GB320- Exam 1: Quiz Questions

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

***A duration estimation technique that uses probabilities by applying a weighted average of optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely estimates to derive an expected duration for an activity is the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT).

P-Charts

**P-charts are used to monitor the fraction, or proportion, of defects or errors in a product or service. In general, control charts for attributes, unlike variables, require larger sample sizes to develop meaningful quality measures.

Capable Process

**The process capability index (Cp) is a measure of how well a process meets its specification limits. The measure is defined as the ratio of the range of design tolerances (specification limits) to the range of the variability of the process. The higher the value of Cp, the better the process capability.

Project Life Cycle Phases

-Conceptualization involves team members deciding what they expect to achieve with the project. -Then planning the project requires more man hours in determining the actual steps and the people needed to complete the steps. -The execution stage is where the actual work of the project is performed, thus requiring the heaviest scheduled man hours. -The final stage, termination, is when the finished project is transferred to its intended users and the actual work done on the proect is rapidly decreasing.

Which of the following is a quality appraisal tool?

A process flowchart **A process flowchart graphically displays the steps in a manufacturing process and its flow. Before beginning any process quality improvement effort, it is a good idea to represent the process in its current state using a flowchart.

______ manufacturing refers to the ability of an organization to respond quickly to market changes.

Agile **In the rapidly changing global markets, firms are in need of responding to changes quickly. Agile manufacturing is the ability of an organization to respond quickly to market changes with a set of processes, tools, and training.

By employing child labor in its factories in Pakistan, Nike is ignoring its ______.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Process capacity analysis is used to determine whether a process is able to meet a set of ______.

Design specification limits *Design specification limits, also known as tolerances, are numerical maximum and minimum values within which the outputs produced by a process are expected to fall to be considered as having acceptable quality to the customer. These limits are calculated ± the designed target value for that process.

A project manager wants to make future projections about the estimated cost and schedule based on the project's current state. Which of the following tools should the project manager use?

Earned value management **The earned value management (EVM) method calculates the value generated by the project as well as the budgeted and actual costs at a certain point in time. Time is important because it becomes the basis for determining how much work should be accomplished at certain milestones.

What kind of companies introduce innovative products and services that go above and beyond meeting minimal legal requirements?

Ethically responsible companies **Ethically responsible companies introduce innovative products and services that go above and beyond meeting minimum legal requirements. Customer safety and strictly adhering to legal and ethical standards are two examples that demonstrate going beyond minimal legal requirements.

A project is considered successful if it meets budget and schedule requirements.

FALSE **A project's success must be evaluated by the elements that characterize the project. These elements are time (adherence to schedule), cost, and quality.

A project manager has to determine the steps to be taken to manufacture the company's product and deliver its services. The project manager is performing the ______ supply chain activity for the project.

Fabrication Fabrication is the manufacturing or assembling of materials to create the product or service.

A range chart monitors the variability between samples.

False

PLM is the same as PLCM.

False

Only large corporations can have the resources to operate in global markets.

False **Because of the advancements in the information technology and internet it is now possible for small to medium size companies to operate and compete in the global markets.

Modular design is a trade-off between standardization and customization.

False **Modular design is an approach in which independently created units called modules can be combined with others and easily rearranged, replaced, or interchanged to create different products.

Firms that provide raw materials for another firm's manufacturing or service production processes are called first-tier suppliers.

False **The direct providers (suppliers) of a firm's manufacturing or service production processes are called the first-tier supplier. In contract, second-tier suppliers are providers of raw materials to the first-tier suppliers (i.e., the suppliers of the firm's suppliers).

There is a clear separation between tactical and operational supply chain and operations decisions.

False **The separation between tactical and operational supply chain is not clear and depends largely on the business context and industry. What is considered tactical in one context/firm may be considered operations in another.

Flexibility is one of the core competencies that do not apply to service operations.

False **Flexibility is the service firm's order-winning criterion and a core competency to its customers.

Today, companies can go all alone to compete across multiple attributes of their core competencies.

False **In the competitive world of business, companies have to rely on their supply chain partners and leverage their resources and operational capabilities. The competition is no longer between individual firms; instead, it is between supply chains.In the competitive world of business, companies have to rely on their supply chain partners and leverage their resources and operational capabilities. The competition is no longer between individual firms; instead, it is between supply chains.

______ is an online collaborative tool that allows groups to work off similar documents related to a global project.

Google Docs

Which of the following is an example of a socially responsible company as described in this chapter?

Patagonia

Which of the following is a management method for control and continuous service improvement?

Plan, Do, Check, Act feedback system

______ will be effective for reducing variations in a company's manufacturing processes.

Six Sigma **Out of the provided option, Six Sigma is the only one relating to variation (i.e., standard division or variance), name of which literally referring to a measure of variation. It is a quality and process improvement initiative that aims at reducing variations and thereby improving processes.

