MQM227 Exam 3A

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. In a process flowchart (not a network diagram), an octagon represents the start and end of a particular process. B. In a process flowchart, a diamond represents a decision to be made (e.g., if this is true take this action, if false take an alternate action.) C. Process redesign usually starts with identifying opportunities for improvement. D. Job design involves analyzing a particular job (e.g., welder, fast-food cook) and determining what tasks are expected of that job as well as the necessary skills. E. Process-flow improvement may reduce throughput time (i.e., time from start to finish) by eliminating unnecessary steps or simplifying time-consuming ones.

A. In a process flowchart (not a network diagram), an octagon represents the start and end of a particular process.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. MTS may be less expensive than MTO and ATO if "lead time" is not important to the customer. B. Faster flow of materials means that you are not tying up money in inventory. C. Lead time is the time required to deliver a product to the customer once an order has been placed. D. Throughput Ratio measures how effectively you move material through your facility. E. Percent Order Completion is a measure of how well a factory meets the customers' delivery needs.

A. MTS may be less expensive than MTO and ATO if "lead time" is not important to the customer.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. A firm's corporate strategy is usually derived from its business strategy. B. An operations strategy usually contains (among other things) objectives and strategic decisions. C. A firm's operations strategy is usually derived from its business strategy. D. As an organization's strategies flow from corporate strategy to determinations of distinctive competencies, the strategies become more and more specific.

A. A firm's corporate strategy is usually derived from its business strategy.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. Batch processing is usually highly automated B. Batch processing can be used to make many different types of products as compared to an assembly line. C. Job shop product flow has essentially the same characteristics as batch processing but with smaller orders in most cases. D. In batch processing, equipment is usually general-purpose equipment that is used to perform many different but related functions. E. On assembly lines, the product flow is characterized by a linear sequence of operations.

A. Batch processing is usually highly automated

Process flowcharting can help identify how the transformation process can be improved by changing some or all of the following elements. Which of the following elements is incorrect? A. Customer feedback B. Job design C. Processing steps or activities used D. Product or service design E. Equipment or tools

A. Customer feedback

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. In Quality Function Development, the firm identifies various customer attributes (needs) that are determined through market research & working with potential/current customers. B. In QFD, the relative importance of customer attributes determined. C. In Quality Function Development, target values for the new product is determined with respect to competitors. D. DFM focuses on using common parts on multiple products. E. In QFD, target values refer to the performance values and product characteristics that the supplier is trying to attain.

A. In Quality Function Development, the firm identifies various customer attributes (needs) that are determined through market research & working with potential/current customers.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. Process selection decisions require a short-term perspective and a great deal of cross-functional coordination. B. On assembly lines, workers' tasks are designed so that it takes each operation the same amount of time. C. Assembly lines make discrete products (e.g., not liquids or pastes). D. Continuous process product flow means that the output is made in a continuous fashion. E. In manufacturing, product flow is the flow of materials that result in product creation. In service areas, there may be a flow of customers or information.

A. Process selection decisions require a short-term perspective and a great deal of cross-functional coordination.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. Typically, the three phases of new process introduction is the concept development phase, the product design phase, and the pilot production/testing phase. B. In the concept development phases, several product/service concepts are usually generated and evaluated. C. In the product design phase, trade-offs between cost, features, and scheduling constraints must be evaluated. D. In the technology push strategy for new product introduction, a company invents a process that no one else possesses and is then able to create a unique product that marketing must sell to customers. E. Modular design is good for Operations because less equipment changeovers and better efficiencies.

A. Typically, the three phases of new process introduction is the concept development phase, the product design phase, and the pilot production/testing phase.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. Sometimes there are parts shortages or different orders waiting on the same machine. B. In ATO, finished products are stored in inventory and immediately available for delivery. C. MTS can provide faster service to customers than MTO or ATO. D. Sometimes some or all of the scheduled parts have to be scrapped due to poor quality and new material must be ordered or re-allocated to produce replacements. E. ATO is a hybrid system in which product components are MTS but assembled only when order is placed.

