown and repair in a 12-machine factory having one repair mechanic would develop which type of queuing system line structure concerning machine breakdowns?
Single channel, single phase
What is the first of the three simple steps in the high-level view of manufacturing?
Sourcing the parts we need
Which of the following is not a typical phases of product development?
Value engineering
Which of the following basic types of process structures is one in which similar equipment or functions are grouped together?
Work center
Core Services
-Appliance Repair -Restaurant Meal -Cable Television
Pure Goods
-Cereal -Motor Oil -Facial tissue
Core Goods
-Pickup Truck -Stove -Computer
Pure Services
-Tax accounting -Homeowners insurance -Legal Counsel
Assume the service rate for a queue in a truck-loading operation is 2 trucks per hour. Using the infinite queuing notion for the models presented in the textbook, which of the following is the average service time?
0.5 hour
A company has a factory that is designed so that it is most efficient (average unit cost is minimized) when producing 16,600 units of output each month. However, it has an absolute maximum output capability of 20,000 units per month, and can produce as little as 7,000 units per month without corporate headquarters shifting production to another plant. If the factory produces 11,810 units in October, what is the capacity utilization rate in October for this factory?
71.1
Assume a fixed cost for a process of $120,000. The variable cost to produce each unit of product is $35, and the selling price for the finished product is $50. Which of the following is the number of units that has to be produced and sold to break even?
8,000 units
Dell Computer's primary consumer business takes orders from customers for specific configurations of desktop and laptop computers. Customers must select from a certain model line of computer and choose from available parts, but within those constraints may customize the computer as they desire. Once the order is received, Dell assembles the computer as ordered and delivers it to the customer. What type of manufacturing process is described here?
Assemble-to-order
Which of the following best describes the term "cycle time"?
Average time between completions of successive units
Blocking in production processes is when activities in a stage must continue because there is no place to deposit completed items.
False
What is the term used to describe product attributes that attract certain customers and can be used to form the competitive position of a firm?
Competitive dimensions
System integration and validation are an important step in which variant of the generic product development process?
Complex systems
Which of the following models uses a schematic model of the sequence of steps in a problem and the conditions and consequences of each step?
Decision trees
A ride at an amusement park is an example of a service operation where there is direct contact between the customer and server, but little variation in the service process—neither the customer nor server has much discretion in how the service will be provided. As shown on the Service System Design Matrix, which type of service is being delivered?
Face-to-face, tight specs
What is the most commonly used priority rule for setting queue discipline, likely because it is seen as most fair?
First-come, first-served
A company is concerned about the number of customers who have to wait for service in its customer service department. Assume the rate at which customers are serviced is 12 per hour. Using the infinite queuing notion for the models presented in the textbook, which of the following is the mean time between arrivals?
None of these
Which of the following is a multifactor measure of productivity?
Output/Labor+Capital+Energy
Design for manufacturing and assembly delivers product improvements by emphasizing which of the following?
Simplification of the product by reducing the number of separate parts
The purpose of value analysis/value engineering (VA/VE) is to:
Simplify products and processes
Which of the following production process terms best describes the situation when activities in a stage of production must stop because there is no work?
Starving
A firm with a new proprietary technology seeks out a market where that technology can be applied.
Technology-push products
Which phase of the generic development process involves construction and evaluation of multiple preproduction versions of the product?
Testing and refinement
Which of the following is an example of a finite population in a queuing system?
The departmental faculty in line at the copier
The exponential distribution is often used to model what in a queuing system?
The time between arrivals and service completions
Measures of product development success can be organized in what three categories?
Time to market, productivity, and quality
A production facility works best when it focuses on a fairly limited set of production objectives.
True
A project layout is characterized by a relatively low number of production units in comparison with process and product layout formats.
True
An order qualifier is a set of screening criteria that permits a firm's products to be considered as possible candidates for purchase.
True
An order winner is a set of criteria that differentiates the products or services of one firm from another.
True
Break-even analysis can be used to help decide whether to perform a task with a special-purpose machine or with a general-purpose machine.
True
Capacity can be defined as the amount of available resource inputs relative to requirements for output over a particular period of time.
True
Capacity flexibility means having the ability to rapidly increase or decrease production levels or to shift production capacity quickly from one product or service to another.
True
Engineer-to-order firms will work with the customer to design the product and then make it from purchased materials, parts, and components.
True
What is an important difference between capacity planning in services and capacity planning in manufacturing operations?
All of these
What are the two main competitive dimensions related to product delivery?
Delivery speed and delivery reliability
A process flowchart uses which of the following symbols to represent a decision point in a flow diagram?
Diamond
What is it about service processes that makes their design and operation so different from manufacturing processes?
Direct customer involvement in the process
Which of the following are the three major components of a queuing system?
The number of customers and how they arrive, how customers exit the system, and the service system
A competency is not core if it is easy for competitors to imitate.
True
A contract manufacturer is an organization capable of manufacturing and/or purchasing all of the components needed to produce a finished product or device.
True
In a waiting line situation, multiple lines occur only when there are multiple servers.
True
Little's law says there is a long-term relationship among the inventory, throughput, and flow time of a production system in steady state.
True
The basic notion of economies of scale is that as a plant gets larger and volume increases, the average cost per unit of output drops.
True
The demand on a hospital's emergency medical services is considered an uncontrollable arrival pattern of the calling population.
True