Network diagram (AON)

The most common type of activity network employs activity on node (AON) network representation. In the AON method, the node represents the individual project activity and the path arrows represent the sequencing of tasks from node to node through the network.

______ refers to project management practices that lack a real commitment to use the project activities in support of sustainable goals.

greenwashing

A firm's customers are directly involved in which stage of the traditional new product development process?

idea generation **PLM is a strategic, company-wide business approach that spans all aspects of a product's life cycle and its supply chain. It covers everything from the origination of the concept for the product, its design, sourcing of its components, testing, manufacturing, delivery, and service to improvements to the product based on how customers responded to it.

The wear and tear of production equipment as it ages is the cause of ______ in the production process.

internal variations **Product variations can arise from three sources: internal variation, external variation, and unit-to-unit variation.

What are the stages of a product life cycle?

introduction, growth, maturity, decline

The ban on lead paint has forced paint manufacturers to introduce new paint products to meet changes in ______.

legal requirements

Reducing the number of parts in a product so that it is easier to manufacture and assemble is the idea behind design for ______.

manufacturing and assembly

Capacity is the ______ amount of ______ an operation is capable of producing in a given time period.

maximum; output

General Motor's OnStar offers assistance in navigation, directions, and emergency calls to its driver. General Motor is creating ______.

new products and services

The transformation process of a hospital is ______.

physiological ** The transformation process is where the input are converted to outputs. It is the process where the value is added to the input to produce the outputs. In a hospital, the value add or the transformation is physiological, where the physiological well-being of the customer is the output.

Shell is able to compete on ______ by producing gasoline at a ______ than its competitors.

price; lower cost

PLCM stands for ______.

product life-cycle management **PLCM is a marketing concept that refers to managing the business side of the product during its life cycle, particularly its costs and sales performance.

Companies such as General Motors manufacture vehicles that look different from one another but share a common chassis and internal parts. These companies use a ______ to introduce new products quickly while reducing costs.

product platform **A product platform is a set of subsystems and components that form a common structure from which a family of products can be efficiently developed and produced.

Steinway's high-quality, high-cost vertical piano failed because it did not meet the order-______ criterion.

qualifying **An order qualifier is a competitive criterion that must be present in a product for it to be a viable competitor in the marketplace. In the case of Steinway, they attempted to produce a high-quality vertical piano that resulted in production costs so high that the price of the piano exceeded what customers were willing to pay for it.

Which of the following is a strategic supply chain and operations decision?

quality management **Strategic decisions differ from other types of decision such as tactical or operational by having a long-term impact on the firm. Quality management is among the strategic supply chain and operations decisions because of its fundamental and long-term impact.

Which of the following is a control chart for variables?

range chart *Range charts are constructed to monitor the variability within samples.

The McDonald's attempt to penetrate new markets in India involves offering a ______ of its menu without compromising its fast and affordable strategic objectives.

regional version

A service system matrix relates the degree of customer-provider contact with ______ and ______.

sales opportunity; production efficiency *This matrix is a useful tool for understanding the relationships among the different parts of a service system. It establishes the relationship among three key factors of service: (a) the degree of contact between the consumer and the service provider, (b) the opportunity for sales, and (c) the service system's production efficiency.

Project ______ is the process of converting a project's goals into a logical method for completing them on time.

scheduling

Which of the following is the type of operations interface that interacts with suppliers to provide the company with equipment maintenance and repair services?

vertical interfaces **Suppliers that provide the company with support such as equipment maintenance, recycling, disposal, and repair services is considered as vertical interfaces. They are neither the upstream (vendors) nor the downstream (customers) interfaces.

In general, when should a two-sigma control chart be used?

when special cause variations may exist in the process **If the manager suspects special cause variations may exist in the process, then using a narrower control limit such as 2σ to detect these nonrandom variations would be the right approach.

Design specifications require the diameter of ring nuts to have a target value of 1 cm with a tolerance of ±0.2 cm. The current manufacturing process produces ring nuts with an average diameter of 0.9 cm and a standard deviation (σ) of 0.05 cm. What can be concluded?

The process is not capable. **Process capability analysis is a technique used to determine whether a process is able to meet a set of design specification limits, or normal level of variations, that reflect the customer's requirements for a product or service. Design specification limits, also known as tolerances, are numerical maximum and minimum values within which the outputs produced by a process are expected to fall to be considered as having acceptable quality to the customer. These limits are calculated ± the designed target value for that process.

The customers of a bank expect to wait between 10 and 15 minutes. In order to improve its customer service levels, the bank collected past data on waiting times and found that the average delivery time was 13 minutes with a standard deviation of 3 minutes. What can be concluded?