B. In ATO, finished products are stored in inventory and immediately available for delivery.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. At the end of the product design phase, the firm will have a set of detailed product specifications and engineering drawings. B. At the beginning of concept development phase, the firm has a genral idea of the design but needs to specify the product/service design parameters in detail. C. Design for manufacturability aims to simplify product design to make the product easier to make. D. In the concept development phase, the company is concerned with idea generation and the evaluation of alternative ideas for the new product.

B. At the beginning of concept development phase, the firm has a genral idea of the design but needs to specify the product/service design parameters in detail.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. In batch processing, each product can have a different flow path & can skip certain work centers. B. Batch processing is good for large order quantities. C. In continuous processing, liquids and simple products that can be made very quickly are common outputs. D. Assembly lines generally require large amounts of capital investment & require high volumes to justify investment. E. In batch processing, lot size varies considerably based on demand.

B. Batch processing is good for large order quantities.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. Value can be created only by operations and supply chains that are more productive than competitors' in relation to the company's chosen markets. B. Operations strategies and decisions should fulfill the needs of the business without adding competitive advantage to the firm. C. If a competitor is more productive (e.g., lower costs) and of comparable quality, the competitor will be able to offer the same product at a lower cost - thus more value for the money. D. The cross-functional coordination of decision-making is facilitated by an operations strategy that is developed by a team of managers from across the entire business.

B. Operations strategies and decisions should fulfill the needs of the business without adding competitive advantage to the firm.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. At the end of the concept development phase, one of the concepts will be selected for the next development stage. B. The drawings and specifications derived in the process design phase will be used to build production prototypes for testing and evaluation. C. The product design phase is concerned with designing the new product/service. D. Supplier chain collaboration includes working with customers to identify important & latent needes.

B. The drawings and specifications derived in the process design phase will be used to build production prototypes for testing and evaluation.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. In batch processing, a work center is a group of similar machines or processes used to make the product. B. With the Tokyo Productions System, small batch sizes with flexible equipment are employed in order to be more responsive to customers' needs. C. Process selection decisions tend to be capital intensive and cannot be easily changed. D. In continuous process product flow, the product is usually made more cheaply than other methods of production. E. In project-based processes, products are designed on general-purpose machines to meet specific customer needs.

B. With the Tokyo Productions System, small batch sizes with flexible equipment are employed in order to be more responsive to customers' needs.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. In an assembly line, changing to another product may take a considerable amount of time as fixtures and tooling needs to be reconfigured. B. Workers in a batch flow process are usually more skilled than those in project-based process. C. In batch processing, the parts in the batch travel together to help prevent loss, misplacement, and/or damage. D. Tracking inventory in a factory is challenging as the products must be placed in and later retrieved from the appropriate storage location. E. SMED involves the development of expedited approaches to changing machines to make different parts.

B. Workers in a batch flow process are usually more skilled than those in project-based process.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. Competing on flexibility often entails making products or delivering services that are very adaptable to the needs of the customer. B. A disadvantage of being a low-cost producer is that other firms are frequently competing on price. It is often difficult to maintain the position of being the low-cost producer. C. Being a low-cost provider often involves a minor investment in automation in order to drive down costs. D. Competing based on delivery time is often achieved by reducing changeover time, having shorter production runs, simplifying complex operations, and redesigning products/processes.

C. Being a low-cost provider often involves a minor investment in automation in order to drive down costs.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. A focused business strategy involves narrowing in on a particular geographical area or product/service emphasis. B. Differentiation is a type of business strategy in which a unique and often innovative new product or service is pursued. C. Benchmarking is comparing your objectives to your strategies. D. Being a low cost provider is a type of business strategy that is especially effective where products or services are easily imitated.

C. Benchmarking is comparing your objectives to your strategies.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. Focusing on maximizing shareholder value encourages a firm's leadership to focus on the short term while a well-articulated and executed mission statement leads to a long-term focus which would likely increase shareholder value to a greater extent (e.g., more wealth over a longer period of time). B. All operations should have a distinctive competence that differentiates it from the competitors. It is something that operations does better than anyone else. C. The best path to short-term growth in shareholder value comes from a well-articulated mission rather than simply maximizing shareholder value. D. The purpose of a company boils down to serving the customer.

