POM Midterm 1

Two key aspects of the Process Strategy include _____ and _____.

capital intensity; process flexibility

'The set of goals and policies that guide operations decisions' is called:

operations strategy

The GolCart company assembles 100 golf carts in eight hours with five workers and one machine. Labor costs are $10 per hour and the machine cost is $50 per hour. The carts sell for $800 each. The company utilizes other inputs, such as borrowed capital, electric power, leased buildings, etc., but doesn't have the cost data available for those inputs. What is the multi-factor (labor and machine) productivity for this company?

One hundred dollars worth of carts produced per dollar spent on labor and machine.

Repetitive production

Product layout

Agility refers to the ability of an organization to respond swiftly to opportunities, such as increased demand.

True

It is hard to measure productivity in services because of a high degree of variability due to customer involvement in the service delivery process.

True

A production line is to be designed for a job with three tasks. The task times are 0.3 minutes, 0.4 minutes, and 0.7 minutes. For a single production line with no parallel activities, the minimum possible cycle time in minutes is

0.7

All of the following are key steps toward improving productivity: 1. developing productivity measures for all operations 2. identifying bottleneck operations 3. establishing reasonable goals for improvement 4. measuring productivity and publicizing the improvements and productivity enhancements

True

All of the following are operations that convert some form of inputs into desired outputs: 1. Manufacturing operations, such as laptop assembly, food processing, etc. 2. Service operations, such as banks, hospitals, airlines, hair salons, etc.

True

As discussed in class, the company that makes 'Who Gives a Crap' toilet paper has successfully differentiated itself in terms of newness, innovation, quality, and sustainability in a market that is already crowded with competitors. Even among those who offer toilet tissue made from recycled paper or bamboo, 'Who Gives a Crap' uses clever advertising, its users as influencers, and its generous charitable focus to actually set itself apart.

True

As per the systems perspective, the objectives of an organization as a whole take precedence over those of any one subsystem.

True

Ethical issues that may arise in many aspects of operations management relate to: •Worker safety •Product safety •Quality •Workers rights

True

In the process layout, similar activities are performed in a department. For example, in a university, business courses are offered by the business school, and law courses by the law school.

True

Operations managers generally do not like variability or variations in production or service requirements for the following reasons: 1. variations are disruptive 2. variations may result in additional costs or delays 3. variations do not facilitate longer production runs

True

Service operations, such as movie theaters, provide "psychological utility" for customers.

True

Supply Chain Management deals with processes across multiple firms whereas Operations Management deals with processes within a single firm.

True

The Balanced Scorecard approach helps develop measures that are consistent with the organization's vision and strategy.

True

The Pareto Phenomenon, also called the 80/20 Rule, helps with prioritizing such that focusing on a relatively few factors (20%) we can get a disproportionately high percentage (80%) of the results

True

The following are the four basic sources of process variation or variability ... 1. Product mix or the variety of goods and services offered 2. Demand variations 3. Natural or inherent variability in a process, also called random variation 4. Assignable variations caused by defective materials, incorrect processes, out-of-adjustment equipment, people errors, and environmental factors such as extreme weather.

True

All of the following are higher in manufacturing operations compared to service operations. 1. Uniformity of inputs 2. Customer contact 3. Labor content of jobs

False

An operations manager faces similar managerial decisions/challenges in the 'Front Room' of a service as in the 'Back Room' because both are parts of the same service.

False

Vertical integration refers to the alignment of operations strategy with business strategy and corporate strategy

False

The process selection as per the Product Process Matrix is based on: (I) How much variety can the process offer? (II) What is the target market for the product/service? (III) How will the product/service be priced? (IV) At what volume will the process need to operate?

I and IV

The skill or ability of a firm that gives it a competitive edge is called:

core competency.

Based on the service classification taxonomy using labor intensity and customer contact as two dimensions, one-on-one tutoring service will be classified as a:

Professional Service

Service layouts, such as that of retail stores, are associated with the following...

maximizing revenue by increasing customer exposure and distance travelled through the facility

The following statements are true about the SWOT analysis, EXCEPT:

strengths and weaknesses are considered a part of the external analysis.

As per the Operations Strategy Framework, Technology and Performance Measurement Systems are examples of a(an) _______ decision and a(an) ___________ decision respectively.

structural, infrastructural

Coordinating the activities among various organizations, including suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers is called...

supply chain management

The Operations function in an organization is primarily responsible for (pick the most appropriate response)

the creation of goods or provision of services.

A common goal in designing process layouts, especially in manufacturing facilities, is

minimizing transportation costs

In an assembly operation at a furniture factory, five workers assembled an average of 200 standard dining chairs per day. What is the labor productivity of this operation?

40 chairs/worker/day

The study of operations and supply chain management is important because: 1. Operations is at the core of every business 2. Every aspect of business affects or is affected by operations, and many service jobs are closely related to operations. 3. Through learning about operations, we get a better understanding of the world we live in, the global dependencies of companies and nations, the importance of working with others, etc. 4. Operations is one of the three primary functions in any organization, and even though the activities in operations are different from those in other departments, such as marketing and finance, the decisions made by the operations department may impact other areas of the organization.

True

The type of layout in which workers, materials, and equipment are moved to the place where the 'product' is being put together, as needed, is a fixed-position layout. Examples of such 'products' are a big ship, a dam, or a construction project

True

There are three categories of business processes--Upper-management, Operational, and Supporting. Operational processes, such as purchasing, production, sales, etc., are the core processes that add value.

True

Yield is a way of measuring productivity in services, such as rental car companies, hotels, etc., that have fixed capacity.

True