The process is not operating at the Six Sigma quality level. **The goal of a Six Sigma effort is to produce no more than 3.4 defects in a million opportunities. In a Six Sigma process, a defect is defined as anything that falls outside of customer specifications limits (USL and LSL). This means that 99.997% of the time, the value of a quality characteristic should be between six standard deviations of the mean and the lower or upper specification limit.

Both the mean and range charts are in control before one can conclude the process is in control.

True **For a variable analysis, both a mean chart and a range chart have to be constructed and used concurrently to conclude the process is in control. It is not enough to look at a mean chart and conclude that, because the average values of the samples are within limits, the process is in control. The variability within the samples as determined by the range chart also has to be within limits.

An apparel manufacturer restructures its traditional supply chains by outsourcing its T-shirts' manufacturing division to China while keeping its designer clothing division in the United States. Such practice is called splintering.

True **Splintering the practice of breaking traditional supply chains into smaller and more agile supply chains that can better respond to higher levels of business complexity, save money, and improve customer service. In this case, an apparel manufacturer restructures its traditional supply chain by breaking it into manufacturing and design focused smaller supply chains.

A process has a process centering capability index of 0.2. The process is not centered and not capable.

True **The higher the value of Cp, the better the process capability. Process variability is typically set at 6σ.

Innovations can be incremental or radical.

True **Firms can choose between sustaining and disruptive innovations. A sustaining innovation is targeted toward an existing market and can be either radical or incremental. A radical innovation is a new product or solution associated with products in existing markets. Radical innovations do not, however, create new markets.

Product life-cycle management (PLCM) focuses on the marketing aspects of a product's costs and sales performance during its life cycle.

True **PLCM is a marketing concept that refers to managing the business side of the product during its life cycle, particularly its costs and sales performance.

______ is a strategic alliance in inventory purchasing and supplying.

Vendor managed inventory **A vendor managed inventory system (VMI) is a powerful strategic alliance in the area of inventory purchasing and supplying. The partners of the alliance both benefit in a significant way.

Which of the following tools allows a company to focus closely on the design aspect of quality and improve it?

Which of the following tools allows a company to focus closely on the design aspect of quality and improve it? **Parameter design focuses on determining the optimal design of a product and the processes used to produce it so as to minimize variations.

Which of the following is a supply chain question related to new product development?

Who are the suppliers for the components of the new product? **Many questions about the supply chain should be answered long before a firm starts producing a new product.

When do you suspect a process is out of control?

More sample data fall above than below the center line.

You are not familiar with self-driving car technology and yet are invited by Google to test drive a self-driving car. You are performing ______ for Google.

beta testing

A firm can start developing a sustainable supply chain by evaluating the ______ of its supply chains

carbon footprint

Which of the following is a common characteristic of a project?

clear set of goals **A project is a unique venture with a beginning and an end, conducted by people to meet established goals within certain cost, schedule, and quality parameters. One characteristic of a project is a clear goal or set of goals.

Which of the following are the stages of a project life cycle?

conceptualization, planning, execution, termination

A firm's strategy should be aligned to form a top-to-bottom hierarchy, linking ______ levels.

corporate to business-unit to functional

A firm's supply chain strategy should be in alignment with the strategies of its ______ and ______.

corporation; supply chain partners

Which of the following is an external interface with the operations function?

customer **External interfaces with the operations function includes suppliers, competitors, customers and regulatory agencies. In this question, out of the four choices given, customer is the only external interface, rest of them are all internal (internal to the firm) interfaces.

A landline phone is at the ______ stage of its product life cycle.

decline

Which of the following organizations is predominantly focused on the delivery of services?

dental clinics

A process is making a part that weighs 0.75 oz on average with a standard deviation of 0.05 oz. The upper and lower specifications for the part are 1 oz and 0.5 oz, respectively. Which measure should be used to see how well the process meets its specification limits?

the process capability index

Which of the following is a supply chain's delivery performance indicator?

the total number of products delivered correctly and on time **Products that are delivered correctly and on time are indicators used on a metric called SCOR and indicate how well the firm's supply chain is performing overall in the area of delivery.

Which of the following can be on both the inbound and outbound portion of a supply chain?

transportation **Out of the four options, transportation is the only one that is needed on both ends of the supply chain, inbound of the inputs (transportation of the raw materials from the suppliers to the firm) and outbound of the products (transportation of the good from the firm to the customers).

Companies increasingly strive to achieve the ______ performance when formulating their corporate strategy.

triple bottom line **Economic, environmental, and social value are the three overlapping performance targets that measure sustainability in triple bottom line performance.

Which of the following is a way to improve productivity?

economies of scale **When considering productivity improvement product standardization achieves economies of scale, whereas poor quality product standards will decrease productivity.

Which of the following is an input to a bakery?

energy **The input to a process are used or consumed to produce the desired output. In this question three of the four options (bread, cake, and cupcakes) are all outputs (products) to a bakery. The only input, which is used to produce output, listed herein is energy.