C. The best path to short-term growth in shareholder value comes from a well-articulated mission rather than simply maximizing shareholder value.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. Attaining a competitive advantage via the operations side of the business often involves the development of patented or proprietary technology or equipment. B. Attaining a competitive advantage via the operations side of the business often involves having the ability to serve a new market before competitors. C. An effective supply chain strategy should be aimed at achieving a sustainable competitive advantage for only the final customer in the supply chain. D. Sustainability refers to minimizing or eliminating the environmental impact of operations.

C. An effective supply chain strategy should be aimed at achieving a sustainable competitive advantage for only the final customer in the supply chain.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. In QFD, the relative performance of competitors is evaluated in order to determine how the company's product performs as compared to its competitors. B. In Quality Function Deployment, the customer attributes are converted to Engineering characteristics (ECs) that are measurable and specific. C. DFM is also known as the "House of Quality." D. Modular design makes it possible to have relatively high product variety and low component variety. E. Usefulness is described in terms such as product features, performance, and reliability.

C. DFM is also known as the "House of Quality."

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. Streamlining the number of similar parts helps minimize the inadvertent use of the wrong part, reduces inventory costs as less different storage locations are needed, and allows a firm to potentially gain price concessions as larger order quantities can be placed. B. In the market pull strategy for new product introduction, the market demands a product and a company has to figure out how to make it (even if they do not currently have the technology to do so OR the manufacturing processes must be invented). C. Design mildly affects operations because existing processes and products can constrain the technology available for new products. D. Product design refers to either a physical, manufactured, product or service E. The market pull strategy is a pull strategy because the market wants the product and is therefore pulling the product to market as compared to the supplier trying to force the market to want their product.

C. Design mildly affects operations because existing processes and products can constrain the technology available for new products.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. In continuous process product flow, the output tends to be highly standardized with high production levels. B. Assembly line product flows often use a conveyor system to transport product between operational steps. C. In continuous process product flows, tracking inventory levels and location of each batch in the factory is a challenge. D. In batch processing, the flow of the batches usually jumps around the factory as compared to assembly lines. E. Mass customization utilizes high-volume lot sizes but make minor alterations to the finished product.

C. In continuous process product flows, tracking inventory levels and location of each batch in the factory is a challenge.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. Types of continuous process product flow include candy and chemicals. B. Assembly lines are usually more efficient than batch processing. C. On assembly lines, one or more products are made with relatively flexible equipment and labor. D. In batch processing, workers are usually more skilled than an assembly-line worker. E. In batch processing, each batch travels together from one operation or work center to the next.

C. On assembly lines, one or more products are made with relatively flexible equipment and labor.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. The process design phase should occur simultaneously with product design. B. Simultaneous process and product design will help minimize product introduction lead times. C. Simultaneous process and product design may be more problematic because the design may be incompatible with the manufacturing equipment. D. In the pilot production and testing phase, prototypes need to be built in order to evaluate.

C. Simultaneous process and product design may be more problematic because the design may be incompatible with the manufacturing equipment.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. Goods from suppliers' trucks are transferred across the loading dock to waiting Walmart trucks without ever being placed in a warehouse. This practice frees up inventory space as well as reduces the costs of carrying inventory. B. Competing through low-cost objectives is perhaps best achieved by focusing on customer requirements. C. Competing through quality requires a focus on product/process design, operations, and supply chain involves working with key customers to define their requirements. D. A focus on customer requirements helps ensure that unnecessary product features are enhanced to make them more desirable to customers.

D. A focus on customer requirements helps ensure that unnecessary product features are enhanced to make them more desirable to customers.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. Process flow analysis is used to discover better methods for producing and delivering a product or a service. B. By looking at the entire process flow, you can critically evaluate each step to identify redundancies and/or unnecessary steps. C. Process flow analysis is about viewing and analyzing the transformation process as a sequence of steps connecting inputs to outputs. D. Quality function deployment is an essential tool to facilitate process-flow analysis.

D. Quality function deployment is an essential tool to facilitate process-flow analysis.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. When creating a process flowchart, the process boundaries are specified in order to focus on a specific process rather than the entire set of inter-related processes. B. A system is a collection of interrelated elements. C. Process flowcharting refers to the creation of a visual diagram to describe the transformation process. D. Flowcharts should consider only process flows and not customers, suppliers, and employee inputs in designing better processes. E. In a process flowchart (not a network diagram), a rectangle represents each operational or process step.