Walmart is a(n) ______ customer to Procter & Gamble, a consumer goods company.

external intermediate

Which of the following capabilities enables companies to successfully integrate their operations and supply chain globally?

financial-engineering **Financial engineering capabilities, which is the ability to create new financial instruments to facilitate international exchanges and raise capital is shown to add to the success of companies while integrating their operations and supply chains globally.

L. L. Bean contracts with shirt manufacturers to produce a wide assortment of shirts for men and women. These shirt manufacturers represent ______ suppliers for L. L. Bean.

first-tier

Firms that provide components or finished goods and services to the primary firm are called ______.

first-tier suppliers **First tier suppliers are the ones that provide components or finished goods and services to the primary firm for its manufacturing or service operations. The second-tier suppliers are the ones that provides necessary inputs to the first-tier suppliers.

The receptionist at the information desk of a hospital represents the ______ to the service operation system.

front stage activity

The value of a product is defined as ______.

function ÷ cost

By improving the quality of goods and services produced, the ______ value of products and services is enhanced.

functional **The improvements in quality of goods and services often translate into enhanced functionality. While considering quality as the differentiator, customer is intrinsically referring to functional value of the specific product or service.

Which of the following is a control chart for attributes?

C-charts **C-charts are used to monitor countable occurrences, such as the number of nonconformities or defects per unit.

C-Charts

C-charts are used to monitor countable occurrences, such as the number of nonconformities or defects per unit. The unit can be a unit of a product, a unit of time, a unit of area, a unit of volume, and so forth.

Productivity

To remain competitive a company must produce goods and services efficiently and effectively. Productivity is expressed as a ratio of outputs (goods and services) produced to the inputs used.

A fundamental step in managing a project supply chain is to measure the performance of the chain and adjust the flow of resources as needed.

True

Budget airlines such as JetBlue are leveraging their ability to offer low-cost flights to price-conscious customers as their core competency.

True

Estimating the duration of a project's activities involves both subjective and objective analysis.

True

Life-cycle assessment is an approach for companies to evaluate their environmental performance.

True

Quality assurance is concerned with the quality of a product or service before it is delivered.

True

The critical path is the sequence of activities in a network that defines the overall duration of the project.

True

Which of the following is a primary reason for the accelerated pace of global interaction?

advancements in information technology **Advancements in information technology (IT) made it easy for companies and customers to connect and interact globally with each other over the Internet.

A project manager is working with local suppliers to back up the main suppliers in Japan. The project manager is doing ______ to manage a project supply chain.

an environmental analysis **An environmental analysis considers which suppliers are best suited to the needs of the company. What are the risks? Which suppliers are most dependable? Which suppliers are technically and financially capable of working with our firm, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of each?

Poorly trained workers will introduce what kind of variations in a production process?

assignable cause **Variations that are not normally present in the process and can be attributed to unique or assignable causes are known as special cause variations. These variations, which can be identified and corrected, typically occur because of equipment wear and tear, defective raw materials and components, or poorly trained workers.

The possible expected duration times of a project's activities are assumed to follow a(n) ______ distribution.

beta

Which of the following situations exposes a firm to undue supply chain disruption risks?

developing a close relationship with a single supplier **There are structural and infrastructural decisions about supply chain networks to coordinate and integrate manufacturing details. Service organizations also have intricate design strategies to deliver any given service.

Which of the following is an example of a project?

developing driverless cars **Developing a driverless car meets all of the quadruple constraints as a basis for determining the success of a project: time, cost, quality, and client satisfaction.

Companies in industrialized countries are shifting their product development functions to lower cost regions. These companies are ______ their product development processes using technologies such as ______.

digitizing; CAD

A ______ innovation usually starts at the ______ of a market.

disruptive; low end

Demand management is ______ interface in a product supply chain.

downstream **Demand management used to anticipate and manage customer demand for a product or service. Because demand management is closely related to the purchase behavior of customers, and customers are part of the downstream in a product supply chain, then demand management is a downstream interface.

S-Curve

shows the relationship between the cumulative costs of a project (vertical axis) and time (horizontal axis) **The project's status is evaluated as a function of the cumulative costs—both budgeted and actual—plotted against time. The classic S-curve is typical of most projects. Initially, expenditures are low and then increase rapidly during the project's execution stage. They then level off again as the project nears completion.

A deliverable document of the scope management process is a ______.

statement of work **A project begins with a statement of its goals—what the underlying problem or need is and how the project will either solve the problem or meet the need.

A bank wants to track customer waiting times. Which of the following tools should the bank use?

statistical process control **Statistical process control (SPC) uses statistical methods to monitor a process to determine whether it is stable and producing a product that conforms to specifications. Although SPC is most frequently used to monitor manufacturing processes, it is equally applicable to services.

A critical skill for project managers is ______.

team building