D. Flowcharts should consider only process flows and not customers, suppliers, and employee inputs in designing better processes.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. In supply chain collaboration, suppliers seek more involvement in customer design decisions. B. Sequential product design is when each functional unit completes its portion of the design process before the next functional unit begins their portion. C. In supply chain collaboration, key suppliers are an important part of the design process in order to enhance product design. D. Lasting needs are those customer needs/wants that are ultimately desired but not explicitly conveyed to the supplier. E. Only input from key suppliers is sought because they are expected to have needed expertise into the design of critical parts.

D. Lasting needs are those customer needs/wants that are ultimately desired but not explicitly conveyed to the supplier.

Regarding the basic principles in creating a flowchart, which of the following statements is incorrect? A. Make the flowchart process as thoroughly complete as possible. B. Specify the boundaries of the transformation process. C. Identify and sequence the operational steps or the activities necessary to complete the process. D. Use inconsistent formatting of the flowchart. E. When applicable, create and/or collect performance metrics on all relevant process steps.

D. Use inconsistent formatting of the flowchart.

Which of the following items is NOT a common type of sustainability initiative? A. Measure and minimize transportation and total carbon footprint. B. Eliminate air, water, and landfill pollution C. Reduce energy consumption D. Work with suppliers to use disposable and non-biodegradable packaging E. Incorporate product reuse, end-of-life return, and recycling.

D. Work with suppliers to use disposable and non-biodegradable packaging

Which of the following items is NOT a key consideration in making a process selection decision? A. In a plant-within-a-plant configuration, the plant is divided into sub-plants specializing in making certain types of products in order to increase throughput and customer responsiveness. B. Consider market conditions. C. Consider capital requirements. D. Consider the availability and cost of labor. E. Consider the state of technology for product not process.

E. Consider the state of technology for product not process.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. Poka Yoke refers to mistake-proofing the process to dramatically reduce the likelihood of making errors in making and or labeling the parts. B. In MTO, work orders (instructions for processing through the factory) need to be created. C. The less money that is tied up in inventory allows a company to use these funds in a more beneficial manner. D. When the cost of labor is high or the availability of qualified workers is low, a company will often pursue labor-saving practices such as automation. E. Project-based processes are considered the least expensive product flow processing because workers are continually faced with new challenges rather than repetitive actions.

E. Project-based processes are considered the least expensive product flow processing because workers are continually faced with new challenges rather than repetitive actions.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. Inventory Management is responsible for assuring that the quantity of parts at each operation (or work center) actually match the number of parts that are actually there. B. In MTO, purchased parts may have to be ordered when customer order is placed thus extending delivery time. C. To keep workers busy and anticipate potentially periods of under-capacity, Marketing and Production Control often have to forecast product demand. D. Production planning uses the forecast as well as current orders to plan how parts will flow through the factory. E. For batch processing, the flexibility is usually poor because changing from one type of product to another is often very time-consuming and expensive.

E. For batch processing, the flexibility is usually poor because changing from one type of product to another is often very time-consuming and expensive.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. DFM can best be applied to manufacturing and not service industries. B. In concurrent engineering, Design creates product/service with considerable input from Operations. C. Value is the ratio of usefulness to cost. D. QFD is a tool for linking customer needs/requirements to Engineering drawings and specifications. E. In sequential engineering, Marketing works closely with customers and Design as well as with some Operations input.

E. In sequential engineering, Marketing works closely with customers and Design as well as with some Operations input.

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. In the pilot production and testing phase, performance to specifications is evaluated. B. Misalignment (between design and manufacturing) may occur in labor skills (e.g., insufficient training) C. Products that are very similar in appearance may be unintentionally used in the wrong product. D. In the pilot production and testing phase, customer feedback on product/service is sought. E. In the pilot production and testing phase, foreseen problems with manufacturing are identified and left unresolved.

E. In the pilot production and testing phase, foreseen problems with manufacturing are identified and left unresolved.